“I can do that,” she said, as though she were psyching herself up to face him. God, maybe she was. What was happening inside her head?
June stood and finished off her glass of water. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and said, “Well, I’ve got work to do. When that search comes back empty-handed, they’ll be wanting to get good and drunk.”
When June was gone, Jessa put away the rest of the supplies. She washed the glasses in the sink and set them in the dish drainer to dry. She dusted and vacuumed the living room. She checked on the peach trees and watered the vegetable garden. All the while, she kept checking on the position of the sun in the sky, wanting it to be sundown, dreading it at the same time.
At five o’clock, she faced reality. She went back in the house and ran some water in the tub and shaved her legs with her dad’s old straight razor. She brushed her hair and let it hang loose around her shoulders. She found the floral print dress she’d worn under her graduation gown. It didn’t fit as well anymore; she had to tie the sashes at the back a little tighter, which pulled the fabric. She pawed through her old cosmetics case and found some crumbling powder. She sprayed some ancient Love’s Baby Soft on her neck and wrists, then faced the long oval mirror in her bedroom. All she could see was a murderer.
“I hope you didn’t get all dolled up for me,” Graf said from her doorway, and she jumped. Outside, the sun was still up, but it had dipped behind the trees, bathing everything in a warm golden light.
Graf stayed in the doorway, far from the fading light. “Hot date with Derek?”
She bristled at that, and whirled to face him. “No. With Chad. You’re welcome.”
He didn’t seem to get it at first, but when he did, his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “Wow. I didn’t think you’d have it in you. So, what’s the plan? Am I going to get him on his way out in the morning, or what?”
“Ugh, no!” The thought of sleeping with Chad wasn’t entirely repugnant, but the idea of doing it knowing that he was just going to die was…no. “He said he was going to bring some weed, so I thought we’d smoke, and get drunk, and hopefully he’ll be good and passed out, so he doesn’t feel it when you…kill him.”
“If you get him drunk, I won’t have to kill him,” Graf said with a shrug. “If he’s drunk enough to black out, he won’t even remember. And if he does, who’ll believe him?”
June would. But she decided not to mention that.
“You were okay with me killing him, though?” Graf asked, sounding impressed.
“Not okay with it. But I’m going to do what I have to do to keep you from killing me.” It had been too easy, though, and that concerned her. “Let’s just not talk about it. Before I change my mind.”
“Fine,” Graf agreed. “Cover up that window, would you?”
She rolled her eyes, then snatched her bedspread and hung it over the curtain rod. She was aware that he watched her. She could feel his eyes on her legs as her skirt hitched up when she raised her arms.
“So, did they find my car?” he asked, coming in to sit on her bed.
“No. And I’m supposed to talk to you about that.” She turned and folded her arms over her chest, uncomfortable being in such a small space with him. Walking right next to him outside was one thing, sitting across the kitchen island from him, that was something different, too. Now, she felt trapped, and her earlier imaginings came back to haunt her. She could practically feel him on top of her, and she shivered. “June knows there’s something wrong about you.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with me,” he insisted.
“Well, that’s debatable. But she knows you’re not human.” Jessa shook her head. “Maybe. She was sure driving at something when she came by today. She has a theory, and she wanted me to run it by you, in case you know something.”
He lay back on her bed, his arms behind his head. “I’m all ears, cupcake.”
She gritted her teeth. “Someone did get out of Penance before. At least, some people think he did.”
Graf nodded. “Yeah, Becky mentioned that, in the car. She said it caused some controversy at the time.”
“It still causes controversy. That’s why no one mentions the name Steve Siler in town if they want to keep their friends.” That, and the town had a way of forgetting the unpleasantness of the past. Especially if they had caused it. “But the night before Steve disappeared, a bunch of guys had gone out and hurt It. The night that you came into town, I had shot It—”
“And last night, Chad shot It. And the night before, I fought with It and hurt it.” Graf sat up. “Holy shit.”
