by Mary Abshire
I stared at the ugly brown gorillas with a curl in my upper lip. The large beasts looked deceptively frightening. Any person who thought getting a close encounter with a gorilla would be fun was asking for trouble. One look in their eyes said enough.
"So you're going inside the club with me to meet Alexander," I said.
"Yes, the plan is I walk in with you and hand you over. I'm hoping he won't order me to leave right away, but if he does, I have a friend waiting for me and we'll drive around and wait for you to come out. I'll have several friends keeping an eye on the place. Someone will notify me the minute you walk out with the prick. You'll walk with him to his car and I'll meet you there. I burn him, you take his soul, and the child gets to go home to her daddy."
His plan impressed me. He had put a lot of thought into it, but could it work with all the manpower needed?
"How many friends have you got?" I asked, curious.
A wide grin returned to his face. "I'm in the NHL. I have plenty."
I had a feeling in my gut that he was telling me the truth.
"This is so dangerous," I said as we reached the fence for the zebras.
My hands shook with nervous energy as I considered his plan. Doubts ran wild in my head. What if his friends didn't see me leave? What if a gang of vampires descended upon us? How many could he burn at one time? What if he couldn't reach me and I had to get inside the car with Alex? And if those weren’t enough doubts to make me spew, there was one more thing that bothered me. What if I couldn't get to Alexander's soul while he burned to a crisp? Sure, Jeremy was destroying him and that would end his terror on young children, but I wanted his soul to burn in Hell. Would I be satisfied if I didn't get what I came here for?
Lila's card reading suddenly came to mind. The cards had predicted I'd get what I came for. So far, the cards had been accurate. They knew about my attraction to Drake. They knew I had been holding myself back. They knew I was afraid to change because of beliefs instilled by my mother. And the cards predicted I'd have to make a sacrifice. By deceiving Drake, I had sacrificed our relationship. With that much accuracy, I had to believe I'd claim Alexander's soul.
"Trust me, Jessie, you won't be able to make it into his car, wherever he'll be parked. I have enough friends that they will be watching every angle of that building."
"What if vampires start attacking us? Can you burn them all?"
"One touch will light them up so fast they won't know what to do. They might go wild once they start burning, but I think we can manage to stay out of their way."
Wild, burning vampires. Now there was a pretty picture.
"What time are we meeting him?" I asked, staring at a medium-sized giraffe farther out in the pasture.
"Midnight."
"Midnight," I repeated, and backed away from the fence. "We may have a bit of a problem."
He sighed heavily. "What?"
"I can't go back to Drake's condo. I left this morning and haven't spoken to him since. I sent him a text earlier to let him know I was all right, but I'm sure he suspects something is wrong. I can't go back and lie to his face."
"Then don't go back. Come home with me and stay at my place," he said with a luring smile that made me cautious. "On second thought, we can stay at my place until the sun starts to set. Then we can go out to dinner. I know the perfect place where he won't find us."
"A little concerned?" I pried. Maybe he did fear Drake a little after all.
"If I were him, I would first think you were with me. He's smart and he has connections. He'll find out where I live. I'm not afraid of him," he said adamantly with a shake of his head. "I will light him up if he tries anything foolish. But I know that he is fast and it only takes a second to ram a knife into me or fire a bullet into my body."
The mention of a bullet brought back the memory of the gun pointed at my head. A shiver ran through me and I looked away. We had our abilities, but we could still die as easily as a normal human.
We continued on the path and stopped at several exhibits. The warm sun cooked my skin and I perspired. Being with Jeremy wasn't helping either. His energy warmed me, too. After spending most of the morning strolling under the sun, I needed a place to relax and cool down for a while. I didn't like the idea of going to his home, but I didn't have any other options.
"I'll go with you, but I have to call Drake and at least let him know I'm safe. I know he'll still come looking for me after sundown."
