by Mairsile
“I’m sorry, Nikki. It’s the anniversary of her mother’s death, and now her friend was killed. It’s just a bit overwhelming for her,” Leonard explained.
“Please, there is no need to explain to me,” Nikki replied, as a terrible thought tugged in the corner of her brain. She had dream-walked into a nightmare Lilah was having once, where she was clutching her mother’s casket, sobbing. She was very angry and Nikki could not console her, could not reach past the anger. In dream-walks she was powerless, and it hurt when she rebuked her. Her mother was killed the day after I erased her memory. Did I cause it to happen? “I don’t mean to pry, but how did she die?” Nikki asked.
Lilah jumped up from the table and ran out of the kitchen crying.
Nikki heard heavy footsteps on the stairs, and then a door slammed shut.
“I’ll go to her,” Dorothea said, hurrying after her. Dorothea had always considered herself to be Lilah’s segunda madre, her second mother. Lilah would come find her in the kitchen, and confide in her whatever she was afraid to tell her mother, usually about the latest girlfriend. For a very long time, only Dorothea knew Lilah’s preferences, and not because Lilah told her. Dorothea had long suspected that Lilah was gay, and after consulting with her priest, Dorothea accepted it without judgement. What confused Dorothea now was Lilah’s sudden swing toward the men on the ranch. Again she turned to her priest who told her that Lilah acted out because of the guilt she felt at her mother’s death. He advised patience and prayer. Prayer was a given, but patience was fleeting.
Nikki tried to read Lilah’s thoughts, but she couldn’t separate them from Leonard and Dorothea’s emotional pain. Too many emotional minds convoluted her ability to focus in on a single mind.
“She blames herself for her mother’s death,” Leonard said. “But she couldn’t be more wrong, not that she’ll listen to me.”
“Why does she think it’s her fault?” Nikki asked.
Leonard shook his head sadly. “Because she forgot she was supposed to pick her mother up from the bank, so her mother took a taxi and it was involved in a head-on collision.”
“Oh, God, no.” I did cause it. I took too much of her memory away. Oh, God.
“I don’t know how much more the poor girl can take,” Leonard said, unabashedly wiping a tear that had fallen on his cheek. He blinked away the next one and looked at Nikki. “Are you like Mr. da Polenta?” Leonard leaned forward and whispered, “Are you a vampire?”
“Yes, sir,” Nikki replied.
“My daughter, Dorothea and the ranch hands don’t know that your type exists and I’d like to keep it that way, understand?”
“No problem,” Nikki assured him.
“Thank you. And go easy with Lilah. She’s angry, and hurting, and she’ll lash out at you unexpectedly. But please, don’t let anything happen to her. She’s all I have left in this world.”
In my world, too. “I promise you, Mr. Dupree, no one will hurt her. There will be another man arriving tomorrow, and he’ll take the day watch, and I’ll be with her at night. We’ll keep her safe.”
They heard Dorothea shouting something in Spanish as she rushed down the stairs after Lilah, who darted out the front door.
“That’s good, girl, because she just left,” Leonard said, jumping up and stopping Dorothea as she ran down the stairs after Lilah. “Let the bodyguard go after her, Dorothea. She’ll keep her out of trouble.”
Nikki jumped up and ran after her, careful to run the normal speed even though it frustrated her. She didn’t want to scare Dorothea. She rushed out the door, helpless to stop Lilah as she jumped on the back of a motorcycle behind her cowboy friend and sped off. “Damn it!”
“I’ve got her, Nikki,” Vince said as he ran toward her. He looked around to be sure they were alone, then he manipulated the air and lifted himself up.
“Hurry, Vince. Hurry.”
“I’m on it, sis. Grab a car and follow me.”
Nikki had already jumped into a jeep parked nearby. She smashed her foot down on the gas pedal and spun out.
“It looks like she’s headed for Corpus Christi. She just turned onto US-77. She’s with that cowboy again. Do you want me to stop her?”
Nikki flashed the jeep’s headlights, signaling Vince to only follow them. Because only Nikki had the power to hear a person’s thoughts, the siblings developed codes using everything and anything at their disposal. It had saved their lives more than once.
