Never Back Down

by Susan Harris

  The warm water nearly wrung a groan from her, but Erika’s body began to rebel, trembling. She had never felt as vulnerable as she did right then, but it saddened her that she had nowhere else to go.

  He began to run a cloth over her skin, having somehow rolled up the sleeves on his shirt. She shivered, but she wasn’t sure if it was the shock or his touch.

  As he sat on the edge of the bathtub and began to wash the blood stains from her face, she lowered her lashes.

  “I’m sorry for dripping blood on your expensive rug.”

  He chuckled in response. “No need for apologies, love. But you scared me half to death appearing like a modern-day Carrie on my doorstep.”

  “Sorry.”

  Cool fingers tipped up her chin. “No more apologies. I mean it. Or I might get cross.”

  She sighed, but kept her mouth closed.

  “Are you going to tell me whose blood you swam in?”

  She peered up at him and said, “I got angry. I kissed Ever and she rejected me. So, I beat a girl almost to death. Turns out, she’s Caitlyn’s niece. Turns out, I don’t take rejection well.”

  “I see.”

  Erik’s brows kicked up. “I see? That’s all you have to say.”

  Loki leaned away from her. “I’m partially to blame for your rage. I have no right to offer any reproach. Did it make you feel better? Beating the girl within an inch of her life?”

  “No,” she said with a shake of her head.

  “And how did you feel when you kissed Ever? Were you angry because it wasn’t what you imagined or angry that she rejected you?”

  Erika sank lower into the water. “I didn’t exactly have time to consider my motives.”

  “I see.”

  She threw some bubbles at him, but he only chuckled.

  “And if I might pry, how did you feel when I said no?”

  She blinked at his bluntness. “Why do you want to know that?”

  He folded a knee onto the edge of the bathtub. “I do not understand human emotion fully. I take what I want, what gives me pleasure. I want to know if your reaction to Ever’s rejection differs from when I did it. Then I might understand you more.”

  She hesitated with her answer, her heart hitching slightly as this beautiful man tried to figure her out. Hell, she wasn’t sure she could figure herself out, let alone have him figure her out. Thinking on it now, she had felt little when her lips met Ever’s, yet her entire body heated whenever Loki was near.

  Did that mean she was really in love with Loki?

  “The rejection hurt more because I expected it. But, I think I was angry that I felt nothing when I kissed Ever. Not like I do with you.”

  A smug smile tugged at his lips. “I see.”

  Erika pointed a finger at him. “If you say ‘I see’ one more time, I’m gonna snap.”

  Loki touched his finger to her nose. “You are just so cute when you are angry.”

  “Oh, you think I’m cute when I’m angry? Well get ready, I’m about to be fucking gorgeous.”

  He burst into a fit of laughter, as she growled. She pulled him down into the water, and he landed on top of her in the bath. She kissed the hell out of him, her lips hungrily taking in as much of him as she could, fire igniting her entire being.

  Just as he reached for her, she flashed from the tub, standing naked on the tiles as she winked and blew him a kiss. The heat in his eyes almost melted her bones.

  Perhaps everyone had been right. She loved Ever, but could she let herself love an immortal who might grow bored of her and leave, breaking her heart in the process? This thing with her and Loki, it was dangerous. If she loved him and he went elsewhere, then another person she had opened her heart to would have deserted her.

  Erika needed time to gather herself. “Thanks for the rub down, babes. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Don’t you dare, Erika. We have something to finish.”

  She shivered under the promise in his words. She winked again, grinning as she flashed from Loki’s home, unaware that the god knew so many swear words.

  Melanie

  Melanie waited until the sun had barely set before she escaped the confines of Caitlyn’s home, having been told sternly to take the evening off after Caitlyn and Donnie bore witness to the nightmares that had begun to creep into her dreams whenever she tried to sleep. The worry in the two vampires’ eyes made her feel utterly guilty, considering they had their own issues at the moment.

