by Lynsay Sands
“Really, Uncle,” Tricia said with exasperated amusement before Allie could blow her top at the man. “You cannot make her go anywhere.” Turning to Allie, she added, “But it would probably be for the best if you agreed to go to Port Henry. It’s really a very nice little town, and I think I mentioned my husband is the police chief there. We can keep you safe without keeping you in a fenced-in compound with the dogs and guards they have here.”
“There are dogs and guards here?” Allie asked with surprise. All she’d seen when she looked out the back window was a large backyard and a huge building with a lot of garage doors in it.
“Yes,” Tricia said solemnly, “Dogs, guards, and a huge electric fence.”
Allie’s eyebrows rose. “And Port Henry is safer?”
“Perhaps not safer in that way, but it’s a small town where strangers are noticed pretty quickly,” she assured her. “And there are several immortal families there with children. Aside from the parents offering added protection, it means Liam would have a lot of playmates. It also means there would be several people who can tell you all you need to know about raising an immortal boy.”
That sounded pretty good to Allie. At least, it did if Lucian wouldn’t be there. The man just rubbed her the wrong way.
“Staying there would give you a chance to regain your strength too, while Lucian and Mortimer worked here to find and capture the rogues who attacked you,” Tricia added, eliminating the concern of Lucian being in Port Henry.
“When do we leave?” Allie asked with a wry smile.
Tricia beamed at her, but it was Lucian who answered the question. “The helicopter that brought Katricia and Teddy here is waiting out on the airstrip to take you all back. The six of you can leave as soon as you tell us everything you know about this nest of rogues that attacked you.”
“The six of us?” Allie asked with confusion.
“Magnus and Tybo will be accompanying you for added protection,” Lucian announced. “It hopefully will not be necessary since it is doubtful the rogues could follow the helicopter to Port Henry, but it is better not to take chances.”
“Oh.” Allie’s gaze slid to Magnus and then quickly away when she saw he was looking at her.
“So . . .” Lucian arched an eyebrow and ordered, “Tell us what you know of these rogues.”
Five
Magnus watched Allie struggle with her irritation at Lucian’s high-handed manner, but after a moment she seemed to let go of it on a sigh and shook her head before saying apologetically, “Not much, I’m afraid.”
He noted the concentration on the faces of Lucian and the others and knew they were reading her thoughts for the information they sought. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that so suggested, “Just tell us what you do know.”
Allie nodded and glanced down at her hands briefly, but then nodded again. “One of them is Liam’s father.”
Magnus frowned at this news. “How did you end up with Liam?”
“His mother, Stella,” Allie answered, smiling softly. “I met her about a month after buying my first home, a town house in Calgary. It was summertime, August, and one night some rude idiot decided to mow their lawn,” she said with remembered irritation. “I’d put up with the noise of a dozen lawn mowers all day and evening. It’s expected in the summer, that’s why I worked nights. It was quiet then and I could concentrate. Usually, but not that night. It was around ten thirty—the kids were all inside getting ready for bed if not there already, the rest of the street had finally settled down to quiet, and then vroom. Ugh.” Allie shook her head. “I wanted to throttle whoever it was, but I tried to ignore it and kept working. When the engine cut out, I was relieved and thought it was done, but then they tried to restart it, and failed, and tried again and again, their machine making the most god-awful coughing sounds. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and went outside ready to tear into the thoughtless prick making all that racket at that hour.”
Allie grinned crookedly. “That’s when I first saw her. A petite little brunette with an obvious baby bump, looking exhausted and about as frustrated as me and yanking on the lawn mower cord over and over.”
Magnus smiled at her description, almost able to see it in his mind.
“Instead of bawling her out for her choice of time for doing lawn maintenance, I ended up helping. I mean, she was nearly done anyway, so I figured a few more minutes of racket and it would be done and I could get back to work. Right?”
When Allie rolled her eyes, Magnus found himself smiling, and asked, “I am guessing it did not work out that way?”
