One last turn through the house to make sure everything was closed and locked, and she was ready to go.
* * *
“We don’t have to stay here if you’d rather not,” Micah said when they arrived at Shirley’s. “There are lots of other houses for you to choose from.”
Holly shook her head. “I like this one. It feels like . . . like home.” She carried her suitcase into the bedroom and dropped it on the foot of the bed.
Micah followed her, then stood in the doorway, one shoulder propped against the jamb as he watched her unpack.
“Do you think Saintcrow will rebuild the bridge?” she asked. Earlier, Micah had transported her and her belongings across the ravine. She hadn’t realized how deep it was.
“I don’t know. I doubt it.”
“So, I’ll be trapped here during the day.” Why hadn’t she thought about that before agreeing to stay? If she couldn’t leave Morgan Creek, how would she find a new job? What would she do for fun or recreation on weekends when she wasn’t working and the vampires were at rest? Of course, she could keep their hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Lately, she had been doing that anyway. But she wasn’t a vampire and she didn’t want to spend the daylight hours in the dark. She needed something to occupy her time and her mind. And she liked working, feeling useful, meeting new people.
“I’ll talk to Saintcrow about the bridge.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Taking Holly into his arms, he kissed her lightly on the cheek. “What would you like to do tonight?”
“Go grocery shopping.”
“Not very romantic,” he said with a wry grin, “but necessary, I suppose. Get your coat.”
* * *
It took only moments for Micah to transport them to the store in the next town. He trailed behind Holly as she pushed her cart up one aisle and down the next. So many things he had once loved and would never eat again—lasagna, apple pie, ice cream, a good steak, spareribs, potatoes, cheese. He often caught a taste of some of his favorites on Holly’s lips.
Micah paid the bill with a credit card Saintcrow had given him, then pushed the cart outside.
“I shouldn’t have bought so much,” Holly said. “How do you plan to get all this home?”
“Not a problem. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
He was gone in the blink of an eye, taking the shopping cart with him. Holly glanced up and down the street. It seemed like a nice town, the stores and roads well maintained, the parkways green and neatly trimmed. When the bridge was rebuilt, she would come here and look for a job.
She jumped when Micah appeared beside her, the cart empty. “Would you like to take a walk?” he asked, taking her hand in his.
“I’d like that, but . . .”
“Don’t worry, I put all the perishable stuff away.”
“Well, then, what are we waiting for?”
It really was a nice town, Holly thought as they strolled down the sidewalk. People they passed nodded and smiled. Music spilled from an Italian restaurant.
Holly slid a glance at Micah, wondering if he had ever preyed on any of the men and women they passed, if any of the town’s inhabitants had ever been held hostage by the vampires in Morgan Creek.
“You look worried,” Micah remarked. “Is something wrong?”
Holly lifted one brow, surprised that he wasn’t reading her mind. “No.” She bit down on her lower lip, then blurted, “Have you ever hunted here?”
“Once or twice. We usually went farther afield. Never a good idea to hunt too close to where you live.”
“That makes sense, I guess.” She grinned inwardly, thinking her idea of “close” was probably a lot different from his. She glanced at the pretty young woman walking toward them. “What are you going to do about your sister?”
“I don’t know. But if she’s determined to become a vampire when she gets older, I want to be the one to bring her across.”
“You’d do that?” Holly exclaimed. “To your own sister?”
“Better me than some stranger. I need to talk to my family about this, let them know what Sofie’s thinking. Somebody’s got to keep an eye on her.” He swore under his breath. “And it should be me. None of them can protect her.”
“Micah . . .”
He shook his head. “I need to be there. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. She’s eighteen. Technically, she doesn’t have to answer to anybody but herself. And if she moves out of the house . . .” Micah came to an abrupt halt, his arm snaking around Holly’s waist. “Dammit! I’ve got to go home! Now!”
“Now? But . . . we just bought groceries!”
“They’ll keep for a few days. We can stay with my folks tonight. They’ve got lots of empty rooms since only Rosa and Sofia are still living at home. Come on.”
Before she could argue, they were standing in front of the Ravenwoods’ home.
* * *
Holly was a little hesitant at the idea of bursting in on Micah’s parents unannounced, but Lena and Luciano welcomed the two of them with open arms.
“This is a surprise,” Lena said when the four of them were seated in the living room. “Is something wrong, Mikey?”
“Yes and no, Ma.”
Mr. Ravenwood leaned forward. “What is it?”
“It’s Sofia.”
“Sofia?” Mr. Ravenwood frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Micah blew out a breath. He was trying to decide whether to try to sugarcoat it or just spit it out when he noticed the books on the desk beside the fireplace. Dracula—Fact or Fiction. So You Want to Be a Vampire. Fifty Myths About the Undead.
“Is she in some kind of trouble?” Lena asked anxiously.
“Not yet,” Micah replied. “The thing is, she wants to be a vampire. She asked me to bring her across.”
His mother and father glanced furtively at the books on the desk and then at each other, leading Micah to believe that his news wasn’t a total surprise.
“Has she mentioned it to you?” It seemed doubtful, but he had to ask.
