“This is it, Kathryn. Finished,” Angeline said, her neck still bleeding from the gushing wound Kathryn had created. “I won’t leave any maybes this time around.”
Kathryn gripped one of the tines of the pitchfork, the one protruding through the area of her heart. She couldn’t reach the handle to pull the tines from her chest. “You have a fondness for impalement, don’t you? Just leave me this way, Angeline. You know I can’t harm you like this. Take your girl and go far away. I’ll let you live. Both of you.”
Angeline stood behind Kathryn, still holding tightly to the pitchfork. “You’re a liar, Kathryn.”
“No, I’m not. Not this time. You’ve proven yourself. I can’t beat you.”
“You’re right, you can’t,” Megan said, her hands shaking. She handed the shredder blade to Angeline. Megan had watched enough true crime shows and read enough books to know that decapitating someone wasn’t as easy as it looked on TV. Angeline had to be the one to do it.
Angeline looked at Megan, her eyes shining. Megan nodded sadly. She didn’t want to see anyone beheaded, but how could they be sure Kathryn wouldn’t go back on her word? Based on the very limited knowledge that Megan had of her, Kathryn allowing them to go on peacefully was highly unlikely.
“Why won’t she die?” Nolan asked, his gun pointed directly at Kathryn’s head. He didn’t seem to understand that was an exercise in futility, as the preceding bullets had done virtually no damage. And he looked more than a little rattled, his eyes wide and his grip on the gun making his knuckles white.
“Because I’m a vampire, you dumb shit. Angeline, pull this out of me, it hurts. Come on,” Kathryn said. She sucked in a breath between her teeth.
“I can’t let you go, Kathryn. You have to know that,” Angeline said. Tears tracked down her cheeks, but she never looked away.
Kathryn nodded, her head tilted as she looked at Angeline like she was seeing her for the first time. “I get it. Do what you have to do.” Kathryn leaned forward, holding on to the tines and seeming to brace herself for the inevitable.
Angeline hesitated.
“Do it,” Nolan whispered.
Megan closed her eyes but opened them again when she heard a shout.
Kathryn threw herself forward and down, the motion jerking the handle out of Angeline’s hands. She landed face down on the cement, the pitchfork releasing itself from her body by the hard push of the tines against the ground. She was up in a flash and screeching toward Angeline. But Angeline was ready.
Megan ducked even though the swish sound of the blade cutting through the air was nowhere near her. Angeline arced the paper cutter blade with her right hand and caught Kathryn right beneath the ear. Megan expected to hear screams and slicing and the squirting of blood, but she heard nothing except for a muted thud.
Kathryn’s body fell to its knees before collapsing completely forward. Her head lay next to her hand, where the ring finger continued to twitch for a full second before falling still.
Megan covered her mouth, unable to look away from the carnage in front of her. On her basement floor. It didn’t look real. The head looked more like a grotesque doll’s head, with its staring eyes and red lips, than a dead vampire who had been actively trying to kill them all.
Angeline rushed over to Megan and drew her close. Megan buried her head in Angeline’s shoulder and wept.
“Are you okay?” Angeline whispered, softly caressing Megan’s hair. She touched her fingertips to the drying blood on Megan’s neck.
Megan nodded, sniffling. She flinched at the light pressure on her neck. “Are you?”
“Mostly.” Angeline craned her neck so Megan could see the damage. It was still raw and bleeding from Kathryn’s teeth. “But don’t worry about me.” She inspected Megan’s neck again. “It doesn’t look like she did any lethal damage, thankfully. You’ll probably have a scar, though, unless I try to heal you right now. I’m a little weak at the moment, but I should be able to muster enough strength to take care of you.”
“Really, I’m okay. It hurts, but a scar is the least of my worries right now. Why aren’t you healing?”
“A wound from a vampire bite is a lot harder to heal from. It will take time.” Angeline squeezed her tightly.
Megan squeezed back, trying to decide if what she’d just witnessed was real or if she’d truly lost her mind. The pain in her neck was very real, as were Angeline’s arms around her.
