"Are you close to them?"
"Oh yeah. Closer than I want to be sometimes. They still think they should all run my life for me."
He smiled. That was how Anya used to feel about him and Fang. It brought a bittersweet pain to his chest. "You must be the youngest."
"You know it. I swear, my mother still cuts my meat for me every time I go home."
He was unable to imagine a doting mother like that. It must have been nice to know such love. "Don't knock it."
"Most days I don't." Bride frowned up at him. "Why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Scanning the street like you're afraid someone is going to jump out at us."
Vane rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness. He had to give her credit, she really was observant. Especially for a human.
The last thing he could tell her was that he did in fact fear just that.
If Stefan or the others ever tracked him down
He didn't want to think about the consequences.
"I don't suppose I could talk you into closing your store for a couple of weeks and taking off to some exotic island with me, could I?"
She laughed at him. "Good one."
Yeah. Little did she know, he was quite serious. Part of him was tempted to kidnap her, but after what had happened between his parents, he knew better than to chance it.
Four hundred years later, his mother was still emotionally scarred over his father's kidnapping her against her will. He didn't want to destroy Bride's kindness. Her open smile. God help her, she trusted people, and that was so rare that he would do anything to keep her that way.
She opened the door to her yard and led him to her apartment where Fury was waiting for them.
Rushing toward them, Fury went straight for Vane's groin to rack him in typical dog fashion. "Get down," he snapped, brushing the wolf aside.
"He likes you."
Likes annoying me. "Yeah, I noticed."
Bride frowned as she walked over to the stereo, which was blasting the old Troggs song "Wild Thing."
"How strange," she said, turning it off. "I didn't leave the stereo on."
Vane tightened his grip on Fury's neck.
"That hurts, Vane. Let go."
He did so reluctantly. "What else did you do? "
"Nothing, really. I just watched some TV, went through her CDs she has some really good shit and made some coffee."
"Fury, you weren't supposed to move in!"
"You said watch her, that implies moving in."
He reached for Fury, who darted over to Bride.
"Maybe you have a ghost," Vane said. "It is New Orleans, after all."