Chapter 18
Eighteen
VAUGHN
Ihonestly thought I would have trouble sleeping last night, but I slept like the dead. Maybe it was the blood loss, or the fact that Gerard made me drink several bags of blood before he left me alone.
Because I passed out early, I’m awake before sunset but, weirdly enough, still sleepy and missing caffeine more than ever. Man, I can’t believe vampires haven’t come up with caffeinated blood yet. I’d kill for a cup. Maybe that’s my billion-dollar idea.
I take a shower to fully wake up and get ready to go out. I don’t know yet where I’m going, but I’m definitely not staying home tonight. Sophie’s image pops into my head, and my heart seems to beat faster. Hell no. I understand getting aroused while she fed on me, but this is getting out of hand.
Coming down the stairs, I hear voices. It’s Gerard and two other male vampires I haven’t met yet. The conversation ceases when I enter the living room, and all eyes are on me.
“Ah, Vaughn, I’m glad you’re up.”
“The sun has just set. Who are your friends?”
Gerard’s spine turns rigid. “They aren’t my friends. This is Dean Davenport and Connor Callahan. They’re from the Red Guard.”
My eyebrows shoot to the heavens. The Red Guard is King Raphael’s elite group of soldiers. Why are they here so early?
“Did something happen?”
“Yes, something did happen.” Dean glowers at me. “Your cover was blown, and you were kidnapped by one of Tatiana’s followers.”
Ah hell. So much for keeping my fuckup on the down-low.
I cross my arms. “You don’t know that.”
“I’m afraid we do, Vaughn. My contact in London came through,” Gerard replies with a grimace.
Shit. The information his contact had can’t be good, then, if he felt the need to alert the Red Guard. I wish he’d told me first.
“You know who Sophie is?”
“Yes. Her name is Sophie Tellier. She’s Jacques Tellier’s daughter.”
The floor seems to vanish beneath my feet. Of all the possibilities I could think of, this one is fucking bad. The only way it’d be worse would be if Sophie was Tatiana’s daughter.
I run my fingers through my hair, pushing my bangs back. “What are you planning to do?”
“We need her address,” Connor answers. He’s a scary dude, massive in height and muscles like all the other members of the Red Guard seem to be.
“What for?” I ask, playing stupid. I know exactly why.
Dean puts his hands on his hips. “Are you serious right now? She must know where her father’s hideout is. Furthermore, she drank from you. Who knows what information she was able to obtain from your memories.”
Make me feel even worse about my mess, why don’t you?
“Are you going to arrest her?”
“Yes, we just came here for the address.”
Why am I reluctant to provide that information to them? Sophie is the enemy. If I don’t collaborate, they’ll think I’m a traitor.
“Can I come with you?” I ask.
“No, this is a Red Guard-only operation.” Dean hands me his phone. “Type in her address, please.”
The “please” feels more like “do it or else.”
“I don’t have the exact address. I was too busy running for my life to pay attention to street names.” A total lie. The first thing I did after jumping from her apartment was look at what street it was on.
Connor takes a step forward, clearly not buying my bullshit. “We can always drink from you to get that information.”
I press my hand to my neck, shuffling back. “Eww. I don’t want your fangs anywhere near me.”
“Just write down the landmarks you can remember. You said her apartment was downtown, correct?” Dean asks.
“Yeah. I think I remember a few stores along the way.”
I write down all the businesses and restaurants I passed when I was running from Sophie’s apartment. Dean seems satisfied with the information I provided, and soon after, the duo leaves.
I wait until I can’t hear their car any longer before I head to the garage. I was already itching to pay Sophie a visit, and now I have a more compelling reason to do so. I need to see her before the Red Guard takes her away. The why is still a mystery to me.
SOPHIE
I couldn’t sleep at all during the day. My mind kept replaying everything that transpired last night—my interaction with Madeleine for sure, but mostly, I kept thinking about Vaughn.
In all my life, I’ve never met a male, be they human, vampire, or any other species, who made me so obsessed.
It wasn’t only because I had a taste of his blood.
Vaughn had intrigued me from the very first time we met.
The memories I was able to see through his blood are all over the place.
I saw bits about his attack, then how Lucca agreed to turn him even though he was sure he’d fail.
He didn’t fail, though, and that’s a game changer.
It’s a known fact that vampires lost the ability to turn humans.
