Aaron had blanked out shortly after discovering the kidnappers’ new and improved plan. He later learned from Remi’s diary recount that Remi had stolen the same knife Aaron had been threatened with and stabbed one of the kidnappers one hundred, eleven times. He managed to escape and was reunited with his parents, who could not face him after seeing the video.
Interesting how Remi kept waking up after the killings thinking he had done them.
Sadly, Aaron’s mother ended up in an asylum, where she died a year later. They never found his sister’s body. Never gave her a proper burial.
It was the saddest tale I had ever heard. Due to no fault of his own—the day Aaron had been kidnapped, was the day he had lost his whole family. Lost his family and his grip on reality.
No wonder he was so mixed up.
Well, he had me. I accepted each sordid part of him. From the little boy stuck inside him who never made it out of that shithole to the necrophiliac who fucked the blowup doll in the closet because he couldn’t find a steady, understanding girlfriend.
Until now.
So Aaron, Remi, Saybree, and I had a date. Next full moon, which was in two weeks, we’d have ourselves a vampire-human ritual.
Chapter 45
It was one week ago that I had fought Ming and watched her take a dirt nap at Vlad’s hands…uh, belt. One week ago that I had fucked Remi and made love to Aaron. Learned Aaron’s secrets and divulged mine. Made a pact with Aaron and Remi that involved an upcoming ritual that meant more to me than when I was turned by Max.
Oh, yeah—and it had been one week ago that I had moved in with them.
Until Franco eased up on his no-humans-allowed-in-Hades’s-basement rule, I had to move out. Had to leave the safety of his sanctuary. No sense in bringing up the fact Cin had been in the basement. If I was to protect them and they were to protect me, and if we needed to share blood often, Remi, Aaron, and I needed to live closer to each other anyway. Plus, their place was niiice. They had even gotten a coffin though I had yet to use it. Since they had also installed wooden window shutters that operated by voice command, I slept in the bed with them.
Aaron had agreed to my plan to put all his alternates on a schedule, so I did. Except Remi and Vlad. Remi shifted randomly and I got the feeling I wouldn’t see Vlad again until an execution was in order. Between Remi and Aaron shifting unpredictably, there was never a dull moment. Especially since Remi was trying to quit smoking. That made him extra twitchy.
Turns out, Franco, who appeared to know most everything, had not discerned Ming’s true thoughts and purpose because as Saybree had said, there was a protective shield around the foot queen. She was not a supernatural being, but the holy water insulated her, blocking her spirit from supernatural interference. The force was with her, so to speak.
Good thing Aaron had been there. And good thing he had a personality more than capable of getting down and dirty because I wouldn’t have been able to kill Ming. I would have wanted to, but only another human could. Aaron’s human involvement was exactly what was necessary to break past the holy shield and send Ming back to her maker. Or wherever she was destined.
When Monroe had come in to question us about Ming’s disappearance, he got no further than the front door. Franco and I had induced the help of Mr. Cash, in his official capacity as Congressman McNair, to get a restraining order against Monroe. His continuous harassment after we had disproved his theory that I was a vampire was illegal. According to the judge’s injunction, Monroe would be arrested and subject to civil penalties if he came within five hundred feet of me.
There were no laws to protect vampires, but there were plenty to protect humans. Even humans who had been accused of being vampires. As long as the evidence proved otherwise. And since vampires could be tried, convicted, and executed out of court, when someone proved he or she was homo sapiens, no court order was necessary to cease a VET investigation. Case closed.
For now.
As long as security kept cameras out of Hades and I didn’t stab myself again onstage, all should be well.
I had also gotten by to see my parents as I’d promised God while I was between consciousness, lying on the floor of the blood lab. I had gone alone, walked up to the house, and chickened out at the last minute. Peeping through the bay window into the well-lit dining room, I saw them all sitting at the table eating. My mom, dad, brothers, nieces, and nephews. They looked happy. So much so that I didn’t want to intrude. Didn’t feel like having one of those prodigal-daughter-returns-home-after-school-special moments. So I left.
At least I had fulfilled my promise. I had seen them.
What else?
Well, Punch and Fire got engaged and started planning a destination wedding. Hawaii, I think.
