Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

After storing my things in my locker, I headed upstairs to the VIP section. Two wolf-sized men came from Shepard's office with tool belts slung on their hips. When they passed me, I glanced down the short hall to find they’d replaced Shepard’s door.

Walking over, I looked at the heavy steel door with a ridiculously large bar lock on the inside. This door might have been useful in a bank or a panic room, but not in a club.

“It’s reinforced and will keep out anyone trying to get in,” Shepard said behind me, making me jump. He placed a calming hand on my shoulder. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I didn’t hear you,” I said then pointed to the door. “Tell me you didn’t get this installed because of our talk in the car earlier.”

“I could. But it’d be a lie.”

“Shepard, this is over the top.”

“No. It’s what I should have had in the beginning to keep my staff safe.”

I eyed him. “As long as it’s for everyone.”

“I’m about to announce it in the meeting.”

Knowing he had already assigned me to the VIP section, I went to the staff meeting with him anyway, wondering how the others would react to the door.

When we were assembled, he doled out the section assignment for the night.

“Just a quick announcement before you go to your section,” Shepard said. “Considering past events and current public safety concerns, I installed a reinforced door in my office. If another break-in happens or you feel unsafe, go to my office and secure the door. Please watch out for your fellow coworkers so they get to safety as well.”

Thomas raised his hand. “Do you think we’ll get attacked again?”

“No. I’ve added extra security measures to minimize that risk. The door is a backup. Any other questions or concerns?” No one spoke up. “Alright. Let’s have a good night.”

When we filed out, Vena slid up next to me. “Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

“A surge of protectiveness. It’s either the door, or we have to stay at home.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Ordinarily, I might not mind staying at home, but not if I’m forced to.”

“Same. Find anything today?”

“Other than a lot of regular black cats, nothing. I hope I don’t get bad luck with all these black cats crossing my path.”

“You know that’s not true,” I said. “Black cats are like all the other cats. Stop giving them a bad rap.”

“I know. The one I want to find and stake him a thousand times is influencing my bias.”

With a wave, she jogged down the VIP stairs. Anchor was already in place at the bottom, and I watched her stop to run her hand over his shoulder.

“Just curious, but how soundproof is Shepard’s office now?” she asked.

Rather than hear an answer I didn’t want to know, I got my section ready.

Patrons began trickling in after Army opened the front door. A group of dwarves headed toward Thomas’s section, and several human couples claimed spots near the outer sections to listen to music.

It didn’t take long for the VIP section to fill and for me to lose myself in the rhythm of serving drinks with a smile. My section was the only calm one in the house, though. Several times throughout the night, minor altercations occurred where Shepard, not Doc, respectfully asked dwarven patrons to leave.

“What’s going on?” I asked Detroit after the fourth time.

“They’re angry.”

“Yeah, I got that from the fist shaking. Why are they mad?”

“Shepard promised to hand over their prince’s killer and hasn’t yet.”

“He promised to help find him. And it’s only been three days. D.C. is huge and filled with people. What do they expect? A miracle?”

“Yes.”

I sighed, feeling bad for Shepard. He was getting so much unnecessary pressure from the dwarves. Didn’t they realize he wanted to find Adriel just as badly as they did?

By the end of the shift, Shepard looked tired and ready to throat punch someone, which made me a little nervous for Cross as he walked in from the employee exit. He ignored Buzz and Tank's soft growls and sat next to me at the bar.

“Anything?” Shepard asked him.

“No. It was quieter out there than in here,” Cross said. “You should warn Curran his people are causing trouble. They won’t make finding Adriel any easier.”

“You want me to call a grieving father and complain that his people are what? Upset their prince is dead?”

“He’s a father, but he’s also a king responsible for the safety and welfare of his people. Silence isn’t helping him. Allow him to decide how to handle the situation.”

I tugged on Cross' sleeve, silently urging him to shut up. He grabbed my hand and kissed it in an old-world way that melted my heart a little.

“Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away,” Cross said, looking at Shepard again.

“Obviously. If it worked, you wouldn’t be here.”

Cross smirked, and Shepard rolled his eyes then looked at me.

“He’s here to take you home since Vena already left with Anchor and I have to patrol after this. Maybe you can help him leave faster so he’s less annoying.”

I shoved my tip money toward Buzz and stood.

