Am I begging? Am I truly begging this oaf of a man not to leave me?
My mouth sours at how pathetic I sound.
Orlando’s shoulders loosen at my panic. “I’m leaving, and so are you. I don’t want you sleeping here if Nico has lost his mind. I packed you some things so you would be comfortable for a few days. However long it takes me to sort him out. I don’t want his lackeys coming for you after I lay down the law. Either he will learn the lesson, or Nico will double down on his anger and aim it at you. I can’t have that.” He lowers his chin, gearing up for vulnerability in the presence of my brother and Lucas. “You don’t want me to leave? You like having me in your space?”
I’ve already debased myself, so I don’t hold back now. I throw myself into his arms, not caring that I am clumsy and his arms are inept at holding a woman. “I do. Orlando, I love living with you. After this business with Nico is cleared up, you’ll come back here?”
I don’t know if Orlando is smiling, but his arms tighten around me, letting me know he likes this idea very much. “How about I don’t move out unless you tell me to go.”
I exhale into his barreled chest. “Thank you.”
Orlando’s hand rubs slowly up and down my back.
“Whoa,” Declan says, reminding me that we have an audience. “I don’t know what I just witnessed. What’s weirder: my sister begging a guy to stay, or Orlando acting like a man with feelings. Did I step into some alternate reality?”
The space between Orlando’s eyebrows puckers at the notion that he could be slowed down by anything so ordinary as feelings. “I don’t comment on your life. Best you don’t comment on mine.” His telling gaze shifts between Lucas and Declan, letting them know their secret relationship isn’t a secret to him. “You think I don’t do background checks and surveillance on anyone who comes sniffing around her? I look out for Colette. Take the help and be grateful.”
Declan looks away, nervously adjusting his collar. “I’m not ready to tell the sheriff or Fintan.”
Orlando snarls. “I don’t care about any of that. I care that Coco was attacked by one of my family members and no one thought to call me. I’m mated to her. The hierarchy of people who get to know when she’s hurt are me and then you. Got that?” He locks eyes with Lucas, whom I can tell wishes he was far away from this conversation. “That’s right. Now you know a secret about me, and I know one about you. I won’t tell anyone that you’ve taken up with the Kennedy boy, and you don’t say a word about Coco and I being mated. It was an accident. It doesn’t mean we’re in love. It means we’re family. And it means that when she’s hurt, I get the first phone call.”
Lucas runs his palm from his forehead to his chin. “Not a problem. I mean, I have loads of questions, but I’m guessing this isn’t the time for them.”
“Finally, we’re on the same page.”
Declan turns his head toward his boyfriend. “Lucas, you might need to let me fill you in on all of this in the morning. This is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.”
Lucas nods to Orlando, winks at me and kisses Declan before the two promise to call each other when the dust settles.
After Lucas leaves, Declan holds up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t think to call you, Orlando. I’m not sure I have your number anymore, man. Let me put it in my phone, okay?”
The two exchange phone numbers in the most awkward and borderline aggressive way I’ve ever seen two people do such a benign thing, but part of me feels more settled, now that we are a team.
Orlando releases me and taps the suitcase with the toe of his shoe. “I’ve got a place that Nico doesn’t know about. You can hide out there for a few days while I set him straight.”
I touch Orlando’s wrist. “Don’t hurt Nico, Orlando.”
Orlando rolls his eyes at what he assumes is my bleeding heart. “Don’t you dare try that with me. Nico busted up your face, so I get to go after his.”
I shake my head, but immediately regret the rapid movement. I grip the counter to keep myself upright while the world spins.
“We’re sitting down,” Declan insists, leading me to the nearest stool.
“You can’t hurt Nico,” I insist. “It won’t do anything. He doesn’t respond to aggression because he is aggressive. It only challenges him to be a bigger bully. You need to reason with him. Get him to see what we’re trying to build. Get him to want to help us, instead of just backing down because he’s afraid of getting his butt kicked.”
Orlando pinches the bridge of his nose. “Can’t I just bash his face in?”
A small chuckle escapes me. “Sorry. You’re going to have to do this the civil way. I have faith in you. You’re my big sweetie pie; you know that?”
I don’t expect Orlando’s neck to shrink at the cutesy nickname. I’ve called him that since I was a little girl and it only served to make him roll his eyes. Now he seems to like the syrupy affection. He is completely adorable like this, but I don’t mention it so as not to embarrass him further.
My head drops. “We can kiss the budget reform goodbye. This is hardly the press Governor Mason asked for.”
Declan’s nose scrunches. “Come again?”
