by Jade White
The moment was disturbed by Dominique’s phone ringing. Thinking that Gregor was calling again immediately put her back on edge. She grabbed the phone from the coffee table, trying not to look at the pregnancy test that was sitting right next to it. Recognizing Anna’s number she answered her bosses call. “Hello?” She wasn’t supposed to be working today and she was curious as to the nature of the call.
“Dom, I need your help.” The words were short, sweet and to the point. Anna didn’t mince words as a general rule, and it was rare that she would make a specific request to someone so far beneath her. Dom recognized how much extra attention that the woman had been paying her since she had landed in her situation, and appreciated it, even if she didn’t show it well. Anna had called her at least once a week to check on the baby and urge her to find a safer place to stay. Dom had always refused.
Dom sighed. “What do you need?” The question was laced with the frustration of having a train of thought interrupted. She couldn’t get the nagging questions out of her mind.
“Are you free tomorrow evening?” The question was pressing, and it was clear from Anna’s voice that she needed to make sure that she was free.
“I could be free if you needed me to. I would have push up another appointment.” Dom hoped that this would be worth it.
“Can you get Gregor from the airport? No one else is available and you know him the best.” The hint was unmistakable. Anna knew that Dom hadn’t talked to him about the baby, and was trying to make her do it. Gregor would have a stake in helping to protect the child from the enemies he was sure to have, just for being the rare and powerful creature that he was destined to be.
“Why do you want me to get him? Don’t you have someone else available?”
“No, as I said, I don’t. I need you to go.” Anna’s voice was harsh, indicating that she wasn’t going to accept excuses. “Plus you need to talk to him anyway. You’ve been putting this off far too long.”
“Maybe I’m not ready to talk to him about it.” Dom’s anger was rising in her chest, threatening to make her lose control at one of the most powerful people that she had ever met.
“If this child is to be one of the Doppel, he needs to know. He’s going to be put in danger as soon as it’s discovered and he should know why.”
“Why can’t we keep this a secret?” Dom was curious; having done only a little research on the subject had given her sketchy information, at best.
“You might keep the child’s exact nature a secret, but you won’t be able to keep the amount of power coursing through his veins from anyone. Even the most ignorant and blind humans will be able to tell there is something strange about him.” Anna’s voice grew a bit warmer.
“I haven’t been able to find out anything about this. How do you know so much?” Dom questioned, sensing the woman’s personal interest in this matter.
“Let’s just say that every powerful person in the world is going to have a unique interest in this child.” Anna’s words were vague.
Dom sighed again; wanting answers that obvious weren’t going to be provided. “I wish that I wouldn’t have known about this child. I wish that I would never have met Gregor.”
“There are some things in our lives that we just can’t change. I want you to pick him up and talk to him. Perhaps you’ll think of a way to talk to him about it once you see him again. Maybe the news will just pop out. In any case, you are going to be doing this. You will pick him up. I’ll text you his flight details, so that you can track his flight, in case it’s been delayed.”
Anna made it obvious that there wasn’t going to be any more argument on the subject, but Dom wasn’t ready to give up. “Why can’t anyone else do this? I don’t want to talk to him yet. I’m not ready to do it.” Dom hoped that the honest truth might get her out of this assignment.
“I need you to do it. Do I have to make this an order?” Anna’s voice grew stern again. She wasn’t going to put up with the excuses and hiding much longer.
“Don’t order me to do it.” Dom’s voice grew just as stern as Anna’s.
“Why shouldn’t I order you? You need to talk to him, and it will be better if you do it sooner rather than later. Right now you’re just torturing yourself over the possibilities and it isn’t going to end until you tell him.”
“If you order me to do this, I’m going to quit.” Dom threatened. She didn’t know whether or not she was willing to go through with it. There were a few minutes of silence.
Anna let the realization of what had been said sink in before she responded to the angered outburst. “Quitting isn’t going to solve your problems. You need to talk to him; I’m just making you face him.”
Dom remained in silence for a while. She regretted her frustration. She regretted her words. She wasn’t going to quit over this. She knew that she had to face him eventually; it was just a matter of when at this point. “I’ll pick him up.” She agreed, but wasn’t happy about it. “I just don’t know how to tell him.”
Anna’s voice softened. There was a motherly quality to it. “If you would like me to, I’ll tell him about it. I know it would be easier on you.” Dom found herself wondering if Anna had ever had children, but didn’t have the courage to ask.
“No, I need to be the one to tell him. If he’s going to get this news it should be from me. I’m the one who screwed it up.”
“It’s not a screw up, Dom. This is something amazing. You have no idea how many people would love to be in your situation right now. They would love to be the mother of someone who could accomplish such great things.”
