Page 21 of Discovery of the Vampire
"Isn't it always, though?" she said, as she looked between me, Brogan, and Dae.
The vampire—who must be Killian—continued to study me with those unnerving eyes. After a few seconds, he motioned Lizzy forward, then stepped into the room behind her. I guess he’d decided I wasn't a threat. "So you're the human who's been causing such a stir at my club." He spoke with a slight Irish lilt.
"I've caused a stir?"
"No," Brogan responded.
"Yes," the other vampire said.
I shifted my weight from foot to foot as his power swirled around me, but fought the urge to look away when his golden eyes pierced right through me to all of my hidden secrets.Dios mío. There was no hiding anything from this one. If he didn't already know exactly who andwhatI was, it would be a miracle.
"Killian."
The vampire stared through me a moment longer before shifting his gaze to Brogan. I hadn’t realized my muscles had locked up until he released me from the hold of those eyes. Once again, I swayed on my feet.
Lizzy rushed over and took my arm. "Why don't we sit down?"
I thanked her, and she led me to the table, where I gratefully took a seat.
"Would you like some water? A glass of wine?"
"Water would be perfect," I told her. "Gracias." I would've loved to take her up on the alcohol, but I needed to stay in control.
As Lizzy walked over to one of the cabinets to grab a glass, Brogan told Killian with no preamble, "Marcus is back."
Lizzy froze with her hand wrapped around the glass still in the cabinet. "What?" she asked him. "When?"
"We felt him just now, close to the Garden District," Dae said.
"And Esme came to the club tonight to find me because she felt him, too," Brogan finished.
Killian's jaw tightened, and those eerie eyes returned to me once more. "YefeltMarcus?"
My heart began to race and a cold sweat broke out on my brow. Perhaps I should have worded that differently when I went running to Brogan. But I decided to tell Killian the truth, or at least as much as he needed to know.
"He murdered my family in Mexico." My voice came out much steadier than I felt. "I saw it all with my own eyes, and I've been running ever since. When I arrived here, I thought I was far enough away that I could stop and rest a bit while I decided where to go next." It wasn't a complete lie. Thathadbeen my original intention. "Then I met Brogan and decided to stay a while.”
"Bloody hell." Killian rubbed his thigh, exchanging a loaded look with Lizzy before coming back to me. "And how do ye know this woman,acushla?" Though he was looking at me, I could tell by the softness in his tone I wasn't the one he was speaking to.
She set my water in front of me and laid her hand on my shoulder as I smiled my thanks. "I just hired her to help me at the store until Mike is able to come back.”
Killian cocked his head as he watched me take a drink. "Strange coincidence that my club is the one ye like to frequent, and my Lizzy's store is the one where ye just happen to ask for a job."
His words hung in the air, laden with suspicion. But before I could defend myself, Brogan stepped between us, his anger a living, breathing thing.
"Watch your tone, Killian," he growled. "Esme came to me for help. She's not the enemy here."
Killian's eyes flashed with something I couldn't read as they shifted to Brogan. "Ye forget yourself, lad."
He didn't raise his voice in the slightest, or change his tone, yet the threat was evident. Everyone stood frozen except for Lizzy, whose fingers were digging into my shoulder, keeping me in my seat. The tension in the air was so thick I could only take shallow breaths as my eyes shot between Brogan and Killian.
The stories I'd been told about vampires never could have prepared me for the reality of standing in a room full of them. If it wasn't for Lizzy, I didn't know that I'd have had the courage to stay.
Giving her a look of reassurance, I stood slowly from beneath her hand, inching closer to Brogan and resting my hand on the back of his bicep. His muscles were coiled tight beneath my touch.
"It's okay," I told him. "I understand his suspicion. I would feel the same way if the tables were turned, and I have nothing to hide." Well, not much.
Brogan glanced down at me, his green eyes softening slightly.
