“So, what is the plan?” Marie asked.
Rayce took his eyes off the road long enough to smile at me, “We pay a visit to Jessica’s parents.”
“That sounds like fun,” Marie said as she bounced in her seat. The vampire blood had her buzzing with energy.
“Yes, it does,” I replied happily and gave Rayce’ hand a gentle squeeze. “Especially, before they send someone else after me.”
“What did you do, anyway?” Marie asked.
I sighed as I thought about it. The only reason for my reserve was I had put my friends in danger, “I killed Gage.”
“You, what? Killed him?” she blurted out.
“We had to leave in a hurry,” Rayce stated.
“I’m sorry, guys,” my friend said from the back seat.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I did this. I’m sorry you were dragged into this and hurt,” I said sadly.
“I could smell he was like us when he walked into the office. I never expected who or what he was until he grabbed me.”
“Where was Jay?”
“He had run out to grab us something to eat. The bounty hunter started asking me questions and when I wouldn’t give them up, he tasered me,” she explained.
“Seriously,” Rayce asked angrily.
“Yeah. He tasered me and tossed me into the trunk of an old Buick. Once we reached the city, I woke up in a room. I was tied to a chair.”
“Do you know where the room is?” Rayce asked while looking in the rearview mirror at her.
“No. I didn’t wake up until I was tied down,” she explained.
I spun around in my seat so I could look at her beautiful face. “But it was here?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know where. Sorry,” she said softly.
“What happened after that?” Rayce asked.
“When I wouldn’t answer his questions, he beat me.”
“I’m sorry, Marie.”
“Don’t be. Even if I had answers for him, I still wouldn’t have told him anything. I’m not a narc.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Eat your food,” Rayce demanded. I sighed and reached my hand into the bag. I pulled out another fry and popped it into my mouth.
“Happy?” I asked while chewing.
“Thank you,” he said smiling. “Now keep doing it.”
“It makes me sick,” I complained.
“Your body will adjust,” Marie said. “You are still human, Jessica. You have to eat food to survive. Even being hellhounds, we still have to eat,” she explained.
“I love food,” Rayce announced.
“Keep eating, Jessica. You will see,” Marie explained.
“Fine,” I said and unwrapped Rayce’ burger. I took a small bite. As the juicy meat flavor washed over my tongue, my body woke up and I was suddenly ravenous. I demolished his food quickly.
“Are we going to your parents tonight?” Marie asked.
“No. We need to get a room somewhere for the night. We will go over first thing tomorrow,” Rayce explained.
“Good idea. Though they would be happy to see me, I don’t think it’s a good idea to show up so late,” I expressed.
Rayce found a small roach motel directly off the highway. It wasn’t much but sat outside the city. We would be able to relax and maybe sleep.
We walked into the small room. It had one queen bed with a horrible floral cover, a bathroom, and a TV that was older than me. “I can stay up and keep watch,” Marie said.
“After what you’ve been through, no, you need rest,” Rayce told her.
“I don’t think I can sleep either, Rayce. There is just too much going on,” I expressed.
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. “I know, but I’ve got this. Please, the both of you, rest,” he said.
“Yes, pack master,” Marie giggled and flopped down on the bed and used the remote to turn on the TV. “Shit!”
“What?”
“That fucker broke my phone,” she said and got to a sitting position. She reached for the phone and dialed a number. “I have to call Jay and let him know that we are all ok.”
“Good idea. My phone is dead,” Rayce stated.
“Mine is in the truck,” I confessed.
While Marie cooled Jay’s jets, I sat with Rayce at the small table next to the window.
“Are there packs of hellhounds in every city?”
“Not every city,” Rayce replied.
“Only in Oklahoma?”
He snickered and adjusted in his chair, “There are usually two to three pack masters per region or state,” he said.
“What is your region?”
“The northern half.”
“Wow. That much? Well, who runs the southern half?”
“This is my first time being a pack master. I’m really not sure. Gage never told us anything, but he did have meetings with him.”
“That’s strange,” I said.
Marie hung up the phone and smiled. “All is well. He was worried but I told him we would be back home sometime tomorrow,” she explained. “Now. I need sleep. Wake me if there are any problems.”
Hours later the sun had finally come up. Marie slept hard. Her snoring could shake a house down. She was exhausted. I woke up in Rayce’ arms.
“Where you awake all night?”
“Almost,” he smiled and kissed my cheek. “I think I passed out for an hour or so.”
“You look so tired. Why don’t you stay here and rest? Marie can go with me.”
“And pass up the chance to meet your parents? No way,” he said and smiled. “Wake up the motorboat over there and we can go.”
“I heard that,” Marie grumbled into the pillow. Rayce and I both laughed.
I directed Rayce to the location of my parents’ home. We pulled up to the old house and I was hit with a flash of memories. The tire swing still hung from the Oak tree that grew in the front yard. I could remember my brother spinning me around and around until the rope was tight. Then, he would let me go, and I would spin and spin so fast in the other direction, causing me to laugh. My brother was always good to me.
