by P J Gordon
Mikey and Josh had stayed behind after the concert to handle some problem that had developed. With his emotions raw after the onslaught of pain he always endured when performing, Richard had returned to the hotel alone to find Chelsea waiting for him. He’d ignored her and slumped into a chair, trying to keep the pain at bay, to gain the measure of control over it he needed to function—the control that stayed his hand and kept him from lashing out at Chelsea violently and ending the charade once and for all.
Chelsea, oblivious to the threat he posed to her at that moment and unaware that it was a very, very thin thread of self-control that spared her life, kneeled on the floor in front of him with her hands folded in her lap. She leaned forward, gazing up into his eyes.
“Richard,” she breathed. “Why do you torment yourself like this? You’re so alone and in so much pain.” She placed one hand on his thigh. “You’ve been alone for too long. You’ve denied yourself a real, complete relationship with a woman for too long.”
She reached out with her other hand and picked up his hand from the arm of the chair, clutching it to her chest. Richard noted that she had apparently dressed with seduction in mind. Her dress was extremely low-cut and sheer enough to be obscene. Bile rose in his throat.
“You’re still inexperienced, I know, but you don’t have to deny yourself anymore. You’re an attractive, vital man. I know you have needs. I’m here for you now. You don’t have to restrain yourself with me. It can be so simple and uncomplicated with us. I would do anything for you. You know that, don’t you?” Chelsea’s attempt at seduction was ludicrous, like a parody of romance from a bad movie. At another time, from another person, Richard would have found it laughable. In this situation, with Chelsea, he was enraged and disgusted. He worked to keep those emotions from showing though.
Chelsea raised his cold hand to her lips, kissing it as she gazed up at him through her lashes. Richard snatched his hand back reflexively, lurching to his feet so abruptly that Chelsea rocked back on her heels, away from his suddenly looming form.
“I...I can’t do this!” he choked. He knew he couldn’t play this game anymore. He could feel his hands around her throat, could see it. And he wanted it, wanted to kill her. He groaned. No! He owed it to Manda to find the other one as well. He stood trembling with his eyes squeezed tightly shut, trying to claw his way back to sanity.
Chelsea misunderstood his exclamation and his outburst.
“It’s too soon. I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll be here for you whenever you’re ready.” She reached out to take his hand again.
With a strangled moan Richard brushed past her and out the door before his control could snap completely. He startled Josh and Mikey in the hallway outside Mikey’s room. The two men were just returning to the hotel and Mikey still had one hand on the handle of his partially open door. Richard shouldered past him and into the room. Feeling sick, he didn’t stop until he reached the bathroom. When he glimpsed his own face in the mirror he slammed his fist into his reflection. Shards of glass sliced open his hand and wrist and blood dripped into the sink and splattered the floor. He was promptly and violently ill.
It took all night for Mikey to convince Richard not to abandon their plan. Josh hadn’t been able to argue Mikey’s side. His concern for his brother was too sharp. Richard had refused to shift after he’d cut his hand open in the bathroom. He’d curled over the toilet retching long after his stomach was empty. The thought of touching Chelsea, of her touching him, revolted him, and his own violent, murderous thoughts made him sick. He’d eventually pushed himself into the corner of the bathroom with his back braced against the wall, his injured hand dangling between his knees. He’d watched the blood drip into a puddle on the floor—the pool of red had grown frighteningly large. It reminded him of the pool of blood that had surrounded Manda. Richard was afraid to transform—afraid of what he might do to Chelsea if he let his tenuous self-control slip while changing. The adrenalin rush during transformation might be all it took to push him past the edge of sanity. He realized suddenly that he hadn’t shifted at all since Manda had been killed. It was a detached thought, like an observation about a stranger. He supposed he was aging now. He had always loved changing form. Experiencing life from a different perspective had been exciting and joyous. He’d never understood how others could so easily give it up and grow old. His brother William’s choice to give it up for Becky had baffled him. He understood now. The thought of an eternity without Manda was unbearable. He wasn’t ready to die yet, but he could easily imagine growing old and dying a quiet death in the future. It was a peaceful, almost comforting thought.
