I slow my breathing, square my shoulders, and step into Adrian’s office.

  Nothing has changed. It’s still polished oak and professional and not welcoming for someone like me. I shouldn’t have come the first time, and I shouldn’t be here now. This is a lion’s den. Actually, Adrian is less of a lion and more of a snake considering what he does with his mouth. Don’t think about what he does with his mouth.

  I inhale––nice and slow––willing my heart to slow the heck down. He can’t know I’m here to lie. He can’t know, he can’t know, he can’t know––unless he already does.

  “It’s my birthday today,” I say, making sure my voice has the snarky quality I reserve specially for him. “Last night I went to bed as a salty eighteen-year-old, and today I woke up a salty nineteen.”

  And that’s true. Maybe if I sprinkle in truth with the lies he’ll believe every word.

  But probably not.

  The man is sitting at his desk, his face unreadable and his eyes glued to his computer. He doesn’t acknowledge me. The elevator doors close. I stand there, afraid to move.

  Finally, he looks up, those glacial eyes locking with mine, and does the last thing I expect. He smiles. It’s such a rarity, I’m momentarily stunned. He’s already beautiful considering the vampire DNA enhanced those attractive Greek features, so it’s not my fault that I’m staring because humans are hardwired to be attracted to vampires. Not. My. Fault. He’s still a sucker and a murderer, and I’ll continue to hate him . . . even if he did save my mother.

  “Well, you never claimed to be sweet,” he says at last.

  For a moment I forget what I said about being salty, but it comes back to me, and my cheeks warm. “True.” I shake myself from whatever trance I’m under and sit down in the chair across from him. “You know, it amazes me that in this messed up vampire world there are still people who celebrate their birth. Do you know some humans celebrate their entire birthday month like it’s some kind of holiday? I can’t even stomach thinking about growing older for a single day, let alone for all of September.”

  He leans back and steeples his fingers together. “This world has been messy long before vampires came out to play. Are you sure this”––he pauses for a moment, considering–– “tantrum isn’t because of your personality?”

  I’m not sure if he’s joking using that word “tantrum” but maybe I am being childish. Is he joking? I’m not even angry about it, though, and against my better judgement, I laugh. “True that. Those astrology-obsessed people out there would say my saltiness is typical for a virgo.”

  “Do you know how much astrology has changed over the years, Angel? You shouldn’t put too much stock into something as pliable as astrology.”

  Don’t let Ayla hear you say that. My bestie loves that stuff. To her, the stars are forever and they make the rules.

  “Trust me, I’m not. I already know I’m feeling extra salty today because I’m one year closer to my prefrontal cortex developing and my brain becoming vampire playdough.”

  He laughs, and something loosens in my chest. This is weird. This banter feels like a normal interaction between friends, or maybe even flirting. Part of me wants to soften into it, but the smarter part of me listens to the inner-alarm bells: danger, danger, danger.

  Adrian is not Adrian.

  Adrian is Adrianos Teresi––vampire prince and ruthless killer. End of story.

  “Do you know what amazes me? That you’re still coming into my casino with stakes strapped to your ankle.” He stands in one fluid movement.

  “Are you going to take it from me?” I don’t move. Besides, I expected this.

  He circles, coming up behind me, and whispers low in my ear. “No, you keep it.” And then he straightens and is back into his chair before I can blink. I’m not sure what to do with this information, but him letting me keep it is unsettling. He’s never done that before.

  Actually, that’s not true. He was happy to let me keep it when he wanted me to kill Hugo for him. I’m still mad about being used like that, but I guess we’re even considering what he did for my mother.

  “So what did you want to talk to me about?” I ask. When I called yesterday to set up this meeting, Kelly had said Adrian wanted to speak with me as well. I’d be lying if I said that hadn’t piqued my interest.

  “Better question is what did you want to talk to me about?” He’s staring. I don’t know what to do with a staring Adrian. I wasn’t planning on this kind of attention from a man who’s always been so aloof with me.

