Of Blood and Smoke

Chapter 31

THIRTY-ONE

Della

Josiah’s event was the epitome of class. I could’ve sworn I’d seen some of the people in attendance on television or in a magazine. It was hard not feeling intimidated, but it didn’t take long to relax. I wouldn’t have been there if I didn’t belong and if anyone tried to say I didn’t or kick me out, well the two security guards Josiah had following me around would take care of that for me if not the man himself.

He’d tried to explain to me that there were different types of beings such as himself and the guards were one of them. They seemed human to me. I couldn’t detect any differences between them and say, Andy or Brett. It would have been easy if they had horns growing out of the top of their heads or wings sprouting from their backs but there was nothing. They looked like everybody else—just slightly more attractive than normal.

“Who are those guys Josiah and Micha are talking to?” Ashley asked me.

I tried to look but I couldn’t see clearly, there were a lot of people in the way. “I don’t know, probably industry people.”

Andy had his hand on her side and was rubbing her lightly. I couldn’t help but notice she stiffened a little. When I caught her eye, I tried to silently ask her what the deal was with that, but she quickly glanced away.

“I see someone. I’ll be back,” Andy said, dropping his arm and taking off.

“Don’t ask,” she said, as soon as he was out of earshot.

She was holding out on me. “C’mon. Something’s up.”

“Not really the time or the place, Della,” she said.

“Fine, whatever.”

Caving, she replied after a beat of silence. “Things have been rocky for a bit. He blames my job; I think we outgrew each other.” She took a sip of her drink. “It's not like we did anything to each other, it's not really like something bad happened, just one of those things.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you say anything?”

She looked sheepish. “Well, you’ve been kinda caught up in the boss...” She grinned. “You’ve been a bit...busy.”

She wasn’t wrong. “Okay, point taken. You can always talk to me, you know that.”

Ashley nodded. “I do. We’re still together though. I’m gonna get a refill. You want?”

“Sure, thanks.” She took my empty glass and strode away as quickly as she could, as fast as the tight hem of her dress would allow. I stifled a giggle at her penguin-walk.

Sudden movement out of the corner of my eye had me whipping my head away from my friend and toward the entry. A body lurched forward but the figure caught himself before he stumbled. A low murmur of alarm rose up as a few people gasped and quickly composed themselves.

Next thing I knew, Brett was tugging on my arm.

“What are you doing? What are you doing here?” I whisper-shouted at him.

He started pulling me to the side and the slippery heels of my new shoes forced me to go along with him. “Brett,” I hissed. “Stop.” I wrenched my arm back, but he grabbed it again.

“No, Della. I’m not going to just stand around and watch you do this to yourself.” He began dragging me down a corridor, forcing me nearly into a run.

We passed multiple doors, dodging wait staff here and there until we took a corner and were out of the line of sight of the main room.

“Brett! Stop.” I slapped him with my free hand, but he grabbed it and shoved me against the wall. “What do you want? You shouldn’t be here. Let go of me.”

Brett’s face was twisted into an angry scowl. “Everything I’ve done for you, everything we’ve been through, and you’re gonna shack up with that guy?”

I glanced away. “I told you I didn’t feel that way for you, I told you a hundred times. You’re the one who insisted on us still being friends.” I looked back up at him, wincing at the hurt in his eyes. I never meant to do that to him. “I didn’t want to hurt you, and you know that.”

“He’s going to kill you. You don’t know some of the stuff I know. I’ve seen... You know that guy, Vincent?” Brett laughed under his breath and shook his head. “You should meet Alexander.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who’s Alexander? I never met Vincent.”

I thought for a moment. “Wait, oh yeah, that was his house.” The house I almost burned down a few years back. Brett had assured me he took care of all that.

I’d paid him back as best I could, however I could. There was nothing I could do about Brett paying part of my dad’s care and everything else he’d done for me—I’d never asked for his help. At the time, I’d been so desperate I’d allowed it and honestly, I didn’t know if I’d have made it without assistance. But things had changed, and I could take care of myself.

