Page 6 of High Stakes and Soulmates (Fanged Mistakes #3)

CYRUS

I pull into the driveway as my windshield wipers do their best to wipe away the rain. And just as I’m drawing close to the garage, a flash of darkness zips in front of me, making me slam on my brakes. My seat belt locks and I’m thrown forward when the car jars to a stop.

They rush to my door and grab it, but the door’s locked, since the car is still running.

“Fuck,” I hiss, my heart pounding out of my chest while I put the car in park, and the moment the door unlocks, it’s ripped open as they reach for me.

“Ohhhh, I’ve missed you,” he says, squeezing the life out of me.

“What the hell, Joaquin? I nearly fucking hit you!”

“I saw that! The rain is coming down so hard that I didn’t see you in the driveway until you nearly crushed my body,” he replies, rubbing his wet face all over me while his hug tightens.

“Dammit, stop! Let’s get in the house.”

“Fine, fine,” Joaquin says as he lets go of me to dash up to my front door. I jog through the rain and up to the door which I unlock to let him inside.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” I ask.

“I wanted to surprise you. So… surprise! I know, not much of a surprise when I was literally only gone two weeks, but I think I might have found something, and then maybe I panicked a bit when I heard what you were up to.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “Are you joking? Like something… useful ? The last time you said you found something, you came back with a stray dog.”

“I know! He was so cute. Can I just say that I’m secretly quite pissed that we found his owner? I stalk the owner every now and then. Threaten to suckle his blood if he’s not taking care of him well… but he treats him like a king, so alas.”

“You do realize you could just get a dog of your own, right? You’re an adult,” I say.

“Yes, but I’m an adult mooching off my baby brother.”

“You don’t have much choice at this point,” I remind him. “Not until we find the vampire who killed our family so you can go back to your life.”

“I don’t like you out there exposing yourself to danger. I’m over here hiding, but you’re not and it worries me,” Joaquin says.

“Yes, but they’re after you, not me. You know I have to do this to find them, and so far… they’ve left me alone but I’m sure they’re not going to leave you alone. I’ve been a pretty public face, but I also have Casimir’s protection.”

“His protection only goes so far,” Joaquin says as he pulls his wet hoodie off. “I think you’re taking too much risk working with them. Please just go back to normal homicide.”

“We tracked the people who killed our family here. We just need to figure out who they are.”

“But what if they’re someone you interact with every day? What then? What if you’re just playing into their hands? And then I fucking hear that Casimir is seeking data from other territories because a vampire is slaughtering humans in his?”

“Two humans died. Is that why you ran back here?”

“Of course it’s why I ran back here. You’re just a human, but more importantly, you’re my brother and the only family I have left. I don’t know if we should scratch all of this, or if we should explain to Casimir what we’re doing here.”

“And expose that you didn’t really die?” I ask anxiously. “We know the only reason he stopped is because he thinks you’re dead.”

“I thought you trusted them? Casimir and that Ezio guy.”

“I do, but… what if it puts you at risk and it’s my fault?

And you know what Donovan said,” I remind him.

“Just… Joaquin, let me think on this for a bit. Right now, things are going okay. I know you get anxious every time there’s an incident with the vampires, but it’s been fine.

I’ll talk to Julian. He seems to always know what to say. ”

“The wolf?”

“Yeah.”

Joaquin seems to debate that. “I’ve never talked to him before, but I don’t trust his father. That man is… odd.”

“I don’t either, but Julian’s not going to run to his father. I just…” I close my eyes but when I do, I see myself sitting in blood, I see the hollow eyes. I see my brother dying before me as the blood from our mother runs toward me.

Quickly, I open them again. “Fuck.”

“I’m sorry. I came in and unloaded on you.

Just… relax. You’re right. I’m being paranoid.

I just want to make sure you’re safe, and once I’m sure, I’m going to follow this lead.

Maybe Julian could stay here a couple of nights while I do?

Or you could stay there… or maybe you could stay with that vampire who wants to woo you,” he teases.

“Ha, you’re funny.”

Joaquin laughs and turns to the kitchen. “I’m starving. The animals kind of hid from me along my way here because of the rain.”

“I… I guess you could bite my wrist.”

“No, I don’t want to bite you again; you didn’t handle it well last time.”

“You’d been freshly turned when you bit me. It’s not your fault. I’m well aware you couldn’t control yourself. It’s been four years now since you were turned. I think I can trust you. And we’ve done it before.”

“Only in emergencies.”

He walks over to the fridge and opens and closes it a few times.

“You act like food will just appear for you.”

“I know. Like maybe a rabbit for an appetizer or something,” he jokes.

“Joaquin, I’m going to tell you a secret… you’re never going to just find a live rabbit in my fridge.”

He laughs. “You want to play a video game?”

I eye my bedroom because right now, I just want to sleep. But I know that with my brother staying in hiding because of the man who wants him dead, he doesn’t have too many who even know he’s alive, and I feel guilty denying him.

“Alright. Fine. Just for an hour and then I’m going to sleep.”

“Can I pick the game?”

“You always do.”

Joaquin laughs again. “Fine, something co-op so I don’t have to be careful to not slip on your tears when we get up for bed.”

“How thoughtful of you,” I say as he hurries me over to the couch.

