Blood Diamond

by R. J. Blain

  “I was already awake. I was amusing myself watching you sleep.”

  “Were you?”

  “I certainly was. It was particularly entertaining watching Jacqueline evict you to the edge of the bed when tossing and turning. Even in your sleep, you’re spoiling her rotten. She’ll need her own bedroom or you’ll be sleeping on the floor. She kicked you off twice, and you slept right through it.”

  I felt my brows rise. “Really?”

  “Really. Richard heard the first thump, thought something was wrong, and ran in to check on you. It took him twenty minutes to stop laughing.”

  “How embarrassing.”

  “You slept through dinner, too. How do you feel? You missed your painkillers. Richard tried to wake you up to take them, but you were out cold. There’s pizza and chicken wings in the fridge if you need to take some. He decided it wasn’t worth the effort, and that you’d survive missing a dose, as you probably wouldn’t survive him trying to shove medicine down your throat while you were asleep.”

  “I don’t feel too bad,” I replied, sitting down beside her, setting my coffee on the vanity before taking off my watch and putting it out of harm’s way. “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you sorry for now?” Evelyn kissed my cheek. “You’re fine, stop being sorry.”

  “Did Jacqueline have dinner?”

  “I couldn’t get her to try the pizza, but yeah. She had a sandwich, I told her she got the banana for keeping you company while you slept. She was cranky the entire time she was awake, but who can blame her?”

  “Thank you for taking care of her,” I whispered.

  “You’ll be taking care of her to your heart’s content soon enough.”

  “With your help.”

  She rewarded me with her smile. “You must think I know everything.”

  I widened my eyes at her. “You don’t?”

  “You win that round, Mr. Jackson.”

  “What’s my prize?”

  Evelyn licked her lips. “I could think of a few things.”

  “You have my complete and undivided attention.”

  “Boy, girl, or both?”

  I blinked, and for several long moments, my mind went completely blank. “What?”

  “Boy, girl, or both?” Evelyn repeated, arching a brow at me.

  I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Is this a figurative or literal discussion?”

  “Which do you want it to be?”

  “It’s a trap,” I muttered, eliciting a laugh out of my mate. “Jacqueline might get upset if we start talking about that so soon,” I whispered.

  “Her preference is for a boy.”

  “Her what is for a what?”

  Evelyn smirked. “Boy. They’re noisier than girl people, not as pretty, but are typically easier to care for. She’s requested a baby brother for her birthday. I told her that I would take her request seriously, but that there might not be sufficient time to make such an arrangement. I also informed her that her daddy had an equal part to play in any requested brothers or sisters. Your mother attempted to derail the discussion by saying something about the birds and the bees. Cranky Jacqueline scolded us all rather viciously, informing us that daddies did not do the hard work, embarrassing your mother by detailing exactly how baby brothers and sisters came along. Fortunately, your daughter seems unaware of her innuendo. Apparently birds and bees do not do that together, and she would appreciate if we did not lie to her, thank you very much. The rest of us almost died of laughter. About five minutes later, I threw up dinner because I couldn’t stop giggling.”

  I covered my face with my hands at the thought of my daughter giving everyone a sex education course. “I’m so sorr—wait, you threw up?”

  “Cold pizza. Bleh.”

  When Suzanne had been pregnant, food had been a fickle peril. Testing the water with my hand, I turned the tap off to buy myself a few moments to think. “Throwing up is unpleasant business. I threw up over the railing of a bridge. To add insult to injury, the bridge collapsed.”

  Evelyn giggled. “No bridges were harmed in this incident.”

  “If you will be throwing up on a daily basis, I will have to invest in a house with a bathroom on every floor, a kettle, and stock in a company that makes raspberry tea.” I sucked in a panicked breath. “Wait, you changed to a wolf. I thought...”

  “It’s only an issue after the second month.”

  It took me several minutes to compose myself enough to ask, “Is it?”

  “It is. If you’re not ready, it’s not an issue. If you are, it’s not an issue.”

