Mara gave Clara a look that was probably supposed to help her feel better. "He's not alone over there. Nichole's mom went to nursing school before getting married, and she said she would take care of him better than we could. The hospitals won't take him because he wasn't dying."
Clara put her hands over her face, took a deep breath, and then looked up. "You said he was unconscious. What was wrong with him?"
Harvey shoved the chip bag aside. "She said he had a busted knee and wrist. There was some blood in his hair, but she said he was fine. It was just shock or something."
"We've got to get him out of there." Clara looked at them. "Are you with me, or am I on my own?"
The three of them looked at each other.
Mara was the first to speak. "I don't want to go to the house of a crazy person. Sorry."
"I don't think her mom would let anything happen to him," Harvey said. "She's always been nice."
Clara narrowed her eyes. "Nichole had to get her crazy from somewhere."
"It can skip generations, you know. I took a psychology class in high school." Hanna nodded with a knowing look on her face. "Think about it. If her mom was nuts, she would have tried to cover up what her daughter did. Right? But she's the one who worked the deal and pushed her to confess. She's my dad's cousin. I know these things. There's no crazy in my family. It has to be from her dad's side."
"And just where is her dad?"
"King Kong or something."
Mara laughed. "I think you mean Hong Kong."
"Whatever. I'm not a geography major." Hanna rolled her eyes. "He travels, like, all the time. Nichole's mom tried to blame the poisoning on that, saying that she wanted her daddy's attention."
Clara jumped off the bed. "I can't sit here any longer. Where does the psycho live?"
Chapter 28
CLARA LOOKED AT the unassuming house. It looked like every other house in the neighborhood: enormous and in immaculate shape. Not a stray weed in the yard or a speck of dirt on the house.
Apparently, crazies lived in all kinds of places. Even gorgeous, expensive homes. She clenched her fists, walked up the walkway, and prepared herself for whatever she was about to walk into.
She knocked on the door, and a friendly-looking lady answered the door. She looked about the same age as Mrs. Ferguson. She was probably Nichole's mother. "Can I help you? Are you okay? Everyone has been staying inside because of the explosions, you know."
Clara nodded and then forced a smile. "I heard that your family is taking care of William."
"Oh." She looked confused. "We are. You're not Kathryn, are you?"
"No."
"I didn't think so. I hadn't seen her in years, so I wasn't sure. How do you know William?"
Clara held up her engagement ring. "We're getting married. Perhaps you heard about the romantic proposal the other night at the country club."
Her eyes widened. "I did hear there was an engagement at the dance. I didn't know it was William. Well, congratulations. Would you like to see him? He's resting on our couch. I've been taking care of his injuries."
"Thank you. I appreciate you taking care of him, especially since the hospitals are so overwhelmed."
She moved aside, letting Clara in. "I'm just glad I could help. I never became a nurse, but I'm glad to be able to put my knowledge to use when I can."
Clara nodded. Maybe Hanna was right, perhaps the mom was perfectly normal.
"Follow me."
Relieved to be able to keep her shoes on, Clara smiled and followed her through a maze of hallways until they ended up in what looked like a family room. It had an impressive home theater system and nearly every game console system known to man. After Clara took her gaze off the entertainment wall, she looked around the room, stopping at one of the couches.
William was sleeping with a dark-haired wench curled up to him, snuggled under a blanket. Clara's eyes flashed red, and she took a deep breath to calm herself and return her eyes back to their normal color.
Nichole's mother cleared her throat. "Nichole."
"What?" Nichole sat up, looking groggy. She looked at Clara, first appearing confused, and then it was replaced with recognition. Did she know that William was already spoken for?
"This is Clara. She and William are engaged. Why don't you fill her in on how he's doing?"
A look of annoyance covered Nichole's face. "Yes, Mom."
"Thanks, dear. I have some emails to answer."
Clara didn't want her to leave. Nichole would probably go crazy without her being in the room. Not that Clara would have a problem dealing with her. She just preferred not to deal with whatever the girl was capable of.
Nichole's mom left the room and Nichole glared at Clara. "He was hit by flying debris after one of the blasts. It hit him in the head, throwing him into a wall. Some fat guy landed on him, and I'm pretty sure that's what messed up his leg. Now you're caught up. Care to leave?"
"Nope." Clara stepped closer to the couch. "Care to remove yourself from his blanket?"
"Actually, it's my blanket."
"Then move yourself from your blanket." Clara folded her arms.
Nichole smirked. "Gladly." She stood up and yanked the blanket off William.
Clara gasped, seeing that he was in his underwear. "How dare you?"
"It was my mom who insisted that his clothes come off." She shrugged. "I wasn't going to argue."
"Yeah. I'll bet. So, how's that quarterback?"
"Quarter…?" Nichole's eyes narrowed. "How did you know about that?"
"I thought everyone knew." Clara shrugged. "At least he's alive, or you probably wouldn't be here now."
Nichole stepped closer to Clara. "Shut up."
"Look. I don't really care what you did or didn't do to anyone else. I'm just here to take William back home."
"No-freaking-way. You're not taking him anywhere. He needs to stay here so we can nurse him back to health."
