Page 24 of Fangs and Family
‘I’ve learned to pick my battles. Nina freaked out, seeing you hurt, and Sara would do anything to make her feel better. So be careful because one day Nina will ask her to sew your mouth shut, and I will have to hold you down while Sara does it,’ he said.
I felt my muscles loosen as I sampled the fiery liquid in my glass. It almost felt like home, the relaxed atmosphere of sipping on my drink while the ladies discussed our latest complication in the privacy of the bathroom. Tiredness from my fight forced my eyes to close, and it was a shock to hear a quiet sob. I jumped to my feet, ready to rush to Nina.
‘What the…?’
After tapping his chest, Leszek waved me back. ‘Leave them be. Sara is calm, so it’s not an emergency. Better tell me what happened and stop fretting. Nina will feel more comfortable talking to someone she trusts. It must have been a helluva lot to deal with, judging by the state you both arrived in.’ He said.
‘She can trust me,’ I snapped, but Leszek rolled his eyes, and for a moment, I saw gold specks dancing in his verdant green irises.
‘Does she? You two have nowhere near the level of trust Nina needs in order to be vulnerable in front of you, but I have to admit you’re making some progress. At least now I don’t have to schedule events around you two to ensure you won’t meet.’ He said.
‘You did what?’ I asked, deeply affronted.
‘Well, Michal did. You know my assistant’s the only one talented enough to organise my life into some sort of order. Will you tell me what happened, or would you prefer to avoid talking about it for another hour or two?’ Leszek was just finishing when the ladies returned from the bathroom. Nina looked calm and composed again, wrapped in Sara’s dressing gown, her eyes only a little puffy, and I was glad to see the shy smile teasing her lips as she sat on the sofa.
The shy smile disappeared when Nina turned to Leszek. ‘We were attacked by three vampires, and Adam did wonders protecting my sorry arse. I barely survived there, so give him a break.’ She stated, her eyes flashing with passion, ready to defend me, and I groaned in embarrassment when she added more calmly.
‘And give him a raise. I’ve never seen anyone fight like that before, and I hope I never will again, but he was incredible and saved me from being kidnapped,’ Nina asserted before turning to me and smiling again. ‘Thank you, Adam. Truly, thank you, and I’m sorry you got injured because of me.’
Her smile and the sincerity in her words undid me. I wanted to cross this small space and embrace her. The need to ensure she was alright and not blaming herself for what happened dominated my thoughts. The pain I had accumulated during those two years was melting away faster than I would have thought possible. I hesitated, remembering how trying to deny my nature had led to the acrimonious ending of our relationship. That she didn’t want to witness a repeat of this evening’s fight left me worried she wouldn’t accept that I was a killer and the Master of the Tricity Seethe, a vampire more than comfortable slaughtering his enemies.
I inclined my head, masking my feelings with a self-deprecating smile.
‘You are welcome. After all, you hired me to find and, I assume, protect you, and I always deliver the best service. Besides, I would have to deal with those mutts and their Master sooner rather than later, despite them claiming Leszek allowed them to enter Tricity without announcing their presence to me.’
My friend looked at me, and I saw the question in his eyes. ‘Why do you say I allowed it? I would never disrespect your authority in front of your Seethe, same as I wouldn’t undermine the role of Alpha in Tomasz’s pack.’
‘I know. That’s why I came here to discuss the matter calmly and not shouting like a self-righteous arse. It doesn’t explain their assurance that they had your approval.’ Once finished, I raised an eyebrow in polite inquiry, to which Leszek frowned and pulled out his phone to look through his correspondence.
‘I’ve only had one meeting with a vampire in the last few weeks. The one looking for his family heirloom, if you recall? I allowed him to travel to Tricity to visit me. I’m sorry, my friend. I never thought he would try to bypass you. Let me check if there were any other requests that Michal or I received, just in case I’m wrong.’
With a shake of my head, I replied. ‘There’s been no other electronic requests. I check everything that comes from outside of your domain, and I would have remembered seeing them. I know some of the old ones dislike technology, so thought it best to talk to you just in case.’ As I watched Leszek still checking his phone, my smile grew. I realised he’d missed my teasing about old ones and technology, though it was a slight disservice to the Forest Lord as he did at least try to stay up to date. However, the mention of technology reminded me of the not-so-accidental meeting with the three vampires.
‘Nina, would you pass me your phone, please?’
My request startled her, and I realised her thoughts were far away as she was lounging with her head on Sara’s shoulder.
‘Yes, sorry, it’s in my bag in the bathroom. Give me a moment, please,’ she said. As soon as Nina left, Sara looked at me. I swear I shrank a few centimetres under her glare.
‘She’s barely sleeping or eating lately. You will find her brother, Adam. This is no longer a polite request but an order. I know you leveraged her living with you as payment, as well as donating her blood, so now I’m telling you. I’m not happy. No, screw that; I am fucking furious, so if you’re going to continue with this farce, then I will only allow it under one condition. You will ensure she sleeps, eats and rests, and… for fuck’s sake, spoil her a little; she deserves it. Also, you won’t feed from her unless she gives you consent. Leszek will rip your head off if you force her.’
‘Will I?’ Leszek looked at his raging wife with barely hidden amusement.
‘Yes, you will, or you and I will have a problem.’ Sara answered, not once taking her gaze off me.
‘You heard what my Firefly said, Adam, so be good. I like to think we’ve become friends, but unlike you, I don’t enjoy walking around covered with someone else’s blood.’
Nina chose that moment to return from the bathroom, so I couldn’t reply to Sara’s threat, but it didn’t matter. I was more than pleased that Nina had such a fierce defender. Even if it was my boss’s wife, the most annoying woman on this side of the Motlawa River. Nina looked at us, confused by the lingering tension, before she passed me her phone, trying to hide a yawn.
‘Feel free to snoop,’ she muttered, sitting next to Sara and curling up on the sofa.
The phone was unlocked, and I quickly checked to see what number Pawel had used to call his sister. Instead, I found something strange. A few moments after their conversation, she’d called me, the ID of ‘Arsehole V’, a dead giveaway, but that wasn’t the strange part. No, after our call, Nina had phoned someone else, and the number had a foreign prefix, but when I’d asked her earlier, she’d been adamant there were no more calls.
‘Nina, are you sure you didn’t make any other calls?’ I asked, and she shifted to look at me.
‘No, I followed your instructions and waited,’ she said, and I felt uneasiness building inside me.
‘Someone abroad, maybe?’ I asked again, and she looked at me in complete confusion.
