14

Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.

—Thomas Jefferson

 

Luke sat outside Cafe Sant’Eustachio and downed an espresso. The bitter, sugar-infused drink coated his throat and gave his system a jolt. Although admittedly, he did not need caffeine. His kind hardly slept and his nerves had been on edge all day. The chaotic shuffle of evening tourists throughout the piazza did nothing to soothe his anxiety. Most finished up their tours of the Pantheon and now searched for a hot meal.

He leaned back in the wrought iron chair and cradled his injured arm. Perhaps he’d reacted harshly with Savannah, but what could she have expected? It could have been much worse—for both of them. Her blood had burned him straight through skin and muscle. He brushed a hand over his wrapped wrist and forearm then winced at the soreness and stinging. It hurt like hell but comforted him. He must have a sadistic bone within him to enjoy the pain. In a strange sort of way, it made him feel human.

“Unusual choice of meeting place.” Lorenzo walked across the small piazza toward his table and pulled out a chair. “Is there a reason you dragged my ass to this caffeine-lovers’ paradise when I could have started the night in an alcohol-induced stupor at Blood Bar?”

“You do Blood Bar every night. Do you not grow tired of the crowd?”

“You forget I’m a marked vampire. Like a rat locked inside a damn cage,” he bit out, “I’m limited as to where I can play.”

“You play fine, considering.”

Lorenzo snarled. “What do you know of it? I’m sick of being a prisoner. Spent half my human life inside a four by six and I refuse do it again.”

He had a point. Luke knew nothing of Lorenzo’s past, nor had he ever cared enough to ask. It did not take a genius to realize Lorenzo was not a good individual—most vampires were not. Still, today was the first time Luke wondered if Lorenzo had reason to be so unhappy. “Did you spend time in prison?”

“A closet, as a child, but save your pity for someone who cares.”

“I have no pity for you,” Luke said. “I would be a fool to pity another vampire.” Besides, as a mortal, he too lived in life’s cage. A gilded cage, but one nonetheless. “And my interests today extend beyond tragedies of our pasts. I asked you to come here because I need your advice.”

“My advice? Now you have my attention.” Lorenzo dipped one blond brow mockingly, reclined in his chair and removed a cigarette from a silver box. “Does this have something to do with the woman?”

He had no reason to doubt Lorenzo. The other vampire had always cared for his best interests, befriending him when he had first become immortal. “It does.”

“I’m listening.” Lorenzo leaned forward and ran a hand through his blond hair.

“Have you ever heard of different kinds of blood?”

“What do you mean?”

Luke rolled up the right sleeve of his collared shirt. A white dressing covered his forearm. Two red lines bled through the underside. “I mean an extremely different kind of blood.”

“Was it your blood I scented?” Lorenzo’s lips tightened into a thin line, his gaze suddenly alert. “Take off the bandage,” he whispered.

With one tug, Luke tore and removed the binding. Two lines burned by Savannah’s blood still bled, scabbing in some areas. The skin around the cuts shone, pale.

Lorenzo sniffed the air. “Two distinct blood scents. Vampires don’t scab. How long ago did this happen?”

“This morning. Something is wrong.” He pulled more gauze out of a pocket and wrapped his arm before rolling his sleeve down to cover it. “Savannah’s blood did this. One minute I cleaned her cut and the next, my skin withered beneath intense heat. Felt like I had stood beneath midday sun. Almost burned straight through to the bone.”

“Incredible.” Lorenzo swallowed and smiled, his expression brightened. “Vampire killer.”

“I am hardly dead and you need not appear so gleeful. This is some pretty drastic stuff.”

“You don’t even know the half of it.” Lorenzo leaned closer. “I don’t know how much more proof you need. The Ancients must know about her. It has to be them pursuing you.”

