Star, Starland Vamp Series, Book 1

by Theresa Oliver

  “Sorry, Son,” Abbott apologized. “I tried to call, but couldn’t get hold of you.”

  “Yes, about that,” I said to Abbott, nicely interrupting. “You’re going to have to fill us in a bit better next time.”

  “Shush, we’ll talk about it later,” Abbott interrupted, knowing there were too many civilians present to have this conversation.

  “How did you know we were back?” Zac asked casually, his eyebrows raising, amazed, as a smile lit his lips.

  “Your friend Verus called us!” Jennifer said with a smile, pointing toward a corner of the adjoining living room.

  “Verus is alive?” I asked, unable to believe my ears, looking through the crowd.

  Suddenly, a tall vamp with wavy light brown hair walked through the crowd with a huge grin plastered upon his face. “Well, I couldn’t let you guys have all the fun!” he said, raising one eyebrow seductively.

  “Thanks a lot, V,” I said under my breath, lightly punching him on the arm for the sexual innuendo.

  He rubbed the muscles bulging through his shirt, feigning that he was hurt as everyone laughed. Yes, he was already a part of the family, too. I knew I would have to grill him later to find out how he got out of the burning inferno. “I knew Zac wouldn’t have anything else on his mind tonight besides seeing his parents,” Verus added, then quickly stepped away, out of my reach as I glared at him.

  Abbott caught the innuendo, raising a hand to his lips to suppress a smile, but his mother was oblivious.

  I looked around the room and everyone was there: Rick, Annie, John, Verus, Zac’s parents and us. At that moment, I was truly happy, knowing we didn’t have to worry about Drake and rogue vamps anymore, or, at least, not for a while. And the elation was contagious, for we all laughed and talked into the night until, finally, Jennifer and Abbott started yawning. I looked at the clock and it was time for us to go. Rick, Annie, John, and Verus discretely excused themselves when Zac took his mother’s hand, pulled her to the new dining room table, and held the chair for her. Always the gentleman.

  I watched, smiling.

  “Mom, we have to talk,” Zac said, looking into his mother’s eyes, which were instantly filled with concern.

  Abbott took a seat, knowing what was coming, but said nothing.

  Zac took his mother’s hands into his own, then said, “Mom, I can’t stay here. At least, not for a while.”

  Jennifer nodded, taking the news reasonably well.

  “You know what I am now, Mom,” Zac continued, his eyebrows pulling together in concern. “I’m sure Dad told you.”

  She nodded, looking at the table, listening.

  “Mom, do you understand why I can’t live here with you?” Zac asked, worried.

  “Yes, I understand,” Jennifer responded, putting on a brave face. Then she looked her son directly in the eye. “Son, I know you won’t hurt me.”

  “I won’t, Mom. You know that,” Zac answered, then continued. “But I don’t know that. I need a bit of time. I’m new, brand new, so I have a few things to learn first.”

  Zac’s mother nodded, as Abbott took her other hand. “Where will you stay, Zac? Where will you live?”

  Zac looked at me as I nodded, then took a deep breath. “I’m going to stay with Abigail and her family.”

  “But you’re not married,” Jennifer replied for lack of nothing else better to say.

  Then Zac eyed me with a smile and squeezed my hand, then turned back to his mother. “Well, we’re planning on changing that in the near future.”

  “You’ll still finish high school first, won’t you?” Jennifer asked, trying to be open minded about everything, but sticking to her values, the same values she had instilled into her only son. After all, the woman had just found out that her son was a vampire and that he was moving out all in the same day. It was a lot to handle in such a short time.

  I knew it was time to intervene. “Ms. Davis, Zac will have his own room. Besides, he hasn’t asked me yet. Officially,” I added with a smile, looking directly at Zac.

  “Okay, okay,” Jennifer replied, laughing, holding up her hands in surrender, then turned her attention back to her son. “But you’ll come visit, won’t you?”

  “Of course, Mom!” Zac said with a smile. “You’re going to get so sick of me being here you’ll have to throw me out!”

  Jennifer smiled weakly, patting her son’s hand. “I hope so,” she said, smiling, then laughed. “But I might keep you instead of throwing you out!”

