"Be there in a second," she called, relieved that the otherworlder hadn't shouted for help. For his cooperation, she gave him a reward. Honesty. "My real name is Bride, yes."
"I can see how the guy at your door confused that with Amy," he said dryly. "I'm Nolan, by the way.”
“I know. I heard."
"Hurry up, damn it!" the super repeated, this time grudgingly rather than furious. "I don't got all day. I'm two seconds away from letting myself in, and it won't be against the rules 'cause you're so behind."
"I said I was coming!" Bride pushed to her feet, swayed. "Why didn't you scream the roof down while I was out?" she asked Nolan.
"And allow humans to stone me while I'm in this condition?" He snorted. "No, thanks."
"Just... be quiet while I deal with my super. Please. If you hadn't already guessed, I'm not human, but he thinks I am and I let him think it because he's more prejudiced than most. He'd rather shoot an otherworlder than look at one." She turned and forced one foot in front of the other, closing the distance between herself and Nolan's wallet. "Swear to God, he's a piece of shit who would trade his mother for a bean burger."
"Uh, you might want to dress before you greet him," Nolan said when she bent down. "And yeah, I'd guessed about the nonhuman thing. So what are you?"
"Alien," she lied.
"Like I said, I know."
As she stood, her gaze drifted along her body. She was pale, as always, and spotted with red where her skin had pressed into the concrete. Her nipples were hard.
Was that what Nolan saw when he looked at her? Was that what Devyn had seen when she'd stood before him? The real her? Or did they see the image she projected? Long ago, the ability to cloak herself with nondescript features had risen from the thorns and fire inside her, preventing people from picking her out of a crowd. She did it without thinking now; it was just a part of who she was, like breathing. But sometimes, as weak as she'd become this past month, she feared the shield was down and she simply couldn't sense it.
Cheeks heating, she grabbed the robe she'd draped over the couch just in case she'd been unable to walk to her room after imprisoning Nolan. Good thing. "Sorry for the show."
"Don't be. Back to my question. What kind of alien are you?"
Don't be. It was something Devyn would say, and it caused her heart to race. Surely she wasn't missing the bastard. "I'm the kind that's from another planet." No way she'd cop to vampire. Even otherworlders would fear bloodsuckers. How could they not? She was a parasite. "I'm a—" What sounded good? she wondered, peering at her feet "—concre ... sha. Concresha."
"Never heard of them."
Of course not. She'd just made it up. "Doesn't mean they don't exist.”
“Amy!"
Fully covered now, she walked to the door and pressed the code to open it a mere crack. Mr. Guise immediately tried to push his way inside.
He growled at her. "Open it wider and let me in, little girl."
"You don't need to come in to collect your money.”
“Well, I want to talk to you.”
“So talk."
After a moment's pause, he backed away. Even chuckled darkly. "I know you don't have no money, so I thought we could work off the debt another way, if you know what I mean."
She rolled her eyes. He'd been trying to get her into bed for a year. He was a balding, greasy perv. The perviness and the grease she could have overlooked, but not the comb-over. Or, to be honest, the stench of rot that always accompanied him.
But hungry as she was, even Guise was starting to look good. His pulse was slow but steady, a taste me beat. "No need for me to take one for the team." Her tongue was so swollen the words were slurred. "I can pay you properly." She hoped.
She flipped open Nolan's wallet and gasped. So much money. So ... pretty and green. It was more than she'd ever seen in one place.
"Just think about it," Guise said, reaching his pudgy fingers through the crack and sifting them through her hair. "You could spend your money on something like food or clothes."
"Tempting, but no." Her fingers shook as she thrust the bills at him. She kept her lashes fused, just in case her eyes were glowing again. Usually, she could control it. Only when she was reaching the starvation point did it happen automatically. "That should take care of the rest of the year."
He looked down at the wad of bills, then up at her, then the bills. "But... but..."
