Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 26

Hi,

Another chapter that was real fun to write, so I'm hoping you'll feel the same while reading. :-)

I guess the major question in this chapter is: Who's messing with who? And who's gonna come out as the winner this time? What do you think? ;-)

Lara

________________________________________________

Chapter 26

The shape shifter's hair was a mess of snarls and tousles, jeans ripped and stained red from what might or might not have been his own blood. One of the vamps shoved Blaze forward, arm pinned underneath his chin.

"Do not make me say or do things we would both regret later, little witch," Alexander said softly.

"What did you do to him, you son of a bitch?" Andy said softly.

I watched the head vampire's face. This was exactly the reaction Alexander wanted. And I was not going to give it to him. It would be like a confirmation that he had us, no me, in the palm of his hand and could demand whatever he wanted.

I had one and only one option to get us all out of this: feigned indifference. It had to be real, so real that Alexander would buy that I didn't give a fuck about what happened to Blaze. I stared at him, calculating, counting the odds. Deceiving the head vamp into thinking I was a heartless bitch might be trickier than it looked.

I crossed my arms in front of me – a slow, deliberate motion.

"You're threatening me with what? Hurting one of my ex co-workers? Stress on ex, here," I said lazily. "Smart move, Alexander. What exactly makes you think I'm going to stay a single second to listen to this?"

Andy tensed beside me, a physical, silent message, equal to a silently breathed What-the-hell-are-you-doing?

This would easier if he wasn't there. Dammit, I couldn't lose it now.

Alexander started walking in a circle around us, slow, soft steps that made no sound. Blue eyes that missed nothing and carried the weight of centuries – I could feel them as he looked me up and down, his gaze assessing, searching, prying.

"You are not concerned about the safety of someone whose life you saved in the past?" he said softly.

"And he is capable of putting one and one together," I said. "The emphasis is on past here, Alexander. Things have changed. I have changed. Tell me what you want. You have ten seconds before I teleport out," I said.

"I have ten seconds? How generous. No, Anna. I will have more than that," he said and stopped in front of me.

The sound of my name on his lips sent fissures of electricity through my veins, a life wire stroking my core. It made me feel more alive than I ever felt before. It was killing me with the blood and sweat of a slow tango.

I stared at him. His hard gaze bore into me, slicing through my chest, right into that beating cavity I sometimes wished was indeed hollow. Strands of his black hair fell into his face, almost brushing his cheekbones. He'd left the top two buttons of his shirt open, the black cloth like liquid silk against marble white skin. It made him look less human than usual. Less human and more like the devil with an angel's face.

I held myself still. No motion. No telltale signs. It was vital that I didn't budge now. I had to save this city, walk the road of redemption after what I did. And I had to do it alone.