Passion For Hire (Passion #5) (13 page)

“You can’t go out my boy. Adrian would not be happy. You’re not well. He keeps you here for your own good. Please Lucas, don’t go outside. It might make you worse.”

Lucas raised his eyes to mine briefly as I stood, silently, not wanting to alert Katherine to my presence. She didn’t know I was here and I didn’t want her to know. I wasn’t going to become a prisoner of this house like he had been, and if all went according to my visions, Katherine would have a chance at a better life too, rather than this lonely existence she had now in Adrian’s home.

“I’ll be alright mum. I have to do this. Don’t worry about me. Do you need anything before I go?”

She shook her head but I could see the worry on her face. Adrian had done a good number on her, brainwashing her all this time into thinking her son was unwell.

Katherine’s hand came out, reaching for her son. “Be careful my boy.” She took his hand when he touched hers. “Oh, your hand is cool. You’re not coming down with something are you?”

Lucas’s eyes met mine and I could see the love for his mother in them but also pain. It was obvious all this lying and covering up what he really was, the isolation from her were taking their toll on him. “I’m fine mum. I’ll see you later.” He pulled his hand from her grip and moved to the front door, where I followed, as silently as possible.

Once we were outside, I hurried through the gate in the huge fence that surrounded Adrian’s property. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the Mercedes still parked up the road. I’d been worried that Adrian may have found a way to take it home or put it somewhere out of sight but luck was on my side.

I realised Lucas wasn’t following me and I spun around to see what was delaying him and caught him with his head back, eyes closed, breathing in the various scents in the air. I felt compelled to do the same thing and discovered that everything smelled different now I was vampire. I could smell the faint scent of blood from the humans in the properties nearby but strangely it didn’t cause me to fight to control my fangs. This being vampire was proving way easier than Adrian had made it out to be.

Again my eyes turned to watch Lucas and finally I came to the realisation that he was simply enjoying the moment. He hadn’t set foot outside the front door of Adrian’s home in two years. Of course he’d want to stop and smell the flowers so to speak. Still, he was going to have to enjoy the moment a bit quicker if we were to get to Fabian’s home before Adrian became aware we were gone.

“Lucas, please, come on, we have to get out of here. We have a lot to do and we need to do it before your father becomes aware we’ve gone. Plus your mum might call him since she’s worried about you.” I waved my hand to encourage him to follow me. “Now come on.”

He managed to focus back on me again and slowly followed me out of Adrian’s front yard. We walked the short distance to the Mercedes and I dug around in my handbag for the car keys.

“Is this your car?” Lucas was eyeing it off appreciatively.

“Well it’s not mine but it’s one of the cars from Fabian’s garage. He’s got a lot of cars. Wait until you see your father’s car. He has an old black Pontiac Trans Am. You know like in that old movie Smokey and the Bandit?”

“Really?” I could see the light in Lucas’s eyes and I rolled mine at his expression. “Men, even as a vampire, you’re getting all excited over the wheels.”

“You said it Faith. It’s a man thing.” He shot a grin at me before his face became serious again. “Do you think my father is going to die?” His question asked in a soft low tone made my stomach twist for him. He had such love to give and despite what Adrian had done to him, he cared deeply for his father.

“I can’t be sure what Fabian’s reaction will be, but you can be sure that I will make it perfectly clear that what happened was an accident. I have seen things in my dreams, my visions that show a better life for you, for your mother, and certainly for Adrian. Of course he will be disciplined by his father but I don’t see how Fabian can kill him. I wouldn’t see you all in my visions if Adrian lost his life out of this.”

Lucas was still looking worried. “I just hope father isn’t made to suffer. He’s done more than enough of that already.”

“We have to get out of here now.” I said, starting the car and heading towards Fabian’s home. “You know it’s very sweet that you care about your father the way you do. Most would probably resent the man who took away their freedom, even if by accident.”

“Oh believe me at first I was upset, frustrated, angry for what had happened but when I let myself feel father’s emotions, I stopped feeling like that. His pain is unlike anything I’ve ever come across. He doesn’t just feel guilt for what happened. He is filled with self-loathing and disgust. He hates himself, he hates what he is and he is angry with his family.”

“He’s told you this?” I asked turning from watching the road to glance over at Lucas. “Why would he hate his family? I’ve seen nothing in their treatment of him that would make me think he dislikes them. What could possibly make him hate them?”

“He doesn’t hate them; he just hates what they did to him. He hates being vampire, he hates that he lost his childhood. You know about his past don’t you? He’s told you about how he was accidentally shot as a toddler and his mother was forced to speed up time to make him adult, then turn him vampire to save him from dying? The wounds from the gunshots would have killed him.”

