Bliss (The Custos) (25 page)

              Then it was over, the drug had finally freed her from its clutches and she curled her head at the crook of my neck and sobbed. I didn’t think I had the strength to move, but as I felt her tears I rolled to the side and scooped her into my arms and held her close.

              "I'm so sorry Cash, I'm so sorry." She cried. I just held her closer thankful it was me she was with. If she had come to in this state with a
Nex
they would have killed her. The thought chilled me and I held her closer, certain I would never be the same again.

*

London

              I slept in the tight embrace of Cash's body. He didn’t make any attempts to move me throughout the day. His arms stayed around me, sheltering me from my memories from last night. The things I had said and done were too much I hated myself and as the night replayed in my mind I started crying again.

              Cash must have been sleeping because he jumped at my sobs when my tears fell on his chest. Pulling me closer he kissed the top of my head. "Sssh Princess it's over."

              I looked up at him, needing to see his face to know he still loved me, his eyes so dark from the loss of blood he fed into me made me only cry harder. "Please don’t leave me Cash, I'm so sorry." I feared that he would see my weakness and push me away but I would beg if I had to. I hated myself but would do anything to keep him.

              "Hey..." He said and rolled me to my back. He hovered above me and wiped the tear soaked hair from my face. "That's nonsense, I have nowhere else I would rather be."

              "How could that be true? The things I said, in front of everyone. I had begged Preacher to fuck me and then-" I stopped when my words echoed through my head. "
Oh god Preacher
. I need to go to him now Cash." I said and stood from the bed. Looking around the room I seen clothes tossed all over the floor and, was that blood on the sheets?

              Cash reading my mind stood from the bed and came to stand beside me. "You kind of razored my back." I turned him so I could see, assuming the marks would be gone by now, I could see the deep red streaks. He was slowly healing because
I
had drained
him
.

              "Did I hurt you?" I asked my voice barely a whisper. “You need to feed Cash.”

              He laughed and pulled me close. "Only when I asked you to Princess. I promise I enjoyed it." He kissed my lips softly. “I’ll get some blood from the fridge.”

              "The things I said to you, about your dick....." I couldn’t finish because I was so ashamed.

              He only laughed again. "I redeemed myself don’t worry, you made sure everyone in the house knew how hard I was."

              Mortified I fell back down on the bed and buried my face in the pillows to cry. Cash sat down beside me and stoked my back. "He will forgive you Princess."

              I knew he was talking about Preacher and I turned to look at him. "I need to see him."

              He nodded and reached for a pair of work out pants. Pulling them on he reached for a grey T shirt. "Come down when you’re ready." He leaned down and kissed me. "I love you." He said against my lips. I wished that were enough, that it was all I needed to live. Only then would I know everything was ok.

              Cash left the room and I tried to remember what I said exactly to Preacher, I replayed it over and over looking for a loop hole, praying he deserved it. He didn’t. I was so awful and knowing I had to face him was killing me. Not one to back down I showered and got ready. I slapped on some mascara and blush and my favorite clear lip gloss. I put my hair in a twisted knot atop of my head and threw on a hoodie and jeans with my moccasin boots.
 

             
The minute I left the room I could hear Preacher and Leushus talking and laughing with Cash and I hoped like hell they weren’t making fun of me. Another voice I didn’t recognize had me wondering. Then I faintly recalled another guy with Leushus, Bastian I think. He was a werewolf, or the werewolf if I heard right. God help me did I try and get him to fuck me too?

              I walked in the kitchen and silence fell. Cash sat Next to Preacher, his I'm with stupid mug pointing in Preachers direction. Preacher and his stolen Denny's mug in hand didn’t look up to greet me. It was a first. I wanted to cry because my favorite part of the day was Preacher saying, 'Good evening Cookie'. Would I ever hear it again?

              Leushus smiled the second he seen me and stood to give me a hug. "Hello London, good to see you." His manners were impeccable. He acted like I didn’t try and rape him last night and somehow it made it worse.

              "Whatever Leushus. Why are you here?" I asked my tone bitter but he just laughed.

              "Only you would use that tone with me London, and it's fair to say only you could get away with it." It was true. Leushus liked me, he always said I was funny and a fire cracker.

              I looked at Bastian who sat quietly Next to Leushus. "Hi, I'm London, the girl who tried to fuck you last night." With that the tension died and everyone started laughing.

              "Nice to meet you. I'm the guy who rocked myself to sleep in fear you would come back." He said and I liked him immediately. I took a seat on Cash's lap and reached for the sugar and cream for my coffee. Looking at Preacher I feared my own hands. "Morning Preach." I said and tussled his hair.

              He said nothing and stood, taking his Denny's mug he walked out of the room.

              I stood to follow him but Cash gripped my hips. "Give him some space Princess."

              Those words broke my heart. I sat silently stirring my coffee but I was raging inside. Two months, I had a best friend for two whole months and true to form I fucked it all up.

