Four, page 37
Gail looked desperately to Georgia. “What is going on? Please, just tell me what is going on,” she begged. “I swear—”
“Vampire society has four laws,” Georgia said softly. “Law number one is that vampires can’t kill one another.”
Gail whimpered as both Minerva and Steve drew closer. Georgia stayed perfectly still off to the side. She gave the poor girl an apologetic look at last.
“Law number two is the law of secrecy,” Georgia continued. “So you can guess which one I’m in violation of right now, but you see, the law of hospitality says that I can’t be hurt as long as I was under Mr. Lambley’s protection—”
“Which didn’t apply when you were sneaking off to screw my servant,” Steve added. “You were also planning to run away with him, leaving the Pendragon protection. That was really not your smartest moment, sweetheart.”
“So that leaves the fourth law, which is that a vampire’s word is his bond,” Georgia countered. “That’s why Ren got you to sign that contract, isn’t it, Minnie?”
“So true, neither mein bruder nor I can touch you,” the blonde vampire said. She turned back to face Gail. “But there is nothing to stop us from taking care of you, is there, little one?”
Gail dashed over and threw herself at Georgia’s feet. She stared at her with big, desperate brown eyes and clutched at Georgia’s leg. “I swear, that guy didn’t have green eyes,” she whimpered. “He must have been someone else. He didn’t—”
Georgia crouched down and wrapped her arms gently around the poor shaking little girl. Slowly she leaned down and whispered ever so sweetly, “He wore contacts, you little bitch,” before pushing her back.
Gail screamed as a Jaeger grabbed each arm and swung her against the wall. She slumped over like a broken doll, begging and crying as the twin predators took their time working their way over. Georgia looked away.
The misery on Georgia’s face was too sweet a bait not to attract the male vampire. He darted back to his former lover and smiled. “You thought you were so much better than me, didn’t you?” he asked. “I told you, when given a choice between saving yourself and saving someone else, you’re always gonna pick the home team.”
“Please help me,” Gail begged as Minerva picked her up and tilted back the poor girl’s neck. “I promise I won’t tell anyone, I swear.”
The blonde vampire rolled her head back to give Georgia just one moment to grit her teeth before the blonde human dove for the floor. Both vampires watched in shock as Georgia jumped back to her feet and brandished one of the splintered sides of the crate Minerva had smashed earlier in the evening.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but let her go!” Georgia barked.
Minerva dropped the girl and took one threatening step toward Georgia. “You realize that if you attack us, zee contract will no longer protect you, Georgia darling,” she said. “And you know what else—”
Meanwhile Gail scrambled to her feet and started inching for the door, watching in horror as Georgia was now the targeted prey of two young vampires. Her interviewer took a bold step toward Steve, making certain he could see each and every splinter in perfect clarity.
“You also realize that Ren told me just how long it took Steve to recover from one incident with a pencil. I’d love to know what some nasty old pine would do to him,” she snapped.
“Why?” Gail said. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because every Jaeger must pass zee test,” Minerva spat. “To be one of us, you must be a hunter, be a killer.”
Gail watched in confusion as Georgia shoved a manky piece of wood into her hands. For a moment the tiny brunette actually had to feel the warmth radiating from the girl next to her and watch just how heavy the other blonde’s breathing was.
“I don’t understand. Georgia, you aren’t a vamp—”
It was Steve, the cocky vampire’s, turn to speak. He kept a close eye on the pair of makeshift shivs and maneuvered to stand just behind his sister before he opened his mouth.
“Oh, did you think that the Jaeger rules only applied to the fangs?” he asked with a little smirk. “Everyone has to play their part. It’s not just the family that has to prove their virtue. The help has to show that they are hunters too.”
Gail looked at Georgia in horror. “Wait—you wanted to be a—a Jaeger?” she asked in disbelief. “But, but they killed—but Ren?”
Minerva burst into laughter. “Oh, you confused little thing! Don’t you know that this was the Berliner’s one last chance?”
