Page 15 of Missing Piece
There was one plate of food with abeautifully laid out breakfast spread, another with what looked like a club sandwich from a local diner with a side of fruit and a bag of chips, and just a plate of fruit and vegetables, alongside two bottles of water and a bottle of soda. That was…not what Adam was expecting.
The small notepad and pen sat on the floor, having fallen off the bed at some point. Adam leaned down, grabbing it off the ground to look at the scribbled note from Matteo.
Pulling the pen from the cover of the notebook, Adam clicked it a few times as he wondered how much damage a pen could do against a regular human versus an admitted vampire. Probably not a lot. Especially not enough damage that Adam could get away on one foot.
The overhead light shone along the metal clip of the pen. Adam grinned to himself as he pulled the clip free from the body of the pen. Testing it between his fingers, he made sure it was solid and wouldn’t bend.
It didn’t. Adam pulled his left leg towards himself, turning the cuff against his ankle until he could see the ratchet gear that held the cuff in place. A glance at the door showed him trying to focus his one eye that wasn’t still dancing with phosphenes on the doorknob. It did seem kind of futile to try and watch the door. Vincent was frighteningly fast. The vampire disappeared from the room in the blink of an eye, surely he could return just as fast to catch Adam in the act.
Whatever. It was a risk Adam would have to take. Jamming the smoother end of the pen clip between the teeth of the cuff and the lock housing, Adam pushed on it with his thumb until the jagged edges where he had broken off the clip began to hurt. There was a small click and Adam smiled as he pulled on the cuff, the piece sliding free and opening.
Note to self: You owe Robert a big thank you for that tip. That crazy prepper bastard.Adam rubbed his raw ankle with one hand, appreciating how light that part of him felt for just a moment. Removing the shim from the cuff, Adam shoved it under the pillow before locking his ankle in the cuff again. The right moment to make a break for it needed to be waited for. Trying to run out now was a mistake.
Adam was still half naked and footless. He doubted he’d even make it out of the house before getting caught.
There was more to learn about where he was and how to win Vincent’s trust. Though if today was anything to go by, Adam could do it more quickly than he thought. He just needed more answers about what the blond wanted, though he imagined his blood being on the menu is what Vincent had meant by keeping him fed. Did that mean Adam’s body was up for grabs too? It could be worse. Vincent could be hideous or unhygienic. That would make playing along much more difficult.
Adam grabbed one of the sections of the club sandwich Matteo had brought him and took a bite, barely tasting it as he stared at the door.I’ll play nice, get this guy to trust me, no matter what it takes. I didn’t die from withdrawals. I’m not dying from this.
Chapter Five - Vincent
Vincent wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting on the couch in the den, staring into the crackling fireplace. He hoped there would be an answer hidden in the flames and glowing embers, but no, it was just something for him to focus on. His phone had buzzed in his back pocket several times, but he couldn’t bring himself to check who it was. He couldn’t look away from the fire, let alone deal with messages.
It could be something important. Luka can handle that.
He didn’t want to move yet. He couldn’t. He knew if he did, he’d end up back in that room with Adam.
The sound of Adam’s sharp little gasps were still in his head. How hot the human’s skin got beneath his fingers, the little goosebumps that appeared when Vincent touched him, the cute way his jaw clenched before he spoke, like he was trying so hard not to say something that might get him knocked around.
Usually, he would have enjoyed putting a little more fear into a human in captivity, but now he was forcing himself to go through the motions. Someone like Adam was a rarity, unique in his brazenness and tough-on-the-outside attitude that didn’t fold when away from public view. Hewould have loved to try and break him in the past, even if it meant scrapping him in the end and dumping the body in an abandoned cornfield for the crows to feast on.
For some reason, the thought of doing that to Adam soured his stomach. It didn’t feel right.
Then again, nothing had felt right to him for a long time.
“You have the look,” came Petrov’s thickly accented voice from the kitchen.
Vincent didn’t look away from the fireplace. “What look?” he asked, his cheek twitching with irritation. He still wanted to be alone with his empty mind.
“The ‘I fucked up’ look,” Petrov’s voice moved closer. “So did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Fuck up?”
Vincent exhaled slowly, forcing himself to turn away from the fire as Petrov settled on the couch across from him. A stack of papers landed on the coffee table, the scent of frying oil wafting off them in a way that made Vincent’s nostrils flare with irritation. He hated when Petrov or Matteo brought their work home. It always reeked of French fries and grease from the diner they ran together. He had tried to convince them to go into some other business, something with less smells, but Matteo was obsessed with cooking human food and Petrov liked the idea of interacting with people on a daily basis.
He still wished they had chosen something more upscale than a 24-hour diner.
“I don’t know,” he said, raking his hand through his hair.
“Is he still alive?” Petrov asked, leaning his imposing figure forward. He was an oddity compared to his twin brothers:bigger, taller, his face weathered enough that he could pass for their father, despite being only a decade older when they were all turned.
“Yes, he’s fine. Eating I think,” Vincent said, tension creeping into his shoulders.
“Then what’s wrong?”
Vincent scrubbed his hands over his face, stretching the skin on his cheeks downward as he avoided Petrov’s dark, judgmental eyes. He didn’t even want to say it aloud. Luka and Matteo would tease him, make fun of him, and do their creepy silent twin thing, but they would dance around the subject and grant him some reprieve, if only for a moment. “I kissed him,” he said, shaking his head as though he could erase the memory of how good the human tasted.
