ANDREA'S OVERLORD (8 page)

“I care about you because I’ve fallen in love with you, Andrea.”

Was there no depths to which this manipulative vampire wouldn’t go? She hated him for trying to control her this way. It was mean and cruel. “You have no idea what love is.”

He tried to pull her into his arms but she pushed away.

“You’re wrong. Why do you think I went against everyone to go and rescue you? Surely that must have impressed you a little.”

“You’re just toying with me to amuse yourself. You and your kind are sick and twisted bastards who get off on using humans any way they can.”

“Okay, all right. Maybe there is some truth to that. But what I told you about my feelings isn’t a game. You’re far too much of a dangerous pain in the ass for me to go out on a limb protecting you if I didn’t care.”

“Oh yeah? Then if you’re so noble and loving why not just let me go?”

“What do you mean? Just let you walk out to whatever fate has planned? And what would that accomplish? Where would you go? I’ll tell you what would happen. You’d end up on the streets and get taken by another vampire bastard who wouldn’t hesitate to use you in any way he saw fit. Then where the hell would you be?”

Andrea chewed her bottom lip. She wanted to say she’d sneak off and find the rumored human resistance but she didn’t dare. Then he might make sure she could never escape and that would be a disaster. “If that happened I’d kill myself.”

“That is if this new vampire didn’t turn you and keep you as an immortal slave.”

He went to her and she let him hug her. It angered her that she was comforted by his warm kindness.

“I know you’re dying to get out of here. Just another week or two, okay?”

“I guess I don’t have a choice in the matter, do I?”

“No, you don’t.”

She crossed her fingers behind his back. “Okay then. I’ll wait.”

Chapter 12

The night came quickly but Mikel was holding off on going out. Andrea tried to pretend she didn’t care but it was driving her crazy. He must have sensed her determination to go out tonight because he kept trying to engage her in meaningless conversation. She did her best to be relaxed and pleasant so he wouldn’t know how desperate she was to get out of here. Finally her plan worked. After eleven he gave up on babysitting her. He gave her one last warning not to go out and left.

Andrea had never been happier to see someone leave. She waited about half an hour then went out too.

The air was cool and crisp with a faint hint of coffee in the air from the pastry shop nearby. Because she didn’t own anything and had no money of her own, she took money from a wad of cash in his dresser. She felt really bad about doing that but if she’d asked him he would have known she was up to something.

She quickened her steps. How wonderful it felt to be out of that sterile apartment! She wanted to run, jump and scream her happiness. She reached a busy road with several nightclub and shops. Not surprisingly in a vampire world they all had signs boasting they were open twenty-four hours. Andrea went into one that specialized in books and novelty gifts. She browsed the aisles happier than she’d been in a long while. A saleswoman came over and smiled. To Andrea’s relief she was human too.

“Out with your master, ma’am?” the woman asked.

“No, he sent me to register at the nearest Red League clinic. Do you know where the closest one might be?”

The woman had dyed red hair that didn’t flatter her reddish-pink cheeks. She gave Andrea a strange look then seemed to shrug off her suspicion. “There’s a clinic just down the road at Crown Point but I think they’ll require your master to be with you.”

Andrea shrugged and walked out.
Are all humans under a vampire’s rule so subservient? Surely there must be some who fight their confinement.
For the first time that night Andrea felt a sense of panic and loss. Was she doomed to end up like these other drones or be killed for trying to be independent? There was no choice for her. She would be who she was even if it meant death. She didn’t fear what that truth might mean. The only thing that did terrify her was the thought that she was alone in her defiance. Where were the other humans like her?

She found the Red League clinic just where the woman said it would be. The glass doors opened to a moderately furnished office space with a frail-looking woman at the front desk. Andrea walked up and smiled. The woman just stared up at her with muddy brown eyes. The marks on her neck showed she’d been used badly in the past few days.

“What are you doing here alone? Have you lost track of your master?” the woman asked.

“Um…no. I was trained for the Red League in the camps. When I was acquired by my new master, he sent me here to register.”

“Usually humans come in with their masters,” the woman said in a strained tone.

“Yeah? Well I guess mine thought I could handle this on my own.”

The woman sat very still. Then she unexpectedly stood up. “Excuse me for just a second, will you?”

Uh-oh.

Andrea knew she was in trouble. Unfortunately trying to leave now would only call more attention to her being here alone. Instead of turning tail and running, she settled for a stiff nod. The woman walked into a nearby office but kept the door open. Andrea could hear her talking to someone in hushed tones but she couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying. A tall, commanding vampire stepped out and came over. He was dressed in a dark suit with a black shirt and tie. His hair was dark brown, bordering on black and his eyes were such a light brown they could have passed for yellow. Andrea stared at his tie so he couldn’t work his vampire voodoo on her.

“Won’t you step into my office?”

A small tremor unsettled her stomach but she stood her ground. “Why?”

