MERLOT AND DIVORCE AND DEADLY REMORSE

by Jodi Vaughn

  “Not a fan of Versace?” I asked.

  “I never understood why women put on perfume to cover up their scent.”

  This time, it was my turn to pull a face. “Cover up our scent? We wear it to smell good.”

  He shook his head. “You already have a nice scent. You don’t need any of this crap.”

  “What do I smell like?” I cocked my head.

  “Right now? Frustration.” He glared. “Now, get dressed, and let’s go. If you’re worried about the kids, I can guarantee they’ll be safe.”

  “Fine.” I put down my glass and started to stand. Suddenly, I froze and dipped back down into the bubbles. When had I gotten so used to Khalan that I was just going to stand up buck-ass naked in front of him?

  “Can you please leave?” I asked.

  His gaze dipped down to my face and then to my chest. My cheeks heated, and I felt as if he could see straight through my towel.

  Without a word, he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

  I jumped out of the tub and then ran over and locked the door. I almost slipped into the splits, but I quickly recovered my balance. I doubted that the lock would keep Khalan out since he was a vampire, but it was better than nothing.

  I quickly dried off with a fresh towel and donned my robe then walked into the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a cute, white top that tied at the waist. The only thing good I’d gotten out of being a vampire was my new, amazing body. I had no wrinkles, no body fat, and looked like a Victoria’s Secret model.

  I threw on a matching pair of light pink panties and bra and quickly got dressed. I slid my feet into my red heels and then brushed my hair. I wasn’t sure where we were going, and I knew that Khalan wasn’t big in the patience department. I decided not to ask too many questions and just be prepared.

  I stood in front of the mirror and put on some eyeshadow and mascara. I didn’t need any foundation because my skin was perfect and my cheeks were rosy from the hot bath. I swiped my favorite pink lipstick over my lips and studied my reflection.

  I know it’s rude in the South to be vain, but I had to admit, I looked amazing.

  I stepped into the bedroom and looked around. Khalan wasn’t there.

  I walked into the living room, my heels clacking on the hardwood floor. Khalan was at the French doors, staring out into my backyard.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea. I’m not comfortable leaving my girls with a stranger.”

  “She’s not a stranger. Besides, I glamoured them into sleeping the whole night. They won’t even wake up.”

  “You glamoured my children? How dare you!” I raised my hand to hit him, but he caught my hand before it slammed across his face.

  “Well, there’s a sore spot.” Amusement played at the corners of his mouth. “Relax. It won’t hurt them. I actually know what I’m doing. Unlike you.”

  “I know what I’m doing.” I lifted my chin.

  He sighed and let go of my hand. He was right. I had no idea what I was doing when it came to glamouring.

  “How’s your neighbor? The one married to the serial killer.” His lips quirked upward.

  “I don’t know. Besides, he’s not a serial killer. He just killed the one girl as far as I know.” I shook off his hold and stepped back. “I’ve had too much going on in my own life to pay her a visit.”

  “You still going through with your divorce?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bet he beat you to the best attorney in town.”

  I glared. “How’d you know that?”

  “I make it a point to know everything about my progeny.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call myself that. More like a forced arrangement of sorts.”

  He grinned.

  I froze. My heart raced.

  For the first time since I’d met him, he actually grinned.

  “So, who’s staying with the kids?” I crossed my arms.

  “Your neighbor. Carla.”

  “What?” My mouth dropped open just as Carla walked into the living room from the kitchen. She had the same glazed look in her eye that she’d had when she was glamoured.

  I whipped my head around to Khalan. “You glamoured her?”

  “How else was I going to get her to babysit?” he deadpanned. “Being glamoured should give her a rest from being so neurotic over her jailed husband.”

  “You’re an ass.”

  “And yet you’ve not kicked me out. Which means, I must be growing on you.” He looked at me. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

  “Yes, why?” I looked down at myself. “Do I need to dress in something fancier?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “This is not a date, Road Kill.”

  I almost growled at his nickname for me. He’d been using it since I had my head nearly chopped off by the snowplow. He’d thought he was being funny.

  I thought he was being an ass.

  I sighed and walked through the kitchen to the door that led out to the garage. I opened it and hit the garage door button then peeked outside.

  “Where’s your car?” I looked over my shoulder at him.

  “I don’t have one.”

  “So, how are we going to get to wherever you’re taking me? A magical unicorn?”

  “We are walking.”

  “Ah, no way, buddy.” I turned and faced him. I pointed at my heels. “I’m not walking anywhere in these.”

  “Then why did you wear them?”

  “Because you didn’t tell me where we were going or if I was going to have to walk.” I glared.

  “We can always take your car.” He shrugged.

  “Fine.” I grabbed my purse off the kitchen island and headed out into the garage.

  I slid into the car, and Khalan got in on the passenger’s side and shut the door. I carefully backed out of the garage and down my driveway. I put the vehicle in drive and slowly pulled away from the house.

  Khalan leaned forward and looked at my house. “Why do you have a giant limp penis in your flowerbed?”