“Seriously, we all but handed it to you on a platter, sweetheart, but in the end, you were only human,” Steven sighed.
“What is going on?” Gail cried.
Georgia didn’t bother wiping the tear out of the corner of her eye. “It was my one last chance,” she choked out.
“To what?” Gail asked.
“To be with him!” Georgia spit out at last. “It was my last chance to be with him.”
Both girls felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end as they heard the door by the bar swing open. Instead of a waiter, a man in a sleekly tailored gray suit walked to the bar, grabbed a pair of glasses, and started plopping in ice ever so methodically. Gail’s jaw dropped as she saw near-shoulder-length jet-black hair and a pair of mirrored sunglasses on a chiseled, distinctly Asian set of features.
Everything grew shockingly quiet as he dropped in the last ice cube before grabbing a dark bottle from the bar fridge and pouring two cups of thick red liquid. He smiled before pulling off his shades to reveal pale green eyes.
He nodded genially to the terrified Serbian with a shiv. “Nice to see you again, Miss Filipovic.”
“You’re alive!” she squawked. She then looked accusatorily at Georgia. “But you said—”
“I said he stopped breathing,” she snapped. “Do you think I’m such an idiot that I wouldn’t try to revive him, that I would just sit there and cry?”
Ren dutifully handed a drink to each Jaeger and then stood protectively in front of them both. “Can we please be civilized?” he asked. “I think we’ve heard enough drama for tonight.”
“Georgia—” Gail said. She looked over and saw her interviewer still holding up her sliver of wood, but her hands were shaking violently.
“So, you finally decided to show your face,” Georgia said as she took in the sight of her former lover walking among the Jaegers. “Minnie let you off her leash.”
“Ooh, I should tie you up again tonight, mein shatzi,” Minerva cooed as she wrapped around the servant and gave a little wink to Georgia. “Hey, Berliner, if you get this over with quickly, I’ll let your first duty be warming him up.”
“You were going to serve Minerva?” Gail gasped.
“It’s the only way she’d let us be together,” Georgia said. “A Matsuoka can only serve a Jaeger, right? Because, heaven forbid, you ever think for yourself, Ren.”
“We tried it your way,” Ren snapped. He yanked a little silk-wrapped bottle out of his pocket and brandished it in front of a now red-faced Georgia. “And instead of being free—”
“I didn’t know what would happen. You think I wanted you to be more dependent on her?” Georgia snapped.
“I certainly don’t mind zee extra attention,” Minerva cooed. She leaned around Ren and motioned to the still-dumbstruck Gail. “Dr. Pang’s little potion stopped zee reaction that was killing my poor toy, but now he needs my gift every month, or else, well, let’s just say it’s not very pleasant, no?”
“The vial? Oh my god, you tried to cure him with that thing from the scary guy in Japan?” Gail asked. “What were you thinking?”
“You’re questioning my judgment?” Georgia asked. “You’re the girl who followed me into a bar the first day we met after I warned you that I worked for vampires.”
“But—” Gail started to stammer.
“Look, dawn is coming,” Steve sighed to Georgia. “Can we just kill her and go home? If you don’t give us permission, it won’t count, sweetheart.”
“What?” Gail squawked. “You can’t—Georgia, please!”
Ren reached his hand toward Georgia and said gently, “Come on, Georgia. We can be together. Just put down the pointy thing and let my masters take care of the rest. You know that it’s too late. She knows too much, and if you let her live, the sheriff will be coming for you. Come on . . . be logical. Be reasonable for once.”
Gail whimpered as she saw Georgia’s hand start to lower. Ren smiled and took a step toward them. His smile faded in the split second it took for Georgia to shove him right back into the two vampires, sending a spray of blood over both their sets of designer clothing. “Go to hell!” she snapped.
“You little—” Minerva growled.
Steve shoved Ren right back at the human, sending her toppling and the splinter flying out of her hand. Gail gasped as the vampire’s hand snapped around her wrist, and in her surprise her weapon also ended up maddeningly out of reach.
