Page 3 of Vampire Lee

Lee walked up the gravel driveway to the manor house for the second time in his life. He could have texted, and he most likely should have, but he wanted to look at Murrie when he spoke to him.

All of last night, he’d waited for someone from the team to swing by the bar, but they hadn’t. He had hoped there would be a lull in customers, so he could send a quick text, asking if anyone had time to drop by, but it had been a good night, crowd wise. Then, when he’d finally gotten home, he hadn’t wanted to text and risk waking anyone or disturbing them if they were on a mission somewhere.

While trying to force down a cup of coffee, he’d tried to formulate a text only to give up. He had poured the mostly cold liquid into the sink, put on clothes, and walked.

It was a beautiful morning, albeit way earlier than he normally rose, and he hoped people would be awake in the house. It was a weekday, though he suspected they didn’t stick to weekdays and weekends in their line of work.

Walking up the stairs, he knocked on the door.

It took a few seconds, then steps approached. The human, Devin, looked up at him. Fear coated the air as he looked at Lee, and he took a quick step back. Lee noted the dark circles under his eyes and winced. “Bad night?”

Devin shrugged. “Nothing unusual. Are you here to see Murrie? I fear they’re all in a meeting. It’ll be twenty or so minutes longer.” Then his eyes narrowed. “You’re not on his calendar.” And yet Devin must’ve been the one who opened the gate for him.

“No, I tried to formulate a text that made sense, then figured it would be easier to talk to him instead.”

“And the phone wasn’t working?” Devin’s tone was pleasant, but Lee got the feeling he wasn’t pleased.

“Eh…I wanted to see him.”

“Ah.” Nodding, Devin motioned for him to enter. “He’s in a relationship.”

Lee stared at him. “O-okay.” Then he laughed. “I didn’t mean…I want to see his expressions when I talk to him.”

“It’s what video calls are for.” But now Devin’s cheeks turned a little rosy. “Coffee while you wait?”

“Only if you have some available, you don’t need to make any.”

Devin gestured toward the kitchen. “Have you had breakfast?”

“No, I…No.”

“I was cleaning up, but I can make you something.”

“Oh, no, you don’t need—”

“I have some eggs.” He motioned toward the table in the kitchen, and Lee sat. A plate appeared in front of him, followed by two boiled eggs, butter, a plate with some leftover sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and a couple of melon slices. Then Devin grabbed two bread rolls from a baking sheet. They had cooled, but Lee could tell they’d been baked this morning.

“Stop. This is more than enough. Way more than enough.” Had there been a display like in a hotel earlier? He looked up at Devin to say something, but footsteps slowly approached the kitchen, and he turned toward the hallway.

Dillon appeared in the doorway, a whimper leaving him as his gaze fell on Lee. Fuck. Then he turned as if to run away.

“Wait!” Devin snatched an egg and a bread roll from Lee’s plate and hurried over to Dillon. “Do you want something to drink?”

Dillon shook his head and made no motion to reach for the offered food.

“Take these. You can eat them in your room.”

Lee noted how Dillon’s hands trembled as he reached for the egg and bread. Damn, was it because of him? Had to be. He’d been about to enter the kitchen, and he must’ve known Devin would be there.

Without a word, Dillon walked away with the food. Lee heard rapid steps on the stairs.

“I’m sorry.” He shouldn’t have come here. Video calls, he should learn how they work.

Devin nodded, then shrugged, and went to grab another bread roll and placed it on his plate. “Sorry for giving your egg away.”

“Looks like he needs it more than I do.”

Devin nodded. “He’s doing better than I did.”

Lee had no idea what he meant, and before he could decide if he should ask or not, there was a buzz, like an intercom. Then a voice asked to be let in through the gate to make a delivery.

Devin’s eyes widened, a silent shout taking over his mouth as all the color drained from his face. Lee got to his feet, almost pushing the table away as he got ready to catch him should he faint, but his motions resulted in a blood-curdling scream.

The door to the office burst open, and Mars flew into the room, fangs out and hands raised. The others followed with sharp teeth, claws, and glowing eyes. The air got stuck in Lee’s throat. Damn. Luckily, he still had the table between himself and them.

There was a moment of complete silence before Mars took Devin in his arms. Devin curled into him as if he wanted to escape the world. Rei, Faelan, and Hanna all turned to Lee, while Murrie lowered his hands and looked around.

The intercom sounded again, followed by the same voice, but a lot more annoyed this time, repeating their request to be let in through the gate.

It was as if everyone who was in the room took a collective breath, and Lee dared take one too.

