Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Piper

I didn’t get a wink of sleep that night. As soon as I got my wits about me, I packed my bag and waited until dawn. If they were vampires, they wouldn’t be able to go outside in the sunlight. Also, previous experience told me they wouldn’t be up this early anyway.

I grabbed my bag and moved at a snail’s pace toward the bedroom door. I hesitated before I flicked the lock and opened the door without warning. No one was waiting outside my door, but that didn’t make me relax. As far as I knew, someone was waiting to jump me at the front door.

Stepping out into the hallway, my eyes flickered to the spot I’d seen Drake biting that woman before. However, there was no sign that it ever happened. No blood, nobody. Just the empty hallway.

Part of me wanted to believe that I had imagined it. That it was all a bad dream, but deep down inside of me, I knew it hadn’t been. I was stupid to even think it might be some morbid fantasy conjured up by the book I’d been reading.

A smart person would have gone out the back, but my car was still parked in the front. If I went through the back, I’d risk the chance of running into Gretchen or Darren who were no doubt in the kitchen right now. I didn’t want Gretchen to know anything was wrong, and Darren would figure it out right away and might tell Antoine. I couldn’t risk it.

I winced at every creak the floor made as I made my way through the hallways and down the staircase. The bottom floor was still a mess from the party the night before. Glasses and plates sat on side tables. Clothing had been discarded without care at the foot of the steps.

My nose crinkled. Someone had been in a hurry.

Part of me was thankful that I was leaving. The mess would probably be on my list of chores to clean up today, but I’d left my room before they could leave me my little note. I so didn’t want to deal with the leftovers from last night.

Just thinking about seeing whoever they had taken to bed with them the night before made my heart clench strangely. I’d understand if it had only been Wynn I’d been thinking about, but even Antoine and Rayne came to mind.

Shaking my head, I chastised myself for letting myself care about those monsters.

Almost home free, my shoulders relaxed as my hand touched the doorknob. I began to turn it only to find that it wouldn’t move. I twisted it and jerked on the knob but nothing. I tried to unlock it, but there was a bolt I’d never noticed before that required a key.

Fuck.

My heartbeat rapidly in my chest, and I realized I had to go through the back. I didn’t have a choice.

However, before I could head that way, a voice stopped me. Frozen to the spot, I wanted to pretend like I hadn’t heard Antoine calling my name. What was he even doing up this early? Every inch of me wanted to run, to scream for help, but I knew no one there would help me. I was on my own.

“Don’t make me ask twice, Piper.” Antoine’s warning tone told me I better come to him, or I wouldn’t like the outcome. Maybe if I pretended that I hadn’t seen anything last night, he’d let me go. Just heading off to take care of some things on my day off.

Sitting my bag down on the ground, I turned around and made my way to where Antoine sat in the living room. My eyes locked onto where he lounged on the couch, completely at ease. On the coffee table in front of him was a piece of the vase I had broken on the first day.

I stopped at the edge of the couch not moving any further, my eyes flickering between him and the ceramic. “What can I help you with, Master Durand?” I decided to pretend like I didn’t know anything about last night, about what they were. No need to let him in on it if he didn’t know.

Antoine smiled slightly, no hint of the fangs I now knew were beneath those gorgeous lips. “Now, let’s not pretend here. I have far too much respect for you to do that.” He gestured to the chair across from him. “Please, have a seat.”

I glanced down at the seat and then back to Antoine. “I think I’ll stand.”

The smile on his face wilted slightly. “Very well.” He shifted in his seat and adjusted his suit jacket, his pale hair falling over his shoulders making him look even more sinister. “It seems one of my brothers has let our little secret slip. Now, you understand that I can’t just let you leave knowing what you know.”

My heart jumped at the implications of his words and my lower lip trembled. I slapped my hand over my mouth, not wanting to give away my fear. It was no idle threat. Just me knowing what they were made me a threat to their very being. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t want to kill me. It would make things kind of melodramatic if he just let me leave.

“Now, get that look off your face, I’m not going to kill you.” Antoine leaned back, throwing one arm over the back of the couch and crossing one leg over the other.

I squinted at him. “You’re not?”

“No,” Antoine answered simply and then sighed, rubbing his forehead with his forefingers. “You have to understand our situation here, Miss Billings.”

“Oh, I understand perfectly.” I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest as I rocked back on my heels. “You are a bunch of bloodsucking fiends that use your looks to get what you want.” Now that I had opened my mouth, I couldn’t seem to stop the outpour. “How many people have you killed? How many maids? Is that why you needed a new one?” I scoffed and wagged my finger at him. “I will not be the next one on your list of victims. I’d sooner snort garlic.”

