by Mairsile
“Nikki.”
“Yes?”
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
“What?”
Nikki jerked awake and shouted, “Vince, pull over!”
As soon as Vince pulled the jeep off the road and came to a stop, Lilah’s eyes popped open and she clapped a hand over her mouth. She scrambled out of the jeep with Nikki following close behind her. All she could do was watch as Lilah vomited on Nikki’s boot.
“Damn. I think you used a little too much influence back there, Niko,” Vince teased.
Nikki growled at Vince. “Get out here and help me.”
As soon as she had emptied her stomach contents, the compulsion took over again and Lilah passed out into Nikki’s waiting arms. She cradled her to her chest as Vince grabbed a water bottle from the back and drenched his sister’s boot.
“That’s not what I meant by helping,” Nikki groused.
“Well, while you were dream-walking with the little lady, I took the long way home. Do you really want to smell like puke for another half hour?”
Nikki’s eyes softened, and she shook her head. She handed Lilah to Vince while she got back in the passenger’s seat, and Vince placed her in her lap, then climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Vince.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for taking the long way home.”
“Prego.”
***
As they pulled up to the house, Nikki noticed two men standing on the porch, holding Winchester rifles. They seemed out of place at three in the morning. Both vampires sniffed the air and could tell that the men weren’t immortals.
“Stay with her, I’ll check it out,” Vince thought, and jumped out of the jeep.
A minute later, Vince worked his influence on them and one of them came down and opened the door for Nikki. But Nikki wouldn’t let him touch Lilah, even under her brother’s influence. Vince held the girl as Nikki climbed out, then she picked Lilah up and asked the hired gun to open the door when they reached the porch.
Leonard was snoring in the leather chair in the living room and Nikki thought about waking him, but changed her mind. She’d let him know she was safe after she took Lilah to her room. She imagined that Leonard would have a thousand questions, and she dreaded having to lie to the man. Leonard knew that she was a vampire, but he didn’t need to know what Nikki would do to keep Lilah safe.
Vince walked up the stairs in front of them, using his sense of smell to find the girl’s bedroom. He found it at the end of the hall on the second floor, opposite Leonard’s room. He also found the housekeeper’s room, three doors down, so they took extra precautions not to wake her. He opened the door to Lilah’s room and stepped back. “I’m sure you don’t need me for this part, so I’ll go find our rooms. Dibs on the shower.”
Nikki grunted as she walked past Vince, carrying Lilah over to the bed. She looked around at the family photographs and picked up one with Lilah and another girl, arm in arm and grinning for the camera. The frame had Best Friends Forever imprinted on it, and Nikki knew it had to be Rebecca. She remembered her from the one time they had met and she wiped her memory.
Vince shut the door behind him after reminding Nikki that the sun would rise at 7:14.
Three more hours with the lovely Lilah Rose. Nikki pulled Lilah’s boots off, removed her socks and unbuckled her belt. She swallowed down the mounting pressure as she unzipped her jeans. Lilah murmured something and rolled her head to the side, exposing her delicate, long neck. Nikki stopped and watched as the carotid vein pumped life-sustaining blood through it. Her fangs extended and she licked them excitedly, stepping around to where her head laid.
“No, no, no, Nikki.” Vince’s thoughts filtered into Nikki’s mind. “You don’t want to bite her, remember?”
“Yes, I do want to bite her, damn it,” Nikki said hoarsely. But she knew Vince was right. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t take advantage of her as she slept. She threw a blanket over her, kissed her lightly on the lips, and hurried out of the room.
“By the way, our room is the entire east wing and there’s even a ground floor. And when I say ground, I mean underground,” Vince thought as he wandered around the suite. “The suite has a large kitchen with a refrigerator stocked full of beer, and blood packs that are dated yesterday. No one but us has the key, so how did all this stuff get in the refrigerator? Anyway, the living room is huge, with a wide-screen TV monitor that takes up the entire wall. Sweet!”
Nikki could tell that Vince was walking around to each room describing what he saw. Not that she really cared. She was trying to come up with an excuse to stay and watch Lilah sleep.
