by Julie Wetzel
“Good night,” Vicky called, dropping the shawl to her lap.
“Good night, Rupert.” Darien watched the wolf leave. He waited for the door to close fully before he reached for the woman in front of him.
Vicky squeaked when his arms snaked around her middle, and he slid down the bed against her.
“You are all right, aren’t you?” Darien mumbled into her back, where his face was pressed.
Her insides quivered at the contact, and she laid her hand over where his arms were pressed into her stomach. What had brought on this response? Was he worried because he felt responsible for introducing her to this world, or was it because he truly cared about her? “I’m okay,” she answered. “I was just shocked when he came in.”
Darien gave Vicky a squeeze and took a little more comfort from her physical closeness before releasing her to sit up.
Vicky’s feelings had been confusing before, and she thought she had sorted them out, but the man’s actions had just jumbled them up again. She was at a loss and needed to talk to someone to sort them out. If only her mother didn’t live so far away. Vicky gasped as she remembered that she still needed to call her mother.
Darien heard the sharp intake of air and looked around for what might have caused the reaction. “What?”
“I need a phone.” Vicky looked up at him with pleading eyes. “I don’t think that anyone’s called my mother about the fire.”
He smiled and relaxed again. “You can’t use a cell phone in the intensive care unit. If you give me her number, I’ll call her and give her the number for the phone in here,” Darien offered.
Vicky raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You’re willing to call my mother?” she asked in disbelief.
“Sure,” he agreed.
“All right.” Vicky found something to write her mother’s number on.
“I’ll be right back.” Darien slipped from the room to make the call. He could tell Vicky was apprehensive about him talking to her mother, but how hard could it be? Stepping out of the intensive care unit, he found a quiet waiting room where it would be safe to make a call. He punched the buttons on the phone and listened as the line connected.
“Hello?” a slightly sleepy voice answered.
“Good evening, Mrs. Westernly.” Darien spoke politely into the phone. “I’m sorry for disturbing you so late in the evening, but your daughter would like to speak with you.”
“Is something wrong with Vicky?” Concern cut through Ann Westernly’s sleep-addled mind, and she jolted awake.
“She’s fine,” Darien reassured, “but she’d like for you to call her. There was a bit of a fire in her apartment, and she can’t use a cell phone from her hospital room.”
He heard a gasp over the line before Vicky’s mom plowed into him with a string of questions so quickly it made his head spin. “She’s fine.” Darien tried to calm the frantic woman. “She’s being well taken care of.” He attempted to answer the questions with short responses, but they came at him too fast. “Mrs. Westernly.” He finally interrupted her. “I think it would be best if you just called her.”
Darien gave her the phone number and wished Vicky’s mother goodnight before hanging up. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He had never had anyone grill him like that before. Now would be a great time to go for a bit of a walk. It would give Vicky some privacy to speak with her mother, and it would give him a chance to shake off the stress of that phone call.
***
The phone on Vicky’s bedside table rang, and she picked it up, knowing that it could only be one person.
“Hi, Mom,” Vicky answered.
“Oh, baby!” Ann Westernly cried into the phone. “I just got a call from a man telling me you were in the hospital. Are you all right?”
“Yes, Mom,” Vicky replied, trying to soothe her mother. “That was my boss. I couldn’t get a line out, so I asked him to call.”
“That was very nice of him,” Ann said, calming down slightly. “Why are you in the hospital?”
Vicky knew she was in for twenty questions—or more—with her mom. “There was a fire in my apartment, and I got a few light burns,” Vicky answered.
Ann rapidly fired questions at her daughter. “What caused the fire? How bad are the burns? How long will you be in the hospital? I can’t find my car keys.”
Car keys? Vicky freaked. If she didn’t say something fast, her mother would be in the car on her way to the hospital as soon as she got off the phone. “Wait, Mom—” Vicky interrupted her mother’s train of thought. “Calm down. Just relax. I’m fine. Yes, there was a fire in my apartment, but they’re still not sure what caused it. A detective from the arson unit has already been by to ask questions, and they’ll let me know what they find. There is no need for you to come running out here in the middle of the night. I am fine.” She listened to her mother breathing in the phone and waited for a response.
“Are you sure?” her mother asked. “I could be there in six hours.”
“Yes, Mother.” Vicky smiled into the phone. “You don’t need to drive that far for this. I just wanted to let you know.” She heard her mother sigh.
“All right,” Ann agreed begrudgingly. Panic subsiding, she asked, “How are you doing?”
“Pretty good,” Vicky informed her mom. “Just a few light burns and some minor cuts from where I broke the window, but they’re healing well.” Vicky smiled as she thought about the reason they were healing so quickly.
“And your apartment?” Ann asked.
“I really don’t know,” Vicky admitted. “I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.”
“What are you going to do about a place to live?”
Vicky could hear a concerned note trickle back into her mother’s voice. “Don’t worry about that, Mom,” she said with a smile. “I haven’t been over to check it out yet, but it can’t be that bad,” she lied. There was probably no way her apartment was livable at the moment, but that was not something she was going to pass on.