  I spluttered, and unable to think of a coherent reply, I pointed at her.

  She laughed. “If there are no issues, then you better come practice, just to make sure.”

  “You are a very devious woman,” I growled, narrowing my eyes at her. With slow, careful, and exaggerated motions, I shoved her into the jacuzzi, pajamas and all. When she tried to yank me in with her, I captured her hands. “If you are, I’m not letting you out of my sight, not for a single minute.”

  “I have no problems with that. I always wanted my own servant who comes with many, many benefits.”

  “Is that all I am now, a servant?”

  Smirking at me, she splashed water in my direction. “Your daughter said it, I’m the one who has to do all the hard work.”

  I flushed, running my hands through my hair. “I can’t believe she said that. Did she really say that?”

  “She did, and it was really obvious she was parroting what she had been told without really knowing what she was saying. Your mother’s face was priceless. It gets even better.”

  “That doesn’t sound promising.”

  “When we told her it was bed time and she should go curl up with you and sleep, we were informed that if she disturbed mommy and daddy time, she couldn’t have a baby brother for her birthday.”

  I counted months off on my fingers. “I hope she’ll accept a rain check.”

  “Your mother tried to use the stork excuse, too. That didn’t go over so well. I thought she would have figured it out after her failed birds and bees effort. Poor baby, she even tried to count out the months on a calendar. Jacqueline’s utterly convinced a baby brother is a necessity, and that it’s her responsibility to make arrangements. I think she’s feeling guilty for some reason, and I don’t know why.”

  I froze, thinking back on when I had found out Jacqueline had been born and all of the things I had missed, all thanks to Suzanne’s scheming. If I hadn’t hallucinated her presence, I had the sinking suspicion she had picked up a lot of things from me I didn’t want her to know, including what had happened to her mother. I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath.

  Evelyn took advantage of the moment, yanking me into the tub with her. I spluttered, sprawled on top of her. “All’s fair in love and war,” she murmured in my ear.

  “Do you know how much of a pain it is to get out of wet jeans?” I complained.

  “Your fault for falling asleep in your jeans. Don’t blame me. You pushed me first. You’ll just have to live with it. So, what are you going to tell your daughter?”

  “Our daughter,” I corrected. “She already called you mommy, so you’re stuck with mommy duty, I’m afraid.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “Good, I wasn’t planning on giving you a choice about that. What Jacqueline wants, she gets.”

  “Within reason.”

  “Negotiable. We’ll start with a fox plushy, which she’ll tell us is a wolf, and we’ll pretend she’s correct,” I stated, nipping Evelyn’s nose. “Then I’ll convince her that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are only allowed once a week at maximum, and only if she’s been a really good girl.”

  “A fox plushy?”

  It was hard, but I told her about my glimpses into Jacqueline’s memory. “I think she picked up a lot more from me than I wanted,” I admitted.

  “Between the two of you, you have so many issues that an entire psyc
hiatric ward would be challenged straightening out the mess. Fortunately for you, I’m patient and like children. That answers some of my questions, at least. I was wondering why she didn’t think you had abandoned her. I’d put my bets on her being a fire witch or air witch.”

  “What? Why?”

  Evelyn snorted. “I’m not a total expert on witches, but I have a nose and I know how to use it. She’s not an earth or water witch. If she were water, she’d probably have neutralized your powers by accident. She’s not earth—doesn’t have the scent. Fire and air are trickier to sniff out. She’s definitely a little witch, though, and I’d put my bets on fire. They sense things. Amber says it lets her get a good feel for people on first meetings. She sees auras. When she works at it, she can pick up other things. If Jacqueline has that, when she hitched a ride with you, she probably got a crystal clear view of how much you love her.”

  “And all of the things I missed when she was growing up,” I said, unable to keep the misery out of my voice.

  “Thus her desire for a baby brother or sister. She’s a lot like you. She sees a problem, she picks a solution, and she runs with it. You missed her when she was a baby, so the only way to fix that is to have another baby. Of course, she’s not really aware of what is involved with us having a baby, but that’s not really her problem, is it? All she’s worried about is trying to make you happy. It’s cute.”

