I found myself over the man’s strong shoulder before I could answer. It happened so quickly that I felt a bit dizzy. He started away from the party before my shock could wear off. The corridor’s white walls flashed by as he moved so quickly I could barely catch my breath. My eyes snagged on my cello as he carried me away.
My cello.
I had a crack in my cello.
Get a grip, Thea! There were more important things to worry about than a freaking cello. Like the impossibly strong, unbelievably gorgeous brute that had thrown me over his shoulder and who appeared to be walking straight for the exit.
Was I just kidnapped? By a guy who believed in vampires?
Oh hell no. I was not going to let Mr. Crazy Pants drag me into his delusions, even if he was the hottest man I’d ever seen. If he thought he was saving me, maybe he’d let me go. Then I remembered the look on his face in the Green Room–a look that suggested he wanted to tear me limb from limb. I needed to get away from him. Now.
He slowed his pace enough for the world to stop spinning. I caught sight of the janitorial closet, the last door in the hall before the exit. I didn’t know what waited for me out there, but I decided to seize my chance before I found myself in the back of some van.
“Put me down,” I said as firmly as possible, annoyed that my voice shook a bit on the words. He ignored me. Balling my hands into fists, I beat at his back. Unfortunately, it was as effective as pounding a brick wall and hurt about as much. I wiggled in his grasp, trying to swing one foot toward his groin.
“Stop,” he growled.
I continued hammering at his back, but I thought better of kicking him in the balls. “Not…until…you…put…me…down.”
“Not until you’re safe.”
Fighting him was getting me nowhere. Reasoning with him seemed like a stretch. That only left one option. I released all the fear and panic I’d been bottling up since the moment I’d seen him staring murderously at me and let it spill out of me. “Please,” I begged. “Please let me go.”
He stopped in a shaft of moonlight streaming through the exit’s glass door. My heart sped up, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I craned around his broad shoulder to see that one more of his giant strides would carry me outside into the dark memorial garden. I couldn’t let him take me out there. I only needed him to let his guard down for a minute. But he didn’t lower me to my feet and his grip on me remained firm.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said in a strangled voice.
I went still, surprised by his obvious pain. My ragged fear ebbed a little, and I found myself scrambling to hold on to it. Because for some ridiculous reason, I no longer wanted him to put me down.
“Do you believe me?” he pressed.
I didn’t know how to answer. There was something dangerous about him. I could feel it: the edge of violence mixing darkly with the raw power he exuded. This couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be happening. I had to be dreaming or something. But maybe…maybe I’d imagined that hateful look. Maybe the vampire thing was a weird joke. Maybe it had been too long since a man had flirted with me, and I needed therapy.
“Well, you are kidnapping me.” I did my best to sound casual, but emotions churned inside me. Maybe he was a good kind of crazy, like tossing millions of dollars out of a plane crazy.
Or maybe his insanity was rubbing off on me.
Something was definitely messing with me, regardless. I should be screaming for help. I should feel completely terrified, but since he’d said he wouldn’t hurt me, my fears had been soothed.
I believed him.
At least, I believed the part about him not hurting me. The vampire bit? Nope.
Seconds ticked by and I waited for him to respond. Finally, he lowered me to my feet. My heels clicked sharply on the tiled floors, and I stared down the long, dark hallway to an open door. I knew I should run for that door and the people laughing and visiting inside. But could I make it? I glanced down at the chipped tile at my feet, knowing I’d have to lose my shoes to stand a chance of reaching the Green Room. He must have been thinking the same thing because his hands remained on my hips.
“Don’t run.” This time it sounded more like a request, not an order.
I raised an eyebrow, acutely aware that he was still touching me. I felt his strong hands digging into my hips, his massive frame hunched slightly to keep his hold on me.
“Please,” he added stiffly. His mouth tugged at the corners like he was resisting the urge to smile. It was that small, normal reaction that made up my mind.
“Okay,” I agreed slowly, “but I need to get back and tell the others. They’re probably wondering where I’m at.”
His shoulders squared, a silent battle waging across his handsome face. I studied him while he fought himself. Cast in the moon’s glow, his face remained half-shadowed, emphasizing his chiseled jawline and the slight hook of his nose. His eyes watched me with a wary intensity that stirred somewhere deep inside me. I couldn’t look away from him. He utterly captivated me.
So, if he was a serial killer, I was in serious trouble.
He cleared his throat and tore his gaze from me. “I will accompany you.”
“You don’t have to,” I said quickly, earning a sharp look that silenced me from making further protests. Maybe I shouldn’t provoke him. “On second thought, you do you.”
“I will do that,” he said, sounding confused. “Speaking of you and me, I’ve failed to introduce myself. My name is Julian Rousseaux, and I apologize for the strange introduction.”
Julian. That was the name the other man had used. It took me a second to realize he was waiting for me.
“Oh,” I yelped and stuck out my hand. “Thea. Thea Melbourne, and it’s okay about the weird introduction as long as you aren’t going to kidnap me.”
I really needed to cultivate a survival instinct. Usually, I knew how to handle myself. I lived in a major city. I knew how to recognize danger. But now I was acting like nothing had happened.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Thea.” My name was intoxicating on his lips. I could fall into its spell and let it take me over. Cool leather wrapped itself around my palm and broke the enchantment. Looking down, I found he was wearing gloves. But before I could ask about the strange choice, Julian lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. He seemed to linger for a moment, and I found myself feeling dizzy again. He released me and the sensation faded.