“Not exactly,” Lena said. “But she’s been reading a lot about vampires and the occult, even more than usual. Last night, she had a date with a young man. She didn’t invite him into the house.”
“It wasn’t until she was gone that I remembered we had to invite Holly’s friend inside,” Mr. Ravenwood remarked. “When I questioned Sofia about it later, she laughed it off, said it didn’t mean anything. She’d just been in a hurry.”
“She’s in a hurry, all right,” Micah muttered.
“You don’t think . . . ?” Lena’s face paled. “She wouldn’t really . . . ?”
“Is she out with this guy now?” Micah asked.
“No. She went out with Rosa and a couple of their friends.”
“Do you know where they were going?”
“They didn’t say.”
“I don’t think she’ll do anything rash as long as Rosa’s with her,” Micah said. “Tomorrow’s Saturday. Holly, maybe you could ask Sofie to take you out and show you around, keep her occupied until I get up.”
“I’ll try.”
“You never know. She might let something slip. Okay if we stay the night, Ma?”
“Of course. There are clean sheets on the beds. Take whichever rooms you want.”
Micah didn’t miss her emphasis on “rooms”—a subtle hint that there would be no hanky-panky under his mother’s roof.
His parents and Holly went up to bed a short time later.
Micah sat in the living room, the TV turned down low, while he waited for his sisters to come home. Try as he might, he couldn’t imagine Sofia as a vampire. She had always been squeamish where blood was concerned, always tenderhearted, unwilling to cause anyone pain.
It was well after midnight when he heard the sound of Rosa’s giggle, followed by Sofie’s hushed laughter as they tiptoed into the house.
“You two are as quiet as a herd of elephants,” Mica
h said, switching on the table lamp.
“Mikey!” Sofia blinked against the light. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow night, when you’re sober.”
“I’m not drunk,” she protested. “Just feelin’ good.”
“Yeah, a little too good. Go on up to bed, both of you.”
“Yes, big brother,” Rosa said, snickering. “Don’t tell Mom.”
“Have I ever?”
He hugged them both, shook his head as they staggered up the stairs, arm in arm.
With his preternatural hearing, he had no trouble discerning their movements as they got ready for bed. He listened as they changed into their nightgowns, brushed their teeth, slid under the covers. Minutes passed. And then the soft, even sound of their breathing told him they were asleep.
Micah turned off the lights and the TV, then went up to Sofia’s bedroom. It was just as he remembered it. Half a dozen vampire movie posters covered the dark gray walls; a bookcase was crammed with paperbacks. A narrow shelf above the bed held a variety of vampire-themed knickknacks and a Dracula bobblehead. Sofia was asleep, snuggled beneath a black and gray quilt, one foot peeking out, her hair spread over her shoulders like a veil of black silk.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he lifted her arm, his fingers lightly stroking the delicate skin. Then, murmuring, “I’m sorry,” he made a shallow slit in her wrist. Her blood was warm and salty. He took only a little, just enough to form a bond between them so he would always be able to find her.
A flick of his tongue sealed the wound.
Whispering, “Sweet dreams, little sister,” he left the house in search of prey.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Leandro Braga stood in the center of the condemned house where his sister had been destroyed. He hadn’t truly expected to find the place. The blood link between them was fading fast, but, on a hunch, he had followed it to where it ended.
The lingering scent of her spilled blood mingled with the smell of violent death.
Of rotted wood and dust.
Of many humans.
And a single vampire.
Leandro took a deep breath, his nostrils filling with the distinctive scent of the vampire who had most likely destroyed his sister. It was not a scent he knew, but one he would not forget.
Returning to the empty warehouse he was currently using as his lair, he rummaged in his duffel bag for the pack of letters his sister had sent him over the years. Most were old, the ink fading, the paper yellowing. He put those carefully aside. Leticia had written him on a regular basis, even though he had never answered any of her letters. He read quickly through the most recent ones. Saintcrow’s name came up often, but that was no surprise....
Braga hissed an oath. Was it possible the scent he had picked up in the condemned house had been Saintcrow’s?
His eyes narrowed, he perused several other letters. Leticia had mentioned a town in one of the recent ones.... Yes, here it was. Morgan Creek.
It wasn’t much to go on, he thought, shoving the letter into his back pocket. But it was a start. A ripple in the air warned him that the sun would soon be rising. The hunt would have to start tomorrow night.
He sank down on the pile of old sacks he was using for a bed. Eyes closed, he thought of his sister. They had been close once. Raised in poverty by a widowed mother, they had roamed the village streets together, stealing bread and whatever else they could find. Leticia had grown up dreaming of becoming a fine lady; he had longed to be a knight.
He barked a humorless laugh. Dreams were for fools.
He would never forget the night that had forever changed her life. And his. Desperate for money, Leticia had tried to rob a gentleman of his purse. Only her mark had not been a gentleman at all, but a vampire who had turned her and abandoned her. And Leticia, alone and afraid, had run for home. He had been unable to wake her in the morning. She had risen with the setting of the sun, drained their invalid mother, and turned him into a vampire, for which he had never forgiven her.
