Darkness Before Dawn (11 page)

On Day Street, it’s a very different experience. As the shadows lengthen and creep between the buildings, huge street lamps come on. Before long, it’s daylight again. Eventually all of Denver will be like this: daylight all the time so people feel safe. Unfortunately, an artificial sun isn’t much of a deterrent to vamp—

“Is this seat taken?”

Case in point. I jerk my gaze around to find Victor staring right at me, cup of coffee in hand. It’s a shame a face that gorgeous has to belong to a vampire.

And he is absolutely the very last person I want to see at this precise moment.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, it is, so get the hell away from me.”

Completely ignoring my protest, he plunks himself down across from me, wrapping both hands around his mug as he sets it on the table. His gaze is so intense, like he can see straight into my soul. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“I’m expecting someone,” I emphasize, not bothering to hide my irritation.

“No, you’re shaking. I can feel the vibrations over here.”

Vampires have incredibly keen senses.

“I want you gone.”

“Something happened, Dawn. Tell me.” He places a hand over mine. It’s so warm it makes me realize how cold mine is. I jerk my hand out from beneath his. I don’t want him comforting me. That’s Michael’s job. Where the hell is he?

“It’s none of your damn business,” I say to Victor. But then my anger overtakes my fear and I lean forward, whispering harshly. “There’re getting to be too many vampires in this city.”

Victor eyes me curiously. “I keep a pretty good head count. It’s not that high.”

“Well, then, you do a bad job of keeping them in line. And the next time one of them comes near me, I will shove my stake—”

“Another vampire attacked you? Where?”

Is that anger I hear in his voice? Not directed at me, but at my unseen foe? It rattles me, makes me rethink what may have happened. “No, not attacked. Just followed. At school. I don’t know what he was trying to do.” I cross my arms over my chest and rub my hands up and down them. “Scare me, maybe. Maybe it wasn’t even a vampire; the sun was still out, even if it was cloudy. I didn’t get a good look at him. He was wearing a hoodie pulled forward. It doesn’t matter.”

“If the sun was out, it couldn’t have been a vampire.”

Logically, I know that. It’s just that this guy was so … weird. But more, I don’t like appearing to be irrational in front of Victor. “He could have a nest somewhere in the school.”

“That’s possible. My father…” He hesitates.

“What?” I insist.

“He may have ordered someone to follow you. I know he had someone following your parents.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“You don’t really think he relies on the delegate to bring him all the information, do you?”

“Son of a bitch.” I glance out the window. Where’s the real sun when I need it? Then I glare at Victor. “Is that why you’re in the city? To spy for him?”

“I’m not here doing his bidding.”

“Then why are you?”

“Maybe if we were friends—but, well, you said that won’t happen—so I’ll keep my reasons to myself. But I promise you that my presence puts no humans in danger.”

“Yeah, right. You’d have to say that, wouldn’t you?” I rub my brow. “I should tell the Agency you’re here.”

“You didn’t tell them?”

I hadn’t meant to confess that. “There wasn’t a good opportunity to bring up the subject. I was crunched for time. Had to get to school, so discussing the negotiations with your father took precedence.”

“Thank you,” he says, his low, seductive voice sending pleasure spiraling through me.

What’s wrong with me? Why do I care if he’s happy?

“Can you please go?” I ask.

“I won’t stay long.”

“Don’t you get it? I’d rather you not stay at all.”

He studies me for a minute as though he’s trying to judge the veracity of my words. Other than threatening him with a stake, I don’t know how to get my point across.

“Fine. I came here to give you this. I meant to give it to you this morning … but, well, I was a little distracted.” He reaches into his jeans pocket, then sets my cell phone on the table between us.

I snatch it up. I hadn’t yet worked up the courage to tell Rachel that I’d lost it. And I sure could have used it when Hoodie was following me through the school. “Oh my God, you went back for it?”

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. But there could have been other vampires around. Or Night Watchmen investigating a trolley that was no longer running. One with dead vamps in it. I don’t want to be grateful to him, but I am, dammit.

I open it. There are the texts from Michael. The missed calls. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you?”

