After they cleared the table and cleaned up their mess, Kelly and Todd went to the parlor where Emma and Zachariah were already waiting. They sat on the couch across from them, just inches apart from each other. Kelly leaned back and Todd had mindlessly placed his arm across the back of the couch, reaching behind her.
Emma didn’t realize she was zoning in on them, blankly staring at how close they were sitting next to each other. Todd gave her an awkward look that she didn’t notice and Kelly furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
“Emma? You okay?” Todd laughed, completely oblivious to what she was staring at.
“Yeah, sorry, I was thinking…” she replied, blinking a few times. “Like Zachariah said, this isn’t over; goodness knows it wouldn’t be that easy. Once Declan learns that you are gone and sees that his helpers were killed, the first place he is going to look is here.”
“Depending on how soon he goes back to that house, our scent may still be in there. We need to be ready for an attack,” Zachariah added.
“I’m going to call Aidan and let him know that we have Todd back…” Emma began before Todd interrupted her.
“Wait, do you think that’s a good idea?” Todd asked, sitting forward and removing his arm from the back of the couch, much to Emma’s happiness. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “He might think I’m too much trouble to have around and kill me.”
“He won’t,” Emma flatly said.
“How do you know?”
“Because I won’t let him,” she said, holding Todd’s eye contact. “I didn’t let him last time and I barely knew you back then. Now, I’d put up an even bigger fight. I won’t let anyone hurt you again…I can promise you that.”
A hint of a smile crept onto his face as they remained locked in a stare. He knew she meant it. “And I would do anything in my power to make sure no one hurts you,” he said softly.
Zachariah looked back and forth at the two of them, made a look a mock disgust, and rolled his eyes, “Okay, this is nauseating. Seriously, what is this? A sappy romance novel?”
Emma kicked the side of his leg, “Ass, he’s my friend, I’ll always protect him.”
Kelly shifted away from Todd a couple of inches. She was uncomfortable with the behavior between Emma and Todd that was about as subtle as a megaphone. “Where do I fit into all this?” She asked, trying to break the weirdness that lingered in the air.
Zachariah leaned back and confidently crossed his leg, and smirked. “Well, I think it would be great if you moved in and lived here. You’re a living weapon…he’s a living weapon…” he motioned to the two of them. “It’s kind of a match made in Heaven…or possibly Hell?”
Everyone gave their own lively reactions at once.
“What? That’s crazy!” Emma exclaimed. Not wanting to sound rude, she backtracked to make it sound as though she had Kelly’s best interest in mind. “It wouldn’t be right to have her live in such a dangerous situation. We can’t ask her to alter her life as well.”
“Don’t you think you’re rushing things a bit?” Todd asked, flabbergasted by the idea. “We’ve hardly just met!” He turned to her and said, “No offense!”
Kelly, who actually loved the thought of living in the Manor, with Todd no less, didn’t want to sound eager and embarrass herself. So, she piped in agreeing with Todd and Emma. Although, deep down, her stomach did flip-flops at the idea. After the weekend she had, she didn’t want to go back to her boring, normal life in Mt. Prospect.
Inside, Emma’s emotions were going haywire. She loved Todd, adored him, but she was also the one who let him go because she wanted him to have a normal life. She just didn’t think it would happen so quickly! As the other three argued, she mulled the idea over in her head and tried to convince herself that it was time to release Todd from her heart. The mere thought of Todd being happy with someone else made her mad with jealousy, like the first time you see your ex with someone new. She imagined them having their own inside jokes. Their own quirks that couples tend to have. Pet names for each other. She groaned in her own head, sick with the thought.
“You’ll have two living weapons, not just one that you actually care about,” Zachariah muttered under his breath so only Emma could hear. Todd was still loudly protesting, so he didn’t even notice. “You’ll be one powerful queen with the best defense.”
