Waiting

by Kiahana

  Maybe we could go get Francis then come back here and everyone watch, or at least me, Sam get her revenge on her so called ‘mate'.

  “It was a different call. I was just probing the air waves to see if I could feel him, and I can. If he's not where we're headed I can call him at another time to keep things less messy for Sam.” He narrowed a good stare at her, holding her attention. “Everyone will be under the instruction to keep him alive, but hostage, if we do come across him. He will be yours for the taking after this is done.”

  She stood and nodded. Accepting everything that was just thrown at her.

  Parker gave another nod of his head and she disappeared, leaving us alone.

  “I need to leave now.” I stood and threw myself at him, not wanting him out of my sight. “I'll be back in a few hours at the most. I promise, Love.” He gave me a gentle squeeze when I still didn't budge. “I can't bring you with me. It's not safe and I'd be distracted. And plus I need you to make me a grocery list.”

  I finally released him and punched his arm while rolling my eyes.

  “I don't want you to go. Can't everyone else and you can stay here with me? Or better yet, we can go grocery shopping together?” I gave him the same lame excuse he gave me.

  “I want to find Francis. Once I have him I'll return here. I’ll be back no later than tomorrow morning.”

  Fine. Be logical, I guess. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

  “Go. I'll be here when you get back.” He smirked. Like I'd even have a choice what with being on top of a mountain. If I tried to leave I'd have to follow the barely there trail that he calls a road. “With a shopping list.”

  Parker picked me up and carried me in his arms, mine wrapped around his neck. He walked while I attacked his mouth, kissing him, silently letting him know how much I'll miss him. He kissed me just as deeply and urgently while walking into the kitchen, then plopped me on the counter with his arms on either side of my legs.

  “Be safe. Don't go outside. I'll change the code on my way out and anyone who tries to get in will be caged with silver. There's a video screening in our room now, that you can hit the red button and will show you different angles around the house, inside and out. There's instructions in the closet.”

  “What if I need to get out?”

  “There's instructions on everything in our closet. I was prepared for anything, and I don't want you to feel like a prisoner or that I'm hiding anything from you.” He kissed me quickly before taking a step back. “I have to go. Brian is here, in Sam's room, listening to us.” His lips twitched, though I wasn't sure why. “Call my cell if you run into trouble. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  It sounded like I was pouting, and I probably was, but I hated when we were apart. And if the past taught us anything, it was that being apart wasn't good at all. Bad things always happened.

  He disappeared and I could hear the slide of the door at the end of the hall before a loud click sounded.

  It was now just me and Brian. Two helpless humans who had to sit back and wait while the big bad vampires went off to war.

  What to do, what to do.

  TWENTY TWO

  Brian and I sat in Parker's closet, or ours as he liked to say. I liked the sound of it too. We were going through all the papers, playing with the cameras outside, zooming in on a mountain lion that had to be at least a mile away. He had cameras that could see every angle of the mountain. With heat sensors and night vision.

  On one of the sheets was a note to me that had the new door code, which Parker must've written before he left. It was my birthday. My actual eight digit birthday was the passcode to get in. It seemed like a lot of numbers but I guess it was better to be safe than sorry.

  “Oh, check this out.” Brian's voice pulled me from my thoughts. “They're totally getting it on.”

  On the screen he pulled up and enlarged a view of some campers who were indeed getting it on.

  “Stop watching them, it's rude.” He chuckled but clicked a few buttons to change the screen. “By the way, did you and Sam really have sex?”

  Maybe it was rude to ask but Sam thought she had her mate, so sex with someone else didn't really seem right to me. Or the fact that she would even want to have sex with someone else.

  “Yeah. We did. She told me later it was because she was afraid Parker or Francis would check and her mind altering skills wouldn't have done anything against Parker's. She made it clear it was all to save her boyfriend.” Wow. Used and then tortured. Poor Brian. “Side note, it was incredible! I was sore after, sure, but holy hell it was amazing! The best sex I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. She didn't hold back much I'm guessing.”

