CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

S age sat in the back of the Uber, staring out the window as her right leg bounced up and down.

“You sure this is the right address?” The driver asked a second time.

“Yes. Just head in that direction. I’ll find it,” Sage replied.

“Fancy address,” the driver said. “Gates and Bezos live around there. Did you know that?”

Sage nodded numbly. Nothing would surprise her right now. That two of the richest men on the planet were Ari’s neighbors was probably a big deal worth noting, but right now, she couldn’t care less.

She let out a little crazy snort.

Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos should probably be more concerned they were living next door to a whole lot of big, scary vampires.

After finishing the tour, Sage couldn’t get the image of Callan out of her mind. She’d tried to text Ari so many times and, in the end, she’d raced to the ladies, thrown up and then called him.

Who else could she talk to?

She knew she had to help Callan, but how was she going to do that?

Also, she really needed to feel Ari’s arms wrapped around her, telling her everything was going to be okay. Even if it wasn’t.

Sage knew she couldn’t go back to her job after this. Everything was a mess but going into that lab every day knowing that man, or rather vampire, was being tortured and was basically a victim of kidnap, was not okay with her.

Her phone rang.

Shit, it was Piper.

“Hey,” she answered, trying for happy.

“Sorry to call you at work, but... wait, what’s wrong?” Piper asked.

“What do you mean what’s wrong? All I said was hey .”

Piper pftt’d her. “I am your sister. You don’t think I know when something is wrong?”

Was she so damn see-through to everyone?

“I’m fine. I have a migraine, so I’m going home to bed.” She stuck to the same lie she’d told Sandy. Her boss had given her a long sideways look when she’d gone into her office, but had nodded and told her to get some sleep.

“You don’t get migraines,” Piper said, her voice thick with suspicion.

“I get migraines,” she snapped.

Shit, she just remembered she had the date with Carl tonight and hadn’t canceled.

“Is this the place?” the driver asked, reading out the address. They both leaned to look out the window at the enormous solid black gates barely visible because they were set back from the road.

“Sage.” Piper called through the phone, which had fallen away from her ear.

“What? Oh, look Piper, I have to go. I’ll call you on the weekend.” She went to hang up and then stopped. “Love you.”

“Wha—”

End call.

Sage climbed out of the vehicle mumbling a thank you to the driver and walked toward the enormous gates. Ari lived here .

Sage glanced around her at the thick rows of trees on either side of the gates. There was a security panel to her right, so she headed over to it. Beyond the gates was a long driveway which eventually curved, so she couldn’t see beyond it. On each side was a sparse well-manicured lawn.

She pressed a black button and waited.

The gates began to open. There was one single quiet click and then they moved in silence.

Sage pulled her handbag up on her arm and wrapped her coat tighter around her.

Was she supposed to just walk in?

Her phone buzzed.

Walk down to the house and I’ll meet you at the front door. I can’t come out in the daylight, mia stellina.

Of course, he couldn’t. It was still daylight, even though the sun was low in the sky and beginning to fade.

The driveway was long and it took her nearly six minutes to reach the house, so by then she had built up a bit of a sweat and her coat was hanging open. It had also given her a lot of time to look around at the sweeping grounds and the mansion, which had eventually appeared in front of her.

Mansion was not doing the place justice. This structure was nearly a damn castle. A fairly modern-looking one.

For the past week, she’d been sleeping with a man who she thought was human and a gym owner.

Some gym.

Now she knew he was a vampire, owned a dangerous private security company doing God knows what, and lived like a damn king.

Who was Ari Moretti?

She swallowed deeply.

And why did he seem to care for her so much? Another awesome question to ask would be, why the hell was she trusting him?

When Sage had been standing in that room staring at Callan, all she had thought about was Ari. How she wished his large body was behind her in that moment, wrapped around her, making her feel safe. His deep voice would tell her she was safe, and he’d make this right. Instinctually she trusted him.

