Deceptive Changes: Kat LaMond Book 1 (21 page)

“That waitress came up to me the second you left.  I was propositioned again.”

“It’s your lovely vampire self.  People are drawn to you.”  I batted my eyes at him.  I was going to play this up as best I could.  I had gotten much better at this seduction business. 

“Did someone call you?” 

I blushed and nodded.  “It was Todd.  He didn’t get any words out since I didn’t want to talk with him.”

“Where did the cell phone come from?”

“I have a backup cell phone in case I lose my regular one.  It’s for work, really.  I’m not supposed to use it but last night at dinner I might have mentioned it to Todd.”  I smacked my head with the flat of my hand.  I grabbed a glass of whiskey but Sven’s hand stopped me from bringing it closer to my mouth.  He shook his head.  He brought the glass to his lips and sniffed. 

He pretended to start drinking it when the waitress came over.  “Hey, baby, I don’t think you want whiskey.  Here’s a scotch.”

“Thanks just the same,
bay
-
be
, but we’re leaving.”  He stood up and looked at her.  She was almost half a foot taller than Sven but the look in his eyes made her back up.  He held out his hand to me.  I took it and we started to walk out. 

I tugged on his hand.  “I have to pay the bill.”

“It’s been taken care of, honey.”  He pulled me along with him.  He opened the door to the car and helped me in.  I was still going for more than just tipsy.  He got in and drove us away from the bar. 

“What was in the drink?”

“She had slipped a sedative or something in the drink to get you out of the picture.”

“How did that happen?”

“When you were in the bathroom.  She was all flirtatious and such.  She blocked my view and I heard her slip something into your drink.”

“Thanks for saving me.  Again.”  This whole thing was making me feel like the biggest heel ever.

“That’s what I do, Katja.  Your life is always worth saving.”  He kept his eyes on the road but I could tell he was tense.  His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“Why so tense, Sven?”

“I…I didn’t think you’d notice.”  Duh, drunk, remember, Katja?

“I noticed your hands.  They’re nearly whiter than usual.”  I pointed to his hands.

“I don’t think this is the time to talk about why I’m tense.”  He refused to say anything more even as I asked questions or tried to engage him in conversation.

><                            ><

He parked in the hotel parking lot and guided me to our room.  He opened the door and helped me to the chair.  My alcohol haze was nearly gone.  I might be able to do the seduction thing but I was truly a lousy liar.

I watched him pace the room.  I tilted my head and nearly tumbled over.  I guess my alcohol buzz wasn’t as far gone as I had thought.  Sven was right there helping me keep my head up and my body.  “’M ‘kay,” I slurred.

“I know that.  I just didn’t want you to hurt yourself.”  He stood up and paced away from me.

“Sven?”  He turned to me.  “Why don’t you just go out and feed?”

“I can’t.  I have to be here for you.  I don’t think it’s safe to leave you.” 

I sighed.  “You can feed from me but no funny business.”  I wagged a finger at him, slowly and deliberately.

“It’s not funny to tease me.” 

My mouth parted.  “I wasn’t teasing you, Sven.  Seriously.  If you don’t feel comfortable feeding outside then I’m here.”  He didn’t make another remark.  He was beside me with his hand on my wrist.  “Nuh-uh.  My neck.”  I was really hoping that that was the alcohol speaking. 

He made a strangled sound in his throat.  “No.  If I take blood from your throat it’ll be more than just a feeding.”

“Maybe I want more,” I whispered.  I mentally kicked my ass for that comment.  I was a horrible person for doing this to him.  I didn’t even think he was the bad guy in this whole mess.

“Please,” he whispered.  “I can’t take this teasing.  You know I want you so badly.” 

My heart thudded in my throat.  “Just do it,” I whispered back.  I bared my neck and tilted toward him.  This time I didn’t fall over or even fall into him. 

He ran his hand along my neck and brushed my hair away.  He hovered over my neck for a moment.  My heart sped up as his lips touched my skin.  An instant later his fangs slid through my skin.  I grabbed his arm and squeezed as his mouth worked on me.  True to his promise, his bite sent thrills through me.  The alcohol haze disappeared and I fell against him. 

He pulled back and licked the wound.  Good thing too or I’d probably have taken him right there.  He looked at me, his blue eyes bright with blood.  I shied away from him even as my body screamed to be nearer to him.  His cherry lips were slightly parted as he looked at me, as he watched me struggle with my desire.

