“Hey,” Bane's voice catches me off guard, and I startle before turning around. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Didn’t you hear me?”
“Uhm, no. I was a little distracted,” I say, holding up my running playlist.
His eyes narrow slightly before he shakes off the suspicious look and clears his throat.
“I’ve decided to cash in that favor.”
“What?” I ask, tilting my head.
“The night I brought you that flask, you asked what you owed me, and I said you’d owe me a favor.”
I stare at him, bewildered for a minute, completely silent, and at a total loss for words. I have no clue what he could possibly want, but I did agree to owe him a favor, and even though I didn’t actually get to drink that blood, he brought it when I asked, and a deal is a deal. Pressing my eyes closed, I take a deep breath before staring into his intense eyes.
“What do you want?”
“A chance to change your mind,” he says, taking a step to close the distance between us.
My chest tightens around my rapidly beating heart, and all I can do is stare at him. Part of me wishes I could give him what he wants and go back to that night we shared at his place, to the potential I thought we had. But none of that matters because I can’t. He turned me, stole the life I had out from under my feet, and I forgave him. I told him I could accept his darkest parts, and he still lied to me, how am I supposed to trust him? I shake my head slowly and take a step back. I wish I had fewer trust issues and less damage to burden my thoughts with, I wish more than anything that I could just turn off my brain, stop overthinking and let him have the second chance he’s asked for twice now, but if I do and he hurts me again I’ll have no one to blame but myself for the pain.
“Pick something else.”
“Piper.”
I cross my arms and shift my weight, staring into his eyes.
“You owe me a favor. I could ask for anything. All I want is time to show you that I can fix this.”
“I can't trust you.” I shrug
“What if there was a way you could?” he asks, taking another step forward. “I told you before, vampires can choose to give into suggestion. If I let my guard down, you can ask me anything you want to.”
“What?” I snap. His words catch me completely off guard. I can feel my creased brow encroaching on my wide eyes as I process his offer.
“I know you can do it, Piper. You're strong enough.”
I take a deep breath, run my hand across my smooth pulled back hair and down my long ponytail, weighing my options, feelings, everything. Bane’s right, I do owe him a favor, but what he’s asking for is a dangerous gamble. We spent one night together, and after four weeks apart, I still can’t fall asleep without thinking of the longing in his steely gaze, the way his rough hands felt on my skin and the high that came with every bite. I’m barely keeping my head above water as it is. If I give him another chance, I know I’ll be risking everything, but part of me- the incredibly stupid and romantically naive part wants to believe him. Believe that a second chance will fix everything, that he made a mistake and he’ll prove himself. For me. For us.
As for meddling around in his mind, that's an entirely different matter. I know if it worked, if I pulled it off, I could have any answers I need, but pulling the truth out of someone by force and them earning your trust isn't the same thing. Not by a landslide. I know it’s stupid, so stupid, but my heart and my mind are made up. The risk is big, but living with the what-if’s, and wondering for eternity if I let the one getaway will drive me crazy, I know it.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “That's not how trust works, Bane. If you want another chance, it's yours, but you better make it count.” I chew at the inside of my cheek, wondering if I’m making a huge and painful mistake or giving myself a chance at the happiness I’ve always craved.
A small smile pulls at one corner of his mouth, he looks down and clears his throat.
“I never got the chance to tell you, but the blonde guy we voted on last month, he was the ripper- the one draining the bodies.”
“How did you figure it out?” I ask, genuinely curious how the underworld goes about catching a serial killer.
“He finally slipped up, killed someone in front of other underworld members. We put Gavin under the magnifying glass, and everything fell into place. It turns out he's a regular in some areas where the victims were found. Once the vote was in, a few members came forward and said he had made offhand comments about draining bodies; they thought he was all talk until that night.”
“Wow. So, what happens to him now?”
“He's already been taken care of, Piper. He's gone,” Bane says, looking back at me with narrow eyes and a deeply creased brow.
It takes more than a minute for Bane’s words to sink in, but when they do, I don’t even know how I feel. The vote wasn’t unanimous, but it wasn’t a close call either. Regardless of my vote, Gavin would have received the same sentence, I know that. But I can’t help feeling like I had a hand in his death, and I don’t know how I feel about that. Sure, he was a murderer, but I’ve never been the eye for an eye type, and I don’t know if I could have voted had I known the end result.
“Oh, I see.” Is all I can manage as I bite down on my bottom lip. I don’t fault Bane for making the call. The guy was killing more innocent people every week, he had to be stopped, I know that. I honestly just wish I hadn’t been involved.
“Underworld executions are rare. Usually, warnings are enough. For the most part, things don't escalate, not the way things with Gavin did. But, all that matters is that he's gone, and these streets should be safe for humans again, from our kind anyway,” Bane says, reaching out to touch my arm.
I nod, swallowing the heavy dryness building in my throat.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, I pull it out, sure I’m late to meet Kit.
“Hey, I’m sorry, I’m on my way. I just got held up,” I say into the phone, turning away from Bane.
“It’s cool, I’ll be at the bar when you get here, Shelly is working,” Kit says. I hear the crowd and music around him, and I can practically taste the alcohol on my tongue, feel it relaxing my mind and my muscles. Being a vampire has changed my tolerance for alcohol. No matter how much I drink, I can’t seem to get drunk, but a buzz and the taste of bourbon is good enough for me.
“Is Shelly the blonde one with the tiny tops?” I ask, biting my tongue to stop my description from going any further.
“You know it,” he says enthusiastically, and if I had to guess, I’d say my best friend is already a few drinks in. “I’ll be there soon.”
I hang up, tuck my phone away, and turn my attention back to Bane.
“So, where are we headed?” he asks casually as if there is no doubt that we should be spending a Saturday night together.
I shake my head. Deliah’s is totally not Bane’s scene, and even if I believed for a second that the leader of the city’s vampire coven and owner of a penthouse apartment in Rittenhouse was into dive bars, how the hell would I ever explain him to Kit?
“I don't think that's a good idea,” I explain. “My friend Kit will be there, and it's just a 'ratty old bar',” I say, using air quotes, and tilting my head to the side. “Your words, not mine.” I smile.