Chapter Twelve
I stayed up until the early hours of the morning, typing for my life and for the lives of every free person on earth.
Meanwhile, my heart teetered on the edge. Rage was the only barrier between me and a dark hole of self-doubt. It was one thing to tell the world to kill vampires, but it was another to actually do it.
No, I wasn’t talking about that double-crossing, toe-licking snake Stark.
I was talking about Daddy. Would I really be able to look him in the eyes and plunge a stake into his heart?
I’d already lost him once. So had Mamma and Maybell.
To lose him all over again would break us, even if he was a vicious people-snacker who’d like nothing more than to turn me into a jar of pizza sauce.
Maybe instead of killing them, I could come up with a sort of evil-vampire-rehab camp and make them all nice again.
Come on, Mas, I told myself. Was Stark ever really nice? What sort of man would look deeply into your eyes and tell you how you’re his entire world, how he can’t live without you, that the moment he saw you, his soul changed forever—all while taking your v card?
Okay, fine. I gave him the card and signed it with tiny heart bubbles, but still.
It takes a special breed of demonic turd to make you fall in love and then fill your mind with dreams of spending eternity together, of never being alone, unloved, or having to go to bed without a good foot rub.
I had never wanted to become a vampire, but the thought of being with the man I loved and knowing our romance wouldn’t end with me dying of old age or with him having a heart attack like my Mamma went through, well, I can’t lie, it had sounded pretty un-terrible.
So, again, why go through all those lies, all the manipulation, when Stark knew I’d find out the truth? Made zero sense.
I whooshed out a long breath, hitting send on the last of one hundred and forty-six emails, this one to the editor of Supernatural Enquirer, warning the masses of our impending doom.
Would any of these people publish the story? And if they did, would anyone listen? Because not even I could believe this mess.
“Masie,” a deep voice echoed from behind as I sat at the small desk in my bedroom.
I froze, my entire body turning into a tight mass of panic.
Funny how I knew this moment was inevitable, and I’d repeatedly told myself he no longer held power over me, but now that he was here, every bone in my body ached for this to be a bad dream.
I still wanted to believe he was good and truly loved me.
“What took you so long, Stark?” I said coldly.
“Someone called in bomb threats to every airfield near Seattle.”
“Vancouver, too.” Had to cover my bases and delay him as long as possible.
I slid on my UV-blocking sunglasses and swiveled in my computer chair.
Wearing a snug, button-down black shirt, Stark leaned against the doorway, his arms folded against his chest like a displeased master.
His faded blue jeans hugged his powerful legs and tapered down over the tops of his black boots.
His hair was brushed back behind his ears, giving me an unfettered view of his incredible jaw, neck, and chin.
He was…beautiful. And he knew it. Tyrant.
“So. Here you are. What now?” I asked. “Because I already emailed every anti-vampire group, news platform, and all of Congress, demanding they take action against your evil plan. It’s out of my hands now.”
“What is the purpose of the sunglasses?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“I know the truth about your voodoo eyes, Monty.”
“Monty?” He arched a dark brow.
“Montgomery Stark is the name of the man I used to love. Monty is a nobody. Or a talk show host.” I shrugged. “But hey, if you don’t like it, I have a nice long list of alternatives right here.” I tapped the side of my head. “King Caca Head, the Great Crapsy, Herculeast, Geralt of Revoltia—”
“Monty it is. Oh, and by the way, the sunglasses will not protect you.” He unfolded his arms and began rolling up his sleeve.
I snapped off the glasses. “What are you doing?”
“What I should’ve done when we first met and you pointed Betsy at me.”
Betsy was my shotgun. I took her everywhere.
“You mean watch something other than The Antiques Roadshow?” Because that was what he’d done. He had broken into my house, swiped my shotgun, and turned on the TV to watch his favorite show.
Emotionless, he rolled up the other sleeve.
“Fine.” I raised my chin. “Kill me. Doesn’t matter now. I’ve already told the world what you’re up to. It’s over for you and your leechy friends.”
He stopped rolling mid-forearm. “Kill you? Oh, no, woman. There will be no killing. Not tonight, anyway.”
Shoot. He was going to torture me first.
