“I wouldn’t have killed you,” he reassured me. “I don’t do that.”
“You’re a real saint.” I rolled my eyes. “Did he send other vampires after me too?”
“I don’t know.”
“What were you supposed to do with me after you broke my legs?”
“Send him pictures.”
“Do you have his number or his email address?”
“Yes.”
“Which?”
“Both.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “Can you give them to me?”
Polite as can be, he rattled off the information while I wrote it all down. “Thanks.”
“Can I bite you?”
“Uh, no.” I checked with Linus. “Are we done here?”
“I am if you are.” He put away his scythe. “We’ll compare what he said against what Boaz has learned.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I turned back to the vampire, picked the scab on my palm, and drew the paralyzer sigil on his forehead to lock down his entire body. “We’ve got to go, but sentinels will be here shortly.”
I told him I would walk away if he cooperated. I never said he was going anywhere.
Seven
As much as I respected what the Lyceum stood for, I hated riding the elevator down its dark maw. I still couldn’t quite shake the fear that once I hit bottom, it would digest me rather than spit me out on the surface when I was done.
Linus, always in tune with me, rested a hand on my shoulder where he coiled a length of my hair around his finger. His touch anchored me, and his support gave me the strength to keep coming back here. Maybe one day it wouldn’t be so triggering, but I wasn’t holding my breath.
“We got a name,” Boaz said as he joined us in a conference room, “but you’re not going to like it.”
“Volkov.” I beat him to the punch, but the name still hit me hard. “Another vampire came after me tonight.” I leaned forward, bracing my forearms on the table. “This one had orders to break my legs. They’re escalating. Quickly.”
“You’re about to tie the knot,” Boaz pointed out. “Volkov must want you in hand before the wedding.”
“I’ll break his hands if they get anywhere near me.” I rolled my shoulders, forcing out the tension. “Volkov always did his own dirty work.” From flirting with me to kidnapping me, he enjoyed having a starring role in his schemes. “Why switch it up now?”
“He’s a fugitive.” Linus mirrored my posture. “He can’t rely on his forged papers to protect him in Savannah.”
“First the avowal and now this.” I traced a gouge in the wood with my fingernail. “It doesn’t add up for me.” I flattened my palm before I got in trouble for defacing Lyceum property. “I can see Volkov sending an avowal to replace the original, but not without his blood.” The use of bronze powder was inspired, its presence guaranteeing I received his first message in time. “I could see Volkov kidnapping me or lashing out, but I don’t see him paying someone to do it for him.” He was the type of man who would punish me for bad behavior but snap the neck of anyone else who dared touch what he viewed as his. “I want to believe you’re right, that it’s a matter of him outsourcing his dirty work but…”
“Trust your gut.” Linus traced my knuckles with a cool fingertip. “We’ll all keep an open mind.”
The meeting ended when it became clear we had run out of business to discuss. Boaz made noises about getting back to work, and Linus and I did too. Professional interactions with Boaz were no longer uncomfortable. I had gotten used to bumping into him around the Lyceum. But when he touched my shoulder to get my attention on my way out the door, I jumped at the unexpected contact.
“Sorry.” Emotion clouded his expression, regret the easiest to identify. “I just wanted to thank you for the wedding invitation. I haven’t seen Addie this excited in a long time.”
I shouldn’t have said anything, but it popped out anyway. “How are your wedding plans coming along?”
“Addie has pointed out to me on many occasions that she agreed to marry me, but she never specified when.”
Smart girl, thinking with her head instead of her heart with him. “You’re okay with that?”
“I…care about her.” He rolled a shoulder like the raw admission didn’t mean a thing, when it meant everything for a guy like him. “She’s worth waiting for.”
“She’s good people.” I scuffed my shoe. “I’m glad you guys are taking it slow.”
As much as I worried for Adelaide’s obvious attachment to Boaz, I was still processing the slim chance he felt the same. Maybe not love, but stronger than like. Was it enough to build a future on? Was it enough to make them happy? I didn’t know, and I bet they didn’t either. So, yeah. Slow was good for them. She might be better than he deserved, but I could see he was trying. For her. That was more than he had done for any other woman he had ever dated, me included.