  But I know what I have to do, even if I’m terrified to do it. “Nope, I asked you first.”

  He opens his drawer and pulls out a black box. “I got you a birthday present.”

  Of all things he could’ve done right now, this one surprises me the most. My mouth pops open. What the heck? He knew it was my birthday? He’s giving me a present? What alternate timeline did I step into, because I’m pretty sure this can’t be my life?

  “I don’t know what to say except what have you done with the real Adrianos Teresi? Are you his long lost twin or something?”

  He tosses the box at me with an annoyed sigh. “Just open it.”

  “Well, there’s the vampire I know and hate.”

  “At your service.” He chuckles under his breath and my stomach tightens.

  The gift is in what looks like a jewelry box, so that’s what I’m expecting when I open it. Nope. Not jewelry. “Are you kidding me right now?” I pull out a set of car keys and turn them over in my hands. They’re heavy, and when I read the Porsche label, I drop them on the desk with a metallic clatter. “No, no freaking way. I can’t accept this.”

  He has the audacity to look offended. “You can and you will. It’s waiting for you in the garage. You need a car, don’t you? I figured this would be a suitable gift.”

  “Okay, first of all, you getting me a gift at all is beyond weird, but second of all, this is way too extravagant. People are going to ask where I got it.”

  Not to mention, a gift from a vampire has to be a trick, especially one this nice.

  “Are you worried about your hunters? Tell them you won it.” His eyes are unreadable. “That’s not so unbelievable.”

  “Uh, yes it is. People don’t really win cars, Adrian. They give away their email addresses hoping to win cars and then spend an eternity unsubscribing from the same scammy dealerships.” I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I plop the keys back in the box and slide them across the desk. “I’m serious. Forget the fact that a Porsche is way too nice for a girl like me; I’d never be able to make up a story that people would believe.”

  His eyes darken. “It is not too nice for you, so I don’t ever want to hear you say that again.”

  I snort. I don’t know how to take that.

  Adrian eyes the box for a moment. “Fine. How about I play you for it? We are in a casino after all.” He opens his desk drawer again and produces a set of shiny dice. They look like silver, but they can’t be since vampires are allergic to it. The metal doesn’t kill them, but it weakens them. There’s no silver in this entire place, save for the little crucifix under my shirt. The dice must be made from a different kind of metal since he’s handling them easily. They shine under the warm lights with undertones of gold.

  “We’ll play it craps style. You roll the dice,” he says, “if it’s a seven or eleven, you win, if it’s a two, three, or twelve, then I win. And if it’s something else, you keep rolling.”

  “I already know you have telekinesis, so nice try, but no.”

  He reaches out and cups my hand in his cold ones. A pulse of electricity shoots up my spine, and my senses grow to double. For a moment, my mind goes so sharp it almost hurts, but Adrian doesn’t seem to notice a thing. “I promise I won’t cheat,” he whispers. When he releases my hand, the dice are resting in my palm.

  “But you have the advantage,” I protest, already finding myself giving in to him. “You have three numbers to win on, and I only have two.”

  “Ah, but statistically, seven is the most common number rolled between two dice.” He winks. “And besides, you know the house has to keep some advantage. That’s the way gambling works, but it doesn’t mean you can’t win.”

  Well, the fact that vampires are running this place is already advantageous enough, but I don’t say that. He’s not going to let this go, and as much as I hate to admit this, I’m intrigued. And part of me, surely the foolish part, the part that grew up poor, the part that never had anything nice for herself, the part that desperately wants to feel loved and worthy and maybe even wealthy––really wants that car.

  “Okay,” I whisper, and then I roll the dice.

  Chapter 3

  A three and a five. Nobody wins.

  “Again,” he says.

  I repeat the process and we get another roll where nobody wins, but this time it’s a six. I’ve been dancing around a winning roll, and despite my better judgement, I’m ready to beat him. No. No, I’m not. I’m not ready to beat him. I know what I want but I also know what I should want, and they’re two very different things. I close my eyes for a second, unable to untangle my thoughts, then shake them away and blow on the dice for good luck.

