My Love Forever (The Night Movers Vampire Series Book 1)

by Helen Bright

  I started to sob uncontrollably into the dark hair peeking out from the pink hat she wore and the nurse moved to take her away from me. I tried to turn away and stop her, that’s when Alex stood and came over to me and Megan.

  I thought he too was going to try to take her away from me so I tried to turn from him but I couldn’t.

  I remember him lifting my chin and moving my hair out of my eyes, then he seemed to look into my soul with his beautiful grey eyes and started to talk to me about how Megan was such a pretty baby and that she had my hair colour which I noticed was true.

  He told me how smooth and pink her skin was and how she still felt warm to the touch which seemed strange as didn’t think this earlier, but I could see now that I was wrong and that she just looked like a normal sleeping baby.

  He kept on speaking, telling me that although she wouldn’t be here with me physically I would always feel her presence.

  He went on saying that she knew I loved her and she loved me too more than words could ever say. He said that she wanted me to live a long and happy life and to remember always that I am her mummy.

  I looked down at my baby and began to tell her all about the things we had planned for her, about all her family who loved her so much and told her that she would stay in my heart forever.

  About an hour after I first held her baby Megan was taken away, and at Alex’s suggestion I fell into a sound sleep.

  Gavin came to see me the next morning and we cried in each other’s arms for the child that would never be part of our future. Gavin had been cleared to go home but he had broken two of his ribs and his neck was hurting quite bad so even sitting still in a chair at my bedside was awkward for him, and after a while I sent him home to rest.

  Over the next four days with the help of both our parents we arranged Megan’s funeral.

  Six weeks later I was still undergoing physiotherapy for my hip and also to my neck and shoulders as the jolts of the impact caused me to have severe whiplash. This didn’t become apparent until three days after the accident.

  I didn’t seem to be improving as quickly as they would like but they thought my emotional and mental state was also a factor in this.

  Also Gavin and I didn’t seem to be able to be in the same room without bickering so I went to stay with my parents as they had a bungalow which was a big help with getting around for a while with my sore leg.

  Whilst I was there feeling sorry for myself one evening Alex came by. It was the first time I remember seeing him since the accident and I was speechless at first when I saw him. Mum was out and my first thought was of my dad but Alex must have sensed this, or noted the panic in my face and he quickly reassured me that my dad was fine and that he had actually stopped by to see me.

  I offered him tea or coffee which he declined for water. He waited for me to take seat on the sofa before he came to sit beside me. Now Alex is an extremely handsome man with dark blonde hair, stunning grey eyes that seem to hold your own and I found it hard to look away from him. He also never seems to age like most men which is totally unfair to us women. I remember many years ago dancing with him at a Christmas party and totally crushing on him, but obviously he wasn’t interested in me because he left the party probably to meet up with some gorgeous sophisticated woman unlike the nervous eighteen year old I had been.

  I left my thoughts of the past and began to thank him for coming to see me at the hospital, and apologised to him for all the upset he found himself experiencing. But I told him that I don’t think I could have managed without all the support he had given me in getting Megan that night, and his words to us both during that time.

  I couldn’t really understand why he had been there at the hospital in Birmingham but said I was really glad he was.

  Alex explained that he had been in a meeting in the area and met my dad at the hospital to offer his support to our family at that stressful time. He said he considered my father to be a good friend which meant he saw all the family that way too.

  I remember thinking, (and not for the first time), how great this man was. He was running a multimillion pound business, but was a kind man who was really great with all his employees. He was nearly too good to be true.

  We talked about his business and my slow recovery and also the problems I was having with my marriage. To be honest it was a relief to talk about this with someone as most of my friends were also Gavin’s friends, and I didn’t feel could open up to them.

  Alex agreed that time apart would probably do Gavin and I some good and he offered to be there if I ever needed to talk. I remember thinking how refreshing it was for a man to actually listen for a change and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be in a relationship with this sweet guy.

  It was while thinking about how nice it would be to have his arms around me that I seemed, to my absolute horror to have fallen to sleep.

  For the first time in months I didn’t have a nightmare. Instead I dreamed that I was dancing once again with Alex, not as an eighteen year old but as the woman I am now.

  It wasn’t until I stepped into the shower over the bath the next morning that I realised I no longer felt any pain from my hip and neck but also my very pronounced limp had completely disappeared. Even the scar had healed to a faint silvery line. I didn’t question the reason why, I was just happy to move without physical pain any more. I started to feel like it was going be ok to be alive today.

  Despite how much better I felt I decided to stay on at my parents for another week. Alex came to see me again a number of times before I left for home and his presence by my side felt right. Like we could be more than just friends, although I wouldn’t ever presume he would want to be anything other than friends with me, I mean let’s face it, my own husband didn’t even want to be in the same room as me.

  When I eventually went home I found the situation with Gavin was the same as before and around five months after our daughter died we decided to separate. Gavin and I are still friends but our divorce is in process.