“No,” she admitted on a sigh. “I must have spent an hour checking her lawn mower. I went over the spark plug wire, the spark plug itself, the brake cable, the oil level . . .” Allie grimaced. “Of course, we were chatting while I did it, which slowed me down. It wouldn’t normally have taken me that long.”
Magnus nodded solemnly at her earnest assurance, but he was biting his tongue to keep from grinning. The fact that she knew how to do what she’d mentioned was impressive to him no matter how long it took. He wasn’t mechanically minded himself and wouldn’t have known what to check.
“Did you find the problem?” Tricia asked.
“Oh, yeah,” she said dryly, and then admitted with disgust, “It was out of gas.”
That startled a laugh from everyone but Lucian. Allie didn’t appear offended, though, and laughed with them before saying, “I know. That’s the first thing I should have checked.” She shook her head at her mistake. “Anyway, it was after eleven thirty by then. Stella decided to leave it for the next day to finish, so I wished her good night and went back home to return to work.”
She paused briefly, her eyes looking off into the distant memories, and then said, “I don’t think it was more than an hour later that there was a knock at the door. I considered ignoring it, but twelve thirty is an odd time for visitors and it might be an emergency so I answered it in the end. And there stood Stella with a bright smile and a pan of freshly baked brownies in her hands to thank me,” Allie explained, and Magnus nodded encouragingly.
“I should have said, ‘Thank you but no, I have a deadline and need to work.’ Unfortunately, I’m something of a chocoholic and she looked so . . .” Allie frowned as she tried to find the words to explain, and then said, “I don’t know . . . lonely, maybe, but hopeful. I didn’t have the heart to send her away. It would have been like kicking a puppy.” She shrugged. “So I invited her in and made tea.”
Kind, Magnus thought. She was kind as well as brave.
“Stella told me later that she’d intended on feeding on me when she came over and the brownies were just a way to get in the door. But we got talking while I puttered around fetching plates and making tea, and by the time we sat down, she liked me too much to bite me.”
Magnus frowned at this news, suspecting that Stella’s feeding on her would have been a death sentence. The woman had obviously been a rogue if she was biting mortals and not feeding on blood bags as immortals were supposed to do. Rogues didn’t often concern themselves with the well-being of their chosen dinner.
“I never did end up getting back to work that night,” Allie continued. “We sat and chatted over brownies and tea until nearly dawn. She told me at that time that she was on her own, and admitted she was pregnant and scared. She said she was from Vancouver where she used to be an office manager. But she’d given up her home and job and moved to Calgary to get a fresh start after her husband died. She didn’t tell me then how he died. She didn’t seem to want to talk about it and I didn’t push her. Instead, we talked about other things.”
Solemn now, Allie admitted, “It was a good night. We had a lot in common and laughed a great deal. By the time the sun was creeping over the horizon and she hurried home, we were firm friends.”
Allie took a sip of hot chocolate. “Stella was at my place a lot after that. I’d often see her leave in her car after the sun set. When that happened, I’d keep an eye out for he
r return to make sure she got back okay. Women alone have to look out for each other,” she added, glancing at Magnus, and he nodded in understanding. The world was a dangerous place, especially for young mortal women.
“Anyway,” Allie continued, “she usually returned at midnight or one o’clock in the morning, and often carrying groceries. I’d watch until she got them safely inside if she only had a few, or go out to help her unload if she had a lot of them. Then I’d go back to work. But then she’d show up at my place around three or four in the morning with snacks or a full meal and we’d sit and talk for hours. Stella usually headed home before the sun rose, but on the days she left it too late she’d sleep on the couch and then wouldn’t leave until night fell again.”
Allie shook her head. “I didn’t think anything of it. The fact that she avoided the sun and spent so much time with me. I just thought she was lonely, or worried about having the baby. I didn’t even pick up at first that with all the food she brought over, she never ate.”
“She did not eat?” Magnus asked with a frown. A woman, whether mortal or immortal, should definitely eat when pregnant. Making a baby took a lot of nourishment.