It was him. He was pressing all my buttons, and it was like he’d found settings I didn’t even know I had.
He stepped to the side and crooked his arm. “Thank you for allowing me to come with you.”
My mouth fell open. He frowned, and I snapped my lips together. Slipping my arm through his, I fell into step beside him. I relaxed as we started away from the exit and back toward the party. This was turning into the weirdest night ever. Still, maybe chivalry wasn’t dead, I thought, as we passed a collection of framed portraits hanging on the wall. I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around the last fifteen minutes, though.
“I will see to your cello,” he promised.
I glanced to its dark shape waiting a few dozen feet farther down the hall. “You don’t have to–”
“Of course, I do,” he cut me off. “I was responsible for its damage.”
“I’m sure it can be fixed,” I lied. It was possible it could be fixed, but I’d seen the crack. I doubted that even the most skilled luthier could fix that. I had waited tables for the entire summer before I started college to purchase it. It was the most expensive thing I owned. I had no hope of getting a seat on the orchestra without a full-size, professional cello, or even securing the Reed Fellowship. The realization splintered my heart. Everything I’d been working for was gone.
I looked up, nearly straining my neck in the process, to see his eyes narrowed and wary. At the same moment, we passed by a sconce and I glimpsed their bright blueness for the second time. My heart stuttered like the first time I’d found myself in his sights.
“If that is the case, I will see to it. If not, I will ensure a replacement,” he said, leaving no room for further argument.
This time I wasn’t going to be polite. He was right. He had caught me off guard and made me drop the cello. The least he could do was help me repair it.
“Your friend,” I said, still trying to hold his gaze, which was quite a feat considering he had to be well over six feet tall, “he was a little weird.”
“Giovanni Valente is not my friend,” he warned me, “and you should stay away from him.”
“I was being polite,” I said defensively. Actually, I hadn’t wanted to go with the man he claimed was a vampire. I felt like I had to.
“Being polite is an excellent way to get yourself killed,” he said as if he’d read my mind.
“You sound like a true-crime podcast.” I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t like I was going to climb into the back of his van or anything.” Nope, I’d nearly let Julian carry me off, though. This Valente guy had exercised an uneasy charm over me. Julian had just acted like I was a lost piece of luggage that he’d happened on. What was going on tonight?
“A true-crime what?” he asked, looking down at me with a curious expression.
“Really?” He couldn’t be serious, but the curiosity remained. “A true-crime podcast where they investigate old murders.”
He blinked before rearranging his face into disinterest. “I’ve been away…on business. I’ve missed a few things.”
“Where? 1999?” Everything about him was strange. He was missing a few pieces, and he swung wildly from insane caveman to perfect gentleman. But how had he never heard of podcasts?
“Is it on these things?” He pulled a cellphone from his pocket.
“Um…” How was I supposed to answer that? “Yes. You need an app.”
“An app,” he repeated. He grimaced at the phone like he didn’t trust it. “Would you call these things life-changing?”
“Phones?” I barely restrained a giggle. “Try living without one for a day.”
“I might.” He responded with a stiff smile. “I believe you needed the ladies’ room.”
Looking around, I realized he’d led me to it. “I did,” I said in confusion. I hadn’t told him that. He had been following me.
“I’ll wait out here and then return you to your peers.” He took a rigid stance next to the door, looking like a really beautiful statue of an ancient warrior. Except for he was wearing a tuxedo and alive.
I reached for the knob, casting one more look over my shoulder at him. He was still doing his impression of a bodyguard. Stepping into the bathroom, I waited for the door to close behind me and pressed my back to it, taking a deep breath. My life was busy. Hectic, even. But exciting? No. I wasn’t sure if that was the right word for what I felt pulsing inside me.
I hadn’t actually needed to use the toilet. That had been an excuse to get away from Giovanni. But, right now, sitting down for a minute seemed like an excellent idea. I took a few steps toward the stalls. Pushing open the first door, I gasped as I interrupted a man and a woman pressed against the side of the stall.
“Sorry!” I blurted out, whirling away, as something hit me. I turned my head back instinctively as I realized I recognized the strapless black gown puddling at the woman’s feet. “Carmen?”
Could tonight get any weirder? Maybe I needed to take a few days off. But she didn’t respond. The man she was with didn’t move either.
I took a step toward the door, averting my eyes from the kiss. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you two to…”
I was not about to finish that sentence. But before I could back out of the room, the man lifted his head to reveal two completely black eyes. Not a sliver of white iris was visible. A single red drop dripped from the side of his mouth. Carmen slumped into his arms like she was drunk.
I opened my mouth to scream, but he murmured, “Silence. Wait there until I’m finished with this one.”
My scream lodged in my throat and my body locked in place as if gravity had been turned to its highest setting. I couldn’t move my feet. I couldn’t lift my arms. It was as if I’d been frozen. I couldn’t call for help. I could only watch as he lowered his lips back to Carmen’s neck.
The only part of me I had any control over was my brain, but I could only think one word.
Vampire.