Emma took a deep breath and said, “I agree with Zachariah.” She was a down-to-earth queen that was respected from all corners of the continent, but she was still a vampire. Because of that, she craved having that upper hand of power without having to use Todd if needed.
Todd’s eyes widened incredulously at her, shocked that she was agreeing to Kelly moving in. He wasn’t over Emma yet, he wasn’t ready to move on and jump into a new relationship. Although, Zachariah was practically planning their bridal shower and picking out china all because they shared the same, deadly blood. Kelly was a cute girl and he liked her, for what little he knew about her, but he certainly wasn’t ready to live under the same roof as her. He was none the wiser of Zachariah and Emma’s ulterior motives.
He didn’t like the thought of Emma moving on either. During their time together, Emma was never with anyone else…as far as he knew. If she had been, she had kept it discreet since he knew that was the nature of the beast. Kind of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” situation. But, imagining her openly with someone else, most likely Zachariah, made him fume with resent. However, they had broken off their weird, dead-end relationship. She was obviously urging him to move on by agreeing with Zachariah.
“Fine,” he agreed. He glared at Emma with hurt in his eyes.
“Kelly? Are you on board? Ultimately, it’s your choice,” Emma said, attempting to keep her voice sweet. Yes, she had bonded a bit with Kelly since she arrived at the Manor and they became friendly. However, Emma’s lone reason for ever bringing her there was to find Todd. Mission accomplished. She never intended to be pals with the girl.
Without hesitation, Kelly replied, “Yes, I’m on board.” She smiled, but contained her enthusiasm so she didn’t seem like a desperate clown. On the inside, she was doing a happy dance and screaming! She was going to live at Davenport Manor…under the same roof as some of three of Hollywood’s hottest movie stars…this was a fan’s dream come true. She couldn’t read Todd’s signals, though. Earlier he had been a little flirty and chatty, now he seemed irritated and edgy.
“Great!” Zachariah clapped his hands once, pleased with himself for stirring the pot a bit. “We got off track, though. So Emma,” he turned to her with animation. “You said you’re going to call Aidan?”
“Yes, I’m going to let Aidan know what’s going on. But, we’re keeping Kelly’s status a secret, yeah?”
Emma heard Kelly’s heart speed up for a moment and it made her want to puke. Zachariah chuckled under his breath, loving all the tension that had been stirred up, compliments of him.
“We’re going to need backup and muscle, that’s why the Kings and Queens need to know. They’re not going to be too happy when they learn that Declan was trying to kill all of us,” Emma stated. Her thoughts were cut short when her cell phone began to ring on the couch cushion. She looked down at the screen and said, “It’s Vivienne…”
She picked it up and, like an Oscar-winning actress, spoke as if everything was completely normal. Vivienne was just calling to say hello and see if they had any news about Todd’s whereabouts. Emma lied and said that they still hadn’t found him and that she was beginning to lose hope. After a few comforting words from Vivienne, Emma casually asked her how Declan was and that she missed them both.
Vivienne said that he was good and he had a few roles offered to him, but he wasn’t sure which one he was going to take. Her next words made both Emma and Zachariah sit up straight and become completely alert.
“He’s actually headed back to Chicago in a couple of days. I wish I could come as well, but I’m too busy right now,” Vivienne said.
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��Is Declan staying here? We’d love to see him!” She was afraid she was laying it on thick, but these words would have been the same if she hadn’t known anything about Declan’s ulterior motives.
“I’m not sure, I’ll ask him though,” Vivienne replied. “I’ll text you and let you know!”
Emma wanted to be prepared if she knew for a fact that Declan was going to come to the Manor, not as an enemy, but as a friend. After she hung up with Vivienne she immediately dialed Aidan, almost in a panic.
She explained everything that had taken place that evening and that Todd was safe and sound at home. She reminded Aidan that he was going to stay that way…safe, no harm would come to him as long as she was around. Surprisingly, Aidan respected her statement. However, he was concerned about Declan coming to Chicago and was absolutely furious when Emma told him that the plan was to kill all the Royals.
