Revelation of Blood (Skye Morrison Vampire Series, #5)

by J. L. McCoy

  “Morning, my love,” Archer’s eyes smiled above his paper before he raised his brows questioningly at me. “You going somewhere?”

  “Nikki hasn’t been into Dan’s in two days,” I explained as I turned to Trey. “Honey, if you’re not busy, can you and Pádraig do me a huge, huge solid?”

  “Of course, sugar,” he answered, leaning up. “Anything.”

  “Can you please run to Nikki’s and see if she’s okay? Dan said he hasn’t been able to get ahold of her and I’m worried for both her and Styvi.”

  Archer and Jameson both put their papers aside and looked concerned. “Bring the dog back here, Trey. I know Skye misses her and there’s no need for her to be away anymore,” Archer said. “Skye is fully healed.”

  “Baby,” I turned to him. “Dan called me and asked if I could cover Nikki’s shift today. I hope it’s okay that I said yes. He doesn’t have anyone to cover Nikki and he really needs me or he wouldn’t have called.”

  “Of course it’s okay, cion,” he said, getting up and coming over to wrap his arms around me. He pulled me tightly to him and brushed the hair back from my face. “Don’t worry about your friend. We’ll take care of it, baby.”

  “I’ll go with Trey and Pádraig,” Jameson said, standing from the couch.

  “Thank you,” I whispered gratefully to him then stood on tiptoes to kiss Archer. “I love you, Archer.”

  “And I you,” he whispered back, nuzzling my nose with his. “Forever, baby.”

  “I’ll meet you guys at the club when I get done,” I said as I dug around in my bag, finding my house keys. I tossed them to Pádraig and then hugged Trey. “I really appreciate you guys doing this for me.”

  “It’s no problem,” Pádraig replied and I gave his cheek a quick kiss and turned to Jameson.

  “I’m so glad you’re home,” I whispered as I hugged him tightly. “We’ve missed you around here.”

  Jameson managed a small smile and kissed the corner of my mouth. “I’ve missed being here. I’ll catch up with you tonight at the club, okay?”

  “I don’t know what time I’ll be there, but it’s safe to assume I’ll be working until at least seven.”

  “Take any car you want, baby,” Archer said as I broke from Jameson’s hug. “The keys are hanging in the garage. Jameson and I are planning on shopping for your replacement cars later today. Is there anything in particular you want?”

  “Something reasonably priced and fast,” I shrugged one shoulder, not really caring too much about what kind of car I drove since Archer had a veritable playground in his garage that was at my disposal anytime I wanted.

  “You got it, cion,” Archer chuckled. “Jameson has a few great ideas for you.”

  “My boys have good taste, so I’m not worried.” I kissed Archer once more, said goodbye, and flashed through the house. Choosing the black Porsche 911, I tore ass down the drive and all the way downtown to Drop Kick Dan’s.

  “Hey, handsome,” I greeted as I walked into Dan’s office and hung up my bag. “Have you heard back from Nikki yet?”

  “No,” he sighed as he finished typing numbers into his calculator. I hadn’t seen Dan in a few weeks and seeing him again made me realize just how much I missed him and the familiarity of Drop Kick’s.

  “Well, Trey and his boyfriend are headed over to her house now to check in on her,” I frowned worriedly as I borrowed Angel’s bottle opener from her cubby. “I’ve been staying out at Archer’s house on the lake or I would have checked on her myself.”

  “I heard,” Dan said, putting aside his paperwork and looking up at me for the first time. “Nikki said your new boss was working you too hard—Jesus! What’s wrong with your eyes?” Dan was staring at me hard and I immediately closed my eyes and turned my head to the side, away from him.

  Shit! I’d forgotten all about my eyes being different. Working at The Mausoleum and being around vampires meant that I never had to worry about appearing human. People in the Goth scene wore lots of unusual colored contacts, so it was never an issue.

  “Uh…contacts,” I explained quickly, turning back to my bag and digging out the hazel contacts Archer had purchased for me when I first awoke. I took the small white case out and waved it at Dan. “I forgot to take them out last night.”

  “They’re really creepy, Skye,” he shook his head. “Our clientele is a bit different from The Mausoleum’s.”

