As he rasped the last angry words out, the room grew deadly silent, each breath measured, each agonizing moment lengthened by the tension between them.
Wanda was the first to rise and tug at Nina’s arm, her voice somber, her face stricken. “He’s right, Nina. You know he’s right. It’s what we’ve been telling you all along. Please, please, please listen,” she whispered, her voice quivering.
For the first time since January had met Nina, she saw her finally absorb that word. Human. She watched as Nina finally met her reality head-on.
She was human.
Rather than lash out, rather than rage and rant, Nina cupped Wanda’s jaw and grazed Greg’s hand with hers before she padded toward the front door of the cabin, opened it, and then let it shut quietly behind her.
Marty was up in the blink of an eye and heading out right behind Nina, but January managed to stop her by gripping her upper arms with gentle hands. “No. Let her process this. Please. I know you’ve all been telling her this since the beginning of her accident, but I don’t think it truly hit her until just now. Greg’s words…well, in my professional opinion, they finally got through to her. I know you all love her and would do anything for her, but let her have this moment. There’s nothing she hates more than to appear weak, and right now, she’s so vulnerable. Let her own that—privately, okay?”
Marty licked her lips, her eyes filling with tears as she nodded. “Okay,” she murmured, allowing her husband to envelop her in his arms as she buried her face in his wide chest and softly cried.
No one moved. No one even looked up, each processing what to do next with Ingrid’s words ringing in their ears. The minutes ticked by as they each fought internally to create a plan.
Finally, Wanda swiped at her eyes with her thumb as Heath gripped her hand. She clung to it for a moment before she appeared to shake off her sorrow and straighten her spine. “Okay, family. We have a problem. A big, ugly, hateful problem. We’ve played nice, for the most part, up until now with this whackadoodle. But I’ll be dipped in cow dung before I’ll let this piece of vampire excrement terrorize Ingrid and Teddy. Especially Ingrid. Teddy was a bounty hunter. She won’t scare as easily and she can take a whole lot more than the average bear. But Ingrid’s as helpless as a newborn. So get your vampire noses in gear, make a plan. I don’t give a flying flip what it is or what we have to do, as long as it’s solid. Now let’s hunt this asshole down and get our girls back!”
January was already tying her hair up and rolling the sleeves of her sweater, but there was one thing she had to do. Help Nina over the final hurdle—or at least check to be sure she was stable enough to work through this on her own. “You all start. I’m just going to take a quick peek in on Nina. She’ll never know I was there.”
Slipping out the door, the lights from the deck helped her spot Nina, sitting on a bench under some trees, her back to January, head bent low.
Her heart hurt for the ex-vampire, for her loss, for the coming days when she’d have to work through the grief of leaving everyone behind someday, of aging long before her friends and husband.
“I might not be a vampire anymore, Doc, but I hear your tiny size fives like claps of damn thunder.”
“I’m a seven and a half, thank you very much,” she said on a laugh, tucking her hair behind her ears.
“Then you just fucked with the Jolly Green Giant’s job security.”
Resting her elbows on the back of the white iron bench, she asked, “May I join you?”
“Do I have a fucking choice? I just gave you enough shit to work with for at least a month. What else would you do but try to fix the broken ex-fucking-vampire? I’m a virtual therapy wonderland.”
Placing a hand on Nina’s shoulder, January squeezed, bracing herself for an onslaught of anger when she spoke to the real reason Nina did what she did. “You’re not broken, Nina. You might not be super strong or be able to smell a hot dog vendor from ten blocks away anymore, but you’re far from broken. You’re one of the strongest people, patients, I’ve ever met. You’re good to the damn core. You’re hell on wheels. You’re a force of nature with so much to offer. But you can’t keep going into scenarios where you’ll end the life you have left. You can’t keep making up for not being able to save your mother, Nina. No one could have saved her…and each person you save won’t help bring her back.”
“Fuck off,” she murmured, but her tone held defeat. “I know that.”
