“I’m granting myself freedom, Kathryn. The freedom that you’ve taken from me, over and over again. The freedom that I’ve allowed you to take. No more.” Angeline grabbed a swath of fabric from the sheer curtains hanging in the living room window. She held the match to it and watched with fascination as the flame tickled its way toward the top of the curtain. It caught faster than she had expected it to.
“No. No, no, no!” Kathryn yelled, trying once again to pull the sword from her abdomen. “You can’t kill me, Angeline. You’re not evil. I know you can’t do this.”
“Watch me.” Angeline felt her fangs retract as she opened the kitchen slider. She looked behind her and caught a glimpse of Charlotte’s shoe, the black sole facing her from its eternal resting spot.
“I’ll kill you, Angeline. This is your last warning. I’ll find you, and I’ll break you so badly that you’ll beg for the mercy of death. Let me go and I’ll let you live. I’ll let you go.” Kathryn’s voice was low and cracked, her eyes dangerous and desperate.
Angeline stood in the open doorway, watching as fire began to take over the wall like a spreading stain. She looked at Kathryn, who gripped on to the handle of the sword like she was willing it to release itself from the oak.
“Burn in hell, bitch.”
The void of everything she’d lost suddenly swirled in Angeline’s stomach like a twister. She ignored Kathryn’s screams and curses and settled in behind the wheel of the Buick. The motor started up with ease and she cranked up the radio, so loud that the Andrews Sisters’ rendition of “I Can Dream, Can’t I?” rattled the Buick’s speakers. She checked her rearview and saw billows of smoke heading up toward the night sky as though they had a destination in mind. She’d set herself free. Now she just had to set her course.
Chapter Nineteen
Fog Hollow, Massachusetts, current day
The soft melody of Roy Orbison’s “I Drove All Night” floated through the bedroom to Megan’s ears. She opened her eyes and focused on the wooden planks of the ceiling. The black room-darkening drapes were drawn, so the only wisp of the light came from the shell-shaped nightlight plugged in across the room.
It was real. She’d dreamed of the night she’d spent with Angeline, and a small part of her wondered if that was all it had been—a dream. But no. Here she was, lying on a cloud of comfort, while her vampire lover was presumably in the other room. Possibly drinking blood. Maybe hanging upside down. There were still a few things that remained unclear. Megan jumped out of the bed and reached for her shirt.
“Right,” she said softly, seeing the back torn in two. She felt desire begin to creep through her again before she opened one of Angeline’s drawers and pulled out a T-shirt. It was an oversized green tee that showed Smokey the Bear warning about the dangers of forest fires. Just when Megan was sure Angeline couldn’t possibly get any more adorable. She threw it on and went out to find her.
“Hey,” Angeline said, standing from her place on the couch. She extended her hand, and when Megan took it, Angeline pulled her close. She kissed her softly. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No,” Megan said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “What time is it, anyway?”
“Almost two.”
“In the afternoon?” Megan asked. She hadn’t slept this late since her teens.
“Yup. I don’t think we fell asleep until almost six. Thankfully, the sun goes down a lot earlier this time of year. It’s a drag for me in the summer.” Angeline fell back on the couch and pulled Megan down next to her. “Cute shirt.”
“Thanks,” Megan said. “Mine seems to be ruined.”
“Sorry about that. Heat of the moment and all.”
Megan laughed. “I know. Believe me, I’m not upset about it. One shirt was well worth the price of admission.”
“Are you hungry?” Angeline asked, smiling.
“Not right now. I’ll take your car and run out and get us a couple coffees in a little bit. I have GPS.” Megan put her hand on Angeline’s knee and rubbed it up toward her thigh. Being able to do this so freely made her want to jump up and down. But before she let herself get too excited, she had to get the heaviness out of the way. “So. What made you change your mind? You seemed pretty adamant that you didn’t want to take this any further, and then you just kind of…did?”
