Kathryn

8

He remained quiet the entire way into the heart of the city. I kept sneaking glances at him, but his attention was on the road. I wasn't exactly sure what happened back there, but I was grateful to be out of that place. And away from Henry. The other girls were still back there locked up and I was worried about them.

We pulled onto a side street and into the parking lot of an older apartment building. It went up about three stories and appeared to be in good condition. I was half expecting some dilapidated old southern mansion.

"The people who live here are all vampires. All of them are children of Niko. They're going to smell my blood in you and not Niko's so I'll make sure they understand Niko accepted you as one of his own."

"But did he?" I wasn't so sure. He didn't appear to like me very much.

"Let's talk about it once I show you to your apartment." He got out of the car and walked us into the main building. He stopped to talk to the front desk and introduced me to the night manager. The guy had me fill out a form and handed me a set of keys. He seemed more interested in his phone than me and that was more than okay with me. I wanted to go somewhere quiet and think about what I was going to do.

My apartment was on the second floor and we rode the elevator in silence until it opened and we spilled out into a very well-lit hallway. The gray carpet beneath us was clean as we walked down to the end of the floor.

Bastien unlocked door two twenty-four and held it open for me. Inside, it was small, but clean. I stepped in and he closed the door behind us. The room wasn't overly large, but it wasn't small either. A small LCD TV sat on a stand in front of a beige couch. Two end tables took up space on either side of the couch with shade lamps. A table stood beside the door and off to the left was a small galley kitchen. A plain dining table stood between the space that was the living room and the kitchen.

"There's a bathroom down the hall and a bedroom. It has a decent sized bed and dresser in there as well. It's not much, but it'll get you through as you learn your way around your new life."

"The others...will they come here?"

"Maybe. Niko has apartment complexes like this around the city. They could end up in any of them." He went and sat down on the couch. "Come sit, Kathryn. We have a lot to go over."

I did as he asked, cautious of his serious expression.

"I know you're thinking of running, but Niko spared your life and mine because he thinks you won't. If you run, if you cause him any grief at all, we'll both be dead before you draw your next breath."

I'd forgotten Bastien could read my thoughts. I should have remembered that.

"This is hard. I went through the same things you are. I wanted to call my mom and tell her I was okay, but that's against the rules. Your old life is just a distant memory now. You have to leave it in the past. To contact your parents would put them in danger. Anyone who finds out about us that isn't authorized ahead of time are taken care of. They're killed Kathryn. If you call your mom or Neely's, you'll be the reason they die."

Holy crap. I could be responsible for my mom or Neely's mom's death if I call them?

"Humans can't know about us, Kathryn. It's our one sacred rule. Even I can't protect you if you break that one."

He seemed so earnest I knew he was speaking the truth. It cut me to my core knowing I'd never be able to speak to my mom, that I'd have to let her wonder what happened to me. But it was better than causing her death. I wouldn't do that.

"In the car you said you weren't sure Niko accepted you. I can assure you he does. If he decided you were not worthy of his clan, he would simply have killed you where you stood, my feelings be damned."