AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shakes his head, slowly moving it back and forth. “We installed automatic shades when we bought this place. They should still work. I’ll stay up and watch over you.”
A shiver works over my spine. “Tell me about the man who’ll come after you when he realizes you left the city.”
Samuel’s arms drop, and he sits a little straighter, his gaze darkening. “Rune. He was my Lord’s brother.”
“Your Lord?”
He inclines his chin, nodding. “My maker.”
I tuck my fingers between my thighs, preventing them from shaking. All of my answers aresoclose. “You said hewasyour Lord’s brother. Is he not anymore?”
Samuel’s face blanks. “My Lord is dead.”
“Oh, I’m so sorr-”
“I killed him.”
He freezes, a strange expression crossing his face, as if he hadn’t expected to speak the admission. His lips press tightly together.
Though his words are raw and powerful, I lean in closer, letting my shoulder rest on his. “Can I ask why?”
Samuel sighs, his exhale long and slow. “Because he wasn’t a nice man?” His shoulders droop. “He changed me after our time spent in the war. He had taken up arms merely for amusement, but when he saw what I was capable of, he kept me around. We were alone for a long time, and he only offered me two paths; death or consumption.”
Samuel studies my face, looking for a hint of discomfort or distress. I remain composed. This exchange is helping me to determine who Samuel is, for better or worse.
“Eventually he got bored. Matthew was next. He inflicted the same gruesome acts on Matt that he had on me. We were both victims of his cruel cycle of need and addiction, with Matt getting the worst of it. He got three weeks in chains, with no explanation.” He shakes his head, his eyes glossy as he remembers the horrors of his past. “But Francis was the last straw. He changed him on his nineteenth birthday, kidnapped him and imprisoned him for a week. He revealed his sick plan to me.” His eyes squeeze shut. “Barros wanted to release him in his home village, near his family’s shack. He claimed that murdering everyone he knew in life would make him the strongest of vampires.”
“That’s terrible.” I place my hand on Samuel’s knee, squeezing.
He nods, his jaw tightening. “Yes, it is. So I killed him. That night, I gifted him a girl, and when he bit into her neck, I wrapped a metal cord around his throat and squeezed until his head hit the floor.” He shakes his head. “The bastard was still alive, even then. So I bashed his skull in with his favorite grand piano.” He makes eye contact with me, placing his hand over mine. “It was averybrutal scene.”
The chill of his hand soaks into mine, but I don’t care. The sadness in his gaze reveals the depths of his grief. Does he regret killing this monster? Or is it sorrow from simply having to explain to me what happened? “And this is why Rune called you to New York? That’s why he’s coming for you?”
He raises his brows. “No, actually. Rune never discovered the truth about his brother’s death. We told him Barros flew into a rage and punched the wall, causing the piano to crash through the upstairs banister and crush him. He had no evidence to prove otherwise, but…” His lip curls on one side. “He’s always suspected me. The man hates my guts. He wanted me to attend the Night Order meeting in New York, so I’d be forced to visit him. Since he’s a Lord, a maker, I’m obligated to do his bidding. I spent my first week in the city chasing new vampires and making them report back to him.”
“So, he’s like a vampire ring leader?”
Samuel snorts. “Something like that. The problem is that we left three days before the meeting, a meeting to which I wassummonedto attend. The Night Order takes their rules seriously, so the moment I slip, Rune will hunt me down.”
“And me, too.” My words aren’t a question. I see things clearer now. If this man has it out for Samuel, and he finds out Samuel helped me,shared his secrets with me, then it’s all over. I’ll be the first to go.
Samuel’s hands are on me then, touching my chin, caressing my cheeks. “We swept your place clean, and we didn’t leave a trail. It’s unlikely he’ll connect us together, and even if he does, this location is secluded. He won’t find us. Hewon’t.”
I stare into his dark eyes. “I trust you.”
He sighs, relieved. “Good.”
His hands drift down my neck and arms, and I feel a different kind of chill wash over me. No longer fear, but something else entirely. “This group, the Night Order… they have regulations that prohibit you from informing others about your true nature?”
He nods, and I lean closer toward him. “Then saving me condemned you, but you did it anyway.”
Samuel doesn’t answer, and the longer he stares at me, the more my heart swells.
“Will you take me to bed?” My voice is soft, but I’m no longer nervous.
As soon as I saw Samuel, I knew without a doubt that he was extraordinary, and by some miraculous luck, he felt the same spark of something special in me. Hecaresabout me.
His gaze flashes a deep, searing crimson. “Would you like that?”
