Part 30

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Ian's eyes narrowed up at the camera as he straightened up. "You, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, just meandering around and looking for you, that's all." His smile broadened. "You seem to have been doing all right for yourself for the last few decades, but how did you end up working for that imbecile?"

"I didn't work for him," he spat, glancing down at the body for a second. "I worked with him, that is until he decided to put a hit on me. Did you have a hand in that?"

"Oh no, that was all him. I hadn't even met him yet. I can't take credit for all the bad luck you've had recently." Patrick paused, that smile curling cruelly as he winked at me. "Although, you did manage to get lucky once."

I turned away from the screen and Patrick's teasing. I knew it. Both of my hands tried to hide my scarlet cheeks, but they were on fire and he could probably hear the quickening beats of my sinking heart. I knew that was going to come up at some point. Ever since Janiel confirmed my fears with our chat in the bathroom, I was afraid of when he'd bring it up. Why did I have to be so stupid? It had been planned. It hadn't been about Ian and I. I'd been a pawn and happily, blindly moving forward towards a rook, against all logic.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed." Patrick patted my back and continued. "You did it willingly. You should be proud. If anything, you bent him to your will."

I shrugged him off and walked further out of his reach. This was the last thing I wanted to think about. I was bait. I was taunted into sleeping with Ian so he'd feel more inclined to come when I inevitably was captured. How did I not see this coming? Did I really want him to come save me? He'd just ripped a man's face apart.

I trembled as my hands tried to soothe the panic away by rubbing my arms. It didn't work and little air bubbles rose in my throat. Tears pushed at the edge of my eyelids. Please don't throw up again. My throat probably had permanent damage from all the stomach acid.

A broken whimper echoed softly through the speakers.

It sent ice through my veins. I doubled over and clasped a hand over my mouth, then very slowly took a deep breath. How could I forget he was still alive?

"Did you put her up to it?" Ian's questioning tone bit at me. There was venom in it.

It was hard listening to this like I wasn't even here.

"I may have had someone give her a push, but she chose to go through with it all by herself. I can't make her do anything that she doesn't want to do."

Ian looked away from the camera in disgust, then pulled out a handgun and fired.

Finally silence.

"Aw, why would you go and do that? Didn't he deserve to suffer more for all the terrible things he's done? For the two hits he put out on you?" Patrick's voice took on a sing-song tone as he spoke, but Ian didn't respond, nor did he look up again. "I'm being honest about her though. It was no different than peer pressure. Seriously, before her when was the last time you've been laid or had a decent, fresh meal? It's making you soft, weak."

"I'm done with this," I muttered and stalked out of the alcove.

"She's going to make a great addition to the family, Ian. Trust me." I could hear the smirk in his voice, mocking me.

Fuck this. There was only one way to spoil his fun now.

I ignored his banter and continued walking into the kitchenette, feigning a search for something to eat. After opening a couple drawers, I was getting desperate. Didn't everyone have to eat? Surely there was something to chop with.

Nothing. There wasn't a single sharp knife anywhere unless you counted a single abandoned plastic knife. That wasn't going to cut it.

I exhaled tersely. Could I please have a stroke of luck? With a quick glance at the trashcan, I spotted the plate shard from Leo's episode earlier. Carefully, I glanced up to confirm Patrick was still talking to Ian. He even had his back to me. Perfect.

Reaching into the garbage, I silently pulled the shard out. My shoulders sank as the futility of my situation set in. I couldn't sneak up on him. He could probably hear me from here. There was no way I could get close enough to stab him. I didn't even know if that would work. Why hadn't I tried to get more information out of Ian?

"Nicole, darling. Are you hungry again? I'll just have them bring something up once I'm finish with Ian," Patrick called out to me. "What do you want for your last meal?"

My body froze, but the blood pumping through my heart raced. This was it. I wasn't going to be bait anymore. My heart ached as I thought about everyone I was abandoning. If he turned me though, what was to keep me from killing them all myself? He might even be planning for me to do that. I shuddered and gripped the shard tighter, squeezing it until the edges bit into my skin.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I raised the broken ceramic piece up and plunged it towards my stomach.

