‘Tea or coffee?’
‘Coffee, thanks.’
I added the coffee capsules and while the machine bubbled away, told her what had happened last Tuesday night, minus any reference to vampires, my kidnapping and torture by the nasty female vampire who wanted me dead. But I had to admit to Alec’s rescue – well the version we’d given the police – and being brought to his hospital instead of to Royal Prince Alfred.
By the time I finished, the coffee was ready. I poured out two cups and handed her one.
‘Thank God you were okay. Have you seen Matt since getting out?’
I nodded. ‘He’s okay, but this next bit’s complicated.’ I took a deep breath and mentally rehearsed what I was about to say. ‘The bang on the head damaged his memory. For the first few days he didn’t remember me. Amnesia. Doctors said he might not get it back.’
Jenny’s mouth fell open. ‘You can’t be serious!’
‘He lost about six months.’
‘Holy crap.’
I shrugged and steeled myself for the next bombshell. ‘We broke up.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘What I said: we broke up.’ I sipped my coffee and hoped the caffeine would stimulate my brain cells into providing plausible answers.
She stared at me while the news sank in. ‘But ... he and you ...’
‘He didn’t remember me, Jen. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. And he wasn’t interested in me either.’ I thought it best to leave out his parting words. They were anything but flattering.
‘Oh, Laura, I’m so sorry,’ she said in a disbelieving tone and placed her hand over mine.
‘Why are you sorry? You’re not responsible.’
‘Well, it’s what people say, isn’t it?’ She left her seat and placed her arms around me in a comforting embrace, ever the mother hen. In spite of the seriousness of our conversation, I couldn’t help smiling, till she said, ‘What’s the complicated part? You said for the first few days. Oh, you mean his memory’s come back and he wants to make up?’
‘Jen, it’s too late. I, um....’ I clenched my coffee cup. ‘I’m in love with Alec Munro.’
She released me and nearly fell back onto her bar stool. ‘The doctor who treated you?’ I nodded. ‘This is happening way too fast, Laura. Okay, he saved your life, but that’s no reason to fall for the guy. You only met him a few days ago.’
‘That’s got nothing to do with it. We’ve spent a lot of time together and, I’ve gotten to know him. Sometimes it takes only a day to see a man’s qualities.’
She looked at me for a couple of seconds. ‘Well, I don’t know what to say, hon.’
Jenny was being cautious, and I could understand why. She was the one who usually fell easily for a handsome face and muscular body, only to regret it later. How could I prove to her that wasn’t the case with myself and Alec?
‘You must meet him.’
‘I need another one of these first.’ She held out her empty cup. ‘Got anything stronger?’
I opened one of the glass cabinets and spied several bottles – wine, brandy, whisky, liqueurs and an unopened Hunter Valley red. I found a couple of glasses and filled them. ‘What’ll we toast to?’
‘You. That you’re safe, and to your happiness.’
We clinked glasses. I drank, more out of relief than anything else. It had gone better than I anticipated. Hurdle number one accomplished? Perhaps. Yet I knew Jen well enough to know there’d be more questions later.
‘Poor Matt,’ she said.
I was about to tell her about the young emergency doctor to whom Matt had been giving all his attention, when Terens walked in, wearing nothing but a short towel slung low around his hips. His arm had regenerated completely – not even a scar remained.
Jenny nearly dropped her glass.
He went straight to the fridge, opened it and peered in. ‘Hey, where’s the juice?’
I blinked in disbelief. How on earth was I going to explain him? That was my first panicked thought, quickly followed by another when I saw the serpent tattoo on his chest. It was identical to my ring.
‘Terens!’ Alec appeared from nowhere. ‘There’s more in the gym fridge.’
‘Just heading there,’ he said, closed the door and turned to Jenny and me. He sent us both a dazzling smile. ‘Hi, pet and friend.’
Terens always called me “pet”.
Jenny’s eyes were as wide as saucers as she looked from Terens to Alec and back again.
I had hoped to introduce Alec to Jenny tonight, but hadn’t planned on her meeting any of his friends – and especially not in the shape of a half-naked Adonis!
