“You said it, not me.”
Lucy snatched her carryon out of Andre’s hand and glared at him. “You know what the worst part of this entire nightmare has been for me? Not being sliced open, not having caustic chemicals poured in me until I passed out from the pain, not even being kept in a fucking cage! What nearly destroyed me, Andre, was spending the entire time believing that the man I had fallen in love with had been murdered and it was all my fault! Clearly, my emotions were misplaced!” She turned abruptly and stormed up to the security gate, grateful for the short line, blinking back tears.
Andre stood in stunned silence, unmoving even as weary travelers jostled him on every side. He watched through the glass partition as Lucy sat with her back to him, head slumped forward and shoulders shaking. He stayed where he was, watching as she stood when her boarding group was called, watching as she dabbed her eyes and raise her chin defiantly, and watching as she disappeared through the gate. Only after the plane taxied away did he finally turn to leave, unconcerned as to who saw the tears streaming freely down his cheeks.
Chapter 35
“I still can't believe you ruined a five thousand dollar Auvegney original.”
Lucy rolled her eyes at Lona, who was supposed to be helping her pack, but so far had only succeeded in scattering the piles Lucy had carefully arranged on the bed. “You're never going to let that go, are you?” Though she acted exasperated, Lucy was extremely grateful for the gentle ribbing. After all she had been through, she found comfort in the fact that she could still joke and smile. Because of this, she knew she had made the right decision. “Besides, you can get your own Auvegney when you get to Paris.”
Lona was taking full advantage of Miles’ temporary reassignment as an opportunity for a month long vacation in Europe. “Well,” Lona drawled slyly, “they might be designing my wedding dress.”
“No way!” Lucy tossed aside the shirt she was folding and dove onto the bed. “So you finally set a date?”
“Uh, well,” Lona sighed dreamily, “I was thinking we might do it over there.”
“No fair!” Lucy moaned. “I thought I’d get to be a bridesmaid and finally wear a stylish dress!”
“Ha, just for that I’m dressing you in puce taffeta!” Lona teased. “I dunno, it was just a thought. But I want to get married as soon as possible.”
Lucy raised her eyebrows. This was new. “You were always so vague when I asked you about it before. Why the sudden rush?”
“Well,” Lona smiled coyly. “I don’t want to be a fat bride.”
“Pff, Lona you can’t even get fat, what are you…wait…are you…”
“I’m pregnant!” Lona shouted, throwing herself back on the bed and kicking her legs in the air.
“Oh my god! Lona, that’s-”
“Impossible!” Lona finished for her.
“I was going to say awesome,” Lucy said with a laugh.
“I’m not kidding, it really is. I have the ovaries of a post-menopausal woman, or so I thought. Abe’s been working on this with me for years, and a few months ago, he discovered that I’ve actually never really gone through puberty. With hormone therapy I’ve started ovulating and well, everything works!”
“Lona, that’s amazing! Does Miles know?”
“I told him right before he left for the airport. Evan said he grinned all the way to Paris.”
“Wow,” Lucy sighed. “I can’t believe it. You know, it’s great to know there’re still some things that are good and right in the world. I can’t think of anyone who deserves that more than you.”
“Aw, thanks, Luce!” Lona grinned. “And hey, you’re doing good things, great things, really.”
“We’ll see about that,” Lucy smiled. “But hey, between my persuasive arguments and Ida’s coffee, who’s going to say no? Okay, forget my skills, Ida’s coffee stands on its own.”
A soft tapping on the door broke through the women’s laughter and Lucy crawled off the bed to answer it. She swung the door open and paused, her mouth open in astonishment. “Andre! I thought you were still in Paris?”
Andre looked over Lucy’s shoulder and spotted Lona. “I can come back…”
“Nonsense!” Lona bounced off the bed. “I was just leaving.” She waltzed out of the room, throwing a saucy wink at Lucy over her shoulder as she went. Lucy turned back to Andre, who seemed uncharacteristically shy.
“Come on in,” she said with forced casualness.
