After the last body had been dumped, they ambled back inside. Angel locked up as best he could before retrieving Ember’s sleeping form from upstairs and carrying her to their bed.
Shon stuck his head inside the room. “Hey…I just wanted to say thanks for what you did.”
Angel nodded. “You’re family.”
Something flickered in his eyes. “Yeah, about that—”
“I saw him,” Angel interrupted.
Shon motioned for Angel to follow him to the kitchen. Taking a seat at the bar, he studied Angel. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I figured you would tell me when you were ready.”
“I didn’t want Ember to know or my dad.” He glanced around the room as if searching for the right words before meeting Angel’s gaze once again. “We thought John was dead all these years. I can’t get their hopes up only to have them find out he’s bonded to Gina.”
Angel hated like hell to say what he was about to. “You and I are bonded to her to a degree also.”
“Yes, but not like this. She’s obviously been feeding him for years. He’s practically a minion.”
Angel could see the pain in his eyes. “If he were a minion, Shon, you would be dead right now. The only way he will ever be free of Gina is to kill her.”
“How are we supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know, but we will figure this out and free your brother as soon as possible. You have my word.”
Shon stood and rounded the bar. Clasping Angel on the shoulder, he jerked him forward. “Thank you.” Clapping him once on the back, he walked away.
Angel could only imagine how difficult that had been for Shon, and it meant more to him because of it. Ember’s cousin had grown on him. He was family.
Blurring back to the bedroom, he crawled up in bed beside Ember and offered his neck. She locked on in her sleep, sucking with a hunger that brought a curve to his lips. His little vampire had a strong jaw.
The sun started its climb over the horizon, and Angel’s lids grew heavy. His body relaxed with the knowledge that sleep would regenerate him. Between Shon and Ember, his blood supply definitely needed replenishing.
As much as he hated the sun, it was the only guaranteed safety net against Gina or any other vampire for that matter. His last thought before sleep overtook him was of the child Ember carried…his son…the day walker.
* * * *
A crashing sound in the house brought Ember awake. She cracked her eyes open to darkness. Relief was instant as she noticed the blackouts in place.
Sitting up, she peered down at Angel. His eyes were still closed, but his mouth moved a little.
Another noise caught her attention…footsteps, and they were coming closer. Weak as a kitten, she rolled off the bed onto the floor, her knees taking the brunt of her weight.
She pushed to her feet, blinking against the sleep still in her eyes and crept toward the door.
Angel’s whisper could barely be heard over the pounding of the pulse in her ears. She didn’t dare look at him for fear of what she’d see. He was furious, that much she could feel. What did he expect her to do? Run out the window and leave him defenseless? Like hell.
The smell of smoke reached her before it seeped under the door. It took her a second to realize the house was on fire.
She yanked the door open and ran toward the den. The kitchen was engulfed, she noticed immediately. Flames ran up the curtains and ceiling, putting off a heat that burned her from across the room.
Throwing her hands up in front of her face, she darted for the fire extinguisher.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you looking for this?” Alan mocked, tossing the extinguisher out the front door.
Ember wasn’t really surprised to see Alan standing in front of her. She’d suspected him of wrong doing all along. “You just fucked yourself.”
A burst of strength came out of nowhere, entering her body, damn near taking her off her feet. It had to be Angel, she somehow knew as her fangs shot down. He was sending her his energy, his will, his power.
She jumped with everything she had, slicing her arm through the air as she sailed past Alan, connecting with his face. He crashed into the wall and slid to the floor, leaving a trail of blood on the sheetrock behind him.
Landing awkwardly on her feet, she took in the scene in front of her. The fire had moved to the laundry room and was swiftly heading to the den. She had to get Angel and Shon out before they were burned to death.
The car. She jerked the door open to find Shon’s car fully engulfed and the sun peaking over the horizon. They were trapped no matter what they did.
She ran back inside and blurred up the stairs. Throwing Shon over her shoulder, she skirted the flames in the den and dropped him on the bed next to Angel.
More strength poured into her as she ran in the bathroom, jumped in the shower, and put her fist through the wall. She grabbed hold of the pipes and yanked. Water burst from the wall in a cascade of hope that left her knees weak.
An explosion in the kitchen rocked the house, throwing Ember back into the room where Shon and Angel lay sleeping.
Flames licked under the bedroom door, hot and terrifying. They weren’t going to make it, she realized, crawling onto the bed with them. “I won’t leave you,” she quietly vowed, cuddling up to his side.
She could feel Angel’s agony as he mentally pushed her to run.
“No. You die; I die. Remember?” And she meant it.
The window suddenly shattered, and Laura poked her blonde head inside. “Move your ass, girl. The entire house is on fire.”
The tears Ember had been holding released with a vengeance. She’d never been so happy to see someone in all her life.
“I can’t take them outside. The sun is up!” she cried, climbing off the bed.
Laura pushed back the curtain. “I backed the van up to the window. You just have to pass them through. And I suggest you hurry.”
