"No welcoming hug? No hello? No, 'what's up mate?' Nothing? I'm hurt."
A grin teased the corners of Roane's mouth. "You can have Wren for the night."
Gavin burst out laughing. "Oh yeah. I can imagine her reaction at that order. Even if you did try to enforce it, I wouldn't make the night alive or with my balls intact."
"You're interested," Roane shot back.
The blonde vampire shrugged and poured a second drink. "Who wouldn't? She's hot under all that black leather. Has no one told her the vampire cliché look is outdated? Look at me; most humans think I'm a professional athlete. I get more pussy looking like this than I ever would wearing leather chaps. No vampire magic needed."
"You did wear leather chaps. Assless."
"Still." Gavin shuddered and crossed to stand beside Roane. He looked out the window. "What are we looking at? Is that her down there?" He gestured with his drink and Roane glanced down.
His eyes fell on Davy, who was bent over laughing with a hand over her mouth. Her mate had been telling a story with hand gestures that grew bigger with each drink she had. By the look in Davy's eyes, she knew her roommate was properly drunk, but she didn't mind. Roane knew that had been Davy's intention, to make her friend forget her troubles. And he wondered if she had wanted to do the same thing.
Gavin watched the two in the booth and then watched his best friend of five hundred years. When Roane's eyes shifted and a darkness replaced the shimmer of emotion that had been too brief to be caught, he already knew what the real story behind this war was.
He decided to change the subject. Further investigation would need to be had. "Tracey's coming, you know. What are you going to do about that?"
"She's the enemy."
Gavin choked on his drink. "The enemy? Are you dense? Tracey's not the enemy. She's Talia's sister. Oh no no no. She is not the enemy. She'll never be the enemy."
"She defected to the new Roane hunter. She's coming with their army."
Gavin rolled his eyes. "And you have Wren. She's the ace up your sleeve. Use her to get Tracey back with us. They were bosom buddies for years. Best friends, right?"
"I won't use Wren that way." Roane's voice was hard. "If she chooses to pursue a relationship with Tracey, then so be it. If she wants to bring her to us, then that is her choice."
"Oh fuck, buddy." Gavin sat down his glass and grabbed the bottle. "You still have that stick up your ass, huh?"
A smile flashed over Roane's face. "I've named it. It's called 'Gavin.'"
"And your humor is piss poor. You know what your problem is? You're too noble. You need to not be so damn noble. Fuck up, once in awhile. Make a mistake on purpose."
"I did make a mistake."
"Not that, you didn't. You had to leave. You were ordered to leave." Gavin sighed as he saw how Roane's eyes hardened. There was no getting through to his best friend now. "Leaving Talia wasn't a mistake."
"She died because of it."
"There was more to it and you know it." He swung his eyes and watched the girl below. She had an aura around her. Gavin understood why Luke was captivated. "No one really knows what happened to bring that about, do we? It probably would've happened even if you had been there and you might've died because of it."
"Or I might've saved her life."
"Lucan found this one, didn't he? He would've found Talia. He would've bit her and he would've gotten her powers. This one stopped it. She was supposed to get the thread when she did."
"Maybe." Roane tossed the rest of his drink down his throat. Gavin handed him the bottle and soon the two were going back and forth, sharing drink for drink. When Luke excused himself, not long after the two girls left, Gavin resolved to meet this new Immortal. She had too much power over his best friend, more than he was comfortable with.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Over the next weeks, Pippa and I became friends. Emily started attendi
ng a grief counseling group, plus I persuaded her into taking over my hours at the hotline. Heaven forbid. I shuddered at the thought of spending more time in that building. Everything seemed normal until Emily left Pippa and me at the library.
"Hi, guys!" Brown drew next to our table. She panted and brushed a chunk of her sweaty hair off her face. She wore a bohemian dress that clung to her, all the way to her little toes that were in brown leather sandals. "Man, it's hot. Are you guys as hot as me?"
Pippa looked at me for a second. "I'm actually a little cold."