Мишель Роуэн - Tall, Dark & Fangsome

Like a recovering drug addict, I could recite the Serenity Prayer to myself when things got tough.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can—

And, uh… etcetera.

Obviously I’d have to memorize that at a later date.

I kept following Steven as the crowd dissipated, everyone heading for public transit or the surrounding parking lots. Or off to a restaurant or bar to recover from the audial onslaught. The CN Tower stood tall and grand next to us, reaching up to the sky like something really tall and pointy and iconic.

Funny. I’d never before noticed how very much it resembled one big-ass, tall, wooden stake. I shuddered at the thought.

The hum and buzz of the crowd faded away. The fresh air helped me concentrate on things other than the scent of humans.

Don’t you think it was surprisingly easy to find Steven? my nightwalker slid into my thoughts. A little too easy, maybe? Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?

I frowned. “Actually, now that you mention it…”

“This way.” Steven didn’t turn around as he jogged down a short flight of stairs and through a little snow-covered parkette lined with benches at the base of the stake-shaped landmark.

“I can’t believe I found you tonight,” I told the back of his moving head. “It’s amazing, really. I wished on a star… or rather an airplane… and then I just happened to be in front of the concert. Talk about fate.”

“It’s not fate,” Steven said. “I summoned you.”

I stopped walking for a second in shock and had to run a bit to catch up to him again.

“You summoned me? What are you talking about?”

“My new client wanted me to find you. So I sent out some of my magic to draw you here.

And, hey, it worked. Which is good, since I really don’t want to piss this guy off.”

I swallowed as Steven turned the corner leading to the street. “This client… what’s his name?”

“Mr. Chase,” he said simply. “You already know him, right? He said he found me because you came and saw me the other day and he was impressed with my magical abilities.

Dude’s paying me five Gs for tonight.”

“That’s why you found me? For the money?”

Steven cleared his throat. “Also, he’s got my mom somewhere, but he promises not to hurt her. And he let me come to the concert, so obviously he’s cool. Scary, but cool.”

The back door of a black Lincoln Navigator idling at the curb opened up and a tall man stepped out. He was dressed all in black and even had a black scarf around his now rescarred face. I could see the physical pain in his green eyes as he watched me approach.

“See, Sarah?” Gideon said. “I told you I’d find you.”

The nightwalker half of me was delighted to see him.

The rest of me hated surprises. I used to love them when they meant birthday parties and gifts and cake. Not so much anymore.

“Sorry for the scarf,” he said. “It’s a little overly dramatic, I know. But I happened to lose my wristwatch earlier this afternoon, didn’t I?”

“I’m glad you found me,” I said even though my voice sounded shaky. “I’ve been looking for you. I want to get this over with.”

“You do?” He seemed surprised by that. “I thought you might give me a hard time. I was certain your master vampire lover wouldn’t let you out of his sight anymore.”

“He didn’t. I basically ran away from home so I could find you.”

I couldn’t see the expression on his covered face but I got the impression he was smiling at that.

“Intriguing. I’d even say it was borderline romantic if I wasn’t sure that you’re not so happy with me anymore.”

I tensed. “It’s like you’re psychic, or something.”

“Do you still agree to sire me? Despite your newfound hate for me.”

“It’s not newfound.”

“Perhaps I can make it up to you.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

His eyes crinkled at the sides so I could tell he was smiling. “I did buy you a nightclub.”

“Right. Well, I’ll hold off writing my thank-you note for now, if that’s okay. At the moment, I really want to sink my fangs into your throat, Gideon. And I have a feeling you’re okay with that as well.” I looked at the car. “So let’s get going.”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm. But I can’t take any chances, I’m afraid. Pardon my taking a few precautions.”

“Precautions?” I repeated, but then I felt a painful sting. I looked down at my chest and pulled out the small garlic dart.

The stars flickered out as unconsciousness reached for me.

S arah, wake up!”

A familiar voice.

I slowly, grudgingly, opened my eyes. Coming back from a garlic-dart knock-out was never exactly a pleasant experience. It was like waking up with a hangover—headache from hell and general wooziness included at no extra charge.

I blinked a few times until a pretty face came into focus. Short blond hair. A cute red blouse I knew she’d recently purchased from Banana Republic.

“Amy.” I pushed myself into a sitting position.

“Holy cow!” She grinned at me. “I thought you’d never wake up.”

I blinked a few more times. “Where the hell are we?”

“Don’t know.”

I looked around. It was somewhere dark. There were a few candles lit, but otherwise there was no light. It smelled musty and old in there—other than the whiff I got of Amy’s strawberry-scented perfume.

I looked at her, searching for some sign she’d been abused. “Are you okay?”

“Other than being a bit claustrophobic, I’m just fine and dandy. How’s Barry?”

“Worried.”

She waved a hand. “He doesn’t have to be. Gideon is really nice, isn’t he? Very polite.”

Her grin widened. “And I think he might have a little weensy crush on somebody I know.”

She poked my shoulder. “And by that, I mean you! It’s like Romeo and Juliet. Only with more blood.”

I blinked at her. “Have you been dropping acid in here?”

“No.”

“Drinking buckets of moonshine?”

“Nope.”

I remembered what she’d told me on the phone that morning. “Gideon drugged you to keep you calm.”

“Oh, totally.” Her smile was lopsided. “I normally don’t like needles, but these ones are a-

okay. It’s all good, Sarah. No problem whatsoever. Life is fine and breezy and everything’s gonna be all right.”

A sedative. Terrific. I’d seen Amy freak out before. The last time had been when she’d found out that her best friend was a vampire. She’d run away from me screaming. But at the moment, she wasn’t in freak-out mode at all. She looked like she was on vacation.

Somewhere relaxing.

“Gideon’s really handsome,” she said. “With or without the scars.”

“Gideon is evil.”

She smiled. “He got those scars fighting a demon, Sarah. A demon. That’s total alpha romance hero right there—not a bad guy. Can you judge a book by its cover? I don’t know. What is evil, anyhow? Are we born that way or is it the choices we make? It’s so groovy just having the time to think about these things and turn them over and over in my head.” She sighed wistfully. “Maybe nobody’s really evil and nobody’s really good. We’re just sisters and brothers of the earth, whether we’re vampires or humans or hunters. We need to hug each other. Make love, not war.”

I blinked at her. “I think you’re definitely dropping acid.”

Her grin held, but her gaze moved down to my neck. “You’re not wearing your gold chain. Naughty, naughty!”

“Gideon broke it.”

“Really?” Her thin eyebrows went up in woozy wariness. “So are you going to bite me?”