“Good.”
Both of us went silent for a moment, eyeballing each other.
“Look,” he said, breaking the silence. “Jackson is pissed, there’s no doubting that. Nancy is more upset than anything. She shouted her mouth off in the car, then went upstairs in tears when we got home. Neither of them wanted to talk to you, that’s why they kept rejecting your calls, but when they saw the message they softened a little. The fact that you were worried proved that you cared about them.”
“I do care. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“And we don’t want you getting hurt, that’s the only reason I was going to kill that guy.”
“His name is Adam,” I informed him.
“I know. Leticia we are not cold blooded killers, but we protect our own by any means necessary. If that means killing, then I’m sorry but so be it.”
“He’s only a kid, his life hasn’t even started properly yet, you need to give people chances.”
“You’re a good person with a warm heart, but, that will put you in danger,” he warned.
“I know that, but I’m not stupid, that guy was so upset and scared. He just needed someone to believe in him, to help him. I’m not going to do that with everyone that comes here, most of them will probably end up dead, but I will sleep better tonight knowing that one of them will go on to lead a good life.”
“You hope.”
Again we both turned silent. I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine, Tristan followed me in.
“Who the hell gave you permission to break into my house by the way?” I snapped at him.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to check that you were OK... actually that’s a lie. I wanted to know you were OK, obviously, but it was Jackson that asked me to come.”
“Why didn’t he come himself?”
“He’s pissed.”
“So,” I shrugged.
“Jackson isn’t good with people anymore, he used to be. He was very sociable, lively, funny.”
“What changed?”
“That’s not for me to tell, that’s his personal life.”
“Whatever, shouldn’t you be getting back?”
“Yeah I guess I should.”
“See you around maybe.”
“Tish...”
“Who?” I interrupted.
“Well your full name is a bit of a mouthful.”
“Four syllables that’s all, Le-tic-ci-a,” I split my name up slowly.
“Well, I think Tish is enough, so that’s what I’m calling you.”
“Whatever,” I sighed.
“Ignore Jackson; his bark is worse than his bite. He cares about you, so he won’t stay away from you. He’ll want to make sure you’re OK. And Nancy, she’ll want to talk to you.”
“She has my number.”
He nodded and saw himself out.
It was late now, and I had clients booked at ten in the morning, I felt safe tonight knowing that Adam was away and the other guy was dead. Hopefully I would get a good night’s sleep.
The next morning I woke up with a smile on my face. I felt fresh and was actually looking forward to going to work. I had a lovely shower and a quick bite to eat before setting off. My first appointment went fantastically well. Mrs Towers, she was only in her thirties and had two month old twins, both of whom were fast asleep in their mosses baskets. I desperately wanted to cuddle them, but didn’t want to wake them. I did her nails in the kitchen so we could chat freely without fear of disturbing them. Mrs Towers was great, she was so bubbly, we always had a good laugh together. When I’d finished her nails, we spent another half an hour just chatting away. Then I had to run out quickly so I wasn’t late to my next appointment.
When I arrived at Mrs Pickman’s I was greeted by her daughter, she took me inside and told me she had some bad news. Sadly Mrs Pickman had been taken into the hospital and her daughter didn’t know when she would be home. She had had a bad fall and broken her hip, but apparently she was in good spirits still. No surprise really, I don’t think I’d ever seen her with anything other than a big smile on her face. I told her to give her mother my love and to call me when she got home, just to let me know she was OK.
I left the house and made my way back to my car. Jackson was leaning against it. I walked over to him but said nothing; I didn’t have a clue what to say to him.
“You look well,” he told me. “Brighter.”
“Thanks.”
I threw my bag on the back seat and waited to see if he spoke again.
Silence.
“I’m going to get coffee before my next appointment,” I finally spoke. “So I need to leave now.”
“Right, see ya.”
“Yeah, bye.”
He started walking away from me; I got in the car and started the engine. I was about to set off when there was a tap on the passenger window.
“Let me in,” Jackson said.
“Why?”
“Leticia just open the door.”
“If you’re gonna start giving me grief...”
“I just want to talk to you.”
I sighed loudly and opened the door.
“Thank you,” he said as he got inside.
“What do you want?” I asked. “Last night you said...”
“Screw you, I’m not here for me, I still think you’re an idiot.”
“Then get out.”
“I’m here for Nancy, she....”
“Nancy is a big girl and can talk to me herself, now last chance, get out.”
“You don’t scare me Leticia.”
“I’m not trying to, now get out.”
“Fine, you’re not worth the effort.”
“Neither are you, you snappy bastard.”
“How do you expect me to be, you’re...”
“I don’t want to know, screw you, and get out.”
I turned away from him and he got out of the car, slamming the door hard behind him. I didn’t even look at him, I just drove off. There was something about him, something that was getting right under my skin. I think it was the fact that despite his lack of social skills, and the arrogant and nasty side of his personality, I really liked him.
