Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
“Killed?” She wrinkles her nose and looks at me, confused.
“Most vampires didn’t want to be vampires,” I say and can feel Leo almost wince. It’s another topic that’s pushed out of sight and out of mind by the Order.
“You didn’t?” Gia asks Xavier, eyes wide once again.
“I did not. I had a human family and a human life I didn’t want to leave,” he replies. “But then the Black Plague hit Europe and I got sick. My maker had taken a liking to me when I was human and didn’t want to let me go.”
He had told me the same story, but hearing him say it again makes me feel for him even more. The whole situation is hard to fathom.
“Everything okay?” Antonio comes back to the table.
“I feel like we should be asking you that,” I say. “Liss has to be pissed.”
“She can deal with it.” He sighs and looks at all of us.
“Did you know most vampires didn’t want to be vampires?” Gia asks him.
“I never really thought about it,” Antonio answers. “They don’t have to stay vampires though.”
“What’s the alternative?” Xavier asks calmly. “Walk into the sun?”
“Wouldn’t that hurt?” Gia asks.
“You’re literally burning to death, so yes,” I tell her honestly. “But, uh, tell me about you. How’s school? Whatever happened to Aiden-what’s-his-face?”
“School is boring and I don’t have a crush on Aiden anymore. He’s gross.”
“He probably is. Pretty much all men suck.” I raise my eyebrows and shake my head. “Best to hold off on dating one until you’re like thirty.”
“You’re not even thirty and you’re married!”
“Do what I say, not what I do.” I wink. Silence falls over the table again and I can feel Leo looking at me.
“These deaths,” he begins. “You said they were ruled as overdoses?”
“Yeah, but they’re not. Drugs don’t make you age rapidly or rot from the inside out. Demons do.”
“Right. But now that you mention it, I do know there’s been a rash of OD’s in the area.” He holds my gaze, trying to silently convey what he really wants to say.
“Yeah, I heard that too. Scary stuff. Fentanyl is bad enough but lace it with carfentanil and…” I trail off, shaking my head. “Don’t do drugs,” I tell Gia. “Seriously, this stuff is so strong if you just touch it you can have a heart attack and die.”
“Why would anyone want to do drugs?” she asks innocently.
“I don’t know,” I tell her. “But don’t, okay?”
“I won’t.”
“You have influence,” Leo directs to Xavier. “Have you heard anything about this new supplier bringing drugs into Charlotte?”
“I have been made aware of the increase in ODs,” he tells him.
“Seems like big business,” Leo goes on and maybe it’s just me since I know what he’s getting at, but the tension is getting to be too much. “You’re a business man.”
“If you’re trying to insinuate that I would sell drugs, the answer is no. Vampires have no personal interest in such matters and even from a monetary standpoint, drugs quite literally poison our food supply.”
Thankfully, our food comes and the subject is dropped. I can sense that there was a big part of Leo that wanted to put the blame on the vampires. Make them be the bad guys we were raised to believe.
Xavier Malus is not innocent. Not at all. But a drug dealer? No. He’s right. It wouldn’t be of interest to him and the man is fully self serving.
Somehow, we get through a very awkward dinner. Gia asks Xavier a lot of questions about being a vampire, and he patiently answers every one. Larissa texts and calls Leo and Antonio probably twenty times each throughout the rest of our meal, and I see them both declining calls from Vivian and Marco as well.
They’re going to have a fun night when they get back to the compound.
Xavier pays the bill before anyone else even has a chance to look at it. Gia takes my left hand again to look at my ring, but really she’s stalling and doesn’t want me to leave. I want to tell her that she can call or that we can arrange another time to meet up like this. Part of me doesn’t understand why it would be a big deal. Xavier seems more than fine with me talking to my family. Hell, he even gave the phone back. Of course I’m going to assume he cloned it and is watching everything I type, but there really does seem to be an understanding between us.
Unless I’m just an idiot for seeing something that’s not there. Wouldn’t be the first time and probably won’t be the last time a man has lied right to my face and I believed him. But there’s something different about Xavier. He’s exactly who he says he is and his trust in me for some strange reason makes me not want to let him down.