by Kim Schubert
Blake huffed, throwing his hands up. “You lack all tact, Olivia,” he informed me.
Logan cracked a rare smile before going to get himself ice cream.
“We convinced him to drop her off at home and come out with us,” Jane said. “She is a grown adult and I don’t suppose this is the first time she has been drunk.”
I giggled and Kass gave a belly laugh before covering her mouth when Darren looked back at us.
Logan didn’t even bother turning around, shaking his head while paying for his ice cream.
Once everyone was settled, we fell into companionable silence, Hannah sitting on Kass’s lap. Taking Lorraine out of the situation had created a soft, comfortable environment, which was one of the things I like most about shifters - their ability to integrate any other species into their clans.
When Jane spoke up, she took me completely off guard. “Who is running the southeastern branch of the shifters?” she asked.
Logan and Darren shared an equally annoyed look with each other before Logan spoke up, “I am.”
“Along with the entire US?” Lee questioned.
Logan stopped eating while regarding them both and replied, “Yes.”
“Why?” Jane asked, staring pointedly at her sons.
I cleared my throat, “I made Darren choose.” I said, hoping to take the heat off of them, “After the incident with Steven, I was worried about Hannah’s safety.”
“I could see why.” Lee said, “But now that he is taken care of why is Darren not reinstated?”
“It’s fine, Mom and Dad. I’ve started a private security company and we are doing well for the short time we have been in business,” Darren said, not looking at his brother as he forced a smile.
I felt Kass’s sadness at his statement as she looked over to Logan who wasn’t looking at anyone.
Blake’s chair scraped against the tile as he stood up and said, “I’m sorry to run out, but I have a matter to take care of back at the house.” He pulled my chair out and I watched him closely, doubting the truth of his story.
“Call me tomorrow to go look at the dress again. Nice to meet you both,” I said to Jane and Lee turning to follow Blake’s stiff gait out.
I waited until we had pulled away and were down the road before I asked, “Do you really have house business?”
Blake sighed ,running a hand over his face, “Yeah, I have to go deal with Angelina’s master who is coming into town. I got distracted by everything and almost forgot.” He reached over to squeeze my hand reassuringly.
“Need me to come with? Deal with killing Gabrielle?” I asked.
“No.” He answered quickly, suppressing a laugh, “I don’t need you killing anyone else.”
I shrugged, looking at the window, looking forward to getting some sleep, even if it would be alone.
…
I spent a long while in Blake’s bed when I woke up, thinking about how turbulent our budding relationship had been and hoping it would withstand all the pressures. A dark voice from my past whispered that wasn’t possible and that eventually he would see how broken and damaged I was and realize that he could do so much better.
I pushed those thoughts away when Kass called, “Hey.” I greeted her, sitting up in bed to answer the phone sleepily.
“Are you still sleeping?” She asked shocked.
“Naw, just pretty unmotivated today.” I confessed.
She laughed and said “Think you can get over here in an hour?”
“Yep.” I answered “See you soon.”
…
I was early at Kass’s playing with Hannah and her new my little ponies when Jane arrived.
“Grandma!” Hannah cried out, running to greet her. “What’d you bring me?” Hannah asked, jumping up and down.
Leaning against the couch, I laughed as Kass tried to explain why that wasn’t an appropriate thing to say to a toddler.
“We have lots of time to make up for.” Jane said pulling out a new toy.
Hannah jumped in excitement before making Kass unpack it in the kitchen.
“Hello, Olivia,” she greeted me.
“Hi Jane,” I answered, smiling. “You are going to spoil her.” I said.
“Probably.” She agreed with a shrug, “But that is the joy of being a grandparent.”
Kass came back without Hannah and her purse. “Ready to go?” The guys are taking Hannah fishing.”
“Yep.” I said, pushing off the floor following her to her car. I let Jane have the passenger seat and I could tell Kass was nervous with her, even though she was thus far awesome.
“Tell me about your dress, Kass,” Jane said as we pulled out of the driveway.
Kass sent her a single quick glance at Jane before fidgeting in her seat.
“Have you picked out a dress?” Jane asked, her eyes not leaving Kass who blew out a shaky breath.
Kass sent a look back at me in the rearview mirror. I had no idea how to help, so I kept my mouth shut, which didn’t happen very often.
“No,” Kass finally answered. “I haven’t looked at dresses.”
“Oh dear girl why not?” Jane asked.
Kass shrugged and I felt her sadness before she sucked in a shaky breath. “As foolish as it is, I was hoping my mom would be coming into town,” Kass said, clearing her throat.
“Oh,” Jane said, casting a look back at me.
I didn’t know much about Kass’s family life. What I did know was that her mom had and possibly still had a drug problem. She had left Kass to fend for herself when she was fifteen years old and despite that or maybe because of that, Kass had not only survived but thrived.
“Do you want me to find her, Kass?” I asked gently from the backseat, leaning up to squeeze her shoulder reassuringly.
“No,” Kass said pulling her tears back, “I know where she is.”