I cast the barest of explanations to my brother. “Governor Mason agreed to push our budget reform proposal through if Nico and I pretended to be dating in public. She wanted the people to get used to the idea of a human caring deeply about a vampire, so there wouldn’t be as much uproar when the East End’s school budget was slashed to make more money for the West End children, and much of the East End’s public works budget was reallocated so the entire city was serviced fairly.”
Declan snorts. “Isn’t that just fantastic. Nico would never go for something like that.”
I motion to my face. “Clearly.”
Orlando stands straighter, as if needing to compensate since Declan witnessed his almost blush when I called him “my big sweetie pie”. “Let’s get going.”
Though I don’t know where he is leading me, I trust Orlando’s instincts. If he needs me hidden while he deals with Nico, then I am not going to make a big fuss about it. All I want is a nap and my pajamas. Since I won’t be getting the first of those things, I opt to change into fuzzy pink pajamas before we leave, so at least I can be comfortable while my face throbs.
We pick up my prescription on the way while the three of us drive in silence to the destination Orlando will not disclose aloud. He is driving his black sedan while Declan and I sit together in the back on the leather seats, trying to remain calm at my sudden change of address.
“You’re not trembling,” Declan remarks, pointing to my hand when Orlando pulls onto the freeway. “Normally you would be shaking after a day this eventful. Guess your medicine is doing its job.”
Orlando meets my eyes in the rearview mirror, and in that instant, I know why it is that my body is healing itself in ways it never could before.
My breath hitches. “It’s your blood, Orlando. Ever since I started drinking it every night, I am steadier on my feet.”
Declan sits up straighter. “Are you serious? Your doctor needs this information, Coco. If that’s true, that’s incredible!”
I frown at my brother. “No one can know that we’re mated. You two are in the mess, so you’re in on the secret. But no one else knows this sort of thing is even possible. Not my doctor, not the sheriff. Not anyone.”
Declan’s face pulls. “Not even Rome?”
I bristle at the name I have made perfectly clear I do not want to hear. “Mister Valentino wanted out, so that’s what he’s gotten. He doesn’t know a thing about it, and that’s how it should be.”
Declan shoots Orlando a look of pure worry. “I want to know this sort of thing. You want to be top of the list when my sister is hurt? Fine. I want to be top of the list when she’s having a medical epiphany.”
Orlando nods once. “Fair. Though, I didn’t know that was happening. I should have. Mated vampires live longer and tend to heal quicker, but all of that is hearsay. I’ve never actually met a mated couple. And we don’t have healthcare, so that’s not something we can say with documented confidence.”
The trees thicken the longer we drive. It’s been a while since I was surrounded on both sides by nature with no buildings in sight. Maybe I should be worried that Orlando turns off the freeway at an exit with no visible trace of civilization. Perhaps I should be concerned that he turns down an unmarked dirt road and pulls into what can only be described as a shack.
I trust Orlando, even if it means letting him hide me in an old, abandoned cabin in the woods.
“Wait,” Orlando bids us, his voice heavy with gravity. “I know how we can fix this with the governor. I know how we can get her to push our proposal through.” He swallows hard, his words coming out like molasses. “She wanted you to pretend to date a vampire. You can still do that.”
I have no idea what he could possibly suggest. “She seemed pretty specific, Orlando. It can’t just be any vampire; it has to be a Valentino. And I’ll be damned if either of your cousins volunteer for the job now.”
Orlando hangs his head, gripping the steering wheel like it’s someone who has personally offended his family’s name. “Nico and Rome aren’t the only Valentino men.”
Declan sucks in a quick gasp.
Orlando turns to face me. “I can do it. If our little lie can give the next generation a fighting chance with a proper education, then I can hold your hand and whatnot.”
My face pulls, which hurts and is wholly offensive, so I’m glad the darkness hides my initial reaction. “You’re a decade older than I am.”
“I hardly think that would be the part of the scandal people will be focusing on.” Orlando waves off the idea. “We don’t have to. It’s fine. Just a suggestion. No bad ideas in brainstorming, right?”
I swallow hard, considering his offer. It’s not the worst idea. In fact, it might be the only idea left.
Declan shoots me a look of warning. “Coco, no. This isn’t… You don’t have to… We’ll find another way.”
I gnaw on my lower lip and close my one good eye that isn’t already swollen shut. “Declan, get your phone out. You’re going to need to post a picture of this.”
Declan squinches his eyes shut and punches the seat between us. “You’re not a prop! You’re a person! Am I the only one who understands that?”
I reach over and squeeze my brother’s wrist. “Yes, you are. And it’s your job to remind me of that fact. But for now, this is what I need to do.” I force half a smile. “It’s fine. It’s a good idea, actually. I like spending time with Orlando rather than fighting with Nico. He already lives with me. This will work.”
