The Bourbon Diaries ✢ The Vampire Diaries FanFiction ✢ TVD FanFic ✢ TVDU FanFic

Chapter Twenty-Three - Zara Ali

Present day

Outskirts of Albemarle, NC

As Zara walked into the safe house, she immediately regretted instructing Gabe not to tell Stef about Flick until she got there. It would have been one thing to walk into a house of chaos, it was quite another to walk into a house with an eerie normalcy knowing that she was about to upend it. The first thing she did was try to find Gabe. He was the first and only person she needed to speak to right now, and if she was forced to make small talk with anyone else before she found him, she was going to be severely pissed off.

"Zara! You're here!" Phoenix yelled excitedly from the seating area, where Adam was also sitting.

That was the worst start possible. She did not need Phoenix on her case, following her around like a lovesick puppy after months of being away from him. "I need to speak to Gabe," she stated, checking for him in the kitchen, discovering it empty and then walking out again.

"He went out to feed," Phoenix told her.

Zara stopped in her tracks on her way to the library, turning on her heel and raising an eyebrow at Phoenix. "He went out to feed?" she questioned intensely, not breaking eye contact.

Knowing that he'd said the wrong thing, but unsure why, Phoenix sunk into the couch until his upper body was lying sideways, half hidden behind the high armrest. "Oh no, that's her Medusa stare," he warned Adam.

Zara stormed over until she was towering above him. "What do you mean, he went out?! When?"

"About two hours ago," Phoenix squeaked nervously.

"Two hours?!" she screeched. "What's he trying to hunt? A fucking unicorn?!"

"Calm down, he'll be back soon," Adam cut in nonchalantly from the sofa facing her.

Zara raised her widening eyes to him, her lip twitching in annoyance. As soon as she locked in on him, she cocked her head slightly and then remained deadly still.

"Mayday, mayday!" Phoenix yelled, rolling off the couch and crawling on all fours around the back of it until he was out of sight.

"Oh," she snarled venomously, still focused on Adam. "You."

Adam tried to conceal his grin as he stood up and swaggered over to her. She was more beautiful than he remembered now that his compulsion had been removed. "I'm surprised you remember the men you try to manipulate."

"I'm surprised you remember the women you try to flirt with," she retorted sharply, turning her back to him and striding angrily into the library.

Phoenix got to his knees on the floor, raising his head, checking that she had, indeed, left. He looked at Adam. "You flirted with her?"

Adam raised an eyebrow at him and sat back down on the couch. "Wouldn't you?"

"I tried," Phoenix said, flinching at the memory. "She almost ate me alive."

"Well, if she tries that with me, she's going to learn pretty fast that I'm the one who does the eating," Adam said, smirking at him.

Zara wasn't going to pretend that a small thrill didn't pass through her while she continued to eavesdrop on Adam's and Phoenix's conversation as she stopped in the library. She didn't know if it was the sexual innuendo or the challenge that he'd just given her, but either way, she was sure she was going to have fun with him. Now was just not the time.

The library-slash-bar was relatively small in comparison to the one in Gabe's home in Atlanta. There were two adjoining antique oak bookcases, a fireplace, and another two bookcases along one wall. The opposite wall looked very similar, except the shelves were glass, the back panels were mirrored, the display of alcohol was almost regal, and there was a counter running in front of it with five cushioned stools that tucked neatly underneath. The room then led on to a short sunroom at the rear, which was separated by a singular oak column. In the centre of the entire room were two Chesterfield chairs facing the library entrance, followed by a right-hand chaise lounge that faced in the opposite direction and pointed toe-end towards the bar.