“Ahem.” Nolan cleared his throat, in a not-so-subtle attempt to divert Angeline’s and Megan’s attention from each other.
“Oh, Detective Nolan. Told you I wasn’t making it up.” Megan shrugged, and if there weren’t a dead, beheaded vampire on the floor in front of her, she would have laughed at Nolan’s bewildered expression.
“So, you’re Angeline? Megan’s vampire savior from the night at the gas station?” Nolan asked, finally standing up from his safe haven on the basement stairs. He straightened his tie.
“I am, yes. And I want you to know, I had nothing to do with that gas station employee or the body you found last night. That was Kathryn,” Angeline said, shooting a look at Kathryn’s headless body.
“Another body?” Megan asked, looking from Angeline to Nolan and back again.
Nolan nodded. Repeatedly. “Right.” He nodded to Kathryn’s body and wiped at his forehead. “For now, I’d like to keep this whole thing under wraps. I’m, uh, a little unsure of things at the moment. I need to go home and have a few beers. Hug my wife. Then I’d like to speak to you. Both of you.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Detective—”
He held up a hand. “Megan, it’s fine. You’re not in any trouble. At least I don’t think you are. But I need to know what happened here tonight and what this means. Even if I have to die with the secret, I have to know.”
Megan started to protest again, but Angeline put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s not a problem, Detective. We’ll cooperate with you. But I need a guarantee that you won’t send a torch-carrying mob with stakes and crosses to come find me.”
“You have my word.” Nolan shook his head. “I think I’ll keep this to myself. Can you come to the station in the morning?”
“Um, no, the morning doesn’t really work for me.”
“Right, right. The whole…” Nolan trailed off, waving his arm in a vague motion around the room. “Tomorrow evening, then.”
“Sure.”
“What’s going to happen to this?” Nolan asked, motioning toward Kathryn’s body.
“It’ll be disposed of properly, I assure you.”
“Uh-huh. Okay. Don’t tell me anything else, please.” Nolan walked back up the stairs, straightening his already straightened tie. He mumbled something incoherent and then Megan heard her front door shut.
“What do we do?” Megan asked, rubbing her forehead. A dead body in her basement was certainly a first.
“I’ll take care of it. Go upstairs and make sure Merlin is okay.” Angeline grabbed a half-folded tarp from one of Megan’s shelves. She picked up the shovel from the floor. “I don’t think a bonfire out back would be the best idea. But I’ll be in the backyard if you need me. Two separate plots, just in case. Go ahead, really.”
Megan bit her lip but turned toward the staircase. She was still in a fog, but it was thankfully beginning to lift. The fallout from what she’d witnessed would probably linger for a while, but she had to remember that there was no other option. Kathryn was a bad vampire; Angeline was a good one. It was that simple, and that weird. She touched her neck again and felt the mark that would become a permanent reminder of a world she didn’t even know existed such a short time ago. Nothing would ever be the same again. The thought brought a fleeting feeling of loss, but also one of hope. She felt bad for leaving Angeline alone, but she also didn’t really want to be a part of digging a grave in her own backyard. After everything that had happened, Megan knew one thing for certain—the house was going on the market Monday morning.
&nb
sp; Chapter Twenty-four
“You’re really, really sure? That it was outside the property line?” Megan asked, stretching the packing tape over the last box in the living room.
Angeline nodded. “For the fiftieth time, yes. I made sure it was out in the wetlands behind the house. I’ve even looked at the survey and used a measuring tape to confirm it.”
“I know, I know. I just don’t want to be contacted by the buyers a year from now when they try to do some gardening. The lawsuit would be epic.”
Merlin meowed at his food dish, which was on top of the counter in a bag with his food and treats. He was formally moving into the log cabin before Megan, which wasn’t going to happen until the official closing took place the following day. It had only taken two weeks for her house to sell, but by the time the mortgage and everything else was settled with the new buyers, nearly three months had lapsed since that night in the basement. Not that she’d spent more than another night or two in it from that moment forward. She couldn’t be there without remembering every moment of the harrowing night. But at Angeline’s she was safe and loved, and that was all she needed. Still, she couldn’t help still checking her wrists for phantom rope burn every now and then.