“There are four bedrooms on the first floor and three on the ground floor,” Vince continued. “Two of the rooms have clothes in the closet and pajamas on the bed that are our sizes. Ludo also has an office set up with a rotary phone and a dedicated ground line. Now, here’s the cool part. He has a voice-activated computer that you don’t even have to be in the same room to use. Saves on having to buy a new one every time it shorts out on him, I guess. Plus, it can send and receive email, and his email address is already programmed in.”
“Good, send Papá an email and let him know—” Nikki stopped and chuckled at herself, remembering that Vince couldn’t hear her. Only another Spirit could hear her thoughts, or someone she had raised from the dead, like Beulah.
“I don’t need your element to know what you’re thinking, Niko. I’ve already sent our sire an email.”
Nikki laughed as she ran down the stairs two at a time. Thank God for the pajamas. The thought of seeing Vince walking around naked makes me nauseous. Nikki walked into the living room and tapped on Leonard’s shoulder.
“Delilah?” Leonard asked before his eyes even opened.
“She’s in her room, sleeping it off, sir,” Nikki replied as she sat down across him.
“Oh,” Leonard mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “But she’s all right?”
“Yes, sir. Just a little too much to drink. She won’t be feeling very well when she gets up.” Nikki hated to tell lies about the woman she loved, but she felt that she had no alternative. It would be easier for Leonard to accept than to know his daughter was whoring around.
“This isn’t the first time she’s gotten drunk like that. Anniversaries are especially hard on her, and she goes on these binges every year since her mother died. But with the murder of Rebecca, I’m afraid I may lose her to the bottle completely.”
“I won’t let that happen, Mr. Dupree.”
Leonard looked at her, curious why she would make such a bold promise when she had only just met his daughter. But, considering she was an immortal, Leonard knew she stood a better chance than any human alive.
This is all my fault. I’ll keep my promise, Mr. Dupree.
Leonard stood up and held out his hand. “Thank you, Nikki. I have no doubt she will be safe in your hands.”
The door to the foyer opened and a burly man walked in wearing an oilskin drover coat, even though the nights weren’t that cold. He was followed by the two guards from the front porch.
“Boss, this guy says he’s your bodyguard. We know he’s lying because that girl is,” the guard said, pointing at Nikki.
Leonard shook his head. “Thanks. I was expecting him. One man can’t watch her 24/7, you know. Resume your posts.”
Nikki watched the men blush as they turned and left the room and she almost laughed. But the large man with the thick neck standing in front of her drew her focus back. Nikki thought she knew him from somewhere.
“Howdy. My name is Buck Thompson,” he said with a husky voice. “I’m the dayshift.”
“Good to meet you, Mr. Thompson,” Leonard said, offering his hand. “Do you know Nikki?”
Buck shook Leonard’s hand, then looked at Nikki. What the hell? Women can’t be bodyguards. He held his hand out and said, “Uh, good to meet you, Ms…?”
Nikki cocked her lip but accepted his handshake so she could imm
ediately probed his mind with her influence. “Dominique Delgadillo. But everyone calls me Nikki. Good to meet you, too.” Not as tough as he thinks he is. He’s afraid of spiders. Nikki’s eyelid twitched as Bucks eyes swirled, unfocused. Single, no kids, no qualms about killing to protect his charge. Doesn’t appear to be hiding anything other than his spider fetish. But where have I seen him before?
“Didn’t you use to play for the Dallas Cowboys?” Leonard asked.
That’s where I’ve seen him, Nikki thought.
“Yeah, until I busted my knee a few years back,” Buck answered, shrugging off his coat and folding it over one arm. The Cowboys T-shirt he was wearing was two sizes too small, nearly bursting at the seams against his heavily muscled arms.
“Sorry, man. That had to be hard,” Nikki said.
“Nah, I’m past it now.” Buck shrugged. “It’s more fun knocking heads without helmets on. I’ve always been the last man standing in any fight I’ve taken on.” Buck eyed Nikki as if he wanted to challenge her.
Nikki didn’t need to use her influence to sense the jock’s arrogance. He was dripping in it.