I look up at him, totally unable to understand his motivation. What does he want from me? Vamps never do anything without expecting some sort of payback. “Yeah. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Victor says, like we’re back at Valentine Manor, having to be all formal and polite.

Since it’s obvious he’s not leaving, I decide a little interrogation might be in order, and if it makes him uncomfortable, all the better. I’m not in the manor now, and I’m not under his father’s scrutiny, which means I’ve more freedom to ask what I want. “So did you fight in the war?”

He hesitates, then says quietly, “Yes.”

“How long?”

“From the beginning.”

Thirty years. I stare at him, not sure what to say. Brady fought for only two, and the change in him after he returned was so extreme that even at my young age, I noticed it. Once happy and optimistic, he became severely depressed. I remember sometimes he just stared off at nothing, and there’d be no way to get him back. No telling what horrors played through his mind every night. After only two years. I wonder what toll it took on Victor to have fought for thirty. I’d never considered that vampires, with their immortality and their ability to heal quickly from almost all wounds, would never get a break from the fighting.

Uneasy with my silence, Victor says, “I should probably go.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“I’ll see if I can find out anything about this guy who was bothering you at school.”

“Don’t.” I don’t want him doing me any more favors. I don’t want him having an excuse to come talk to me. “My boyfriend will take care of it. Michael is really capable. As a matter of fact, you
really
don’t want to be here when he gets—”

“Victor, oh my God! I was afraid I’d never see you again,” Tegan gushes as she drops into the seat beside him as though we’d invited her. I’m not surprised to see her here. Daylight is hangout central for everyone at my school. Still, her timing seems like a curse from the gods. I was finally getting rid of him.

“You look like you’re feeling better,” Victor says, smiling at her. The control he has to keep those fangs from emerging when he’s surrounded by humans is amazing.

“Totally. I’m so embarrassed that you saw me at my worst.” Tegan looks at me, at Victor, back at me. “So what are you guys doing here?”

“I’m waiting for Michael to finish up practice. Victor just happened along.”

“Amazing. That our paths would cross again so soon. Right? Must be destiny.”

“Probably not,” Victor says. “I have to go.”

Tegan leans against him and whispers, “To protect the citizens. I know. But your secret is safe with us.”

Victor slides his gaze over to me. “I’m counting on that.”

I get this really weird sensation—like we’ve connected on some level that never existed before.
He’s the enemy
, I remind myself, then realize that it’s not a good sign that I
have
to remind myself.

Tegan doesn’t take her eyes off him as he walks out the door. To be honest, neither do I. His strides are long, confident, relaxed. Powerful. He could probably destroy everyone in the building in the time it would take me to pull my stake out of my boot.

“Wow! I can’t believe we ran into him again.” Tegan twists back around to face me. “The way he was looking at you… I think he
likes
you. You know. Really likes you.”

“What? No. Absolutely not. He just … he returned my cell phone.” I take it out, show it to her, like I need proof to back my words. “He found it.”

“That was pretty lucky.”

“He knew the area where I’d lost it. It’s no big deal.”

“Why are you flustered?”

“I’m not. And I’m not a vamp, so don’t psychoanalyze me.”

An awkward silence swallows us, and I know her perceptive mind is picking me apart. Yeah, she loves her vampire psychology class, but it’s surprising how easily that knowledge translates to humans. So I’m grateful when Michael arrives.

“Hey, you,” he says, and slides into the chair beside me, wraps his hand around my neck, and leans in to give me a lingering kiss. I feel so safe with Michael, and the last vestiges of both strange encounters—the guy at school and Victor—drain away.

“Geez, why don’t you two get a room somewhere,” Tegan mutters.

Michael is grinning when he draws back and drops his arm around me, holding me near. “Wasn’t expecting to see you here,” he says to Tegan.

“So you didn’t see me? Aren’t Night Watchmen in training supposed to be observant?”

“We are. Which is why I know something’s wrong.” He looks back at me. “You were … distracted a second ago.”

Tegan mouths,
Uh-oh
, and I know she thinks it’s because of Victor, and maybe part of it was. But Hoodie is also still on my mind.

“Just a random thought,” I assure him.

