Donald: Dalton’s Kiss: Vampire Paranormal Romance (Dalton's Kiss Book 3)

by Kathi S. Barton

  “Rachel has hated you since you were living with us. Sally? I don’t know. I didn’t know that at all, to be honest. They were always jealous of you that I am aware of, but enough to have you killed? It just didn’t seem a possibility to me. Not my own daughters.” Pfeiffer sobbed out how she’d found out. How she’d not known how far they had gone. “You see, they had to work so very hard for things. We never had a lot, and even though I was sure you had more than enough for all of us, I can understand why you didn’t use it when we needed it. But they thought you should have paid for everything. Our home. Food. I’m not sure how they found out about it. Oh CJ, I’m so very sorry.”

  While offering her sister comfort, she thought about the girls, her nieces, while they’d been growing up. They would sometimes snap at her, make her a target of things, but they’d never indicated— She remembered a couple of times when she’d been out, and someone would hurt her. Lately, it had happened more and more, but she didn’t think of her cousins as being part of it.

  As she sat there thinking, more and more times when they had been nasty or hurtful to her came to light. The times she’d been caught out alone and been beaten badly were times when she was supposed to have met them someplace. Times they were getting together to have a little bit of fun. Thinking back on a lot of things, she could remember Cody being around them. He’d disappear for long periods of time that wouldn’t be explained. He was with them, she thought now. No doubt about it now that she had time to put it all together in her mind.

  “Did they tell you why?” Pfeiffer told her they’d not. “You killed your own children, Pfeiffer. They had to tell you something. How did you even figure it out?”

  Getting up, she went to the trash can and pulled out several sheets of paper. It didn’t look like anything until she looked at the ads Pfeiffer pointed to. As she read them, Pfeiffer explained how she’d figured it out.

  “They put that in the paper looking for someone to come and kill you. Me too, Sally told me. There wasn’t any point in having me around if I was just going to be nagging at them about your death. I was looking over the lonely hearts ads. Remember how we used to think how lonely you’d have to be to put an ad in the paper? At first, it only piqued my curiosity a little. But something in me made me keep going back to it. I’m ashamed to tell you that at first, I didn’t get what they were asking. Then when I did, it was like being hit with a load of rocks.” CJ was sure she might not have gotten it either at first. “Then I began looking at the wording of it. After that, the phone number. It’s Sally’s number. They used their own phone number to have someone call them who would kill off a relative for cash.”

  Honey, are you all right? She told Don she wasn’t. And asked if he could bring not just the men with him but the women as well. Have you killed her yet? I’m assuming you’ve found out your sister is the one that has been calling the hits on you.

  My sister? She glanced at Pfeiffer, then frowned. She is telling me it was her daughters that hired the hitmen.

  It was her. Pfeiffer. I’m on my way. Don’t let her hurt you. She stood up then, asking Pfeiffer if she wanted more to drink. There is a pack of wolves outside the door to the kitchen. They’ve been watching over you since you arrived. Honey, Melisandre has been keeping an eye on her, and it’s Pfeiffer, not the girls. Where are they? They need to be gotten out of the house as well.

  She said she killed them for me. And for the moment, I don’t want to think about what she might have done to them. All right? Nervous and afraid for the first time in a long time, she took her time in filling their glasses with ice. Not that she had any plans of drinking anything from hers, but she did refill their glasses with the tea in the fridge. I’m sitting at the kitchen table. When I got here, she was calling for Cody to help her get rid of the bodies. Oh, Don, I know she can’t kill me, but please hurry.

  Sitting down, she smiled at Pfeiffer. It was all she could do not to get up and tear her throat out. She asked her about the bodies and what she had planned on telling the police. Pfeiffer, if she’d not been looking right at her, might well have gotten away with showing her madness. Even if it had only been a quick look for her.

  “That was the reason I was trying to find Cody. He seemed to know a great deal about bodies and such.” CJ frowned and asked her what she meant. “You know. Being magical like you are, I figured the two of you must have a great many bodies all over the place. For anyone that would try and take advantage of you.”

