by Dakota Rebel
She was still sitting on the couch when I returned to the living room. Her eyes narrowed when she saw me.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I sat in the chair, facing her.
She stood, walked over to me then turned my head with one hand while she pressed hard on the wounds with her fingertips.
“Ow.” I knocked her hand away and stood up. I towered over her, but it was plain on her face that she had never been less afraid of me in her life. She knew I would never hurt her, though I wished she wasn’t so sure sometimes. It made it harder for me to win fights.
“What’s the rule Mitch?” she asked softly. When I didn’t answer her, she grew louder. “What’s the number one fucking rule?”
“Don’t get bit,” I said with a sigh.
“Don’t get bit! What the hell were you doing that close to its mouth?”
I gave her an eloquent look then watched as realization spread over her face. Her eyes grew wide, and her hand went to her mouth. It was so classic horror movie of her that I almost laughed. Almost.
“God damn it, Mitch. Please tell me you’re kidding.” When I didn’t say anything, she shook her head. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I really didn’t want to talk about this, not at all, but especially not with her. I was tired, sore and more than a little embarrassed to have been caught by my little sister.
“How do you know what the rules are?” I asked, trying to get her to change the subject.
“Because I’m not a fucking idiot. Dad taught me a lot of your little rules. Besides, growing up in a family who hunts monsters teaches a girl a lot.”
I couldn’t really argue with that. As much as I wanted to believe we’d protected Reagan over the years, not everything could be hidden away. Hell, she’d bandaged me up after fights more times than I cared to admit. That happens when you give a key to your apartment to a kid with a license.
I’d dragged myself home on many occasions, bleeding and bruised, to find her curled up on my couch as she had been earlier. And just like Mom had taught her, she would cluck her tongue at me then patch me up.
She never asked about the night’s events. If I volunteered, she would listen, but she knew better than to demand answers. I think she’d learned very early that I would talk if I wanted to, but she couldn’t make me if I didn’t. Hell, she was exactly the same way.
Again, I had to wonder if the way she’d grown up had made her stronger or just more fucked up. It wasn’t completely my fault. She did have parents who’d contributed…or not. But I would always feel responsible if anything ever happened to her. Watching her look at me the way she was, I wondered if she felt the same way about me.
“So who was he?”
I looked at her, a little surprised at the question. “Well, gee, Mom, he was just some vampire.”
“Ha-ha. Don’t bring Mom’s name into this. I know for a fact she raised you better than to go home with a vampire.”
I didn’t really mean to, but my eyes flicked down the hall toward my bedroom. She followed my gaze, and I wanted to slap myself.
“You’re joking, right? He’s not still here? You don’t let anyone stay here.”
“You pay way too much attention to my personal life.” I tried to make it a joke, but she wasn’t in the mood.
I wanted her gone before Jarrod woke up, but the look on her face clearly showed that wasn’t going to happen. She would stay here until she saw who was sleeping in her big brother’s bed.
“Look, Reagan, I appreciate the concern, but I know what I’m doing.” Okay, so I was a fucking liar. I had no clue what was going on with me, him, the whole situation. “You need to go home. Now.”
My shoulders sagged in relief when she started walking toward the door. Of course, that feeling was brief because she walked to the couch instead, sitting with her arms crossed over her chest and staring at me.
I threw my hands up in the air. “Fine. You want to act like a spoiled brat, go ahead. Knock yourself out. But don’t you fucking embarrass me, Reagan. I mean it. If you do or say anything stupid to him, I will take your key and kick your ass out for good.”
I walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Reagan called out for one, too. I carried the mugs back into the living room, handed her one and walked over to the sliding glass doors that led to the balcony.
I thought about hiding in the kitchen until Jarrod woke up, leaving her alone to see him walk out. I realized what a bad idea that probably was. I’d been trying to keep him away from her. Giving him the opportunity to be alone with her, even for a minute, was not just petty, it was stupid.
I stared out over the balcony, watching the lightning that had started flickering on the horizon flash bright against the dark sky. Another roll of thunder sounded, closer and louder than it had been just a few minutes ago. I was so intent on the storm outside I almost didn’t hear Jarrod moving around in the bedroom.
I glanced over at Reagan and realized she had heard him, too. Her eyes were fixed on the hallway, silently anticipating what she was about to see. I looked for some sort of reaction, but I should have known she would never give me the satisfaction.
I didn’t turn to see him, but I felt Jarrod walk up behind me. He put his arms around me and kissed my shoulder. A smile pulled at my lips. I turned to face him and wished I could pull him against me and really kiss him, but I couldn’t do it in front of Reagan.
“We have company,” I said softly.
He turned to look at the couch, his eyes widening a little at the sight of my sister watching us.
“Good evening, Reagan. Nice to see you again.”
“Hello, Jarrod.” Her voice was cool, and her eyes were narrowed. I knew she was pissed. I just wasn’t completely sure why. I had a good idea, but with Reagan, you could never be certain.
“I should be going,” Jarrod said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I borrowed one of your shirts.”
