by Crissy Smith
Then the call must have been disconnected. Grant stared at it for several seconds before he threw it against the wall. Low colourful words followed his action.
“Get dressed,” he ordered.
Paige grabbed her shirt but before she could pull it on, Grant was trying to dress her. She slapped his hands away. “I got it, get your own clothes.”
Possibilities swam through her head. Jess had finally called her brother after so many years. Instead of celebrating, he had tension pouring off of him.
“Grant?” she asked quietly.
“Give me just a minute, baby,” Grant pleaded. “Just let me absorb this.”
She could do that. She finished dressing, pulled her hair back from her face, and linked her fingers with his when he held out his hand.
Grant wasn’t shutting her out. But he was struggling with something.
Chapter Fifteen
Paige found herself in what Grant called a conference room. It was a large room with a round table in the middle and wide monitors mounted across one wall. She, Grant, Sam, Trevor, Marissa, Tasha and several other vampires sat around the table trying to come up with a plan.
Grant had just finished telling everyone about the short conversation with his sister.
Apparently she was with his father. And the only way Grant would get close to his sister was if he met them at their old family home at midnight. There was only one problem.
They wanted Paige with Grant.
And Grant wouldn’t even consider it.
“She’s not going,” Grant stated.
Paige sighed but remained silent. She’d be going. There was no question.
“How did he find her?” Trevor’s soft voice interrupted another debate between Grant and one of the vampire hunters, Phil.
All eyes turned to him.
Trevor lifted both hands as he spoke. “I’ve been tracking her for months. I knew she was headed this way, but I never got close.”
Grant shook his head. “I don’t know. But it was Jess who I talked to.”
Suddenly it dawned on Paige. “She went home,” she whispered.
She might have yelled it by the reaction. She had everyone’s complete attention.
“What? Why?” Grant asked. “Why would you think that?
Paige shrugged. “That’s what I did.”
Grant seemed to think about that.
“Makes sense,” Marissa commented from across the table.
“We need to move past this,” Sam commented from his spot. “We only have a few hours to plan out our moves.”
Grant scrubbed his hands roughly over his face. “Well, my father knows I’m not going to show up alone. So he’ll be prepared for my having back up.”
Sam grunted in agreement.
“So he’ll have just as many men there as I will. Probably more.” Grant added.
“So we go early,” Phil suggested.
Everyone nodded.
“If I may make a suggestion,” Marissa stated. Everyone in the room gave her their full attention. Even if she’d worded it as a question, it really wasn’t. “Grant, you should take Paige with you.”
Grant opened his mouth to argue no doubt but she held up a hand.
“With so many of our guards, plus you and Sam going, I can’t think of a safer place for her,” Marissa finished.
Grant glanced between her and Marissa several times. Paige tried to smile reassuringly to him, but she didn’t think it worked as he frowned.
“You may have a point,” he relented.
“Then let’s work this out,” Phil suggested, and the plan began to form.
Grant knew in the deepest part of his gut that no matter how prepared he and his team were, his father would have more than one trick up his sleeve.
There was no way his father expected him to show up and not fight. He still couldn’t figure out what his father wanted with Paige, but Grant had searched for his sister for so long, he was ready to end it once and for all.
Get his sister away safely and then disappear with Paige for a few months.
As the home of his childhood came into view he held his breath. This was it. Paige reached over and twined her fingers with his.
“It will be okay,” she said softly.
Grant squeezed her hand. “Promise me that if anything goes wrong, you’ll run. Get to safety,” he pleaded.
“Grant…”
“Promise me! I can’t stand the idea of you being hurt again,” he told her.
“I promise,” she whispered.
Grant held onto her hand as he pulled in front of the house. Everything was dark. That didn’t surprise him. No one had lived in the house since the night his mother had been killed.
“This is where you grew up?” Paige asked her voice low.
Grant nodded.
“It’s nice,” she told him.
Grant thought back on his childhood. His mother had been the glue that held the family together. She insisted that they sit down every night and eat dinner together. On Sunday mornings, they would go for rides into the canyons a couple of hours away. There, they would hike, picnic, and spend quality time together.
They were some of his best memories. That was before the horrible night she’d been taken from them.
His mother had run into town to the grocery store to pick up some bread. That was it, just bread. Two men had followed her into the parking lot.
Her body was later found in the alley behind the store. Beaten, raped, and strangled. That was the day normal had ceased to exist for them.
Grant shuddered as the memories came back.
Paige lifted his hand and brought it to her lips. She kissed each finger. “I love you, Grant.”
Those words. The simple statement was enough to pull him out of his despair. He’d never thought he would have a partner like Paige. She was everything he could ever want. He would never take her love for granted. He would try every day to show her how much she meant to him.
With one more look up at the darkened house, he took a deep breath and released her hand. “Let’s get this over with.”
They stepped out of the car and quietly closed the doors. No use making any more noise than they could help. Grant inhaled deeply but couldn’t sense anyone else around.