Someone caught my arm and wrenched it back before it could break any skin. I glared up at the person and saw Patrick's bright blue eyes furiously burrowing into me. "Ian, I'm going to have to let you go. Someone decided to try to take matters into her own hands and now she has to be punished. Talk to you later."

He tossed the phone onto the counter and squeezed my wrist so hard I thought it would snap. "That was a very stupid move. I thought you were more of a fighter than that."

"You have to know when to cut your losses," I snapped back. "I don't want to turn into a monster like you."

Yanking me closer, Patrick grasped my chin and pulled it to within inches of his. "If I didn't like you so much, I'd snap your neck right now. But I'm a nice guy, so I'll let this little rebellion slide."

After another quick, crushing squeeze and flick, the shard slipped from my fingers and shattered more on the floor. He drew the hand up to our faces. With a mean smirk, he turned and licked the trickling blood from my palm.

I tried to wriggle out of his fingers, but his grip on my face was firm. The feeling of his tongue on my hand nauseated me and left a hollow pain in my chest. He was being gentle and that scared me more than anything. It was clear he knew that as well since he was watching me with those cold eyes the whole time.

He paused, tilting his head in my direction. "What? Not all punishments have to be violent. I'm actually a fan of the way you squirm. Something about it makes me want to dominate you. Are you just playing hard to get?"

My hair stood on end as he spoke and my knees buckled. "No, I promise I'm not into your type."

"Really? Because you were into Ian. I was going to offer you to him as a gift if he came back, but maybe I'll just keep you to myself now. We both appreciate the same type of girls."

"Lucky for me, I'm a woman." I snapped, shaking my head. Panic was setting in, I was saying stupid things. "I thought you were going to turn me."

"I am," he whispered, then dragged his tongue from my palm up to the end of my middle finger. "I'm just really enjoying this. You are most definitely my type."

"You don't need to remind me." I shuddered, still trying to yank myself free. My neck ached from all the tugging and stretching. "I know all about your favorite type and how they end up dead eventually."

"Now, where would you get that sort of information? You didn't even know who I was before tonight."

"Ian's been tracking you."

He released my face, but still held my wrist tightly. "That bastard. He's seen all of my calling cards and ignored every last one of them? I might kill him."

I watched as he unconsciously squeezed my wrist so hard a yelp escaped my lips. My free hand slapped over my mouth, not wanting to attract attention back to myself. Tears slid from my eyes as pain seared my senses. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out again. It was going to snap. My wrist was going to snap in two.

He blinked, coming back to the here and now. His head tilted as it spun to face me and glanced down at the hand that was still connecting us. Slowly, his fingers unwrapped themselves, but the imprint remained on my skin.

"Damn it, now I've gone and hurt you," he muttered to himself as he stepped back. He looked up to my face and his eyes widened. "Shh, don't cry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just got so angry. Damn it, Ian."

I backed away from him until I bumped into the counter. I didn't care if I was cowering. My uninjured arm cradled the numbed hand and rapidly darkening wrist to me. There was no way to get out of here. I was gonna die. More tears pooled in my eyes and began tumbling down.

"No, no, no. No crying." He rushed forward and lifted me up around my legs so I almost hit my head on the ceiling. What did he think I was a child?

After a few twirls, he set me back down and noticed I was still distraught. "Wait, I know. Let's play some games. That'll cheer you up." He grinned from ear to ear. In the blink of an eye, he plucked me up off the ground again, this time in a bridal carry, and whisked me away to the bedroom. Carefully, he set me down onto the massive king size bed.

I didn't even have a chance to protest before he was adjusting the massive TV hanging on the wall so it was angled better to my position. Beneath it was a sleek, black game system like mine. The circulation was slowly starting to return to my fingers, but there was no way I could handle a controller as is. What was he thinking?

He produced several games from a drawer beneath the system before pulling out one case and showing it to me. "I've been obsessed with this one since it came out. You get to sneak around and kill people without being spotted. They even have specialty kills to try to figure out for the targets. You should try it. It's a lot of fun."