“Be careful. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Shepard surprised me by reaching over the bar, cupping the back of my head, and kissing me. He was there and gone before I registered the intensity of his goodbye.

Cross tugged on my hand to gain my attention.

“Let’s get you home.”

We sat in the car, and after waiting for Pam to pull out of the lot first, I followed her onto the road and turned toward the pack house.

Cross took my hand from the steering wheel to kiss it. “I prefer kissing you after you’ve baked. Your scent is as sweet as you are.”

“Are you saying I stink after my shift?” I asked with a laugh. Because after a night of hustling, I knew I wasn’t the freshest bun on the rack.

“I love all your scents,” Cross said. “Especially?—”

Glass exploded inward from Cross’ window as a car t-boned us at an intersection with a green light. The impact whipped me against my door. My head smashed into the window.

My vision blurred with the blinding pain, and a high-frequency ringing filled my ears as the car came to a standstill. Dazed, I brushed glass off my shirt and wiped my face. My fingers came away bloody.

I blinked at the wet redness and then looked over at Cross. He was slumped at an odd angle in his seat, his door having crumpled in on him. Blood ran from a large cut on the side of his face, which was turned toward me.

“Cross?” I could barely hear myself over the ringing in my ears and touched his face with my bloody hand without thinking.

His eyelids fluttered, but he didn’t open them.

“Cross, please…” I said louder.

My door was ripped open, and someone grabbed my arm. Energy swelled from my necklace. It surged through my skin like a barrier and knocked the person off their feet, sending them flying back twenty yards.

The thumping in my head grew more pronounced, and my vision swam as I looked from the prone body to Cross.

“We have to go.” I reached for him again, aiming for his arm but touching his face instead. My feeble attempt left a bloody smear across his mouth.

His eyes fluttered open as my vision tunneled.

I felt Cross hold my hand even as someone grabbed my other arm again. Another wave of energy spread as the necklace protected me. Cross’ lips brushed my fingers.

A low growl, almost drowned out by the ringing in my ears, filled the car. Metal groaned.

Then Cross was at my door, gently lifting me out of my seat. He pressed his lips to my temple, and I felt his tongue. He said something I couldn’t hear, but it didn’t matter. Cross was awake and had me. Everything would be fine.

That thought evaporated when he took off. My stomach roiled at the sudden speed at which he moved, and I gagged. His mouth returned to my head as everything went dark briefly.

Whether it was the blank spaces in my consciousness or the fact that Cross ran fast, we were inside a building in a matter of minutes.

A hotel.

Over the ringing in my ears, I heard Cross’ deep voice issuing orders for towels and clothing.

The next time I blinked my eyes open, he was holding me in a shower.

“Hang in there,” Cross murmured, pressing his lips against my temple again. The stroke of his tongue stung at first, but as the burn eased, the darkness reclaimed me.

I woke up in Cross’ arms. The sunlight made my eyes water, and my head hurt, so I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to Cross.

“Morning, sunshine,” he said. “How do you feel?”

My head ached. So did my neck and my left shoulder. A lot.

“Like roadkill.” Then I remembered why and winced, which made my head pound harder.

“I stopped the bleeding and healed the wounds,” he said. “That won’t help any bruising, though. I’m afraid I’m only good at healing cuts.”

“What happened?”

“We were targeted last night. The crash was a calculated attempt to take you. Thankfully, you had the necklace that protected you long enough to give me time to recover.”

“Did they try to take your ring?”

“No. It was a human minion. I don’t believe the person who sent them expected me to be in the car after you left Blur. So they likely only had orders to take you.

“Shepard is tracking them down now. I’m sure we’ll get an update soon. Until then, how can I make you feel better?”

“Water for now. Pain reliever if you have it.”

He leaned away and laughed softly when I made a noise of protest.

“Sit up a little,” he said.

As soon as I attempted to move, my body aches increased. Cross immediately helped me upright and handed me the glass.

“Shepard and I would also like a doctor to look at you. We’re concerned about how hard you hit your head.”

“So am I,” I said after taking a cautious sip. “Concussions are no joke. Had one before, thanks to a past adventure.”

“Is that a yes to the doctor then?”

“Sure. I can make an appointment.”

“No need.” Cross reached for his phone and sent a message. “She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

I paused to blink at him. “This hotel has a doctor?”

