Now her stomach roiled. “Uh-huh . . .”
Her sister stroked her head. “Figuratively speaking, we’re going to have another Band-Aid moment.”
Casey’s head popped up. “Okay—so just do it. Things seem to be on a downward decline—so give it to me straight.” Brave, brave words, Warrior Princess.
Greg spoke up then, his words so obviously measured. “Casey, what’s Clay told you about his former life? Or has he told you anything at all?”
Hah. Asking Clay anything personal was like trying to get an appointment with God. “He’s pretty tight- lipped, but I did manage to wrangle a few facts out of him. He was a Viking, turned in the late seven hundreds.”
“Did he mention how he ended up mated to Hildegard?”
She bristled. “Yeah, he told me all about Hildegard and how she forced him to mate with her when he was vulnerable in vampire sleep—which I thought was nuts because he’s so stubborn until he explained the possible narcolepsy thing. He said next to nothing can wake him when he’s in the later stages of it.” Not even a life-force-sucking bitch like that blond nightmare.
“That’s true—his vampire sleep isn’t on par with the rest of us. Both Nina, Wanda, and I can stall it, if necessary. It isn’t easy, but it’s manageable. But did he tell you why Hildegard force-mated with him?”
“Are you kidding?” Disbelief was the clear emotion lacing her tone. “Getting him to talk about Hildegard is like calling up the White House and asking for the president’s home phone number. He didn’t go into details, and to push Clay about her is always dangerous, and usually ends with him more angry and impatient than he was to begin with. I might as well just save myself the trouble and throw myself off a cliff. It might be less painful.” Excruciating was more like it. The more closemouthed he was, the more eaten up with curiosity she became.
Wanda’s cheeks puffed outward. “Well, here’s the scoop about the union in Hell. Hildegard bartered for her soul. Apparently, and it comes as no surprise, she’s pretty vain. As a human, she was getting long in the tooth. Back in the day, you married very young, and she wasn’t getting any younger. So her father planned to marry her off to someone she didn’t much want to be married to. To save herself, she sold her soul to not only get out of marrying this guy her father’d picked for her, but to retain her youth and beauty. When she found out she’d been tricked into selling her soul, and that she’d be young and beautiful, all right, it just wouldn’t be here on Earth, she found a solution.”
Oh, Jesus Christ in a miniskirt. This woman was a maniac. “I know that much. Clay was the solution. Because if she drinks from him once a year, she’s drinking from someone who has eternal life, and that means she does, too.”
Looking at Nina, you’d never guess she was a woman with balls the size of church bells that clanged when she walked. Her face was softer right now, even in the harsh glare of the diner—softer and riddled with sympathy, leaving Casey almost breathless and definitely panicked. “Did you ever wonder why Clay stays mated to her instead of doing something drastic like vampiricide?” Nina asked.
Casey nodded with a slow movement. “Yes. I even asked him. He said it became about besting her. I bought it because men can be pretty competitive, and he’s not exactly the kind of guy who’d lie down and play dead. Figuratively speaking, of course.” And now, from the looks on their faces, she was feeling like a stupidhead for falling for it.
Greg grunted his disapproval at Clay’s predicament. “He can be very competitive. You should see him slaughter my ass at golf, but if you know anything about Clay, you know he’s not the kind of man who wouldn’t rather go to his grave than be mated to someone he despises.”
Clay played golf? Did the wonders never cease? Golf was such a placid, structured game—with plaid pants . . . Clay was anything but placid. “I totally agree. He’s stubborn and pigheaded and difficult, all while he cracks jokes. Sorry. I know he’s your best friend, but if that’s the case, then you know I speak the truth. He’s the most difficult, domineering man I’ve ever met, and then in the next breath a real wisecracker. He’s like the Two Faces of Eve, the Knuckle Dragger version.”
Greg’s laughter filled the empty diner, rich and full. “Yep. That’s Clay. So then a man that stubborn has to be sticking around for something, wouldn’t you agree?”