And now she was dead. And he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all his fault. He had long felt her loneliness, her anger, her sense of betrayal. If he had not turned his back on her, if he had answered her letters, let her know he cared, she might still be alive.
“Forgive me, sister,” he murmured.
But the words came too late.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Holly woke to the fragrant aromas of frying bacon and freshly brewed coffee. For a moment, she couldn’t recall if she was in Morgan Creek or at home. And then she shook her head, remembering that she and Micah had spent the night at the home of his parents. She really had to stop bouncing around the country, settle down and find a job. What little money she had saved wouldn’t last long.
She dressed quickly, made the bed, brushed her teeth and her hair, and then made her way downstairs. She couldn’t help feeling a little ill at ease, sharing breakfast with Micah’s mother and two of his sisters when he wasn’t there. Not that his family didn’t make her feel welcome, but they were, after all, little more than strangers.
Sofia and Rosa ate little at breakfast and said less. When the meal was over, Rosa said she had an appointment to get her nails done and hurried upstairs to get ready.
“I have some errands to run,” Lena said, clearing the table. “Sofia, the dishwasher broke again last night. Do the dishes, please. I’ll be back in an hour or so. Holly, you make yourself at home.”
A moment later, Holly and Sofia were alone in the kitchen. Holly smiled at Micah’s sister. “Do you have any plans for today? If not, Micah thought maybe you’d show me around.”
Sofia shrugged. “There’s not much to see,” she remarked, filling the sink with hot water.
“Maybe we could take in a movie?” Holly suggested. “Or do a little shopping?”
“Shopping sounds like fun,” Sofia said, her mood brightening. “I could use a new pair of shoes.”
“Great.” Holly grabbed a dish towel.
“I’d better leave Mom a note,” Sofia said, rinsing a glass. “She’ll have a fit if she doesn’t know where we’ve gone.”
* * *
“Are you in love with Micah?”
“What?” Holly stared at Sofia. They were waiting in line at Sofia’s favorite department store, surrounded by people—hardly the place to discuss her love life.
“He’s never brought a girl home before.”
“Oh?” The thought made Holly smile.
“I was beginning to think he was gay.”
“Definitely not,” Holly said, laughing. “I hear you’re dating someone new.”
“Who told you that?” Sofia asked, immediately on the defensive.
“I heard somebody mention it last night.” Holly swiped her credit card and signed the pad. “Would you like to go have lunch?”
“Sounds good to me,” Sofia said as they left the store. “So, what did ‘somebody’ say?”
“Nothing, really. It was just some random remark. Where would you like to eat?”
“Here in the mall’s fine with me. There’s a great pizza place upstairs.”
A short time later, they were seated at a small round table covered by a red-and-white gingham cloth, sharing a large ham and pineapple pizza and a pitcher of Coke.
“So, what’s his name?” Holly asked.
“Jack.” Sofia sighed dramatically. “My parents haven’t met him, but it doesn’t matter. They won’t like him.”
“Why not?”
“He’s kind of wild. He rides a Harley and works nights as a bartender at a dance club downtown.”
“What does he do during the day?”
“Sleeps, I guess.” Looking suddenly thoughtful, Sofia took a sip of her Coke. “Does it bother you that Mikey’s a vampire?”
“Shh!” Holly glanced around, hoping no one was listening. “That’s not a word to be bandied about in public. But, yes, it’s a little troubling.” Lowering her voice, she said, “Some
times it’s still hard to believe he’s a . . . you know. Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Are you kidding? I think it’s totally cool.”
* * *
Micah shifted restlessly from one foot to the other as Holly related her conversation with Sofia later that evening.
“Do you think her boyfriend is a vampire?” Holly asked.
“I sure as hell hope not. Do you know when she plans to see him again?”
“She didn’t say.” Holly laid a hand on his arm. “I know you’re worried about her and if you want to stay here, that’s fine, but if we’re not going back to Morgan Creek, then I really should go home. I need to apply for unemployment and look for a job.”
“Right.” Vampires were inclined to forget what it was like to live a normal life, or to worry about mundane things like paychecks and debts, he thought. Most vampires tended to take what they wanted with little concern for those they took it from, whether it was money or blood. It was all too easy to steal from one’s prey, or simply mesmerize waiters, clerks, and cashiers into believing you had already paid for whatever it was you wanted. “I’ll take you home tonight.”
Holly nodded. Now that he had agreed, why wasn’t she happier about her decision? She knew he had to stay here and look after Sofia. Right now, that had to be his priority, because that girl wasn’t thinking clearly. You didn’t have to be a genius, or a vampire, to know that. And who knew how long it would take to make her see reason? The girl was looking for trouble. Maybe she had already found it in Jack.
Sensing Holly’s distress, Micah took her in his arms. “You know I’d rather stay with you,” he said, “but I need to be here until I’m sure Sofie isn’t going to do anything stupid. Can’t I talk you into staying here for another day or two, sunshine?” He brushed a kiss across the top of her head. “I know my family won’t mind.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Very. I’ll talk to Sofia tonight and see if I can’t pound some sense into that hard head of hers.”
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