Chapter 13
Anais
I struggled to not keep glancing at Leo as he sat across the room from me at dinner.
Instead I tried to focus on my table and the people on it.
We had a pair of vampires, each with a single pet they’d brought on the cruise with them.
They looked to be some sort of pair of vampires, possibly even a couple as well, the female vampire often making eyes at the male vampire.
Her pet hadn’t appeared to like it much, but I doubted he was going to get much say in it. And if he complained out loud, I had a feeling he wouldn’t make it off this cruise ship at all.
Naomi had quickly got to know the other humans at our table.
There was only a couple, but they were definitely human.
Not elderly like some of the other couples in the room, but definitely a little older than we were.
I’d gotten the impression they thought Naomi and I were a couple, but it only added to the cover we had, so neither of us tried to dispel the idea.
At the same time, we tried to surreptitiously scan the room and get an idea about the other vampires, how many there were and if they were interested in us or not.
I was pretty sure that the ship was about a quarter full of vampires and their pets from the view of the dining room.
Not every table had vampires at it, but there were plenty dotted here and there.
I was surprised how few seemed to have pets already, very few enthralled aboard and the vampires with us the rarity, but I was sure that would change as the cruise went on.
By the time dinner was done it had become obvious that there were several vampires paying close attention to Naomi and me. They were all spread out as well, but they were watching us.
“Time to go?” Naomi asked me not long after Alan and Tess left the room and Leo got up to say goodbye to the rest of his table.
Another vampire had been sat next to Leo and seemed to know him well.
There were also two other vampires that had been on the other side of Leo, one of which had talked to him a fair bit and the other who had appeared to ignore him.
I hoped that Leo or Alan and Tess would explain some of what was going on when we met back up.
But I also knew that the vampires interested in us weren’t likely to let us leave without getting an idea of where we were going or trying to find somewhere they could make another attempt on my life.
No doubt, they expected me to be dead already.
Going to dinner was likely to piss some of them off. I was flaunting their failure in their faces. Not that it bothered me. Making them angry was more likely to make them rash, and I was all for that as well.
Naomi could also watch my back a little better than I could. She was just my date. As we made our way out of the restaurant we had been assigned to, I tried to get an idea of how many vampires were going to follow us, but surprisingly few moved.
“I think we’ve got three tailing us,” Naomi said as she took my arm and leaned in, no doubt only increasing the chances everyone would believe we were in a relationship.
It didn’t take many glances in glass or half-looking behind as we turned corners to agree with her.
“We’re going to need to lose them before we get to the suite to talk to Leo and the others,” I replied.
“On a ship like this, I’m sure we can do that. It’s like a casino lobby. Elevators to go up and down in, and endless corridors. We just keep moving and seize an opportunity to get lost in a crowd.”
I grinned, knowing it wouldn’t be the first time, and I doubted it would be the last. This was the sort of situation I enjoyed trying to get out of.
“We’ll need to mask our scent,” I whispered a few seconds later.
She nodded, taking in the information. Leandro had tracked me the last time I was working with him, before I was even working with him, by my scent.
I didn’t know how many other vampires could track that well, or if the Brethren were a little more special in that way.
Either way, I wasn’t about to take the chance.
I looked for a way to immerse ourselves with a group, get tangled up and make sure that the scent we left behind was not clear. It was our only hope to be sure we weren’t tracked to Leo.
Still, I had no idea if we could pull it off.
I did get a good look at the vampires following us as we walked through the ship, making it look as if we were exploring and finding out where everything was.
There was a pair of women coming after us, almost mirroring our attitude and appreciation for each other.
I got the impression that the pair might be more curious than anything else. With the pair of them, it was possible they wanted to make us a polycule of some sort and were just enamored with us in more innocent ways. If a vampire taking a human as a thrall could be considered innocent.
The other one was another lone male, and from the brooding look on his face and the way he tried to avoid being seen by us, I got the impression that he was the one sent to kill me next.
