by Alice Brown
“Thanks, Marshall, the food is delicious,” Erica called out.
“Anytime, sweetie, you just concentrate on getting better so I can get Kevin back to the office. I’d rather stake myself than handle all the paperwork from today’s clusterf—catastrophe,” Marshall amended at the last second, and offered a wry smile on his way out the door.
Glancing back over to Kevin, Erica stated in a small voice, “I guess I have caused you a major headache, haven’t I?”
“No, sweetheart, you have done no such thing. If anything, I am the one who caused you one hell of a headache, in the most literal sense,” he quickly replied.
Erica shook her head, refusing to allow him to take the blame for her injuries. “Kevin, you quite possibly saved my life. If Shawn had made it outside with me, I seriously doubt anyone would have been able to stop him.” A shiver ran up Erica’s spine. “I would probably be dead by now, or at least wish that I was.”
Kevin rose out of his seat and sat next to Erica on the side of the bed. “I promise you, I am not going to let anything happen to you.” Erica, trembling lightly, wrapped her arms around Kevin for strength and support. When she refused to let go a moment later, he stretched out beside her, allowing her to curl her body to his, placing her head on his chest.
“Are you getting sleepy?” he asked in a whisper, as he lightly stroked the top of her head, careful not to go near either side, staying away from her injuries.
She nodded her head slowly, and Kevin could feel her melting into him as she cuddled his body. Her breathing evened out just a few short minutes later, and he knew she had fallen back asleep.
Erica slept the remainder of the night, and Kevin stayed in the exact same spot she had fallen asleep on him. Dr. Carlson came in a little after midnight to check on her, but didn’t stay long. He whispered to Kevin that he didn’t want to risk waking her, and that he would return first thing in the morning.
The next morning, Dr. Carlson released Erica as promised, giving her strict instructions that she was to take it easy for the next few days. As soon as he had walked out the door, another face filled the doorway.
“Jennifer!” Erica exclaimed upon glancing up and spotting Kevin’s sister. “Are you okay? How is your arm?” Erica quickly inquired, as Jennifer let herself into the room and walked over to Erica’s bed.
Jennifer glanced down at her arm, now fully healed. “It hurt like the devil yesterday, but once it was set back in place it healed on its own in just a few hours.”
“What about the stab wound? Is that okay, also?” Erica continued to probe.
Jennifer raised her shirt up just a bit to show a slight scar, but even that looked to be a couple of months old, not something that had only happened twenty-four hours ago.
“So how about you, are they going to release you, or is Dr. Carlson so bored he decided to keep you for a while?” Jennifer teased.
“No, he just released me. Kevin and I will be heading out shortly. What about you?” Erica replied.
“Oh, I’m released. Seems I did enough spitting and hissing yesterday while Dr. Carlson reset my arm, that he really doesn’t want me sticking around. Come on, girl, let’s go home. I hear we have both been instructed to take it easy, and I can’t think of a better way of doing that than spending the day in front of Kevin’s theater system in our pajamas!”
“Ah, a pajama party, now that is something I haven’t done in a while!” Erica exclaimed with a smile on her face.
“I am glad to hear you ladies have your afternoon well planned out since I am needed in the office,” Kevin inserted as he escorted the two women out the door.
Once above ground again, standing in the VCTF office, Jennifer and Erica waited for Kevin to finish speaking to Marshall. “Okay, Marshall tells me he brought Erica’s car over last night from the school, so I am going to go get it from the garage, and I’ll meet you two ladies out front,” Kevin stated, after he finished speaking with Marshall and had rejoined the two girls.
As soon as the car pulled up and stopped, Kevin was out of the car and holding the passenger door open for Erica immediately. He then escorted his sister over to the driver’s side and handed her the keys. He stopped when they reached the back quarter panel of the car. He heard Jennifer’s quick intake of breath, and knew she had discovered what Marshall had just informed him of less than five minutes ago.
