"That's really freaking cool."
She laughed at the admiration on my face before looking at her watch. "Wow. It's time to eat. You hungry?"
We walked to the dining room together, the barrier between us broken to pieces and the river of friendship flooding through to water the parched fields.
FOUR
Felipe joined us at dinner and we had a nice little time. Annie was open and quite chatty once you got past the walls she'd put up. As we were heading out, we ran into Jax. His slightly awkward, but sweet exchange with Annie and her blushing replies had me nudging Felipe and grinning. We said goodbye to her and the three of us headed to the meeting room we'd used the day before. Father Bellini wanted to brief us on the information he'd gathered from the junk in the metal chest.
"Alright," he said after we'd all been seated around the table. "Here's the deal. The information you collected yesterday has confirmed our fears. There are pockets of new vampires all over. They are set up like miniature covens, each with between two and ten vampires, and a collection of humans to use for feeding purposes and potential converts. Task forces like this one are being formed at our other sanctuaries. So far, we have sixteen covens for you to take out."
"Sixteen?" Felipe and Ado's voices held a shrill tone as the shock registered. I found my hand gripping Felipe's leg a little too tight. Jax and Benton had gone pale, and Ronin was crossing himself.
"Sixteen within our jurisdiction alone. Count yourselves lucky. The Americans have it worse."
"Do we know who's doing this?"
Father Bellini shook his head at me as I asked the obvious question. "No, Jane, we do not. But we're certain it's not a single rogue vampire at this point. He, or she, would be dead by now with all the vampires that have been turned."
"Could the new vampires be turning others?" I'd been lucky enough to skip the normally required vampire history lessons, though I'm not sure if they would have covered that anyway.
"No. A vampire is not strong enough to handle that type of blood loss for at least the first two decades of life. This was definitely done by more than one vampire, and they have to be older. It's entirely possible that they're not technically rogue, either."
"You mean they could be in the sanctuary? Or a sanctuary somewhere? Where they're being trusted with important information?"
"We've narrowed down a couple suspects. But we do not have enough evidence on any of them, so we have to keep this all on the down-low for now. Understand?"
He sent a meaningful look around the table and everyone nodded. "Good. Here is your next assignment."
As Father Bellini passed around half a dozen manilla folders filled with papers, I looked at Felipe. His jaw was set in a hard line, his forehead creased in thought. He was looking in my direction, but jumped when I waved my hand in front of his face.
"You ok?" I kept my voice low, hoping no one else at the table would hear, though I saw a couple faces turn in our direction. Stupid vampire hearing.
"Fine." Mumbled through gritted teeth, I knew he was less than fine, but there was no way he would talk about it here, at least not here. I let it go and turned to my folder.
The first paper was a list of expected vampires and humans held at the next coven we were to dismantle. It was more than double the size of the one we'd just taken out. Five vampires and approximately twelve humans. I took a deep breath before turning the page. The next several pages held pictures and dossiers on all those who were confirmed to live at the compound. The humans were only semi-confirmed. Rumor had it that the “blood slave” tally changed frequently. After that came any and all information the prep team could acquire about the building.
It was a large two-story house from the early 19th century, or so I thought. I'm not very good at labeling architecture. In its heyday, it would have been gorgeous. A wide porch wrapped around the front half of the wooden structure on both levels. The stairs leading to the double front doors were located on the corner. Partial towers mirrored each other and you could see the remains of stained glass in the windows. It would be a shame to destroy such a lovely building.
"So what's the plan? Burn it to the ground and wait to see what surfaces?" Jax. Always practical.
"Only in your dreams would it be that easy, boy." Father Bellini spared a grin for the big man, but he wasn't joking. "You can't destroy the house. Even the least little bit. It's in a section of town that's protected as historical."
"Electrical fire, then."
"No, Jax. No fire. And minimal damage to the interior, please. You'll be in a residential area, so there is a high risk of witnesses. You need to be discreet, too."
"Wait, wait, wait. So we need to take out a coven of five vampires and a dozen humans, without damaging the building and avoiding witnesses in an area filled with families? Yeah, that's gonna work." The bitter sarcasm dripped from Ado's words and the sneer on his face could have made God himself cringe.
"You will make it work, Ado." Father Bellini met the sneer with a pleasant smile. "And if you don't, this team can easily be dismantled and shipped to those who have already lost members. Now, does anyone have any questions?"
Silence sat heavily over the room after the tense exchange between Bellini and Ado. "Very well. Ado, Felipe, I'll see you at my office for our meeting later."
He gave us a brisk nod and left the room. We sat around the table for the next half hour, silently reviewing the paperwork in front of us. After he thoroughly examined all the information we had, Felipe closed his folder.
"Ideas?" More than two hours were spent suggesting and dismissing ideas, battle plans, and theories. The dry erase marker Benton used to detail the attack nearly went dead by the time the white board was covered with a workable strategy. Ado, in charge of weapons for the group, went to the armory to fill out the proper request forms with Benton in tow, Ronin left to work on the sermon he was giving that evening, and Jax headed to the lounge, likely hoping to catch Annie as he passed through the dormitory.