Luke fisted a hand in his hair. Christ, if Lorenzo spoke the truth, he was in for far more trouble than he imagined. A vibration on his hip distracted him. Broderick called and he needed to talk to him, but now was not the time. He needed privacy. He turned back to Lorenzo. “Have you heard of anything like this before?”

“I only know one person who may know about this type of blood. Fuck, this ups the ante for sure.” Lorenzo’s expression took on a faraway look as he stood and paced.

“What do you mean, ups the ante?”

“What?” He paused, cleared his throat. “I mean as far as the Ancients’ motivation. Is she still in the dark about our existence?”

“Yes.” Across the piazza, two children chased each other around a pole, laughing as their mother tried to calm them. His phone vibrated again. Broderick’s name flashed across the screen. He declined the call. Between Lorenzo’s rambling and his own racing mind, he could not keep his thoughts straight. A man leaned against a building wall reading a newspaper, and yet Luke would have sworn he glanced their way every so often. Lorenzo’s hypothesizing made him paranoid.

“Fuck, you slept with her, didn’t you?” Lorenzo blew a long stream of smoke. “You told her what we are.”

“If I slept with her, that is my business. I have not told her anything, but I will not deny she suspects I am unusual.” Although after what happened this morning, she could not argue much in respect to his strangeness. She too was quite a mystery.

“Unusual. Quite the understatement of the century.” Lorenzo laughed. “Was she a good fuck?”

Liquid heat shot through his veins at Lorenzo’s jest. “You overstep your boundary.”

“I’ll assume it was good.” Lorenzo smiled. “What now?”

“Now I am here talking to you. You mentioned someone who will know about this blood. Who were you referring to?”

Lorenzo’s smile disappeared. “I can’t talk about my contact here.” He inclined closer. “Give me some time and I’ll contact you.”

“And until then?”

The man reading the newspaper now stared at them openly then folded the paper and walked away.

“Your only option is to lay low.” Lorenzo turned. “What is it you keep looking at?”

“Nothing. I thought I saw someone.”

Lorenzo rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll be in touch quickly, but sit tight and don’t do anything.”

“Like what?” Luke crossed his arms. “I cannot exactly feed off her.”

“No, but if the Ancients know she is a vampire killer, you can’t put her on a plane and send her back to Boston for safekeeping, either.”

Luke did not want to admit it but he was right. “I know.”

Lorenzo extinguished what remained of his cigarette and stood. “You know where to reach me if you need help.” He turned and left.

* * * *

“I’m coming.” Savannah slipped a robe on over wet skin and ran to the door. Who rang so insistently and why wasn’t Luke answering? “Hold on a sec.” Reaching the door, she twisted the lock and pulled it open a crack. “Yes, can I help you?”

A man stood there, gray-blue eyes widened as he combed over her with his gaze, pausing where she held her robe together with one hand. He cocked dark brows and smiled, leaned against the doorframe. “Son of a bitch. Man, am I glad to see you.”

Holding the door steady with her foot, she quickly tucked one flap of her robe beneath the other and double knotted the belt. “Excuse me?” She was pretty sure she’d have remembered meeting him. Despite his endearing smile, the air around him buzzed with a sort of barely restrained strength. He stood almost as tall as Luke, which put him at maybe six foot one. Broad shoulders. He could definitely take her, although it wasn’t as if she was thinking about challenging him. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“I don’t think I will excuse you.” He winked as if to soften his bold words. “And you’re right. We haven’t met, at least not in person. Are you going to let me in or stand there checking me out? Is Luke home?”

Heat rushed to the surface of her skin. Cheeky ass, but at least he knew Luke, or so he claimed. “I’m not sure.”

“About what? Letting me in or Luke being home?”

Both, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “Letting you in. Want to tell me what this is about?”

“I need to talk to Luke. I’m a friend.”

“You’re going to have to come back.”

The smile and humor disappeared from his face. “I don’t think so.”

She sucked in a breath, her stomach quivering from a sudden bout of anxiety.

