The Guilty Innocent

by D N Simmons

  “I'll need to speak with Darian, Xavier said he was old enough to not be completely weakened by the sun. While I'm gone, make yourselves at home.” I said as I left my apartment.

  I don't think I have ever driven as fast in my life as I did to get to the precinct. I called Warren to let him know ahead of time that I was coming in to see Darian and he met me at the precinct. We walked to Darian's cell and Warren flashed the overhead ultraviolet lighting system on then off. I was shocked that he did it and by the reaction Darian had, so was he. Darian was awake and off the bed in an instant, he looked pissed as his eyes focused on us.

  “What the hell was that all about!?” Darian demanded.

  I have never seen him so upset, I hoped he would not hold a grudge.

  “I needed to speak with you,” I looked at Warren who shrugged his shoulders lazily. “Warren just thought that would be the most efficient way to wake you up.”

  “Efficient and painful.” Darian regained his composure. He looked at Warren. “For future references my friend, all you need to do to gain my attention is step within ten feet of me,” he said with a wink.

  “I'll keep that in mind next time,” Warren replied dryly.

  “Darian you need to know this.” I wanted to draw Darian's attention to me. I begin to tell Darian everything that was in my vision. He sat down on the bed, I could tell he was beginning to feel the effects of the sun. His body seemed to become more relaxed, his shoulders drooped slightly and his facial expression grew more drowsy. “What do you think we should do?” I asked, I trusted his insight, his guidance.

  He looked at me and smiled. “You've made love to him, did you not?” he asked, a look of lust flashed across his face.

  Great, just great, here I am, trying to save his ass and all he can think of is Xavier and I...how did he know anyway!?

  “Darian this is serious! What should I do? This is your ass on the line!” I was frustrated and slightly embarrassed. He took the hint and nodded his head solemnly.

  “You are quite right, I'll hold my libido in check. You must go to Russia, take John with you, he would most likely be at the mansion. His is the fifth bedroom on the second floor to the right. Put both he and Xavier in coffins and ship them with you. Four days time cannot be wasted for travel arrangements. Besides it will be safer that way.” Darian said, then he slowly began to lie down on the mattress.

  “Darian, I need to ask you something and I want the truth, you can even tell it to me mentally, but I need the truth.” I said, watching him intently. He lifted his head and looked at me, is dark forest green eyes studying me. In my mind I could hear his response.

  Ask me what you will. He said to me where no one else could hear.

  Did you kill Anthony Juliano? I asked, transmitting my question mentally to Darian. He forced himself to sit up on the mattress and he locked his eyes to mine. Warren watched us both, his eyes darting from me to Darian.

  “I did, but that was personal business, nothing more.” Darian responded, this time-vocally.

  He continued to study me, his eyes boring into mine. Sometimes he could be so gentle, but it was times like these when I have to remember he is a vampire. Not to mention a sixteen-hundred year old vampire, that has most likely taken many lives for one reason or another. I let the shock recede from my face.

  “I know he was not innocent...I just wanted to know the truth.” I turned to walk away when Darian called out to me, I turned and looked at him.

  “Natasha, I don't hurt people just to hurt them, there is always a reason. And I will always tell you the truth, all you'll ever need to do is ask. I want you to trust me,” he paused, then as he looked at me, his gaze became extremely sensual, seductive.

  “I want you to want me, as I want you.” Darian said passionately.

  I could feel my stomach flutter, my skin began to tingle.

  “I'll see you later, Darian.” It was all I could say, I was powerfully attracted to Darian, but was there something more? Is what I feel for Darian the same as what I feel for Xavier? Perfect, just prefect, what am I getting myself into!? Warren walked me to my car and leaned into the window.

  “Why did he say that, what did you ask him?” he asked curiously.

  “I asked him if he killed Anthony Juliano...and he said he did.” I reached into my purse and pulled out my cell phone, I looked at Warren, but he did not seem surprised in the least bit by the new information. “Why doesn't that shock you?” I asked.

