Chapter Three

I pull my arms in close to my body, chilled from the breeze blowing in from the lake. It’s late May, but we’re still far from the balmy nights of summer. I fall in step with Lucas on the way to his car. Part of my brain is screaming that this is a terrible idea while another just wants to get this over with and let him feel like he’s paid me back and we’re even-steven.

Mostly, I’m just so damn curious. He’s ancient, how old exactly I can’t tell. I know just a few drops of his blood could seriously enhance some of my spells. Though I dare not ask—not yet, at least—because I know he’ll ask me for some in exchange. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say that there’s something alluring about him. Maybe it’s the danger. He could rip my throat out with his teeth in seconds. He could eviscerate the man walking several yards ahead of us before he even knew what was happening.

Getting in the car with him is a bad idea. I have faith in my powers, but I’ve had several drinks tonight. He’s dangerous, and I hate that I like it. Still…I can hold my own and it’s just one car ride. Then we can put this behind us, and I’ll never have to see his face again.

“I used to live here,” I muse, looking up at the tall buildings that line the surrounding street. “In Chicago, I mean.”

“You don’t anymore?”

“No, I live in Indiana now. Only about an hour and a half away, but far enough to be away from the city.”

He nods, not caring about anything I have to say. We walk a few more paces before he flicks his intense gaze to me again. “Why’d you come tonight? It wasn’t just to visit some hipster bar,” he says, throwing my words back at me.

“No, it wasn’t.” I leave it at that, and we wait at a crosswalk. “Have you been in the city long?”

“I suppose long for you.” He fishes keys out of his jacket pocket. “Eliza and I have been here since 1962.”

“Did you, uh, turn her?” I ask, taking a guess since she obeyed orders from him.

“Yes.”

“So are you two together?” I took a class on vampires back at the Academy, and I know the relationship between vampire sires and “offspring” are often sexual in nature.

“Not in the sense you’re thinking.”

“Interesting.”

“Strange how you’re so willing to kill vampires when you find us interesting,” he says as we cross the street.

“I didn’t kill that vampire back at the bar.” He was still alive—well, undead—when we left. Lucas told Eliza to do something with him on our way out, but I didn’t catch what she was to do.

He turns his head down, eyes piercing right into me. “You would have.”

“If necessary, yes. I would have.”

His lips pull up into a smirk and his eyes narrow, making him look devilish. “Now that I find interesting.”

“Do you kill interesting people too?” I spit and then wish I could take it back. I already know the answer, but I don’t want to hear it out loud. Not when I’m about to go on a car ride with this guy.

“If necessary, yes,” he says, again using my own words against me. We reach the other side of the street and turn down the sidewalk. Lucas is so tall that one of his strides is practically two of mine.

We keep walking and cross another street, not stopping until we’re two blocks away from my sister’s new house.

“Do you live here?” I ask, sweeping my eyes over the row of brick houses.

“Yes.” He opens the passenger side door of a classic Chevelle for me.

“If you so much as look at my neck, I’ll turn you into a frog,” I say, pulling the seatbelt across my lap.

Lucas slides into the driver’s seat and raises an eyebrow. “I’d like to see you try.” He flashes a cocky grin and turns the key. The loud engine of the car roars to life.

“Don’t test me. Because now I’m thinking frogs are too good and you’d make a really nice hairless rat.”

He laughs and presses his foot down on the gas, revving the engine.

“This thing is pretty cool,” I admit.

“Yes, it is.” He pulls out of his parking spot and immediately after, another car zooms in to take it. “I’ve been its only owner.”

“Perks to eternal living, right?”

He laughs, but unlike before, this laugh is genuine. His face takes on a different light, and the spark in his eyes makes him all the more handsome. I bite my lip and look out the window, watching the city pass us by. He makes a right-hand turn, and we pass by the street my sister now lives on. I close my eyes, finding it harder to repress childhood hauntings after the amount of alcohol I’ve had.

“My car is parked on this street,” I tell him. “It’s the white Jeep Grand Cherokee with Indiana plates.”

He nods, having already told me that he would have someone bring it to me in the morning. Neither of us speaks until we’re on the freeway, speeding toward the state line.