  I sighed, resting my forehead against her shoulder. “I don’t deserve either one of you.”

  “Do not make me drown you in this tub, mister.”

  “Well, I don’t. You’re both too perfect.”

  Evelyn ran her hands through my hair. “I suppose you’re correct. We are perfect for you, and you’ll just have to accept that. We’re worse than leeches. Now that we have gotten a hold of you, you’re stuck with us. Live with it.”

  “I guess I’ll manage, somehow.”

  ~~*~~

  I managed to ruin my bandages, but since I was no longer bleeding from where the surgeons had dug the diamond and bullet out of my chest, I decided it wasn’t a problem. Risking one of my darker shirts and jackets, I wore a suit, much to Evelyn’s amusement.

  When I was nibbling my way through a second slice of pizza, Jacqueline stumbled out of the bedroom, tripped over Nicole, and landed on top of Richard’s wife with a squeak. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t laugh. Between yawns, Nicole untangled herself from my daughter before setting Jacqueline on her feet. My daughter took off at a run, bouncing to a halt in front of me.

  “Daddy!” she chirped, fluttering her hands.

  Taking that to mean she wanted picked up, I set my pizza down and obeyed. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

  “Sandwich,” she demanded.

  “I’m afraid Daddy has implemented a ban on peanut butter and jelly until a little girl named Jacqueline learns to say please,” I replied. “You can eat pizza instead.”

  “May I have a sandwich, please?”

  “Pizza,” I countered, and after settling her on one arm, wincing a little at her weight, I picked up my paper plate. “If pizza is good enough for me, it’s good enough for you.”

  Jacqueline shook her head. “I’m not allowed to have it.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’m the one who makes the rules in this household, Miss Jacqueline, and I say you’re allowed to have it.”

  Evelyn cleared her throat.

  “Mommy can make rules too, I suppose.”

  Two pairs of jade-green eyes narrowed at me. “You suppose?” my mate murmured.

  “She won’t eat it, Jackson. Give up and make the poor baby a sandwich,” Nicole said, stretching her arms over her head. “Good morning. Ugh, I’m stiff.”

  “That’s what you get for sleeping on the floor,” I countered. “Good morning. You could have slept in a bed. I’m pretty sure you have a room in this hotel somewhere. You do, don’t you?”

  “Two doors down,” Richard replied, covering his mouth as he yawned. “What time is it? It’s too early to be up.”

  “Traditionally, you wait until you hear the time before you decide it’s too early to be up. It’s eight, and I have to leave for my doctor’s appointment in twenty minutes,” I replied before turning my attention back to Jacqueline. “If you won’t eat the pizza, I guess I’ll have to eat it all, then.” I set the plate down, took my slice, and had it halfway to my mouth before my daughter snatched it. She dug her fingers into the cheese, cramming the crust into her mouth.

  “Sweety, sweety,” Evelyn said, taking the pizza out of Jacqueline’s hands, which were covered in tomato sauce. “You hold it like this.” Once my mate showed her how to hold the pizza, my daughter nodded, held it by the crust and bottom, and nibbled on it.

  Her eyes widened.

  Within a minute, only the crust remained, which Jacqueline regarded with a wrinkled nose. “I don’t like this part.”

  “Don’t worry, neither do I,” my mate confessed, taking the leftovers and tossing them out.

  “Way to go, Jackson. Couldn’t you have given her a slice of her own? You probably just gave her whatever infections you have,” Richard scolded. “Don’t get sauce all over your suit. You take forever to change.”

  Evelyn saved my suit from ruination at the hands of a five year old using a wet paper towel. “Jacqueline, do you want to go with Daddy to his doctor’s appointment?”

  “Is Daddy sick?” my daughter asked, holding her arms out to Evelyn, who took her.

  “They’re making sure he doesn’t get sick,” Evelyn replied.