  Laughing a little, she told her she didn’t know anyone that had taken advantage of her. “Certainly no one I’ve killed for it. I’m pretty easy about things. You know that.” The anger again, also a little insanity. “What about you? Do you think I’ve taken advantage of you during our life together?”

  The gun was pointed at her when Pfeiffer pulled it from someplace under the table. It didn’t scare her as much as she thought it should have. CJ kept telling herself she was immortal. That no bullets or anything else would kill her. Painful, yes, she knew it would be that, but there would be no killing her. She was glad now she’d prepared herself for something like this by putting magic all around her unborn child.

  “What are your plans with that, Pfeiffer? Do you think you can kill me? You can’t, just so you know.” The bullet entered her arm and threw her back, tipping over the chair. Standing up, fixing her chair, she sat back down and put her hand over the wound. “See, nothing will kill me.”

  “So you say.” The next bullet hit her in the cheek. She might have been aiming for her head, but the natural reflex of moving out of the way had it entering her there. Don said they were there.

  Wait. I have to see this through. He asked her if she was all right. I am, actually. I think this is something she’s been feeling for some time. But you will need to get the police here. She has killed her daughters.

  I know, honey. We’ll take care of arrangements as soon as we get this part of it cleared up. She could agree with him on that note but watched Pfeiffer. The police are here now. I guess the wolf pack could smell the blood and called them. They are parked around back, so be wary of leaving that way. I don’t want you shot.

  I’m fine. I promise you. Pfeiffer screamed at her to die. “I’m sorry, I can’t do that. I want you to know it makes me happy that I never got around to making sure you were immortal. I wish I had gotten to Rachel and Sally. It’s a real shame you had to kill them off. I don’t suppose you’re like those talking killers, are you? Where you confess everything to the person you kill off right before the police arrive?”

  “What is wrong with you? Can’t you just die? Fucking bitch. You’ve always had everything, haven’t you? All the money. The beautiful skin. No stretch marks would ever harm your body if you were ever to get knocked up. Little Miss CJ. Always the perfect person, even when I wanted you to be angry.” CJ asked her why she’d be angry. “You never cared when I killed Robert. Do you have any idea how many times I left out the poison for you to see or find? What about being pissed that our parents are dead? You didn’t shed a single tear for their demise either, did you? Miss Perfect.”

  “I did cry when your parents died. So you killed them as well. Why would you do that? What did they ever do to you?” Pfeiffer told her. “So bringing me into your family, that was the reason you hated them. I don’t know if you realize this or not, but they didn’t know I wasn’t their child.”

  “Oh, but they did. I told them as I killed them. Made them realize what a burden they’d brought down on us. They certainly understood how upset I was at the end. I made sure of it.” CJ could only stare at Pfeiffer. She’d been holding onto this grudge for that long? She asked her what her daughters had done to her. “Stretched out my body. But the thing that had me killing them both today was that they figured it out. Finally, someone could see my hard work. Now all I have to do is kill you, and things will be perfect for me.”

  “Doubtful you’d find anything to be pe
rfect, Pfeiffer. You seem like a person who would never be satisfied even if you had everything you ever wanted. You’d be finding fault with it as well.” Smiling at her, she felt like this was more than she thought would happen when coming here today. “You’re the one that had it all as far as I can remember. You had your parents. Your husband, though he wasn’t much of a person. At least you led me to believe that. Now that I’m thinking, you never did allow me to see him for what he really was, did you? Then there are your daughters. They loved you, you know. I guess your little maneuvers were more than they thought their dear mother was capable of.”

  “You should have seen their faces. When I hit Rachel in the head with the axe, I was sure Sally was going to jump me. But all she did was stare at her sister until she was joining her on the floor. Knocking her in the head seemed anticlimactic after all my planning to get here. But they were both out of my hair. I might well have gone a little overboard in killing them, but there wasn’t going to be any getting back up again for them. It was a wonderful feeling being able to take all my frustrations out on them. Now it’s your turn.” CJ asked her about Rachel being hurt in the car accident. “Well, of course, I did that too. It worked just the way I wanted it to. Brought you to me so I could finish this once and for all.”