“So, what can I expect from our girl?”
Nikki’s face was placid, but behind her eyes, contempt began to simmer. Our girl? Yeah, I don’t think so, bucko.
Leonard sighed. “You can expect her to be very belligerent and—”
Without thinking, Nikki interrupted, “She’s hurting right now, broken, scared, and she’s justifiably angry. She will not be cooperative.”
Leonard stared at her, his eyes red from unexpected tears. “Nikki is right. She is very fragile, but that doesn’t mean she won’t try to run away from you, or argue and fight with you. Your only job is to respect that and keep her safe. Understand?”
“Spoiled rich girl with an authority complex. Got it.”
Nikki heard Buck’s thoughts. She grabbed his arm and flooded his mind with visions of Lilah sobbing at her mother’s casket. Visions of Lilah’s best friend lying dead in a cotton field, and visions of Lilah alone, looking lost and frightened. Nikki compelled the man to show respect to Lilah and then she let go and brushed her hand across Buck’s shoulder. “Sorry, man. I thought I saw a spider crawling up your arm.”
“Spider? Get it off,” Buck barked, dropping his coat and wrenching his neck around, trying to see it.
Leonard turned his head and coughed to cover his laughter.
“Don’t worry, I was mistaken,” Nikki said flatly, resisting her own desire to laugh at the scaredy-cat.
Buck bent down to retrieve his coat, and when he stood back up, his face was flushed with embarrassment. “So, uh, you were saying, Mr. Dupree?”
“I was saying, just keep my daughter safe,” Leonard said, giving Buck a stern look. “Or I’ll kick your ass to hell and back if you don’t.
Nikki suppressed a smile. And I’ll hold him down for you, Mr. Dupree.
Buck nodded. “It sounds like she’s been through a lot, and I will gladly keep her safe and show her the respect she deserves. You have my word on that.”
Nikki smiled when she heard Buck repeating the same words she had implanted in his mind. Satisfied that Lilah was in good hands, she finally relaxed. “All right then. I’m going to my room. I’ll see you at sunset.”
“Thank you, Nikki,” Leonard said. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Nikki nodded and left the two of them alone in the living room. As she turned the corner, she looked up at Lilah’s room. She smiled, knowing Lilah was safe in her room, and admitted to herself that she was grateful Ludovico had sent her down here. As much as it hurt to be with her, knowing how much she used to love her, it would kill her if anything happened to Lilah.
“I respect her and will protect her at all costs.” Buck’s thoughts had Nikki laughing all the way downstairs.
Chapter Six
November 6, 2016
There are only so many hours in the day, and for an immortal, even less. Thanks to Daylight Savings time, the sun set much earlier in the evening, giving the undead more time to be awake and alive. Nikki woke and stretched her muscles, yawning away the slumber. The computer dinged an incoming email, and she remembered where she was at. She jumped out of bed and was instantly at the door to the office.
“Uh, computer? Did you just, uh, ding?” Nikki felt foolish talking to a machine.
Vince walked out of his room, yawning and stretching. He wasn’t wearing any clothes.
“Damn it, Vince. I don’t need to see your junk first thing when I wake up.”
“Who the hell told you to look, sicko?” Vince snapped back. Vince was not a morning person, even if it was eight o’clock at night.
“Will you just put something on, please? We’ve got work to do, and there’s an email on the computer.”
“You are such a dick sometimes,” Vince replied, and walked back to his room.
“Seems like a dumb thing to say considering I’m not in to dicks, or dickheads. And at least I’m well-mannered enough to cover my privates up.”
“Fine,” Vince said and turned around. “Then you’re such a vagina sometimes!”
Nikki huffed and went to the kitchen, grumbling to herself, and pulled two units of blood from the refrigerator. She bit into one and tossed the other to Vince after he walked back in wearing a bathrobe. Nikki had the bag drained inside of two minutes and tossed it into the trash can. She thought about grabbing another bag because one unit never completely satisfied her, plus it was a day old, which meant it wasn’t as fresh as she liked it, but she had fed the night before and she wasn’t really that hungry. She decided she didn’t need another one, but she made a mental note to warm it next time. She hated cold blood.