  Alright, so maybe he didn't mind me asking.

  “Sorry about all of this.”

  “No need.” He cast me his boyish grin, making me smile. “Aside from the torture, this has been the best week of my life. Seriously. I'm sorry if I came on too strong but I can't really be sorry for the after effects. I mean, look at us.” He waved to our surroundings. “We're inside a vampire’s home. We're not on the menu, at least not to be killed. We now have strong friends who will keep us safe from everything. And if we're lucky, I'm not really sure what happens, but maybe we'll get to be like them. Be turned, I mean.”

  “You’re right. We are very lucky. And I don't know how, when or if we'll be turned, but we are safe. And our families are safe. That's all that matters at this point. After Francis is back we can figure more things out. But for now, let's figure out what that remote does.”

  He chuckled but picked it up. It had more buttons than a space shuttle and looked intriguing.

  We spent the next half hour mastering the controller after finding it acted as a sort of universal remote. It turned on and off lights, TV’s, opened and closed doors and shutters over windows, and it even turned on the hot tub. Parker added all the screens after my first night here.

  Walking all throughout the cave tunnels we soon learned all that it could do. This was going on my Christmas wish list for sure.

  When my phone rang we both bolted back into the bedroom, relaxing once we saw it was my mom calling. At seven in the morning? Holy crap we’d been up a long time. And where’s Parker?

  I flopped back onto the bed. Brian took a seat and waited.

  “Hi, Mom. How are you?”

  We usually talked at least once a week but I hadn't called her in two. She must just be worried.

  “Fine, Fine. How are you? Julie called me and she's worried about you. Says one day you're happy as can be and the next you're borderline suicidal.” That seemed a bit dramatic, coming from Jules. “She says you called in at the last minute and said you were taking vacation all week. Is everything ok?”

  My mom, bless her, wasn't the clingy type. Growing up, my parents were loving, caring and there for me, but we weren't exactly close. It was no secret they weren't my real parents, though I still called them mom and dad. They never wanted to have children so I kind of felt like a burden, though they would never admit that. They loved me and I loved them. We had the perfect relationship that we both wanted.

  “I'm fine, mom. I took a vacation to be with my boyfriend. He's having family problems and I'm helping him with them. Kind of. There's nothing to be worried about. Promise.”

  “Boyfriend?” That's probably the only word she heard. “When did you get a boyfriend?” She sounded utterly shocked.

  “A few weeks ago. I was planning on bringing him for dinner on your birthday, if that's alright. It's kind of serious and I'd love for you and dad to meet him.”

  “Hells, Bells. I'd love to meet him.” She turned to yell at my dad that I finally got a boyfriend and they'd get to meet him in two weeks. They sounded as excited as Julie had been. Was I that much of a loser? Oh right, yes. “What do you want us to make? Does he have a favorite food?”

  I laughed out loud. Yeah he has a favorite food. And I'm one hundred percent sure it won't be on the menu.

 
“I'll bring some steaks, anything else is up to you. No garlic, though. He's allergic.” Not really allergic, but I didn't want to watch him choke it down since he's too polite to refuse. “Let's make it Saturday, instead of Friday. That okay?”

  “Of course!”

  A loud boom had me jolting up just as Brian whirled with inhuman strength. Good. I'm glad he was still strong in case there was danger here now.

  “I've got to go mom. Love you both. Bye.”

  I didn't wait for a response but hit end and ran to grab the remote. Brian beat me, quickly looking over all the screens and dismissing ones that didn't have any movement.

  “Go back!”

  He hit a button and soon clicked on the one I'd noticed and zoomed in. In the kitchen upstairs there was now a thick silver cage encasing someone. A small someone.

  “Tiny!”

  Grabbing Brian's arm I dragged him up the hallway to the entrance where we hit the key pad to open, then quickly climbed the stairs to find Tiny lying on the ground in the middle of the cage, trying to be as far from the edges as he could.