“I think you’re right,” Naomi said, as soon as I explained my thoughts to her. “The two women are being far too obvious.”
“Like they want our attention?” I replied.
She let out a chuckle. “Yeah, like they’re hoping we’re drawn in by all the vampire super hotness.”
I glanced back at them, not hiding it as I took in the sight of them more obviously. Naomi did the same and one of them winked at us, the smile on her face broadening.
Although I wasn’t sure exactly how to respond, Naomi gave them a little wave and I had to roll my eyes at her. She was encouraging them.
“Having a few more vampires on our side when there’s a bunch who want to kill us can’t be a bad thing,” she whispered to me as we carried on again.
She had a point, the male vampire lagging behind them and once again trying to stay out of sight.
I considered our options, but I knew Leo, Alan and Tess would be waiting for us and beginning to worry. “We’re still going to need to get to the suite soon. As much as two vampire admirers is better than two vampire killers, we still don’t have time for this.”
“Agreed. And I don’t swing their way enough to want to actually encourage them to take us as enthralled and do things to us.”
“I don’t think Leo would be very happy about it either,” I replied without thinking.
Naomi gave me a studying look for a second before she took my arm again and we hurried away.
We soon found a group of other women, many of them wearing strong perfumes.
They were rushing into an elevator that was going down toward one of the clubs.
As soon as they stepped out, we darted into the next elevator and pressed buttons to go back up and way beyond the level we’d been on.
It still wasn’t the level the suite was on, but one floor above it.
If the coast was clear when we got there, we would dart down a corridor and head toward the other end of the ship and use a completely different stairwell to get to the right floor.
With any luck it would be enough winding back and forth to lose any vampire trailing us.
Either way, we would tell Leo we’d been followed at least part of the way. He had to have some idea of how to erase our scent trail or make sure it didn’t lead others to Leo’s suite at least.
With how quickly we could move around the ship and how many others were still up and about, we soon made our way to the suite and we were fairly sure we weren’t followed, or at least seen.
Alan and Tess were only just arriving as well, but they made their way inside just before us.
They had a keycard to the suite already, so I didn’t know if Leo was there until I went inside.
He was sitting on the sofa, glass in hand, but the frown on his face took away the relaxed appearance he would have otherwise.
“Everyone all right?” he asked as soon as he saw the four of us.
“For the most part. I think a couple of vamp ladies were hoping we would have some fun with them,” Naomi said, chuckling as she did. I didn’t know what to say as Leo’s frown only deepened.
I walked over to sit beside him, hoping to relax a moment and show him that there was no threat from other vampires in that regard. I didn’t swing that way anyway, but I was also very much his if I was anyone’s.
“Were there any other vampires following any of you?” Leo asked.
Tess and Alan shook their heads, and if I knew them well, I’d have said they were relieved.
“Another followed us at least a little way,” I said. “A male that was trying not to be seen himself. I don’t know if he’ll be able to track our scent, but we lost him before we got here.”
Before Leo could express his opinion on the subject or ask us anything else, there was a short knock on the door.
Leo put his finger to his lips and hurried to the door.
Everyone moved over to one side of the suite so we couldn’t be seen from the door, just in case, and then we all waited, listening.
I was tense, worried that whoever was on the other side of the door would be likely to attack Leo as well. No one else said a word and we all controlled our breathing to keep it as quiet as possible, already in hunter mode as a team.
The scrape as Leo turned the handle and opened the door was the only sound we could hear at first.
“Thought you’d be in your usual suite,” a voice said, the male sounding friendly enough but coming deeper into the room. “I didn’t discover much at dinner either. Think we’re going to have—”
I lifted a hand and waved as the guy came around the corner and realized there were four more of us in the suite and not just Leo. He shut his mouth around whatever he had been about to say and turned toward Leo.
Leo didn’t look particularly pleased that another vampire had stumbled in on us, and the other vampire didn’t seem to know what to do about it.