  Since becoming a vampire, Melanie had been totally absorbed in learning to control her lust for blood, adjusting to her new lie detector abilities, and becoming a fully-fledged member of P.I.T. It left her with little time to think about what had happened to her. Which, Melanie thought, was perfectly fine with her.

  Walking through the suburbs of Cork City, the crisp evening air against her skin, Melanie adjusted the collar of her denim jacket, simply for something to do. At this time in the evening, people, finished with work, were strolling around, taking in a nice evening stroll before the weather became too Irish. Melanie came to a halt at the traffic lights in Togher, where if she went right, it would take her down to the station.

  Since she’d been effectively banned from work for the night, she veered left instead and headed down the road. At first, when the nightmares began to seep in, she had been able to stop herself from reacting. However, over the last few weeks, the dreams had become more vivid, resulting in her outburst today. What she found hard to comprehend was why the dreams scared her. She was fine with what happened to her. Well, not fine, cause she like legit died, but becoming a vampire… it had been everything she wanted in life, to be special, to be supernatural.

  Somehow, despite her acceptance of her new vampire status, Stephen Donnelly had managed to creep into her subconscious and remind her of the things that had happened while they were alone.

  Her entire body ached and Melanie groaned, coming back to consciousness slowly. Fire ignited her arms when she tried to move, and she cried out. What was happening? Where was she?

  Blinking her eyes a couple of times, she felt a warm liquid trickle down her face. The fogginess in her mind began to clear. Stephen Donnelly had blind-sided her in the hospital carpark and hit her on the head. Taking in her surroundings, she glanced around as much as she could, realizing that she was suspended from the ceiling, her bare feet atop an old desk chair. Oh, and she was naked as the day she was born.

  The room holding her was in an old telecommunications building, long ago burnt down in an arson attack. The wooden floor was rotten with numerous holes. It didn’t look very stable to walk on, so Melanie was unsure how Donnelly had managed to drag her across the floor and hoist her up from the ceiling. The desks and chairs were nothing more than charred remains. When Melanie took in a breath, she could almost smell the burn in the air.

  The door to the room opened, and Melanie struggled in earnest as Stephen Donnelly came into view. The moment she began to struggle, panic lodged a wedge in her chest, agony ripped through her body, and she cried out again.

  Eyes widened in terror, she watched the inhuman smile creep over his lips. In Donnelly’s eyes, she saw her death.

  “It is futile to struggle, Miss Newton. There is no way anyone so human could escape those binds.”

  “Please, let me go. I’m nothing special. You can let me go.”

  Donnelly came farther into the room, the glint of the knife in his hand catching her eyes. She swallowed hard, her throat burning at the dryness.

  “But you are special, Melanie.” Donnelly began, his eyes darkening. “You are very special. Those with powerful abilities consider you theirs. She will come for you, and then I will become special, too.”

  Melanie didn’t have a clue who the woman was that he was referring to, but he was wrong, oh so very wrong. The team would mourn her, or she hoped anyway. Yet, they would move on… until she was a distant memory of the tech girl they used to know.

  As if she accepted her death, she couldn’t he
lp but wonder if her parents would come to her funeral. Would her brothers take time out of their lives of crime to say goodbye to the sister they barely acknowledged when they all had lived under the same roof?

  A tear slipped down her cheek, and Donnelly reached out to wipe it away before plunging the knife into her stomach.

  Melanie screamed and continued to scream as he slowly pulled the knife out, only to slide it back in at another location on her stomach. She screamed until her throat ripped, and it came out a hoarse croak. Blood seeped from the wounds, and she glanced down and began to cry in earnest.

  “Please, please don’t kill me. You don’t have to do this. Please, Stephen. Please.”

  Melanie had never begged for anything in her life, but she sure as hell wasn’t proud enough to not beg for her life. She wanted time; she wanted to live.

  “Oh, you are going to die, Melanie. For that I am truly sorry. But we all die in the end, us humans, just some sooner than others. I do hope your warlock gets to say goodbye before you are dead.”

  He drove the knife in again, and Melanie heard it slide through her flesh, felt when the blade scraped against the bones of her ribs. Then, the pain made her black out.