  I followed his gaze. “Oh, yeah. That.” I shook my head. “It was supposed to be the Ole Miss mascot. It was an anniversary gift for Miles. That’s where we both went to college. Anyway, the snowstorm hit and bent the petunias and, instead of the Ole Miss Landshark, it now looks like a giant penis.”

  “You leaving it like that?”

  “The landscaper offered to fix it, but now that I’m getting divorced, I might just keep it like that.” I shrugged.

  “Symbolic, really.”

  “How is it symbolic?” I looked at him.

  “Well, you lived with a giant dick in the house all those years. Might as well have one in the yard.”

  I laughed.

  When I got to the end of my street, I stopped and looked at Khalan.

  “Turn left. When you get to the entrance of the subdivision, make another left,” Khalan said.

  “We are headed away from town?”

  He said nothing, so I sighed heavily. Instead of pushing him for any more answers, I turned on the satellite radio.

  Khalan frowned at the pop music then reached over and turned until he found a sixties station. Runaround Sue came over the speakers.

  I cut my gaze at him and watched as he laid his head back and closed his eyes.

  “You can’t go to sleep, you need to tell me where to go.”

  “I’m not sleeping. I’m thinking.”

  “Thinking about somebody special?” I said in a teasing, singsong voice.

  “No. Just thinking,” he growled but didn’t open his eyes.

  “How far do I go on this road?”

  “Just keep going until I tell you to turn.” He crossed his arms over his chest and kept his eyes closed.

  I knew it would be useless to argue, so I just settled in for the drive.

  I’d listened to Runaround Sue, some song by the Four Tops, and Jackie Wilson’s Your Love Keeps Lifting Me when Khalan finally spoke.

  “Turn right on
the dirt road up ahead.” He sat up straighter and uncrossed his arms.

  I turned right and grimaced when my tire hit a pothole.

  We were well out of the city limits, and everything looked darker without the city lights or street lights. I glanced up at the sky in front of me, noticing how the stars seemed brighter and more plentiful.

  For the first time since my life had turned into a chaotic mess, I felt a moment of peace.

  Chapter 9

  I kept my speed slow as I maneuvered the rural back road. Nothing looked familiar, and I had an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  “Turn up ahead in that driveway.” Khalan motioned with his finger.

  I frowned. “That’s not a driveway. It’s a cattle road.”

  I slowed anyway and carefully turned onto the overgrown road. Branches and briars scratched the outside of my car as I crept down the lane.

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  My Maker said nothing, just stared straight ahead.

  “You know I had better things to do—”

  “I know. Like drink wine and feel sorry for yourself,” he said. “Sorry to interrupt your busy schedule.”

  “You’re the one that wanted me to—”

  “Stop!” he yelled, and his eyes narrowed as he glared straight ahead. He leaped out of the car and shut the door quietly behind him.

  I killed the engine and grabbed my purse then dropped my keys inside. Khalan was silently creeping down what looked more like a deer trail than a road. I tried to walk on my tiptoes to keep my heels from sinking into the dirt, but it was no use. I cringed with every footstep I took, knowing my cute, expensive heels were probably ruined.

  “Next time, I’m wearing rubber boots,” I hissed.

  Khalan glared at me and then held his finger up to his lips. I rolled my eyes and stayed silent like he wanted.

  I heard a faint noise, something like a drum beating far away. I looked over at Khalan, who was now beside me, and I could tell from the look on his face that he heard it, too.

  “We have to hurry,” he whispered and stepped off the trail and into the thick underbrush of the woods.

  “Seriously?” I propped my hands on my hips and glared.

  He disappeared into the trees. The night seemed eerily quiet, and as much as I didn’t want to follow him, I didn’t want to be out there by myself even more.

  “Ugh.” I held my purse against my chest and picked my way into the woods. Limbs tore at my skin, and the ground under my feet felt soft and mushy. I hoped it was moss and decaying leaves that I was stepping on and not mud.

  My eyes adjusted to the dark the farther I stepped into the woods. I could make out not just the outline of trees, but I could also differentiate between the pine and the oak trees that towered above me.

  When I caught up to Khalan, I tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you going to let me ride your back while you jump from tree to tree? Like in that vampire movie?”

  He turned and shot me a glare so hard it should have fried me.

  “I’ll take that as a no.” I sniffed.

  “How’s your eyesight?” he asked.

  “Actually, it’s getting better. I’m surprised by how well my eyes are adjusting to the dark.”

  “It’s part of becoming a vampire. All your senses will become keener, stronger. You’ll hear, taste, feel, and see things at a level superior to humans.”

  “Khalan, when we first got here, I heard a sound. Sounded like a drum. It’s getting louder.”

  He stopped walking, looked at me, and smiled. “You’ll find out what it is soon enough.”

  “Gosh, do you ever give a straight answer? Or are you all about the cloak and dagger all the damn time?”

  “I’m surprised you have so many questions. I would think a housewife with all your free time would have better things to occupy your pretty, little mind.”

  “Aww, you called me pretty.” I gave him a saccharine smile. I chose to ignore the insult and focus on the veiled compliment instead. I knew it would piss him off even more.

  He snarled and continued on the path.

  I smiled to myself.

