CHAPTER 16
Jonah thumped his fist on Abe’s door until he put a nice little dent in it. He also tried shouting at the door for fifteen minutes, as a variation to his routine, but that didn’t help either; Abe was obviously intent on completely ignoring him.
He had just kicked and cussed the door one last time when the elevator dinged and Abe stepped out of it. Jonah didn’t want to look like a total idiot, so he tried playing it cool.
“Abe! Oh, hey, man. I was just coming to see you. I… uh… knocked a few times, but you didn’t answer.”
Abe looked at Jonah and then at his dented door and crossed his arms over his chest. “Really? What do you want, Jonah? I’ve got enough on my mind without your problems, too.”
Abe took out his keys and opened the door; Jonah followed him in.
“You’re not sleeping in here, if that’s what you’re after. Talk to Lidia if you want a room. Isn’t your old room still available or did you lose the key you never returned?”
Jonah smiled. “I used the key – that I didn’t lose – to unlock the door last night, and in there I found these two hot chicks. One sweet short-haired platinum blonde who didn’t even notice me at first, but the one that had just gotten out of the shower… Man, she was hot! I sure wanted to help her out of that towel. But she tried to torch me with a can of hairspray and a lighter, instead.”
Abe smiled. “Nice – making an entrance; so your style, Jonah. Still, I admire a woman who can defend herself against your evil charm. Honestly, I don’t get what women see in you. What did you do to piss her off, by the way? Tell her to lose the towel?”
“Yeah, in my head. Turns out she is some kind of mind reader and she heard a bunch of stuff I wouldn’t have said out loud, at least not on the first date.”
Abe’s blood started to boil. He knew of only two mind readers on the island and Jonah had met Julia before. Abe’s teeth clenched as he grabbed Jonah by the head and flipped him through the air over his shoulder; Jonah landed in a heap, on the marble floor. He didn’t get to draw breath before Abe’s hand squeezed around his neck, tight enough that Jonah’s eyes started to roll back in his head. “If I ever see, or hear, of you going near Ariana again, I’ll burn you alive myself.”
Suddenly, Abe let go of Jonah and marched to his wet bar, breathing heavily.
Jonah picked himself up off the floor, uninjured but clearly confused. It would take more than that to hurt a vampire, but Abe sure got his point across. “You wanna tell me what’s going on, Abe?”
“Not in a thousand years, if I even let you live that long.” Abe downed the first shot of Jack and poured another. He got out another shot glass and poured one for Jonah. “It’s not safe to talk here, we are within her range.”
Jonah quickly realized ‘her’ meant Julia and he downed the shot. Something was at the root of Abe’s terrifying mood swings, and he had a feeling it was connected to Julia somehow. “Come to my room and talk, cousin; it’s right next to my old one. The view should be nice, if my neighbors have their door open.” Jonah smiled and Abe growled. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Abe; I’m not that fond of Russian Roulette. The reason I came up here is Max.”
“What’s wrong with Max?” Abe asked, not in the least interested.
“I was taking a swim and Lidia brought me the key to my new room. We were catching up on old times and she told me some… stuff that was bothering her. I told her everything would work out for the best and I gave her a hug. Then Max came in and spazzed out on us. I love Lidia like a kid sister. I’m not worried about me, I can take care of myself, but he was pretty hard on her.”
“Look Jonah, Lidia is a grown woman and I’m not getting in the middle of anyone’s marriage. People made me High Vampire to protect them, not their relationships. If Lidia and Max are having problems, they need to work it out themselves, and if you are their problem, then maybe you should leave.” Abe smiled as he put the Jack bottle back in the wet bar. “Now, I haven’t slept in three days so, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get a few hours’ rest before I go out tonight.”
Jonah was curious, which was nothing new; he was that way all the time. He learned a lot by asking questions, but at the same time, that’s what got him into most of his trouble. “Where are you going tonight and why haven’t you slept in three days?”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“I don’t think you did.”
“Can’t be any of your damn business, then, can it?” Abe said with a smile on his face.
