My Beloved

by T.M. Mendes

  “I almost forgot they used to call you the executioner,” Darcy muttered from off to the side.

  Vincent spared him a look. “Used to? The only reason I’ve lost that title was because I was rotting away in a prison underground. Now let’s get back to your place. We’re done here.” Just as they began to walk to the door, a phone rang. More importantly, it was coming from the pile of ashes that was once Ramiro. Reaching down, Vincent took the phone out of the shirt pocket and pressed answer. “Yes?” he answered in a gruff voice.

  “Yeah, boss. We got her, she’s dead.”

  The phone slipped from his grip as he tried to grasp what the man on the phone just said. ‘No, no, no, no,’ his mind chanted. He would’ve felt the bond sever if Wendy had died. He desperately pushed and pulled at her mind, hoping she would open up. If they indeed killed her… Rage built up inside him like no other. He even noticed Darcy take cautious steps back.

  ‘What?’ he heard her sweet voice answer back.

  He let a huge breath escape him, but then began to get worried when he felt her sadness. ‘What happened?’ he questioned, praying she wasn’t hurt.

  ‘T-They… killed Dominica! It’s all my fault! I went to the bathroom and these two men were there waiting! She must have heard me scream because she came in and killed them with this knife. We both thought they were dead! We were walking away when one of them got up and shot her! Oh, Vincent! It was so awful!’ she broke off crying through their link.

  Relief washed over him to know she was alive. The bastard on the phone was clearly lying to his supposed ‘boss’ so he wouldn’t get in trouble.

  ‘Where are you now, Love?’ he asked her quickly. He placed the phone back up to his ear. “Good. Come back here.” He hung up the phone. He would kill whoever comes through that door.

  ‘I’m at the police station. My parents wanted to come but I told them to stay since Markus would be out anytime now. It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have left her in the first place!’

  Vincent could feel the guilt pouring into her and made quick haste as he sent a soothing cam over her. ‘Shh, it’s okay, Love. It’s not your fault. This is what she was hired to do, to protect you and she did. You can’t blame yourself for that.’

  ‘But she d-died!’

  Vincent could tell she was having a hard time with this and tried to console her. It was different for him viewing this from her point of view. To him, death was death, nothing more, unless it was of a loved one. Not some stranger. It was refreshing for him to able to feel this kind of innocence.

  He sighed and paced the marble floors near the ash. ‘I know. Just please be safe. I’m sorry you had to witness that, but I’m not sorry because she died. She did so with honor, and I will forever be grateful she protected you. We will talk more later. There are a couple of things I need to take care of. I love you.’ He didn’t wait for her to reply, knowing she was going to ask questions. Instead he focused on thinking of ways to hurt the one who dared to kill Wendy.

  Chapter 11

  Wendy

  She sat there on the uncomfortable plastic chair after she was questioned, and picked at her already dwindling fingernails. Her hand went to the necklace for comfort and then began to fiddle with it. With a resigned sigh, she sat back and started to count the tiles on the ceiling. Suddenly though, she felt indescribable rage shoot through her. Gasping, she sat up and had to clutch the seat on the sides so she wouldn’t do anything rash. Like grabbing the passing by police officer who conveniently and stupidly had his gun unlatched.

  Her fingers ached with how much she was gripping the hard plastic, but all her eyes could see was the gun. She was just so angry! Desperately, she grabbed her necklace. “Calm down,” she whispered over and over again. After a few moments, with her chest heaving and sweat beading across her forehead, she felt herself calm down. Now that the anger and rage had left, confusion replaced it just as quickly.

  “Are you okay, miss?” that same police officer asked, looking concerned.

  A startled but relieved laugh escaped her lips as she nodded jerkily, making her glasses flop. “I-I’m fine, thank you.” He nodded and started to walk away. “Oh and sir?” He stopped and turned toward her but was still a few feet away. “Your clip is undone.” His eyes shot downward and she thought she heard him curse as he quickly redid the clip. “Thanks,” he whispered and hurried along, obviously embarrassed with the slip up.