  I roll.

  They clink across the desk, landing on two ones––snake eyes. Adrian wins.

  Or maybe we both do . . .

  He hands me the black box and says, “I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

  I want the car––I don’t want the car––I’m mixed up and wouldn’t even know what to say about it. Everything is brighter, somehow. Impossibly bright, like the sun is blasting through those tinted windows. I blink rapidly. Maybe I should leave.

  “Now, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” he questions.

  This is the fun part. Not.

  “I want to be your fledgling.” I swallow hard. “For real this time.”

  He freezes, a bewildered expression crossing his face, and I think maybe I’m the one to surprise him this time. His eyes narrow into two blue orbs––again, snake eyes. “You’re a vampire hunter. Don’t forget that I know what you are. Why would I trust you with this request?”

  I sit up taller. “Because Cameron was right.”

  “Cameron?” He says it like the name means little to him.

  “Yes, Cameron. You know, Kelly’s prodigy, the one who is also a hunter?”

  “Of course I know who he is, but what does he have to do with you?” His tone goes sour.

  Maybe he doesn’t like Cameron, which is interesting considering he’s in line to join the family tree. I tuck that information away for later. “He showed me something that changed everything.” I boldly recite the words I’d rehearsed at home about fifty times this morning. “I know there are some kind of energy demons out there who are your enemies, and that’s why you wanted me to get information about Leslie Tate. He’s one of them. I thought I was working for the good guys when I joined the hunters, but I realize now that’s not true. Cameron was right. If I don’t join you, then eventually I’ll end up dead. I’d rather have immortality than become some demon’s meal.”

  Lies. Lies. Lies.

  And in all honesty, learning about these demonish energy stealers only made me want to protect humans even more, but Adrian doesn’t have to know that. He stands again and saunters over to peer out his window. Since windows at the Alabaster Heart are heavily tinted and bulletproof, he can see the sun without being burned by it. I wonder how many years he lived in the dark and what that must have been like for him. I couldn’t do it, myself. The sun means too much to me. I watch him as he looks down on the Mississippi river and let myself drink him in. He’s tall and handsome and tortured. And in his suit, he almost looks human.

  Not for the first time, I wish he was.

  “Come here, please,” he says softly.

  I don’t know if I’ve ever heard that word from his mouth, but if he’s going to believe that I want him to one day become my maker, then I’d better lose the attitude and start doing what he asks. Damn, I should’ve thought this one through more. Attitude is sort of my calling card. And now I have to suck up to a blood sucker? I can’t think of anything worse.

  But I go stand at his side.

  Between the blinking of my eyes, he’s beside me one second and in front of me the next. My back presses to the warm window as his cold hand grips my throat. It’s not so tight that he’s strangling me, but it’s a promise of what’s to come if I don’t get the next few moments right.

  “You’re a terrible liar,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. “The last thing you want to become is like me.” He’s so close now, glaring down at me, his fangs extending.

  “That’s not true,” I hiss. But I know he’s already won.

  “Really?” He nods toward my leg. “Then why are you still carrying a stake with you?”

  My mind races for an answer. “Because this building houses a vampire coven, and I’m not a complete idiot.”

  “That’s debatable.” He shakes his head. “You’re here to double cross me.”

  I don’t know what to do. He’s figured me out in about point-two seconds flat, and now he’s going to kill me. My heart pounds, and my hands clench and unclench. I want to run, but there’s nowhere to go. His hand tightens, and my breath goes shallow. I automatically reach up and grab onto his wrists, trying to get free. It does nothing.

  “You saved my mother,” I whisper-hiss. “You were the only one who would’ve done that for me. And after everything, I think maybe vampires aren’t so bad after all.”

  “Vampires aren’t bad after all?” He laughs but doesn’t release me. My air supply is dwindling fast. “Like I said, you’re a terrible liar.”