“And this man that called, your boss,” Ann said, changing the subject, “why is he in your hospital so late?”
Vicky smiled more as her mother hit on the topic bothering Vicky. “Mr. Ritter stopped by after he got off work to check on me,” she answered.
“It sounds like he likes you.”
She could hear the smile in her mother’s voice, and the two women went off on a long, detailed conversation about Darien. Vicky was very careful to not mention anything that would make her mother think the man was dangerous.
“Well, it definitely sounds like you like him,” Ann said, coming to the same conclusion Vicky was reaching.
“But he’s my boss!” Vicky protested. And a vampire, she added in her mind.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ann reassured her. “As long as you keep the romance out of the office, there’s no problem. What upper management doesn’t know about can’t get you fired.”
“Mom!” Vicky protested again. “He is upper management. Darien owns Ritter Enterprises.”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is,” Ann replied. “If he owns the company, then he won’t fire you. Plus, that means he’s rich.” Vicky heard a giggle issue from her mother. “He sounds like a good catch.”
“You sound just like Vanessa.” She sighed.
“So, will I get to meet your boss?” Ann asked her daughter.
Not if I can help it, Vicky answered in her head. “Maybe the next time you come to visit,” she said out loud. “It’s going to take me some time to sort this out. I still have to see how bad the fire damage is and make arrangements for a place to stay during the cleanup. I’ll probably be crashing at Vanessa’s for a while.”
Vanessa would be all too willing to let her stay for as long as she wanted to. But, it was Vanessa’s habit of bringing home strange men at weird hours that had always bothered Vicky when they were roommates at college. The woman hadn’t gotten much better since they’d graduated.
“Well, let me know,” Ann said. “I’m overdue for a visit. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”
“I know, Mom,” Vicky said softly into the phone. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” Ann said. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”
“It’s okay, Mom.” Vicky chuckled into the phone. “I have a few friends here in town that can help if I really need it.” The entire werewolf and vampire community at her beck and call were a few friends, right?
Her mom finally gave up. “All right. Have a good night, and let me know how things turn out. I love you.”
“I will, Mom. I love you,” Vicky said, and the two women hung up.
Darien’s heart twinged when he heard Vicky speak those three words. He had been leaning against the wall just outside the door for a while, and he had gotten a fairly good idea of what the women had been talking about from the half of the conversation that he had heard. He wasn’t ready to address Vicky’s feelings yet, but there was still the problem of where his assistant was going to live.
Darien didn’t like the idea of her staying with Vanessa. He felt the woman was untrustworthy, and there was still the matter of what had caused the fire in Vicky’s home. If it were supernatural like he suspected, would whatever had caused it come back for her? Would she just be putting her friend in danger?
He needed to take Vicky and that coin to see the Gray Court, but their audience was set for the weekend. Should he take her sooner and risk offending the fay? Shaking his head, he dismissed this idea. The high courts of the fay were all about protocol and posturing. Just bringing her along would push his audience to the point of impolite, but she had suddenly become a piece of the puzzle they were trying to unravel. He would also need time to plan for her visit there. Mortals were always in danger when they strayed into the world of the fay. He needed to make sure she got out reasonably unscathed.
Letting out a sigh, Darien pushed off the wall. There was only one place that he could think of where she wouldn’t endanger others and he could make sure she was safe. She wasn’t going to like his suggestion very much, but he was going to do his best to convince her to say yes.
Darien slipped into the room to find Vicky studying the weave of the shawl still crumpled in her lap. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes when she looked up.
“Well, that went better than I expected,” Vicky informed him as he walked around the bed and sat in the chair.
“Really?” he prompted.
“I was afraid she would race out here to make sure I’m okay.” Vicky sighed. “But, I was able to convince her to stay at home. Now, I just have to find a place to stay for a while.” She leaned back to rest her head on the pillow as she thought about the problem. “I should call Vanessa tomorrow and see if she still has that spare room.”
“I have a better idea,” Darien said softly as the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “My place isn’t far from work. You’re welcome to stay there until you can find something better.”
Vicky looked at him in surprise. “Do you live there?” she asked.
“Well, yes,” Darien said, shrugging, “but I promise not to get in your way.”
Vicky stared at him, openmouthed. “I couldn’t impose on you like that,” she protested. “You’ve already done so much for me.”
He chuckled a little as he thought about what he had done for her. A little healing didn’t seem like such a big thing when compared to having dumped her into the middle of his world. “I wouldn’t consider it an imposition,” Darien explained. “Anyway, it would be the best place for you at the moment.”
Confusion crossed Vicky’s face as she pondered his remark. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well…” Darien tried to think of the most delicate way to enlighten her, but there really wasn’t one. “I don’t think the fire in your apartment was accidental. You might be putting your friend in danger if you stayed with her.”
Vicky’s eyes widened as she grasped her situation.
“I could offer you some protection, but that requires you to be close.”
Staring up at the ceiling, Vicky considered her lack of options. The fire probably gutted her apartment, if not the whole building. And she couldn’t go to Vanessa’s if there was a possibility trouble would follow her. There was always a long-term hotel, but, again, whatever had caused the fire might find her there, too. Seeing no other plausible options, Vicky turned to Darien. “An apartment?”