  Feeling rather exhausted from the flips her emotions just went through, she sat back once more, stroking the ruby necklace.

  “Firefly? How did you figure that out?”

  Startled out of her peaceful moment, she all but jumped out of her skin. She was still getting used to the whole communication through the mind thing. She scowled at the wall. ‘Do what?’ She was not happy she had to be interrupted from her brief moment of peace.

  ‘We’ll talk about it later, when I see you in a couple of hours.’ He left her mind, making her even more grumpy. Now she was beyond curious, and having no idea really how to contact him, she decided to wait. As her eyes strayed to the clock, her eyes bugged out a little.

  “Stupid,” she chided herself and quickly got out her phone. She had to turn it off for the interview with the police. She turned it on and saw there were five missed calls from her mom and three from her dad. Groaning, she told the secretary she’s stepping outside to make a quick call. She would be free to leave if a trusted adult were to come pick her up. In which case would’ve happened by now if she remembered to turn on her phone!

  “Hey…” she greeted her mother’s voice awkwardly, knowing she was in trouble for not checking in and whatnot.

  “Don’t you ‘hey’ me, young lady! We thought you were still in with the police! I’m sending your father now to come and pick you up. Markus is still sleeping but the surgery went very well. How did everything go?”

  Wendy could hear the worry in her mother’s voice and it made her feel that much more cared for, but also brought on the sting of having to leave them sooner than later. That thought brought that aching feeling back as her neck throbbed in time with her pulse. She groaned out loud once more, making her mother question what was wrong.

  “Nothing… I just have a neck ache is all.”

  She heard the click of her mother’s tongue and could only imagine her shaking her head. “Well, when you get back here I’ll give you a neck rub, okay, sweetie?”

  Normally Wendy would be grinning at that offer since she rarely gets a massage from her mom anymore. Debbie used to be a massage therapist until she lost interest, but now the thought of her or anyone else for that matter, touching her neck sent repulsive shivers down her spine. It was strange but she could only chalk it up to Vincent. Obviously the bite was having more side effects then she anticipated.

  “Um, no thanks. I’ll just suck it up.” A smirk threatened to bloom across her face at the play-on words. Shaking her head at herself, she turned back into the conversation.

  “Are you sure you’re alright? You never turn down that offer, and you usually beg for one anyhow.”

  A grimace flashed across Wendy’s face as she realized how out of character that was for her. Scratching the back of her neck, she let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I’m fine, mom. Just eager to see Markus.” She wanted to face palm. Eager? Since did she use words like ‘eager’? She heard silence for a moment before Debbi snorted.

  “Okay fine, don’t tell me. You will eventually. See you in a few minutes.”

  Wendy’s face went red when she realized her mother was trying not to laugh at her. With burning ears, she mumbled a quick goodbye and hung up.

  “Will this day ever end?” she muttered to herself.

  “Hey, kiddo! Let’s go!”

  Her head snapped up to see her dad at the door. The secretary smiled at her and said a polite farewell. Scurrying to her dad, she followed out into the cool air. It was almost cold enough to see your breath, but not quite. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and
had to double her steps if she were to keep up with her father’s long legs. “If everything continues to go well, then Markus should be out of the hospital in a little over a week,” her dad said as they got into the car. Nodding, she buckled herself in. The relationship she had with her dad was a strange one.

  They never really had to talk to each other to know what the other was thinking. Thankfully, with everything dealing with Markus, he was less tuned into her to question her strange behavior. Her mother always thought they needed more bonding time, since it would seem that she really didn’t have a relationship with Jim. On the contrary, Wendy was more close to her dad, than to her mother. Debbie could talk for hours no matter the circumstance, which was where they differed the most. Markus took after her in that sense. He could talk all night long, while Wendy and Jim could sit next to each other in a room and not utter a word for hours. They both enjoyed peace, which was rarely earned in their household, with a chatty Cathy in the midst.