Angeline shook her head. “I never not wanted to. I tried to make that super clear. I didn’t think it was a good idea. I’ve been hurt. I’ve hurt people. Being with me can be a bit more…dangerous than you might think. Loving someone gives other creatures power over you, if they want to take it. I just resigned myself to the notion that I was better off alone. And someone that I actually cared about was better off without me. No matter what my heart tried to tell me.”
“How long has it been?”
Angeline paused. “A really long time.”
Megan raised her eyebrow. This would never work if Angeline insisted on being so secretive. It wasn’t like she was the only person in this world to ever experience heartache.
“It’s been, I don’t know, sixty years, maybe,” Angeline said, obviously taking her point.
“Sixty years?” Megan nearly yelled. “I thought you were going to tell me five or six or something. Wow, that is commitment to self-punishment. You haven’t been with anyone in sixty years?”
“I didn’t say that,” Angeline said, smirking slightly.
After the night they’d shared, Megan didn’t want to think about Angeline doing that with anyone else, sixty years or not. Maybe that was a minefield better left undetonated.
“Okay. But in an actual relationship?”
“Right. My last one didn’t end so well. And rather than put myself, or anyone else, through that again, it just made sense for me to close off that part of myself forever. It’s pretty easy to stay unattached, really, once you decide that’s what you want. Until now, that’s worked.”
Had Angeline just suggested that they might be heading for a relationship? Sure, it was maybe too soon to make that call, but it hadn’t felt like just sex. Megan felt elated that those feelings hadn’t only been on her end. She couldn’t help the warmth that filled her chest, knowing that she had been the one to break a six-decade-long pledge to remain alone.
“Did she leave you? Did you leave her? Was she a vampire? What happened?” Megan asked.
“She died,” Angeline said, matter-of-factly. “She was murdered.”
Megan recoiled. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea. I shouldn’t have pushed.”
Angeline shook her head. “Of course you didn’t know. I’m not upset. It was a long time ago. I just carry a lot of guilt about that night, along with the knowledge of what love costs, which is why I don’t really like to talk about it. She was killed because we were together. A good amount of the blame for her death falls on me.”
Megan stayed silent for a second. Angeline’s resistance to something more than platonic between them was slowly coming into clarity. No wonder she didn’t want a relationship. “You mean like a hate crime?” Megan asked.
Angeline gave her a small smile. “No, not at all. We were very discreet back then. Had to be. Kathryn decided that Charlotte, who was a human companion living with us, was taking up too much of my time and attention, so she had to go. I refused and planned to leave that night with Charlotte. To get away from Kathryn completely. Just sever all ties. But I should have known better. Kathryn was not the type to let something like that happen. She had a pulse on everything around her. She found out and then she drained Charlotte to within an inch of her life. I tried to bring her back, but Kathryn had poisoned her, so then I had to kill her. I killed her to make the pain stop.”
Megan bit her lip. She didn’t know what to say. Telling Angeline it wasn’t her fault sounded hollow, and saying she was sorry was too trite. Maybe she shouldn’t say anything at all.
“Logically, I know Kathryn was the reason she died, but I still can’t help that haunting feeling that I murdered her. If onl
y I’d done as Kathryn said and let Charlotte go. I remember it all too clearly.” Angeline shuddered. “After that, I just sort of snapped, and I killed Kathryn for what she had done. For what she’d made me do. I couldn’t live under her thumb anymore. That was by far the worst day of my life. And in some ways, the best, as sick as that sounds. She’s equal parts a distant memory and a constant participant in my nightmares. Even after so much time has passed. But it reminds me of the kind of creature I never want to become, no matter how much time has passed.”
It sounded more like a movie than anything that could happen in real life. Megan reached out and clasped Angeline’s hand, grounding her to the fact that Angeline was real, and she wasn’t living out some fever dream. “Kathryn was your maker, right?”
“Right.”
“I thought a maker was supposed to be like some sort of mentor, not a warden. It sounds like she tortured you.”
