Borne in the Blood Page 18

  Suddenly the rear door opened again, and Tesa flinched back.

  “Stark?” she said into the mic, trying to contain her surprise.

  He nodded curtly in greeting and strapped himself into the seat next to her. Tesa looked at him through wide eyes, trying to see his face. As he turned away, she caught the dim, red glow. He raised a pair of dark Prada sunglasses to his face and slid them on.

  “Hang on tight,” Gunner announced, “I’ve only done this once before.”

  “Wait, what? ” she yelled into the mic. “Gunner, what did you say??”

  But it was too late. The sound of the rotors deepened and roared, making it impossible to talk. Tesa gripped her armrests and pressed her head back into the seat. She felt the cabin tip forward subtly then back, like a Ferris Wheel car. When she dared to open her eyes again, they were a hundred feet over the trees.

  “Oh my God!” she said softly, awestruck. She glanced at Gunner and saw the crease in his cheek as he grinned at her response.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty great,” he admitted.

  Tesa pressed her hands to the window glass as the earth swept by below them. It felt like being on a smooth train car, like the monorail at an amusement park. Though the sound was nearly deafening, she felt totally safe hurtling across the sky as though they had been thrown.

  Dimly, she could hear Gunner and Jamie talking to each other, presumably about some mechanical aspect of the flight. Tesa watched the world whip by with her cheeks aching from the smile that was plastered on her face.

  She could see the sun glinting off the top of every crystal in the clouds, and layer upon layer upon layer of fluffy whiteness. With her improved vision, the currents of the air were readily visible, looking like trails of dye through a swiftly running stream.

  Below them, a huge flock of starlings turned over itself in a swirling cloud formation that made complete sense to her now. What had seemed random, she now knew was just previously beyond her grasp. Now all the life seething around her made perfect instinctual sense.

  Stark kept his eyes cast toward the horizon, and Tesa feared that was to conceal his discomfort. Since she had met him, layer upon layer of his civility had evaporated. That first day, he had seemed so smooth and in control. Little by little, all of that had crumbled away as the reddish glow of his eyes deepened. Now, she didn’t even want to be near him.

  She couldn’t trust his self-control. At the club, she had seen just how much Gunner hungered for her, how it took massive amounts of strength to keep his need at bay. How much worse off was Stark?

  She shuddered to think.

  But they must know what they’re doing, she reminded herself. Gunner has a plan. All I need to do is trust him.

  Yeah. Trust him. I’m working on that.

  Still, Gunner had told her that Stark was getting to the end of what he could withstand. Tesa couldn’t help but wonder just how much time Stark had left.

  Suddenly he twitched toward her as though he had heard what she was thinking. She jerked back in her seat in surprise. Stark raised a hand in apology and rubbed his brow wearily.

  “Hey,” Gunner’s voice came over the headphones after a short burst of static. “Look.”

  Tesa squinted out the front windshield. They were flying over a body of water that was sapphire blue stretching out interminably to their right. In the distance, she could make out a light grey smear on the horizon.

  As she concentrated, the silhouette of the huge city began to resolve. First the black shape of the Hancock building, then another, taller building to the left… Then more and more filled in between. The complexity of the hive-like distribution of building after building unfolded in front of them.

  Ahead of that, a crowd of boats drifted over the surface of the lake like rubber toys. Though they were tiny, she could just make out the figures of people crawling over their surfaces. People who had no idea who they were, or what they were doing. More than a million people with their own lives, their own concerns.

  She could sense the intense, bustling surge of all that life gathered in a stationary swarm over the land. A million beating hearts. Concerns, passions, drama, endings, beginnings… The thought of all that complexity gave her a sudden feeling of vertigo coupled with nausea.

  “Now you know why vampires prefer the country,” came Gunner’s voice in her ear, then Jamie’s chuckle in response.

  Tesa held their breath as they ascended again sharply, flying high over the near south side of the city. They hovered for long moments like a bobbin on a wire over a large field with concrete circles, then settled gently. She didn’t even feel it when they touched the ground, but she saw a driver exit a Lincoln Town Car about thirty yards away, standing ready by the back door.

