Chapter 14
I didn’t realize right away that I was crying; the water running over my face hid it.
Once I became aware, I started to cry harder until it was so much that I sat on the floor of the shower and brought my knees to my chest. The sobs were racking my whole body, and I was crying so loudly that I hadn’t realized someone had entered the bathroom.
“Joslyn? Are you okay?” Maddox’s voice startled me.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“I didn’t ask if you were going to be fine. I asked if you are okay; I meant right now. So, the answer is no.”
I cried harder, my whole body shaking. I didn’t think it was ever going to stop.
It was all too much. I didn’t know what to do.
I just felt helpless. When the crying subsided, anger replaced it.
I could feel it rising up inside of me like a poison, directed at everyone.
I stood, opened the door, and stepped out of the shower.
I grabbed my towel, wrapping it around my body. I looked Maddox in the eye.
“I never asked for any of this. Not the crazy addiction-driven cousin. Not the fantasy-chasing Grandfather. Not even the jealous Irish guy. I didn’t ask to be a part of some secret society of vampires—let alone run it.
” I snatched my shampoo bottle from the shelf and whipped it at the mirror over the sink.
The glass shattered and flew over the entire room.
“Don’t move.” Maddox commanded. I started crying again when he scooped me up into his arms and carried me into the bedroom.
He set me down on the bed. “Clothes? The ones you had waiting are now covered in glass.” I pointed to the closet, and he pulled out a pair of leggings and a tee.
He moved to the top drawer of the dresser and pulled out undergarments.
“Everyone’s underwear is in the top drawer.”
I laughed slightly; that was something I never thought about. It’s also strange to say aloud. Maddox walked over and set the clothes on the bed next to me.
“Can you get dressed? I can help you if you need me to. I already saw you naked when you stormed out of the shower.”
I felt warmth flood my face.
“I can dress myself.”
I put my clothes on while Maddox picked up the big shards of glass from the bathroom floor. I asked him to get me a hair tie from the bathroom while he was there. He came out with the hair tie and a brush. I raked through my hair and tied it up on top of my head.
“Did Ronan leave yet?”
“Yes, he left about fifteen minutes ago when the security team got here.”
“Good.”
“Come on, let’s get you something to eat.
” Maddox held his hand out. I took it, and we headed to the kitchen.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw a guy standing at the front door.
He was clad in black and wore a bulletproof vest and sidearm.
Maddox kept walking as though he didn’t exist.
“Who is that?” I whispered as we stayed the course.
“Ted,” was the only thing Maddox said.
“Just Ted?” I said, pushing.
“To you, he is just Ted. He is here to make sure you are safe, nothing more. He is not your friend, and you are not his.”
“Ted it is.” When we reached the kitchen, he let go of my hand.
“Sit,” he said as he opened the fridge and started poking around.
He began setting ingredients on the counter.
Grabbing an apron from the hook in the pantry, he slid it over his head.
I giggled, and he shot me a playful glare.
He went straight to work, chopping and mixing.
He poured me a cup of coffee and set it in front of me.
Firing up the stove, Maddox grabbed a frying pan from the hanging rack and put it onto the heat.
Watching him was mesmerizing; one would think he was a chef.
I didn’t know how old Maddox was. He may have honed his cooking skills over many lifetimes.
When he finished, he set down the most beautiful plate of food in front of me that smelled intoxicating.
I took the first bite, and my eyes closed automatically, heightening my sense of taste.
“This is quite possibly the best food I have ever had.” He smiled and took a bite from his own plate. “So, how long do you think it’s going to be before we hear anything?”
“It will probably be a few days. We should stay close to the house until they have her.”
“Yeah, I could see that. I would never go anywhere with a security team, and from what I can tell, I need them right now.”
“Needing them is debatable; I’m here. They are here in case an army shows up at the door.”
“You really are cocky, but you know that.”
“I’m confident.”
We finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen together. “So, do you happen to know about the secret dungeon?” I asked Maddox.
“Yeah, the hidden library or whatever you want to call it. I would hardly call it a dungeon.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Tomato, tomatoe. Did you help him build his collection?”
“Somewhere along the line, I’m certain I did. I was friends with Ray for a long time.”
“So, do you want to tell me how this whole thing came about? I mean, from what I can gather, it’s basically some secret society or group or whatever. You do what exactly?”
“We are a sort of middlemen. We make sure that the cryptids society fears most and obsess over remain fantasy. Do you realize how dangerous it could be if people were actively looking for vampires or werewolves?”
“You’re trying to tell me that people aren’t actively searching for them. That’s a load of shit, and you don’t look like a dumb guy.”
“There is a difference between chasing a unicorn and actually finding it. That would be really bad for the unicorn, no?”
“I could see how the unicorn would get the raw end of that deal. Vampires and werewolves though? Apex predators, remember? We are talking about the literal top of the food chain.”
“Maybe, but last I checked, there aren’t any records of vampires going up against Jaws.
Besides, we drink blood because we have to.
Werewolves don’t eat people; they are part human.
That’s cannibalism. There may be a few, but that isn’t normal.
If a werewolf attacks a human, it’s for the same reasons a human would. ”
“I know there are more, but vampires and werewolves are all I can wrap my head around right now. There are six separate rooms down there. I only spent time in the first room: vampires.”
“There is definitely more; maybe less-intelligent, humanoid cryptids.”
“So, the job is just to keep them as nothing more than a scary story?”
“It is to keep everyone safe. We keep an eye on cryptids who become a problem for humans. That too has to do with self-preservation. The goal is for everyone to live without fear of being hunted.”
