Page 11 of Vampire Lee

Dillon hesitated by the edge of the patio. The sun was shining, and he could see the garden beds from there, but to take a step out on the lawn…It would mean leaving the safety of the house. Other than being on the patio, he hadn’t been outside the house since he got here.

It was when you were outside people could grab you. Or he was pretty sure they could grab him from inside the house too, but then they had to make it to the third floor and through four shifters and one vampire—currently two, but he didn’t know for how long Lee was staying with them.

Devin came to stand next to him. “Want me to go first?”

“Are you afraid?”

Devin grimaced. “Less and less, but I look around, I hold my breath and listen. Mars practices self-defense with me regularly. It helps. I’m no match for anyone supernatural, but all I have to do is struggle long enough for Mars to get to me.”

Dillon looked at him. He was confident Mars would get to him. What would it be like to know someone would fight for you? Dillon had never had that, had never had parents or siblings who cared. He’d had a few boyfriends, but nothing lasting, nothing where he felt they’d have his back no matter what. And now the world had changed. The rules he’d played by before didn’t apply. He’d once considered himself strong. He’d been muscled without having to try hard at all, he was almost a head taller than Devin, and he’d been healthy.

Now he was weak. A puny human in a house full of people who could tear him apart without breaking a sweat.

“There is a wall all around us. There are cameras along the entire property. No one gets in here without someone knowing.”

Dillon nodded and took a step out onto the lawn. Devin followed, and they both stopped and tilted their faces to the sun.

“Did you ever wonder if you’d breathe fresh air again?” Devin’s voice had turned hoarse.

“I was sure I wouldn’t. When people started to die, I was sure I would too. It was only a matter of time.” He breathed deeply. “I can’t remember when it turned worse, but I have this feeling it was better before, even though I can’t remember it. Like maybe, we were fed more often, allowed to clean up more often, that sort of thing. Or maybe I’ve made it up.”

“No. When I was there, we got fed. Perhaps not as much as we needed, but you were healthy, not a walking skeleton. You’re so fucking strong, Dillon. I wish you’d realize it. No one survived as long as you did. I wouldn’t have survived as long as you did.”

They didn’t look at each other. The sun warmed Dillon’s skin, and he tried to block all memories of what it had been like not to see the sun for months on end. He could stand in the sunlight now; he could eat until he was full.

“He would’ve kept you alive.”

“I don’t think it would’ve helped. I think I’d have…given up. I was so close to giving up, and you were there for three years longer than me. A thousand days of torture, and you were still standing when I came back.” Devin’s voice broke, and Dillon watched in horror as a tear trickled down his cheek.

“Hey.” He placed a careful hand on Devin’s shoulder. Half a second later, Devin threw his arms around Dillon’s waist and hid his face against his chest.

“I should’ve made them look for you.”

Dillon didn’t know what to do. Slowly he curled his arms around Devin, the embrace awkward and terrifying. “You didn’t know I’d been taken again.”

“I should have asked what happened to everyone, should’ve demanded they let me know where you were, but I was too busy hiding in my room.”

“It’s okay, Dev. It’s not your fault.”

“I could’ve gotten you out years earlier. Murrie would’ve looked into it if I had asked him to.”

Dillon was pretty sure he was right. Murrie would’ve looked for him, but there had been no reason for Devin to suspect something was wrong. “They wouldn’t have found me. Where would they start looking? It wasn’t until Leonardo escaped that they had anything to go on.”

“Argh.” Devin pushed away from him and angrily wiped his cheeks. “Some days, I want to kill them all. Burn down the entire fucking world.”

Dillon stared. He did? He always looked happy. He baked and cooked and smiled, teased the others and cuddled with Mars.

“Fucking vampires.”

Dillon huffed a laugh. “Yeah, Mars seems like a terrible creature.”

“Oh, he is.” Devin gave a watery chuckle. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m brain damaged. Who in their right mind hooks up with a vampire after what we’ve been through?”

Dillon shrugged. “He’s not them.”

“No. He’s not like them at all, and I love him. Most days I forget he’s a vampire, but when I’m reminded of it, I wonder what the hell is wrong with me.”

“There is nothing wrong with you.” Though how would Dillon know? There were plenty of things wrong with him, so why wouldn’t there be plenty of things wrong with Devin?

“Fuck, I didn’t mean to turn this into a therapy session. Let’s get those seeds in the ground.”

Dillon nodded and took a step forward.

“Dillon.”

Dillon squeaked and whirled around. On the patio was Lee. His lips were pressed together as if he was angry about something, and Dillon wanted to shrink into himself. “Yes.”

“I’m heading to work now, and Mars and Hanna will go through my apartment. Murrie told me to come back here and not go there.”

“Okay.” Why was he telling him?

“I’ll be back tonight.”