“Abe, come on. No one will find out. I won’t say anything about it to anybody, I swear. Look, you tell me what’s bothering you and where you’re going tonight, and I’ll tell you what’s bothering Lidia,” Jonah offered. He would hate to give up Lidia’s secret, but he really wanted to know what was up with Abe.
Abe got into bed, pulled the comforter over him, fluffed his pillow twice and turned his back to Jonah. “Turn that light out when you leave.”
Jonah rolled his eyes and flicked the light switch before walking out the door thinking he should get a little shut eye himself before following Abe wherever he was going later.
CHAPTER 17
Ariana, Becky and Rainey had been to every store the island had to offer. Ariana swore Rainey had spent at least five thousand dollars or more with all the clothes, shoes and make-up she bought for her. She didn’t even try most of the things on. After Rainey found out what Ariana’s shirt, pant, shoe and dress sizes were, she just went crazy grabbing things off the racks.
Ariana objected numerous times, but that didn’t stop Rainey. “Don’t worry,” she said, “it’s someone else’s money.” Rainey put her hand on her stomach. “And right now that someone is paying for supper, too. Come on, I know the perfect place.”
The girls sat at a table at Randy’s Bar and Grill, gave the waitress their drink order and opened their menus. Becky was telling Rainey the story of Ariana with the hairspray and the lighter between fits of laughter so raucous she was near hyperventilation. The waitress came back for their order and left their drinks and some rolls. As the waitress walked away, Ariana realized she hadn’t left any straws.
“Uh, Miss, can I…” But the waitress was a good twenty feet away and didn’t hear her over the hum of the diners’ voices.
As the waitress turned towards another table, around a dozen of the straws in her apron came out and started floating in the air straight toward Ariana, where they landed in her lap. The three of them stared wide-eyed at the straws as Ariana finished her sentence. “… get a straw, please?”
Becky looked to Ariana. “Did you just do that?”
“I didn’t do anything. I just asked her for a straw.”
Rainey blinked in amazement. “Did you think about a straw coming to you, Ariana?”
“Um… possibly… after I spotted the straws in the waitress’ apron. But I was thinking of her bringing me one; I wasn’t expecting a bunch of them to come flying through the air at me.”
Rainey jumped up and hugged Ariana. “Oh my God! I have heard of them, but I’ve never met one before. This is so freaking awesome, kiddo.”
“Met a what? Who?” Ariana asked, still stunned by Rainey’s reaction.
Rainey calmed down, but her smile was still plastered on her face from ear to ear. “What you are, Ariana. One hundred percent Pure Natural Witch. Don’t you get it? You can do anything just by thinking of it. You don’t have to use spells, or herbs, or even a crystal ball. That is why your mind reading doesn’t have a range on it. Julia’s does. I think I figured it out!” Rainey shouted as she clasped her hands together in front of her. “You have to simply tell your brain to stop reading minds. Go on, try it.”
Ariana closed her eyes and thought of silence. Everything stopped for a second, but then everyone’s thoughts came crashing back into her head. “I can’t. It stopped for a moment, but now it’s back and worse than before.”
“Okay, okay. Maybe you need a little meditation, since it’s so strong.
It’s a bit late today and you’ll be too tired to make any real progress. Come to my lair tomorrow morning and I will teach you a few things about meditation.”
Their order arrived. “Do you really need all of those straws?” the waitress asked. All the girls laughed as Ariana handed the straws back, keeping just one, and thanked her.
Rainey couldn’t contain her excitement as she ate her meal, her mind full of different things she would have Ariana try to do. Ariana tried a few tricks and they seemed to come easily to her, second nature, almost. She had a couple more goes at turning the voices in her head off, or at least down a little. She could only get about ten seconds’ peace, but she was happy with that progress, and hopeful that she would soon find a way to control the babble completely.
They were all in good spirits as Rainey drove them back to the palace. As they entered the garage, she called for one of the bellboys to help them carry all of Ariana’s bags to her room.
Ariana grabbed the bag from Dabir Jewelers and stuffed it in her new Gucci handbag before Becky started unloading the trunk of Rainey’s Lotus.