Vince sucked his blood bag dry and tossed the bag in the trash can. Wiping his mouth across the sleeve of his white bathrobe, he looked at Nikki and shouted, “Computer, read the email.” Then he grinned when the metallic voice began reading the email.
“I could have done that, damn it. Next time just tell me,” Nikki groused.
“From Ludovico da Polenta. Subject line: Investigate. Message: Another body dumped; this time outside of Corpus Christi International Airport. Another human killed by an immortal. Linked to the Russians. Check it out. End of message.”
“Thank you, Lucy,” Vince said toward the computer room
“Lucy? Why did you call the computer Lucy?” Nikki asked.
“It has a female voice that sounds just like Lucy, so, you know, why not?”
“Brother, you are just plain weird.”
“Yeah, I don’t see a problem with that,” Vince said, opening the refrigerator door and pulling out a bottle of beer. He had an affinity for beer like some people did fine wine. “Okay, so I’ll snoop around at the San Antonio cop shop and find out what they know.”
Nikki snatched the bottle out of Vince’s hands. “If you’re going to the police station, you don’t need to smell like beer.”
“You’re such a vagina sometimes,” Vince pouted.
“Yeah, well, your fascination with my equipment notwithstanding, I call dibs on the shower,” Nikki announced, hurrying into the bathroom.
Locking the door to the da Polenta’s suite, Nikki walked down the hall into the main part of the house. Vince had already slipped out the back door on the opposite end of the apartment. Nikki looked around for Lilah. Her scent was heaviest in the kitchen and she expected her to be there. She saw dishes in the sink, along with a small pan. An empty can of soup sat on the counter. Is that all she had for supper? Her laughter reached her ears, and she rushed out of the kitchen and through the living room. She walked outside and saw Lilah sitting on the porch swing drinking iced tea, her legs stretched out across the seat. Buck leaned against the railing, laughing at something she had said. Something’s different. Nikki gazed at her for a long moment and finally realized that Lilah had cut her hair. She felt a pang of melancholy. She loved her long hair that used to hang down past her shoulders. Now it only came down t
o her collar and she’d had it permed, with wavy, Meg Ryan type curls. And what was worse was that it hid the expanse of her neck because she no longer pulled it back. Nikki held back and listened to their conversation.
“I think your hair is beautiful,” Buck said.
Jealousy, instant and tangible, riled up in Nikki. I said to respect her, not flirt with her, damn it!
“You’d have to say that after sitting in the salon for three hours,” Lilah teased. She woke up that morning with a headache, unable to remember the night before. The one thing she couldn’t forget was her best friend’s murder. She laid in bed for hours, crying, which only served to make her head hurt worse. Finally, she washed the tears away as she showered, pushing the sorrow deep inside her heart. As she applied her makeup that morning, she also put on the façade she’d relied on since her mother died. She would not allow herself to appear vulnerable in front anyone, especially her bodyguards.
“Nah, I didn’t mind. All part of the job, ma’am,” Buck quipped. “Three of the most boring hours of my life. At least she was nice to look at.”
“Hey!” Nikki shouted before she could stop herself, startling Lilah, who swung her legs off the swing and sat up. She could hear her heart racing and she was annoyed that she had caused it. Damn it.
Buck instantly released the strap on his holster and put his hand on his Colt Diamondback Revolver. He looked at Nikki questioningly.
“Damn. Sorry. Didn’t mean to yell like that,” Nikki said.
“What the hell?” Lilah snapped at Nikki. “You nearly scared me to death.”
Nikki shook her head, making a mental note to curb her jealousy. It was not an emotion she was used to having. “I am sorry. That is the last thing I want to do.”
“Yeah, if that’s how you protect people, you might want to find another line of work,” Lilah jibed.
She ignored her ridicule and sat down. “Anything I should know, Buck? I mean, other than she cut her hair. Which looks nice, by the way.”
Lilah ran her fingers through her hair, wondering if she was being sincere or an asshole.