Keepers of the Flame (Trilogy Bundle) (12 page)

“You must be Luanne Kylor. I'm Messina Taylor.” He shook the hand I offered him, his grip firm and his palms dry.

“Why are they all here?” Dylan gestured to the other vampires.

“They came to see Miss Kylor.”

“What?” An exclamation was startled out of me.

“Ah my dear, you are something of a legend around here,” he said with a shrug.

The others took that as a sign to move forward and they came smiling, and introduced themselves. I shook a lot of hands and even got some hugs.

“I knew your parents, you poor thing.”

“Katrina was the best agent we had.”

“Did you really turn Morrison into ashes?”

And so the questions and comments continued. They didn't really want an answer so I didn't bother with any; I just smiled and shook as many hands as were thrust to me. Before long, they'd all dispersed with instructions to call if I needed anything.

“Right. Now that's over with, you need to be on the plane to London,” Messina Taylor said, leading us away from the hall.

I wondered why we simply didn't teleport to London or whatever. Why a plane?

It's a really long distance. If we go that way, we'd be too tired to be any use to Katrina.

I thought you said I could turn this thing off?

Well, you didn't.

I didn't say anything else after that and I didn't try reading his thoughts, although he didn't beam anything my way. I missed the connection, but found it too intimate. I wasn't ready to be that exposed to anyone. There were parts of me I wasn't willing to share. I guess Dylan wasn't the only one with trust issues.

I retreated into silence as Dylan and Messina went over details and whatever else they needed to go over. I was consumed with thoughts of Katrina. I hoped with everything in me that my grandma was okay. I had no idea what I would do if anything happened to her. It meant I would be alone in the world, well and truly alone.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that it was when I bumped into Dylan's back that I realized we'd come to a halt.

“The car will take you to the airport where a private jet is waiting on standby for you,” Messina was saying. “I've asked your men to report at the London HQ. Good luck.”

The two men shook hands and the older man turned to me. “You're in very good hands, but Dylan is just one person. Make sure you take care of him.”

I nodded and shook his hands. “Thank you so much, sir,” I said even as I was silently wondering how he supposed I was to take care of Dylan.

We got into the limo that was waiting and sped off to the airport. Once there I was handed a passport and we passed through the checks without any trouble. Before long we were settled in a very luxurious and posh airplane. I'd never been on a private jet before and I was slightly overwhelmed.

“Once we're airborne, you should get some sleep,” Dylan said as soon as we were buckled in.

“You look tired. You should get some sleep, too.”

“I'm fine,” he said shortly, resting his head on the seat.

I stared at him for a few moments, wondering what his problem was. I couldn't figure him out and I was determined not to do the telepathy thing anymore. I strapped myself in and proceeded to ignore him.

Once we were airborne he opened his eyes. “The guest suite is over there. You should get some sleep.” He gestured to the back of the jet.

“I'm fine.”

“Bloody hell, Luanne! What's wrong with you? Why can't you just for once, depend on someone else?”

I gazed at him with shock and faint hurt. What was his problem? Why was he raising his voice to me? What did I do?

I unstrapped myself and stood up. “Are you coming along?” I asked.

He stared at me like he wanted to say no, then he muttered a few curses and got up.

“No need to swear at me either,” I said as I walked off, head raised high.

We lay beside each other in silence; close enough to touch but not touching. I could feel the tension radiating from him and I bit my lip in dismay. Why was he doing this to us? I knew he was upset about something, but I had no idea what was eating him up.

“You know, I don't know how I'm supposed to know what's up with you if you don't tell me. It's not as though I can read...” I trailed off as I realized what I'd been about to say.

“Go on, don't stop. It's not as though you can read my mind, right?”

I hated the sarcasm and bitterness. I wanted things to be okay between us but I felt as though there was a wide chasm between us even though we were lying down beside each other.

“Why are you doing this, Dylan?” I finally turned to face him.

When he didn't answer my question, I turned away from him and rolled to my side, giving him my back. I felt...empty. That was the word. Empty. Even when we were just friends, we never had this between us. As much as he exasperated me, I knew he was there for me. Right now I felt so alone. I wanted him to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me. I tensed and became still. Where had that thought come from? Why would I want him to love me? Love wasn't part of the equation, was it?

I lay there and stared at the white walls of the plane. It was slowly dawning on me that I'd fallen in love with him. Heck I'd probably been in love with him for several months and never realized it. Why else would I have wanted him to love me so badly? With the realization came wonder, elation and deep sadness. What if he didn't love me back? As it was, he was barely speaking to me.

“What do you think is going on between us, Luanne?”

