by Lisa Olsen
“It should be possible, yes.”
“Good. While you’re at it, I want you to find out anything you can about the man himself. His name is Oliver Bassett.”
“Why, is he important?”
“He was to his family.” Assuming he had one, but I wasn’t about to try to lessen my guilt by imagining him as an orphaned loner with no friends or family of his own. “I want to know if he was married, had kids, where he lived, his credit report, the whole works.”
“That might take more time, but I’ll work on putting it together for you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Also, I’ll need you to draw up papers for Rob. We’ll worry about getting him chipped after the Order re-establishes their headquarters, but I want them in order in case there are any questions.” I said the words with as little inflection as possible, still sorry as hell that it’d come to that, but I might as well start out with making it legal.
“Oh, I hadn’t realized…” Marcus paused, and I heard a few whispered words to Maggie and her sharp intake of breath. “With you as his sponsor?”
“Of course.” I didn’t understand the question, who else could it be? “There won’t be any issues with it, will there?”
“No, not at all,” he replied quickly. “Shall I send Gunnar to come and collect you? Are you still at the hospital?”
“No, I’m not coming back to the house tonight,” I decided on the spur of the moment. “Lodinn could be watching it, like he watched us leave Jakob’s place before.” He could’ve been watching us at that moment for all we knew, but I was counting on our ability to slip away unseen without the pomp of being picked up by a security team.
“Alright then, where will you be?”
“It’s better if you don’t know.” Also, I had no idea. None. “I’ll call to check in later. For now, focus on trying to find Jakob and taking care of this guy Oliver. I don’t want him disappearing though.” His family deserved more closure than that. “You heard most of that?” I asked Rob when I was off the phone.
“Yeah. That Mason’s a lucky one.”
“I’m not so sure he’d agree if he was awake right now.” Even with blood I was willing to bet he’d be in for a painful recovery, and knowing that Hanna was still with Lodinn had to suck all on its own. “Listen, we can’t stay here. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds us and we need to get you someplace safe so we can talk about what comes next.” The last thing we needed was for him to lunge at the first open wound he came into contact with, like I had, and go into transition in the middle of a public place. “Any ideas?”
“I know a place.”
Chapter Two
“First things first, we ain’t gonna get very far you toddling like that,” Rob announced, rising from the bed with more vigor than I would’ve credited him with.
“I’ll be fine, I’m a little slower than usual is all.”
“It’ll draw attention, which we can’t afford for now. Hold tight a tick, I’ll be right back.” Before I could so much as open my mouth to protest he slipped out, and despite my natural inclination to stick by his side, I did as he asked. Stayed put. It was silly, I suppose, the need I felt to protect him. Wasn’t he the one always protecting me? But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Rob was more vulnerable than he let on, even though he moved around much quicker than I could at the moment.
In a flash he was back, pushing a wheelchair through the door. “In you go then,” he said, wheeling it right in front of me.
“Where did you get that?”
“I pinched it, what’d you think? This way won’t be no one giving us the eye, we’ll slip out easy peasey.”
“You are a genius,” I smiled in approval, sinking onto the chair as he slapped down the foot guards.
“I have my moments.” His answering smile was smug as he maneuvered me out the door and down to the elevator, his white lab coat buttoned up as high as it could go.
Only in the brighter lights of the elevator I could see the sallow pallor of his skin and the deep smudges under his eyes. He was in far worse shape than he let on, as I’d suspected. “You should be the one in the wheelchair,” I said, reaching back to cover his hand with mine.
“I can manage.”
“It’s okay to ask for help when you need it.”
“I’m not at the end of my rope yet. Just tired is all. Dying will do that to a fella.”
“I remember.”
Someone else got onto the elevator then and we fell silent, staring straight ahead until the doors slid open on the ground floor. Instead of going for the main entrance, Rob surprised me by turning into the west wing.
“We’re not going out front to catch a cab?”
“Nah, like you said, he could be watching the place. Better to take one of the side entrances and head straight for the parking garage. I can get us a car and we’ll be off in no time.”
I put aside the objections I found to stealing some poor person’s car, knowing it would only be temporary and we’d leave it in good condition. Something else crowded my tongue first. “You still haven’t told me where we’re headed. Is it your old place over the garage?” I assumed he still owned the property.
“I’ll tell you once we’re on our way.” His eyes were constantly scanning, on the lookout for anything suspicious and I clammed up, not wanting to make it any more difficult on him. Instead I focused on the same, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. As near as I could tell, nobody cared about us one way or another, but Lodinn had already proven himself far too sneaky for his own good.
To my surprise, he took us up to the third level in the parking garage, pushing us down the long line of cars as if looking for something in particular. He finally turned and parked me next to a big red truck with an extended cab that took up two parking spaces.
“Isn’t this kind of a flashy?” I whispered.
“That’s sort of the point. Besides, a monster like this will withstand more if he comes at us again.” Done explaining, Rob’s elbow came up, smashing through the rear window with a crash that made us both wince. So much for leaving it in good condition.