  Warren chuckled softly. “Because, Darian reminds me of my Pack master. Our world is somewhat different from the mortal world and we have to go about things differently. Anthony was connected to the Russian mafia, perhaps Darian knew this and killed him because of it,” he shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. “The old, in general, always do things differently than the young. You or I might have turned him in, but would he really have gone to jail? We both know the answer to that. Look Natasha, you take care of yourself, call me anytime.” Warren kissed me on the check and drummed a beat on the hood of my car.

  I smiled, said “goodbye” then drove off. I called home and hoped one of the kitties would pick up the telephone. They did.

  “Hello?” a male voice asked, I suspected it was Devin.

  “Is this Devin?” I asked after I identified myself

  “Yep!” he said spiritedly.

  “Okay, this is what I need you all to do. Meet me at Darian's mansion. We're going to bring John Fallon along and pack Xavier and him in coffins and ship them with us. I'm on my way there as we speak. Did you get that?” I asked.

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it. Damn, this shit is tripped out. Okay, we'll be there,” he hung up the phone.

  I put my cell phone back into my purse and continued to drive towards Darian's mansion. I was extremely thankful that I paid close attention to details, I had only been there once, but I remembered the directions. I pulled in front of the huge mansion and looked around. I wondered how many square miles of land this was...or was it acres? Whatever the case, it was a palace! Beautiful! I wasn't standing there too long before a black Anaconda Pavilion pulled up. I suppose it was Elise's car...it was a beautiful car no doubt about it. The three of them emerged from the car in sequence as if it were rehearsed. They walked towards me with the gracefulness only felines can capture. It was kind of cool...kind of, go figure.

  “Okay, we're here,” Sergio said.

  “Well, we're going to have to break in, the door is locked.” I pointed to the double thick oak doors.

  “No problem.” Sergio said as we walked towards the door.

  He reached for the handle and tested the door, it did not give. He then snatched the door clean off of the hinges, tossing the door to the ground as if it hadn't weighed an ounce! He turned around and gestured for us to enter. As Elise walked past him, she slapped him on his chest with the back of her hand.

  “You didn't need to rip his door from the hinges!” she scolded.

  Sergio smiled wickedly. “I know,” he smirked.

  Elise threw her hands up in the air-irritated and walked into the mansion. Devin and I followed and Sergio walked in behind us. The mansion was in order, all of the broken and overturned furniture was put in its place or cleared away. The rooms were spotless! I was in awe, vampires were truly amazing creatures.

  “Darian said that John's room would he on the second floor, fifth room on the right, come on.” I stated, and we all walked up the stairs and counted the fifth room, Sergio opened the door. This time he didn't rip the door from its lunges. John laid on his belly on his bed, nude. I felt myself blush, there was no shame in his game.

  “Damn! Now that's what I call sexy!” exclaimed Devin, as he inched closer to John. Sergio's hand darted out and caught Devin by the back of his neck and dragged him back to where he was standing.

  “Keep your filthy little mind on the important things you little fiend,” Sergio said. Devin smiled sheepishly at Sergio and Sergio simply shook his head, letting the smaller man go.
/>   “Okay, so where do we find these coffins?” asked Devin.

  “We sniff them out, I suppose.” Elise said, and she left the room, the other two followed her.

  I was left alone in the room with John. I hoped he would not be upset that he was being taken on a quest without his consent. After about ten minutes, the three shape-shifters came back into the room, Sergio and Devin carried a coffin each on their shoulders. This I couldn't believe, it would take at least four strong mortal men to carry a coffin, and here they carried one each as if the coffins were only a sack of potatoes!

  “This will have to do,” Sergio said as he placed the coffin beside the bed. Devin still held his on his shoulder, his eyes never leaving John's naked form. One did not need to be a psychic to know what was on Devin's mind. Elise stood in the doorway in her tight fitting black leather catsuit. Her four-inch heeled boots adding on inches making her appear at least over six feet tall, her long brown hair was in a single french braid. I looked at Sergio as he lifted John's body and placed him into the coffin. Sergio was every bit a man, I could see his muscles working underneath his skin. The muscles in his thighs bulged though his jeans as he knelt beside the coffin. I observed Elise watching him. Now, I understood why she was so infatuated with Darian, but it was quite obvious that she was attracted to Sergio as well.