More satisfied than she'd been in a long time, even when she'd bested Devyn, she pressed the button to close the door in his stunned face, then jabbed her thumb against the ID to engage the lock she'd had installed—a lock Guise could not open at will. She was grinning widely as she turned and pressed her back into the metal.
"You're pretty when you smile," Nolan said weakly.
Her gaze shifted to him. Once, he'd probably been handsome. His bone structure was total perfection, his body tall and packed with just the right amount of muscle. But now, ashen and bruised as he was, he just looked pitiful. "Thank you, and thanks for the loan, by the way."
A choking sound bubbled from his throat. A laugh? "Please, you won't pay me back."
No, she wouldn't. She couldn't work during the day, her skin was too sensitive, and she couldn't hold a job at night since she needed to hunt. She had to steal what money she could. "Thanks for the gift, then."
"You're welcome." He sounded sincere.
"Listen," she said. "You seem like a nice guy despite the fact that you had AIR gunning for you. I want you to know that I don't plan, to hurt you."
His gaze locked with hers, grim but determined. "If you don't want to hurt me, you have to let me go."
Did she look stupid? "Do you have a terribly infectious disease?”
“Yes," he said, shocking her. She hadn't expected him to answer honestly.
"Then you understand that I can't let you loose on the streets." She rubbed a hand over her forehead and sighed. "I need to take a shower, but maybe we can talk afterward, okay? I'll tell you my plans for you.”
“I'd like that."
"I'll hurry." In her bedroom, Bride brushed her teeth, rushed through an enzyme shower, and quickly dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Took her ten minutes. Ten minutes she used to breathe deep and get her hunger under control. Finally she dragged a chair in front of Nolan's cage, her fangs retracted. He hadn't moved an inch. "I'm back. Now, before I tell you what's to be done with you, why don't you tell me why Devyn wants you?"
His eyes, once most likely a vibrant blue, were now dull and glazed with pain. "Do his plans affect yours?"
"Yes." If Devyn didn't want him as much as she suspected he did, she would have no use for him.
"At least you're honest." The shoulder not pressed into the cot lifted in a weak shrug. "Devyn wants me because I need sex, and I need sex because Devyn wants me."
O-kay. Great. That explained everything. "Let's try a different angle. Maybe break it down for me like I'm a five-year-old child."
"Nope. I answered you, whether you realize it or not. Now you have to answer something for me. Why did you take me from that alley?"
Easy enough. "Devyn has something I want. A few things, actually." And he would give them to her. First, he would take her to the women he'd bedded that day. Would do no good to go to the place he'd sexed them up. The scent was long gone, she was sure.
If neither of them was Aleaha, she would make him take her to everyone he'd been around that day. Then, he would tell her everything he knew about vampires. Maybe even introduce her to the ones he knew.
"And you plan to trade me for these things?" Nolan asked.
She played with the hem of her shirt, but didn't shrink from his gaze. "Yes. In a perfect world I would have captured him and put him in the cage, but this isn't a perfect world, and I had to make do with what I could." She was grumbling.
"Why didn't you? Lock him up, I mean?"
"Nope. Your turn to answer something. Did Devyn plan to kill you, or simply capture you?"
"I don't know. My guess is capture. My queen is on her way to this planet, and Devyn, along with the rest of AIR, is desperate to know when and where she'll arrive."
Then Devyn wanted him back for more reasons than she'd realized. Did life get any better than this? "Your disease—"
"Is deadly, yes. If that's what you planned to ask. AIR expects me to let it eat away at my body, destroying me. They don't understand that I just want to live. Like everyone else, I just want to live. And ... love." His voice dripped with sadness. "I've never fallen in love, and that's something everyone deserves a chance to experience."
"I've been alive a long, long time. Trust me, you're better off without the emotion. It just leads to hurt."
"Nevertheless."
Well, she'd warned him. That's all a girl could do. "Your turn to answer," he said. "Why didn't you just lock up Devyn?"
