Chapter 54
Fifty-Four
VAUGHN
“All right, I got the last camera.” I pull the small device from the ceiling fan and crush it in my hand.
I can’t believe Sophie’s father bugged her entire house with hidden cameras and listening devices. I bet he was privy to all her calls and text messages too. The violation of privacy makes my blood boil. I wish I had done more than cut off the bastard’s hands.
Sophie and human Tish are staring at the pile of broken cameras and destroyed bugs. That son of a bitch was thorough.
“What should we do with those?” I ask.
“Burn them.” Tish glares at the destroyed electronics as if she could blast them with her eyes.
“We can’t burn them. It’d probably cause an explosion.” I veer for the kitchen to grab a garbage bag. “I’ll toss them into the trash bin outside.”
“I’ll do it,” Tish says. “I’m on way to see Igor anyway.”
I arch my brows. “You’re going to visit him?”
Her green eyes connect with mine, and freakishly enough, they still have a catlike quality to them. “Yeah, the brute is finally growing on me. Besides, I know you two want to spend quality time alone.” She wiggles her eyebrows up and down.
I shake my head, but my lips curl upward. She isn’t wrong, not that I want to sex Sophie up. Even though Rikkon healed her, she’s been through a lot tonight. I can’t imagine how she must be feeling after what her father put her through.
“Do you plan to spend the whole day with him? He’ll probably be asleep,” Sophie says.
“You can always go back to Lucca’s place,” I suggest.
“Thanks, but I feel like exploring. It’s been too long time since I was human. I don’t want to rest.”
“You both need new cell phones,” I point out.
“True. I’ll go shopping, then. I need new clothes too.”
“Don’t you need money for that?”
“Sperm donor might be in custody, but his credit cards still work. I plan to max out all of them,” she replies with a devious smile. Then she takes the trash bag from my hand and walks out of the apartment.
Sophie just stares at the now-empty coffee table. She seems lost and small, and I hate it. I walk over and pull her into my arms. “It’s over now, Soph. He can’t hurt you.”
“I know I should feel sadness or anger, but I don’t feel anything.” She looks at me, and the anguish I read in her eyes makes me worried.
“You’re probably still in shock.”
She shakes her head. “You don’t understand. Before I met you, I couldn’t feel anything—remorse, sadness, empathy. All I was able to feel was rage. I’m afraid something broke in me again, and I’m back to being an emotionless robot.”
“You’re not. I saw the way you looked at Tish just now. You’re happy that your friend is finally able to walk out the door carrying a trash bag.”
She shudders. “I didn’t realize I was looking at her any certain way.”
“How do you feel about me now?”
I let her reel me in with her eyes, happy to get lost in her lavender gaze.
“Love, so much that it hurts.”
I laugh. “See. You’re not a robot, and if you were, you’d be my EVE and I’d be your WALL-E.”
She blinks fast, and I know my movie reference flew right over her head.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed. It’s high time I introduce you to pop culture.”
“Oh, are those characters from a movie?”
“Yep. It’s a cartoon, but it’s not just for kids. It’s one of my favorites.” Sophie watches me with a smile on her face now, and I ask, “What? Am I yapping too much?”
She shakes her head. “Not at all. I love when you do.”
“Are you hungry? I can make us a bowl of pop—” I stop before I say something stupid.
“Were you going to say a bowl of popcorn?” She arches a brow.
My face feels like it’s going to burst into flames. My ears are certainly already burning.
“Eh… it just a human habit I haven’t been able to forget yet.”
“Do you miss being human?”
“Sometimes. Especially when I can’t hang out with my mom and sisters any time I want.” I pinch my brow when I realize in a few decades, they’ll be gone.
“What’s the matter?”
“They’ll grow old and die, while I’ll look forever twenty-two.”
“I’m sorry. Do you think maybe they’d want to…?”
“Turn into a vampire? I don’t think so, and I wouldn’t want that for them either. Don’t get me wrong, though. It was my choice to let Lucca turn me, and I’d make the same choice again knowing what I know about living as a bloodsucker.”
“Good. Depression after the change was very common back in the day when vampires were made willy-nilly. Many newly made vampires committed suicide.”
I shake my head. “I’m not suicidal. You don’t have to worry about that. Besides, you’re the reason why I’d choose this life again and again.”
She wraps her arms around my waist. “I’m glad you found me, Vaughn.”
“And I’m glad you bit me.” I crack an even bigger smile.
“Yeah, me too. And then pissed off a dragon.”
I snort. “Don’t remind me of that. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.”
“He will if he gets what he’s looking for.”
I pinch my eyebrows together. “And do you know what that is, because I’ll help him look if it’ll help my case.”
“I think he’s looking for the love of his life.”
I jerk back. “How did you get to that conclusion?”
She shrugs. “Just a hunch.”
Since there’s no longer a need to keep things from Sophie, I don’t see the harm in telling her about Lucca’s necklace. “Do you remember when I said the feather wasn’t the first feminine accessory Larsson was keen to get his hands on?”
“Yeah.”
“He was obsessed with stealing Lucca’s necklace, which used to belong to his mother.”
Sophie’s eyes widen. “Do you think Larsson was in love with a vampire?”
“If your theory is correct, then yeah. But she died many years ago.”
“Oh, then maybe I was wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought Larsson was collecting all those specific items so he could perform a location spell. But if she’s dead, that would be impossible.”
“Very much so, unless he wants to date a ghost.” I shiver.
“I’m done with ghosts for the rest of my life.”
“Same, babe. Same.”