  “Aww man, I wanted to put him into the coffin!” Devin whined and pouted playfully.

  “Oh shut up!” Sergio responded jokingly.

  He chuckled as he closed the lid and lifted the coffin onto his shoulder again and we left the room. As we walked down the staircase, I walked behind them. Just in case one of them dropped a coffin, I did not want to be the first one smashed. When we were outside, both of the male shape-shifters put the coffins on the ground.

  “Look, I'm going to go into the garage, I'm sure your precious Darian has an SUV or two. I'll be back.” Sergio said as he walked off.

  Elise stood over the coffins, her arms crossed over her chest, the wind playing with her long leather coat. Devin had knelt beside John's coffin and peeked inside. Elise looked at Devin and rolled her eyes then chuckled. It was the first time I had actually seen her smile, let alone chuckle. Just then, she didn't look as bitchy as she behaved. I decided to make small talk, if we were going to be together on a plane for several hours, I figured we should at least try to get along.

  “Elise, why do you want to help Darian?” I asked out of curiosity. I hoped she would not take offense to the question, I really didn’t feel like arguing. She looked at me, then turned her gaze towards the garage. For that brief moment, I thought she had snubbed me, but then she began to answer my question.

  “About a year ago, Darin helped me. One of my members was in trouble with the law, they would have killed him had Darian not assisted us. He had him released into our custody, unharmed. The members of my Pride are very dear to me, we are the only true family we have. Darian saved his life and the least I could do is return the favor.” She said, her eyes never looking in my direction, I wondered why, but I left it alone.

  I soon heard tires screeching and looked down the driveway to see Sergio pulling out of the garage in a huge black SUV, the kind that was barely street legal. He stopped the truck right in front of us and hopped out. Both he and Devin loaded the coffins into the back as Elise and I climbed inside. In my case, I really did have to climb into the truck, being five-feet-two had its disadvantages as well as its perks. I've never had to reach high for things. I just looked for a tall person, then acted helpless, it never failed.

  Elise practically slid into the truck without any effort at all. After I settled into the back seat, we waited for the men to join us, which they did a few seconds later. I was glad we decided to leave our cars at Darian's mansion. There was not enough parking spaces on my block anyway. We drove back to my apartment to retrieve Xavier's sleeping form. The four of us walked into my bedroom, Devin turned on the lights. I had forgotten that Xavier and I had made love during the early hours before dawn, I remembered now as we all stared down at his nakedness.

  “Oh, this is a treat! Shit, I'm glad I came along!” Devin said, ecstatically.

  “I'm starting to regret not leaving you at home.” Sergio pushed the other man playfully, Devin laughed. Sergio walked towards Xavier, but Devin stopped him.

  “Allow me, you got to touch the last one.” Devin reminded. He sprinted across the room and picked Xavier off of the bed as if he was an infant and placed him gently inside the coffin, closing the lid over him. He stood up and smiled at me devilishly. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as the three shifters looked in my direction. I decided to avert their thoughts to more important matters other than whether or not I had slept with Xavier, I did, but that was none of their damn business.

  “Okay, we've got the others packed away safely, now let's get going.” I said as I walked towards the front door.

  I could hear them laughing in the other room and fought the urge to yell at them to “shut up”. Instead, I opted for telling them to “hurry up”. Sergio came out of the room first, then Elise, Devin was last as he carried the coffin on his shoulder. As they passed me, each one had their own way of letting me know what they were thinking. Sergio winked at me, Elise giggled coyly, and Devin simply came on out with it and asked me if the sex with Xavier was “good”. If you would look 'embarrassed' up in a dictionary, you'd see a short description with a picture of me beside it looking red in the face. After turning off the lights, I locked my apartment door and headed downstairs to the truck. I was thankful that none of my nosey neighbors were in the hallway. A man leaving my apartment carrying a coffin on his shoulders would surely give them something to gossip about.

