“What’s happening?” she asked, her voice quivering in fear.
He set Thea away from him and reached for the clothes he had tossed to the foot of the bed. “Get dressed, my love. It’s time for you to leave.”
“Leave?”
“Yes, we’ve just had a warning that the big quake we’ve been expecting for quite some time may be close at hand.”
THEA FOLLOWED Jerome’s lead and dressed quickly. For the past twenty-four hours, whenever she had thought of her freedom, Jerome had always been a part of the picture in her mind. Now, it seemed he wanted her out of his life. Well, no way was she going to make it easy for him to get rid of her. Especially not after the last couple of hours they had spent together. She planted her hands firmly on her hips and stepped in front of Jerome.
“And just where do you intend to send me? If you think you can continue to direct my movements you’re—”
Jerome cut off her words with a kiss. A deep kiss. Then he laughed, as if she had just told him the funniest joke ever. “Thea, my sweet, have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you’re angry?”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Yes.”
“Why, you—”
“You’re even more beautiful when you huff and puff like the big bad wolf.”
Thea let out an exasperated sigh and flopped down on the bed.
Jerome plopped down next to her and took her hands in his. “Do you think I’m trying to get rid of you?”
Thea didn’t answer.
“I want you away from here, away from danger, before the earthquake we’re expecting, strikes. I have another house fifty miles north of here where you’ll be safe. Gordon keeps it pretty much ready for occupancy on a moment’s notice.”
It was her turn now to turn the tables on Jerome by telling him what it pained her to say aloud. “I can’t stay here forever, no matter how much I want to be with you. I have a child to consider. I should really get in touch with Angela as soon as possible and make arrangements to go home.”
Jerome drew her to his chest. His heart beat as rapidly as hers and she felt the torrent of emotion that filled him. He spoke softly into her ear. “I don’t want you to leave. We belong together. Call your friend and have her bring your little girl here. I’ve never had a child of my own, but I promise I’ll be a good father to her.”
Another tremor shook the bed. Jerome lifted her hands to his lips. “If things were different—if I was different—I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, but I can’t leave here. The Whitcombe Legacy demands that I stay here now more than ever.”
Thea understood Jerome’s dilemma; the magnitude of his duty. If she wanted to be with him, she would have to be the one to make changes, to rearrange her life. It was an easy decision to make for herself. She could leave the business in Atlanta to Sammy and open another office wherever she was. But what about her responsibility as a mother?
“I have no fear for myself, Jerome, but I do have to think about my daughter. I can’t bring her into an area that could be in shambles any day now.”
“The other house is far enough away that it will not be affected by an earthquake here. That’s why the location was chosen.” He brought her fingers to his lips again. “You do trust me to keep both you and your daughter safe, don’t you?”
Yes, of course she did. “I’ll call Angela and have her bring Casey to me.”
“I’ll make it up to you, Thea. I swear,”
She slipped her hands from his and cupped his face. “Just keep loving me.”
He put his hands over hers and looked deeply into her eyes. “For as long as I live.”
JEROME ROLLED to his side and threw his arm across Thea. Only Thea wasn’t there. Her side of the bed had already cooled. He jumped out of bed, took a quick shower and dressed, then checked his cell phone for messages.
They had been in the new house only a week, but already they considered it home. Angela had arrived a few days earlier with Thea’s daughter, Casey, a beautiful child with whom he had immediately bonded.
Yesterday was the first Christmas he had celebrated as a family since he was a teenager. Ella and Dennis had put on a Christmas dinner that would rival any San Francisco five-star restaurant.
The smells that greeted him on his way to the kitchen announced that breakfast today would be another of those physical pleasures he was learning to enjoy once again. He breathed in deeply. Bacon, eggs, biscuits. He threw open the kitchen door.
Thea finished pouring orange juice for Casey and hurried over to give him a good morning kiss. “I was just about to come for you.”
He slipped an arm around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Beat you to it.” He grinned, greeted the others in the dining area, strode over to Casey and planted a kiss on the top of her head. It amazed him as much as it did Thea how he had so easily fallen into the fatherhood role.
He waited until Ella had poured coffee for him before he broke his latest news to Thea. “I need to make a trip to Washington State.”
Thea refilled hers and Angela’s coffee cups. “When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Is the trip a secret mission or do I get to ask why you’re going?”
He could tell there was a seriousness in Thea’s question that belied her attempt at lightheartedness. Even though she hadn’t had a narcolepsy attack in weeks and the jeweled bracelet never left her arm, he knew she would remain fearful until there was absolute proof once and for all that Zurik was destroyed. And with Casey now back in her care, that fear had doubled.
“There’s nothing secretive about it at all, my love. Michael left a message on my cell phone this morning. It seems the lab he uses in New Orleans to manufacture Chemi-Plas has suffered a power failure. It looks to be temporary, but in the meantime, Jonah’s supply needs to be replenished.” He downed the last of his coffee and sat back while Ella refilled his cup.
Thea crinkled her brows. “What does that have to do with you?”
“We have an ample supply of Chemi-Plas here in San Francisco. I can spare enough to meet Jonah’s needs until New Orleans is back on-line. I don’t like being away from here at this particular time, but neither do I want to rely on a commercial delivery.”
“There’s no one else who could take it?”
“Ordinarily I would send Gordon, but he has his hands full testing a new software program on top of his other duties. And remember, since our move here, he’s working from two separate offices.” He took the platter of biscuits Ella held out to him, put two on his plate, and handed the platter to Angela.
Angela took a biscuit and passed the platter to her left as she asked, “Where is Jonah?”
“In a small town not far from Mt. Saint Helens.”
“I could bring it to him.”
Thea’s head snapped up. “That would be miles and miles out of your way. Aren’t you supposed to visit your sister in Oklahoma on your way home?”
“Yes. But it’s not like I don’t have the time to take a little side trip. I’m not due back in Mobile until the middle of January, and my sister won’t mind if I delay my arrival a few days. Driving is relaxing to me. I enjoyed the trip here very much. It was fun, wasn’t it Casey?”
The child nodded and took a biscuit from her mother.
“An extra few days alone will be good for me,” Angela continued, “it’ll give me a chance to clear my mind even more. Besides, I’ve always wanted to visit the Pacific Northwest.”
Jerome leaned back in his chair while Ella served up eggs and bacon. If he let Angela bring the Chemi-Plas to Jonah it would certainly solve a big problem.
As he’d told Thea, this new house was far away from where the experts predicted the quake’s epicenter would be. He was confident both she and Casey would be safe from
its effects. But if he were in Washington State, he wouldn’t be here to help the leaders in San Francisco who needed his intimate knowledge of vampires.
Angela laid a hand on his arm. “From what Thea has told me, you really should stay close to home.” Angela gave him a crafty smile. “I won’t let you down, Jerome. Besides, I’d like to see a real, dyed-in-the-wool vampire.”
Jerome caught Thea’s eye and winked. “Believe me, you wouldn’t be disappointed. Jonah is a very real vampire.”
Thea winked back at him before she directed her attention to her friend. “Angela, if you’re serious about this, you’re about to take the most memorable side trip of your life.”
“I’ll be ready first thing tomorrow.”
Jerome chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think you’ll ever be ready for what’s ahead of you, Angela, but you’ve made me an offer I can’t refuse.”
He looked at Thea again and smiled. Thea’s mind brushed his. Three brothers. Three friends. Do you get the feeling the Goddess Lilith is involved in this?
His answer came easily.
Thea, my love, of that I have no doubt.
The End
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The Vampire Jerome Page 18