Antoine stared at me calmly. “Are you quite finished?”

A bit taken back by his words, I paused and then nodded. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

“Good, now to answer your questions, zero is the number of people we have killed,” he began. “Unlike those ridiculous movies you humans are determined to burn your brains out with, we vampires need blood to survive, but we don’t drink until death. Our stomachs couldn’t handle that much in any case, and for another, if we killed everyone we bit, then we wouldn’t be able to stay under the radar.

“For your second question, no, we haven’t eaten our previous maids. The reason we have gone through so many is that each and every one of them couldn’t keep their noses in their own business or were so enamored by my brothers that they would sneak into their beds. It really became quite a problem. My brothers would fight over them, and all sorts of chaos would be unleashed.”

I could totally see that. The brothers were something to behold. If I didn’t need the job so bad, I would have jumped on them the moment I could. Thinking about it now, it seemed my money troubles were the least of my worries. Not getting eaten was pretty high on the list now.

Antoine pursed his lips in thought. “You, however, have yet to cause any fighting.” I frowned a bit disappointed in my lack of sexual prowess. “Do not be mistaken. All of us are quite taken by you, Miss Billings.” He paused, and his eyes bored into me as he purred my name. “Piper.”

That word wiggled through my ears, through my veins, and settled deep between my legs. I pressed them together tightly and forced back my reaction to him and his words. Fucking hormones.

“I have to say you are the most frustrating human I’ve ever had the pleasure of having in my household, and I’ve had quite a lot over the last few hundreds of years.”

I gaped at the admittance.

“Don’t look so surprised.” Antoine lifted his chin, an arrogant sneer on his face. “Looks can be deceiving, especially when vampires are involved.”

He’d said it. He’d actually called themselves vampires.

“What else is true then?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Do you have a reflection?”

Antoine’s eyes glittered with amusement. “Of course. Hard to shave without one.”

My confidence built as I realized he was going to answer my questions. “What about garlic? Beheading? Stakes through the heart?”

Clucking his tongue, Antoine cocked his head to the side. “Are you looking to kill me, Piper?”

“Don’t say my name like that,” I snapped back, shifting from one foot to the other. For some reason, just hearing my name on his lips unsettled me, made my guard slip, just a little.

“Why?” Antoine flashed a fanged grin. “That is your name, is it not?”

I licked my lips and swallowed, nodding.

“Don’t you like it?” Antoine’s eyes bore into me. “You could be very happy here, Piper, if you just let go of your prejudices and allow us the same rights as you give other humans.”

Scoffing, I let out a nervous laugh.

“Something funny?”

Shaking my head, I rubbed my arm, trying to remove the goosebumps that had appeared. “You obviously don’t know me well enough if you think I rate humans very high on the list. They’re just as bad as you.”

“I see.” He peered at me beneath those pale lashes, trying to figure me out. “And will you stake me in my sleep?”

“Not if you let me go.”

He slid a hand through his hair and gave me a knowing smirk. “And where would you go? Back to living in your car?”

“It’s not that bad,” I admitted, dropping my eyes to the oriental rug.

“You don’t really want to go now, do you, Piper?” Antoine stood from the couch and moved closer to me. “Not when you have a debt to pay.”

I knew he was taunting me with the broken vase, but I didn’t take the bait. I stared up at him, my mouth going dry. I shook my head, unable to come up with an answer.

“I didn’t think so.” Antoine cupped my face with his hand and leaned down until his lips brushed mine. When he pulled back, his face had returned to his usual superior smirk. “Now, take your bag back to your room and clean this place up. It’s a pig sty.”

Gaping at what had just happened, I didn’t have a chance to argue before Antoine had disappeared to God knew where. As I took my bag back to my room, I thought about why I was staying. Was I really that hung up on these guys that I would risk my life to stay here?

If I were truthful with myself, that would be a resounding yes. However, I wasn’t that self-aware. I told myself it was to keep an eye on them. If I knew their secret, then they would be held accountable at least by someone.

Dropping my bag on the floor, I changed into my work clothes. I didn’t know what the future held for me if I ever became useless to them. Most likely, I’d be turned into one of their meals. What I did know was that I couldn’t leave them, not just because of what Antoine said. I did owe them, but I wouldn’t just roll over to save my own ass.

If I left, they would get a new maid, and that one might not be as smart as me. Also, the thought of another woman being around the masters made my skin crawl. I still hadn’t come to terms with my feelings for them, especially now that I knew what they were.

I couldn’t let anyone else get hurt. At least, if I were here, I’d be able to keep them in line. Maybe save a few lives and hopefully not lose my own in the process. So much for not being a hero. I was gunning for the spot of the dumbest one of the year.