He pulled his truck into a gas station parking lot, slammed the transmission into park, then killed the engine.
“Why are we stopping here?”
“Because I’m no longer in any frame of mind to drive,” he growled.
She sighed heavily then pivoted in her seat and faced him. “I know you’re worried about me signing this contract, but I’ve decided to put off signing it. Mom and Nathan told me something disturbing about Chad. He has a warrant in Missouri for rape.”
“Great. That news doesn’t surprise me in the least, but I don’t want to talk about Chad. That’s not why I pulled over. You’re hiding a huge secret from me and everyone else in your life that loves you. It’s time to come clean. How long do you have?”
She gasped, her expression drenched in both shock and guilt. “How? When did you find out?”
“The very first second I touched your mind. This is so big and heavy inside of you, it literally exploded in my head and all the tangled emotions you’re struggling with. I’m assuming it’s a stage four glioblastoma, which is why you think turning is your only hope for an actual cure. Am I right?”
She was silent for so long, he really didn’t know if she planned to answer. Asa tried to stay calm while he waited, but it wasn’t easy. He was terrified for Chelsie and, at the moment, angry with God for allowing such a beautiful, vibrant, and talented woman to suffer this disgustingly invasive disease. It wasn’t fair. If anyone should have a brain tumor, it should be that bastard, Chad.
Finally, she said, “You’re right. Tiffany agreed to donate her blood, and I talked to her and Christian this morning. We’re going to do the procedure at Christian’s lodge, the mother’s retreat, in two weeks.”
“Tiffany won’t be donating her blood. I’ll be doing that. Provided the damned thing hasn’t gotten so out of hand that a turning would cause you a certain stroke.”
She blew out a huge breath of what have must been profound relief, based on her expression. “Thank you for offering. I had planned to tell you everything soon. I’d hoped when I did, you’d offer to be my donor. It seemed right.”
“Of course it’s right. The only person you should be blood bonded to should be your mate. A blood bond is an extremely intimate thing, and you’ve learned all it entails in your training. That’s why a vampire never feeds from another vampire, unless that person is his or her mate. You don’t want an irrevocable mental bond with anyone but a mate—not even a sibling. Especially with someone as strong willed as Tiffany. She wouldn’t probably mean to, but she’d use it to her advantage at some point, I can assure you.”
“I trust Tiffany. I don’t know why you’d say that.”
Asa cupped her chin and gave it a little shake. “Because you’re a stuffer. You stuff your problems until they ooze out of your pores. Everyone around you that cares, knows something’s wrong, but they can’t get a straight answer out of you to save their lives. That’s maddening, and I don’t know about Tiffany, but I can guarantee I’ll be dipping into your head if you pull that crap on me again. Honesty, Chelsie. From here on out I want you to be honest with me. There’s nothing regarding you that I need protection from. I can handle it. Got it?”
“Got it. And you’re right about everything. Honesty from here on out. I promise.”
“Good. Now then, first thing in the morning, I’m doing a CT scan on you. What can you tell me beforehand?”
“It is stage four, and it’s primarily in my right cerebral hemisphere. Surgery was an option, but as you obviously know, there is no cure. A temporary remission is all I can hope for if I do everything the human way. My last CT was two weeks ago, and it’s growing rapidly. At this time, if I do nothing I have between four and ten months to live.”
“Fuck,” Asa spat. “Does anyone in your family know?”
She shook her head. “Now that I have my turning scheduled with Christian, I plan to tell everyone. I’d planned to tell you first, but with everything happening between us, I’ve been so happy. Happy is not something I’ve felt in a very long time. I just didn’t want to spoil it.”
Asa was silent for a bit, contemplating a reply. He understood she just wanted to bask in this newfound flame of love blossoming between them. Hell, so did he, but that wasn’t a luxury either one of them could afford. “Time is something you don’t have, love.”
“You don’t have to tell me. Asa, if I’d thought of it sooner I would have asked the partners two months ago when I learned the awful truth. It was only a couple weeks ago that it dawned on me that turning vampire might save my life. Then I began researching everything I’d ever learned about what happens in the human body when a person turns. I am right, aren’t I? This will cure me.”
He reached up and scratched the base of his neck where a dull throb had taken up residence. A stress headache, he was sure. That or a sympathy one for Chelsie. “Theoretically it should cure you. By that I mean if you survive the turning. In cases like yours or someone with say, a serious heart condition, we refuse to turn the human because they could die. But you’re mine, Chelsie, and I don’t want to lose you. If your neurologist has given you so little hope that you’ve come to the decision to alter your species, I’ll stand by you in that decision. It’s a risk. A huge one.” One that scared him to death. He’d just discovered Chelsie, and losing her to this cancer was a very real possibility.
“I know, but it’s my only option for a shot at living cancer-free.”
He nodded then took hold of her hand and squeezed. “Then we’re going to do it but at the V clinic with me as both your donor and doctor. There’s more staff there, more everything if we should hit some bumps in the road.”
“That’s good. Thank you, Asa.”
“Thank me when you’re on the other side of human.” He started the engine, pulled out of the parking lot, and back into the busy street, heading toward her apartment complex.