He leaned into me.  I put my hand on his chest, feeling his muscles.  This wasn’t right.  I pushed against him.  He didn’t even waver from his position.  He continued to lean into me even as I pushed against him and tried to pull away.  Have you ever tried to do that?  It’s bloody hard.

His arms circled me, trapping me.  I shook my head.  “No,” I whispered. 

He stopped moving but didn’t let go.  “A kiss?” 

I shook my head.  He tightened his hold on me.  “Don’t make me regret taking only you.”  He dropped his arms immediately. 

I leaned back from him, which unfortunately brought my chest to face level for him.  I tilted to the side and fall out of the chair to get away from him.  I lay on the ground, my feet still over the arm of the chair, stunned.  It hadn’t been a long fall but it still knocked out what little air was in my lungs at the time.

“Are you going to sleep there the whole night, Katja?” 

“Yup.”  It sounded absurd even to me.  How old was I, fifteen?  I sighed and took my feet from the arm rest.  I rolled onto my side and sat up.  I looked at him.  He wasn’t looking at me.  He seemed to be listening.  “What is it?” 

He held up a hand.  “We have to go,” he whispered.  The first thought that flew through my head was, did my men find me?  The second thought was, did the bad guys find us?

I went to my suitcase.  “Leave the stuff, Katja.  We have to go now.”  He grabbed my hand and opened the window.  It hadn’t been easy or quiet since the hotel apparently had painted over the windows.  Why they would do that was anyone’s guess. 

I looked out the window.  It was a straight drop to the ground.  We were on the fourth floor.  I would never survive a fall like that.  “No way.  I’ll die.”

He blew out a sigh.  “You still have so much to learn about vampires.”  He sat on the ledge and dropped.  I looked over the edge and found that he was floating just below the window.  “Come on,” he whispered.

To stall for time and the death drop, I asked, “Who found us?”

“Cyril.  His goons are on their way up as we sit here arguing.”  I took a deep breath, heard someone pound on the door, and dropped into his arms.  We dropped slightly and then he took off, taking my breath with him. 

He flew for a minute and settled on the ground in a thick patch of woods.  “How far away are we?”

“Not far enough.  They’ll be on us in a minute.  I heard them break the door down.  They’ll have discovered us gone and send out search parties to find us.”

“Where can we go?”  I hadn’t figured that Cyril and his people would find us so soon.

“We can’t stay here,” was all he said.  He took me in his arms and ran along the woods for what seemed like hours. 

Sven stopped shortly before the sky started to lighten.  I looked around and found that we were at an abandoned farm house.  He set me on my feet and fell to the ground.  I kneeled beside him.  “Are you okay?” 

He nodded.  “I’m still young for a vampire but I have learned some tricks and flying was one of them.  I can’t sustain flight long but I’m learning.”  He smiled weakly.

“Is there something I can do?”

“I could use some blood and a good night’s sleep.”  I pulled him into my lap and wrapped my arm around him.  His eyes slipped shut. 

“Here,” I pressed my wrist to his mouth. 

My wrist lay against his mouth.  My heart started to flutter in panic.  I felt my pockets and didn’t find anything but my cell phone.  I’d use that as a last resort.  I felt around his pockets.  I found a small knife hidden on the waist of his jeans.  I grabbed it and slit my wrist, gasping as the pain bit through me.  Blood dribbled against his slack mouth.

“Come on, open your mouth,” I whispered and pressed my wrist more tightly against his mouth.  I don’t know if it was me speaking or instinct but his mouth started to convulse against me.  I breathed a sigh of relief as his hands wrapped gently around my arm.  His fangs slid into my skin making me gasp.

He sucked on my wrist for a few minutes and then released me but kept his eyes shut.  “Sven?”  He nodded.  I let out my breath in a whoosh.  “Are you okay?”

He opened his eyes and looked at me.  “I am now.” 

We stayed in that position until my legs fell asleep and my butt was pins and needles.  He sat up and pulled me into a hug.  I wrapped an arm around him for a second and let it drop.  He still clung to me.  His voice was quiet and if he hadn’t been right next to my ear I probably wouldn’t have heard him.  “Thank you for giving me your blood.”  I nodded against his shoulder. 

“I need to stand up,” I whispered equally soft. 

He let me go and I stood up.  I walked around for a minute, trying to get my legs to work properly.  I hissed as needles stuck in my feet, imaginary but still real feeling.  My wrist was bleeding.  I wiped at the blood.  He grabbed my hands and licked the blood off.  I started to pull away.  His hands tightened on my wrist, the one that was bleeding.  He slowly brought it to his mouth and licked the wound.  I could see the wound heal.

