Expecting Eternity (Vamp Life #2)

by Strider, Jez

  The waiter had delivered our soup and I was about to take a bite when she casually spoke about my child belonging to someone other than my husband. It shocked me severely. I immediately dropped my spoon into the bowl. Soup splashed all over the place as the utensil hit the liquid.

  “That is not funny, Taya.” Christophe reprimanded her again, like she was an unruly child.

  “I’m sorry. I watch too much reality television these days. I swear I didn’t mean anything by it.” She frowned excessively and looked at me. I didn’t detect any malice or hidden meaning. Apparently, she was just that stupid.

  Marcus laughed. His right hand rested on my thigh and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I guess we’ll know if he’s a hunk like me.” He grinned at Taya.

  I joined him in the laughter, trying to cover my discomfort.

  “Not too much longer until the child arrives, is it?” Chris asked. “Boy or girl?”

  “Boy.” Marcus grinned. “We’re thinking about calling him Vincent Miguel Hart. Then, both of our grandparents would be namesakes. Well…her papaw was named Vincenzo, but we settled on Vincent.”

  “Aww, he’s so cute when he says ‘papaw.’ Such a lovely southern term.” Taya just wouldn’t let up.

  Christophe ignored his date when he responded to Marcus. “It’s a strong, honorable name.”

  “Thanks, man.” Marc said.

  “Very nice.” Taya agreed. She seemed too pleased with herself.

  Our dessert arrived a short time later and I was glad the date night was almost over. The rest of the dinner went by with a few more flirty remarks from Taya. I was glad when we were back in the car and on the road. As Christophe drove us back to our home, I finally had to ask what was weighing on my mind.

  “Alright, Christophe. How are you alive?”

  It was blunt, but I didn’t know a more tactful way to ask why someone wasn’t dead.

  He glanced at me in the rear view mirror and I could see that he was smiling from the look in his eyes. “Ah, you were never much of a vampire, dear. Blissfully oblivious.”

  I crossed my arms, but unfortunately, he was correct. He continued when I didn’t respond.

  “Dante was my maker. He was my master up until the moment he died. I’ve been our liaison in Paris for many years. With his death, I’m free to pursue my own interests.”

  We were all enthralled as he spoke.

  “That does little to answer your question, though. When the master learned of the March on Versailles, he sped back to find you. You were gone when he arrived. I was severely burned and had a mortal wound. His best chance at learning the truth of what had happened to his precious Evelina was to save me.” He shook his head and looked reminiscent. “He didn’t gain any knowledge, but I became a very loyal servant.”

  Christophe had been a good companion during a dark time in my life, but he’d suffered much because of me. “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t exactly my fault, but I felt like it was something I should say.

  “Don’t be, mon amie. I’ve led a blessed and rewarding existence.”

  I nodded and let myself believe him. Perhaps his experiences with our maker weren’t as traumatizing as mine. He did seem to be happy and successful.

  Marc and I walked hand and hand after we were dropped off.

  “That…sucked.” He said as he unlocked the door.

  “Yes, it did. At least the food was good.”

  He shot me a sideways look. “If you say so. It was all so….”

  “Pretentious?” I asked.

  “I was going to say stuck-up.” He was tugging off his jacket already. “It reminded me of spending time at this one guy’s house. He was my buddy in high school and his mom was always all, ‘No elbows on the table, no food in front of the television, no making out with my daughter!’ He mimicked the woman.

  His impersonation of the mother had me cracking up. “Wow. You’re ridiculous.” I kicked off my shoes. My feet were swollen and aching even though I’d worn flats.

  “Hey, the chick kissed me first. She was older.” Marcus rubbed his eyes and yawned. He’d worked all day and had to go in the next morning. “Tell Fate we’re home so she isn’t scared.”

  “Good idea.” I wish I’d thought about what I was doing before I opened the door to her bedroom. “Fate, we’re home….” Immediately, my hands went over my eyes. “Oh god! Oh my god! I’m so sorry.” She was in bed with Antonio…and they were.... Well, to say the least, it was traumatizing. Antonio had been out of town on business recently. I was correct in assuming he’d taken a taxi from the airport to see Fate. No one came after me to explain or make excuses. I was glad.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Marc said when I walked into our bedroom. “Your face is red.”

