A day after the hairdresser’s appointment, a knock on the door interrupted the sound from the TV and Luis debated for a moment whether he should answer it. If he didn’t, whoever it was would come in regardless, so he decided to open it. A key to the door would be nice, but he doubted Gerome would give him the chance to lock himself inside.
He got up from the bed, walked a couple of steps to the door, and opened it. Gerome stood there, his hand raised to knock again.
“Yes?” Luis asked.
“I’ve got your phone. The one you had with you when you arrived, so all your numbers should still be there. I bought you a new one as well because I thought you might like to switch.”
Luis stared at the small bag in Gerome’s hand.
“Thank you. I don’t need a new phone, but I’d like to have my old one back. I want to get in touch with my friends.”
“Please, the new one is a gift. I couldn’t help but notice how old yours is, so I figured you might enjoy a smartphone.” Gerome reached into the bag and pulled out a box. “Here. It’s yours. Take it. Please.”
“I don’t need it, but thanks.” Eager to get his hands on his old cell, Luis reached for the bag.
Gerome handed it to him with a strange expression on his face.
Luis didn’t know what else to say, so he simply took the bag and said, “Thank you.”
“Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be looking for your clothes in the meantime.”
“You what?” Luis looked up.
“I’m working on finding out where your clothes are stored. I think that’s the least I can do.”
“I—I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You don’t have to say anything. It’s okay.” Gerome smiled weakly and turned around, leaving Luis standing in the doorway.
Slowly, he went back into his room and closed the door behind him. Gerome was getting his clothes back for him! He’d promised earlier, but now it looked like he was trying to make it happen. The man had changed a lot in the last several days, and Luis still didn’t exactly know what to think about it. It’d been unpleasant, but as long as he’d been able to hate Gerome, he had a clear picture of his enemy. Now, not so much anymore.
Their little trip to the hairdresser had been nice, even though Luis hadn’t known how to react to the friendlier Gerome, so he’d blocked all approaches and had been prickly, even though the man had been nothing but pleasant.
Luis plugged in his phone and impatiently waited for it to charge enough to start. A few minutes later, after checking at least a hundred times, the screen finally went dark and then bright.
Thank the heavens, he could talk to his friends now and let them know where he’d gone. The screen lit up with incoming messages, stopping at three-hundred-seven. Holy hell. His friends worried a lot.
He opened the first few and read the texts quickly. At first, the tone was light, but they grew more and more worried with each one.
When he reached the one dated five months ago that said, “Where the fuck did you go? We’re worried,” he couldn’t take it anymore. He pressed the button to dial Albert.
His friend picked up on the second ring. “Luis? Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m—”
“Where the hell are you? We’ve been looking for you for ages!”
“It’s a long story, but I’m fine. I’m in Munich, mated to a vampire, but I’m okay now or, I’m getting there. I’m sorry I worried you so much.”
“You’re mated to a vampire? Your mother only told us you left but nothing more. We’re all worried sick. I’m so glad you’re okay. When are you coming back? You missed a lot of stuff, but I’m sure you can catch up.”
Luis choked up at the worry in his friend’s voice and the thoughts of his studies. “I won’t. Studying is forbidden, as is coming back. I’m living here now, but I might be able to visit you and Kevin.”
“Shit, the old laws. I totally forgot about them.”
“You know about them?”
“I’m a were-tiger, so yes. I know. My parents agreed to let me finish my studies and pick a mate for myself, so I didn’t think of it when you vanished, but it makes sense now. And you’re mated to a prince? That’s some tough stuff. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, and you don’t have to be sorry for it. It sucks, but Gerome is more or less okay. I don’t like him, but he isn’t violent or anything. And he does try to be nice to me. He’s the one who brought me my phone when I asked him about it.”
“Is he with you right now?”
“No, I’m alone. Why?”
“So he’s not monitoring your calls?”
Luis pulled away from his phone and stared at it. Monitor his calls? What the fuck?
He put it back to his ear. “No, I’m pretty sure he isn’t.”
“That’s good. Is he really treating you okay?”
“Yes, he is. I’ve learned that’s not the norm, but he does it anyway.”
“That’s good. I’m glad.” Albert paused, then said, “You don’t know how much I worried. I was close to going to the police until your mother told me you left, but you were fine. I had to believe her. The police wouldn’t have filled out a missing person report as long as your parents claimed you’re well.”
“I know. Thank you for caring so much.” Luis choked up again.
“Don’t talk about it. It’s okay. Can we stay in touch? Will you be reachable in the future?”
“I think so, yes. I don’t know if I can visit you anytime soon, but we can at least talk and message to stay in touch.”
“That sounds good. And now tell me everything from the beginning.”
Damn, he didn’t want to go there, but Albert wouldn’t rest until he knew all the gory details. Luis curled up on the bed and started talking.
****
An hour later, he assured Albert for the fifth time that he really was all right and disconnected the call. Talking to his friend had greatly lightened his mood, and he looked forward to talking to him more often. Maybe he could even talk Gerome into driving him to Nuremberg so he could visit his friends again.
He could also ask about getting a driver. Or better, he could talk to Gerome about driving lessons. The man had told him he had money, so paying for them shouldn’t be a problem.
Luis sat up straighter on the bed. Damn, he didn’t even have to ask for the lessons, but he might have to talk to Gerome about attending them. The last thing he wanted was to find himself kidnapped like Alex. Therefore, some protection wouldn’t hurt.
The thought didn’t sit well with him, but he realized he couldn’t get around it. Once he was sure there wasn’t a real threat, he might be able to run away, but right now, it would simply be too dangerous.
Dreams about running and hiding still haunted him, but lately, he’d realized what his future would contain if he did that. The fear of being caught, not only by Gerome but others as well would always be there. As a mate to the future king, he was valuable, but he doubted they would treat him well because of that. If he ran and got caught, no one would know where he’d been hidden. It could take forever until someone found and freed him. That didn’t sound so desirable.
And even if he managed to avoid kidnapping, what if Gerome caught him one day? He didn’t like the man, but he had found some peace here in the palace. Nobody bothered him. He had his phone, and soon, he’d have his clothes. Even though working wasn’t in his future, this was better than being on the run.
Luis picked up his phone again and started to delete the messages he’d gotten. Then he texted a couple of other colleagues telling them where he now lived. They weren’t close friends, but they’d contacted him, their messages speaking of their worry, so they deserved to know.
Albert would tell Kevin why he’d simply vanished, so he didn’t have to worry about calling him. He’d text him in a couple of hours, as soon as he finished deleting the rest of the messages. After that, he’d look at the new phone Gerome bought for him. He wouldn’t use it, but he could look at it. It seemed to be one of the newest, most expensive, currently available models, so he was curious.
It wouldn’t mean he accepted the gift from Gerome, however.