The corner of his mouth tilted upward.

“Not exactly. She’s an acquaintance of mine.”

Acquaintance? It’d been over two months since I’d fallen into his cave and woken him. But I’d never heard him talk about anyone else. Just other vampires he’d met trying to gather information. Yet, I knew he also needed to feed and had “friends” for that. So, was that what this doctor was?

“Rather than guess, ask,” Cross said, sounding amused.

“Okay. What do you mean by an acquaintance? Is she someone you feed from?”

“No, she is someone I met through one of my kind, who, like me, does not believe humans are simply a food source. He uses her to obtain human blood ethically, without the need for a feeder.”

“Is she safe? She’s not related to the bad vampires, right?”

“No, she has no relation to Orphia’s group. She’s the sister of a recently turned vampire. Very trustworthy and understands our kind better than most doctors.”

A knock sounded on the door, and Cross got out of bed to answer it. He was wearing a pair of shorts. I looked under the covers to see I was wearing my underwear, and that was it.

I pinned the cover to my chest as he opened the door and let a tall brunette in. Her gaze immediately found me.

“She had a head injury that bled a lot on the way here,” Cross said. “I healed that, but her head still hurts.”

The doctor checked me over, keeping it all professional. She shined her light in my eyes, asked me basic questions, looked at my side, which hurt, then gently probed my neck before handing me some pain relievers. I downed them right away with a large gulp of water.

“I don’t see any sign of concussion. Either you’re lucky, or Cross’ healing ability helped that out, too. There’s still so much about that we don’t understand.”

She stood as she put her things away in the case she carried.

“If anything changes… headaches, nausea, blurred or doubled-vision, call me right away.”

“We will. Thank you,” Cross said.

She nodded, and he walked her to the door. After he closed it behind her, he turned and caught me rolling my shoulders.

“Want me to rub them?”

“Please. It feels like I went hiking with Vena again and fell into a cave.”

He chuckled and settled in behind me.

His hands were magic. Or maybe the meds kicked in. Either way, I sighed happily twenty minutes later.

“That’s so good,” I said with my eyes closed.

His lips skimmed my shoulder, adding to the pleasant relaxation. His thumbs found a particularly tense spot, and I moaned. I felt him lean forward a second before his teeth scraped my skin, scrambling the signals from relaxing to something more.

I tipped my head back to rest on his shoulder and looked up at him. His gaze swept over my face, and he kissed my forehead, nose, and throat, right where my pulse fluttered.

“You’re right. I think you started something I can’t finish,” he said, his voice low.

“Can’t or shouldn’t?”

“Shouldn’t?”

“Says who?”

He groaned and shifted our positions as he pushed the sheet down to kiss each inch he exposed. His soft breath against my skin and the feel of his skilled hands teased me as they drifted to my breasts.

It wasn’t that all my aches had magically disappeared; it was that his touch helped distract me from what lingered after the massage and the meds.

Dipping his head down, I felt a whisper of air on my nipple right before he took it into his mouth and gently sucked, his tongue rolling and flicking over the sensitive nub. I threaded my fingers in his hair and arched into his mouth with a moan.

He growled, the low vibration lighting me up on the inside. The sharp points of his teeth pressed against my nipple as he drew it deeper into his mouth. When he released it, we were both breathing heavily.

“You’re delicious,” he said.

“Then why did you stop?” I asked, fighting my blush. “You were making me feel better.”

The dark veins around his already black eyes spidered out further.

“I might not survive this.”

He gripped my underwear and slipped them from my body. His fingers traced over my folds and gently circled that place that made my eyes roll back. One of his long fingers slipped inside of me.

I forgot time and space as he slowly unmade me. With each of my mumbled pleas, I could hear Cross, who was always so cool and collected, coming unglued with me. His whispered words of endearment were heavily accented and rough. And his teeth…they scraped relentlessly at my breast and collarbone.

“There,” I breathed. “Right there.”

His finger stroked over that magical place inside of me. He knew exactly where to touch with the perfect amount of pressure. There was nothing clumsy about his pursuit of my orgasm. In fact, in just a space of a few scant minutes, I was on the cliff and plummeting fast.

He kissed my neck as I saw stars and slowly returned to myself.

I felt his body melt next to me. He pressed a kiss to my lips and forehead.

“I’m never letting you go, Everly,” he said.