I rolled back an inch in my chair, hitting the edge of my desk. “Nothing you do to me will stop people from fighting, Monty. We will not surrender to your bloodthirsty, vampire rule. We will not become your piggies.”
“Good.”
That wasn’t the answer I’d expected. “Good?”
“Yes. That is exactly what I’m hoping for.”
I blinked. “Why?”
“Because I am in love with a human whom I cherish more than life itself, and the very last thing I wish to do is watch the world crumble around her. Because I will do anything to protect her. Even lying, drugging her, parading her in front of the vampire elites who wish nothing more to tear down everything she holds dear.” He took a breath.
“Even if it means losing her forever because I have broken her trust.”
My mind stalled like a bad engine while my heart grew two tiny arms, reaching to caress his words right out of the air. Had I misunderstood him somehow? Because nothing would make me happier than finding out I’d been one hundred percent wrong about him.
Then my brain kicked back on. And snapped those two tiny arms like twigs. “Nice try, vampire. I’m not falling for your horseshit anymore. It’s over. You’re over. We. Are. Over.”
He bobbed his head. “Accepted.”
Accepted? “Is that all you have to say?”
“No,” he said. “Since you already hate me, and you’re determined to undermine your very own survival, my only option now is to ensure you obey me until my plan is in place.” He stepped closer, the veins pulsing in his neck.
He really was going to torture me!
My butthole puckered. “Stark?” I pleaded with my tone.
“I am out of time, Masie.” Another step closer.
“What are you fixin’ to do?” I held out my hands defensively.
He tilted his head to one side, a sinister look in his swirling pale blue eyes.
“Please,” I pleaded, “just break my neck. Don’t drink me.”
“You have no idea how far those two things are from my mind.”
“I hate you!” From the sanctuary of my bright orange bathroom, I rubbed calamine lotion on my stinging ass. “I’m going to kill you for that!”
“I would like to see you try!” he yelled from the other side of the closed door. “At least then I’d know you are taking me seriously!”
While he had been spanking the hell out of my rear, he’d kept repeating: “This is life or death. And you will obey me. This is life or death. And you will obey me…”
I pulled up my purple PJ pants, reached for the door, and jerked it open. “I know exactly how serious this is. Do you?” This outdated…T-rex had just treated me like a child, and somewhere in his ancient, tiny dinosaur brain, he thought smacking my back porch would scare me straight.
Well, it hadn’t. If anything, I was more determined than ever to mow him down like a bad weed.
His eyes narrowed. “If that were true, I would not have to resort to such barbaric, yet extremely satisfying, measures.”
“You’re such an asshole. And stop drugging my family with that moonshine garbage!”
Stark went silent for a moment. “An asshole,” he said calmly, “would not risk everything he has worked for. Five hundred years. All because of a woman who has absolutely no clue how to listen. Or trust. Or love.”
Wow. “I know how to love, and it don’t mean eatin’ people.”
“I do not know what you have been told, but the only person I have eaten in the last century is standing right in front of me.” He shrugged. “Never been one for tongue sex until you came along.”
I made a sour face. Did he really think this was the time to get all cute on me? “That is not what I meant, and you know it.”
“Dear God.” He groaned with frustration.
“If you would simply listen for a minute, you would understand everything, including why I may—or may not—have instructed your father to give your family moonshine. Is sixty seconds truly too much to ask for? All right, ten minutes. But I promise if you do, everything will change.”
Stark stood on my very last inch of trust. “I’ll give you two minutes. And it had better start with why you lied and made me think I was a vampire.” I remained standing in the bathroom doorway.
Stark took a seat on the edge of my bed and ran his hands over his long black hair. “Vampires are planning a takeover—”
“You’re turning us into pigs. I knew it.”
He held out a hand, urging me to remain silent.
Anger in my eyes, I folded my arms over my chest and clamped my lips shut.
He went on, “The truth is, there are many vampires who refuse to cease the practice of killing humans. They believe it is our God-given right because we are apex predators. Others simply enjoy the screaming while they play with their food.”
Gah… That explained the waking chambers.
He continued, “What you do not know is that my coven are such vampires, and they have powerful influence over the other covens.”
And Stark is their leader. So I’d been right about everything. “And you thought to just take over the world so you can snack on screaming humans whenever you get a hankerin’ for it?”