Tainted Blood (67 page)

“You okay?” he asked, his green eyes coming into view of mine. I nodded and he rubbed my upper arms. “Sucks, doesn’t it?” he said, and I nodded again. And it did. It was like this power that took control of you.

Finally, when I felt almost normal again, I looked at him and said, “You must have some serious self-control.”

He laughed and replied, “You have no idea.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I just got an idea,” I said quietly. Holy hell! If that was how Oliver felt every time someone else was around me… Wow, I felt bad for him. I scooted across the console, located my discarded sunglasses, and put my seatbelt back on. Oliver chuckled at me again, put his own sunglasses on, then started the engine and we drove away from the Weslins’.

“Oliver,” I said as we drove away.

“Yeah?”

I focused on him. “Will you always feel that way or will it change once we’ve bonded?”

He glanced over at me for a moment then answered. “Once we’re bonded things will mellow out. I’ll always be protective of you but I won’t feel that deep desire to prove you’re mine
every
time someone talks to you. Once we bond, our connection makes it clear to others that you’re spoken for.” He flashed me a breathtaking smile and I could’ve sworn I felt my heart flutter.

I was feeling a little spacey when Oliver parked next to a mobile blood truck in the parking lot of a grocery store. “What are we doing here?” I asked.

“Two things,” he said. “First, you want to give this to Felix or shall I?” He pulled the book out from the band at the back of his jeans.

Oh my God! I was so wrapped up in my emotions that I’d totally forgotten the whole point of why we’d gone to Avery’s. I felt a smile spread across my face. “I think you should give it to him. You’re the one who was tortured most.”

“I’m not sure I agree with that.” He slipped his hand up my thigh and all kinds of feelings returned. My cheeks warmed and he leaned across the console and kissed me gently on the lips. He pulled away a moment later and finished telling me why we were next to the blood donation truck. “Second, I want my blood tested right now to prove Avery didn’t get to me.” I felt a flare of anger at her name, and Oliver smiled at me again, shaking his head. As we got out of the car, he said to me, “I hope, for your sake, those bonus vampire traits fade soon.”

I slipped my arms around his waist and he wrapped an arm around me as we walked over to Felix’s SUV that was parked a few spaces down. “Well, I imagine once we’re bonded my bonus feelings will mellow too,” I said.

He kissed the top of my head. “I suppose you could be right.”

“Well, if you feel so bad about giving me all of these accelerated feelings, we just found the answer as to how to fix them.” I smiled up at him and he laughed.

“Good try,” he said with a crooked smile.

Felix rolled down his driver’s side window and greeted us. Carter was in the passenger seat. “How’d it go?” Carter asked. We got right up next to the vehicle, and very swiftly and smoothly, Oliver passed the book over to Felix. Felix grinned down at the book and said, “Good job, my friend.”

Felix turned to us, saying that we should probably lay low for the rest of the day and that we deserved it. As we turned to leave he called after us, “Excellent plan, Delaney.” I waved and Oliver led me to the blood truck.

I sat beside him while a strange vampire woman in pink scrubs drew Oliver’s blood and explained to him that he was still scheduled to come in the following day. “I know,” he replied. “I just want it documented today that I am still totally clean.” He smiled at me, then leaned over and kissed my cheek. He told the woman he’d see her the following day then we headed back to the car.

“You were awfully quiet back there. Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded as I got into the car and he closed my door. I watched him as he made his way around the front of the car and then slid into the driver’s seat. As he started the car I said, “I could smell it.”

He turned to me. “Excuse me?”

“Your blood. I could smell it. And, well…” Okay, this is where it gets kind of nasty. I stared down at my hands in my lap. “It made my mouth water.” He let out a gorgeous, sharp, lyrical laugh and I jumped.

“How is this funny?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, Laney. It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

“Me too!”

