“Call Brigid.”
“Do you want to call Brigid Connor’s mobile number?”
“Yes.”
“Calling Brigid Connor mobile.”
The phone rang as Ben willed Brigid to pick up. The Irish fire vampire was the one person who seemed to understand his kaleidoscope moods. She was also the only other vampire Ben knew who’d been changed against her will.
“Ben Vecchio,” she answered. “You’re not in China, lad.”
“No, I’m closer to your neck of the woods.”
“Do tell.”
“Romania.”
“Working again?” She muttered something to someone. “Sorry, I’m in the office. Give me a moment.”
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
“No, it’s grand.” She was walking. “I’ll step outside for a moment. It’s been a few weeks. Romania, eh? Is this the Radu thing? I’m glad you’re getting that taken care of. I think it’s been hanging on your mind.”
“I know.” He ran a hand over his forehead; the drizzle was turning to rain. “Am I ever not going to be angry about this, Brig?”
“About…?”
“Being a vampire. Missing the sun. Missing food. Having to drink human blood to survive.”
“Ah.” She closed a door. “Short answer? Yes. I have every confidence you will eventually not be angry about this.”
That wasn’t as comforting as it should have been. He kicked at a pebble on the roof. “I saw her tonight.”
“Who?
“Tenzin.”
“What? How?” Brigid sounded appropriately shocked. “Are you working with her?”
“She kind of… showed up in Bucharest before me.”
Brigid snorted. “Savage bitch.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“I mean… I know you’re angry with her, I just can’t help it. She’s so fecking rude. Part of me has to admire it.”
“Good to know you can find the humor in the situation.”
Brigid took a deep breath. “Did she say why she’s there? It seemed like she was keeping her distance.”
“She was following me constantly.”
“But from a distance.” Brigid sighed. “What do you expect? You’re one of her people.”
“She decided that. Not me.”
“Doesn’t make much of a difference,” Brigid said. “You’re going to learn that. Some of that is just territorial instincts. You have them too.”
Ben thought about his uneasiness in his own home with Giovanni and the itching under his skin on his uncle’s private plane. “I know. I felt them in LA.”
“And you’ll adapt to it soon enough. Be able to understand when to ignore things and when to pay attention to them. So…”
“So what? That doesn’t mean Tenzin can just barge into my life when I don’t want her there.”
“No, you are correct. You get to decide who is part of your life whether you’re human or immortal. Well, other than your sire. You don’t get much say about that. But she’s not your sire.”
“Thank God.”
“Why thank God?” Brigid said. “Because you’re in love with her? Or because you hate her?”
“I don’t—”
“It can be both, by the way. You can hate someone you love.”
Ben stared at the lights over the city, enjoying the drip of cold water that fell down his neck. “She said that she needed to be here. That the job is dangerous and something about it feels off.”
“Okay.” Brigid hummed a little. “Are you wanting my advice?”
Ben took a long breath and let it out. “Yes.” He trusted Brigid. On a personal and a professional level.
“My advice is that if she thinks something is sideways about the job, you work with her. It’s not personal, to quote a gangster movie, it’s business. As far as your security goes, is there anyone you trust more?”
That was a loaded question. “Now that I have fangs, I guess not.”
“Then you have your answer. You don’t go into a fight with one hand tied—don’t go into this job without all your assets. And she’s an asset. As for what’s between you two personally?”
“Yeah?”
“Set a boundary. This job and then you’re quit. Make her agree to it, and don’t budge. This is the last job that was a holdover from before. She’s got until the end of it to sort things out between you or say goodbye.”
“And that’s it?”
“I mean, you’re going to live for who knows how many years, Ben. Might be worth it to keep a little bit of the bridge unburned if you know what I mean.”
He shook his head. “How do you deal with it?”
“Which part?”
“The living-forever thing.” Ben felt his throat closing up. “I never—”
“Aye, that was a sticking point for me too.” Her voice got soft. “All I can say is… there’s one or two things about your life that remind me of mine. And avoiding my problems never did me much good in the end.”
“You think I’m avoiding something?”
“Yes, and before you ask, it’s not my job to tell you. You probably need a therapist.”
“Thanks for the advice I won’t take.”
“You’re welcome.” Someone called her name in the background. “Need to go. Call me in a week, lad, or you’ll have me following you too. By the way, the fella and I may be heading to New York in the fall. Right! Laters.”
Brigid hung up before he could get another word in. Ben stuffed his phone in his pocket and stared across the city.
Trying to have a conversation with Brigid was usually like jumping into a minor tornado for a moment, then jumping out naked and trying to figure out where all your clothes had blown off to.
Work with Tenzin for this job. Check. Fine. He could compartmentalize as well as the next guy.
Set boundaries, but don’t burn bridges. Fine. That was all fine. Good advice.
Brigid thought he was avoiding something?
Tenzin. He was avoiding Tenzin.
Because you love her or you hate her?
Both?
How about because she’d betrayed him? She’d broken a promise.
Were we supposed to be disappointed that she saved your life?
Ben knew why everyone was happy. Even his closest friends and family understood why Tenzin had done what she did. And most of them, if they were being honest, were glad. They didn’t understand why he’d been so reluctant to be a vampire in the first place.
But Ben had stared into monsters’ eyes, human and immortal, and he knew what evil looked like. He saw
