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"You may ask. I may not answer. "
I heard Nikolaus laugh and I shook my head at Stefan's cockiness. "I like you, Stefan. But back to my question. Do you love her?"
My heart thumped in my chest so loudly that I'm sure Stefan could hear it as I waited to hear his response.
"More than my own existence. "
"That's the difference between you and my father. He doesn't love anyone except himself and his fucking insane need for power. You can sit there in that chair in this fancy apartment and pretend that you care about fucking protocol. I know you love my sister. You know you love my sister. And we both know she loves you. Fuck, even if I had doubts I saw her face when you walked in the room. It's a matter of survival now. It's either kill or be killed at this point. You are standing between what he wants and he'll stop at nothing to get it. "
No one spoke for a moment. "Nothing will happen to her, Nikolaus. You have my word. "
"Yeah, Nigel thought the same thing about my mother," my brother said emphatically.
"I am not Nigel, Nikolaus," Stefan's voice was cold. You could almost feel the shards of ice in his words. "Nigel is a decent man and a respectable vampire. He is tied into the Council too deeply and has not acknowledged that Armes is dead. Once he finally accepts that she was murdered, another ally bent on revenge will be created. An ally that seeks vengeance craves retribution more than he wants to live. It can become an all-consuming thing, Nikolaus. That combination can be deadly and the person will not be thinking of the big picture, only how to achieve it. "
"Touche. I'm going to assume you're not just talking about Nigel. "
There was a pause in the conversation. I pushed myself into Stefan's mind, sorting through the jumbles of his rapid moving thoughts. He was weighing the pros and cons of what the death of my father would mean to him, to me, to vampire society. He wasn't against the idea but he wanted to be careful and methodically plan.
"You are correct. I am not just talking about Nigel. I am very old, Nikolaus. I have not remained on this earth for almost 1,000 years by being impatient and impetuous. "
"That's why I'm asking for your help. The Council trusts you. "
The room went silent and I struggled to listen for any movement that would alert me to Stefan's approach so he wouldn't catch me snooping.
"If you are finished picking through my mind, please pull yourself away from the door and join us, Josephine. " Stefan's mind voice was slightly irritated with my intrusion into his thoughts.
Blushing profusely, I cracked open the door and slowly walked down the hallway to rejoin Stefan and my brother. Stefan was still seated in the chair and he glanced at me with amusement. Nikolaus walked to my side and pulled me into a tight embrace.
He pulled back and his green eyes met mine. "I'm glad I finally met you, Josie. I can see our mom in you. " He smiled in a sad sort of way, his eyes shining brightly with unshed tears. "Are you staying in New York?"
"We're heading back to Indonesia for a while to wrap things up. We'll be back though. "
"Cool. Give me your phone. " I went to my purse and pulled it out, handing it over to him. He typed away quickly before placing it back in my palm. "My number is in there. Don't be a stranger. Call me when you're on your way back. "
"I will. Bye, Nikolaus. "
He grabbed his leather jacket and nodded a goodbye to Stefan, pecking a kiss on my cheek before breezing out the apartment. His abrupt departure left Stefan and I staring at each other, both of us at a loss for words.
* * *
Stefan had insisted on taking me out to dinner for our final night in New York. He chose to drive us himself in the silver Mercedes, smoothly maneuvering through the New York traffic, darting from lane to lane. We pulled to a stop at Central Park West in front of Jean-Georges. My door was opened by the valet, but it was Stefan's hand that was gallantly offered to me. Placing my hand in his and threading our fingers together, he tossed the keys to the valet and took the ticket from the man's fingertips. His blue eyes swept over me and he leaned in to whisper in my ear, his breath tickling my skin.
"You look beautiful, vackra. "
I felt beautiful. Dressed in a simple black sheath dress, I had my hair up in a messy bun, tendrils of hair framing my face. The necklace he had given me gleamed brightly against my chest and I could see the happiness on his face whenever his eyes fell on the pendant, which was quite often.
"You don't look so bad yourself," I retorted playfully. He was in another Armani suit, this time in a deep charcoal gray. His crisp white dress shirt stood out in contrast against the black silk of his tie, and once again, this suit appeared to be tailored to emphasize all of his many assets: his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and his pants accentuated his long legs and firm ass.
We walked in through the glass doors and into the restaurant, taken aback by the beautiful simplicity of the restaurant. Decorated in pale cream and oyster gray, Stefan led us to the ma?tre de. He gave his name and we were swiftly led to an intimate booth in the corner. We were seated and a menu presented to Stefan. I couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation. The non-eating vampire would be doing the ordering for us tonight.
He looked over the menu and glanced at me over the top of the menu, winking at my apparent amusement at seeing him decide what food to order.
"You may smile now, however you need to keep in mind you must eat what I order," he said, with a hint of arrogance in his voice.
My amusement fading, I took a sip of water and smiled nervously. "I'm sure you'll do fine. "
Our waiter appeared at our table and Stefan ordered the Spring tasting menu, along with a bottle of white wine. He nodded in approval and disappeared, leaving us alone again.