Casey winced. It was another woman. Fuck it all if she didn’t suspect it. All those hushed phone calls he’d never answer in front of her. He might be stubborn, but that didn’t mean he was honorable—so while she’d been a convenient orifice, his heart, or whatever was in his chest, belonged to someone else he couldn’t nail because he’d be shunned. The motherfucker. She tightened her jaw, reaching for the glass of water by Wanda, and took a gulp, hoping it would douse her flaming, irate gut.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, kiddo,” Nina said.
“Then what the fuck is it?” she whisper-yelled, slamming her fists down on the table as she leaned forward, her eyes darting about the diner.
Wanda’s voice hitched when she said, “A child.”
Her temper went from a hundred to zero. “A child?”
Nina’s head bobbed up and down. “Yep. Clay’s got a kid.”
Casey reached for the paper napkin and dipped it into the water, wiping her forehead with it. A child. She turned to Wanda, confused. “Remember our ‘how to be a vampire’ conversation? I thought you said reproduction was impossible for vampires?”
“It is, honey. Here’s how it went down. When Hildegard made the moves on Clay, he was staunchly against it. He really was willing to go to his grave before mating with her. But here’s the catch. When he was turned, so was his child—the vampire who turned him obviously had some serious vengeance on his mind.”
Casey’s throat began to clench. “But wait, I thought you guys had strict rules about this turning thing?”
Greg’s eyes held hers. “That evolved over time, Casey. And that rule does exist in most clans nowadays. But there was a time when it was like the Wild West. There were very few who felt the way we do back then, but they existed and Clay was one of them. When he joined with them, it was under the strict rules that he’d never harm anyone the way he was harmed. But at the time of his forced mating with Hildegard, he had no idea a child existed.”
Her stare was blank. Oh, sweet Mary, Mother of God.
“Clay thought his entire family was killed during the Viking raid he was turned in. But that wasn’t the case. This plan to snare Clay had been in motion for far longer than anyone suspected. Hildegard stole the child during the raid, and kept it hidden from Clay. When the time came to mate with him, and he refused, rather than using the child as a bargaining chip, which almost makes more sense if you’re a greedy bitch like she is, she used it afterward—to ensure Clay wouldn’t do exactly what you thought he’d do, being the kind of man he is because, Hildegard needed him to stick around. Hildegard bet on the fact that Clay wouldn’t find a way out of his immortality because he had a child, and she was right. No way would Clay ever leave one of his own if he could help it.”
Holy deception. Fighting the rising tide of her anger, Casey focused on control. Her heart ached, clenching so tight, she almost couldn’t ask her next question. “So where is the child?”
“With Hildegard.”
Casey was on her feet, pushing her way out of the booth the moment she heard the words. “Then let’s go get it. The hell I’ll let that psychopath hurt an innocent child! In fact, I’ll kill the whore myself. There’s no rule about a demon killing a demon. And even if there is, I don’t give a shit. Any law that says you can’t jack up the bitch that’s holding your kid hostage is bullshit!” She looked at them all, unmoving. Angry bolts of lightning in all shapes and colors seized her. “What—is—wrong—with—you? There’s a child at stake!”
“Casey, calm down. Now, before all of the Grub Shack is ablaze,” Wanda urged with a harsh whisper. “Wait—sit and listen, Case. Here’s the rest of the story. T
he child hasn’t been harmed. In fact, she’s rather unaware of what’s gone on all these years. She doesn’t know Hildegard’s mated to her father, and she sees Clay on a regular basis. Hildegard, in all of her fucked- up-ed-ness, was at least decent about that much. The girl only knows she lives in a big house with a father who travels often and a friend named Hildegard who pops in to check on her every now and then. Not so uncommon in this day and age, and perfectly plausible to a kid. Especially one who’s been around as long as she has.”
The vision in her head of this poor little girl chained to some chair fled, her bitter fury didn’t. “How old is she?”
“Vampires age slowly. In human years, she’s about fifteen. A very difficult age for a child, worse for one who’s been around as long as she has,” Wanda added, her features softened by concern.
And people complained about their teenagers. Imagine having one who was a teenager for centuries? “What’s her name?”
“Naomi.”
