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Chapter 18
Piper
Halfway through cleaningup the mess from last night I remembered it was supposed to be my day off. However, I shrugged and finished it anyway.
I needed the distraction.
Who could blame me, really? I was working in a household of six gorgeous men, and they were all vampires. To say my brain wasn't nearly fried from the very concept of it all would be putting it lightly.
“You're staying?” Darren asked.
I paused where I was cleaning up the living room to look at him. He stood with his back straight by the front door, too suave to lean like us normal people. The surprise on his face didn't bother me. If I had been in his position, I probably wouldn't think I would stay. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I had come to terms with it yet myself.
Lifting a shoulder like it was no big deal, I sighed. “What can I say? I need the job.”
“But you know what they are...” He trailed off, moving into the living room. He picked up a lamp that had been knocked over. “Why would you want to stay?”
“Why do you?” I shot back.
Taking the trash bag from me so we could work together, his next words surprised me. “I owe them a life debt. I couldn't leave even if I wanted to.”
“Really?” I arched a brow, throwing a few more plastic cups into the bag. Was it a kegger or an elegant party? It seemed like a bit of both from what I was picking up. “How did they warrant such a debt? Did you break an expensive vase too?”
We shared a chuckle.
“No, they saved me from the streets.”
“Oh.”
“Don't look at me like that. No pity here.” Darren picked up the cleaning spray and began to clean the mirrors. “My mother was a drug addict and didn't ever give two craps about me.”
“And your dad?”
He rubbed the mirror a bit more vigorously. “I never met him. I was begging on the street from the time I was three. Eventually, my mother died from an overdose and left me alone to fend for myself, not that it changed much. Just that instead of begging, I started to get involved with the wrong kind of business.”
I cocked my head to the side wondering what he meant. Prostitution? Drug dealing? I didn't ask, not wanting to stop this sudden flood of information he was giving me. He'd tell me when he was ready.
“That's when Antoine found me.” He paused and twisted part way to look at me. “I was only ten. I shouldn't have been in the alleyway that late at night anyway. It was only asking for trouble.” He huffed a laugh. “But I thought I was tough. Had a pocket knife and a chip on my shoulder. But all that gets you in this world is dead.”
The darkness in his eyes made me sad. This man, who was more polished and sophisticated than anyone I'd ever met, had lived through such a traumatizing childhood only to end up here? He was so much stronger than anyone I'd ever met.
“They're not as bad as they come off,” Darren started again, turning back to the mirror. “They may be different than us, but they're no more different than the humans around us. Believe me when I say even humans can be monsters.”
I nodded. I understood that. There were worse things than people who happened to need a bit of blood to survive.
“How long have you been working here?” I picked up the broom and swept it across the floor, focusing on picking up the shards of glass that had broken off from the knocked-over lamp.
“A hundred and twelve.”
My head jerked up so fast, the broom knocked into a side table. “Wait, what?”
Darren's eyes crinkled at the sides. “You heard me right. This year will be one hundred and twelve years of employment.”
I stared at him for a moment, my eyes searching his face for those years he claimed to have served. Unless he colored his hair, there wasn't a hint of gray in his dark locks. His skin was smooth and unblemished. He couldn't be older than thirty if that.
“How?” I stuttered, moving closer to him.
His lips curled up his eyes squinting with his smile. “I owe them a life debt. I can't very well complete it the way I was, sickly and underfed. Master Durand made sure I would be able to serve them until I was no longer needed.”
