I didn't receive a phone call back, and when I awoke the next morning I checked my phone to see no missed calls and no new messages. Damn.
And I was beautifully, wonderfully, sore. Yesterday's session with Master James had been intense, and I was bruised worse than I'd been in a while. It looked like all surface bruising and welts though, nothing deep.
Still, today would be a cotton-undershirt-without-a-bra day. Good thing it was cool enough to wear a sweater so no one would notice.
My phone rang and my heart dropped as I recognized Kieran's number, and answered with a cautious, "Hello?"
He didn't sound happy. "This would be the polite questioning instead of the jumping to conclusions you will recall asking for."
"I appreciate that, and I can assure you I haven't broken my word."
Mostly.
"Then do you mind explaining why all hell is breaking loose and the American liaison to the Interspecies Council has threatened Abbott that you aren't to be harmed?"
I immediately realized I was likely safe, if some council was saying I wasn't to be harmed, but decided to continue arguing my case, anyway. I didn't want the vampires to think I'd gone back on my word. "I had no idea there was even such a thing as an Interspecies Council," I told him. "I mentioned to my friend Aaron that it appeared I was being romanced by an attractive man, he asked me if this guy was into the lifestyle, I told him I didn't know but since he owned The Diamond Club I had high hopes he was a bit twisted." Out of breath, I pulled more air into my lungs and finished my thought, "And then our conversation pretty much went to hell and he told me he'd call me back, but he hasn't yet."
"Lifestyle? You're telling me you're dominant? Oh fun; this is going to be interesting."
"No, I'm not a sexual dominant. Why would it be interesting?"
"Because Abbott is dominant, and it would be amusing to watch him attempt to romance a Domme. With your power level, I made the wrong assumption. If you're submissive it won't be anywhere near as amusing."
He paused. "Your friend Aaron? That wouldn't be Aaron Drake by any chance, would it?"
I ignored the heat pumping through my veins and going straight to my groin at the news Abbott was a Dom, and answered, "Yes. Why?"
"Everything makes sense now. Unfortunately."
"Unfortunately? Are you telling me I'm in some kind of danger?"
"No, to the contrary. You are quite safe, with friends in high places.
Fortunate for you, possibly unfortunate for us. I need to go now; it is almost dawn. Have a good day."
And he was gone.
I grabbed my tablet, checked email, and found a message from Aaron at a little after four in the morning telling me it'd taken longer than he expected, he was going to bed, and would text me when he awakened so I could call him between patients. He said Nathan would be watching me today and to try to get along with him.
Why did Nathan need to watch me? Vampires can't be up during the day, so I should be safe. Maybe this was about the murders? Or perhaps it was a combination of the two, and Aaron was just being cautious. I really didn't want to have to spend time with Nathan, but I'd been through this before with Aaron. When he thought I was in danger his primary concern was who could best protect me, not who I wanted to spend my day with.
I woke Lauren, made sure Xiaolan was up, and proceeded to get myself ready. We ate a quick breakfast and headed outside to see Nathan sitting in his car in front of the house.
"Pretty sure that's creepy, mom."
I agreed, but told her, "Not creepy, but it's a long story."
Amazingly, she didn't ask.
Nathan followed me as I dropped Lauren off at school and made my way to my office through the downtown traffic.
We parked in the garage, and didn't speak as we walked to my office with Xiaolan. Nathan is a touch over six feet tall, sandy blond hair, clear blue eyes. He's gorgeous, and he comports himself much like the lion he shifts into. He's large and muscular, and he walks as if he owns the planet and just lets the rest of us live here. Kind of like my mom's cat.
I looked around and saw a man leaning against the building across the street. He looked just like my old friend Alex, but I hadn't seen him in at least ten years. I'd been eighteen when we met and I was probably around twenty-four the last time I saw him. He'd told me he was nineteen when we met, so he was a year older than me. However, the man I saw across the street looked as if he were in his early twenties and was standing in the sun, so it couldn't be Alex. Nathan saw me looking at him and went into bodyguard mode, herding Xiaolan and I into the building. I looked back out once we were in the lobby, but the man across the street was gone.
When I finished with my twelve o'clock appointment I had a text message from Aaron, asking me to call him when I could. Since I had a thirty minute break to grab some lunch, it was good timing. I warmed up the leftovers from the night before and got comfortable on the loveseat with my lunch before calling him.
"Hello, gorgeous, how are you and Nathan doing?"
"So far we've managed to not speak to each other, so pretty good, I guess."
I told him about my early morning call from Kieran, and asked him what was up. He wasn't pleased I'd been told about the existence of the Interspecies Council, and he changed the subject when I asked who the American liaison was. All Aaron would tell me was he'd had a talk with Abbott and I was free to date him or not, whatever I wanted to do.
"Do you not like Abbott? Is he untrustworthy?" If Aaron didn't like him, I should probably stay away, which made me a bit sad, knowing the Master Vampire was a Dom.
"On the contrary. He's one of my best friends, but you frequently travel outside of the Southeastern U.S., and if you're seeing him and end up in someone else's territory you could be in danger. I needed to be sure you're safe, and Abbott wouldn't necessarily be able to do this with his enemies, but by keeping you safe from him I've made you safe from all vampires." He hesitated and added, "Or, the ones who are afraid of the council, which is most of them, thank goodness."
"Oh. I had the feeling you didn't like him, when I first mentioned him."
"I don't like the idea of you getting embroiled in his world, but I have no problems with Abbott, personally. He's a nice guy, and if you're interested in him it should be safe to proceed."
"Now that I know he's a Dom, I think I kind of need to see if there's anything there," I told him, my voice soft to try to take the sting out of my words.
"Yeah, I figured. I've done everything in my power to keep you safe.
Nathan is probably overkill, because you're capable of taking care of yourself once you know there's a threat, I just worry you'll forget to be aware of your surroundings and someone will be on you before you can react." He sighed. "I know how you feel about Nathan, so I'll send someone else later in the day. Someone who'll alert you to a problem and help you fight it off, but who probably won't be able to fight a supernatural without your help."
"So, you're sending Tyler?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"No problem. I'll have people in shifts around you for probably two or three days. I won't send anyone you don't already know, so if someone claims to be there to guard you and you don't recognize them, kill them."
"Right. I'm going to hang up now. Bye, Aery."
Tyler is human, but used to work for the government. I've always romanticized him as an American James Bond, though I know it isn't exactly accurate. At any rate, he's a Dom, a very married Dom, but he's my friend and we enjoy spending time around each other. We've worked together before, and Aaron is right — Tyler knows danger is coming long before most people figure it out, sometimes even before the supernaturals.
He's constantly aware of everything going on around him.
I remembered another question I needed to ask Aaron and called him back.
"Does Abbott know what you shift into?"
"He's one of the few people on the planet who know, but I'm glad you asked. You should always assume only you and Nathan know unless I tell you otherwise."