by P. A. Lupton
“Wow, there’s a whole other world out there that we know nothing about.” Morrison sat utterly still for a few minutes assimilating the new information, then he stood and walked over to where Nathan and I sat.
“I understand the magnitude of keeping your secret. You are a good man, and I want you to know that I’ll never betray your trust.” He was earnest, patting Nathan on the shoulder. “And lucky for you, I think that was enough questions for one night,” he chuckled, “Good night.”
“Good night, Todd...and thank you.” Nathan response was tinged with surprise. I don’t think he anticipated Morrison’s easy acceptance.
Chapter 20
Saturday passed without incident. I hadn’t received any more threatening phone calls, no one was murdered, and we hadn’t been shot at again, so, overall, it was an okay day. Tension and strain increased among the three of us, it frayed at my already fragile nerves. Not only was my stomach churning from my own anxieties, but as an empath, I had to contend with Nathan and Morrison’s as well. During the day, we were distinctly more relaxed since the killer was unable to attack anyone. By nightfall, however, I broke out the wine attempting to dull my agitation.
Nathan and I were cosseted by the fireplace enjoying a glass of wine when I finally worked up enough courage to ask him about his feedings. “Nathan, I was wondering about something you said to Morrison last night.”
“I thought you might be.” He grinned with restrained amusement and arched an eyebrow. “I am fairly certain I can guess which part piqued your curiosity.”
“Is that so? Okay smarty pants, which part?”
He turned to me, tracing a finger gently along my jaw, “You are curious—and perhaps a little... jealous, when I mentioned that feeding on mortals was akin to a sexual experience for them.”
“Well...yes. I don’t mean to pry, but is it sexual for you as well?” I asked meekly.
“That is a difficult question to answer. Obviously there is a certain… intimacy while feeding.”
I tried not to let him see any of the disappointment I felt over his admission. ”Oh.”
“However, it was never sexual for me, until you. Before I met you, I fed from a different person every day, and I fed indiscriminately among men and women. Until you, I have never made love to a person I have fed from either. In fact, I have not been sexually active in almost forty years.” His words were as soothing as they were shocking. Forty Years?
“So, how many women have you fed from...recently?” the question was hesitant, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
“Just you. And I must say I am grateful that you like it, because you have ruined me for feeding on anyone else”. He wore a wry grin as he ran his finger along the end of my nose. “I have no desire to bite anyone, except you.”
My mouth curved in response. “That’s a huge understatement you know.”
“What is?”
“I don’t like it when you feed from me... I love it. And maybe it’s selfish, but I have no desire to have you sink your teeth into another woman.”
He had a mischievous look on his face when he turned to me. “You know, I am feeling rather peckish right now.”
“Oh... well we don’t want you going hungry on us now, do we.” We both laughed as he carried me toward the bedroom.
***
The strain in the air was palpable, and even more intense on Sunday than it was on Saturday. The deadline the killer had imposed was Sunday. If we refused to reverse the binding spell we cast, then he promised to find another victim and another until we did. Nathan, Morrison, and I disagreed about whether we should reverse the ritual.
“What if he kills someone else? Could we live with ourselves?” Nervously, I picked at my nails as I voiced my worries aloud.
“What if we reverse the spell and he decides he wants even more power. What if he calls you and tells you that you have to turn yourself over to him or he’ll keep killing people until you do?” Morrison’s argument was logical and difficult to refute.
“I think the two of you should calm down a little, you are both getting extremely riled up. Brianna, governments refuse to negotiate with terrorists for a reason. It always leads to more demands. This man is essentially a terrorist. If we allow him to bully us, what is to stop him from making another demand, and then another?” He asked, gaze boring into mine. “He could try to force you to locate your family for him next, ask you to hand them over to their slaughter. When would it end? I agree with Todd, we cannot give in to his stipulations.”
Reluctantly, I had to admit they both made valid points. Still, I felt accountable. I didn’t want another murder on my conscience. Sitting around and waiting to be called in on another homicide was agonizing. I was so frustrated at the feeling of impotency in this situation. We had no idea how to find the killer. He seemed to be always one-step ahead of us.
In the midst of my self-recriminating pity party, I heard the buzzer for elevator. Nathan and Morrison both sauntered over to the monitor to see who was there.
“Wow, she’s hot!” Morrison whistled appreciatively while looking at the monitor to see who was downstairs.
“That is my private investigator, please behave yourself Todd.” Nathan was clearly entertained by Morrison’s reaction. I was not pleased about another encounter with the two faced private investigator that hated my guts but pretended to be sweet.
“You didn’t tell me that your PI was a babe?” Morrison accused.
Nathan shrugged a shoulder. “I did not feel her looks were pertinent to her abilities.”
“Man, you are old.” Morrison chortled as he went to the door to greet Miss Benet.
Nathan moved beside me and wrapped his arm around me. I appreciated the gesture—a display for Miss Benet’s sake. “I think it would be best this time if you put your guards up with Miss Benet. She will most likely be surprised to see you here on a Sunday.” He whispered right before the doorbell rang. He didn’t need to tell me twice, one impenetrable shield coming up.
