Sweet Nightfall

by Kathryn Vegas

  The sound and view of Adam’s arm breaking was too much for Sara. She couldn’t control her gag reflex. She leaned over and heaved her dinner onto the floor beside where she had landed hard on her ass. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She held her hand against the wounds on her neck. It stung badly and blood oozed between her fingers. The thought of it made her gag again. What if she bled to death?

  Did he puncture anything major?

  Collette turned her attention toward Sara, fury sparking from her eyes. In a blur, Adam grabbed the locks of her hair that trailed behind her. It stopped her progression toward Sara in its tracks. The look of disbelief in her eyes was almost comical.

  Adam was stronger now. He practically glowed with vitality. The look in Collette’s eyes as he pulled her back was evident. She knew it, too. Sara watched as indecision flickered across her face. In an instant, Collette raised her hand and ripped her own hair out of her head, releasing her from Adam’s grasp.

  She was gone. Her hair hadn’t even landed on the floor, when the front door slammed shut.

  “Fucking shit!” Sara’s mind reeled as she struggled to stand without touching the pile of vomit beside her. She felt lightheaded. The room swirled around her.

  Everything went dim.

  Then black.

  Chapter Thirty

  Adam was torn. Should he chase after Collette and try to murder her back? He couldn’t even believe he had to contemplate such a thing. Sara was face down, unconscious beside a pile of vomit. He worried he had taken too much of her blood. His arm was bent the wrong way. It radiated a pain beyond anything he’d felt in his entire life.

  This is one cluster fuck of a nightmare.

  It was rather easy to decide; Sara came first. He went to her and knelt down. He carefully lifted her with his good arm and just stood holding her for a minute. She didn’t come to, but he could hear the steady beat of her heart. She would live.

  The immediate danger was over. He would have to formulate a plan to deal with Rebecca and Collette later. He didn’t know if he would bring their friends into this, or try to deal with them directly, but for now the danger had passed. There was no way she would be coming back tonight.

  Adam held Sara tighter and breathed a sigh of relief. He had done it. He had defeated the villain and saved the girl. He nodded his head proudly. It felt pretty damn good.

  His revelry was short lived however, remembering that Sara now knew what he was and she’d been put in a deadly situation. Her life had been threatened. She wasn’t going to just get over it.

  He walked to the bed and gently laid her down. She didn’t stir at all. She looked disheveled as hell. There was blood smeared down her neck and robe. A few chunks of their taco dinner clung to her hair, along with the smell of vomit that filled the room. He didn’t want her to wake up to find herself this way.

  I need to clean the scene, He thought.

  Adam’s ribs hurt like someone had taken a nail gun to them and his arm needed immediate attention. He dreaded it, but he had to reset it so it could heal correctly. He nearly gagged at the thought of it.

  Injuries had always grossed him out. He knew it would be all right in a couple of hours. It wouldn’t take long to heal. He could already feel the tingling of his skin repairing itself from the places Collette’s nails had torn and gouged.

  He had to straighten the arm now. He looked down at it reluctantly.

  Fuck.

  Adam walked to the full-length mirror, removed his shredded shirt and examined his torso and misdirected arm. He was black and blue and there were long gashes down his arm. It looked like special effects in a horror movie. It didn’t feel like special effects, though. He wasn’t too macho to admit that the pain was making his eyes water.

  He grimaced at his reflection and whispered, “Fucking bitch. Jesus. This is going to suck.”

  Adam knew putting off the inevitable would only prolong the experience. He grabbed his wrist with his good hand and pulled hard. His eyes did more than water. He sucked in his breath through clenched teeth and was able to pull his wrist hard enough to set the bone with a sickening slurp sound.

  “FUCK!” Adam yelled in a whisper. He doubled over trying to breathe deep through the waves of shock and pain.

  The worst is over. The worst is over, He repeated reassuringly to himself.

  He tried to find the most comfortable way to hold his arm, but there was none. He needed to find something to make a sling out of.

