Chapter 5: Thane

Even before I open my eyes, something feels different – about me and the space I find myself in – for various reasons.

I’m lying on a couch, something I never do. That’s what my custom-made Alaskan King bed with its black silk sheets is made for.

There is an intoxicating smell permeating the air. And not the unique scent of blood, which I can detect a mile away. It calls to me, simultaneously calming my soul (if I had one) and setting fire to my nervous system.

Opening my eyes, I stare at a ceiling distinctly different from my penthouse apartment’s. This one has brown watermarks in several places and a few cracks in the corner. Goddess, I hope the roof doesn’t collapse on me.

I’m shirtless, and my lower half is covered with a gray throw blanket. When I pull it closer to my nose, that heavenly scent gets more intense, and I instinctively inhale a deep lungful of it.

Turning my head to the left, more of the room becomes clearer. I’m in a small living room with sparse furnishings. In the corner is a bay window with a built-in padded bench seat underneath. It’s covered in more throw pillows than should legally be allowed.

My eyes fall on the sleeping woman in the recliner across from me. She’s lightly snoring, and some drool is dripping from the corner of her open mouth. I can’t decide if it’s adorable or deplorable. What the hell? Since when is anything adorable to me?

In her lap lies an open book, but I can’t make out the title from this angle. Hopefully, it’s educational, like an autobiography by one of this country’s great minds. To my right behind her is a colossal bookcase stuffed with books that have been read numerous times if the cracked spines are any indication.

Slipping my legs to the floor, I sit upright and peruse the rest of the room. The hallway is presumably through the doorway off to my right, with the bottom of a staircase visible. A small kitchen can be spotted through the archway that’s to my left behind me. A decent-sized TV is mounted to the wall to my left, next to the bay window.

The sleeping beauty is dressed in red-colored flannel pajamas that hug her thick, luscious curves. The top button of her shirt has popped out of its hole, and her deep cleavage is begging for my attention. What I wouldn’t give to slip the next button free – they would be completely bare to me then. Stop, you caveman.

Looking down, I spot a waterproof bandage on the left side of my abdomen, and last night’s events come rushing back like a torrential flood.

I remember dinner at the restaurant with some of my top researchers. I had given my driver the night off because it was his anniversary, and I planned to order an Uber when the evening was over. So, when we stepped out of the restaurant, I bid the others farewell and opened the rideshare app on my phone. But a sudden movement caught my eye, and my attention snapped in that direction.

My enhanced eyesight allowed me to spot the distinct luminescent-red bat tattoo behind the person’s ear. So fucking cliché.

Without hesitation, I started following the darkly dressed man. But keeping up proved difficult because I couldn’t use my ability to move extremely fast in streets congested with mortals.

It didn’t make sense for one of Andras’ men to be skulking around in this part of the city. But I was intent on catching him, throttling the answer from him, and then disposing of his sorry ass.