Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
They sat in silence, watching the fire roar bigger and bigger out that front window. The other windows at the front of the house were surprisingly dark, and looking normal. A few minutes later two fire engines and an ambulance pulled in.
He got out and spoke to a firefighter and then got back in and they watched the firefighters work on the fire for a moment and then a paramedic knocked on Tristan’s window. He stepped out and spoke to the man for a few minutes while Kyla watched people enter the house. She huddled into the seat, feeling numb.
Tristan got into the car after a few minutes and then pulled in reverse and then they left the property. Kyla stared into the side view mirror at the house as they pulled away.
“You set your house on fire for me,” she said softly. She couldn’t come to grips with how Tristan was turning his life upside down because of meeting her.
“It’s just bricks and mortar, baby. And stuff. It can be fixed or replaced. You can’t be,” he stared straight ahead at the road and rubbed his thumb rhythmically over the back of her hand.
She touched his cheek with her free hand, admiring his profile. He looked so intense, staring ahead. His jaw was tight. He was white-knuckled. But he was so beautiful.
“It feels so weird to be out, in a moving car,” she muttered, kind of caught up in wonder at her surroundings.
He flashed a smile at her, “Does it?” His smile faded fast and he gripped the steering wheel tighter, “I had to get you out of there. If we’d been downstairs at dinner I have no doubt it would’ve been you instead of Julia.”
“Me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re mine.”
Goosebumps and shivers.
“She hates you.”
“You could say that.”
Why?”
He didn’t answer. She could see a muscle twitching in his jaw.
After a few moments of Kyla waiting for him to answer it was clear he wasn’t going to. It was confirmation for her that the comment in the courtyard had been about Tristan. What was the deal between Tristan and Rebecca? She was about to ask but the intensity emanating from him was almost palpable so she decided to wait.
“So, we’re going to your apartment?”
“Yeah, it’s just a thirty minute drive.”
“What about Joe? Is he…”
His jaw tightened, “He has bad intentions.”
“What do you mean? I mean, I’m not surprised --- he creeps me out --- but how do you know?”
“I think your blood is giving me telepathy,” he said.
She furrowed her brow.
“Not just with you. I’ve been picking things up from people. I wasn’t sure at first but then today it started becoming clearer. I don’t feel it as strongly with others as I feel it with you but I feel flashes of their mindset, their intentions. When I stood behind him in the hall tonight I felt it, what he wanted to do. He feels some warped sense of entitlement with you.”
“Entitlement because he said he spotted me,” she said. Tristan was bang on.
“Did he? Anyway, I’ve met vampires who are telepathic, mostly elders in high positions of power but your blood keeps making me stronger. I can feel that he can’t stop wondering about your blood, ever since the thorn prick. He’s obsessing about it. And I think he suspects it’s enchanted. I know it’s a question mark for him. I think he’s got something to do with the missing lab specimens, too. I think he’s working with someone; I just haven’t figured out who yet. Although I have my suspicions,” he shook his head, “Not taking any chances.”
“So Sam’s going to kill Joe?” her voice felt small. They pulled off the country road and were pulling onto the highway, heading toward downtown. It was strange being in traffic, seeing people, cars, streetlights. She’d felt so sheltered the past week or so that she’d been at Tristan’s house. Everything around her seemed like it was moving so fast.
Tristan shook his head, “No. He’s being detained. For now. I’ll be questioning him soon,” his jaw tightened.
“Burning your house down is a lot of trouble to go to in order to avoid having a party, Tristan.”
“It was the only way. This way, too, it’ll be expected that I’ll be suspicious and anyone without bad intentions will understand why my demeanour is off, why I’m on edge. Joe’s missing and someone set my house on fire and it looks very much like an attack on you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Obviously I can get out of there but you? The fire escape was broken. The only other accessible room to you upstairs room was on fire.”
Kyla nodded.
“It gives me an opportunity to move the party, keep you safe, and poke around for answers without arousing suspicion about me, my mindset. Everyone will think I’m reacting to the fire and it’ll come out that it was set just outside my suite and that another upstairs entrance was blocked because the hall outside the office was on fire, too. Going after someone’s pet is a direct attack, not something taken lightly. And if anyone is up to anything they’ll know that things are askew and maybe they’ll tip their hand.”