I pulled up in the parking lot in the center of Holmfirth; I’d just gotten out of the car when Jackson pulled up beside me.
“What now?” I asked when he got out of the car.
“I’m not here to talk to you, I’m not interested in you. I’m meeting someone.”
“Oh good. I hope you speak nicer to them.”
“I will, I care about them.”
“Dick.”
I got my purse, locked the car and walked away from him. I was getting my ticket from the machine when four guys surrounded me.
“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to stay calm.
“I think you should come with us.”
“And why would I do that?”
“It would be easier if you didn’t struggle and cause a scene.”
“Yeah, OK, like that’s going to happen.”
One of them looked around to make sure there was nobody else around, then he grabbed my arm, I laughed at him and gripped him by his throat with my free hand, lifting him up off the ground. My nails grew and dug into his skin. Needless to say he let go of my other arm. His friends looked at me with frightened expressions, one of them stepped forward.
“Think carefully,” I said to him. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
He stood still and started to say something, but then must have decided against.
“Give your boss a message,” I said, turning my attention to the guy I had now almost strangled to death. “Tell him he should tell you what I am and what I am capable of; tell him that whoever he sends after me will end up in a shallow grave.”
The man nodded frantically while trying to loosen my grip on him.
“If I wanted to I could kill the four of you in seconds,” I continued. “You’ve been warned.”
I let go of him and watched him drop to the floor, clutching his throat and gasping for breath. His friend dragged him to his feet and they all ran off. I actually felt good about myself now. I was happy with what I’d done, and maybe they would think twice about coming near me again. I turned to see if Jackson was still standing by his car, but he was nowhere to be seen. I put the ticket in my car and went to the cafe; I still had quite a bit of time to myself, so I decided to stay in and drink my coffee. I sat near the window, no longer caring who saw me. It’s not like they could shoot me in the middle of the town, there were too many people around. The most they would get away was talking to me, making quiet threats. I stared at my coffee, not really thinking about anything, when another cup appeared on the table facing me.
“Leticia,” I heard Nancy say. “Can I join you?”
“Sure,” I said motioning for her to sit down.
“Are you OK?”
“I’m fine. You?”
“Not bad, but I’ve been better.”
“How did you know I was in here?”
“I phoned Jackson to see if he had managed to speak to you, he just muttered something and said you were going for coffee. I guessed it would be here with you being here the other day.”
“OK”
“He also said you were approached in the parking lot again.”
“I didn’t think he’d seen that, I thought he’d gone.”
“That’s what he wanted you to think, but trust me he was watching. If it had gotten out of hand, he would have been at your side in an instant,” she told me. “But don’t tell him I told you that.”
I shrugged. “I doubt I’ll be speaking to him again anyway.”
“You will; he won’t let you go that easily.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Jackson happens to like you, quite a lot, he thinks you’re...well, I’m not saying actually he can grow a set of balls and tell you himself. Just believe me when I say, he won’t stay away, he won’t tell you why,” she sighed. “But he will keep bumping into you.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Leticia can we be friends again?”
“I’m not the one that started this; you wanted to kill a young man in my house.”
“I was worried for you, that’s the only reason. I don’t want to lose my friend.”
“You haven’t known me two minutes. I don’t mean that to sound heartless, but it’s not like we’re lifelong friends is it?”
“But we could be.”
“Don’t shape shifters age at all?” I asked.
“No, and I know you don’t either. How old do you think I am?”
“Well, you look about twenty-one.”
“I haven’t aged since then, but I was actually born in 1872, Christmas Day.”
“Wow, are you older than Jackson?”
“No, he’s the older one, he was born in 1865, October 31st.” she told me.
“Halloween.”
“Yeah, weird isn’t it?”
“Hmm, how old is Tristan?”
“Oh he’s ancient,” she laughed. “He was born in 1524, in Brighton; he was turned when he was twenty-two.”
“Wow.”
“Were you born a wolf or...”
“I was attacked, it killed my mother and left me like this,” I explained. “I have a nice collection of scars from it.”
“Where?”
“I have four claw marks across my left side, they’ve faded, but you can still see them.”
“Oh god.”
“Great isn’t it, my mother was with me when it happened, we were out taking a walk. She was savagely attacked and died in my arms. I thought I was going to bleed to death, and not long after my mother died, I passed out. When I woke up I was in someone’s house. My mother was lying on the floor covered up by a white sheet; I was in a vampires house. He cleaned me up and then explained what had happened to us.”
“That was nice of him.”
“He’d called a doctor to see to my mother, and then spent the rest of the day explaining to me exactly what I now was.”
“How did you feel?”
“Shocked, in disbelief, upset, furious, but also curious.”
“Curious?” she said, not understanding what I meant.
“To see what I could do,” I explained. “How it would feel; I felt different already, stronger, but as soon as I let even the slightest bit of the wolf through, I’m like... superhuman”
“But you’re still stronger when you’re just normal too?”
“Yeah a little bit.”
