Page 7 of Vampire's Bite

Even though he was being an asshole, I refused to leave his side. Finding Cordie was more important than putting Rook in his place. But the longer it took to find her, the more likely we’d be too late.

I hadn’t said that out loud to him yet, but I would need to soon, just to make sure the idea was there. If not I wasn’t sure how he would react if the worst came to pass. He was barely manageable now, if he lost Cordelia permanently I wasn’t sure what he’d do.

6

Cordelia

Even with the chance that the food could be laced with poison, I scarfed it down in three minutes flat. Not that I timed it or anything, but I inhaled that food more than I chewed. I was famished and the prospect of finally having a full stomach was too much to resist.

Now I was done with it I couldn't even remember what had been on the sandwich. Salami, maybe? Some kind of cheese? Either way it had been mostly bread, which was fine for now, but I knew that meant that I'd be hungry again soon.

After I wiped away the last crumb, I eyed the door that I had seen Milo walk out a few moments prior. There probably wasn’t a chance in hell they'd leave it unbarricaded. But I had to try.

I slowly approached the door, half expecting it to be electrified like in an action movie. When I touched the handle, nothing happened. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and tried to turn the knob. Shockingly, it opened with a loud squeak.

Hope swelled up inside of me. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to get out of here. I took a step outside of the room and into the hallway beyond. But my moment of triumph was short-lived.

"Going somewhere?" Milo asked from behind me. I turned to face him and saw him staring me down with one dark eyebrow raised at me.

A vampire hunter I recognized from campus was planted in a chair opposite my door, obviously guarding it. Milo stood over him, arms crossed. I had interrupted their conversation. They appeared to be having a friendly chat, but when they saw me, they both jumped up with hatred quickly spreading across their faces.

"Oh, umm, I need my phone. To check on my grandmother." I tried to sound as innocent as possible, but I could tell they weren't buying it. If they were buying it, they weren’t smart enough to be guarding a prisoner.

"Yeah, sure. Let me go get that for you," Milo said sarcastically. "We wouldn't want her to worry, now would we?" The two men laughed, eyeing me as if I were a piece of meat. But I needed to know my gran was safe. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on their “plan” until I knew she was safe.

"Please. Can someone at least check on her if you don't want me to have my cell? She's extremely ill and I need to make sure she's taking her pills and hasn't fallen again." I tried to appeal to their humanity, but it was clear that if they ever had any, they didn't anymore.

Milo didn’t move more than to roll his eyes at the guy standing beside him.

I sighed but the exasperated kind with volume. I wanted him to know how important this was to me. "She could fall and hurt herself.” He hasn’t moved. Still. “Milo, do you remember how I had to miss class when she had her stroke and was in the hospital?” I took a small step toward the man who had done nothing but stood by and watched as Massimo forced himself on me. “You know I'm telling the truth."

"Fine. I'll see if anyone's in the area. But I can't make any promises." Milo said begrudgingly, sounding as put out as if I’d asked him to make the trek himself. But I had to be grateful that he was willing to do anything at all. It was the best I'd get out of him.

"Thanks," I muttered before going back into my room and closing the door. If Milo had a shred of decency, he'd stick up for me. Obviously that was a bit too much to hope for.

As I leaned against the door, I turned my head and overheard Milo talking to the other vampire hunter. "What a pain in the ass,” he said, his voice deeper with his irritation.

“I can’t believe you had to pretend to be attracted to that vampire slut,” the guy replied, laughing, and I hated him for the fact he was badmouthing me without knowing one damned true thing about me.

“I know, she’s the worst. To make matters worse, she stinks of fucking vampires." Milo whooped as if he’d said the most hilarious joke known to man. I only smelled the residual scent of yesterday’s perfume.

My heart sank as I realized there was no chance I could rely on Milo for anything. Not even to check on an ailing, elderly woman. I shook my head when I realized I was the delusional one grasping at straws. How could I have ever been naïve enough to think that the same guy who berated me, shouting and cursing me out at the pizza place, could possibly have a civil bone in his body?

If Milo was the only member of the hunting group I could depend on, I was royally screwed. And the realization that I had no one to rely on scared the hell out of me.

7

Cordelia

Knowing that I had no other option than to reach Rook through a dream, I forced myself to lay back down on the little cot that seemed to be made for an eight-year-old. The mattress springs jabbed into the soft tissue of my back, but I tried to ignore them. Compared to my last kidnapping, the vampire hunter's accommodations were practically like a day at the spa minus the pleasant smell of eucalyptus, the lemon scrubs, and the hot oil massages—all of which would’ve made being here a little easier.

I pushed away the thoughts of relaxation and focused on Rook. If I could somehow get through to him, he could at least check on Gran and Jo. I certainly didn't trust the vampire hunters. For all I knew, they had decided to kill Gran and Jo, anyway, since they were technically associated with Rook, and apparently all someone needed to do to get these guys to hate them was breathe the same air as a vampire.

Hell, if I could just get a message to him, he could send Cross or another vampire to guard the house while he continued his search for me. A tiny, nasty voice in my head asked if he would really waste that much effort on his food, but I squashed it. Rook and I were more than just feeder and vampire, I knew that down in the depths of my soul. What exactly we were was still up for debate, but I was more than food to him, I had to believe that.

I had seen Rook in my dreams before, but usually it was an accident or at the very least unintentional. This time I was determined to get through to him. He'd told me once that I should be able to call to him or get him to appear in my dreams if I wanted him to, but I'd never actually tried before.

As soon as I closed my eyes, I built his face in my mind. His dark slashes of eyebrows that were probably slightly pinched, stormy gray-blue eyes, lips that were oh so kissable, stubble on his lower cheeks and jaw, dark hair that would be mussed if he hadn't been sleeping well. All it did was create an ache of loneliness in my chest that was so intense it almost roused me from my half asleep state.

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