Chapter 23 #2
“Max works on Wednesdays.” I paste a reassuring smile onto my face. “Don’t reschedule your meeting—I’ll be fine. I’ll just rub garlic all over my neck.”
“Any vegetable or fruit would be sufficient.” Cassian smirks.
“How do I know you’re not going to kill me the minute Noah leaves?” I ask the vampire bluntly.
Cassian looks at Noah. “Do you trust me?”
Noah works his jaw. “I’ll just quit NIHA.”
“You’re not quitting.” Cassian rolls his eyes. “Piper is safe with me, and you know it.”
Noah levels Cassian with a hard stare. “If you bite her, I swear I’ll kill you.”
“If I bite her, I’ll stand for the stake.”
Cassian says it like a solemn vow.
Noah contemplates him a few minutes longer, and then he turns back to the sizzling skillet. “Okay.”
“Why can’t I just go with you?” I ask Noah.
“Because the first meeting is full of private information,” Cassian says. “A conservator needs to build trust with his pre-vamp.”
Sighing, I pour my abandoned smoothie into a glass and then realize I forgot the blood. As if sensing it, Cassian opens the fridge, turns his nose up at the produce, and fetches the open prescription bottle.
“Thanks,” I say. “How’d you know I needed it?”
“I didn’t smell it.”
“At what stage does your sense of smell become sharp? I swear I’m noticing things I didn’t before.”
“You begin to pick up things at a greater distance in the first stage,” Cassian answers. “Second stage, a little more. But the final stage is when the sense becomes highly acute.”
“That must be annoying. I’m assuming it’s not only good smells you notice.”
“You get used to it,” Cassian says.
Noah looks over like he wants to say something, but he turns back to the steak. Satisfied it’s done, he transfers it to a plate, chooses a knife and fork from the silverware drawer, and sits next to me at the counter.
“You forgot to cook that,” I say.
“Steak is best rare,” Noah answers. “Have you ever watched a cooking competition on TV?”
“No.”
“This is how they prepare it.”
“Suit yourself.”
Cassian stands across the counter, frowning at us.
“What?” I ask him.
“Nothing.” He turns away, cleaning up the mess I made while making the smoothie.
Noah eats in silence, brooding. When he’s finished, he rises, rinses his plate and utensils, and then moves them to the dishwasher.
Both men are tidy houseguests.
When Noah can stall no longer, he looks at the clock on the microwave. “I need to get going. Colin lives in New Castle.”
He pauses in front of me, almost like he’s going to kiss me goodbye. I swallow, looking up at him.
“Don’t leave the house, okay?” he says.
“Maybe you should put a tracker on me.”
A smile tugs at his lips, and he leans close, dropping his voice. “Maybe I already did.”
When my eyebrows shoot up, he chuckles. “I sent you a request to join my family group. Check your phone.”
“Oh.”
Family group.
I pull my phone from my back pocket and see another text from Max.
Max: She’s not at work.
“You’re being needy this morning,” I mutter after I read the text.
Piper: Why do you need to get a hold of her so badly?
I close the messaging app and bring up the notifications. Noah uses the same location-sharing app as my grandparents. They added all of us to a family group before they left on their RV adventure, just in case they go missing and someone needs to track them down.
Noah York has invited you to join his family group. Accept his request?
My heart lurches a little when I read the notification, but I quickly reprimand it.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, Piper.
I click accept, and then there we are—two little circles on a map. Just Noah and me.
I show him my phone screen. “One flaw in your plan—I can keep track of you, too.”
“I’m okay with that,” he says.
“Yeah?” I ask, feeling squishy.
A smile flickers across his stupidly handsome face. “Yeah.”
He’s supposed to kiss me now. I can feel it. He can feel it. Even the vampire watching us like we’re a daytime soap can feel it.
But instead, Noah clears his throat. “I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?”
“Okay.”
He stares at me for a few more seconds, his eyes lingering on my face, and then nods once and leaves the kitchen. I trail after him, waving at him from the front door as he gets in his SUV and rolls away.
“Let’s not leave the door open,” Cassian says, tugging me into the house. “You’ll invite vampires in.”
I cross my arms and study him, disconcerted. On some level, Noah obviously trusts him a little, or he wouldn’t have left us alone.
“One already got in,” I say petulantly.
That only delights Cassian. His dark eyes light with good humor, and he flips the lock. “You fell in love with your conservator, didn’t you?”
I roll my eyes.
“Ah, it’s a tale as old as time,” he says, following me into the kitchen.
“Pre-vamps often fall for their conservators?”
“No, women often fall for Noah.”
I give him a sharp look over my shoulder.
“But that’s not what I find curious,” he says.
“You might as well tell me instead of dragging it out.”
“I think Noah likes you, too.”
I check the blood, deciding it’s the right consistency, and then I stir a little into the smoothie. “I thought so, too.”
I can feel Cassian’s gaze, but I ignore it. “You thought so?”
“I barely know you, and you’re Noah’s frenemy. I’m not gossiping about him with you.”
Cassian chuckles. “Frenemy. Language is such an interesting thing, isn’t it? We didn’t have such a useful word when I first came to America.”
“What did you do that made him so angry?”
“That’s not my story to tell, and I thought we weren’t going to spill the tea?”
“Don’t.” I turn back to him, cringing. “It’s weird when parents use slang. It’s weirder when ancient vampires do it.”
He smiles. “You think I’m sus, don’t you? I haven’t swayed you with my rizz?”
I laugh despite myself, but only because it’s painful.
Cassian crosses his arms, proud of himself. “Let’s talk about you instead. Tell me more about Ethan.”
My phone vibrates with another text just as I’m taking my first sip of the smoothie. “Good grief, Max. Needy much?”
Max: She asked to meet for coffee this morning, but she never showed up.
I read Max’s text twice. Olivia would never, not in a million years, leave Max hanging.
Just as I’m prepping to call her, another text comes in. This time, it’s a photo.
I draw in a sharp breath when I see Ethan posing in a selfie next to Olivia.
A text soon follows it.
Ethan: Your friend is delightful, but I prefer your company. Why don’t you join us?