Kiss Me When the Sun Goes Down (13 page)

“Are you saying you want to leave?”

Carter rubbed at the side of his face.  “I don’t know what I’m saying.  I’m just... I feel like there’s someone out there who needs me, and I’m letting them down by sitting here in the lap of luxury.” 

“I could move you to a smaller room and take away the Xbox.”  His lips twitched into an almost smile, but he didn’t reply.  “I get it, you know.  And I think it’s pretty great how you want to atone for your sins and save lives.  For the record, you are doing good here.”  I let out a long breath.  “But I’ll understand if you feel like you need to move on at some point.”

His brows came up in surprise.  “You would?”

“Of course.  I wouldn’t want to make you stay against your will.  I mean, I’d miss you like crazy, but I’d understand it.  But I also hope you really think long and hard about what you’re leaving behind.”

“Trust me, that’s all I seem to think about lately,” he muttered. 

“I don’t mean the job, I don’t even mean our friendship, because we’ll always be friends no matter what.  But you have a home here, Carter, and that’s no small thing.  You have people who care about you, and whether you think so or not, you have the ability to make a difference in people’s lives – both human and vampire.  Not all vamps are bad, you know.  Have you made any effort to get to know any of the locals beyond Gunnar?”

Carter gave a half shrug.  “I talked to that dipshit who collected the tithing.”

“Okay, A – Leander is my Magistrate, and he’s not a dipshit.  And B – I hope you didn’t call him that to his face.  That’s not the best way to make friends.” 

“I don’t want to make friends.  Having friends only makes it harder when you have to kill someone.”

“But you don’t do that anymore.”

“I should be.” 

I understood where he was coming from, but more than anything, I wanted him to find a bigger purpose in his life than the hunt.  Somehow I didn’t think he’d find that out there on his own, playing vigilante.  “Look, why don’t you give staying here another chance – only give it a real shot this time.  How about we go down to the Bleeding Hart?  I honestly feel like if you make some ties to the community, it’ll help you transition to the private sector.” 

“Is that what we are?”

“More so than vampire hunters.”

“Fine, I’ll go with you, but I won’t chit chat.”

“Just be your natural adorable self, and I’m sure you’ll do fine,” I grinned.  “But let’s bring Gunnar along.”

“What for?  I can keep you safe.”

“I can keep myself safe, but he’s been feeling unneeded lately.  That’s what happens when we get so much peace and quiet.”

“Yeah, all of us violent types become obsolete.” 

“That’s why it pays to evolve.  Maybe your crusader days are coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a new purpose in life.”

“Poor Anja, having to balance all of these delicate male egos,” he chuckled.  “When do you have the time to work?”

“Come on, smartass, let’s get going.  We only have a couple more hours left before daybreak.” 

“Better a smartass than a dumbass,” he quipped, hauling himself up to his feet.  “Alright, I’ll go to your vampire bar, sunshine, but only ’cause you’re the boss.”

“I hope I’m more than that.”

“Uh huh, you’re a pain in my...”

“I call shotgun!” I called out, cutting him off, and predictably, Carter was distracted. 

“You can’t call shotgun, we’re inside.”

“So?”

“So, you can’t call shotgun unless you’re within sight of the car.”

“Says who?”

“The rules of shotgun.” 

“I think you’re making that up.”

“The hell I am, ask anyone.  Gunnar!” he yelled, in search of the bodyguard. 

Sometimes it was too easy. 

G
unnar was more than thrilled to be invited along, and Maggie and Tucker were happy to have the house to themselves as we set off for the Hart.  As soon as we set foot into the vampire bar, Gunnar took his position behind me, on duty, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him he could relax, he looked so happy to have something to do. 

I was worried how Laveda might greet me, but she didn’t seem as openly hostile as we bellied up to the bar.  She wore a thin, loose fitting sweatshirt that had been hacked up
Flashdance
style to reveal smooth shoulders, with a pair of skin tight leggings, and boots with spiked heels.  She’d cut her unruly mop of hair to a modern, updated style, buzzed short on the sides and back, and falling over one eye in a riot of red-gold curls.

“Have you thrown off Bishop for this one already?” she asked, sizing Carter up with her available eye. 

“No, he’s out working.  Carter’s a friend.” 

“Give us an introduction then, yeah?”

