Vengeance in Blood (Book 3): Reborn

by Watson, Thomas A.

  Hearing a scream from Tiffany inside the house and something crashing to the floor, Kenneth looked at Besseta in shock. “How?” was all he could manage.

  “I suddenly realized I could hear Tiffany’s deep thoughts, and I’ve never done that before, so I figured it was from you. I just tried to use you like a phone,” she said with a shocked face, never believing it would’ve really worked.

  The roar of thoughts filled Kenneth’s mind and Besseta felt his body tighten up. Squeezing her legs and wrapping her arms tight around his neck, she pulled her face to his ear. “Relax, I’m here,” she whispered, nuzzling into his neck. Relaxing when the roar in his mind quit building, Besseta waited for it to calm as she breathed, “Shhhhh, babe, I’m here.”

  Feeling his body relax and the roar in his mind slowly ebb, Besseta grinned into his neck. “You can’t be distracted now, stud, because I have to put my shirt on, so you can take a nap. Not to mention, there are kids in the house and neither of us are quiet.”

  Like a switch, the roar left Kenneth’s mind and Besseta fought not to laugh at the naughty thoughts that filled his mind. “I have to say, I really love this,” she mumbled.

  When his mind cleared of the roar, not the naughty thoughts, Kenneth looked down at her, hugging her tight. “That’s not fair,” he smiled and kissed her.

  The front door of the house slammed open and Tiffany stormed over with an angry face. “I swear, if you two fed off each other, I’m going to beat both of you down!” she yelled.

  Seeing true anger in Tiffany’s eyes, Besseta let go of Kenneth with her legs and dropped to the ground. “No, Tiffany, we didn’t,” she said quickly, suddenly glad she could outrun Tiffany.

  Coming to a stop, but still with a mad expression, Tiffany growled. “Then, how in the hell did you talk in my fucking mind?”

  “Tsk, Tsk,” Kenneth said, shaking his head. “TV has really ruined your vocabulary.”

  “Kenneth, I’m in the mood to beat, so don’t start,” Tiffany warned, locking her narrowed eyes on him and Kenneth held up his hands in surrender.

  “Tiffany, I just realized, I could hear your deep thoughts,” Besseta blurted out, not wanting a spanking from Tiffany because the last one hurt like hell and she hadn’t been this mad.

  Crossing her arms, Tiffany seemed to relax. “Explain,” she said curtly.

  “It wasn’t like what I normally hear and then I realized, I heard more than one of your voices in my head; I was hearing you in Kenneth’s mind. On a whim, I just focused on his mind and tried talking back to you,” Besseta said quickly, but getting ready to take off running, sunlight be damned.

  The anger left Tiffany’s face with a startle. “Anything else?” Slowly nodding, Besseta told her what she and Kenneth had talked about. Letting her arms drop, Tiffany looked away in deep thought. “Kenneth, until I figure this out, you aren’t to feed off another vampire or werewolf, understood? Trust me, you can kill them without feeding on them. I know, and you’ve seen it in my mind.”

  “Um, okay,” he said and heard Besseta in his mind. ‘If she tries to spank either of us, I’m running and you’d better keep up.’

  “Besseta!” Tiffany snapped and Besseta almost took off, but Kenneth held her tight. “You’re talking to him in his mind, and it wasn’t lovey dovey stuff. Out loud when I’m around, remember?”

  “Sorry,” Besseta smiled meekly.

  “When are we leaving?” Tiffany asked, looking up at Kenneth.

  Shrugging, “When they are ready, and you help me put a coat of wax on Kiera,” he said and pointed at the car.

  A smile filled her face as Tiffany looked back at the car. “What is she again?” she asked.

  “Bentley Mulsanne,” Kenneth said, letting Besseta go and walking over to the Lamborghini before sliding the passenger door up and grabbing two sacks.

  “Humph,” Besseta huffed and spun around, stomping off toward the house. “I’d better find a car that likes me, or I’ll break them all.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Driving down the highway in the Lamborghini with the windows open, Kenneth glanced over at Besseta sitting beside him. “Babe, eyes on the road,” Besseta giggled with Bonnie and Clyde in her lap.

  Turning back to the road, Kenneth cut his eyes back to Besseta. “Damn, you look good,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

  “Babe, we are over halfway home, so please, it’s been like forever, so pretty please, just get us home,” Besseta said, scratching Clyde behind the ear. “You and I will have to take a nature walk with Maria and the kids at the house.”