  “What are you doing here? Where's parker?”

  “Piper, thank goodness! Wait, what do you mean ‘where's Parker’? Why isn't he here?” He stood and looked around as if I'd set a trap for him deliberately.

  “He went with everyone to get Francis. He should be back within an hour or so.”

  “Cripes. Blasted fool. I've got Francis! He knew I was going to get him.” A few low curses flew out of his mouth before looking up at me curiously. Mad almost. “Blast, why am I still in this cage? Let me out.”

  Before I hit the correct button another thought occurred to me. Francis was safe and I'd call Parker right after we let Tiny out, but first I had a question for him.

  I stilled Brian's hand when he reached out to push the release button.

  “Parker told me not to trust anyone, so you'll have to answer a question that I know only his closest friends would know.” His chest puffed up, proud to be called a close friend. “What was the accident that happened years ago? The last time he killed a human.”

  I waited, trying not to look too anxious. His lips cracked into what looked to be an admiring smile.

  “Dear Piper, since I am one of his closest friends, I know that he does not speak of that. And that he would be severely cross with me if he found out I was the one who told you.”

  He let slip just enough for me to confirm my suspicions.

  Walking up to the cage I grasped two bars and knelt on the ground, staring into his eyes as I asked my next question.

  “Because it was my parents that were killed?”

  Why else would it be difficult for him to tell me something? Everyone who knew wouldn't tell me anything.

  The look on his face for a split second answered me completely. Brian gasped loudly but remained still by my side.

  I was right.

  I had a split second feeling of euphoria before the pain took over.

  “Thank you.”

  I stood and gestured for Brian to go ahead and hit the button. The cage shot up into the ceiling and down into the ground. Tiny visibly shook off the effects of the silver before taking my hand in his.

  “It truly was an accident. Parker is a good man.” I swallowed and nodded. I knew both of those statements were true. “Besides, it's not like you had a bad childhood after that, right?”

  No, of course not. My parents loved me, always. I got in trouble when I was bad, they showered me when I was good. They were given more raises at work than anyone ....

  “Parker made sure of it.”

  I wasn't mad, though now it truly donned on me just HOW long he'd been watching me. I'd been three months old when my real parents died. I think it'd be safe to say he's been watching me since I was a baby. Which was kind of sick, if you think about it.

  He's watched me since I was a baby, drooling and pooping. Through my gross teen and pre-teen years with the acne, braces and horrible fashion sense. Through my lame attempt at boyfriends and dating. How on earth could he be attracted to me through all that? And why?

  Yes, I know I'm his mate, or whatever, but he never would've taken a second look or even been around if he hadn't been the one to cause my parent's car accident. He felt horrible about it. That's why he had an interest in my life.

  A million emotions were running through my veins as I watched Tiny walk back out to the car he'd apparently driven here. There’d be time for my questions and internal bashing later.

  I followed, ran to catch up as I remembered him saying he had Francis, then skidded to a stop when he opened the back door and revealed a very boney Francis with a young girl sitting up straight looking out at nothing. Mind fucked.

  “Francis!”

  I ran to him and tried to help him out of the car, but how, without breaking him?

  “He's too weak to drink and I couldn't make the girl do anything while I was driving like crazy to get here, but we have Brian and we can cut open his arm and drain it into...”

  “No.” I cut him off. No more using my friends. “He can drink from me.” Tiny stepped in front of me but I simply walked around him and took the knife out of his hand. “Get the girl out of the car.”

  I got in the front passenger seat and looked back at Francis who laid with his feet still bent from propping them against the car door when it was there. Most of his skin had withered away, his bottom lip gone and his head completely bald.

  “Francis...” Without much thought I dug the knife into my wrist, winced at the intense pain, and helped it pour into his open mouth, then used my other hand to work his throat, making sure it went down. “You're going to live. We need to get Parker and then the three of us are going to have a long, very overdue talk.”

