The Meridian Gamble (53 page)

I peel off my clothes, letting my
breasts tumble from my shirt, so he can see. And I step out of my panties,
letting them fall to the floor, as I slip behind the curtain of the shower with
a playful smile.

I turn the knob on the wall, and
say a silent thanks for the luxuries of the vampire tower, because there’s
always plenty of hot water, which comes streaming out. It feels delicious
against my skin, and the warmth seems to fill me with life force once more. And
I have to tell myself not to linger too long, so I don’t wind up a prune. But
that might be beyond my control.

The curtains open, and Adam steps
in behind me. I almost can’t look at his naked form. His beauty is too intense,
I feel like it might blind me in my weakened state. But he wraps his arms
around me from behind, as he reaches for the bar of soap.

“I think I do need to help you,” he
purrs into my ear. “I need to make sure you get clean. Because you seem like a
very dirty girl.”

He starts rubbing the soap over my
breasts and stomach, and buries his face in my hair. Adam kisses my neck, and I
can feel his insistent member pressed up against me, rubbing against my butt
cheeks. I can feel my pulse quicken, and worry that my heart is going to
explode.

I’m all wet, and Adam lifts me in
his powerful arms, and takes me from behind. I gasp in delight, and as the warm
water rushes over me, I become a big blob of ecstasy under the power of his
touch. But something changes.

Even though I can’t see him, even
though he’s behind me, I suddenly feel that it’s Roland who’s holding me. It’s
Roland’s strong arms that are around me, he’s the one who’s giving me this
pleasure that’s so intense. In my mind’s eye, I can see him so clearly, but I
know he’s not really here, that it’s all a trick of the venom. And try as I
might, I can’t make the image go away, even as I thrill at the roughness of his
sex.

So I relent. I
give into it, and melt into the passion that I’m feeling, becoming at one with
this phantom that I know is really Adam. And I only hope that he’ll never
discover my hidden shame.

Later, Adam and I finally manage to
peel ourselves apart, and we leave the bathroom. We get dressed, and he walks
me down to the lobby of the Omnicom Building, where people are arriving for
work. None of them seem to take notice of him, show any look of recognition
that he is a vampire, or that I’m one of their overlords’ latest taste treats.
They don’t even seem to know that he’s a resident in the building. I wonder how
many of them are aware of what’s really going on in the tower. It seems strange
at the very least that they don’t take notice of Adam, especially the women and
gay men. If I worked in this building, it would be hard for me not to spot a
hot piece of ass like him walking around.

Once again, I suspect it must be
something he’s doing, masking our presence somehow. I can feel a slight buzz of
electricity that comes from the vampires’ mental powers, and I look to Adam,
questioningly. He gives me a knowing smile, which is all the answer I need.

We go out to the street, and I’m
nervous, looking for signs that Luminos soldiers might attack. But Adam puts
his arm around me, and whispers in my ear.

“Don’t worry, we’re not going to
get jumped. I’m scanning.”

“Not even Roland?”

“Well, that’s another story. He
could shield himself from me, if he wanted. But he won’t try to hurt you again,
that much I know.”

I think about Roland for a moment,
and get flushed, remembering the way he appeared to me in the shower not long
ago. But at least he’s not showing up now, and I’m glad to have Adam here,
because my love for him helps me to fight the effects of the venom, and push
whatever speck of desire I feel for Roland out of my mind.

“How did he get back into the tower
without your knowing?” I ask.

“He was supposed to be at our
Boston location, checking it’s security. My contact claimed he was there, but
obviously, her allegiances aren’t to me,” Adam says. “As for getting back into
our tower without my knowing, I can only assume that one of the others helped
him sneak past our security. Probably Marion, or some low level vampire hoping
to curry favor. I’m sorry, I should have anticipated this.”

“But you did anticipate it on some
level. Am I right? You knew he was going to try something, didn’t you?”

Adam starts to speak, but the words
catch in his throat, the subtle signs of someone who is guilty. He collects
himself, and tries again.