  Turning back to the road, Kenneth thought about that. “Damn, it has been awhile,” he mumbled. “Like three days. Yeah, I’m up for a nature hike.”

  “Not our longest, but I don’t want to throw you down, with Mickey and them close because Tiffany assures me, neither of us are quiet,” Besseta said as Bonnie moved her head over, wanting some ear scratching. “I wanted to leave sooner, but we weren’t going anywhere until you’d rested.”

  “I know I’m not quiet, but I did need the rest,” Kenneth said proudly.

  Laughing, Besseta looked over at him. “How much longer can Mickey keep driving? Do I need to take over again?”

  “Babe, you switched just a few hours ago at daybreak,” Kenneth pointed out, glancing in the rearview monitor and saw the Range Rover behind him. Further back, he saw Tiffany in the Bentley, riding with Maria and two of the kids.

  “We need to stop soon. The kids need food,” Besseta said.

  “I’m stopping for gas ahead and we can get them some food,” Kenneth replied.

  Still looking at Kenneth, “Kenneth, I’m telling Mickey that I’m driving because we aren’t stopping, except for gas and food for them. I know I won’t get tired, and I’m ready to get home,” Besseta told him. “Home is the safest place for them and a great place for a hike.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably for the best, because I’ve been looking at hotel signs for the last five hours,” Kenneth chuckled.

  Reaching over and patting Kenneth’s leg, Besseta chuckled as Clyde chased her hand down, shoving his head under it and wanting her to pat him. “My word, momma wasn’t gone that long,” Besseta said, pulling Clyde back to her seat.

  “Besseta, have you ever heard of ‘Leviathans’?” Kenneth asked.

  Glancing up from the dogs, “Leviathan, what?” she asked. “Ancient tales have leviathans in the sea.”

  Shrugging one shoulder, “I don’t know, but Maliki was thinking about ‘leviathan’ when I said a cubus was in the hallway,” Kenneth explained. “Whatever it is, he’s terrified of it and a big squid just doesn’t fit. Maliki is more afraid of it than even the cubus, and that’s saying something.”

  “I don’t know,” Besseta shrugged as Kenneth pulled off the interstate into a huge truck stop. “Think the kids believed what Mickey and Maria told them?”

  “To be honest, yeah,” Kenneth said, pulling into the truck stop. “We are secret agents with powers and they have been helping us, and everyone is in danger now. It’s simple and neat.”

  When Kenneth stopped next to a pump, Besseta opened her door. “The babies ride with me,” she informed him as she got out. “I want you to pick up the speed some. We can always take measures, if a cop pulls out with his lights on.”

  Getting out, “I don’t want to deep-six a cop doing his or her job,” Kenneth objected, as Mickey pulled the Range Rover in at the pump behind him and Tiffany pulled up on the other side of the pump.

  “Don’t have to, their engines will just die,” Besseta said, leading the dogs over to the grass.

  “Kenneth, can you fill up Kiera? I need to take the puppies,” Tiffany asked, and Kenneth nodded, pulling out his wallet. Tiffany escorted little Tiffany and Carrie over to the grass with Jack and Jill.

  “My kids have fallen hard for her,” Maria said, getting out. “Are we stopping to eat?”

  “I was going to buy something to take with us,” Kenneth said, and Maria just
shook her head.

  “My kids have trouble finding their mouths. I will not let them ruin Tiffany’s car or that Range Rover,” Maria stated like a general.

  “If Tiffany and Besseta don’t mind stopping, I don’t. I want to get us home. Driving hard, we will be home in six hours,” Kenneth hinted.

  Walking away, “I will talk with them,” Maria nodded, heading for Besseta and Tiffany.

  After shoving the fuel nozzle in, Mickey walked over beside Kenneth, shaking his head and looking at the Lamborghini. “Still can’t believe you bought a Lambo,” Mickey grinned as Kenneth moved over and started filling up the Bentley. “Kenneth, these aren’t fake IDs,” Mickey said in a low voice.

  “I know,” Kenneth huffed, moving over to Mickey. “The new ones will have history tied to them, but they take longer, so you’ll stay at our house until they arrive. You will stay there until your house is ready, but with the new IDs you can at least move around, but stay close to home. We need to get back out in the war.”

  “I don’t know how you have done all this, but I owe you everything,” Mickey said.

