CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (23 page)

“Samantha
.
” Jonathan touched my chin softly. “If one thing is certain, it's that Dane is madly in love with you and everything he said or did was simply to protect you.”

“Right
.
” I turned my head away. “Like I would believe you.”

“Do you really think that Dane spent the past few days in the Club just to have fun?” Jonathan turned my head gently back and met my eyes. “He was there to protect you and to make sure that Jason kept his promises. So no matter what you think of him, you must believe that he cares for you. A lot.”

Just the mention of Jason's name made me shiver and I immediately remembered his warm hand on my shoulder or my lower back, his cocky smile and arrogant eyes that watched me every second. I remembered what he made me do and it made me sick. I closed my eyes and tears started rolling from my eyes again. I tried to calm down, but I couldn't. Jason's eyes had burned so deeply in my mind that I could vividly imagine him standing in front of me and promising he would be back. And then what? Could I escape from him? Probably not, and certai
nly not without Dane's help. Oh
my
G
od! If Dane didn't want me, didn't that just leave me unprotected and ready for Jason to claim?

I opened my eyes and gasped in panic.
“Jason,” I managed to say and Jonathan pulled me closer.
If just the thought of him scared the bejesus out of me what would it do to see him again?

“Yes,” Jonathan whispered. “Dane cannot protect you from Jason if he's with you.”

“What?” I pulled myself free and jumped up. “That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I mean, Dane is the only thing that stops Jason for claiming me as his own.”

“True
.
” Jonathan nodded. “But he's also the only thing that can make you do something stupid and give Jason a reason to punish you again.”

I burst into laughter
,
and once I had started I couldn't stop. Finally
,
I had to sit on the floor
,
as my legs
woul
dn't support me anymore. Jonathan sat
in front of
me and took my hands. I shook him away.

“Dane is an ass, you know,” I giggled. “There is nothing, and let me repeat, nothing in this universe that can stop me from doing stupid things. I don't do them on purpose, but that's just the way I am. I'm impulsive and I say what
ever
comes
out of
my mouth. I'm reckless and blue-eyed
,
but that's just me. I can't help it
.
” I shrugged.
“So if that's why he broke up with me
,
I have to shake him a bit and bang some sense into his thick skull
.
” I stared at Jonathan and couldn't help smiling.
Dane might love me after all! I leaned on Jonathan and got up shakily.
“Right
.
” I wiped my eyes. “I better go talk to him right now.”

Jonathan got up, too, and put a wild tress back behind my
ear. “I told you everything would
be okay, didn't I?”

“Yes, yes, you did
.
” I smiled and gave him a light kiss. “I'm off now.”I laughed and turned to leave. Jonathan sat back on the couch and I glanced at him once more.
“Thank you.”

“Anytime
.
”
H
e raised his glass and I took a step toward the door.
But before I could walk any further I stopped and glanced at
him
again.

“Maybe I should check on Kate first
.
” I grinned. “After all, Dane dumped me and if he really loves me, it's not bad that he has to roll in his self-pity a little longer, right?”

“I like you when you're being vicious
.
” Jonathan laughed and sat back on the couch. “I'll wait here.”

I flashed him a smile and ran upstairs. But when I reached my room, the room was empty
.
Kate was gone.

“Kate!” I shouted, but no one answered. “Kate, you stupid cow! Where are you?”
But that was in vain. She was gone and I knew exactly where she was.“Jonathan!” I yelled as I ran to the front door.

One look at my face and Jonathan knew what had happened. “I'll go get Dane,” he shouted and gestured me to wait.

I shrugged and nodded
,
but the second he had turned his back I rushed out. Jonathan was admirably blue-eyed if he thought for a
moment
that Dane would come and help us
,
and I wasn't going to wait until he manage
d
to persuade
him
to come along. As if that
would
really happen. I mean, why would Dane want to help us? Even if he did love me, Kate was my problem and he had washed his hands of me. So I was pretty sure he would laugh at Jonathan
for
even asking it. And even if, and that was a remarkably big if, Dane agreed to help us, it would be too late. All Kate's dad needed was a minute alone with his daughter. I doubted he would try anything while Kate's mom was there, but I couldn't count on that either.

So I ran to the garage and scanned it. No keys, no keys, keys, no keys and yes, keys. I laughed out aloud. Dane had left
the keys in his car. Oh
I knew he would kill me for taking his Maserati, but there was no way I would
take
Jonathan's motorcycle, which was the only vehicle with keys besides Dane's car. I sat in the car and eyed the control panel. I could do that. I was already seventeen and technically I could drive a car. The problem was that I was only halfway with my driving lessons and the cars I had driven before were nothing like Dane's.

I turned the key and the engine roared. Okay, first move the stick to R. The car started to roll slowly backwards. I pushed the gas lightly and the car sped up. Carefully, I reminded myself as I almost hit
an
other car. It was bad enough I had borrowed Dane's car without his permission. If I scratched it, he would strangle me. The car was almost out and I breathed thankfully. A bit more and I'd be out. Yes, nice and easy. I stepped on the brake. Okay, I was out. I eyed the letters next to R and tried to remember which one was the right one. I moved the stick to N. Nothing happened. I closed my eyes and tried to hear my teacher's
voice in my mind. N meant neutra
l, D meant Drive. I moved the stick to D and the car rolled forward. Wow! I turned the wheel and stepped on the gas. I did it! I felt so proud of myself that I yelled.