Dom changed the subject. It was difficult to comprehend how anyone would want to be in her shoes. “How do you know so much about the Doppel?”
“Let’s just say I have some personal experience. I have to go now. There’s another young couple that’s getting themselves in trouble. I have to sort it out. I’m going to be out of touch for a few days, but don’t worry.”
“Is something else going on?” Dom asked, curious.
“Just some problems with a former agent in the vampire division, it turns out that he’s been turned into a vampire and is trying to turn his daughter. It’s nothing for you to worry about, you’ve got bigger problems and we have to try to keep the baby a secret as long as possible. Remember that if anyone finds out about it, you could be in danger.” Anna had finished the conversation. That much was very clear. Dom wanted to ask more, her curiosity taking over the apprehension she was feeling, but she knew that Anna wasn’t going to elaborate any more. “You should have received a text with the information already. Make sure you get there on time.”
Dom went back to pacing and she continued late into the night. Her clients were kind enough to let her come in early so that she could get her work done before she had to pick Gregor up at the airport, she didn’t feel very grateful about it, but did her best not to show her feelings about it. She was early to the cleansing she had to do, and managed to get it done on time, but not without a lot of work. The entire time she was working, her mind played tricks on her. She swore that she could feel his touch as she performed her ritual. She had to do the job three times to get it just right and to make sure that the homeowners could sleep safely in their beds that night.
Chapter11
There was a sense of dread that filled her as she pulled into the parking lot of the airport. It felt like she had been at this building way to often in the past month. Once she located a parking spot, she paused. Sitting in the car, she tried to swallow her frustration. She knew what he would think when she met him at the door, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about it yet. She slammed her hands onto the steering wheel. When the horn honked, she jumped then laughed at herself. “You’re losing it, Dom.” Shaking her head she forced herself to climb out of her car.
She paused again; staring at the building like it was the gateway to uncertainty. The dread that invaded the pit of her stomach was almost out of control. Swallowing her fear she walked acro
ss the parking lot and stood at the doors for a moment as they opened before her. The building was cavernous and echoing, full of the possibilities that could come of this meeting. No matter what she did, she just couldn’t get this moment out of her head, she couldn’t stop the potential outcomes, both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, from invading every moment of her waking life. It was so bad that she dreamed about this moment for the past month.
Dom drew in a breath, trying to steady herself as she walked to the foot of the escalator that people came down on after leaving the terminal. Her hands were shaking as she checked the board. His plane had just landed, that meant that he would be there at any time. She wished she had blown this off like she had wanted to earlier.
She tried to find a place out of the way, hoping that he wouldn’t notice her right away. Dom found a nice hiding spot to the side of the escalators; she knew that if he missed her she might be able to get out of this meeting. She saw his legs ride down the escalator first and immediately recognized them. Some part of her jumped at the sight of those toned legs standing as he lowered more and more into her view. When his head appeared she could see him looking around and she moved further back, examining one of the arrival boards, trying not to look like she was trying to stay out of sight.
It didn’t work. She knew that as soon as she heard his soft footfalls approach her. She turned to face him and he didn’t hesitate. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. Without saying a single word, he kissed her. It was one of those kisses that can only be given when you have spent a very long time thinking about someone without being able to see them or hear their voice. It was a kiss that tried to pull her into his soul. It was an embrace that was eternal and fleeting at the same time and she didn’t really know how to react. After a few moments of indecision she gave into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him and nibbling on his lower lip. He groaned and tried to pull her closer.
As he pulled away from her, she reminded herself of the child that was growing inside of her. She opened her mouth to tell him about the baby, but just couldn’t bring herself to do it. “What about your luggage?” She asked instead, hoping that her stumble had been covered.
Gregor noticed her, but chose not to say anything. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” He admitted, wanting to reach out and touch her, but resisting the urge. He grasped her hand and led the way to baggage claim. “I’m so happy you came for me. When you didn’t answer my calls or respond to my texts I was sure I wouldn’t see you again.”
Dom was timid. “It’s not that. I just still haven’t fully recovered.” She was avoiding the truth.
“Is something wrong?” He asked her, tipping his head up and looking into her eyes. They were deep and brown full of confusion and fear. He had no idea what the true reason behind her apprehension was, but it concerned him deeply. He used his free hand to brush the hair away from her face. When she didn’t answer he sighed and turned away. “I’m sorry. I was hoping.”
Dominique whispered once again. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.” She hoped that he would magically know what she had to tell him. She sent up a silent prayer that he would have the ability to read her mind for a few minutes and she wouldn’t have to force herself to form the words, to tell him about the baby.
