The night without Kalen dragged on.
Nadia lounged in a chair and resumed tormenting her with a watchful eye, Caitlin thought she saw a smug smile crest over her face once or twice.
"You having fun gloating?" She glared at the escort. Nadia shrugged, betraying no emotion. She threw the tv guide on the floor with a loud clap and stood, "Well I'm getting the hell out of here."
"You shouldn't." Nadia warned.
"Kalen told you to do anything I wanted to do.
Anything
. You have to eat, right? Show me." Her command didn't leave room for an exit clause. "You'll do it anyway, whether or not I see it."
Nadia balked, "He would kill me if I did that."
"Then you pay back the debt you owe me. I am
ordering
you to do it. You don't have a choice, and I will vouch for it." It was thrilling, making the vampire squirm.
Nadia stood, "Yes, Ma'am." She stated woodenly, was there fear in her eyes?
Caitlin stood primly, "Meet me upstairs, and get Sara."
"As you will it." Nadia bowed and made a move towards the elevator.
Caitlin dressed slowly, wondering what the hell she was doing. He would be livid when, not if, he found out, but he'd left her a loophole. And she wanted to know, to witness the worst of his nature. Nadia would deliver, as loyally as if Kalen had asked her himself.
Dressed in all black, she pushed the elevator button, sweeping her hair into a haphazard ponytail. Nadia and Sara waited for her at the door. "Does he know?" she asked Nadia.
Sara responded instead with a short nod, not hiding his dissatisfaction at all.
"Good," Caitlin didn't want to second guess herself, she would certainly chicken out. "Let's go."
The cool night air hit her on the way out, it was too crisp for July. Sara flanked their group, and Nadia led. Pedestrians passed them with little regard for anyone but the big man.
They seemed to wander aimlessly for some time, until Caitlin finally had to ask, "Where are you leading us?" The escort ignored her, peering into an alley way.
She turned abruptly and eyed Caitlin, "Are you sure about this?" to which Caitlin nodded, "Then come here," Nadia beckoned them into the dead-end alley, "And stay. Don't make a sound."
Sara stood next to her in the darkness as Nadia disappeared, burning with displeasure. When she looked up at him, he did not make eye contact, staring ahead grimly.
Soon enough, laughter echoed down the street, the murmur of affection, a slap and squeal. The lovers came closer and ducked into the alley.
The man pressed the woman against the wall, hoisting her leg around his hip, "How much is this gonna cost me?" he asked, groping her thighs.
"Not a thing," Nadia's voice whispered as she pulled his head to one side and buried her teeth into his neck. He groaned, seeming to be unaware of the mortal danger, of his life ebbing away. Nadia's pitch-black eyes bored into Caitlin as the man beneath her lost his strength and crumpled to the ground as if someone cut his strings. She let the man fall, and wiped her mouth, "You happy now, Princess?"
Caitlin looked down at the dead man, his mouth open in twisted pleasure, eyes half-lidded. "Who was he?" she wondered.
"Doesn't matter anymore." Sara replied, stalking past the corpse and out onto the open street.
He was angry with her, Caitlin thought, she'd made a mistake bringing him along; her own stomach withered. They stood in silence for a moment, "I should not have made you do this."
Nadia watched her, eyes returned to normal, "Why did you?"
"I thought... that I could understand Kalen better, that seeing it might make sense. Or maybe I was gauging if I had the guts to do what you do, so I could give him what he wants."
"... and?"
"I don't feel anything."
"That is shock, Caitlin." Nadia ushered her out of the alley, where Sara stood none too happy. "Let's get back to the suite."
"I know what shock feels like," She countered as they walked back, "This isn't it. This is... empty." She watched the pedestrians differently as they passed, seeing only their frailty, their vulnerability. Was this how Kalen saw them? Saw her?
Safely inside the building, she went to the suite and sat at the end of her bed, waiting for Kalen to return. He would either be furious or cold, and she wouldn't blame him. Caitlin didn't expect Nadia to keep her mouth shut, she was loyal to him.
Soon after the clock struck four, the elevator doors opened. After a moment, her own door opened as well. "Nadia told me what happened."
Caitlin felt the flush spread across her face, "I had to know." She avoided eye contact.
"Next time, you will ask me." He gave her an impassive look, "What did you learn?"
"That it's easy to die." Caitlin weaved her fingers together over her stomach. "You only haven't killed me because I am useful to you."
"You know that is not all." He did not waver from the doorway. "My business is concluded here. Pack up, we will be leaving in an hour."
After Kalen left, she inhaled a jagged breath and began to pack.
*
The ride back tormented Caitlin. She sat alone in the body of the limousine as it bumped over the city streets, and then rural ones. Kalen sat in the passenger's seat next to the driver and seemed to be making small talk, but she couldn't tell through the glass.
Sara, Nadia, and Micah stayed behind, likely resuming their work pre-Caitlin.
Unable to get the dead man's face out of her mind, she curled onto her side and held herself, trying to rationalize the monumental idiot she was. How simple her life had been in her hometown, she never made these rash decisions that alienated her from the very people she cared about.
Sara, she didn't think, would ever look at her the same way again. Caitlin should never have brought him along. His look of disgust would be impossible to forget.
Kalen's cool dismissal was the worst of it, though, his disappointment evident. She berated herself internally; if she hadn't demanded it, that man would still be alive, whether or not he deserved it. Who was she to decide?
They made it to the mansion just before sunrise. Kalen disappeared into the house as to avoid the early rays, leaving Edmund to help her with the suitcases.
