“We don’t drink human blood,” Valerie announced. The whole room turned to look at her. “Not anymore. Animal meat and blood only.”
Ethan just nodded. “Vegetarians,” he said with respect and understanding. He had heard of such things. He even knew some vegetarians.
“What are you talking about?” Charlie asked. “There’s no reason—“
“No. It’s murder. You will not convince me for a second otherwise. I have already taken too many lives unknowingly. I’ve taken one knowingly. I won’t ever take one again. And I will not allow my children to become murderers.”
“But Mom—“ Harry protested.
“This is not a discussion. I am the parent and I have made a decision. Charlie, if you are to remain with us, you will not drink human blood.” She was staring him straight in the eye.
“What do you mean, if I am to remain with you?” His voice shook.
“I meant just what I said.”
John suddenly slammed his chair into the table. He stormed off into the bathroom and slammed the door. The room went silent.
“I suggest you feed and we get moving,” Ethan said after a moment.
Valerie nodded feeling Charlie’s eyes still staring at her. She refused to meet them. He was the father of her children, her pseudo-husband, so guilt consumed her for threatening to take away his family. But she fought it. Sooner or later the two of them would have to deal with their marriage and the toll taken on it. All she did was set one of her non-negotiable terms. She started to collect the kids’ few items lying around.
Amelia took the clothes and football out of her arms. “You eat first. I’ll get pack,” Amelia said.
Valerie just nodded. As she ate her raw meat, Harry sat on the table swinging his legs and quietly eating his meat without complaint. She didn’t mean it, that’s what Harry told himself. She was just mad at Charlie. Once they were somewhere safe, she would let them drink from humans again. Dad would just have to say he was sorry for everything, and Harry would apologize too for trying to bite that girl’s wrist, and Charlie would stay with them. They were a family. Moms, dads, and kids, they all belonged together. She was just mad, that was all.
John was in the bathroom desperately trying to call Lisa again with the stolen cell phone. But he kept getting the same message. He threw the phone at the tub trying to keep his tears of rage from spilling over. All he wanted to do was talk to Lisa. Tell her he missed her and that he loved her and about everything that had happened. Dr. Venjamin, Sangre Valley, the outside world, his mom threatening to leave his dad. Where the hell did she get off? He was the one who saved her. He was the one who got them all out of Sangre Valley. He fought off Drew and Rhett and that other vampire when they were attacked. Who the hell was this other guy? What gave him the right to say Charlie had done a bad job keeping them safe? Then for Mom to take his side over Dad’s? Charlie was her husband. Wives listened to their husbands. Not to arrogant strangers. What was her ultimatum about blood? If she didn’t want Charlie around, fine. John would go with Charlie. His father could keep him safe. And no matter what he would continue to feed on humans just to spite her.
Charlie sat on the bed staring at Valerie. He had fed when he went out to get the new car and some more money, but his body had gone cold again. After what she did when the sun burnt him, the way she lured that human in, slaughtered him, he thought that she had forgiven him. But there couldn’t be anything farther from the truth. She resented him for forcing her to kill a human. He would make it up to her. He could give up human blood. If that was the first step in repairing their relationship, he would do it. He would do anything to stay with Valerie and the kids. He loved them. She didn’t believe that. But he would make her believe it. Somehow.
Ethan stationed himself by the window to keep watch. He wanted out of this motel room. It wasn’t safe. But Valerie needed to eat before they left. He couldn’t have her fainting again. He wasn’t overly fond of the family drama either. He couldn’t help thinking that the best thing for this woman was to rid herself of her sniveling husband. Her kids—at least the oldest—did not seem to agree. He supposed they had never heard of divorce.
He smelled them before he saw them. Damn it! Six of them. Rhett, Drew, Angus, and three others, all younger, probably only a couple years old in their vampiric life so there would be a stronger bloodlust in them.
“Is there a window in the bathroom?” he asked.
“A small one. Why?” Valerie asked.
“We have company.” He broke the bathroom door down to a very surprised John. There were bars on the small bathroom window. He ripped them out with ease.
“Knock, knock!” Rhett called out before the door came crashing down.
