Because the Night (The Night Songs Collection) Read online

  “But how did he find us?” Shifting from my mellow afternoon with Blade to the chaos that swirled around Tristan was a shock to my system. Sure, he knew I was in the city, but that was it. “What about Janelle and Amanda tonight?”

  “Who cares, and who cares?” Keisha paced back and forth in the tiny room. “You’re going to see him again. Tonight. They can figure out their own way. What are you going to wear?”

  After tearing everything out of my suitcase, and deflecting Keisha’s comments that it looked like I had brought my whole closet with me, I settled on a black minidress with flowing sheer sleeves.

  “Whoa. You look hot.” Keisha whistled and spun me around. She had picked out a one sleeved orange dress and gladiator sandals for herself.

  “I hope I can walk in these heels.” It was hard enough to strap myself into them.

  “Girl, those shoes weren’t made for walking. Perfect choice.”

  We’d been instructed to check in at the will call desk. A security guard dressed in a black suit introduced himself as Tony as he led us into a waiting room backstage. My stomach tied itself in knots. I perched myself on one of the couch cushions while I people watched nervously. Keisha sat back comfortably and fiddled with her phone, like she did this every day.

  “The girls got tickets. They want to meet up with us afterwards.”

  I hardly registered her words.

  In the distance, I heard the roar of the crowd that signaled the beginning of the show. When the first song was underway, Tony appeared and motioned to us to follow him.

  Instead of bringing us out to seats in the audience, Tony led us to the side of the stage to a spot just behind the curtain, feet away from Tristan. When he spotted me, he winked at me like we shared a private joke, and continued with his performance. I sucked in my breath and held on for the ride.

  Being so close to the band as they put on their show was much more intimate than the first time we saw them. The heat of the flash pots made the faces of the background dancers glow. We moved out of the way as the roadies scrambled to change instruments for the band. I strained my eyes to read all the notes plastered on the stage. I peeked around the curtain every so often to get a look at the crowd, who were completely enthralled with everything the band did.

  But mostly, I just watched Tristan. Tonight he wore his signature black leather pants, which clung dangerously low below his hipbones. They ended in black combat boots that were casually untied. He topped the outfit off with a black T shirt adorned with an intricate white pattern that clung like a second skin. His eyes were heavily rimmed with black liner and his hair hung in his face, down on his chest and back. It swung around him as he roamed all over the stage. His fingers moved over his guitar seductively, teasing it, bringing it to the brink of hysteria then coaxing it back down to a purr. Almost as if he was making love to it.

  The thought made me flush all over. I could hardly bear to watch him, but I couldn’t look away.

  Tristan walked off the stage before I was ready to stop watching him. He came right to me.

  “Look who’s my date tonight,” his eyes moved down my body.

  “You have a date tonight?” I glanced behind me before it hit me. He meant me.

  “Yes,” he reached out and put his hands on my hips. Even after running around on stage under those bright lights for over an hour, he hadn’t so much as broken a sweat. His stage makeup was still perfect. He leaned in so he could speak close to my ear. “And she looks fabulous in her little black dress.”

  “Thanks,” I managed, but it didn’t seem like enough, looking up at Tristan, with his eyes just inches from mine. We might as well have been in another universe. The music on the stage had resumed. “Don’t you have to go back out on stage?”

  He shook his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “It’s just his solo. And truthfully, Callie, the show will start again whenever I decide to go back out there. They can wait.”

  “Oh.” I gulped so hard it hurt. What was he going to do?

  “But I am going to go back out there, just for a few minutes. I want this part of the night to be over so I can spend the rest of the evening with my date.” He leaned in, kissing me chastely on the lips, like we had just done this yesterday, like he hadn’t ever walked out of my life, and then turned to walk back out on stage. My legs felt like jelly. I wrapped my arms around my midsection and half leaned, half fell against the equipment case next to me. Every time I looked at him, I slipped in deeper over my head.

