Where Loyalty Lies (19 page)

The Sénat stood and left. Once they were out of sight, the rest of the room also stood and started filing out the doors. Grateful that I could finally move, I stood and stretched. The hallways were so packed that I decided it was pointless to try and find Holt, so I headed back to my rooms, wondering how long I had until Saul came to find me.

As I neared the front entrance hall, the crowd around me thinned and I caught sight of Holt talking to Henry. Holt looked irritated and was shaking his head while he was talking. Henry was nodding in agreement. For a moment I thought Holt had seen me on my phone during the MM and was upset that I hadn’t been paying attention but, the second Holt caught sight of me, he stopped talking and his expression became friendly.

I got the distinct impression they’d been talking about me.

“So, how did you find your first MM?” Henry asked as we continued walking.

“Long,” I replied.

“I’m sorry. If I’d known the part about you was going to be cut so short, I wouldn’t have suggested that you go. They spend hours prattling on about useless information and then, when they finally get to the most important thing that’s happened in years, they barely even mention it,” Holt said.

“It’s fine,” I said, not wanting Holt to feel bad. “I’m glad I went, I thought it was quite interesting.”

Henry waggled his eyebrows at me, without Holt seeing, and I knew he’d witnessed exactly why I hadn’t minded sitting through the MM.

I said goodbye to Holt and Henry at the top of the stairs and stopped short when I turned the corner into my hallway; Saul was standing outside my door.

He was leaning against the wall with his legs crossed at the ankles and his hands in the pockets of his black trousers. It looked like a photo shoot for an expensive aftershave.

“You got here fast,” I said.

Saul pushed off from the wall and ran a hand through his hair in a casual way that made me think he had no idea how sexy he looked when he did it.

“Well, I thought this was high priority; it wouldn’t be very gentlemanly of me to make you go an entire afternoon with your phone on silent. For all we know, you could receive an important phone call that you’d miss if your phone didn’t ring.”

“That’s a very good point,” I said, mimicking Saul’s deadpan expression. “I’d hate to miss a call from The Sénat, asking me if I’d like to join them for drinks one evening.”

Saul smiled and nodded his head in the direction I’d just come from. “Come on, I know somewhere we can go.”

I walked next to Saul, not missing the interested looks we got from the people we passed. As with most vampires, he seemed to glide effortlessly and I felt ungainly beside him.

We went into a room that was dark enough to make me slow my pace while my eyes adjusted. For a moment I thought it was a strange place to come to and wondered what exactly Saul thought we’d be getting up to, but then I realised why the room was dark. In the middle of the room was a gigantic circular fish tank that stretched from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. In the centre of the fish tank was an expanse of coral and weeds that stopped you from being able to see all the way through to the other side. There were lights subtly built into the coral so that it shimmered and glowed, lighting up the brightly coloured fish as they swam lazily round. I gasped as a shark appeared and seemed to shoot me a warning look before it disappeared. I’d never seen a fish tank this big in my life. I could easily have fitted inside it and swum a few laps.

“Where’d you like to sit?” Saul asked.

I spun round to face him; for a moment I’d completely forgotten he was there. I looked around to see that dark purple velvet sofas and chairs were strewn around the room, all facing the grand centrepiece.

We were the only people around so I indicated to the closest pair of chairs. Saul pulled his chair close to mine so that we could both see my phone.

It proved very difficult to concentrate when Saul’s arm kept brushing against mine. I eventually got to grips with the basics and was sorry when Saul leaned back in his chair and it took him a little further away from me.

“So how are you finding it here?” Saul asked.

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe that, less than a month ago, I was living in a tiny place in Hull, doing nothing but work and now I’m here surrounded by all this.”

Saul nodded. “I have to admit that Rillith is one of my favourite bases. Most the time the weather is terrible but somehow it just adds to the atmosphere.

“Have you lived at all the bases?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Where are the others?”

“Russia, Italy, China and Las Vegas.”

“Vegas?” I laughed. “You’re telling me that, in amongst all the clubs and casinos, there’s somewhere like Rillith?”

“Yes. It sounds odd but The Sénat actually owns a large portion of the casinos there. It’s where a lot of their wealth comes from.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there. I once worked with someone who said it was like Disneyland for adults. Is that true?”

“I suppose. The problem with Vegas is that the novelty of the place can wear off quickly. The Sénat always stay fifty years at each base before they move on and fifty years in Vegas can seem like a long time.”

“How long have The Sénat been at Rillith? This time round, I mean.”

“Thirty-two years.”

“So, in eighteen years’ time, they’ll move again. Do you know where they’ll go next?”

“Probably Italy, maybe China.”

It occurred to me that I had no idea what I’d be doing in eighteen years. I’d already been informed, during my first medical examination, that some of the tests were to try to decipher the age I’d live to. Vampires were immortal; humans lived less than a hundred years. Nobody yet knew which category I fell into.

The sharp clacking of heels on wood caught my attention and I turned to see Monique enter the room. She came to a standstill just close enough to the fish tank for its lights to shine over her. I sighed inwardly. She looked just as stunning as she had last night at the ball. She was wearing an olive green, knee-length skirt that hugged her slim figure and a white top that once again showed off her cleavage.

I saw the brief flicker of satisfaction in her eyes that told me her arriving here had not been a coincidence.

Monique didn’t even glance at me as she moved a chair next to Saul’s and draped herself over it.

“I should have known you’d be hiding out in some dark room when everyone is simply dying to ask you what happened with Billy on your last assignment.”

For a moment Saul didn’t reply and I wondered if there was going to be another awkward scene like there had been at the ball.

