Blood Threads: The Star Seamstress Book One Read online

  His answering smile was electric.

  Jordan's sweet sin pushed me towards the edge of drunk. I decided I didn't care, because goddamn, I could use a good solid buzz to shake away my fears. "Time to dance!" I informed everyone, and they demurred loudly.

  "You're a great dancer," Jordan said after an hour of booty shaking and more free drinks. We'd approached his bar, and I leaned forward, grateful for the physical support. Man, dancing in heels was a pain.

  "That's nice of you to say, but I'm enthusiastic, not particularly talented."

  "Well, I liked it." I ignored Amari's arch look in response to Jordan's warm tone. "You're too hard on yourself."

  "Hey, being self-deprecating keeps me humble," I said. "May we have two cups of water?"

  "Of course." He set two water bottles in front of me.

  "Oh no, that's okay." I waved my hand, embarrassed that I didn't want to pay the three dollars that each bottle cost and not wanting to say it out loud. "I'm fine with tap water."

  "Don't be silly. They're free."

  Damn, that was embarrassing. "Thank you."

  He flashed that smile again and went down the bar to help customers.

  "How are you so broke?" Amari asked me curiously as he drank his water, the booze apparently removing his already paper-thin verbal filters. "I don't know what you did in LA, but I have the feeling it was more lucrative than bartending and working retail."

  I sighed, remembering my old life and not having to stress out about every little drink and cost. "Yes, I was making a helluva lot more money, it's true. It's largely my fault. My employer was a cheating cheapskate who always liked to delay paying me, and she owed me months around the time that we had a major disagreement about something. After that, she refused to pay my back wages. I couldn't afford to sue her, and as I'd just invested tons of my money on a big project with some friends, my savings were anemic. I should have made her cough up the dough more regularly, but I'd gotten used to it."

  "Oh man, that sucks. What were you fighting about?"

  I looked at my drink. "Nothing major, just one of those things."

  "What kind of job was it?"

  "Personal assistant."

  "Ooo, for someone I'd know?"

  "Nope." I was lying. The honest answer was yes, it was someone he knew, and there was no way in hell I was I telling him that story. The fact that I hadn't been dragged into the tabloids was blessing enough as it was, and I wasn't about to risk it leaking out from my loose lips.

  "Veda! I know that's a fib. Who was it?"

  "I signed a nondisclosure agreement." I made a motion of zipping my lips. "Can't say a word or I'd get sued within an inch of my life. Sorry, buddy." Also, there's a chance he would put two and two together from the facts that did leak to the press about my boss and her equally famous husband, and I didn't know him well enough to be sure his first reaction wouldn't be a phone call to TMZ.

  Really, with my current broke-ass state, how could I blame him? If given the chance to make thousands of dollars from a five-minute conversation with a journalist, I'm not sure I'd turn it down.

  Okay, I would, because it would be highly dishonorable. But hot damn, would I be tempted, especially lately.

  "Well, maybe after a couple of drinks you'll tell me everything."

  "Keep hoping," I said distractedly, getting that sense of being watched again. I looked around, but the problem with a dark club was it was really hard to differentiate people. This wasn't like me, being all anxious that maybe someone was checking me out. Hell, I'd made it my goal to be as flashy as possible for years.

  This feeling was different. This had me feeling almost naked, like someone was, at that moment, staring right through me to the very center of my being.

  I looked around.

  "Something wrong?" Amari asked.

  "Yes. No. It's just..." I shook my head, trying to get the words out. "I just think I'm paranoid, really. I need to talk to Frank and ease my mind."

  "Well," Amari said, drawing out the 'lls. "I wouldn't say it'll particularly ease your mind, although it will explain some things."

  I was about to ask if I really wanted them explained if they were so unsettling, when a voice rang out behind me. "Vida la Loca!"

  Startled at the sound, I turned to see Sun Ji approaching me, and Amari looked at me curiously. "Vida la Loca?" he asked, eyebrows sky-high.

  "It's a long story," I said as the student ran up. Shit. I think I'd just been outed.

  "I look forward to hearing it."

