“Smart choice,” Mallory said and marched away.
When I went back into the coffee shop to face my friends, they were both staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
“What on earth was that about?” Alexis asked.
“Please tell me you let her have it,” Candace added, coming around the bar to see if Mallory was still in view.
“I let her have it all right,” I said. “But it didn’t do any good. She is who she is, and she isn’t gonna change.”
“Once a bitch, always a bitch,” Candace said.
“Candace!” Eli chided.
“Give me a break, Eli,” Candace said, throwing up her arms in annoyance. “There’s no one here.”
Eli simply sighed and returned to the office, pretending to do administrative work when he was really Face-timing his girlfriend.
I hopped back onto my barstool and gazed down at my nearly empty white mocha. For some reason, it didn’t look appetizing any more. I almost couldn’t believe it was possible to get so upset that I no longer desired to drink my signature coffee. But miraculously, it had happened; I slid the porcelain mug across the bar to Alexis. “I’m done.”
Alexis glanced at the cup, then back at me. “There’s still white mocha in there.”
“I realize that,” I said, sadly. “But I can’t drink anymore.”
“Are you sure you let her have it?” Candace asked. “Because it sure looks like it was the other way around. You look like somebody kicked your puppy—or maybe you are the kicked puppy.”
Mallory’s words kept replaying my head, making me feel terrible. Even though I understood it wasn’t really my fault, I still felt partially responsible. Maybe if I’d been the bigger person and hadn’t kept retaliating and reigniting the feud between Mallory and me, then we wouldn’t have been committed to Sisters of Mercy. Mallory might have been able to be at her mother’s bedside with the rest of her family before she died.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there today,” I said to Alexis, acknowledging one more thing I’d done wrong. I couldn’t seem to do anything right—apparently letting everyone down. “You’re right; I should have seen Sean off.”
Alexis gave me a sad smile and a nod, then took my cup and set it in the sink with the rest of the dirty dishes.
I left shortly after and climbed into my new Land Rover that I certainly didn’t deserve. I felt tears prick my eyes as I sat behind the wheel, gazing out into the busy parking lot with everyone going about their normal lives, oblivious to the major events brewing beneath the awareness of society. I knew what was happening, and it was lamenting times like these that I wished I didn’t.
I headed home, but as soon as I saw Mom’s car parked outside our front door, I just kept driving. I couldn’t bear the thought of facing her right now, couldn’t bear the thought of facing people in the Society with what Frederick was expecting me to do. I’d just come from my typical sanctuary, which was quickly losing the safe and welcoming feeling it had once held. So, there was only one other place I could go to.
I headed to my new penthouse condo where I could wallow in my misery without being disturbed. I felt guilty about the condo too and didn’t know how much longer it would be mine.
I pulled into my assigned parking space, noticing the empty one beside me that was also officially mine. At least Matthew hadn’t planned on a surprise visit; as much as I loved seeing him, I couldn’t bear the thought of looking into his eyes with the knowledge of what Frederick wanted from me. I’d be keeping that terrible secret to myself. We both had secrets, but mine could potentially ruin everything.
I took the elevator up to the top floor, having to insert my key to gain access to that level. Every additional luxury I noticed was another stab to the heart. Inside the apartment was deathly quiet, so much so that I needed to go out on the balcony for the background noise of the traffic far below. I plopped down onto one of the plush seats, dropped my purse on the adjacent end table, and gazed out toward the ocean.
In times like these, I still loved talking to Becca. Her sweet voice always had a way of cheering me up, no matter what was going on in my life. I was at a crisis crossroads now, a hole even Becca probably wouldn’t be able to help me out of.
I had no idea what I was doing. Just when I thought I was reaching a new normal, I was hit with another wrench. And who could I talk to about it that wasn’t somehow involved, affected, or oblivious to the supernatural underworld? There were no impartial bystanders I could turn to for help. I was utterly alone, forced to handle the world-altering situation on my own—a responsibility I was more than a little reluctant to take on.
I retrieved my phone from my purse and scrolled through my contacts on the off chance I was forgetting someone obvious, someone who could impart much-needed wisdom. But the name I stopped on was Abigail’s. She was technically family, even though we hadn’t quite gotten to that level over the past few months. She wouldn’t be able to provide the wisdom and guidance I was looking for, but maybe she could offer the little extra comfort I usually went to Becca for. After all, we were all sisters. Yearning for a friendly voice, I called Abigail.
18
Matthew
I seemed to always receive important news when I was at an AA meeting—something was always breaking my focus. I still wasn’t going to them as regularly as I wanted to, due to the chaos my life had recently become. But still, the meetings helped center me when I could get to them.
When I sat down with the other addicts, I kept to the back row of chairs to keep from feeling too claustrophobic. I saw that it was Jack calling, so quietly excused myself and gestured to Jezebel that I’d be right back.
It was around dinner time for most regular people, so the sun was finally falling behind the trees, which helped since the dose of my sun serum for the day had nearly been used up. Pacing the parking lot, I put my phone to my ear.