Declan looks like he wants to tell me off, but he keeps his mouth shut as he jerks open the backdoor and switches seats with Orlando, who slides into the back beside me.
When Declan gets out his phone, Orlando nods. “Take the picture.”
“Of what? There’s like, two feet of space between you. That’s not a relationship, and neither of you look happy.” The overhead light illuminates Declan’s correct assessment. Neither of us can look at each other.
I can do better than this. I can fight harder for the vampire children’s education.
I scoot closer, tapping Orlando under his chin. “Lean in, like we’re two magnets that can’t pull away from each other.”
“That’s stupid.” Orlando’s lips purse at the notion. “That’s not what it’s like.”
My fingers twist in my lap. “I’m trying here, Orlando. Pretend you care about me.”
Orlando sighs heavily. “You know I care about you. I wouldn’t have moved in if I didn’t.”
That’s certainly news to me. “I thought you were doing it to protect the vampires. If I’m stolen, my blood is used to kill your people.”
His upper lip curls as if I have farted in his face. “You really think I don’t care about you? When I found you in that basement back when you were a teenager, it broke me. Who do you think made sure your house had top notch security? Who made you breakfast this morning? Maybe that’s not love or a relationship, but it’s caring. I care. I know how to do the caring thing.”
I snigger as he fumbles through his blustering. “Okay, then close your eyes. I can sell anything, even this.”
“Fine. I’m closing my eyes.” He squinches them tight like he is gearing up to take a punch in the gut.
“Not like that. Not like you’re about to walk into a horror movie. Close them like you’re about to drift off to sleep.”
Orlando relaxes his face while my brother watches on in dread. My big sweetie pie’s words come out quiet and only for me. “Your necklace. The one that Rome gave you that has a tracker on it.”
“Shh,” I scold him. “Don’t say his name to me.”
Orlando softens. “The necklace my cousin gave you that you took off and put in that box of stuff to give back to him? I put it in your overnight bag. If anything should happen… If I can’t reach you in time, you have to twist the thing and send the signal to him.”
I shake my head slowly. “He wouldn’t come. He left me.”
Orlando’s fingers trill slowly down my forearm. “He would come for you. If you run into trouble and I can’t get there in time, send the signal. Please, Coco.”
My mouth firms. “I would sooner die.”
I angle Orlando’s chin downward until his forehead presses to mine. The bruised side of my face is concealed from the camera, showcasing only the right side as my lashes flutter shut. I feather my fingers across Orlando’s cheek. Even though it’s a show, my stomach tightens at being close enough to a man to smell his aftershave.
Orlando’s breath catches, his mouth an inch from mine. He moves his hand to rest overtop mine, showing off his ring that all the Valentino men wear with their family’s crest emblazoned in the gold.
This morning that ring tore up my face. It was on Nico’s hand, granted, but the stalwart nature of the Valentino men runs like an electric current through their blood.
I am grateful Orlando is gentle with me.
My heart is confused and nervous. I shouldn’t be this close to Orlando. “Take the stinking picture, Declan.”
My brother snaps out of his disgust and takes several from different angles, directing the tilt of our chins so he can get the perfect shot. “I don’t want Orlando’s whole face. The ring is enough. That way when Rome comes back…”
I know what my brother is thinking. Orlando and Rome look similar enough that, with Orlando’s face partially obscured and the lighting dim enough, people will assume it is Rome in the backseat, making out with the Last Deadblood.
I should correct Declan, but I don’t. Mostly because it doesn’t matter at this point. It’s all fake. If I am supposedly dating Orlando or Rome, it doesn’t matter; neither scenarios are real.
Declan examines his phone. “Well, aren’t I quite the photographer? I almost believe you two are in love, looking at a few of these.”
Orlando and I pull away from each other, clearing our throats and trying to iron out the pink in our cheeks. “Great. Send it to all the news channels, post it on social media. Do everything to put that picture in front of people. I am not posing for another one until it’s absolutely necessary,” Orlando rules before he throws himself out of the car and stomps toward the rickety old cabin.
Declan helps me out of the car, shielding me from the wintry breeze. He lets me lean on him as we walk to the dilapidated front door. “Are you ready for this?” my brother asks me in a hushed voice, as if not wanting to wake the woods from their moonlit slumber.
Of course I’m not ready. No one is ever prepared to go into hiding, however dire the situation grows. But I place one foot in front of the other, forcing myself to accept that my life is about to take another unexpected turn.
I can only hope we survive all that Mayfield has broken in us, so the city we have fought for does not destroy us completely.
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Otherwise, Rome dies.