  It took another few minutes but they were back at the hospital. Her stomach growled, making a new blush brush across her cheeks. Her dad chuckled and handed her a ten. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

  Wendy cocked her head to the side slightly. “I can go on my own, dad.”

  Jim grimaced in response. “I’d rather you didn’t. With what happened not long ago. It’d make me feel better if I went with you.”

  Sighing and knowing he wouldn’t take no for an answer, she unbuckled herself and stepped out of the car. When she shut her door, it echoed around the parking garage.

  Muted thuds could be heard when they were walking on the concrete of the level they parked on. Jim held open the hospital door as Wendy gave him a thankful smile. From being at this building so often they knew there where the café was and made quick haste to soothe Wendy’s ever growling louder stomach. Getting irritated with her frizzy blonde hair, she took the hair tie around her wrist and threw it up in a quick but efficient bun. Jim gave her an amused look before looking ahead.

  “You should have that looked at, you know. It might get infected.”

  Wendy knew right away he was talking about the bite marks on her neck.

  “Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. See? Doesn’t h-hurt…” She made a show of grazing it but had to stutter when her lower stomach clenched. ‘Oh God, that was embarrassing! In front of Dad?!’ she thought with her face going red. Jim looked doubtful at her, no doubt thinking she slipped up from it hurting.

  “If it looks like it’s getting worse, we’re having you checked out, okay?”

  She nodded in her approval, but was silently panicking. It wouldn’t go away for a while since she could already feel the achy feeling for his bite again. There’d be fresh marks by tomorrow morning!

  Wendy went for a grilled chicken sandwich and a side of fruit salad while her dad ordered a heart attack on a bun. Which was pretty ironic since they were in a hospital. She eyed the food distastefully on his tray, making him defend himself. “What? You know your mother is on a health kick. Might as well eat this since she’s preoccupied.”

  Wendy poked the slimy looking burger with a fork. “I think it’s having a grease, baby,” she said with a mock shudder. Her dad rolled his eyes but dug in anyhow as they sat near a window.

  “How are you holding up?” he asked after they were half way done with their meals.

  She was poking at her fruit to stall, eyeing a nice looking raspberry. The memories of what happened earlier refused to leave her. Even when she was distracted, the images would still be there, just at the back drop. She shrugged as a response, refusing to meet his eyes. “It keeps replaying. Over and over again.”

  Her dad didn’t say anything more, knowing that was all Wendy was willing to let out. They were both intuitive like that. Gazing back out the window, Wendy could still hear that horrible sound of bullet hitting flesh. The cry of agony, and the sick sound of blood dripping on the floor. The smells were all too vivid as well.

  The coppery stench that had caused her to heave, and the smell mixed with cleaning supplies from the sterilized bathroom, proved to be a horrible combination. One thing though, was the site she knew she would never be able to forget. Not unless she was suddenly blessed with amnesia. The look in Dominica’s eyes just before she hit the floor will forever haunt Wendy’s dreams. Shock, fear, and hopelessness shone through her eyes before her body met the floor with a sickening thud. Blood poured out of her chest as her last breaths came out in rugged gasps. The shooter finally died from the blood loss, but not before taking Dominica’s life.

  Shaking her head, Wendy came back to the present just in time for her dad to finish. Not feeling hungry anymore, she discarded her food and walked silently back with her dad in tow. Wendy could tell her dad wanted to say something, but held back. He was respectful in that sense and left her to her own thoughts. When they got up to her brother’s room, her eyes had strictly avoided the caution tape surrounding the bathroom down the hall and the police.

  “Hey…” Markus’ weak voice reached her ears when she stepped in the room. The beeping from the heart monitor was louder than his voice. She noticed his eyes were barely opened and he looked exhausted and in slight pain. The medication looked like it was working by the daze in his gaze.

