A Fire in the Blood(20)
She slid a glance at Andrei. Could it be true, what Luke had said? Was Andrei a vampire?
He was something, she thought, remembering how he had mesmerized Jilly and Luke, the way his voice had compelled her to obey.
Fear spiked through her when he pulled off the highway onto a deserted side road. Mercy, did he intend to kill them all and dump their bodies out here?
He switched off the engine, then turned to look at her. “Is that what you think?” He shook his head. “If I intended to kill you, I wouldn’t have bothered saving your life.”
“The . . . then what are we doing out here?”
“Probably not the best choice of locations,” he remarked, “but I wanted a place where we could be alone.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide and afraid.
“Tessa, I’m not going to hurt you, or your friends.”
“Is it true? What Luke said?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
He was a vampire. She tried to wrap her mind around the enormity of it, felt a bubble of hysterical laughter rise in her throat. It had to be a joke. Of course, that was it! A Halloween prank and they were all in on it—Luke and Jilly and Andrei.
“Okay,” she said, “you’ve had your fun at my expense. You can all stop pretending now.” She glanced over her shoulder. Jileen and Luke stared straight ahead, unblinking. Unmoving.
“They’re not pretending, Tessa. And neither am I.”
“But . . . I saw you kill vampires.”
“Better them than you. You have questions.”
“Hundreds.” So many, she didn’t know where to start.
“Ask away.”
“How long have you been a vampire?”
“Seven hundred years, more or less.”
She blinked at him. “Seven. Hundred. Years.”
He nodded.
“Why did you want to be a vampire?”
He snorted softly. “Believe me, I didn’t.”
She chewed on her thumbnail. Moments ago, she’d had hundreds of questions, but suddenly, she couldn’t think of a single one. She was too busy trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he had been alive for seven hundred years. And then she frowned. How could he be a vampire? She had seen him during the day.
“Only fledglings and young vampires need to avoid the sun,” he remarked. “Master vampires can day walk.”
“How did you know what I was . . . ?” She frowned at him. “You read my mind, didn’t you?”
He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “It’s a handy talent.”
It took her a moment to digest that. A faint flush warmed her cheeks as she remembered the many times she had thought of making love to him when they were together. Had he read those thoughts, too?
Her cheeks grew hotter when he smiled faintly. He had!
“What are you going to do with Jilly and Luke?”
“I’m not sure. The easiest thing—the safest thing—would be to wipe the truth from their minds.”
“You can do that?”
“If I have to.”
“That’s just wrong,” Tessa said. “You have no right to play with their memories.”
“Maybe not, but it’s the best way to ensure their silence.”
“Are you going to erase my memory, too?”
His gaze met hers, dark and intense. “Do I need to?”
She shook her head vigorously. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“I’ll know if you do.”
His words were mild, but Tessa sensed the unspoken threat behind them. At first, it frightened her, then it made her angry, and then she realized the warning stemmed from a deep sense of self-preservation.
“I need to talk to Luke and Jileen,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll see things my way.”
When she didn’t say anything, he got out of the car, opened the back door, and called for Jilly and Luke to step outside. A word released them from his thrall.
Luke shook his head as if to clear it, his eyes widening when he saw Andrei. “What the hell!” he exclaimed. “What did you do to us?”
“Not what you intended to do to me,” Andrei retorted.
“Where’s Tessa?” Jileen asked.
“She’s waiting in the car.”
“Waiting for what?” Luke asked, his voice laced with suspicion.
“To see if you’re going to be reasonable.”
“About what?” Luke demanded.
“You know what I am. I know what you are, so you’ve got three options. You can give me your word, both of you, that you’ll keep my secret.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “What are the other options?”
“I can wipe your memory or . . .” He flashed a hint of fang. “I can kill the two of you.”