Guess who was not invited.
I just wished the best for them. Hope they lived happily ever after, blah, blah, blah. They better had considering how his being with her precluded him from being with a pack because wolves did not typically interrelate with dragons. He wouldn’t even be able to have children unless he mated with another wolf. He was throwing it all away for her. Romantic…or stupid? Time would tell.
Thankfully, I’d gotten around to making my purchase from Amazon. I’d bought something that was going to teach Fire I was not her bitch the next time she got jealous and attacked me. I’d known for a while I was going to need an extinguisher for her, and if the internet had been working in the basement that day, our little spat would have had different results. But the past was the past…and I’d be ready next time. Hoped Punch would understand.
Speaking of werewolves…
Dario’s blood lab was on the news. The break-in was being investigated. Not because anything was stolen, but because Dario had gone missing. Apparently, remnants of blood were found on the ceiling, though no body parts were reported. Made me wonder if Dario had eaten them and left to grow body hair and long canines.
So much had happened within the past few weeks that I had been the first one to show up for Dr. Floyd’s support group meeting. As usual, I did no talking, but it felt good listening to everyone else’s sleep disorder issues. Reminder that it could always be worse.
After the meeting, Dr. Floyd had spoken to me about my blood results again. In his smart British accent, he told me my blood was ancient, dating back to old Germany. And just as I thought he was about to tell me he had reported me to VET, he said he would help me find a cure for narcolepsy…and vampirism, if I wanted.
Something to think about, I guess.
I had also seen Ivan a few times. We went for long walks through the cemetery and he watched me perform at Hades a few times. I wanted him to get whatever closure he needed in order to pass on to the other side. It just didn’t seem to be working.
When I asked Franco about it, he said it may take time, but not to worry. Once I died the final death, Ivan would move on to his version of the final death too.
Ha ha.
So now I was meandering around Hades’s Graveyard room, chatting with patrons, encouraging them to spend more money on booze and aphrodisiacs…and prophylactics. Suddenly, I started choking, gagging. Not wanting to gross anyone out, I ran to the bathroom and took a long look at myself in the mirror. I was no longer gagging and nothing seemed amiss. Making my way out again, I stopped halfway to the door. My body was buzzing, vibrating low and then more intensely until I was trembling like Hades was in the middle of a California earthquake. What the…
My vision blurred. My mouth went dry.
Then I smelled sweet vanilla.
No way.
I took off fast…down the hall, out the back door, out into the lot, into the trees…
But there was no outrunning it.
No outrunning him. I just needed to get him away from Hades. Away from humans. Away from my friends.
I finally dropped to my knees and rolled around in the damp earth.
“No, no, no. Go away!” I said in the darkness.
I came for you Wil
low, he said from inside my head.
It was just a whisper, but it made my whole body tremble as if he was right next to me. And then I knew he was.
Buzz, buzz, buzz. The buzzing of mosquitoes got louder as he formed on the earth next to me. In the flesh. Mercedez formed next to him.
I could see nothing but her eyes and teeth as she grinned. Maximilian the Great on the other hand, I could see clearly since his Celtic skin glowed in the moonlight. Even the twinkling stars kissed his blond hair.
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” he whispered.
“Not really.”
“Is that any way to greet your maistre after I’ve come from such a long way to see you?”
“No. I guess not. If you would have given notice, I could have been more prepared.”
His laughter rumbled through the woods. Then in his most menacing Max way, he said, “Well, I’m here now. And don’t worry. I won’t be leaving without you.”
Chilled me to the core.
I didn’t know what I was going to do about Remi and Aaron. Didn’t know how I was going to continue working at Hades. Didn’t know how I would keep Max away from everyone I cared about, including myself.
How in the hell could I keep him happy enough to not punish me while I strategized how to get my heart from him?
’Cause as ominous as it was to have Max here in the flesh, it would be much easier to figure out how to find the first thing I needed to gain my freedom. I could find it, steal it, and finally release myself from this unwanted bond.
In that regard, Max had come to visit right in the nick of time.
ABOUT DICEY GRENOR
Wife to my best friend and biggest supporter.
Mother of two handfuls.
Attorney in Houston, Texas.
Author of sexy, wild, daring and risky books.
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