“Oh, that’s right, I don’t think the two of you have ever formally met.  Laveda, this is Carter, he’s my secret agent man.  And Carter, this is Rob’s cousin, Laveda.  She’s the local bartender extraordinaire.”

Carter had gone pale – which was saying something for a vampire.  His eyes didn’t rise above the scarred bar as he mumbled something in greeting.

“Nice to meet ya.  Any fanger of Anja’s is a friend of mine.”  Laveda ducked down, hoping to catch his gaze, but he turned away, seemingly scanning the bar.  “What can I get you to satisfy your thirst?”

Now he looked at her, but I fancied the look in his eye was almost one of panic.  “I’ll have a beer, thanks.  I’ll go grab us a table, An,” he said, already striding through the bar before either of us could reply.

“He’s a funny one, ain’t he?”

“Getting funnier every day,” I agreed, watching him select a table in the back.  I noticed that he chose a position with his back to the wall, and his right hand had unobstructed access to the gun I knew he had in his jacket. 

“I think he’s not one for the social scene,” Gunnar observed.  “I think this is the first time I see him blowing off his steam.”

“Speaking of blowing off some steam, you can relax, Gunnar.  We’re in a friendly place.”

“You are sure?”

“Of course I am.  You don’t have to stay glued to my side the whole time.  Just keep within screaming distance,” I teased, but he took me at my word. 

“I will not go far, I promise,” he replied with a toothy smile.  “Laveda, send a new round to Jarrod’s table where I join him, yes?”

“You got it, big fella,” she nodded, already busy filling the order as Gunnar peeled off to join the owner at his table. 

“I’ll have a beer too,” I decided, forgoing my usual zombie, since she had her hands full.  “Put ’em on my tab, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Laveda agreed, sliding over two amber bottles. 

It took me a while longer to get to the rear table.  I kept getting stopped and I took the time to exchange a few friendly words.  You’d have thought I was gone for hours by the way Carter slammed back his beer when I got there, like he was dying of thirst. 

“Hey, slow down.  If you want an excuse to go talk to Laveda again, say so.  You don’t have to drink so fast.”

“That’s the complete opposite of what I want,” he muttered, but he did stop drinking.

“Why?  You barely met her.  You can’t be mad at her already, she hasn’t had time to piss you off yet.”

“I’m not mad at her, I’m...”

“Crushing on her?” I teased, giving him a goofy smile, but he wasn’t the least bit amused. 

“It’s not a crush.  Don’t tell me you don’t feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“You know what I’m talking about.  She’s not normal, she’s...  Jesus Christ, she smells like... like... sex and candy rolled up into one.”

“I think she smells nice.”

“There’s nothing nice about what I want to do to her,” he growled, staring into the dregs of his beer.  “She has no business working in a vampire bar, smelling like that.”

“Then don’t get so close to her.” 

“I didn’t, there was a bar between us.” 

“What’s the big deal?  So you found her extra tempting.” 

“I haven’t been this close to losing myself to the thirst in years.  There’s something about her.”

“You’re right, she is particularly tasty, it’s part of her heritage.  So what?  Play your cards right and she might even let you have a taste.”  I waggled my eyebrows at him, and he looked almost sick at the thought.

“I think I’ll keep my distance, thanks.” 

“Suit yourself,” I shrugged.  “But this is exactly what I’m talking about.  Of course you’ll be more affected by being in close proximity to humans, especially ones like Laveda.  But the more you hang around them, the more you’ll get used to it.” 

“I hang around humans plenty.  Standing across the breakfast bar from Maggie never made me want to lunge for her throat.”  He shook his head.  “Maybe I should go.”

“No, stay here in your corner if you want to.”  We hadn’t been there for even ten minutes and I wasn’t ready to declare the outing a complete failure yet. 

“What’s the point?  I’m not exactly joining the community from here.”

“Baby steps.  We’ll get you there,” I promised, patting his arm.  “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be ready to dance the tango with Laveda or any other girl without wanting to get your fang on, trust me.”

“If you say so,” he replied, his gaze trained on the pretty bartender.

There was only one thing that could’ve pulled my attention away from the spectacle of Carter lusting over my tasty friend, and that was a familiar peal of laughter.  I didn’t even have to look, I knew who it belonged to right away.