“I’ll update you if we find out anything else relevant. Otherwise, see you on the big day.”
A nod got me out the door, and I found Linus waiting for me in the hall. He leaned around my left side and then my right. “What are you doing?”
“Checking to be sure Boaz didn’t convince you to pack your bags and run away with him.”
“Ha ha.” I punched him in the shoulder, happy he could joke about it. “Do you want to visit your mom while we’re here?”
Their relationship was complex, but his mom was alive and kicking. I would give a lot to spend another second with mine, so it fell to me to nudge him at times. Even if I had to force the words out between clenched teeth.
“That’s cruel.” Aware of how much effort it cost me to make the offer, he pretended to consider me. “I’m seeing a whole new side of you.”
“Wait until after we’re married.” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Then you’ll see the real me.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll stop shaving my legs, start eating cookies in bed, and never wear pants.”
“The horror.”
“That’s just the start. I have big plans. Think cereal in bed, popcorn in bed, hamburgers in bed.”
“It sounds like the real you enjoys numerous activities in bed.”
“Oh, she does.”
I got a laugh out of him that banished the specter of Boaz, and that made me feel like I was getting the hang of this relationship thing.
We rode the elevator up and stepped out onto Bull Street in time to admire the sun sparking color on the horizon.
“Let’s go home.” I tossed the keys in the air and caught them on my palm. “Maybe, if you’re a good boy, I’ll let you drive.”
A shadowy hand snatched the keys on my third toss and flung them to Linus.
“Cletus.” I tugged on his tattered cowl. “That’s cheating.” I spun on Linus. “Did you put him up to that?”
A low moan chastised me, and I harrumphed at the wraith. He was definitely sassier these days.
Linus’s eyes twinkled when he said, “I would never.”
I let them get away with double-teaming me, all to see that happiness brighten his smile.
Woolly threw on lights when she spotted us, her fixtures dialed up as high as they would go, and the frantic swish of her curtains hurried us into the house. The old girl was worried, and her anxiety was spilling over into me. Her wards sang when we crossed them, snug and secure, but my heart pounded all the same.
Something was wrong. Something had happened. Something…
Eva stood in the living room wearing one of her recital costumes, a glittery leotard and a sequined tutu from her last Silver Belles recital. A familiar clutch I never thought I would see again was tucked under one arm, and silver kitten heels too big for her feet made her wobble in place.
The oxygen punched out of my lungs, and I couldn’t get it back.
“By accepting my gifts, you have given me the pleasure of caring for you. I wish to show you that it can always be this way between us.” He delivered the line with enough sincerity to impress the orator in me. “Tonight I will be the most envied man in the room.” His smile grew sharp. “I can hardly wait.”
Volkov had told me that on the night I was reinstated as the Woolworth heiress.
And now Eva wore those shoes and carried that clutch. All that was missing was the gown.
I wanted to rush over, scoop her out of those heels and toss them and the bag in the trash where they belonged, but I couldn’t get my arms or legs to move. I couldn’t unglue my tongue from the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t do more than stand and stare and force myself to push oxygen in and out of my lungs.
“What do you think?” She turned a careful circle so she didn’t fall. “I’m a frost princess.”
Caught in a tug of war between her physical and mental ages, Eva was easily convinced to play dress-up with her mother and me whenever we prepared for social events. That included revisiting old costumes.
“Where did you get the purse?” Linus admired her ensemble, stepping in when it became obvious I was experiencing technical difficulties. “It’s lovely.”
“I found a box on the front porch with my name on it.” She beamed up at him. “Do you like it?” She stuck out one foot. “It came with matching shoes.”
The flush on her cheeks painted her crush on Linus for all to see.
I had been wrong about her not being interested in the opposite sex. The problem was she already had a crush. That’s why she didn’t pay boys her age any attention.
Goddess help us.
“You look beautiful.” He approached her when it became obvious my legs still were made of Jell-O. “Did you keep the box? Or the note?”
“They’re in my room.” A flicker of hesitation dimmed her exuberance. “Did I…?” She looked to me now. “Did I do something wrong?”