“This is adorable,” Marie said.
“I grew up here. I do miss it,” I said and looked back at her. “But not the city.”
“Too busy for you?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said and rolled my eyes before looking back at the home. “Well, let’s go meet the fam.”
When we walked up on the front porch, I remembered my first kiss at thirteen. Now, that was not a pleasant experience. We didn’t know what the hell we were doing. As we leaned forward with our eyes closed, he ended up kissing my eye lid instead. It was embarrassing, to say the least.
The old weathered porch swing still hung there. As a young girl, I would swing it back and forth so much that my mother would yell at me through the house. I was an annoying child. It was when she bought me tap shoes that it got even worse. My feet clicked every time I pushed myself back.
The screen door screeched in protest as I opened it. I knocked gently. To tell the truth, I was nervous to introduce my boyfriend to my parents.
The door opened and my brother was standing were my mother or father should have been.
“Bobby,” I said excitedly and jumped into his arms.
“What are you doing here, kiddo?” he asked.
“I was headed to the supermall in Texas and decided to stop for a visit.” I hated lying to him but I couldn’t tell him I killed someone and was now on the run.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friends?” my brother asked in a deep speculative voice.
“Oh, yes, sorry. This is my boyfriend Rayce,” I said. I placed my arm around his waist.
Rayce stuck out his hand and my brother shook it, “Nice to meet you.”
Bobby’s nostrils flared. He had always been so protective of me, “Good to meet you, man.
“And this is our friend Marie.”
“Wow, you two look s
o much alike,” Marie stated. “Lovely to meet you, Bobby.”
The air around us grew tense for a moment before my brother invited us inside. “Come on in. Mom is making biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I’m sure there is plenty for everyone.”
I took Rayce by the hand and led him into my childhood home. Not that I expected it to, but nothing had changed since my last visit. My dad’s chair still sat in front of the small TV. Next to that, sat his table with his ash tray and remote.
Marie followed us into the kitchen. It was hotter than the blue blazes of the devil’s dick in there. My mother was mixing her signature gravy in a pan. The scent of fresh biscuits wafted through the air.
“Mom,” Bobby called.
She mixed one more time before tapping the wooden spoon on the side of the pan. She spun around, expecting to see my brother. “Surprise,” I said smiling. I opened my arms and approached her. I wrapped my arms around her fragile body and held her tight. I breathed in her floral scent and sighed happily. “Mom,” I whispered.
My mother was a little older than you would imagine. I’m guessing her and my dad adopted us late in life. She was in her late sixties. My dad was almost seventy.
“Oh, honey. It’s so good to have you home,” she said happily as I savored the comfort of her arms.
“Where is dad?”
Fishing, naturally.” My father loved fishing more than life itself. “Who are your friends?”
I pulled out of our embrace and turned around, “Mom, this is my boyfriend Rayce and my friend Marie,” I explained.
“Boyfriend?” my mother smiled and reached her hand out to him. He gently took it in his and gave a slight shake.
“Nice to meet you, Ma’am,” he stated with a smile.
“Such a gentleman,” she smiled at me and fanned her face.
My face flushed. I smiled and shook my head slightly, “This is my friend Marie,” I said.
“Aren’t you lovely?” She looked over Marie’s shoulder at my brother, “Isn’t she lovely, Bobby?”
“Mom,” he grumbled.
I couldn’t help but giggle. My mother was always trying to set us kids up. “Thank you, Mrs. Black. That’s very kind of you,” Marie said.
“Are you single, Marie?” my mother asked. My brother turned beet red.
“Mom, stop,” Bobby protested. “You’re gonna embarrass Jessica in front of her friends.”
“No, please go on. I’m getting a kick out of this,” I expressed in a laugh.
“Thanks, little sis,” he complained.
“No problem at all,” I grinned.
Marie laughed, “No, ma’am. I’m committed to someone, but if I weren’t, I’m sure your son would be a wonderful catch,” Marie winked at my mother, making her smile.
“Jesus,” Bobby said in embarrassment.
“Welcome to my home, sweetheart. Now, y’all sit down. Breakfast is almost ready,” My mother said pointing to the table. “Jessica, the coffee is fresh.” She knows me too well.
“Thanks, mom. Do y’all want some?”
“Yes, please,” Rayce said. He still looked so tired.
“I would love some,” Marie stated. “Thank you.”
My brother took breakfast as an opportunity to tell Rayce and Marie about every embarrassing thing that happened to me growing up.
I was far too distracted to think about them. I wondered where my mother would keep my adoption papers. Though I knew I was adopted, I had to see it for myself. Maybe information about my birth parents was on there. It was also possible that Gage was lying only in an attempt to win me over.
“Will you guys please excuse me?” I asked while standing from my seat. I faked a bathroom break in order to snoop around while my mother was preoccupied with company.
On the second floor, I entered my old room. It looked as if I had never left. My old stuffed animals seemed to smile at me, welcoming me home. I walked to the bookshelf that held some of the books I didn’t take with me. The one I was looking for popped out like a sore thumb. It was bright, pink, and covered in lace.
