Page 84 of Love Bleeds

"Don't you think we should talk about this?"

"I don't have time to talk." This time, my irritation definitely showed, but I didn't care. I was almost to my room, anyway.

Collin huffed, but he stopped following. "Just... don't do anything stupid, okay?"

I went into my room and closed the door without promising my brother anything like that.

* * *

The phone rang at least a million times before it finally connected. I sat against the headboard of my bed--the bed Crimson and I had shared--, knees drawn to my chest when I heard a stranger's voice on the other end of the line.

"Who's this?" the man asked.

"Are you Vlad?" I gave back.

"Who wants to know?"

"I'm Luke," I said. "Crimson's friend. You helped me when Nicolai attacked me."

"Luke, yes, I remember you. So you've finally decided to call."

Finally? "I had to get the number first."

"Did Puck not pass it on as instructed?" The vampire on the other end of the line paused. "I should have known. He sold it, didn't he?"

"He did." I took a moment to feel punked, but only a moment, because I had more important things to worry about than Puck’s questionable business ethics. "It doesn't matter. I need your help."

"I'm happy to offer it."

I hesitated. This was too easy, wasn't it? "You don't even know yet what I need help with."

"It's not hard to guess. You want help to take down Nicolai. Trust me, he's had it coming for a while."

"But you're a vampire. Shouldn't you be on his side?" Yes, I wanted his help, but I could still be skeptical. I wasn't an idiot.

"Are you on every mortal's side?"

He made a good argument there. "I'm not," I said. "But isn't a coven like... a family?"

The vampire laughed. "You never disagree with your family?"

I licked my lips, because if I always agreed with my family, I wouldn't even be on the phone right now.

The vampire continued before I could say anything. "This isn't truly my coven. I'm only here because I want something. Let's just say that if you take down Nicolai, I'll have an easier time getting it."

"What is it?"

"Let's call it a gem."

This was all so vague, and I wasn't convinced, not really, but I also didn't get the feeling that Vlad would tell me anything more substantial if I wasted more time pestering him. "I was thinking explosives."

"Explosives?"

"Vampires can burn," I clarified.

Vlad pondered this for a moment. "That's an interesting idea," he said eventually. "But I'd rather not burn."

"You wouldn't have to. I can make something with a timer. We’d only have to make sure that Nicolai will be in its vicinity when it blows up."