  Adam opened Sara’s closet door and smiled when he saw his shirt. He remembered Sara rushing up her front steps in only this shirt. The epic walk of shame. He put it on gingerly. It smelled like her. Adam rummaged around, found two scarfs and secured his arm in a makeshift sling.

  He glanced over to Sara. She still hadn’t moved. Her breathing was shallow, but her heart still beat true. Adam set about to right the room and clean up the puke. He found paper towels and cleaning supplies in the kitchen. Luckily, he could hold his breath for long periods of time and got through it without adding to the pile. When the carpet looked sufficiently cleaned, he dared to sniff the air and only the slightest tang of barf remained.

  After cleaning the chunks out of Sara’s hair, Adam wiped her neck with a warm wet towel. He frowned at the puncture wounds. The skin around them was bruising and the holes seemed deep. One was slightly torn. He should have been gentler.

  Yeah, I should have bit through her skin more gently. That would have made this so much better, he thought sarcastically.

  He hated he’d done that to her, and also hated how deep down he wished he could do it again. The memory of the rush of euphoria the moment his teeth penetrated and his mouth filled with her hot, thick blood. The exquisite taste only tainted by her fear. The thought of her blood when she was laughing or… coming. That sent his own blood south thickening his cock.

  “I’m a monster,” he whispered, shaking his head to redirect his line of thinking.

  When all the blood was wiped away and the only evidence of foul play were the two clotted holes, he went in search of some Neosporin and bandages. He wondered if she’d be scarred and it made him cringe. She would always be reminded of Collette trying to kill them.

  Collette.

  The thought of her made his blood boil. He’d been contemplating what the hell he was going to do about her, but hadn’t decided on a course of action. He hoped talking it out with Sara would help him make the best choice. If Rebecca was still hell-bent on terrorizing them, her family was in peril and it was all his fault.

  Adam sat sentry beside Sara and waited.

  Sara came to with a gasp for air and flailing arms. Well, one flailing arm. The other hand was enveloped in Adam’s firm warm grip.

  “Adam!” Sara exclaimed.

  Her mind raced as she replayed the events of the evening. She let go of his hand and put her hands to her neck. Her neck was bandaged. She prodded at the bandage and grimaced at the soreness.

  “So that really happened.” Sara said hoarsely.

  “Yes, that really happened.” Adam answered reluctantly. “I’m so sorry.”

  Sara tried to reconcile all the information flooding her brain.

  “You’re a vampire. That’s a real thing. One tried to kill us because your ex is a total cunt? Seriously?”

  Adam smirked at her word choice for Rebecca.

  “That about wraps it up.”

  “Your arm?!”

  “It’s fine. I almost blew chunks resetting it, but it’s going to heal in a few hours.”

  Speaking of blowing chunks Sara looked to where her pile had been. It was gone.

  “You cleaned up my puke?” Sara said awestruck.

  “I can hold my breath for a long time. I figured saving it for you to clean up would be pretty shitty of me.”

  “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” Sara gave him a half smile. She couldn’t force her mouth to create a whole one.

  “You’re being very gracious right now. I’
m dying over here waiting for the shock to wear off and for you to tell me to get the fuck out.”

  Adam ran his free hand through his hair.

  “I’m so overwhelmed,” Sara answered. “Honestly my brain is exploding right now. I have so many questions. I was so scared.”

  A hot tear slid out of the corner of her eye remembering Collette holding her captive with absolutely no effort. How scared she’d been thinking she was about to die and how Hazel would be devastated. The thought of missing the rest of her daughter’s life was too much.

  When Adam wrapped his good arm around her Sara broke down. She cried in earnest. Between snorts and sniffs she brokenly rambled, “Seriously, a vampire? I don’t know what to think. What does that mean? What am I supposed to do now? You misled me… I’ve never seen anyone’s arm broken in front of me. Her eyes were so cruel… She could have won.”

  All to which Adam whispered soothing supportive words like, “I know, honey.” “Everything will be fine. I’m sorry,” and rubbed her back.

