Page 7

S tephan plopped down on the living room couch in exasperation. His head began to throb as he continued to eye Jayden and Liam. Jayden was sitting across from him, looking completely bored. Directly to the teen’s left, Stephan’s godfather was half sitting, half leaning against the arm of the couch.

Already irritated by the meeting, he’d come home to find that, yet again, Jayden had chased away his language tutor.

Tutor number…six? Seven? Whatever. At this point, it was getting ridiculous.

The issue was obvious. Jayden had read things from them he hadn’t liked. Stephan pursed his lips—though it was entirely possible that some had just run away in fear.

Ridiculous, really. Jayden was honestly an adorable kid. So he was a little grumpy, big deal!? Stephan shook his head at his wandering thoughts—Jayden’s cuteness was not important right now. Vetting—he needed to focus on vetting.

Stephan nibbled on his bottom lip. How was he supposed to know if they were cowards or terrible people? It wasn’t like he could read anyone. Stephan was a blood elf, not a vampire. The only thing he had in common with vampires was that he drank blood. And even then, blood elves only needed blood once a week, instead of every day.

Liam! He could let Liam do it. The man was a vampire. He could, at the very least, read them so there wouldn’t be any surprises. Though, vetting that way would probably just shrink his options—not that he had many now.

Stephan grimaced—he had officially gone from tutors vying for his attention and employment, to them hiding from him. Stephan had become a fucking pariah in the world of private education.

“Not that I don’t like watching you nod and mumble to yourself, as your mumbling is pretty entertaining, but shouldn’t you be scolding me or something?” Jayden asked dryly.

Heat spread across his face. “What happened this time?”

“I broke a desk.”

“It can be replaced,” Liam rumbled.

“What? The desk…that doesn’t matter right now! The tutor! What happened with the tutor?”

“Difference of opinion,” Jayden stated.

“What does…” Stephan wrinkled his nose. “Explain?”

“I believed he deserved to bleed. He didn’t.”

The comment was relatively tame, considering whom he was talking to. But it made Stephan wonder what the teen really wanted to say.

“It has been handled,” Liam added.

Eyes widening in concern, Stephan sputtered, “W-what has been handled? ”

One of the man’s eyebrows lifted, and a small smile appeared. “Everything.”

“That doesn’t tell me shit!”

He grunted in disgust when Liam just grinned—which made it clear the vampire had no intention of telling him anything, and prying information out of his godfather was impossible.

Sighing, Stephan leaned back and crossed his arms. “Jayden, your education is important. You need to stop chasing away people just because you don’t like them.”

“I’ll work on being less scary.”

Stephan tried to muster up anger at the reply—he failed. The words had sounded so sincere that he found the corners of his mouth twitching.

Part of him, even if it was a bit twisted, found it funny. Looking down, he clenched his hands as he fought to keep a smile off his face. He couldn’t laugh. He wouldn’t laugh. Laughing would say Jayden’s actions were okay. They weren’t. Stephan had to set an example.

Breathing in deeply through his nose, he pushed his humor away. “Jayden, you do know this needs to stop, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then, please, please try harder. I’ve already been hung up on multiple times, and tutors are starting to flee my presence, thanks to all the rumors.”

A snicker had him glaring at Liam—the vampire’s eyes were twinkling.

“And what is so funny?” he ground out.

“Nothing, nothing at all.” His godfather’s voice was full of mirth.

Jayden grudgingly murmured, “I’ll try. ”

“That’s all I ask. I’ll look for a new tutor tomorrow.” Tucking back a few strands of his wayward hair, he asked, “Have you eaten?”

“Yes.”

“Good, good. Anything else you want to tell me?”

“No…can I go to my room now?”

“Of course.”

As Jayden left, disappearing down the hallway, Liam sat down across from him. “How was the meeting?”

Stephan perked up. “If I answer, will you tell me what happened?”

“No.”

“Figured. It was frustrating… I may have threatened to crush one of my business partners,” he stated innocently.

“Edwin Ebersole?”

“Yes.” Stephan proceeded to tell him what the man had done. “Can you believe he actually expected me to agree to use his construction company for all future developments? And his demand for forty percent equity, hah.”

“Never liked the man. He’s always been an arrogant, greedy idiot. Though, in his youth, he was able to fool many into thinking otherwise. Now…not so much,” Liam mused.

“I don’t like being messed with. If Edwin persists in his demands, I will destroy him.”

Liam chuckled. “The fool is blind to the cold businessman under that cute exterior.”

“I’m not cute!”

“Sorry, sorry. I meant adorable.”

“Liam!” he protested.

A smile continued to dance on the man’s lips. “I’m so proud. ”

He snorted. “You should be. I learned everything from you.”

With exaggerated movements, his godfather ran one of his hands through his hair. “I know,” Liam drawled haughtily. “I’m an amazing teacher.”

Stephan started to giggle. His giggle turned into a full-blown laugh when Liam joined in.

As their laughter subsided, Stephan sighed happily. “So, how is everything going here? Is Jayden improving?”

“I believe he is, at least in terms of his mental shields. As for the other subjects, he’s struggling, but I’m sure things will run smoother once he finally stops chasing his tutors away.”