“You know that rationally, but somewhere deep inside, you do it for her, in honor of her. Because she was helpless. Because she couldn’t kick her deadly habit. But she wouldn’t want you to risk your life, Nina. That’s irrational. Your fear is that you won’t be able to keep helping people. That you won’t be able to continue to honor her and somehow she’ll be disappointed in you. And that’s not true. Your strength of spirit is what will get you through.”
Nina shifted in the seat, her shoulders trembling. “If I know that rationally, why the fuck can’t I come to grips with being human again, Doc? I’ve dealt with a lot of shit in my life. You’re right; I lived through a crappy childhood. I dealt with finding out my mother was dead in some motherfucking alley. I’ve been in the middle of a shit-ton of crazy, but I can’t get a flippin’ handle… That doesn’t say GD strong to me.”
Pressing her cheek to Nina’s, she whispered, “That’s because you’re so strong, Nina, you’re not seeing the forest for the trees. You’re fighting the idea that you can be strong without the power of a vampire to back up your abilities. But I know this much—your heart is strong. Your faith and loyalty are strong. Your tenacity is strong. Your love for your family is strong. There are plenty of vampires who have plenty of strength, physical strength, but they don’t have half the inner strength you do. Not even close.”
Nina’s shoulders trembled. The weight of the last months had finally come to roost. “I don’t…” Her husky voice cracked in the night as she clenched her jaw, searching for words. “I don’t know how to…”
“Use your words, Nina,” January coaxed with urgency. “All this time, all these months, even after being shot, you’ve never said it out loud. Say what you want out loud. Put it out into the universe, and even if it’s something you can’t ever have, own it, Nina. Own it, learn from it, hear it. Then you can move on.”
Nina’s fists clenched, her body going rigid when she spat, “I want to be a goddamn vampire, okay? I want shit to go back to the way it was. I thought I’d be happier than a can of Silly String, finally getting to do human things like eat chicken wings and guzzle cans of Bud. But those are the only things I like about being human. It isn’t about how strong I was as a vampire. It fucking isn’t about some power trip. It’s about not being forced to leave the people I made my fucking family after I was turned, okay? I damn well don’t want to leave my kid and my husband and my fucking BFFs. I want to help my GD friends who are in trouble with a freak of nature!”
“So say what you want, Nina!” January pressed, gripping her from behind. “Acknowledge what you want, stop kidding yourself and let it go!”
Nina shook her off with a rough jerk, her head falling between her shoulders. “I want to be a vampire. I want to be a fucking vampire! Is that what you want to hear? Is it, Dr. Feels?” she rasped, the pain in her husky voice raw and achingly honest.
January bracketed Nina’s face, forcing her to turn around and look at her, and wiping the single tear dripping down Nina’s cheek before pulling her into a tight hug. “Yeah. That’s what I want to hear, my friend. That’s exactly what I want to hear.”
She imagined Nina didn’t allow anyone to coddle her—at least not very often. So she took great pride in this moment. This moment meant full and total trust from someone who didn’t trust easily. Someone who guarded and clung to her innermost terrors with a steel grip.
This moment meant vulnerability and fear for Nina. She’d stepped out on the ledge and taken a chance someone would catch her when she fell.
This
was the moment when Nina felt all the feelings she’d shoved away in one form or another—really felt them, really expressed them. January was grateful it was she who was her soft place to land.
When January had asked Nina to tell her what she missed most about being a vampire using one word, Nina had written family.
But January didn’t get it at first. Her family hadn’t deserted her just because she wasn’t a vampire anymore. But now she understood—it was crystal clear.
Most of Nina’s family consisted of the paranormal, with the exception of her grandma Lou and Archibald. She missed feeling like she was a part of the family she created, the family she’d hand-selected. She’d begun to feel like an outsider with the only people she’d ever allowed into her life.
And it hurt.
But January hoped this new revelation, this new acceptance, was the beginning of a new outlook.
Nina relaxed in her arms, shuddering against her as she sobbed, clinging to January’s arm, her fingers digging into her flesh.
But she didn’t mind.
Not at all.