“Rainey, I want to thank you for taking me shopping, and I don’t think I thanked you properly for bringing me here, yet. It has been a little overwhelming, a lot to take in. But I love the island. Thank you. I just miss my friends, Janie and Lance, and my hus…” Ariana almost choked on the lump in her throat. It was always there whenever she thought of her friends and her dead husband. How would she make it without them and how could she go on with her life? Despite the golden gilt of happiness, despite all the distractions, she could feel the full force of the enormity of her life changes crashing down on her now.
Rainey hugged Ariana tightly. “Hey, hey. No sadness allowed, honey. We can have a go… I think… With your power, I think there might be a way for you to see your friends.”
Ariana’s face brightened. “Really? Will you show me how? Please, Rainey.”
“I can only give you the idea, because it’s new to me, too. You will just have to practice on your own. Can you do that? I’ll find out everything I can about it. There is a guy I see in my dreams; I can ask him to explain how he does it. It might take strong meditation skills to be a dream walker, or maybe you just have to go to sleep thinking of the person you want to visit. I don’t know, girl. We’ll have to try and see. You, my dear, will probably be able to do anything, once you put your mind to it. Just be patient, take it slow; you won’t learn everything overnight.”
Rainey bid her goodbyes and told the girls she would see them later, at Code Red. Ariana noticed Becky hadn’t said much since they were at the restaurant.
“Is something wrong? Did I do something to make you mad at me?”
Becky sighed. “No. I’m just a little jealous, I guess. Rainey bought you all this stuff and you’re like superwoman with all your powers now. I know you had a best friend, back on the mainland, and I know you miss her a lot, but I feel like… in the last couple of days… well… that I might be your best friend, that’s all.”
Ariana plucked her Gucci handbag off the bed and pulled out the Dabir Jewelers bag inside. She held it out to Becky.
“Can’t I have two best friends? I bought it when you weren’t looking. It’s just a friendship bracelet. If you don’t like it, you can take it back and get something you do like. I won’t be mad if you do, I promise.”
Becky quickly grabbed the bag and opened the velvet box. Tears spilled out of her eyes and she ran to Ariana and threw her arms around her neck.
“I love it and yes you can have two best friends.” She smiled and wiped at her eyes. “Come on, let’s find you something to wear tonight in all this mess. We need to get ready; it’s almost eight o’clock.”
Becky walked into the bathroom and turned on the light. “OMG! Ariana, you might wanna come and take a look at this.”
“What’s wrong?” Ariana was taking things out of the store bags, but she quickly dropped what she was holding and joined Becky in the bathroom.
There were at least a dozen vases, with flowers of all kinds, all over the bathroom. There wasn’t any more room on the vanity, so some were on the floor. There were two clothes bags hanging, one on each closet door, with a shoe box on the floor below them. One bag had Becky’s name on it and the other one Ariana’s. In the center of the vanity stood at least three dozen red roses in a vase with a card sticking out of the top. Becky grabbed the card and squealed when she opened it.
Dear Ariana and Becky,
I would like to give my sincere apologies for my rude behavior last night. I realize that you are both respectable ladies and in no way did I mean to offend you. I do hope I’ve got your sizes right and I hope to see you both at Code Red tonight. I promise to try and keep my thoughts clean. Please forgive me and all of my faults. I will try to make a better impression.
Jonah
Becky was so excited, she couldn’t stand still. “Let’s see what he bought us!”
“You go ahead, I’m just gonna find something we picked out today,” Ariana said as she turned and walked out of the bathroom.
Becky grabbed both their bags off the closet doors and followed Ariana into the bedroom.
“Come on, Ariana, he feels really bad about what he was thinking and I’m sure now that you can read minds you’re gonna find out that all guys think the same. They were born with dirty minds. It’s true; I swear it.”
Ariana started taking things out of the bags again. “Well, then maybe I don’t want any guy if they’re all like Jonah. I had a good one, and now he’s gone.”