“It’s just a theory June has,” Jessa said quickly.
“But she’s right. Holy shit, we could get out of here tonight—”
“No!” Jessa’s heart pounded in her chest. “Look, we can’t say anything about it right now.”
“Why not? People are going to want to know!” Graf shot to his feet, as though he would run downstairs and outside and through the streets screaming it at the top of his lungs.
“No, no, no!” Jessa rushed forward and grabbed his arm. The coldness of his skin registered with her briefly, and the hard muscle of his arm. What the hell was wrong with her? “You have to listen to me about this, and just trust me, okay? If this is true, and it works, that’s great. But something happened before. We have to tread carefully.”
“You tread as carefully as you want, but I’m getting out of here.” He took a few steps, then stopped. “Not right now. After I eat.”
“Yeah, and what are you going to do? Walk to the next town? I hope you make it before sunup,” she snapped.
“I’ll get a motel room or something. Hitch a ride with someone and steal their car.” He paused. “Fuck me, my wallet was in the car, and my phone. Shit, I can’t even call for help once I get out.”
“Besides, we’d have to find It, first. I don’t know how long the gap lasts.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “Please, just don’t say anything to anyone.”
“What are you so damn afraid of?” Graf asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed and dropping his head into his hands.
She closed her eyes and repeated, “Something happened.”
The sound of crackling fire filled her mind, the heart-pounding fear of that night. “It was right after the first of us got out. There was a girl in town—she was about seventeen years old. Sarah. She was a goth kid, dressed all in black. Everyone thought she was a devil worshipper. When Steve got out, she started saying some crazy things around town, about It being a demon, and we should all band together and make a circle and do a spell to banish it. She wasn’t going to hurt anyone, she was just a kid. But she talked about It too much, made too big a deal about knowing how we could all get out. Some people around town started getting suspicious about all of her talk of spells and magic and witchcraft. And in the end…”
“They did something to her?” Graf finished for her.
Jessa nodded. “They burned her.”
“Jesus H. Christ, what is wrong with you people?” Graf scrubbed at his face with his hands. “So, we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”
“No. We just wait until June finds the right way to tell everyone,” Jessa assured him. “They’ll listen to her.”
He sighed, loud and long. “Okay. I think you’ve got something on that score. She’s a bright one, I could tell that last night. She saw right through me.”
“It doesn’t take much,” Jessa snapped. Then, softer, she said, “You’re a nice guy, for a vampire. And it’s not too bad, having a vampire on my side. Don’t do anything stupid.”
He opened his mouth to reply, and was cut off by a knock at the door.
“Delivery guy is here,” Graf said, clapping his hands together with a grin. “Where do you want me?”
Eleven
Graf followed Jessa to the top of the stairs, then appreciated the view as she went down the rest of the way. He had to admit, she looked good in her cliché l
ittle flowered dress, like Alicia Silverstone in that Aerosmith video. There was something inherently wrong about liking something that looked so straight-outta-the-trailer-park, but damn it, he couldn’t help it.
The living room was dark, and Jessa turned on just one table lamp before opening the door. The guy from last night, with the delicious-smelling blood, stood on the porch. He wore a button-down blue denim shirt, and he didn’t know what to do with his hands. He should have brought a bouquet of wild-flowers; it would have made the whole situation that much more funny.
Jessa welcomed Chad inside and flicked cautious eyes toward the stairs. From his hiding place, Graf shook his head, though she wouldn’t be able to make out the movement in the dark. He didn’t need her acting cagey and tipping Chad off.
“You look real nice,” Chad said with a wide grin. “Is that for me?”
“Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t.” There was something sweet about her voice that was utterly foreign to Graf’s ears. She was never that nice to him.
“Sorry,” Chad said, scuffing his toes on the carpet. “I thought maybe…”
“Oh, don’t be silly.” Jessa moved out of view then said, “Have a seat, get comfortable.”