"I appreciate you taking care of my fiancé, but I'm going to take over for now."
"Not. Going. To. Happen." Nichole folded her arms, staring Clara down.
"Sorry you feel that way, but that's the way it's going to be. Be a dear and cover him back up. I promise to return the blanket."
Nichole got in Clara's face. "I'm not letting him leave with you."
Clara moved closer, so that their noses were actually touching. "And I'm not letting him stay here with you."
"He's not going anywhere. We have everything he needs to get better."
"Trust me, honey. You don't have what I do. I'll have him up and running before you can wipe all that makeup off your face."
She gasped. "You need to leave my house. Now."
"Move aside, so I can get William."
"That's never going to happen. He's here and we're taking care of him."
"Then I'm not leaving."
"If that's the case, I'm going to call for security to remove you."
"You have your own security guards?"
"No. The ones that work for the neighborhood. What are you? Stupid or something?"
"I'm not from around here. I need to get William back to his own home. He has a family that's worried about him."
Nichole narrowed her eyes. "They're not even home. We've already emailed them."
"He's still better off in his bed, where he's in a familiar environment. It's not like you guys have him attached to an IV drip. Move aside. I'm tired of discussing this."
"So am I. Get out of my house."
Clara shook her head. "Not a chance. So you can poison him? If you can't have a guy, no one will, right?"
"Not that I owe you an explanation, but I was released from the facility because I had been cured. I'm not like that anymore."
"Then prove it. Let me take William home."
"You're not good enough for him."
Clara's eyes widened. "What do you know about me? Nothing."
"I know enough. You had an argument with him and walked away. I would never do
that."
"Again, you know nothing." Clara clenched her fists, holding back the temptation to show her just how powerful she was. She could rip the girl to shreds before she even knew what hit her. "You have no reason to keep him here."
Nichole smirked. "I saved his life and my mom has been taking care of his bandages. They need to be wrapped up so they can heal."
"I can take care of him too." The conversation was ridiculous and going nowhere. Clara looked around Nichole at William. Had they drugged him? He was sleeping through the entire thing. "Has he even been awake since he got here?"
"Sure. He walked out of the guest room and in here all by himself. Well, I did help him." She grinned.
"Obviously, you didn't think about clothing him first."
Before Clara had time to think, her arm moved to punch Nichole in the face. Just before she made contact, Clara opened her hand so that she only slapped her. Even so, it was enough force that Nichole flew back several feet, landing against the couch. Clara couldn't help it. Vampires were naturally so much stronger than humans, and this one was way out of line.
Nichole rubbed her face, staring at Clara. "How dare you?"
"How dare I? How dare you!"
Stepping forward, Nichole narrowed her eyes. The look in her eyes worried Clara.
"Mom!" screamed Nichole. "Mom!"
Her mom ran into the room. "What's wrong?" She looked back and forth between the two of them.
Clara couldn't believe that William was still asleep. What had they done to him?
Nichole's eyes were wild. "Get her out of here. She's crazy."
Biting back a comment, Clara turned to Nichole's mom. She was careful to keep her face straight and her voice even. "I only want to take William home."
"We don't mind keeping him here. Like I said, I have medical training."
"I'm his fiancé. He needs to be home with me. I appreciate you taking care of him, but he needs to be with family."
Nichole laughed. "You're not family."
Clara held up the ring again. "This diamond says otherwise."
"Not until it's legal. For now, you're nothing."
"Nichole!" her mom exclaimed.
"Oh, Mom. It's true, and you know it. She has no legal rights to him."
Clara narrowed her eyes. "Nor do you."
"Morally, yes. I—"
"Saved his life. You've mentioned that."
"You know what? We're his family. Didn't you know that my mom is second cousins with his uncle's wife?"
"What?" Clara asked.
"It's true. Kathryn and I used to always say we were more than just friends, because we were family."
"That's quite a stretch. Kudos to you for your imagination." Clara turned back to her mom. "I would really like to get him home in his own house. He'll be able to heal better there."
"Don't let her go. She hit me! It still stings. See?" Nichole pointed to the spot where Clara had slapped her.
Her mom looked at the pink mark. She turned to Clara. "Is this true?"
"She threatened me."
"I think you do need to go."
"What?" Clara exclaimed. "Then let me bring him with me."
"He's in good hands here."
"You're going to hold him against his will?"
"He hasn't asked to leave. But we're asking you to."
"His father and grandfather are attorneys. You seriously want to go there?"
"If he asks to leave with you, we'll let him."
"How will that happen? You've obviously got him drugged with something. He's slept through this entire thing."
"He needs his rest. Please leave, before we have to call security."
"Fine. But I'll be back. Tell your daughter to stop snuggling with her cousin." Clara stormed past the mom, and made her way outside, maneuvering through the maze of halls.
As she thought about the entire thing, fury built up in her. Her eyes turned red: a deep, dark red. How dare they keep her from him? They had no right, and they most certainly weren't family. What a ludicrous stretch.
She paced in front of the house, trying to decide what to do next. Getting in by herself wasn't going to happen. They would probably call security and have her banned from the neighborhood. That was also a good reason to stop pacing in front of their house.