Tears poured out of her eyes, stinging hot tears that hurt almost as much as the torrent she’d shed on the flight over. Becky put her arms around Ariana and they sat on the bed while Ariana grieved for her lost husband.
§ § §
Abe went through his closet three times looking for his favorite shirt. It was just a plain black t-shirt with a pair of white fangs tipped with red blood on the back. Underneath the fangs it read, ‘I Bite Back’. It fit him perfectly. It showed his chest muscles and closed tightly around his biceps. He couldn’t find the damn thing anywhere.
“Son of a bitch!” Abe swore to no one. “I bet Kelli wore it to her room when she left the other night.” Abe looked in the hamper and that confirmed it. Unless Kelli had walked out of there naked, she had his shirt, because right there on top of his dirties were Kelli’s clothes.
“Damn!” Abe went back to his closet and pulled a random shirt off the hanger. It wasn’t a bad shirt, none of them were, but it wasn’t his favorite one, either. He wanted it because he thought Ariana would like it and now that tramp Kelli had it. He was definitely going through his list of whores and sending them all packing to the mainland, after him and Ariana got together. He damn sure didn’t need any of them filling her head with bullshit and trying to pick fights with her just because it was Ariana he picked, and not them.
“Holy shit, that’s it! I gotta find Rainey!”
CHAPTER 18
Rainey fidgeted with her bright blue fitted shirt that was dangerously low cut; her favorite black mini skirt and her new high heeled black boots that zipped up to her knee completed the ensemble. With her long coal black hair and shocking blue eyes, her outfit matched in every way. As she applied the last of her make-up, her bell rang.
“Oh, for the love of Pete,” she said as she walked to the monitor that let her know who was visiting. “Shit!” Rainey cleared her mind and tried to think of something simple as she buzzed Julia in. By the time she walked in, Rainey was getting a coke from the fridge, on the other side of the room. Silly and useless, she knew that. Her mind would be just as accessible to Julia from there as it would have been if they’d embraced.
“Where’ve you been lately, Rainey? I’ve been trying for days to reach you,” Julia’s scratchy voice brought goose bumps to the back of Rainey’s neck.
“I had some family business to tend to. Want a coke? Oh, that’s right, you can’t drink coke. It must suck to be a
vampire.”
“No, it really doesn’t,” Julia said as she walked around the room, smiling. “I just thought I would come and visit you before I go out. It’s been such a long time since we talked.”
“Cut the shit, Julia. Why are you really here? We don’t talk for a reason. I know you don’t like me, you know I don’t like you, so why are you in my lair?” It was all Rainey could do to keep from thinking about Abe, or meeting Ariana and Becky later.
“You look nice. Going somewhere… interesting?” Julia asked, a smile playing across her face.
“Yeah, I’m meeting one of my guy friends and we’re gonna have a few drinks. What’s it to you?” It wasn’t a total lie. Rainey fully intended on a whole bunch of guys buying her drinks tonight.
Rainey’s doorbell rang again. ‘Saved by the bell’, Rainey thought, but when she got to the monitor she realized she was nowhere near safe. She pushed the button to talk through the speaker system. “I’m visiting with Julia right now. I’ll call you later.” Rainey crossed her fingers hoping he would take the hint and keep quiet. Julia didn’t need two minds to probe, especially since he wasn’t that good at keeping this whole Ariana thing under wraps.
“Yeah, call me. And hurry, Rainey.” Abe’s voice sounded urgent and a little frantic.
Ah, hell. Way to go, Abe. Rainey so wasn’t in the mood to cover his ass right now.
“I will.” Rainey let go of the button and went to her purse, vampire murder on her mind. She fished around until she found her keys, then jiggled them trying to give Julia a hint.
Julia walked over to Rainey and looked her in the eye with a big smile on her face.
“I know something is going on with you and Abe. I don’t, however, think that you two are together. But you are definitely hiding something, from me in particular.” Julia stepped closer and Rainey stood her ground, staring right back into Julia’s eyes. “I will find out. I always do.” Julia smiled as she turned and walked to the door.
Eternal Island (Book 1 in the Eternal Series) Page 9