  Giving a scoff, “Dude, if I was doing this getaway, we would be in Toyotas, moving across country after stopping at a Walmart,” Kenneth huffed. “My wife refuses to entertain my economical ways.”

  ‘I can hear you’ Kenneth heard in his mind.

  Looking up and over at the grass, Kenneth saw Besseta looking at him with a scowl. “I know,” Kenneth grinned. “Do you remember anything about ‘leviathan’ from Tiffany’s mind?”

  “Babe,” Besseta sighed softly from across the parking lot, but Kenneth heard her just fine. “Like you, I only remembered the highlights. Tiffany heard you, so ask her.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard of the leviathan legends that ancient cultures had. Pretty much every ancient culture I’ve studied had a reference similar to leviathan,” Tiffany said. “And those were adopted from other earlier religions and folklore.”

  Looking at the two of them on the other side of the parking lot, Kenneth couldn’t help but chuckle. He was having a whispered conversation with them, over a hundred yards away. “You laugh at the weirdest things,” Besseta commented, but smiled.

  “No, Tiffany. I don’t think that’s what Maliki was thinking about leviathans for. He was actually terrified at the thought,” Kenneth explained, taking a deep breath and thinking about Maliki. Unlike before, Kenneth only felt Maliki was east of him.

  “He’s in a plane, Kenneth,” Besseta said, bending over and picking up Bonnie.

  “Are we eating here?” Kenneth asked, noticing several young kids pointing at his car.

  “Maria wants the kids to eat here, so yes,” Tiffany answered, picking up Jack and Jill.

  By the tone Tiffany had used, Kenneth just sighed, knowing it wasn’t worth the argument. “My, that was very fast reasoning,” Besseta commented with a sense of pride as she picked up Clyde.

  “Tiffany, I need to borrow your laptop,” Kenneth replied, ignoring the comment and putting the fuel nozzles back up from his and Tiffany’s cars. “Need to get a message to Maliki to stay put forty-eight hours from now, so we can talk, face to face.”

  “Again?” Besseta huffed, putting Bonnie and Clyde in the Lambo. “It sucked the last time we talked to him.”

  Looking over at Tiffany putting Jack and Jill in her car, “Until Elizabeth showed up, Tiffany was having a blast,” Kenneth said, turning back to Besseta. “But think about it, the cubus doesn’t want Maliki near us. If the League is going to have a singular head, they want someone weak.”

  “Yes, I agree with that and Tiffany was having fun, but we have to go back to Vegas, so we can buy a house,” Besseta reminded him, closing the door and Kenneth gave a deep sigh.

  “I’m not going to watch men strip, so forget it,” he said, climbing in the Lambo.

  Pulling up to the massive truck stop, Kenneth got out and saw Besseta reach back in for the dogs. “Honey, you can’t take the dogs inside,” Kenneth told her, climbing out and Besseta looked back over the car at him in shock. That was one reason she liked the Lambo, she could see over it.

  “Why not?” Besseta gasped.

  Kenneth pointed at the door. “Sign says so, honey.”

  Glancing up at the door and spotting a ‘No Pets Inside’ sign, Besseta narrowed her eyes at the store. “You don’t obey the speed limit signs, why do we have to follow that one?”

  “It’s for insurance and health reasons, Besseta,” Kenneth groaned, rolling the windows down as Tiffany and Mickey parked beside him.

  Getting out, Tiffany had Jack and Jill in her arms. “Tiffany’s taking Jack and Jill, so I’m taking Bonnie and Clyde,” Besseta snapped, then clapped her hands and the dogs jumped out.

  Rolling his eyes, Kenneth shook his head. “Guys, they could call the cops.”

  Stopping in front of the Lamborghini as the kids got out of her car carrying her laptop, Tiffany gave a glance back at the store. “Can I use my credit card to buy the store?” she asked, and Kenneth gave a violent startle.

  Closing the windows, Kenneth then shut the door. “That won’t be necessary,” he answered, arming the alarm.

  They walked toward the doors, herding the kids with Bonnie and Clyde walking on either side of Besseta. “Was she kidding?” Mickey whispered, moving beside Kenneth.

  “About buying this place?” Kenneth asked, and Mickey nodded. “Nope, not one bit,” Kenneth answered flatly.

  He and Mickey held the doors open, letting the others through and just as Kenneth had thought, an employee met them at the door. “Sorry, no pets inside,” she smiled.