  Opening her eyes, Melanie heard herself growling and noticed people avoiding her as much as possible. She was planted in the middle of the footpath. Obviously, people didn’t want to walk around a pissed off vampire.

  Seeing a mother usher her child into their car, eyes weighed down with fear, Melanie muttered a quick apology before picking up the pace with her head down. Only when she had walked a few steps away did she pick up a familiar scent. It lured her into the amenity park.

  The park was nearly empty at this time in the evening; the swings and slides abandoned for a warmer climate. But Ricky balanced himself on the back of a bench, his son scrambling over the bars with the grace of a cat. Standing in the gateway leading into the park, she watched Ricky scrub a hand down his face. He looked exhausted, but now Melanie knew he was using drugs to suppress his magic and things had taken a sinister turn in the road.

  As if sensing eyes on him, he glanced in her direction and smiled, the light filling his eyes for a split second before they darkened again. Melanie strode into the park, taking a seat on the bench next to him. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before he spoke.

  “You been benched as well, vampire girl? Or have you been sent to keep an eye on me?”

  Melanie shook her head. “I’ve been benched as well. Went for a walk to clear my head. Purely coincidental that I came across you two.”

  Ricky ran a hand through his hair. “I know why I got benched, but why did they bench you?”

  She shrugged. “It’s not important.”

  “Humour me.”

  She ground her teeth together. “I’ve been having nightmares reliving the night Stephen Donnelly killed me. Caitlyn and Donnie found out that I’ve been keeping it a secret and said I needed a night off.”

  “How long?” he growled.

  “Couple of weeks,” she admitted, unable to hide the guilt in her tone.

  “Damn it, Melanie. Why did you not tell someone? Out of the lot of us, you were the one we didn’t need to worry about!”

  She raised a brow. “Oh, and while you were off experimenting with ways to cull your magic, did you bother to share that with the class?”

  He flinched, yet held his tongue. She sighed, more out of habit then necessity.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  He nudged her shoulder with his own. “Nah, we good. I was being a prick.”

  Turning his attention back to Zach, Melanie followed Ricky’s gaze. The little boy swung around on the monkey bar, and almost dropped. Ricky was out of his sitting position in a heartbeat, but the cat managed to land on his feet. Zack looked in their direction with an amused look on his face, and then gave a tiny wave to Melanie before he proceeded to climb back up the bars.

  Slumping down on the bench beside her, Ricky scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’m not sure I can do this,” he said in a hushed whisper.

  “Do what?” Melanie asked.

  “Be his dad. Have this responsibility. I can barely look after myself, let alone a kid. I walked out of the bunker earlier on when he was sleeping and forgot him. I got angry at Derek and stormed off, and I forgot about my son.”

  Melanie’s heart ached for him. “You got in a fight with your best friend and stormed off, but you didn’t leave him alone. Derek was in there with him. Derek would lay down his life for you and your son. In the back of your mind, you knew Zach was safe or you’d never have left.”

  “Like I thought you were safe and left you?”

  She pivoted her body so her knee rested on the bench as she faced him. “What happened to me was not your fault. I stormed off to have a pity party because you were right. I wandered off because you said that I could get hurt, and guess what? I did. If you hadn’t begged Caitlyn to make me a vampire, then I’d have spent the last few months rotting in a grave.”

  Ricky shuddered, but Melanie continued. “You will be a brilliant dad because, like me, you know what it’s like to have a crap parent. You will do everything, and I mean everything, in your power to be there for him. You won’t be perfect, but that’s okay. Because Zach needs to know it’s okay not to be perfect, and that you will still love him. Got it?”

  “Yes Ma’am.” He saluted her and smiled.

  “If only you were this agreeable all the time,” she replied with a grin.

  Ricky’s face went serious as he said, “I need to go somewhere…will you come with me?”

  “Sure.”

  With a nod, he stood, reaching out his hand to help her up. He whistled for Zach, who bounded over to where they stood.

  “Hey Zach, we need to make a little house call before we head home. Melanie’s gonna come with us, if that’s okay?”

