by Lynsay Sands
“And you are suffering the effects of blood loss and so exhausted that you’re not making any sense,” Holly told herself as she stumbled up the hall and started down the stairs.
“You’ve also apparently taken to talking to yourself,” she added with rebuke as she reached the main floor and staggered toward the front door. “But what the hell, there’s no one here to talk back but you. James just growls and poor Earl has been curled up in a corner of the bedroom whimpering since he woke up.”
Shaking her head, Holly grabbed the doorknob and—idiot that she was—opened the door without checking to see who it was first. She regretted that the moment her tired brain recognized the police uniforms the two men on her stoop wore. One had dark hair and one was blond. It was Blondie who started talking.
“Good morning, ma’am, we’re . . . er . . . are you okay?”
Holly glanced down at her torn and bloodstained clothes and then back to Blondie. Her voice was as dry as dust when she queried, “Is that what you knocked on my door to ask?”
Blondie blinked, as did his partner. Apparently they weren’t used to being questioned themselves. Their surprise was brief however and then their expressions both turned stern and kind of scowly.
“No, ma’am, we had a noise complaint,” Blondie said, and then completely blew the tough cop act by frowning with concern and reaching out with one hand as if he thought he might need to steady her. “Maybe you should sit down. You don’t look so good. You’re white as a sheet.”
“That’s because—” Holly paused abruptly. Blondie’s scent had just reached her nose and he smelled like pot roast on Sunday. Licking her lips, she murmured, “Actually I do feel rather faint. Maybe you should help me to the living room.”
They were very accommodating policemen. Concern clear on their expressions, both men stepped forward to help. As each took an arm and urged her toward the living room, Holly tried to work out the logistics of controlling them both while she fed off first one and then the other.
“Holly!”
Freezing, she turned and found she had to go up on her toes to see over the shoulders of the officers to get a look at who was at her door. Gia, she saw, and the other woman was eyeing her with rebuke. Grimacing, Holly threw up her hands and complained, “I’m hungry. I’ve been hungry for hours and everything hurts. I need it. This is an emergency.”
Gia frowned and closed the front door. “Hasn’t Mac delivered the blood yet?”
“No,” Holly said wearily, quite sure she was going to have to let the policemen go without even a nibble. That was so unfair. She really was in pain for want of blood, agony even, and she’d been that way all night. If this wasn’t an emergency, she didn’t know what was.
Gia clucked her tongue as she started forward. “All right. Make it quick though. I’ll see what’s taking Mac so long. I called the order in right after we got off the phone. It should have got here shortly after that,” she added irritably and then asked, “Can I use the house phone? I didn’t get the chance to charge my cell.”
“Of course.” Holly waved her into the living room and then followed, pulling the officers in behind her by their hands. They were both being incredibly docile about this. She was amazed they weren’t asking questions until she glanced at their faces and noted their blank expressions. Frowning, she glanced to Gia. “Are you controlling them?”
Gia nodded and gestured for her to get on with it as she pulled the phonebook out of the bookshelf next to the phone and began to rifle through it.
Sighing, Holly turned to her dinner and glanced from one man to the other. They were both pretty much the same height, which was just tall. Determination squaring her shoulders, she stepped in front of the blond, grabbed his shoulders and tried to get him to bend forward. He didn’t bend. Scowling, she placed her right foot against his knee and tried to climb him instead.
“For heaven’s sake, Holly, stop playing with your food,” Gia snapped.
“I’m not playing. They’re too tall, and you’re controlling them so I can’t make them bend over or anything.”
“Per l’amor del cielo,” Gia muttered and glanced to the men. They both immediately moved around Holly to sit on the couch behind her.
Instead of following right away, Holly peered at Gia narrow-eyed. “What does por favor del cello mean?”
“Not—” Gia shook her head and sighed. “I said per l’amor del cielo. It is like ‘for heaven’s sake.’ ”
“L’amor means love doesn’t it?” she asked suspiciously.
“Yes.”
“What is cielo?”
“Sky,” she answered.
“So you said for the love of the sky?”
“Dio mio!” Gia said impatiently. “Stop stalling and feed or I will send them away.”
“I’m not stalling,” Holly said at once.
“Yes, you are,” she said more gently. “You’re nervous. This is all still new to you. But you can do this. You did it at the club.”
“Right,” Holly breathed, forcing herself to relax as she realized she was nervous and stalling. While she’d practiced feeding on mortals at the club, that had been two weeks ago, and these were cops, for heaven’s sake. It was bad to assault cops.
“Think of them as blood donors,” Gia instructed.
“Blood donors,” Holly murmured and turned to survey her meal. The two men had settled side by side and straight backed on the couch. She considered them briefly, and then moved in front of the blond and bent over, but she couldn’t quite reach his neck.
Muttering under her breath about the inconvenience of being so darned short, she climbed onto him and settled on his lap with her knees on either side of his legs. Clasping his head, she pulled him forward, and then paused to glance to Gia, who was now punching in numbers. “Are you going to control him while I feed or—?”
