Kiss of the Vampire(50)

Tobias released him and backed away.

Finn straightened. Brushing bits of drywall off his shoulders, he cast a glance around the gathered crowd, then turned and walked out of the club.

“You owe me a bottle of wine, you moron!” Nix yelled after him.

Tobias looked at Victoria and jerked his head toward the door. She nodded and followed Finn.

“I, ah, think I’ll hang with Tori for a bit,” MacMillan said, and sauntered out as well.

Now that the potential danger had passed, the bouncers faded back into the crowd. The club’s noise level ratcheted back up to the normal buzz.

Tobias stared at the wall, at the spot where the shape of Finn’s body was outlined by a large indent. The bastard had put his hands on Nix, had threatened her. He was lucky all Tobias did was put him into the wall.

“I could’ve handled him.” Nix poked him on the shoulder.

He turned to face her. “How? By putting a bullet into him?”

“Damn right.”

He was glad to see the demon had retreated. “That would have bought you nothing but trouble, and you know it.”

“I could’ve handled it.” She started toward the door.

Tobias followed her and stepped outside right behind her. The parking lot was well lit, a security step Tobias had recommended when Maldonado had first started opening nightclubs. All sorts of things liked to hang out in the dark. There’d been a lot fewer deaths, and fewer lawsuits, once the lights had been installed. Walking beside Nix, he said, “You would’ve had the council after you, and Maldonado, and if you didn’t kill Finn, he would have come after you too. If you had killed him, then you would have had to deal with Lucifer.” He stopped in front of the SUV. “You think you could have handled all that?”

Her slender throat moved with her hard swallow. Like most prets, most demons especially, she was intimidated by Lucifer Demonicus. With good reason. Lucifer was arguably the oldest pret on the planet, which meant he had a lot of power, a lot of influence, a lot of enemies. Also a lot of friends. If he gave the word, there were plenty of people ready and willing to do his bidding.

“Why do you care?” she finally asked. “You didn’t care five years ago when you left.”

“I care, honey. I’ve always cared,” he said as he stroked her face, his voice husked around the emotion tightening his throat.





Nix fought back the thrill that shot through her at Tobias’s words, the feeling of having those cool fingers caress her face. Snap out of it, she chastised. Saying the words didn’t automatically make everything all right. So, okay, he cared. That hadn’t stopped him from leaving her. He’d been pretty clear she wasn’t his priority—the only reason he was back in town was because Amarinda had called him. He had been true to himself, rushing into danger to help his friend. Except he’d been too late. And so now he wanted to save another woman from his past, except Nix was no damsel in distress. She’d been taking care of herself most of her life; she didn’t need him.

Instead of engendering anger within her, that thought only filled her with sadness. The same sadness she saw reflected in Tobias’s eyes. Mixed with regret, which she found even more unbelievable. Decisive Tobias regretful? No way. Once he’d made up his mind on a specific course of action, he stood by that decision. The look faded, replaced by resolve, and she knew he still believed he’d been right to leave her five years ago.

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Her sadness intensified. Fighting back sudden tears, she pulled on the door handle. The door didn’t budge. “Take me home,” she told Tobias.

His mouth opened and closed, as if he’d been about to say something and had changed his mind. He pressed the remote and unlocked the door. They climbed into the vehicle in silence, and the ride back to her house was accomplished without speaking. Nix shot him a glance a few times but his expression in the lights of passing cars was inscrutable. When he pulled to a stop in her apartment complex’s parking lot, she hopped out. She paused at the open door and looked in at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Regardless of how she felt about him, they still had work to do.

He gave a nod and a poor attempt at a smile. “I’ll call you.”

“Okay.” She closed the door and walked toward her apartment, pausing at the corner of the building to look back at the SUV. Tobias lifted a hand in greeting and backed out of the parking spot. Nix went on to her apartment.

Rufus met her at the door with his usual exuberance. “Hey there, sweetie,” she said, bending to ruffle his head. He swiped her hand with his tongue. “Wanna go out?”