I parked the car
outside
Kate's house and got out.
It
was quiet and the lights were off. I peeked
through
the windows but couldn't see anyone in
side
. The night was still young and it felt strange. Kate's mom at least should've been home. The twins' bedtime was close and she was so strict she wouldn't slip on that. I listened for voices around me but heard nothing. No heartbeats, no quiet whispers, nothing. I walked around the house and
quietly
opened the gate to their garden. The kitchen light was on and I could see that the door was ajar. I stopped. Someone moved inside and I hid myself behind a rosebush. I closed my eyes and slowed my breath.

My ears caught a heartbeat. A bit slower than a normal beat, but definitely a heartbeat. A vampire's heartbeat. “Kate,” I sighed and walked carefully to the door.
Kate was sitting on the kitchen table. She stared at me.
“Kate?”

“I left it on her bed,” Kate whispered, shivering.

I nodded. I wasn't going to argue with her, not now, or point out that she actually promised that I could read the letter before she sent it to her mom, which
,
by the way
,
was another thing I had to discuss with
her
later. Coming here alone was stupid of her, not to mention dea
d
ly dangerous, but one look at her face closed my mouth and restrained my sharp tongue. Kate's face was pale and her lips were shivering. She looked like she was at her breaking point.

I couldn't even imagine how hard this was for her. She was saying goodbye to all her loved ones. And like that wasn't enough, she had to do it through a letter which was full of lies. Her mom would cry her eyes
out
when she read it. She
w
ould never understand why
her daughter
had chosen to run away from home. Kate's brothers would grow old knowing the big sister they adored had left them without another thought. Only her dad would know the real reason and I had a feeling he wouldn't rest before Kate burn
ed
in a bonfire.

I leaped next to
her
and pressed her against me. “That's good. Now, let's get out of here.”

“In a minute,”
she
whispered and I sighed.
Every minute was more dangerous than the
one before
. Her family could show up
at
anytime and then we'd both be in danger. But still
,
I couldn't force her to go.

“You know, I used to dream of bringing my own children here. My mom would rock them in her arms and my brothers would do fun things with them. And now it's all gone,” Kate sniffed. “I can never have children and I can never come back here.”

“S
h
h
.
” I stroked her hair.
I should have been happy she had finally understood the reality
,
but I felt sorry for her. She had lost all her dreams because of me. “I'm sorry,” I whispered.

“I know
.
”
She
smiled at me. “And I don't blame you, if that's what you think. Better alive as a vampire than dead, right?”

“Right,” I breathed.

“Besides,”
sh
e continued a bit breezily, “I almost begged for this before. I wanted to look hot and live forever, remember? Now I just have to pay the price for it.”

I returned her smile and held out my hand. “Shall we?”

“Yes
.
”
She
wiped her eyes and took my hand.

We walked to the door but didn't go out. Kate gazed at the kitchen longingly and I saw how hard it was for her to let go, so I stepped out first. Kate hesitated and I was afraid she had changed her mind. But instead she blew a kiss to the house, whispered
,
“Goodbye
,
” and followed me out. I hugged her tight and
as
we started to walk toward the gate
,
I noticed the lamp in the garden was switched off.

“Katie, does your mom
have an automatic light switch
?” I whispered, pulling Kate behind me.

“No. Why?”
sh
e asked in surprise.

“Because I'm sure the lamp was on when I got here and now it's off.”

Kate pushed past me and knelt down next to the lamp. “Weird. Maybe it's broken or something.”

“Maybe,” I said slowly and scanned the garden.
I put my finger on my lip
s
and Kate nodded. The garden was full of shadows
,
but with my night vision I could see better than before. I listened carefully. Someone passed the garden and I heard her laughing. I didn't move. Another human walked on the street and stopped behind the gate. I sneaked closer and peeked. It was only a boy whose shoelace was untied. Kate moved next to me. We waited until the boy was gone before opening the gate. But before I took the first step my survival instincts took over.
I turned slowly as I heard a crack. Kate turned, too. Her father was standing at the kitchen door with a gun pointed at us.

“Daddy,” Kate whispered and moved a bit further
away
from me. “
Dad, w
hat are you doing?”
She
glanced at me and I
mouthed the word
'sorry'. She
frowned
as if to say
‘
I don't understand
’
. Then she turned her eyes back to her dad.
“Dad, put the gun down.”

“I can't,” Mr
.
Walker said, shaking his head.

“Yes, you can
.
” Kate took a step closer to him. “It's me, Kate.”

“No. My Kate is dead. You're just an undead monster like my brother.”

I sharpened my ears. There it was. The connection I had been missing. So Kate's uncle was a vampire, too. Now all we had to do was find him.
A
fter we solved this situation
, that is
.