Angeline sighed, running her fingers absentmindedly over Megan’s palm. “She did, in a lot of ways. I have some good memories of her. But the bad far outweigh the good. I’ve been without her longer than I was with her, but I still feel a catch in my throat when another vampire is nearby. It doesn’t happen often, but the handful of times I’ve sensed one over the last sixty-odd years, I feel that jolt of fear even though she’s dead. At least, I think she is. I didn’t stay to watch her burn.”
Megan climbed on top of Angeline, straddling her on the couch. She leaned down and pulled her into her, so that Angeline’s head was resting on her chest. Megan played softly with her waves. Angeline tightened her arms around Megan’s waist.
“I can’t even believe the things you’ve been through. It’s all so surreal. I understand why you’ve been so hesitant to open up to anyone. I hope you don’t feel like I pressured you into this. Whatever this is,” Megan added quickly.
“Mm,” Angeline murmured, placing soft kisses on Megan’s chest, through the thin fabric of the T-shirt. “This feels amazing. You feel amazing. I’ve been afraid for too long. The pull I’ve felt toward you had little to do with our blood bond. I’ve wanted you so badly there were times I thought I was going to explode. I’m grateful that you persisted. Because really, what’s the point of all of this if I don’t allow myself to feel? And you feel so fucking good.”
Angeline pulled Megan down forcefully, so that their bodies were melded together. She kissed her neck, her jawline, and finally landed at her lips. Megan was pretty sure that she felt lightning bolts exit through her fingertips as she draped her arms around Angeline’s neck and deepened the kiss.
The shrill chime of Megan’s phone jerked them both out of their haze of lust. Megan chuckled and pushed Angeline’s hair behind her ears. “I should see who that is.”
“Ugh,” Angeline groaned, digging her fingers into Megan’s hips. “Really? Now?”
“It could be my aunt, or the detective. I don’t need an APB put out on me. That would probably kill my appeal as an appraiser who has to go into people’s houses and interact with the public. Hello?” Megan rolled off Angeline and answered, just before the call went to voice mail.
“Hello, Megan. It’s Nolan. Are you at home?”
Megan felt the blood drain from her face. She hadn’t really expected him to call. She cleared her throat. “No, I’m actually with a friend right now. Is there something I can help you with?” She tried to make her voice sound as casual and calm as possible. She wasn’t sure what kind of a sentence messing with a dead body in a morgue carried, but she was pretty sure it was more than just a slap on the wrist. Angeline moved closer, like she was listening to the conversation.
“Okay. We’re going to need you to come back in. We have another situation on our hands, and until you produce that ‘friend’ of yours that whisked you away from the crime scene at the gas station, you’re the best lead I’ve got. I hope you feel like talking.”
Another situation? What could that possibly mean? “With all due respect, Detective, I’ve told you everything I know. I had nothing to do with the gas station robbery and nothing to do with Jud Jenkins. Should I hire an attorney at this point? I don’t know what else you want from me.” Megan closed her eyes and hoped that the threat of lawyering up would cause the detective to back off. She knew that they had nothing on her besides her strange testimony of the vampire who rescued her.
“That’s up to you. It’ll make things harder on both of us, but I wouldn’t try to talk you out of it. I’d rather you just come on over for another conversation without turning this into a pulling teeth situation. But again, the choice is yours.”
Megan sighed at his poorly masked indifference. “Fine. I’ll come by in a little while. But really, I have nothing new to tell you. So, I hope you’re ready to hear a whole lot of I don’t knows.”
“Maybe you’ll surprise yourself. I’ll see you shortly.”
Nolan clicked off the line, his patience apparently wearing thin. Megan was angry at him, but also at herself for having ever put herself in the position of being suspicious. She should have kept the whole insane vampire thing to herself until she figured out what was really going on. Angeline shouldn’t have told her the truth that night in the parking lot. It was too much information that Megan didn’t know what to do with and couldn’t share. Angeline probably should have healed her and run off, leaving her at the crime scene so there weren’t more questions than answers. At least her I don’t knows would be genuine. She couldn’t have known that she would end up falling for the vampire, but everything would have been a lot easier if she hadn’t been so effusive at their first meeting.