"Tell him whatever you want. I don't care. Just don't let him know about the meeting or we may both be riding the train to Hell tonight."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jeremy and I were riding in a taxi on the Interstate, heading out of the city. He sat on my left and gazed out the open window. A breeze blew my bangs away from my face and cooled me slightly. The plastic garment bag from the department store I held over my arm still stuck to my skin since I was a tad bit warm. He'd insisted I wear a nice dress for tonight. Since he paid, I didn't argue. The plain black, knee-length, dress was simple yet stylish. And it was sleeveless with a low line in the front and back to help keep me cool. When I saw the dress, I couldn't resist.
"It will look nice on you," Jeremy said after he noticed me adjusting the bag over my lap.
"I'm sure it will. Thank you again," I replied kindly. "But I'm not wearing it to impress Alexander. I don't give a rat's ass what he thinks." Really, I didn't. I was willing to show up in my jeans and blouse. Tempt me with shopping and I relent every time.
"Nor do I, but if you're going out with me, I want you to look nice," he said with a smile somewhere between playful and kindhearted.
I gave him a crooked grin. So he was dressing me up because I would be out on the town with him. I should've known.
"What are you going to tell Drake?" he asked.
"I don't know." I looked away from him. "I'll let him know I'm fine."
"He's going to want to know where you are, where you've been, who you're with—"
"Okay, Papa Smurf, I already know he's going to ask those kind of questions."
"Tell him the truth. Tell him you're with me."
I snorted. "Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish?"
"As I said before, I'm not afraid of him."
"You also said you had fought vampires. Tell me about that."
He leaned closer and the right side of his body touched mine. More heat from his body drifted my way. I was tempted to lower my window more, but I didn't want my hair to become a mess. He removed his glasses and I noticed dark circles under his red eyes. I wondered if he'd slept at all in the last twenty-four hours.
"There was this one time in New York. I'd just entered the hockey league and my team was playing against the Rangers. We lost the game in overtime and we were all pissed off that night. After the game, a bunch of us went out for a drink to blow off some steam. They ended up so drunk I had to send them back to the hotel in cabs, but I stayed behind and went back in the club. As the crowd thinned in the early morning hours, I noticed two obnoxious vampires trying to glamour this attractive young lady. She was drunk and they were looking for a snack. Normally, I wouldn't have intervened, but I was in a shitty mood and I saw an opportunity to release some of the energy built up in me. I waited until they left, and then followed them."
Jeremy turned his head when the car exited from the Interstate. The car stopped at the light. When he didn't resume with the story, I wondered if he intended to finish or not. I hated open-ended stories.
"What happened?" I prompted in a whisper.
He gave me his attention. "I followed them down an alley. When they went to bite her, I ran up from behind and knocked them aside. She fell down on her drunken ass while I tackled the two vamps. The fuckers roughed me up pretty good and bit my arms. When they went crazy with bloodlust, I decided I'd had enough. I lit them up and put an end to their immortality."
My eyes grew wide. "What about the girl?"
"Who knows?" he shrugged. "The whore was so drunk I dou
bted she would remember anything."
"That's a bit cold, don't you think?"
"Truthfully, I didn't give a fuck about her. I just wanted to kick some ass." He looked away from me.
I stared at him with discontent. Jeremy was a self-centered, egotistical demon and he’d just proved it. He cared for himself and only himself, which made me question his motives for this deal with Alexander. Helping me without asking for anything in return seemed like a deal too good to be true.
The car stopped and he slid on his sunglasses. "We're here."
I followed behind him out of the cab with my garment bag in hand. While he paid the driver, I marveled at the row of modern townhomes with bay windows, front patios, and the carefully manicured lawns. The neighborhood looked clean and was quiet.
He came to stand next to me. "Like it?"
"Looks nice. How much do they pay you in the NHL?"
"I do well." He withdrew keys from his pocket and took a step. "Come on."
Jeremy led me down the sidewalk and past two doors. He stopped at the third door, then unlocked it. Following a click, he pushed the door open and tiny beeps chimed. I waited outside while he disarmed the alarm. A staircase was beyond where he stood in front of the keypad.
