by C. L. Quinn
Tamesine knew, she’d been reading him. “There’s more.”
“It’s just so fuckin’ weird. I…” He stopped because he knew how insane it made him seem. For good reason, it was insane.
“Tell us.”
“There’s this woman. Beautiful, incredible, brilliant, woman. We’ve had sex twice now, and… God help me, I tore holes in her neck and drank her blood. I’ve got bloody fangs! And worst of all, I loved it, it turned me on, and I actually felt amazin’ after I did it. Ya tell me, what’s fuckin’ wrong with me? What am I that I could do that?”
Koen shot forward and took a seat across from Xavier, a hand on his arm. “You are one hundred percent normal for your race, brother. You’re a fucking vampire! Taking blood is natural, necessary, like food and water. Of course it felt good!”
Stunned, Xavier sat still and stared at Koen’s face, his eyes searching Koen’s to see if he could possibly be serious.
Swooping up to the two men, Tamesine grabbed their arms again. “Koen, calm down. Xavier, he’s right. You’re vampire. And so are we.”
Once a few moments passed, Xavier spoke. “I’m a vampire? And ye guys are too?”
“Uh huh. Look.” Tamesine picked up a wine glass, threw it across the room, and was there, waiting to snatch it from the air before it fell or hit the wall.
Smiling, she held the glass up to peer at Xavier through its transparent bowl.
“What you can do, we can do. What we can do, you can. And yes, Xavier, it is all normal and natural for us. You are from a noble race, born vampire a thousand years ago. The injuries you’ve suffered must have damaged your brain beyond its ability to repair without enough blood. You say you’ve only taken blood twice. Is that all that you’ve taken since you’ve been missing?”
“It is. The creep didn’t give me any, and I’ve only taken it the two times with Margot.”
“That’s the focal point of the trouble. Claude repeatedly damaged your brain with bullet holes. The damage was extreme, obviously, to have destroyed the part of your brain that had access to your memories of self. It never had the chance to repair itself without blood meals.”
Koen growled. “That little cocksucker is dead.”
“I’m a vampire?” Xavier’s eyebrows raised, his head shaking, the idea unbelievable. “But…that’s bizarre. It can’t be real.”
“Any more bizarre than being able to control people? Or move across a great distance in the blink of an eye? Of healing from fatal gunshot wounds?”
She watched his face. “Even now, I think you see the truth. Come home, Xavier and heal completely. We will get you back to the people who love you. To your home. To your life.” Lifting her head, she stood. “Daylight arrives, though. Why don’t you come with us to our hotel?”
“I don’t know. I’ve…” He searched her face, then Koen’s. “I’ve a lot to think about.”
“I know this is a great deal to process. Where’s your place? You must have a secure dwelling. Take us with you. Xavier, this is your brother. You’ve been missing for a long time and I can’t imagine he wants to let you out of his sight so soon. May we accompany you? Shall we eat and drink and get to know one another again?”
He wanted to. Before he had a chance to decide on her proposal, he nodded. Although he didn’t know either of these remarkable people who showed up, out of nowhere, he did feel that he belonged with them. As the woman had said of the man who claimed to be his brother, he wasn’t ready to let go of them either.
“I’ll grab some food and drinks. My apartment is just a few buildin’s from here.”
Tamesine closed her eyes. Okay, at least part of this had gone well. The right part. Having a family member hurt, lost, or missing was nearly as bad as it gets in a vampire’s life. She looked at Koen, who had followed Xavier to help with libations. His aura had softened, his pain lessened by finding Xavier. Now that they’d found his brother, safe, he knew it would be all right.
“Blessed be,” she whispered.
Minutes later, having followed Xavier through debris-littered alleyways, Tamesine and Koen stepped into Xavier’s apartment.
Looking around the tiny stark room, Tamesine thought about Xavier’s mansion near Paris.
“This is where you’ve lived since you escaped from Claude?” she asked.
“Aye. It’s wee, but it’s enough. I don’t have any great needs. I’m not a fancy man.”
Koen laughed. “Once we get you home, you’ll have to reassess that statement. You like your comfort and pleasures, brother.”
“I’ve been happy here. Honestly, I can’t imagine needin’ anythin’ much grander. Why, where’d I live before?”
As he popped the cap off a bottle of local craft beer and reached for a bag of potato chips, Koen choked out another harsh laugh. “Paris. In a fortress fit for a king.”
Xavier shook his head. “Nay. Ye’re just messin’ with me.” He looked to Tamesine. “He’s just fuckin’ with me, yeah?”
“No, he isn’t. But this place will do quite well. I like your little apartment. It’s nice. The, uh, bedroom? It’s light tight?”
“Aye. What’s with the bad burn from daylight? It’s one of the first weird things I experienced.”
“The vampire genome cannot tolerate ultraviolet. It’s an incendiary combination that can be fatal. So don’t let yourself be caught outdoors in daylight.”
“Yeah, I found out exactly like that. Thankfully, I was able to cover meself with some tarps I found and get inside a buildin’ with a basement.”
