Chapter 21 #2
“How…?” I whisper, and when I look toward the window, I find Rook sitting in the chair I used to curl up in when I was a teenage girl sneak-reading my grandmother’s Harlequin romance novels.
He has a notepad and pen in his hand as he scribbles furiously at an inhuman speed. When he notices my open eyes, he freezes completely.
“How…how did we get here?” I ask. Last thing I knew, I’d fallen asleep in the hotel bed, my legs intertwined with his much larger ones after making love for the first time.
His smirk is smooth and cocky as he raises a shoulder. “There are a lot of things I’m capable of that are going to come as a shock to you at first. Some of them you learned yesterday. Some of them you learned this morning.”
“And what?” I snort. “You couldn’t, say, do the kidnapping this way, with your super sleuth-y voodoo vampire magic? Slide in while I was asleep on the couch, have us avoid the whole violent battle with three ominous men in my driveway, and wake me up with a coffee or something?”
He chuckles, and butterflies dance in my chest at the sound. It’s beautiful and so intrinsically satisfying. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.
“A fair point, and a far better plan than I executed myself,” he admits with a smile. “But you have to understand, before you were mine, I knew you were supposed to be. Fighting against it robbed me of every ounce of my finesse.”
“And why did you fight it?” I ask then, my voice soft. “If we’re so meant to be, why didn’t you just…flirt? Let it happen?”
Standing slowly, he sets his pad and pen to the side and walks to the bed to lean over me with his hands at my waist. His eyes are calm, but his lips are tight as he touches them to mine. “Get dressed,” he says cryptically instead of answering. “Some of this…is better heard from someone else.”
“Someone else? Someone else who?”
The question is barely out of my mouth before he’s out of the room, flashed down the hall in a blurred cloud of speed.
Annoyed and intrigued at once, I climb out of the bed, throw on the blue and yellow striped matching sweats he’s laid out at the foot of it, and make quick work of peeing and brushing my teeth before heading down the hall.
When I get to the kitchen, my grandmother and Rook are both sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for me. Even knowing we’re at her house, and that it makes sense for her to be here, the sight of the two of them sitting there so casually comes as a complete shock.
But the second Gammy sees me, she’s on her feet.
“Oh, baby.”
She crosses the room in two steps and pulls me into her arms, holding me so tight my breath catches. Her shoulders tremble, and when she presses her face into my hair, I feel the dampness of tears.
“I was so scared,” she whispers. “I tried to call you yesterday and this morning. You never answered. And I thought—”
“I’m here,” I murmur, clinging back just as hard. “I’m okay.”
She pulls back, cupping my face with both hands like she needs to see me whole to believe it.
Only then does her gaze slide to Rook. Something complicated crosses her expression—relief first, then fear, then something like resignation.
“So, Rook,” she says softly. “You think it’s time we tell her?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rook replies.
“Wait…you know Rook?” I ask, looking between them, still trying to catch up.
“Not until a few hours ago, sweetheart, no. But I’ve known of him—and of his kind—for quite some time.”
“Vampires,” I say on a whisper, and it’s so tragically comical, even Rook has to hide his smile.
My grandmother, though, she laughs outright.
“Yes, dear. Vampires.” She eyes me knowingly. “Now do you see why I’ve been trying to get you here so hard so we could have a talk?”
“This is what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Well, I wasn’t pulling your leg, sweetheart.” Gammy sighs and nods. “But hopefully, you can see now why I thought it best that we have this discussion in person.”
I snort. “I probably would have had you committed.”
“Mmhmm,” she hums before jerking her thumb at the coffeepot behind her. “Make yourself a cup and sit down. We still have quite a bit to talk about.”
I move to do as I’m told, but Rook is faster—obviously—jumping up from the table, pouring a cup, and mixing in cream and sugar for me before I can even make it to the counter.
He holds it out to me slowly, and I get up on my toes to touch my mouth to his, grateful that he had the foresight to bring me here. I’m biologically comfortable with him now—clearly—but hearing the kinds of things I can only imagine I’m about to is still so much better from a familiar face.
Escorting me to my seat, he pulls out the chair and waits for me to get comfortable before taking the one next to it this time.
I don’t miss Gammy’s subtle smile or the satisfied way she hides her face behind her own coffee mug when Rook asks, “You good?”
I nod. “As good as I’ll ever be when my grandmother’s getting ready to tell me alien ships are waiting in the ocean to take us to another planet, and when we get there, we’ll be the king and queen of the society.”
Rook smiles, and I shrug. “Am I close at least?”
“No.” He shakes his head softly. “But I’m thoroughly entertained, and that isn’t easy, so good job.”
“Thanks,” I say smugly, sucking in a sip of the most divine coffee I’ve ever tasted. Rook isn’t only as fast as the speed of light, strong as a superhero, and so capable of producing orgasms I’m still walking funny—he’s a regular barista too.
“All right, sugar, time to get down to the hard stuff. As you know now, we humans are far from the only thing in this big world. It makes sense that we’d think so—what with how self-centered we tend to be—but we’re not. Not even close. Rook, his brothers—”
“Holland and the rest of the Fighting Fangs,” Rook jumps in to supply.