“Cool, we’re strong, me and Jackson I mean. Tristan is very strong and lightning fast, we’re not as fast as him sadly, but we can still move quicker than a human being. We like what we are.”
“Good.”
Both of us turned silent for a moment, I turned back to the window, drinking my coffee.
“So are we friends?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good, good. What are your plans for today?”
“I’ve got another client to see, I’m making up for ones I cancelled.”
“Can I come with you?”
“Why?”
“I’m bored, I’m sick of being at the house, Jackson was in a foul mood and went out, and Tristan has gone out somewhere. So I could come with you and then you could come to my house for a bit if you want. I doubt Jackson will be in before you make him the excuse not to come.”
“Yeah OK then.”
We finished our drinks and went to my client’s house. When we went to collect the car I noticed Jackson’s was still parked there. I wondered, even though it was none of my business, who he was meeting. Was it a friend? A girl? Why did I even care? Nancy hadn’t driven into town so she rode with me. My client really liked her; she was very chatty and had us both in hysterics at times. In the end I was actually really glad she came.
Chapter 10
Once we’d finished at my client’s we went straight to Nancy’s. I’d thought about backing out of it but I knew it would really upset her. When we pulled in the driveway my stomach sank a little, Jackson’s car was there. His almost brand new, black Audi RS4 was parked in the same spot it was in when I last came around.
“Don’t worry,” Nancy said to me, noticing that I was starting to feel uncomfortable. “We don’t have to speak to him; he’ll probably just shut himself in the study anyway.”
“I hope so.”
“He’s not so bad once you get to know him. He blows hot and cold, he never used to, but, well, like I said before, it’s for him to tell you the reasons why,” she told me as we got out of the car. “I just so wish he would go back to how he used to be, sometimes I tell him he’s not my brother and not to talk to me until he brings my brother back, do you understand what I mean?”
“You mean he’s like two people?”
“Kinda, I love the old Jackson not this new one, I can understand why he puts this front on, but he needs to stop. He’ll lose everyone if he carries on.”
“I guess it’s up to him,” I shrugged.
“Don’t act like you don’t care, Tish.”
“Tish?”
“Tristan said it’s what he’s calling you so I thought I would to. You don’t mind do you?”
“I guess not.”
“Great, anyway, like I was saying,” she continued, unlocking the front door and letting us inside. “Don’t act like you don’t care about him, I saw the way you looked at him when you came here. I know you’re attracted to him.”
“Think what you like.”
“Listen, just because he’s my brother doesn’t mean I’m going to run off and tell him what you say. I told you I wanted a girlie friend, and this is one of the reasons why.”
“To set your brother up?”
“God no,” she laughed. “To have these girl chats, I love them. I won’t ever tell him what you say, so speak freely.” She led us into the kitchen and closed the door behind us. “Soooo.”
>
“So what?” I asked.
“Tell me what you think of him.”
“He’s weird, arrogant, cold, cocky, rude, and I don’t like him.” I stopped talking as Jackson walked in the kitchen. He didn’t speak, he just looked at me with a mixed look on his face, half sadness and half anger. Had he just heard what I’d said about him? Did I really care when all I was saying was the truth?
“I thought you’d be out for the day,” Nancy said to him as she got two cans of Pepsi out of the fridge for us.
“No.”
“Do you want to join us?”
“No.”
He got himself a can of Carling out of the fridge, glanced at me for a moment, then left the room again.
“Once upon a time he would have come and sat with us, asked us how our day had been, offered to make us a drink and a snack. He would have taken the time to get to know you,” Nancy said sadly. “Tish, please try and see past his bad points, if you could get through to him you would see he was a really nice person with a massive heart.”
“I’ll talk to him if he talks to me.”
She didn’t reply, she just lowered her head and nodded slightly.
“So is this why you brought me here, to talk about Jackson?” I asked.
“No, well partly, but I wanted to spend time with you too, get to know you better, and to try and to find out more about why these horrible things are happening to you.”
“I don’t know exactly, I can only tell you what’s happened in the past. It may be related, it may not.”
“Well, how about I see if Jackson wants to hear it too, it would save me telling him.”
“If you really have to,” I groaned, “go on, ask him.”
“Back in a sec.”
She went out of the kitchen and I could hear her saying something to him. A moment later she came in and took me into the living room. Jackson sat there with a large pad of plain paper and a pencil in his hand; as soon as I entered the room he closed it. I sat down more or less facing him, but he didn’t look at me. Nancy sat beside me and I continued telling my story.
Chapter 11
February 12th 2001
It had been a while since I’d spoken to Luke. I’d tried calling his mobile, at first he would just reject my calls, but now he’d had it switched off most of the evening. I’d called his house but he just hung up on me and then left the phone off the hook. Every time I called all I would get was the busy tone. I was upset, really upset, but not heartbroken. I think I’d accepted long ago that I wouldn’t be able to be in a long-term relationship, so I hadn’t allowed myself to fall completely in love with him. But it still bloody hurt. All I wanted him to do was talk to me.
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