Chapter 20
ALEXANDER
Alexander couldn’t stop his hands from shaking on the steering wheel as he turned out of Oxford proper and into the countryside of the Cotswolds.
Normally a drive like this calmed him, giving him a chance to unwind before having to face his family.
But now, the openness of the landscape was threatening, and he kept half expecting the killer after him to jump out and attack the car at any moment.
His only consolation was that he was able to focus on driving while worrying about what came next, as opposed to driving in a panic that he was going to return to his flat only to find Tobias’ dead body drained on his couch.
He would probably hit and kill fewer sheep this way.
Thinking of Tobias in danger made his chest clench with guilt, because clearly he’d been the one to get Tobias’ new friend killed.
Undoubtedly, the killer had seen her leave Alexander’s flat the night before, and mistook her for someone whom he was with, someone important to him.
It couldn’t be further from the truth, and now the girl was dead through no fault of her own except caring for Tobias enough to stay with him for a few hours.
Something had shattered in Alexander since falling in love with Tobias.
He couldn’t deny anymore that that was what it was – the all-consuming type of feeling that he’d read about in books and plays and yet hadn’t ever had the chance to experience for himself.
He’d been falling for Tobias the moment he looked into those eyes in the library, ever since he’d seen those delicate hands clutching a book to a narrow chest like a shield.
To have known someone for so little time and yet to feel so strongly about them was ludicrous, but Alexander was well-read enough to know that he was hardly the first in history to experience an instant, intense connection.
After all, didn’t Romeo and Juliet fall in love with a single glance?
Alexander looked over to Tobias, sleeping with his head against the window, Alexander’s scarf in between his head and the glass like a pillow. He didn’t know what he would do if Tobias died, but he didn’t think it was so far off of what Romeo had done when he’d discovered his love seemingly dead.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, his jaw clenched. He would burn the world down and take a stake to every made vampire in existence before he allowed someone to kill Tobias.
Alexander’s phone buzzed in his pocket, the caller ID showing up on the car’s dash. It was Maria, and while he was loath to wake Tobias – who, from the bags under his eyes, hadn’t slept much at all the night before – he didn’t want to miss whatever Maria had to say.
Tobias was snoring lightly. If he spoke quietly, he was unlikely to wake him. And he could sleep for days once they got to Rothburn and Alexander locked them both in his suite.
He worked an earbud out of the case in his pocket and shoved it in, at least sparing Tobias the other half of the conversation. He pressed accept on the call. “Hello?”
“It turns out that Oxford has some pretty piss-poor encryption on their HR systems.” Maria was clearly still typing – he could hear the steady clacking of keys in the background.
“I was able to get more information about the deaths. The people from last night all appear to be completely random, except for one – Kate Hellar, who worked in the Bodleian Library.”
Alexander closed his eyes briefly to stop from confessing his own guilt for that particular death right then and there.
Maria would understand – she, too, had rather the same soft spot for mortals that he did, although she hid it far better than he had ever been able to – but now was not the time nor the place to be making confessions.
“I think the rest were just in the vampires’ paths, and they were succumbing to bloodlust. Which makes sense, given how absurdly young they are, and how they probably aren’t under the control of a competent sire right now, since we haven’t accounted for anyone gone permanently missing from the coven.
” Maria continued talking, and Alexander did his best to focus.
“But that girl? You’ll never guess who she worked with. ”
“Who?” Alexander asked reflexively, even though he knew the answer.
“Your new little mortal boyfriend, there.” Maria clucked her tongue. “They’re clearly trying to go after some link to you, but my guess is that the sire can only vaguely control them, so instead of many targeted killings, we got one last night while the rest were random.”
“Oh.” Alexander let out a breath. “Yeah, that makes sense. Maria, did you find anything else?”
When his father had given him the assignment, he’d felt like a servant being sent to do his master’s bidding. Now, though, figuring out who the rogue vampire was and putting an end to them permanently seemed like the single most important task in the world.
“Well…” She drew out the word in a way that instantly made a pit open in the bottom of Alexander’s stomach. “I don’t think it’s something that will help us find the guy, but it was strange enough to notice. All of the vampires’ victims worked at Oxford University in some capacity.”
“That’s not interesting, Maria.” Alexander had to stop himself from snapping at his sister. “It’s the single biggest employer in the city. Everyone works there.”
“Yes, but…” She paused, and he knew she was weighing her next words. “Your mortal’s name is Tobias, right? Tobias Osian?”