  I worked my way out of the ill-fitting dress and into my pajamas. “Antonio and Fate were having sex and I barged in.”

  He was trying extremely hard not to laugh. “That’s…messed up. I’m sure she’ll move in with him eventually.”

  “Yeah. We are back somewhat early, I guess.” I played it off as nonchalantly as I could, but I wanted to stab my eyes out.

  Marcus was already in bed. I climbed in next to him and he nuzzled my neck. “Don’t worry, I’ll sex you up tomorrow.”

  Suddenly, it seemed like we were already an old married couple. Could the night get any worse?

  “Tomorrow?” I pouted, not catching that he was teasing me.

  “Tonight.” He corrected himself, smirking, before pressing his lips against mine. “I don’t want that image of Antonio in your mind when you fall asleep.”

  Marc made sure he was the only man on my mind.

  Breakfast the next morning was awkward. Antonio was gone and Marcus left in a rush to go to work. Fate had prepared food for me. She could make a mean omelet.

  “So, about last night….” I started. She was grown. I couldn’t tell her what to do, but I owed it to her mother to try to keep her daughter on the right path. Though, I was probably the last person who should be giving anyone advice about relationships.

  “Really, Eve. I don’t think we need to talk about it.” Fate was mortified that I would bring the topic up.

  It was something I wanted to forget, but a night’s rest had cleared my head a bit. “I know. You can make your own decisions. Antonio can be….” What was the word to use? A man-whore? No. I took a bite as I thought about it. “He can be romantic and I don’t want you to get hurt or anything.”

  “We’re using protection. I am NOT ready for a kid. My brother and sister are a handful and you have one on the way. That’s plenty. But….” She toyed with her food, looking away from me.

  I had avoided talking about their relationship for the most part up until that point. Out of sight, out of mind. Denial. I don’t know. Something like that.

  “But what?” I asked.

  She finally met my inquiring gaze. “Antonio loved you for a long time. He told me. He says he hasn’t let himself love anyone else until me.”

  “He told you he loved you?” Shocking.

  Fate nodded slowly. “I said it, too. He’s just so serious about it. Freaks me out kinda. I meant it when I said it, but I don’t know. Do you think he’s over you?”

  “Yeah. What we had was a long time ago.” I said. “In a land far, far away.”

  “You are such a dork.” She laughed.

  “Maybe I am…so what?” I grinned. “In all seriousness, you can always talk to me about anything. Doesn’t matter what it is, okay?”

  Her expression changed a little. “I am starting to see and sense stuff again. Nothing too crazy. I’m not sure if I’m happy about it or not. Oddly, it started after the first time Antonio and I…you know?”

  “Maybe it helped you release stress and relax.” It’d been months since her mom had died. I wasn’t surprised her gift was returning. “I know it’s difficult, but you’re the way you are for a reason. You just need more practice at turning the ability on or off.”

  “Yeah.
You’re right. By the way, can I borrow your car?”

  I blinked a few times. She caught me off guard when she blindsided me with the request. When I didn’t respond, she started begging.

  “Please! I forgot I have an appointment to get my hair done and Antonio took my car. You can come with me if you want. Have you seen your hair? You need a trim.”

  “I do, don’t I?” My long hair did have a few split ends. Besides, it was time to change it up a little. “Sure, let’s go.”

  She ran to her room, returning with her purse. It looked more like a grocery bag. On the side it read, “Fur kills.” Numerous pins for her different causes and opinions decorated the strap. Every day she became more and more like Ashley.

  “Let’s go! You don’t have an appointment, but if we get there early enough it shouldn’t be a very big deal.” Fate grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door before I finished breakfast.

  “Alright, alright!” I grabbed my own things before tossing her my car keys. “Drive carefully or Marc will kick both our asses.”

