Hollowed (17 page)

Halfway back to the hotel, Oliver finally cracks and asks,
"
So...what did she say?
"

Where do I even begin? That she used to date my boyfriend? Maybe I should leave that part out.
"
That Maverick guy is the one who turned her. She doesn
'
t know where he is, though.
"
Wow, I really didn
'
t bring back any useful info, did I? Oliver sighs and I try to offer,
"
I know he only has those four vampires working for him. Fred and Alex were the two from the park.
"

"
Unfortunate odds,
"
Daniel murmurs, gaze flicking to Oliver.

"
I can handle it,
"
Oliver says.
"
But if I run around killing his people,
I
'
m
going to be the one in trouble. We technically don
'
t have any proof they
'
re the ones behind the murders, so until we do...
"

Wait a second!
"
But you
do
. I
saw
him, Oliver. Joel was the one who attacked me and Artie killed Sherry. Isn
'
t that enough?
"

"
Not enough to kill someone over.
"
He looks back at me.

Daniel offers a small smile.
"
The laws of the vampires are not so much different than the laws of humans.
"
He slides an arm around my shoulders, drawing me to his side and coaxing me into walking again.
"
If
ma bien-aimée
were to kill on the hearsay of someone else, Maverick could return to the council of elders and get Oliver into a good deal of trouble
for not performing a proper investigation first
.
"

How stupid. What are we supposed to do, present a group of witnesses?
"
Then what
'
s the plan?
"

"
Honestly?
"
Oliver is so casual that the words out of his mouth make me uneasy:
"
I get them to attack first so I can say I killed in self-defense.
They'll know I'm telling the truth.
"

A shiver rushes down my spine.
"
How can you say that so calmly?
"

He rolls his broad shoulders into a shrug.
"
Because that is what it
'
ll come down to: kill, or be killed.
"

Just like Ruby said about Maverick
'
s brother. I consider those words for a moment. This obviously isn
'
t the first time Oliver
'
s had a job like this, which makes me wonder just how old he is. How long has he traveled with Cole, policing other vampires? Any of those questions would probably be okay to ask, and yet I blurt out:
"
Have you killed a lot of people?
"

Just like that, any warmth flees Oliver
'
s face and his gaze hardens. He stops dead in his tracks. Daniel
'
s arm tightens around me, a silent sign that I
'
ve said something very wrong. I
'
m not sure if I should back-pedal and apologize, or just shut my mouth.
"
I
'
m—
"

"
We are going to take a detour,
"
Daniel announces brightly.
"
You have things to attend to,
non
?
"

Oliver seems to relax a little. There isn
'
t time to really tell because Daniel is already steering me away, taking a turn and leaving Oliver behind. I keep my head down, frowning at my feet.
"
I didn
'
t mean to upset him.
"

"
I know this. He knows this, too, I
'
m sure.
"
Daniel draws his arm away and takes my hand instead. All this touching should make me uncomfortable, but I find it kind of nice. It
'
s really no different than having Algonquin-the-cat curled up on my pillow, or Algonquin-the-duck in the bath—

Y
eah, okay. More awkward.

"
Oliver
'
s human life is not one he is proud of,
"
Daniel explains.
"
He spends much time trying to be at peace with himself, but it does not come easy.
"

I nod. There are a hundred questions those statements bring to mind, but if Daniel thought I should know, he would tell me. Or maybe it
'
s something I should hear from Oliver himself. Instead I try thinking of a happier topic.
"
When I first brought you to the hotel, he knew who you were. Do you travel with them?
"

"
Now and again.
"
His expression softens.
"
During my first visit to America, I met Oliver
outside a little café. He had…
such lovely
, sad
eyes, and I knew immediately I wanted to go wherever he went.”

Hard to imagine anyone feeling like that about moody Oliver, but what do I know? Daniel’s a far more patient person than I am.
"
Oh. Do you help with their work?”

Daniel smiles.
"
You are full of questions tonight.
"

We
'
re heading the direction of Old Town, the little tourist spot alongside the river sporting renovated 1800s architecture. All the shops are closing for the night, but it
'
s still a nice walk. A city built on
top of
a city. When we step on the wooden sidewalks, I can peer down through the slats and see signs of the original structures beneath.
"
This is the first time you
'
ve been in a state to answer my questions.
"

He bobs his head into a nod.
"
True. But what if I have a few of my own?
"

Only fair, I guess.
"
Ask away.
"

Daniel steps gracefully down a set of rickety steps, using his grip on my hand to help me along.
Not like I need
it, but I won
'
t complain about someone being a gentleman. There are so few left in the world.
"
Tell me about Noah.
"

I pause in mid-step, heart in my throat.
"
That isn
'
t a question.
"

"
I
'
m willing to listen to what you are willing to tell me rather than getting specific.
"
He raises a perfectly arced brow.