Felipe stood in front of the white board, frowning as he looked over our battle plan. He fiddled with the marker, but made no changes. I sat in my chair, watching him until he turned around. I couldn't suppress a smile when he jumped as he saw me, a slight glare marring his face.
"I didn't know you were still here."
"Where would I go?"
He shrugged, letting a grin spread across his lovely lips. He made his way around the table and sat next to me, turning his chair and mine so we were facing each other. He pulled my chair close, so my knees were touching the wood on his. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the arms of my chair. I leaned back, clasping my hands behind my head, trying to affect Felipe's classic smirk. His beautiful, toothy white grin faded and he leaned back.
"I don't want you to go."
"What?" To say I was confused was an understatement.
"I don't want you to go on this mission, Jane. It's not safe."
"Um, duh? None of them are safe. And you can't tell me not to go. You guys are short-handed as it is. Without me, you would be outnumbered three to one. Don't you dare ask me to let you go into that alone."
I gritted my teeth, hating that I was practically begging him. I could feel my voice shaking, my hands trembling. A picture of Steven inexplicably flashed through my mind. Felipe took my hands in his, pressing them tightly together as he kissed them. I kept my eyes on his chest, afraid of letting the tears that were sitting in them fall. I was sure he could see them. It's hard to miss the pink water sitting in a vampire's eyes when they're about to cry.
"Jane," he said, placing a hand on my cheek and forcing me to meet his gaze. "Please don't be upset. You can go. But don't be mad when I worry about you the entire time."
His smile was contagious and he pulled me close. I crawled onto his lap as he wrapped his arms around me. We sat there, snuggling in that uncomfortable chair for I don't know long. I don't know what he thought about, but I kept running through the upcoming battle mentally, worrying a
bout everything that could possibly go wrong, imagining an infinite number of ways I could lose him forever. Eventually, he looked at his watch and sighed.
"I have that meeting with Bellini."
I held him tighter, not wanting to let him go. He returned the squeeze before pressing his lips to my cheek. For the past six months, the kisses had been migrating closer and closer to my lips. The first peck had been after a particularly successful training session. He'd wrapped his arms around me and kissed me near the ear, much like my mother used to do when I was a teenager. This was not that kiss. This time, his lips were so close, I could feel them brush faintly across my mouth as he pulled away. I met his eyes, silently pleading with him for more. For a very tense, very brief moment, I thought I might win, but then he smiled and kissed my nose.
"See you at dinner," he said as he pulled away, set me on my feet, and walked out the door.
I frowned and plopped back into a chair. My emotions were worse than a seaside town after a hurricane. They were in utter chaos. Part of me berated my other self for not remaining completely and unfailingly devoted to Steven til the day I died. Another part was constantly arguing that I'd mourned for six months and that I deserved to find love again. My head thumped (a bit painfully) into my hands and I groaned out loud.
"Jane? Are you ok?" Annie's soft voice made me bounce out of the chair like it was electrified.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just... I dunno. Being stupid, I guess."
"Wanna talk about it?"
I paused, almost saying no automatically. I've had so few friends in my life that my default response when someone asked me how I was was "fine", and "do you want to talk about it" elicited a solid and resounding "no" nine-tenths of the time.
"Yeah, I do, actually. Do you have some time?"
"Absolutely." She seemed more excited to listen to me than I was to talk. Her grin lit her face liked I'd never seen and she slipped her arm in mine. I let her lead me to her office—or more correctly, what I'd assumed was her office, but was really office/residence. She unlocked the door and I followed her in.
Right inside was indeed her office. It was a small anteroom with a desk, a set of metal drawers, and a single chair for visitors. She walked right through the room and opened a door on the other side.
"Come on in," she said, beaming. "It's not much, but it's the first and only home that's been really mine."
Annie had quite the nice little set-up. Her room was twice the size of mine and had a divider installed to separate the space she used as her bedroom from the rest of it. There was an open door to the side that led to a small private bathroom and she had furnished it all with castoffs and thrift store finds. It was really quite lovely. She gestured to a lime green settee and took a seat on an orange recliner. It looked remarkably like the one my grandfather had owned when I was a child.
"Oh," she exclaimed, bouncing to the edge of her seat. "Do you want tea or something? I'm sorry, I should've offered before. I don't usually have guests aside from Father Bellini."
"Tea would be lovely," I said, smiling. Annie was a lot like me—quiet, reserved, but longing for someone to share our lives with. I watched her as she plugged in an electric tea kettle and readied two mugs.
When the tea was done, she returned to her seat, handing me a cup. I sipped carefully. Earl Grey with a bit of sugar and a hint of lemon. Delicious. A slightly awkward silence filled the air for a minute or two as we adjusted to the more personal setting. I decided to break the ice first.
"So," I said, my breath making the steam from the mug near my lips dance across the surface of the tea. "Jax is kinda cute."
Annie's blush crept up her neck, through her cheeks, disappearing into her hairline. "Yeah, he is."
Her grin made it impossible for me not to press the subject. "And he's single, from what I hear."
"Yeah, that's what I hear."
I wiggled my eyebrows at her and she went into a fit of giggles, nearly spilling her tea on her lap.
