“Thank you.”
He nodded, frowning. She could feel his uneasiness, almost a wariness, certainly his distrust. Her own doubts intruded.
She shaded her face with her hand.
Adrien was a vampire. She needed to remember that, to remind herself that very little about her current predicament could ever carry over into her real life, the one she would resume with her son as soon as she got herself out of this mess, as soon as she had the extinction weapon in hand, as soon as she could hire someone to get rid of these chains.
And the last thing she should ever do was start to care for Adrien. Damn sex, anyway, because it was so easy to get connected with a man through sex. She knew the science behind it. And the chain wasn’t helping.
“You’re humiliated?” he asked. “Because you had sex with me a second time, you’re ashamed?” He made a disgusted sound at the back of his throat.
She looked up at him. She opened her mouth to correct him, to reassure him that it wasn’t shame. But what was it, then, if not shame?
A pure hatred and distrust of his kind?
Or the knowledge that she could never make a life for herself in this world, so what was the point?
Maybe it was a little bit of everything.
She had to keep her distance, so what did it matter whether she regretted the moment because of shame or because she couldn’t risk trusting him. They were different species, and his kind had destroyed her family.
“Of course I’m ashamed.”
He picked up his pants and punched a foot through each leg, glaring at her in turns.
She drew a deep breath and found her clothes or what was left of them. She slipped on her shirt just to be covered a little.
“Back to the bedroom,” he said, sounding weary.
“I’m not tired.”
“I wasn’t suggesting sleep. We have work to do, but you need to get cleaned up, and your clothes and things from India are in there now.”
She followed behind him, which suited her since her pants weren’t fit to wear anymore. He’d ripped them down the back all the way to the crotch.
Once in the bedroom, she unpacked a change of clothes. Because he barred the way to the bathroom, she moved to stand in front of him, refusing to make eye contact.
“I’m not evil, Lily, whatever you may think.”
She glanced up at him, her mouth ready to agree with him to say she knew at least that much, but what was the point? She needed to keep her focus, to remember that Josh waited for her, had been waiting for two years. My God, would her son even know her anymore?
“Please, Adrien. We just need to get through this, the quicker the better.”
He stepped aside and she went into the bathroom. She took a quick shower, hoping by the time she opened the door Adrien would have some idea where they should go next.
“We need to go see a man in the north?”
Adrien sat on the floor outside the bathroom, still in his jeans and nothing else. He stared up at Lily having forgotten how pretty she was, with her large haunted hazel eyes staring down at him. His chest squeezed up, making it hard to breathe.
“A vampire?” she asked.
“Actually, he’s a half-breed, and an Ancestral, rare in our world, but it happens.” Just like Adrien actually. His mother was human, but the vampire genetics were dominant in his father’s line and though he didn’t have Ancestral status, and never wanted it, he had the potential.
“Half-breeds? As in human and vampire?”
He rose to his feet and narrowed his eyes. “Sure. Has been throughout history. Where do you think all your lore came from? And men of wealth? A lot of them are half-breeds.”
“But far less powerful than a pure vampire.”
“Not necessarily.”
“That doesn’t make sense. We’d know about them. There would be reports throughout the entire history of the world.”
“Think about it, Lily. Most of the world still lives deep in superstition, but imagine just a few centuries ago when witches were burned at the stake. Do you honestly think a long-lived human would ever make his parentage known? He’d never have survived. The human population not so long ago wasn’t mobile like it is now. Nowhere to hide.”
“Then you’ve protected your half-breeds.”
“You could say that.”
“Why are you smiling?”
He sought about for a reason not to tell her about his parentage. On the other hand, it would be enjoyable to see her reaction. “You want the truth?”
“Yes. Of course.”
He’d give her that much. She stood up to things. “I’m a half-breed. My mother was human. She was a good woman.”
Her mouth fell agape. “You’re kidding.”
“Which part? That I have a few human genes kicking around in me?”
“That and how is it if you’re part human, you hate us so much?”
“Because we’re headed on a collision course with your world. It’s inevitable and human nature tends to exploit, to grab, to destroy an entire population to get at its wealth.”
“But vampires are more powerful, physically and you have so many other abilities that we don’t.”
He chuckled, but even to his own ears it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “Look at the numbers, Lily. We have under a million in our entire population, spread out over the globe, and no central government to speak of. You’re seven billion and growing. What are the odds of survival for us?”
She grew very quiet and very still. The chain was strangely silent against his neck.
He’d given her a lot to think about.
“Adrien, what happened to your mother?”
“She died when I was very young. Murdered.”
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”
He felt her swell of empathy but shook his head. “It was a very long time ago. Remember, I’m long-lived.”
“Four centuries then.” She frowned, and he could almost feel her thinking it all through. “Was she trafficked?”
“No. I mean, that’s a new word these days. She was kidnapped, stolen from her life in Paris, which is one reason I have a place here.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“There are worse things.”
“I don’t think so.”
He shrugged. “Maybe not.” The information was four hundred years old yet somehow, with Lily asking the questions, suddenly he was a little boy and his mother was put in a long wooden box and lowered into the ground.
This was not exactly useful given his current situation. He gave himself a shake. “All right, I’m going to shower now, then we’ll head north, at a snail’s pace for your sake.”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
He stepped aside and she dropped to the floor to wait, having already grown accustomed to their routine because of the chains.
He showered quickly, dried off, then passed by her to return to his bedroom. When he felt the chains tug, he called to her, but she was already moving and his chain grew slack.
He pulled a pair of black fighting leathers off a hanger, one with plenty of weapons sheaths so he could get better armed. One gun and a dagger wasn’t going to cut it.
The pants were specially designed with slots for battle chains and several daggers. He wore a snug black tee, tucked in, another harness for his Glock, and a black leather jacket, free of holes. Travel at night in black was the only way to go. “Have you got any dark clothes you can wear?”
She moved to the bed and searched in her satchel. She changed out of her clothes, all in black, now wearing a turtleneck, jeans, and loafers. She plucked at her shirt and turned to meet his gaze. “We almost look like a couple of ninjas.”
He smiled. He didn’t want to but he couldn’t help it. “Sorry, Lily, but the last thing you look like is a ninja.” Her hair flowed over her shoulders. She was so beautiful, with sudden unexpected laughter in her eyes.