Ethan threw their suitcase out then lifted John up without permission and stuck him through the window.
“Charlie, you always recommended New York. Now I can see why,” Rhett said. Charlie took a defensive stance baring his teeth as his family herded into the bathroom.
“You can’t take us all. You make this easy on me, and I’ll give you a quick death. If I have to fight you, I will make you suffer.”
John wiggled through the window. Ethan lifted Harry next.
“I won’t ever surrender to you,” Charlie snarled. “And if anything happens to my family, I will make sure you’re the one to suffer.”
“I guess we’re going to do this the fun way,” Rhett smirked as Drew and Angus moved around him.
“Amelia, come out, come out, wherever you are!” Drew yelled. Her blood was singing to him again, soprano vibrations were humming throughout his entire body. He felt like a wild animal on a chain. That chain was pulled tight and was choking him. Oh, how he wanted her.
Amelia was already through the window and helping her mother climb down.
“Last chance. They don’t belong to you. You’re not really married to Valerie. You aren’t a father. It was just a job, an experiment.”
Charlie lunged at his once friend.
“Charlie!” Ethan yelled. “Damn it.” He could save the family who were innocent or try to save Charlie who had the information. But before he could make a choice, two young vampires lunged at him. He was knocked against the wall, a set of teeth snapping at his neck, while the dark haired one yelled, “They went out the window!” As Rhett rammed Charlie into a wall, Drew and three other vampires bolted out the door in pursuit of the family. With one arm and burst of strength, Ethan threw the snapping blonde vampire into the tub. He then smashed the other vampire’s head into the mirror shattering it. Blondie had recovered and now had his arm around Ethan’s neck choking him from behind. Trying to strangle a vampire who didn’t have to breathe, dumb bastard. Ethan ripped the wooden towel rack from the wall and drove it through the dark vampire’s heart. The vampire disintegrated into an ashy mess on the floor. With the other vampire still choking him, he rammed his attacker into the wall once, twice, three times before his grip loosened enough for Ethan to throw him off. He stabbed the towel rack through blondie’s chest creating another pile of ash.
Charlie and Rhett were making kindling of the furniture in the room. Charlie landed on the table breaking it in half and reducing the legs to firewood. As Rhett came for him, Charlie threw a chair at him which he batted out of the way as if it was a mere fly. He picked Charlie up by his shirt and threw him into a wall breaking the tacky motel art, but Charlie was quick to recover with a knee to the groin then two fast punches blooding Rhett’s face. A kick to his side brought Rhett down to his knees. Charlie reached for a piece of kindled wood to finish him off, but Rhett had climbed to his feet and delivered a debilitating kick to his lower back. Charlie went flying forward landing on the debris of the table, slivers of wood impaling him. He screamed out in agonizing pain, but at least none of the shards had punctured his heart. Rhett spit out a mouthful of blood and picked a screaming Charlie up over his head and tossed him across the room. He bounced off the wall and fell on the bed as the legs on it gave out.
Ethan could either help Charlie or Valerie and her family. There wasn’t even a decision to be made. He lifted himself through the window.
Valerie and the kids had run.
Chapter Twenty
You Bet Your Life
Soon as she heard the vampire announce that they had made their escape through the window, Valerie ordered her children to run. As they bolted for their dear lives down the alley something happened. Their surrounding blurred yet she was acutely aware of every obstacle. They were moving with lightening speed. Valerie didn’t know how it had happened, but she and the kids had the speed of made-vampires.
“Shit,” she swore coming to an abrupt stop. An alley wall blocked their way.
“Wow. How’d we do that?” Harry asked.
“What now?” Amelia asked.
Valerie looked around. There was a dumpster. A couple of backdoors to businesses, all of them locked. The walls were made of brick. They couldn’t climb them. The sky was lightening. Morning was only moments away. They would be caught in the daylight. She didn’t know what to do.
Drew’s laughter echoed.
“We should have waited for Dad,” John said.
Drew, Angus, and a biker vampire appeared.
“Dr. Venjamin will be very interested in knowing you can move like that,” Drew said. “He’ll think up all kinds of new, fun experiments for you now.”