Crying was the first step in moving forward. Letting go. Getting on with the business of living.
And she wanted that most of all for Nina.
Chapter 12
January reentered the house after Nina’s request for a moment to compose herself. Nina’s battle was only one in the near future she’d have to fight, but knowing she was on the road to moving forward was so gratifying, leaving January warm on the inside.
Jumping into the fray, January watched as the group mapped out a plan, the minutes ticking away far too fast.
Marty’s head popped up as she gazed at January. “Do you think it’s okay to get Nina now? We really need her input.”
January smiled and nodded. “I think she’d be thrilled to hear that.”
But when Darnell pushed his way back through the front door after going to get her, his warm, open face was in clear distress. “I can’t find her, Boss,” he said, his voice tight with anxiety. “Looked all over the place out there and nothin’.”
January’s stomach fell to her feet and she didn’t quite know why. “But she just went outside to catch her breath no more than fifteen minutes ago. I was just with her.”
Darnell’s sweet eyes held concern. “She ain’t there now, Doc.”
Dread filled January from head to toe.
No. No, she wouldn’t go after Artem alone. Would she?
No. She’d really heard Greg for the first time. She’d listened to January. Really listened, so she instantly ruled that out. Maybe she’d just wandered deeper into the woods?
Archibald stumbled from the hallway on heavy feet after going to check on Farley’s whereabouts. His kind face red, his chest heaving beneath his pristine suit as he helped a limping Farley to the living room and handed him off to Galen. “She’s gone!” he shouted before taking off back down the hall.
“Who?” Marty asked, her eyes scanning the room in surprise.
Farley inhaled a ragged breath. “The wee bairn! Calista! She’s gone!”
“What happened, Farley?” Galen shouted, his voice tight as he gripped her familiar’s shoulders.
Farley’s cherubic face was stricken, his words groggy. “I was sitting beside her in my chair as I always do as she drifted off to sleep. I admit to ya, lass, I was dozin’, too. I woke when she cried out. And then…”
“Then what, Farley?” January almost screamed.
He ran a hand over his lined face as though to clear the cobwebs from his brain. “Suddenly Nina was there in the room, and then those swine vamps, I’m assumin’, they showed up and everythin’ went black as the sky over the moors on a winter’s night. Cracked me o’er the head, they did!”
“Did you recognize any of them?” Keegan asked, his tone a barely contained calm.
Farley shook his head then winced. “Nay! Nothin’ but a quick gander of the bastards, mind ya, but they were pale as alabaster.”
Archibald burst back out from the hallway, Charlie in his arms and Carl and Hollis following close. “Everyone else is safe, sir!” he yelped.
Greg and Heath tore down the hallway, the rumble of their feet on the hardwood floors jarring January even as she was frozen to the spot.
“She’s not in her crib!” Greg confirmed on a yell.
January nearly passed out as terror raced through her veins in a cold wave. “Calista? Someone took Calista?” she screamed, bile rising in her throat as Galen rushed to her side.
The world narrowed to a pinpoint, everything else falling away as she fought to stay conscious, to piece this together, to stay coherent enough to think rationally as they all rushed outside, instead of reacting by crumbling to the ground in fear.
Artem didn’t just have Teddy and Ingrid.
The motherfucker had Nina and Calista, too.
“Look!” Wanda yelled and pointed to the ground beneath the balcony of the room Calista had been sleeping in. The dirt was disturbed, large footprints of all manner, including what were likely Nina’s work boots, were visible.
The leaves on the ground were shoved to either side of a distinct path headed deeper into the woods, a trail she’d probably created by dragging her feet to prevent being taken.
January’s heart raced, pounding in her ears. Artem had her baby. He had the most precious thing in her life.
“Definitely looks like someone took her. But she put up a fight. That’s my girl,” Marty said while tears rolled down her face.
“How could we not smell those fucks?” Heath roared into the night.
Wanda gripped his arm, her face ashen. “We were too wrapped up in figuring out how to get Ingrid and Teddy back and we let our guards down. Damn them!” she cried.