“Yes.” The feeling of nerves grew until Alexander could have sworn that he’d swallowed a swarm of bats. “Why?”
“I looked into the HR records of all the people that died, and they were all recently hired. The HR system links to the documents from the hiring process, so I was able to see all of the people who interviewed for the job. And Alex – Tobias was on each of those lists.”
“And?” Alexander’s eyebrows raised as he looked over at Tobias, who was still sleeping soundly, completely worn out from the stress of learning that his friend had just been murdered by a lunatic killer, followed by his partner – if that’s what, in fact, they were – dragging him into the countryside to avoid being murdered himself.
“I don’t know.” Maria let out a sigh of frustration.
“I mean, the only thing I can think of is that the person doing this also has access to university systems and they’re picking people to kill who you may plausibly know, since they’re working in your department or in places like the library where they know you frequent and have a relationship with staff. ”
“Except you just said that it was easy to get into their systems.”
“And you just pointed out that everyone in town works for Oxford University, so I’m not sure that really narrowed anything down.
” There was a thump that sounded like porcelain on a desk, and Alexander wondered what number cup of coffee his sister was already on so early in the morning.
“I’m going through our records to see whether anyone in the family or broader clan works at the university, but it’s going to take some time.
I’m not relying on just asking around, because it could be employment that they’ve kept hidden, given that they’re likely using it to get close enough to you to strike. ”
Alexander pushed a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated growl. “What a fucking mess.”
“We’ll find them. In the meantime, just get here safely.” Maria’s voice was back to being soothing and calm. “I’m waiting for you here, and I’ve had your rooms prepared.”
“Thank you.” Gratitude washed through him. “I do appreciate it. This has all been… a lot.”
“I know.” She gave a flat chuckle. “I also took the liberty of ordering one of Father’s goons to go to get your boy some clothes. He’ll need a tuxedo for the ball, in any event, and you needed a new one.”
She hung up and Alexander flinched at the reminder, the stark contrast of worrying about clothes, of all things, in the midst of an actual crisis.
His enforced visits back home were always cloaked with ceremony, and he’d forgotten the need in the middle of trying to keep Tobias safe.
Dealing with his father was awful at the best of times, and Alexander took zero joy in the pageantry of the centennial gatherings of the entire Damianos clan.
He needed to figure out how to explain everything to Tobias before then, because Vladimir wasn’t going to abide by Alexander bringing a boy home and not having him paraded around on display like a human pet.
Or not humiliating Alexander by making Tobias watch as he subjugated him.
Hopefully, Tobias would be so afraid that a serial killer was hunting for him that he’d completely forget to be terrified that he was in a house full of blood-sucking creatures from myth, and that the man he’d completely seduced was one of them too.
He knew that he could always use the power of compulsion on Tobias to smooth things over in the short term.
But he didn’t want that with Tobias. He didn’t want their relationship to be based on lies any more than it already was.
He hoped that Tobias would forgive him his secrets when he understood the necessity of them.
But more than that, he wanted what they had to be real, for as long as they could be together.
Not something twisted based on hidden identities and deception, but something true.
But first, he had to make sure that they got to Rothburn safely. He put in his other earbud and flicked on some music to keep him focused on the drive, and kept his eyes on the road so he didn’t keep looking at Tobias like he was the most beautiful and breakable thing in the world.
Alexander put a hand on Tobias’ thigh as he turned onto the gravel drive leading to the house. The trees lining the drive were bare, and their branches just reminded him of skeletons.
“Mmm?” Tobias blinked awake with a wordless noise. “Alexander? Are we here?”
“Yes, love.” Alexander swallowed hard, navigating the circular drive and pulling up in front of the door. “We’re here. But before we go in, I have one simple rule I need you to follow.”
“Okay?” Tobias licked his lips as he stared with wide eyes out the window at the massive manor house, ivy creeping up its face, and the stone steps lined with bodyguards carrying guns to deter humans, and what Alexander knew to be stakes surreptitiously holstered all over their bodies for any vampires who might come to threaten Vladimir. “What is it?”
“Don’t go anywhere alone with anyone else, no matter how nice they look or what they say to you.” Alexander would explain it to him later, when they were safely locked away. “Promise me, Tobias. It’s important.”
“Okay,” Tobias whispered.
Alexander reached for his hand and gave it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.
“Welcome to Rothburn,” Alexander said.