“Shit, Savannah. Don’t look at me like I’m a freak. I’m not going to do anything to you, but it’s important I get ahold of Luke. I called him twice today and he hasn’t answered my calls.”

He knew her name. How the hell did he know her name? She bit her lip, considering her next move. Where was Luke? “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

“You don’t.” He leaned one hand against the door frame and hung his head then met her gaze. “Look, you’ve been through a lot these past couple years. An accident, physical therapy. This whole thing with Luke is some deep shit. I can help. I swear you can trust me.”

“How do you know so much about me?”

The man sighed and straightened. “Let me in and I’ll tell you what I know.”

Savannah held the door steady and blinked. He obviously knew Luke and for some reason, a lot about her. She could slam the door and get nowhere or take a risk and maybe learn more about Luke. A risk wasn’t likely, as she wasn’t up for another one of life’s cruel lessons. “Tell me how you know me then I’ll let you inside.”

“I’m an investigator. I did your background check before Luke took you on as a companion.”

Background check? She ducked her head and stared at the floor, giving herself time to digest his words. It made sense and considering Luke’s conservative nature, she shouldn’t be surprised. And yet she was. He hadn’t mentioned a detective. Biting her bottom lip, she moved away and let the door swing wide. “You try anything and so help me God, I will come back from the dead to make your life a miserable hell, capisce?”

He raised his hands in surrender and grinned. “Understood.” He walked into the kitchen and pulled out a mug from the cabinet then poured himself some milk, making it clear he had been in Luke’s home before. “How long has he been gone?”

Savannah shrugged and sat on one of the living room chairs. “Not sure.” She hadn’t seen him since she’d burned his skin some hours ago, but probably best to leave details unsaid. If she played friendly, perhaps she’d glean some information about Luke. “So did you discover anything interesting in your investigation of me?”

His gray blue eyes tracked her as she stood and filled a glass with water before sitting on the sofa again.

“You would know better than I, wouldn’t you?” he asked. She remained silent as he sat diagonally across from her. “Actually, digging into your past felt like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Every time I thought I headed down the right path, I’d hit another dead end.”

Time to roll her dice and see what she could get. “Are you like Luke?”

That had gotten his attention. Both hands around his mug, he sat back. “What do you know about Luke?”

“Enough. It wasn’t difficult, you know. He’s pretty secretive. At first, I thought him some kind of special agent but Monica at Blood Bar set me straight. You know her, don’t you? She’s the pretty blonde with fangs.”

“Wow.” He shook his head, and while the guy was pale to begin with, his skin blanched even further. He was buying her story. Now, if he’d just give an inch. He sipped the last of his milk, watching her. “Has he fed from you yet?” His gaze flicked to her neck, and she straightened her shoulders.

What could he possibly mean by fed? The mere thought was ludicrous and yet she’d been witness to everything. He never ate normal meals, slept all day, his skin had blistered the afternoon he’d found her in the alley. Of course, sunlight.

No way.

“Savannah?” Broderick pushed for an answer, but her mind remained too fogged to give him one. How much was myth and how much was truth? The crap about wooden stakes, garlic and crucifixes. Too insane, yet the main question resonating was not how vampires even existed, but whether she felt something true or had it been contrived as a critical piece of some expertly planned seduction?

“Shit.” He smoothed a hand through his hair and knotted it into a fist. “You didn’t know, did you?”

She pursed her lips slightly in an attempt to control any trembling. She’d asked for this, wanted the truth. And yet, she hated the weakness which shook her insides as a result. Crossing her arms, she lifted her chin. “I want a yes or no answer here. Was I meant to live past four weeks?”

* * * *

Luke climbed the stairs to his apartment, taking the menial task to digest everything Lorenzo said. Christ, what was he to do with Savannah? He had not seen her since the morning, but so much had changed in such a short time. Once again, Lorenzo had been proved right. Her seemingly potent blood made a trip back to Boston a suicide mission. He had been careless. His desire to eradicate greed had become an obsession, and it might cost an innocent woman her life. He rubbed his eyes. He could not allow Savannah to pay for his wrongs.