She expected him to be angry but he only smiled. He had to be an older vampire like Mikel. New vampires lost their tempers a lot because they weren’t secure in their power, but older ones knew they could kill a human in seconds so defiance only amused them.

“I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes. I assume you don’t have any pressing engagements.”

“My master is waiting for me. He told me to register and come straight home.”

His eyes danced with evil amusement. “He was so concerned about you that he didn’t come with you.”

Andrea suddenly realized the mistake she’d made by coming here. This vampire thought her master was weak and foolish. She was in real trouble. This guy could choose to keep her for himself. She fought hard not to panic and run out. She’d never make it. “He’ll come looking for me if I’m not home soon.”

The vampire smiled and it was chilling. He held his hand out. “I’m Bryce. What is your name?”

She shook his hand and was slightly relived when he let it go. “I’m Andrea. My master is—”

“Yes, Mikel. He and I know each other well. I know who you are too.”

Andrea’s stomach dropped. What kind of trouble had she gotten her and Mikel into? Perhaps she should have stayed home like he told her, but just thinking those thoughts made her furious with herself all over again.

Bryce leaned in confidentially. “He doesn’t know you’re here, does he?”

She opened her mouth to lie but he held up a hand to stop her and gestured to his office. Unable to say no without arousing even more suspicion, she went in and watched helplessly as Bryce closed the door behind him.

Andrea stood in front of his desk like a naughty school child. “I was trained for the Red League. I just wanted to do something with my life.”

Bryce sat behind his desk and interlaced his fingers. “I understand. I think it’s very brave that you came here alone. However you must realize the danger you put yourself in.”

“I don’t care about the danger. I just want and deserve a meaningful life. I want to do what I was trained for.”

A second of confusion came over her and then the room was filled with Bryce’s dark magic. It was thick like molasses and clouded her senses. She swooned and in a flash she was near him as he ushered her into his lap. Her thigh pressed against his thick, pressing erection while he wrapped his arms around her. Tender lips brushed the pulse of her throat. Andrea tried to fight the magic, but his light caresses and the feel of his mouth on her neck drained all the resistance from her. She had become a thing with no will of her own, ready and eager to be used by this blood-sucking beast.

Bryce moved his hands down her face and neck with eyes that burned like the sun.

“Does your master treat you well, Andrea?”

His voice was sweet poison, smoothing over her skin like velvet.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. Somewhere deep inside, her mind was screaming, begging her to snap out of this toxic game the vampire was weaving. But try as she might, she couldn’t break loose. Perhaps a part of her didn’t want to. She welcomed the destruction he offered and couldn’t think of a reason in the world to resist.

“I would be much better to you.”

A note of anger brought her partially back. “I don’t want to trade one slave master for another.”

Sharp teeth grazed her neck: tempting, teasing, threatening. Moisture pooled between her legs. She was his. Anything he wanted was his for the taking.

The point of a fang pressed against her flesh.

The office door banged open and Mikel filled the room. “Don’t you dare,” he said in a tone that conveyed a terrible warning.

Bryce wrapped his arms around her like a possessive lover. “I really like her. She is lonely. Where were you when she needed you the most?”

“I’m here. Get your fucking hands off her
now
.”

Bryce hesitated. The room filled with tension. Then it seemed he decided she wasn’t worth the fight and pushed her off his lap toward Mikel. “Don’t leave your new toys lying around the playground. Next time, you’ll lose her for good.”

Mikel grabbed her arm with such force she thought he was going to pull it from the socket. He dragged her out without a word. She wanted to talk to him and explain herself but her mind was still hazy. He wouldn’t be able to listen in his current mood anyway. But she was very grateful he had come to save her. It made her wonder if he really did have feelings for her.

“Thank you for that,” she said in a gravelly voice.

Mikel glared down at her as he rushed her through the street. He was definitely really mad about this. She wondered if maybe she might end up being given over to Bryce after all.

Chapter 13

Back at the apartment Mikel could barely contain his rage. He marched through the door and pulled her in behind him. He slammed the door shut. It sounded like a gunshot. Andrea looked at him with her best Ice Princess stare. Her arms folded.

“What did I tell you? What did we discuss just before I left tonight?” he roared.

She shrugged. “Something about me staying here until you thought it was safe for me to leave.”

“And what about that conversation did you not understand?”

“I understood it. I just decided I didn’t agree with it.”

He tried to soften his tone but didn’t succeed. “You could have been killed.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Don’t you care anything for your safety?”

“Not if it means being a prisoner waiting for you to come home and fuck me.”

Mikel clasped his hands behind his back and paced. “That’s a nasty little statement and not true, Andrea. I’m asking you to stay here until it’s safe for you to roam around, that’s all.”

“You’re keeping me here a virtual prisoner.”

“I love you, Andrea. I think I’ve treated you pretty well. All I’m trying to do is keep you from becoming someone else’s slave.”

“Liar,” she scoffed. “You don’t remember what it means to truly love someone. If you did you’d help me get in contact with the human resistance and get away from all this.”