Darkness Before Dawn (5 page)

I hear movement in the front seat. A gasp. “Who the hell are you?”

I reach around the seat, squeeze Tegan’s shoulder to reassure her. “It’s okay. We got into some trouble at the party, and he helped us.”

“God, I think I’m going to be sick. How do I get out of here?”

Victor reaches across, pulls the handle, and shoves open the door. Tegan tries to tumble out, but the strap of the seat belt holds her captive. Victor releases it, and she’s scrambling out and staggering even farther into the shadows. It would be funny any other night.

Victor gets out of the car to help me exit. He extends his hand toward me and I take it. It’s warm and strong, and he pulls me out with no effort. I can see Tegan hunched over; can hear her gagging as she upchucks. Lovely.

“She’ll be okay,” Victor says.

“Yeah, I think so. Probably should have made her throw up earlier. I’ve never dealt with something like this before.”

“I’ll wait here until you get inside.”

“Thanks.” I feel like I should say more. Hug him even, for saving us.

Tegan waddles back over to us. “God, that was awful.” She squints at Victor and asks again, “Who are you?”

“Victor.”

“He’s a friend,” I say.

“Sounds like a story I need to hear.”

“Not really. Come on. It’s not safe out here.” I wrap my arm around her waist. “Thanks again, Victor. I owe you.”

“
We
owe you,” Tegan says, shifting into flirt mode. She’s definitely feeling better.

Slightly irritated, I drag her away. I just spent the last few hours taking care of her after she got too friendly with the wrong people. And she’s acting like nothing happened.

Inside the lobby, the guard raises his eyebrows at us. I give him a sickly smile and we head to the elevator. We get off on the twelfth floor; the apartment I now share with Rachel is at the far end of the hall.

Once we’re through the door, I’m surprised to find that Rachel isn’t here. Surprised and relieved. She probably left me a message on my cell phone. I don’t want to think about how I’m going to explain losing it. Cell phones are so rare it can take months, even years to get one.

Tegan follows me into my bedroom and grabs the duffel bag she brought over earlier. “I’ve got dibs on the shower first.”

She disappears into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I hear the water running and cross over to the doors that open onto a balcony. The great thing about our apartment is that the living room and both bedrooms have a balcony. I step outside and look down on the street, where Victor parked. His car is gone. He’s gone.

I’m not sure how I’ll keep his secrets from my best friend. But at the same time, this night has felt so surreal that when I wake up in the morning I might convince myself it was all one giant dream. That Victor and the trolley and the theater never existed.

I remember the key. Reaching into my pocket, I close my fingers around it. I have proof tonight happened.

Then a fissure of unease spikes through me with an unexpected realization.

I never told Victor where I live.

Chapter 4

T
egan and I got lucky. Extremely lucky. The sun is spilling through the window when Rachel knocks on my bedroom door. Tegan barely stirs, but I sit up and invite Rachel in. She’s in her mid-twenties, pretty, and one of the few people who know more about vampires than I do.

“Just wanted to check in on you,” she says.

“Are you just now getting home?” Or maybe she’s about to head out again. Her brown hair is clipped up. A two-piece dark blue suit over her petite body can’t hide the fact that she spends a lot of time in the gym. She has the most boring brown eyes, but she still looks better than I ever could.

“Yeah.” I can see now how tired she looks. “Some kids decided to throw a party out near the wall. A couple of them got abducted, so I had to check it out.”

My stomach clenches, and I swallow hard. “Really.”

“I’ll share the details later, so you can discuss the situation with Valentine. I’m going to bed before I fall flat on my face.”

“Yeah, okay, sure. I’m glad you’re safe.”

She gives me a teasing grin. “Yeah, I’m glad I’m safe, too.”

She closes the door, and I plop back on the bed, unsettled by her news.

“Was it the party we were at?” Tegan whispers in a small voice.

I glance over at her. In spite of the fact that her hair is sticking up at all angles, she doesn’t look the way I’d expect after a night that could have ended very badly. “Maybe.”

“God. We were lucky.” She shoves herself into a sitting position, grabs a pillow, and hugs it to her chest. “So tell me what happened last night. I remember dancing, then I was in a car. What happened in between?”