He dropped my wrist abruptly and turned from me.  I watched as he walked a few feet away.  I paced as I waited for him to say something.  I couldn’t think of anything to say or ask.  I just wanted to get some rest and this old farmhouse wasn’t going to cut it.

“I need a moment,” he said softly and then turned to me, his hands clenched at his side.  “Let’s get you to a place to sleep.”

“Let’s walk.  I don’t want to have to donate again.” 

He nodded and walked up to me.  “They shouldn’t get our scent too soon.  I figure if the wind holds they’ll have a bitch of a time but we should still walk fast.”

He grabbed my hand and we walked away from the farmhouse.  Daylight was peeking into the night sky, chasing the moon to the other side of the world.

He matched my pace which was very slow to him and he kept reminding me of that fact.  I finally had enough of his complaining after hearing it for three hours.  I yanked my hand from his and pointed my finger at him.  “I am not a damn vampire.  I can only walk human fast.  If you don’t freakin’ like it go ahead of me.”  He stared gaped-mouth at me.  “Don’t look at me like that.  You’re the one complaining.”

“You’re right.  I apologize.  I’m afraid they’ll catch our scent and be on us.  I can’t fly because you don’t want to donate and I can only walk as fast as you can.  I’ve been on my own for a long while, I’m not used to having to worry about someone else.”

“I know I asked you to take care of me, in the sense that I needed a bodyguard, but if you want to leave, please don’t let me hold you back.” 

He sighed noisily.  He grabbed my hand gently in his and pulled me.  “Come on.  We’re almost to a motel.  We can rest there.”  I wanted to complain about how long it was taking but if I wasn’t being pissy about donating blood we’d be there faster.

><                            ><

We walked another few miles.  I pulled out my cell phone and found that it was almost one in the afternoon.  I was chilled to the bone and tired.  I looked at my clothes as we approached the motel chain.  I looked like I had rolled around in a cow field.  Sven looked decent.  “Get us a room.  Here’s cash.  Give them false info.”  He took the money but rolled his eyes.  I guess he knew all about giving false information.

I waited in the shadows by the office until he came back out.  He grabbed my hand and led me to a room.  He opened the door and I just about fainted from happiness.  A bed.  I flopped down on the bed and curled into a ball.  I was one big pain.

Sven chuckled as I stretched my muscles by curling and uncurling into a ball.  I groaned and got off the bed.  I walked into the miniscule bathroom and showered.  At least they had clean towels and little soaps and shampoos for me to use.  By the end of my shower I was much happier and starving.  I was pretty sure this motel chain didn’t offer room service.

I stepped out of the shower, toweled off, and changed back into my dirty clothes.  I needed to find a store.  Unfortunately, we were miles from any strip mall or Wal-Mart.  I stepped out of the bathroom and found that Sven had gone to a fast food restaurant.  “Thank you, Sven.”  He nodded and held his nose.  “You don’t like the smell?”

“It’s not very appealing.  It probably wouldn’t have been even if I was able to eat it.”  I looked in the bag and found a couple hamburgers and a salad.  I frowned.  I was looking forward to fries and lots of never-going-to-use calories.  I pulled out the hamburgers and started eating. 

“Have you thought about how they found us so quickly?” I asked in between bites. 

“Yeah.  They were probably monitoring any credit card activity.” 

I sighed.  That meant I couldn’t use my credit cards or bank cards to get more money.  Unless… I shoved the thought aside for a moment and relished my food.  I was so hungry that I even ate the salad.

I tossed my trash away and laid down on the bed.  Sven stayed sitting in the chair.  “Are you going to get some sleep?” I asked as I closed my eyes.  He didn’t speak.  I opened my eyes and looked at him.  Oh.  His eyes held something that my mind tried to hide from.  A misguided passion.  I rolled my eyes.  “I’m going to bed.  If you want to join me you can.  I plan to sleep in my yucky clothes.” 

I rolled over and was just about asleep when I felt the bed shift.  He curled up next to me, wrapping his arm across my waist.  I didn’t say anything.  I was too tired and fell asleep with him pressed against me.