Murrie went to push a button somewhere in the hallway before turning to the group. “I ordered a few pallet collars for the garden.”

There were a few nods, then all gazes other than Mars’s and Devin’s turned to Lee.

“What are you doing here?” Murrie frowned at him.

Right. “I…eh…I have some information, but I didn’t know how to put it in a text, so I walked over here hoping to catch you, or anyone of you. Devin offered me coffee while I waited for you to become available, and then…” He gestured at the food he had yet to taste.

Murrie heaved a sigh and looked at Devin who was peeking up from where he’d been hiding his face against Mars’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Dev. I should’ve told you there was a truck coming.”

Said truck was driving up the driveway and came to a stop outside the door.

“I’ll take care of it.” Rei headed for the door, Faelan following him without a word.

Hanna looked around the kitchen. “I’ll make the call, see if we can set up a meeting.”

“Thank you.” Murrie smiled at her as she turned to leave the kitchen.

Mars and Devin edged toward the doorway as well, and Lee wondered if he was scaring everyone away. He met Murrie’s gaze with a frown. “What happened?”

Murrie ran a hand through his hair. It looked like he’d done it a few times today already. “A few months ago, an unannounced delivery truck came here, and the driver kidnapped Devin.”

Lee winced. Fuck.

“I’m guessing having a vampire he doesn’t know in his kitchen and a truck he didn’t know would come set him off. As I said last time, PTSD. Everyone is making progress, but it takes time.”

Nodding, Lee reached for his coffee. He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to ask questions, but he was a stranger, and he didn’t know Devin and Dillon.

“Don’t waste the food. Devin would be mad if you didn’t eat when he’s trying to feed you.” Murrie went to grab a cup, poured himself some coffee, and sat across from Lee. “What was it you couldn’t text?”

Lee took a bread roll, tore it in half and smeared some butter on the two halves. “I could have, but I didn’t know how to formulate it.”

Murrie waited.

“When I was working yesterday, Jala’s friend was there. He paid cash, so I didn’t get his real name.”

“His real name?”

“I asked him, and he said it was Aaron, but I’m not sure if he was telling the truth.”

Murrie pursed his lips. “It’s something. I’ll add it to the file.”

Lee nodded, not sure how he should put the rest. He bit into the bread and almost moaned. It was fantastic, and he’d only put butter on. The corner of Murrie’s mouth twitched as if he was trying not to smile.

“You eat like this every day?”

A rumbling chuckle left Murrie. “For the last seven or eight months. We used to take turns cooking. It was awful. Then one night, Devin couldn’t sleep, and I came back home late from an event. He made me some scrambled eggs. I begged him to make breakfast, and he hasn’t left the kitchen since. We’re blessed.”

Lee nodded.

“When I was pouring drinks right before Maybe-Aaron arrived, I was talking to Eli, a regular. He knew I’d been looking for Rei the other night and asked if I’d found him. I said yes, and he wondered if we’d hooked up again.” Lee grimaced, realizing too late he was telling Rei’s boss they’d fucked. Though he’d probably gotten that last time he was here. Or not since he hadn’t been by the door.

“I said no, and we threw some insults around, normal stuff, and right as Maybe-Aaron walked in, Eli said something along the lines of me wanting to live dangerously since I only wanted to fuck jaguars.” He pulled a face. “Nothing is going on between Rei and me, it was a one-time thing, a way to pass some time.”

Murrie grinned at him. “We’re all aware of Rei’s favorite pastime. Not in detail, though sometimes in more detail than we want to, but you don’t have to wince every time you mention him.”

Lee gave a nervous laugh. “Right. The thing is, I sort of let Maybe-Aaron believe we were lovers, or not lovers as in boyfriends, but I made it sound as if it was more than a one-time thing. He was interested in Rei, but not in Rei as a person, but in the fact that he’s a jaguar. He wanted me to introduce him, and all the while the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.”

The sound of a door opening startled Lee, then Rei and Faelan walked in from the other end of the kitchen. Lee looked in their direction. He hadn’t noted the patio door before.

“A few pallet collars for the garden?” Rei glared at Murrie. “I’ve never seen so many pallet collars in my life.”

Murrie grinned. “Devin wants a kitchen garden. I figured you could build it two or three collars high. He can tell you how he wants it, if he wants rows or more potager style or whatever it’s called.”

“There were a lot of yous in there, Murrie.” Faelan’s low rumble had Lee holding back a laugh.

“You caught that, huh? Good. Because there will be another truck with soil coming tomorrow, so as soon as Devin is up for it, have him tell you how he wants it.” Murrie turned his focus to Lee, but there was a sparkle in his eyes.