“Well, you probably can’t remember because that bastard spiked your drink with something. I caught up to you heading upstairs with him and hauled you away.”

“Spiked my drink? Are you serious?” she asks.

I nod. “Mine was probably spiked, too. I just didn’t get a chance to drink it.”

“Jerks. I’m sorry, Dawn. You were right: The wall is dangerous.”

It feels good to hear that, but I’d rather erase the whole night than have my ego stroked. I think. I don’t know if I’d want to forget about Victor.

“Okay, now tell me what you know about the hot guy with the car. Was he at the party?”

“No, we ran into him after we left.” I squeeze her arm. “There were some vampires. Victor saved us.” And even though I promised—“I’m pretty sure he’s a Night Watchman.”

Her eyes widen. “I knew it,” she says, and I don’t feel so bad about spilling an obvious secret. “Between the car, being out at night, and not to mention those sizzling looks, I just figured he had to be a Watchman.”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure good looks are a requirement when they’re screening applicants. Anyway, you can’t ever tell anyone about him.”

She grins. “Of course not. Any idea where I can find him, though? To thank him.”

Right. She’s thinking boyfriend material. I guess I can’t blame her. After all, I have Michael—

I groan.

“What?” Tegan asks.

“Michael. I lost my phone. What if he—”

Her phone starts ringing. She scrambles out of bed and scrounges around in the clothes she was wearing last night until she finds it in a pocket. She looks at the display. “Speak of the devil.” Then she answers. “Hey, Michael. What’s up?”

I get out of bed, walk over to her, and hold out my hand for the phone.

“He says he’s been trying to get in touch with you,” she says as she slaps it into my palm, then says in a low voice, “Please don’t tell him about me. He already thinks I’m a bad influence on you.”

“As if I would. What kind of friend would I be?” I lift the phone to my ear. “Hi.”

“Why haven’t you returned my texts or calls?” Michael demands to know. “Are you mad about last night, because I couldn’t make time to come with you?”

“No.” A little. “I lost my cell phone.”

“How?”

“At a party.” A lie. “Long story.” Truth.

Silence stretches between us; then finally he says, “I’m sorry, Dawn. I know it seems like we haven’t spent much time together lately—”

“Because we haven’t.”

“It’s not all on me,” he says, and I hear the irritation in his voice.

“I know.” He hasn’t been the only one preparing for the future. Two weeks after my parents died, the Agency began training me for my role as delegate, and it’s been nonstop ever since. They’ve never had an opportunity like me. They can forge the perfect agent from the ground up, finishing my education about all things vampire that my parents started years ago.

“Since it’s Sunday, no school, you wanna try to get together later?” he asks.

“Yeah, sure. Where?”

“Daylight Grill. This afternoon. Get some carbs in you before facing Valentine.”

In spite of everything, I grin. Any other guy might bring a girl chocolate. But Michael is all about a healthy, strong body. “Okay. See you.”

Hanging up, I toss the phone back to Tegan and flop down on my bed. “I don’t want Michael to find out what happened last night.”

“Works for me, since I don’t want
anyone
to know. We were pretty stupid. I just… I just wanted us to have a memorable night together before, you know, tonight.”

“It was definitely memorable.” Then I realize what she’s truly saying. I sit up and face her. “I’m going to be okay.”

“But what if you’re not? I mean, your parents—”

“Now who’s being paranoid?” I tease.

She gives me a halfhearted grin, and I can see that she’s really worried. I wrap my arms around her and hug her tightly. “Nothing bad is going to happen tonight.”

A shiver creeps through me. Those were the same words my mother said to me every time she and Dad left for Valentine Manor.

The Daylight Grill sits along the popular Day Street. Huge lampposts line the avenue, chasing away the shadows at night, trying to maintain a sunny atmosphere twenty-four/seven. Indoors, the oversize windows let the light in, but the farther one gets away from them, the darker it becomes. All shades of gray lie in between, giving the place an intimate feeling.

Michael and I are sitting in a booth, facing each other. Sometimes I still have a hard time believing he is my boyfriend. Tall and athletic, he’s the hot guy in school, the one every girl crushes on. He wears T-shirts that mold over his broad shoulders and reveal his amazing biceps. But it isn’t just his toned body, tanned from hours of training in the sun, that turns girls on. His eyes are a deep brown, not dull, but rich and dark. His blond hair is buzzed short, “the most utilitarian style,” as he describes it. He exudes power and confidence.