“Man, he won’t let up.” Angeline frowned.
“He wouldn’t tell me what this new situation is. But seriously, what else could it be? Did someone transform into a bat behind the police station?”
“You know that’s not really…”
Megan shot Angeline a look. “Yes, I know that. Thank you. But this is getting out of hand. What if they give me truth serum and I lead them right to your cabin?”
“Pretty sure that’s against the law. And there’s actually no such thing.”
Megan sulked.
“I’m sorry they’re badgering you. Maybe I can go talk to him. I could come up with a story, something that would at least get him to back off you for a while.”
That idea didn’t sit well with Megan. She knew that Angeline was just trying to help, but it couldn’t possibly end well. “What if he wants to fingerprint you? Which he will. Can you do that hypnotize thing and just make him forget about me?”
“No,” Angeline said. “It’s a quick trancelike state that leaves details foggy and memories unclear. All he’d have to do is go back to his desk and pull out the file to remember the players in the investigation. And he’d resume where he left off. I’d have to come up with one hell of a story and hope he’d buy it.”
Megan could hear the doubt in Angeline’s voice. Of course that wouldn’t work. “And if he doesn’t buy it, and arrests you for tampering with evidence or evading law enforcement, or something along those lines?”
Angeline sighed. “Then it would get ugly. But what am I supposed to do? Just sit back and let him harass you because I was sloppy? I know better.”
“You did save my life. So, there’s that,” Megan said, shrugging. “I don’t want you to do anything hasty or stupid just because I’m a little inconvenienced at the moment.”
Angeline scoffed at her minimization of it.
“I’m serious,” Megan said.
“Okay, we won’t do anything rash. Once we figure out who’s doing this and put a stop to it one way or another, he’ll leave you alone. Presumably. Or, if you want, we can go someplace else for a while.”
“Together?” Megan asked. She wished she could pull the word back just in case she was reading too deeply into it.
“Yes, of course together. Unless…”
Megan nearly laughed at their awkwardness. “No, that’s what I thought you meant, and I’m glad that’s
what you meant.” She leaned in and kissed Angeline on the lips. “I’ll go see what he wants and then we can decide what to do.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Angeline swung the key ring in a circle with her index finger. “Try to make sure you’re not followed. If it looks like you are, simply turn around and go back home.”
“Sure. Let’s go get ready. We need to leave as soon as the sun sets. Are you working tonight?” Megan asked, picking her jeans up off the bedroom floor.
“No, it’s my night off. I need to get this vampire bullshit squared away so I can get back to my quiet life of dog walking and cat petting,” Angeline said. “Are you working?”
“Yes, but I can do it later. I don’t have any appointments, just paperwork.”
Angeline nodded, and Megan watched as she pulled some clothes out of her drawers and headed into the bathroom. It felt as though she’d been waiting forever to be with Angeline, but at the same time, it was all such a whirlwind. It was all so normal, and so freakishly different that the juxtaposition made her dizzy. Megan shook her head to rid herself of an ill-timed relationship analysis. There would be plenty of time for that later.
Chapter Twenty
Angeline pulled up a little way down the street from Megan’s front door, but her house was in view, as was the unmarked police car clearly sitting out front. Full dark blanketed the sleet-covered street. Megan smiled as she saw Merlin sitting in the window, licking his paw. Even amid the murders and robberies and otherworldly beings she’d been introduced to, Megan couldn’t help but feel like all was right in the world. She leaned over to Angeline, who was smiling softly at her.
“Call me when you’re done with Nolan,” Angeline said and kissed Megan fully on the lips. “I’ll watch from here to make sure you get in okay.”
Megan’s stomach dropped once again. She could get used to this. “I will,” Megan whispered against her lips. She kissed the tips of her fingers and headed up the street toward her house. She ignored the urge to give the people watching her house a wave. No need to antagonize anyone. The night around her was still and serene.
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