“He’s a dead man…” Aidan growled over the phone. Emma could picture his face—stone cold, stern, and scary. There wasn’t a vampire on Earth that would be stupid enough to go head-to-head with Aidan, so Declan thought he would be slick and attack without a battle. Bad choice.
“Shall I call the others or do you want to? I know they’re going to want to be in on this,” Emma asked.
Aidan said that he would get a hold of everyone and make sure they were on the next planes to Chicago. Since Declan wasn’t going to arrive for a few days, it bought them some time to plan their defense. Once Declan discovered that Todd was gone from the house on the South Side of Chicago, he would immediately head north to Davenport. They didn’t know how many vampires he had recruited to join him, so they wanted to be ready for whatever came at them.
Emma hung up with him and told Todd and Kelly the plan. “Kelly, it’s up to you, do you want to be here when it all goes down or not? We’re going to have to tell them what you are if you’re going to have a role in this…it will forever change your life as you know it.”
She thought about it for a moment, the very idea of a vampire war happening right here on the property scared her. If someone would have told her about all this a week ago she would have checked them in to the cookie factory. Regardless of how frightening a bunch of angry vampires sounded, she felt empowered by the fact that she was a deadly weapon against them. They all had been so nice to her and she really liked Todd, hoping that if she stayed he would think more of her.
“I’ll stay,” she confidently responded. “I want to help however I can; I’ll be a good back up for Todd.”
Kiss ass, Emma thought to herself. She immediately felt bad for her inner thought, remembering that Todd probably wouldn’t be sitting there in front of her if it wasn’t for Kelly’s help.
They wrapped up their conversation for the evening as the humans began to yawn every few minutes. As they all stood up to walk out of the parlor, Todd took Emma by the elbow and pulled her aside to speak privately for a moment.
“So, Kelly’s getting her own room, right?” He asked.
“Of course, I only put her in your room so she would feel a little bit more comfortable. She was really creeped out when she first got here. I’ll put her in the room next door to yours.” Emma whispered. She leaned in a bit closer next to his ear, “You should really be nicer to her, if it wasn’t for her you wouldn’t be back home.”
“I’ll apologize for getting snappy,” he replied. “I just…I’m confused.”
“About what?” She asked.
“Everything. I have to keep reminding myself that we split up; is it really over?” He questioned with a pained look on his face that broke her heart.
Her eyes spoke volumes of the sadness she felt. “Yes, it’s for the best. It’s killing me, but it isn’t fair that you waste your life on me. You’ll have to move on eventually and I’ll just have to deal with it.”
He chuckled, “As will I.” They held each other’s gaze for a moment before he spoke again, “This should be interesting, both of us moving on while living under the same roof…well, I’ll be living, at least. You, I don’t know…”
She laughed and lightly smacked his arm, playfully scowling at him.
He threw his arm around her as they began to walk toward the stairs. “Just promise me this one thing…that we’ll always have this,” he motioned between them. “We’ll still have this easy friendship.”
“That I can promise,” she smiled, elated to have him back home. She didn’t realize how tense she had been while she worried about him. But now, a new worry began as she knew that a war was bound to break out.
Chapter 10
The following morning, Emma checked on Daniel to make sure he was okay. When she stepped into his room, he turned over to see who had walked in. He had been awake for a bit, but his headache kept him firmly attached to his pillow.
“Hey there,” Emma said softly as she approached his bed. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Wretched,” he flatly responded while rubbing his face with both hands in an attempt to wake up and feel normal. He reached over to the nightstand to take a drink of water—the cotton mouth was driving him crazy. He grabbed the pain pills and took one as he gulped the water, finishing the glass.
“You need more?” Emma asked as she grabbed the glass to go and refill it.
When she came back, Daniel asked, “So, what happened to Brianna?”