  Gee, thanks, I thought wryly. If he only knew my eye color was real. “I remember,” I quirked my brow at him.

  “Alright,” Dan sighed and rubbed his head distractedly. “I’ve got to get this order finished and then I’ll join you out there. Thank you for coming in today. You’re really saving my ass, doll.”

  “No worries, honey,” I reassured him with a squeeze to his shoulder. “I’m just going to take these contacts out real quick and then I’ll get to it.”

  As soon as I touched his shoulder, I was blasted into his head; his thoughts echoing loudly around me. I shouldn’t have left her alone with him…knew I didn’t like him…selfish prick…too much shit to do…hope she’s okay…

  Letting go of him like I’d been burned, I took a deep breath in as his thoughts instantly muted again. Damn that was intense. My powers from Archer seemed to be rapidly evolving. No longer were the voices a constant roar, but a gentle, almost imperceptible background noise. I hadn’t realized the change until just then but, looking back on it, they had started to seem less noticeable last night.

  Was Dan talking about Nikki? I wondered. Wouldn’t he tell me if he thought something was wrong with her or if he thought she was in danger? I couldn’t outright ask Dan about his thoughts because he didn’t know I was a vampire and that frustrated me. I left him to his paperwork and walked to the bathroom down the hall.

  After I put the hazel contacts in, I cursed the feel of them and how they restricted my vampire sight. Things weren’t as clear as they were with the contacts out. I hated them right away but knew they were a necessary evil. Putting the case in my pocket for later, I made my way down the hall and through the floor door.

  Drop Kick’s was surprisingly packed for mid-day on a Monday and I immediately got to work taking orders and checking on tables. I soon found out a big plumbing convention was in town and between that and Austin’s regular tourist influx, Dan’s was swamped.

  I was a few hours into a decent shift when Dan whistled at me and told me I had a call at the bar. Who would be calling me here? Frowning, I headed over and picked it up.

  “This is Skye,” I chirped quickly into the receiver.

  “Hello, love. It’s Jameson.”

  “Hi, honey. What’s going on?” I asked, wondering why he was calling the bar phone instead of my cell phone. It was then that I patted down my back pocket and realized I’d left it in my messenger bag in Dan’s office.

  “You got a sec?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a few minutes,” I answered, eyeing my section. “Talk to me.”

  “I’m parking now. Grab me a beer. I’ll be in shortly,” he said and ended the call.

  He’s here? I hung the receiver back on the wall and told Dan I needed to take five. He smiled and slid me a shot of Jack Daniels and I remembered to order a beer for Jameson.

  “Micky’s stopping by?” Dan smiled as he set the Guinness draft in front of me and I chuckled at his old nickname for Jameson. “Haven’t seen him in a while. How’d his tour go?”

  “Really well,” I smiled as I picked up our drinks. “Jameson said they sold out almost every show.”

  I spotted Jameson as soon as he walked in and told Dan I’d be back soon. Nodding my head to a small table by the jukebox, I followed him over and we took a seat.

  “It’s always good to see you, honey, but is something wrong?” I asked, on edge, leaning in so we could talk privately.

  “Aye,” he sighed and downed half his beer. After he licked the foam from his top lip, he continued. “Styvi Nix is fine, so I don’t want you to worry…but�
��”

  “But what?” I asked, my hands moving protectively to my chest. I could tell by the tone of his voice that I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear.

  “But,” he said gently, reaching out a hand for mine. He gripped mine tightly like the anchor he so often was for me and cleared his throat. “I don’t think Nikki has been home in a couple of days. You’ve both got about two days’ worth of mail piled up in the mailbox.”

  I swallowed thickly and reached across the table with my free hand to gently cup his cheek. “Let me see,” I whispered, the need to observe it through his eyes so strong. I’d never attempted this form of mind reading before, but it somehow felt very natural to me; like my body knew what to do even if I didn’t.

  Jameson took a deep breath and nodded his head as he leaned into my hand, bringing our faces closer together. Trust, sorrow, and love poured off him in waves, making my already raw nerves rawer. I gave him a sad smile and briefly caressed his cheek with my thumb before I finally focused hard into his eyes.