As he neared his door, the scent of another caught him off guard, and he tensed. Not fully vampire yet not completely human either. Broderick, the man he wanted to see. But why would Savannah open the door to a complete stranger?

Luke smoothed his hand over his throbbing arm and slipped a key into the lock. The fact his PI showed up in person versus calling him meant he probably knew about Savannah’s blood. Perhaps he’d come to explain why he’d sent him a victim whose blood could burn him to death.

“Luke.” Broderick stood diagonal to where Savannah sat on a sofa chair. She wore a white terry cloth robe that nearly matched the pallor of her skin. Her eyes grew wide and her lips trembled. He did not need to be Sherlock Holmes to understand something had happened.

He took off his lightweight coat and laid it on a table as he entered the living room. “Now, does this not look cozy?”

Broderick hung his head then met his gaze. “We need to talk.”

“I quite agree,” Luke said.

“She told me she knew.”

“You know better. You should have known better from the start.” Luke inhaled a deep breath. Even as an immortal he had never been able to completely shake the habit of breathing, but nothing eased the immense pressure building in his chest. Uncapping a decanter, he tilted the intricately detailed crystal and poured a glass of whiskey with as much composure as he could muster.

Broderick looked at Savannah then back at him. “I know I fucked up but I’ve a lot going on. It doesn’t excuse it though. For that I’m sorry.”

“No, it does not.” Turned away from Broderick, he ran a hand through his hair. He had not planned for Savannah to find out about him this way. He sensed her stand behind him. Her breaths were short and the sweet scent of her sweat mingled with that of the whiskey he sipped. “I will not hurt you.” He faced her. “I give you my word.”

Gaze fixed on him, she took a step back. “I knew you were different.”

“After what happened this morning, I believe we can say we are both different.”

Broderick frowned. “What happened this morning?”

Savannah bit out a sarcastic laugh. “I wasn’t planning on killing you. I’d say your different is a bit extreme, wouldn’t you? You’re a freaking vampire. A blood-sucking monster—”

“Savannah.” Broderick moved toward her.

“No.” Luke drank the last of his whiskey and set his glass on a marble side table. “She is right. Still, you should find solace in the fact that I cannot drink from you without risking death.”

“Shut up, Luke. She isn’t right.” Broderick looked at her. “You aren’t.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, and she shook her head. “How could you let me come to care for you?”

Luke tightened his hands into fists. “I tried to end it before it started. You did not want to hear I am not right for you.” The words pained him but they were necessary.

She nodded and wiped at her tears. “What now? Are you going to kill me? Is that why you brought me here?”

“Perhaps I originally intended to, yes.” His chest seized. “I did not know you.”

“So it’s okay?” She took another step back. “I won’t make it easy. I promise you.”

“You need not fear me.”

“You expect me to believe such a blatant lie after everything you told me?”

“If I wanted you dead, you would not have a chance to make it difficult. I admit I brought you to Rome as a victim, but I made a mistake.”

Sniffling, she lifted her chin. “I want to leave. I’d like to go back to Boston.”

Luke glanced at Broderick, who now leaned against the kitchen island with his head bowed. “It is not a simple situation,” Luke said. “You know I am a vampire. You saw what your blood did to my arm this morning.”

“Yes.” For the first time since he’d entered, her expression turned contrite. She averted her face. “It wasn’t on purpose. I don’t know what happened.”

“Nor I.”

Broderick lifted his head, met his gaze.

“That is why you are here,” Luke said. “You know something about her blood.”

Broderick rubbed the back of his neck. “I think we should discuss this privately.” He nodded at Savannah. “She’s received enough shocks for one night.”

“Don’t even try to protect me.” She crossed her arms.