He held my face in his hands and gently kissed my lips. “These feelings will pass soon enough. Until then, I think it might be a good idea for you to not join me when I get tested.” I nodded. He kissed me once more and said, “Now, let’s get home so I can take a scalding hot shower and wash Miss Nasty away for good.” It was my turn to laugh.

We spent the rest of the day laying low in the apartment and making out when we were alone—which wasn’t all that often.

That night, as I was closing the blinds in our bedroom, I noticed something move on a rooftop in the distance. I could’ve sworn I’d seen a crouched figure quickly duck out of sight.

I called for Oliver. I told him what I’d seen and when he looked he saw nothing, but not wanting to take any chances, he called it in. We sat on the couch and waited to see if who I thought I’d seen would be caught. I knew he wouldn’t be. Oscar was too fast and too crafty.

“Are Gwen and Vance still stationed nearby?” I asked, and Oliver’s expression went from stressed and concerned to completely sorrowful. “What is it?” I asked, even though a part of me knew that I didn’t want to know.

“Vance and Gwen are no longer with us,” he said sadly.

“Please tell me they quit or got fired.” My voice faltered knowing neither was true. I felt tears spring to my eyes.

“We’re fairly certain it was Oscar,” Oliver said quietly. “Carter found them on the roof above our apartment the morning Felix and I returned. After Oscar’s last visit here.” His fingers tightened on mine.

“What were they doing up there? Wasn’t it pouring?”

“They had shelter, and as a personal favor Felix had requested that they watch over you.” His eyes met mine for a brief moment. They were glittering with tears I knew he’d refuse to let fall.

I felt a terrible pain in my heart and a sob escaped me. Oliver pulled me against his side and we sat in mournful silence as we waited to hear from whoever was on duty. While we waited, Oliver texted Felix and told him that I’d seen someone lurking on a nearby rooftop. As he texted Felix, I wondered if Felix was saddened by the loss of Gwen or if she had just been a “friend with benefits.” I also wondered if Amber had been angry enough that she could take Gwen’s life. I dropped that speculation as soon as it popped to mind. It was far from believable. Mostly because had Amber been out that night I was fairly certain Oscar would have gotten her, too.

There was a knock on the front door a moment later and we answered it together. A vampire, one that I recognized who had helped us with the Weres and Professor Morgan, stood on our doorstep. “We saw nothing, sir,” he told Oliver. I held onto Oliver’s arm as the two spoke.

In the distance I saw him. He moved toward us quickly and, with my new instincts, I grabbed the vampire on the porch by the front of his hoodie and jerked him and Oliver inside, slamming the door and bolting it locked.

Oscar pounded on the other side of the door, and I startled myself when I let out a scream. Oliver and the other vampire were on their feet. Oliver pulled me to his side and started inching us toward the bedroom while the other guy stayed by the door, ready to fight whoever came through it. Oliver made a call.

“Did you see who it was, Laney?” he asked once he had Felix on the line.

“It was your brother,” I said as I stared at the front door. Oscar pounded on it again.

Oliver’s hand and the phone dropped from his ear. He searched my face with the need to know that I was absolutely certain. I was.

Next thing I knew we were in the closet.

Chapter
35 - My Guardian Angel

After several long hours in the closet, we emerged achy and irritated. Felix was there with somewhat good news. When Oliver hauled me off to the closet, Oscar had fled. Felix suspected that Oscar was possibly addicted to me (Super), and that the closet had hid any trace of me. So Oscar had left thinking I was gone. Although this was good news (minus the addiction thing), it got better. “Carter and I were on our way here when we saw him running away from the complex,” Felix told us as we all took a seat around the dining table, Carter included. “Nimrod here jumped from the car and pursued him on foot,” Felix finished.

Carter sat back in his seat and stretched like it was nothing. “And I caught him,” Carter added with a cocky smile.

“You caught him?” Oliver asked in disbelief. I was impressed.

Carter nodded and Felix added, “We even had him in custody.”

“Had?” Oliver and I said in unison.