Her brain told her to run.

Being a scientist had trained her to listen to her brain and trust what she saw, and yet, her instincts were screaming at her to go to Ari. So here she was, walking down this long driveway, with gates at her back she’d never get through on her own, toward an enormous house full of vampires.

Toward Ari.

She focused on that last thought.

The surface under her feet changed to something fancier and her shoes made a tapping sound. She glanced up at the mansion and saw all the windows had black shutters over them.

Gulp.

There was a wide set of stairs with a landing in the middle of them. Before she could take one more step, the double doors opened.

Ari.

She took a second to take in his powerful presence. Today he was dressed in a pair of black sweatpants, which hung low on his hips, and a tight black t-shirt. He was so damn beautiful. Everything about him screamed sex, power, danger and yet he was all she needed.

He was everything she needed.

“Sage,” Ari said in that thick, deep voice of his. When he stepped out onto the large doorstep, she began to run up the stairs as if her life depended on it.

“Baby,” he cried out, and before she knew what was happening, he had her in his arms and she was inside the house. “I’ve got you.”

She sobbed into his chest and let his big arms and body provide the rock and comfort she needed.

“I’m sorry.” She cried.

“Don’t.” He soothed her. “It’s a lot. Trust me, I get it.”

She lifted her head to look up into his beautiful face. “We have to get him out.”

Ari nodded. “Yes. We do.”

SAGE SAT CURLED UP on Ari’s sofa. He’d moved her briskly through the mansion, promising to give her a tour another time. She was grateful in many ways, but she was still curious and eager to see everything.

“Here,” Ari said, handing her a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

“Thank you.”

“Sure you don’t want whiskey added?”

Sage nodded. The last thing she needed right now was to be intoxicated. She wanted her wits about her, even if she did trust Ari.

He sat down beside her, and she curled into him.

“So.”

“So,” he repeated, smiling down at her. His lips lowered, and he kissed her gently. “I’m glad you called me.”

“Me too.” She leaned to put her mug down on the coffee table. “I’m scared, Ari.”

He rubbed his hand mindlessly over her hip and nodded. “You should be. I’m not saying that to scare you further, but I am not going to lie or gloss over things. This is a dangerous situation.”

Sage appreciated his honesty. While it was nice to be in his arms and feel safe, and she had every reason to believe she was—and one thousand reasons to be scared out of her brain—she’d rather he tell her the truth.

“I can’t go back there. I have to resign,” Sage said. “I don’t know where I’ll work. I have some savings, but not a lot. Sorry, I know I’m being selfish, but if I default on my mortgage, it will ruin me financially for a long time.”

Ari pulled her onto his lap and brushed her wild hair off her face.

“There is a lot more I need to share with you, mia stellina, ” he said, his eyes shimmering with an affection and strength that filled her with confidence and made her girly bits all warm. “Soon I will. For now, just know that I will take care of any financial hurdles this creates for you.”

“I—”

“Please. I know you are an independent, modern woman. Let me take care of you. This is an unprecedented time,” Ari said firmly. “We can argue later. For now, wipe all concern from your mind.”

That seemed fair, given the circumstances.

“I will pay you back,” Sage replied, nodding firmly.

“Okay,” he said, and Sage didn’t miss the twinkle of humor in his eyes. She let it go and would deal with that when the time came. If he thought she wouldn’t, or couldn’t, he was mistaken. Sage had no debt except her mortgage and had, on her Life List , plans to invest in a diverse portfolio, so she had a secure financial future.

This had truly fucked up everything.

Yet another damn thing on her list not going to plan.

“First, we need to discuss how we get Callan out. Right now, my team and I don’t think you’re compromised, so I have a plan I’d like to discuss with you. It will require you going back to BioZen.”

Ari’s jaw tightened as he held her eyes.

“It’s dangerous, but we can’t get inside, so we need you to do this.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Ari let out a long sigh. “Give Callan my blood.”