“I feel very refreshed this morning,” she said. “It’s been a while.”
“Where’ve you been?” I asked.
She sipped her coffee, said, “That is good,” because she was a little flustered, and then went into her story. “I had…an emergency that came up. I’m really sorry.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure what to say. Should I pry? I didn’t want to. I did want to.
Of course, there was a beep outside. Anna. She had the worst timing ever. “Someone’s here,” Minarette said.
“Anna was supposed to come over, too,” I said.
Minarette looked at me. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
“It isn’t like that at all,” I said. “She’s just a friend.”
I made for the door, but it was slow going. Minarette went before me. “Want me to get the door for you?”
Inside my head, I thought that’d be a great idea. That’d send a clear message to Anna that I was more interested in Minarette.
Anna knocked on the door, and Minarette opened it. I stood a few steps behind and steadied myself on my crutches.
“Hi,” Minarette said.
Anna’s face dropped as soon as she saw her. She didn’t say hello. She didn’t say anything. She looked past Minarette, directly at me. “I see what’s happening,” Anna said, turned around and stomped down my front steps.
“Wait,” I said. “Where are you going?”
She mumbled something; it was obvious she was mad.
“Please join us,” Minarette said, using her best high speech tone. “I’d love to talk to you.”
Anna raised her right hand and gave us the finger over her shoulder. I noticed she’d balanced a cardboard cup holder with two coffees on it, and she’d clasped a white bag of doughnuts underneath. The same thing Minarette had brought.
“Anna?” I said. “Come on.”
She wasn’t having it. She got inside her car, slammed the door and drove off. If she’d had a car other than a Honda Civic, the wheels might have screeched. She only left a pair of wonky tracks in the slush.
Minarette shut the door, turned to me, half-smiled and said, “Sorry about that. Wow. What an angry bird.”
“I don’t know what her problem is,” I said.
“I think she was expecting to have you all to herself,” she said. “Sad for her, but now I’m the lucky one.”
After I shook my head, I made for the couch. Our coffees and doughnuts waited. “That was weird,” I said. “But I’m honestly glad it’s you instead of her.”
“Me, too,” she said. “Do you need any help?”
“Nah,” I said, maneuvering around the edge of my couch and making my way to the front. “Getting used to this.” I sat down.
Before she sat, Minarette handed me my coffee. Once she relaxed, she said, “So I was really thinking about you and what happened between us a lot. I want to say I’m sorry again for not showing up when I said I was going to show up.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I understand.”
“I don’t think you do. It was those guys who came after me. They trapped me. I couldn’t get away from them,” she said. “I want to make it up to you.”
I nodded the coffee cup toward her. “You already have.”
“No, really,” she said. “I really like you, Rick. Really. I think you’re a very special guy.”
“I think you’re a special girl,” I said. She was looking away. I thought that maybe we’d gotten a little too cozy for her comfort, so I went for the plate of doughnuts and took one. “What do you mean that they trapped you? How did you get out? Are they following you?”
“I just woke up yesterday and they were all gone. The doors were unlocked.”
“What the hell?”
“Look, they kept me in the room with them while they did things.”
“Did they do things to you?” I was getting very upset.
“No,” she said. “But they made me watch.”
“What?”
“They brought in a couple. They hurt them. Drained them. Took their essence. Had their way with them. Every combination.”
“You couldn’t get out?”
“No. There were too many of them. If I resist, they’ll hurt me.”
“What happened to the couple?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Everyone was gone when I woke up.”
“Jesus. How could you even sleep through that?”
“They gave me something to knock me out,” she said. “Something in the blood.”
“Blood?”
“Yes. They made me have some. From the couple.”
“You can get really sick from that. It’s not like in the movies.”
“It helps, actually.” Minarette took a big swig from her coffee, and it seemed to me she was imagining that her drink was blood and not a light and sweet. “Helps freshen me up. But only a little bit. And not forever.”
“So you are vamp—”
“No. Not like that,” she said. “Well. Maybe a little. Yes. But like you say, not like in the movies. We don’t live forever. It actually speeds things up. Makes us wear out really fast. But we look great while it happens. For a while, at least.” She looked at me. “Live fast, die young and leave a bloodthirsty corpse, right?”
I laughed at that. “That’s pretty funny,” I said.
“That’s their motto,” she said.
“There’s got to be a way to reverse it,” I said.
“If only there were,” she said. After she put down her coffee, she said, “Do you think I’m pretty?”
“Probably only the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” I said.
“Really?”
“Really.”
She moved in toward me, and as soon as her lips were close, she kissed me. Her lips were so soft. Her hair fell around my face. So many shades of ashen blonde. Without a thought, I reached out and put my coffee cup on the table. Minarette put her hands on the sides of my face and kept kissing me. Unbelievably soft. She pushed me back and down.
There were no words.
We kissed and kissed and time stood still.
