The Rose Trilogy Box Set
Page 3
“I think I’ll wait to hear what Dax gathers from Terrance and make my decision tonight after closing, as planned.” Evangeline said, bring my attention back to the problem at hand.
As a rule, Evie didn’t kill vampires just because they drifted from light to dark; it was in our nature and couldn't be helped. But she did have one strict rule: if any of us started to revel in hurting people and became permanently dark, we would face the true death. No exceptions.
It was very rare for a vampire to drift permanently dark, but it happened every now and then. When it did happen, it meant that they were giving into the darkness within them, which resulted in their emotions shutting down. That quickly led a vampire to start reveling in the kill and becoming truly evil. If it happened within a Sire's clan, it was their responsibility to deliver the true death. It looked like Terrance was out of time.
* * * * *
CHAPTER FIVE
Daddy's Little Girl
(Rose)
As I drove home, I couldn’t stop thinking about Christian and how great it felt to finally have him let loose a little. His kisses were more intense and the way his hands moved over my body was pure heaven. But there were other things that had happened tonight that were occupying my thoughts as well. Like my lying and scheming, my seeing Christian and his co-workers coming out from under the stage, Terrance's sudden appearance from the woods, and especially Christian’s dark appearance and odd mood swing. It's not that these things had exactly stressed me out, but tonight had been so different from any of my other visits with Christian; it all just felt a little odd.
But, odd or not, I really didn’t have time to process it right now because I had bigger problems.
I was already running short on time, and had obviously gotten lost in my thoughts, because when I looked up, I realized that I had driven straight to my house in Jill’s car. Oh shit! What was I going to do now?
I was supposed to have gotten a ride home from Ms. Culver after school, so how was I going to explain to my dad about Jill’s car? So, in a panic, I raced around the block, pulled the car up to the curb, eased it into park, then frantically dialed Jillian’s number.
“Hey, where are you?” The tension was thick in her voice. Jill was waiting at her house, ready to jump in and drive me the rest of the way home.
“I screwed up! I accidentally drove straight home instead of coming to get you. Is there any way you can come get your car? I’ll leave it around the block to the east of my house with the keys under the floor mat. Is that okay?”
As the silence stretched, I really started to freak out. Maybe I had pushed my best friend too far this time. She was always looking out for me, especially since the nightmare with my mom, but this may have been asking a little too much.
“Okay, I think there is still one more bus that runs in that direction tonight. But Rose…you owe me big!”
After thanking Jillian profusely, I snapped my phone closed, turn off the car, and put the key under the mat. I wasn't worried if it would be safe here or not, as we lived in a pretty nice neighborhood. As a matter of fact, my mother’s death had been the only bad thing to ever happen here.
As I rounded the corner, I noticed that Dad’s car wasn’t in the driveway. Thank God! I couldn’t imagine how my dad would react if he came home to an empty house. Actually, I could imagine, and it scared the hell out of me. I pictured him being so scared that he called the police in a panic, or worse yet, having a heart attack and collapsing on the floor. I refused to put him through that, even if it did cut into my social life.
I went around the back of the house, let myself in, and headed straight for the kitchen. How was I going to explain the lack of food, when I was supposed to have had the driver stop for takeout? As I rummaged through the refrigerator, I heard Dad’s keys unlocking the front door. Shit, shit, shit. I quickly shut the fridge, turned on the faucet, and began washing my hands just as Dad came around the corner and stopped in the doorway.
“Hi honey, how was your day?”
I wondered if the driver had given him the heads up regarding the change of plans after school. I was pretty sure that he had, so I decided to stick with that for the basis of my story.
“Not great. I wasn’t feeling well today, and because of it I ended up having to stay after school. But Ms. Culver was nice enough to give me a ride home.”
As he looked at me with a tilt of his head, I started to panic. “Yeah, that’s what Dennis told me. So what’s with the get up?”
Oh good, he was just questioning my sundress, darker make-up and wavy hair. “Oh, nothing. Just being a girl. After I got home and ate something, I was feeling better, so I decided to clean out my closet. I've been trying on clothes and messing with my hair. I thought maybe I’d wear this the next time I go over to Jillian’s. The whole family always goes out to dinner whenever I stay over,” I said as my stomach growled.
“I think it looks great,” he said, "and actually, I think you will be headed over to Jill’s next week. I just have to confirm some arrangements for my business meeting in Masen, and then I'll let you know for sure.”
“Okay, sounds good. Well, I’m gonna turn in. I want to make sure I get up early enough to have a decent breakfast. I think that’s why I didn’t feel good today. I just hadn’t eaten enough.”
God, I really couldn’t stand myself.
“Okay, honey. Get some rest; I’ll see you in the morning, and how about I cook this time? Give daddy’s little girl a break.”
And now I was feeling sick for real.