  Gunner flipped a series of switches over his head smartly, and the rotors began to slow. He hopped down from the pilot’s seat into the humid city air and ducked around the front of the helicopter. Tesa removed her headphones as he opened her door, offering his hand so she could climb to the tarmac.

  Tesa held his hand gratefully as they walked quickly over the concrete. Her shiny red Miu Miu heels were about the only thing that fit her properly. Her skirt felt uncomfortably snug, no matter how many times she caught Gunner staring appreciatively at the roll of flesh that burst over the waistband. And her pullover barely contained her overflowing cleavage.

  Diving into the Town Car through the open door, Tesa ran her hands over the supple black leather. The car smelled thickly of new upholstery and carpet, and everything was so clean it looked oiled.

  Gunner surveyed the interior perfunctorily and settled into the seat, throwing his arm over the back. She grabbed the chilled bottle of champagne and a small plate of eclairs off the tray and tucked her knees under her.

  Both front doors opened, and Jamie got in one side while Stark climbed in the other.

  “Are you glad he’s here? Is he okay?” Tesa whispered to Gunner, biting through the flaky pastry of an eclair. The creamy custard oozed out the sides and she licked it with the point of her tongue.

  He nodded unconvincingly. “He said he wanted to come,” he averred.

  Tesa peered at the back of Stark’s head. He stared straight out the window and showed no signs of removing his dark sunglasses.

  “Is that because of me?” she asked tentatively. “Because of Helmut?”

  Gunner shrugged but she could tell he had an answer. He just didn’t want to give it.

  “Is it because I think so loud?”

  Gunner raised his eyebrows. “Because you… Did he tell you that?”

  She nodded apologetically.

  He snorted, laughing. “Yeah, I guess it has something to do with that. But don’t worry about it, princess. That’s just part of your charm.”

  “My charm?”

  “Yeah, it makes you easy to find, too.”

  Tesa scowled thoughtfully and tried to think in a quiet way, whatever that meant. She resolved to try to be more calm. The last thing she wanted was Stark yelling at her again like he had in Bernie’s bar.

  Gunner patted her knee to distract her. He was clearly pleased with himself and ready to begin having fun.

  “So! Tell me, are you a Barneys sort of girl? Or more of a ten-boutiques-in-a-day sort?”

  Tesa made a face, weighing those options and unsure which to pick. “Honestly, I’m more of a thrift shop and hand-me-down sort.”

  He chuckled. “Well, not anymore you’re not,” he said. “Do you want me to find you a personal shopper? I admit it was fun the first time, but maybe you would prefer a woman’s touch?”

  “The first time?” she asked, popping the last morsel of sweet into her mouth. The fine chocolate melted instantly on her tongue and dribbled across her back teeth.

  “Who do you think filled your closets? And bath? Did you think it was the closet fairy? How did I do, anyway?”

  Tesa stared at him, dumbfounded. It had never occurred to her to wonder who had bought her all those wonderful th
ings. Every dress fit her like a glove. Even the panties and bras were just right for her figure and style. And the bathroom… it looked like the makeup counter at Macy’s had been picked clean.

  “You’re actually amazing at that. I loved everything… All the colors, and everything fit perfectly. But you always make fun of my clothes!”

  “Well, maybe this time I can pick something you can wear just for me. But you have your own… style. You should wear what you like.”

  “You are actually sort of okay, do you know that?” she exclaimed playfully, pouring out a healthy glass of champagne and taking a sizable swallow.

  He waved a humble hand in the air. “Psssh. Of course I know.”

  CHAPTER 19

  The Town Car prowled along the busy city streets, concealing its occupants behind black tinted windows. Tesa stared at the throngs of people on the sidewalks in amazement. She could see their interweaving paths like the fibers of a woven rug. The polyrhythmic throng captivated her. She glanced nervously over her shoulder at Gunner, who was looking only at her.

  “Isn’t this… a lot? Overwhelming?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve had a lot of practice. And… Well, I have something to protect, don’t I?”