Should she go back to Hanna's house? Or would she be better off seeing if any of William's family had made it home? She also needed to get back to check on Natalie.
Clara would have to sneak back into Nichole's house. That was where going through walls was helpful, but getting out with William would be the tricky part. Would she use mind control? It might not even work on those two. She had seen humans with mental disorders be impervious to it in the past, and they obviously had some serious issues.
She looked back to the house and saw Nichole watching her from a window. Clara gave her the one-finger salute and walked away. She decided to go back to William's house and leave a message that she didn't feel safe with him in Nichole's house. Aside from that, if any of his family had made it back home, they could go with her to retrieve him. She managed to calm down enough to get her eyes back to their normal color.
Sally answered the door again, and Clara filled her in. She looked concerned. "I would go with you if I thought it would help. But Will is stuck at the firm, unable to get down the stairs. I haven't heard back from the ladies of the house, either. I assume they're still at the club. That's where there's a large underground safe room. I imagine everyone there went into that room. I keep hearing explosions, so I'm sure they're going to be there a while."
Clara sighed. "What am I supposed to do now?" What she really needed was to find another vampire. If she had another one, they could easily sneak into the house and get William out.
"You're more than welcome to come in and stay here."
"Thanks, Sally, but I need to figure out a way to get William back home."
She nodded. "Feel free to come back if you need to."
Absentmindedly, Clara said thanks, and walked back to the road. Should she go back and employ the help of William's friends? They wouldn't even go with her to Nichole's house. They would be no help. What about Natalie? Who else did she know in Delphic Cove?
Mr. Foley.
He lived in the neighborhood somewhere and he was a werewolf. He couldn't go through walls, but he would be as strong as any vampire. He could also serve as a distraction. Women of all ages fell all over themselves to get his attention.
Clara could get him to go over there and give them enough attention to allow Clara to sneak and in get William out. All she had to do was figure out where he lived.
She sniffed the air and detected the werewolf scent even over the residue from all of the explosions. She followed it until she came to his house. Stopping in front of his house, she noticed that it was bigger than both William's house and Uncle John's. What on earth was he doing teaching high school math? Was it the best cover he could find to work with his young pack?
It didn't matter. She needed to get William away from that nut job, and the faster the better. Clara walked up the walkway and knocked on the door.
A huge guy answered the door, obviously a werewolf judging by his stink. He glared at her, clearly aware that she was a vampire.
She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and stared him directly in the eyes. "I'm here to see Tobias."
He narrowed his eyes and grunted. "And you would be?"
"Clara Erikson. He—"
A clatter could be heard from inside. "Clara? Let her in, Bruno."
The big, smelly wolf moved aside and she walked in front of him trying not to smirk.
"I'm in the main living room over here," Tobias called.
Clara followed the sound of his voice and stopped in a room full of golden knickknacks covering the shelves. Tobias stood there with a towel wrapped around his neck, wearing only cut-off track pants. His hair was wet and he smelled of perspiration. It was a strangely pleasant scent mixed wit
h the werewolf smell.
"Am I interrupting something?"
He shook his head. "I just got done working out."
"Are you aware that our country is under attack?"
"Why do you think I'm working out? I need to be in top form. So, what can I do for you? I assume you didn't stop by to chat."
"You know me too well. My fiancé is being held against his will a few blocks away."
"And you can't get him yourself? What's the catch?"
Clara leaned against the wall. "The girl is a psycho, newly released from the nut farm. I can't get in there, but I was thinking that you could serve as a distraction so I could go in there and get him. Besides William, it's only a teen girl and her mom. If you show up, flex some muscles and recite the Pledge of Allegiance or something, they'll be mesmerized."
Tobias grinned. "Aww. You need eye candy and immediately thought of me."
"Don't flatter yourself, wolf," Clara teased.
"I know exactly what to wear. Give me a few minutes to clean up and then I'll be ready to captive the women."
Chapter 29
WILLIAM OPENED HIS eyes. Where was he? Everything was blurry. He blinked a dozen times, trying to get his eyes to adjust. He appeared to be in the living room at Nichole's house still. Why was he there? Something had happened, but what?
The side of his head throbbed, and he reached up to rub it. He saw his wrist was wrapped up. He moved it and pain shot through it. So that was why it was bandaged up. To keep him from moving it.
He got the chills and pulled the blanket up around him. He needed to get some actual clothes. He remembered only being in his boxers and undershirt, much to the obvious delight of Nichole. Where was she? He looked around, not seeing anyone, except the dog at his feet.
The news was on the TV, but the volume was too low to hear. He watched the images of destruction go by, one after the other. It looked like a foreign war, but why was it getting so much coverage? He tried to read the ticker at the bottom of the screen, but his vision was still too fuzzy to make out what it read.
William rubbed his eyes and then narrowed his them. Did that say Delphic Cove? Was all that damage of his own hometown? It couldn't be. Wait. Was that why he was in Nichole's house? Why couldn't he remember anything? And why was he so groggy? It felt like his extremities were made of rubber.
Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More Page 187