Richard remembered something Kastl had said years ago. Richard had just been a boy and had been listening to a conversation between Kastl and William. The words seemed prophetic now.
“Just remember. The longer you live, the more things you’ll have to regret,” Kastl had said. It had seemed an unreasonably pessimistic statement at the time, but now Richard saw how true it was. His regrets had weighed him down for years, and with Manda’s death on his conscience, those regrets now threatened to crush him. What use was it to live on and on with that weight on your shoulders? Better to let life run it’s normal, finite course and be done.
“Richard! Please! You’re going to bleed to death!” Josh was kneeling in front of him pleading.
No, he wasn’t ready to die yet, and thinking of this new path for the future soothed him enough that he knew he was in control now. After all, it was only a matter of time. A few decades maybe—a few decades of pain as penance for what he had done to Manda.
Richard had changed just his mangled hand and wrist then. As always he could feel his entire body straining to shift as well, but now he had the required control to limit the effect to just his hand. It flashed into the large tawny paw of a lion and then back to its human form. The blood on his hand was gone, spattering to the floor in a fine spray at the instant of transformation, but his arm was still wet with it. He ignored it.
Richard’s breakdown had shaken Josh, pointing out as it did Richard’s fragile control. And so, Josh refused to voice an opinion either way during the argument between his brother and Mikey, simply sitting in a corner and fidgeting with a guitar pick, his face painted with worry and sympathy.
“I can’t do it. You don’t know how close I came tonight.” Richard shuddered. He was sitting on the edge of the sofa, elbows on knees, the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes. Dried blood still streaked his arm, drying stiffly on his shirt and jeans. “God help me, I can’t do it.” His voice broke.
Though it took all night, Mikey was able to convince Richard to go on. He didn’t have to convince him of the necessity of going on, he just had to convince him that he could indeed endure it.
“We won’t leave you alone with her again,” he had finally promised. “Someone will be with you all the time.”
“We can start writing more!” Josh had suggested eagerly, relieved to finally have an option that would accomplish their goal without leaving Richard open to a repeat of tonight’s events. “We’ll let her think you’re feeling creative again. She’ll see that as a good sign. She’ll think she’s having a positive effect. Maybe she’ll let down her guard even more and finally lead us to the other one.”
Mikey endorsed this plan and finally Richard agreed.
Richard returned to his room, with Mikey and Josh following closely behind, to find Chelsea asleep on the sofa. She stirred and stretched when they entered. Richard walked past her toward his room. After he’d showered and dressed, stuffing his blood soaked shirt and pants into the trash can, he returned to the sitting room where a server was just delivering breakfast. He saw that Mikey had ordered for Chelsea as well. Mikey was very good, he realized. If Mikey accepted her as a natural part of Richard’s life and treated her accordingly, her assumption would be that he did so under Richard’s direction.
“Thanks, Mikey,” Richard said quietly, sitting down next to Chelsea at the table. He would try to pla
y into the deception. It was a little easier knowing that Mikey was there, laying the groundwork.
Richard had never willingly and consciously approached Chelsea before, always merely enduring her advances. This was something new and the effect was immediate. She smiled at him happily. He couldn’t manage a return smile, so settled for looking down at the plate in front of him. He hoped she would interpret his body language as contrition over his behavior the night before. He must have been convincing.
Chelsea chuckled softly and reached over to stroke his arm with her fingers. “You were covered in blood when you came in,” she commented. “What does the other guy look like?”
Mikey laughed. “Exactly like him! He had a run-in with the bathroom mirror!”
“Oh, my darling,” Chelsea tisked. “What am I going to do with you?” She leaned close and rested her head on his shoulder. He stiffened momentarily but then forced himself to relax and eat, filling a plate with fruit and pastries. It all turned to ash in his mouth.