*

London

They guys talked for a few hours about the guy Simon in the basement. In all the embarrassment I had forgotten about him being alive in the house. Cash assured me he wouldn’t be wasting space much longer and I was glad. This
Nex
was so excited last night, so ready to fuck me and use me. He didn’t care for anything or anyone and his death would seriously improve the world.

I went into the living room to watch TV while the men puffed their chest and thought strategy. Normally I would demand I be included but I was giving Preacher his space, even though it killed me. I hated space, I hated people who did things their way, not my way and my way was badgering Preacher until he forgave me. It wouldn’t have worked and so I sat tight, biting my nails and wishing for a miracle.

My nerves finally got the best of me and I decided to go work out. Stepping into Cash's den I stayed in the doorway, iPod in hand. "Cash?" I asked interrupting.

He looked at me; I could see the smile in his eyes and felt that tug of happiness that he still loved me. "Is it safe to go down and work out? With Simon I mean?" I could be as edgy as a crack whore without a fix and still wouldn’t risk going near that fucker without making sure I was safe.

"Yeah Princess, he's paralyzed right now."

That got my attention. "Paralyzed? How?"

"Strapped to a chair with small dose of silver running through his veins, even if he got free he would be in too much pain to hurt anyone."

“Silver? I thought that was considered cheating?" I asked referring to the small vial he gave me on our way to Cally's Bar in New Mexico. It seemed ages ago now.

He smiled a devious grin. "It is if I killed him with it. It's fair when it's simple torture."

I had a moment of humanity and mercy strike then I replayed last night’s events and his eagerness to use me to his will and it all disappeared. "Okay." I said and headed for the gym.

*

Cash

"Here’s what we got from him last night while you were...uh...busy." Bastian said. I knew what he meant and I couldn’t forget soon enough. I was happy that these guys had class and didn’t make jokes about my flaccidity but I knew they were dying to. They were guys and I would have had a thousand jokes itching to get out if the situations were reversed.

"He says he doesn’t know the suppliers name but that he is meeting with him at the end of the month for a larger supply." Bastian took a seat in a nearby chair and crossed one leg over the other. "This Conlin guy is careful. He's making sure the drug go's in the right hands and he's taking his time. It's merely a test right now. He functions like every dealer known to the world. He sends out samples, gets people hooked and interested, then jacks the price and distributes in mass quantities. The minute word gets out on Bliss; there won’t be a woman safe on this earth short of hiding under a rock."

Bastian’s words chilled me to the bone, I seen up front what happens with this drug. "Bliss is more than an Infatuation blocker. She had no free will. I could have told her to jump off a bridge and she would have. She didn’t know what she wanted outside of sex." I scrubbed my hands over my face. "Let alone the comedown. After she had my blood it took hours for the fever to break
and she was in pain, awful pain Leush." I said pointedly. I didn’t want jokes I wanted answers and I feared that by telling them they would crack jokes.

But like before they had more class than that and I could feel the tension coming off both of them as I spoke of its affects. "Did she say anything about what she was feeling?" Bastian asked.

"Just that it burnt, bad. Every time I touched her she would come but cry because it seemed to make it worse if I kept going. Then I'd stop and she'd thrash around the bed. Let alone, I had given her a few ounces of my blood before we even went to doubt, just to protect her while we were there." The Next thought chilled me. "If I hadn’t, I don’t know how bad it could have been."

"How much blood did she take last night after I left the room?" Leushus asked. I could see his concern and I was glad. Seemed my girl was loved by many and hated only by cocksuckers.

"I don’t know, a lot. I had to reopen the wound to feed her time and time again. Once she was back mentally she just cried, she was scared and blushing and normal signs of London but she was a savage." I remembered her attacking my back and though the sex last night was tainted I enjoyed her nails biting into me and I was damn sure to keep that to myself.

I could see the strain on Leushus and Bastian and I felt it the same as them. We wanted answers and I was aching to kill Simon. But I needed him to get to Conlin. The end of the month was coming up. "Hey did he say where he was going to meet Conlin, or whoever the supplier was?" I asked and I knew Leushus picked up on where I was going with this.

"Yeah." Bastian said and wiped out his palm pilot. "Bar at the top of the PALMS Hotel."

"Looks like we're going out tonight." Leushus said and I nodded.

"Looks like it." I said and smiled before heading down to the prison to look for Preacher.

*

London

I had grown so accustomed to my Vampires that I knew when one of them was close. Turning around I saw Preacher standing in the doorway. Smiling I pulled the skull candy from my ears. I could hear Lady Gaga singing and paused the song. Breathless from my run I rested my hands on my knees and looked at him. "Hey."

He made no move to come in the gym and I said nothing. I waited, my stomach in my throat, I waited for him to speak. "I don’t hate you London." He said but stayed still as stone. The fact he called me London, when I don’t think he ever has in all the time I've known him, it spoke volumes.

"I'm glad because I would never hurt you." I said standing strait and rolling the damp towel in my hands and through my fingers. I was so nervous about where this was going.