  Keisha brought me back to this realm by whacking my arm. “Girl. That was hot.”

  Tristan hooked his guitar strap back over his shoulder and tapped at some pedals in front of his microphone with his boot. The crowd roared as the spotlight came back up on him. Satisfied with his adjustments, he began to make the guitar sing again. This time he didn’t take his eyes off of mine.

  When the show ended, the band came together in the middle of the stage, joined hands and bowed to the crowd. As the curtain closed, Tristan peeled himself from under the guitar and handed it over to the guitar tech without even looking to make sure the guy had a grip on the instrument. As he approached me, he reached out for my hand and didn’t say a word. Next thing I knew we were headed for the elevator.

  Keisha watched us go, her mouth open.

  “Don’t you have anything you have to do after the show? You can just leave like that?”

  He eyed me sideways, a lopsided smiled spreading over his face as the doors opened and we stepped in. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out by now. I don’t do anything I don’t want to.”

  The doors closed in front of us and we made our way skyward. My stomach stayed on the bottom floor. Oh my God. Knowing Tristan, somehow this elevator would go straight through the roof. I could barely breathe.

  I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. “What about Keisha?” I could practically hear her freaking out from here.

  “She can wait.”

  The next thing I knew we were in his apartment. I knew it from TV, the huge living area, the plush red chairs, the huge floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Still, actually being here was a different thing all together. God, I hoped we weren’t being filmed. That wasn’t constant, was it?

  Tristan spun me towards him. His hands were so cold. Why hadn’t I noticed that before? I could hardly breathe.

  “What are you doing here, Callie?”

  My heart sank to my knees. This wasn’t the greeting I hoped for. It was more of an inquisition. “I’m on vacation.”

  “Why here? You’re not old enough to have fun yet.” He jerked his head toward the window. “Out there, anyway.”

  “I have a fake ID.” I protested. But I knew that wasn’t what he meant. “And I wanted to see you.”

  “You shouldn’t have come here.” His face darkened.

  “You don’t want me here?” I felt tears welling up in my eyes. No, I couldn’t cry. Not now.

  “Oh, I do,” a slow grin spread over his face, but it had an edge. “But you shouldn’t be here.” His slid his tongue over his teeth as he waited for my answer to his original question, settling on one very sharp tooth, playing with it, daring me to notice.

  I winced, like I had been stung. I hated those stupid fangs. Why didn’t he take them out after the show?

  I didn’t have time to process it before he was suddenly on top of me. His hands closed on my arms, and he pinned me against the window with my feet dangling in midair, unable to even struggle. Icy cold radiated from his body like I was standing near an iceberg. He paused, fangs like icicles inches from my face, but no breath, not even freezing cold breath caressed my face.

  I couldn’t even open my mouth to scream. All the things I wanted to ask him, all the things I wanted to say, they didn’t matter now.

  It was true. God, it was all true.

  Whatever he was, he certainly wasn’t human. My eyes were wide and frozen, staring into his, unblinking. I wanted to lose myself in their dark
depths, swirling with danger and desire.

  “Didn’t you know what I was when you came here?” he finally broke the silence; loosening his hold on me just enough that I slid down the window. He cocked his head thoughtfully, still grinning, and stroked my neck with one cool finger.

  He enjoyed this.

  I wanted to tell him to get the hell away from me, but I couldn’t. He made my heart race and sent a shiver down my spine. Even in his monster form.

  Chapter Seven

  “Oh my God, Callie, what’s wrong?” Keisha rushed to hold me when I came back down to The Sin City Vampire Club. I found her having drinks with Janelle and Amanda in the lobby.

  “It’s true, it’s all true.” My words were barely more than a breath against her shoulder.

  “Calm down. You knew it could be bad when we came here. Maybe not this bad, but bad.” She led me back over to the table. Her gray face told me she felt just as shaken as I did.