“No,” Allie said on a sigh. “She’d fix herself a plate and push the food around on it, but I never saw her actually put anything in her mouth. When I commented on it, she claimed she had morning sickness that lasted all day and night and then changed the subject.”
“She probably didn’t think she could eat anymore,” Tricia said with a frown.
Magnus nodded, and when Allie raised an eyebrow, he explained, “It is doubtful her sire told her she could eat. The mythical vampires do not eat and he would want her to believe that was what she was.”
“Why?” Allie asked with bewilderment.
“That can be explained later,” Lucian said before Magnus could answer. “All the questions you no doubt have can be answered after. Just skip the Laverne and Shirley narrative of bonding with the woman and tell us what you know about Stella’s sire.”
Magnus watched the way Allie narrowed her eyes on Lucian and expected a show of temper, but instead she asked sweetly, “Who are Laverne and Shirley?”
“That is a bit before her time, Uncle,” Tricia said with amusement when he began to scowl.
“Yeah,” Tybo agreed, and then leaned forward in his chair to meet Allie’s gaze as he suggested, “Think Thelma and Louise, but funny and without ending with driving off a cliff.”
Allie nodded, but then tilted her head and asked, “Who are Thelma and Louise?”
“Oh.” Tybo frowned. “That movie came out in 1991 when you were probably— Were you born yet?”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Lucian snarled. “Just tell us about her sire.”
When Allie cast an irritated scowl at the man and growled a sarcastic, “Yes, master,” Magnus had to bow his head to hide his expression. He was both amused and proud of her. Most people quailed in Lucian’s presence, but not his Allie.
He had just caught the fact that he’d thought of her as his and begun to remonstrate with himself about jumping the gun emotionally when Allie started speaking again. Still, he felt his pride increase when she ignored Lucian’s directive and continued in her own way.
“Anyway, the next few months were nice. We had late-night barbecues, attended movies together once the sun started setting earlier, and became best friends,” Allie said, her voice deliberate, and gaze meeting Lucian’s in quite the most beautiful silent fuck you Magnus had ever seen.
When Lucian growled low in his throat in response, she beamed a smile at him and said, “We had great fun when I wasn’t working.” Her smile faded slightly as she added, “And then that night in early December came.”
“That night?” Magnus asked with concern.
Allie nodded. “We’d gone to the movies and then a late dinner. We were walking back to my car when Stella suddenly grabbed my arm and began to move more quickly. It was a moment after that before I heard the footsteps behind us and understood what had her agitated. Or thought I did.”
Glancing at him, Allie apparently noted the confusion on his face, and explained, “The movie had been over for more than an hour by then, and the parking lot was nearly empty. There was only one other car at the back of the lot besides ours, so footsteps at that point were a bit . . .”
“Anxiety inducing?” Tricia suggested with understanding.
“Yes,” she sighed, and then said, “I had barely registered the sound and experienced that anxiety when I was suddenly hanging over Stella’s shoulder, my head banging against the back of her coat as we flew the rest of the way to the car. And believe me,” she said solemnly, “in that moment it did seem as if we flew. I mean, she was really moving. It couldn’t have been more than a matter of seconds before we reached the car.”
Dropping back in her seat, she said dryly, “All I can say is it’s a good thing I forgot to lock the doors, because I really think she would have just ripped the door off. She damned near did anyway and it wasn’t locked.” Allie shook her head at the memory. “Anyway, she tossed me in like a Raggedy Ann doll, and then climbed in after me. She had the door slammed and locked in about a half a second, and immediately started to feel up my pockets, shrieking, ‘Where are the keys? We have to go! Give me the keys!’”