><                            ><

I woke to darkness.  I stretched and felt an arm tighten around me.  Sven sighed, his breath running along the back of my neck.  I shivered and pulled at his arm.  “I have to
go
.”  He growled and kissed my neck.  “Stop that.  This isn’t a date, Sven.”  He moved his arm from my waist.  I slid off the bed and walked into the small bathroom.

I cleaned up and used the disposable toothbrush to brush the gunk from my teeth without the aid of toothpaste.  At least my teeth felt cleaner.  I walked out and found Sven standing at the window.  “How long did you reserve this room?”

“For two more nights.  I don’t know if we’ll stay here or not.”  He turned from the window.  His pale skin shined in the street lights.  My breath caught in my throat as I looked into his eyes.  I blinked and he was standing in front of me.  I put my hand to his chest and held him back.  Okay, he stayed back because I just wasn’t strong enough to hold him back if he really wanted to close the gap. 

“We should get you some new clothes,” he said quietly.  He made it sound far too intimate.

“I don’t know where there’s a mall or even a Wal-Mart around here.”  We were outside the town I lived in, and I was unfamiliar with the current area.

“I found a strip mall on my way to get you food.  If you can wait here alone?”  My heart squished at being here alone.  How was I to know whether they would find me?  “If you stay here for a few minutes, I’ll go over and grab some clothes for you.  How much money do you have on you?”

I checked my pockets.  Seventy freakin’ dollars.  “Not much.”  I handed him the money. 

He pulled me to him and hugged me.  “Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.”  He pulled away and walked out of the room.  I locked the door behind him and kept the lights off.

I paced the room for a minute and then pulled out my cell phone.  I was pretty sure they couldn’t trace this phone.  I texted Todd and let him know what had happened.  He rang me immediately.  “Kat?”  It was good to hear his voice. 

“Yeah.  You’re not supposed to call.” 

“Tell me what happened.”

I updated them on what happened.  “I really can’t talk long.  I don’t know when Sven will be back with my clothes.  He left a couple minutes ago but he’s really fast, so I’ll be quick.”  I paused and held back the tears that stung my eyes.  “I miss you.”

“Oh, Kat.  We miss you too, babe.  It’ll be over soon.  We have a bead on Cyril and his people.” 

I was relieved to hear that.  “When you find out where, let me know.  I want to kill him myself.”  The hard edge to my voice startled me.

“I will.  Love ya, babe.”

“Tell Trace and Erick that I miss them.”  He made an ‘mmm hmm’ sound and I clicked the phone shut.  I went into the bathroom and cried.  I was still holding my stomach when I heard a knock at the door.  I wiped the tears from my eyes and walked to the window.  I looked out and found Sven standing at the door with two bags.

I let him in.  He immediately handed me a bag of clothes.  “What’s in the other bag?”

“Oh.  Some toiletries.”  He handed the other bag to me.  I hugged him and went into the bathroom.  I changed into fresh jeans and a t-shirt.  I brushed my teeth with a real toothbrush and toothpaste and cleaned my face with the body wash he’d purchased.

I walked out of the bathroom.  “Thanks, Sven.”

“No problem.  It looks like you didn’t get into trouble while I was gone.”

“Nope.  See, I’m not always a trouble maker.”  I tried not to cringe at my words.  Of course I was a trouble maker, that’s exactly what this whole plan was, to get me into trouble.  “How much money do we have left?”

“About ten bucks.” 

I groaned.  I had to get to my safe deposit box.  I had over two thousand dollars in a box that I put away in case I needed to leave.  “I need to get to a bank.”  He looked at me warily.  “You don’t understand.  I have safe deposit boxes loaded with money throughout the country.  I took this silly measure after I killed Antreas.  I figured there would be reprisals and I’d need to get out fast.” 

His eyebrows lifted in surprise.  “Banks won’t be opened tonight.” 

I rolled my eyes.  “I know but…” I stopped speaking.  He didn’t look like he was worried.  “I know some of the bank reps.  They’ll open the door for me and let me get my stuff.  I’ve already made arrangements with a few banks.  As a matter of fact, there’s one here.”  He sighed noisily.  “I’m not making this up.  I do have to eat, you know.  I also don’t think I want to stay on the streets.”

“How long will this take?”

“Not long.  I’ll call her and set the time for one hour.  She’ll be good with that.”  I pulled out my cell phone and placed the call.  She was more than accommodating.  Sven sighed again.  “Will you stop sighing?  It’s not like I’m doing something too dangerous.” 

He threw his hands in the air.  “I’m not arguing with you.  I don’t think it’s such a good idea since people talk.”