  Zac smiled, then turned to Abbott. “Dad, I don’t want Mom alone …”

  Suddenly, Abbott held up his hand with a smile. “I already have that covered,” he replied, then he took Jennifer’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He looked into her eyes, but she quickly diverted her eyes as a beautiful rose blush filled her cheeks. “I realized what I’ve been missing from my life. What I gave up. And I don’t want to leave her unprotected anymore. Either of you.”

  “I hope that’s not the only reason,” Jennifer added with a smile, looking into Abbott’s eyes as he laughed.

  “No, it’s not the only reason,” Abbot said, then looked at his son and added, “but we still have a lot to talk about. For now, Annie is letting your mother stay here until she decides where she wants to live.” Then he looked at Jennifer and smiled. “She might decide to move to Washington D.C. with me.”

  “Or he might decide to stay here, with me,” Jennifer added, smiling.

  Zac nodded and I smiled, glad that Zac’s parents were finally starting to make amends and might possibly get back together. But time would tell.

  A few minutes later, we were saying our goodbyes, and Zac was pleased that his father wasn’t leaving. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

  This time, Zac took the wheel and drove us to our new home as I snuggled into the passenger seat and closed my eyes.

  “Are you sleepy?” Zac asked, gently running his fingertips along my cheek.

  “Just a bit,” I answered with a smile.

  Zac laughed. “I thought vamps didn’t sleep.”

  “No, we go comatose,” I replied as he laughed. “I’m serious,” I said, then added, “so don’t go thinking I’m dead and call the coroner.”

  “Seriously?” Zac’s beautiful eyes filled with concern as I smiled.

  “But we only sleep every now and then,” I replied with a yawn. “I can go weeks without sleep, then suddenly my body takes over and I go into a comma until my body is rejuvenated again.”

  Zac nodded, looking straight ahead, obviously knowing he had a lot to learn about vampirism.

  Within a few minutes, we made a right onto our narrow drive, leading to the already familiar stone house that looked like a giant cottage. A second later, Zac turned off the key of the ignition and gently kissed my cheek. “We’re here,” he said, in a sing-song voice that made me smile.

  “Uh-huh,” I replied nodding, but didn’t open my eyes.

  “Do you want me to carry you?” Zac asked as I laughed.

  “That’s all I need,” I replied with a smile. “Rick would never let me hear the end of it.”

  “Oh, well! He’ll just have to deal,” Zac countered, scooping me into his arms.

  “No one tells Rick to ‘deal,’” I replied, snuggling into his chest.

  “Well, I just did.”

  “Uh-huh,” I replied, letting Zac carry me into the house and up the stairs, knowing I would never hear the end of it tomorrow.

  A few minutes later, Zac laid me gingerly on the bed, taking my Glock from the back of my pants, unstrapped the Ballistics knife from my ankle, and gently placed them both on the nightstand. Then he covered me over with a quilt, kissed me gently on the cheek, and whispered into my ear, “Good night, babe. Sleep well.”

  Instinctively, I reached out and caught Zac’s hand before he could leave. “Stay with me, Zac.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, concern filling his eyes.

  “Uh-huh,” I nodded, pulling him besi
de me on the bed. He quickly stripped off his shirt, but left his pants on, and gingerly climbed into the bed beside me. Instantly, I curled up next to him, into the crook of his arm, draping an arm gently across his broad chest. And as he wrapped me within his powerful arms, I knew I was finally home.

  Chapter 20: Team

  When I finally opened my eyes, the sun was shining brightly through the windows, glistening off the contours of Zac’s smooth, beautiful skin. I turned over draping my arm over him and smiled, closing my eyes.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead,” Zac said with a smile, then kissed me gently on the cheek.

  I yawned, stretching before sitting up. It really felt good to relax and rejuvenate my body, especially since Zac was safe and our case was over. “Did you sleep?” I asked, not wanting the moment to end.

  “No,” Zac replied, trailing a finger along my cheek. “But I enjoyed watching you sleep.”

  I rolled my eyes and turned over.