  Come in if the police are satisfied with it all. I’m sick with all this.

  Don entered right behind the police. CJ held Pfeiffer in a holding pattern with her magic so no one else would be hurt. The police then went to the upper floors to check on the bodies of the other two while Don took her outside into the fresh air. Making sure that her wounds were healed, CJ let Don hold her. It was the best medicine in the world if you asked her.

  ~*~

  Melisandre thought this was one of the best ideas she’d ever had. Once this thing with Pfeiffer was finished, she could move on with her life. Get things in order and try and figure out the meaning of her life.

  Everyone had their own idea as to what their meaning to life was. She’d known that all her life but had somehow forgotten about it. Now that she’d been given a new start, a new beginning, Melisandre was going to make sure she lived every day like it was her last. Make every second count and have fun while on her way.

  “You wanted to see me?” Smiling at CJ, she asked her to have a seat. “This is nice. I didn’t know you owned a home on this side. I love the bright and bold colors. You should have been an interior designer or something.”

  “I’ll have to add that to my list of things to try. I’m retiring. Well, not retiring, but leaving my position as queen of faeries for good.” She loved that she could shock CJ. Especially when she knew CJ had seen so much more than she had in life. “I’ve spoken to Aurora, and she said she would support me in what I wanted. You know how hard I took the fact that Cody, someone you thought you could trust, had been out to have you murdered. It bothers me on so many levels how I was so blind to it.”

  “It’s not like I did any better with noticing things. I sometimes find myself thinking of how we grew up. The little things I’m only just now seeing the way I should have right away. It’s hurtful to think that me being hidden away by going to her parents was such a problem for Pfeiffer that she had to kill her entire family over it.” Melisandre knew she’d taken the deaths of her nieces hard. She might well have too, she thought. “Don and I are going to go on a honeymoon soon. There are so many places I’ve never seen. We’re also going to have a baby.”

  “I knew of the child. I cannot be happier for you.” She needed to get to the point, and soon. Aurora was coming soon to talk to her about things as well. “I’ve asked that you take over my job.”

  Smiling at her, she knew immediately that CJ didn’t understand. “What job? I mean, I know you want to step down from doing your work, but surely you don’t mean—” Her face told it all. “Oh no, you didn’t. You did not put me in for your job as queen of the faeries. I refuse it. That’s what I’ll do. Refuse it.”

  “I don’t think you can now.” She asked her why not, and Melisandre put out her hand. “This has been made for you. The faeries think it’s great that they are not only going to have you as queen, but they got to make your crown.”

  “No.” When CJ stood up, she watched her pace. She also began talking to herself, in faerie. When she suddenly stopped and turned to her, Melisandre couldn’t help it. She began to laugh. Hard. “I was speaking something else, wasn’t I?”

  “Faerie. You’ve picked it up a good deal faster than I did.” There was no stopping her laughter now. Melisandre laughed until tears streamed down her face and collected on her bosom. “If you could see your face right now, I think you’d laugh as well.”

  “No I would not. Also, you need to stop right now before I hurt you.” Melisandre pointed out that she couldn’t hurt her. Not ever. “Then, by all means, laugh it up. Make fun of the person that has not only been bamboozled into something she never wanted but has no way of retaliating.”

  “Oh, you know you love me, CJ. You also know there isn’t a better person for the job than you.” Tea and other delights appeared on the table in front of her. Her appetite had returned now that she’d been able to talk to CJ, and she was most assuredly hungry. “You would have figured out about the other faeries long before I did. I don’t know how anyone missed Cody being turned around, but Benson would have been found out by you had you spent any time with him. I’ve been very lax on my duties as queen, at least in reference to the people who work for me. That’s why I’m going to be staying on as your helpmate in the area of the flowers. That part I know, and well. You will be the one that keeps an eye on the faeries and others. I didn’t do that.”