‘Then go there now. You’re not exactly appropriately dressed,’ Alec said, indicating with his head for him to leave.
‘Hey, I’ve got the vitals covered,’ he retorted, without taking his eyes off my best friend.
Jenny reacted as she always did when faced with an unusual situation – she laughed. So did Terens, and as his eyes moved to her throat, his pupils dilated.
Oh crap! ‘Jen this is Doctor Alec Munro, and this—,’ I said, indicating Terens,
‘Is my friend, Terens,’ Alec finished for me. ‘Who’s just leaving.’
Terens ignored him, pulled up another bar stool and placed it right next to Jenny. ‘Jen is it? Nice to meet you.’ He raised her hand and kissed her fingertips.
Jenny’s eyes glazed over. It was the first time I’d seen her lost for words.
‘Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.’ As he released her hand, he brushed the back of his fingers down the curve of her neck.
Jenny froze and gaped at him.
Alec gripped his shoulder. ‘I’m sure the ladies would appreciate some time alone. Let’s leave them to it.’ There was no mistaking the warning in his voice.
Terens dropped his hand and gave a little chuckle. ‘Until next time, lovely Jen.’
He rose, turned to Alec and gave him a light punch in the shoulder before striding from the room.
Jenny stared after him, looking shell-shocked.
I glanced up at Alec, who gave me an apologetic shrug.
He extended a hand to her. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you. Laura’s told me about you – all good,’ he added with a smile when Jenny briefly turned to me with a questioning look.
‘Ah, nice to meet you too.’ She shook his hand.
‘Now, if you’ll excuse me.’
‘Alec, wait, I need to ask you something.’ I turned to Jen. ‘Won’t be a sec.’ The breeze I’d felt against my cheek earlier this evening, when there had been no wind, still bothered me. We walked to the door.
‘What is it?’
‘In the garden, just before we came here, I felt something brush past me,’ I whispered.
‘Nothing to worry about. It was Karl. He and Milena thought it best to get back to secure their lands from a Rebel attack – especially from Timur. They left soon after sunset,’ he whispered back.
That explained why I hadn’t seen anything. ‘Okay, that’s all I needed to know.’
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze and left the room.
I turned back to Jenny.
‘They. Are. Gorgeous. That guy Terens, is off the scale.’
I grinned. What was there to say?
‘And what’s he doing running around here in just a towel? Not that I don’t appreciate it, mind.’ She grinned.
Well, there was no hiding this. ‘He’s, um, part of security.’
Jenny’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Just how rich is your aunt Judy’s man if he needs his own security?’
‘Very.’
‘That doctor?’ She pointed with her thumb in the direction Alec and Terens had taken.
I nodded. ‘That’s him.’
‘What’s he doing here? And how come he’s friends with that gorgeous minder?’ She gave me her suspicious look – head lowered, lips pursed. ‘What are you not telling me, Laura?’
My stomach dropped, and my mind went blank in a desperate search for
a convincing story. There was no way I could tell her the truth, but I didn’t want to lie. Jenny would know straight away. Like the rest of my family, she knew I’d hiccup if I had to lie. It always made her laugh, although I doubted that would be the case this time. ‘Well, actually, you see—’
‘Oh Laura! They’re into drugs aren’t they?’ Her eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. ‘That’s why Towel Guy has that weird snake and sword tattoo on his chest. It’s the same as your ring. Your aunt’s bloke is some sort of drug baron, isn’t he? Is that what you can’t tell me?’
‘What? No. He’s absolutely legit. No drugs, Jen. Honestly, you really think Judy ... ah, my aunt, would have anything to do with a crook?’
‘Then what? I’m not moving from here until you tell me.’ She leaned forward, folded her arms her arms and waited.
I was trapped.
‘Thought I’d join you ladies for coffee.’
At the sound of Alec’s voice, her head swivelled around.
Relieved, I smiled at him. He’d obviously been listening to our conversation, and on this occasion I could forgive him, for he could surely concoct a better story than I and get away with it. He’s had more practice.
‘Please do,’ Jenny said. ‘Perhaps you might have some answers.’
