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Bela shook his head. “Send him my way then. I can make very good use of him.”
Istvan bared his teeth and Bela laughed. He stood and tipped his hat. “Tomorrow then.” He leaned forward and Istvan was surprised when Bela brushed cool lips over his cheek, his hand lingering on his neck. “Adieu.”
He drew back and for a moment they were face to face, Bela’s pale eyes fixed on his. He glanced to Bela’s mouth and saw his fangs slide out and something churned in his stomach. Of course he’d been with Bela before; his fellow Hungarian knew how to have a wild time. He was the same sort of animal in bed as Emil. A typical vampire. It would be easy to take a little solace there now. But Istvan ached for Stephen. His home and his bed was empty and he needed the human to fill it.
He stepped back from Bela and opened the door for him. Bela gave him a knowing smile and walked away, and Istvan closed the door with an uneasy feeling prickling his spine.
Chapter Fourteen
When Sam left to feed that evening, he found Istvan on his doorstep, hand poised to knock. He tensed, regarding the other vampire warily.
Istvan held up his hands. “I come in peace.”
Sam folded his arms. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want?”
“A favour.”
Sam snorted. “A favour? From me? Are you joking?”
“No. You can make things right if you do this.”
“Things will never be right again.”
Istvan looked earnest. “Yes, they will. We can get it back to how it was.”
“Why should I want to get back to how it was, Istvan?” Sam asked. “You blamed the whole thing at the club on me, then broke my jaw. I saved a man’s life in there and regardless, I don’t need your permission to do anything, nor can you order me to leave Budapest! I have a business here.”
He expected Istvan to get angry again, maybe break a few more bones or drink his blood to prove a point. Instead, Istvan looked guilty. As well as that he looked weary and sad. “I need your help,” he said.
Sam glared at him. “And Stephen?”
A look of deep pain crossed Istvan’s face. He shook his head. “I need Stephen to help too. This concerns us all. But he and I, we’re finished.”
Sam turned around and went back inside, leaving the door open for Istvan to follow. “You bloody fool,” he said.
Inside, Stephen lurched to his feet when he saw Istvan, paling.
“Hello, Stephen,” Istvan said, taking his hat off. “How are you?”
“How do you think I am?” Stephen replied coldly.
Istvan didn’t say anything. Sam glanced at Janos who was seated in an armchair and regarded Istvan as warily as Sam had. “Sit down.” Sam gestured to Istvan.
Stephen sat too. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to ask you both for help,” Istvan said.
Stephen raised a brow. Sam saw the hurt in his eyes. “You’re not here to ask me to come back then?” Stephen asked.
Istvan looked at him for a long moment. “No,” he said. “We’re over.”
A crushing silence fell over the room. Stephen’s eyes brimmed with tears and Sam’s dead heart clenched in sorrow. “You’re a bloody arsehole,” he told Istvan.
“As you will,” Istvan said in that infuriating tone of his he used when he was trying to hide his emotions.