* * * * *
CHAPTER SIX
Second Chances
(Christian)
After the club closed, Dax came out of the rising pit and headed straight for Evangeline’s office. They were in there for about fifteen minutes while the rest of us cleaned up the evidence of tonight's good time. As they came out, the puzzled look on Evie’s face had me feeling cautious as she waved us over to join her.
“After receiving Dax’s report, I’ve decided that I need to keep Terrance around for further questioning.” Evie's voice was sharp and to the point.
This was a first. Evie usually didn’t give second chances, and as far as I was concerned, I thought Terrance had already been pushing it for a while.
“What did Terrance say?” Curiosity was getting the better of me.
“His revelations about tonight were exactly what we thought they would be. He woke and snuck out early, then made his way out to the interstate and sliced the poor girl’s tire. When she glided her car to a stop along the woods, he grabbed her. He was not gentle and he planned to leave her for dead all along.” At that last statement, the anger lacing her tone was so thick it almost left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Then why are you letting him live?” I demanded. “His actions tonight not only put us in danger, but it’s obvious that he is starting to revel in the kill.”
Closing her eyes briefly, she composed herself. “Christian, please know that I have yours, and everyone else’s best interests at heart when I make my decisions. There is something within Terrance’s mind that I have to explore before I can dispose of him,” she replied calmly. “But once I get my answers, he will meet the true death.”
I noticed Dax had been quieter than usual during our little meeting, and now his head hung even lower with Evie’s last words. Dax had petitioned Evie to change Terrance when he found him back in the old world working as a blacksmith. There had been an accident that had left Terrance's hands terribly burned. With his livelihood ripped away, he had no way to support his family. But if he were to die, his wife could remarry and gain the stability she and their children needed. Dax had explained this Evie, and so the two of them, with their caring hearts, decided to add Terrance to our clan, freeing both him and his family from a terrible fate.
“Terrance will remain chained in the pit until further notice. No one is to talk to him unless I or Dax say so.” She didn’t have to raise her voice or repeat herself, for
the command in her voice was enough to paralyze us all into doing exactly what she wanted. Another benefit to being the Sire. When the Sire gave a command, the rest of us had to obey. It was a skill she didn't use very often.
Evie headed towards the front of the club, taking Bobby and Dominique with her. I assumed they were headed out to gather the girl's body that was still in the woods and dispose of her car. I walked over to Dax and placed my hand on his shoulder. We’d been together for so long that I didn’t have to say a word in order to express my sympathy, but I thought I’d better apologize for sounding so “pro-death” when it came to Terrance. “I’m sorry. I really wish he'd drift back to his old self so we could stop this.”
He looked at me with sadness in his eyes. “He’s not going to. Since about six months ago, Terrance has had trouble drifting back after he feeds. Evie and I noticed it and were keeping an even closer eye on him than usual, but then this happened," he said, gesturing to the front door. "Not only is he terrorizing and killing his prey, but he has now lost all regard for the rest of the clan’s safety. No...he’s not drifting back.”
“What happened that would cause him to change so much?”
“Not sure. But that’s what Evie’s gonna find out.” With sadness in his eyes, Dax clapped me on the shoulder then walked away.
As I headed out to help Evie and the others, I thought I heard Dax say something else, but I couldn’t quite make it out. I thought he'd whispered, “Man I wish I knew how he was keeping those thoughts from me.”
Now I understood. Dax hadn’t been able to pull specific thoughts from Terrance. That was highly unusual and now I could see why Evie wanted to question him further. And personally, I couldn’t wait to find out what she discovered.
* * * * *
CHAPTER SEVEN
Business Unusual
(Rose)
The following week went by fast enough. I didn’t get into anymore trouble at school, and now every morning Dad made sure I had a good breakfast so I wouldn’t get sick again. Yes, I know...I made that bed, and now I was lying in it. I talked to Jill and made sure she had retrieved her car with no problems, which she had, and I was scheduled to stay with her again this Friday night.
That was the topic of our recent conversation. She made sure to tell me that this Friday night was when she would be collecting on the favor I owed her. Great! This didn't sound good.
Friday night arrived, and as I waved goodbye to my dad as he pulled out of Jill’s driveway, her hushed voice drifted to my ear. “If I’m going to help you sneak out to see Christian again, you are going to take me with you!”
That wasn't what I had been expecting, but as I couldn’t see any harm in it, I happily agreed. “Okay, sure. I think that could be fun. And, since you are twenty-one, you can actually go inside while I'm, ahem, occupied with Christian."