I raised an eyebrow, opening my mouth to voice my next question.
“And no, Olie,” she said with a half-laugh, “I do not want you to drag her here either.”
I smiled, “The offer stands.”
“Would you like to look at dresses today?” Jane offered.
“If we have time, yes, I’d love to.” Kass stated as we pulled into the parking lot. She dried her eyes and blew out a breath before giving us both a smile.
“Let’s get a look at Olie’s dress first,” she said as we got out of the car.
“Sure.” I said, giving her a side hug, which she leaned gratefully into.
We had the same exceptionally happy sales lady as before, who was thrilled to hear we also wanted to look at wedding dresses and mother of the groom dresses.
Standing on the stage, I turned as Jane analyzed my dress. She pulled at the slit up my hip. “You are okay with that much skin showing?” she asked.
“Yeah, it gives me room to kick in case I have to throw down,” I answered her.
“You expect trouble?” Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Trouble follows Olie around just looking for a prime opportunity to strike,” Kass said, sitting on a sofa.
“That’s pretty accurate,” I agreed.
Jane shrugged, pulling on the cross over top. “It’s simple, yet elegant with a few key pieces of jewelry and a new hair color, I think it’s stunning.”
Kass preened at her praise as I turned around, smiling at her, “This the winner?” I asked.
“Yes, this is a winner,” she agreed.
Their excitement was contagious as I changed back into my normal clothing and ordered my size.
“That’ll arrive in six to eight weeks,” the grinning sales lady informed me.
“That’s not going to work. I need it in two to three weeks,” I informed her.
She blinked at me rapidly, looking back down at her papers, “I can put a rush on it, but it will cost double.”
I managed not to voice my groan as I handed over my credit card. Talk about a buzz kill. Slapping a forced smile on my face, I went to Kass as she began p
ouring through white, cream, and fluffy wedding dresses.
The saleswoman came over periodically to take the current winners to her dressing room, which must have been overflowing at this point.
When both Jane and Kass had finally exhausted the reserves of the store, I took a seat on the couch, waiting for each of them to wow me with their outfits.
Jane was out first in a tasteful and very conservative pastel green dress with suit jacket. I wrinkled my face in the mirror and she laughed. She said, “I feel far too old in this one,” before heading into the changing room.
Kass came out next in a pure white, floor length dress with a dropped waist, off the shoulders straps and delicate bead work all over. “Wow!” I said, getting up to help her on the stage. “You look amazing in that dress!” Indeed, her light olive skin set was a perfect contrast to the white.
“Don’t let her change!” Jane demanded from the dressing room.
“Let’s add a veil,” the saleswoman offered, pulling out a beaded vail to tuck into Kass’s curly hair.
“Wow,” I said again. “Do you like it?” I asked.
Kass smoothed down her dress as Jane made a hasty exit, stopping in wonder.
“Oh darling,” she began taking Kass’s hands, “You are a vision.”
Kass smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. She said, “But it’s the first one.”
“I know, but it’s my favorite.” Jane said, wiping a tear away. “I am so excited for you to marry my son.” She whispered. “You are so wonderful with Hannah and I know you and Darren will do well by our new grandbaby as well.”
Kass smiled giving a tearful, “Thank you.”
I watched it all with a gentle smile. “Alright dress number two from both of you,” I demanded. Their emotions were sweet, but were making me uncomfortable.
Nothing Kass tried on even held a candle to the first dress and I told her such repeatedly until at last she tried it on again.
Jane had decided on a pale pink satin sleeveless dress with delicate embroidering on the short jacket and hem. We both sat while Kass tried on her dress again, glowing with excitement as she exited the dressing room.
“You guys really like this one the best?” she asked, stepping onto the platform turning around.
“You look radiant, dear,” Jane said, fluffing out her train.
“Olie?” She asked, looking for me in the mirror uncertainly.
I gave her a soft smile, going to stand in front of her pulling the veil around her shoulders. “You always look beautiful and radiant Kass,” I started, softly looking into her bright brown eyes, “But this dress, like Darren make you happy and for that reason alone I think it’s the one,” I told her honestly.
She wrapped her arms around me, holding me close while trying to fight back tears. “Thank you.”
“So does that mean we have a winner?” The saleswoman asked hopefully.
“Yes, we will take it all, veil and jewelry,” Jane said handing over her credit card.
“Jane – no you don’t have to do that,” Kass said, reaching for her.
“I am well aware I don’t have to my dear, but I want to,” Jane said, taking her hand. “Let’s get you changed. I don’t know about you two, but I could eat a horse.”
Chapter 13
Checking out took forever and at the mention of food, I was salivating. Finally, we headed out without our dresses as we all had fitting appointments where they would be needed again.
We had just sat down with our sandwiches when Blake called.
“Hey,” I greeted him, happy to hear from him, but also ready for bad news.
“I need your help with missing vampires in Oklahoma. Can you be at home in an hour?” He asked. The background noise was loud and distracting.
“It will be tight, but I think I can do it,” I told him warily.