Vince let Nikki know that she was almost on top of the motorcycle so Nikki killed the lights and closed the distance. She could see her sitting on the back of the motorcycle, her arms wrapped around the man’s mid-section. The man seemed to lose control of the bike at different times, and Nikki wondered if he were drunk.
Wow, did she just grab his dick at 120 miles per hour? Vince thought to himself.
“Damn it, Vince. I don’t need to hear that,” Nikki said out loud, even though Vince couldn’t hear her. What had happened to her woman? She wasn’t the shy little lesbian virgin she knew from college. She wasn’t the woman who said marriage before sex, leaving her to find alternative relief.
When they entered the city limits, traffic picked up and Nikki had no choice but to turn on the headlights or risk being hit or arrested. Luckily, with Vince overhead, she could take different streets and still be close enough to grab her if needed. The motorcycle made its way through the industrial sector, and then the municipal section, and finally turned east onto Park Road 22. They were heading for Padre Island National Seashore.
Padre Island was approximately twenty-five miles southeast of Corpus Christi and in some areas, allowed visitors to drive right up to the beach. In spite of that, the island had the distinction of being one of the cleanest beaches in Texas and also one of the least crowded. Kiteboarders skimmed across the black ocean water sparkling with reflection from the crescent moon, as sandpipers darted in and out, catching their evening meal. Nikki drove down the sandy beach oblivious to it all as she followed behind Lilah and her boyfriend.
Parking further down from the motorcycle, behind a small sand dune, Nikki jumped out of the jeep. She watched as Lilah and the cowboy walked hand in hand across the beach and over to a roaring bonfire party very near the water. The pit was full of wood, reaching six feet up and six feet wide. The blaze was so intense that Nikki could feel the heat from atop the grassy knoll she had climbed. A drink stand, with a couple of beer kegs and bottles of cheap whiskey had been set up not far from the fire. Nikki sniffed the air and the smell of hashish being passed from one to another almost made her cough. Vince walked up beside Nikki and sat down.
“I want him dead,” Nikki whispered, sniffing the air again for other immortals. There were two further up the beach, and one in the taco shack behind him. Any immortal in Texas was subject to his sire’s approval. Step out of line and Ludovico had every right to punish them however he saw fit. It was well known that Ludovico would just as soon kill them than have to mess with them. Still, Nikki was suspicious and cautious because not every immortal adhered to the rules.
Vince glanced over at her. “All right, I’ll take care of it.”
Nikki chuckled. “Thanks, but just tell him to move to Alaska or maybe Siberia or someplace.”
“All right, but it won’t be as much fun.”
Without taking her eyes off of Lilah, Nikki asked, “Learn anything from the cowpokes back at the ranch?”
“Uh, I was there all of two minutes. I’m good, but—”
“Yes, you are good. So, what did you hear?”
Vince snorted and nodded toward the cowboy with his hand now on Lilah’s butt. “His name is Jocko Terrance, and he’s only been working for Dupree a little over six months. The guys tolerate him, but I can tell that they don’t trust him.”
“Why do you think that is?” she pondered.
“He cheats at poker, doesn’t know how to shoe a horse, and chases after the boss’s daughter.”
“Three strikes, you’re out.
”
“Alaska?”
“Definitely Alaska,” Nikki agreed. “I’ll distract Lilah, you get rid of the city slicker.”
“With pleasure.”
Nikki walked around to the left and Vince went to the right, circling down to the bonfire.
Vince saw Jocko all alone and rushed at vampire speed over to where he stood, pissing in the ocean. He grabbed the man’s neck and instantly flooded his mind with a paralyzing calmness. His fangs descended when he felt Jocko’s throbbing neck vein under his fingers, and Vince jabbed them into the man’s jugular, drinking deeply. Once he had his fill, he pierced his finger and rubbed his blood into the two small puncture wounds he had made. The skin closed over the wounds instantly, hiding any evidence that a vampire had bitten him.
