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My eyes pop. “What?” I ask, baffled by his words. “Why would you help them?”
“It’s the least I can do, Marina.” He waves his hands around. “And if you can’t tell, money is no object for me. Let me do this.”
I am speechless, confused... skeptical. Clearly, money grows on trees for this man, but I don’t understand. Evil people don’t do kind things for others. Evil creatures don’t offer to pay thousands of dollars for rehab for their captives’ parents. What’s his angle?
“Stop, Marina.”
“Stop what?”
“Overthinking this. I’m offering because I want to help, and I financially can. I’m not a bad guy. I don’t expect anything in return.” He chews on his bottom lip. “Well, except for one thing.”
Here it comes.
“All I ask is that you give me a chance and don’t try to leave. You staying here is what’s safest for you, but it also buys me time to figure out how to appease the Council.”
I’m completely mystified by Julian. I so badly want to believe he’s evil. It would make it so much easier to hate him, yet at every turn—with the exception of last night—he makes me question everything.
Could I have it all wrong? Could he really be the exception to the rule of vampires? Judging him by the collective race of vampires is as unfair as him judging me by my parents’ choices. Just because my parents are addicts doesn’t mean I’m destined to become an addict. So maybe not all vampires are bad?
“If you can help them, Julian, I’d be forever grateful.”
And I mean that with every fiber of my being.
Chapter Fourteen
Julian
The place smells like death, and I’d know all about that. I step over the threshold, not having a clue what I’ll find. A solid inch of dust coats every surface, and the overall state of the house is in desperate need of attention. It’s falling apart. Paint is peeling off the walls and the wood underneath is rotting. Upon closer inspection, I realize it’s due to an ongoing leak from somewhere upstairs.
The thought of Marina growing up here bothers me. Based on the level of decay, things have been like this for a long time. Despite the obvious neglect, she loves her parents. It was evident in the way her eyes crinkled at the corners and her lips were downturned when she spoke of their addiction. She was attempting to hold back tears and it almost broke me.
I’m not used to giving a fuck about someone else. Especially not a human. But Marina is different. Why? I have no idea, but she is. I’m still trying to figure out the connection I have to her, but for now, my focus is on this current issue.
It would be easy for me to end both of their lives for the abandonment of Marina, but I promised her I’d get them help, and I’ll keep that promise.
I continue to walk through the house, looking for any signs of life, but so far, nothing. Things are worse here than Marina let on, and no matter her feelings about being at Castle Bellus, I know now she’s far better off. I’ll take care of her.
There’s finally a noise and I strain to hear where it’s coming from. Someone moans unintelligibly. I walk toward the sound and come to a half-opened door, swinging it open, gagging at the putrid smell.
A vampire’s sense of smell is more acute than a human’s, and this is beyond rank. Feces and vomit coat every inch of the dark space. My hands feel along the wall until they come upon a light switch. With a flick upward, low light filters through the small space. A tiny frame covered by a thin sheet lies still.
I swipe away a strand of greasy blond hair to reveal a face unlike Marina’s. The skin on this woman is weathered and grey in color. Pulling the cover back, I flinch at what remains of the woman. How long has it been since she’s eaten? She’s a step away from death. If I don’t get her to a hospital soon, she’ll die.
I take out my cell phone and call for Bash. “I need you in here.”
He doesn’t reply, but the line goes dead. Bash had set up a lookout for Marc. There had been nothing in days, so I brought him with me for backup, in case the Council is having me tailed.
“My God,” he grates. I turn to see him covering his nose. “Is it dead?”
“Almost. I need you to get her to the hospital. I’m going to make some calls and arrange for her transportation to a rehab clinic in Arizona, assuming she survives.”
“Her father?”
“I haven’t found him yet,” I snarl, thinking about what kind of man he must be to have allowed things to get this bad.
I stalk from the room, leaving Bash to tend to Marina’s mom while I search for the bastard she calls Dad. It takes only a moment before I find him passed out on a recliner in the living room. He’s in no better shape than her mother. How the fuck did they get this bad?
It’s then that I sense it.Black magic.
