Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) (18 page)

He grimaced. “That sounds like a reprimand from you.”

“I thought it was illegal.”

He opened his eyes then, looked at me frankly. “My presence alone is dangerous. I’m sure what little I do will not be the end of the world, if you know what I mean.”

I didn’t, not really. “The whole reason vampires are allowed in this society is because they have agreed to follow certain rules and mandates set by Congress.”

“Am I a vampire?” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think I am.”

“So you are a law onto yourself?”

He grinned wide, and a canine caught the artificial chandelier lights from above. “What an interesting concept. A law. Onto myself. So, who watches me?”

“Naturally, wouldn’t that be yourself?”

Pausing in his speech, he turned to look about the casino, his gaze falling upon an elderly couple, both dressed in blindingly bright tourist attire, as they hovered over a slot machine, the elderly woman’s eyes wide and glittering in the bright lights.

“Are you a gambler, perchance?”

I shook my head. “Never.”

“No? I supposed you never go for anything unless you have a hundred percent chance in success, hm?”

A corner of his lips kicked up, and he was beautiful.

Then again, he was always beautiful, but there was something in the glint in his eye, the way hair was tossed carelessly over the delicate features…

His smile widened. “You’re staring.”

I returned his expression. “I believe in honesty. Why hide something that is so obviously true?”

The corners of his dark eyes crinkled. “If only other people were as honest as you.”

And in that, I lost the ability to put words together. “Mm.”

He lifted his head then, nostrils flaring slightly, almost as though he smelled something unpleasant in the air. “I suppose I should have let you know something.”

His gaze flitted around the room, but his eyes didn’t seem to stay in one place for too long. “Would this be regarding your…safety?”

That I was protecting a vampire, that I had become an Ailward. It was enough to make me feel slightly ill.

He nodded. “This town, as small as it is, has —”

My shoulders tensed.

“Well! I don’t believe I’ve seen you folks here before.”

And underneath the expensive scent, was that pervasive stink of copper. It was something vampires could never hide, although they certainly tried. But vampires weren’t the only ones who smelled like blood.

I turned around slowly, shoulders as stiff as a lead pipe as Jason smiled widely, bowing low at the waist as though we were at a ball. “If it isn’t the Marcus Caldwell!”

A stout man, well-dressed with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, smiled at us maganimously, hands behind his back, the two bodyguards at his back, including the one Jason rolled, their sunglasses safely over their eyes.

The man tilted his head to one side. How he managed to say anything with a cigar in his mouth was completely beyond me. “Forgive me. I don’t believe we’ve met?”

Jason shook his head with a slight smile. “Oh, I don’t believe we have. But you are quite famous around these parts, aren’t you?”

Caldwell grinned wide and the canines, slightly too long for a human, caught the light from the fake candled chandeliers. “Do you mean as the owner of the town? Or do you mean…?”

He hadn’t moved. Hadn’t moved at all, but there was a change in his smile, almost too wide, too…feral.

“Yes,” Jason said with another small bow that was elegant to the max. “As the only uncontested alpha within a hundred mile radius…you are quite famous. Quite frankly, I am surprised. In an area of over three thousand shapeshifters…you have somehow managed to scare the hell into those under your domain.”

I struggled to hide the surprise from my eyes. Had Jason known? Did he know about Marcus Caldwell from the very beginning?

The strongly built, barrel-chested older man threw his head back, laughing. “Well, I surely am quite complimented, Mister No-Name. I do try, I do try.” The smile faded away, faded away with such certainty, I wondered if there had been a smile there at all. “What do we have here? Two unknowns. One a vampire. The other…” his mouth turned down at the corners. “The other a well known assassin. You think we didn’t know? Vampires and us shifters, well, while we do try to stay out of each others way…we do keep an eye on them. And that involves all of them. So answer me this.”

Jason stepped forward, shielding my body with his. While it was true he could take far more damage than my human body, I had sworn to be Jason’s Ailward. I would trade my life with his, if it ensured his survival.

I put a hand on his shoulder. “I appreciate the sentiment. But I am your protector. Not the other way around. Please move back.”

Marcus did not say a word regarding this particular exchange, only watching us carefully, hands at his hips now.

Jason’s eyes widened, but he did step back, enough so that if the alpha wanted to shoot me in the chest, he could have done so easily.

The alpha seemed to laugh at us with his eyes. “Like I was saying. I’m curious. What exactly is a vamp killer doing with a vamp?”

I squared my shoulders. “None of your business.”

Jason cleared his throat and took a step to the left. “As you can see, my Ailward has spoken. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I do believe we have some cash we’d like to spend at your…wonderful…casino.”

“Normally, I would welcome you with open arms,” said Marcus, sticking his thumbs through his belt loops. He looked more like a stereotypical Texan rancher than the owner of a bustling casino that probably drew in more revenue through underground ventures. “But I suppose, as the owner, no as an Alpha, I ought to ask. You see, I’ve heard some news. Yes, some very interesting news. My contact in Centennial City alerted me to a certain presence…a presence that causes much worry and talk in the vamp community.”

The way he said
presence
made my palms sweat, my breath come short. “Rather than speaking in circles, can’t you speak in no uncertain terms? Either say what you mean, or don’t waste our time.”

“Brash talk,” he said after a moment of silence. “Do you have any idea what could happen to you and your precious Master if I so much as lift a finger? Why these boys behind me will riddle you with more holes than cheesecloth.”

I grinned. I knew this man, no, I knew this type of man and that was more than half the battle. “You wouldn’t. Why would you order something done when you could do it yourself?”