There, in Erica’s brand new Eclipse, was a nice bullet hole. A stray bullet must have ricocheted off something during the confrontation with the drug runners the day before and lodged in the back quarter panel of the car. Kevin quickly stepped next to Jennifer to whisper in her ear. “I already know about it, Marshall just told me. Can you get her home and in the house without her seeing this?” He could only hope his look was pleading, because he was ready to beg his little sister for this favor if he had to.
Jennifer smiled up at him, and very quietly stated, “I can try. However, I’m not covering for this one, dear brother!”
“Okay,” Kevin replied very softly. “I can get it fixed, but it might take me a day or two. Just get her home and insist that she get some rest. I’ll be there shortly.” He placed a quick kiss on Jennifer’s cheek. As he started walking away, he heard her say, “You are going to owe me for this one!”
As he watched Jennifer pull away he wondered what this little favor was going to cost him. He was certain of one thing, whatever he ended up buying his little sister, it certainly wouldn’t be cheap!
When Kevin arrived home six hours later, he walked in to a slumber party going strong. Jennifer, Erica, Kate, Elizabeth, and Jordan were all sitting in the living room, wine glasses everywhere, with a strong smell of nail polish permeating the air. He quickly locked eyes with Jennifer, and motioned with his head to follow him back out the door to the hallway for a private chat.
The minute he shut the door, he turned on his sister. “Dear God, please tell me you did not let her have any wine!” he almost shouted.
Jennifer puffed with indignation. “Of course not, do I look stupid?” she stated sharply to her brother. “She has a brain injury for crying out loud! Of course I didn’t allow her to drink any alcohol!”
Kevin knew he had insulted his sister, and since he very much needed her help over the next few days, figured a nice slice of humble pie was needed. “I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions, and I should know better. I guess I am just tired.”
Jennifer reached up and hugged him, ready to accept his apology. “It’s okay. It has been a stressful couple of days,” she whispered in his ear as she slipped Erica’s car keys into his shirt pocket.
“Now, get in there and say hello to her, or she is going to get suspicious. By the way, she didn’t even notice the bullet hole.”
“Thanks,” Kevin replied to her, and turned to walk back in his front door. Okay, a full-blown slumber party was not what he envisioned, but it didn’t seem any harm had been done. Erica looked to be happy, and she was certainly safe. She was surrounded by four female vampires. Any male would be a fool to try and take on four women, period, vampire or not, in Kevin’s opinion. He had seen what women were capable of doing when they worked together. Put four female vampires together, and they were a force to be reckoned with.
As Kevin walked over to where Erica was sitting on the couch, he observed her laughing at something Jordan was telling her. He sat down next to her.
“Hey, beautiful,” he leaned over and whispered in her ear. “You seem to be feeling better than earlier.”
She looked up into his face with eyes shining. “Hi yourself, good looking!” she replied with a bright smile.
Kevin could have stayed put all day, just staring into her beautiful face. He finally remembered Jordan sitting across from them, and smiled over at her. “Hey, Jordan, how did you get roped into this slumber party?”
“I called earlier to check on the girls and Jennifer invited me. She assumed you would be tied up at the office for the remainder of the night and decided a slumber par
ty was just the prescription for our girl here.”
Kevin had already placed a possessive arm around Erica’s waist. “Please tell me you have been taking it easy and getting some rest,” Kevin stated as he turned his attention back to Erica.
“Yes, we have all been lounging around watching movies most of the afternoon,” she replied.
Turning his attention back to Jordan, Kevin stated, “By the way, Jordan, I’m having a little get-together Friday night here at the house. Can you and Davidrick join us?”
“Possibly, if I can get that fool away from his dead bodies long enough. What time?” she asked.
“Six,” Kevin answered.
Jennifer felt a little compassion for her brother and quickly cleared everyone out of the apartment on the pretense of showing off something in her suite. Soon, the apartment had cleared out, and Kevin had Erica all to himself. She looked exhausted, he quickly noted.
