Part of Frank Kohanek wished that he could forget about everything he had learned in the past year. He didn't want to have anything to do with Julian Luna and his Kindred. The only thing they did was cause him trouble and heighten his sense of paranoia. He knew that vampires existed and referred to themselves as Kindred. He knew that they walked among the humans in disguise, hiding from what they claimed to fear in their Masquerade. What he didn't know, however, was who belonged to his team, and who belonged to theirs.
That's what worried him most, that he could stand in front of one of them and not know who they were. He didn't know who he could trust. The only reason he still breathed was because Julian had put him under his protection. Vampires all over the bay area wanted to kill him, but Luna told them no. So, not only did he have enemies around that he couldn't detect, but he was also indebted to a man that he was very close to despising.
Julian kept him alive because of Alexandra Serris, and she was the reason that Frank didn't volunteer for a memory wipe. To forget the Kindred, he would have to forget her, and if he had nothing else of her, he had her memory. They were in love, and Kindred law had taken her away from him. And, it was a sire's devotion, sorrow and guilt that kept her memory and Frank alive.
Yet, with all of his anger and contempt, Frank somehow found himself crossing Julian's threshold. Somewhere between graciousness and survival, Frank had managed to become a watchdog of sorts. Though there were probably Kindred within the police force who could handle their problems, they always seemed to land in Frank's lap somehow. It was a lot easier on him when he thought Luna was just another mob boss to get rid of.
"I thought you said the wars were over." Frank walked with the air of annoyance into the mansion.
"They are." Julian sat on a large black leather sofa, facing a small and crackling fire. "Last night was not a war."
"It was enough. Half the department has the idea that we're getting some kind of mob war going on and they all expect me to take care of it."
"Your job is not to cover all of our tracks, Frank. We've done perfectly well with it thus far. We can continue to do it without you."
"Great. Wonderful appreciation skills you got there, Luna." Frank threw his hands up in frustration. "Maybe I don't want the extra work, huh? I get a call to go down to Haven, I know what it's about, and it's not something I wanna be involved in. This is your garbage, not mine."
"It would have been yours." Julian slowly turned towards him. "The way I hear it, you wanted Alexandra to Embrace you."
"Don't you say her name!" As much as the thought of her could bring sorrow to his heart, hearing Julian speak her name brought only anger. "I didn't want to be one of you. I wanted to be with her, and you took that from me! You are the reason I'm living this... this... screwed up life, so don't you dare condescend to me, Luna."
"Don't show me the anger because Alexandra didn't want to Embrace you! All she had to do was ask!" Julian stood and stalked across the floor. "All she had to do was tell me that Embracing you would have made her happy, and I would have given her that. I owed her that much. And if we are so bothersome for you, I can easily erase every memory you've ever had of us. But you remember this, Frank Kohanek, that includes Alexandra. If I erase some, I erase it all."
"And for his next trick, he erases the school lunch from the blackboard." With a smirk, Sydney walked into the room. The air was thick with enough tension that she could have choked on it. She was already tired, awakened way too early by the sun coming into her windows. It didn't help any, either, that her first few nights in a new bed were always uncomfortable.
Sydney strode across the floor, holding a steaming white china mug. "You're almost out of coffee, Julian." She walked to him and leaned against his arm. The grin she gave Frank was nowhere near innocent and almost at devilish. "Why are you harassing Julian?"
Frank looked at the girl and his first thought was that she was nothing like anything he expected to be dating Julian. In low-riding black jeans and a tight tank top that showed too much skin, she was more what he would have pictured with Julian's bodyguard than the prince of the city. His second thought was that she might have been one of them, but changed that when he looked into her eyes. There was nothing special about them, but for some reason, he thought she seemed human.
"Starting them young, Luna? Get 'em ready for your life early so they're right for you when the time comes?"
Julian's lip twitched. A low growl crawled out of his throat. "This is my niece."
"Actually, more like his great great... wait a minute, my grandfather was your grandson, so yeah... two greats... grandfather." She smirked and took a sip of her coffee. "And you are? I'm assuming that you know the deal here since I could hear you yelling about some woman and being Embraced all the way in the kitchen, and that's a lot of noise considering that thing is a million miles across the way."
Frank snorted. "Aren't you a little young to be dying as a part of the family?"
"First of all, I'm older than Sasha was. Second, I'm not dying for anything. And third, you should really get the stick out of your ass. I mean, come on... so you're stuck in the middle of some shit you don't like. You're in the middle, same as I am."
He smirked. "A couple of lowly humans surrounded by savages?"
"Something like that. But, please, don't call Grandpa a savage. He doesn't like it." She stood up then winked at Julian. "He doesn't like to be called Grandpa, either." She turned back to Frank. "Now, I gotta go and get ready to do... something. I don't know. Something other than pretend to be rich. See ya... wait, what was your name?"
"Frank."
"Yeah. Great name." She rolled her eyes. "See ya, Frank."
Sydney walked off, leaving the two men staring behind her. Frank couldn't believe she took it all so easily. It was a lot to know, and a lot of shit to be caught in the middle of. Apparently, the death of her sister in this mixed up world hadn't had the same affect on her as the death of Alexandra did him.
With a groan, Frank turned to Julian. "Take care of your business, Luna. I don't want another group of your kind dying in my streets, again." He walked off. On his way outside, he slammed the door behind him. Childish, yes. But did it feel good? Unfortunately... not so much.