Conversation ceased until Asa drove into her parking garage and shut down the engine. Tension hung in the air like thick smoke. It couldn’t be helped. Chelsie’s life was at stake. Turning would save her life, if nothing went wrong during the procedure. However, there were a number of things that could go wrong. He knew it and so did she. All he could do was hope and have faith she’d come through the procedure a healthy vampire. He’d just found his woman after nearly a hundred years of searching, and he’d be damned if he was going to lose her to a fucking brain tumor.
As soon as he opened the truck door and stepped out of his F250, Asa picked up Chad’s nasty scent. It was strong, which meant he was close. His gaze slashed to Chelsie. “Stay inside.”
“What’s the matter?”
Asa scanned the garage, and the answer presented itself seconds later. Chad got out of a newer white Chevy truck and marched straight toward him. His jaw was clenched, and there was a brutal, angry look in his eyes.
“Where’s Chelsie?” he demanded then glanced through the windshield.
He’d spotted her, and Asa could sense he had a very tenuous grip on his rage. Before he could say anything, he heard the passenger door open then ding. Chelsie got out and came around the front of the truck to do exactly what he’d asked her not to do—face off with that raging menace.
“What the hell are you doing here, Chad?”
“I got a better question. Where the hell have you been all night? Never mind. I got that one.” He glared at Asa.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Asa and I were having dinner at my parents’. Back to my question, why are you here stalking me?”
“Because I have the contract. You’d know that if you’d answer your damned phone or listen to your voicemails. Mr. Hammold faxed it to me today. I need your signature, so I can get it back to him in the morning.”
“Well, he won’t be getting it by morning, Chad. If you think you can come over here, camp out in my garage, then bully me and still get your way after that, you’re sadly mistaken. I love the guys like brothers, but I’m seriously about
two seconds from walking away from the band forever.”
Chad’s eyes went crazy wild, then honed on Asa’s nearly healed bite marks on Chelsie’s neck. “I know what you are, and I know what you’re trying to do to Chelsie, and I’m not going to let it happen.” He reached into the front pocket of his jeans, yanked out a four- or five-inch silver cross on a chain and thrust it toward him.
How stupid. Asa laughed. With vampire speed, he snatched the thing from his hands then placed the chain around his own neck. “Anymore bright ideas, human?”
Asa heard Chelsie make a tiny gasp. If she hadn’t been present, he would have enjoyed toying with the fool for a spell. He grasped hold of his mind and eradicated all memories of this incident and the prior mental images he’d placed in that disturbed, dark hole. When Asa released him, he stumbled back, his gaze cutting back and forth between the two of them with fear and confusion. The fear part Asa had injected for good measure.
He shrugged, then looked at Chelsie and said mind to mind, I had no choice.
She said nothing in return, just shook her head.
To Chad, he said, “Go home. Forget what you came here for tonight. Chelsie will contact you when she’s ready. Until then, if you get the urge to text or call her, when you pick up your phone to do so, what you’ll see in your hand will be a nest of rattlesnakes. Now leave.”
He did, as if his pants were on fire.
“Oh, that was very bad of you, Asa,” Chelsie chided. However, she was grinning when she said it.
“Probably, but I’m fed up with that guy.” That bombshell Chelsie dropped tonight about him being wanted for rape in Missouri made him solidly determined to never let her out of his sight when she was around the slimy bastard.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and headed them toward the elevator. Asa could take care of himself with that human, but Chelsie couldn’t. Unless he was present to protect her against Chad, she would be exposed and vulnerable.
He’d be by her side every second he could. It was the seconds he couldn’t that scared him to death.
Chapter 9
Chelsie had just finished doing an ultrasound on her patient Mrs. Adams. She was pregnant with twin baby vampires. Chelsie was so excited for her. The babies were healthy and right on track for thirty-two weeks. Baring nothing unforeseen, this twin delivery would probably be her first. Well, the first she’d ever done on her own. But Chelsie was well trained and had confidence in her abilities as an OB/GYN.
Since her next appointment wasn’t for two hours, Chelsie decided to retreat to her office to do some charting.
“Hold up there, girl,” Chelsie heard Asa say as she passed the open door of his office on the way to her own.
She glanced to her left then giggled as Asa grasped her wrist and tugged her inside. In their haste to steal a kiss, she stumbled and nearly dropped the holotop she’d been carrying from her last appointment. “Asa! Be careful.”
“Give me that and those.” Asa took the computer and her glasses from her face, quickly depositing both on his desk. Then he kissed her like a sailor who’d been at sea for two decades.
She couldn’t see a thing without her glasses, but anytime he kissed her, her eyes crossed and her vision clouded anyway. This time was no different. Lord, the man could kiss like a veteran porn star. He should teach a class.
On second thought…never mind. This was too good to share.
“Ah ha! Caught you two again,” Chelsie heard her sister say.
They broke it up and seconds later she felt Asa pressing her glasses into her hand.
Tiffany smirked and shook her head. “I swear. You guys are worse than me and Christian.”