My hand still pulsed with electric tingling. "I think it would be best if you showed me how it's done. I'm not sure I can hold a controller yet."

"Do you want ice or something? Shoot. Idiot, get out here!" His shout had a panicked tenor to it that matched his crazed eyes.

The rushing sound of a flushed toilet started, then a sink. After another minute, Leo appeared in the doorway, sallow and sweating.

"Get us some ice for her wrist now."

Wasting no time on details, he turned and left us with the sound of the hotel room's main door swinging shut.

Patrick turned to me and nodded. "If you want, I could make it all go away right now. Give me your hand and I can make it just like new."

I shook my head the tiniest bit. Whether he meant just the literally giving him my hand or the figurative, there was no way in hell I was going to willingly touch him.

"Suit yourself. The offer still stands in case you change your mind." Drawing back, he started up the system and began a mission.

After a few minutes I tried to adjust myself, but my arm slipped and I gasped, trying to balance my injured wrist against my chest.

"If you needed something, just say so." He set the controller down and walked around the bed to me. Gently sliding his hands beneath me, he lifted me up to more of a sitting position and less of a lounging one against the plethora of pillows. "Better?"

I nodded slightly and cringed away from him when he leaned in closer as if to kiss my forehead.

The creepiest smile crawled onto his lips as he sat back and looked at me. "Yeah, I love that I can't make you do anything. I never know what's going to happen. It's a thrill, a rush. It's been so long since I've been with someone that I couldn't just tell to claw their eyes out when I was sick of them. You wouldn't do it even if I begged."

The front door slammed shut and footsteps wandered over to the bedroom. Leo's face appeared and he held out a bag of ice. "Ice, as requested."

Patrick waved him over and watched as Leo set the bag on my arm.

The ice did help so I nodded in appreciation at him.

"Do you need anything else?" This time Leo was staring at me, instead of his self-proclaimed master.

I looked over to Patrick, not sure what to do or if he was being serious.

"Anything you want, my goddess, he'll get it for you," he said with that smile still displayed on his creepy face.

I cringed at his mention of me being a goddess, far from it. "I am a little hungry since I haven't really had any food stay in me long enough to digest."

Patrick's smile broadened, which I didn't think was possible. "Yes, it has been a trying day for you."

I swallowed, weirded out by both of them now. I just wanted both of them to stay away from me. "How about some Chinese food? There's a place, the China Palace, a couple blocks down that has an excellent number five."

And that number five was loaded with garlic and onions. Maybe that will get Patrick to keep his distance more.

I blinked slowly, trying to keep my heart-rate steady. Reaching onto the nightstand with my good arm, my fingers felt around for the pen and notepad again. "You know, Leo, let's make this simple and I'll just write down what I want you to get for me."

"That seems fairly simple. I should be fine."

My hand grasped both and pulled them onto my lap as I began jotting down a couple of random items besides the entrée. "But what happens if you mix it up and get it wrong? And then they close?"

"I understand." He took the paper without looking.

"Make sure you get exactly what's written. They have another entrée that is similar but has something that I'm super allergic to in it. Please, I don't want to blow up like a balloon and have to go to the hospital."

He nodded, stuffing the list into his pocket. Then he walked out of the room with all my hopes and our lives in his hands.

Please buy everything on that list, I prayed. I leaned back onto the pillows and tried to will away the twinges of pain that pulsed through my squished wrist. Writing hadn't hurt nearly as much as I expected. At least it wasn't broken.

"What was that all about?" Patrick asked, glancing at me briefly before returning his attention to his score breakdown.

"Well, since I only get one go with this turning thing, I figured we should make it unforgettable. You know, candles, incense, honey. That sort of thing." It was hard to keep my lips turned up into a confident and sexy smirk when I was terrified that he'd call my bluff.

"You know, that makes this sound like one of those cheesy romance novels."

"It's not?" I paused, looking around the room with disbelief raising my eyebrows. "I mean we've got action, intrigue, vampires..."

