Page 36 of Vampire so Virtuous (Boston Vampires #1)
“Girls like you are always welcome,” the bouncer said.
“Thanks.” I can only imagine what you do with women like us.
She soon caught Priya and Eve up, taking Priya’s free hand, and together they hurried up the stairs.
It was tempting to not stop for their bags and umbrellas, but there was no queue at the coat check and it didn’t take long.
It was a relief to finally be able to push open the doors and step into the night, but Cally wouldn’t feel safe until she was back on the T.
Actually, screw that too.
She pulled up her phone and ordered an Uber. “Let’s travel by ourselves.”
*
“She’s not happy—understandably—but she’s settled,” Eve said as she climbed back into the Uber. “I also suggested she drop out of that Discord group.”
“Good thinking,” Cally said grimly. “We need to have words with Lily.”
“Damn straight.” She leaned forward and gave the driver the address to her apartment. A terse negotiation resulted, but Eve’s charm won out, the driver reluctantly agreeing, despite it not being the original destination. It helped that it was on the way.
Eve caught Cally’s eye, her face a mix of hesitation and vulnerability, before she sank into the seat, her voice dropping as she spoke to her lap.
“Uh, do you want to come back to mine?” She rushed on.
“Just to hang out. Spend the night. Sleeping, I mean. Asleep, I mean.” A muttered fuck toward the window. “I mean—”
“Yes,” Cally said, reaching for Eve’s hand and taking it in hers. “And before you ask, ten-four, affirmative, and a hundred percent. After all that shit, I’d rather feel safe.” She pulled Eve’s hand across to her lap, covering it with both of hers.
The driver loudly cleared his throat. “You girls aren’t into any illegal shit, are you? Drugs? Gang stuff?”
“What? No!” Cally frowned. “Why would you ask that?”
“Okay good. And I’m really sorry, you girls have clearly had a horrible evening, it’s, well, I think a car is following us.”
“What?” Cally sat up straight in her seat, trying to resist the urge to turn around. Eve stiffened beside her with a small gasp.
“There’s a black BMW SUV about two cars back,” the driver said.
“I used to drive a BMW myself, though not as nice as that one. But getting parts for Beemers around here is a nightmare, so I tend to notice them. I noticed it first in Arlington, and it’s still with us.
It stopped when we let your friend out, and now it’s started again. ”
“Fuck .” Cally thumped the seat.
“Can you lose them?” Eve asked.
The driver gave a laugh. “Lady, I’ve been driving in Boston for twenty years, and I’ve never before said to anyone ‘we have a tail.’ Lose them?
You must be kidding me. This thing’s a hybrid, built for economy.
Even if it were possible to get into a high-speed chase around here”—he gestured at the heavy traffic—“there’s no chance of shaking them. ”
“Sorry,” Eve muttered. “I got carried away.”
“What do you want to do?” the driver asked. “Call 911?”
“Give us a minute, please,” Cally said.
“Sure.”
She leaned into Eve, the lips-by-the-ear thing continuing to be a theme of the evening. “You might think I’m crazy, but I’ve just thought of a place even safer than your apartment.”
“Your dojang?”
Cally shook her head. “I did think of that, but Joon will have gone home. No. Somewhere else. Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Do you, uh, want to meet the hot vampire?”
“ What? ” Eve stared at her, eyes wide.
“Think about it. The vision, the club, that goddamn ‘fresh meat’ comment. Mike was probably a thrall for some vamp, pulling in single women like Priya. I have to go and tell Antoine. His house is also the safest place I know… I think.”
“ Thralls ? Pulling in girls?” Her eyes widened. “You think they’re feeding vamps there, don’t you?”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Cally said grimly.
“But people can’t just go missing! It would be noticed.”
Cally gave her a flat look. “Do you know how many missing persons we have per hundred-thousand residents in Massachusetts?”
“No, weirdo, funnily enough I don’t.”
“Eighteen-point-four.” She glanced at the driver and lowered her voice.
“I looked it up. On a population of seven million, that’s twelve hundred people a year.
And we’re a fraction of some other states.
New York has double that number. Runaways, Alzheimer’s, depression, homelessness, accidents—why would vamp activity register on that scale? ”
“That’s depressing shit.” Eve said. “We could go to the police station?”
“And say what? We think we’re being followed but we don’t know who by?
Mike couldn’t have got out of there so damn fast. If he could, he’d have stopped us.
So they dismiss our fantasies, and kick us out.
Then we have a black BMW waiting for us.
” She shook her head. “If they follow us to Antoine’s…
well…” She bared her teeth. “I know who I’d put my money on. ”
“You want to go and see the vampire you tried to blind with a UV light, and hope he’s nice to you?”
Cally squirmed. “I know it doesn’t make any sense. I just feel, if safety is what we want…”
“Sure,” Eve said. “I wasn’t saying no, I was just checking. Meet the man you can’t stop obsessing over? Hell yes. Count me in.”
“‘Obsessing’ is a little strong.”
Eve grinned. “I can’t blame you, either. Does he have a brother? Or a sister for that matter?”
“You never take anything seriously.”
“It’s why you love me.”
Cally pulled out her phone, addressing the driver. “Can I give you a new destination? It’s in Fisher Hill. I’ll redirect you on the app.”
“Fisher Hill?” he said. “Sure, I’ll take your money. Somewhere safe for you girls?”
“I hope so,” Cally replied. “I really hope so.”