  "Veda!" Sun Ji said, a little breathless and flushed, probably from dancing. "It's so cool you're here!"

  "I'm going to go find Leslie." Amari gave me another appraising look and left, and I groaned internally. Damn it, I really didn't want everyone to know about my former side hustle. I hope he didn't tell Kristen since I got the impression she wasn't able to keep secrets very well.

  Man, trying to create a new life when you had a semi-public old one was hard.

  I turned my focus on Sun Ji and smiled at him. "Hey! How're you?"

  "I'm good," he chirped. "It's so great to see you here! No one cool ever comes to Tangerine, it's so boring."

  "Trust me, there are worse clubs, even in LA." I looked at his wristband, which indicated he was allowed to drink. "You're older than twenty-one? I pegged you for a freshman."

  He sighed. "Everyone does that. It's this stupid baby face of mine."

  "Well it's cute, and when you look the same at both twenty-five and fifty you'll be grateful for it, I promise."

  I squeaked when he suddenly hugged me. "Uh, Sun Ji?"

  He let me go, but was smiling. "You're so cool, Veda! I can't believe Vida la Loca is in my town! Promise you'll do the meeting next week?"

  I was drunk, he was sweet, and why not? Sure, I had jack-all to show them, but that's what they got for inviting me. I'd just tell them some fun stories, answer their questions, and that'd be the end of it. It couldn't hurt, right?

  "Alright, deal. You tell me when and where, and if it works with my shifts, I'll be there with bells on."

  "Really?" His eyes lit up. "Bells?"

  "It's a metaphor, silly." His friends were waving at him, and I playfully pushed him towards them. "Stop hanging out with an old lady like me and go have some fun."

  "You're a hot old lady, though," he said with a teasing smile and I snarled at him as he ran off, laughing.

  Oh, to be young and joyous and pleased to be alive and clubbing. I didn't mind being alive, but I wasn't quite that young and knew, despite how much fun I was having, that this clubbing was going to bite me in the ass tomorrow. Ah well, at least I had the day off.

  "Oh shit," I muttered as I remembered Amari and the fact he heard my old cosplay name. It was probably time to come clean, at least to him; maybe if I swore him to secrecy he wouldn't tell anyone else outside of Leslie.

  I found Kristen talking to a group of scruffy men and women, and asked if she'd seen Amari.

  "I think I saw him and Leslie go downstairs," she said, eyes glazed, "but I'm not sure."

  "Oh yeah, I always forget about the lounge. Thanks." I noticed that one of her friends, a tall, lanky guy with wild brown hair and an intense gaze, was glaring at me, and I glared right back. Honestly, all of the people surrounding her looked oddly feral, and I had a suspicion they were townies, not college students. "You alright here?"

  She giggled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

  "No reason. Nice to meet you," I gave the brown-haired guy a narrow look for being rude to me, and he scowled back. Wait, did he just growl at me?

  Yup, definitely a cult member.

  Swinging my stuffed purse behind me, I ran down the stairs to the basement, which housed a bar and a dark little lounge. The bartender down here worked alone and on busy nights only, so I always forgot its existence.

  It was probably past midnight, and the space had turned into makeout central. Pairs of college students pawed at each other drunkenly, and I was amused that Les
lie and Amari had decided to add their own hormones to the mix.

  I waved at Nari, who was manning the downstairs bar, and looked around.

  The best makeout spot in the whole building was a little nook tucked near the bar, and when I rounded the corner I saw Leslie and Amari. Amari was on Leslie's lap, and one of the blond man's hands was around his boyfriend's waist and the other around his neck.

  This made sense, because Amari's neck was exactly where Leslie's face was, as well.

  I grinned as I approached, finding it hilarious that the two of them really were necking in the dark like teenagers.

  Then I got closer. I noticed something was wrong, that the pose was too intense and something beyond sexual. For one thing, Leslie wasn't moving his lips, or any other part of him I could see. It was almost as if he was chewing on Amari's smooth skin, as if he was... biting it.

  Amari let out a low groan, and Leslie's long, pale fingers tightened into his lover's skin. Was that blood on Leslie's mouth?

