Ah, shit. The Santiago Angelus from the emails and the one Lucian warned me about.
I pull my hand away quickly.
“And here I thought Lucian had lost his lust for life, had dulled his fangs, not sharpened them on a pretty little morsel like you.”
My heart pounds. I’m not sure if I should stay and pry some information out of him or run. As usual my curiosity wins out, so I play dumb. “You work for him?”
“Not exactly. We’re…” he says carefully but pauses.
“Friends?”
“More like brothers,” he replies with a grin, and I almost choke on my next breath.Brothers?Lucian never mentioned having family. “He’s never spoken about me?” He sounds a bit hurt.
I shake my head. “No, sorry.”
“Hmm, yes, well, decades do lie between us, and we haven’t seen eye to eye for a while…” His gaze drifts over my shoulder, and before I can follow it, he takes my wrist and gently tugs me outside the glass doors that lead to a small patio area. A firepit is lit, casting the night in fire flickering light, and above us, the sky rumbles with thunder. There are a few guests outside, all mostly human and more drunk than sober. “But I’m tired of talking about me,” he goes on. “Tell me more about you. Lucian doesn’t turn many, so I’m intrigued. What makes you so special?”
Besides me and Vittoria, I’m not sure who else Lucian’s changed. Maybe that other vampire that runs errands for him? Andrew? If there are more, they probably left VMR to live their lives without all of his strict rules.
“I’m not special,” I say. “I was stupid.”
He raises one blond eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I jumped in front of a bullet, thinking it would kill him, and it ended up killing me instead. He must have felt obligated after that. Maybe pity.”
“I very much doubt that,” he says. “Lucian likes humanity, but at a distance. Or should I say hetoleratesit. He wouldn’t give you his blood if he didn’t want you around.”
“Maybe he just needs another employee to cover the night shift.”
He laughs, throwing his head back and making a show out of it. At least someone in this fucked-up family of theirs has a sense of humor.
“You’re a funny one, Ms. Elliot,” he says. “And strikingly beautiful. I would want to keep you around just on that alone. Although I’ve never known my brother to have much of a humorous bone in his body. He can be very dull, don’t you think?”
So far, I don’t see what trouble Santiago could pose. Besides being a bit arrogant and a big flirt, he seems harmless.
Maybe Lucian is just the jealous type.
“I…I don’t know.”
Santiago’s eyes fall to my choker, and he smiles. “Maybe he’s just sentimental in some ways. Vampirism should have strengthened him, but it’s made him weak.Fuckinghumans, sure. But falling in love with them? Absurd.”
Something about his words strikes me as odd. “He’s done quite well for himself. VMR is the biggest media company in the country, maybe even the world, so I’d say he’s doing something right.”
I don’t know why I’m defending him, but I can’t stop myself.
“I suppose so,” Santiago says. “But you are so unlike him. You shine. You have the lust for blood, the streak for violence that entices. It’s exciting.”
“I think that’s Vittoria you are describing.”
“She’s a hunter, yes, but she’s…loyal.” He makes a face that’s like disgust. “You’re still young enough, new enough to make your own decisions, and I suspect smart enough to know who’s worth your time and who will only ever waste it.”
“Andyouare worth my time?” I press.
He laughs and leans against the building. “All I’m saying, Ms. Elliot,” he says, practically purring, “is to choose your ship. If it were me, I’d take the sleek new one and not the old sinking one.”
“I don’t think VMR’s going anywhere.”
“He should watch his back. Changes are coming.”
