Chapter 10: Favors

I stared into his blue eyes and became rooted to the spot. Suddenly, right next to him, the oven started beeping. It was finally done preheating and not a moment too soon, either. I pushed away from the wall to put my pizza in the oven, hoping to buy myself a few seconds to think.

How to explain that I went to his king's house to question him about his involvement in a murder? I didn't know how close he was with the king, or how any of their political systems worked. What if he ended up being a psycho like Richard? And why did I even care? Now that was the million-dollar question.

He was a vampire. My enemy in every sense of the word. And yet… every time he was near me, I felt like I was on fire and only he was the answer. I felt safe with him. And if I was willing to be honest with myself, I had never felt safe with anyone in my entire life. Not after I watched my parents be brutally murdered in front of me. I closed my eyes as the memories assaulted me.

My mother screaming and my father shouting. They had shoved me into the closet with strict orders not to move until they came for me. I stayed in there so long that I fell asleep, curled up on my mother's winter coat. And when I awoke, the life as I knew it was over. There was no more being adored simply for existing. No more hugs and kisses on the forehead.

Instead, I was sent to live with a man who hated my mere presence in his home. I was trained to be a vampire killer. The only person I trusted fully was myself. And yet when this vampire… When Ezra stood in front of me, I felt the overwhelming urge to trust him. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

I shook myself and pushed against his chest and felt like I hit a brick wall. I pushed against him, to no avail. A low growl made me look up at his face, and I froze. Ezra stared down at me, his eyes narrowed, and lips pulled down. He didn't say anything. He simply stared at me and took deep breaths, as if trying to calm himself.

"Are…" I began and hesitated. Asking him if he was okay should not be the first thought in my head. It should be 'get out of my apartment, you crazy vampire', but I found myself wanting to comfort him instead. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Are you okay?"

He didn't say anything for a long moment. So long, I wasn't sure if he'd respond to me at all.

"Who the hell hurt you?" he ground out through gritted teeth.

I shook my head. "No one. I just have a dangerous job. A hurt arm is nothing compared to some of the injuries I've had."

"Answer the question, little mouse. Before I lose my temper completely."

"Is that a threat?" I asked, anger flaring up at once.

"Not to you, darling. Never to you," he said, finally relaxing enough to lift a hand to my cheek. I couldn't move an inch as he gently brushed his fingertips against my cheek, little sparks following wherever he touched. "But someone will pay for hurting you, that I promise. Just tell me who."

"Really, Ezra. This is ridiculous. I haven't even known you for twelve hours. I can handle things like this myself. Rest assured, he paid for it." Not enough in my opinion, but I was betting me and Richard weren't through.

"Tell me," he said simply, his obstinate expression telling me that he wouldn't be budging anytime soon.

"Can I at least make my pizza while I tell you?" I asked, stomach feeling like it was eating itself. I was so hungry, I thought there was a decent chance I would die. Ezra reached into the freezer and removed the pizza, eyes not leaving my face. He opened it and slid it into a pan before putting it into the oven.

"There. Now tell me," he said, handing me a freshly filled glass of wine. A man aiming straight for my heart, I thought before taking a drink. I hadn't even seen him fill it.

"Fine. How close are you to your king?"

His eyes widened in surprise before he began smirking. "You could say that I know him intimately. Why?"

I looked at him curiously. What in the world did that mean? Intimately… As in they'd –no, it’s better if I don’t know. Vampires were known for their fluid sexual natures. I couldn't be entirely surprised if he and the king had been together. Ezra cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"Because, if you're looking for the group of people to blame for my arm, you need to look no further than the king and his men."

Ezra studied me in bewilderment. "What do you mean, the king and his men?"

"I mean, I went to the king's estate to ask him questions about a case. That was it, just a few simple questions. And instead, he allowed his bully men to attack me and my partner."

His expression darkened. "They attacked you?"

"Yes. Richard apparently doesn't like my kind." I took another sip of my wine and leaned against the wall.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Come on, Ezra. Half-breed," I said, gesturing to myself. "You can't tell me you didn't know."

"Don't worry, little mouse. I don't plan on holding it against you." He smiled, though it looked tense. "I may hold other things against you, but never that.”

My face blushed at the insinuation, and I gulped more wine down. That was my rule: when in doubt, drink more wine. It hadn't failed me yet.

Ezra smirked at my blushing cheeks. "What happened at the estate? I want every detail."

"We arrived and were immediately surrounded. Then we had some words and were attacked. Duncan, my partner, took out two of them almost immediately but was knocked over the head and passed out. That left me with four of them on my own."

"You took on four vampires," he breathed. It wasn't a question, but more of a statement of amazement.

"Yeah," I said with a shrug. "It wasn't hard. I would have had all four if Richard hadn't jumped me."

Ezra froze as if sculpted out of marble, his eyes suddenly hard. "Richard?"

"Yeah. At least that's what Clarke told me it was when he came to break up the fight."

"Hmm."

I took another sip of wine as the smell of a baking pizza floated around us. My stomach gave an unladylike growl, but Ezra acted like he couldn't hear it. He was staring at the wall as if deep in thought. Whatever he was thinking, I was guessing it didn't bode well for Richard. I grinned at the thought. I wasn't one to let a man fight my battles for me. But, if he wanted to take Richard down a peg or two, who was I to stand in his way?

"Emily," he said suddenly, brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "I have a favor to ask."

"Well, that didn't take long." I chuckled. "I guess it was only a matter of time." Here I had been thinking that we'd have at the very least a friendship. My heart sank as I realized that was probably what this had been about the whole time. He needed help. Ezra frowned at me.

"Not anything like that. Really, Emily," he rolled his eyes. "Do you think so little of me?"

I shrugged and drank the last of my wine. "I don't know what you expect."

"I am not asking you to fudge evidence for me or anything as silly as that."

I ducked under his arm and pulled the pizza out of the oven, mouth salivating at the smell of bread and garlic. "What is it you want, then?"

"I just want you to tread carefully. Maybe avoid this case entirely if you can."

I whipped around to study him. He was leaning against the countertop with his arms crossed. "I can't do that, Ezra. And I think you know that."

"Very well. At least promise me that you'll stay far away from the king."

"I can't promise that either," I said, turning away from him to pour another glass of wine. Hey, it had been a really long day! Wine was the only answer on days like this.

"If you play with the king, Emily, I can't promise you'll like the result."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, whipping back around to face him, only to find the space he'd occupied empty. I couldn't sense him anywhere.

I was getting the feeling that Ezra liked to have the last word. Filthy vampire.