  My hands flew up to stifle a scream, and I turned and ran.

  I barely remember leaving the bar, other than running into a lot of people and stumbling around them. Someone, probably Jordan, called my name as I rushed past.

  Leslie had been drinking Amari's blood, I was sure of it. Yes, maybe I was delusional, or my hypothetical brain tumor was acting up again.

  But unlike with the blackouts, what I had seen felt real, and undeniable, and very disturbing. Maybe if I hadn't seen actual blood I wouldn't be so damn upset, or could convince myself that I was hallucinating. But I had seen blood. I wasn't hallucinating.

  When I hit the warm September air, I leaned against the building and let my butt slide down the wall, taking great, gasping breathes.

  What had Kristen mentioned the other day before everyone had shushed her? Undead who looked young?

  Oh my god. She was talking literally. She was telling me there are vampires in Maywen, ones who clearly were able to walk around during the day.

  The image of Erica and Adin, his head bowed over her creamy neck and his eyes glowing red came unbidden into my mind, and I sobbed. I wrapped my arms around myself, tears streaming down my face.

  Adin was a vampire, and thus Erica had been evasive and weird when I'd mentioned seeing her and Adin 'necking'. I knew now they hadn't been engaged in anything so benign. No, Adin had been feeding, just as Leslie had been feeding off of Amari.

  I had personally spoken to and interacted with two bloodsuckers. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," I kept repeating, rocking back and forth on my butt.

  "Hey, you alright?" a young woman in a pink shirt leaned down to touch my shoulder. I twitched and pulled away, and something about the look in my eyes was repellent.

  "Get away from her, Michelle," someone behind her said. "I think she's high or something."

  I fucking wished. At least then I would have a reasonable explanation for all this insanity.

  The women disappeared inside and I clutched my purse to my chest, feeling like it was the only thing that could offer me any comfort.

  That was ridiculous, of course, because it was just a purse. Why did I feel better the closer I brought it to my body? Why did my once designer, now quite scuffed, bulging black handbag suddenly seem like the absolutely best item in the world?

  As I squished it closer, it hit me how full and soft it was, and I heard that purr in my mind again. My homemade skirt with the subtle sparkle was still in there, and as I pulled it out, I suddenly had a wild, undeniable urge to put it on. Scrambling to my feet, I pulled it up over my legs, not caring how ridiculous it was to put a long skirt over a dress.

  I let out a deep sigh of satisfaction when it settled against my skin, and while my mind was still numb from shock I no longer felt like I couldn't move. This was good, because I was terrified that Leslie had seen me.

  "Got to go home, yup, gotta get moving." I drew on the odd sort of strength that radiated from the skirt. "I need to go lock myself in, and hide in bed, and maybe I'll never come out ever again, nope." With this thought firmly in mind, I stumbled out into the night, heading towards campus and the river. Okay, yes, the Agrimony was a perfect landmark. I needed to follow that. I walked briskly towards its banks, planning to turn to head towards my street when there was a sound behind me.

  I whirled, but there was no one except for some college students a couple hundred feet away. I began to walk faster and my brain began to go into overdrive. Maybe it was Leslie, stalking me like a movie vampire. He had a secret to protect, and perhaps that meant he was going to take me down, tear my heart out, and turn me into his dessert.

  Now I was almost running. Vampires. Blackouts. Scary kidnappings. Was there anything this town didn't have to scare the living hell out of me?

  I was at the river now, having gone a bit too far, but deciding to stay the course until I got to the road that intersected with mine. There were less trees and buildings along the water, and I hoped that meant my pursuer would be less likely to make a move.

  Veda.

  I did not hear a voice saying my name, I told myself. I definitely didn't. That's just my rising insanity talking, my strained brain starting to crack.

  They're coming, Veda. What will you do? Do you trust him to save you, or will you save yourself?

  I was jogging now, my feet hurting from the heels and my movement restricted by the skirt. I didn't know what I was saving myself from, but I had a premonition who the 'he' who might save me was. No, voice, I didn't want him to save me. I didn't want him anywhere near me. That dude was a literal monster, and I wasn't in the mood to become a blood donor.