  “Sure,” the little boy said with a shrug and began to make his way over to Ricky’s car. Without so much as a word, Zach slipped into the backseat. Melanie got into the passenger side, and they drove in silence. Melanie looked out of the window, watching the world go by.

  They drove towards the airport, zipping past Caitlyn’s house, before Ricky veered off to the right and Melanie’s jaw almost hit the ground. In front of her was a sprawling estate that resembled her own childhood home. It was lavishly kept, the lawn mowed and the house in pristine condition. Ricky rubbed the back of his neck as he came to a stop, his skin flushing.

  In order to save him any more embarrassment, Melanie glanced at him and smiled. “Be thankful that your mom hasn’t a taste for gold. We had a golden fountain in our front garden.”

  She got out of the car and waited until Zach exited before closing the door. Ricky stood with his back to them, inhaling a deep breath and exhaling it. The door to the house opened, bathing them in light as an older woman stepped out onto the gravel.

  “Richard?”

  Ricky dropped his head as the woman came closer, and another figure stood in the doorframe. Melanie clasped a hand over her mouth as Ricky began to sob, the woman wrapping her arms around him and holding his head against her shoulder.

  “Shh, it’s okay, son. You’re okay.”

  His mom? Now that she could see the woman’s face, she saw some resemblance, especially around the eyes. Hair brandished with a few strands of grey, the woman had the typical mom look about her, a proper mom that is. Her eyes were heavy and puffy as if she’d been crying, and Melanie could smell a sadness in her scent. The woman lifted her head and gave Melanie a smile that was all Ricky.

  “It’s cold out here, my dear. Why don’t you take the child in out of this night air, and we will follow you inside?”

  Ricky stepped out of his mother’s embrace and beckoned Zach over, leaving Melanie to stand there feeling left out. As soon as Ricky scooped Zach into his arms, Ricky’s mom gasped and reached for the boy, who quickly ducked his head, hiding behind Ricky’s hair.r />
  “It’s okay, Zach. This lady here is my mom. Your grandmother.” To his mother, he smiled. “Mom, this is Zach. We’ve only just met, but I thought he could make you smile, like he has me.”

  Gathering her composure, Ricky’s mom patted Zach on the shoulder. “Hello, Zach. Let’s go inside by the fire where it’s warm.”

  Ricky’s mom ushered them inside, Melanie hesitating as she felt that her presence might be interrupting a family moment. Kicking at the gravel, Melanie made to leave, giving them the space they need.

  “Lanie? You coming?”

  The tone in his voice. Fear and a little bit of uncertainly. Melanie did the only thing she could; she followed them in. A sullen looking man stood at the end of the stairs, his lips pressed together in a firm scowl.

  “Killian, put the kettle on. That poor girl must be frozen.”

  “She’s a vampire, Ma. She’s dead and doesn’t feel the cold.”

  Melanie flinched at the man’s words, and Ricky growled. “You’re lucky that I’m holding your nephew, Killian, or I swear to god, I’d punch you.”

  They continued into the sitting room, where Zach proceeded to burst into an array of shimmering lights and a black cat clambered out of Ricky’s arms and straight into Melanie’s lap as she sat down. Melanie rubbed the cat behind the ears and he purred.

  “I’m sorry for Killian, my dear, he has taken his father’s death hard. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “And you, Mrs. Moore.”

  “Call me Diane.”

  Ricky stood in front of the fire, his hands clasped behind his back, facing away from them. Diane chatted away to Melanie, as if she understood that her son needed a few minutes to compose himself before they spoke.

  Killian came in, his features so similar to Ricky’s, yet his eyes held no warmth in them, and set a tray on the table with a teapot and a few mugs. When Diane went to fill a cup for her, Melanie’s stomach sank even as Killian began to smirk.

  “Mom, Melanie’s a new vampire …she’s more likely to take a bite from the kid than drink your tea.”

  Melanie hissed in a breath as Ricky spun round, Killian vanishing out the door with his brother striding across the floor to go after him.