  Fate ended up with dark red extensions to replace the blonde ones. I went with shoulder length layered locks and side swept bangs. The stylist asked if I wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love and I promptly agreed. Knowing my hair was going to a good cause made it easier to opt for the shorter style. We also splurged on a mani-pedi. It was easy to convince ourselves we deserved it.

  It was refreshing to shed the style I’d had for so long. Moving forward, departing from the past. I was all about it. Girl’s day out. Heck yeah. I had needed it.

  My bedroom had been pitch-black when my phone rang a couple of weeks later. I fumbled around, knocking the alarm clock off the bedside table. The radio started playing, a result of the impact with the floor.

  “Hello?” I grumbled sleepily. Only one of my eyes was cracked open. A soft melody emitted from the speaker on the floor.

  “Evelyn! Please! It’s Christophe. He’s….” The voice on the line fell silent and then I heard the sobs.

  I sat up on the edge of the bed, suddenly wide awake. “He’s what?” I’d meant to sound more in control, but my own words came out in a barely audible whisper.

  “Dead. Someone killed him!” Taya’s terror was evident. “Do I call the police? I don’t know what to do because he’s a vampire.”

  Marcus put his hand on my shoulder and I jumped. “What happened?”

  “Are you sure he’s dead? I mean, sometimes vampires aren’t dead even when it seems like it.” I held up one finger to tell Marc to wait a second.

  Taya was slipping into hysterics. “Please. Come to the house and make sure! There was this older black man following us around earlier.” She rambled off the address. Then, I heard a gasp before the line went dead.

  “Apparently, someone killed Christophe. Taya is freaking out, understandably so.” My own eyes threatened to spill tears, but I swallowed the remorse. It was pointless to mourn before I knew the facts. “She wants us to see for ourselves before calling the police.”

  “What the fuck is going on in this town?” He said loudly as he stood up to dress. “You are not coming with me. What if the lunatic is still around?”

  He should have known his protests would be futile. I was already out of bed and grabbing my jacket. My gun was in the drawer. I made sure it was loaded and the safety was on before slipping it into my pocket.

  “I’m going.” That was my definitive answer. “She said they noticed a strange man following them around earlier. The person she described…it must have been Roger.”

  Marc slammed his fist against my dresser. Bottles of perfume and nail polish rattled. “That son of a bitch.”

  Fate peered into the doorway of our room, rubbing her eyes. “Is the baby coming?” She asked when she noticed me standing in my coat.

  I walked forward, giving her a hug. “No. We have to check on something. Keep the doors locked and call the police if you see anything out of the ordinary.”

  “You’re scaring me.” She said, moving out of our way.

  “It’ll be okay. We’ll be back soon.” I gave her one last look. “Call Antonio and tell him there’s trouble.”

  Then, we were on our way. The clouds opened up and the rain started pouring as we made our way to Christophe’s house. The rain made in nearly impossible to see out of the windshield.

  The drive was relatively short, but it seemed like forever. When we arrived at the specified address, I was surprised. The home was a normal farmhouse style two-story. My imagination had run away with me and I was expecting a home more akin to a chateâu in France.

  Marcus drove past the house, parking further down near an intersection. “Let me check it out first. Stay here.” He leaned in and gave me a long kiss. There was something wrong. It felt too much like a goodbye.

  I wish I’d listened to my gut, but he was out of the car and moving stealthily toward Christophe’s home. I saw the glint of Marc’s gun in the scant moonlight breaking through the clouds. The same weapon had been used to execute Dante Sanuto. My skin crawled at the memory.

  Waiting was torture. Unfortunately, the event that put a stop to the agony was the sound of sirens. I slumped down in the seat of my car as the police sped by my vehicle. Their cars stopped in a squeal of tires in front of Christophe’s home. I went to climb out of the car when I was assaulted with a pain in my abdomen.

  It was a fight not to scream. Eventually, I positioned myself to where I could see the house. It was with no small amount of struggle. “Not yet, little guy. Not right now.” I begged. This was the kind of pain I expected I would have when I went into labor.