  The car pulled around a corner, turning down a ramp into a dark, concrete parking garage. The driver walked around to open Tesa’s door first. Stark stood leaning against the passenger side door with his face turned away.

  “Should we—” she murmured to Gunner as he walked to her side, pulling his leather jacket lapels smartly.

  “No, just try to ignore him… He won’t be far. Actually, would you mind if we kept away from the mall? Unless you’re dying for Bloomingdale’s? Crowds are trouble...”

  “Oh, no no,” she said hurriedly. “That’s no problem, really.” She tried to imagine Stark in a crowd of hundreds of clueless tourist shoppers, then tried to erase the bloody image from her mind.

  “Okay,” Gunner agreed. “Jamie? Would you please call Francine at Barneys? Tell her I’m bringing someone.”

  Jamie saluted casually and slipped his cellphone from his breast pocket, ducking behind a concrete pillar to find reception. Tesa began following the signs toward the street level. She glanced around the garage but Stark was nowhere to be seen. Gunner raised an eyebrow.

  “Try to ignore him. Right,” she repeated.

  Try to ignore a rabid vampire on the loose in downtown Chicago. Gotcha, she thought sarcastically.

  “Yeah, well… just try,” he said out loud.

  The sunlight cut through the manicured maple tree limbs and plastered swirling star shapes all over the sidewalk. Well-appointed women and the occasional girl or boy wandered up and down the walkway, talking on cellphones, gazing disinterestedly through Gucci sunglasses at the extravagant shop windows. Tesa bounced on her toes, eager to step through every doorway but trying to appear cool.

  Gunner kept a protective hand clasped on her shoulder and slid dark glasses over his eyes. His gaze swiveled over the crowd constantly.

  “Here, quit that,” she fussed, turning to grab his hand. She laced her fingers in his and dropped her arm. He stared at their clasped hands with a bemused expression.

  “There, isn’t that nice?” she insisted.

  Nodding, he kept his expression carefully neutral. “It is, indeed.”

  “Now we look like normal people, instead of guard and prisoner —”

  “ — prince and princess, ” he corrected her.

  “Yeah well… okay. Maybe a little,” she admitted, looking up at him. She didn’t even mind when the euphoria smacked her on the forehead, driving her negative thoughts away.

  Yeah, this isn’t so bad, she sighed to herself.

  She tugged his arm toward the Juicy Couture display. A row of scrawny mannikins tumbled in a football parody in short dresses.

  “Do you like this?” she asked, pointing to a short lace shift with a rounded collar. It would come to just below her butt, though she figured that would be okay since they didn’t often go anywhere.

  “Like it? What’s not to like?” he murmured, squeezing her hand lightly. The pressure sent waves of sparks up her arm.

  “Not very practical,” she scowled.

  “Not your concern,” he corrected her.

  Gunner jerked his chin and gestured to Jamie, who slipped inside the store and reemerged immediately. Then he directed her toward the Barneys windows.

  “You know what, let’s try this one,” he said.

  “Are you looking for someone?” she asked him, trying to follow his gaze.

  “No, no,” he reassured her. “Just keeping an eye on things.”

  She shrugged and followed him to the entrance, nodding courteously at the man who opened the door for her. The smell of new, shiny things washed over like the waves of a warm sea. Everywhere she looked there were glittering trinkets, towers of mannequins in colorful clothes, and artful displays combining brand names with deliberately rumpled accessories. Her ear to ear grin made her cheeks hurt.

  For a moment she considered trying to blend into the crowd, but then she noticed that no one seemed to pay them any mind. People moved aside in front of them as though it was a parting of water. They slipped through the crowds like eels, not even raising an eyebrow.

  To Tesa, that seemed strange. Gunner looked like a brooding magazine model. He had that distinctly I’m a famous person air about him. Why didn’t anyone even glance his way?

  “It’s just a little glamour… Nothing serious,” he said in a low voice, sensing her question. “Just a subliminal suggestion to pay no attention.”