Very much like Victor.

I consider asking Michael if he’s met Victor during his training. But I don’t want to explain how I ran across him, because that would lead to revealing how terribly stupid Tegan and I were last night. Michael doesn’t know the party we went to was near the wall. And I want to keep it that way.

After finishing off a bowl of pasta and meatballs, we’re sharing a slice of cheesecake.

“Wish I were going with you tonight,” he says. “I don’t like that Valentine gets to make all the rules.”

“What choice do we have?” I ask, skimming my finger along the condensation gathered around my glass of lemonade. The Daylight Grill makes the best lemonade. “He controls all the vamps in this area. Keeps them from invading the city.”

“He’s doing a lousy job. Did you hear about that trolley car that was found abandoned on the tracks last night? Dead vamps in and out.”

My stomach knots up. “Anyone know what happened?”

“A Night Watchman got to them, obviously.” A gleam comes into his eyes. “I can’t wait until I can be out on the streets, hunting with the Watchmen. Right now it’s all training scenarios. Last night we pretended to raid a warehouse and had to find the other Night Watchmen hiding inside, pretending to be vampires. It was like a deadly game of hide-and-seek.”

“I bet you kicked butt.”

He grins. “I didn’t do too badly. It was my idea to search the rafters, found two ‘vampires’ up there. The trainer said vamps will hide anywhere, especially when the Watchmen come knocking.”

“Sounds like you had fun.”

“Well, it’s all to hone our skills. But I proved my worth. Which is why I should go with you tonight. I’m telling you, Dawn, I’m ready.”

He might be, but I’m not willing to put him in danger. Still, if I admit that, he’ll take it as a lack of faith in his abilities. So I fudge a little.

“I’ll be fine. The coach carries Valentine’s crest.” The crimson head of a snarling wolf in the center of a V. “Vampires know that if they attack they’ll have to deal with Valentine himself.”

“That’s not always enough protection.” He falls silent and I know he’s thinking about my parents. “The Agency has cars. Why can’t you ride in one of those to Valentine Manor?”

He knows why. We’ve been through this a hundred times. Valentine insists that delegates travel by his coach. It’s the only way he’ll vouch for their safety. But I understand Michael’s frustration. “Obviously Valentine has control issues.”

“He needs to see a shrink.”

We both smile at that, even though it’s not really funny.

Michael sobers. “I could hide in the coach—”

I reach across the table and place my hand over his. “He’d kill you if he discovered you.”

“I’m good, Dawn. Really good.”

“And he’s surrounded by minions. Please, Michael. I’ll be fine.”

He threads his fingers through mine. “I’ll single-handedly start another war with the vamps if Valentine hurts you.”

Maybe it’s wrong for me to experience a thrill of excitement over his words. I don’t want another war, but it warms my heart to know I mean so much to him. Humans started the first war in an attempt to eradicate the bloodsuckers from among us, calling it a war for “human survival in the face of an unprecedented enemy.” But after thirty years of fighting creatures that are nearly impossible to destroy, we surrendered. We gave up almost everything for an awkward sort of peace.

The sun is beginning to set when he walks me back to my apartment building.

“I have a couple of hours before I have to leave,” I tell him. “Want to come up?”

“You bet.”

Once we’re inside the apartment, Rachel greets us.

“Michael’s going to hang out for a while,” I say.

“Don’t forget how long it takes to get ready,” she reminds me.

Valentine insists that I wear clothes from another century. Victorian. The corset alone takes thirty minutes to fasten, and I have to use an old-fashioned buttonhook on the stupid shoes.

“I won’t,” I assure her.

“Okay. I’m going to finish up some paperwork for the Agency. Then you and I will need to go over some things for tonight.”

“Not a problem.”

“See you in a bit then.” She goes into her bedroom and closes the door.

“I didn’t think she was ever going to leave,” Michael says as he stretches out on the couch and gently tugs me down to join him, so I’m halfway sprawled over his long body.

“She’s just worried.”