‘To what?’ He made his way to my side of the bar and placed another capsule in the espresso machine.
‘What Laura’s not telling me.’ Jenny had that obstinate set to her jaw that I knew so well. Here come the questions – she could be like a bulldog when determined on a course.
‘Honestly, Jen, nothing to tell.’
The coffee machine began to gurgle and he placed a mug under the nozzle. ‘What would you like to know?’
I was sure Alec wasn’t about to blurt out he was a vampire; so what he had in mind would to be news to me, too.
‘For starters, how come you’re here, and so familiar with the, ah, staff.’
I sighed and glanced briefly at Alec. His expression gave nothing away as he continued to gaze at Jenny, although the trace of a smile hovered at the corner of his lips.
‘If I can assure you that nothing is amiss and Laura isn’t involved in anything illegal, will that satisfy you?’
Jenny looked directly at me. ‘Yes.’
‘Since you know about Laura’s rare blood type, I assume you also know about Judith’s?’
Jenny gave a slight frown and nodded.
‘I’m Judith’s doctor. My hospital specialises in treating various blood diseases, and Judith’s been instrumental in aiding our research. I come here a lot. Over time, I’ve gotten to know the family and the staff well.’
Jenny’s face coloured, but she didn’t look away. ‘Okay.’
‘Can we stop the interrogation now?’ I asked.
‘One last question.’
I raised my eyes to the ceiling.
‘How come you were at Laura’s flat when she and Matt were attacked?’ She narrowed her eyes.
‘Testing my new car navigation system. Tell me you’ve never done that?’
It was the same story we told the police.
‘Is that why you took Laura,’ she quickly glanced at me, ‘to your hospital instead of the local one?’
‘Exactly. They’re not equipped to deal with such an unusual blood type. She could have died before the ambulance got her to Royal Prince Alfred.’
Jenny’s eyes flared, and she gazed up at Alec with new respect. ‘I had no idea.’
‘Alec saved my life, Jen.’
‘Okay, fine. But that doesn’t explain why Terens has the same tattoo as your ring, Laura.’
I usually appreciated Jenny’s keen eye, but not today.
‘Hummppphh! Never noticed,’ Alec replied. ‘Must be a coincidence, nothing more.’
She looked down at his left hand. ‘Then why are you wearing the same ring? What the hell’s going on?’
Jenny would have to be told. I could see no way out. My heart sank.
Alec glanced at me, his eyes pale. Revealing the truth – at this stage anyway – was out of the question, and he was asking my permission to mesmerise her. I wanted to yell, No! as I hated the very thought of it, but did we have a choice? Jenny simply wasn’t ready to know the truth about my connection to the “undead”. Or was she?
Sadly, I gave in. ‘I’m so sorry, Jen.’
‘For what?’
‘Look at me, Jenny,’ Alec said, his voice low and hypnotic. Unable to disobey his command, she turned and her eyes locked onto his. ‘The tattoo on Terens’s body—’
I grabbed his arm. ‘Alec, no. Please wait.’ Regardless of the danger, I didn’t want her mesmerised. It felt wrong, dishonest. I didn’t want her, of all people, to be a casualty of my family’s secret. Jenny was as close to me as a sister, and it mattered that her mind remained her own.
‘Laura—’
‘Matt knows the truth. Can’t we trust Jen too?’
He looked at me long and hard, and slowly his eyes returned to their normal shade. ‘If she can’t take it—’
‘I know, but I have to try.’ Inwardly I prayed I was right.
Jenny blinked at me, a confused look on her face. ‘What were you saying?’
I took her hands in mine. ‘Jen, I need you to keep an incredible secret. Promise me you will.’
She frowned. ‘Laura, you’re not involved in—’
‘No! Just shut up and listen. Don’t say a word till I’ve finished. Okay?’
She pursed her lips, but after a moment said, ‘Go for it.’