"I dunno," she said, shrugging shyly. "He wouldn't like a girl like me, anyway. He probably prefers girls like Donna, or you."
I took another sip of tea. "I don't think so. Haven't you seen the way he looks at you? I think he likes you."
"Really? You think so?"
"Mm hmm. I sure do."
When I thought her grin before was the biggest grin possible, I was wrong. The smile she held now literally stretched from ear to ear and I half expected her face to crack open at any moment.
"Maybe we could go on a double-date with you and Felipe, so it wouldn't be too awkward."
I bit my lip, trying to hide my frown, and sipped my tea again. "Yeah, maybe."
"What's wrong? Are you and Felipe having trouble?"
"What? No. We're doing fine... I guess."
"Are you having a lover's spat?"
She said it with a grin, but I literally spit my tea out. As I cleaned it up, I said, "We're not lovers."
"Oh." She was quiet for a minute. "I thought you two were an item. I mean, everyone thinks that. Not just me."
"No, we're not dating. Just friends."
She eyeballed me, her eyes narrow. "You two seem pretty close. And didn't you guys fall asleep on the couch together the other night in the lounge?"
I blushed and stared at the coffee table. "Yeah..."
"But you're trying to tell me you guys aren't together."
"I.. I don't know. I mean, I feel kind of guilty with Steven and all."
"Jane, I know you loved Steven. Love Steven. But he wouldn't want you to be alone for the rest of your hopefully extremely long life. He would hate for you to pine for him and let new love fade just because you feel unnecessary guilt. You and Felipe are great together. You should try to make a go of it."
"You think so? I do really like him. He's just so funny and he's so easy to talk to."
"Yeah, I don't know about that. He's scary. But if you're comfortable around him, you can't let him get away. He seems to really like you, too."
We sat in Annie's room and chatted about boys for a long time. The only thing that stopped us from gabbing through to the next day was my ringing cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Where are you? I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Oh, hey Felipe. I'm hanging out with Annie."
"Really? Cool." I could hear the smile in his voice. "You guys hungry? Me and Jax are starving."
"Sure. Let's go out to eat."
Annie beamed across the coffee table from me, her eyes shining like supernovas and her heart pounding so loud I'm sure they could hear it down the hall.
"Awesome. Meet us at the garage."
I hung up and Annie jumped up, squealing and dancing like a twelve-year-old girl who just found out some famous pop singer would be coming to town. I helped her get ready quickly, then we headed to the garage for our double-date.
FIVE
We had a splendid dinner and afterward we headed to a night club where we danced until the sun began to raise its sleepy head. Then we raced it home, Felipe's driving barely winning the contest. We stumbled, laughing, from the car. Jax was staying in the human dormitory, which was located on the other side of the dining hall, but he walked Annie to her room first. She invited him in and Felipe and I laughed as the door shut behind them before heading back to my room. We stood at the door, as we typically did. The only time he had ever entered was that day months ago when we had to go take out Victoria's captor.
"So, Jax and Annie seem to really be hitting it off," he said, leaning against the door jamb with his classic smirk creeping across his face.
"Indeed they do. They make a really cute couple." I leaned against the inside of the door frame next to him. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable with him for the first time in months. My nails suddenly seemed more interesting and I focused on them, picking at one to try to make it straighter.
"Jane..."
I bit my lip and looked up. His eyes were dark, smoldering, beautiful. He watc
hed my face, his lips slightly parted. I could hear his breathing, slow, steady, and deep, like he was regulating it consciously. My heart thudded in my chest, almost painfully. I felt my breath catch and my skin burn. My mind was a chaotic mess, but my body took charge. Slipping a hand behind his neck, I leaned against him, balancing on the balls of my feet, and pressed my lips to his.
He didn't respond at first and I almost freaked out. For several very terrifying moments, I envisioned locking myself in my room and never leaving. Then I felt his passion mirror mine and his arms slipped around my waist. Both of my hands were on him now, my fingers gliding through his hair. I leaned into him, craving his touch. His tongue passed over my lips and they parted. I backed into my room, dragging Felipe with me.
He took a step forward, then jerked back, pulling away. "No, Jane. Wait."
My heart plummeted to the bottom of my stomach. Dejection rolled over me and my breath grew short. I turned from him, clapping my hand over my mouth. How could I have been so stupid? I reached behind me, fumbling for the door. As I attempted to swing it shut, his hand stopped it. He stepped into the room, grabbing my arm.
"Jane, stop, please."
I turned to face him. Tears had formed in my eyes and I could barely see him through the red blur. He brought a hand up to my cheek, his thumb wiping away a tear that had been jarred loose.
"Silly Jane."
He smiled, his eyes amused and gentle. He slipped his arms around me, pulling me close. I pressed my face against his chest. As my heart and breathing slowed, I laughed. I hadn't been stupid to begin with, but I sure felt like it now. He held me tight, kissing my hair. Once I had calmed down, he pulled away slightly, cupping my chin and lifting my gaze to his. His lips pressed briefly to mine, their warmth racing through me like an addictive drug.
Blood & Tears (Jane #3) Page 3