Andre stepped into the room. His eyes landed on the piles of clothing on Lucy’s bed. “You know, you don’t have to move out. Evan would actually prefer you didn’t. Technically, you’re still an employee, and well protected here.”
She had spoken to Evan the week prior. He had begged Lucy to continue living at headquarters, relenting only when Lucy agreed to have a security system, much like the one at Andre’s Paris apartment, installed in the building where she would be living.
She was returning to her French Quarter apartment above Lona’s now shuttered shop. Lucy readily agreed to the security measures. Evan was the owner of the building, so he had a right to do what he wanted, but Lucy was also interested in using the unoccupied apartments as a safe house for her future vampire converts. Of course, it also helped that talking with Dara and Ida had given her two highly influential allies championing her cause.
“This is something I have to do for myself,” Lucy explained.
“What if,” Andre asked hesitantly, “what if I said I wanted you to stay?”
Lucy’s heart did a little flip-flop in her chest. “I…” she sighed. “ Look, Andre don’t-”
Andre silenced her by putting a finger to her lips. “I’m an idiot, Lucy. And I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re human, Andre. But I have to do this, for myself, and for us. I need to know I can survive on my own. And really, I won’t be alone. I’ll have EJC’s security system, and I’m still in the network. Hell, Andre,” Lucy treated him to a lopsided smile, “I can’t get these earrings off, so you kinda have an insider’s scoop on where I am at all times.”
“About that,” Andre smiled shyly and pulled a small velvet bag out of his pocket. “I’m going to need those back.”
Lucy tilted her head to the side, shivering slightly as Andre’s fingers moved behind her ears. With the earrings in hand, he slid two identical lockets out of the velvet bag. Opening each, he fitted the earrings inside and clasped them shut with the same twisting motion he had used to close the earrings. He slipped the chain of one around Lucy’s neck and the other around his own. Lucy peered down at the intricate silver filigree fleur de lis hanging around her neck and glanced at Andre with slight confusion.
“You were right, we should have both had transmitters,” Andre admitted with a blush. “I had these made in Paris, after you left. I know we’re not partners anymore, but I want you to know that no matter what, no matter where you are, you’re not alone. If you need me, you’ll always know where I am.”
“It’s beautiful,” Lucy whispered. “Not just the design, but the gesture as well. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Andre smiled. “Oh, and of course, you’ll need something to track these on.” He pulled another small bag out of his pocket and handed it to Lucy, which she opened with an excited squeal.
“Fred!”
“Fred 2.0,” Andre corrected. “He’s had a few upgrades, and he’s on EJC’s secured network. You can switch from normal viewing to night vision viewing and back.”
“Well it looks good on him,” Lucy joked. “Thank you, you’re really amazing, you know that?”
Andre shrugged, looking down at the floor to hide his embarrassment. “I’m just a guy who isn’t above playing his strengths. I seem to recall you mentioning that at one point. It doesn’t make up for the way I acted, I know. But I want you to at least know that what you said did not go unnoticed. And…” He lifted his eyes to hers. “I feel the same.”
“Andre.” Lucy bridged the gap between them, circling his w
aist with her arms, and leaning her head against his chest. “We both have a lot to work through personally. I’ve made my peace with that, but I’m not giving up on anything.”
Andre tilted Lucy’s chin up with a crooked finger, leaned down, and kissed her softly.
“I can live with that.”
Chapter 36
Lucy awoke to a mouthful of cat paw. After months of Ida’s kitchen scraps, Gumbo had grown fat and lazy, but still insisted that attacking Lucy’s face in some way was the best way to wake her up.
“Oh fine,” Lucy mumbled, spitting out cat fur, “but you are on a diet, you hear me?” She stumbled to the kitchen and shook some dry kibble into the bowl by the sink. Gumbo sniffed disdainfully and turned her nose up at the offering. It was their morning ritual. Gumbo would protest her meager offering, but as soon as Lucy’s back was turned, she would scarf it down and start yowling for seconds. Lucy drowned out the feline protests by grinding the beans for her morning coffee and firing up her brand new espresso maker.