“I can’t lie to you, Meridian,” he
says. “I knew there was a chance that it could come to this, but I had hoped to
communicate with him before he would act. The last thing I wanted was for him
to bite you. But I also knew that he wouldn’t kill you, I knew he would see the
truth before that could happen. It was a risk I took that didn’t pay off, and
to the degree that I’m complicit in this, I apologize.”

And I know Adam is telling the
truth. He hardly wants to see me come to harm, and the last thing he would want
is for me to fall under Roland’s spell. And I like that he says the word
“apologize,” that he doesn’t dance around his own guilt, or offer some
half-hearted words of regret. But it’s a strange dichotomy, to know that Adam
loves me, but that he would let someone put my life at risk in this way.

But I realize that I’m the one who
is truly to blame. I was foolish to think I could play games with such
dangerous men, and not suffer the consequences.

“I know that you’re doing the best
that you can, and I appreciate that you’re trying to protect me in this strange
situation. But Roland has gone too far this time. He’s made a terrible
mistake.”

“I agree,” Adam says. “But if
there’s one good thing to come out of this, it’s that his actions were
convincing. At least Marion might be thrown off the scent for a while.”

“Great. Thanks, Roland.”

Adam stops in the street, and puts
his hands on my shoulders, looking at me with a steely gaze.

“Roland will not hurt you again, we
know that. And, unfortunately, we may need his help to keep you safe. But there
will be consequences for what he has done,” Adam says. “It may take a while,
but I promise you he will pay.”

As I look up at Adam, I can see
murder in his eyes. And I’m not sure how I feel about it. Even though he
attacked me, it’s still Roland, there’s a history between us. But for the
moment, I say nothing more.

We go to my building, and as we
enter the elevator, Adam pauses. He gets a strange look on his face, and tilts
his head about like it’s a receiver, and he’s trying to tune in to something.
And it must be that I’ve been around the vampires too much, because I
immediately know what it means.

As we approach the door to my
apartment, I can feel his hand tighten around my shoulder.

“Brace yourself,” Adam says.

I tense up, because I know what I’m
about to see a second before I open the door. It swings wide, and Roland is
standing on the other side. He’s leaning up against the couch with his blonde
hair gelled back just a bit, perfectly coiffed. He wears a black jacket and
black jeans that show off his beefy thighs, and the expression on his face
makes it look like he owns the place.

I become almost dizzy at the
overwhelming power of his charisma. It’s scary, I want to go to him, despite
everything that he’s done to me, despite the fact that Adam is standing by my
side. But an image of him draining me to the brink of death comes into my mind,
and I take a deep breath, quickly remembering who I am. And how much what he’s
done disgusts me.

The effect of my expression isn’t
lost on him, and Roland seems remorseful. There’s a white paper bag on an end
table, and he lifts it, making a peace offering.

“I believe I owe you some Chinese.
It’s still warm.”

But his gesture is less than
amusing, and only makes me feel even more violated. I don’t even realize that
I’m backing away from him, until I bump into Adam.

“It all right,” Adam says.

“Actually, it’s not. I don’t want
him here,” I say, trying to sound like I actually mean it.

“I’m sorry to have broken into your
home,” Roland says, with utter calm. “But needless to say, I thought it was
best that we talk.”

I drop my new leather bag from my
shoulder, and ponder locking myself in the bedroom or leaving the apartment
altogether, since it’s obvious that Roland isn’t going to leave until he gets
what he wants. A part of me itches to run out into the streets and find the
Luminos who are watching me, just to escape him, but another part is fascinated
to hear what he has to say, and I’m not entirely sure it’s not part of his
influence over me, making me want to stay near him. But I fold my arms across
my chest and lean up against the wall to listen.

Adam seems ready to pounce, but
somehow controls himself.

“How long have you known?” Roland
says.

“We’ve only just met, several days
ago,” Adam tells him. “It’s been a little over a week.”

“You were a fool not to come to
me.”

Adam shrugs, and smiles with a hint
of sarcasm.

“It wasn’t exactly my first
thought,” he says. “But now that you know, the question is, what are we going
to do about it?”