  There was a quick vibration in my vision and then a momentary sense of falling. In the blink of an eye, I was seeing his, Trey, and Pádraig’s arrival at my house. They knocked on Nikki’s front door but there was no answer. I watched Jameson point to the side of the house where the back gate was and tell Trey to meet him in the backyard. Jameson then walked to my side of the duplex and unlocked my front door. My house was exactly as I had left it and it made me abruptly homesick. Walking through to the back door, he unlocked it and stepped into the back yard. Trey and Pádraig were already there comforting a whimpering and excited Styvi Nix. My breath caught at the sight of her and then I followed Jameson’s eyes to the back porch. There was a huge pile of dog food and a bowl of water on the ground. From the looks of it, Styvi had been left to her own devises and I growled lowly with anger. I felt a soft brush against my lips and it startled me so much that I snapped out of Jameson’s mind.

  My eyes blinked a few times as his face came back into view and I immediately gazed down my nose, noting his thumb softly brushing across my lips.

  “You were growling, love,” he said, concerned, and then dropped his hand.

  I did the same and swallowed hard. Of all the things I was expecting to see in his mind, seeing Styvi Nix abandoned was not one of them. I was suddenly furious at Nikki, which was kind of confusing for me because I was also intensely worried about her safety. “She left Styvi, Jameson.”

  “I know, babe,” he whispered and scooted his chair closer to mine. He lifted his arm and I leaned into him, allowing him to hug me.

  “How do you always seem to know what I need?” I asked in a sigh as I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.

  “Because I know you, little sister,” he whispered, rubbing his hand up and down my arm, soothing me. “And because you were shaking. Styvi Nix is okay, Skye. Trey and Pádraig are looking after her now back at the lake house. She was a bit traumatized at first, I think, but she’s doing a lot better now. When I left them to come here, Trey had just given her a bath and was snuggling with her on the couch, wrapped up in a big blanket. She was sleeping comfortably in his arms last I saw.”

  “I don’t know whether to cry or kick Nikki’s ass when I find her,” I shook my head.

  “At least she left her with plenty of food and water. That must mean Nikki is okay. If she was in trouble, or something bad had happened, I don’t think she would have been able to leave provisions for Styvi, do you?”

  I worried at my bottom lip as I leaned back and sighed. “I don’t understand it. Nikki would never just leave Styvi. And if she had to for some reason, she would have done everything she could to get in contact with me; call Archer or the Mausoleum or…something. This isn’t like her, Jameson. I know my best friend and I know how much she loves our Styvi. This isn’t like her.”

  “I checked around your property and nothing seemed amiss,” he said. “I didn’t pick up anyone’s scent besides her and Lyric’s. Maybe she had to go out of town suddenly and just forgot to let you know.”

  “Maybe,” I frowned, not really believing it. I glanced over my shoulder at the clock behind the bar. “Crap. My break is over.”

  “I’ll see you tonight at the club,” Jameson said, standing and then pulling me in for a hug. “Try not to worry so much. She’ll turn up eventually and Styvi Nix is safe.”

  I nodded my head, kissed his cheek, then grabbed our empty glasses and went back over to the bar.

  “You okay, doll?” Dan asked as soon as I approached, noting my frown.

  “Not really,” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “Jameson said Nikki wasn’t home and that Styvi Nix had been left to her own devises in the backyard with a few days’ supply of food and water.”

  “You’re joking,” he said, shocked, putting down the glass he was filling. “She would never just leave Styvi.”

  “I know. But Jameson said everything looked okay at the house. He figures something probably came up and she forgot to call us.”

  “I don’t buy it,” Dan frowned, shaking his head.

  “I didn’t either.”

  “Do you think we should call the police?”

  “And tell them what?” I asked. “That our friend is missing but she thought enough to leave the dog a huge pile of food? That implies intent. What else could we tell them?”

  “I don’t know,” he sighed, suddenly looking very tired. “Maybe she’ll call one of us and check in. If we haven’t heard from her by tomorrow night, we should definitely call someone though.”

  “I agree. Three days is long enough…too long really,” I said thoughtfully. “If you need me to help out around here until she gets back, I can. I know her absence has put you in a tough bind.”