“I’ve heard some details of his past. Oh Lucas, your poor father has suffered horribly. He’s such a beautiful man and yet he’s burdened with so much guilt. I have to believe that things will be better for him once his family knows the truth. He doesn’t deserve to die for what he did. He may have made a monumental mistake which has robbed you of your freedom and the life of your choice, but he could have killed you and dumped your body, killed your mother, anything, but he chose to take care of you both. He doesn’t deserve to be punished for that.”

“I know, now how much longer until we get to Fabian’s home?”

“We’re almost there.” I told him just as I turned up the street where the huge sprawling home of the intimidating vampire sat atop a hill looking very much like the house in any good horror movie.

I pulled up in the driveway and switched off the car’s engine. As it fell silent, I turned to Lucas. “Well, this is it, it’s almost show time.”

He reached out and took my hand in his, holding it firmly, his eyes locked on mine. Almost immediately my head filled with flashes of images and I strained to get a clearer look at them.

I could see Lucas and me standing watching something that was happening just out of range of my vision. It was obvious from our facial expressions that whatever was happening had us both looking really tense.

Suddenly with a flash of white blinding light, the images changed. I saw Fabian and Sirene with Adrian. I could see that he and Fabian were shouting. As I watched, I saw the older vampire raise his hand and lash out, striking Adrian hard across the face, causing the younger man to stumble and fall. I gasped when he stood over his son, bending towards, him, such anger on his face, and seeing his rage and Adrian on the floor looking like he was awaiting his fate made tears well up in my eyes.

I panicked at what I saw, suddenly questioning why I’d brought Lucas here and what this was going to do to Adrian. What price was he going to pay? Just when it looked like Fabian would strike his son again, I saw Sirene lift her arm and ropes appeared around him, halting his attack on Adrian. With him bound so he couldn’t move, she dropped to her knees and her arms closed around her son, holding him close. I watched his arms rise up and circle her, his face tucked into her neck. As I continued to focus on these flashes of visions in my head, I felt tears prick my eyes but it wasn’t until Adrian lifted his head and I saw tears tracking their way down his cheeks that my tentative hold on my control broke and I began to weep.

“Faith, Faith, what is it? What is wrong? Please, don’t cry, don’t cry.” Lucas’s voice held a note of urgency. “It will be ok, please, it will be ok, don’t cry.”

“I…it’s…I saw us, I saw Adrian and his parents. Oh Lucas, I hope I’m doing the right thing. Fabian was so angry, so, so angry and he struck your father but Sirene, his mother helped him.” I took a deep breath to pull myself together. “We’re here now. There’s no turning back.” I climbed out of the car and turned to him. “Come, let’s do this.” I took his hand and led him up the front stairs, across the wide verandah to the heavy metal door.

With shaking hands I unlocked the door and stepped inside, Lucas following closely behind.

We’d only made it about halfway down the long corridor leading towards the living room of the house when I saw Francesca walking towards us. She was dressed in some black dress that looked like it had been sprayed on her body it was that tight. It plunged low at the front, with the tops of her breasts almost spilling out of the neckline.

She had the tiniest waist which the dress showcased to perfection and the shiny vinyl or whatever it was, followed every line and curve of her body, stopping just below the swell of her buttocks.

Francesca wouldn’t be Francesca if she didn’t go with the whole sort of gothic, sort of dark look though. She wore black fishnet stockings and ankle boots that were so high; I don’t know how she walked on heels like that.

Her make-up was heavy. Eye shadow of the darkest grey, lots of black eyeliner and lipstick that was an incredibly deep shade of purple. I wondered why she felt the need to wear such heavy make up as if hiding behind it, but no way in hell would I ever ask her. She’d probably chew my head off.

When she saw me she gave me her customary sardonic smile before her eyes shifted to Lucas and I saw them widen. It was subtle though, barely detectable but I guess I was curious to see her reaction to him given what I’d seen in my visions.

“So who do we have here?” She drawled, her smile going from sardonic to mocking but then suddenly she tensed, her expression freezing. Her eyes shifted over Lucas, studying him closely as he watched her. He’d said nothing to her yet, just scrutinised her as closely as she was now studying him. He seemed so calm but when I turned to him, I could see a glint of something which looked like excitement shining in his grey eyes. Despite my tension, I fought to contain a tiny smile at his expression. He was interested, it was obvious. The question was, would Francesca like him too?

“Francesca.” I drew her attention back to me and when she finally focused on me properly, her eyebrows shot into her hairline. I watched her lips curve up in a smile, before she chuckled, her chuckle becoming a full blown belly laugh.

“Oh…my…fucking…hell! How the fuck are you going to explain this one? Who did this? Where did you come from?” Her eyes shifted back to Lucas. “I was going out to hunt, but suddenly it seems that hanging out here could be so much more fun.”

Are Fabian and Sirene here Fran? We need to speak to them.”