“Come on, Dawn, what’s going on?”

I know he won’t let up. It’s the hunter in him. “When I was leaving school … a vamp was chasing me through the hallways.”

“Hell’s horses, you didn’t tell me that,” Tegan says.

“I didn’t get a chance. Not that you could do anything about it.” But Michael… I can see him shifting into hunter mode. I wonder if telling him was a bad idea. He’s good, but he’s never actually faced a vampire.

“Are you sure?” he asks.

I nod, then shake my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t see any fangs, but he was fast, faster than he should have been. When I threatened him with my stake, he just walked away.”

“Was the sun still out?” Michael asks.

“Yes, but it was cloudy; maybe he made a dash for the school. Or maybe he came in last night and was waiting for me.”

“Or maybe it wasn’t a vampire,” he says.

“Yeah, fine. Maybe I’m just crazy.” I hate that my word isn’t enough.

But Michael takes my hands. “No, that’s not what I mean. I heard a rumor a few days ago that some kids wanted to mess with you. Antidelegate kind of stuff, probably Lila’s idea.”

“You didn’t tell me?”

“There are lots of rumors out there, and I didn’t want to bother you with it, not with your big solo outing just around the corner.”

That makes sense—a lot more than some crazy rogue vampire walking away from me when I was an easy target. Lila has a lot of influence over her underlings, and maybe she was trying to impress Daddy by scaring the delegate: a little revenge for this morning’s Vampire Defense class.

“I’ll look into it,” Michael says. “I’ll find out where the rumor started, don’t worry. From now on, though, no more late days at school, okay? I’ll try to be around you whenever I can.”

He squeezes me tight and I feel better. Michael’s probably right: Some idiot kid in a hoodie wanted to rattle my nerves.

My phone rings. I dig it out of my jeans pocket and look at the display.
Rachel
, I mouth before answering. “Hey.”

“Where are you?” she asks.

“Daylight Grill with Michael and Tegan.”

I hear a little sigh and I know she’s torn between protecting me and letting me stretch my wings. She doesn’t have any experience at being a parent, but she’s learning the ropes quickly. “Michael and I are going to watch the Night Train roll in. I won’t stay out late,” I promise, figuring that’s her dilemma. “And Michael will walk me home.”

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” she begins.

“People will be out. We’ll be fine. We always do this. You know that.”

“Just be careful. And come straight home afterward.”

“Okay.” I hang up and shrug. “Rachel doing her parenting thing. I can’t stay out late.”

Michael’s brow is furrowed, but I don’t think it has anything to do with the fact that I’ve been given a curfew. “Thought you lost your phone.”

My gut tightens. I hate lying to him, but I don’t want him ferreting out the truth. “Oh, yeah, well, turns out it was just in the bottom of my messenger bag. Dead battery. I couldn’t find it with all the junk in there. I probably should clean that out tonight. The bag. Not the phone.”

I’m rambling, I know, trying to cover up my lie. I’m lying to everyone lately, and I hate it.

“Happens to me
all
the time,” Tegan says, covering nicely.

“So are you going to watch the Night Train with us?” I ask, deflecting Michael’s attention to Tegan.

“No. I’m just going to hang around here. Who knows? Maybe someone interesting will show up.”

She wiggles her eyebrows and I know she’s hoping Victor will come back.

“We should probably go,” Michael says.

“Have fun, kiddies,” Tegan says, waving her fingers. “Don’t let the vampires bite.”

I wonder how she’d feel to know that not less than ten minutes ago, she was flirting with one.

Chapter 12

A
s we head for the one and only train station, Michael wraps his hand around mine. When we were kids, we held hands so we wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd. Now we do it because we like the sense of belonging to each other that comes from the contact.

“If you see this creep who was bothering you at school, point him out to me,” Michael says. “We’ll have a little heart-to-heart.”

“I probably overreacted.” All of a sudden, it’s like I’m seeing vampires everywhere.

“You don’t overreact. Not even when you were a kid.”

“How about that time on the playground when I shoved you off the swing because you hadn’t gotten me a present?”

He grins. “I didn’t know it was your birthday.”