"And now we're getting more romance? I thought you said I wasn't your type."

"Well, I'm starting to see the similarities between you and Ian, and I can't help wondering what it would be like to live forever," I stated, tilting my head slightly as if wondering.

"Lonely at times." This time his smile, genuinely appeared sad. He raised the controller between us. "This has helped."

I didn't really know what to say to that so I just stared at my hands.

Without another word, he turned back to the game and continued playing.

Leo returned in record time, I thought to myself as a soft sigh escaped my lips. Carefully, I eased off the bed and rushed out to greet him. He had done what I asked. He got everything. There were three bags on his arms.

Taking my food first, I opened it and blew over the onion and garlic doused rice noodles. The weight of it on my wrist made it ache, but the ice had really helped so I didn't flinch as much. Then I took one of the bags from him and slipped it into a cabinet as I continued to waft my second dinner around the room.

Onions, garlic, shrimp; smelly stuff float, permeate, and conceal for me, please.

Placing the Styrofoam container on the counter, I grabbed the plastic fork from the bag and dug in. Patrick appeared to be very invested in this level because he hadn't moved at all since this one started. I said another prayer in my heart and devoured as many garlic and onion pieces as I could with each bite of shrimp and noodles.

My body lurched as I got the hiccups.

Leo stared at me, curiously, but I merely smiled back.

"Oops, I guess I ate too quickly." With a shrug, I took a deep breath and tried to hold it as a few more hiccups shook me.

Leo rolled his eyes at me and walked to the fridge. He returned with a water bottle and set it down next to my food.

He really was too nice. I needed to get him out of here before Janiel got back. I stared at the water until another hiccup shook me and made me take a breath. Drinking water always worked better anyway. I uncapped the bottle and chugged until I thought the hiccups had dissipated.

What would still be open that sounded good and was far away?

"Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I almost forgot."

Spinning on my heels, I turned to him. With the most pathetic, trembling lips I could muster, I cocked my head to the side and bit my lip. "I know you already went out once, but could you get me an order of mango sticky rice?"

"Really?" He stared at me, obviously displeased with the idea of going out again.

"It's my favorite dessert from this particular Thai restaurant. I've never had another one like it. Please? He said anything I wanted, I promise this will be the last thing I ask you for. Pretty please?" I interlaced my fingers and smiled sheepishly.

He rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway.

My heart skipped a beat and I jumped for joy. "Oh, thank you. The restaurant's name is Phata. You can find it using your phone. So hurry up or they'll call for last orders before you get there."

I shoved him towards the door, but paused when Patrick called out, "what are you doing this time?"

Leo straightened himself and nodded in my direction. "She wants a Thai dessert too."

"All right," he said. "Come straight back when you're done. I don't know what's taking the woman so long to dump a body. Check in with her while you're out."

After one last shove out the door, Leo was gone and Patrick and I were alone with my plan.

"You know, it might be difficult to sneakily dump a body these days when you're in the middle of a high-class neighborhood in the city." I grabbed the other bag of goodies from the store that Leo had set on the end table. "She'll be back eventually. But until then, let me start setting things up."

Sauntering into the bedroom, I feigned ignoring him. It was difficult because I could feel his eyes following me and my bag around the room. Whimsically, I pulled out a candle, placed it on the nightstand, uncapped it, and lit it with the conveniently purchased lighter. So glad I remembered to add that at the last second.

Once that was glowing steadily, I moved over to the window ledge and placed another candle. I repeated the process until there were ten softly glowing lights flickering around the room.

Patrick caught my arm, as I started walking out of the bedroom. His body shook as he chuckled. "So you wanted us alone, huh? Do you have any idea what you're doing right now?"

"Not when it comes to this turning thing, but if this is a cheesy romance novel, you'll be all right with doing it on the bed, right?" My heart was in my throat and amazingly I didn't choke on it, nor the words coming out of my mouth.

His lips curled up into a cruel smirk. "Well, the easy way is for me to drain you to death and then feed you mine, but if you're suggesting other methods of foreplay I'm all ears."

My

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