There was a period when my father and other Bluebloods went on a massive recruitment binge, needing to increase the number of soldiers to fight the usurper king, and ended up killing thousands of humans when they couldn’t be turned.
Tish confirmed that reality hadn’t changed while I was in hibernation, so why now? How could Lucca have regained that power? No wonder they wanted to keep Vaughn’s existence a secret—a detail I also learned from his memories.
Tired of fighting with my mattress, I get out of bed before sunset and pick up my violin.
I haven’t recovered my proficiency yet. Over a hundred years without touching an instrument will do that to the best of musicians.
Playing usually calms me down, but I give up as soon as the sun sets. I’m restless, and I need to go out.
Tish is sleeping curled up in my bed. She lifts her head when I enter the room to change clothes and asks, “Why are you up? It’s early.”
“I’m gonna go for a run. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.” She buries herself in my comforter and pays no attention to me.
I choose the first pair of jogging pants I can find and a matching top.
It’s probably cold, so I grab a hoodie as well.
Once outside, I check the street to make sure there isn’t an ambush waiting for me.
Vaughn knows where I live, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he sent Raphael’s hound dogs after me.
There’s only one vampire in the vicinity, though, which isn’t even a surprise. “You can come out of your hiding spot now, Igor.”
He steps out from the shadow between the two buildings across from mine and shortens the distance between us.
“What are you doing here?”
“Keeping an eye out on your place in case they come for you.”
“Who’s going to come for me?” I ask just to play dumb and annoy him.
“You know very well, Miss Sophie. Your friend might be a spy for the enemy.”
He has no idea.
“Listen, Igor. I appreciate your concern, but I don’t need a bodyguard. You should go home.”
“No can do, Miss Sophie. Your father has tasked me with your protection.”
Bollocks. I so do not want Igor following me everywhere. I need to get rid of him.
Before I can formulate a plan, I sense Vaughn’s presence. He’s nearby. Double bollocks.
Igor notices that a couple of seconds after I do. He instantly becomes tense and scans the area surrounding us. “He’s back.”
“If you must know, I asked him to come,” I lie. I don’t know why Vaughn is here, but I don’t want to sic Igor on him.
Vaughn obviously heard me, because he turns the corner onto my street, looking casual as hell with his hands in his pockets. How can he play it cool when Igor is giving him the death glare?
“Hey, Sophie. Ready to go?” he asks.
Igor steps in front of me. “She’s not going anywhere with you until you and I have a chat.”
I step out of his vampire shield and move closer to Vaughn. “You will do no such thing. If you want to stand guard here, be my guest, but I’m leaving with Vaughn.”
The screeching noise of tires burning rubber turns our attention to the end of the street. Headlights are fast approaching.
“Shit. We have to go,” Vaughn says before he grabs my hand and breaks into a run, taking me with him.
“Hey! Come back here!” Igor yells.
I know he’ll come after us if I don’t do something. Adrenaline has spiked in my veins, and tomorrow I’ll think about my choices, but right now, all I want is time alone with Vaughn.
We run past a trash container, and that gives me an idea. I grab the energized crystal I stuffed into my pocket and cast a simple spell. The container bursts into flames as it slides to the middle of the street, blocking Igor.
Vaughn looks over his shoulder. “What was that?”
“A little trick.”
His eyes widen. “You’re a witch too?”
“Surprise!” I joke, though I don’t know why. “I hope you drove here. That burning container will only buy us a minute or two.”
“Yeah, I drove, but my car is parked in the opposite direction.”
“Why didn’t we run that way, then?”
“Because the Red Guard was there.”
I skid to a halt, forcing him to stop. “You called the Red Guard on me?”
“I didn’t call them,” he grits out. “Although, I really should question my sanity over why I didn’t, and why I’m helping you run away from them, Sophie Tellier.”
I yank my hand free. “You know who I am.”
“Yes.” He glances around. “We’ve crossed into dragon shifter territory. I have an idea.” He offers me his hand instead of taking mine. “Do you trust me?”
If the Red Guard came after me, then Igor is presently occupied with them. I’m not worried about his safety—he can handle himself. This is my chance to figure out who Vaughn really is and why I can’t stop thinking about him.
I take his hand and say words I never thought I could utter to a member of the usurper king’s court. “I trust you.”