Stephan slouched. “Am I just fooling myself, Liam? Is anything I’m doing really helping? I know he’ll never be ‘normal’, whatever normal is…but I…I just…” Stephan bit his lip and blinked rapidly when his eyes started to water.

Stephan wanted Jayden to have a chance at a normal life—even if he wasn’t normal. The young man deserved to be happy. Stephan just didn’t know how to make that happen. There had to be something he could do. His heart ached at the thought of leaving Jayden alone. The very idea brought tears to his eyes.

Liam stood and drew him into a hug. “Stephan, it’s going to take time. It’s not going to be an easy fix, Sweetie. Jayden is not normal, nor will he ever be. The young man is broken. And while I believe he’ll get better…” The man hesitated. “Some things can’t be fixed.”

Stephan grunted in response and buried his face into the man’s shirt. Inhaling, he took in his scent. Rainfall, that’s what his godfather smelled like. It was a scent that Stephan now associated with home—Liam had become both his father and friend after his parents’ deaths. The only person in the world whose touch brought him comfort instead of fear.

His godfather rubbed his back. “I may have been skeptical at first, but despite being a bit homicidal and bloodthirsty, he’s not a bad kid.”

“I just want to help…”

Liam’s next words were soft yet clear. “Your parents would be so proud of you, Stephan.”

Burrowing closer, Stephan soaked in the comfort the man was offering him.

S neaking out was easy—especially when no one turned on the alarm system.

The neighborhood around him was quiet, nice and quaint. Perfectly mowed lawns, white picket fences, and flower boxes were everywhere. It was the perfect scene of normalcy. One would have a hard time imagining that a monster lived around here.

Jayden knew better though, monsters were everywhere.

He pulled forward the information he had stolen earlier, and the man’s house flashed in his mind. Jayden peered around, then grinned wickedly when he found it.

Ah, there it was—the house of Brad Dickson.

Shaking his head, he snorted in disgust. God, his name was as normal as the neighborhood he lived in.

Jayden walked swiftly up the man’s driveway. His body shook in anticipation at finally being able to release his rage.

Standing in front of the door, Jayden rang the bell. He could have controlled Brad from there, but why bother? No one else was home anyway. Brad’s wife was on a business trip—a nice cover for him to hide behind.

The door opened, revealing a rather unimpressive man. “Can I help you?”

Cocking his head, Jayden slowly smiled.

Brad’s thoughts were confused at first. That confusion, however, turned to panic when Jayden slipped into his mind and took control. As Jayden walked away, he had the man follow. Brad’s initial inner cry of denial came with the first involuntary step. And then the shouting began, nonsense calls for help that wouldn’t ever be heard or answered.

Jayden chuckled when Brad finally realized it was all in his head, that not a single sound was escaping his lips. The screams came then. Delicious cries of a predator who finally understood what it felt like to be prey.

S tephan knocked on Jayden’s bedroom door. “Jayden, we’re going out for ice cream. Do you want to come?”

He bounced in excitement as he waited. Thoughts of what else they could do tonight ran through his head.

Ice cream first, and then they could go to the movies. Oh, oh, then maybe the bookstore. His excitement deflated a bit—or not. But maybe if Jayden had a reading goal, it would motivate him. Or maybe it would just upset him. But it could help, maybe…

Okay, no bookstore for now. Oh, they could go look at the electronics store. Jayden only had a cell phone. He could probably use a laptop, and a tablet. Oh, maybe a few gaming systems, as well. They could also look at DVDs and Blu-rays.

Stephan’s excitement began to build back up at the thought of all the things he could buy Jayden. And then he realized the teen hadn’t answered yet. “Jayden?”

Closing his eyes, Stephan listened—he didn’t hear a heartbeat behind the closed door. With shaky hands, he took out his cell phone and called the young man. Stephan’s phone made a noise as the call connected.

“What?” Jayden answered dully.

“Oh, thank the Gods. You scared me, Jayden. When I knocked, and you didn’t ans—” Stephan paused. “Wait, where are you? Why didn’t you tell anyone you were going out?”

“I had something I needed to take care of.”

The hairs on the back of his neck rose. “Jayden…what are you doing?”

“Nothing that concerns you.”

“Jayden!” Stephan yelled as Jayden ended the call. He bent over, yanking on his hair. “Shit!”

Taking off down the hall toward the stairs, he yelled for Liam. They would track Jayden’s phone, that’s what they would do. Stephan would stop him…he just had to.

O ne of Dante’s enforcers burst into his office and stared .

Already knowing the answer, Dante stated, “She’s here again?”

“Yes, Boss.”

Rubbing his brow, he sighed. “Let her in.”

Moments later, his door was slammed open by a beautiful but highly irrational woman. “It’s not right!” she shouted.

Dante growled. “We’ve been over this. There is nothing else you can possibly do to stall the inevitable. He will die, Miss Bridgen.”

“It’s murder! You all talk as if you have morals, yet you’re nothing but a bunch of murderers!” she shrieked.

“Enough!” He took a deep breath to calm his agitation. “Think what you may, it matters not. It’s over . Now leave.”