“I’m getting better! I just don’t quite have it down yet. Nonny is working with me. I’m better when I weave it in my designs,” Tory admitted with a tired sigh. “I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?”
Alexandru chuckled as he took the bags from her and opened the door to the apartment he was renting while he was in Charleston. He carefully laid the bags by the entrance table. Walking into the kitchen, he flicked on the light and opened the refrigerator. He pulled several containers out, turned and held them up.
“Nonny and mom packed a going away basket,” he grinned.
Tory’s face dropped. “I thought we could try something different,” she muttered, walking over and peeking into the top container. “Black pudding, yay.”
Alexandru tapped her nose and placed the items on the counter. “You know she and dad worry about you,” he said as he pulled some plates out. “Besides, I don’t get home cooking all that often.”
“I know,” Tory muttered just as Alexandru’s cell phone rang. “I’ll do this while you take your call.”
“Thanks, sis. Alexandru,” he said, turning and walking out into the living room.
Tory rolled her eyes at her brother’s back. She could hear every word both he and his caller was saying. The good thing about being a Vampire was she had excellent hearing.
“The bad thing is being a freaking Vampire with a blood allergy!” She muttered as she heated the Blood pudding in the microwave. She hated cold Blood pudding. “Who ever heard of a blood-intolerant Vamp?”
“You’re talking to yourself again,” Alexandru said, leaning against the door jam. “I have a lead on a piece I’ve been looking everywhere for.”
“I know. I heard,” Tory muttered, pulling the second plate out of the microwave. “I guess you want me to go home.”
“No, actually, I don’t,” Alexandru said, straightening up so he could take a plate from her. “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind being on your own for a few days.”
Tory’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in surprise. “Are you serious? What about daddy? He’ll kill you if you leave me on my own?” She whispered.
“Tory, you’re twenty-four, not fourteen,” Alexandru said, brushing his knuckles along her cheek. “Charleston is a safe town as long as you are smart. Besides, I could use your help, if you don’t mind.”
“I… Sure, anything!” She grinned.
“Can you deliver some of the pieces I’ve already got to Mr. Drayton’s estate outside of town? If you can do that, it will help me tremendously as he wanted it all taken care of before the end of the week,” Alexandru explained.
“I… yeah, I can do that,” she laughed, giving her brother a one armed hug. “I just need his address and where to get the items.”
“I’ll leave everything in a folder for you,” he said with a relieved smile. “You’ll be fine. Just be careful and make sure you don’t draw any attention to yourself.”
“No worries!” She replied. “Nonny put a ‘human’ spell on me. No one can tell that I’m not a normal human girl.”
“Perfect,” he said. “Let’s eat. I’ll go over everything with you before I leave.”
“Thanks, Alexandru,” Tory said, setting her plate on the small table in front of the window overlooking Market street.
Alexandru frowned as he looked at her suddenly serious expression. “What for?”
“For giving me a chance to spread my wings,” she said in a quiet voice as she turned to stare down at the street bustling with tourist.
“Just be careful, Tory,” he replied in a soft voice. “Dad isn’t the only one who is overprotective of you. If anyone hurt you, they’d find out what hell was really like when every resident of Magic came after them.”
Tory smiled and picked up her fork. Her eyes kept moving to the street down below her. For the first time in her life, she would be left alone to explore and discover at her own pace. Suddenly, the Blood pudding didn’t taste so bad. Tomorrow, she would try something a little different, maybe a touch spicier.
Chapter 4
“What have you found?” Simon asked as Youssef walked into the elegant office.
“Nothing,” Youssef replied in frustration. “There was nothing on the cameras. It was as if they were never there!”
“You said the surveillance system was operational,” Simon bit out in a deep voice, turning away from the window to the glare at his friend and chief of security.
Youssef ran his hand over the back of his neck as he frowned. “It is,” he muttered. “Every movement along the street was recorded. The time-date stamp showed the exact moment they should have shown up on the camera. Everything is there. Hell, I watched a squirrel play in the damn tree they were standing under and nothing. They weren’t there.”