“I’m tired of these games. You know, I think it’s about time I taught you a proper lesson, sweetheart,” Steve said. “You need to know exactly whose emotions you’ve been messing with.”
Gail screamed as Steve jerked her against him and tilted her neck.
Minerva helped Ren to his feet and then grabbed Georgia. “You know, I am thinking that this one time, I may just have to break a rule to be rid of this little pest,” she hissed as she held Georgia’s hands behind her back. “You OK with that, little Matsuoka?”
Ren looked pleadingly at Georgia. “Just for once, be reasonable, Georgia. She isn’t worth this,” he said.
“I won’t play the game anymore,” Georgia snapped. “Ren, we will find another way, a better way, but we don’t have to keep playing their little vampire games!”
“Talk, talk, talk, blah, blah, blah!” Steve sighed. He rolled back his lips to bare his fangs. “I think you’re right, sis. Maybe she is worth breaking the rules just once. I mean, I didn’t see any piece of paper. Did you?”
“Nein,” Minerva said.
“And pretty soon you won’t see anything,” Steve cooed in Gail’s ear. “And you, servant, you aren’t getting any ideas, are you? I forgave you once, but if you come at me with so much as a toothpick, I will snap your neck and use your skull as my next punch bowl. We clear, Renny-boy?”
Gail whimpered and cried as she struggled desperately against the wild-eyed vampire, but he didn’t so much as budge no matter how much she squirmed. After a few seconds of delicious agitation, Steve used one arm to gently stroke her neck and push the hair off her throat.
“Isn’t this that romantic fantasy you human girls have?” Steve whispered in her ear. “You act all scared and innocent, but isn’t this what you really want? Just relax, and I will make this the most gentle and pleasurable experience of the rest of your short little life.”
“Help, please!” Georgia cried as Gail screamed again.
“Oh, be quiet!” Steve snapped. “Who the hell is going to come save you from the secret little trap that you set up, sweetheart?”
“I will, you Jaeger brat!” a new booming and decidedly British voice said as the back door flew open. Both girls squinted as a tall, dashing figure stood in the blinding floodlights pouring in from the alley. The only feature Gail could make out was a glowing halo of bright ginger hair.
Georgia took advantage of the second’s surprise and wrenched free of Minerva. Gail remained frozen in abject terror.
“Take your hands off the girl, Stefano,” their hero said. “And if you so much as look at Miss Sutherland in a manner I do not like, I shall be most cross with you.”
“Gingersnaps, is that you?” Steve asked incredulously. “Are you threatening me or something?”
“I said, take your hands off the lady,” Geoffrey Lambley said as he strode into the room. Minerva tried to stave off a giggle when she saw the pudgy little man walk in with a puffed-out chest and his hands raised in adorable little fisticuffs.
“Oh, this is rich,” Minerva said. “What are you doing here, Geoffrey?”
“I said, let her go,” he said, still advancing. Minerva’s grin faded a little as she saw a new resolution in his firm brow and grim set jaw. Steve tossed the girl to the side, where Georgia picked her up and dragged her to the far side of the bar. Both of them peeked over the edge to see a terrified Ren scrambling to join them, while one Mr. Geoffrey Lambley stood face-to-face with the taller, younger, more muscular hunter and his Kung Fu master of a sister.
“That’s Mr. Lambley?” Gail gasped.
“Shh!” both Ren and Georgia said at once as the three vampires began to circle each other and size one another up.
“You really need to butt out of this, Gingersnaps. If you could have just kept your assistant in line in the first place—”
Geoffrey responded with a satisfying bitch slap right across Steve’s face. “You? You dare to talk to me about control? You come to my city, come into my home, and you try to steal the one person of importance in my life and you expect that challenge to go unanswered? I knew you couldn’t stand that Miss Sutherland saw right through your dizzying array of lies and poppycock and preferred the company of your far more capable and, from what I’ve heard, far more satisfying servant to yours.”