“Well, from what I hear she is most likely the one who did this to you. She definitely slipped you something because Kelly said you crashed and burned. She had her attitude on when we got home, so…I kind of lost my temper,” Emma said as she gave him a sweet smile and sheepishly bit her thumb.
“You didn’t…” Daniel started, not wanting to say the words out loud. “You didn’t kill her, did you?”
“She must have a lucky horseshoe shoved up her ass because no…I didn’t kill her. You can thank Zachariah for that, though, I was out of my mind. Kelly caught her defacing my painting in the portrait hall, she stole from me, her friends stole from me…” Emma explained, hoping he wouldn’t be too angry with her for flipping out.
He remained silent for a moment and said, “You know…she was never good for me.”
Dumbfounded, Emma huffed a single laugh, stopping just short of skipping around the room with joy. “I could have told you that!”
“I can’t believe she did that to me,” he mumbled, shaking his head.
“Honestly, I think she was just using you because of who you are. I think she liked the status of dating Daniel Davenport, but didn’t care about you as a person. She was so not right for you,” Emma said as she scooted next to him and laid down. “You can do so much better, someone who will adore you for you, not for what you have.”
He nodded, knowing she was right. He was a good guy; he was down to earth, caring, and not at all phased by the fact that he grew up with vampires in the most famous home in America. He came from one of the country’s wealthiest families, but it never went to his head. He was kind to people, whether they deserved it or not, and so easy-going. He had a child-like light in his eyes and any girl would be lucky to land him. Unfortunately for Brianna, she didn’t know what a genuine person she had and she’d probably realize it now that Daniel was gone. But, even if he was forgiving enough to take her back, Emma made sure that Brianna would never step foot on the property again; she physically wouldn’t be able to. To top it off, she was terrified of Emma without a clue as to why.
Emma sat up and turned to face him, pretzeling her legs underneath her. “Listen Daniel, some big stuff is going to go down once Declan realizes that Todd is gone. Vivienne casually called me last night and told me that Declan is going to be headed to Chicago within the next few days. I know he’s coming here to check on Todd because his helpers aren’t responding to him.”
“Are his helpers dead, by any chance?” Daniel chuckled.
“Of course they’re dead!” She scoffed. “Crazy thing is, we killed the first one, but Todd killed the second one himself! Slashed his own hand!�
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“Get out!” Daniel exclaimed as they gossiped like school kids.
Emma filled him on the evening’s events and described the conversation that had taken place in the parlor the night before. She then told him her concern about Declan’s retaliation and that it would be best if Daniel stayed at his condo downtown until everything was taken care of.
It didn’t take much to convince Daniel to go to his condo and stay as far away from the Manor as possible. At the same time, he was concerned about the safety of those he loved. During his lifetime of growing up with vampires, he lived a relatively normal and quiet life, so to speak. He never encountered much of the dark realities of the immortals and really never worried about Emma and Zachariah. Now he felt as if they were soldiers and was uncertain of their fate. They were the only family that he had—Emma being the only blood relative he had left. He wanted to be brave and confident, sure that everything would work out in their favor as it always had. But, the look in Emma’s eyes when she spoke of a possible attack wasn’t assuring; instead they exuded a calm acceptance of her possible demise. She didn’t have to say the words, but he knew that she was well aware that everyone may not make it out “alive”.
Daniel finally got out of bed later in the morning and was feeling better after his rough night. After he ate and took a shower, he began to pack his suitcase with the few necessities he would need at his condo downtown. He moved slowly, in no rush to finish; subconsciously he felt that when he finished packing, it would be time to say goodbye…and it could be final.
He was ready to go by mid-afternoon and carried his bags downstairs to the foyer. “I’m getting ready to go!” He called out to no one in particular, but knew they would hear him.
Emma and Zachariah whooshed in from the kitchen with Kelly and Todd following closely behind at human speed. Daniel took in a nervous, deep breath; the kind you take when it is time to say goodbye to someone you may never see again.
The Living Weapon (Davenport Manor Book 2) Page 14