Faelan growled but stole a bread roll from the baking sheet. “What are you two talking about?”

* * * *

Dillon was looking out the window. Rei, Faelan, Mars, and Devin were placing pallet collars around the lawn. So far it looked like they were trying out different options. There was a lot of gesturing on Devin’s part and a lot of carrying and moving things around on the others.

He shuddered at the thought of being around Rei, Faelan, and Mars for any amount of time. And being outdoors? Part of him longed for it, but the outdoors was exposed. Anyone could grab him out there. It was safer to remain on the third floor behind closed doors.

He’d been on the patio the night before with Devin, and it had been equal parts terrifying and freeing. Fresh air. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat somewhere and breathed fresh air.

When they’d walked inside, Mars had been standing right inside the door. He’d given Dillon a small nod, which he believed was an acknowledgment of the text he’d sent.

He’d then spent the remainder of the night agonizing over said text. Mars must think him insane, believing someone would kidnap them. Not only believing it, but he’d also taken steps to protect Devin from the unseen monsters out there.

It wasn’t until he was halfway down the stairs after he was sure everyone had eaten their breakfast that it hit him—he’d reached out to a monster to help protect him from monsters. Was it the reason Devin was with Mars? Date a vampire to scare away other vampires?

It made sense. Sort of.

Mars loved Devin, of that he had no doubt, but what did Devin get out of it? Safety?

He looked out the window again. Devin was laughing at something, and Rei was grinning at him. It wasn’t often Rei grinned, but when he did, it was most often with Devin. Or Dillon shouldn’t make assumptions, he hadn’t seen enough of Rei to judge him fairly. Maybe he grinned all the time when he was working at his desk.

Dillon left the window to fill a bottle and water the pepper plants Devin had given him. The least he could do was to try to keep them alive now when it looked like they were getting a garden.

Riffling through the seed packs Devin had bought, he read the instructions. Several of these should’ve been sown already. Tomatoes and carrots and there were some packs of different flowers. Sweet peas.

His breath froze.

A hazy memory of one of the foster homes he’d stayed in rose in his mind. There had been sweet peas growing along one side of the patio. Dillon had spent hours on end on the patio simply smelling them. He hadn’t lived there for long, only a few months, but he remembered sweet peas.

He read the instructions and headed for the door. Once he came down the stairs, he stopped. He had no idea where they had pots or soil or anything else he might need. If they had anything at all.

Hanna exited the office, hesitated before she gave him a soft smile and edged toward the kitchen, leaving as much space between them as she possibly could.

“Hanna?”

She stopped and turned to him.

“Are there any pots and eh…potting soil?”

A huge grin stretched her lips. “Yes, Devin bought some. I think he put it in the broom closet in the kitchen. Murrie told him to carry it into the basement, but…” Her voice died away, then she straightened her back. “Devin doesn’t do basements.”

Smart.

Dillon nodded a thanks since he couldn’t find his voice. Basement. He shuddered. For the most part, he forgot there was a basement. Murrie had told him there was a gym down there he was welcome to use. When Dillon had balked, he’d sighed and told him Devin wouldn’t go there either.

Hanna headed for the kitchen and after a few seconds, he followed.

“Look around in there.” She gestured at the broom closet. “And there will be a truck with soil for the garden tomorrow. Murrie informed everyone, so there wouldn’t be more panic attacks.”

Dillon stared at her. “Panic attacks?”

She shrugged. “You missed it? Vampire Lee was here to talk to Murrie, but we were in a meeting, so Devin offered him coffee in the kitchen while he waited.”

Oh, it explained why he’d been there. “I saw him.”

Hanna nodded. “Yeah, but then the buzzer from the gate sounded, and Devin didn’t know Murrie had ordered the pallet collars. So there he was with a strange vampire and another delivery truck coming. He screamed. We rushed out of the meeting. There were some tense moments where Vampire Lee most likely believed we’d kill him.” She shrugged before giving him a quick grin. “Just another day at the office.”

Poor Devin. He might appear more put together than Dillon—and he was—but he struggled too.

“There will be a truck tomorrow. No need to panic about it. And I’m pretty sure Vampire Lee is on our side.”

Pretty sure wasn’t good enough. “Why do you call him Vampire Lee?”

Hanna barked a laugh. “He’s a bartender down at The Rambling Rogue. It’s a shifter bar, though vampires go there too. Some started calling him Vampire Lee, and he asked them not to, so of course, everyone calls him Vampire Lee now.” She was quiet for a few seconds. “I don’t think he cares. He’s pretty easy-going.” Dillon nodded and opened the door to the broom closet.