SUIT and FANGS by Marian Tee

serious.”
    “And I am, too.” He wiped my tears away. “But first, tell me. Are you really okay?”
    I nodded.
    “Good. Now listen – I’m going to make a call to show you that it’s all going to be fine.” Keeping one arm around me, Luka used his other hand to fish out his phone from one of his jacket pockets. I heard him tapping on the keys, followed by the ring of a phone at the other end of the line.
    “The Brethren,” a voice answered from the other end.
    I stiffened.
    Luka stroked my back again, as if reassuring me silently that there was nothing to worry about. He gave his identification then murmured, “I need a crew for cleanup.” He rapped out our coordinates. “Check for ID then get rid of the evidence.”
    I was in another – was I on my third or fourth? – bout of shock by the time he ended his call. “Luka, did you just---”
    He cupped my face again, making me meet his eyes, which were so intensely bright it made me blink. “Tomorrow, I’ll explain everything. But right now, you just need to know we’re both okay and I will never let anything – anyone – harm even a single strand of hair on your head.”
    “But---”
    Luka placed a finger on my lips. “Tomorrow.”
    Knowing that Luka wasn’t to be swayed when he was in this mood, I nodded against his lips. When his fingers lifted, I muttered, “You better mean that.”
    “I do.” We started walking again and a little while, we reached his car – a flashy red Lamborghini I had never seen him drive before. Seeing my questioning glance, he said wryly, “I was in a hurry so I drove the first car I saw – it’s my grandfather’s.”
    A nervous laugh escaped me, and then I laughed some more because I felt like I needed something to laugh about, after everything that transpired. Luka’s grandfather had been a notorious ladies’ man in his younger days. Even though he was happily married for decades now, he was still one of the most charmingly flirtatious men I had ever met.
    Patting the hood of the sports car, I said with a forced smile, “I might have guessed. You’re not the type to drive this car. This one, I’ll have an easier time picturing Jeff---”
    Oh, shit.
    Everything that happened – the attack, the man’s death, Luka’s call to the Brethren – all of it faded away at the sight of Luka’s cold fury. 
    I cringed when Luka slammed my door shut the moment I was safely ensconced inside the car, and I couldn’t help cringing again when he slammed his door shut as well.
    Before I could say something, Luka exploded. “Did you want to date that boy so badly you’d do anything---even if it meant lying to your parents? Was he the reason why you’ve been acting so wild the past three years?”
    Luka was shouting.
    I could only stare at him in horrified silence, my hands cupped over my mouth.
    “Did you never even pause to think---” Luka stopped speaking, visibly struggling to hold on to his control. “Did you ever pause to think what would your parents feel if they found out you attended this kind of party? Attending this event would constitute as a violation, Caylie! They--- ” He jerked his head towards where we came from. “---may be forgiven for their first violation, but you won’t be. You’re already under rehabilitation. One whiff of this and you’d be in the dungeons. For fifty fucking years!”
    Luka gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Did you even pause to think what it would look like if the press got a wind of this and saw me in this kind of party? You know…you fucking know I won’t be able to stop myself from taking you away from this place, but would it be worth sacrificing my fucking career for this party, for that boy, for just one night of---”
    “ Cerra ti!” It meant shut up in our language and I used the words deliberately because it was cruder that way, harsher, more contemptuous because that was exactly how I felt. “How dare you lecture me when you lied to me as well!”