From his place on the couch, Koen watched Xavier and Tamesine discuss vampire behavior. He set the bottle on the floor, stood, walked up to Xavier, and pulled him into a tight hug.
His eyes glistening, Koen released Xavier and stepped back. “I’m relieved to find you, my brother. I cannot imagine life without your silly face and superior airs.”
Xavier didn’t know what to say. He didn’t have a connection yet with this man who claimed to be family. Still, Koen’s feelings were strong and transferred to him during the hug.
He hoped that his answer was warm and would not offend. “I pray that soon I shall know of the past we share, too. Forgive me, though, as I adjust to these revelations.”
“Of course.”
“What I’d like to know is all ya can tell me about the man who did this to me.”
Looking up from the bags that Koen and Xavier had packed, Tamesine became serious again. “You need to. Let’s get everything and retire to your room.”
She walked to the doorway for a closer look at Xavier’s bedroom. An even smaller space.
“It’s close in here,” Tamesine commented as she advanced into the darkened room. “But we’re all friends. You have a light?”
“Just come candles.”
“I think that’s perfect. Okay, men, let’s settle in.”
Once the candles were lit, they brought the food and drinks into the room and closed the door.
Tamesine dropped onto the head of the mattress as Koen and Xavier took places at the bottom.
“Okay, Xavier, here is your history with Claude. Then, Koen will tell you about your life.”
As the sun rose, finally, the three vampires lay down to sleep, the imperative for rest during daylight too powerful to ignore.
Xavier could feel Tamesine’s slim body on his right side, warm and still. The man who claimed to be his brother had slipped off the mattress to sleep on the floor, curled up in his only blanket.
The discussion had brought everything he’d desperately sought. People, family, who knew him. Peace of mind came to Xavier, grateful to know who he was and who he faced in the fight of his life. A nagging thought kept him awake too long. If all of this was true, if he wasn’t fully human, how did Margot fit into his life?
Sleep came and he was able to let go of all the strange things he’d learned about himself. And all the new worries.
Morning brought coffee and croissants, the end of a bitter rivalry for a
technology start-up co-owned by divorcing partners, and a lunch date with an associate here at the firm. Jonas Colbert had asked Margot to join him at a sandwich stand near the entrance to Central Park. It was an unusual request.
Mid-afternoon, the sun high, Margot’s pace was quick as she reached the food cart on time and looked around the group of patrons surrounding it. Jonas wasn’t there yet. Out of habit, she glanced at her watch, already aware what time it was, but the gesture was ingrained in a woman impatient with waiting. It was one of her greatest flaws.
But twenty minutes later when he still hadn’t shown up, she felt justified.
Blowing a puff of aggravated breath into the cool air, she pushed her hair back and went up to the cart.
“Hi, yes, a chicken taco and waffle fries, please.”
As she waited, she scanned the area, still searching for Jonas, but after the young man gave her the order she’d placed, she paid him, shrugged, and walked into the park.
She had fallen in love with Central Park, just like anyone who ever walked into this oasis of nature in the middle of the city of tall buildings. It was autumn, and perhaps one of the most beautiful times of year here. Golden and amber filled the treetops, the colorful fallen leaves creating a magical carpet of scarlets and yellows on the grass and pavement throughout the park.
Sitting on a bench, her hair assaulted over and over by falling leaves, she dropped her head back and just breathed in the fresh air and let her mind relax. And she admitted, there was somewhere she needed to go tonight.
The taco and fries gone, Margot headed back to the office. She had one task to complete and then she wanted to find the address Xavier had given her.
Two hours later, she used the hated intercom system.
“Freddie, I’m closing it down for the day. You don’t have anything pending, do you?”
The door opened and Freddie walked in, leaving it open. “No, you’re free to go. Gonna go on that hottie I sent over to you?”
“I’m going to get some soap and wash your mouth out with it. Honestly, you’re practically sex-obsessed with him.”
“Any sane woman with eyes in her head would. He’s all man in all the right places, and sweetie, you really need that.”
“What I need is a cab. Will you call one for me?”
“You’re going to that bar, aren’t you?”
“No, but near it. I’m going to try to get statements from one or more of the women I know were abused by Michael.”
“Alone?”
“Alone.”
“You’re too smart for that, Margot.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Not in that neighborhood. Hey, why don’t you take Gopher?”
Take Gopher? That was actually a good idea. He was big, ripped these days, which would make him a formidable presence and a good deterrence for troublemakers.
“Is he still here?”
“I saw him on the seventh talking to Miguel.”
“Get him, please. Freddie, you should be in acquisitions. You’re so sharp.”
“I’d take it. Too bad I never finished college.”
“I’ll help you if you want to go back.”
“Nah, not now. I’ll be retiring in a few years.”
Margot gasped in mock horror. “Over my dead body!”
“Thanks to your new friends, I might be able to arrange that, so don’t piss me off.”
“Okay. But you’re not leaving me. Ever.”
Ten minutes later, Freddie came back with Robert.
“Hey, Freddie filled me in on your mission. You know I’m in. I would like to be present when they arrest that asshole someday.”