“No one’s here,” Paige whispered.
Grant grunted in consent. They were early, but his father should have expected that. Touching his ear, he was relieved to feel the small communicator still there.
“Got you buddy,” Sam’s smooth voice came through. Grant felt better.
“Maybe we should check the house,” Paige suggested stepping up next him.
He could do this. He could face his childhood, Grant told himself. He took Paige’s hand once again and led the way up the worn porch steps.
The front door had weathered over the years but still looked solid. Grant reached up and turned the knob. It opened, unlocked.
Grant pushed it ajar, revealing the interior of the house. He and Paige stepped inside the darkness. While he didn’t need any light to see, he knew Paige did. He bent and retrieved a flashlight from one of the pockets of his cargo pants.
Flipping it on, he swept it around the room to get a better look and to let Paige see. Everything was still in place. The couch, chairs, television were all in the same position as the last time he had been here.
It was as if time had stopped.
Paige shivered next to him. “It’s kind of creepy,” she commented.
Grant had to agree. With one hand using the flashlight, he motioned further into the house. “Let’s at least look around.”
Paige grasped the back of his shirt as they started forwards. Grant didn’t know if it was so she wouldn’t trip on anything or just a need to feel close to him. He didn’t care either way. If he could feel her touching him, he would know she was okay.
The steps creaked as they made their way upstairs. In the quiet of the house, the sound seemed to echo around them. Once at the top, Grant once again
did a wide sweep with the flashlight. Nothing. Moving on, he walked to the first room and threw the door open. Everything was as it should be. This had been his brother’s room.
Across the hall, he pushed on the next door. Jess’ room. Still nothing was disturbed. His room was next.
Standing outside, he felt the pulse of the room. It wasn’t empty.
Grant grabbed Paige’s wrist and moved her to stand next to the wall. He handed her the flashlight.
He took a step back and waited. There was no sound from inside but he could feel the power. Still it wasn’t as if there was someone there. More like something.
Taking a deep breath, he kicked the door in. Bright light blinded him as the door gave way. Grant put his hand in front of his eyes. His father’s evil laughter sounded.
“Welcome son.”
Grant blinked several times as his eyes adjusted. The room was empty.
“What the…” Grant murmured. His room like the others sat untouched. The bright light faded until he could see the vacant room perfectly. But he knew he had heard his father.
Cautiously, he moved further into the bedroom. He heard Paige enter behind him.
“Stay close,” he ordered without looking at her.
He checked the closet, under the bed, and even out the window. He sighed and turned to Paige.
“Shit!” he yelled and dove for her.
Chapter Sixteen
Paige’s breath rushed out as she was grabbed from behind and pulled through what felt like glue. She could still see Grant, his eyes widened in panic, as he reached for her.
Paige opened her mouth but it felt like her body could only move in slow motion.
Then she heard a loud pop, and it was as if time started normally once again. She stood in the middle of a large, cold room, staring into a full-length mirror where she could see Grant.
Paige tried to fight the hold around her.
“She is such a fighter,” a voice she knew said, laughing.
Paige cringed. Damn, she had never wanted to see that man again.
She turned her head and met the cold, black eyes of Grant’s father. He stood surrounded by guards with a young girl at his side.
Jess. It could only be Grant’s sister. But why was she smiling?
Grant’s father licked his lips. “I’m going to enjoy this.” He waved his hand. “Get ready, my son will be through shortly.”
Paige looked back in time to see Grant come through the mirror. Before he’d caught his balance, three men grabbed him.
Grant fought them but it wasn’t long before he was on his knees with his hands behind his back.
“Oh! How the strong fall,” his father taunted.
Grant looked up with hatred in his eyes. “If you hurt Paige, I’ll kill you.”
Paige felt pride throughout her body at her man’s spirit. Even down, he was still the bravest man she’d ever known.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to threaten me,” Grant’s father said as he stepped in front of his son.
Grant growled and lurched forwards. The guards easily held him in place.
Paige counted twelve people in all in the room including them. All of them vampires. Ten to two odds were not good.
“Now I think there is someone you would like to see again,” Grant’s father stated and waved his hand. “Jess, come here.”
The woman slowly walked to the two men. Paige wanted to jump and tackle her. Jess wasn’t a prisoner. She was helping her father.
“Hello Grant,” Jess greeted coldly.
Grant shook his head. “I looked for you. Everyone did.”
Jess knelt so she was even with Grant. She ran her hands over his head and shoulders. “I know.”
Paige bit her lip as she eyed the vampires around her. No one was paying attention to her. She lifted her shoulder to press against her ear. A beep sounded in her ear. She saw Grant stiffen. He’d heard it to.
Hopefully the tracking devices, they wore would speed Sam along. Now at least he wouldn’t be walking in unaware.
Jess went on talking. “I knew you would try to help. When I finally got away, I ran to the last place I knew you had been. You’d already left.”
His father picked up the rest of the story. “I knew she would head straight to you. You’d always been…the hero. She just walked right into my arms.”
