I love this story, I really do. But it's also the hardest one to write of the five or so I have in progress. So, I'm sorry for the six month wait, and I'll try to be better, I promise. If you reviewed, thank you times a million.

Chapter Four

I didn't get far, but then again, I didn't expect to. There was no way Chad, or whoever he was, would let me get the upper hand in our little banter war. "Evan Stephans is alive."

That stopped me in my tracks. The bastard! He knew who I was, didn't tell me, and was lying about my dead brother. I turned around, ready to kill him. Of course, I was smarter than that, at least this time. "We both know that you're lying."

"I can bring you to him."

I laughed, that was rich. "Right, but, you see, I'm not interested in dying today."

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already."

"Is it 'Let's Say Every Cliché in the Book Day'? Honestly, if you tell me to go into the light…" I turned away, no more of his bullshit for me, thank you very much.

But, him being a vampire and all, he grabbed my wrist, hard. "You're a stupid, scared little girl. Did you know that?" He was right in my face. If I tried, I could lick him.

I didn't try.

He let go of my wrist and pushed me away. I straightened out my jacket. "I'm trying to help you!" He hissed, "If you'd stop being a sarcastic bitch for a minute, maybe you'd see that not everyone is a bad guy."

I met his eyes and looked at him for a long moment, until I knew that he was listening and understanding, "In the past year, I have had to see everyone as a potential enemy, and, baby, I've always been the bitch you see in front of you. If you don't like it, well then you can just fuck off." I turned around and walked away for real this time.

"Maya!"

By 'for real' I, of course, meant until he called out my real name. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

"I already told you no."

"So, you know my name, have some pictures, and, at the very least, know about my brother. And yet, I just know that you're a vampire. I know life's not fair, but this is real shit."

"You're right, this is shit."

He was not supposed to agree with me. 1001 Rules of How To Banter With a Potential Enemy and/or Friend forbid it. Or it would if such a book existed, maybe I'd write it.

"So, come with me, to Starbucks, there has to be one around the corner, or within three blocks, it is, after all, a law. And I'll explain everything."

Damn, he really sounded truthful, but, "I still can't trust you, not even that far."

"I can only give you my word. If I tell you to keep a weapon pointed on me, someone may see, and I'm still faster than you. If I tell you some secret that I've told no one else, I can just kill you, and no one else will no. So, take my word and get a coffee on me, or leave here now, and you'll probably dead within a month."

"What makes you think that?"

He raised an eyebrow, "How many times have you been attacked in the last few days?"

Well, that was a good point.

"If you're lying to me, and you kill me, I am going to haunt you for all of eternity."

He smiled, I couldn't tell if he was laughing inside because he thought I was funny, or because he was going to kill me later. I was hoping it was the former. It would really suck if it was the latter.

Literally.

Okay, that pun even sickened me.

We walked two blocks down the street, and, lo and behold, there was a Starbucks. I ordered a black coffee, and he got a cappuccino.

"What?" he asked when I rolled my eyes at his drink. I just shook my head. We sat against the wall, near the bathrooms. It was the most secluded area in the small room.

"So, how does this work now? Do I have to ask you a bunch of questions and get frustrated when you answer only exactly what I ask, or are you just going to tell me everything?"

"Define everything."

I narrowed my eyes at him. I was supposed to be the sarcastic one. "Can you just do the story thing?"

"Story thing? Such an eloquent way of putting it."

I showed him my most eloquent, and longest, finger. "You brought me here to tell me what the fuck is going on, and now you're joking as if my life wasn't at stake and we were…I don't even know! So, please, just tell me what you brought me here to tell me."

He nodded, and I could see his posture and facial expression change back to the 'Mr. Serious' persona. "My name is Ben Kelley. I'm a made," he glanced at the other people in the room, "You-know. And I work for Circle Daybreak."

"I don't know what that is."

He paused, thinking of a way to describe it in what I like to call 'Muggle' terms. "It's a group where everyone from all groups comes together. Our ultimate goal is to get rid of the racism in our world. But right now, there's a lot of fighting going on, and people like you get caught in the crossfire."

"Okay." I didn't like the fact that I was caught in any kind of crossfire. My problems were supposed to be personal, damn it.

"Last year, right before everything happened to your family, we received word from someone in your town that something could happen. We were too late for your parents, but we found your brother. Until the photos surfaced, you were presumed dead. Your brother saw a picture, one of the older ones when you looked more like your old self, and he recognized you. That was two months ago. We've been searching for you ever since."

That sounded plausible.

"Why are they chasing me so hard?"

"You know, and that's enough reason for them. Though usually they give up. My best guess is that someone high up on the inside is gunning for you."

Oh, joy.

"Circle Daybreak can protect you, and you'll be able to live. I can give you your brother and a life back, but you have to trust me."

And there was the problem with this whole situation. How could I trust a man, a vampire, that I'd only met a few days ago. In any other situation I could try, but this was my life, and there were only two people who I trusted with it, my doctor and myself.

"How can I trust you, Ben? I've been running from your kind for a year. I makes me a little biased against you."

"I haven't tried to kill you, have I?"

"And that means you won't? That's a weak defense and you know it."

He looked frustrated, and, honestly, I didn't blame him for it. "My God, stop pretending that you're so damn special. You're not. There are, what, six billion other people on the planet? And though your petulance is raising my homicidal tendencies, I have no intention of killing you." The last sentence came out in a harsh whisper.

Finally, he was acting like a person is supposed to when they're made. "Is my brother really in Chicago?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that he is?"

"I want you to take me to him."

"And the girl finally comes to her senses."

I rolled my eyes, "You can stop now."

We left the building and headed for the L station. After more than twenty minutes, we got off. The buildings were mostly brick, and though they were older, they hadn't fallen into a state of disrepair. We walked for five more blocks until we were at an apartment complex. "Circle Daybreak owns the building." He told me as we entered, "The basement has a conference room and a gym for training. The first floor has been renovated to be a kitchen and common room. There are fifteen rooms here, and we have thirty-three residences."

"How convenient."

"It is. I'll call your brother down." There was a phone on the counter. He only punched in two numbers, so it was probably some kind of house phone. He talked for a minute and then hung up, "He'll be down shortly."

I nodded and sat on a couch. Somehow, after all this time, it seemed anticlimactic to find out about my brother like this. It still wasn't real. It wouldn't be real until I saw him. The boy I'd seen at that store earlier entered the room. He sat in a chair and looked at me. What do you say to a person you've thought was dead for a year? We had the same problem.

"What's up?" He finally said.

I started to laugh. That was Evan for you. It probably wasn't the right thing to say, but it worked. I shrugged and said, "You know, the usual."

I kind of wanted to hug him, but we'd never been the hugging type. It just wasn't our thing. So, I just asked him, "Do we hug now, or something?"

It was his turn to laugh, "I don't really know."

I heard someone else enter the room, "Hey, Ben," he said, and I turned around to look at him. When I got a good look my eyes widened. He was a vampire, it was easy to tell, and I recognized him.

Oh God, did I recognize him.

Shit.

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