After explaining to her parents that we wanted to skip dinner so that we could take in a double feature at the movie theatre, we began to get dressed and I realized that this was going to be the most time that I’ve been able to spend with Christian in months. Usually, I had to wait for Jill’s parents to fall asleep, and then with her help, sneak out without waking them, setting off the dog, or tripping the flood lights. Once all this was accomplished, I would only have a couple hours to get there, see Christian, and get back. But tonight, we had checked the movie times, and after taking our drive time into account, we had gotten the okay to be gone for about four hours.
Honestly, I really didn’t know what Christian and I were going to do to fill the time. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of yummy ideas of what I could do with Christian if we were alone for that long, but it wasn’t like he could take a four hour break. With me still being twenty and not able to legally enter the club yet, I was thinking tonight would be the perfect time to take Evangeline up on her previous offer. I just hoped she was still in a generous mood or else I would be stuck outside in the car for about three hours, while Jill and Christian were both inside without me. Yeah, that would suck.
Jillian's question shook me out of my thoughts. “Does this look okay?”
Jill was on the volleyball team at school and had a great, athletic body: lean and muscular, with minimal curves and a small chest. So when I turned around, I was shocked. First off, I noticed that Jill had darkened her makeup quite a bit from the last time we were in front of the mirror, and her dark brown hair was now hanging loose instead of pulled up at the sides like before. Secondly, I didn’t even know she owned clothes like this. It was like I was looking at a stranger. She wore a red leather miniskirt and a silver sequin halter, with a long, black, scarf-like duster over it, and knee-high black boots. “Um, yeah! You look really hot actually.” I tried not to sound as stunned as I felt.
“Cool. The last time I was in that club was to go pee after that concert, and I tell you what...the people in there just oozed sex. I just want to make sure I fit in.”
Huh, I guess I had better rethink my outfit. I had never really thought about the patrons of The Rising Pit, as I was always in my own little world with Christian in the backseat of his car. But I had to admit, her comment sparked a bit of insecurity in me. Maybe I should be more worried about the people who surrounded Christian night after night. What if I wasn’t the only girl he made out with in the back of his car? Now I felt nauseous. “I’m going to go change.”
After trading my plain jeans and tank top in for a black, sleek fitting dress and heels, Jill and I made our way out of the house without being spotted by her parents. We voiced our goodbyes and headed out the front door.
We were ten minutes away from the club when Jill, with a hint of teasing in her voice asked, “So, have you and Christian done the deed yet?”
“No, unfortunately,” I huffed.
This was something that I hoped we would remedy soon, but again, the idea of finally being that intimate with my boyfriend in the backseat of his car wasn’t exactly at the top of my “most romantic moments” list. But at this point, I was getting desperate, so it might just have to do.
“Well, maybe if Evangeline lets you in tonight, you and Christian can sneak in one of those private booths they have upstairs and finally seal the deal,” Jill laughed.
“How do you know there are private booths upstairs?” I was curious because I had never been inside long enough to really take everything in, and I didn’t think she had either.
“When I was in there to use the bathroom, someone was talking about the private booths upstairs, saying that she wished she could get an invitation or something. I just thought that since Christian has access, it would be the perfect place for you guys to score some alone time tonight!”
Suddenly I felt a rush of sexual energy pulse through my veins. “Well, if Evangeline lets me in tonight, I think you're right; a private tour sounds like the perfect plan."
After we parked and Jill went inside to let Christian know we were here, I kept thinking about what she had said about those private booths. I mean, I know that the club had a reputation for being a very sultry place, but honestly, I had never really spent much time thinking about what went on in there. As I looked up from my ponderings, I saw Christian walking towards me. Damn, he’s sexy. Suddenly, I hoped that what I had in mind was exactly what went on inside.
“Hi gorgeous!” he said.
Christian's kiss effectively weakened my knees, so I had a hard time concentrating on what he said next.
“I’ve got a surprise for you. Evie said that from now on you’re welcome in the club whenever you want, as long as you wear this bracelet. She had it made for you after checking with the liquor board."
He had a big smile plastered on his face as he continued, "They said as long as she made sure that you had something to clearly designate that you're underage, you’d be able to join us.”
I looked down at the black rubber bracelet; it had the club's logo on it, and the words UNDER 21 in white print repeated around the band. This I could live with.
“I think she decided to have it made after the last time you were here. Actually, she had a bunch of them made. I think she’s planning to bring in some extra revenue by opening the club to 18+ kids a couple of nights a week.” Then with a fake pout he said, “I’m just not sure I’m ready to share you with everyone else though.”
He pulled me close, placed his hands on my hips and looked straight into my eyes. “I like having you all to myself.”
Suddenly I was feeling flush. I couldn’t tell if it was from his sexy tone, or if it was just because I was so damn horny, but it didn’t matter. Because just then, Jill stuck her head out of the front door and yelled, “Hey you two, get in here!” Christian smiled and took my hand, and as we made our way to the club's front door, I took a deep breath and thought...I don’t like sharing you with anyone else either!