  “Why does it always have to be the worst case scenario with him?” I felt so foolish, thinking I could just come here and fix everything, not ever thinking Tristan was past the point of return. He was dead. I couldn’t change that.

  The girls didn’t say anything as I climbed up on my barstool. They had no idea why I was so upset. They probably expected that Tristan rejected me. After all, they didn’t think I was his type. If only they knew anything about him. If only I knew anything about him now.

  “You guys were right.” I announced as I caught my breath. “He’s a vampire.”

  Janelle nodded and put her hand over mine. She sympathized with me way more than Amanda did. “It’s not that bad, Callie. They can do everything we do, they just can’t go out in sunlight.”

  “He drinks blood!” I wailed.

  “It’s actually a sexual thing.” Amanda said matter of factly. “They feed off of energy, but blood gets them off. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

  “That’s freaky.” Keisha shuddered.

  “So it’s all true?” I turned towards Janelle. “The fights, the partying?”

  “Yup.” She said sadly.

  “I don’t know what you were expecting.” Amanda sounded exasperated. “That he spent his off time in prayer meetings? You said you knew him. He couldn’t have changed that much.”

  “He always had trouble with drinking and drugs. But with me, he was fun, and sweet, and not like that.”

  Just like Blade. I didn’t think my heart could sink any further.

  “So you just thought you were going to swoop into town and rescue him from his demons?” Amanda didn’t even hide her laugh. “That’s cute.”

  “No.” I shook with anger. Did anyone think of him as a person? “I came because I was concerned about my friend. I wanted to help him. It’s what people do when they care about each other.”

  “Not everyone wants help.” Amanda smiled.

  “Amanda, shut up. I think it’s wonderful.” Janelle smiled at me. “Do you think you’ll see him again?”

  “I don’t know. I kind of freaked out and ran away. I have no way to get in touch with him.”

  “Maybe I can help you.” Janelle offered.

  “That would be awesome.” I couldn’t leave Las Vegas with that being our only contact. Janelle might be my ticket to figuring out what to do about Tristan. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses.

  “I think you should leave well enough alone.” Keisha said. “We’ve only got a couple more days here, and you found a hot vacation fling. You don’t need to have your blood sucked by some dead guy.”

  “I didn’t know I brought my mother with me.” We made faces at each other. “Janelle, seriously, whatever you can do, I would really appreciate.”

  Quiet fell over the table as Tony the security guard came up to us. “Excuse me, ladies. Callie, the boss would like to see you again.”

  “Oh what, he’s disappointed he let her get away alive?” Keisha’s back stiffened.

  “Stop it. I’ll be fine.” I stood up to follow Tony back to Tristan. My heart thundered.

  Tony led me back to the elevator and he motioned for me to enter. He didn’t join me.

  Again I found myself alone with Tristan.

  He lounged on a leather couch. He looked about as comfortable and relaxed as he could possibly be, but far too still and definitely not quite human. He had changed out of his stage attire; his face scrubbed clean, wearing jeans, but still the same black T shirt.

  “Come sit with me.”

  I moved across the room slowly. For so long I had dreamed of crawling back into his arms. I tried not to visibly shudder at the memory of his cold finger against my neck, or the coolness radiating from his body. Now, instead of craving his touch, I dreaded it. I picked a spot as far to the other side of the couch as I could and perched myself on the edge of the cushion stiffly. I folded my hands in my lap. I couldn’t look at him.

  “I’d say I don’t bite,” he grinned. “I won’t bite you.” His tone had softened.

  I scooted back on the cushion, but I didn’t move closer to him and I certainly didn’t relax. I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be funny or terrifying.

  “How did you know find me?” The answer scared me.

  He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his thighs. “I can sense you. I didn’t know what it was until I saw you. You smell like the ocean.”

  “Are you saying I smell like low tide? Eeww.”