Grant spat at his father’s feet. “I’ll tear you apart.”
His father didn’t react. “She’s been with me ever since that night. All the time you spent looking for her and she was already with me.”
He caressed the side of Jess’ face and she leaned into the touch.
Paige swallowed the bile that rose.
“But then, you did find something, didn’t you?”
Paige tensed as everyone’s attention went to her. She lifted her chin in defiance.
“So pretty,” Jess commented. “You did real well for yourself, brother.” She stood and looked Paige up and down.
Paige snarled. “How dare you turn on the people who love you?” she spat out at the other woman.
For a brief second something like regret flashed over Jess’ face but it was quickly gone. “You’ll learn, Paige,” Jess told her. “You’ll learn that sometimes you do what you have to if you want to survive.”
Paige didn’t care what the other woman had to do. All she knew was, no matter how this ended, Grant would never be the same if he lost his sister.
Jess moved until the two women were close, almost close enough to touch. “You’ve had to do a lot of things you’re not proud of,” Jess noted. “But nothing you went through will compare to what I’ve had to do.”
Paige narrowed her eyes but didn’t comment.
“I was weak, like you. We never received our full powers. We would always be second best to the others like us,” Jess continued.
Paige opened her mouth to respond but Jess continued.
“Being here…my power grew far more than I could have ever imagined. Now I’m strong. Stronger than any female vampire ever,” she laughed. “Would you like a demonstration?”
Paige shook her head. This couldn’t be good. Jess smiled and then winked. Before Paige could react in any way, Jess held up the palm of her hand and fire shot from her palm.
Paige gasped. Oh, that really wasn’t good.
Still holding her palm up, Jess turned. “You see,” she said to the room. “One thing that I’ve learned from my father is that anyone who is not a powerful as you is just weak. And anyone who is weaker and does not serve your needs isn’t worth keeping around.”
Flames moved up Jess’ arm. Paige cringed back, afraid of being burned. The other woman showed no discomfort as the fire flowed over her.
Her father laughed in delight at the show. Paige watched him as Jess’ laugh joined his.
“Father is very proud of the power I’ve come into. Wishes to use me to further his mission,” Jess told them. “I don’t feel the same way, however.”
Before Paige knew what was happening, Jess had pointed at her father and the flames that had covered her body jumped to him.
He screamed as his body was set afire. The guards around him jumped away. Even the vampires holding Grant let go of him and backed away.
Jess still had flames coming from her hands as she stepped closer to her father.
The Master Vampire was rolling on the ground trying to extinguish the flames while he called out for his followers for help. Paige knew he wasn’t going to get any help from the panicked faces around her.
“I never wanted this,” Jess screamed at her father. “Why couldn’t you have just left me alone! Why did you have to make me into a monster?”
Tears ran down Jess’ face as the flames grew higher on her father’s body. “Why?” Jess sobbed. “Why?”
Grant struggled to his feet and Paige knew what she had to do. Staying as far from the flames as she could, Paige stepped up to Jess. She placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder.
> Her father’s cries had stopped and Paige knew he was dead. One way to ensure a vampire would die and not come back was to set his body on fire. The crackle of the flames and Jess’ sobs were the only sounds in the room.
“He’s gone,” Paige assured the other woman. “He’s gone,” she repeated.
Jess let out one more scream of despair before turning and burying her face in Paige’s neck. Paige stiffened, afraid of being burned. But when Jess wrapped her arms around her, Paige couldn’t feel the heat from the flames.
She embraced the girl and looked up to meet Grant’s eyes. Tears fell unchecked down his face. Paige tried to come to terms with the last several minutes. It had been so fast that her brain still couldn’t comprehend it was over.
Just like that, the monster was dead.
Chapter Seventeen
Paige ran down the stairs, leaping past the last three to land gracefully on the balls of her feet. “I got it! I got it!” she called racing to the front door.
She yanked the heavy new door open and grinned out at her friends. It looked like almost everyone had arrived at once.
“Come in! Come in!” she urged as she opened the door wider. Sam, Tasha, Samantha, Marissa, Trevor, and Jess walked inside.
Each guest was carrying at least one package. “Grant’s in the kitchen” she told them proudly and led the way down the hall.
Paige grinned as she entered the newly remodelled room. Grant stood in front of the stove, stirring a saucepan. There was no food cooking, though. No, Grant had picked up another talent.
“Hey,” he greeted and motioned to the counter with the spoon. “Just set your stuff down anywhere.”
Sam was the first one to do as told before he made his way over to where Grant was. “Ah man, that smells nasty.”
Grant grinned like a loon. “It’s a new recipe,” he shared. “The herb garden is blooming so full, I’m going to have to start to bottle them.”
Since the death of his father, Grant had been working with Marissa on healing potions. It turned out Grant had a knack for it.
Tasha, Samantha, and Marissa were admiring the new wallpaper as Trevor joined Sam and Grant.