“Something like that.” Darien shrugged. “But it does have a nice view.”
Vicky rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn’t see any way around it. “All right,” she agreed. “But just until we find out what caused the fire and I get a new apartment.”
“As you wish,” Darien agreed. He shifted in his chair so he could pull Michael’s gift from where Vicky had been playing with it. “It’s getting late, and you still have some healing to do before they’ll let you out.” He set the shawl and pin on the backpack next to the bed. “Get under those covers so you can rest.”
“But I spent most of the day sleeping, and I’m not tired,” Vicky protested as he pushed the button to lower the bed.
“I’m sure we can take care of that.” Darien pulled the blankets up and tucked her in. He dropped his head to hers, so their foreheads touched. “Sleep.” As he breathed the command, Vicky’s eyes fluttered shut, and she dropped into a deep, relaxing sleep. Pulling back slightly, he placed a kiss where he had touched her. “You are way too susceptible to suggestion.” Darien sighed as he pulled away. “We’ll have to work on that.”
Picking up the book Vicky had been reading, he dropped himself into the chair next to the bed so he could continue the story as he watched over her.
***
When Vicky woke up, Darien was gone again. The light filtering through the flowers told her the morning was growing old. He had probably left to go to work. She wondered if he had gotten any rest at all. How much sleep did a vampire need, anyway? Vicky let her mind turn on the subject and giggled when an image popped into her head—Darien, in full Dracula regalia, hanging upside down in the rafters of some old building, sleeping like vampires do in so many bad horror movies. She was pulled from her fantasy when a light tap sounded on her door.
The nurse pushed in. “Good morning.” She sat a tray on the table. “I have your breakfast.”
“Thank you.” Vicky turned over so she could sit up to eat.
The nurse raised the head of the bed and looked up at the empty IV bag. “So, how are you this morning?”
“Fine,” Vicky answered.
Nodding, the nurse punched some buttons on the blue box and unhooked the IV line from the port in Vicky’s arm. “Let me know if you feel any pain,” she warned as she packed up the equipment. “The doctor thinks you should be fine without the medication.”
Vicky smiled at her. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
“It’s probably all the tender loving care your boyfriend has been giving you,” she said with a giggle.
Vicky blushed. The woman had hit the nail on the head. “He’s not my boyfriend,” Vicky protested weakly, looking at her food.
“Don’t give me that,” the woman huffed. “That kiss he gave you when you first came in was far too passionate to come from anyone other than a lover. It made even my toes curl.”
Vicky looked up at the woman as she tried to think about a kiss Darien had given her. The only one that might have been misconstrued as passionate was the kiss he placed on her temple, but no one had seen that one.
“Then again, you might not remember it,” the woman went on. “You hadn’t woken up yet.”
Vicky raised her fingers to her mouth and felt her lips.
“The doctor will be in after a bit to check on you,” the nurse said as she rolled the IV stand out of the room.
Vicky was too deep in thought to hear the nurse’s words or see her leave. Her insides flopped around like a
fish out of water, and she was suddenly not hungry anymore. Had Darien stolen a kiss while she was asleep? What did it mean? Was it to heal her, or was it something else? She thought over Darien’s actions since she had discovered he was a vampire. He had spent a lot of time invading her personal space, but she also found it didn’t bother her as much as it should have. Her mind wobbled on her growing feelings and what they meant for her job. Would she be able to handle working so closely with someone who had such a profound effect on her heart?
Vicky recalled Vanessa’s teasing about what could be done in a closed office with a large desk and slammed the thought down before it could even get off the ground. Picking up her fork, she started working food into her mouth. She needed to eat, no matter how her insides were squirming. Dealing with Darien would have to come later.
Vicky looked over at Darien settling into the driver’s seat of his DB9. He had spent the morning rearranging his schedule so he could take her home when Dr. Urnkalther released her.
The doctor had been astounded by how quickly the burns had healed. She happily informed Vicky that she no longer needed to stay there. Dr. Urnkalther had even pulled the stitches out of the mostly healed cuts. The good doctor had given Darien strict instructions that Vicky was not to exert herself until the wounds were fully healed. She would have made Vicky take at least a week off work, but there was no precedent for her case. Darien assured her he wouldn’t let Vicky do anything strenuous until she was well again.
Vicky was ready to get back to her life. There were things she needed to do. As Darien drove them out of the parking garage, she looked out the window at the grayed-out world. Clouds had moved in to block out the sun, and a light drizzle had just started to fall.
“What’s going to happen to the flowers?” she asked as Darien pulled out onto the wet street. Her backpack lay at her feet, but he told her not to worry about the plants as Karl pushed her out in the wheelchair. Vicky hadn’t felt she’d needed a wheelchair, but Dr. Urnkalther had insisted she not walk on the freshly healed wounds.
“Since there were so many, I’ve made arrangements to have them picked up and delivered,” Darien replied as he maneuvered through the afternoon traffic. “There wasn’t room in here for them all.”