The door to the room fell inward, sending hot flames rushing into the room. Ember grabbed Angel around the waist and threw him over her shoulder. She shoved him through the window, cutting his forehead on a shard of glass. He hissed as a ray of sunlight made it through to burn the left side of his face.
Shon didn’t fare much better on his trip through, but she’d done the best she could.
“Hurry!” Laura yelled, nodding toward the fire now engulfing the bed.
Ember climbed her way into the back of the van and pulled the door closed behind her. She knelt next to Angel and lifted his head to her lap. They had made it, all of them, thanks to Laura and her dad’s van.
Laura jumped into the driver’s seat and hit the gas hard enough that Shon rolled to the opposite wall. Another explosion rent the air with the power of a volcano. Ember was grateful for no windows as they sped off toward the main road.
She made eye contact with her best friend in the mirror. “You came back.”
Laura looked away before meeting her gaze once again. “Not voluntarily.”
“What happened?
She made a sharp right onto the highway. “Gina grabbed me at the next light after you got out of the car.”
Ember’s mouth fell open. “Are you shitting me?”
“I wish I were.”
“How did you get away?”
“Vlad saved me. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. He didn’t even touch her, Em. He just appeared from the shadows like a ghost. He stood over her for less than a minute, and she went to her knees in front of him. He cut me loose. I ran back to the road, caught a ride to my dad’s, and stole his van.”
Ember grinned. “You stole it?”
“Well, I didn’t get permission.”
“How many were with her?”
Laura blew out a breath and glanced back in the mirror. “She was alone, other than Alan the prick.”
“He started the fire,” Ember interrupted.
A gasp came from the front seat. “Where is he now?”
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“Dead.” Ember hated that she’d had to kill Alan, but he’d left her no choice.
They rode in silence the rest of the trip, both lost in thought. Ember ran a hand through Angel’s hair. What had happened to Gina? she wondered with a shudder. Had Dracula killed her? She’d just have to wait until she saw him again to find out.
The sound of Laura’s garage opening brought Ember out of her musing. They pulled inside to blessed darkness as the door slowly closed behind them, shutting out a chapter of their lives that would change them forever.
Epilogue
Ember stared into Angel’s eyes as he kissed his way up her body, stopping to pay special attention to her now rounded belly. He gripped her wrists and brought her hands over her head. “Pregnancy agrees with you, Mrs. Dimitrov.”
“Flattery will get you nothing but more children, Mr. Dimitrov,” she teased, running her tongue over her bottom lip.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Any idea on names for this little guy?”
She chewed on the corner of her mouth. “I like Lucius. It means—”
“Light,” he finished for her.
“Yes. It’s perfect for our day walker.”
“I love it. And I love you.”
She reached up and cupped his cheek. “You will never know the depths of my feelings for you. There are no words.”
“If it’s anything close to what is in my heart…” He dipped his head and gently kissed her. “Have you heard from your cousin lately?”
“Yes. He was heading back to Lakeland to try to take Laura out again.” The editor had been busy training new employees since Ember married Angel, and Alan had mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
Angel chuckled. “She still hasn’t given in? It’s been months.”
“I know.” Ember grinned. “I think she’s afraid. I mean, he’s a vampire…” She trailed off, knowing Angel understood.
“Any word from Vlad about Gina?” That question had been plaguing Ember since the night the two of them disappeared from that grove.
“He still hasn’t returned my calls. He’s either killed her or locked her up. Either way, I don’t think we will ever have to worry about her again.”
Ember moaned as Angel suddenly slid inside her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding him tight. “Nice subject change,” she gasped, meeting his next downward stroke.
“I agree. We have the rest of our lives to talk about Gina. I need you now.”
“We have more than the rest of our lives. We have eternity.”
The End
Available Now
Enigma: What Lies Beneath
Prologue
“Abbie, wait.”
Henry’s voice could barely be heard over the thundering of waves crashing in the distance.
An endless stream of tears streaked down Abbie’s face as great racking sobs seized her small body. Pain welled up from her chest until it became impossible to breathe. Still, she ran.
Her father’s shouts faded with every step she took until they disappeared altogether.
Branches grabbed at her arms like the bony fingers of a thousand skeletons, cutting into her skin. She welcomed the sting of every scratch; anything to relieve the pain in her heart.
Her mother’s cold, pale face burned behind her eyes, frozen and empty. Gone were the laugh lines, the sparkle…the life.
Abbie couldn’t bear to see her mother lying in a box for hundreds of people to pass by and say words over. She might be only seven, but she was old enough to know it meant goodbye. A coffin, they’d called it. Resting place. Final.
A wail wrenched from her small chest. It ricocheted off the trees, scattering birds in different directions. She’d give anything to have wings in that moment, to fly away and never look back.
Abbie burst onto the beach without slowing. Her little legs ate up the sand as she ran straight for the water.
Memories of swimming with her mother lit through her mind in sorrowful detail. The laughter, splashing around and exploring the unknown.