“When were you going to tell me the truth about her?” Luke asked.

“I didn’t know.” Broderick lifted his hands. “I swear. I’m still not sure about everything. I only have hypotheses.”

“It is your job to know. I pay you to know.”

“I told you I had other concerns.” Broderick sighed. “This may take a bit.”

“I have time,” said Luke.

“You mentioned her blood and your arm.” The investigator glanced at Savannah then back at him. “What did you mean?”

Rolling his sleeve up, Luke walked forward and lifted his bandage. Blood seeped from the jagged cuts on his arm.

“Shit,” Broderick muttered under his breath. “This is bad.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Savannah rubbed her face. “And I truly did feel miserable about it until I discovered you wanted to kill me.”

“This is my fault.” Broderick bent his head then looked at her. “Your ex did a damn good job of covering up what happened in your accident. When you answered the ad and I investigated you, you fit the bill perfectly. A snooty gold digger who got burned by an up-and-coming lawyer.”

“I see,” she said.

But Luke could sense she did not. He could feel her sadness and ached to pull her into his arms. She would never accept a monster. He turned to Broderick. “We have had a trail for the past few days. Do you think the Ancients know about her?”

“Who are the Ancients?” Savannah asked.

“They are law in vampire society,” Broderick replied. “You can think of them as the rulers of our world, if you like. Whatever they say goes. If they want something, it’s theirs.”

“Wait a minute. Are you telling me someone’s after us because of my blood? Ridiculous.”

Luke cocked a brow. “Is it? What do you think vampires drink? Or did Broderick’s history lesson omit minor details about our oh-so-desirable traits?”

She narrowed her emerald gaze. “Still doesn’t make any sense. If my blood burns vampires, they wouldn’t want to drink it. It might kill them.”

Luke sighed. “Exactly, which makes you either a powerful weapon or a dangerous adversary. Vampires do not play games, Savannah. And it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out the possibilities with blood that kills.”

A knock interrupted their conversation and Luke turned toward the door. The scent of their caller was human, which surprised him as he rarely had visitors, let alone human ones. “This conversation is not finished. I will be just a moment,” he said, walking through to the foyer.

Their caller was plain of face and dress. Veins in his neck pulsed and a couple drops of blood stained his collar. Someone recently had fed from him. He was a blood slave. The male dipped a hand into his jacket pocket, removing a small black card. “I received a message to give you this.” He held up the card. “It’s for tonight.”

Luke accepted the card. One side had two moons, a white one and a red one. The white moon bled several drops of red. He turned it over and read an address. “The Palantine Hill ruins?”

The man nodded. “Yes, sir. The entrance to the underground tunnels is through the ruins. You won’t be the only ones there. Follow the crowd through an entrance on Via Fori Imperiali. Arrive around nine tonight.”

“What is this for?”

“A blood auction. I am sure you have heard of them. Both your and the woman’s presence are requested.”

“Who made such a request?” Luke asked.

“I could not say. I was not provided this information.” The human’s heartbeat remained even, his eyes trained on Luke. He spoke the truth. Was this Lorenzo’s way of reaching him?

“Fine. I presume dress is formal?”

“Of course.” The man smiled. “Tonight’s theme is a masquerade.”

“Goodnight.” Luke shut the door.

“What did he want?” Savannah stood behind him as he turned around. Her chin lifted in her stubborn way. He could sense her emotional turmoil. Her expression was one of bravado and yet the pulse in her neck beat rapidly. She bit her lip when it trembled beyond her control.

“Our presence is requested tonight.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“I am afraid we do not have a choice.”

She bent her head, averted her eyes. “I don’t want to be a part of this anymore. I want to go back home,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Home no longer exists for you.” He moved closer then turned away because it was easier to remain stern when he did not have to face the fear in her eyes. Coward. “Do you understand me? There is no going back. Not if you want any chance at a real life.”

“I understand you. Doesn’t mean I like it.”