“I have them, go ahead,” Gia said, sounding a little distracted.
Shrugging, Holly turned to the blond and urged him back against the couch again. She then leaned against him and planted her face in his neck. Hungry as she was, she had absolutely no difficulty locating the vein, and she released a little sigh of relief and let her fangs slide out.
The moment Holly’s fangs pierced his skin, the man moaned and slid his arms around her waist to pull her close. She ignored that and the way his hands were now roving over her back as she concentrated on counting to thirty. This time it seemed like no time at all had passed before she reached thirty, but Holly reluctantly retracted her fangs and released the man.
Rather than go to all the trouble of climbing from one lap to the other, she then just turned and caught the second officer by the front of the shirt and pulled him closer. Burying the fingers of her free hand in his hair, she used it to control his head and quickly sniffed out his vein. Like the first man, this one moaned when her teeth slid into his throat. He also reached to embrace her, but at this angle instead of wrapping his arms around her, one slid around her front, the hand stopping on her right breast, while his other hand snaked around her back landing low enough to nearly be cupping her ass. Holly gasped in surprise and lost count for a second, but then forced herself to ignore it and quickly went back to counting.
“This reminds me of a porn my cousins once made me watch.” Gia’s voice was filled with laughter, Holly noted. “Il Poliziotto Con Il Grosso Bastone. ‘The Cop with the Big Stick,’ ” she translated.
Much to Holly’s relief she reached thirty then. Retracting her teeth, she quickly scrambled off the blond and turned to scowl at the other woman. “Ha ha. You were the one controlling them. Why’d you have him grab me like that?”
“I wasn’t controlling what he did, piccola. Just what he felt,” Gia said with amusement and then walked forward to give her a hug. “Is all right. You look much better already and a delivery is on its way to get you back to one hundred p
ercent.”
Holly sighed and hugged her back briefly, then stepped away and glanced to the police officers.
“I will handle them,” Gia assured her. “Go upstairs and check on your husband. I will be up in a moment.”
Nodding, Holly turned and slipped out of the room. She actually walked up the stairs rather than having to drag herself this time, which was nice. She even felt well enough that the idea of showering sounded pleasant rather than an exhausting trial as it had all night until now. Maybe she could grab one after Gia came upstairs. It would be nice to strip out of her bloodstained clothes and wash away the dried blood of both herself and her husband.
Holly opened the door to the bedroom and walked inside for the first time in hours. She had been in such dire need of blood before this she hadn’t trusted herself alone with Earl, so had done little more than open the door and peek in to be sure her husband had not escaped his bindings. Now, she walked up to the bed and peered down at him with concern. James had stopped screaming and thrashing hours ago. He’d lain in a dead silence ever since, his face gray, and his body unmoving. Not that he could have moved much what with the—
“Duct tape?”
Holly glanced over her shoulder at that squawk from Gia. Apparently she’d been quick about handling the policemen. Noting Gia’s dismayed expression as she approached the bedside, Holly glanced back to James.
“Dio mio, cara,” Gia said on a laugh. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I was starting to feel like an abusing spouse every time I knocked him out. That I didn’t have any chain, and that duct tape is super hard to break.” She pursed her lips as she peered at her husband in his silver cocoon. The only thing that wasn’t completely covered was his head. She’d left him untaped from the neck to his forehead and then run several lengths of tape over him there as well. “I used six rolls of the stuff. He’s not going anywhere until I cut him free.”
“No, I guess not,” Gia said with amusement.
A whimper from the corner made them both glance that way.
“Gia, this is Earl,” Holly announced. “He was kind enough to drive James and me home tonight after the accident.”
“Why is he whimpering?” Gia asked curiously.
“You can’t read him?” Holly asked with surprised.
“He’s panicked to the point where his thoughts make no sense. He seems to think you’re some kind of sex fiend crossed with a wild dog or something.” She paused and then added thoughtfully, “Or maybe he’s thinking you’re a bitch in heat. My English is not always perfect.”
Holly gave a snort of laughter and shook her head. “James attacked him while I was down getting the blood. He got knocked out when I pulled James off of him and then he woke up while James and I were wrestling after your call,” Holly explained with a grimace. “He saw my fangs.”
When Gia arched her eyebrows, Holly grimaced and shrugged. “My fangs came out while we were wrestling.”
“I will take care of Earl. Why don’t you go take a shower?” she suggested. “Better yet, a bath. You look like you could use a little time to yourself to relax.”
“Thank you. I think I will,” Holly said, turning toward the door.
“Oh, by the way,” Gia said suddenly, bringing her to a halt. “While the blood got lost, they did collect your car. They said it was a wreck though. They’ll handle the insurance claim and everything for you. In the meantime, they are sending you a rental.”
Holly nodded slowly, but then asked, “Who are they exactly?”
Gia hesitated and then said, “Technically the money will come from the Enforcers. You are still under their purview. But Argeneau Enterprises handles all the details.”