I didn’t bother to ask him if he was okay, I knew he wouldn’t stop now until we were both safely away. Instead I got out of the wheelchair and folded it up, tucking it away next to the car beside us while he tinkered around inside the truck, all the while sweating bullets that the cops might turn up at any moment. The roar of the engine made me jump, but no one leapt out yelling hey, that’s my truck, so I focused my energies on making my stubborn legs cooperate long enough to climb into the thing.
Rob’s face held a told you I could do it look as I slid in beside him, and we were on our way as soon as I got my door shut. We were silent until the hospital was in the rearview mirror, and he shot me a sidelong grin. “See, easy peasey.”
It wasn’t quite what I’d call easy, but I couldn’t argue with the results. “Someday you’re going to have to tell me how you learned how to do that,” I smiled back.
“Starting to look like we’ve got plenty of time for all that.”
My smile faltered at his words and I was reminded of how drastically his life had altered in the past several hours. I bit back another apology, changing the subject instead. “So where are we going?”
“Laveda’s. She got a place not too far from here. Should do well enough until tonight at least.”
Laveda’s. I hadn’t expected him to involve his cousin, I’d thought he’d take us to a more out of the way place. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea? Won’t that be dangerous for her taking us in?” Not just from Lodinn, but both Rob and I had a need for blood at the moment and hers was more appealing than most.
“She’s family,” he shrugged, as if that explained everything. “Besides, we’ll need a place where someone can invite us in, the better to keep us safe during the day.”
“I think your definition of family and mine are a tad different.” Except for Hanna. I’d walk over hot coals for m
y sister and I knew she’d do the same for me. But my parents? I tried to think what would happen if I turned up at their door in the middle of the night with Rob. The mental picture of my mother’s distaste for inviting a strange man into our midst and my father’s stern disapproval for disturbing them on a school night came swiftly.
“She’ll be amenable I’ll wager,” he replied with confidence. “We’ll hole up there for the rest of the night and day, and tomorrow night things’ll look brighter, yeah?”
I wasn’t sure brighter was the right word for it. “You know what you have to do, right? If you want to live.”
“I’m familiar with the concept right enough, I know what’s to be done.”
“Then you know about the process, the transition to becoming a vampire?”
“I’ve seen it done a time or two. No worries there.”
He seemed awfully cavalier about it. Granted he’d been around vampires more than most people, but it wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Just thinking about having to watch him go through it was enough to make my palms sweat. “Seeing it isn’t the same as experiencing it.”
“I’ll manage well enough,” he said, flashing me a quick wink and I couldn’t help but think he was in for a rude awakening.
Laveda’s apartment turned out to be in the less dodgy part of the Mission district, above a Mexican bakery. I put aside the question of what we’d do if Laveda wasn’t home, no sense in borrowing trouble. As it was she answered the door almost as soon as Rob knocked, which was good, because I could tell his energy was seriously flagging.
“Hullo, wasn’t expecting to see you here,” she smiled, leaning against the door jamb. Dressed casually in an oversized jersey and skin tight leggings, her face was completely devoid of makeup, displaying a spray of freckles across her nose that matched her sun-kissed shoulders. Her strawberry blonde curls were pulled into twin pigtails, making her look far too young to be a bartender at San Francisco’s premiere vampire bar, but in Rob’s family, looks could be deceiving. “What brings you out to this neck of the woods?”
“I’ll tell you all about it once you let us in,” Rob said, not wasting time with any pleasantries, but she held her ground.
“What’s amiss here?” Her head tilted to one side, eyes narrowing as she held a hand out to Rob’s chest.
“Let us in for fuck’s sake, would ya?” Rob growled. “I’m helping ya out with the expenses, ain’t I? Least you could do is offer us a simple courtesy in return.”
“Oi, don’t you get stroppy with me and then go making rough demands,” Laveda scowled, poking him hard in the chest. “I didn’t ask you for so much as a copper. I can take care of m’self.”
Why did things between them deteriorate into a shouting match half the time? “I’m sorry we’re barging in on you like this,” I offered, hoping to smooth things over when I saw Rob’s hands bunch into fists. “But it is sort of a long story. Do you think we could come in please?”
“Sure.” She stepped away from the door and Rob entered without a problem, but I needed more. “Come on in then,” she added after noticing my difficulty.
“Thank you,” I said with a quick smile, worried when Rob paced the length of her small living room in agitation. “We need a place to lay low for a while and this was the best place we could think of.”
“And you assumed I had no plans on my day off? I could have a right go’er in the bedroom waiting for me right now.”
The last thing we needed was an audience and I shot Rob a look. “I’m sorry, we didn’t meant to interrupt your plans. We can go somewhere else.”
“No, you’re not wrong.” Laveda collapsed on a threadbare sofa, tucking her feet up beside her. “I’m just in a huff ‘cause I ain’t got nothing planned but a night with the telly.” She let out a long sigh. “So, what’s up with the pair of you then?”