  Although we have let our lawyers handle the specifics of the settlement my father in law decided to buy my share of the house Gavin and I bought.

  He gave me a really good bonus on that price too, as a thank you for putting so much time and effort into the Layton family business that I helped grow into the successful company it now was.

  It will seem strange not to be as close to Gavin’s family, and as I am now back living with my parents again I am no longer near the friends Gavin and I shared.

  So here I am back at home after fifteen years trying to start my life all over again. And this is the reason why this evening I find myself waiting, all smartened up in a skirt suit and blouse to Interview for a job with Night Movers International.

  Chapter 3

  Alex

  I could tell from the moment that Maggie brought her into the room that Julia was nervous but Maggie being the woman that she was immediately tried to get her to feel at ease by asking about a trip that Julia’s mum was organising to some shopping centre in Manchester.

  Quite why women would want to go to Manchester when we have a huge shopping centre in Sheffield is beyond me, but it seemed to get Julia chatting and she relaxed a little as she spoke.

  I waited for the short conversation to finish before I said, “So Julia you know that this interview is for Maggie’s full time position to cover day to day or rather night to night running of the business, as our main business office times generally run from 5pm until 5am. We do have two daytime staff in the office that mainly takes local transportation requests which generally cover up to a two hundred mile radius but these are mostly from retailers. We also have two warehouses which store goods for a set length of time before they move on to their end journey. The goods in and out aspect is handled mostly at source but we need to collate all the files and records to enable us to keep a track on storage space. Again some of these items will be shipped abroad so we need to keep a track on the customs and excise aspec
t also.”

  Julia looked directly at me as she spoke. “At Layton’s Transport we mostly covered UK retail runs along with a small number of pickups in France so I am familiar with what’s required to a certain extent, but as you also tend to go further into Europe and beyond I know that will take further skills to set up and organise, but I am looking forward to learning the how’s & why’s of this role.”

  “Maggie and the rest of us will give you all the training you require before she goes to part time,” I replied eager to ease her mind regarding her being able to do the Job. It was a way to get her near to me most nights and I had to make her see that she was more than qualified for this position. Then Maggie spoke.

  “Julia I have every confidence that the technicalities of this job will cause you no issues, however, I have to let you know that this has always been more than just a job for me. Alex, Nikolas & Joshua have always been like family.”

  Maggie turned to me, smiled, grabbed my hand and then carried on speaking. “Because of this I find it easier to put up with their moods and silly man stuff that goes on in this company.”

  “I don’t get moody,” I quickly interjected glaring at her, letting go of her hand. “And what silly man stuff?”

  “Making loud farting noises when I’m on the phone to important clients for one.”

  “I didn’t make the farting noises, it was Nikolas,” I replied truthfully.

  “Well I know it was you who replaced the sugar with salt Alex and don’t you deny it,” she huffed, and I couldn’t deny that one.

  “But in my defence Maggie it was that horrible low calorie sweetener stuff that makes you not want to drink the tea or coffee it’s in anyway, so I did you a favour really.”

  “Do you see what I have to put up with Julia? And Joshua is no better. He pretended I had a virus on my computer and I had lost all my work. He kept it up for over four hours.”

  “I’m sorry about that Maggie, we didn’t mean to stress you out as much as it did,” I said and I meant it, sort of.

  “Well you weren’t sorry when you were both doubled over on the floor laughing about it.”

  She said this with a hint of a smile, when I turned to look at Julia she was giggling and I could see she was much happier to be in this room with us than when she first walked in.

  I regained my composure and spoke again. “I need to ask if you have an up to date passport as we may need to travel from time to time both here in the UK and occasionally out of the country.”

  She nodded and said she had about five years left on her passport before it needed renewing. We went over a few more Items that Maggie wrote down for us to discuss and before we knew it the interview had come to a close.

  “I do hope you chose to accept the position Julia. If you can let us know before the end of next week we would be really grateful,” I said knowing that I would do anything I could over the next few days to get her to take the job.

  “I would be happy to take the job. When would you like me to start?” she said eagerly. I was thrilled. Maggie stepped forward and hugged her tightly.

  “I’m so glad you will be joining us Julia, I know you will love it here and we will all love you too.”

  Maggie then took both Julia’s hands in hers and said “promise me you will keep an open mind about everything else you see and hear tonight. We are all good people here and we work well together. Please don’t let prejudice prevent you from being happy.”

  Maggie then turned to me and said “I think you should take Julia on a tour of the premises while I get the paperwork ready. I can take over the rest of your workload for tonight.”

  I could tell Julia was thrown by Maggie’s words but before she had the chance to ask questions I took her hand in mine and led her out of the room.

  I did try to sound professional as I led her through the cafeteria and break rooms. We descended the stairs of the old stone building to our basement level Gym, then on to medical room and all the time her hand was still in mine. We walked back up towards the compound where all our Lorries and vans were and only when she spotted her father did she let go of my hand.

  We spoke with him for a few moments before he said he had to carry on with his work as they were busy getting ready for the Russian order.