My baby book was stuffed to the gills with old baby pictures and random memories. The first page was supposed to tell you how much you weighed and how long you were but mine was blank. The space where it said where you were born was blank as well. I looked through the rest of the book and I didn’t find anything on my birth or the papers I was looking for. When I was flipping through the pages, a piece of folded paper fell at my feet. I closed the book and replaced it back to where I found it.
I sat down on my old bed and unfolded it. I had to cover a gasp when I realized what it was. It was a drawing I had done in crayon. What Gage told me was true. I had drawn a hellhound standing in a field of flowers with a girl. I signed it down at the bottom in a child’s script. I flipped the paper over and my mother had dated it. I was five years old when I drew it. “Could this be a memory of my birth parents?” I whispered.
I folded the paper back up and put it back in my back pocket. I could still hear laughter coming from the kitchen downstairs, so I knew nobody was looking for me yet. There was only one other place my mother would tolerate storing anything…the attic.
The door would make an awful sound when I pulled the string to bring it down. I hoped my brother could keep them laughing long and loud enough for them to overlook the noise. I waited until they were really laughing hard downstairs before I pulled the string. The door came open and the ladder that came down with it made a terrible screech in protest. The door hadn’t been opened in a long time.
I carefully climbed the ladder and entered the dark attic. Due to drinking vampire blood, I didn’t need the light. I walked slowly to the back of the attic and found a stack of boxes with my name on them. If my mother wanted to hide something from us kids, she would put it in plain sight.
My mind was racing. I was trying to hurry up so I wouldn’t get caught. I opened a box and it was nothing but clothes from when I was a child. Little dresses my mother had made. One black lacey dress stood out to me. It was cute and hoped I would have a little girl one day. I moved on to the next box, after relentless digging, I found a folder. I opened it.
“I can’t read this,” I complained in a whisper. It was in a different language. The only thing I could read were the names.
“What are you doing up here?”
I jumped and dropped the folder, “Shit, Bobby. Don’t do that?”
“Well, I find it sort of strange to find my sister sitting in a dark attic,” he explained deeply and looked down at the folder.
“Well, one of my friends is having a baby and I wanted to see if mom kept any of my old baby clothes,” I tried to lie but he cut me off
“Cut the shit, sis,” he said. My brother was no fool. “Grab the folder and come with me,” he said and turned to walk down the ladder.
I held the folder close to my chest as if he were going to take it from me. I felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. I followed my brother down the stairs to the living room. I thought he was tossing me out of the house until he walked out first and waved me to follow him outside. “Come on,” he said and walked around to the side of the house.
I took a deep breath and followed my brother to the back yard. Bobby opened the gate that held Duke, my fathers’ hunting dog in, and led me through. We walked toward the detached garage and entered. It smelled of saw dust, fish guts, and mildew. My brother closed the door behind us and set the latch so nobody could open it from the outside.
“It stinks in here,” I complained.
He walked over to a corner and dug behind an old rusted metal shelf. I almost questioned what he was doing, but he pulled out what looked like a piece of paper. I robotically took a step closer to him, getting a better view of what it was. It was a folder like the one I held in my clutches. He pulled up two crates for us to sit on and once I took my seat he opened his folder.
“Jessica, do you remember when we were trying to hide birthday gifts from mom
?”
“Yeah, and mom was pissed because you knocked over her dress mannequin,” I said grinning.
“Yeah, that time. While I was in the attic, I found this folder. That day I found out that I was adopted.”
“Wait. What?”
“I always knew you were but I had no idea about myself. Mom and Dad never let on that we were both adopted. When I was growing up, I always thought of you as my sister, even if I knew mom and dad didn’t have you. When I found this, I wanted to find my birth parents. But I couldn’t read it. I suspect you can’t read yours either,” he explained.
I opened the folder and looked down at the papers of mine, “It isn’t English,” I said shaking my head and showing him.
He examined the certificate for a moment and with his eyes still on mine, he passed me his. I opened his old folder and discovered something odd. They were in the same language.
“What does this mean?”
“I think it means we are full-siblings,” he said smiling and pointed to a section of my certificate. “Our parents are anonymous, but my name is here,” he said.
In excitement, I snatched the paper from him and compared them. “My, God,” I whispered. I looked up at my brother and I couldn’t deny the tears as they spilled from my eyes. “We are related.”
He smiled, “We are.”
“Shit. This is huge,” I laughed through my tears.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“I don’t feel so alone anymore,” I confessed.
“I know what your boyfriend is,” he said, taking me off guard.
I felt like I was going to choke on my own tongue. I couldn’t swallow, I couldn’t breathe. My brother took me by my shoulders and shook the air right out of me.
“What are you talking about?”
“I smelled him and your pretty little friend through the door,” he explained as he sat back down. “If you are with them, you know what they are too.”
“How do? Wait, you smelled them? What do you mean?”
“I want to tell you something and it’s going to blow your mind.”
“Go on,” I said and placed the papers on my lap.
Hunting Jessica Page 25