“Probably true.” Chelsie grinned. At least after working together all day, Tiffany and Christian could go home and get release for all the sexual tension they’d been building during their time apart. Chelsie didn’t know about Asa, but if she didn’t get some release soon, her brain was going to implode.
“So what’s going on with your computer, Asa?” Tiffany asked.
He turned and picked up his personal holotop off his desk then handed it to Tiffany. “Hell if I know. It died. If you can’t fix it, rifle through its pockets for valuables, then I’ll give it a proper burial.”
Tiffany laughed. So did Chelsie. “Good one, Asa. Will do. Most likely the hard drive’s fine. If not, there’s always the backup.”
“The what?”
Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You don’t have a flash drive?”
He shook his head, his expression chagrined.
She tsked. “Why am I not surprised? You’re as bad as Christian. The first time I mentioned something about his hard drive not working properly, he thought I’d insulted his manhood.”
Asa chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, that sounds like him. We’re both a little challenged with today’s technology, as you well know since I flunked the computer class you held here at the clinic last fall.”
“You did not. You’re doing a hell of a lot better than Noah with the new system I created for the V clinic. Heck, poor Noah’s got me on speed dial because he still can’t figure out how to work something as simple as a 3-D hologram system.” Tiffany sobered and looked at her sister. “So, are you practicing with the band tonight?”
“Thankfully, no. Asa and I are going to grab a quick bite, then we’re going home for some much-needed sleep.”
“Sounds like a good plan, girl. I’ll see you mañana.”
“And I’ll see you in about an hour.” Asa leaned down and brushed a soft kiss across her lips.
“I can’t wait,” she replied then took her holotop to retreat into her office for a bit of charting.
This week had been busy, but wonderfully peaceful. She and Asa had spent every evening together. He’d even gone with her to band practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, much to Chad’s delight. Not.
The most important thing they’d accomplished was a date for her turning, set a week from this Sunday due to her Twisted Dixie engagements at Cajun Refugees over the next two weekends. Asa still feared the potential for a stroke, but both of them realized there was no help to be had for risks if she were to have a chance at life. Turning was her last and final hope for survival, but Chelsie had complete faith she’d come through the procedure a hale and hearty vampire. It only made sense. She’d just discovered the love of her life. Their time together couldn’t be as short as a mere few weeks. God wouldn’t allow it, and she refused to think differently.
As far as her family, they still didn’t know, but a family dinner was planned for this Sunday afternoon, and Asa was invited. With him by her side, she’d tell them all the truth and her plans for a cure. Shocked they would all be, she was sure, but not devastated.
Things were coming together perfectly. In fact, night before last she’d made the announcement to all of the band members that she and Asa were engaged. Randy, Wayne, and Colt had offered sincere congratulations. Chad said nothing, just glared at Asa with palpable hatred. There’d been a bit of fear too. Whatever enchantment Asa had woven over him had worked. Chelsie hadn’t heard a peep from him about signing that contract. Still, the cursed thing loomed over her head, and she was no closer to discovering a solution that would benefit both herself and the band. She’d given her word she’d sign it and would probably have to, but not until her turning was complete. Right now, that needed to be her primary focus. If Chad didn’t like it, as her sister liked to say, he could suck a part of her that didn’t exist.
***
Chelsie yawned as she fumbled with her keys, trying to find the one that opened her apartment door. She was tired, but at least she didn’t have a thundering headache for a change. She’d had big plans for a long soak in her Jacuzzi tub, but now that her stomach was full, her king bed seemed to be seductively whispering her name.
She finally managed to find the key, but when she turned it in the deadbolt, the door remained locked. “Weird.” She tried it the other way, then it opened. As
soon as she walked inside, she realized why. Her door had been open, and the person who had managed to pick her lock sat on her couch.
“Damn it, Chad. What are you doing here? And how dare you break into my apartment!” She had a good steam rolling, but it dissipated like mist when her gaze met his. His eyes were dead, cold as an Arctic glazier, and a cruel smile tipped the corners of his mouth.
She glanced at her coffee table, and her heart stuttered in her chest when she spotted a gun lying near the edge, right in front of Chad. She watched in horror as he picked it up and pointed it at her.
“Sit down, Chels. We need to talk.” His voice was weirdly calm. “Come on. Right here.” He patted the cushion beside him.
Chelsie was frozen to her spot. Her lungs refused to pull in air because her chest felt like an anvil weighted it down. A strange tightness began to coil there, followed by pain that reminded her of what a patient might suffer in the grip of a heart attack or pulmonary embolism.
People thought the term “scared to death” to be a mere saying. Chelsie knew better.
“Now!” he shouted then cocked the gun.
She dropped her purse and keys, then somehow managed to obey him, stumbling the short distance on legs that felt infused with jello. “Wh-what are you doing? Please put that thing down.”
He laughed, a sinister sound, then took the barrel and used it to tuck a section of hair behind her ear. Chelsie couldn’t help herself, she screamed.
“Shut the fuck up!”
His slammed the butt of the gun into the back of her head, knocking her forward. Her glasses went flying off her face, and she fell onto the floor in front of the couch, her face barely missing the edge of the coffee table.
Deadly Secrets (Forever and a Night Book 3) Page 11