"Originally, that was my plan. That's why I erected the cage. But as I was watching him stalk you, I realized that if he can freeze me in place, he can also force me to move the way he wants, so he'd just have me unlock the cage, defeating the purpose of bringing him here. I didn't relish the idea of being at his mercy in my own home."
"Smart girl. So if you could lock him up without having to worry about his taking over your body,
would you let me go and lock him up in my place?"
She thought about it; she really did. Because, God, it was tempting. This guy could help her. Devyn hadn't been able to manipulate his body the way he'd done hers, and with Nolan's help, Devyn probably wouldn't be able to manipulate hers anymore. But in the end, she couldn't do it. Couldn't free this otherworlder, no matter the reason. By his own admission, he was infected with something dangerous and contagious, and she couldn't willingly unleash that upon the unsuspecting world. A girl needed to eat.
With the thought, her shoulders slumped. Why couldn't she eat like before? "No need to answer," he said with a sigh. "I can read the decision in your eyes."
Perceptive man. "So how'd you dodge those pyre-beams? I can do it, sure, but I've been doing it for a long time. Which also means I've seen a lot of aliens over the years. I've never seen one move like you. And yeah, I could still see you when you shed your color."
He regarded her intently for a moment, as though an internal battle was raging inside his mind. Finally, his shoulders lifted in another shrug. "Don't let my weak appearance fool you. The disease I told you about?
It's a being inside of me, a parasite that grows stronger while my health declines. It told me when and where to move."
A being that spoke to him? Poor guy needed a psychiatrist, she thought, then blinked. He'd dodged those beams, something she had already admitted she'd never seen another person do. And while he did appear near death, he didn't look crazy. "Did this being also help you absorb those stun rays rather than lose control of your body?"
Slowly he grinned and glided a trembling finger along the necklace he wore. "That was all me, baby."
That grin lit up his face and erased the grayish tint to his skin, offering a glimpse of the devilishly handsome man he'd been before. "How? The necklace?"
"Necklace?" He frowned in confusion. He must not have realized he'd been playing with it. "Oh. Nah. It's just a pretty decoration," he said. "But like I said, I'll tell you how I did it if you release me."
"Not gonna happen."
His jaw hardened. "Then this conversation is over."
"Fine. Have it your way." Sighing, she stood. "I have to leave for a little while, anyway."
Before she could face Devyn again, she had to feed. Keeping the entire meal down would be nice, as well, but miracles were few and far between nowadays. At least her desperate body would quickly absorb those first few sips of blood before the roller-coaster ride of nausea began.
There was a flash of panic in Nolan's eyes. "Where are you going?”
“My fridge is empty, and I need to grocery shop."
That's what her live-in boyfriend used to say. Thankfully Nolan didn't search the kitchen for said fridge. She didn't own one. Besides, her statement wasn't technically a lie. She needed food. "Do you like wine?"
"Yes."
"Then we'll share a toast before I go." She crossed the small space into the kitchen, cutting her palm with the razor in her shirtsleeve as she walked. She held tight to every precious drop until she pulled a glass from the cupboard. The moment she opened her fingers, a pool of blood trickled from her and lined the bottom. Too slowly for her peace of mind, the wound healed, flesh weaving back together and finally sealing shut.
"What are we toasting?"
"Devyn's downfall." She filled the rest of the glass with her most expensive red. The thought of drinking blood would be abhorrent to him, she knew. It was abhorrent to everyone but her. But he needed something—besides sex—to heal him, or he might not last out the day. Hopefully her blood would do the trick and not turn him into a vamp or kill him outright, as most movies and books claimed.
She'd never shared her blood with anyone for those very reasons. While she would enjoy having another vampire running around, hunting with her, drinking with her, Aleaha was the only person she'd ever loved enough to attempt it on—but she'd also loved the girl enough not to do so. Too risky. Guess she'd find out what happened to people who drank her blood when she returned.