"You can come in," he said after the last beep.
I stepped into the entryway with an eerie feeling twisting in my gut. The man I'd slept with less than twelve hours ago was waiting on me, and here I was standing in another man's home. Yeah, I felt guilty with a capital G.
Jeremy shut the door behind me. "Let's go upstairs."
Holding my garment bag over my shoulder, I followed him up the carpeted steps, turned midway, then ascended a few more. At the top of the stairs, the floor opened up to a living room on one end, dining area in the middle, and the kitchen with a half wall at the other end.
"Wow, this is big." I slowly moved forward. "Nice fireplace," I said, moving toward it. The three-sided fireplace divided the living room from the dining area.
"Thanks. I've never used it. Don't need to."
I smiled at his unspoken joke. We both knew demons stored enough body heat that we would never need a fireplace to keep warm.
I tried to pick up clues about Jeremy as I looked around. The beige carpet brought out the rich earth tones of his furniture. Seating arrangements consisted of a reddish-orange sofa with a black leather recliner on one end and a brown leather recliner on the other end. A rectangular glass coffee table sat in front of the sofa. Across the room, a huge fifty-two-inch plasma television sat on a large glass stand with remote control devices neatly aligned in a row in front of the TV. Underneath, electronics had been stacked on the shelves. At first glance, the clean, well-kept room appeared obnoxiously organized. For a single guy, I found this shocking.
"Did you decorate yourself?" I asked, noting the white walls and the absence of any artwork.
"I don't decorate. I buy what appeals to me." He tossed his key and sunglasses on a wooden table in the dining room. "Want something to drink? Beer?" He backpedaled toward the kitchen.
"Water if you have it."
I stopped at the edge of the sofa and gently laid my plastic bag over the arm. Glad to be out of the sun, I removed my sunglasses and laid them on the glass table.
"How long have you lived here?" I asked as I meandered to the bay window. I peered past the red sheers at the front yard with dark green grass, trimmed hedges, medium-sized trees, and bright yellow flowers. An older woman in a jogging suit stood on the sidewalk. She held a phone pressed to her ear while her small dog sniffed around one of the trees.
"Two years," he called out as a glass bottle clanked on the counter.
I spun around and headed for the kitchen. As I passed the fireplace, Jeremy came walking toward me with a bottle of water in one hand and a beer in the other.
He extended my drink to me. "This will be my third season with the team."
"Thanks." I took the bottle from him, then twisted the plastic cap. It snapped before I removed it.
"Want to see my upstairs bedrooms?" He kept his tired eyes on me while he took a sip of his beer.
"I'm not going to sleep with you." I drank some water.
He swallowed and lowered his beer. "I'm not going to stop trying to persuade you." His sly smile convinced me he was telling the truth. I appreciated his brutal honesty. In a way, it reminded me of Dani.
Bottle pressed to his lips, he strode past me. He stopped at the brown recliner, then dropped into the leather chair. Taking his cue, I headed for the rusty-colored sofa. As I sat, he kicked off his shoes and gulped more beer. Typical man.
"Mind if I take off my shoes?" I asked.
"Me casa es su casa."
"Really?" I playfully asked as I bent over my knees and unbuckled my sandals.
He reached forward and set the empty green bottle on the glass table. "For a price."
"Always a price to pay." I shook my head.
"Speaking of which, you owe me a kiss." He leaned back into his chair with his legs spread and arms resting over the armrests.
"A kiss?" I snapped. "I never…"
I paused as I recalled our earlier phone conversation. He had asked for a kiss, but I never said I agreed to it. Yet, how could I say no now that he was going to help me get rid of Alexander? If a kiss was all he wanted, I would settle on giving him one.
"A kiss seems a fair price to pay after you have assisted me with Alexander." Yep, I had to throw in a stipulation.
"I'll claim my kiss whenever I decide and it will be after I have assisted you."
"Are we still negotiating?"