I shook my head, letting the smile break across my face. I followed him to the door. We didn’t kiss goodbye but gripped each other’s hands for a minute. I shut the door behind him then turned to face Reagan. I waited for her to start screaming at me, but she surprised me. As she so often did.
“You love him.” Her voice was soft, full of wonder rather than anger.
“I barely know him.” It seemed safe enough to sit next to her—at least, I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to start hitting me.
“I don’t think it matters.” She smiled. “I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you did when he kissed you.”
“You’ve never seen me with other guys.”
“No, you’ve sheltered me from that part of your life quite well.” Her tone was angry again. Damn, teenage girls are confusing creatures.
“Look, Reagan, I know you’re mad, but to be honest, I’m not sure I understand why. What part of all of this are you actually angry about?”
She smiled, taking my hand in hers as she leaned her head on my shoulder. “Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t sure either?”
“Yes.” I kissed the top of her head. “But we should talk about it now. I want to make sure we’re okay. If you go home and think about it then getting pissed off, it’s just going to make it all worse.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I just don’t know where to start.”
“Okay. Are you mad because you like him but he likes me?”
“No,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I get the whole gay thing. He wasn’t ever going to be interested in me.” She raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you didn’t want me hanging around him?”
She had gotten to that much faster than I would have preferred. I had actually hoped that question wouldn’t come up at all.
“You know, with anyone else, I could take the easy way out and say yes. But no, sweetie, I don’t want you around him because he is incredibly dangerous.”
“You brought him home,
you let him bite you and you’re going to lecture me about vampires being dangerous?” She slid away from me, turning her whole body to face me. Her eyes were bright with tears. I reached for her hand again, but she pulled it away. “We’re supposed to be tight, Mitch. But seeing you with him made me realize you’ve been keeping me out of a huge part of your life. It makes me wonder what else you hide from me.”
The girl was way too observant for her own good.
“You’re right, I do keep things from you. I don’t share my sex life with you for a couple reasons. One, it’s not really any of your business. Two, I didn’t think you cared. I mean, I don’t want to know what you may be doing…in that area of your life.”
“I’m not asking for a play-by-play of what happens in your bedroom, Mitch.” She laughed. “But maybe if you had mentioned that you liked Jarrod, it wouldn’t have been such a shock to find him here.”
She was right, of course. I didn’t intentionally hide it from her, but I didn’t share much of that part of my life with her either.
“I get what you’re saying, Reagan, but with Jarrod, I didn’t really realize I liked him until he showed up at my door last night. I don’t want you to think I went after him. I didn’t. He came for me. I don’t usually get off on doing vampires.”
I liked that she was talking to me, even if I was less than thrilled about the topic. Just because it was fair that she be allowed to ask the same questions about where I was and who I was with that I often asked her didn’t mean I had to like it. But then, she probably wasn’t fond of it happening to her, either.
“Well, I’m glad to know my brother isn’t coffin bait. What are you going to do with him now?”
“Nosy brat.” It seemed easier to change the subject than try to come up with an answer. I had no idea what would happen between us now. I assumed that when he walked out the door he had walked out of my life. I was surprised to find that thought upset me.
“I learned from the best.” She smiled again. “Look, Mitch, I know you worry about me, but I worry about you, too. Eventually, you’ll realize you really do love him.” She held up her hand. “You don’t have to believe me, but lying to yourself isn’t going to change it. And I think he loves you, too.”
I hoped it was clear from the look on my face that I thought she was insane. She’d seen the two of us together for about thirty seconds. She had no idea what she was talking about.
“Fine,” she said, standing up. “Deny it as long as you want. Just don’t let it sneak up on you and bite you on the ass.” She leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”
I flipped her off, and the door slamming behind her cut off her laughter.
* * * *
I was in my office, going through the reports again when my phone rang. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost eleven p.m. That meant that it was either Jarrod, who I was pretty sure didn’t have my number, or it was my father, who I really had no desire to talk to. No one else would have called me after nine p.m. on a Sunday. I just didn’t have that good of a social life.
“Yeah?” I asked by way of answering.
“Don’t shoot me.” The office door opened, and I saw Dad putting his phone in his pocket.
I dropped mine on the desk and stood to shake his hand. It was a little irritating that he would drop by to check up on me in person, but I couldn’t really say I was surprised to see him. I hadn’t been very forthcoming with the information about this case in the past few days.
He glanced at the desk before looking back at me.
“Good to see you’re bothering to work on this case. Why isn’t the vampire dead yet?”
I blew out a sigh and sat back down. “Did you even read this stuff before you sent it to me?”
“Of course, I did. Who the hell taught you to question your superior officer?”
“Well, gee, sir, I wasn’t aware you were here in an official capacity. I thought you just wanted to visit with your son.”
“Bullshit. You know why I’m here. Why isn’t he dust yet, Mitch?”
“Because I don’t think he did anything.”
He gave a short burst of laughter. “We don’t pay you to think. The evidence is all there. He’s been photographed with the victims, the reports are filed and the decision has been made. You get the envelope. You kill the mark. That’s it. That’s your job.”
