“If only someone else would learn from her example,” Liam rumbled from behind me.
I turned and gave him a sardonic look.“And what exactly am I supposed to have learned?”
“That there can be a bright side if you simply quit being so stubborn,” he said.
That was true. Most things had a silver lining, even this. Being turned into a vampire against my will and then abandoned wasn’t in my plans, but it had worked out. Or at least, it had been heading that way until I lost the job with Hermes. Now I was struggling to find my feet again.
“I’d say Caroline’s situation is a bit different from mine,” I observed in a mild voice.
She’d found a balance with the pack and a job she found fulfilling. I was working at a gas station for minimum wage and still struggling to keep the vampires from trying to control every aspect of my existence.
“I’ve offered you a job. You’re the one who refuses to take it,” Liam returned, the slightest hint of frustration in his voice.
Yes, he had, hence his having to use the debt to force my presence tonight.
The problem was, I didn’t want to work for the vampires, not even Liam or any of his enforcers. The way I saw it they’d already wiggled their way further into my life than I liked.
It seemed every time I gave them a small window, they used it to force their way deeper in. The latest issue with my sire taking over as my landlord was just the beginning.
I was determined to stay in control of myself and my life. It’d be easier to give up and toe the line like a good little flunky, but the antisocial grump inside wouldn’t let me.I’d done that in the military, but it had felt like being rubbed by sandpaper the entire time. I had no intention of that being my eternity.
“How long before you tried to use that against me?” I asked. Because he would have. It seemed that was the modus operandi of vampires.
“Instead you’re here without the leverage you would have had if you’d simply been reasonable,” Liam observed.“Smart, Aileen.”
The words burned, especially since they were true. I should have considered all the angles before rejecting his original offer. My only defense is I hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic greeting from him. It upset my emotional balance, forcing me to react rather than plan, something I couldn’t afford with vampires.
He made a small sound, something close to a sigh. He seemed tired, his skin pale and drawn, circles around his eyes.
Now that the surprise of our first meeting was past, I realized he’d seemed just as exhausted last night.
I hesitated, wanting to ask what was wrong. I stopped myself. A true friend might have, but we weren’t that. His disappearance had made that clear.
Instead I looked around his house.“Nice place. What made you decide on it?”
There was a guarded expression on his face.“I’m looking to make a few changes in my life. I decided having a permanent base of operations here in Columbus was a good place to start.”
I frowned.“Sounds like you’re thinking of sticking around.”
I’d always kind of thought he was here short-term. The council, no doubt, had need of him all over the place. While this territory was an important hotspot with a new master, I was sure there were other places throughout the world that could use a badass enforcer keeping things in line.
He inclined his head, hands clasped behind his back as he stared at me, his thoughts veiled.“I’ve been assigned to this territory full-time.”
I moved around the room, looking at everything. For all that he was probably older than the country, it was surprisingly modern. It had an old-world charm but it had touches of today’s world as well.
I left the topic of his house and now extended residence in Columbus alone. I wasn’t ready to touch the implications of what either might mean.
“You have me here. What is so important that you were willing to use one of your nights and necessitate my missing work?”
He didn’t respond, his gaze flicking to Eric and Nathan in dismissal. The two excused themselves without a word, leaving the room and heading further into the house.
“That’s kind of a pointless gesture. They’ll hear every word we say even from the other side of the house,” I said.
Vampire hearing was far superior to that of a human. It still surprised me how the rooms at the mansion were as private as they were. The soundproofing in each apartment must be topnotch. It would have to be. You wouldn’t want to live right on top of each other for long if every statement or move you made could be overheard. Imagine, waking up in the middle of the day to hear the person in the room above you having a bit of private time in the shower.
“They won’t listen,” he decreed, his voice autocratic.
I scoffed. Sure, they wouldn’t. Curiosity was part of human nature, and vampires were no less prone to it.