"Clarifying the agreement," he replied, grin widening.
I slid my shoes under the coffee table. Trying to get comfortable, I curled my legs underneath me and leaned sideways with my elbow over the arm of the sofa. Jeremy kept his weary eyes on me.
"Why a kiss?" I asked.
He sighed, then rubbed one of his eyes. "Because I knew you would agree."
I shook my head and resisted the urge to call him an asshole.
"I know you said you were involved with that vampire, so I will try not to interfere. I think you're making a big mistake with him, but that's for you to find out. Do I want you in my bed? Like hell I do, but I want you to come of your own free will. And I will have you one day."
The strength in his tone sent a chill down my spine. Fatigued eyes stared at me, yet I knew he meant every word. Clear to me now, he didn't want a one-night-stand. He wanted a relationship—a demon partner. Unable to respond, I sipped more water.
Jeremy's mouth opened wide as he yawned. He tried to cover it up with his fist.
"Did you get any sleep this morning?" I asked, twisting the lid back on my bottle.
"No. Didn't have time." He rubbed his other eye. "After I left Alexander, I drove around while I worked out the details of our meeting in my head. Then I came home and called in favors from friends."
"Maybe you should get some sleep so you'll be up to par tonight." The phone in my pocket vibrated and I jerked upright, sliding my legs out from under me. "Crap!"
Jeremy leaned forward. "Who is it?"
I looked at the display and my heartbeat accelerated. "It's Drake." I hit the talk button and stood. "Hello."
Jeremy leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. The grin on his face gave me an uncomfortable feeling.
"Are you all right, Jessie?" Drake asked in a calm voice.
"Yes, I'm fine." I headed for the kitchen, away from Jeremy.
"When are you coming back?"
"Um…I'm not, tonight," I stammered as my bare feet touched the cold tiles of the kitchen. I rounded the corner and headed for the black refrigerator.
"When then?"
The calmness in his tone surprised me. Maybe he wasn't mad. Hope started building in my heart.
"In the morning." I opened the black refrigerator. Green and brown beer bottles filled the shelves. Bottles of water, a carton of orange juice, and a variet
y of condiments were on the side of the door. A white pizza box laid flat on the bottom shelf. Once again, everything appeared organized and tidy.
"Jessie, come back. We can talk about this." His smooth voice teetered on worry.
I swallowed hard. The balloon of hope was deflating. "I'll come back in the morning and we will talk."
"Jessie, I trust you. Please come back," he pleaded.
"I will. I promise. In the morning."
There was brief silence.
"Let me talk to him." His tone had deepened. I hadn't said I was with Jeremy, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out.
"No," I said flatly as I let go of the refrigerator door. It shut too quickly and the glass bottles rattled from within.
"Jessie, walk away from him. Do not trust him. He is going to use you."
"I seem to recall a time when you used me." I peered over the half wall. Jeremy was leaning over the arm of the recliner, watching me.
Silence occupied the connection again and I wondered what Drake was thinking.
"I'll return in the morning," I said.
"I know you would not be there unless he talked you into something important. Do not trust him, Jessie," he said in a composed voice, yet laced with panic. "Tell me where you are and I will come get you."
He'd come and get me, midday, in the sun? A lump grew in my throat as I realized he'd put himself in agonizing pain to come get me.
"I'm sorry, Drake. Please forgive me. I have to do this."
Jeremy rose from the recliner. "Let me to talk to him." He extended his arm as he headed my way. I shook my head sideways.
"Jessie!" Drake growled over the phone. "Do not do listen to him!"
Yeah, he was upset. "I have to go."
"Please, Jessie," he begged with such raw passion that it cut deep into my heart. "Don't do this! Come back to me. I lo—"
Jeremy reached for the phone and I swung it away from him. I checked the screen and the time ticker had stopped. I'd ended the call before Jeremy started trouble, but I'd also cut off Drake. Water built up in my eyes. He had started to say the L word.
"You should turn the phone off," Jeremy said.