  As Besseta and Tiffany took deep breaths to unload, Kenneth stepped up and pulled out his wallet. “Sorry, they are service dogs, but we don’t have their harnesses,” he told her, opening his wallet and pulling out a hundred-dollar bill. “We are just eating and leaving. They are trained, so don’t worry.”

  The young lady looked at the money and then turned to the puppies Tiffany was holding. “Kind of young to be trained,” she mumbled.

  Pressing the money into the employee’s hand, “They are,” Kenneth assured her and then pulled out another bill. “Give this one to your manager.”

  Taking the money, the young lady just nodded at the group as they moved over to the fast food area. Ordering turned into a challenge when the kids saw the cool toys that came with the kid’s meal. They all started pointing at which one they wanted, talking excitedly. “You will get whatever comes with your meal,” Maria snapped, and all the kids moaned, casting their eyes down and pouting.

  Putting Jack and Jill down, Tiffany reached over to take Kenneth’s wallet from his back pocket. “Hey,” Kenneth cried out.

  “I only have my credit cards,” Tiffany snapped, pulling out several C notes, handing the wallet back. “People seem to respond to this paper money with enthusiasm,” she told him, then stepped up to the counter.

  “I want five of each of those toys,” Tiffany told the young man taking orders, and put the bills on the counter.

  Snatching up the money, “No problem,” the young man said and ran off.

  “Tiffany,” Maria gasped. “They won’t eat now and will just want to play with the toys.”

  Turning and looking at the five kids, Tiffany smiled at them. “If they don’t eat all their food, they don’t get the toys.”

  A cheer erupted as the kids shouted that they would eat everything and the young man came back carrying a box. When he set the box on the counter, Kenneth knew there were a lot more than five of each toy inside. “I’m going to get a table,” Kenneth chuckled, taking the laptop before the kids dropped it as they cheered.

  Picking up the box of toys, “Jack, Jill,” Tiffany called out to the puppies, sitting at her feet. They both jumped up obediently, following Tiffany to the table Kenneth had sat down at. Leaving Jack and Jill with Kenneth as he typed away on the computer, Tiffany went back to help carry the food over while Besseta paid.

  After the others came
over and he’d contacted Maliki, Kenneth had to admit, he had never seen the kids eat their entire meal so fast. He glanced over to see Besseta and Tiffany, feeding the dogs in their laps. “Mickey, ride with me, so Besseta can drive,” Kenneth said, reading a reply from Maliki.

  Emptying his mouth, Mickey shrugged. “I’m not tired.”

  “I know, but we need to get all of you tucked away, so we can get back out,” Kenneth told him.

  Before Mickey could answer, Maria did. “Ride with Kenneth, so they can get back in the fight.”

  Glancing around, “You’re going back to Cali?” Mickey asked in a low voice.

  Shaking his head, “Not planning on it, but if we need to, we will,” Kenneth answered and turned to Besseta. “Maliki said he will stop in four days, somewhere in eastern Kentucky.”

  “He has an estate in Virginia not far from the state line of Kentucky,” Tiffany offered as she fed Jack and Jill.

  “Do a lot of…,” Kenneth paused, looking at the kids ripping open packages and getting toys out. “Um, his friends know about it?” Kenneth asked.

  “I doubt it,” Tiffany shrugged. “It’s what you call a safe house like Besseta’s. But being Maliki, the cover is much more elaborate.”

  Hearing the thought in Kenneth’s mind that he was about to ask, Besseta elbowed him in the side. ‘Don’t, Tiffany has been there, but won’t talk about it,’ Besseta said in his mind. ‘You forgot that part in her life.’

  “You’re talking and I’m around,” Tiffany sang out, turning from the dogs and looking at the two. Seeing Besseta averting her eyes, Tiffany started to blush. “I’ll make an exception not to get mad this time,” Tiffany mumbled.

  Reliving that part of the vision of Tiffany’s life unwillingly, Besseta refreshed his mind with images of Maliki and Tiffany. Kenneth coughed dryly and reached over, grabbing Mickey’s drink. “Um, yeah,” Kenneth gasped, then drained half of Mickey’s drink.

  “What?” Mickey asked, looking around the table.

  “Nothing,” Kenneth said, putting the drink down.

  When it was time to leave, the kids jumped on Kenneth, yelling for him to carry them out. Before Maria said anything, Besseta and Tiffany came over, each letting a kid ride on their backs. Not even five-foot-tall, Besseta had little Tiffany on her back. Maria saw her eight-year-old was nearly as tall as Besseta.