Brett nodded. “Uh-huh. Vincent’s house. You knew that.” He grabbed my upper arm, his tightening grip bruising my skin.

“Ouch, let go,” I cried out, but he didn’t remove his hand. “What are you doing? Where are you taking me?”

“Away from these psychos until you see reason. Fuck your job.”

This was a side of Brett I’d never seen before. “This isn’t you, Brett. If you care about me at all, you won’t do this.”

He stopped and pushed me against the wall before he pressed against me. “It's because I care that I’m doing this. I love you Della, and I’ve warned you a hundred times.”

“This isn’t love. If you loved me, you wouldn’t be doing this. What are you going to do?” He must have some kind of plan; he wouldn’t have risked dragging me into the back if he didn’t have some type of master plan.

I heard the clink of metal and then felt the cool steel before I realized what he’d done. He’d handcuffed himself to me. “What the hell, get this off me. Now, Brett.”

He ignored me and held me by the chain between the bracelets and brought us further down the hallway. A set of doors sat at the end, and they opened. Dragging my heels did nothing but force me to roughly skate across the smooth floor. Every couple of feet, the bottom of my shoes caught on a seam in the linoleum of the service hallway. My wrists were turning red and beginning to burn.

“Please, stop. Please. You know I love you—just not like that,” I pleaded with him, starting to cry. This was a nightmare. I did care about Brett but the man who’d restrained me wasn’t the man I thought I knew.

He whirled around. “You’re so gullible. He’s just using you; you’re cattle to him. Pretty, innocent, cattle. That’s the only reason he wants you. You sit there in the office, available , and you have no one. You’re the perfect victim for a predator.”

“That’s...that’s not true.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Why do you think Christina hates you so much? You’re her replacement. She’s used up, dried out. Lost the appeal, so he moved on. She tells me everything.”

That couldn’t be true... Could it?

Brett’s chin dipped up and down. “Uh-huh. Making sense now, isn’t it. You’re putting the pieces together. I knew you were smarter than you look.”

I heard the rumble of an engine echoing in the narrow space between the buildings but all I could think about was Christina’s animosity toward me as soon as I was installed at Ipomoea. Josiah had never given me the impression he’d had a thing for her, but he was also discreet with his personal life. And I had no right to complain or be jealous of any woman that came before me.

We were just before the exit, and I was running out of time.

Brett halted before taking us through the opening. “Do you care about Ashley?” My back stiffened and my eyes snapped up. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to come willingly and not put up a fight if you care about your best friend.”

He held up his cellphone. “One call to Andy and,” he let go of my chain and snapped his fingers, “she’s done. Just like that.”

I heard a van door sliding open. “We’re going to Vincent’s and you’re going to stay there with me until you forget all about your boss. When you calm down, we’ll have fun, just hang out. I’ll get us take-out, we’ll watch movies. Just like old times.”

I still owed Vincent money. He was taking me right into the lion’s den. There would never be any way to pay him off, and I’d been a fool to hang out with Brett, no matter how nice he’d been. With everything else in my life being so hard, I’d taken the easy way out, spending time with Brett and getting laid in exchange. I’d mistakenly thought I was in charge of the situation by being his friend.

It’d been fun but I’d been lying to myself. It’d seemed harmless, it seemed like I’d have slept with him anyway. It’d been him, Ashley, and Andy for a long time, the four of us hanging out as friends, coupled-up. We had been friends, right?

It was real, wasn’t it? It never really felt like an obligation, except for the rare moments Brett had gotten jealous. But we’d always talked it out and he’d seemed okay, and everything would go back to normal. Even Ashley thought he was cool. My dad, too, thought Brett was great and that we were all one big happy family.

For God’s sake, Brett even visited my dad regularly.

When did Brett become such a psychopath?

Tears were streaming down my face as he helped me into the van. Two homeless-looking people sat on one end in the back, by the rear doors, clothed in rags or dirty sheets. I glanced at him and then back at the duo, and at him again. He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Those are wraiths,” he said. “Well-fed wraiths.”