  She nodded, vaguely disappointed that her shiny new rock star lifestyle was going to be ignored by everyone in the place.

  Finally, a flaming redhead made direct, arrogant eye contact with her as they walked up the curved staircase to the second floor. She paused, draping her elegantly manicured fingers over her hip and posed like a starlet as they approached.

  She had long, full hair in a shade of red that Tesa had only seen in magazines. Her cerise shift hugged every long, comely curve. She looked like she’d been constructed, rather than born. Every proportion seemed precise.

  Her pale ivory nostrils flared as Gunner drew near and her ruby red lips curled in a knowing smirk that Tesa found extremely annoying.

  “Francine,” Gunner said in a solid voice.

  “Darling,” she purred in reply, arching a perfect fox-colored eyebrow over her emerald eyes. “And you must be the little pet,” she said with an oily sort of fondness.

  “Tesa,” Gunner said in a voice that indicated this was information Francine already had.

  “Yes, Tesa… right…” she said, drawing each word out as she looked Tesa up and down critically. “Well, follow me!”

  She turned on the stairs and began to climb, her bottom swaying dramatically. Tesa noticed the dark band of thigh high stocking peeking out of the slit on the back of her skirt with every step.

  “This sucks,” she muttered.

  Gunner chuckled. “Don’t let her get to you. She’s a bit of a drama queen,” he whispered conspiratorially.

  Francine led them to the back wall of the store, to an area that looked like a posh living room. It was modestly separated from the rest of the floor with rice paper scrims and racks. Inside the partitioned area were several leather sofas around a table laden with tiny pink cakes covered in ganache and minuscule flowers.

  “Please, help yourself,” Francine cooed as she strode to the rack at the back of the room and dragged it forward.

  Pressing thoughtfully at her chin, she peered at Tesa and plucked a few hangers off the rack. She rearranged three garments to the front and slid a dozen to one side as though they had given her a grave insult.

  “Phoebe!” she yelled into a macho-looking radio.

  A blond co-ed with a long, swinging ponytail marched into the room with her lips puckered like she was eating a lemon wedge. Her alligator pumps were so pointy Tesa figured s
he could slash tires with them.

  Phoebe stood next to Francine and cocked her head at Tesa, who stood straight and lifted her arms slightly.

  “Do you guys need to know my size?” she asked.

  “Oh, honey,” Phoebe laughed with a distinctly deep-south accent, “it doesn’t look like you know your size.”

  Tesa blanched.

  “Now, Phoebe, don’t be snide. Tesa is Gunner’s little Gypsy,” Francine admonished. Phoebe’s lips made a little o of recognition and she nodded.

  Tesa turned to Gunner in surprise. He shrugged, flipping leisurely through an oversized glossy magazine with one ankle crossed over his other knee.

  “We are a small community,” he said as if that answered anything.

  Francine muttered marching orders to Phoebe, who strode purposefully out of the room. She returned just moments later with another full rack, then left again immediately.

  Francine beckoned to Tesa with her crooked finger. She held out her hand with a flourish like a game show host with an attitude problem.

  “All right,” she sighed dramatically. “You have your Lanvin, your Balenciaga,” she droned, flipping through garments, “your Saint Laurent… your Valentino of course but…” she made a sour face, “okay, no Valentino…” She snapped the hanger off the chrome pole and hung it on the end.

  “You’re coming into those curves nicely, but assume you only have maybe two months in anything that you’ll see here today… so like, don’t marry any of it, okay? We will fit you again soonish.”

  Tesa nodded obediently. Every time Francine slid a dress or leather coat along the rack Tesa swooned from the heady smell of the fabric sizing and tanning chemicals.

  “This is… what on earth?” Francine continued, dragging a pair of long ponchos off and dumping them on the floor with a vengeance. “You know, I think Phoebe may be on drugs. Oh here! This Zhang… great lines for your figure. I think you’ll like the lace. Ahhhm….”

  Snap, snap, snap… she went through dresses with lightning speed. Every time Tesa thought she saw something she liked, it was already gone.