The two bodyguards drew in a breath and Jason cursed quietly.

The alpha shifted his feet, pulled his thumbs out of his belt loops, and for a moment, it looked as though he would throw himself forward.

“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” He regarded me calmly for one moment and stuck his thumbs back through the belt loops as though that was where they stayed on a permanent basis. “But I suppose you’d be right. There wouldn’t be much of a point in calling some of my boys to finish you and your so-called Master off if I can do the job. At least, I know I’d get the job done.” He sighed dramatically, heavily. “Now, what am I do to? I hear tell anyone coming across a vampire and a rather infamous vamp killer was supposed to be detained for…hm, what did he say? Ah, yes, further questioning.”

I stiffened. “Further questioning?”

He shrugged his expansive shoulders. He liked to act, that much seemed certain.

“I owe Vincent a hell of a lot. He’s not bad,” he said and then sighed. “For a blood sucker, that is. And if he wants something, well, quite plainly, he gets it. And he wants the two of you.”

Jason shifted his feet, hands clenching at his sides. “And he’s looking for the both of us?”

The casino owner nodded. “He has…questions. Or so he says. Mind you, he doesn’t necessarily want you dead.”

Next to me, Jason tilted his head to one side. “And how would you know something about that?”

“Because you’d already be dead.”

So far, Marcus had not made a move, nothing at all to show he planned to turn us over to Vincent.

So far.

“So?” I asked. “What will you do with us? It does not seem you are enthusiastic about handing us over.”

He sighed and shook his head, hands up to his shoulders, palms up in a
I give up
pose. “Of course, I wouldn’t. I don’t like being told what to do. In fact, I downright hate it. But I owe him a lot. Vincent’s done a hell of a lot for me and if I don’t…well…” He shook his head slowly. “He might take this place away. And I don’t think I could live with that.”

Jason stepped back one step, almost knocking over an elderly man with a walker.

Marcus sighed again and rubbed the deep furrow between his pale gray eyes. “Look, as a favor, hm? Just come peacefully. I care about this place. I care about the people who come here. If you fight, if you resist, I’m willing to bet there’s going to be a hell of a lot of damages. Maybe even some dead. I don’t think I can accept that. Can you accept that?”

It was my duty to protect the Master.

I was the Ailward.

But I was nothing more than his doll.

I would not be able to move until he asked me. “Your orders?”

He shook his head slowly, eyes never leaving Marcus and the two bodyguards. “I have no intention of going back to Vincent.”

Marcus clucked his tongue. “So you will do battle here? You know, I can have my bodyguards drill a hole through your heads before you even think about reacting. And that will be because you’ve decided to run. If you just listen, just go find out why Vincent wants to talk to you so badly…”

Jason regarded him with cold eyes. “Then there would be no casualties.”

He shook his head. “Indeed there would be not. Why, I would personally chauffeur you there myself. To Centennial City.”

It sounded peaceful.

To give up without a fight.

But it was not me.

If there was even a chance of escape, then I would have taken it. To go down without a fight…it was something I never did.

If I had, I would’ve died a very long time ago. “What would you have me do, Master?”

It was the first time I was calling him in such a formal manner.

But it seemed…right.

Jason lifted his chin. “If we go to Vincent…he’ll have me killed.”

Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t know why he’s so interested in you. You seem like a normal bloodsucker to me…not that there’s anything normal with that, mind.”

“Is this the pot calling the kettle black?” said Jason with a quirk to his lips. “Ran, if I were to die, so would you.”

I nodded. “I would die before you. This is the oath made by an Ailward to the Master.”

“Even if I were a vampire…and you a vampire hunter?”

The irony tasted bitter on my tongue. “Even if you were my prey…I never break a promise.”

He smiled. “I like that. I think I like that very much.”

I noticed the thin sheen of sweat on Marcus’s broad brow. “Now just hold on, one minute. Are you really going to put up a fight? Here? Do you have any idea how many people would end up in the hospital…or worse?”

Jason was still and then shook his head. “I am no hero. I will not sacrifice myself to save those I have no connection to.”

“Hmph.” Marcus slanted a glance at my direction. “And what of you? You’re human. You have fought with humans against the bloodsuckers. You just going to let him shoot up a bunch of civilians?”

“He doesn’t have a gun,” I pointed out. “Your two bodyguards do. Shouldn’t you be asking them not to use their weapons?”

The werewolf shook his head slowly. "Look, there's no point in mindless bloodshed. And besides, I know who are you, what you stand for. Vincent made damn sure I knew. I suppose that's why he's so interested in the pair of you. A vamp hunter sides with a vampire? Where's the logic in that?"

"If there was one, I would not tell you," I replied simply.

"And then, there's that thing about your order..." he said, voice quiet, barely audible above the clint of coins and a machine blaring obnoxiously. "I thought you were on the side of the humans. Aren't you all some kind of human protectors or something? Why would you go along willingly with the possible deaths of innocents? It just doesn't seem to make any sense."

I stayed quiet and felt Jason's hand tighten on my wrist. My right wrist, the wrist I would need when shit hit the fan.

Not "if" but "when." Because sure as the sun rises and sets, the alpha was not going to let us leave, not without a hell of a fight, and not even a fight I thought I could come out of alive.

I stifled the urge to shake his hand free, all too aware that my warmth grounded him, that he needed to, had to touch me.

Marcus sighed. "What a mess. What a fucking mess, make no mistake. If I don't take you, Vincent'll have my head. If I do, there'll blood and dead people and god only knows how much money I'm gonna lose. An incident like that can really turn this place inside out. And after all the time I’ve spent on this place..."