How kind. Ugh.
"
We dated for awhile,
"
I mutter.
"
I met him about a month after I moved in with Sherry. He was gone a lot because of work, but he would come into town whenever he had off-time just to see me.
"
The idea that Noah cared enough to keep coming back to a town he didn
'
t even live in had always left warm, tickly butterflies in my chest. He had his faults, was by no means perfect, but he was perfect for me.

"
Are you in love with him?
"

What a simple answer with a hundred complicated details behind it.
"
Yes. But I never told him.
"

"
Why not?
"

"
I don
'
t know.
"
Liar, liar. I was petrified of saying those three words to him. Noah was my first serious boyfriend, my forever-guy. But I didn
'
t know if he was anywhere near as serious about me as I was with him and I wasn
'
t willing to test it yet.

But every time he walked me home and we lingered on my doorstep, when he kissed me and rested his forehead against mine while we stared into
each other's
'
eyes...
I thought, just maybe, I could tell him.

All that ever came out was,
Goodnight, Noah.

It became my own little code, my secret way of saying what I was too afraid to say. Sometimes when he looked back at me, holding my gaze for longer than necessary, I almost wondered if he
knew
. If maybe he said it back to me with all the same hidden meanings.

"
Goodnight, Briar.
"

I swallow hard,
shoving
away the memory.
"
Doesn
'
t really matter now, does it?
"

Daniel
'
s voice is quiet, his expression gentle.
"
He did not react well when he saw what you were.
"

Wow, understatement.
"
He tried to kill me.
"
Still can
'
t let the realization of that settle in too deep. It hurts.

"
And he went up against Oliver in the process.
"

"
Uh huh.
"

"
Humans
do not
tend to do well against vampires.
"

We
'
ve reached the end of the street. Up ahead, across the cobbled road and beyond a crab shack and salt-water taffy shop, is the river. The damp air is heavy with the
smell
of it. Not a fresh, ocean-smell, but a murky and dingy aroma that makes me a little light-headed. Just like Daniel is leading me to the pier overlooking the river, he
'
s also leading me to some kind of realization without flat-out saying it.

I narrow my eyes.
"
What are you getting at?
"

At the railing, we stop, and he lets go of my hand with a sigh.
"
I am trying to say...y
our Noah may have secrets of his own,
mon chaton.
He tracked you through the park, and then to so fearlessly go up against someone like Oliver... It strikes me as
peculiar
, is all. How secretive he is regarding his profession could also be called into question.
"

My fingers wrap around the rusted railing, the cold metal
stinging my palms
. Honestly? It wouldn
'
t surprise me if Noah were some super-secret paranormal
-creature
hunter or something. He told me
government work,
but who
'
s to say the president doesn
'
t have a special task force for stuff like this?

Daniel watches me in my silence, eyes half-lidded.
"
What are you thinking, Briar?
"

Everything and nothing at once.
I
'
m thinking that everyone is so full of secrets. Ruby, Noah, even Oliver. I
'
m thinking that if I were I to get the whole truth from everyone, would I regret it? Would I turn the clock back, if I could, and savor my ignorance for a little while longer? All those little white lies people tell in their lives to spare the hearts and feelings of others...

Just how many lies have the people I loved told me? How many were
said
with the intent to protect me, or hurt me?

I sink down to a crouch, peering past the rails like bars on a cage and watching the river rush below us.

"
I don
'
t know anymore.
"

Before going back to the hotel, Daniel insists that I eat. Even if I don
'
t feel like it,
sinking my teeth into someone's neck
makes me realize how ravenous
I am.
This morning's meal is compliments of a middle-aged guy in a suit, apparently on his way to work. I leave him in an alley, sagging against a wall, looking dazed but not frightened. Maybe I'm already getting the hang of this. Although I
can
'
t help but be embarrassed when Daniel wipes some of the blood off my cheek. I check in with Cole long enough to let him know the same story I told Oliver before heading to bed.