With everything that was going on right now, she needed protection. Not simply because her gifts were acting up. No, it wouldn’t be long before Ryder reported to Antonio with the info he had been able to retrieve from the Medics and from the Deliverer. As soon as he did, Sam would insist on being part of whatever happened next. I was kidding myself if I thought I could stop her. As she had told me over and over, sitting in the background wasn’t who she was. Dexter would help me ensure that she was well protected…which meant I couldn’t kill him.
Earlier, we had read the file that Antonio’s researchers had compiled about the brothers. Born into a very prestigious family, they had been given the best of everything all their lives. Both of them had shown great aptitudes for science at an early age and had won many awards in that subject in school and university. One of them had been married and had a son, while the other had been in a relationship with their gardener – male gardener.
It wasn’t clear how they had found out about the existence of vampires, but it was apparent that they had gone to Orrin and had requested to be Turned – not the other way around. Considering that Orrin had Sired many vampires, it was reasonable to assume that he’d had no qualms about Siring two more. Consistent with Orrin’s story, they had only remained with him for the first year. Then they seemed to have gone off alone to begin their own bloodline.
We weren’t any the wiser about the foetal abduction operation either. Unfortunately, neither Max, Harvey, nor Damien had found any documents in the mobile hospital that might help with the investigation. I had heard from Antonio that although Ryder was doing well with the captives, he hadn’t yet acquired all of the info we needed. Being relatively newborn meant that Ryder wasn’t fully in control of his gift yet, so it would take him a little time.
Although I was eager to shut down the operation, I was also grateful for the small reprieve; grateful that Sam and I were able to spend one whole evening with each other. Yeah that was selfish and shitty of me, but I wanted Sam to be relaxed and happy during the week of our Binding. At the moment, she was far from it. Still, she was smiling as we entered the large dining room where the oriental meal was being held.
Our designated waitress led us over to a circular table where several people already sat. Antonio, Luther, Evan, Wes, and Lena greeted us both with, literally, open arms. Bran and Kaiser were cordial, albeit a little stiff. Ricardo, Rowan, and Marcia, on the other hand, were welcoming toward me but very curt with Sam.
I was well aware of why, just as I was well aware that the pinch she gave me was a ‘don’t say anything’ warning. Yeah, yeah, I knew she liked to fight her own battles and I knew it was important that she did so in this instance. While I respected that, it made me want to strangle her sometimes. Who would want to sit back and do nothing while people were being rude to their fiancée?
“The room looks amazing, doesn’t it?” Sam said to me. At that moment, she looked truly happy, and that was all I wanted.
She was right; it really did look amazing. Hanging from the ceiling were several zodiac spirals, an oriental dragon garland, and large red and gold lanterns. The walls were decorated with large oriental fans, amazingly detailed wall scrolls, and bamboo borders.
“That centrepiece is gorgeous,” she said, pointing at the red paper and bamboo oriental lamp that matched the napkins and table cloth.
“It is set up beautifully,” agreed Marcia. Her expression turned devious as she went to continue.
Sam stopped her with a raised hand. “Marcia, I’m happy. Don’t spoil it by speaking.”
“All I was going to say was that the quality of food at The Hollow must be very different to what you were used to before coming here.”
Sam nodded in agreement, but both her self-suffering sigh and her sad tone were forced. And they all knew it. “Yes, it’s quite appalling that I was raised on fish, chips, and mushy peas. Still, I wasn’t completely deprived. There was a Chinese takeout near my flat, and it had a lantern a bit like these. The lantern had splatters of barbeque and curry sauce on it, but the beauty was still there.”
Rowan shuddered. “I do not know how people could eat from places like that. They’re unclean.”
“Nonsense,” objected Sam with a wide smile. “Germs build up your immune system. I never caught any of the diseases that my neighbours had…Other than the time I had oral herpes after one of them forced a kiss on me. That hadn’t been pleasant.”
My mouth twitched into a smile. That was my Sam. She played the game with them, and she played it better.
Rowan grimaced. “I have a feeling that you are not being truthful, Miss Parker,” – oh he was on the ball, wasn’t he – “but, in any case, it is disgusting to talk of diseases at a dinner table.”
“No more disgusting than your attitude.”
Marcia placed a hand on her partner’s arm. “Should we expect anything more from a girl whose origins are like Miss Parker’s?”
Sam regarded her curiously. “Have you ever visited that website greatlyinneedofalife.com?”
Marcia bristled. “I have a life, thank you.”
“Really? You seem a little too fascinated with mine. I mean, really, are you capable of talking about something that isn’t related to my childhood or where I grew up?”
“Did you grow up?” quipped Rowan.
Sam simply looked at him with pity. “Aw, Rowan, didn’t anyone ever tell you that in order to be a smartarse, you need to be smart? If you’re not, it just makes you an arse.”
Even Ricardo laughed at that.
“I could tell you that I was raised by parents who were addicted to crack. I could tell you that I sampled the stuff myself at a very early age. I could also tell you that I’d had a boyfriend who was not only a drug dealer, but a pimp – my pimp. But that would merely be telling you what you want to hear. You want reasons to disapprove of me. The truth of my childhood is, in fact, quite different. Not great, but nothing like that. But, see, I don’t have to explain myself to any of you, and I won’t. I don’t crave the respect of people that I have no respect for.”
Marcia crossed her arms over her chest. “You cannot expect us to respect someone who dislikes us so very much.”
“In all honesty,” began Sam, cocking her head. “I don’t dislike any of you, you just piss me off. Still, you’re entitled to your opinions, and you’re clearly full of them. But like it or not, I’m going to Bind with Jared, and I’m going to one day be responsible for your protection.” She leaned forward, whispering, “So you might want to be nice to me, because I have a vengeful streak.”
Smiling, I kissed her temple. “I can vouch for that. I’ve been on the receiving end of it more than once.”
“You’re right about one thing, though,” Sam told Rowan. “I have ended up a little like my parents. A workaholic. Yes, my parents actually have jobs. In fact, they run their own business. It’s a small business and it doesn’t do very well, but they work hard for a living. What do all of you do again? Oh yeah. Absolutely nothing.”
It was at that moment that the waiter brought over the first course, effectively ending that conversation. I had noticed that Ricardo, Rowan, and Marcia appeared to be looking at Sam a little differently, as if considering her through fresh eyes. The problem was that even if they grew to like her, they wouldn’t fully accept her until they were confident that she could protect them. Thankfully they didn’t know that, at the present moment, she couldn’t properly protect herself, let alone others.