“Hey, Jack,” I said. “Give me some good news.” God knew I could use some, but I certainly wasn’t expecting any.
“Well, today is your lucky day,” Jack said, his voice sounding upbeat. “Here’s my present to you. We found Nurse Dalio.”
“Where is she now?”
“Being held in one of the patient rooms. You wanted to deal with her personally.”
“That I did,” I said, clenching the fist of my free hand, already feeling the satisfaction of punching her in the face. It didn’t matter that she was a woman—she was a vampire first, and one who had double-crossed me.
“She’ll be waiting until you’re able to get down here… unless you tell me otherwise.”
“No. Let her sit and stew. I’ll come down after my meeting.”
“You’re still going to those?” Jack laughed.
“What can I say, I love to torture myself,” I said.
“I guess so. Do I get to be included in your interrogation this evening?”
“Of course. It’s your facility. I’ll come find you first, then we can go and confront her together.”
“I like that,” Jack said. “We can play the ol’ good cop, bad cop routine.”
“I’m not going to be the good cop,” I said.
“Just once, I want to be the bad cop.” Jack complained for another whole minute, but I had no intention of backing down.
I felt good after hanging up with Jack—not happy but satisfied justice would be served.
There was a new woman in front of the group, telling her sob story when I slipped back into the last row.
Jezebel glanced at me with a questioning look. “Everything okay?”
“Better than it was five minutes ago,” I said, sat back, and tried to rein in my focus to the present, to the meeting I was currently attending. Everything else was background noise, and I did what I could to minimize it.
At the end of the meeting, I received my 60-day chip—the first one I’d had in quite some time. I shook a few hands and thanked Jezebel for her continued support before bolting for my Land Rover.
I had done a pretty damned good job of focusing on the meeting after the call with Jack, but during the ride to Sisters of Mercy, I repeatedly replayed my fight with the vampire assassin in my head, remembering how close he’d come to killing me. If it hadn’t been for Jack, I most likely would have died in that room. Supposedly, I knew enough about my future to realize I wasn’t destined to die that day, but—in the midst of mortal danger—the future didn’t seem so certain. But as luck would have it, I did survive, proving again that there was a bigger plan, a larger role for me to play in the coming apocalypse.
When I reached the hospital, I marched straight to Jack’s office but found it empty. While I waited, I helped myself to a bag of animal blood from his mini-fridge, then grabbed a second five minutes later when he still hadn’t returned. I wanted to have optimal energy when I confronted Nurse Dalio.
“Make yourself at home,” Jack said as he strolled into the office about ten minutes later.
I was sprawled out in one of his leather chairs, finishing up my second glass of blood.
“It still feels like home,” I said. Not much in the office had changed since I’d handed it over to Jack. “Ready when you are. Want me to drop this off in the cafeteria?” I held up the empty glass.
“Put it on the desk. I’ll do it later.” Jack slapped at the outside of his front pocket, jingling the keys he was concealing. “Let’s take care of business.”
It was almost fitting that Nurse Dalio had been locked in the same room Fiona and Mallory had occupied. After taking the hospital from Frederick, I’d reinforced all the rooms so they could hold the supernatural as effectively as they held humans. No use in locking them up if they could simply break out with their superior strength—something I knew about firsthand.
Nurse Dalio sat on one of the two beds, leaning lazily against the stone wall. Her eyes were glossed over like she was completely zoned out or—
“Did you drug her?” I asked as Jack unlocked the door.
“Are you kidding? Why on Earth would I do that?” His exasperated question seemed like enough of an answer.
When we stepped into the room, she didn’t even glance up but stayed focused on some far-off point. After a moment, she spoke, but still without turning to face us.
“I know it won’t do any good now, but I didn’t know who he really was when I took his money. To me, he was just another customer looking for something extra special. That’s what I provided—the patients who were off-limits, the ones our VIPs really wanted to enjoy. Like all the ones who’d come before, he wasn’t supposed to kill them—just to have his fun like everyone else.”
“You took kickbacks,” Jack said.
Nurse Dalio nodded. “For decades. I was presented with the opportunity after you took over.” When she looked up, her gaze settled on me. “You started implementing all the rules and limits, putting constraints on our regular customers. That wasn’t a problem with Frederick; he didn’t have the bleeding heart for humans that you do.”
“That’s because he had no heart at all,” I said. “I know you didn’t live through the horrors from a human perspective. I remember you during the time I was human.”
“Yes; you won’t let those of us who were here during that time forget it,” she retorted.
“I’ll never forget it, so neither should any of you.”
“Who presented you with the opportunity?” Jack asked.
“I’m not going to tell you which other staff members are taking similar action,” Nurse Dalio said. She sat straighter and dropped her feet to the floor. “I know it’s too late for me, but I’m not going to be responsible for bringing others down with me.”
“We’ll get to the truth, one way or another,” I said. “I don’t need your confession. Your admission that this is a larger problem is enough.”
“I’ll start with all the staff members who’ve been here since Frederick’s ownership, then work my way forward,” Jack said.
“Maybe you’ll find you can’t trust anyone.” Nurse Dalio grinned sadistically.
