Dark Obsession (Vampire Royals of New York #3) - Sarah Piper Page 0,4

a new day after the worst night of her life, Charley took a deep breath, reminded herself that Sasha was a total badass, and shoved everything else into that rusty metal box inside her.

A fear so sharp it shredded her heart.

A rage so blinding it made her tremble.

A loss so deep and dark it threatened to swallow her whole.

None of that shit would help Sasha. Right now, she needed to stay focused. Rudy was a demon, but he still had weaknesses. With Dorian’s help, Charley would find them, exploit them, and get her sister back.

And then?

Rudy would burn.

It was that simple.

Ignoring the headache and the dull throb of the cuts in her mouth and on her hands, Charley wrapped herself in Dorian’s sweatshirt and headed downstairs in search of strong coffee or a strong drink—either would’ve sufficed. Instead, she found Aiden, sitting alone at the table in the breakfast nook, his face smudged with soot, his gaze a million miles away.

“Aiden?” she said softly, taking a seat across from him. “Are you… Is everything okay?”

The air on the main floor was heavy with the scent of woodsmoke, and the vampire himself looked as if he’d just escaped a fire.

It took him a beat to respond, but when he finally looked up at her, a faint smile touched his lips, and he blinked away the haze from his eyes. “Ms. D’Amico. I thought for sure you’d sleep the day away. Are you feeling all right?”

“As well as can be expected. But…” She took a deep breath of smoke-scented air and narrowed her eyes, taking in his disheveled appearance. “Was there a fire?”

“In the rose garden, yes. Completely controlled, I assure you.” He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers coming away with ash. “Dorian just needed to… clear out a bit of old junk. In with the new, as they say. How’s your head?”

“Still attached to my body. I suppose that’s something, right?” Charley closed her eyes and turned toward the window, basking for a moment in the sunshine streaming through the pane. “Where is Dorian, anyway? I tried to wait up for him last night, but I guess I kept passing out. I don’t think he ever came to bed.”

“He’s in the city with Gabriel following up on another lead, but not to worry. I’m looking after you today, so anything you need, you just let me know.”

The fact that Dorian had left without telling her stung, but she understood why he’d done it.

Dorian and Gabriel were vampires—damn near impenetrable. She was a fragile human, as weak and breakable as glass. Whatever lead they were chasing now, Charley would only get in the way.

With a deep sigh, she opened her eyes and met Aiden’s gaze across the table. He was so calming, so kind. And last night, he’d risked his life for her—first in coordinating the art buy with Vincent Estas, then in fighting off those grays…

God. She was so grateful, yet she couldn’t find a single word to express it.

“What is it?” he asked, his brow creasing with worry.

“I… I don’t deserve your kindness, Aiden. This is… It’s all my fault.”

“Nonsense. You certainly didn’t kick your own ass last night. As a matter of fact, you faced down some pretty terrible odds, and came out—well, slightly worse for the wear, but still. Here you are, head attached, as you’ve so keenly noted.”

She wanted to return his smile, but she couldn’t. Despite her best efforts at compartmentalizing, the guilt still burned in her gut. “I need to tell you something, Aiden. It’s about my uncle and—”

“The sodding demon, you mean.”

“Yes. He’s also my boss.” Charley’s stomach churned, but she forced herself to continue. “He’s an art thief—we’re art thieves. We were plotting to rob the manor. To rob Dorian. His brothers. All of you. That’s the reason all of this happened. The reason Sasha’s missing, and you’re stuck babysitting a chick with a possible head injury, and Dorian’s out there chasing down who knows what, and…”

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out the whole story—how she and Dorian had met at the Salvatore auction, how Rudy had zeroed in on him after she’d mentioned the Whitfield, how she’d been running schemes her entire adult life.

Charley’s shame and embarrassment were so immense, she was sure she’d combust. But through every terrible confession, the kindness in Aiden’s eyes never dimmed.

“It’s all in the past, Ms. D’Amico,” he said when she’d finally run out of words. “No need to further torment