“Tired, love?” he gently asked her.
She thought about her answer for a brief moment, and then replied, “A bit, yes. But I also find the company very comforting.”
Kevin knew she would not feel comfortable by herself, as long as she knew Shawn was on the loose. “I understand. Just don’t wear yourself out, please?” He requested, as he lightly skimmed her chin with his thumb. “I have to return to the office in about another hour, and there is a good chance I’ll be stuck there for the next few days. I will probably just make it back home in time for the party Friday. Will you be okay here with the family?”
“Of course, Kevin, don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I have a feeling your family is going to keep me surrounded for the next few days.” She tried to give him her best confident smile.
Kevin smiled. Yes, if he knew his family, Erica would be lucky if someone wasn’t accompanying her into the bathroom for the next few days!
Chapter Eleven
Erica woke up the next morning, a little disoriented as to where she was. She opened her eyes to discover she was curled up on the couch, with Kate and Elizabeth hovering nearby. As she sat up, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes, and casting a small smile in their direction, she remembered Kevin stating that he wouldn’t be around for the next couple of days. Well, the party was tomorrow night, and she could handle two days without him. She would have to.
“Good morning, Erica,” Elizabeth greeted her. “Jennifer went to her suite to fix your breakfast. She should be returning in just a minute.”
Remembering that Jordan had also spent the night but was now nowhere in sight Erica inquired, “Did Jordan go with Jennifer?”
“No, Jordan had to leave early for work. She said to tell you she would see you tomorrow night at the party,” Kate replied. “Oh, and Kevin left a note for you on the dresser.”
Erica quickly headed for her bedroom, finding an envelope taped to her dresser mirror. She walked over and sat on the end of the bed to read the note. The outside of the envelope was addressed to, The Love of My Life.
Dearest Erica,
I am sorry I have to be away for the next few days, but everyone in my family has assured me they will keep you safe. Please do not leave the house by yourself for any reason. I suspect my family will be sticking to you like glue while I am away, anyway. I have instructed them to make sure at least two members accompany you at all times. I simply can’t take the risk of letting Shawn get near you again. I don’t think I would be able to concentrate on my job if I thought for one minute you were in danger.
Please know that I am already missing you, and can’t wait until I get home Friday.
Love, Kevin
A knock on Erica’s open bedroom door brought her head upwards, with Kate standing in the doorway. “Jennifer is back with breakfast, and I was wondering if you would like to hang out with Elizabeth and myself today? We have numerous deliveries for the Meals on Wheels program. The vamps that receive the deliveries are very old and don’t get out much, so they always enjoy company.”
“Sure, but is it safe?” Erica replied a little skeptically.
“It will be by the time I get finished. Are you interested?” Kate replied with a sly smile.
With a return smile, Erica replied, “How long before you are ready to leave?”
“I’m not on a set time schedule. You’ve got plenty of time to eat, and then take a shower and get dressed. We’ll leave when you are ready.”
After quickly eating breakfast, Erica grabbed a clean set of clothes and headed for the shower. At least she wasn’t going to be sitting around feeling sorry for herself today.
An hour later the girls were on the way to their first delivery. A car discreetly followed Kate’s black BMW. When Erica noticed the car following, Kate grinned over to her and stated, “That’s our security. Kevin has assigned us two guards for the day.”
The schedule Kate had only showed four stops, and Erica at first wondered just how long they would be gone. That quickly changed once they arrived at their first stop. It became next to impossible to leave! Erica felt true compassion for each elderly vamp that she met. One would have to be blind not to see that they were clearly lonely, and in need of company. The girls spent at least two hours at each stop. Once they saw that Kate and Elizabeth had brought someone new along, each one decided to give Erica their life history. Erica wondered if these elderly vamps ever did anything in the outside real world.