Gammy nods. “They’re all vampires.”
I nod self-consciously, still feeling wild for believing it all. “Rook told me.”
“Well, what they didn’t tell you about, I’m told, is another group of vampires you haven’t met—the elites.”
I grimace. “Let me guess. Untouchable money. Untouchable power.”
“Untouchable because no one ever sees them. They don’t show up in headlines.
They don’t need names.” Gammy’s jaw tightens.
“This group of vampires doesn’t believe they’re obligated to follow rules or a code or any of the worldly order of any of the others, and as such, they take what they want without asking. ”
“What do they take?”
“Humans,” Rook growls. “Women. Like you.”
My eyes grow wide as they jump to Gammy, who’s nodding along slowly. She reaches out and grabs my free hand, and I put down my mug to sandwich her fingers with the other. “Women like me?”
“Our family is part of a royal group of humans, honeypie. A very powerful heritage known to Rook’s kind as the blood of the three.”
“Okay, yeah, I don’t like the sound of that at all.”
“Of course you don’t, baby. You’re a woman born of rebellious blood. Your mama—she was the same way.”
“What do you mean? Mom…Mom was part of this?” My voice shakes, and my lip quivers slightly.
“Think biologically, Ky,” Rook suggests softly, cupping my shoulder with his strong hand. “If you’re of royal blood, so was your mother.”
“But your daddy wasn’t, sugar,” Gammy explains. “He was human. A regular guy with a regular job and a sweet, sweet smile. And because she was in love, your mama thought she could buck the rules—go her own way. And they killed her for it.”
“So…you’re saying the same people—vampires—responsible for killing Mom…want me?” Gammy’s frown is all the answer I need. My whole body shakes as I admit, “Gammy, you’re scaring me.”
“Time to be scared is long past, baby doll. This is the time to be brave. To fight. It’s the only chance you have. Because as soon as Rook took you as his mate—as soon as he followed the universe’s plan instead of theirs—baby, he set off a war like you’ve never seen.”
“A war. Over me.”
“And well, well beyond. This isn’t a disagreement, honey. This is a clear line in the sand that these men—honorable men like Rook and his brothers—aren’t going to let the elites have their way anymore. And that’s why you need to stick by Rook’s side now. He’ll protect you. He’ll keep you safe.”
My stomach drops. “This is almost too much to wrap my mind around.” I look between Gammy and Rook.
“What does this mean for my life?” I shake my head back and forth.
“My job? Oh my God. Martin is probably freaking out that I wasn’t at work yesterday.
And he has a wife and kids and…and…and…” The more my mind races, the more my voice rises in discomfort.
“And Alyssa. I don’t want anything to happen to Alyssa. ”
“They’re safe,” Rook says. “I promise you, Kylie. They’re safe.”
“But you have to cut ties with them for now,” Gammy chimes in, and my chest grows tight with discomfort.
“Cut ties with them?” I question. “How the…I don’t even know—”
“I’ll handle it, dear,” Gammy says like it’s the simplest thing in the world to do.
“Gammy, you’re acting like it’s as easy as returning a horrible Christmas gift,” I retort.
“Alyssa is my best friend. And Martin, well, I honestly don’t know how he’s going to survive the rest of tax season if I just disappear.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already filed a missing persons report when I didn’t show up yesterday. ”
“Dear, I’ve already spoken to Martin. He thinks you’re ill.” Gammy walks over to wrap me up in a tight hug. “I know this is a lot,” she whispers into my ear. “But remember, Kylie, this isn’t just for you. It’s for them, too. This is how you keep everyone safe.”
Tears prick my eyes. “And what about you?”
“Oh, honey,” she says and squeezes me tighter. “I’ll always be in your life. Maybe a little differently than we’re used to for now, but I’ll always be here.”
I stay in Gammy’s arms for a long moment, but eventually, my mind starts to catch up with the seriousness of this situation.
“What does this mean for you, Rook?” I ask, meeting his steady gaze. “That you intervened?”
And for a second, I see him. Not the vampire or the fighter, but the man who chose me.
“It means they won’t let this go,” he says. “It means I stepped in front of something powerful.” A small sigh escapes his lungs. “It means they’ll come.”
A chill crawls up my spine. “Come for what?”
“For me.”
His eyes lock with mine, and I see no fear or hesitation there. But goodness, the room feels smaller. Hell, I’m certain the walls are starting to close in on me.
“They want me dead, Kylie.”
The word dead doesn’t echo; it settles permanently into my bones. My heart starts to pound so hard and fast inside my chest, I can hear it in my ears.
But we just got each other yesterday, I think, panic slipping through the bond before I can stop it.
I know, baby, he answers inside my head, his voice steady and sure and calm in a way that’s hard for me to understand.
And you are the best thing that’s ever fucking happened to me.
But taking you was the equivalent of signing my warrant, he continues.
Holland, his cronies, the elites behind them—they all want me dead.
His jaw tightens, but his gaze never wavers from mine. And his eyes show no ounce of fear.
But my entire body is quaking with fear.
Somewhere beyond the walls of Gammy’s house, some of the most powerful men in the world are deciding how to kill him.