The espresso maker had been a gift from Andre, a professional model, just like the cafés in Paris used. This had sent Ida into an uproar about ‘fancy-pants contraptions adding needless complications,’ until Lucy challenged that Ida herself had sold many espresso drinks back when she ran Gilly’s.
Nearly a month had passed since she began working with Ida’s outreach program. Evan had been right, it was a tough and sometimes heartbreaking business, but Lucy felt she was making progress. In fact, her first successful convert, a young vampire named Holly, would later that day be moving into the apartment downstairs from her.
Holly hadn’t required much convincing. She was the only female in a collective of male vampires and had suffered both physical and mental abuse at the hands of her mentors. Lucy had been able to offer her safety as well as access to Dara for counseling. To her horror, Lucy had learned that this kind of treatment happened regularly to female vampires. It seemed New Orleans’ vampire community had somehow missed the whole woman's rights movement. With Holly’s help, Lucy hoped to turn her apartment into a safe place for these women.
When her espresso was ready, Lucy went out onto her balcony to watch the sunrise. It had become a ritual that she had started as a reminder of her last ‘normal’ day, almost six months prior. Decatur St. and the French Market were brightly lit with festive holiday lights. It was hard to believe it was Christmas morning already.
The previous Christmas had been difficult, her first without close family. She had accepted an invitation to spend the day with her mother’s cousin, family that she barely remembered from her childhood. She had tried to put on a brave face, but sitting at the dinner table, surrounded by happy and whole families, had only emphasized how alone she was. She had excused herself to the restroom and ended up sneaking out the back door, wandering the streets of San Francisco until she was tired enough to catch a train back to her hotel.
Once again, Lucy would be spending Christmas alone, but this year it was by choice. She had several offers from her friends to come join in the festivities back at headquarters. Evan apparently put on an annual party that went on until New Year’s Day. He would be returning sometime later in the afternoon, but according to Lona, the party was already in full swing. She had considered popping in briefly, but ultimately decided sending everyone a card would have to do.
So much had changed in the span of a single year. This gave Lucy hope that she could finally do what she had set out to when she moved to New Orleans. She wanted to put the ghosts of her past behind her and move forward, becoming her own person, and making the right decisions. She wasn’t quite where she wanted to be just yet, but she was close, and she was getting there on her own terms. If all went as planned, she would have no reservations about next year’s festivities.
“The sun will be up in a few minutes. Wrap it up and head back to base.”
Andre issued his final command for the evening and switched off his headset. Evan would be back later in the day and he was more than happy to hand the controls back to their rightful owner. Hugh had been far too eager to step out of the leadership role the minute Andre returned, despite the fact that seniority dictated that he head the team. Hugh must have really detested the job, considering that stepping down meant that he was once again partnered with Lance until Miles and Evan returned.
In the event of an odd number, Evan did not require whoever took his duties to also hunt. Because of this, and because Lona had been unanimously outnumbered in her bid to continue as a watcher in her condition, Andre opted to take on this role as well. He was armed, of course, but spent every evening, from sunset to sunrise, walking the streets of New Orleans and alerting his teams to all suspicious activity he encountered.
He hadn’t taken a single night off. In addition, Andre spent his afternoons training Anil Sloan to use the weapons and technology of the hunters. Anil had received an acceptance letter from Tulane University and as a reward, his mother allowed him to train, with the understanding that he would not hunt until after his first semester, and only if his grades stayed at honors level.
And of course, Andre spent the rest of his waking hours developing and perfecting applications and technology that would further give the advantage to their side. His intention had been to keep himself so fully occupied, both mentally and physically, that he had no time to let his mind stray. However, it seemed that no matter how much of his concentration the task at hand demanded, he still found his thoughts drifting to Lucy.