  “I’d like to say I noticed it too, but I didn’t. Cody had only been with me for about the last ten years, I think. So from what I’ve been able to find out, he was working with Pfeiffer since before that.” She took the little cup of tea and changed it into a large glass of ruby red juice. Smiling as she sipped her tea, she wondered if CJ had even noticed that she was wearing the crown yet. “I’m very leery of trusting the faeries right now. I know it was only the one, but he did such a good job of hiding in plain sight that I don’t know what to do about trusting anyone to be that close to me again.”

  “I don’t blame you. Not at all. However, with the magic that you get by being queen, Aurora has enhanced your ability to see lies when they’re put before you.” She set down her cup and regarded the younger woman. “I’m sorry about all this, CJ. You do know I’ve always loved you. However, I think you being queen will do so much more for them than I was ever able to do. No, that’s not right. I was able to do it, but I was too focused on a single thing. That’s why, as you can multitask better than anyone I’ve ever met, nothing like this will get by you for too long before you’re able to fix it. You’ll also be fair about your punishments. Although I have to tell you, I’ve never seen the workers working so hard before. I do believe they’re afraid of you. Which isn’t a bad thing. That’s another thing I did. I was much too friendly with all of them. I made a great many mistakes.”

  “We all made mistakes. Not just on Cody, but a great many things.” She looked so sad that Melisandre wanted to give her comfort. “The council is taking care of Pfeiffer. She’ll stand trial in front of the Magical Creatures Board. I wasn’t sure how that was a case they’d take, but since she took Cody from his duties for him to work for her, that is their territory. Also, because she was willing to kill me and others of this world. If there is anything left of her when she’s finished with them, they’ll allow her to be put before a human court. But from what I’ve been told, she won’t be long for this world.”

  “No, she won’t.” Aurora appeared in the room, and like she did whenever she was before the queen, Melisandre bowed low. CJ just sat on the couch and drank her drink. While she knew that CJ respected the queen, she wasn’t any too happy with being picked to take over the job that Melisandre was leaving
open.

  “You’re supposed to pay me homage, CJ.” The younger woman snorted. “Yes, that is what I thought you’d do. However, I have it on good authority that you’re going to make a great queen. You’ll do this world a—”

  “I didn’t say I’d take it.” Aurora sat down and poured herself some tea. “Did you hear me? I’m not taking the job. I’m newly married. I have a baby on the way, and I don’t have time to take anything else on my plate at the moment.”

  “You’re wearing the crown.” Aurora sipped her tea as CJ cursed, trying to remove the crown that marked her as the queen of faeries. “It wouldn’t have stayed there if you didn’t want the job. Nor if you weren’t going to be good at it. I put that in the spell when I approved it from the faeries. Whatever other things you have going on at the moment will not be nearly as difficult for you if you’d allow someone to help you. I don’t mean any of us, but Don. Did you know he’s very worried about you? That he’s not sure what to do for you?”

  “I told him every time he asked—about a million times a day—that I’m fine.” Aurora said she wasn’t. “I am too. I would think that someone as old as rocks and dirt would know to keep out of other people’s business. Christ, don’t you have anything else to do but nib at me?”

  “No, not at the moment. I will tell you this if you care to listen. You’re not going to enjoy anything as much as you do being queen, CJ. It will afford you so much power that you’ll never want for another thing.” She told her she wanted them both to leave her the fuck alone. “No you don’t. You’re hurting. I can see it. You feel betrayed, which I would be feeling as well. But most importantly, you feel as if you’ve let down your cousins. You didn’t, child. Their mother did.”

  “She killed them both.” Aurora asked if she knew why Pfeiffer had murdered them. “I don’t know. I wish…every hour of every day I wish I’d given them the immortality. Rachel and Sally would still be alive had I only gotten around to helping them.”