Page 16 of Call of the Blood

If I were in the man’s shoes, I would have felt cautious too.

“Normally, people are far more polite when they fear me,” he said softly. “Unless they’re trying to tell me I can’t do anything depending on the situation. Normally, people are rude when they’re trying to prove they don’t fear me, whether it’s to themselves or others.”

“Ah.” I could see that. “Well, he has no one to show off to, so…”

“Let me check something,” he said softly, getting out his phone. He called someone as I started moving deeper into the nice home we’d been given leave to use. Everything was cool and modern, designed by someone who liked clean lines and a lack of personality. It wasn’t like Isaiah’s historical-looking homes, full of antiques and character. It was just a safe house, so I chalked it up to her not caring to fill it with those types of things, while Isaiah’s country home was personal to him.

It felt foreign, suddenly being in a new space after so long. I tested the couch and tried to get comfortable, but it wasn’t the couches at home. Then I tried the recliner, but it wasn’t as plush as I liked.

“Who am I? Goldilocks? It’s a fucking rental,” I muttered to myself, feeling weird in the new space, but not so weird I didn’t realize how I was behaving. “Let’s check on the food situation, I guess. I need to feed tonight before I go to bed. Let’s hope there’s blood.”

The kitchen was hyper-modern and was probably the most expensive room in the house. Ten-thousand-dollar appliances, fridges custom built to match the cabinets.

Alexius found me in the kitchen as I opened the fridges, not finding any blood. Only freshly bought groceries for humans.

“It wouldn’t be there,” he said, leaning on the counter. “I called Maria, just to make sure we were in the right place and complain about the driver while I was at it. We’re in the right place, and she told me everything the driver was supposed to walk us through. He just left and will be talked to. She also had something she couldn’t reschedule tonight, so I don’t need to go to her nest until tomorrow. So, we can settle in tonight.”

“Where’s the blood?” I asked, still frowning at the human food. “And that’s nice. You shouldn’t rush into a meeting after being on a plane for… five hours? Six?” I sighed. “It would have put you in a mood.”

“You’re not wrong,” he said softly, admitting the truth of my observation but clearly not liking it.

I closed the fridge as he reached me. I watched as he opened a lower cabinet and revealed a hidden keypad. He typed in a quick code, which caused a painting on the kitchen wall to reveal a locked refrigerator in the wall.

“I knew several vampires who do this because they can’t spell the home against human interference. They don’t keep large supplies. We’ll get a delivery every two nights with enough blood for both of us. She had it overstocked tonight to see what we might go through, but I can just tell her tomorrow what we need.” He opened the secret fridge and pulled out a blood bag. I reached for it, but he didn’t let me take it. Instead, he pointed to a seat at the bar and prepared the blood for me.

“I’m told it’s fresh. She doesn’t store it for long. So, this was donated just earlier in the day. Let me know.”

It was. There was a sliding scale of what sort of energy blood could give, depending on how recently it had been in a living human body. I’d had it all at this point. From the vein was clearly the best, the healthiest option, but it involved a human and actually feeding on something with a heartbeat. That activated all sorts of instincts in a vampire I wanted to avoid, and so did Alexius. I’d also had week-old, bagged blood that felt more obligatory to drink instead of satisfying.

“Oh, yeah. This was donated like hours ago,” I said, breathing out after the first drink. “It has that…”

“Fullness,” he provided for me. I nodded and took a second drink.

“Are you going to feed tonight?”

“I should, being in a new city. I need to be sharp, since we’re not at home,” he said, sighing. “I will probably stay up through the day just to make sure security seems tight and that the neighborhood is quiet.”

“That will definitely make you cranky for your meeting with Maria,” I pointed out.

“She’s used to it. How close are we to your brother?”

I pulled out my phone and typed in his address, smiling as I saw directions.

“Only twenty minutes,” I said with a grin. “Easy enough. Is the car protected?”

“She wouldn’t give us a vehicle that wasn’t. That’s a requirement of my visits.”

“Oh, good. I could cut the drive down to fifteen minutes then if I get enough open road.”

“Good luck with that in Los Angeles,” he said, almost smiling. I could hear the light humor, but he showed none on his face.

I continued to drink as he prepared and drank his own. Eventually, cleaning out my glass, I decided to test my luck again.

“So, what sort of work does she have for you?” I asked lightly.

“I’ll tell you when we get home,” he answered, not falling for me. I had been trying to take advantage of the casual moment, hoping he’d slip. It had been a long shot, so I didn’t push any further.

“I’ll hold you to that.”