I took a deep breath. ‘You know how my blood stops me from ageing normally? Well, it’s because I’m part vampire, on my father’s side.’ Her eyes popped. ‘And it’s also special. It allows his kind – vampires – to walk about during the day.’ My cheeks were burning by this point. ‘He feeds from me.’ Her eyes darted to him, then back to me. ‘And Judy’s the same – her blood, that is – because she’s my real mother. And her husband, Luc, is my father. I only found this out on my birthday. They hid me with John and Eilene – my aunt and uncle – to protect me from rogue vamps who want me. Or rather, they want my blood. And before I let you say anything, I’m not nuts, nor on drugs or playing a rotten trick on you.’ I stopped for a moment as I ran out of breath, grabbed my phone, brought up Mum and Dad’s number on the screen and showed it to Jenny. ‘Look, you can check with them if you like.’ I finally stopped and watched Jenny’s face.
She gazed at the screen then up at me. ‘You finished?’
‘Yeah.’
‘That’s brilliant!’ She held out her empty glass.
Alec and I glanced at one another – he with raised brows – as I refilled her glass. It was not the reaction I had expected. Where was the sceptical expression, the sarcastic remarks or pitying looks implying I needed therapy?
‘I don’t get it, Jen. You believe me? Just like that?’ I snapped my fingers.
‘Hon, I can tell if you’re lying and you’re not good at bullshit, which is why you’ve never been able to play April Fool’s Day jokes on your students. Besides, it makes sense of something I overheard your mum say to your aunt when I was helping you move, something about your blood not being mature yet, and... the Brethren? I thought it was about your funny genes.’
‘The Brethren is what they call themselves,’ I said, almost in a daze. ‘You believe in vampires?’
‘Sure. I’ve been researching it for years. I never told you in case you thought I was weird. My secret.’
Alec laughed, filled the mug with coffee and handed it to me. Its delicious aroma had a reviving effect. I took a deep gulp and stared at Jen, wondering whether to strangle or hug her. ‘And all this time I’ve been worried sick about telling you. Honestly Jen, I could just slap you.’
Jenny grinned at me before her gaze slid to Alec, and she seemed to be appraising him anew. ‘You’re for real?’
‘As I live and breathe, but don’t ask to see my fangs. Last time I did that it backfired.’ H
e gave me a sidelong glance, followed by a grin.
How that man could turn my insides into jelly with just one look was unbelievable. On the night we met, he transformed in front of me. I screamed and everyone in the cathedral came running. My family’s eighteen-hundred-year-old secret was blown in one night.
‘He scared the life out of me first time he did it,’ I said.
‘Oh wow, I am so vindicated.’ She took a couple more deep swallows of her wine.
I drank my coffee and shook my head. Who would’ve guessed that my best friend was a closet goth?
‘What’s with the tattoos and the ring?’
‘My family crest – sign of the Dantonvilles. All my father’s men have it on their chests, including Alec.’
‘That is so cool. So,’ she paused and cocked an eyebrow at me, ‘that story, in your flat...?’
‘All true, Jen. Matt was knocked out by a bunch of rogues who kidnapped me, and Alec risked his life to save me. But I’d lost a lot of blood. That’s how I ended up in his hospital instead of with Matt at RPA. We had to modify the story for the police.’
‘Does Matt know?’
‘He does,’ Alec said.
Jenny grimaced. ‘What about those rogues?’
‘We’ve dealt with them,’ Alec replied. ‘If you have any more questions, I know the perfect person to ask.’
I looked at him curiously.
‘Terens,’ he said, and a wicked smile played around his mouth.
I bit my lip to stop the laugh. Terens had forced us to confront Jenny with the truth. If he hadn’t shown up half-naked, displaying the clan tattoo, she might still be in blissful ignorance. On the other hand, he may have done us a favour. At least now none of us would have to pretend around her, and that was liberating. And since Jenny believed in the existence of vampires, and had proved she could keep a secret, it was a win-win situation all around.
Mentally, I thanked Terens.
As expected, Jenny’s eyes shone at the mention of his name.
Alec’s mobile rang. He fished it from his back pocket and checked the screen before answering. ‘Munro.’ His expression changed and the hand holding mine tightened.
‘Ow – Alec!’
He let go and I massaged my hand.
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