“Thanks for dinner, city slicker. Now, time to go to Alaska. I want you to find the coldest city in Alaska and settle down, maybe get married and have five kids and a mortgage. Oh, and a pet moose,” Vince said with a chuckle as he sent a jolt of compulsion through his hands and into the man’s mind. Jocko took off running across the beach, barely able to hold his pants up. He ran back to his motorcycle and sped off. “What, not even a goodbye?” Vince quipped.
As she walked across the beach, glad that she had boots on so the sand didn’t get under her skin, Nikki watched Lilah guzzle beer with a whiskey chaser. Her thoughts were confused, scattered, and angry. She was by herself at the drink stand, picking up a bottle of whiskey and giving the bartender a twenty.
“Ms. Dupree, fancy meeting you here,” Nikki said as she walked up to her.
Lilah turned abruptly and lost her balance, landing in Nikki’s arms.
She could sense that Lilah was tipsy, but not inebriated yet. Her hand instinctively entangled in her long hair as she breathed in her essence, wishing… wishing? Focus. Stay focused. “Ms. Dupree, perhaps you should let me take you home?”
She took a step back, angry at her insolence. Then she reared back and slapped her hard across the face. “I hate you!” Shit, I think I broke my hand on her face. Lilah shook her hand as if to shake the stinging away.
“Ms. Dupree, you don’t even know me. Why would you say that?”
“I don’t know, I just do. I hate you. Now go away, I don’t need a bodyguard.” Lilah couldn’t articulate why she was placing all her anger and frustration on Nikki. She didn’t really hate her, in fact there was a strong attraction that she couldn’t explain. But Nikki was a reminder that her best friend had been murdered. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, and this stranger was preventing that.
Nikki frowned, hurt by her words and angry at the blonde’s stubbornness. She grabbed her elbow. “Come with me; I’m taking you home.”
She jerked her arm away. “Help me!” she screamed. “She’s trying to rape me!”
Chapter Five
Nikki gawked at the implication for a moment, but then grabbed Lilah’s hand and quickly sent her persuasive energy up her arm, telling her mind that she was drunk, then she let go of her hand just as several people rushed up.
Lilah staggered and swayed, squinting to focus. She bumped into and then bounced off of Nikki’s chest and burst out laughing.
Her freckles had that adorable way of dancing across her nose when she laughed, and Nikki grinned in spite of herself. Focus. “You’re drunk, baby. Come on, let’s get you home.”
“I’m not so think as I drunk you are,” she slurred, puffing a strand of hair from her face.
You are so damn cute, Nikki thought, as Lilah stumbled again, this time into her arms. Focus. She reached over and took the whiskey bottle from her hand. “I think you’ve had enough.” She handed the bottle to Vince as he walked up.
“Do you know her, lady?” one of the men in the gathering crowd asked.
“Yes, I do. We came here together,” Nikki answered, catching Lilah up as she stumbled again.
“Yeah, I saw them smooching by the fire a few minutes ago,” Vince offered. “She was drinking pretty heavily.”
“No…” Lilah muttered, fighting the pull of Nikki’s influence. Why can’t I stand up? I feel drunk, but I know I’m not. I don’t understand what’s happening to me.
Nikki cupped Lilah’s chin, rubbing her thumb of Lilah’s soft skin, and looked at the confusion swirling in beloved emerald eyes. I’m so sorry. She stroked Lilah’s cheek, sending a strong suggestion that she must sleep into her mind, and Lilah’s eyes rolled under her heavy eyelids and then her head fell back. Nikki scooped up Lilah’s unconscious body, her legs and arms dangling over her muscled arms.
Vince positioned Lilah’s head to rest on Nikki’s chest and looked at his sister. “She’s going to have a hell of a hangover in the morning,” he said, and several people nodding in agreement as they began to walk away.
“It won’t be the first time,” Nikki lied to continue the façade. She kissed Lilah’s forehead and carried her toward the jeep. Vince walked with her, and when they had reached the vehicle, he opened the door and Nikki sat Lilah down in the front seat.
“Well, that was a close one,” Vince quipped. “She’s going to be a handful, isn’t she?”
“You have no idea,” Nikki said with a smile, pulling a strand of hair from Lilah’s face.
“So, what’s next?”