Dillon nodded. Okay, so they’d have another slumber party. That was fine. Maybe.

Lee raised a hand in a wave. “See you later.”

“Bye.” A frown took over his face as he turned to catch up with Devin.

“Problem?”

“No, he only wanted me to know he’d be back.”

Devin grinned. “Right.”

“He’s fucking Rei.”

“Not anymore.” Devin chuckled. “I figured we could have a row of carrots along the sides. If we run out of seeds, then maybe we can continue with radishes or lettuce.”

“I have lettuce in cups.” He motioned toward the patio.

“Awesome.”

* * * *

Lee was slamming things behind the bar when Faelan parked himself on one of the bar stools. He placed his phone in front of him, and Lee took a deep breath. He had a job to do.

“What’ll it be?”

“A Coke. I think I’ll hold off on the alcohol for a few more hours.”

Lee grinned and looked around. There was no one close enough to hear them unless they strained to do so. “Still recovering from last night?”

Faelan grunted, which was his more normal level of communication. When Faelan was chatty, he was playing a role.

Lee poured a Coke and placed the glass in front of Faelan, swiping the phone as he did. He put it in his pocket and replaced it with the one Murrie had given him.

Faelan gave a slight nod. “So why are you banging things?”

“I’m not.”

Faelan didn’t speak, he simply looked at Lee.

“I heard Devin and Dillon talking about…the time when they were—” He cut himself off with a hiss, and Faelan grinned. A sharp grin that had all the alarm bells go off in his mind. Fuck. He did not want to end up on Faelan’s bad side.

“Everyone is dead.”

“Doesn’t mean they’re not alive in their minds.”

Faelan nodded. “They’re tough.”

“Devin said Dillon had endured a thousand days of torture.” Nausea rose at the back of Lee’s throat.

“A thousand days more than Devin is more like it. Devin was with them for a year, a little more. Dillon was there for most of that time too, then three more years.”

Lee shook his head. “Why would anyone want a blood slave?”

Faelan frowned at him. “You can answer that question far better than I can. Blood and sex are a heady combination, and there is probably the thrill of doing something illegal too. I don’t know why vampires go crazy over their blood. To me, blood is blood.”

“I’ve only had human blood once. A friend of mine had scored a bag, and we shared it. It was different, but not as mind-blowing as they make it sound. I can’t say I liked it much.”

“And you’re sure it was human blood?”

“I think so. He said it was.” What if it hadn’t been?

Faelan shrugged. “All I know is Devin has special blood that apparently makes all vamps go crazy, and Dillon is human enough for those who were born after the treaty took place to not notice a difference. Mars says he would have been able to tell if he had bitten Dillon when he went undercover, but he’s older than the treaty.”

Faelan sipped his drink, and Lee wiped the bar. “I called him weak.”

A sound making Lee suspect Faelan had swallowed wrong filled the area, followed by a wheezing laugh. “Who?”

“Dillon.” Lee groaned at himself. “He was afraid I’d…eh…and I said there is no way because I’m attracted to strong, competent men, not puny humans.”

Faelan chuckled. “I’m not sure it’s a bad thing, he might have been glad to hear it.”

“Maybe, but it’s not true.”

“It wasn’t a lie, you do like strong, competent men. It’s no secret around here.”

Lee scowled at him. “Yeah, but he’s not weak.”

“Definitely not. I’d have rolled over and died in his place, I think. Drawn-out pain isn’t something I excel in. Four years of it, day in and day out? Nope, don’t think I could’ve done it.” He pushed away his now empty glass. “Don’t worry about it. He has more important things to worry about than if you want to fuck him or not.”

Faelan was right, of course, but it didn’t mean he wanted to hear it.

“There’s a number on the phone?” He slid off the stool, picked up the phone and pushed it into his pocket.

“Yeah.” Lee had watched as Rei had changed the name of the number into Mom. It was the only number in the contact list.

Faelan waved and headed for the exit. As soon as he’d disappeared out of sight, Lee went back to prepping for the night. He was in the middle of slicing lemons, again, when Jala leaned against the bar. “Hi.”

“Boss.” Lee smiled at her. “Good date last night?”

“Date? Oh, you mean Aaron.”

“It wasn’t a date?”

She scrunched her nose. “Everything went well here?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Did Rei come by?”

A tingle of unease shot through him. “Yeah, he came before closing time.”

She nodded. “Escorted you home?”

What the fuck? “Nah, we went to his place.”

“Where does he live?”

Yeah, right. “South side.”

“He has an apartment?”

Lee looked at her. Was she playing him? Didn’t she know Rei lived with a bunch of other shifters? Maybe not. She seldom left her office. “Why do you want to know?”

She smiled, but it looked forced. “Only making small talk. Will he be in later?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Okay. Good job last night.” She knocked her knuckle against the bar and headed off toward the office. So weird.