A storm was coming, but she didn’t care. She needed to feel her mother’s presence, to beg God to give her back.
“Abbie, do you know why the ocean is salty? It’s all the tears God cries when someone passes away.”
“Mama, what does ‘passes away’ mean?”
“Well, it means when people die, they leave this earth to become angels.”
“If they get to be angels, then why does God cry?”
“For the ones that are left behind who will miss them after they’re gone.”
Abbie sailed headlong into the waves with her sights on the second sandbar. She would swim out as far as she could to be sure her prayers were heard. If God cried enough to create an ocean, maybe He would take pity on her and give back her mother.
The weight of her skirt wrapping around her legs made it hard to move in the churning water. She used her arms to pull herself along in a rowing motion until the current became too strong, forcing her to dive under and swim. Her eyes stung from the salt, but she held them open while memories of her mother’s voice whispered through her mind.
“Abbie, did you know that dolphins can communicate with humans?”
“What is commu… Commu—”
“It means talk to them.”
“Have you ever talked to a dolphin?
“I sure have.”
“Really? What did he say?”
“He said for me to tell my daughter to stop peeing in the water where his kids play.”
Her mother’s tinkering laughter echoed through her heart as she fought the tide in search of the sandbar.
Abbie’s arms eventually grew weary and her lungs began to burn, leaving her no choice but to kick her way up for air.
Her head broke the surface to a wall of water so high it blocked out the sun. She opened her mouth to scream a second before a powerful wave crashed down on top of her, taking her back under.
Her body spun head over heels along the gulf floor, leaving her powerless to stop the undertow. Panic gripped her as sand scraped her face, entering her mouth and eyes. The need to breathe became too strong, and Abbie gave up the fight. Pain. Darkness.
* * * *
Cold. Abbie felt chilled to her bones. Her chest burned, and something was caught in her throat. A spasm gripped her, and she heaved.
A voice she didn’t recognize. She screamed for someone to help her, to remove the heaviness from her neck.
Something slid along her arms to her hands. Tingling warmth. Heat spread out from her palms through her stomach and legs. The shivering stopped.
“Salutem.” The strange word came from a deep voice above her. Was she dead?
She slowly lifted her heavy lids and stared up into the brilliant green gaze of a teenage boy. His eyes were a color she’d never seen before, resembling a few of the marbles she’d been recently collecting.
“God?” she wheezed.
He cocked his head to the side as if he didn’t understand.
She tried to lift her arm, but he held it down. His hands were covering hers, palm to palm. He tilted his head to the other side, and more tingling heat pulsed through her skin. The pain in her chest receded.
The boy peered down at her in open curiosity, similar to the way she’d seen her dog do when he spotted an insect crawling through the grass.
“Who are you?” Abbie whispered, realizing the boy had saved her life.
He glanced up at something in the distance before returning his gaze to her once again. She wondered if maybe he didn’t speak English, and pulled one of her hands free of his to point at herself. “Abbie.”
“Abbie,” he repeated in a strange accent.
“Yes.” She touched her finger to his chest. “And your name?”
Shouts could be heard over the crashing of the waves, and the boy suddenly stilled. Abbie watched in wonder as he sprang away from her and dove into the water.
She pushed up onto her elbows in time to
see him swim out toward the sandbar with the speed of a dolphin before disappearing from view altogether.
“No, wait.” She rose to her knees at the edge of the gulf. Her gaze flew over every wave of the rolling water, but there was no sign of her angel. Fear gripped her, and she forced herself forward. She had to find him.
“Abbie!” Her father’s terrified voice shouted in the distance. “Abbie, sweetheart, don’t move! Daddy’s coming.”
How could the boy stay under the water so long? she wondered, searching the sandbar and beyond for signs of her angel.
Henry was suddenly there, scooping her up into his arms. “Somebody call 911.”
“Daddy, we have to help him.” Abbie tried to wriggle free, but he only held on tighter.
“Help who, sweetie?”
“The boy.”
Her father turned in a half circle, scanning the beach without slowing his steps. “What boy?”
“The one who pulled me out of the water.”
“There’s no one there, honey. And don’t ever scare me like that again.”
He began to run toward the dunes where a small crowd flocked in their direction with cell phones in hand.
“Is she all right?” an older woman with bright red lipstick yelled as she stumbled along the sand. But Abbie was no longer listening.
She twisted her head around, frantically searching for the boy who had magically disappeared in the great pool of God’s tears…
Chapter one
Twenty-five years later
“You really should eat better, young lady. Your mother would have my ass if she were alive to see some of the dreadful things you consume.”
Abbie hid a smile at her father’s scolding. “I’m thirty-two years old, Henry. I doubt she would go all June Cleaver on me.”
“You shouldn’t call me Henry, you little brat. It makes me sound old and boring.”
“If the toupee fits.” They both laughed a moment before falling into a comfortable silence.
Abbie’s mother had died from cancer twenty-five years earlier, and Henry had never remarried. He hid his loneliness behind a mask of indifference and immersed himself wholly in his work.
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