“Does he know the sun can’t burn us?” Valerie asked with a confident bravado. All three vampires looked to the sky. She had never prayed for the sun to come up so quickly. She didn’t know why, but she knew the sun couldn’t hurt her. But with her children being crossbreeds, maybe it would affect them like it did their father. She just hoped she could bluff the vampires into retreating before she had to find out.
“Bullshit,” Angus said.
“How do you think we got so far so fast? We drove in the daylight. Charlie just had to keep covered,” she lied. “But don’t believe me. Wait here and see for yourself. But you are made-vampires. You will burn. I’d like to see that.”
“She’s lying,” Drew said. The humming emanating from Amelia was so strong, Drew wanted to scream in pain and pleasure. The wild animal was about to break its chain. “Get them.”
“She’s not lying about us,” the biker said. “We can either take cover or burn to death. I ain’t frying for some bitch and her kids.”
Drew looked nervously at the sky. Shadows were already beginning to recede. The sound of Amelia’s blood was deafening, but Drew took a step back to make sure he stayed in the darkness. Valerie took a step forward.
“Mom!” Amelia cried out reaching for her.
Valerie held her hand out so as the shadow retreated the sun would hit her skin. Her kids had their backs against the alley wall trying to do the exact opposite.
“Crazy bitch!” Drew spat then all three disappeared.
With headlights blazing and the horn blaring, a black Mustang drove up. A tinted window rolled down. It was Ethan.
“Get in!”
Chapter Twenty-one
The Things Legends Are Made Out Of
“Where are the rest of them?” Rhett demanded, blood dripping from his mouth. His clothes were ripped and stained with blood—some of it his, some of it Charlie’s—his eyes wild. Charlie had more fight in him than Rhett assumed, but he was still in better shape, the better fighter, and now Charlie was bound in the sole surviving chair, silver handcuffs around his wrists and ankles so he couldn’t break free. His shirt was nearly shredded, bits of wood were still embedded in his chest and arms. The whole left side of his face was swollen and bruised. Blood dripped from a laceration above his eye. Lord knew that he hurt. His whole body ached and prayed for sanctuary from the pain. The sad thing was that he knew he was going to hurt a lot worse. He would long for death by the time Venjamin was through with him.
“They can move like us,” Angus said. “They have speed.”
“So what? Where are they?” Rhett demanded.
“They don’t get burnt by the sun either,” the biker said.
“We don’t know that,” Drew snapped. He was pissed at himself for not taking Amelia when he had the chance. The singing blood had stopped, but oh how he craved it. “But if we called her bluff, we definitely would have been fried.”
They had escaped! They were safe! Charlie no longer cared what became of him. The pain his body felt, it no longer mattered. Let them torture him. Let them kill him. He probably deserved it for what he had done. As long as Valerie and the kids were protected, he would be content. Nothing could hurt him if they were safe.
Rhett grunted and kicked Charlie’s chair. He winced, but it was the happiest wince of his life. “Who was that other vampire with you?”
Charlie spit out a mouth full of blood. “I don’t know.”
Rhett punched him in the mouth. Charlie thought the force of the blow would knock his head right off of his body. “Bullshit. Why was he helping you?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t,” he said with a gurgling laugh.
Rhett responded with another blow. “We’re trapped in this cheap motel room of yours until nightfall. I’m going to have to stay amused one way or another. You’re either going to tell me a very entertaining story about this mystery vampire and where your family has disappeared to, or else I’m going to amuse myself in other ways, mainly with your pain and blood. My methods will be nothing compared to Dr. Venjamin’s tactics. It’s best you talk to me.”
“Kill me. They’re safe. I don’t care what happens to me anymore.”
One, two, three more blows. His teeth felt loose in his mouth, even his fangs.
“Okay,” he coughed. “Okay.”
Rhett took a step back. “Who was the vampire?” he asked very slowly.
“I don’t know—I really don’t,” he said flinching in anticipation of another blow. “He caught Val and the kids’ scent on the street. Vampires with heartbeats. He followed them back to the room. He was curious.”
“What was his name?”
Charlie shook his head. “I don’t know. Jerry, I think. I wanted him gone, but he wouldn’t leave. Valerie . . . she liked him. Trusted him.”