  “The bad witch hurt him,” my daughter whispered, and I winced at her miserable tone.

  “Don’t worry, little one,” Richard said, giving me a solid thumping on my back. I hissed in pain. “We’ll make sure your daddy stays out of trouble from now on.”

  “Okay, Mr. Richard.”

  When someone knocked at the door, Nicole skipped over to answer it. “Gerald!”

  I groaned, leaning against the counter. “The drug dealer is here?”

  “Uncle Jackson!” Beth and Ruth tumbled into the room, spotted me, and darted by Richard to collide with my legs.

  I grunted, kneeling down to greet Gerald’s children. “Hello, girls. Where the girls are, their beautiful mother must be close behind.”

  “Compliments will not save you, Jackson,” Maggie proclaimed, following her husband into the room. “And who is that cute little girl?”

  “Daddy?” Jacqueline asked, her tone uncertain and full of worry.

  Evelyn set my daughter down. “This is Ruth and Beth. They’ll be your friends. Ruth, Beth, this is Jacqueline. She’s Uncle Jackson’s girl. Treat her nice, okay? She doesn’t have many friends.”

  Both Ruth and Beth’s eyes widened. “Hello,” Ruth said, clutching her bunny close to her chest before holding him out to my daughter. “His name is Sir Rufus Fuzzybottom. Do you want to hold him?”

  When my daughter looked up at me for guidance, I patted her head. “I slept with him when I was at their house last. Go on and play.”

  I wasn’t really sure how much my daughter knew about playing, but I extricated myself from the tangle of little girls, sliding around them to join Gerald and Maggie. Before I could say anything, Maggie caught me up in a rib-crushing hug. I wheezed, patting her back.

  “You jerk,” she hissed.

  “Bad word!” my daughter proclaimed, pointing at Maggie.

  I ducked my head, choking back my laughter.

  “Oops. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry, just wait until she really starts cursing,” I whispered into Maggie’s ear. “She’s just learning which words are bad and which ones aren’t. She’s had... a colorful education.”

  “By colorful, what he’s trying to tell you is that she gave his mother a rather descriptive sex education lesson last night,” Evelyn whispered as she joined us.

  Maggie gave me another hug. “Thank God, Jackson. She’s okay? Did she really? What did she say?”

  “She did. I
t gets better. She discovered pizza for the first time about five minutes ago,” Evelyn announced. “It’s a good thing that she can’t spell and that her m-o-t-h-e-r is already d-e-a-d because when Jackson found out her diet consisted entirely of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I was certain there was going to be a m-u-r-d-e-r. We do not address S-u-z-a-n-n-e by name, nor do we call her m-o-t-h-e-r.”

  “Has she been to a doctor yet?”

  I sucked in a breath, turning to Evelyn. “Has she?”

  “Several. Generally got a clean bill of health, although all three of them were worried about malnutrition. She’s a little small for her age. They think she’ll grow like a weed once she starts eating better. She’s six inches below average and about five pounds underweight for her height.”

  “No wonder,” I muttered, glancing at my daughter. The three girls sat together on the floor in the kitchenette, whispering to each other. “I’m stealing your children to be her playmates, Gerald.”

  “You are not! You may borrow them for short periods of time, but you may not keep them,” my friend replied.

  “Spoilsport,” I rebuked, smiling at the girls. After a moment of consideration, I turned to Evelyn and said, “To answer your earlier question, both or either is perfectly fine by me.”

  Evelyn’s smile warmed me.

  Tales of the Winter Wolf, Volume One

  Long before Nicolina Desmond manifested her powers as a wizard, she was a Normal girl with extraordinary circumstances. In order to prove herself and escape her father’s chokehold on her life, she’s determined to get on the fast track towards an independent life.

  However, she never anticipated how meeting Richard Murphy would change her life…

  Tales of the Winter Wolf follows the adventures of Nicole and Richard, predominant characters from Witch & Wolf #2, Winter Wolf. Spoilers for the novel are contained within!

  Volume One contains the following stories:

  Hunted