Page 11 of Blood Claims (Garnet Dagger Mafia #2)

CHINESE WINNING WHISPERS

A nd here I was.

Back again.

Only, this time I wasn’t waking up in a locked bedroom questioning all my life choices. No, I was just asking myself how I had fucked up so royally. Because not one damn thing had gone to plan.

I now found myself back in their penthouse fortress in the heart of the city with its view over central park. The night I first met Victor came back to me every time I saw that damn beautiful park.

Well, at least now I knew why I had felt the irrational pull to walk in there that night with absolutely no reason to do so.

And as for Victor, he had known who I was the second he saw me.

Now had he not been cursed, then who knows, he may have just let the asshole rob me while being on his merry mafia way.

But of course, I hadn’t been able to tell Stacey any of this. Nor could I involve her any more than I already had. So, when she pulled me into her room and closed the door, her question came with a curse as she asked,

“What the fuck?”

“I know… I know,” I said, throwing my hands up and walking past her.

“Oh good, because I was worried you missed the two hulking hot guys in our living room that seemed to be eyeing you like candy,” she replied sarcastically and well… she had no fucking idea how close she was with that one.

“You told me they were gay,” she accused, and all I could do in response was shrug my shoulders and admit,

“I didn’t know what to tell you.”

She released a sigh as I deflated back on her bed, before lying back and covering my face with my hands.

“Hey, it will be okay. I’m not judging you.”

I lifted one hand enough so she could see the disbelieving rise of my brow.

“Okay, so I’m judging a little but, hey, can you blame me?! I mean, how many people do you know that are dating twin brothers that look like that?! Jesus, where did you find them, Hot Buff Guys R’Us?” I would have laughed but instead focused on my question.

“How do you know they are twins?”

“I gather that drunken text message you sent me that night was true and the gay part the next day was the lie,” she assumed, making me groan into my hands and admit,

“God, I am such a shit friend!”

“No, you were just embarrassed, that’s all. I get it,” she said, trying to comfort me when I didn’t deserve it. Not if she knew the whole truth and remembered anything from earlier, because I had all but welcomed the foxes into the henhouse.

“So, is that why they turned up at the store asking about you?”

I winced, before sitting up and choosing to tell her half a lie, or was it more like leaving out the half-truth?

“I kind of woke up and freaked out. So, I snuck out without leaving my number and they had no idea where I lived, so I thought it was just a one-night thing,” I told her, sitting up and pushing all my hair back.

“But they wanted it to be more, which is why they turned up at your job hoping to find you there,” Stacey guessed, making me shrug.

“Pretty much.”

“Then they convinced you to go out with them again and you got nervous and therefore shit faced drunk,” she went on to assume and well, most of it was pretty spot on. All she was missing was the blackmail and the fact they were Vampires cursed into loving me and Hell bent on kidnapping me.

“Again, you wouldn’t be wrong,” I admitted again.

“And now?” she asked, gesturing to the door, which was when I knew I would have to get creative.

“They want me to go away with them.”

She whistled.

“Damn, these boys don’t take their time, do they?”

I released a sigh.

“No, they are kind of used to getting what they want but then, isn’t that the way with the super-rich?” I said, making her eyes widen.

“Oh boy.”

“Yep,” I agreed as she tried to process all I had told her.

“Do they know about, you know… your debt?” she asked, wincing like it was a dirty word and usually, in our apartment, it was. Every time a new bill arrived, I felt like drowning myself in ice cream and apple Schnapps before then physically drowning Dexter, my ex.

I laughed at her question, and it came out a bitter sound before I told her,

“Yeah, and just like that, they made it all go away.”

“What?!” she screeched, making her glasses slip down her nose.

“They paid it all off, Stacey,” I told her softly, the knowledge of such still one I didn’t know how to fully process.

“Jesus… that must have been one hell of a one-night stand,” she said, making me snap my head her way and shout,

“Stacey!”

“Okay, I’m sorry, but come on, this sounds like something out of one of your Vampire Porn books.”

I groaned, just imagining Tal hearing this and getting a big kick out of it even as I argued,

“It’s not Vampire Porn… Jesus, why does everyone keep calling it that?” I muttered, wondering if Tal was currently busting a gut.