I tensed when I heard his voice. “We are dating, aren't we?” Did I read things wrong? No, I was pretty sure he'd signed the note he'd left for me, was it last night? I was sure he'd signed it,
your boyfriend.

“What are your feelings for me?”

My feelings for him were too new for me to share so I hedged instead. “Why are you asking me all these questions?”

“You don't know how I feel about you, do you?”

“You never said,” I told him quietly.

He was silent for a moment then I heard him sigh. “Look at me, Lu.”

I turned to face him.

“I'm crazy about you,” he stated simply, gazing into my eyes.

I looked into his eyes and my heart skipped a beat. “Then why have you been acting funny?” My voice sounded breathless to my ears.

He closed his eyes and exhaled, and then opened them again. “Because you drive me crazy, Lu. You opened up to me and I've never felt that level of connection with another person. For the first time in my life I felt like I wasn't alone. Then you slammed the door, it was like you'd rejected me. I'm so in love with you that something like that hits me hard.”

He loved me? I couldn't believe it. I gazed into his eyes and I knew he spoke the truth, but it was still hard to take in. Everyone who'd ever loved me had left me in some way or the other. I knew it was through no fault of theirs, but the damage had been done. Now here he was, telling me he loved me and worse, even meaning it. I was finding it difficult to take in.

“Lu, did you hear me?”

“I heard you.” I was still in a daze.

“Do you love me even a little?”

It was the vulnerability I heard in his voice which brought me out of the daze. I reached out and cupped his face in my palm. Gazing deep into his eyes, I deliberately lifted the invisible barrier I'd unknowingly created.

I love you so much, Dylan. You complete me. You are the other part of my soul.

I saw the shock go through him, then his eyes lit up with pure joy.

My darling Lu, you have no idea how much that means to me.

I gently stroked his face and smiled. My heart was so full I felt it would burst. I had no idea love could be like this. Or that letting another person in could be so filling.

Neither did I.

Well, we're in this together, right?
I asked with slight apprehension.

All the way, babe.

Good. I really do love you, Dylan.

I know and it means the world to me.

We kissed then, holding onto each other like we'd never let go. And we probably didn't intend to ever let go of the other, at least I knew I didn't. I lay my head on his chest and he stroked my back. Even with the cloud of the kidnappers hanging over our heads, I felt safe and warm all over. I wasn't sure what was waiting for us in London, but I had hope. Hope that Katrina would be okay. Hope that we would both come through the ordeal unscathed. And hope that our love would grow. Hope is a very strong thing and riding on its wings, and I finally fell asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK THREE
: The Flame Keepers - Book 3

I was back in
London and everything looked as strange as it did familiar. I had not been back in close to four years, since I was thirteen, actually. As we drive away from Heathrow International Airport, I gaze out of the window of the black Bentley, but I don't actually see anything. My thoughts are far away. Lost in a time and place, I've done everything in my power to bury it from my mind. But now that I've been forced back here by the kidnapping of my grandmother, it all comes flooding back.

It was a Friday night and the night club both my parents ran was busy as usual. It wasn't a very popular nightclub among most people, but that was for a reason. You see, I'm a vampire and so was my entire family. So the nightclub might not have been very popular among mortals, but it was a big deal for vampires. My sister and I were helping out as usual, but I was later excused. That is not as odd as it sounds because I was attending mortal school, while my sister had opted for vampire night school. The vampire school ran a different calendar from my school, so while I'd been in school most of the day, my sister got to lounge about.

“You go take a break, honey. You can come back much later.” My mum had said brushing some stray strands of hair off my face.

I'd flinched then and tried to duck her hands. There were some cool boys around and she was treating me like a baby. She'd laughed then, shaking her head. How I miss her laughter. If I could go back to that time, I would have wrapped my arms around her and never let go. Instead I'd run off to my room, picked the newest release from my favorite author and sneaked off into the vault.

The vault was actually a vault, except that it was not created for gems or jewelry. It was a small room, which was technically at the basement of the house, only that it wasn't visible to anyone else. It was created using some very serious magic, at least that's what my dad always said and he'd told us to hurry there if there'd been any sign of danger. I loved the cozy darkness of the room; it was almost like being buried in a tomb. Yeah, I was morbid like that.

Why did we need a vault? Well, both my parents belonged to the special order of Protectors. The protectors were not like the Police or the army. They had the job of tracking rogue vampires and making sure our natural enemies were kept away. They were like the army, I guess, and they sometimes had to act as personal bodyguards when an individual's safety was threatened. It was how I met Dylan. He was appointed as my bodyguard.