“Why would I still be under the Enforcers’ purview?”
“Because you were mortally injured and turned on their watch due to their actions,” she pointed out.
“Yes, but I’m done with my training,” Holly pointed out.
“Yes, but immortals have been around long enough that they know there is a certain period of adjustment.”
“They didn’t cause the car accident. I did,” Holly said quietly.
“You did when you flashed your fangs which you couldn’t have done if you hadn’t been turned,” Gia pointed out.
“How do you know how the accident happened?” Holly asked, and then rolled her eyes. “You read my mind.”
“As soon as I got here,” Gia confirmed.
“Oh,” she sighed. “Of course you did.”
“Holly, the accident wasn’t your fault,” Gia said firmly. “Your whole life has been turned upside down, and it’s been made even more difficult because you are trying to carry on as you did before that happened. Of course things were bound to explode.”
Holly smiled crookedly. “You know I find it interesting how sometimes your accent is so thick and your “English is not always perfect” and yet other times you have hardly any accent at all, and your English is just fine.” ’
Gia grinned and shrugged. “C’est la vie.”
“That’s French,” Holly accused.
“Si.” Gia smiled. “It means questa e la vita.”
Holly shook her head and turned to continue out of the room. She needed a bath . . . and a good cry. No matter what Gia said, she felt responsible for the accident, and she always would. Turning James had been the only thing she could think to do to make up for it. But what if he hated her for it? She hadn’t asked him if he wanted to be turned. How would he handle finding out what she’d done?
Eighteen
Holly stepped into the house and paused, her gaze shifting to the closed living room door as a trill of laughter sounded. It was girly and flirty and nothing like the normally husky sound that usually came from Gia. At least Holly had never heard her laugh like that before this last week as she’d taken care of and looked after James while Holly attended her classes and went to work.
Holly closed the door, a smile curving her lips as Gia laughed again, joined this time by James’s much deeper chuckle. He had woken up on Sunday while she was still sleeping in the guest room. By the time she’d got up James was untaped, bathed, dressed and Gia had explained everything to him. He’d taken the knowledge that he was a vampire rather well. Better than she had, certainly, and he hadn’t blamed her for any of it.
Holly moved into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door to consider what to make for supper.
“No need to make dinner, you’re going out,” Gia announced cheerfully, leading James into the kitchen. “How was school?”
“Good,” Holly assured her.
“And work?” James asked.
“Not as good, but okay,” she said with a smile and then raised her eyebrows. “Why are we going out to dinner?” She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “What’s up?”
James and Gia exchanged a glance and then James shook his head. “You’ll find out. Come on. I’m hungry.”
Holly fell into step behind him, following him to the door until she realized Gia wasn’t behind her. Slowing, she glanced over her shoulder. “Isn’t Gia coming?”
“Nope. Just you and me, Holly,” James said, and added, “We need to talk.”
Holly raised her eyebrows, but followed him out to the car and let him see her into the passenger seat. She wasn’t sure what James wanted to talk about, but she had an idea and she didn’t want to discuss it in a restaurant.
“I know,” she said as James slid behind the steering wheel and pulled his door closed.
He peered at her warily. “What?”
“Gia can’t read or control you. You’re a possible life mate to her,” she said solemnly.
James peered out the front window, biting his lip. “How did you know?”
“She’s eating, James,” Holly pointed out. “Old immortals who are unmated lose in
terest in food and regain it when they meet a possible life mate. Gia didn’t eat once the entire time I was in Southern California. But she has been eating ever since you woke up from the turn.”
“I didn’t know that,” he admitted. “About her not eating before this, I mean.”
Holly shrugged. “So . . .”
“So?” he asked.
“So you want a divorce to be with her.” It wasn’t a question.
“How did you—”
“Why else would you want to talk to me alone?” she interrupted dryly, managing not to roll her eyes. Honestly, men thought women were so dense.
James eyed her uncertainly and then asked, “Are you upset?”
“Surprisingly enough, no,” Holly admitted with a faint smile and then shook her head with a sort of bewilderment. “I knew what was happening the minute she put the first bite of food in her mouth. I listened to you guys laugh and joke. I even saw the moony eyes you made at each other, and I just kept waiting to feel the jealousy, even a little of it. But it never came, and that’s when I realized . . .”
“That while you love me, it isn’t like it is with Justin,” James suggested with understanding.
“She told you about him?” Holly asked.
James nodded. “She didn’t betray any confidences, Holly. But she told me why Justin turned you. She also told me that you were determined to be true to your marriage vows. I appreciate that,” he added. “And I was too . . . mostly.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Mostly?”
“I never touched her,” he said quickly, and then grimaced and added, “Not while I was awake.”
“Ah, the shared dreams,” Holly said with amusement. “Pretty powerful stuff, huh?”
“You had them with Justin?” he asked with surprise and she realized that Gia really hadn’t betrayed any confidences.
“Yes, I had them,” was all she said.