What he was not so sure about was whether they would understand why he did not kill Lauren when he had the chance, or indeed, when she had begged him to do so.
The shower turned off and a few seconds later Dante was no longer alone.
“Sorry, I couldn’t find a towel.”
Dante looked up to see Lauren standing beside him, naked and dripping wet.
“Actually, it’s my fault.” Dante said, limping over to his desk and opening the bottom drawer. “I rarely use it. It’s more for Michelle. I assumed she kept it stocked.”
Dante handed her a thick, soft bath towel, which she accepted.
“Thanks,” she said softly. Dante looked at the two-way mirror and viewed the customers in his club, giving Lauren some privacy.
“I need to know how you got in tonight,” Dante said.
“What?”
“Our kind are not welcome here, besides myself. They have to be invited by Bison or Tyson, and they were under specific instructions not to let you in.”
“Don’t worry, you’ve still got loyal dogs. I was watching Alex walk in, and your boys had to tackle some alcoholic newspaper guy as she passed. Another of your staff came out to see if he could help. When he did, I jumped the queue and he invited me.”
“But, you don’t have the power of influence.”
“They’re called tits.”
Dante gave a small turn of his head, but thought better of it. He wouldn’t ask who had taken over nor would he reprimand. What’s done was done. And besides, despite himself, they would be enough to get her into almost any place.
“Can I ask you something?” Lauren asked.
“Of course,” Dante replied.
“Last night I killed a guy and fed off him, but a weird feeling came over me. It was like I was being pushed away. But nothing was there. He was dead in my arms, light as a feather—but then I suddenly couldn’t hold him.”
“He was suddenly too heavy and you would’ve expelled all the blood you had consumed,” Dante stated.
“Yes, exactly.”
“Where were you?”
“The ANZAC Memorial.”
Dante nodded still peering out through the mirror. “You committed a reprehensible act on sacred ground.”
“What? What do you mean? It wasn’t a church,” Lauren replied, confused.
“I said sacred, not holy. But I see where your thinking comes from. In all cultures they have stories of evil beings not being able to cross thresholds where religious artefacts lie, or vampires not being able to touch crosses or holy water and so on. There’s not really any such thing as holy ground. Maybe there was once, but not anymore. Maybe it’s the evolution of science and more people turning away from the hypocrisy of religion. You know, more death and destruction have been caused in the name of god than any war or disease. Or maybe it’s that good intentions got undermined by brainwashing and greed. In your case, your act was committed in a war memorial. A memorial not dedicated to a god who may or may not exist, but to men. Men who sacrificed everything for others to live. You do not need faith for these things to be real. Out of war came a legend to be embraced: mateship and courage. You spat upon that and were duly punished.”
Literally. So the ghosts of the ANZACS were mad at her? Huh.
“Have you ever done something like that?”
It took a long time, but the answer came as a solemn, “Yes.”
“Can I ask, why didn’t you do it? I asked you to kill me.”
Dante turned and faced her, now with the towel wrapped around her torso. “I look at you and I see two people. The person you are and the person you could be. I want to see those two meet.”
“How can you say that after everything I have done?”
“Your crimes are terrible,” Dante nodded. “And yet some of them I believe were warranted. Such as Ryan. I do not believe you have to be a vampire to wish him a painful death. The way you were reborn was unacceptable. Your creators did nothing to teach you, to guide you. You were merely a product of their sick and twisted minds, a means to an end. I have no child because I do not believe this life is a gift. There are similarities in the way you and I were both made and our treatment by those that made us. If I did not have a mentor, I do not know what would have become of me. I owe much to Dougie. If you are willing, I am offering to be your guide in your new life. I warn you, though, it will not be easy.”
“Why do you have such faith in me?”
“Someone has to, Lauren.” Dante grunted. The pain in his shoulder was beginning to make the room a little unsteady. “You have lost everything. Some taken away, the rest you did yourself. You had a friend that loved you unconditionally and you slept with her boyfriend and then critically injured him. I can’t fix these things for you. The only good thing about hitting rock bottom is just that. You can’t get any lower. The only way is up and if you put in the hard work, I will help you rise, one step at a time.”
Dante stopped as a phone rang, his private phone. Only two people in the world had this number, Michelle and Vincent Kent. He picked it up and knew who it was before anyone spoke.
“Bring them all to the estate.”
“Now?”