Chad did as she instructed, and Graf crept farther down the stairs. Jessa sat on the couch, her bare feet pulled up beneath her, causing her to lean far too close to Chad to just be expecting a friendly evening.
“Did you guys find Becky?” she asked, as if she couldn’t see the poor guy’s shaking hands.
“N-no,” he stuttered. “Nobody did. Derek is just beside himself.”
“I’ll bet he is.” Though her words sounded sincere, Graf knew she really meant “I’ll bet he isn’t.”
So did Chad. “Aw, don’t be hard on him. I know he’s done some stuff in the past that wasn’t too great—oh, and he smoked the weed I was going to bring over…”
“Let’s not talk about him. Derek is not here tonight.” She twirled her hair around her finger, then tossed the curl over her shoulder.
“Yeah, probably better not to.” He sat silent for a moment.
“Yeah.” Jessa jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen. Graf wondered if she knew that Chad never stopped looking at her the whole time.
Graf wished he could see her. He imagined her moving around in the kitchen, confident and at ease, as though she weren’t in on the elaborate trick she was playing. She would have made a fantastic con man. Or vampire.
“You want something to drink? I got some of the cinnamon-stick shine Bill DeGraff made last fall,” she called.
Chad nodded nervously. Still didn’t realize that this was a sure thing. Or, would have been, if the intent wasn’t to anesthetize and leech him, not seduce him.
Jessa returned with two generous portions of the drink, but when she raised her glass to her lips, she barely swallowed. Good girl. She knew she needed her wits tonight.
“Jessa, we’re friends, right?” Chad said suddenly.
This took Jessa off her guard a minute, but she recovered quickly. “Of course we are, Chad. You know that. What’s all this nonsense about?”
Chad shook his head quickly. “Oh, no, Jessa, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant… Look, can I tell you something in secret? It’s been bothering me all day, and I don’t know who to talk to.”
“You know you can always talk to me,” Jessa said, quickly swallowing a gulp of her liquor.
Don’t lose him now, Graf urged silently.
But Chad was too focused on whatever it was he wanted to tell her to notice anything else. “I know we’re not supposed to talk about it, but…I just have this feeling that Becky is gone for good. Not dead. I mean, that would be horrible, if her and the kids—I mean, I don’t want to even think about that.” He dropped his head. “I don’t mean to upset you saying this, but do you think it’s possible for people to leave? Like Sarah was saying?”
For a split second, Graf thought Jessa was going to blow it all. She stared at Chad, like she was torn between two outcomes to this night, and when she opened her mouth she didn’t look sure that she had made the right choice. Then, very slowly, she said, “Chad, you have to be careful saying something like that. You know how people are.”
“I know, I know.” He exhaled loudly, then picked up his drink, rolling the glass between his palms. “I just don’t think we’re going to find her. And Derek, he was crazy. He was ranting and saying all sorts of crazy things.”
“What kind of crazy things?” Jessa’s eyes were wide, and her body tense. She wanted to look up at Graf. Badly. Bless her, she resisted.
Chad shook his head. “I’ve been fine here for the past five years. I mean, sure, times have been hard all around, but I never had any illusions about leaving Penance anyway. I like it here, it’s where I grew up. But Derek, he was saying… It was strange. It was like he was saying he caused this to happen, all of us getting stuck here.”
“That’s stupid.” Jessa dismissed Chad’s concerns with a wave of her hand. “And awful. Ain’t that just like Derek to take credit for something he didn’t do?”
That loosened up the mood a little, and made Chad laugh, but she hadn’t shaken him completely free of his fears. “Don’t tell anybody I said that, all right? You remember what happened to Sarah, and I don’t want that to happen to Derek.”
“Yeah, but everyone thought Sarah was a witch. She even thought she was.”
“I know. But if you had heard what he was saying, Jessa.” Chad stopped. “Ah, hell, let’s forget all this nonsense. I came over here tonight to check up on you, show you a good time.”
“That’s right, you did!” Jessa laughed, a little too loud and a little too strong, but she took another drink and smiled and the poor yokel boy was just as lost as ever.