  Tristan burst out laughing. “No! It’s like fresh air. Sunshine. You know that first time you step on the beach for the summer and just for that moment, everything is right in the world? God, I miss that.” He closed his eyes, as if he was trying to capture the moment in his mind.

  I knew exactly what he meant. I couldn’t imagine never being able to go to the beach again, not being able to feel the sand between my toes, feel the cool crash of the waves against my legs, or hear the gulls play along the shore, or taste the salty air. I couldn’t imagine never being able to feel the sun shine against my face again. As much as I wanted to stay here, I couldn’t imagine never being able to go home again. My heart ached for him.

  I didn’t know what to say. He watched me and waited for my answer. I mourned for him, even though he sat right in front of me. Tears welled up in my eyes.

  “How did you like the show?” He moved a bit closer, breaking the awkward silence he’d created.

  It took a minute for me to compose myself and collect my thoughts. “I liked it a lot. It wasn’t like the TV show at all.”

  “What don’t you like about the TV show?” He seemed genuinely surprised that could even be a possibility.

  “Well,” this was kind of awkward. “The concert was a lot more artistic and the TV show is more, I don’t know, about the partying, I guess.”

  “We’re just having a good time.”

  “I noticed.”

  “Don’t you like having a good time?” He slid closer, reaching out to wrap a lock of my hair around his finger.

  I met his gaze, trying my hardest to ignore the fact his hand was in my hair. “I guess my idea of fun is just different.”

  “Fair enough.” He put his hand back on his knee.

  Tristan had no intention of apologizing for what he was or what he did. But I could still ask him the million dollar question. “So that girl, Chantalle, is she —”

  He cut me off. “Obnoxious? God yes.”

  “What?”

  “She’s obnoxious. I can’t stand her.”

  “She’s not your girlfriend?!” I couldn’t have understood him correctly. This was way too good to be true. Although if it wasn’t her, there must be someone else. Tristan would never be alone. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up.

  And it wasn’t like I lived here or anything. Or hadn’t met someone to spend time with while I was here. I should be running away screaming right now. But even after everything that had happened, this was still Tristan sitting with me.

  “Hell no. She’s an actress. Everyone on this s
how is an actor or actress. Even the band. We’re basically the friggin’ Monkees, just scarier.”

  “Oh my God. Wow.”

  “Nothing you see is real.”

  “Is everyone a —” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word.

  “Vampire? Some of us are, some of us aren’t.”

  “How did this happen to you?” My heart broke with every detail. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  “It’s the high price to pay for having a good time.” He smirked, but it wasn’t happy. He stared out the window and didn’t say any more.

  “What about the ballerina?” If he didn’t want to talk about himself, maybe he’d give me some general information. The image of her slipping through the man’s hands, lifeless, after it appeared that he had sucked the life out of her body still jarred me.

  “What about her?” He didn’t even seem to know what I was talking about.

  “Is she an actress? Is she OK?”

  “Yeah. She’s fine.”

  The elevator door opened Tony appeared. “When will you be ready for them?”

  “In a minute. I’ll let you know,” Tristan dismissed him, visibly irritated by the distraction. Tony disappeared as the elevator doors closed before him.

  “What was that about?”

  “I’ll need to feed soon. You should go.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “You really shouldn’t come here unannounced, Callie. It’s not a good idea.”

  “I’d really like to spend some time with you before I go home.” My voice shook. I felt scolded.

  Tristan smiled. “I’ll call you when it’s a good time. I want to see you again.”

  “Okay.” I got up off the couch. My heart thudded in my chest.

  Tristan rose as well. He reached out for my hand. I took it, dreading its coolness. He squeezed it and I tried not to wince.

  “I mean it, Callie.”

  I didn’t answer; I stood there, holding his hand, staring blankly at his beautiful face. I didn’t know what to think, let alone what to say. Tristan was always full of surprises, not all of them good. But this was almost too much to process.

  I let go of his hand and headed for the elevator, looking at him one last time over my shoulder, standing so still exactly where I left him.