Chapter 50
True to their word, Mikey and Josh never left Richard alone with Chelsea again. They moved on to new cities on their tour and from then on Mikey reserved three-bedroom suites for Richard, Josh, and Chelsea to share, and then very deftly arranged for Chelsea and Richard to never be alone together. They were careful to make it seem natural. Richard is feeling more like his old self, he’s really getting back into the swing of things. Yes, he’s quieter and more serious now, but he’s finally starting to talk about the future, getting involved in the business side of things again. Isn’t it wonderful? Chelsea has been so good for him. Chelsea lapped it up. She could have been angry and suspicious of the sudden lack of any time alone with Richard, but her pleasure at being asked to share Richard’s suite and her eagerness to believe in her own irresistible appeal instead made her jubilant. She soon began talking about the future plans she envisioned for the two of them. Where did he want to live? Wouldn’t a house near the beach be nice? Wouldn’t that be a nice place for children? An adorable little boy with Richard’s eyes would be wonderful, didn’t he think?
That was when their break came. Chelsea had been prattling on about her vision of marriage and children with Richard.
“Yes, a little boy with your eyes and blond hair would be perfect!”
Richard hadn’t been listening closely. Instead he’d been visualizing Manda’s face, not wanting to forget a line or expression of it. When she’d mentioned a little boy Richard had responded without thinking.
“I’ve always wanted a little girl with blue eyes.” He pictured a little girl with Manda’s smile.
Chelsea had frowned. “No, I think a boy would be nice this time.”
The words “this time” caught his attention immediately. His eyes snapped up sharply.
“This time?” he questioned, meeting her eyes for once.
She shifted uncomfortably, looking chagrined. “I never told you, did I? I’m sorry Richard. You’ve been so upset and I didn’t want to give you any reason to be jealous.” She stood up and walked a few paces away from where she had been sitting next to him on the sofa. “It was a long time ago, when you weren’t ready to settle down yet. I knew you would eventually realize you loved me, but I was so lonely. It didn’t really mean anything. It only lasted a couple of months. He wanted me to marry him, but I knew you and I were destined to be together. I never loved him the way I love you Richard. Honestly! Anyway, it didn’t last long, but I got pregnant. I have a beautiful daughter. Isn’t that wonderful? You’ll love her! Right now she’s away at school, but she has a break soon. She’d love to meet you. Would you like that?” She realized she was babbling then and trailed off uncertainly.
“A daughter,” Richard gasped, stunned. Was it that simple? Who better to be her accomplice than her daughter? Of course! More likely than her running into another psychotic shapeshifter willing to be drawn into her twisted obsession. A daughter!
“Yes!” Chelsea enthused, relieved by his sudden interest. “I know it’s hard to believe. Me! A mother!” She laughed, a high, nervous laugh. “Her name is Tina. You have to meet her! She has a five-day weekend next week. She could meet us in Denver. She’d love to go the concert!” Chelsea’s excitement was growing. “Would you like that?”
“Yes,” Richard replied, trying very hard to keep his breathing even. “That would be perfect.”
“I’ll go call her and tell her now. We’ll have to arrange plane tickets and a room.” She sailed out of the room, still chattering to herself about the plans she had to make and her vision of the happy family they would be.
Richard looked toward Mikey, sitting in an out-of-the-way corner of the room. The book he’d been reading was lying forgotten in his lap. Their eyes locked.
“The daughter!” Mikey mouthed. A grim smile slowly spread across his face.
“The daughter,” Richard agreed just as silently. A fevered light had kindled in his eyes.
Six days later, Richard, Josh, Mikey, and Chelsea waited in a private lounge at Denver International Airport for Tina to arrive. They had landed shortly before and were waiting for Tina’s flight to arrive. Chelsea had scheduled her daughter on a flight after theirs. “We should all be there to meet her at the gate! It will be so exciting!”
Mikey had quickly vetoed that plan. “Richard and Josh can’t just loiter around in the middle of a public airport like that,” he’d explained to a disappointed Chelsea. “They’d be mobbed.” It was a valid excuse, and one for which Richard was extremely thankful in this instance. There could be no witnesses to this meeting.