“We have a long way to go first, but, tonight, I appreciate your company. It’ll be on the clock.”
“I don’t care. It doesn’t have to be.”
“Well, it is. Although, I won’t identify you in a formal statement.”
Robert laughed. “Probably wise. Where are we going?”
“Somewhere rough. I’d change that suit jacket.”
“Yeah, I’d stand out around there. I’ll be right back.”
Margot fought the urge to cover her nose. The smell was toxic, rancid, acidic, like something had recently died.
Robert strode behind her as if the halls were filled with flowers. He noticed her expression. “Ah, you’re not used to this. No, you wouldn’t be. Things die in these buildings and don’t often get cleaned up. You get used to it.”
Used to it? Never.
“I don’t know how. Let’s see…ah, I think the next one is…” Margot checked the numbers on the doors. “Here. 321. This is it.”
“Hope someone’s home. Hope you don’t have to come back.”
“So do I. The sooner I can get something concrete, the sooner I can act and put that slimy piece of shit behind bars.”
“Let’s go get ‘em, boss lady.” Robert knocked on the badly scarred entry door to the apartment. Huge nicks near the doorknob showed an attempt to get in without a key, and the bottom was pitted as if someone had repeatedly kicked it.
Moments passed before they heard noise from inside the apartment. Scuffling, muffled words, a thud, preceded a clearly uttered “fuck me!”
A scratching sound and click on the other side of the door let Margot and Robert know that someone had finally come. When the door opened, both stood quietly peering at the young woman who held the door with one hand on the knob.
“Yeah?” she asked, her voice as soft as her appearance.
Pretty, Margot thought, almost beautiful, with long pale brown hair twisted to the side and held with a pink bow embellished with the face of Minnie Mouse. She wore shorts that lived up to the name by barely covering her privates, her belly button exposed to show a crystal ring embedded in the folds. Full breasts were covered by a thin tee shirt off the shoulder to one side, so low, Margot was afraid a nipple would make an appearance above the diagonal neckline. She wore no makeup, but didn’t need to, her skin young, unlined and perfectly smooth.
Margot recognized her from Robert’s photos.
A foot perched on top of the other, the girl tilted her head before she spoke again. “Sorry, um, who are you guys lookin’ for?”
“Hi. My name is Margot. This is my associate, Robert. I’m looking for a woman named Sally, and two others who go by Cheeky and Brenna.”
The girl was noticeably surprised. “Um, I’m Cheeky. I don’t know what you want, though, I don’t even know you guys.”
“No, you don’t, but I need to speak with you. May I come in?”
“Um…”
A raspy voice barked from somewhere inside the room. “Let her in.”
Cheeky shrugged. “Come on in.”
Margot and Robert exchanged glances and entered the apartment.
The room was a visual assault of various shades of pink, purple, and white. Hot pink walls remained unhidden behind cascading white lace curtains. A white sofa and recliners were stained, but Margot could tell they were once of good quality. A rug patterned in fluorescent pink and bright purple that covered most of the floor hurt her eyes. She noticed that poor Robert stood beside her, gaping.
“A nightmare of horrid feminine clichés,” he whispered loud enough for Margot to hear and made her grin.
Sally sat at a table near the kitchen. “You found me, huh? Why am I not surprised? You guys don’t take no for an answer.”
Margot moved closer, studied the discolored white chair, pulled it out, and sat across from Sally. “I would just like a chance to talk with you. I happen to know that you are not the only one he’s abused. Sally, you have to help me stop him.”
“I have to keep earning a living. Assholes like him, they come along, we deal with them. Lady lawyer, you’re out of your depth. Go home.”
Sally’s eyes shifted to Robert. “Him. He can stay. I like ‘em young and built, and that one is rea-a-a-lly nice. Wanna stay and play with Sally, handsome?”
Margot, ignoring her, shif
ted her gaze to Cheeky.
“I have photos of you coming out of Michael Lipnicki’s office suite. You’d been crying. He hurt you, didn’t he?”
Cheeky looked to Sally for a response.
Sally shrugged. “Tell her what you want to. It’s up to you if you want to get involved with helping her try to take him to court. I ain’t gonna do it.”
Twisting her hair between her fingers, fidgeting, Cheeky paced between Margot and Robert, her eyes landing on Robert several times. She finally answered Margot’s question.
“He did. Uh, hurt me. But that’s how it works on the streets. Sometimes you get a nice one, sometimes you get a creep. But, uh, no, I have to agree with Sally. No.”
Again, she looked back up into Robert’s eyes.
Robert noticed that she was breathing hard, very aware of him. He was young and she obviously found him attractive. If anyone could get through to her, he might. He could speak to her on her level.
Margot sat back against the chair to watch him.
Leading the girl to the sofa, Robert sat down, drawing her with him.
“Cheeky, how old are you?”
“I’m seventeen. Old enough.”
“I’m sure. But you’re still a very young lady to have to experience that type of abuse. You don’t deserve for anyone to treat you like that. Let us help you. Cheeky, I’m the one who saw you come out of that room. Please, you have to help us stop him.”
