“Just Orin, Brooks, and my sister. We kind of kept it to ourselves.”
The four of them do seem to be covered in secrets. “How does Brooks know so much about you?” I ask.
“He responded to the accident because he was close. He was also a long-time friend with Orin and after the accident he’d check on me occasionally—just to see how I was doing and stuff—so I’ve known him since I was about twelve. Although I didn’t really know him until after the accident. Now since I’ve told you all of that, I get one answer from you.”
“Shoot.”
“What color’s your underwear?”
I sigh and grab the door before pulling it open. He’s chuckling behind me. “Red,” I say before heading into the office.
Chapter Fifteen
FINN
It’s been a week since the incident at the storage facility. The anti-vampire group has been strangely quiet, maybe recovering from the fight. We haven’t seen Smith since and Wren has finally reluctantly agreed that maybe Smith was involved. Hank, the man from the hospital, still refuses to talk, and has never talked like Smith claimed. Instead, he’s been transported to prison until his trial. The few that were still alive from the storage facility also refused to talk. I know Marcus is dying to get his hands on them to make them talk, but we’ve already done a few… questionable things; we don’t need the higher-ups breathing down our necks.
So, instead, we try to calm the city down, stop the fighting that is becoming more common between the vampires and the humans, and continue doing what we can to find another piece of the puzzle.
But in the meantime, I have a long-promised dinner date at Marcus’s house.
I’m not sure who promised it, all I know is that I invited myself over and he agreed with minor complaints. I haven’t seen him since work on Wednesday, since he had to do some work with DeGray on Thursday and Friday, so I’m sure he’s missing me something fierce now that it’s Friday night. I knock and Artie races to the door to bark at it. Marcus pulls it open and then jerks back, like he’s startled.
“What?” I ask, wondering what would cause him to have such a reaction. It wasn’t like an “Oh my god! My one true love has stumbled upon my doorstep” reaction either. More of a “What the fuck” reaction.
“Nothing.”
I eye him because I’m positive he’s lying. “Were you shocked by how much you missed me?”
He points a finger at me. “Definitely not that one. Get in here. You’re letting all the cold air in.”
“Do vampires even feel cold air?”
“A little. I can feel it, but it doesn’t bother me unless it’s extremely cold. But I don’t want to hear you cry about how cold it is.”
“Ooh, it smells delicious in here. You’re quite the chef. Just please tell me no more gross green stuff?” I hold my breath, anticipating the worst, hoping for the best, but knowing I’ll eat whatever it is as long as my sexy chef is serving it.
“No, I threw that shit in the trash the moment you left. Even Artemus, who will eat anything out of the trash, didn’t try for it when I accidentally left the lid off.”
I reach over and pet the dog’s head which requires no work since it’s always right there. “Aw, did he try feeding you yucky stuff? You poor baby!”
“Yes. I tried torturing him,” he says sarcastically as he heads into the kitchen.
I follow after him with Artie by my side. “You’re such a changed man, Marcus. Just a couple of months ago, you couldn’t even look at me without wanting to squish me.”
“Like a gnat.”
“Yes, like a gnat.”
“I’ve become weak, but when you live as long as I have, you become entertained by little strange things. Little oddities, almost.”
I raise an eyebrow as I walk over to where he’s stirring something. “Strange? That’s how you’d describe me?”
“Strange, smelly, tiny… would you like me to continue?”
“Yes! Please! You’re just… my god.” I wipe away a fake tear. “You’re so sweet it brings tears to my eyes.”
He shakes his head as he slides past me to drain the water.
“Can I help?”
“Go roll around with the dog some. He missed you.”
I look over at Artie whose tail starts going nuts with just a look from me. “Well… I suppose if you refuse to roll around with me, I’ll roll around with him.”
Marcus glances over at me in concern. “That just doesn’t sound right.”
I start laughing as I kneel in front of Artie. “You’re the one who made it sound wrong. But I’m excited to see what you want to do to me.”
“I want you to sit down and eat my food.”
“Ooh. What’d you make? Sausage?” I waggle my eyebrows.
He stares at me.
“Squash?”
More staring.
“Eggplant?” The only one who seems entertained by me is Artie.
He sighs. “Steak.”
“Oh, hot damn. I’m ready. Forget all that other stuff.”
He carries the plates over, so I sit down and stare in wonder at the perfectly cooked steak.
I beam at him. “You even know how to cook. How are you not married at this point?”
“When you’re as old as I am, everyone starts treating you like you’re sacred instead of an equal and it irritates me.”
“You irritated? No, that can’t be true!”
He snorts. “And then there’s you.”
“And then there’s me. But you like me. I mean, you made me steak, and is this garlic butter on top? I thought vampires hated garlic.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re aware that’s folklore.”
I grin. “I was wondering why coating myself in garlic was doing nothing to keep you away.”
“Have you ever wanted to keep me away?” he asks curiously.
“Not yet,” I say as I cut into the steak. It’s clear he bought an expensive cut too because it’s tender and when I bite into it, rich flavor fills my mouth. “Hmm… this is amazing.”
I look up and realize he’s staring at me. He must realize it too because he quickly looks down and cuts into his own steak.
He’s acting weird, that much is now clear. He’s definitely not one for staring. He’s much more of a glarer.
I eat a few more bites of the delicious steak and when I look up, he’s holding his fork in front of his mouth while blatantly staring at me. He’s been in the position so long that garlic butter has run down his fork and coated his fingers. He’s completely fixated on me.
“Marcus?”
He jumps. “You need to leave.”
“What?” I ask in confusion.
“It’s been almost a hundred years since I had fresh human blood, and it tastes so… different. It’s absolutely intoxicating and I’m thirsty, but everything else I drink is disgusting and then you come over flaunting your blood everywhere and moaning over this disgusting thing, and I need you to leave before I eat you.”