  “Why don’t we roll the dice? If I win, you let me stay as your prodigy, and if you win, I’ll leave you alone,” I squeak out in little bursts.

  He frees me, and my knees weaken. I lean back against the window for support and gulp in big breaths of the overly conditioned air. He’s lightning fast, returning for the dice and dropping them at my feet. “You keep those. Take them with your car.”

  “You don’t want to roll dice?”

  “I am tired of games,” he snaps. “You need to leave now.”

  I jut my hip and raise an eyebrow. “What about being your prodigy?”

  He slinks into his desk chair. “Fine, Angel. I’ll take you up on whatever this foolish venture of yours is, but don’t think I believe this will end well for you.”

  “So––”

  “You can be my fledgling.”

  “Thank you.” I shoot him a winning smile, but it doesn’t faze him one bit.

  “Don’t thank me, yet. I haven’t turned you into my prodigy, and I doubt I ever will.” His fangs have receded into his gums when he smiles grimly back at me. I have no idea what he’s thinking, and I’d give my right leg to be able to crawl into that brain of his and know every last thought. “But we will continue this charade and see where it leads us.”

  “I won’t let you down,” I say cheerily, like a girl scout who made her biggest sale. Quite frankly, it’s no wonder he’s already called me out. We both know this is a farce, right? And if that’s the case, his agreement should scare the snot out of me. “So, you’ll let me know what I’m supposed to do next, right? Like, is there some kind of initiation or a test or something?” This right here is information I’m dying to take back to my hunter team. He probably knows that.

  “Kelly will get in touch soon. And, Angel, this means you’re still spying on Tate for me.”

  “When he gets back.” I nod, because what else can I say at this point?

  “Yes. And he will be back, I’m sure of it. The man wants to see me dead and he can’t very well do that without his hunters, now can he? In the meantime, I need you to do something else for me as well.”

  My heartbeat speeds up, which I’m certain he can hear. “Anything,” I say brightly. Okay, I’m totally a lying girl scout because I’m not willing to do anything. In fact, I’m willing to do very little for vampires, even sexy ones with arctic eyes and golden wavy hair. Even ones who saved my own mother.

  “Lose your virginity.”

  He speaks of my virginity like it’s an item on a checklist.

  “Excuse me?” My cheeks prickle, and my senses jump up again. I’m keenly aware of everything in this room, my own embarrassment most of all.

  He holds my gaze and tilts his head slightly. “You heard me, Angel. I can’t have you around my coven with your blood smelling like that, it’s too . . . distracting.”

  “Uhhh––” My face reddens. “Sorry, but I’m not going to lose my virginity until I’m ready.”

  He tries to look surprised, but mostly he just looks smug. “Oh, but you said you’d do anything.”

  “Yeah, but––”

  “Then make yourself ready and take care of it.” He sweeps his hand toward me in a leave-me-alone-you-peon motion. I glare at him, but I do what he says and get into the elevator. What else can I do? The doors close, and I find myself looking up again at my reflection.

  Absolutely nothing about this meeting went as planned, but at least I made it out alive.

  Chapter 4

  Kelly meets me in the hotel lobby, and considering her puckered lips and sour gaze, I realize I’m not out of the woods quite yet.

  “You know, you’d be gorgeous if you didn’t glare all the time,” I say, half-snarky and half-honest. She’s absolutely stunning, smiling or not, but everytime I’m around her she’s as angry as a cat in water––and that anger is usually directed toward me.

  “Who says I care about being pretty?” she barks at me. Okay, maybe she’s an angry dog––a possessive one, pissed that her master has allowed me to infiltrate her territory. “Or that a smile is a prerequisite.”

  “Sorry, that was rude of me to say.” I give her an apologetic smile. “And actually, I like where you’re going with that. Makes sense to me. Honestly, Kelly, I think you’re a woman after my own heart. We could be friends.”

 

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