She chuckled quietly again. “I just bet you both do. You’re in luck, they’re home.” She tilted her head to one side and studied me for a moment before shifting to look at Lucas. “Now, I can almost understand you, why you’re vampire.” She turned to me briefly before meeting Lucas’s eyes again. “It’s him though. Where the fuck did he come from? Did he turn you and who the fuck turned him? Fabian’s going to have a kitten. He thought we were the only vampires in this area but now it would appear we are not?”

“He is named Lucas, Francesca and I can’t tell you anything. We must speak with Fabian first.”

“Oh Fabian is going to love this conversation. So am I. Well come on then. Let’s go drop this little bomb.” She began to walk back down the corridor and I reached out to grab her.

“No Fran. This is a private conversation. You can’t be there for it.” I tried to tell her but she simply shook my hand off her arm.

“Don’t touch me little ex virgin, ex human for that matter and don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. I only answer to one in this house and it’s not some baby fucking vampire ok?” She spat at me angrily.

“Is it really necessary for you to be so rude?” Lucas suddenly spoke and Francesca turned to him in surprise.

“Well, well so the unknown one speaks.” She stepped closer to him. “My, you are a pretty young thing aren’t you? Are you a virgin or did you two get together and lose your virginity to one another?”

Lucas said nothing for a moment. He just stared at her. “Are you genuinely interested in our sex lives, or are you just looking for an opportunity to belittle us in some other way, in an attempt to make yourself feel better?”

I gaped at Lucas as soon as he fell silent then frantically tried to conceal my expression from Francesca. I’m sure if she’d have looked, she would have seen my frantic efforts not to burst out laughing. Well Lucas had balls, big balls, to stand up to her like that. Still if he pissed her off, he was in danger of losing them though.

Francesca’s expression darkened and she stepped up close to him. “Personally I don’t give a fuck about your sex life or lack of it, whichever the case may be. My guess is you couldn’t get it up anyway.” She cupped him through his jeans, applying enough pressure to him that even I cringed, but Lucas’s expression gave nothing away. He remained stoic through what had to be a painful experience.

Her eyes locked on his and I saw her give him an incredulous look before looking down at his groin. I found my own eyes dropping there too and I could see that he was hardening despite Fran’s less than gentle grip on him. She stepped forward until they were almost touching and raised herself until she could touch her lips to his. She kissed him slowly, sensuously and I knew I should look away. The human side of me would have, but I was vampire and it was hot to watch them. The kiss felt like it went on forever and I was starting to get turned on. Suddenly though, Lucas let out a grunt and pulled back from Fran, blood dribbling from a cut in his lip.

At the sight of the blood I felt my fangs tingle but it was Francesca herself who lunged and licked away the blood before burying her fangs in his neck and beginning to feed. Poor Lucas’s face looked pained and I could see he was fully erect now.

“What the hell is going on here?” A deep authoritative voice interrupted us and Francesca leapt back from Lucas, her fangs hastily retreating before she turned to Fabian, who was striding down the corridor towards us all.

We all turned to watch his approach and Lucas bent forward to whisper in my ear. “Is that Fabian?” I only had time to nod quickly before the great man himself was upon us.

“What is going on?” He asked again, his eyes swinging from one to the other of us until his gaze settled on Lucas. They narrowed as he studied the young man by my side. “You’re vampire?” He finally said, his comment seeming like more of a statement than a question. Then his eyes moved down the length of me. He was frowning when he faced me again. “Ok, someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on and they need to do it now.” His voice was ominously quiet but I could hear the anger underneath. “Come with me now, all of you.” Francesca gave a gleeful chuckle and Fabian shot her a warning glance. “Not you Francesca. You can leave us please.” He informed her, ignoring her protests which came accompanied by a considerable amount of swearing when she realised she was going to miss out on finding out what tonight’s revelation was.

“That’s not fair father. Why can’t I stay?” She tried one last time but with one quietly spoken command from him, she sighed dramatically and flounced down the hallway, slamming the front door on her way out.

Fabian turned back to us. “Now you’re going to explain to me why you’re suddenly vampire.” His eyes shot to mine. “Then you’re going to tell me where the hell he came from.” He said, tipping his head towards Lucas.

“That’s what we’re here to do Fabian, although you might not be happy when we tell you, but please, try to keep an open mind. This is Lucas, like me, we are not full blood vampires; we are half breeds or hybrids. We can eat human food still, although not too much of it.”

“Interesting fact little one but how you came to be vampire is what has really piqued my curiosity, and your companion too. I was quite confident that my family were the only vampires in this area, perhaps even this state. Now I’m seeing that’s not the case.”

When we walked into the living room, an unusual looking room given it was almost circular in shape; Sirene was already there, sitting on one of the several lounges positioned around the room.