Minerva giggled. She stopped as the violent redhead turned to her. “And you, how can you indulge your younger brother and his obsessive schemes? I thought you knew better than that. You disappoint me greatly,” he said in a voice so withering that the blonde actually retreated.
Steve rolled his eyes. “Stop your blustering, Gingersnaps!” he said. “Step aside and let me drain the outsider, and then if you want, you can help me take care of the little tramp—”
This time Geoffrey’s slap turned the younger vampire’s head. Steve once more made a move for the girls, but to his utter shock, the scrappy shorter vampire decked him. Steve tried to swing back, but the Pendragon easily dodged and gave him a solid round of body blows.
“These girls are under Pendragon watch, so unless you want to face not only me but the entire wrath of my family, I strongly suggest you take your skinny little Jaeger bottom and get out of my sight!”
Steve snapped his hands out and grabbed the redhead by the collar. All the witnesses watched in wonder as Geoffrey didn’t so much as flinch. He continued to stare right through the Jaeger with a glare more like two pure green daggers rather than his normal dewy eyes.
“There is something different about you, old friend,” Steve said as he let go.
“You know better than anyone who I was and who I will be again soon enough,” Mr. Lambley growled. “Do you really want to cross me?”
“This is your mess then, Gingersnaps. You have to clean it up, or your little minx will end up at the bottom of the Charles,” Steve warned.
“Get out of here, both of you,” Geoffrey snarled. The two Jaegers took a moment to straighten their clothes and wipe up the blood.
Minerva motioned to the shocked Ren. “Let’s go,” she barked.
Georgia grabbed Ren’s hand and looked pleadingly in his eyes. “Please, just stay with me. Mr. Lambley—”
Ren brushed her away. “The only thing you ever wanted to do was run away. I should have known you wouldn’t have what it takes to survive in our world,” he said coldly.
“Ren!” Georgia begged.
“I guess I wasn’t worth it,” Ren snapped bitterly. “I should have known better.”
Gail watched as Georgia was left wiping away tears as Ren walked out the back door with his Jaeger masters. As soon as they were out of sight, Mr. Lambley let out a deep sigh and flopped onto the sofa.
“Oh my, that was intense, wasn’t it?” he said. “Dear Georgia, are you all right?”
The other girl finally came out from behind the bar. Gail threw herself at the vampire’s feet. “Thank you!” she gasped.
Georgia pulled out her phone and finally hit the end-call button. Mr. Lambley responded by pulling a Bluetooth earpiece out from under his tangle of hair. He let out a weak little wave. “You must be the mysterious Miss Gail I’ve heard about all night.”
“You were listening all along?” Gail gasped.
The redhead smiled as his assistant settled down next to him. His smile faded as he saw just how red her eyes were even in the dim light.
“Oh, Georgia, we’ll find another way to reach him, I promise,” he said gently.
Georgia shook her head and leaned it on his shoulder. “No, no, Mr. Lambley, Ren Matsuoka is dead to me. I couldn’t—I just—”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t give up hope, dear Georgia.”
Gail slumped pitifully on the floor. “What the hell is going on here?” she asked.
“I thought I would do anything to get Ren back, but I was wrong,” Georgia said. “And now I’ve gotten you stuck in this mess.”
“Oh, pishposh,” Mr. Lambley said. “There is nothing done yet that cannot be made right. I promise to you both, the Pendragon family will fix this.”
Gail looked at him and smiled with genuine gratitude. “Does that mean I’m under your protection too?” she asked.
Mr. Lambley pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. “Oh, dear heart, you look a mess. Why don’t you go freshen up before we leave?”
Gail nodded and struggled to her feet. She let Georgia gingerly help her smooth her hair and her blouse. As they finally looked each other in the eyes again, the little brunette gushed, “I’m so sorry for what happened. I never meant for anyone to get hurt, I swear.”
Georgia turned away. “Let’s not get into that now. You’ve got a bit of blood on your shirt. You should probably take care of that.”
Gail acquiesced and went to wash her face and blow her nose. As she rooted through the empty attendant’s stand, she heard a flush coming from the handicapped stall.