Roland looks to me for a moment,
carefully considering his words.

“There are only a few options. You
could separate, pretend you’ve lost interest in Saga, now that I’ve given them
reason to believe she’s a fake. And then she will come with me to Paris,” he
says, turning to me. “We’ll pretend that I’ve found something appealing about
you when I drank of your essence. And I’ll try to get permission from the
Elders to change you.”

A vision of the three creepy elder
vampires pops into my mind, and sends a shiver down my spine. They’re the last
ones I want to run to for help.

“You are still a part of this
house. They will never supersede Marion’s authority.”

“I have reason to believe that they
will. But there is, of course, the other alternative.”

“What’s the alternative?” I say,
almost afraid.

“Kill Marion,” Roland says. “Then I
will resume my rightful command of this territory. I will pardon Adam, and you
will be allowed to choose which of us you want to make the transformation.”

And the madness of what they’re
saying snaps me out of any residual hold Roland might have, at least for the
moment.

It’s even worse than what I thought
he would say, which is that they would kill Bernard and find someone worth
changing to take his place.

“Are you insane? You can’t kill
Marion. It’s not safe.”

“It’s necessary,” Adam says. “She’s
what stands in the way of your survival.”

“We won’t kill her ourselves,”
Roland says. “We will arrange it, perhaps find a way to get the Luminos to do
it. Just as I had them break into the Florida tower, to provide a distraction.
To get closer to you, Meridian.”

The tiny hairs on the back of my
neck stand on edge, and I breathe deeply, trying to hold in my rage.

“You did that? You worked with the
Luminos to get at me?”

“We have been playing this game for
a very long time. I have ways to communicate with them, if need be, to
negotiate. We all do,” he says, looking to Adam.

Adam turns away, not returning the
gaze, and I can’t help but to wonder what kind of negotiations he’s made with
the Luminos, to what end.

I shake my head in frustration.
It’s sheer madness, what they’re planning, this conspiracy against Marion. And
it’s even more bizarre that I’m standing in the middle of my living room,
plotting with them. I’m a Human Resources secretary at a Fifth Avenue
advertising agency. How did my simple life become so convoluted?

“It’s not safe for you to try to
assassinate Marion,” I say. “If you’re found out, I can only imagine what
they’ll do to you. And I’m sure you’re the first one’s they’ll suspect.”

“It doesn’t matter, we don’t
matter, you do. And I am more than willing to take that risk,” Roland says.

“We can pull it off if we work
together,” Adam says. “And we’ll gladly do that for you.”

“Can’t we just go back to a simpler
plan? Like the one where we get Marion to change Bernard?”

“Do you think she would do it?
Could you make her?” Adam asks.

“No. Marion will never change
Bernard. I’ve asked her. It was never her intention to transform him. And even
if we killed him, she would hardly rush to find a replacement.”

Poor Bernard, I think, with his
eyes so full of hope. It seems so cruel, that she never wanted to change him,
and I can’t help but think that perhaps the vampire bite is what’s clouded his
judgment. But I also can’t worry about him now. It’s to late for Bernard, and I
have my own neck to save.

“Would she transform me?” I ask.
“We were friends once. Maybe a part of her still remembers.”

“She might,” Adam says. “But it’s
too great a risk to approach her. Marion is our leader, and it would break
vampire law to change one of the Luminos knowingly. After you and I were
transformed there was an … incident, and it’s just not done anymore. Even if
she would be willing to help you, she might be just as likely to put you to
death to avoid being torn from her throne.”

“Marion would not change you,
Meridian,” Roland says. “She’s too jealous. She remembers what it was like with
you at my side, how you helped us track down the Luminos. She would be too
afraid that I might reclaim the throne and make you my queen. Better we put an
end to her reign of terror.”

“This is crazy. It’s Marion we’re
talking about. She’s your friend.”

“But she’s a threat to you,” Adam
says. “She needs to be dealt with. And it’s her own fault, that she would put
her love of power over everything else. Don’t feel bad for her, Meridian. She’s
had a good run.”