“Alright, so Alexander. He is a cryptid who has become a problem?”
“Alexander has been a problem for a while, and the frustrating part is, he wouldn’t even be a problem if his father was still alive.”
“His father?”
“Well, his maker. His father has been gone far longer than his maker.”
“What happened to his maker?”
“He and his partner were gathering intel on a group of rogue vampires in Colombia. When everything fell apart, Xavier was killed. Scott said Alexander created vampires illegally to have them kill Xavier so he could take over.”
“So, what is the other side?”
“I’ve heard from many people over the past few years that Alexander is telling everyone that our guy is the one that killed his father, and that he couldn’t be a part of the very thing that led to his father’s demise.”
“What do you think?”
“It’s not my job to have opinions.”
“Well, I can tell you what I know from what you’re telling me.
If he had someone kill his father so that he could have control of what his father did, then why didn’t he kiss ass and try to make amends so that would happen?
He holds no control now, and it doesn’t appear that he wants to be back in the fold.
Do you believe he is stupid enough to think he is fighting a winning battle doing it the way he is?
From my point of view, he believes the whole thing is bad, and he is rebelling against conformity for something that really means something to him. He wasn’t always your enemy, was he?”
“I already told you it’s not my job to have an opinion.”
“But from what I understand, it is MINE.”
“You aren’t wrong. However, I am not your advisor; I am your security.”
“You told Ronan that it’s your job to be whatever I need you to be. Is Ronan going to give me facts and let me work it out on my own?”
“I am not sure what Ronan is going to do. He is supposed to advise you, and he should give you all the information he has.”
“I guess we will see.” Maddox tilted his head slightly. “Do I confuse you?”
“No, you do intrigue me though, and slightly piss me off.” I blushed, got up from the stool, and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Do you want something to drink?”
He started laughing. I had never seen Maddox laugh—not outwardly, at least. “Most people don’t ask vampires if they want something to drink. I don’t know why I’m laughing; it wasn’t that funny.”
I began laughing too. “It’s ironic though.
I am still having trouble believing that you’re a really old vampire, and you have never had a woman ask you if you wanted something to drink.
I mean, look at you. Muscles for days, tan skin, green eyes, tattoos peeking out from under your clothes, and the hair is something most women would kill for.
If I had to, I would guess Hawaiian descent.
I’ll bet whoever asked, exposed her neck while she did so.
” I ran my hand down the side of my neck lightly.
I didn’t have time to react before Maddox was in front of me, leaving no space between us.
He leaned down, his voice low against my ear. “I am over two hundred years old. Of course I have had a woman offer herself to me. Are you offering yourself to me, Joslyn?”
I could feel the heat from his breath on my ear, and it sent a shiver down my spine—in a good way. What the hell was I doing? My mouth had gone dry.
I backed up and bumped into the fridge. Maddox braced his hands against the fridge on either side of me. “I’m not young and stupid. Stop playing with me; you will lose your willpower before I lose mine.”
“I’m not trying to play with you.”
“How about until your body and your mind can agree on that, you just stick with Ronan. He will play any game you want all day long. I’d bet on it.”
“I thought you do what I say?” What the hell was I doing? I really needed to learn when to stop talking.
“I do what you need. Like earlier in the bathroom.”
“Yeah, that was stupid. Sorry about that.” I was suddenly embarrassed. Maddox took a step back.
“So, are we good? If I want something to drink, I will just get it; okay?” He winked at me and smiled, softening the moment. “Besides, I’m sure your boyfriend is beside himself, due to the fact that he had to leave you here with me.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. We had sex; does that make him my boyfriend?”
“I’m not totally sure he knows that he isn’t your boyfriend.”
“Well, I feel like it’s dumb to assume. Grown people can have sex without being in a committed relationship.”
“You’re going to break his heart. Try not to drive him crazy too.”
“So, we seriously just hold up here until they find her? That could take forever.” I wanted to change the subject.
“Your definition of forever is more than likely completely different from mine. It might be a few days. Seventy-two hours, maybe,” he rolled his eyes slightly as he said this.
“So, what do we do for three days? Any ideas?” I asked, not knowing what vampires did for fun.
“I can think of a couple things,” he said, wagging his eyebrows. “But we should probably stick to movies, games, talking, things of that nature,” he added.
“You need to stop messing with me.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “If that’s what you want to think.”
I liked the less intense, relaxed, almost comical, Maddox. The dark, intense side was fucking hot though—that side could get me into trouble.
“You know what we can do because it is relatively early. You can take me to get my stuff from my apartment that I am moving out of. It’s a lot nicer if I don’t have to carry anything. If we do it now, we can definitely make it back before anything happens with Charlotte.”
I had promised my landlord that I would get my stuff out this week, and I was thinking if I didn’t do it while I had it fresh in my mind, that it would never get done. I had this nagging feeling that something was going to keep coming up.
“Yeah, we can do that. How far away is your apartment?” he asked, curiosity in his tone.
“About two hours away. It’s not like there is a closing time,” I said, hoping the distance didn’t change his mind.
“Sure, let’s go.” He stood and grabbed his phone.
“Let me run upstairs, grab my keys, and put on my shoes.”
“I am going to talk to the guys. I might have them follow us in the truck. They can load everything, bring it back, and unload it for you.”
“I don’t have much. Clothes, some books, my computer, and a few other things. I am leaving the furniture there. I don’t need it anymore.”
“Okay, we’ll just take the truck. Go get your stuff.”