“I guess you don’t really need a seatbelt, do you?” I twist the strap of my purse through my fingers.

“Nope.”

Another mile passes and the silence is getting awkward. So I do what I do best and make it even more awkward. “So, you own a lot of property in Chicago?”

“Not just Chicago.”

“Oh, cool, cool. You’re like an undead investor?”

“Something like that.”

“What was your stance on vampires coming out?”

“I didn’t care either way. I’ve always done what I’ve wanted regardless.”

I drum my fingers on my thigh. “Oh, and me?” I go on since the conversation is one-sided anyway. He takes his eyes off the road for way too long as he studies me, yet still keeps us in the lane, all while going twenty miles over the speed limit.

“What did I think about vampires coming out? It didn’t really change anything for us witches. We’ve always known, which made it kind of funny to watch the nons freak out about having a vampire in the neighborhood. But it’s like, hello, they’ve been there all along. At least you know about it now.”

“Nons?”

“Non-magical people.”

He gives me a look like he’s trying to figure me out. And failing. My phone vibrates with a text from Kristy, asking about a potion we made from scratch a few months ago. The ingredients are written down in my Book of Shadows. I tell her I’m not home and she responds by saying it’s not urgent and she’ll look next time she’s over.

I put my phone back in my purse and rest my hands in my lap, fingers pointed toward Lucas. If he tries any funny business, I’ll hit him with a spell and send him flying out of the car so fast he won’t see it coming.

I rest my head back against the seat. My eyelids start to feel heavy, and I let them fall shut for just a moment. Only, that moment lasted a lot longer than a few seconds. I wake up to Lucas reaching over, slipping his hand into my purse.

“What the hell?” I snatch my purse back. “You’re trying to rob me?” He’ll be sadly disappointed.

“No, I’m trying to get your driver’s license for your address so I can take you home.”

“Oh. I, uh, guess that makes sense. Where are we?” The car isn’t moving, and bright light pours in the windows. Blinking, I look around, realizing we’re at a gas station. “Never mind. I recognize this place. We’re about twenty minutes from my house.” I unbuckle my seatbelt.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to pee.”

He purses his lips. “Humans are so needy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I dismiss him and get out of the car, blinking and trying to find my bearing. I dozed off for a while, but I’m still drunk. Yawning, I go into the gas station and go straight to the bathroom. I half expect Lucas to be long gone by the time I get back, but he’s still there, casually leaning against the car and looking all mysterious.

I grab a bottle of water and head to the counter. The door opens, causing the motion sensor to beep, and a man walks into the gas station. Immediately, something feels off and I turn, taking a look at the guy. He’s stocky, wearing dirty boots, faded jeans, and a t-shirt that used to be white at one point. We’re in a small farming town, and he fits right in and doesn’t look out of place. He heads to the back of the little store to pour himself some coffee.

I turn back to the cashier and a sharp, stabbing pain hits me right between the eyes. I wince and pitch forward. Everything echoes and my vision starts to go black. Blinking rapidly, I grip the edge of the counter and inhale, but as soon as I get a lungful of air, I start coughing.

Because I’m inhaling smoke. I whirl around, pain in my head increasing, and I’m not standing in the gas station anymore. I’m in a field, and a small crowd is gathered around a pyre. I can’t see the woman tied up, but I know.

She’s a witch and they’re burning her at the stake.

Then through the smoke, a man draws near. He twitches as he walks, and my heart races faster and faster as he appears. He’s wearing dark robes and has eyes as dark as ink.

“Like those before you, you’ll be next, half-breed,” he says and reaches for me. Long fingers clutch my wrist and he yanks me forward, toward the fire.

Then as suddenly as the vision came on, everything disappears. My purse is on the ground in front of me, and the man with the dirty boots is holding my hand.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m not a half breed,” I say out loud to myself. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

The guy looks behind me at the cashier and gives me a gentle tug. “Maybe you should sit down.”

“No, no, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” he insists.

I meet his eyes, and his face flashes back to the man in the vision. There was something about the way he looked at me, like he knew me. Like he’d been searching for me. Like it’d only be a matter of time before he got to me, and when he did, he would be prepared because they’d waited a long time to finally get me, to get revenge on…on someone.