  There were footsteps behind me, faster now. They sounded big, and they were persistent.

  I ran.

  This wasn't Leslie. I don't know how I knew, but somehow I understood instinctively that Leslie wouldn't be so heavy-footed, and he would be alone. My hunter moved like a human, an ungainly but determined one.

  Join us, Veda, the voices said, and you'll never be afraid again.

  I choked out a sob. I thought you wanted me to save myself.

  Joining us would be saving yourself. We can't have you if they reach you first. But if you come to us now, no one can hurt you ever again. Join us. The shimmering voices repeated. We will be you and you will be us, and we will be pure and safe.

  There was something sweet and loving about the voices, and I had to admit their offer was appealing, much more so than this terror I was currently living.

  I just needed to jump into the water, that's all. When I did, the sweet voices would take me under their wings and wrap me up in their power and love.

  I just had to leap, and—

  "VEDA!"

  This voice saying my name was so loud, so commanding, I stopped cold.

  Had I really just considered throwing myself in a surprisingly deep, 200-meter wide river? That was an epically stupid idea, and probably a cold one.

  But who had called my name? It had been very loud but not that close, and—

  "Oof!" Suddenly I was tumbling to the ground, a heavy body landing on top of me. I screamed, but two large, meaty hands clasped over my mouth.

  There was someone holding me down, and when I looked up I saw that he was wearing a hood.

  "MMMMRRR!" I screamed again into his hand, thrashing to no avail. The man was unbelievably strong.

  "You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" a rough male voice said from the hood, and I thrashed harder. "Don't worry, girly. That's not what I'm here for. I want that skirt of yours."

  "Mrr mmrm?" Now I was confused. I was glad this wasn't going to turn very ugly. But why the hell would he want that? "Ah, there we go," my attacker said with satisfaction, moving his hand from my mouth and his fingers moving under the waistband. There was suddenly a tingly, electric feeling around my skin and he sprung back, flapping his hands through the air like they were burned. "FUCK! What the hell? They didn't tell me it was dangerous!"

  Before I could answer, or more specif
ically, scream for help at the top of my lungs, the man was being lifted in the air and then slammed into the pavement with such savagery—and what sounded like the breaking of his nose and maybe multiple other bones in his face—that I whimpered.

  Against my better judgment I raised my eyes and met the furious red pupils of a vampire.

  8

  Adin looked at me, his crimson orbs bright, and I whimpered and scrambled away from him. No, I didn't want him saving me, and yet here we were.

  I tried not to stare, my brain addled from booze and fear and a really twisted sort of lust. In that moment, Adin was both magnificent and terrifying. His strong features, highlighted only by the lamps that illuminated the river embankment, were otherworldly, and I now understood why his movements were so fluid and catlike.

  Oh, my god, he truly was a vampire.

  A vampire who'd just saved me.

  Adin stepped towards me with a snarl on his face and I caught the glint of his fangs, which brought tears to my eyes. I was going to die.

  "Why are you running around alone at night, you fool?" he growled, and I heard something inhuman there, a second tone that was like a purr from a demon cat.

  "I... I was afraid. I saw something in the club," I whispered. Was he not going to kill me?

  His lip curled up at one side. They would be such amazing lips if they weren't on a monster. "Yes, I know—you saw Leslie and his toy, enjoying the illicit thrill of sharing blood in public. So transgressive."

  Okay, now he was officially pissing me off. "And this is so different than you chomping on Erica in the park, how, exactly?"

  His smile dropped and he narrowed his eyes at me. "That was a necessity. She saved my life after battling demons."

  "There are demons, too?" I whispered.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then I wondered what the hell I was doing talking to and sassing an angry, crimson-eyed vampire. Still, he'd just chastised me for being out alone at night and saved me from a now comatose attacker, which wasn't the behavior of a man who was just angling for a blood transfusion.

  That gave me just a little bit of relief, but judging by his expression when he opened his eyes, he might consider killing me anyway. "You must be more careful, Miss Geroux. I am tiring of keeping tabs on you, and your enemies have an endless supply of minions to send your way."