The world swirled around us, as if it’d fallen away.
Nothing but her and me.
Her weight on me. She gracefully slipped on top of me, her legs wrapped around my middle. I slid my hands along her sides. Minarette did the same, feeling my body along my sides and shoulders and chest. I still hurt like hell from all the fractures, but powered through it. Like hell was I going to stop what was starting. It felt like we were two halves of a whole finally come together. Two puzzle pieces. Yin and yang. Perfection. I felt like I was outside of my body.
When I looked up, I was inside a perfect tent of her ash-blonde hair. Her eyes glistened, and then she shut them. Her breaths entered my mouth, and I took as much in of her as I could. She tasted so pure and wonderful, although I noticed she did not use her tongue—after what had happened the last time, I imagined. Why else?
I shut my eyes. I saw lights. A star field. I couldn’t even feel my body, and I swore I was floating, weightless, through outer space. There was darkness. Bands of color streamed in and out like unfathomably large interstellar clouds. I was nowhere; I was with Minarette. She’d brought me into the great beyond. Never in my life had I felt that way. Not even close.
“You still with me?” she whispered.
“Yes,” I whispered.
Her hands went under my shirt, and she gently explored me from top to bottom. There was nothing else I wanted to do. It wasn’t about taking our clothes off. The touching felt pure and not soiled from lust, but rather desire, connection, peace.
She pulled away. We were both smiling.
“That was nice,” she said. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,�
� I said. “You can kiss me any time.”
We both sat up a little, and she went for her drink. “You’re the first guy in a long time not to try anything on me.”
I shrugged. “Kissing is more than enough,” I said. “Kissing is amazing. I think I went to outer space with you there for a minute or two.”
Minarette let out a huge laugh. “Pretty sure you did,” she said. “You went almost nonresponsive on me.”
“Because I was in heaven,” I said.
She laughed again. “Oh, boy,” she said. “I got that, too.” She looked at me, and her eyes shut just a little. “You really are a special boy, Rick Rossmore. Do you know that?”
“I really don’t feel so special at all,” I said. “Just a normal guy with a huge crush.”
“You’re silly.”
“I don’t feel silly at all,” I said. “There is something, though, I have been thinking about.”
“What’s that?”
“I want what you have.”
She stopped cold. Stared at me. “What do you mean?”
“The Ghost Heart,” I said. “I want it.”
Minarette went cold. “No,” she said. “I can’t do that.” Her voice became angrier. “I won’t do that.”
“Why not?” I said. “It’ll let me heal from this accident quicker. And I can help fight them off for you. I can save you. You can move in here. If I’m as strong as they are, and I’m one of them, they’ll leave us alone.”
She said, “As much as I appreciate the thought, it doesn’t work like that. Things aren’t that simple.” Her eyes watered. “I don’t want to give you a death sentence.”
“No. You wouldn’t be. We’d find a way to live with it, or heal it, or something,” I said. “Together. You can’t deny there’s something between us.”
She shook her head. “Another reason why I can’t hurt you like that. I feel bad enough that I hurt the inside of your mouth.”
I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “Forget that,” I said. “If it’s good enough for you, then I’m fine with it.”
“I can’t,” she said. “It’s not right.” She got up. “I’m sorry.” She made for the door.
“Are you leaving?”
“For now.”
“I wish you wouldn’t,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“I am, too.”
I made to get up, but by the time I made it up and off my couch, I saw the door shut. My heart sank to my belly. I called for Minarette several times, and when I got to the door and looked outside, she was gone, her car was gone, the world covered in bright white and gray snow.
Chapter Seventeen
“It appears that was your uncle Dave’s hand that went through your window the other night,” Officer McCoy said. “We’ve got a clear match for fingerprints.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. I took the phone from my ear for a second, looked at it to reassure myself it was real. Not sure why I did, but I did.
“Yes. Most certainly,” he said.
“Wow. How’d they get it?” I asked.
“We don’t know,” he said. “But we’re heading to the funeral home to investigate. They also lost your friend’s body, too.”
“I know. And no word on that yet, either?”
“Nada,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“What can I do?”
“Keep your guard up,” he said. “And stay safe.”
“What about the guys who attacked me?”
“We have no leads, other than your description,” he said. “We don’t have anyone fitting their profile anywhere. No cars went to any shops with telling damage. No one in the hospital that night.”
“This is unreal,” I said. “How can this be happening?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “You’re going to need to stay safe, son. Do you have anywhere else you can go? Somewhere out of town until this all cools down?”
I thought. “Not really.”
“Can you afford to take a hotel for a few weeks, under an assumed name? Anything like that?”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m in pretty rough shape.”
“Well, maybe bring that hot little blonde that’s been hanging out with you to take care of you.”
“How’d you know about that?”
“You’re under surveillance,” he said. “Remember? And don’t be giving me any lectures about what’s appropriate and not. This is a small town. We still care about each other, and we’re not worrying about being politically correct. Especially if it helps someone. And that little piece of ass can be exactly what you need.”
