Next excerpt du jour from Dark Vengeance, Part 2. “Brandon lost his phone,” Lina said, watching nervously as Augustus strolled around her mother’s living room. He had the languid stride of a panther pacing the boundaries of its enclosure, his hands clasped lightly against the small of his spine, his expression unreadable, or perhaps slightly aloof. “I talked to my brother today. They’re staying together at an apartment upstairs, above a garage one of Jackie’s friends own. Brandon misplaced his phone during the move. But he’s fine, Jackie said. I can give you the address, if you’d like.” “That would be appreciated, yes,” Augustus murmured, tipping his head once in an acknowledging nod as he paused to look at a framed photo on the wall, a picture of Lina and Jackson when they’d both been teen-agers. Lina ducked into the kitchen and dug through her mother’s junk drawer, trying to find a pen and a scratch pad. Glancing up through the open window separating kitchen from living room, she observed Augustus’s leisurely progress through her family photos. She felt extremely anxious with him in the house, if only because she fully expected him to be viewing everything her mother owned with a derisive sort of dismissal. After all, the man owned one of the largest private residences in the continental United States, second only to the Biltmore Estate in square footage. Latisha’s entire bungalow could have probably fit in his kitchen. No matter his assertions to the contrary, Lina knew Augustus had never considered her good enough for Brandon. Seeing her mother’s humble home, her modest belongings, probably only confirmed, at least in his egotistical viewpoint, that Brandon was better off without her. “So, uh…I’m sorry you came all of this way for nothing,” she said, trying in vain to both redirect his attention, and offer unspoken inference to get the hell out of her house. She’d scribbled down the address to Valien’s shop as fast as she could and brought it to him now, holding it out in her hand. “I…uh…I’m sure Brandon will feel bad about it, too.” “Thank you.” Augustus slipped the note from her hand, awarded it a perfunctory glance, and tucked it in the breast pocket of his shirt. His pale hair had been drawn back from the crown in a pair of braids that fell down to the base of his neck, where the rest had been gathered in a sheaf, then plaited into a thick cord that hung to just past his shoulders. She’d never seen him with his hair anything but straight and unfettered, and had asked him about the braids after good manners had forced her to invite him inside. “There was a woman on the beach,” he’d replied off-handedly. “She offered to do it for twenty dollars.” With a glance in her direction—the pointed sort, as if he was blaming her for the weather—he added, “It was very hot today.” “Yeah, well…it’s Florida,” she’d replied. “I’d, uh, take you over there myself, show you the way, but I…kind of have plans tonight,” she told him in the living room—another not-so-subtle hint. “That’s alright.” Augustus smiled at her, thin and courteous. “I’m sure I can find it. Thank you for your time, Angelina.” She side-stepped, herding him toward the front door. She nearly got him there, too, but then he paused, turning to face her again, and she stifled an inward grimace. “I thought you should know—Michel Morin is dead.” She blinked. “What?” He nodded. “He was murdered.” Her mouth felt suddenly tacky and dry. She’d liked Michel, goddamn it. As arrogant and infuriating as Augustus could be, his best friend had been the polar opposite. Welcoming to Lina, friendly and kindhearted, he’d been the sort of man she had taken a shine to immediately. Michel had also been the one to explain the Brethren concepts of breeding mates and pair bonds to her—how some humans and Brethren were inexplicably, irresistibly drawn to one another, both physically and emotionally, just as other Brethren were naturally predisposed to bond with their own species. He’d hoped to reassure Lina that her relationship with Brandon was secure; that they were a pair-bond couple. But instead, the information had only worked to convince her of the opposite—that they were anything but meant to be. “Who did it?” she asked, her voice little more than a whisper. Augustus shook his head. “As of my departure, that had yet to be determined.” The admittance surprised her. To hear Brandon tell of it, Augustus and Michel were as close as brothers, and had been for hundreds of years. Augustus had helped to smuggle Michel and his family from the Brethren farmlands when the Davenants had tried to murder them by setting their houses ablaze. Michel had returned the favor a hundred years or so later by helping Augustus sneak his wife, Eleanor, off the farm, and treating her for a potentially fatal blood disorder. Why would Augustus leave Michel’s family—and his own—in California when they must have needed him? she wondered. Could he really have been that worried about Brandon? She tried to tell herself that was impossible; that the real reason was likely that what Julien had told her was true, and Augustus was involved with Tejano Cervantes. His trip to Florida probably had more to do with that than any concern for his grandson. “There was a Brethren assassin on the clan grounds at Lake Tahoe,” Augustus said. “His name is Aaron Davenant.” “Davenant?” Lina said, recognizing the name—and all of the implications that came with it. “He killed Michel?” “I don’t know. Not with any certainty. He escaped after being captured, and when I left, his whereabouts were unknown. But he’s an extremely dangerous individual…as are all of the Davenants.” Augustus offered her a smile she could classify only as forlorn—an expression so out of character for what she’d come to expect from him, she nearly choked on her own saliva in surprise. “You should be safe from all of that now, though. Our affairs no longer concern you…do they?” With another pointed glance—one she found she was unable to meet, and instead blinked down at her toes, feeling awkward and ashamed—he turned and saw himself to the front door. “Good-bye, Angelina.”
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 04:03:51 +0000
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