  Sara’s emotional outburst was winding down. She was a little embarrassed. She had clung to Adam while she cried and rubbed snot all over his shirt. She breathed in snubbed breaths and tried to sniff up her snotty nose. She wiped the tears away and rubbed the back of her hand against her dripping nose.

  She finally said, “Please don’t tell me you’re like a hundred-year-old man? Gross.” Sara made a face like she’d just tasted a lemon.

  Adam snorted a laugh in spite of the serious situation and she giggled in return.

  “Are you ever serious?”

  He squeezed her and gave her a fake reprimanding shake of his head.

  “I can’t handle any more seriousness tonight. A vampire tried to murder me. And you have shit taste in women, which makes me question myself as a person. My new boyfriend could be an elderly man.” Sara paused. “What else….”

  Adam cut her off before anything else could tumble from of her mouth.

  “Sara, I will make sure you are safe. I will take this to the Elders. What happened tonight is against everything they are striving to achieve for us as an evolved society. They will take care of Collette and Rebecca. Or I will. I have friends, Sara. None of them will let this stand. Please believe that you are safe now. Your family will be safe. I promise.”

  Adam couldn’t bring himself to ask, but all he wanted to know was if she was planning on breaking up with him after this? It was right on the tip of his tongue, but he was afraid of her answer. Why wasn’t she railing against him for lying to her? Why wasn’t she calling him a piece of shit for putting her life in danger? He figured she must still be shock. The full scope of the situation hadn’t come into focus for her, other than that why was she making little jokes and leaving her hand held in his.

  “I can only hope that’s true.”

  Her blues eyes were troubled when she looked deep into his eyes. He knew she was searching for answers. He wondered if she could see inside his soul? He wished she could. She would see that he’d do anything to keep her safe.

  “I swear to you, I had no clue something like this could happen. That she would pull this woman scorned bullshit. It’s fucking cliché. Rebecca and I broke up a year ago. I can’t even fathom what she was thinking sending Collette here. They’re from a different time. I’ve heard stories of the lives they used to get away with living.” Adam paused contemplating their lives for centuries.

  “How they killed for blood so easily. Our relationship ended when I found out she was still secretly feeding off the unwilling, to put it mildly. I see now that expecting history not to repeat itself was really stupid. But I’ve never witnessed anything like that from any other vampire. It’s no longer how we live and it will not go unpunished.”

  Sara stayed silent. She looked deep in thought.

  “It’s killing me to know you could have been hurt or killed. That I might not have been strong enough. If she had gotten her hands on you…” Adam couldn’t go on picturing Sara at the mercy of Collette. He imagined the life and joy draining from her eyes forever. The fear he’d felt in those moments was still too fresh. His guts tightened and he clinched his teeth.

  Sara placed her hand on the side of his face. “I’m okay.”

  Adam shook his head. She shouldn’t have to be consoling him.

  “You’re being too easy on me. I put you in danger. Not intentionally, but something like that can’t just slide.”

  “It’s not just sliding. I’m trying to process the existence of the supernatural. But also, the thought of breaking this off makes me want to cry. If you left right now and I spent the rest of this night alone, I can’t think of anything more horrible.”

  “Neither can I,” Adam said earnestly. “This is not how I wanted you to find out. Honestly, I would have told you. I hadn’t figured out how, but I would have. I really am the same guy I was when I was human. I didn’t lie about those things. My parents did love each other and my childhood was amazing, filled with memories of their love. I do want that, and I see that happening for me with you.” Adam paused and continued with what he hoped would make her smile, “And I’m not an elderly man.”

  “Oh, that’s good to know. How old are you?”

  “I’m forty. That’s why we have so much in common. We grew up during the same decades.” He answered.

  “Shit.” Sara said flatly.

  “What?”

  “I’m not a Cougar.” Sara replied crestfallen.

  Adam grinned.

  “I bought all that cheetah print for nothing.”