Andre wasn’t quite in the mood to return to base just yet, and the predawn December weather was invitingly mild. He swung by Café Du Monde for a cup of coffee, headed behind the building, over the streetcar tracks, and walked along the river. He knew that he should head back towards Canal and to headquarters, but he found himself headed in the opposite direction.
Soon he was behind the French Market, across the street from the former storefront of Knights in Wild Satin. He crossed the tracks again, circled the building, and found himself unable to head back. He leaned against an available lamppost and gazed up at the balcony three stories above him, just as a light came on in the apartment.
Lucy stared over the Mississippi, still half asleep, despite the extra caffeine boost. Her fingers grazed absently at the locket around her neck. She hadn’t seen Andre since the day he helped move her into her apartment, but she found herself thinking about him constantly. She wondered who he was partnered with, what he was doing in his spare time, and of course, if he thought of her.
She wasn’t sure if she was ready to actually see him yet, but she missed him. She even missed arguing with him. She picked up her phone and hovered over a small icon with a picture of a fleur de lis that was identical to the one on the locket. With a sigh, she set the phone down. She did this two more times before she took a deep breath, tapped the icon, and waited.
The map took a moment to calibrate, centering on her position, and setting the distance parameters to Andre’s signal. When it flashed ready, Lucy dared a glance at the map and blinked. She calibrated again and received the same results. With her heart drumming loudly, Lucy set the phone down, leaned over the balcony’s iron rail, and looked down. Across the street a lone figure stood, illuminated by the street lamp, looking back up at her.
He waved.
With a smile, Lucy waved shyly back.
Shrugging his backpack up over one shoulder, Andre stepped out of the lamplight and started walking down Decatur, back towards Canal, before he did something romantic and foolish, like trying to climb the rickety wrought iron rails to Lucy’s balcony. He wanted to talk to her, to tell her how much he missed her. Most of all he wanted to properly show her how much he missed her. He took comfort in the fact that she looked happy, and knew that when she was ready, Lucy would let him know.
Just as he passed Jackson Square, Andre heard footfalls coming up on him fast. He slipped his hand to his belt, unsheathed a weapon, and turned, ready with a defensive posture.
&nb
sp; “You walk fast.”
Andre holstered his weapon with a smile. “Maybe you’re just out of shape?”
Lucy stood panting, a slight sheen of sweat dotting her brow. His words hit and for a moment, Andre saw the familiar expression of stubborn defiance before a smile crossed Lucy’s face. “Gumbo isn’t a very good workout partner. The cat or the stuff I’ve been eating too much of. Maybe I need a new one, know anyone?” She tilted her head suggestively.
“There is this one guy,” Andre said lightly, “but he lost his partner about a month ago and he’s been kind of crabby and moody ever since.”
“What a coincidence,” Lucy winked. “I used to have a partner until about a month ago, and he was always crabby and moody.”
“Touché.” Andre smiled and took a step towards her. “I’ve missed you, Lucy.”
Lucy smiled, suddenly feeling very shy. “I’ve missed you too.”
“So, Evan’s having a party tonight,” Andre said tentatively.
“I know,” Lucy nodded. “I hadn’t planned on going…you?”
“I’ve been looking for an excuse not to,” Andre admitted.
“Well,” Lucy said with a sly look, “someone gave me an espresso maker and Ida dropped off a basket of chocolate pastries that I probably shouldn’t eat alone. And I know that ‘Christmas Story’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ will be on at least fifty times today. How about it, wanna hide out with me?”
“A marathon of overplayed Christmas movies fueled by sugar and caffeine,” Andre chuckled. “How could I refuse that?”
“So it’s a date?”
Andre lifted Lucy’s hand to his lips in an absurdly formal fashion. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Lucy smiled as she watched Andre continue towards Canal. When he was out of her line of sight, she turned around and all but skipped back to her apartment. Her life was still complicated, the path she had put herself on was still just as dangerous as ever, but Lucy smiled, looking forward to her evening, knowing that if nothing else, she had already made one good decision for the day.
The Eyes of the Sun: The Complete Trilogy Page 32