“Sit with me for a minute,” Angeline said, motioning for Megan to join her on a blanket on the floor. All of the furniture she was taking had been moved to Angeline’s already. Everything else would go after the signing.
“I still can’t believe this is it. I thought I’d be here until I was old and gray,” Megan said, stretching out next to Angeline. She rested her head on Angeline’s shoulder and drew lazy circles on her palm.
Angeline stroked Megan’s hair. “I told you that you didn’t have to sell. I could have moved the body.”
“No! The memories are still there. The visuals. I’d never be fully comfortable here ever again. Besides, I couldn’t be any more excited about this next chapter of my life,” Megan said. She leaned up and kissed Angeline.
“Me too. And you’re still sure that you don’t feel like we’re moving too fast? Three months isn’t a lot of time before moving in together. I don’t want you to feel pressured in any way.”
“Oh stop. Stacey and Kristen moved in together within a few weeks. It happens. It might not work for everyone, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be fine. We’ve been spending every waking second together anyway, so what’s the difference?” Megan smiled as Merlin snuggled up next to them on the blanket.
“You’re right. Kristen keeps texting me links to Pinterest for housewarming gift ideas. I told her over and over that they don’t need to buy us anything. It’s not like we don’t have double of everything. I mean, how many toasters can two people have?”
“Aw, they’re just trying to be a part of it. Stacey asked me if we’d like a bat house for one of the trees out front. I told her it was a little too on the nose, but I think having bats fly overhead every night might actually be sort of cool,” Megan said with a shrug.
“I’m not opposed to it. I’d be like their queen. Only in my mind, but still.”
Angeline’s phone danced across the floor as it vibrated. She reached over and silenced it, tucking it into her back pocket.
“That was just Nolan. He’s got some case in the city he wants me to consult on. He thinks I can identify tracks or something like that,” Angeline said. She chuckled softly. “I swear, he thinks I’m a German shepherd.”
“You did help him with that kidnapping last month. Or kidnapping hoax, I should say. I think you should get a badge,” Megan said. She squeezed Angeline’s thigh.
“I highly doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon. Imagine trying to explain a hire like me to the chief. Only available at night. Can’t get too worked up. Special diet.”
Megan laughed. “I still think you should be recognized for your outstanding service to the state. And I think it’s sexy that you’re a police consultant on paranormal cases.” She pulled Angeline’s face down to hers, kissing her deeply. Merlin sensed the movement and jumped onto one of the boxes.
Angeline pushed Megan gently onto the floor and shifted so she was nearly on top of her. They explored each other for the last time under the roof on Shaw Way.
“Mmm,” Megan murmured, her heart beating high and hard and fast. “You do know you’ll eventually have to turn me, right?”
Angeline raised her head. “Is this really the time to talk about that?”
Megan ran her hand down Angeline’s back, her fingertips playing at the waistline on Angeline’s jeans. “I can’t think of any better time, can you?”
“Only about a million,” Angeline said, taking her bottom lip between her teeth. “What happens if you decide you don’t really like me all that much ten, thirty, fifty years from now? Oh…that feels good. You’ll be stuck drinking blood and living for all eternity, yearning for a normal existence. And you’ll resent me.” Angeline kissed her again, their lips like magnets.
Megan smiled into the kiss. “Or we could be the greatest love story ever told. Together for infinity, adapting into new people who fall in love again every millennium.” Megan sucked in a breath as Angeline’s hand found its way underneath her shirt.
“Well, when you say it like that, you make it hard to say no. But let’s revisit this in a decade or so, okay? I don’t need to turn you into the undead to prove my love for you. I can do that right here, right now.”
Megan grinned, but redirected Angeline’s wandering hands. “What if I get hit by a bus before that? Then you’d have to live with that for eternity, and I’d be…dead.”
“I’d save you.”