  “Here,” Zac said, pulling me to a sitting position. “Time to get up, sleepyhead.”

  “Why?” I asked in protest, then turned over with a smile and curled up on the pillow, shoving it under my head. Zac tried to pull it from me, but we ended up tearing it in half as feathers flew over the bed and I tackled him, laughing, then pushed him back onto the bed with a smile as he laughed.

  “Well, for one thing, we have school,” Zac replied, turning me over onto my back, rolling onto me.

  “School?” I asked sarcastically, pushing a lock of blonde hair away from his face and pulled a white feather from his hair. “Annie and I are going shopping today.”

  “Poor excuse is better than none …”

  “Seriously,” I interrupted, sitting up and turning to look at him. “I have no clothes. We can go back to school next week.” Then I took another pillow and curled up onto it. “Besides you’re not ready yet.”

  “Yes, I am,” Zac replied, smiling, trying to pull the pillow away again, but gave up this time.

  “No, not yet,” I said, then I thought of Principal Hartrell. “On second thought, go to school and make sure you visit Dr. Hartrell.”

  Zac laughed.

  “Anyway, when’s the last time you had blood?” I asked, opening one eye.

  “I took the cooler out of the car and had a picnic last night,” Zac replied, indicating the empty cooler sitting on the floor beside a nearby table. Then he tackled me again, pinning my arms over my head against the bed.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Then I playfully tackled him and curled onto his chest. My head fit perfectly into the contours of his body. Then I rose, propping myself onto an elbow to look into his beautiful eyes. Even though his eyes weren’t the same color, they were just as beautiful. “Tell you what,” I began, then continued, “let’s go shopping for some clothes and then we can go back to school in a few days. I know you need to finish high school and you only have six more months to go.” The chill was in the air and Old Man Winter was already knocking on the door. Besides, as smart as Zac was, it wouldn’t take him long to catch up from the few days we were off.

  Suddenly, Zac’s cell phone rang. We were definitely going to have to get new phones.

  “Hey, Dad,” Zac said into the phone with a faraway look in his eyes. “What’s up?” He listened for a bit, adding in a lot of “uh-huhs,” and “hums,” which put me instantly on alert. “Okay, Dad. We’ll see you soon.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, instantly sitting up in the bed.

  Zac’s eyebrows pulled together, confused. “I’m not sure. Dad just said for all of us to meet him at his office.”

  “I wonder what that’s all about?” I asked, slipping from the bed, headed toward the shower.

  “I have no clue, but I’m sure we’re about to find out,” Zac said, as worry colored his voice.

  And I knew he was right. I quickly showered, letting the warm water wash away the events of the past few days. But when I came out wrapped only in a light blue towel, I looked around and Zac was out of the room, giving me privacy. I quickly dressed, pulling on a black mini skirt, and slipped into an white shirt, leaving it untucked, then donned a man’s black tie tied loosely around my neck as I let my long, wet hair fall down my back, momentarily drenching my shirt. But I knew it would dry soon enough. I looked down at my shoes and debated between low and sensible and high and girlie. Oh, the heck with it, I thought to myself as I donned the black stilettos, finally feeling like a girl again.

  Zac whistled as I walked down the stairs, then asked Rick, “Isn’t she the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen?”

  Annie playfully looked at him raising an eyebrow with a smile curling one side of her lips. “Of course!” Rick responded with a grin. “She’s my daughter, after all.”

  Annie, Zac, and I laughed. Everyone was ready to go, sitting at the kitchen counter, waiting for me.

  “Here, power up!” Rick said, throwing me a blood bag.

  “No, I’d rather hunt,” I replied, pushing the blood bag aside.

  “No time,” Rick replied, placing another bag on the counter in front of me. “Drink up. Abbott wants to see us.”

  “You’d think he’d give us at least one day to rest!” I replied, stabbing the blood bag with a hard plastic straw with a bit more force than necessary. “What’s he want, anyway?”

  Rick shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it must be important, so let’s go. Drink it on the way.”

  I laughed, imagining drinking a blood bag going down the road and what the other motorists might think. “No, I’ll hurry. Then I looked at Zac. He looked smashing in his khaki long pants and white button-down shirt. “You look great,” I said to Zac. “I could get used to this.”

