Chapter 12
Piper
“Special delivery!”Tuma walked into my room with a package in his hands.
I looked up from my book and blinked at the vampire. “What’s this?”
Tuma held the box out to me with a grin. “It seems your men were so concerned about you that they hunted down our location. Thankfully, they did not do anything rash and put your life at risk by coming here. Instead...” he nodded at the box. “They sent this.”
I took the box from him slowly, my heart rate picking up at the very thought of what could be inside of it. I knew the guys would find me once I told Antoine the description of the courtyard. The council might think they are good but my guys are better.
Tuma stared down at me with a forced grin on his face. “Well...aren’t you going to open it?”
Glancing down at the box and then back up at Tuma, I wrinkled my nose with a skeptical look. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Cocking his head to the side, Tuma glanced from the box to me. “Why not? I should see what is inside to make sure it is not some ruse.”
Tapping the box with my finger, I pointed out, “Shouldn’t you have done that before bringing it to me? If you were really worried about my safety, I would think that all packages would need to be checked before being brought anywhere near me.”
Tuma tapped his stick on the ground three times. “Do not think I am neglecting your safety, Miss Durand. My security team ran it through one of those x-ray machines they use at the airport. They did not see anything that could be considered harmful. However...” he sat down next to me on the couch. “I would be remiss if I did not see what your men thought was so important to send you that they could not wait until they saw you again.”
Seeing that there was no way out of this one, I turned my attention back to the package. “I need some scissors.”
Tuma produced a knife.
It appeared so suddenly beside my face, that I gasped and grabbed my chest. “Fucking hell. Don’t do that. You know I’m pregnant right? I could have had a freaking heart attack.”
“My apologies.” Tuma handed me the knife handle first. “Please, do carry on.”
Grasping the knife in my hand, I slit the box open. I hesitated from returning the knife to Tuma. For a brief second, the urge to stab him through the neck with the sharp point was almost too much to ignore.
I couldn’t.
As much as it would have brought me immense pleasure to knock that smug look off of his smiling face, killing Tuma wouldn’t do me any good. I would still have to figure out how to get out of this place on my own. I had no idea how to get to the front door, only the courtyard and for all I know there were half a dozen rooms between there and the exit.
And what would I do once I got free? Where would I go? I had no phone, no id, no money. I had no way to get back home. They would find me and catch me within an hour. Maybe more if someone found Tuma’s body sooner.
With a reluctant sigh, I handed the knife back to Tuma and focused on the box in my hands. Opening the flaps, I braced myself for what the guys could have sent me. I frowned at the contents. Confusion furrowed my brow.
It was a bunch of random knickknacks.
I picked up a pen and examined it. It was one of Antoine’s. Only he would have something so expensive as a pen. The others didn’t care about writing utensils the way that he did. They didn’t have to do mounds of paperwork every day either. Giving me one of his pens was a serious thing. It was like giving me one of his kidneys. My eyes pricked with emotion.
Setting the pen to the side, I picked up a small foam basketball with a sticky note attached to it. ‘Squeeze me.’ Not sure if I should do it in front of Tuma, but too curious to resist, I squeezed the little orange ball. It started to vibrate in my hand. Confused, I squeezed it again to make it stop. Then I noticed something written in black marker on the side of it. This said, ‘Piper’s button relaxer.’
Huh? What in the world... My eyes widened and my face heated. I quickly placed the ball to the side and internally reminded myself to kick Drake’s butt for embarrassing me.
The next thing was a book. Flipping open the inside cover, there was an inscription.
To help you sleep at night. — A
“Her Cross To Bear?” Tuma read over my shoulder. “What an odd name for a book. What is it about?”
I placed the book to the side and muttered, “Vampires, romance and stuff.”
I wasn’t about to tell him it was basically a book all about killing vampires and other supernatural beings while the female lead fucked the very beings she was supposed to be fighting. I didn’t think that would endear me to Tuma much.
Allister had a weird sense of humor.