“Great,” he said, ending the call. I looked at my phone with too many emotions and thoughts swirling around my head.
“Everything okay?” Kass asked, not having the advantage of shifter hearing.
“Yeah, Blake asked me to tag along to Oklahoma to investigate missing vampires,” I told her, stowing my phone again.
Kass nodded, “This is your third time there?”
“Yep, something isn’t right,” I muttered. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to make that jump of logic.
…
I picked up my car from Kass’s, said goodbye to everyone, and was packed before Blake rushed through the door.
“Olie!” he called out.
“Up here,” I yelled back.
He cleared the steps with his vamp speed, “I don’t plan on being there long,” he said, raising an eyebrow at my full bag as I kissed him.
I shrugged. “You never know, I feel better having my stuff with me,” I answered him as he threw a few things into a small bag.
“You ready?” he asked, picking up my bag easily.
“I think so. I just need to take some weapons out of my car,” I answered, following him downstairs.
Opening up the back of my SUV, Blake whistled. “Just a few weapons?” He asked.
I shrugged. “You never know what you are going to need.”
“Maybe we should just take your vehicle.” He laughed as I tossed him the keys.
Sliding into the passenger seat, Blake handed me the files of the missing vamps. “How many went missing?” I asked, shocked at the thickness of the files.
“Six, that we know of, one was from the Centennial House,” He answered, pulling out of the drive.
“Any of the other houses coming out to investigate?” I asked, opening the first file.
“Yes, they have already sent their liaisons out, but he didn’t find anything,” he stated, adding under his breath, “which isn’t surprising.”
“Why isn’t that surprising?” I asked, skimming the information in the file.
“The Mason house isn’t known for their ability to handle house matters well,” Blake answered. “In the last ten years, there have been at least two Masters that I know of.”
I whistled. “That’s a high number for vampires,” I stated.
“I know, which is why we have to go babysit them.” He grunted.
I shrugged, looking out the window as the city fell away, “Honestly, I would be going back again, something isn’t right in that damn state.”
I read the rest of the files on our way out there. The vampires were exceptionally thorough with phone logs for the last week along with interviews with familiars, who were the more modern and well treated form of a pet. There were statements from their banks, along with additional interviews with their house members.
“Nothing seems out of the ordinary,” I muttered, putting the files down rubbing my burning eyes.
“Agreed,” Blake growled.
“Why were they in Miami?” I asked.
“That I do not know, but I plan to find out,” he informed me.
As we neared town, Blake asked me, “Check into the hotel first or head to the scene of the disappearance?”
“Hotel,” I stated confidently, “The last thing you want to do is check in bloody or slimy or answer questions from prying, nosey eyes.”
Blake cracked a smile and said, “You have experience with all of those?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” I answered him. “I had to convince the police I was a stunt woman for an upcoming horror movie.”
Blake laughed and said, “I can’t believe they bought that line.”
I smiled and said, “They wanted to believe it, they were at the end of their shift and it didn’t take more than a nudge to have them on their way.”
The hotel Blake stopped at was far nicer than anything I was use. I whistled as we pulled up.
“We are doing this in vampire style,” he said proudly before exiting the car.
I shook my head following him in as he took care of the arrangements. The marble floor and delicate arch work of the lobby were by far out of my price ran
ge, not to mention the butlers who were looking for our luggage.
Blake sent me a look and I shook my head, best to keep our limited belongings on us in case we needed a change of clothing or a quick getaway, also learned that lesson the hard way.
The sun had set and darkness hung in heavy shadows between the limited street lights that disappeared altogether as we drove from the hotel and to the site of the disappearances.
“How did you find out about his location again?” I asked the hairs on the back of my neck standing up with unease as we excited my SUV. We moved to the back to gather supplies.
“One of the missing vampires had it written down in their phone and we were able to hack the app,” he answered, taking inventory of my weapons collection.
I began by strapping throwing knives to my thighs, followed by a double shoulder harness, and my guns loaded with silver bullets. I rounded out the outfit with my favorite dagger in the small of my back before I looked back up at Blake.
He was watching me with humor, “Baby, I’ll take care of you,” he teased, wrapping an arm around my waist.
I smiled up at him and said, “Never hurts to be ready for the worst.” I informed him grabbing my head lamp and flashlight.
He leaned down to capture my lips in a tender kiss before closing the back of the SUV, pocketing the keys. His demeanor changed to that of a predator in a quick movement and I followed him, turning on just my headlamp and not the high powered flashlight in my hand so I wouldn’t interfere with his night vision.
“How far are we from Grove?” I asked Blake, pushing through the thick, dense, undergrowth.
“Thirty minutes,” he responded. “I don’t understand what six vampires would be doing out here. We are not the camping type.” He grunted pushing away another bush.
I laughed, picturing Blake and Tate around a campfire.
Pulling out my phone, I called O’Conner’s precinct as Blake pushed ahead of me faster and more agile.
“Can I tell him who is calling?” asked the woman who had previously referred to me as a prostitute.
“Hooker turned snake charmer,” I told her a smile on my lips.