  I'm pretty sure he chuckled, but it sounded more like a gag. Already his skin was growing back. After a few minutes and a couple more cuts later, that hurt like hell, his fangs shot out. Thank God.

  Francis had enough strength to sit up though his fingers were still all bone.

  He grabbed the girl and sank his teeth into her arm as I sank against the back of my seat.

  Tiny bit into his own arm and held it out for me. If I didn't feel so sick, I would've turned it down, but I needed the blood.

  I only took two mouthfuls, real mouthfuls, before I stopped. He offered more but I shook my head. His blood was tart, tangy kind of. I still liked Parker's the best. His tasted rich, with a hint of a cinnamon. That sounds impossible, I know.

  Francis finished with the girl and sat back, seeming tired from it all.

  Two figures appeared behind Brian and I instinctively got up to protect him. He turned and I recognized them as Gunner and Tommy almost instantly.

  “Were you with Parker?”

  I hadn't seen them earlier but it doesn't mean they weren’t here.

  “No, we've been here, keeping watch. Do you really think Parker would just leave with no one here to protect you?”

  “Yeah, whatever, question my sanity later. Francis needs more blood and this girl needs to go back to wherever she came from before someone realizes she's missing.”

  Tommy nodded and gently took the girl away, whispering to her that she was safe.

  “I need to call Parker and let him know Francis is here...”

  “I tried, he isn't answering.”

  Shit. Gunner looked worried too.

  “I'm leaving them in your hands, Gunner.” Tiny disappeared before a reply could be made, hopefully going straight to Parker.

  “Brian, let Francis feed off you.”

  He obeyed as if his life depended on it. I might've spoken harshly but I wanted to get to Parker, and fast!

  “Gunner, I'm going to ask you to stay here and take care of Brian but I need some of your blood, along with Francis', since I'm going to make him take me to where Parker is.”

  Gunner was in front of me with his wrist extended in a heartbeat. I bit into it too harshly, but it took quite a bit of strength
just to break into their hard skin. I sucked as if my life depended on it, or Parker's rather, swallowing a good five times before I released him. Without the knowledge that Parker might be in trouble, I would’ve gagged on the substance in my mouth. Gross!

  Already my senses were on high alert. I could hear the rustle of tree leaves from a mile away and the smell of Brian's lust, though he was being fed on from Francis.

  Eww.

  I inhaled and almost fell over with my overwhelmed senses. No time to analyze everything. I have a mate to get back, if he was even in danger. I hoped not.

  Francis released Brian and Gunner let him take a few sips of blood to remain conscious as I bit into Francis, taking another good four pulls from him before I felt invincible.

  He pulled me off him, holding me steady as I adapted to the whole new world in front of me. Colors brighter than I’ve ever imagined, smells stronger and evident on every level. I could smell lust? That’s just weird. This was amazing. Simply amazing.

  “Let's go. Are you well enough?”

  “Better than ever. Thank you. I'll thank Tiny later for his death defying driving, but he did get me out of there so I guess it evens out.”

  “You looked horrible, no offense, but look at you now! Your hair is back, your skin is everywhere and you have lips again!” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah!”

  “Into looks are you? Good thing Parker's not a sore for the eyes.”

  “Oh, please. I'm not into him just for his looks.” I pulled down the collar of my black shirt and showed him the mark. “See.”

  “Very nice, darling,” he drawled in an awestruck tone. “We really should get a move on things. I've got payback on the mind and I know they had traps setup in case anyone came to my rescue. It's a damn good thing Tiny's very near undetectable or I'd still be in that hell hole.”

  “Right. Let's go.”

  I wrapped myself around him and waited for him to take off, but he didn't.

  “You smell different. You’re determined, yes, but something's new.”

  He was wary of me?

  “She knows,” Gunner spoke, making me quirk my head to the side in confusion.