“Hey, are we, uh, are we alone tonight?” Chad asked quietly. “Not that I’m trying to make a move on you. I’m just wondering.”
She smiled slowly. “Now, why wouldn’t you want to make a move on me?” While he was still stunned, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and laughed. “No, we’re alone. The poor guy is out looking for his car. Was all last night, too, after Derek came by. Didn’t get back until sunup.”
“Fat lot of good it will do him, in this town.” After a long slug of shine, Chad grimaced. “Out of everything, that’s the one thing I really miss.”
“Cars?” Jessa asked, reaching for her own glass. This time, she did drink. Good Lord, what was she doing, getting drunk? Graf scowled. She was supposed to be getting him fed, not having a good time.
“Yeah, cars.” Chad settled against the back of the couch and looped his arm comfortably around Jessa’s shoulders. “Cars. And girls.”
He leaned just slightly toward her, and she let him, inviting him by sliding just an inch or two closer. She smoothly set her glass down on the coffee table as his mouth finally met hers, and her breasts rose beneath her flowered dress as his arm fell to her waist.
Graf didn’t know how to judge a kiss on sight alone, but it seemed pretty clear Jessa was enjoying this one. Maybe she was a good faker, but the little whimpers that came out of her, the way her head fell back as Chad moved his mouth down her jaw and onto her neck, made it seem like he was doing something right.
It was doing something for Graf, too, and it wasn’t the usual excitement that came with the anticipation of feeding. That was always crazy arousing, no matter who he was going to bite. This was turning him on in a much different way. Watching Jessa moan and grip Chad’s shoulders as his mouth moved over every inch of exposed skin above the neckline of her dress… Graf felt like he was watching her star in his own private porno.
Even weirder, Jessa knew he was watching her. She couldn’t have just forgotten he was there, but she pulled Chad with her as she lay down, and lifted one leg to hook around his waist. Was she getting off on this? Was that her kink, being watched? It would be so unfair to find out now that she was hot, when he could have been banging her this whole time.
&n
bsp; Chad ran his palm down her tanned leg, following the line of it around his hip, then reached into his back pocket. Instead of pulling out a condom, like Graf expected, Chad pulled out a pocket hunting knife.
Graf moved to the bottom of the steps.
Underneath Chad, Jessa stiffened. He had the knife at her throat, then. That answered that question.
“I’m sorry, Jessa.” Tears obscured Chad’s voice. “Derek said this is how it has to be.”
It took precisely the space between “has to” and “be” for Graf to reach Chad and pull him off Jessa. He pinned the human’s arms behind his back and dragged him, kicking and cursing, away from the couch. Farm-boy strong, Chad put up a good fight. But not good enough.
Jessa didn’t scream. A sudden sweat of fear stood out on Graf’s forehead, and he called out, “Jessa, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, surprisingly calm. She fumbled for the other light and ran to collect the knife that had tumbled to the floor.
“What the hell did you mean by that?” Graf snarled into Chad’s ear.
The blood was pumping furious through the human’s veins. Anger, not fear. It was a different kind of struggle, a different kind of perspiration. “He didn’t know, okay? He didn’t know what would happen. That bitch lied to him!”
“Me?” Jessa shrieked, standing frozen in place by the couch, as though the words had just passed the blood-brain barrier and made it into her consciousness.
“Who the hell are you talking about?” Graf demanded, tightening his grip on the human. “And what does it have to do with Jessa?”
“Blood,” Chad gasped, and Graf realized then that he held the human too tightly. The skin of his face had begun to purple with the need for oxygen. “Her blood. Sarah lied about the spell.”
The words sent Graf over the edge. He had been too long without blood. He was too desperate. And the idea of this jack-off killing Jessa on the orders of another jack-off…he couldn’t handle it. He gripped Chad’s hair, wrenched his head to the side until it crackled like bubble wrap, and sank his fangs into his neck.
American Vampire Page 13