Morrison opened the door for Lisa Benet and she looked taken aback at the company, apparently she expected to find Nathan alone on Sunday afternoon. No such luck.
“Hello Lisa, this is a surprise.” Nathan greeted politely. “Please come in. This is Agent Morrison of the FBI, and I believe you remember Agent Reece.” He introduced politely.
Morrison cast Lisa his most sultry, come-hither smile and extended his hand. “Please call me Todd, after all it is the weekend and I’m off duty.” He winked at her.
Pig. I rolled my eyes at him. He couldn’t seem to help himself, a constant incorrigible flirt, but Lisa gave as well as she got. “Okay Todd... you can call me Lisa.” She purred, while intentionally holding onto Morrison’s hand for longer than a simple greeting dictated.
I have to admit I was slightly bothered at seeing Morrison flirt with her. Even so, the more I thought about it, if she liked Morrison maybe she’d give up on her feelings for Nathan. With any luck, if something sparked between the two of them she would stop hating me.
Lisa pulled her hand and her head bobbled between Nathan and me. For just an instant I saw the flicker of venom in her eyes, before she composed herself and the bogus smile returned.
“Agent Reece, it’s very nice to see you again, though I must say I didn’t expect to see you here this afternoon.” Her tone was icy, incongruent with the smile on her face.
Nathan and I were still trying to keep our relationship quiet so it wouldn’t get back to anyone in the FBI, but I couldn’t help my instinctive reaction to stake my claim. I wrapped an arm territorially around Nathan’s waist. “Well Miss Benet, Nathan and I spend a lot of our free time together.” I returned her disingenuous smile. Although the two of us were outwardly pleasant, it was purely superficial, and the tension that hung in the air was thick.
“Lisa, come in and have a seat.” Morrison interrupted the awkward silence that suddenly filled the room. Tugging gently on her arm, he led her to the couch.
I beamed at Nathan. He had just effectively wiped the self-righteous look from her face, and he did it without striking her. Way to go.
“All right then, maybe we could sit down at the dining table.” She followed Nathan as he led us all there. Morrison, of course, rushed to pull out her chair and made certain to sit beside her. He was obviously smitten with Miss Benet. Lisa pulled out a file folder from her brief case and slowly laid out the contents. Carefully, she placed photos of a young girl, about twenty years old, in front of us all on the table. The girl had striking blue eyes, creamy smooth skin, and brunette hair styled in an adorable pixie cut. She was stunningly eye-catching, but the moment I saw the photograph the hair at the back of my neck bristled, goose bumps spread across my arms.
“I’ve located another member of the Garner family.” She declared, proudly.
“Excellent work Lisa.” Nathan commended. “How did you locate her?”
“A few weeks ago I interviewed Susan Marcone’s landlord regarding any visitors he may have seen. He described a young woman who came to her apartment, often. He had no idea who the woman was but described her to me, and based on his depiction I thought she could be connected. I gave him my number and he promised to contact me if he saw the girl again. I received a call last week that she’d contacted him asking if there were any personal effects or photographs left behind in Susan’s apartment. She told him she was family. He gave me her contact number and I checked her out.”
“Who is she?” I asked, fingering the photo.
“Her name is Hayley Johnson, and she had recently relocated to Santé Fe close to where Sherri and Susan lived.”
“Were you able to confirm if she’s a relative?” Morrison asked, taking the photo from me.
“Yes, I met with Hayley. Apparently, her mother told her about her family before she died. After her mother passed, Hayley found Susan. I gathered some hair from her brush and a razor from her shower.” Lisa handed a piece of paper to Nathan. “I had the lab run a DNA sample and it’s been confirmed.”
He handed me the lab test that proved she was my cousin. I was speechless for a few minutes while I fought to get a grip on my emotions. This was the first cousin we had located who was still alive. Suddenly, I was overcome with fear at the thought of the killer finding this girl. “Nathan, we can’t let him get to her.” I whimpered, desperately.
Reaching for me, he laced his fingers through mine under the table. “Please do not worry. We will locate her before he does.”
“Nathan, what are we going to do? If I go to her I could lead the killer right to her, but if we leave her alone he could find her and kill her.” None of the options were promising.
“First, we need to remain calm. I know that it is difficult, but we need to think about the situation rationally and not let our feelings cloud our judgment. I think I should go and meet Hayley—”
“What?” I shouted, interrupting his ideas. “We can’t separate, you said it yourself that we should stay together.” I was terrified of him going off on his own and getting himself killed.
“I will wait until dawn. My plane will fly me to Santé Fe where I will meet Hayley and bring her to a safe location. She will remain in hiding with one of my body guards until this situation is resolved. You and Todd continue working—see if you can locate him. I will be back before nightfall. I have an advantage. The killer cannot tolerate the sun, so it gives me the time necessary to get Hayley to safety.” I hated to admit his plan made good sense. As long as he was back before nightfall we’d all be safe.
I let out a deep resigned breath. “I guess it makes sense, but do you think she’ll be safe for tonight?”
“There is no other alternative. We need time to prepare, and we need to stay together during the evening.” Nathan was level headed and reasonable, and truthfully it was nice to have someone to help me shoulder the burden.