She looked up at us all, her eyes widening when she saw Lucas and she shot a questioning look at Fabian before I saw her gaze shoot back to me. As she stared at me, I saw a shift in her expression, her eyes lit up with that knowing look and slowly she climbed to her feet, walking towards us all.

“It would seem something very surprising has taken place.” She slipped her hand into the crook of Fabian’s arm and he was momentarily distracted from what was going on and smiled down at her. “So, Flame’s little sister is now vampire. That is indeed surprising but what is even more so is this young man. You are vampire too I see. Who may I ask are you?”

“My name is Lucas.” He answered before I could jump in and speak for him.

“Well it’s obvious that you are vampire too but where did you come from? Fabian was confident that his family is the only vampire family in the area. Are there more like you? Do you have family here?”

“I think we should sit down Sirene.” I interrupted. It was my idea to come here and I have something to tell you.” I met Lucas’s eyes. “We have something to tell you and I need you to please keep an open mind. Don’t judge him, please don’t judge him or hurt him. Please.” My voice broke slightly and Fabian’s strange pale eyes narrowed as he turned to me.

We all found ourselves a place to sit and get comfortable. Lucas sat with me and I could feel the tension radiating off his body. I placed my hand over his, to try and calm him or reassure him. When I turned back to Fabian and Sirene, he was staring at my hand that held onto Lucas’s.

“So little one, what is it that you wish to share with us? I am very curious to discover who made you vampire. Was it you?” Fabian’s unsettling pale eyes locked on Lucas who shook his head.

“It wasn’t Lucas who changed me. I wasn’t forced into the change. I went looking for it. I asked Lucas to change me, I begged him. In fact I wouldn’t leave him alone, and I showed him what it would mean for him to help me achieve my goal of becoming vampire.”

“You’re talking about your visions?” Sirene asked and I nodded.

“This doesn’t explain much Faith. Perhaps you should start at the beginning.

“I can start but I think if you have any questions, Lucas is in a better position to answer them than I am.” I took a deep breath, suddenly nervous about how this was going to go. So much was riding on this not being a disaster and my poor Adrian’s future depended on me being able to help him.

“To answer your question about who turned Lucas vampire, I need you to please stay calm. Don’t hurt him, please.” I begged Fabian and he raised his eyebrows questioningly at me.

“Who is it that I’m not supposed to hurt?” He asked. “Perhaps you should stop…” He suddenly broke off midsentence, and I could see his expression harden. “You’re not saying my son did this are you?”

“Umm, well, yes he did.” The words came out as little more than a whisper before I raised pleading eyes to his. “Please Fabian, don’t kill him, and don’t hurt him. He’s your son and I know you have rules about how you expect your family to behave, but it was an accident. I know it’s a huge thing that he’s done but trust me, he’s paying for it. Every…single…day Adrian is paying for what he did to Lucas. He’s so tortured, so burdened with guilt. I know this because he talks of it.” I stopped to gather my thoughts, ready for round two with Fabian.

“Oh my god; what are you saying Faith?” Sirene’s expression was shocked. “My son did this? Why, how, when?”

Lucas answered before I could respond. “Around two years ago. He was a new vampire he said. He hadn’t learned how to control his hunger and fed from me. He went too far and drained me. He could have left me for dead but he didn’t, he turned me.” He fell silent for a moment before raising his head to Sirene and Fabian again. “Please don’t hurt my father. You might wonder why I don’t hate him for what he did to me but he’s taken such good care of not only me but my mother all this time. We were struggling to survive. I couldn’t find enough work to meet the rent. My mother’s health was failing and she needed medical treatment. She’s terminally ill and without proper treatment she would have died much sooner. She needed food, warmth; she needed medicines, more than I could give her. Father saved us both really. That may seem crazy to you but I’m not sure what would have happened if Adrian had not helped us. He bought a home for us to live in and he pays for my mother’s food, medicines, medical bills, everything we need, he pays for it all.” I reached out and squeezed his hand when I heard the emotion in Lucas’s voice.

“Lucas is an empath.” I said. “I think that is why he has such compassion and understanding for what his father did to him accidentally.” I shot another nervous glance at Fabian who was still sitting so quietly. I wish he’d say something, do something; that he’d react in some way so I’d know how he was feeling inside.

“You say my son has a home that you and your mother live in. Where is this house?” Sirene broke the silence.

“I don’t know the actual address but I know how to get there. It’s close to the beach. I can show you where it is.” I answered her.

“What I would like to know is how my son has kept you a secret all this time?” Fabian finally spoke. “He goes out every night and he’s always been incredibly private, or we thought he was being private when in actual fact he was being secretive and devious keeping the truth from us.”

“He works to earn enough money to keep us.” Lucas said. “Father is a male prostitute or as he calls himself, a gigolo. He is popular because he can give women what they want apparently. He can work out what they need with a touch.”