Page 85 of Bent Out of Shade
The vampire sped to block us. “What are you up to?”
“I’m just doing as you asked.” Tatiana raised her eyebrows. “Are you going to compel me into behaving otherwise?”
Zev exhaled.
“The Lonestars are on a rampage to find the vampire behind all the gangland murders,” I said.
“Did you learn that from Detective Chu? Perhaps before he suddenly stopped working with them?” Zev snapped his fingers. “I wonder why that was?”
Tatiana squeezed my shoulder, reminding me that I wasn’t alone, whereas Zev, for all his minions, mostly was. I was swamped with a rush of sorrow because for the vampire, survival meant secrets, and relationships were weaknesses, something I understood far too well.
Except all my secrets had crumbled into dust and here I stood, smarter and stronger, thanks to those I’d decided to trust. Resilience wasn’t a singular oak tree, it wasn’t even a willow tree, able to bend and sway, it was a garden of companion plants where each had their own unique characteristics and needs yet they thrived better together.
“I know you want to kill me,” I said. “Recent events and all.”
Zev’s glance flicked to Tatiana, who shook her head.
“I heard there was an incident, but Miriam refused to share the details.”
His surprise flashed over his face for a second before he schooled his features. “Your point, Ms. Feldman?”
I kicked some of the plastic wrapping out of the way. “It’s nothing compared to how much I want to kill you.”
The vampire barked out a laugh and tilted his head jauntily to the side as if daring me to try. “Please. I would enjoy the spectacle.”
Asshat. “Despite my wishes, we came here to help you.” I unclenched my jaw. Hold your horses, stupid oath. “And in the process, solve our own problem. No more compulsions, no more threats, no more broken promises. We either ally ourselves or we all burn.” I spread my hands wide. “Welcome to the new world order, Zev.”
He gave two fast blinks at my use of his first name, which was deeply satisfying. “How dramatic,” he scoffed.
“Which you’d know nothing about.” Tatiana stepped sideways, catching the edge of a spotlight that shone on a marble bust of Medusa. “‘Love me Sweet, with all thou art,’” she recited. “‘Feeling, thinking, seeing; Love me in the lightest part, Love me in full being.’” She smiled. “Remember the moonlight on the steps of the Paris Opera house that night, Zev?”
Holy hell! I released the breast of the statue I’d grabbed hold of in shock, waving at the marble figure in apology, while not taking my eyes off the drama going down before me.
The vamp seized Tatiana by the throat and pressed her against the marble Medusa. “‘Nay, I have done, you get no more of me; And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart, That thus so cleanly I myself can free.’ Also dramatic, but more apt.”
My scythe manifested in a second, but before I could intervene, Tatiana calmly peeled his hand off her neck and pressed it to her heart. “My first statement stands.”
I froze, torn between making sure my elderly boss was safe and not wanting to draw attention to myself, but damn did I have questions.
Zev snatched his hand away. “You were terrified of what I offered you, so you threw away all our years to remain with your normal human.” He sneered that last part. “Yet despite all that, I allowed him to live, so tell me, Tanechka, who truly loved whom?”
Feeling like the worst kind of voyeur, I cloaked myself and tiptoed backward to the office door, taking great care not to stumble into any of the artwork.
Tatiana planted her hands on her hips. “Samuel was a wonderful man, but the only reason you left him alive was so every day I’d torment myself with what I’d given up. And you’re wrong about why I left. Your love was couched in secrets and barbed wire, just like everything else in your life, and it was destroying me.” Her lips parted slightly like she hadn’t meant to admit that last part.
“And now?” He flicked a piece of lint off his sleeve like the answer was of no concern.
She jabbed him in the chest twice, pushing him out of her personal space. “As tempting as it is to watch you self-destruct, yet again—”
Zev flinched and I bumped into a painting with my hip, scrambling to catch the heavy frame before it fell.
“I don’t enjoy your pain,” she said. “So, will you actually listen for once in your damned life?”
Zev chuckled without any humor. “It is damned, isn’t it?” He spun around, his glinting eyes locked on mine through the invisibility mesh. “Enjoying yourself, Ms. Feldman? You do seem to be privy to so many of my private moments.”
“No.” I stood on the carpet with all my shields down. “I just feel sad.”
A red haze washed over his eyes and his fangs descended.
“Do you remember when I almost gave up in Paris and went home?” Tatiana said, stopping Zev in his tracks. “I stayed because you convinced me I didn’t have to keep playing the part that others expected of me. I could rid myself of the path that strangled me even though it was the only one I knew, and live life the way I wanted to.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth. “You fought me hard before you saw it my way.”
“True, but you enjoyed that.” She grinned wickedly, and I grimaced because I preferred to keep any vision of her love with Zev as a platonic ideal. Like really, really preferred. She grew serious. “Take your own advice now, l’vionak, and hear us out.”