“I gave her a pretty heavy dose, telling her that she was drunk. I told her to sleep through the night, and I imagine when she wakes up in the morning she’ll think she has a hangover.”
“Good thinking. That gets you off the hook.”
“I guess. I didn’t want to do that to her, damn it. If she had only cooperated.” Nikki rubbed her finger along Lilah’s cheek as she tucked the wayward hair behind her ear.
“Jeez. You are the only vampire I know who doesn’t like to influence people. A vampire with a heart of gold, that’s what you are.”
“My heart is dead, figuratively and literally. She said she hated me, Vince. But she just didn’t know why. I think subconsciously she may be trying to remember.” She bent over, intending to kiss her on the lips, but refrained, caressing her hair again instead, letting her fingers stroke their way down to her neck. The sound of the blood pumping through her veins was making her hungry.
“So, what if she does? There’s no way of knowing how long we will be stuck out here in this manure pit protecting her. Maybe it’s a sign that you’re meant to be together. I mean, what were the odds that you erased her memories of you, only to have you end up being her up close and personal bodyguard?”
Nikki sighed and shook her head. “You’re giving me a headache. Listen, can you stay with her a minute? I need to grab a bite.”
“Go ahead, I’ve already eaten tonight. Oh, speaking of beef jerky, Jocko is halfway to Alaska by now.”
Nikki grinned and smacked her brother on this chest. Then she ran down the street to the nearest club.
***
“Why did I agree to do this? How can I possibly protect her when just being near her takes all my concentration to keep from grabbing her and kissing her?” Nikki was so caught up with her thoughts that she didn’t realize she was talking out loud when she rounded the corner and bumped into a lady of the evening. Thin, paler than most, the prostitute, probably in her mid-fifties, sounded almost desperate when she propositioned her. She smelled of cigarettes and sex. But she seemed sober, and her eyes weren’t dilated or dulled by liquor or drugs. Nikki inhaled, tasting the hooker’s essence and didn’t sense any disease, not even hepatitis.
“Do you mind biting?” she asked.
“That’s funny; most people ask how much first. But no, I don’t mind biting you.”
“Two hundred bucks, and no sex,” Nikki negotiated. “And I meant my biting you.”
The hooker looked at her placidly. She had heard and done it all before but never money to just to be bitten. Nikki looked clean, sophisticated and the prostitute felt that she could trust her. Especially for two hundred dollars. “Sure, why not? For two hundred bucks you
could be a vampire for all I care,” she retorted.
Nikki chuckled and pulled her into the back alley. Using her influence to calm her, she wasted no time in pulling her head back and dipping her fangs into the woman’s neck. Nikki drank deeply, and the prostitute moaned at the exquisite sensation. She didn’t much care for the taste of a prostitute’s blood, usually because they were on drugs or drunk, or worse, anemic, but she was in a hurry to get back to Lilah. Typically, she would wine and dine a woman and the biting would be a part of her love making, but now she wasn’t sure that she could bring herself to do that anymore. Not while Lilah was back in her life.
She was careful not to take too much, and when she was finished, she pierced her tongue and rubbed a drop of blood over the two puncture wounds, healing them almost instantly. There would be no visual signs on her skin. Then she stepped back, fished two hundred dollars from her pocket and said thanks.
The prostitute, still tingling from the sensation, watched with dismay as she walked away.
***
After Nikki got back to the jeep, she climbed in the back and Vince picked Lilah up and laid her in the backseat beside her. Lilah, sleeping peacefully, her head resting in her lap, was smiling, her lips quivering. She twined a strand of her soft blonde hair around her finger as she watched her. Are you dreaming, lovely Lilah Rose? She closed her eyes, slowing her thoughts, pushing away the ambient noise, smoothing out the jostle of the jeep, and slipped into a trance.
“Lilah. Lilah Rose, are you here?”
“I’m here, Nikki. I’m so glad you came.”
“I couldn’t stay away.”
“Nikki?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t really hate you, you know?”
“Are you very angry with me?”
“Yes, and angrier still each time I see you.”
“But you don’t hate me, Lilah?”
“No. Of course not, Nikki. I love you too much to hate you.”
“And I never stopped loving you.”