  “Really, doll?” I raised his eyebrows, surprised. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Of course not, Dan,” I shook my head, my brow furrowed a bit. Dan wasn’t just my old boss, he was my friend too. “If you need me, I’m here. Archer won’t care as long as it doesn’t cut too much into my job at The Mausoleum. My shifts don’t start there until eight anyway, but I’m sure he won’t mind if I need to start a little late.”

  “Nikki was scheduled for the day shift all this week.”

  “Then it’s settled,” I decided, as I tapped my fingernail on the bar top. “If we don’t hear from her by morning, I’ll be back here at ten to cover her shift.”

  “I can’t thank you enough, Skye,” Dan said gently, deep appreciation painting his tired face. “It means a lot to me that you’re helping out.”

  “You mean a lot to me,” I gazed at him honestly. “We’re friends, Dan…it’s what we do.”

  “She’ll call by tomorrow,” he said as I was turning back around to go to my tables. I didn’t know who he was trying to convince more, me or himself, but I glanced back at him and nodded my head.

  “We’ll hear from her,” I whispered and turned back to my section.

  Everyone seemed to need another drink so I was busy playing catch up for the next hour. My favorite old regulars, Johnny Kilgore and Jackson Ewing, walked in around five and I greeted them excitedly.

  “Oh, please tell me you’re working here again,” Johnny drawled on a grin, hugging me tightly. He smelled like sweat, man, and the great outdoors and I smiled at the familiar scent.

  “Unfortunately, no,” I shook my head as Jackson hugged me next. “I’m just filling in for Nikki.”

  “That’s a damn shame,” Jackson said, “but I’m glad you’re here today. I just got some great news and Johnny and I are ready to celebrate.”

  “Oh yeah?” I said over my shoulder as I led them to a table in my section. “Well, don’t hold out on me. Spill the beans!”

  They each scooted into a green vinyl booth seat and Jackson smiled proudly at me. “My Jessi is expecting.”

  “Well, I’ll be,” I breathed excitedly as I gave him a happy high-five. “Hot damn, Jackson!” He and his wife had been
struggling for the last ten years or so to have another baby and I knew it was something they had really been wanting. “Way to go!”

  “She’s two months along, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed, but Doc says everything looks good so far.”

  “I am so happy for you, honey,” I beamed at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier for two people. You be sure to give Jessica my love and congratulations.”

  “I’ll definitely do that,” he winked at me, the pride and happiness on his face warmed my heart.

  “How about you bring us our usual and a double shot of something nice,” Johnny said as he slid me his AmEx.

  “You got it, honey,” I chuckled and made my way over to the bar to put the order in.

  “Hi, Fi. Can I get a pitcher of Budweiser and two blue Johnnie Walker doubles?” I asked Fiona, who had just arrived for her shift.

  “Hey, Skye,” she smiled at me before it quickly slid off. “Dan told me you were filling in for Nikki today.”

  “Yeah. I got here a little before noon,” I shrugged a shoulder.

  “I can’t believe she just disappeared like that,” Fiona frowned as she filled the pitcher.

  Remembering what I’d read earlier from Dan’s mind, I decided to ask her about it since he wasn’t around. “Hey, Fi?” I asked softly as I leaned over the bar. “Did you happen to maybe notice anything weird going on with Nik the last time you saw her? Was she with anyone or did she seem troubled in any way?”

  Fiona’s brow furrowed like she was thinking back. “No. Well, not exactly. The last time I saw her was on Friday night, I guess. Lyric and some friends of his came in at about ten and Nikki sat with them after her shift was over at midnight. She didn’t look too particularly happy to see Lyric, though. I guess they weren’t getting along or something. She confided in me during Thursday’s shift that she was thinking about breaking up with him, but she wouldn’t say why.”

  That didn’t surprise me. Nikki was very secretive about her private life with everyone except me. The fact that she mentioned wanting to break up with Lyric to Fiona spoke volumes. Nikki must have really needed to talk to someone. I instantly felt guilty for not being there for my best friend. I’d had my head firmly planted up Archer and Jameson’s ass for the last two months and that wasn’t like me. We promised each other long ago that our friendship would always come first. Sisters before misters and all that. Ugh…I’m such a shitty friend.