  After a few more minutes of trudging through the forest, the trees gave way to a clearing.

  “Move slow,” he said, his voice low and full of warning.

  I nodded and looked around the small clearing in the woods. I heard the thudding of the tiny drum grow louder and looked around to see if I could tell where it was coming from.

  My eyes landed on a small, unmoving clump of fur near the base of a tall pine tree. I gasped and grabbed Khalan’s arm.

  Reality settled over me. “What is it?” I narrowed my eyes to bring the animal into focus, but because the fur blended into the ground, I couldn’t tell what it was.

  “Coyote. A mother,” he said softly.

  “Is…is it her heart I keep hearing?”

  Khalan’s gaze landed on me, and he gave me a silent nod.

  “But, how?”

  “Like I said. Your senses will become more and more acute, more highly developed. You can hear her heartbeat because you are becoming a vampire. Listen closely and tell me what else you hear.”

  I looked back at the mother coyote. I heard the faint beating of two fast hearts.

  “Her babies. She’s pregnant. She has two,” I whispered.

  “Something’s wrong. She should have three.” His voice was solemn. He knelt beside the coyote, and his face twisted in anger as he assessed the animal.

  Sadness swept over me. I was never a big animal fan, but something about the whole situation hit me hard.

  “She was shot by hunters, and the bullet hit the third baby. She’s barely hanging on.” He shook his head, and his features twisted.

  I wanted to reach over and squeeze his hand, to offer some kind of comfort.

  But the anger written on his face scared me. He wanted retribution. He wanted someone dead.

  “Can we save the babies?” I didn’t bother asking about the mother. I could hear her heartbeat getting fainter by the minute. I knew in my gut that she wasn’t going to make it.

  “We have to try.” He slowly made his way to the mother coyote, keeping his steps light.

  The mother didn’t have the energy to lift her head. Her lips curled over her teeth, and she growled at Khalan.

  “Easy, Mama.” He held out his hand for her to sniff, and I frowned. It would have been easier for him to just glamour her into being submissive. But he didn’t.

  The coyote snarled and snapped at his fingers, yet Khalan didn’t move.

  “I’m here to help your babies.” His deep voice held a tinge of sadness. It was such a final statement that it made me blink back the sting of tears.

  I made my way over and knelt beside them. The mother coyote snarled at me.

  “It’s okay. I’m here to help.” I looked her in the eyes, and I could relate. I would do anything to protect my babies, too.

  “I need you to hold her while I get the babies,” Khalan said.

  “Is she ready to deliver?” I looked at her distended stomach.

  “No. But the babies have to come out if they are going to live.”

  “Wait. That means you are going to cut them out?” My stomach rolled, and I thought I was going to throw up.

  He slowly turned his head to me. “Then you tell me what I should do.”

  I looked into his eyes. I knew that there was no right answer. If we left the mother coyote alone, she would die alone with her babies. In order to save the babies, we had to cut them out.

  “I don’t know if I can do this.” My voice quaked.

  “You want them all to die?” He looked at me. His face was a blank canvas. And I knew I would look back on this moment in the future. He was testing me. He was trying to see exactly what I was made of.

  “No. We should save the babies.” I swallowed back the bile in my throat.

  “Hold her down,” he said.

  I moved t
o his right so I was at the mother coyote’s face. She snarled and snapped and showed her sharp teeth. Exactly like any good mother would.

  I reached down to stroke her head, and she growled and then sank her teeth into my hand.

  I pulled back and inhaled sharply at the pain. Blood ran down my hand in two small rivers.

  “I said, hold her.” Khalan narrowed his eyes.

  I wanted to slap his face with my bloodied hand, but I didn’t want to injure it any further.

  Instead, I looked into the mother’s eyes and leaned in. “I’m going to help your babies. You want them to live, right?”

  I don’t know if she understood me or not, but this time when I touched her head, she didn’t bite.

  I put both hands on either side of her face and laid my head on her neck. I could hear her heartbeat fading away and feel her snarling against the palms of my hands. I buried my face in her bristly, brown fur. I couldn’t bear the idea of Khalan cutting into her little furry tummy to pull out her babies.

  I could see Khalan pulling something out of his dark coat, which I assumed was a knife. Something flashed in his eyes, something sad. It was an emotion I’d never seen him wear before.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and held the coyote tightly. She whimpered and howled in pain when the knife bit into her skin. I held her firmly, trying to give her some of my strength, and hoping to take away some of her pain.

  She whimpered and howled as Khalan took her babies, and I could tell from the sound of their faint heartbeats that it would be a miracle if they even survived the night.

  I pulled back and looked into the mother’s face. Her panting was slowing, and her heartbeat was slow and faint. I knew in that moment that she was dying, and there would be no coming back. She looked at me and held my gaze. She lifted her front paw and touched my cheek.

  If she could have talked, I believed she would have told me to take care of her children.

  Tears streamed down my face as she took her last breath. The thump, thump, thump of her heart stopped. Her paw slid off my face, and her gaze looked a million miles away as if she were already in another place.

  “I need you to hold the pups.” Khalan held out two slimy, squirming balls of wet fur.