Naomi. Her heart fluttered in sympathy. That could explain all the mysterious phone calls Clay received. Teenagers could be very difficult, especially at fifteen. Being a young adult with all those conflicting emotions teen girls suffered couldn’t be easy—especially when it went on and on with no end in sight. “So how’s Hildegard able to keep her claws in Naomi? I don’t understand the hold she has over the child. I definitely understand why Clay wouldn’t off himself now, and why he lets Hildegard feed from him makes even more sense, but I don’t get the relation to Naomi.”
“Naomi is basically Hildegard’s. To make doubly sure Clay wouldn’t take his immortality into his own hands, just before she mated with him without his knowledge, she bound the child to her with some sort of binding ritual. She made her a demon companion. At the time, Naomi was a toddler—unaware—innocent. But here’s the real trouble. If anything happens to Hildegard, Clay could lose her to Hell forever because you can bet your bippy, Hildegard might not have hurt the girl till now, but if she’s forced into Hell—Naomi will go with.”
Casey’s head spun so fast, she had to cling to the edge of the table. Everything was so clear, but so fucked up now. “She’s holding a child hostage? A child? Someone wanna explain to me why we’re sitting around here looking at each other? Let’s go fucking off the bitch,” she growled under her breath, this time not at all surprised by her howling rage.
Nina reached across the table, grabbing Casey’s hand. “Take it down a notch. I know this half of you. I know it well. I had the same reaction when Greg told me about Clay. I just wanted to choke the bitch. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned since I was turned, it’s to fucking think about your next move—carefully. This paranormal crap isn’t like the human world. If you fuck up, you’ll end up only making it worse.”
Casey fought tears. This wasn’t about Clay or even her anymore as far as she was concerned. It was about an innocent kid. “Okay—so the question then becomes, how do we get Naomi from Hildegard without creating more trouble for her or Clay?”
Greg’s face was grim. “That’s the dilemma. If Clay doesn’t allow Hildegard to feed, because Naomi’s bound to her, Naomi will end up in Hell, too.”
“But if I’m Hildegard’s DNA twin, that means in essence, Naomi’s bound to me, too, right?”
He nodded. “Technically, that’s true. But first, you’re nowhere near the level of skill that bitch possesses, and to stop her from feeding from Clay, which would end her life on this plane, you’d have to be. Believe me when Wanda tells you, she is maniacal enough to drag that poor kid back to Hell with her if Clay or you try to stop her.”
There was always a fucking technicality, wasn’t there? But it didn’t mean she couldn’t try, and when she got a hold of Clay, she was going to flame the living shit out of him. Literally. And that was that. No way was she letting some kid take the fall for this—no matter whose fault it was. “I have to go,” she said, wooden and flat, nudging at Wanda to let her out of the booth.
Wanda gripped her arm, her eyes blatantly filled with fear and worry. “You’re not going anywhere, Casey. From here on out, we’re like twins—the Siamese kind. The fuck I’ll let you end up in Hell because of this craziness that wasn’t even your fault.”
Casey was floored, her response was shaky with unshed tears. “But you’d let an innocent child end up there? A kid who has no idea what this all means? A kid whose whole life will be turned upside down because of some fruit loop with an ego the size of the Ukraine?” Casey shook her head with a violent twist. “I don’t know about you, but if I have to live an eternity with that on my plate—it’d be just like Hell anyway. No can do.”
Wanda’s eyes filled with tears. “Casey—I won’t let you do this. Hildegard’s too strong for you to take on. I absolutely won’t let you risk sacrificing yourself. You didn’t ask for this!”
“And Naomi did?” she squeaked, brushing a hot tear from her cheek.
Greg reached across the table and put a hand on her arm. “Clay would never allow this. Never. It’s why he didn’t tell you himself, but if he didn’t find a solution, I certainly wasn’t going to let you be blindsided. I have to believe he would have come to you because that’s who Clay is. But my lovely wife overheard me talking to another clan member who knew something about Hildegard, and if you know my Nina, you know there’s no stopping her. She said we had to tell both Wanda and you. I’ve already apologized to Clay in a voice mail he’ll have when he wakes. But promise me this, Casey. Don’t do anything rash until I poke around some more, okay? We’ve got some time before Hildegard’s due to feed. Let me see what I can come up with before you do anything, understood? There’s no way we’ll let you go into this alone.”