“Son of a bitch! I’ll kill him, you all hear me?” Greg roared, the veins in his neck straining. “No one touches my wife ever! I swear to Christ, if he hurts my wife or that baby, I’ll rip him limb from limb and damn the consequences!”
Heath and Keegan were instantly beside their friend. Keegan slapped him on the back. “We’ll help, man, but I need you to gather your wits. Got that? We’ll root this bastard out but we have to do it logically. Do not lose your shit.”
“He has my goddamn wife, Keegan! This fuck better run far because I’ll see him on fire at daybreak for this!”
The pain on Greg’s face was as raw as January’s. If she’d ever doubted his love for Nina, no one could doubt it now.
Galen stepped forward, his face grim, but in a situation like this she could always count on him to be rational. “I’m going to pray that whoever took Nina, she’s with Calista. So I’m begging you. I’ll do whatever you ask, but let’s use caution. Artem is a vile man, not above using vile tactics to lure us to him. But a defenseless baby, our baby, is at stake. Please, let’s think this through.”
January knew it took everything he had to say those words without exploding, but she loved him even more for it—even if she couldn’t breathe. Even if her whole world was now in the hands of that maniac.
“Okay, here’s how it’s gon’ go down, y’all. Somebody’s gotta stay here and watch the babies,” Darnell pointed out. “Somebody strong with a lil’ bit o’ magic to fight off anybody who might show up wantin’ to create some trouble. You men go with your women. The Doc, me, Arch, Carl, and Farley’ll keep watch here.”
But January shook her head, even as it spun in circles. There was one thing she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. No way was she staying behind.
“No! Absolutely not. If I have nothing, I have a wand that will fuck a bitch up if need be. Fuck the white witch way. Fuck peace and love. This is my child we’re talking about. I will not let that monster hurt my baby!”
“Slow your roll, Mini-Nina!” Wanda ordered, whirling January around to face her, the warm evening wind tearing at her perfect updo. “When we do this, we each have to have a specific role. We can’t just run in there like we’re on fire. Hear me? No wild magic wand tricks unless i
t’s necessary. My experience with crazies like this makes me very skeptical Artem doesn’t have a backup plan. Understood? You follow the rules and listen to us.”
January brushed the hair from her eyes, her jaw firmly set in determination. “I’ll do whatever you say. Anything at all, but I’m not staying behind.”
Galen opened his mouth to protest, she knew that was where he was headed, so she cut him off at the pass. “Don’t you say a word, Vampire! I can take care of myself and I wield a mighty wand when needed. I love you, Galen Marcus, but back off!”
He held up his hands in submission, though the vein above his eye pulsed. “Okay. But I need you to promise to stay close to someone who has superior strength, January. While your wand is pretty potent, you need someone with speed and power.”
“Then let’s get to this, shall we?” Heath encouraged as they all headed back into the house.
She fought a wave of nausea as she put one foot in front of the other, clinging to Galen’s hand and following everyone inside.
Her coven and peace and harmony be damned.
This was GD war.
* * * *
“You sure this is the right place?” Heath whispered with a hiss in the dark.
“I know the scent of my own damn wife, Jefferson!” Greg hissed back.
“He’s right. I definitely smell Nina and that bowl of clam chowder she had this afternoon,” Galen agreed.
“Looks damn deserted,” Keegan commented.
They were behind a row of shortly trimmed hedges surrounding Artem’s vast property, hunkered down and assessing the situation.
Wanda rolled her eyes as Marty retied her shoe. “Boys, shut up! God, we never have this much conversation when we’re going after some fruitcake. And they say women are chatty? Please. Now all of you can it and let us canvass. No one moves. Stay put. Marty, January? Come with. And keep that badass wand handy, Doc.”
Never was January ever as grateful to have vampires on their side as she was tonight. Their noses had led them directly to Artem’s front door. A front door attached to an amazing cabin at least ten times bigger than the one they were sharing right now.
How Nina Got Her Fang Back: Accidental Quickie (Accidentally Paranormal Series Book 13) Page 12