“I don’t care. Look at these pictures. This is not a vampire kill. Have you ever seen this much blood left at a crime scene? Jarrod did not do this. He couldn’t have.”
“Jarrod, huh? Mitch, what the hell is really going on here? You have never tried to dig into a case before. What’s up with this one?”
I didn’t want to tell him. I couldn’t tell him. He would never forgive me if I told him I was fucking the hit. I really didn’t believe Jarrod had done those kills, but I wasn’t sure my father would just accept my word on it.
“Look, Dad, what do I have to do to get the Army to look into this a little further?”
“There’s nothing you can do. They’ve made the call, filed the papers and paid the feds to assign a hunter. That would be you. Now, you go out and kill this guy. Preferably before more bodies turn up.”
“So there’s nothing I can do, nothing I can say to anyone to make them put this file on hold? The feds just roll over and sit up at the command of the Army now? And we marshals just get to take it? That’s fucking fantastic. Sir.” I was desperate to find some loophole, something that would stall for time until I figured out what was going on.
“Mitch, I’m going to ask you this one more time, and I expect an answer. What’s going on with you and this case?”
“It’s not enough that I don’t want to kill an innocent man? Fuck, Dad, he didn’t do it. The better question is why does the Army want this guy killed so badly they would frame him for something he didn’t do?”
He leaned over my desk and picked up the pictures. He dropped them, one by one, on the desk in front of me. “If he didn’t do this, why is he covered in blood at the crime scenes? If he is an innocent man, what is he doing there?”
“I don’t know!” I was yelling now, but I didn’t care. “Why isn’t there blood around his mouth in these photos? The reports all say the vics bled out through bites, but there are no bite radius measurements in the paperwork. These bodies have been turned to little more than meat. It looks more like a werewolf kill than a vampire one.”
“Calm down.” His voice was low as he put a hand on my shoulder. “Do you know him? Is that what this is about?”
“Yeah, Dad, I know him. But that’s not why I don’t think he did it.” Well, not entirely why. “This just doesn’t fit any profile. It’s been less than a week, and you’re already here to follow up on the case. Why is this so urgent to you guys? It’s not the kill count, so don’t pull that shit on me. What is really going on here?”
“Look, Mitch, what you’re asking for is classified. I can’t tell you any of that. All I can say is that this guy had better be dead soon, or there is going to be hell to pay. And not just for you. There are things going on here you wouldn’t understand and really don’t want to know. So I am begging you, let this go. Do your job. Kill this vampire, and move on with your life.”
I blew out a sigh. I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t going to do it. I just had to figure out what to do about all of it. I knew I needed to come clean with Jarrod. Maybe, he could explain it to me.
My dad and I shook hands again, and I listened for the sound of the door closing behind him. I walked out of the office, made sure he was really gone then went into my bedroom to get dressed. I wasn’t completely sure where Jarrod would be, but I thought I might know where to find Skip. I just hoped he would be willing to tell me how to get a hold of his brother.
Chapter Eight
I walked through Torque with minimal hassle. It was less busy on Sunday nights so there weren’t crowds of people to force my way through. I was glad to see the VIP
section roped off. It was a good sign that at least some of the band might be there.
The bouncer, who I didn’t recognize, just nodded and let me through anyway. I hoped that meant that Jarrod was in there and had given my description to the people working the doors. Unfortunately, when I entered the room, only one person was inside, and it wasn’t Jarrod.
“Mitch, I’m so glad you came.” Skip sat at a table smoking. There was a glass of amber liquid in front of him, but it looked untouched.
“Skip. What’s up? Where are your groupies tonight?”
He motioned to a chair next to him. I sat positioning myself to face him and the entrance at the same time. I was suddenly nervous and very glad I had brought my gun.
“Actually, I’m meeting someone tonight and wished to be alone with her. But I really am happy to see you. I hoped we would get a chance to talk…just us.”
He was trying to look completely harmless, hands in full view, body relaxed, slumped into his chair as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Just a guy hanging out with another guy.
“What could you possibly want to talk to me about?” I couldn’t force myself to relax. One hand was crossed over my lap, resting on my thigh but positioned to grab my gun within seconds if Skip made a move I didn’t approve of.
“Lots of things. Do you want a drink? I could call for the waitress.”
I shook my head.
He shrugged and continued. “Jarrod’s quite taken with you. He came home this evening positively glowing. I haven’t seen him so happy in a very long time. He wasn’t willing to give details, which is most unlike him, but I could smell you on him, so I know he spent the day with you.”
He watched me carefully, as if looking for a reason to attack me. I sat rigid and kept my face as neutral as possible. If he wanted to talk, he could talk. I wasn’t giving him anything to use against me.
“You do know that we aren’t really brothers.” It wasn’t a question, just a statement so I continued my silence. “We have known each other for decades, we love each other and take care of each other. We’re family. You understand that, don’t you? He’s my family, the only family I have. And it would be bad, very bad, if anything happened to him.”