Page 24 of Lured

“And by car?” he asked, almost snapping the question.

I shrugged. “I've never owned a car and can't usually afford a taxi. It's a thirty minute walk.”

He lifted an eyebrow and seemed to relax again. “And how much does this stuff matter to you? Can you carry it all in a rucksack or something similar at least?”

“It will fit in my pockets for the most part. Well...” I trailed off as I looked down at the dress I was still wearing. “It would normally fit in my pockets. But it is important to me and they're not just possessions. There are memories attached.”

He pulled me over to an open elevator door and tugged me inside before he pressed the button for the main hotel lobby and gave me my answer. I finally relaxed, grateful that he understood how much this mattered.

“If we go to get what you care about, we're getting all of it, is that clear?” he replied. “We might not get another chance to leave like this and I don't want to have you distracted.”

“Understood.” I tried not to think about what his opinion of my friend's house might be, or if he would want to wait outside. All I knew was that I had to have everything from the house and I was letting him into a part of my life I would have rather kept private.

This vampire was different to any I'd met. Not that I'd met a true-blood before. Others had spoken of them being different, but no one had gone into more detail than that. They usually kept to themselves.

Although it was me who wanted to leave the hotel, Leo led me to the parking lot underneath and to one of the sportiest cars I had ever seen. I was useless with makes and models but it had the two tone paint that made it appear as two different colors depending on the angle it was viewed at and it was low to the ground and sleek.

He clicked a button in his pocket and it unlocked.

“Get in,” he said as he opened the passenger door for me.

I wasn't used to anyone being so much like a gentleman, even if he didn't want to go to gather my belongings he was taking care of me and we were going to drive there in style.

The seats were clad in leather and I almost slid across it until I was nestled in the low down machine. Leo was quick to get into the driver's seat and then flicked a display on between us, pulling up the built in satnav.

“Put in the destination,” he commanded as he strapped up.

It was strange to see a vampire being so concerned for his safety and I almost laughed about him bothering but I reached forward and began typing in my friend's address instead.

The location was about a ten minute drive away to the south of the strip and further out of Vegas, but if it bothered Leo to drive that far, he didn't comment on it.

I tried to think of something to say while he drove, not sure what I was supposed to talk about with him and still trying to wrap my head around what was happening with my life. In twenty-four hours I had gone from disgraced hunter with an almost failed mission to explain, to sitting in a car more expensive than my entire life's earnings so far and going to collect everything I owned in life so I could be the car owner's whore for a while.

The last part I wasn't so proud of, but if this was the only way to get my mission done and keep my place in the academy then I was willing to do it. It didn't hurt that I was curious about it all. I wanted to know what it truly felt like to be an enthralled and I couldn't deny how attracted to Leo I was.

Maybe this was the exact sort of thing the academy had feared, but there was something about Leo. He was trying to stop Ludis as well. Whatever was going on, I had a sort of ally.

Of course, I still didn't know why I was being targeted as well and who or what had ordered the hit. That part made having Leo as an ally even more important. As his enthralled I had a lot more protection. He was a true-blood and I knew that the academy was wary about upsetting them. I hoped any other forces at play would feel similar. Leo really was giving me more than he was getting.

“Thank you,” I said when we were almost at the apartment.

“You're welcome,” he replied. “I meant what I said when I offered to take care of you.”

“I wish I understood why.” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them and I glanced across at him as he chuckled.

“Is it so hard to believe that I might be attracted to you enough to want this? To want you? Not to mention all the other benefits.”

I tilted my head to one side as I considered the question. “I know I'm not ugly or anything, but surely there are true-bloods out there. Brethren who you want more than me?”

“All any Brethren female would want from me is power. You just want to complete your mission and live. You don't care which mafia don is on top and which one I serve or what crimes we're committing and in which territories.”

“No, I can say for sure that none of that means anything to me.” I glanced over at him again, wondering what that world might be like. It seemed so strange.

“Then you have your answer. You want only one thing. To protect your race. And I don't want to threaten them. We go surprisingly well together.” He shrugged, but didn't say any more after that and I didn't pry any further. I was sure he'd tell me more if he wanted to.

The other reason I was happily sitting where I was lay in that feeling. I trusted him to be honest with me if nothing else. He didn't need to have told me some of the things he had and it had even worked against him to be so honest at times.

He soon pulled up outside the apartment block. There was a small parking lot underneath, but I had no idea how to get inside.

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