  Adam’s phone vibrated on the bedside table, startling them both. He forgot about his arm’s predicament and reached for it. Pain radiated throughout his body and he tumbled off the side of the bed landing, on his injured side.

  “Adam! Are you alright?”

  Sara leaned over the bed, a concerned look on her face.

  “That was unpleasant.”

  Adam breathed deeply before he was able to grab the phone with his good arm at the next ring. When he saw who was calling, he sprang to his feet.

  “Who is it?” Sara exclaimed surprised by his sudden movement.

  “Rebecca,” he said, his voice filled with dread. He tapped answer .

  “You’re fucking Face Timing me after what you did?” Adam demanded, every bit of anger evident in his voice. His eyes flamed and nostrils flared.

  Rebecca’s eyes were calculating. She paused as if deep in thought.

  “Have you told anyone yet?” she replied curt and to the point.

  “Not yet.”

  “Then I think we can come to an arrangement.”

  “Fuck your arrangement! You tried to kill us. Collette was in Sara’s house. She was here because of you! You want an arrangement now that it didn’t work out? Go to Hell.”

  “Calm down, Adam. You’re so dramatic. Your best choice is keeping this between us. I call a truce.”

  “Are you kidding me?!”

  “Think about it, idiot. If you call in the Elders, I will find a way to kill that bitch or her brat kid before they take me. Want to risk it?”

  Adam heard Sara’s horrified gasp at the mention of Hazel. Rebecca had him. It was true. The moment he told anyone of what Collette had done, everyone in Sara’s life would be in danger. He looked back at the phone and saw Rebecca’s know-it-all expression.

  “You’re sick.” He growled in frustration.

  “I am disappointed in the outcome of the evening. Having to endure this phone call after Collette bungled up a perfectly laid plan.” Rebecca shook her head. “But no one else has to be involved and no one else has to get hurt. I’m willing to let you go on with your life. I’ve already been thoroughly embarrassed by you. We can call it even.”

  Adam sighed hard. He had no choice, but to agree to this. Rebecca and Collette would get away with attempted murder, but Sara would be safe.

  “I want your word. You will not come near Sara or anyone in her family. That you will leave us alone. Permanen
tly.”

  “I had one shot, it didn’t work out, and I can live with it.” Rebecca smiled disingenuously. “You won’t tell anyone?”

  “No.” Adam growled.

  “Good boy.” Rebecca ended the call.

  Adam made a guttural sound and threw his phone across the room. It exploded against the wall sending shrapnel all around them.

  Sara moved away from him, toward the other side of the bed. She stared at his heaving chest. He may be a man easy to laugh and gentle of touch, but at this moment he looked dangerous. His height and broadness vibrating in anger was clear evidence of the formidable opponent he could be.

  “Adam?” Sara whispered, testing the waters.

  Would he lash out at her? He never seemed like a man who would do that, but one never knew.

  “She won,” he stated flatly.

  Sara moved back to the side of the bed where he stood. His stance was firmly planted, his fists tight.

  She put a hand on his shoulder and said, “You won. You saved my life.”

  “The ones that tried to take it will be free, unpunished.”

  “Yep.” It was all Sara could think to respond because that was totally true.

  He ran a frustrated hand through his thick hair. “She doesn’t deserve to win this.”

  “She didn’t. You did. We are both alive. Lucky for me my boyfriend’s a super hero.”

  “Stop trying to make me feel better.” Adam shook his head.

  “It’s what I do.” Sara responded.

  “I had to drink your blood, remember? My teeth broke your skin and you might be scarred for life. I don’t know. I didn’t want to stop. Your blood was like drinking euphoria. I reveled in it. My mouth watered when you submitted yourself to me. I’m not a super hero.” Adam said through clenched teeth.

  “Submitted myself to you? What? Get out of here with that. I decided to trust you. I’m glad I did! Submitted myself…” Sara was starting to get riled up. He saved the day and now they were safe. Nothing else mattered.