It didn’t happen, no magical wish granter flew down from the sky and made this easier for her, and he turned away to get his luggage as it started to roll down the ramp. He lifted the bags and placed them down onto their wheels. She started to reach for one but he merely attached them together and started to wheel them through the airport. “I had a question.”
“What?” Dom had never heard him sound so nervous.
He spat out his request. He stammered and stuttered, hoping that she would say yes. “I haven’t made any hotel arrangements yet. I was wondering if I could stay with you.”
Dom stood in front of him, silent and unaware of her surroundings. Her focus was on him, on a question that was merely the difference between what she wanted and what she should do. It was her turn to stammer and stutter, nerves threatening to take over her. “I don’t know. I didn’t think.”
“I just want to be close to you. I promise that I will keep my hands to myself.” He was almost begging. Dom noticed that it didn’t really look good on him.
Unsure of how to respond she told him the only thing that she could. “I’ll think about it.” She was thinking about it, that was for sure.
“While you think about it, can I treat you to dinner?” He asked, hope playing across his face.
That couldn’t be too bad could it? She thought about it. She was going to be in a public area, with witnesses, there was no way they could get into trouble. “That would be nice.” She smiled at the compromise. This might be a good indicator as to how the rest of his visit would go. They settled on a crowded restaurant in the airport. Dom had eaten at the cheap ones before, but never at something quite as nice as the one he was taking her to. When he asked her opinion on the food at this place, the only response she could give was: “I don’t know, I’ve never been here before.”
“Well then, it will be an adventure for us to enjoy together.” He smiled and they waited to be seated.
They didn’t really talk at first over their meal. The awkward silence intimidated them until Gregor faced the moment and initiated the conversation, and when he did, it was in a way to make her heart melt. “I couldn’t take my mind off you. I just kept hoping and praying for this moment. This can’t be the spell. I think that I really want you to be with me.” He reached across the table and held her hand, touching her skin and sending those electric shocks through her entire body.
“I missed you, too.” Dom admitted, her arms were straight by her side. It felt like that little bit of truth eased her soul a little more.
Gregor couldn’t help but smile. It was a wide toothed grin, the one that a child gets when they find out that their dreams are coming true. “I have to say how happy I am to hear you say that. I thought that you hated me.” He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. He rubbed his thumb on her knuckles as he looked into her eyes. She looked back at him, losing herself in his eyes.
“Your food?” The server suddenly appeared at the table, bringing their desert and snapping them both out of their reverie. They shuffled their arms around to make room for the food. The waiter lay down the decadent cheesecake and walked away.
Gregor couldn’t help but laugh at the way she looked away, like a teenager afraid of her furtive glances being caught by the man that she liked. “I love looking at you. I could do it all day.”
Dom laughed. “That’s a little creepy, you know that.” While she knew that he didn’t mean it that way, it was just a strange thing to say to a woman. They finished their dessert. “Let’s get going.”
“Where are we going?”
“I guess, I can take you to my place.” Dom relented as she led the way to her car. The drive to her place was short and it wasn’t long until they pulled into her driveway. She let him in reaching down to the stoop and coming up with a key. “This is for you. If you need to get in while I’m not home you should be able to get in. I’ll get the permissions set up for you to enter later tonight.”
“Permissions, are we talking about a computer program? Do you have some sort of strange security system that I don’t know about?”
“It’s a security system, but not a computer. I protect my home through magical means. I need to give you permission so that the spells don’t identify you as an intruder.” It was right after that she remembered what was in her bathroom. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go take care of some business.” She hurried into the bathroom, trying to hide the evidence of the baby until she could tell him. She quickly located the positive test, pulling it out of her purse and secretly throwing it into the trash can. She made sure to flush the toilet and wash her hands, trying to hide her activities. This made her feel like an outlaw, she felt so
guilty for hiding and a part of her mind thought it was a little strange to be hiding information about his own child.
When she emerged, he was waiting for her. “Is it OK if I unpack some things in the extra bedroom?”
“Yes, but don’t use that one.” He had been about to head into her ritual room. “That one has a specific purpose, it’s not for guests.”
“Then where am I going to sleep?” He was curious again. His eyes twinkled. “I can sleep in your bed if you’d like me too.”
Dom froze again. This was becoming an all too common occurrence. “Let’s just see how everything turns out. I have another bedroom. It’s a little smaller, but it should work out well for you.” She led him to a tiny room off of the kitchen.
“This looks like a closet.” He was in shock. “Was this converted?”
“It used to be a utility room, but I have my washer and dryer in the garage right now, so I turned it into a bedroom.”