I laughed. He sounded like such a pervert. I couldn’t even believe he thought he could talk to me, or anyone, like that. “I’ll figure something out, I guess,” I said. “Thanks for the advice and the update.” I wanted nothing more than to get off the phone with him.
“Remember?” he said. “Piece of ass. Take a vacation.”
“Okay,” I said and was finally able to hang up. I thought for a few seconds about reporting him, but thought the better of it. I needed them on my side. I knew if I raised any hell, they’d pull all support in a flash. It wasn’t kosher the way he’d been speaking about Minarette, but I told myself it wasn’t a battle worth starting. I had a ton of work ahead of me in dealing with my immediate future with the shop and my living situation, not to mention Damian’s crew hunting me down.
“Where is the rest of my uncle?” I asked. “Is he missing?”
“His body’s undisturbed as far as we can tell,” said Officer McCoy. “Safe and sound at the funeral home. Unless you’ve heard otherwise.”
“No,” I said. “How could I have heard anything else?”
He started that cop thing where they pretend you’re guilty of something just to see how you react. “So you haven’t heard from your uncle, then?”
“That’s crazy,” I said, feeling myself getting very upset. “We both know he’s passed. He had his funeral while I was in the hospital. How could I have heard anything from him after all that? He’s dead. Just like Jimmy and just like Mikey. What do you expect me to say?”
“Just checking,” he said. “I hate to say it, but there have been many cases I’ve seen of people pretending to die just to collect insurance money. Take on a new name. Change their hair. Stay inside. Move to a different town. That sort of thing. You’re getting a lot of money, and you’re getting the business. So we have to check, know what I mean?”
If I could have seen my face, it would have been beet red. “No, I don’t,” I said. “I’m not guilty until proven innocent. That’s not how it works.”
“You’re right, you’re right,” he said. “No offense meant. It’s just that I’ve had folks caught in the situation that didn’t know what to do…that were held hostage, in a way. Just making sure you’re all right.”
“How did you know about my getting the business?” I asked.
“That was in the paper the other day,” he said. “It’s public knowledge.”
“Who the hell?” I said.
“I don’t know. I’d call the paper. Look it up. See who reported it,” he said. “Big transactions like that are matters of public record, though. Your lawyer would have probably filed it.”
“Okay. Understood,” I said. “Well, if there’s nothing else…”
“Not right now, Rick,” he said. “Sorry for your loss. Really.”
“Thanks for that, I guess,” I said.
We hung up and I stared at the phone.
I was again on my couch, a place I’d been trapped for what felt like forever. I hadn’t really gone upstairs into my room. It was way too much effort to make it up there, and I was fine on the couch. The kitchen and bathroom were close, and the downstairs bath was bigger and easier to navigate through. Even though I was healing, it was still tough at times,
and especially at night.
I felt anxious. My childhood friend Anna was pissed at me. I hadn’t even read through the flurry of text messages she’d sent after finding Minarette at my place. I saw enough to get the gist of what she was saying. It sucked, because I wanted friendship and companionship, but she was out of the picture. She wanted more than me. I simply didn’t have romantic feelings for her. What can you do? On the other hand, I couldn’t stop thinking of Minarette, who’d also gone MIA once more. On top of all that, the weight of what had been happening to me was bearing down on me. My uncle was gone. My best friend. My coworker. Where had his wife been? Another person I really should have been reaching out to. She probably needed someone just like I needed someone. I wondered if she even knew I’d been hurt and been in the hospital. Who knew? I made a mental note to call her.
Having missed my uncle’s funeral, I thought I should at least visit his grave. That gave me an idea. What about my cousins? His kids? Not attending the funeral meant I hadn’t had a chance to reconnect with them, and they were probably upset. At least Lew, our lawyer, had taken care of the arrangements at my request. He was a stellar guy. Thank God for him.
He was also someone I thought I should check in with, so I did. He let me know there was nothing new happening, and just to sit tight. Everything was in progress. He was right about one thing: when I checked my bank account balance, I couldn’t believe the amount in there. I’d never have believed I’d have so much money at my fingertips. That kind of scared me. I thought it’d be a good idea to move most of it out of my primary checking account and into some other, safer account. Another errand I’d have to make. Sooner than later. I still couldn’t really drive myself anywhere, and most my friends were dead or mad at me. It’d have to be cabs, so I used Uber and planned my day.
Snow fell while we drove toward my first destination—the bank. The snow was heavy and came without warning. I kept my appointment and asked the driver to wait. He said it was against the rules, but I told him to stand by, and if he’d be my driver for the next few hours, before it got bad, he’d get an extra C-spot off the record. He said they weren’t supposed to, but I showed him the bill. He agreed, “As long as the weather doesn’t get too bad.”
Ghost Heart Page 14
