Page 134 of The Darkness is Calling

“A place no one knows about. Only me, my brothers, and now you.”

“We’re not going back to the mansion?”

“You already miss home?”

“Stop it, Artem! The situation is far too serious for you to start testing your sense of humor now, with bad jokes!”

I stop the car in one of the parking spaces reserved for us and turn toward her.

“It wasn’t a joke. It was a simple question.”

“A misplaced one,” she snaps.

I shrug again. “If you say so.”

I get out of the car and walk around to her side to open the door.

I extend my hand to help her down from the tall vehicle, but she refuses me. This time, she is actually adorable, struggling angrily to gather all the layers of the dress now stained with blood even across her chest.

The perfect bride.

She studies the surroundings in silence, even when we get into the elevator, her eyes on the panel indicating there are only five floors up to the penthouse.

This building is only a few minutes away from the one where we have our underground fun, but it would have been stupid to keep everything under the same roof. The more scattered we are, the better, while still keeping everything within one area.

The elevator opens into an empty hall where three massive metal doors are visible. Mine is the one straight ahead, and I open it after entering the code only my brothers and I know.

“2401.”

And now, so does she.

“Meaning?” she asks, confused.

“The access code. Don’t forget it.”

“Your birthday?”

I enter the apartment, making room for her to step past me, then answer. “At the mansion, I recently set the access code to your birthday, but we can change this one too, make it the same, if you’d like.”

“Why would you use your birthday as an access code?” she keeps the subject alive, even more stunned. “If someone wanted to get in, that would be the first thing they’d try!”

I smile, though only formally.

“Precisely because it is so banal, no one expects me to lower my guard that much. Besides, the keys are equipped with fingerprint sensors, and only four people have access.”

“I thought you said only you, Sasha, and Yar know about this place. What four?”

“You,” I answer shortly.

That makes her whirl sharply toward me, even though she had already moved forward to study the apartment, decorated in a modern and simpler style than the house where we stayed. The same dark colors dominate, black and gray, but I like this style more.

“Me? Since when?”

I think for a moment before answering, moving toward her. She takes one step back, and I find myself deeply pleased by this dance.

Or rather hunt.

“Since I first slept in your bed and knew what would come next.”