Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
APRIL
After Sebastian and Marcus leave, the air in the apartment feels lighter somehow.
When Sebastian is around, everything around him buzzes with energy, reacting to him like metal shavings respond to a magnet.
With just Andrei present, I can finally breathe.
The blonde vampire is slouched in one of the chairs, subtly watching me from the corner of his eye.
I know this only because he turns his full focus on me every time I shift in my seat.
“You know that I am right.” Testing his patience, I can’t keep quiet for long.
When he just considers me mutely, a sigh is wrenched from my chest. “The Council is not letting this go, Andrei. I know because I made it my life mission to not fall into their hands. No runner has stayed alive longer than a few hours when they are aware of their existence. I don’t want to die.
” A lump forms in my throat while blinking away the tears that are threatening to roll down my cheeks.
He keeps searching my face for something that only makes sense to him.
Jaw clenched tightly, his penetrating blue gaze makes me uncomfortable.
When long moments are past, and he just keeps staring, I wonder if he even sees me.
When Sebastian was telling me his story, the reverence in his voice was something I’ve never heard before.
It reminded me of how I felt when I used to talk about my mother.
She was my hero, someone that I looked up to and loved more than anything, even after she left with just one fleeting glance over her shoulder.
These men, monsters, vampires, whatever you want to call them, have gone to great lengths based on a story.
It matters nothing to them if it’s me or the mutt that follows me around, as long as they believe it’s their queen.
Sebastian mentioned something about my blood calling to him.
Apparently, that’s how they found me. With that comes the memory of his own flowing through my throat.
My stomach does an involuntary lurch, my body trembling in contrast. Disgusted at myself, I rub my hands over my arms in sharp, jerky strokes.
Goosebumps prickle my skin when the rich, sweet flavor blooms again on my taste buds, unbidden.
“You still don’t believe what Sebastian told you to be true.” Andrei’s voice makes my heart skip a beat. I was stewing in guilt and disgust at my reaction to the master vampire.
And that’s what he was. A master.
“I’m no one to tell any of you what to believe, Andrei.
My own beliefs are based on facts, what I have seen with my own eyes.
Not on some fantastical story about people being cursed or reborn.
” Shaking my head, I curl into a ball, stretching the fabric of the t-shirt to its limits with my knees.
“All I know is that if I don’t get out of here, I’m going to die.
Regardless of all your promises that no one will hurt me.
Your protection, from what I understand of that story, comes with a price.
” The damn tears well up again and I swipe at my eyes angrily.
“That price is my life, no matter how you look at it.”
“He spoke the truth.” Andrei’s eyes soften. “With you so close to me now, I can feel the pull of your blood through my bond with Sebastian. It is you we’ve been searching for all this time, April. I swear it on my immortal life.”
“Yeah, you were searching for me just like the Council. The motivation behind it doesn’t change the fact that you will kill me at the end.” Failing to keep the bitterness out of my voice, I look through the broken window opposite my sofa.
“You don’t understand.” I see him shaking his head in my peripheral sight. “The pull we feel…I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s like an urge. And it’s not to harm you or kill you as you say it. It’s to protect you, keep you safe.”
My entire body freezes at those softly spoken words.
The vampire accidentally gave me the leverage I need.
If what he says is true, I can exploit that weakness to get the hell out of here.
I just need time to think. Mind whirling with options, coming up with ideas and dismissing them just as fast, I don’t look his way.
Staying as calm as I can force myself, I do my best to make sure he doesn’t notice the sudden change in me.
His phone starts ringing, and I spring from the sofa, head whipping around looking for the threat.
“It’s just my phone.” Lifting it up to show me, Andrei presses a button, placing it to his ear slowly as if not to spook me more. “Sire.”
He listens intently, squinting at something that Sebastian says on the other side. I can hear the master vampire booming over the speaker. Unfortunately, my reaction to the sound of the phone ringing sent me further away from him than I should’ve been. I can’t understand a word that he says.
“You wanted to show your respect to the Council, Sire.” Andrei is staring at the plush rug at our feet.
When the reply comes from the other side of the line, his posture changes.
Squaring his shoulders, Andrei glances at me quickly.
If I weren’t so intent on trying to catch a word from Sebastian, I would’ve missed it.
My nerves prickle when the line goes dead, and Andrei lifts himself off the chair.
“We have work to do.”
Snatching me by the arm, he leads me back to Sebastian’s bedroom.
There is no point in struggling, he is much stronger and faster than me.
I follow him mutely, wondering what turned him from a soft-spoken guy to a drill Sargent.
He marches me inside the room, depositing me on the bed.
My butt bounces on the soft mattress, and I scoot away from him.
“Stay there!” Eyebrows scrunched up, he gets on his phone again.
Whoever he is calling picks up instantly.
“I need feeders. Five or six, all female. And I need a dress for a petite woman, something the feeders would wear.” My chest feels tight when I hear those words.
He doesn’t look away from me. “I need them all here within fifteen minutes, and they all need to be dark-haired, petite. No blondes or redheads, no large breasts or big curves, am I clear?”
“Andrei…” I have no idea what is going on, but I really, really don’t like the sound of those words. Dread pools like lead in my stomach. He obviously ignores me, listening to the person on the phone.
“I need to explain nothing to you! We are Italian, we like our women dark haired. They better be here before the time is up or I will personally pay you a visit.”
He ends the conversation while the person on the other side is still talking.
Swallowing the lump that lodged in my throat, I blink at him stupidly.
What the hell happened, and why is he looking at me with anger and fear mixed in his gaze?
Summoning all the bravery I have, I move closer to the edge of the bed.
“Andrei, what happened? What is going on?” Reaching a shaking arm towards him, I take his hand in mine. “The Council didn’t hurt Sebastian or Marcus, did they? Why do you need so many women?”
He pins me to the spot, his fingers gripping my hand so tightly I can feel the bones grinding.
“We will have a visit from the Council.” My hand spasms in his and now it’s me squeezing him as hard as I can.
“I need you to do everything I say, April. You must obey without question or a word. I will hide your presence only if you don’t give yourself away. Do I have your word?”
“Please let me go.” With a last-ditch effort, I try playing on his softer side. “You said you would protect me. If I hide, they’ll never find me. I promise.” I don’t mention that neither will he find me. Better to not remind him of that little detail.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing, April. Sebastian will have my head if you’re not here when he gets back. There is no safer place for you than in this apartment. Promise me you will do everything I say.”
Jerkily, I nod my head in understanding, not releasing the grip I have on his hand.
We stand like that until he tilts his head, listening to something.
Pulling me along with him, he opens the front door and five women walk in, all of them around my height, with long, dark hair in different shades.
Standing among them at the entrance of the penthouse, I finally understand why Andrei told me I’m safest here.
He will hide me in plain sight.