“
Wode tìan
,” I whispered under my breath, closing my eyes.  “You have got to be frakking kidding me.” 

Carter forgot his thirst to pay attention to my upset.  “What’s the matter?” he asked, his eyes scanning for danger, but coming up short.

“Mason brought my sister here.”

He craned his head, spotting her pale blonde head next to the hulking vampire.  “So?” 

“So, please excuse me for a minute.” 

Hanna and Mason had their heads bent together, talking quietly as I approached the table, but Mason gave me a big grin as soon as he noticed me.  “Hey, I thought that was you who came in.  Join us for a drink?”

I slid into the booth at the invitation, but my tone was less than social.  “You brought her to a vampire bar?”

“Yeah, so what?” Mason blinked, taken aback by the accusation in the question.  “She’s not the only human here, and anyone would have to have a death wish to mess with my girl.”

He had a point there, but I wasn’t willing to acknowledge it.  “So?  There are also plenty of people who’d love to hurt the Order, and the best way might be taking a shot at your wife.”

“Hey, cool it with the wife talk around here,” Mason replied, darting a quick look around to see if anyone was listening, his voice low. 

“Why?  You guys didn’t change your minds about the engagement.  Did you?”

“No, but the Order’s got strict rules about what we can and can’t do.  And marriage to a human doesn’t make the cut,” he added, his lips barely moving at all, like a ventriloquist. 

I hadn’t thought of that.  All it did was add another layer of danger to Hanna’s relationship with Mason in my book.  “Maybe now isn’t the right time to do this then?” I whispered back. 

“It’s fine,” Hanna waved my concerns away.  “We’re not planning on having a big ceremony.  In fact, we might skip town altogether and elope.  Do you think you and Bishop could get away for a few days?”

“Hey, for reals, let’s x-nay on the edding-way talk, okay, ladies?” Mason shut us down before we got too deep into that tangent. 

I bit back my response that Mom and Dad would have a mid-sized cow if they found out their oldest skipped off to Vegas for a quickie wedding.  It wasn’t the time or place for that discussion either.  “The M word or not, it doesn’t lessen the danger to Hanna once it gets around that she’s yours, let alone her relation to me.”

“Like I said, anyone would have to know I’d never rest until I hunted them down and made them suffer if they came after what’s mine.”  His voice rose in volume, an open challenge to the room, but he lowered it as he continued.  “Anja, I’m not going to leave her at home every night.  We have to find a way to merge our two worlds together.” 

“Can’t you take her to human bars?  Merge there all you want.”

“Maybe
she
wanted to come here tonight,” Hanna retorted, her temper catching hold.  “She has one of those inconvenient free wills and all, from time to time.”

“Okay, I know you’re trying to be funny, but I’m on the moral high ground here.  I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“There is no safe.  I could die from food poisoning tomorrow, or a drive by shooting next week, and there’d be nothing we could do about it.” 

“I’d try and do something about it,” Mason muttered, and I shot him a look.  We weren’t going to have
that
conversation again. 

“This is part of his life, and I want to be a part of it.”

“Fine, as long as you understand what you’re getting into.  No sugar coating this, Mason.  Vampire society isn’t all hearts and flowers, there are real dangers and you won’t always be there all the time to look out for her.”

“Jeez, you sound like Mom,” Hanna snorted.  “I’m the big sister, Anja.  I’m the one who’s supposed to be giving you life advice, remember?”

“I know,” I replied with a tight smile, deciding to let it go.  Hanna would do whatever she wanted to do, she always did.  I only hoped that Mason had her back the way he promised to. 

We chatted for a couple of minutes before I realized I’d left Carter sitting all alone and waved him over.  He waved back, but stayed where he was, with his back to the wall.

“Excuse me for a minute,” I said, leaving the couple alone to go see why he wouldn’t join us.  “Why don’t you want to come over and be sociable?  That’s the entire point of being here, isn’t it?”

“That guy’s with the Order.”

“I know.”

“So the last time I saw him, he was trying to kill me.”

“Ah.”  I hadn’t thought of that.  Somehow in my mind they’d all made their peace, but come to think of it, they hadn’t been in the same room together since Carter had come to live with us.  “The bounty on your head is gone,” I pointed out, and he gave a dry chuckle.