She managed to get a history lesson out of their day, also. She discovered that although everyone relates vampires to immortals, this really is not the truth. Vampires do eventually die, it is just that the usual life span for a vamp is between one thousand and twelve hundred years! Compared to the average human life span of eighty years, it would seem immortal. The elderly vamp that explained all of this to her, Mr. Castillo, went on to explain that vampires stay looking the same as when they were first turned, until they reach the age of eight hundred to nine hundred years old. This is when “old age” starts hitting them. They start losing their strength, and their skin slowly starts turning a powder white, ending up almost translucent. The sun is extremely harmful to these elderly vamps at this point. The more sun they are exposed to, the more damage to their skin. As the vamps become older, their bones also become brittle. The more sun they are exposed to, the faster this happens, also.
Erica found it nothing short of amazing to hear the knowledge and information these elderly vamps held, the history that they had experienced firsthand. Their stories were told from a personal, firsthand experience, not like reading it out of a history book. The girl’s last stop was to a Mr. Akins, who had actually served as an assistant to Abraham Lincoln! Later, he was also an officer in World War II. They sat with him as he told his story, which Erica found to be utterly fascinating. To have been through so much history and still be alive to tell about it was amazing!
* * * *
Mr. Atkins’s Story
“I was born in France, and came to the United States in 1850. By then I had already been a vampire for a good many years, and had traveled across the world extensively trying to gain as much knowledge as I could. Being a vampire back in those days was not easy, it was important that you move around a lot, so no one would realize that you were not aging.
“So, I had already changed my name more times than most human women color their hair these days,” he stated as he winked over at Erica. “I had run into a Mr. Abraham Lincoln while spending some time in Illinois, and we immediately hit it off as friends. When he won the presidency in 1860, he asked me to come with him to Washington and be his assistant. I accepted, and the next four years I watched a man try to keep a country together, that was falling apart at the seams.
I did the best job I could for that man. He had my respect, but after he died I felt like I needed to move on. I did a little traveling, spent some time out west, and even managed to fall in love. My Maggie was the very first person I had ever confided in to reveal what I truly was. She accepted me as is, and we were married a short time later. Unfortunately,
she and our baby died during childbirth. You know those things were commonplace enough back in those days for humans, but when I learned she was carrying my child, I didn’t know what to do. We didn’t have vampire doctors back then, and her weak human body just couldn’t handle it.
“My original plan was to allow her to deliver the baby and then change her over if I needed to. We had even discussed this, and she was okay with me doing so. Unfortunately, I waited too long. I had never turned anyone, and wasn’t exactly sure how to go about doing so. Maggie was already so weak and sick, I didn’t want to inflict any more pain on her. The baby proved too much for her body to handle, and she died in her sleep at night. She had only been pregnant a short time, so I felt confident the baby was nowhere near ready to be born. When I placed my ear on her stomach and heard nothing, I simply buried them both and moved to Germany. I had to get away and grieve.
“By 1914 and the start of WWI, I moved away to get away from the war. I ended up coming back to the United States and managed to keep a low profile all during the war. I had already seen, firsthand, the devastation it caused here alone during the Civil War. I really didn’t want to get involved in an all-out world war.
“I ended up settling down in North Carolina after the war ended, but my thirst for knowledge was stronger than ever, and by the time World War II had started in 1939, I found myself at the Norfolk Naval Academy. I graduated with top honors and my first duty was on the USS North Carolina III as the medical officer. They soon realized I spoke numerous languages fluently, and quickly had my time split between medical and intelligence.
“That USS North Carolina was such a beauty she was even named “Showboat!” And we soon found out that she had some strength behind her also! By June of 1942 the crew had undergone extensive war training and we were shipped out to the Pacific. One of our first assignments was to protect the “Enterprise.” She was a carrier ship. We encountered a Japanese carrier soon after and sunk it. That brought retaliation in the form of bombers and torpedo planes that caused the Enterprise to take three direct hits. We ended up in the fight of our lives that day, and lost our first man. That day was a wake up call as to what we really were up against.