  Zac smiled, pouring himself another cup of coffee. “What?”

  “Waking up next to you,” I replied with a sly smile.

  Zac laughed. “Well, I hope so because you’re stuck with me!”

  Then with my eyes trained to his, I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Well, I hope so.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” John replied, already headed toward Rick’s Mercedes SUV as I laughed. We were all going to have to watch our public displays of affection around him.

  “Come on, everyone!” Rick announced, heading toward the door. “Let’s not keep Abbott waiting.” Then he looked at Zac, and added, “Uh … sorry … you’re father.”

  “Hey, don’t change anything on my account!” Zac replied with a shrug then took my hand as we walked out the door and climbed into the back of the van along with John. Rick and Annie took the front.

  Soon, we were on NY-28 S headed toward Washington D.C. when Annie announced, “Hey, maybe we can go shopping in D.C. after we see Abbott.”

  Rick laughed, rolling his eyes and smiling. But this time, I couldn’t argue with her.

  “Sounds good,” I replied, as Zac laughed, watching Rick as he moaned and shook his head, rolling his eyes again. “I need some clothes badly.”

  “Oh, goodie!” Annie replied, joyously clapping her hands and bouncing up and down in her seat as I laughed.

  “Annie, you’ll never change,” I replied, secretly glad of it. I’d really missed her over the last few years and was glad we were all together again.

  “But you wouldn’t want me any other way, would you?” Annie asked, giving me a wink. I couldn’t help but laugh.

  We all bantered back and forth as we turned onto I-81 S, then soon made the final turn onto MD-295 S, which took us into Washington D.C. We pulled down the familiar alley that led to the secret tunnel and to the underground parking lot.

  As we pulled up to the guard house, it looked like things were back to normal. They’d already replaced the guard arm on the security booth from our last visit.

  “Hey, Mac,” Rick greeted the guard, showing him his ID. “How’s it going?”

  “Eh, same old same old,” the well-built security guard replied, then frown when he eyed me, obviously remembering my last visit with Zac. I smiled sweetly as he waved
us through.

  In the elevator, Rick logged in the six protocols and the eye scan, then we were soon on our way to the twentieth floor.

  Stepping off the elevator, we walked down the familiar hallway to the steel room and wide desk at the end as my stiletto heels clicked noisily upon the floor. This time, a no-nonsense heavy set woman sat behind the desk. It was clear this receptionist was all business. The other receptionist must have quit after her last adventure, cowering behind the desk.

  It was just as well. You have to have guts to work for the CIA, even as a receptionist.

  “Hello, I’m Mrs. Holloway,” the elder woman announced without a smile, then indicated the chairs. “You can have a seat. Mr. Abbott is expecting you.”

  Annie sat on a nearby chair, daintily crossing her legs. John sat a few seats down from her, while Rick stood, looking around, in full agent mode. Zac took my hand and pulled me to a set of chairs, when Mrs. Holloway came back into the room. “Mr. Abbott will see you now.” And with that, she turned her attention to some papers lying upon the desk as we ushered ourselves in.

  “Welcome!” Abbott said with a smile, then shook Rick’s hand and hugged his son. This was an entirely different greeting than the last time I came for Zac’s assignment. “Please, sit down.” Abbott said warmly, indicating chairs spaced intermittently within the room. He must have brought in more for this occasion. John sat on a chair next to a wall near a plant, taking in the surroundings, while Annie sat, looking as comfortable as she would waiting in a doctor’s office. Nothing ever bothered her. I sat next to her and Zac sat on my other side as we waited.

  “What’s this all about, Sam?” Rick asked, already through with the pleasantries.

  “Relax, Rick,” Abbot said, indicating a nearby chair. “I’m not quite ready to begin yet.”

  Then I started putting the pieces together. “If this is about another assignment …” I began, but Sam quickly held up a hand to stop me.

  “Sorry I’m late,” a familiar baritone voice bellowed through the door as I shook my head and smiled. “Traffic is murder this time of day!” Verus said, busting through the door, putting us all on alert until we realized who it was.