Chapter 6 Theo
Theo
Theo was freaking the fuck out. He was sitting in the passenger seat of the vampire’s Mercedes, and he could do nothing but relax and keep quiet. The pounding of his own heart echoed in his ears, and fear was licking along his nerve endings like a knife pressed to his neck.
The vampire glanced over. “I’m taking you to my house on Winchester. If you would feel more comfortable, text someone where we are going.”
Theo snorted. “Text?”
The vampire looked over again. “What?”
“Who would I tell?” Theo asked quietly, because he had been compelled to remain quiet, and speaking up was impossible.
“A friend? Celeste, even.”
“Is this a threat? Are you trying to get Celeste to kick me out for being with a client outside of work? Is that it?”
Celeste had specifically told Theo that something like that was a big no-no. If so negotiated, providing an evening of company outside the Boudoir was fine, but this was not that, and Theo knew it.
“Why would I do that? The nature of your work allows me easy access to you whenever I should desire it. Outside of it, you can show me the door, and there is nothing I can do about it.” Peter moved the gear shift.
“If you’re worried about your work contract, I drafted that, and it pertains to you taking on work outside of the Boudoir.
It’s there to protect you, but this isn’t work. ”
“No shit. You fucking abducted me.” Theo’s voice was too relaxed, the compulsion taking the heat out of the statement.
“I removed you from a situation that could’ve potentially taken an unfavorable turn, that is true.
I would like to offer my help with your laptop, and then, since I already told Meathands you were my client, I would also like to discuss possible next steps.
The vampire seemed lacking in the brains department, so I’m afraid further action will be required. ”
Theo’s mind was reeling. He was coming down from the shock of seeing Bernard, and he’d just now realized he hadn’t eaten since the chocolate chip cookie back at the Boudoir.
“Meathands?” His mind had snagged on that for no good reason he could see.
“The vampire who put those bruises on you.” Peter’s blue icicle eyes focused on Theo’s arm, where the marks Barnard had left were blooming red.
Theo snorted. “Believe me, he’s done worse.”
Peter eyed him. “I do believe you.” Those words were followed by a long pause, and the tension in the car made Theo feel as if he were a lemon being squeezed for lemonade. “You made the right choice, leaving him.”
“No shit. Running from the asshole vampire who thought he could use me to pay his debts was the right fucking choice. Genius observation.”
Peter said nothing. Instead, he neatly parallel parked on a street lined on either side with trees in their green summer foliage.
“This is where I live.” Peter looked out the passenger side toward a townhouse painted a light gray.
There were large flowerpots at the top of the stairs, and in one, someone had stuck a red and white plastic windmill.
“We can have a private conversation inside, or I could drive you home. Entirely up to you. But just so you know, my IT setup is in there. One way or the other, I’ll have to take your laptop inside. ”
Theo bit his lip. He hated this. The choices were abysmal, and not just about going into the vampire’s house or going home. If Bernard had found Theo at the university, Bernard could find Theo at home, he could find him at Celeste’s.
Theo wouldn’t be able to go back to university. He couldn’t go home, he couldn’t make any money to get away, and even if he had the money to leave town, there was no way to make sure Bernard wouldn’t just grab him then.
I ran away from him once, and it only took him two months to get to me. I can’t keep doing this. I’m not going to find someone like Celeste just around the next bend in the road.
Theo blew out a trembling breath. Tears threatened to blur his vision.
Peter unbuckled his seat belt. “You’re panicking. I lack the skill set to talk you through a panic attack, so please try not to have one if at all possible.”
“Fucking…vampires. Who the fuck are you to tell me not to have a panic attack when this shred of a normal life I tried building here just went up in fucking flames?”
Peter nodded. “Perfectly fair question. You’re right to criticize me. Any chance you could see yourself yelling at me instead?”
Theo looked at Peter, tears running down his cheeks as he moved. When their eyes met, he felt the compulsion lift, and everything came flooding back in, though with less force than at the university.
Theo opened his mouth, but he couldn’t even bring himself to scream at Peter. He looked at his bag, distantly aware that his tears were falling on the back of his right hand. All my work’s in there. My life, pretty much.
Peter cursed under his breath and got out of the car. Just as well. Theo was okay with losing it in the vampire’s car, and crying all over the interior would be satisfying.
The passenger door opened. Theo jumped in his seat and looked up at Peter.
“At least come inside if you’re set on falling apart. It will be more comfortable for the both of us.”
Theo sniffled. His nose was getting clogged. “Comfort. Ha.”
“Well, I have chocolate too. I make hot chocolate. You could give that a try.”
Theo didn’t have the energy to resist, not right then. He got out of the car, trembling all over, his bag clutched to his chest.
“Doesn’t even matter anymore.” His voice came out broken. “Won’t be able to go back to university anyway.”
With a hand on the small of his back, Peter gave Theo a small push to make him move.
“As I said, I feel confident most of your data is retrievable. You’d be surprised what you can still get from a damaged drive.”
Theo spun. “Not that. Bernard! I can’t go back there because of Bernard!”
Peter motioned for Theo to continue up the stairs.
“That’s his name. I see. Do you have a last name for him?” He unlocked the front door and held it open for Theo, who was no longer sure whether he was angry, scared, or just pissed off. To make matters worse, his stomach rumbled loudly, adding very hungry to the list of possibilities.
Peter’s face brightened. “Ah. You’re hungry. I know that can make a person cranky. The hot chocolate is going to be perfect while you sort through the delivery menus.”
“Huh?” Chocolate did sound really good right about now, so Theo crossed the threshold.
Peter shrugged and let the door fall shut behind them.
“This is a vampire house. I have a large selection of teas, coffees, liquors, and chocolate, the latter for…well, I keep hoping a friend’s fiancé drops by to sort my bookshelf.
Anyway. There are few humans who do not like chocolate, so I have them order food.
Come on.” He waved Theo deeper into the house.
Theo shivered as Peter led the way through what Theo could only describe as a foyer.
The floor was black and white tile, set in a chessboard pattern, and a staircase curled up to the second floor on the left.
On the right, there were doors, but Theo couldn’t really focus on them.
He still felt like his vision had tunneled, and he desperately wanted to curl up into a ball and just… shut out the world.
Before long, he found himself seated on a wooden chair at a round kitchen table, in a fancy kitchen big enough to cook for twenty people. His breathing still came fast and rough, and his heart was pounding. He was beginning to feel dizzy.
Peter eyed him as he took off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of another chair before retreating behind a counter.
The vampire pulled out a pot and three varieties of chocolate. As he worked, Peter started singing something in a foreign language. The melody was pretty, but time haunting at the same time, with its lifts and drops. It sounded old.
Theo listened, wrapping his arms around the tightness in his chest and bending forward while gray flooded his vision.
Peter was still singing when the terror slowly started to pass. Several heartbeats later, Theo managed to take a deeper breath than before.
The soft click of a mug being placed on the table in front of him made Theo look up, and Peter stopped singing.
“A blend of dark and semi-dark chocolate with cashew milk,” he said, unsmiling. He put a selection of folded paper menus down next to the mug. “Pick whatever you want. My treat.”
Theo wanted to tell Peter that he didn’t want the damn chocolate and he wasn’t a freeloader.
Also, there was still an apple and Celeste’s cookies somewhere in Theo’s bag, never mind that the cookies had probably crumbled.
But the warm, mouthwatering smell of cocoa filled the air, and Theo instinctively placed his hands around the mug, immediately feeling soothed.
Still, few things in life were ever free, and Theo knew that.
“What do you want from me? And don’t bullshit me with…with whatever you were going to bullshit me with. I just want to know what your kindness is going to cost me.”