  “Hey there, yourself,” she uttered softly. Even with all the craziness surrounding her, leaving her often feeling like the world was going to swallow her whole, she would always be there for her brother. “How are you feeling?” she asked when she stepped up next to him.

  He gave her a lazy grin. “Like I’ve been kicked in the chest by a horse.” His answer made her chuckle softly. She was glad he was okay, and now all he needed to do was rest so he can finally come home.

  Wendy noted it wouldn’t be long before Vincent came for her. She has just enough time to head home if she left within the next few minutes. “Hey, mom? I think I want to head home now.”

  Debbie shook her head. “Honey, we only have one car…” Seeing the exhaustion in Wendy’s eyes, she sighed. “Okay, I’m staying here though. Jim? Can you take her home?”

  Wendy felt bad that she was taking him away from Markus, but all she wanted right now was her own bed… and she reluctantly admitted to herself that she wanted Vincent as well.

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, son, okay? Get well.” Jim patted Markus on the shoulder and kissed his wife’s cheek before walking out. Wendy hurriedly kissed her mother’s cheek as well and gave Markus a careful hug.

  “See you later,” she promised and ran to catch up with her dad. She grumbled to herself for how he just took off, but he just chuckled and bumped hips with her. The drive back was silent, save for the music being played softly through the car speakers. Biting her inner cheek, she contemplated on how much has happened in such a short amount of time. She winced when her body seemed to ache even more. It was like she was going through withdrawals, and it hurt pretty bad.

  “You okay?” her dad asked, although Wendy wasn’t paying attention.

  Her eyes saw the last remains of the sun dip low behind the evergreen-covered hills. Like her body knew he was coming for her, it started to now throb with that feverish feeling, causing her to grimace more.

  “Wendy?” her dad tried again, making her snap out of her thoughts.

  “Y-Yes, I’m fine. Just tired, and not looking forward to school tomorrow.” It was a half lie, she really wasn’t looking forward to it, but more importantly she felt like getting out of the car and running to Vincent to make the ache go away. Hardly a subject to talk about with her father.

  “Well, we’re here. I’m going to call your mother and see how Mark is doing,” her father announced once they parked.

  She nodded absentmindedly and hurried into the house with the key she had to unlock it. Somehow she knew, she knew he was waiting for her. Taking the steps two at a time up to her room. Fumbling with the door knob from shaky hands, she flung it open. Disappointment met her with the empty state of her room. Scratching at the
uncomfortable feeling of her skin, she sighed loudly and flung herself on her bed. Once again, nothing felt comfortable to her. Not even her smooth sheets or fluffy comforter.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  Her head snapped to the side and saw Vincent standing there with a slight smirk. It irritated her, but she bit her tongue so she wouldn’t say something foolish, causing him to leave her in this state. “Yes, you know what’s wrong,” she said with a slight frown. Fresh sweat started to bead at her forehead, causing her to groan.

  He was by her side in an instant. “Tell me. I want to hear it.” His voice was smooth like honey on a hot summer’s day and made her shiver from it. It was alluring and oh so dangerous.

  Part of her wanted to tell him where he can shove it while the other more desperate part made her say, “I need you. I need you to bite me… please.”

  His eyes softened before kneeling over her. “You must keep quiet this time, Firefly. I do not want to alert your father. After I’m done we need to talk about what happened today.”

  After he was done with his words he bent over to give her what she asked for.

  Chapter 12

  Vincent

  Letting his fangs elongate, his tongue pushed past his lips to taste the pulse beating erratically on the slender slope of her neck. He felt his Firefly shiver before finally letting his teeth sink into the flesh. Both groaned lowly for different reasons. Vincent knew she groaned from the blissful feeling she was getting, but the taste of her always took him by surprise. He didn’t think it was possible but her blood tastes better every time. His large hands came around her to hold her to him.

  “Vincent,” she panted and gripped his shirt, holding him there as close as possible.