“You know I didn’t like it when you started working your ass off to be a detective. I knew it’d put you in risky situations. You promise you’re being careful, though?” he asks.

“I very much am.”

“What if I turn you into a vampire? Then you can be less careful.”

“You think the way to avoid attention is turning me into a vampire? Like… no one will notice an unapproved turning and that the human detective is just poof, a vampire?”

He grins. “Correct. I don’t know. I just… like… you’re so fragile now.”

I playfully smack him, which makes him laugh. “You’ve literally only been a vampire for four years. Don’t get too cocky.”

“Fine, fine, fine.”

I wake up as the sun is starting to set since that’s when Joaquin will be awake. “I think I was supposed to get groceries today,” I realize.

“You think?” Joaquin asks, looking at my barren fridge. “I can go out right now. I mean… how many vampires are trotting around the grocery store?”

“I guess you could do a grocery pickup,” I say, thinking that’d be pretty safe.

“Don’t know how to do that, but I’m ready to try.”

“Okay. This one is open until nine. Let’s see if they can get it together that quickly. And then I’ll get a shower and we can go out or something. Bowling? You want to go bowling? My boss was talking about bowling the other day and I realized I don’t remember ever doing that.”

“Didn’t you cry the last time we bowled? I guess you were like twelve, but you still shed tears.”

“I don’t remember that. I’m sure I cried in a dignified way.”

“Very,” Joaquin says, heading back to his room to get dressed while I check to see if they’d take such a late order.

Thrilled they will, I get it set up. Joaquin has been here a few days at this point, and quickly slipped back into the same routine of pestering me to be safe, telling me I really shouldn’t be putting my life on the line, and playing video games.

Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if he even wants to find the vampire after his life as much as I do.

He was extremely adamant right after it all happened.

But I think as the years went on, he kind of got tired of it going nowhere.

A tip led us here and then… nothing happened.

Not long after is when Casimir moved in and my life took a turn for the thrilling.

And Joaquin got anxious again, but I don’t blame him. I do the same when he heads out, knowing that he could fuck up.

“Pickup scheduled for nine,” I tell him.

“Got it, got it,” he says. “And I just like drive up and use the app?”

“Yeah. Thanks. I’m going to go get a shower.”

“I’ll leave here in fifteen minutes. Mind if I take your car?”

“I’d prefer it. I think running up on your vampire legs and just loading your whole body down with grocery bags might be oddly suspicious.”

“No idea what you mean,” he teases.

I get in the shower but before I’ve finished, my phone rings. I reach out and snatch it up just to see who is calling. When I see that it’s Maeve, I quickly rinse off and shut the water off before accepting the call.

“Hello?”

“We have another one.”

“I was worried that’s why you were calling me.”

“Bring Ezio.”

“Will do,” I say. The moment I hang up with her, I call Joaquin. “Hey, how far away are you?”

“About five minutes from home? Pulling up to the grocery store now. You need me?”

“No, I’m going to have Ezio pick me up. There’s been another murder. I’ll be home late.”

Joaquin turns quiet and I grimace.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time to discuss this right now.”

“I just really want you to stop,” he says, almost begging. “What happens when someone turns their sights on you?”

“I’m fine,” I assure him. “I promise. I’m careful. Ezio will be with me. I know he kind of comes across as carefree half the time but he really is decent at the job.”

Joaquin says nothing. Clearly, he’s convinced he can protect me better than a two-hundred-year-old vampire.

“I’m sorry, did you learn kung fu since I saw you last? Playing video games doesn’t count. Because umm… last I knew, you didn’t actually know how to fight. Ezio knows how to fight, and Casimir is some like… sword-wielding badass or something. I don’t know. Some of those details are sketchy.”

“I’m really fast. I ran track in high school.”

I laugh. “I know you’re fast.”

“Don’t need to fight if you can outrun them.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” I say. “You have zoomed me out of more than one altercation.”

“Thank you, thank you. Fine. I will trust you, but the second something seems sketchy, you let me know.”

“I will,” I agree, glad I never told him about the werewolves who broke into my house, prepared to slice me up when Ivo had decided he’d had enough of me. I really don’t need him protecting me from all werewolves too.

“I need to call Ezio now.”

“Fine. Go run off with your new boyfriend.”

“He’s never going to be my boyfriend,” I say. “Goodbye. And don’t stalk me.”

“I won’t.”

He hangs up and I call Ezio, who answers with, “I want to be excited you’re calling me but I’m more than a little worried it rhymes with herder.”

“It’s a murder.”

“Dammit.”

“You want to pick me up?”

“Would I ever? What have I done to be blessed with this?” he asks. “I’ll be right there. You can ride in my baby. You’ll love it. I’ll even let you stroke the seats. I don’t ever let Casimir or Julian stroke the seats.”

I kind of feel like that’s because no one wants to. “Uh-huh. See you then,” I say before I hang up.

He must fly right here, and he’s so excited he doesn’t even stop to ask why I don’t take my own car. I think he’s hoping I forever forget I have a car so he can drive me everywhere.

I slip into the car and try not to look at his ecstatic expression. “We’re heading off to a crime scene. You look far too happy.”

“Right, right,” he says.

And I know I’m being too trusting, especially since I found out that he was involved in the death of my family in some way. I just need to figure out how.