“Why would he help you?”
“He had heard the legends,” Charlie said as if that was the obvious answer. Just as humans had their lore, so did vampires. There were ancient legends about living vampires.
The four vampires froze for a moment. They knew the stories. Why Charlie had never put the legends and Sangre Valley together before, he didn’t know. Maybe because he had never believed in the lore any more than he had believed in God as a human. To him, they were the same thing.
“Where is he taking them?” Rhett demanded. No, Charlie wouldn’t imagine that Rhett believed in the legends anymore than he had. Charlie suddenly wondered what Dr. Venjamin thought of the vampiric myths and if they played a part in his experiments.
Charlie laughed. “I honestly haven’t a clue. But they’ll be safe with him.” That was the truth as much as it pained him to say it. He didn’t like Ethan. He was arrogant and judgmental. He hadn’t lived Charlie’s life yet he felt he could judge the choices he had made. What if Venjamin’s recruiters had captured him twenty years ago instead? Offered him death at the end of a stake or life with no worries about money or food or shelter. What if he had been offered a life that could resemble the one he had before he had been turned? Maybe he would have taken that opportunity too and turned a blind eye to the fact that it was human offering such a thing, ignored the other work the doctor did so he could continue living with the woman he loved and the children he never thought he could have. But Ethan and his organization—whoever they were—knew about Venjamin and his experiment. They could keep his family safe. As much as he didn’t want another man stepping into his role of protector and provider, he wanted his family free of Venjamin.
“He was a believer,” Charlie cont
inued, his truth turning over to lies. “And whether or not the legends are true, he believes them. He will protect them, and you don’t know him so you don’t know what he’ll do or where he’ll go. By nightfall his scent will be lost so you won’t be able to track him or my family. Go ahead. Beat me. Torture me. I won’t talk because I don’t know anything.” Charlie could still lie. Rhett punched the wall in frustration which meant that he believed every word out of Charlie’s mouth.
“Well then, I guess I’ll have to keep amused another way.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Disembodied
Ethan glided the car into the underground parking structure at a speed that made Valerie nervous, but she didn’t say anything. She was thankful for the rescue, the tinted windows, and the dark parking garage. Discreetly she had her eyes on Ethan. When she had awakened from her fainting spell, she had been thunderstruck by the man whose arms she lied in. Maybe she was disoriented from lack of nutrition, but the world had stopped when her eyes had open. No, it wasn’t that the world stopped, it was that the world had disappeared. Nothing existed except them, not even their bodies—she had not felt his hard, cold arms holding her, or seen his rugged, handsome face—just their disembodied souls were present. For a moment she was consumed by bliss and security and wholeness . . . she hadn’t known she wasn’t whole until that moment when her soul met his and she was complete for the first time. In a split second it was gone. Fear for herself and her children filled her, but for very different reasons. Now crammed in the sports car away from the eyes of her children and husband, she had her first opportunity to really study him, to take him in physically.
He was a good six foot five with a strong, muscular build. His shoulders were broad as was his chest. He was massive but in an inconspicuous manner. He wore dark jeans and a long sleeved charcoal T-shirt under a black motorcycle jacket. Causal, unmemorable, an outfit that would allow him to blend in and never really be seen. His hair was thick and a lustrous black. She had images of herself running her hands through its silkiness. She also had images of herself doing other things to him. His face was intense with its set square jaw, high brow, and finely carved cheekbones across which he had three long, jagged scars. She had never seen a vampire with such nasty, prominent scars. Vampires were quick healers. Few injuries could scar them. She couldn’t help thinking that those scars must have been a result of some insidious torture. She wanted to touch those scars too and feel his pain. They did nothing to hinder his attractiveness. If anything they enhanced it. Otherwise he would have been the epitome of perfection. There was something more beautiful about the flawed. His eyes . . . she had never seen eyes like his. They were wide and blue underneath his dark brows. A blue so dark it was nearly black yet undeniably blue. That must be how the ocean looks at night, she thought, that same deep, dark, penetrating azure. She had never seen the ocean before. Now she felt as if she had.
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