  Sergio navigated the huge SUV between lanes as if it were a sports car. At one point, I thought we were going to turn over! Men drivers, go figure! We pulled into a private airstrip where Elise’s personal jet awaited us. She held a short discussion with her pilots as Sergio and Devin loaded the coffins on the plane. I was standing nearby, eavesdropping on Elise's conversation. If there was anything I needed to know about the plane, I wanted to know, unlike the rest of them, I'm mortal. It would be my first time on a plane and I was trying hard not to appear to be the nervous wreck that I was. Everything appeared to be in order, so I climbed aboard the plane and looked around.

  It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful! There was a full white leather sofa and two matching chairs by the windows. A fully stocked bar, which didn't matter to me, since I don't drink. I just thought it was cool to have one on board. There was a grill, refrigerator and microwave in the galley. I turned around and saw a huge forty-eight inch flat screen plasma television. Even the floor was covered with thick white carpeting! I was truly amazed! Oh, to be wealthy must be a wonderful thing. I sat down on one of the chairs and felt my muscles relax instantly, the chair was extremely comfortable and heated. Sergio draped his long form over the other chair, leaving his legs dangling over the armrest. Devin began raiding the refrigerator, pulling out various meats, cheeses and other condiments. He started to make himself two gigantic sandwiches. I felt my stomach rumbled and decided to ask for something to eat.

  “Is it alright if I make myself something to eat?” I asked Elise. She slid onto the sofa as if she were preparing for a photo shoot. She smirked at me and nodded her head. I must admit, I was shocked, I had expected some sort of catty comment, but nothing came. Relieved, I rose from my chair and stood next to Devin to make myself a ham sandwich. Devin took both of his gigantic sandwiches and sat on the floor between Sergio and Elise, and began eating. I sat back into my chair and ate. Afterwards, I looked at the telephone on the wall next to the bathroom. I wanted to call Annette's family to give them my condolences. I'd been avoiding it, to do so, would mean I had accepted Annette's death. It was still hard for me to accept the fact that Annette was gone, but I wanted her family to know that I loved her and would miss her as they would.

  “May I use the telephone to make one pho
ne call?” I asked as politely as I could. My own cell phone needed charging.

  Elise rolled her eyes. “Do you want to go and see the pilots too!” she said mockingly. I knew her good behavior could not last long.

  “Go ahead,” Sergio said lazily as he began to drift off to sleep. Elise looked at him sharply.

  “I do believe this is my private jet, my dear Sergio,” she said arrogantly. Sergio lifted his head and looked at Elise.

  “Let her use the fucking phone, give it a rest already, isn't that what you're always telling me!?” he retorted, then laid his head back down.

  Elise stared at him in shock as if she were insulted, she actually pouted. I looked at Sergio, he had a slight smile on his face. I had my own assumptions about their relationship, I suppose this was a small victory for him. I walked over to the telephone and called Annette parents to give them my condolences. They had to postpone making arrangements for the funeral until the police released Annette's body.

  I found it quite difficult to discuss Annette's upcoming funeral, tears began to run down my cheeks. I spoke with her parents a little longer, then hung up the telephone. I walked into the bathroom to dry my face, I wanted to gain control over my emotions. I looked at myself in the mirror, I looked a bit stressed, even to myself. I walked back into the main area of the plane, sitting back down in the pretty white chair. Elise and Devin laid sprawled on the sofa as they watched the television. Devin's head rested on her lap. He looked at me and smiled. I thought he was adorable, it was nice to know that not all leopard cat people (my own little phrase for them) weren't as touchy as Elise and Sergio. I looked out of the window, the sun had set, the night was clear and beautiful, the stars shining brightly against the dark velvet of the sky. I gazed out the window and let my thoughts drift to Annette, was she watching us this very moment? She would be right here with us if she were alive, that's the kind of person she was. If someone needed her help, she would try her best to help them. I was lost in my thoughts when I was interrupted by a loud crashing noise. I jumped and looked towards the coffins where the noise came from. Sergio was standing in front of Elise, Xavier had his hand around Sergio's throat, his face contorted with rage.