And so, Mikey had arranged for the private lounge. Chelsea would greet Tina at the gate and then bring her back to meet Richard and Josh. The only witnesses to their meeting would be the stewards who were serving them—and the stewards, of course, were all Mikey’s fellow agents and all members of Kastl’s team. Agents would have Chelsea under surveillance at all times as well. They didn’t want to lose her or her daughter if something went wrong. They’d been waiting for this for too long to take any risks. This might be their only chance.
When Chelsea and her “bodyguards” left to meet Tina’s flight she was practically skipping with excitement. Richard paced restlessly. It will all be over soon. It will all be over soon, he repeated over and over in his mind. Josh stood staring out the window, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. Richard hadn’t wanted him here for this, but when he’d mentioned it, Josh had given him one dangerous look and then completely ignored him whenever he brought it up again. Mikey took up a position just inside and to the right of the door. Chelsea was back in just over fifteen minutes. It seemed like hours to Richard.
Richard smelled them before they opened the door. The scent of the girl with Chelsea was familiar. The first time he’d smelled it, it had been faint and almost overpowered by the scent of blood—Manda’s blood. The girl’s spiky, unpleasant scent had lingered in the enclosed space of the bathroom. He hadn’t really registered it consciously then. His thoughts had been all for Manda. But smelling it again brought vivid memories flooding back and his breath hissed through his teeth angrily.
Josh’s hand was suddenly on his shoulder. “Easy,” he mouthed, aware that the women outside would be able to hear them clearly. Chelsea and Tina had paused, hesitating just outside the door.
Mikey frowned and Richard could practically read his thoughts—the two women were too close to escape now, but it would be better if the coming confrontation could be confined to the privacy of this room. “Will you boys play nice,” Mikey suddenly improvised, forcing a laugh. “Don’t you think its Tina’s prerogative to decide if she wants to hang out with Josh? After all, he’s a good kid. A girl could do worse and she would be safe with him. You haven’t even met the girl and already you’re getting all fatherly!” He grimaced silently and shrugged at the brothers.
Richard heard a soft chuckle from Chelsea, and suddenly she was sweeping into the room with a tall, long-faced blonde girl in tow. Ch
elsea pulled her daughter to stand in front of Richard and then moved to stand by his side, twining her arm around his possessively.
Tina had Chelsea’s eyes and height, but the resemblance ended there. Chelsea had a perfect heart-shaped face and was model thin. Her hair was immaculately groomed and platinum blonde. Tina was tall but stocky. Her face was long and horsey, with thin lips and a too-broad nose. Her hair was a dull dishwater blonde, stringy and unkempt. Chelsea’s impeccable designer clothes couldn’t have been more different than her daughter’s ratty black jeans and oversized sweatshirt. Richard recognized the face from the artist’s composite at once. It had, it turned out, been an amazingly good representation.
Josh stepped back, taking a position just behind Tina and to one side.
“Tina, this is Richard. He’s going to be your father. Richard, this is my daughter Tina.” Tina simply regarded him in sullen silence.
Chelsea beamed up at Richard. “She’s a little worse for wear after her long trip, but when we get back to the hotel she can get cleaned up and change.” She turned back to Tina. “I went shopping for you. I bought you all sorts of beautiful clothes, and I’ll take you to get your hair done tomorrow.”
“Excuse me,” Mikey interrupted and everyone turned to face him where he stood in front of the door. He had a duffle bag unzipped in his left hand.
“A new hair style might be a good idea,” he suggested, reaching into the bag and pulling out a familiar drawing. He had apparently recognized her from the composite sketch. “She’s had the same haircut for a while it seems.”
Tina’s eyes widened when she recognized the sketch of herself that Mikey held. Then they narrowed to slits and she crouched and sprang toward him. She didn’t make it far, however. Josh’s reflexes were too quick. With Josh standing close and slightly behind her as he was, she didn’t even see the huge white bear paw that smashed into the side of her head and sent her flying across the room before she had time to transform. She wasn’t dead when she hit the floor, but unconscious and therefore unable to transform, she died within seconds.