“You used to be the ray of sunshine in this place.”
“Those were happy days. I liked what I did, even though it wasn’t all up to your impeccable standards.” Again, she was directing her comments at me.
“That’s funny because I don’t really remember happy days here,” I said, stepped forward, and slapped her hard across the face. “Who presented you with the opportunity?”
“Not even when you were with Dr. Mercer?” Nurse Dalio asked, innocently, blood dripping from her lower lip. She licked at it before continuing. “I think she’d be crushed if she heard you say that.”
“She turned me without consent,” I said. “I hated her long before I came to love her. I always hated this place but as a newly turned vampire, I saw its potential. That’s the only reason I didn’t burn this place to the ground.”
“Someone would simply rebuild it. There’s too high a demand not to have a Sisters of Mercy. And too high a demand to deny our well-paying customers what they really want.”
“Which is what?” Jack asked.
“No constraints.”
“Everyone needs constraints,” I said. “From you to the wealthiest of our customers. No one should be allowed to live without constraints. Are you going to tell me who presented you with the opportunity to pay extra for special privileges?”
Nurse Dalio shook her head, her egregious defiance forcing my hand on her again, this time slapping her from the opposite side.
“Is this your feeble attempt at torturing the truth out of me?” She was smiling again, her bright brown eyes boring into mine.
“We haven’t even begun,” Jack said, but I knew it was a bluff.
We weren’t torturers. Jack had barely killed anyone in his life. I’d killed many people in my lifetime and tortured a few in my darker early years, but I wasn’t that man anymore. I didn’t want to revert to being that guy either, trying to prove myself as the most vicious vampire around. I saw myself becoming the very vampire I hated most—Frederick—a revelation motivating me to change.
I could threaten her all I wanted but could see from the look in her eyes that she knew I wasn’t going to follow through. She was daring me to strike her again.
“Jack, which of our VIP customers would like some fun with Nurse Dalio?” I asked. “We’ll even provide a discount.”
“Most will fear a reprisal by the Order,” Jack said.
“Can we convince them these exclusive sessions would stay just between us? No paperwork. Off the books. Free sessions for being such valued customers?”
“I think we could convince a few.”
“You won’t convince our customers to turn against their own kind,” she said, as confident as ever.
“Our customers are monsters,” I said, flashing her a knowing grin and folding my arms. “You said it yourself, they want no constraints. Why limit their fun to humans?”
“We have some pretty nasty customers,” Jack added. “I like it.”
Nurse Dalio finally looked worried but was trying to hide it as best as she could. We were finally getting to her.
“I guess I’m not going to kill you tonight,” I said. “You have much to look forward to. Unless… unless you’d like to now tell me who else is involved.”
Despite her growing anxiety, Nurse Dalio remained defiant. She backed up on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest. “I won’t give you the satisfaction,” she spat, returning her attention to some random spot on the far wall. “You want to bring others in to do your dirty work since you’re too weak to do it yourself? Do it. I won’t break.”
“We’ll see,” I said as I thought of a new idea. However, I didn’t want to reveal it to her now. Let her worry about the vampires.
19
Sean
About two and a half hours into the trip, I took my first pitstop at Baker, the last bit of civilization until Nevada. I’d been to Las Vegas a few times and Baker was always the place to s
top before venturing into the desert.
Even though I still had over half a tank of fuel, I gassed up just to be safe. Then I parked up among the tractor trailers and headed inside one of the fast food joints to grab a snack and soda; I needed to recharge.
The drive was already wearing me down and I’d only just started. Maybe it was the reality kicking in that I was crossing the country alone or starting a new segment of my life. Now I’d left everyone in my life behind, my thoughts were pulling me toward an uncertain future, with the exotic memories from the club finally taking the back seat.
The next four years of my life would primarily be in New York, and who knew, I may end up staying there permanently. Despite my nervousness of starting over, I tried to remind myself that this could be the best thing to ever happen to me.
I paid for some chicken strips and a Dr. Pepper, then stood in the parking lot while I ate my snack. I stretched my back and squatted a few times to get the blood flowing through my legs. The sun was beating down on me, and I looked at the largest thermometer in the world to confirm that it was twenty degrees hotter out here than back home.
I need to stop thinking of my parents’ house as home, I thought. It wasn’t anymore. I’d be making a new home in New York, which would take some getting used to.
I ate the chicken slowly, not really wanting to get back in the car, but the longer I stalled, the longer the trip would take. If I did that the entire time, I might never get there.
There was a constant flux of people going through the place. It was easy to spot the ones headed for Vegas because they were upbeat, energized, and ready to party with their destination only a few short hours away. The downtrodden remainder were weary travelers somewhere in the middle of some long road trip, feeling obligated to stop there. Then there were the token locals.
I threw away the empty box I’d been plucking the chicken strips from, sipping on my soda as I made my way back to the car; it was now dwarfed between eighteen-wheeler behemoths. The truck parked next to my driver’s side was way too close and I could barely open the door wide enough to squeeze in. I pounded on the metal trailer but it only hurt my hand.
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