Part 31 (1/2)

Mind screwhim.Control him.

Her best weapons were her words right now.

”Why'd you stop loving your dad?” she asked, vying for the upper hand. ”What happened, Robby?”

Behind him, one of the Bava workers opened the door. With a flick of his wrist, Robby shut it, never even glancing back.

”I told you,” he said. ”He left me.”

”Why?”

”It was for the best, he said. He would send me away, and years later, I'd make a comeback. Then we would be together again.”

Robby's lips attempted a smile, but his mouth lost the struggle. ”My dad and I were close, a long time ago.”

”I know.” She wouldn't bring up the pimping, the abuse. It would probably agitate him, and she was doing so well without that kind of brain-dead strategy.

Nerve sawing against nerve, she snuck a glance at Kiko, who was still in a pile by the back wall. A hitch of overwhelming worry pulled at her, but she kept it at bay. She had to.

”Dad made me a man,” Robby said, touching his head wound again. The slight bleeding fascinated him. ”He taught me how to rule Hollywood one day.”

”Is that what he was doing?”

Robby seemed taken aback by her venom. ”He wanted me to be strong. He showed me how to dominate people by offering, then withholding, then giving them what they wanted at a bigger price than they could've ever imagined paying. Lots of money.

Lots of opportunity. I had half of Hollywood dying to be with me.”

Even through the vampire bravado, she saw a flicker of human shame. Both of them knew he was lying to himself, failing to make Nathan's actions seem more acceptable.

At her steely silence, his expression fell, and he stared at the ground.

”I don't know how to function without him,” he said softly. ”Can you imagine that? Thirty-five years old and I still need him to tell me what to do. But it's not going to be that way for long. I kept telling him, even back when I was twelve, that I wanted to move on and stay out of the spotlight for a while until I could start getting adult roles, like Jodie Foster. Yeah,” his voice lifted with rekindled dreams, ”just like her. I did everything I could to show him I wasn't a little boy anymore-got piercings, turned down parts in family movies, all because I knew I could reinvent myself.” ”He didn't like that you weren't daddy's boy anymore.” She could feel herself getting dizzy, but she sucked it up.

Again, Robby leaned closer, scenting her blood. She didn't dare make eye contact.

”Robby?” Dawn needed him to keep talking. She wished she could drop the napkins and grab her gun. It'd be awkward, and her left-hand aim wasn't as sharp as her right, but still...

The vampire reared back, tone sharp and self-mocking. ”I'mthe one who didn't like that I wasn't daddy's boy anymore. I was afraid not to be, even if I couldn't help rebelling.” He grinned. ”I used to sneak out of the Underground, you know. Used to go to my old hangouts and workplaces, then slide right back into my room before anyone knew I was gone. That's how I stayed in touch with my sanity.”

”Diaper Derbywas filmed on the same set as one of your movies?”

”Yes-Bug Hunt. When my caretakers saw that I'd been accidentally filmed, they punished me by keeping me locked up. That's when I escaped for good, before...” He looked afraid. ”...the final phase of my release.”

”And you couldn't help returning to all the old places again.”

”Places my dad and I used to go. First I went home. Dad still wasn't there. Then I came to Bava, and it was the same deal. I kept visiting both places, but then the Guards followed me home, and Groupies were infiltrating Bava more than usual, looking for me. I could tell they were present before I even went in again-they have a different scent than the regular vampires and ghouls that hang out. But they're not here tonight. That's why I followed you in when I saw you.”

She couldn't quiz him about what Groupies were before she detected the self-disgust creeping back into his gaze.

”After all these years of being away,” he added, ”there was comfort in these places, like returning would take me back to being the normal Robby Pennybaker.”

This guy was confused, Dawn thought. He wanted to resume his little Robby life, and he didn't. He obviously loved his father, and he hated him.Hadvampirism affected his brain? Were all of these creatures a little tetched?

As he gauged her compa.s.sion, he came close enough for Dawn to see he wasn't showing any fang. Obviously, that happened only in his vamp state. In this form, he could pa.s.s for human-it was only the mind s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g that revealed him as a vampire.

”When my dad came back home,” Robby said, ”I realized how much I hated him. Seeing him in the flesh, strolling through the door like he'd never deserted me, made me want to hurt him.”

Pulled to Daddy out of habit. Sounded familiar to Dawn. ”So what're you going to do if you have no place to go?”

”I'll make a new life Above no matter what. I told you, I'm never going back.”

”Even if your mom loves you?” Dawn thought he'd been talking about going back home. Or was he talking about that other place? The Underground.

Robby's mouth tightened, and Dawn s.h.i.+fted, upsetting her arm and shoulder. Who cared though? She just made sure her good arm was ready to grab her gun.

”I never thought...” Robby's lips broke into a tremble. ”She didn't pay much attention to me when I was human.”

”She regrets that.”

”Really?” His voice was thick. ”I didn't try to contact her because I thought she'd care as much as she used to-which is not at all.” ”That's not true. If you saw how upset she is...”

He grew contemplative, giving Dawn too much of a chance to think about Kiko. She had to get to him. Had to find out more about this Underground, too.

”Please,” she said, taking advantage of this peaceful lull. ”My friend.”

Seeming to come to a decision, Robby stood, moved to the door before she could ask more questions. Then, as if he hadn't wrecked havoc in the supply room, he zipped out, leaving the door open.

She didn't have the opportunity to wonder what the h.e.l.l had just happened, how she'd made him leave.

Instead, Dawn groped in her jeans for her phone, calling 911 for an ambulance. At the same time, she gimped over to Kiko.

Hearing her, his eyes fluttered open, and she laughed in pure relief, reaching out to touch his cheek.

But when he spoke, it wasn't with the lighthearted humor she'd come to expect.

”My back,” he murmured. ”Help me.”

TWENTY-FOUR.

THEVISIT.

THEambulance got to Bava in good time. From there, Kiko was whisked to Lady of Mercy Hospital, and despite the overflowing ER, the staff saw to him as quickly as possible.

Though she'd refused to leave Kiko's side, keeping a hold of his fingers while he bravely smiled then alternately winced, Breisi, who Dawn had called from Bava, had pretty much manhandled Dawn into being taken care of, too. So after Breisi had quietly offered the staff a hefty donation to see Dawn quickly-and to ask no probing questions about Kiko's injuries-Dawn had caught Breisi up on current events while a doctor st.i.tched up the gape in her cheek. He p.r.o.nounced that her arm and shoulder were severely bruised-nothing broken, due to her stunt-experienced maneuvering. Then the medical staff handed her some painkillers, but when they weren't looking, Dawn pocketed the pills. Nothing was going to put her out for the rest of the night; d.a.m.n the pain.

When further news of Kiko came, it was a mixed blessing.