“I’ll be submitting my official report tomorrow, so I’m sure everyone can wait till then.”

There was definitely a bit of frost in Saul’s reply but I couldn’t tell if Saul was annoyed at Monique or at everyone else for wanting to badger him for information. Judging by the uncertain look she was giving him, I was sure that Monique was wondering the same thing.

            “Can you believe that Jason Heaney has finally taken up a position as an enforcer? We’ve been waiting years for him to make the change. You’ll have to watch your back, Saul; he might give you a run for your money,” she said.

Even the tone of her voice bugged me. It was smug, as if her conversation with Saul was a big secret, shared between the two of them.

“Not a chance. It takes more than being smart to be a good enforcer,” Saul replied.

“Just as confident as ever,” Monique said.

The intimate look she gave Saul made me feel uncomfortable enough to want to leave, but also irritated enough to want to kick her on the shin. I wished I’d paid better attention during the MM so that I’d have something to contribute to the conversation.

Monique cocked her head. “Surely you’d welcome a little competition? It must get very boring being right at the top all by yourself.”

Saul gave a half smile. “It’s anything but boring.”

I opened my mouth to ask Saul how long he’d been an enforcer but, before the words could form, Monique leant forward and put her hand on Saul’s knee.

“I know better than anyone how hard you work. Why, I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve had to cancel our plans because your jobs have taken longer than expected.” For the first time, she flicked a look at me to make sure I was still listening. “Or the number of times I’ve woken up to an empty bed because you’ve had to get up and leave early.”

I gritted my teeth so hard I thought I might crack a tooth. My suspicions had been confirmed; Saul and Monique either had been an item or still were. What I wanted to know now was how serious it was. Had it been a casual thing that Monique didn’t want to get over? Or was it more than that? Were they in a relationship and had had a lovers’ tiff? I felt a little sick as I realised that Saul may have been spending time with me to make Monique jealous. I looked at Saul, wondering if he was waiting for me to leave so that he could make up with Monique. He wasn’t looking at me; he was looking at Monique with a strange and intense look.

Her hand slid further up his thigh, making her whole body lean closer to his. “It’s a good job I’m forgiving,” she said. “I’m having a little get-together this evening; as always you’re more than welcome to come.”

Saul glanced at me and Monique followed his gaze and gave me a simpering little smile like she’d forgotten I was sitting there. It was clear Saul was waiting for Monique to invite me. The silence stretched into minutes.

“Don’t you have some sort of tests you’re supposed to be doing?” Monique asked me.

I stood up. This was too uncomfortable to bear. Yes, I liked Saul and I’d thought he liked me too, but if spending time with him also meant getting a side order of Monique, then I was way out of my league.

“I should get going,” I said. “Thanks for the help.”

I hadn’t moved two steps when Saul said my name. For a split second I wanted to pretend I hadn’t heard and leave anyway, but then his hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me to a stop.

Still holding on to me, Saul turned to face Monique. “Faine is here because I asked
her
here. If you particularly want to be here, then I’m sure Faine and I can find somewhere else to go.”

She looked outraged and the redness of her cheeks would have melted icebergs. I braced myself for the vicious comment that I was sure would be coming my way, but Monique stood and left without a word. She merely shot a dark look at me that wasn’t dissimilar to the shark’s.

“Please, sit,” Saul said to me. He finally released my arm and I moved back to my chair.

“I’m sorry about that,” Saul said. “I know you must be feeling more than a little uncomfortable but, if there’s one thing you need to learn about living here with The Sénat, it’s that you must always act confidently, even if you don’t feel it.”

I slipped my shoes off and curled my feet underneath me. “I don’t think lack of confidence has anything to do with why Monique doesn’t like me.”

“No, but if she thinks you’re weak, she’ll use it against you. Be sure to stand up for yourself.”

I knew that he was right. People like Monique were nothing but bullies and, if I didn’t stick up for myself straight away, I’d become a target. I didn’t feel at all confident but I had to admit I was feeling more than a little smug. Saul had sent Monique away so that he could spend the afternoon with me.

“Well, as long as we’re giving advice,” I said, “as much as I dislike that woman, you might want to be more careful about who you irritate. I think you may have made yourself an enemy.”

Saul smiled, “I wish it was that easy.”

“Stop!” I yelled.

I wanted to say more but my lungs were gasping for air. I looked over at my examiner. He looked at the statistics there were showing on my running machine and frowned at me.

“We haven’t reached today’s target yet,” he said, as if that was all that mattered.

If this had been a normal running machine I’d have simply reached forward and pushed the stop button myself, but this machine was made especially for testing. I was on the running belt with a bar in front of me and the examiner had the control panel with the information and settings.

“Don’t care. Please stop.”

I thought I was going to explode as my feet were forced to keep up the pace. I’d lost track of how long I’d been running and I was getting stabbing pains in my chest.

“We need to keep going,” the examiner said. “If we don’t reach today’s target we’ll get behind.”

“Can’t. Please.” I gave a pleading look at him but he didn’t even glance up.

I knew that, any moment now, my body was going to fail me and with the belt moving as fast as it was below my feet, I’d be thrown backwards into the wall. There was no other choice but to jump. I didn’t take a second to prepare because I knew it was a second I didn’t have. I just threw my weight to the side. My feet hit the floor and the change in motion sent me staggering across the room, where I collided with a chair and landed in a heap on the floor, managing to smack my head on the corner of the desk.

I moaned as I felt bruises emerge all over me. I tried to sit up and, as my head was spinning, decided that maybe it would be better to stay where I was for a moment.