  In the front yard of the home, Marcus was lying in the grass with his hands positioned on the back of his head. He’d set the gun on the ground a short distance in front of him. Red and blue lights lit the horrible scene of my husband being arrested. Oh god, it was bad. Another pain. I grabbed the seat belt and bit down on it to keep from screaming. Where was Taya? How could I help Marc? How could something hurt so badly?

  The officers descended on Marcus, slapping handcuffs on his wrists. Several of the policemen led him to the back of a cruiser. Meanwhile, the others entered the house. I had to lower myself down in the car again as the vehicle with Marc sped past on the way to jail.

  I stayed hidden until I could no longer see the strobe of the lights. It must have been hours. It seemed like it, anyway. The pain eventually subsided. I peered around cautiously, before getting out of the car and going around to the driver seat. My hope was that no one still at the crime scene or the neighbors saw me. The sun was rising. First things first, I had to get Marcus out of jail.

  When I arrived at the jail, I was relieved to see that it wasn’t closed. It was open twenty-four hours due to increased crime rates in the area. Antonio was waiting for me in the lobby. He looked jetlagged as he walked over.

  “Where have you been? I called several times.” He asked, putting his hand around my arm and guiding me away from the few people in the lobby. His grip was too tight and I frowned up at him.

  “In my car, hiding from the police. I left my phone at home. What are you doing here? I thought you were out of town on business again.” If anyone could help, I knew it would be Antonio.

  We spoke in hushed whispers. “Fate called. I came as fast as I could. After being jerked around, I finally found Marcus. He’s worried sick about you and the baby.”

  I dabbed at a tear in the corner of my eye with my index finger. “What are we going to do? He looks guilty.”

  “Calm down, Evelina. I contacted the best lawyer I know. Fate made a statement saying you received a phone call from a friend asking for help at Christophe’s place. They don’t have any evidence other than Marcus being at the house. As for his gun, it’s legally registered and was not the way poor Christophe was killed.”

  His words calmed me, but only a little. “How did he die?”

  Two officers in uniform walked by, eyeing us with suspicion. Antonio waited until
they were out of sight before answering.

  “Stake through the heart. The leaders of the Vampire Society are not pleased with how this looks. Were you the one who called the police? Please tell me you didn’t.”

  “S…stake through the heart?” The vision left me faint and I backed up against the wall for support. “And no, I didn’t call the police. Taya asked me if she should call them.” I looked up to him and noticed a deep frown and furrowed brow. “There’s been no sign of her, right? The murderer must have taken her.”

  A short, thin woman with her blonde hair pulled up into a severe bun walked over to us. “Mrs. Hart?” I shook her hand when she extended it. Her grip was firm for such a small person.

  “Yes.”

  “Rachel Warden, your husband’s lawyer. He’s waiting for you in the interrogation room. Remember, you are being watched. I’ll have him out of here soon. Don’t worry.” She sounded so confident that I was almost convinced. I was not surprised that she was successful in her chosen career path.

  I’d never been to the jail before, so I stuck close to her when she led the way. “Thank you.”

  She gave a curt nod. “Thank Antonio. My clientele is usually of a different variety. It would be more logical to just let Marcus take the fall for the murder.” Her voice held no anger. She spoke matter-of-factly and without sympathy for our plight.

  The lawyer may have been good at her job, but I immediately disliked her as a person. I stole a glance behind me at Antonio and he shook his head in warning.

  “Ten minutes.” The officer said after searching me and before letting me into the room where Marcus was being held. Antonio and the lawyer waited outside. I had no idea what to expect.

  I took a deep breath and walked into the small dimly lit room. Marcus saw me and ran over, hugging me tightly. “I was so worried about you.” He looked like he was about to cry. I knew it wasn’t from being in jail. He had a record of small offenses. Mostly from fighting, so he’d been there before.

  “Everyone says there isn’t any real evidence against you. You’ll be out soon. I don’t understand it entirely, but from what they say, you’re being detained for a while. I guess it’s different than being arrested.” I hugged him tightly, my tears spilling. It didn’t matter if the detectives were observing us. I didn’t care.