Rob and I looked at each other, hardly knowing where to begin. The story came out in spurts, Lodinn’s abduction of my sister, the accident, our waking up at the morgue respectively and now the biggie, needing a place to crash while we went through Rob’s transition.
“Leila won’t like this one bit,” she frowned, staring at Rob as if he might sprout fangs at any moment.
“She’d like me less as a ghost,” he pointed out.
“I’m not too sure of that,” she muttered under her breath.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t let him die,” I started to say, but she waved me off.
“Ain’t no use crying over spilt milk. So that’s what this is then? You’re looking for me to procure the lot of you with a body to snack on?”
“No, nothing like that,” I replied before she got any farther down that road. “To be honest, we haven’t gotten that far yet, but I’ll take care of it when the time comes.” There were still plenty of hours left in the night and he’d have all day before he had to take the final plunge. That begged the question, “Rob, is there anything you need to see to, before you make the transition?”
“I’m not dying for more than a few minutes, am I?” he said with a touch of amusement. “Ain’t nothing needs seeing to.”
“Okay then, do you want to take the day, you know, your last as a human? Watch the sun rise and set, or eat your weight in crumpets or anything?” If I’d known my last day as a human would be it, I probably would’ve done things differently. Then again, I’d felt so weak and sick, I probably would’ve laid on the couch and watched a Firefly marathon instead of going to school, but I could do that now if I wanted to, so what was the difference?
“No, I know what’s to be done, I’d best get to it. No sense in putting things off. The sooner I’m through it the stronger I’ll be, that’s what’s important.”
So this was really happening. Cool beans. “Alright then, I’ll need to go out and get a few things before we get started.” Since there was no immediate emergency, I wanted to be ready for any eventuality instead of having to improvise.
“Like what?”
“Some things to help ease you through the process.”
Rob’s head was already shaking no. “I don’t like the thought of you going out alone in this state, I don’t need anything special.”
“But I do. I’ll need to feed before we begin, or I won’t be able to restrain you when I need to.” He might be weaker than normal now, but once the blood started to flow, it’d be beyond my strength to hold him back.
“You could have some of mine if you like,” Laveda offered without hesitation. I’d already been trying to sit as far away as possible from her in the small apartment, the better to resist her delectable scent that permeated the room.
“That’s sweet of you to offer, but I had something else in mind.”
Her lips drew together in a pout. “Ain’t nothing wrong with my blood.”
“No, of course not,” I added hurriedly, taking a breath before I revealed what I had in mind. “But I think you should be the one for Rob to feed on first.”
“Ain’t going to happen,” he scowled even as Laveda agreed.
“I’ll do it,” she volunteered, and I focused on Rob, glad she was on board.
“You won’t need to take much to trigger the transition, and I’ll need someone who can be trusted not to freak out over it.”
He shook his head, adamant. “No.”
“Rob, I’m going to have my hands full keeping you from killing her, I can’t worry about having to keep a hysterical victim from running for the cops at the same time.”
“It’s like you said, you’ll be hard pressed to keep me from killing her. I ain’t about to take that chance.”
“Aw, Robby, you do care,” Laveda crooned, touched by the show of emotion. “It won’t be much, and I’m family. We stick together, yeah?”
I could see her words getting to him and I caught up his hand, stopping his restless pacing. “Rob, I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe. That’s why I need to go feed before we get started. But I need to keep the variables
as controllable as possible.”
“Oh, I’ve just the thing!” Laveda squeaked, jumping up and running from the room.
“She’s just the thing,” I repeated with an impish smile. Knowing Laveda, that could mean almost anything.
“I don’t feel right about this.” Rob continued to scowl, and it didn’t lessen when Laveda emerged from the bedroom with a pair of thick leather cuffs and a carabiner to clip them together with.
“These should help keep him in check.”
“Actually, that idea’s not half bad,” I allowed, taking the stiff restraints in hand and giving them an experimental tug. “I don’t suppose you’ve got anything to keep him from making too much noise, do you?”
“As it so happens…” Laveda winked, and this time I followed her into the bedroom. She opened a mahogany chest at the end of the bed and sorted through all manner of interesting paraphernalia until she came up with a ball gag, dangling it by the strap. “Will this suffice?”
“Hey, I’ve always wondered if these things actually work,” I said, testing the rubber with my fingers.
“I’m not sticking that thing in my mouth,” Rob blanched, backing away from the doorway.
“It’s been properly cleaned. I highly doubt it’s the rankest think you’ve had in your mouth over the years,” Laveda pointed out with an exaggerated roll of the eyes.
“Actually, this is a good thing,” I jumped in. “You’ll want something to bite down on and you won’t be able to control the screams. Trust me, it’s a lot better than an old stuffed animal.”
“I’ll keep my head about me just fine without it.”
“You say that now…” I knew nothing I said would change his mind about it though. “Let’s keep it in reserve unless it’s absolutely necessary then.”
“Can we dress him up in something before we begin as well? I’ve a feeling he’d look cracking in this.” Laveda held up a pair of skimpy men’s underwear, the back cut high enough to show a fair amount of cheek, the front, nothing more than mesh.