I braced myself for the guard to attack Ren, but he just stood there, his eyes downcast.
Cold fear crept up my spine. Who the hell was Ren, and why didn’t anyone want to mess with him?
Ren studied me, frowning. “Why are you bleeding?” His eyes were on my cheek.
I looked away.
Ren spun back to the cowed guard. “Did one of you do this to her?” His tone was quiet. Deadly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the guard glance up at Ren.
“Well?” Ren said. “I doubt she hurt herself.”
“She was making noise and talking back to me.” The guard’s voice shook.
“So you hit her?” Ren asked. “You thought it would be a good idea to put your hands on my property?”
The guard took a step back, but Ren advanced on him. With a crack so loud it could’ve been a gunshot, the back of Ren’s hand connected with the guard’s face, and he clattered to the ground. The guard’s cheekbone and nose looked crushed, and he gurgled through bloody lips. His arm and leg were shattered where they’d hit the floor. The floor itself—hard wood—was splintered.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
Vampires weren’t easy to hurt. Even when they fought each other, it rarely resulted in injuries. Ren’s effortless swipe had just crunched this vampire’s bones.
What the hell?
Ren lifted his chin, his eyes furious and dark as night. “Be grateful I didn’t kill you.”
The injured guard didn’t even look up at him. The other guard—the female by the door—didn’t move. Every set of eyes in the room was on Ren, but he didn’t seem to care.
He just turned and gave me a slight smile.
My heart sank. Exactly what sort of deep shit was I in now?
Chapter 7
Ren offered me his hand. I stared at it.
Take it! the tiny voice urged me. Do you want him to beat you right here? Do you want your face caved in like that vampire?
But I couldn’t move.
Ren looked me over again. “I just smashed a vampire into pieces for you. Wouldn’t you rather be with me than with them?”
I swallowed. No. No, I definitely did not want to leave with the even scarier monster. But I also didn’t want to be a bloody smear on the floor.
For now, I was making a choice to live. I would deal with the rest later. I took his hand, which was oddly soft.
Ren set a quick pace out of the room and down the hall. No one stopped him. No one seemed to want to punish him or even mention what he’d done.
When we got to the lobby, the female vampire behind the desk near the elevators seemed flummoxed.
“My lord,” she said tightly, and there was that strange title again. “You are supposed to make payment the following day and receive your merchandise after the holding period.”
“Yes, I’m aware,” he said, “but I already paid. You can check.”
She swallowed. “There’s still a holding period…” she started weakly.
Ren sighed. “I don’t trust her with your organization. Did you know that she was attacked tonight on these premises? Ask Jenna Topaz why her arm is broken in four places. And one of your guards just hit her. She is mine, and he put his hands on her.”
The female’s whole body went rigid, her expression aghast.
“My lord,” she said again. “I am deeply sorry for that. It shouldn’t have happened. Origin is committed to its high standards. If there’s anything we can do to make it up to you…”
His withering look caused her to trail off, and she tensed.
“Unmark her,” he said, “or you’ll have more problems from me than it’s worth.”
A shadow of real fear passed over the female’s eyes, and she impatiently gestured for my hands. She took a bottle of special solution from under the desk and rubbed some between her palms before swiping her fingers over the marks above my knuckles.
The magic and the bloody mark disappeared.
Ren took my hands, and I jumped. He held them close to his eyes and inspected them while I stared at the ground.
“Thank you,” he said. “Always a pleasure with you people.”
He shook his head in disgust. He let go of one hand of my hands and tugged me toward the elevator with the other.
My feet moved under me although I hadn’t directed them. Some part of me was still locked away, the part that might tremble or scream or cry or try to run. The part of me that wondered what would happen next.
He let go of my hand, but I followed him into the elevator when it arrived regardless. Pretty much every vampire I’d ever met had the same rules for their humans. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Don’t look them in the eye. Don’t stand too far away. Don’t make sudden movements.
Ren would do whatever he wanted to me, and I didn’t get a say in that. It was easier to turn off, to ignore it. To follow the rules like the hollow, blood-filled shell I was.
I folded my hands in front of myself, the picture of good behavior.
He sighed. “Vampires,” he muttered, hitting the button for the basement garage floor. “What an annoyance, right?”
Don’t you dare answer that, the tiny voice told me.
Ren took his handkerchief out of his pocket—the same one from earlier—and reached for me. I froze, my breathing going tight and shallow as he wiped my face. There was a shocking amount of stark-red blood on the light fabric. I looked away from it, locking my eyes on the ground.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“As of a few minutes ago, nineteen,” I said.
“Ah, your birthday. Birthdays are important to humans, right?” he asked. His weirdly innocent and detached tone sounded mocking.
Fuck you.
The brightly lit garage was empty. Ren walked swiftly, and I followed at his heels. He reached into his pocket and unlocked a black BMW SUV. Its windows were tinted to near black.
“In,” he said, but I hesitated, not sure what door he wanted me to use. “Passenger seat,” he added, as though I were stupid.
I clambered in as he settled calmly into the driver’s seat. I wrapped my arms around myself, cold and hungry and scared, despite trying to push all those feelings aside. They were nags, never giving me a moment’s rest.
Ren gave me a quick glance before cranking up the heat. He also touched a couple of buttons that, upon further inspection, were the seat warmer controls.
Did he want me to be comfortable?
I huddled into the dark leather and studied the dim center console lights.
Ren didn’t say anything as he pulled us out of the garage and onto the city streets. He hadn’t turned on music or the radio, and the interior of the car was awkwardly quiet.
He was silent until we got onto the highway, heading south.
“There’s a bag on the floor behind you,” he said finally. “It has food in it.”
I inhaled sharply. Food.
Ren glanced at me. “Go ahead.”
I didn’t move. Was this some sort of trick? Was he expecting something in return? Would I regret taking anything he offered me?
He sighed. “Do I have to threaten you or something?”
I reached behind my seat and groped around, my hand connecting with a leather messenger bag. I hauled it into my lap. Under the flap, I found bottles of water, apples, string cheese, grapes, and herb-flavored butter crackers.