Suddenly, the gas station door flies open and Lucas moves in at vamp speed. He extends his hand, shoving the guy in the dirty boots away from me, causing him to go flying back.

“The fuck?” I round on Lucas, eyes wide. “Why’d you do that?”

“I could hear your heart racing. You’re scared.”

“Not of him.” I sweep my hand out at the guy who’s pushing himself up off the floor. I get another flash of the man in the robes. His skin is burned and blistered, oozing thick, red blood. He’s wearing a pendant, with some symbol I’ve never seen before etched into the brass.

“Then what the hell is—”

“Wait,” I say, holding up my hand to silence Lucas. I tip my head to the side, narrowing my eyes as I think back, remembering the man walking toward me. The pendant was smeared with blood and something else…something more substantial. Flesh, maybe?

Letting out a breath, I pick up my purse and pull out a five-dollar bill, setting it on the counter.

“Keep the change,” I tell the cashier who’s thoroughly freaked out. Grabbing the water, I look up at Lucas. “Let’s go.”

*

“Shall I walk you in?” We’re parked in front of my house. Lucas opened the car door for me and is holding out his hand for me to take, which I ignore. I might be drunk, confused as hell on that vision, but I don’t need his help.

“In?” I raise my eyebrows. “Don’t you mean to my door?”

He shoots me a cocky grin. “Ah, so you’re not as drunk as I thought.”

“Pathetic,” I shoot. “Trying to take advantage of a drunk girl.”

“Trust me,” he says slowly, teeth flashing in the moonlight. “I never have to take advantage of anyone. They give in to me willingly. More than once…if they’re lucky.”

“Please.” I stumble getting out of the car and start towards my porch.

“Lovely little house you have.” Lucas watches me stagger and amusement shines in his dark eyes.

“Thanks.” I cast my eyes toward my century-old Italianate brick house. “I mean, what do you care?”

“I don’t, not really, but you’ve piqued my interest.” He zooms forward, and I throw out my hand, hitting him with a jolt of electricity.

“Will you stop it with the super speed? It’s annoying.”

He chuckles, looking down at his shoulder where I hit him with magic. “That hurts. I like it.”

“You’re messed up.” I shake my head, narrowing my eyes.

“I’ve been told.” He licks his lips and runs his eyes up and down my body again, pausing at my breasts. I’m wearing a low-cut top and a tight-as-fuck pushup bra. I cross my arms over my chest.

“And stop looking at me like that. Like you’re thinking about what I’d taste like.”

He drops his gaze lower, to right between my legs. “I was thinking about how your nipple would feel against my tongue, but now…now I do wonder what you’d taste like. And I’m not talking about your blood.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Am I?” He takes a step closer. “Don’t tell me you don’t think about it.”

I inhale, purposely making my breasts rise, and hold my breath for a few seconds. “I just so happen to know what I taste like. I’m not talking about my blood either.”

Lucas’s mouth opens only to close again. Then he smiles, and it’s a real smile again, though lust burns in his eyes. A vampire his age has had years—hundreds of them—to perfect sex. I’d expect him to be good, very, very fucking good at—

Stop it. Get it together, Callie.

My phone buzzes again, and assuming it’s Kristy again, I reach into my purse. But it’s not Kristy. It’s my brother.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I say, letting out a snort of laughter. I drop my phone back into my purse, and then grab it again, starting to seethe with anger. I don’t want to know what he said as much as I do.

But really, I don’t.

Dammit. I do.

“Do I want to ask?” Lucas shuffles closer, looking down at my phone. “Scott? Is he an ex-lover?”

“Gross. No.” I unlock my phone and let my finger hover over my texts. I open his text and read it.

Scott: Abigail said she saw you today and invited you to Penny’s party. You and I both know it’d be for the best if you mailed your gift. Penny doesn’t know you yet and it’s best we keep it that way.

“Fucking asswipe.” I grit my teeth.

“So, I’m guessing now’s not a good time for you to invite me in.”

I look up at Lucas, heart hammering. “You know what? Why the hell not?”