“What if you weren’t with me when it happened?”
“I’ll renew our blood bond, sound good?” Angeline asked. She was clearly losing her limited amount of self-control.
“That would work if you were close by, but what if I was in New York at some financial conference and you were stuck here dealing with a distemper outbreak? You’d never get to me in time. So again, dead.” Megan tugged lightly on Angeline’s hair, her own restraint waning fast as Angeline’s lips trailed down her neck.
Angeline grabbed on to the back of Megan’s neck. Her fangs jutted out and her eyes were alight. Megan gasped in response.
“You’re right,” Angeline said, her voice low. “I’ll turn you right now, so we don’t have to worry about your impending death ever again.” She leaned forward and nipped lightly at the skin covering Megan’s jugular.
“Wait!” Megan yelled. “No, don’t! Not yet!”
Angeline pulled back, her teeth back to normal but her eyes still shining. She laughed. “That’s what I thought. Can we continue, or would you like to keep discussing?” She lay flat on her back and beckoned Megan to her.
Megan sighed in relief and fell into Angeline’s waiting arms. Maybe she wasn’t ready for that just yet. “I love you.”
Megan dissolved in Angeline’s strong embrace. Her heartbeat quickened as Angeline stared at her with adoration in her eyes.
“I love you too,” she said. She looked at Megan thoughtfully. “And I think you saved me.”
“From what?” Megan asked, running her thumb along the line of Angeline’s eyebrow.
“From this silent chaos I didn’t even know I was existing in. Your love has made me see the world a little bit differently. Maybe everything doesn’t have to end horribly, I don’t know. You, Megan,” Angeline said, kissing her gently on the nose, “are the hero of my story.”
Megan melted and kissed Angeline softly on the lips. “And to think, this is just the beginning. Not to be presumptuous or anything, but being with you gives a whole new meaning to the idea of forever.”
“That’s true,” Angeline said, smiling. “People say that kind of thing all the time. But with me, you know it’s not just an empty word. Only a vampire can actually love you forever.”
About the Author
Nicole Stiling lives in New England with her wife, two children, and a menagerie of dogs, cats, and fish
. When she’s not working at her day job or pounding away at the keyboard, she enjoys video games, comic books, clearing out the DVR, and the occasional amusement park. Nicole is a strict vegetarian who does not like vegetables, and a staunch advocate for anything with four legs.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Brooklyn Summer by Maggie Cummings. When opposites attract, can a summer of passion and adventure lead to a lifetime of love? (978-1-63555-578-3)
City Kitty and Country Mouse by Alyssa Linn Palmer. Pulled in two different directions, can a city kitty and a country mouse fall in love and make it work? (978-1-63555-553-0)
Elimination by Jackie D. When a dangerous homegrown terrorist seeks refuge with the Russian mafia, the team will be put to the ultimate test. (978-1-63555-570-7)
In the Shadow of Darkness by Nicole Stiling. Angeline Vallencourt is a reluctant vampire who must decide what she wants more—obscurity, revenge, or the woman who makes her feel alive. (978-1-63555-624-7)
On Second Thought by C. Spencer. Madisen is falling hard for Rae. Even single life and co-parenting are beginning to click. At least, that is, until her ex-wife begins to have second thoughts. (978-1-63555-415-1)
Out of Practice by Carsen Taite. When attorney Abby Keane discovers the wedding blogger tormenting her client is the woman she had a passionate, anonymous vacation fling with, sparks and subpoenas fly. Legal Affairs: one law firm, three best friends, three chances to fall in love. (978-1-63555-359-8)
Providence by Leigh Hays. With every click of the shutter, photographer Rebekiah Kearns finds it harder and harder to keep Lindsey Blackwell in focus without getting too close. (978-1-63555-620-9)
Taking a Shot at Love by KC Richardson. When academic and athletic worlds collide, will English professor Celeste Bouchard and basketball coach Lisa Tobias ignore their attraction to achieve their professional goals? (978-1-63555-549-3)
In the Shadow of Darkness Page 20