  I debated what to do next but ended up jumping in one of the small golf cart type vehicles we used to get around with and drove her around the site ending up down the lane to the row of small cottage’s Nikolas Josh and I called home.

  “Would you like to come in to my home so we can discuss the job and what Maggie was talking about in more detail over a glass of wine?” I asked cautiously.

  She spoke quickly whilst reaching out to take the hand I offered “Alex I’m really not sure what Maggie was referring to but I have honestly never held any prejudice that I can think of and it’s really got me a little worried as to the meaning behind her words.”

  We entered through the kitchen and I offered to take her jacket, glad for once that I had thought to put the central heating on.

  Autumn in Yorkshire can be mild or freezing with various types of weather in between, but this evening there was a distinct chill in the air.

  Despite what you may or may not have read in fiction, Vampires do feel the cold although it bothers us very little.

  I removed my Jacket & placed it over the chair next to hers. I had decided to wear a grey suit tonight and teamed it with a white shirt and grey tie that Maggie bought me because she said it matched my eyes.

  I have never been overly fond of ties so I removed mine and placed it in the pocket of my jacket and rolled up my shirt sleeves. When I looked up to ask what type of wine Julia wanted I found her watching me carefully. I didn’t want to presume but I got the idea from the look she gave me that she liked what she was seeing. The sad thing was I knew that what I was about to tell her could change all that.

  Chapter 4

  Julia

  I sat at Alex’s small kitchen table and looked around the room. I thought his home would be all manly steel and chrome but it was quite traditional in style with cream walls and plush deep blue fabrics in the curtains and chairs.

  He had caught me looking at him earlier and I had been a little embarrassed, but honestly I couldn’t look away from him when he started to remove his jacket then his tie.

  The man was about six foot three with a lean muscular build, so good looking and sexy in an understated way, and when his pale grey eyes look in to yours it really hits you low in the belly and radiates south if you know what I mean.

  He offered me wine and I chose red. He produced a lovely Shiraz and we took our first few sips in silence, then he spoke so quietly that I almost didn’t hear.

  “Julia, I am a vampire and so are Nikolas and Joshua.”

  “Alex I am sorry I know you just said something but I think I misheard you,” I said as calmly as I could.

  “No Julia you heard me correctly. I am a vampire and have been for nearly a thousand years.”

  “Nikolas & Joshua have been this way for a number of centuries also and we have been friends for a very long time.” He continued “it’s been a long while since we started to reveal ourselves to humans and mix as one with them in society. It has gotten easier over the years especially in the last century as humans are no longer controlled by religious beliefs as much as they used to be.”

  He paused to let me speak but I couldn’t find any words. “Say something Julia, please.”

  “Ok,” I said looking round the room. “Where are the hidden cameras?” “It must be what Maggie warned me about with your silly man stuff?”

  “No,” Alex said while looking down into his wine glass, “it’s not some silly joke Julia, there are no hidden cameras in this room and I assure you every word I have spoken from entering my home is the truth.”

  This was said with utter sincerity and I began to feel a little overwhelmed. “I am sorry Alex I don’t know what you want me to say. You have just told me that y
ou and two other men I have known for years are vampires. What am I supposed to say to that?”

  He just stared at me, those grey eyes of his never leaving mine and eventually I said “prove it.”

  What happened next will stay with me for the rest of my life.

  Before my very eyes I watched fangs descend down from his slightly parted lips and when I looked back up into his eyes they had developed a deep red ring around the now silvery grey of his irises. His nails had lengthened and now looked more like claws.

  I jumped up out of my chair and it fell to the wooden floor with a loud thud. “What the hell Alex, what kind of mind fuck are you trying to pull with me? Do you think I am so gullible that I would believe this shit you are telling me, and how the hell did you just do that stuff to your eyes, teeth and nails?”

  Before I could blink Alex had appeared beside me and was holding my arms so I couldn’t get away. “Please Julia just listen to me, I’m not making this up and I won’t hurt you I promise.” I struggled to get away from him but my efforts were in vain. Alex had me in a vice like grip and although his eyes and teeth were normal again real fear passed over me. I was alone with a mad man who thought he was a vampire. Alex inhaled sharply and quickly released me from his grip.

  “Julia I can smell the fear in you, hear it in the acceleration of your heartbeat and it kills me to know it’s me that put it there.”

  “Well stop with all this vampire nonsense and just admit you are just playing a very stupid over the top prank,” I cried out.

  “I only wish I could,” he said, then he placed his arms around me, stared deep in to my eyes and for a moment I forgot what he had just told me and was lost in the depth of them. His fangs once again descended and his eyes again changed to silver with deep red rims and I knew then without a doubt that Alex wasn’t human.

  He held me like that for a few minutes more and I felt my fear start to leave me gradually, like bubbles in the sink, each slowly popping until suddenly there were none left.

  Eventually Alex spoke, “Would you like to sit down again and finish your wine? I promise I will answer any questions you have truthfully.”