Cassandra Palmer 1(15)
Tomas said nothing, but he also didn't leave. I glared at him, but it didn't have any obvious effect. That was a problem since I needed to escape, and the more babysitters the bigger the challenge. There was also the fact that even looking at him made so many emotions surge through me that I was getting a headache. It wasn't the violence that bothered me so much. I'd seen enough growing up that I could shrug off the events at the club now that I was over the shock that Tomas was the one doing them. That I was no longer kneeling in a pool of blood helped, as did the fact that the vamps he'd killed had been trying to do the same to me. My attitude could be summed up pretty simply: I was alive, they were not, go me. Surviving at Tony's taught you to be practical about these things.
I also gave Tomas credit for saving my life, although I'd probably be far away from harm by now if I hadn't gone to warn him in the first place. I was even willing to overlook him carting me off without a word of explanation, considering that I hadn't been in any frame of mind for a calm discussion. All in all, I figured we were about even, except for the betrayal part. That was something else. That I wasn't likely to forgive anytime soon, if at all.
I had shared glimpses into my time on the streets with Tomas, things I never talked about with anyone, to encourage him to open up. I'd worried that he wasn't making friends despite all the attention at the club, and wondered if he had some of the same relationship phobias I did. I'd let myself get fond of him, damn it, and all the time, everything he'd told me had been a lie. Not to mention the fact that he'd deliberately stolen my will, causing me to make enough of a fool of myself that I was still fighting a blush. That sort of thing is considered serious stuff in vamp circles; had I been on Tony's good side, he would have pitched a fit about undue influence being exerted over his servant.
«Let me talk to her,» Tomas told Rafe. Before I could protest, the others left the room to give us the illusion of privacy. It was all for show; with vamp hearing it didn't make any difference.
I didn't bother lowering my voice. «Let me make this simple,» I said furiously. «You lied to me and you betrayed me. I don't want to see you, talk to you or even breathe the same air as you. Ever again. Got it?»
«Cassie, you must understand; I only did what I was forced to—»
I noticed that he had something in his hand. «And what are you doing with my purse?!» I should have known he'd go through it—Tony couldn't know what surprises I might have tucked away—but because it was Tomas, it felt like another betrayal. «Did you take anything?»
«No; it is as you left it. But Cassie—»
«Give it back!» I grabbed for it and almost fell down. «You had no right—»
«Tower! Tower! Tower!» My tarot deck fell onto the floor and appeared to be having a conniption. I felt tears in my eyes. It was just a stupid deck of cards, but it was the only thing I had that Eugenie had given me.
«You broke it!»
I scrambled to pick up the scattered cards, and Tomas knelt beside me. «It's the wards here,» he said quietly. «There are too many—they interfere with the charm. It should be all right after we leave, or I can have it recast for you. It's a simple spell.»
I slapped his hand away from my poor, confused cards. I knew how they felt. «Don't touch them!» I put them back clumsily, with shaking hands, while he sat back on his heels and watched me.
«I'm sorry, Cassie,» he finally said. «I knew you would be upset—»
«Upset?!» I rounded on him, so angry I could hardly see. «You let me think you were some poor, abused kid who needed a friend, and stupid me, I fell for it! I trusted you, and you gave me up to—» I stopped and took a deep breath before I lost it. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of watching me cry. I wasn't. I shoved the cards back in my purse and checked on the rest of its contents to give myself time to get back in control. After a minute, I looked up. «Not everything that's broken can be fixed, Tomas.»
«I didn't lie to you, Cassie; I swear it.»
Looking into his so-sincere eyes, I almost believed him. Almost. «So you're, what, a poor, abused master vampire? Please.»
«I did not lie,» he repeated, more emphatically. «I was told to keep you safe. That is what I did. I had to win your trust for that, but I did not lie to do it. I never told you I was abused, although if I had, it would have been true enough. Any of Alejandro's servants could make that claim.»
I couldn't believe he was doing this. I hadn't expected a heartfelt apology, but the fact that he wouldn't even admit what he'd done was too much. «You make me sick,» I said, getting back to my feet. I walked to the door and stuck my head out. Rafe was in the corridor, trying to look like he hadn't heard every word. «He goes, or you get no cooperation from me.»