“But come on, they have you for one night and then go to all this effort to keep you, they must have it bad for you, Nessa.”

Christ, if only she knew the truth. But when I didn’t offer anything to this, she asked,

“And you?”

“Me?” I repeated after first flinching, knowing this was even more dangerous ground for me to tread on.

“Yeah, you… how do you feel about them?” she asked, making me stall for time by shaking my head, telling her on a whisper,

“I don’t know.”

She gave me a soft look before joining me on the bed and taking my hand in hers.

“I think you do. For starters, when I walked out, it looked like your bag was already packed and you were heading out the door after leaving me a note.” Of course, this was exactly what it looked like, just not for the reasons she believed.

“I let them convince me it was a good idea,” I told her quietly.

“Then why don’t you look very sure now?” she asked, making me admit,

“They don’t know me.”

Her eyes grew tender before she told me,

“But I think they do, or at least enough that they want to discover more of you.”

“Stacey, I…”

“No, Nessa, you never did see what everyone else sees,” she interrupted, knowing the argument that was coming from me and getting in there first.

“But I…” Again, she was quick to put a stop to my insecurities by telling me,

“You have been put down and trodden on most of your life by those that were only ever supposed to care about you. You have had a lifetime of being let down, time and time again, until you lost faith in people.”

I swallowed hard, forcing the tears back as I squeezed her hand.

“I never lost faith in you.”

“Yes, you did,” she argued, and when I said nothing she carried on. “When I demanded you move in with me after what that shit bag piece of shit did to you.”

“You said shit twice,” I joked.

“Yeah, and he deserves to drown in shits for all I care, my point is that for the longest time you were waiting for the catch. You were on eggshells in this apartment for months, as if waiting for me to turn batshit crazy or something. Like at any minute I was going to steal from you and kick you out. You were waiting for the bad to emerge.”

I flinched, knowing that she was right. But despite this I still felt the need to argue against it for her sake.

“I… I wasn’t… I…”

“It’s okay, I always understood why. Just like I knew that it would take time and I was right… but, Nessa, it isn’t just the physical that leaves scars.”

I nodded, my voice thick with emotion as I agreed.

“I know.”

“So, you have to ask yourself, are you going to let those old scars rise to the surface and dictate your choices as they continue to cover you in doubt, or are you going to finally break free of those chains?”

I sucked back a quick breath because if she knew the truth, then she would know I was already wrapped up tight in those chains. Chains that had nothing to do with my past but everything to do with what those two Vampires had in store for my future.

“I see those online physiology courses are really taking hold,” I said, nudging her arm with my own, making her grin.

“What can I say, therapy is expensive,” she teased, making me chuckle.

“So, what are you going to do?” This question came after she nodded to the door.

I released a deep sigh because it was nice that she believed I still had a choice. When in reality, I had no choice at all. But in order to give my friend some much needed piece of mind and so not to involve her further, I told her,

“Do you think I would be able to get cover for my shifts at the store?” I asked, making her smirk.

“Lucky for you I know the owner,” she joked, considering it was her uncle.

“Besides, you have never once taken any vacation time, so I would say you’re due at least a week or two.”

I tried not to wince, knowing that after what Tal and Victor had told me, it was unlikely I would ever be setting foot in Fulton Market again. But at least I would have a few weeks to try and convince them to let me keep my job, so it was better than nothing.

“Then I will go with them.”

Stacey grinned big before pushing up her glasses, telling me,

“Good, just remember to call me and be prepared to give me all the juicy deets.”

I laughed and whispered, “I’ll try.”

Then I winked, making her look happy, and despite knowing I was saving my friend, I still couldn’t help but feel as if I was betraying her further.

I walked away with another layer of guilt added to the already back breaking load I carried.

And after hugging my friend goodbye, I walked out the door, still questioning if I was doing the right thing, asking myself if I should have tried to tell her what was really happening.

If I could have tried to communicate this in some way and ask for help?

But then if I had, that would have only gotten her more involved than she already was.

Because, at the very least, by going with them I had managed to get them away from her.