“God, I feel so trapped. After this is over I want to go out, I’m going a little stir crazy cooped up all the time.” I whined.
Morrison and Nathan laughed. Morrison glanced at Lisa who observed Nathan and my interaction silently, and with interest. “Lisa, why don’t you join us, since we’re stuck here for the night?” Morrison invited.
I could kill Morrison. The last thing I wanted was to spend my night with this two faced woman who hated my guts. “Morrison, I’m sure Lisa has plans,” I cut in before she could respond, hoping she’d take the hint. “We don’t want to keep her.”
No such luck. “Actually, Brianna, I have no plans tonight and I would love to spend some time with you, Todd.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him, shamelessly.
Just perfect. The woman absolutely grated on my nerves, and it wasn’t just the incessant flirting with both Morrison and Nathan that got to me. I was shielding like a son-of-a-bitch and I could still feel her hatred and jealousy stabbing through my shield. It was difficult to be nice to a woman who resented me so intensely. I pulled Morrison aside at one point when Lisa had trailed after Nathan into the kitchen.
“Why the hell would you invite that woman to stay for dinner?” I spat at him.
“What do you mean? She’s really nice.” He said confused by my outburst.
“I think she has a thing for Nathan, and she abhors me. Every time we’re together the only thing I feel is her loathing. How would you like to spend the night like that?”
“Well how was I supposed to know, she’s being very pleasant. Are you sure?” He asked while narrowing his eyes, doubtfully.
I glared at him while restraining the urge to cuff him in the head. “Well I can see you’ve been taken in by her obvious charms.”
He laughed, “Are you jealous of her Reece?”
“Don’t be stupid, I just don’t trust her.”
“Reece, I know these past few weeks have been difficult for you, but take it from a guy, you have absolutely nothing to worry about where Nathan is concerned. He doesn’t look at her as anything other than a friend and a business associate. With you though, he practically glows when you walk in the room—it’s actually a little sickening to watch. I felt it the first day we met him in his office, there was something between the two of you.” He chucked me fondly under the chin. “Trust me.”
His words eased my anxiousness and self-doubt. “Thanks Morrison.”
“Don’t mention it.” He smiled. “And I mean...Really don’t mention it. I don’t want the other agents to think I’ve gone soft, so keep this touchy-feely crap between you and me.”
“God forbid someone else discovers what a sweetheart you actually are. Don’t worry your asshole image is safe with me.” Chuckling, I winked at him and left him standing there.
After dinner, Nathan and I were alone in his room. “Are you going to tell Hayley what you are?” I asked tentatively.
“I may not have to. It sounds as if her mother has already somewhat prepared her, she knew enough to find Susan.” He reminded me.
“Yes, well just promise me one thing.”
He stared at me intently. “Anything.”
“Don’t bite her.”
He barked out a laugh. “I thought we already discussed this.” He managed to get out in between laughs.
“Yes, well I just remember how you proved your nosferatu status?” I arched a brow at him.
“As I recall, you told me to bite you.” He growled in my ear, evocatively.
“Well I certainly didn’t think you’d take me up
on the offer. But I suppose you assumed since you’d taken me out for dinner I owed you a meal.” I teased.
“No, you were just so stubborn I had to do something to get through to you. As for Hayley, remember, she is from the generation of Garner witches that all seem to possess some form of intrinsic, natural gift. That coupled with her mother’s word I believe will be enough to convince her.”
“Okay then...” I stared at the envelope in my hands.
“Um Nathan, I was wondering if you could pack something to take with you.”
“What?” he asked curiously.
The envelope contained a letter I’d written earlier to Hayley, I handed it to Nathan. “Can you give this to Hayley for me please?”
“Of course I will. Do you mind if I ask what it is?” he eyed it speculatively.
“I wrote her a letter. Odd, I know, having never actually met her. But knowing she’s family, I just wanted to reach out to her. It sounds like she’s all alone. It was just her and her mother, and then after her mother died she found Susan, and then she died too.” I swallowed the lump that had caught in my throat.
“Brianna.” His eyes softened as he looked down at me.
“After my father died, I felt like I was alone in the world,” I continued. “Luckily, I met you and I no longer felt alone anymore. I just wanted her to know that there is someone here for her. After this killer no longer poses a threat, I invited her to come and stay with me so we can get to know each other.” I shrugged feeling a little embarrassed, and overly sentimental.
Nathan’s face held an expression I couldn’t decipher. I felt my cheeks redden with discomfort. “On second thought, maybe the letter was a silly idea.”
“I think it is a wonderful gesture.” He pulled the envelope out of my reach when I attempted to take it back.
“You do?”
“Yes I do. You...are...the...most...amazing...compassionate...woman...I...have...ever...met.” he said while punctuating each word with a gentle, caress of his lips, before finally taking my mouth in a melting, all- consuming kiss. His tongue plundered the warm, wet depths of my mouth as if he were conquering. A strangled moan escaped my lips as the desire he stirred in me continued to increase in intensity and surge throughout my body. No one had ever made me dissolve the way Nathan did with just one single kiss.