Obey Me by Paige Cuccaro Read Free Book Online

end or the other.
    At seven thirty I glanced at the clock on the DVD player. I’d just finished getting ready but I wasn’t worried about the time. Something just made me look. Weird. I thought about that for a minute. Was it coincidence or something more? And then I noticed it, that gentle pressure hugging around my head, the soft buzzing in my ears.
    “Your car awaits.” The words weren’t really words, but an understanding, a feeling like warm silk brushing through my mind. I went to the window and gazed down at the street in front of my apartment building where a black limousine sat double-parked. A chill shook across my shoulders. Was this a mistake? I knew vampires were harder to suggest than humans, but I was still able to wield some power over them. The biker-dude messenger had said Octavius Perrotte didn’t mean me any harm but did vampires and humans define “harm” the same way?
    “Suck it up. Gotta take some risks if you want the story.” I grabbed my cell phone and dialed my mom. I had to tell someone where I was going just in case I didn’t come back. And my mom would kill anyone who dared touch a hair on my head…even if she thought they were already dead.
    Twenty minutes later, after I finished explaining why I hadn’t called in the last two weeks, I hung up with Mom and walked down the steps and out the front doors of my apartment building. The limo driver was out and around to open my door before I reached the car. I peeked in and saw the car was empty. I’d half expected to see Octavius waiting for me inside. And as the driver clicked the door closed behind me, I realized the vampire must’ve whispered into my head from across the city. My gut twisted, and a fine sheen of sweat chilled across my back. How powerful was this guy?
    We arrived on Mount Washington less than a half hour later, the limo idling while I stared through the tinted windows at Sinners restaurant. The entrance side of the building was unremarkable, ivy-covered brick walls, oak doors, arched awning over the entry. There was a valet in a black bolero jacket and bowtie, and a doorman in tails and white gloves. My limo driver stood outside my door, his hands folded one over the other.
    I reached for the handle and the driver jerked into action, opening my door, offering a hand. Three steps and the doorman swung open the big oak door and I stepped inside where the view was decidedly better. Built on the side of Mount Washington, Sinners overlooks downtown Pittsburgh and Point State Park where two rivers converge to make a third.
    The cityscape stretched out before the diners as they entered, viewed through a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window. I couldn’t imagine anyone passing through the entrance for the first time and not gasping at the sight before them.
    It’s an impressive view from just about anywhere on Mount Washington. But in the early evening with candles flickering on white linen tabletops and honey lights turned low, and delicious scents wafting from the kitchen, the view took on a kind of magical elegance that made my belly flutter with excitement.
    “Miss Merlo?” The maitre d’, dressed in a full tux and tails with white tie and cummerbund, gestured down a small flight of steps from the entrance landing. He led the way to the lower portion of the restaurant.
    I followed as we zigzagged around tables of fancily dressed couples and groups quietly enjoying their sparse but expensive meals. I always figured I could tell how expensive a place is by how big a deal they make out of the itty-bitty portions. He led me to one of the tables lining the window wall. All the window tables were set for two. The bigger the tables, the farther back from the window they sat. The maitre d’ pulled out my chair and I sat, glancing around the restaurant, noticing the balcony level toward the back above the entrance.
    The view would be higher from up there, but not as close to the fantastic window wall. I wondered which were