“Yeah, he’s a clever one, much like his brother.” I glanced at Oliver for a moment, and he shifted uncomfortably. “He escaped before we could bring him in. I think he’ll lie low for a while, but I’ve been wrong in the past. We’re still on high alert and Laney will have security on her at all times.”

Super.

“She won’t be out of my sight,” Oliver added. He took my hand and squeezed it.

I just wanted to get away from all of this crap. I was no doubt failing all of my classes at this point, except maybe my paranormal class, but who knew, I was probably failing that one too. But it was a Felix added class, not technically a university class, so maybe I had a chance. All of my other classes…there was no point in going back. I’d been out for too long, and I’d missed too many important tests and quizzes. I felt it was time to move on. But I kept this to myself for the time being I knew this was not the time to express the matter.

Felix stayed on the couch that night, watching TV quietly, while the rest of us went to bed. Oliver, who was still sleeping from time to time, did not sleep that night. I didn’t sleep very well considering how Oscar had gotten that close to us and was on the loose again. The fact that he was possibly addicted to me did not make sleeping any easier. Oliver had told me, after we’d gone to bed, that it mostly likely wasn’t so. That Oscar just liked the way I tasted and he’d move on soon enough. It was only slightly reassuring.

I went to my paranormal class the next evening. Carter was glued to my side and drove us there in my car while Felix followed close behind since he would be helping Amber teach the class for the time being. I figured this would make things even more interesting. I felt I might need a second notebook so I could take notes on the two of them. I knew their story was none of my business, but it was so fascinating.

“So, what did I miss last week?” I asked Carter as we walked toward the English department, Felix looming just behind us. I had the eerie feeling that I may have been bait. Thankfully, if I had been, no one took it.

“We studied angels last week,” Carter told me. “It was awesome! Well, I did miss the first class due to you almost dying and all.” He bumped me with his elbow. “Cyrus was co-teaching with Professor Amber so it was a pretty cool class.”

Carter carried on about Cyrus for a while, apparently over his apprehension toward the angel. “Oh, Kiera and Zoey are taking the class now too, and there are a couple of other new people.”

Kiera and Zoey were already waiting inside when we arrived, and as Felix descended the steps toward the waiting Amber, she invited the class to follow her. We all filed down the hallway toward the small gray room with Amber leading the way and Felix trailing closely behind us.

We were studying dragons this week. Carter was especially excited about the new topic. We were given the usual quiz and I felt I knew absolutely nothing about dragons. Did they lay eggs or give birth to their offspring? No clue. Did they have feathers or scales? Again, no clue but I chose scales because it sounded right, feathers on a dragon just didn’t. There wasn’t a single question on that quiz that I answered with confidence. All I really knew about dragons was what Oliver had told me. He’d explained that their claws could kill a vampire. That Paul guy, the slayer from Gladys’ house and the guy I’d see Ashton with, he had a dragon claw.

Once we turned in our quizzes, Professor Amber led the lecture with occasional input from Felix. She still seemed to be upset with him, but treated him with professional respect.

Once her lecture was complete, Amber informed us that each student would be assigned a type of dragon. She lifted a beautiful blue and green glass bowl from her desk and told the class that we would be focusing on ten random types of dragons. She told us that she and Felix would present one species while the rest of the class would partner up and each set of partners would present one of the other nine at the end of Thursday’s class. She explained that there were nine different types of dragons in the bowl on eighteen different slips of
paper, and
with eighteen students to the class, we would partner up with whomever had the matching dragon. She walked between the desks, stopping at each one so we could choose a dragon.

I pulled a folded piece of paper from the bowl, just like the other students had, and unfolded it. Neatly written in an elegant script were the words “European Dragon.”

“Sweet, Laney,” Carter said, and I looked over to see that his paper said the same as mine. Zoey was partnered with Jack: they had the Asian Lung dragon. Kiera was partnered with one of the new guys. His name was Zane: they had the Arctic dragon.