Allie blew out a breath as if she still couldn’t believe what had happened. “And then there was a knock at the car window. We both froze and then slowly turned to look out. A young couple were standing uncertainly on the pavement next to the car. They couldn’t have been more then seventeen or eighteen. When Stella just stared, I got out on my side of the car to talk to them. They were the source of the footsteps we’d heard, and while they didn’t appear to have seen Stella carting me around like Godzilla, they had heard her shrieking once we’d got in the car, and had hurried forward to make sure someone wasn’t being attacked. I assured them everything was fine and said Stella was pregnant with her first baby and a little hysterical about what was coming, is all. They looked in at her and relaxed at once. Stella was very pregnant at that point,” she added dryly. “I mean, she was huge. I’m sure her carting me across the parking lot over her shoulder with her big belly leading the way would have been a ridiculous sight if anyone had seen it.”
Magnus smiled faintly, able to envision it.
“Anyway, to reassure them, I opened the car door so they could see that Stella was all right and told her the nice young couple were concerned for our well-being. Fortunately, she pulled herself together enough to tell them everything was fine—she was just suffering a little pregnancy madness. Her hormones were all over the place and making her a bit crazy. Then we thanked them nicely for their concern, wished them good night, and I got back in the car.
“Stella apologized all the way home, saying she’d thought it was ‘them,’ that they’d caught up to her and would try to drag her back so they could take her baby.” Allie sighed sadly. “I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was a bit freaked out by what had happened. Her strength and speed hadn’t been normal,” she pointed out, peering at Magnus with big eyes.
When he nodded in understanding, and took her hand to squeeze her fingers reassuringly, she flushed slightly, but continued. “Anyway, I was upset and confused, but just kept saying it was fine, we’d talk when we got home. But when we got back to my place, she muttered that she was very tired and rushed across the street to her town house. I thought, fine, we’d talk the next night.”
“I am guessing there was no talk the next night,” Magnus said quietly when she paused unhappily.
“No,” Allie admitted. “Or the night after. Stella pulled a disappearing act. She didn’t come over, wouldn’t answer the door, and wouldn’t answer my phone calls or texts. I don’t think I ever would have seen her again if I hadn’t staked out her place.”
“Staked out her place?” Magnus asked, unsure what that would entail in this case.
Allie nodded. “I plunked myself down by my front
window and watched for her to leave, intending to rush out and talk to her if she did. I did that for two and a half nights with no results before I lost my patience. When there was no sign of her by three a.m. on the third night, I took the house key she’d given me—” She stopped her narrative to explain. “I talked her into giving me a house key just the week before this all happened. She only had a month and a half to her due date, but she was so big I was afraid the date was off. I was worried she’d go into labor and not be able to negotiate the stairs to the main floor safely on her own. I told her if she started having contractions, she was to call me and I’d go over, use the key to get in, then help her down to the car and drive her to the hospital.”
When he nodded in understanding, she returned to the original subject. “Anyway, at three o’clock that third night, I took the key and went over, determined to make her talk to me. We were friends. I’d helped her pick her unborn baby’s name, promised to be a free babysitter and help her with him or her. Besides, I had a ton of questions.”
“Was she there?” Tricia asked with curiosity.
“No,” Allie said with disgust. “Her car was there in the garage, but the house was empty. She’d dug a path through the snow from her back door to the fence and had apparently jumped it and used the footpath through the woods to go Lord knows where.” Anger tightening her lips, she added grimly, “On foot. In November in Calgary. November twenty-fifth to be exact. It was minus 17 degrees Celsius that night,” Allie told them with a combination of dismay and outrage. “I mean, how irresponsible is that? She was pregnant, for heaven’s sake. What if she’d gone into labor while strutting through the snow? Liam would have frozen to death before he hit the ground.”
“Liam would have been fine,” Tricia said soothingly. “Immortals do not freeze as easily as mortals.”
“Well, I didn’t know that, did I?” Allie said dryly, and then sighed. “She showed up at a little after four in the morning. I was sitting in the dark so that she wouldn’t see the light and avoid coming home. A bad idea as it turned out. She mistook me for a robber and damned near killed me before she realized it was me. Of course, then she alternated between feeling horrible for throwing me across the living room, and being angry that I had been sitting in wait. And of course I was a confusion of anger at her for avoiding me, and apologetic about using the key when I knew she wouldn’t have wanted me to.”