“It’ll be all-out war, Greg,” Nina warned. “That freak’ll bring reinforcements, maybe more than we have. Do you really think the clan’s going to get involved in matters of mating? I think we both know how that fucking goes. If we do it, we do it rogue.”
Greg turned to Nina, his serious eyes softening in her direction. “I know what has to be done, honey. I know it means employing those who’re willing to go against clan law, but there’s a kid involved. At this point, I don’t care what the clan says.”
“I appreciate all of this, but right now, I really have to go.”
“Where?” Wanda asked.
Casey’s eyes narrowed. “To kill a vampire.” She pried Wanda’s fingers from her arm. “And Wanda, you have to let me. I’m not saying I don’t want your help, but I am saying Clay has a lot of explaining to do—to me. Not you.”
Nina was the first to relieve some of the tension by laughing. “You give him shit, kiddo. He deserves it for keeping that kind of crap from you.”
Greg’s brow furrowed. “Hush, woman. Don’t encourage violence.”
Nina made a face at him. “Yeah, except everything that goes on in this kooky world you dragged me into has something to do with violence. It’s always the endgame.You know it, and so do I. Wasn’t it you just planning a rematch of the Sharks and the Jets? Clay deserves a good lickin’ for not telling her.You do remember the part about not telling me what needed tellin’ until it was almost too late, don’t ya, honey?”
Greg made a face back at her. “Yes, precious. I remember, but it was for your own good, if you’ll recall. I didn’t want you to feel pressured into doing something you might regret.”
“Hah! And look where that landed our asses—in the middle of a crazy smackdown with a fucking maniac. What is it with you bunch anyway? All these secrets and bullshit. It always leads to the same thing—a fucking throwdown. So don’t you tell me not to encourage Casey to kick his night-dwelling ass, pal. He should just bend over and let her have at it.”
Greg ran an impatient hand through his hair. “He was only trying to protect her, Nina. So she wouldn’t be any more pressured than she already was. Adding Naomi to the mix is a fucked up twist that Casey didn’t see coming. If she offers herself up—it’s suicide for her. If she doesn’t, she’s the bad g
uy for putting herself before a young girl. That’s more than a rock and a hard place. One Clay didn’t want her in.”
Nina spread her hand over the table in a wide arc. “And look how that’s workin’ out, life mate,” she observed with a wry expression.
“Look,” Wanda intervened, her blue eyes watery. “Go confront Clay. I’m all about getting things out in the open, but don’t do anything stupid, please. Don’t do anything until we can try and find a way out that’s best for everyone. I know there has to be a way. I won’t believe otherwise. We’ll figure out how to take her down.”
A steely determination had gripped Casey. Nothing Wanda or her paranormal friends could say would stop her from doing what had to be done, but she knew it was prudent to keep her convictions to herself. “I’ll do that, Wanda. And please, don’t worry, okay? Everything will be fine.” She paused, turning to Greg and Nina. “Thanks for telling me. I know Clay won’t like it, but that’s too damn bad.You did what you thought was right, and it’s appreciated.”
Nina held up her knuckles to Casey, and Casey cracked them with hers. “Go home and go to bed. Your eyes look like they’ve been on a five-day bender,” she said.
Greg rose as she exited the booth. “Casey? Call me if you need me. Don’t hesitate.”
Casey nodded, letting Wanda take her hand and walk her to the door. The warmth of it comforted her. “Honey, promise me . . .”
She fidgeted, moving from foot to foot. “I promise I’ll be careful.”
“Wait, one more thing.”
“What?”
“This has more to do with Clay than you’re letting on. You’ve developed feelings for him.”
She’d developed something. “I won’t lie and tell you I don’t find him wildly attractive, Wanda. I do. I also won’t tell you that I wouldn’t have considered stopping Hildegard even if I didn’t find him attractive, because I probably would have. It’s unjust and sick what she’s done to him and now a child. I couldn’t walk away from that. It’d be like leaving a puppy to starve. If I have the power to help, then I’m in. Do I wish I’d met him under any other circumstances—oh, believe me, I do.
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