by Kate Wendley
Vince snapped, “Did you ever love her?”
“Your mother?”
He glared as he nodded.
“Like I said, I was nineteen.”
His temper rose. “She loved you.”
“She was nineteen, too. What do teenagers know about love?”
“You forced her away from everyone and everything she knew.”
His father was quiet for a time, then said, “I regret that. I regret that my irresponsible ways caused her, and you, harm. I tried to make it right by not allowing her to go to my father, which would’ve been her death sentence. I did my best. For both of you. I did the best a nineteen year old in the Yi family could do. Believe me, I grew up quickly that night.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll send word to her family, and if Mr. Johansen allows it, they can travel here to visit.”
Vince’s heart squeezed hard in his chest. He wanted to hate this man. He wanted to blister his ears with all the awful things they’d had to endure in life, but for all their hard times, his father’s life didn’t sound a whole lot better. Still…
“Are any of the rumors true that you’ve killed women and children? That you’re the Yi family’s attack dog?”
He straightened his spine and said, “My reputation depends on those rumors.”
“So you’ve killed pregnant women?”
His father stared him down for a time, then more quietly said, “I won’t answer that question.”
“Why not?”
“Because your family can’t keep their mouths shut, and word spreads quite easily, all the way to Savannah. All the way to my father’s ears.”
He shook his head. “You’re a bastard.”
Without hesitation, or even acting like the accusation upset him, he said, “I don’t deny that.” He turned to Zach. “Please teach my son some fighting skills. Or better yet, do you have a place I can work with him? He needs help in more ways than one.”
Zach sneered, “You’d go against your father’s wishes and leave him alive?”
He turned back and looked Vince squarely in the eye as he answered. “Why would I extinguish something good that I had a part in creating? He’s the only one of my children that seems to have any morals, any compassion. The world needs more of that. The Yi family needs more of that.”
Vince blurted out, “You have other kids? I have brothers and sisters?”
His father’s expression didn’t change, but his hesitation spoke volumes. “I married the woman my father arranged for me to marry. I did my family duty, and yes, I fathered two children. A boy and a girl. They’re younger than you, obviously, and rotten to their cores. They unfortunately embody what the Yi name has come to mean over the years. They’d be your brother and sister by my blood, but I warn you against reaching out to them. It wouldn’t go over well. Not for anyone.”
He ran his hand through his thick hair, then noticed blood on his palm. He found a handkerchief and wiped it away. To Zach he said, “Get a hold of me if there’s anything I can do to help with his illness, or if you need resources for his care.”
“Anthony has plenty of resources.”
His father’s expression soured and Vince couldn’t help getting a little chill when he said, “Mr. Foster is a vampire. I am the boy’s father.”
His mom’s voice suddenly rang out loud and clear. “Min-chul, you dirty scoundrel! Get away from Vince!”
His father turned and actually stifled a smile as Ed paced close beside her. When they were within twenty feet away, he said, “Charlotte. So lovely to see you. The years have been kind to you.” He flicked a look at Ed, then turned back to Vince.
“You have my number. Don’t hesitate to use it. You or your mother. Gossip has already spread so it’s only a matter of time before others are curious. I’ll do what I can on my end.”
He inclined his head and walked unhurriedly away as everyone stared after him.
**
Penny jerked when something heavy coalesced in the air less than ten feet from her. A man’s form took shape, the ends of his long, dark hair batted around by the cool night breeze. He stood barefoot in a pair of plaid pajama pants, his pale, creamy flesh marred by a scar across the back of one of his lean, muscular arms, and another one on his lower back.
He was still, facing the lawn behind the basketball court. By his posture he looked ready to charge in for whatever was needed of him, though. Unable to see his face, she assumed it was Anthony, but his energy didn’t feel like a vampire. In fact, he felt like there should be blank air where he stood, which meant she was either out of the loop with weird vampires being in the family, or it was definitely him. If it was him, it awed her that he’d be out here ready to defend a shifter that was just one of the rank and file at Brookhaven.
She tensed when Min-chul approached their small group, not quite sure why she was nervous. He curiously didn’t give Anthony much attention until he was almost right in front of him. He stopped and stared in confusion, maybe sensing the same thing Penny had about him, which was that he felt like dead air.
He tensed in shock, then cautiously said, “You’re Anthony Foster, aren’t you?”
“I am.” He hesitated before saying, “All in this family are under my protection.”
Another vampire quickly appeared out of thin air and stood next to Anthony. More long black hair, but not quite as long, and he had a pajama top on as well as pants with his bare feet.
Min-chul startled and took a step back, then quickly frowned and stepped forward again, lifting his chin in defiance.
Anthony gestured and said, “My father. Isaiah Foster.”
He gave them both a brisk head nod, and it wasn’t hard to see Vince in his father’s features. That hurt. Vince had kept important parts about himself from her, making her feel insignificant in his world even though everything else he’d ever done made it seem like she was the only one for him.
Min-chul gestured behind himself. “My son needs help. If you’re claiming responsibility for him, then I implore you to make him well.”
Penny couldn’t see Anthony’s face, but she clearly heard him say, “We’re looking into it.”
He kept his eyes on him as he pulled a card out of his pocket. “My number. In case you need anything.” He quickly added, “For Vince.”
Anthony’s arm moved. He must’ve taken the card because Min-chul gave another head nod, then didn’t waste any time heading to his Mercedes parked by the curb. They all watched him get in and start the engine, and then watched him scan past them all, probably searching for Vince before he finally sped off.
The crowd eventually thinned out, but Penny waited right where she was. Vince had some explaining to do, or at the very least he needed to break up with her to her face, but it was a few more minutes before he finally wandered back to the front stoop with Zach, Charlotte and Ed in a loose group behind him. She was of course furious by that point.
He stared angrily at the ground, looking lost in thought, until he finally noticed her standing there. He snapped, “I don’t want your pity.”
“Pity?” She stomped up to him and slapped him. “You son of a bitch. You kept everything about yourself from me. All those things we talked about…” She was so frustrated all she could do was let out a clench jawed scream. “You’re a jerk for stringing me along when you had no intentions of getting serious with me.”
He frowned and reached out for her. “No, Penny−”
She stepped out of his reach. “Screw you Vince LaRue. If you didn’t want to be honest with me, fine. That’s your deal. But I’m not playing your game anymore.”
She stormed off before she said any other mean things, not because she was worried she’d hurt his feelings, but because the more she screamed the madder she got, and once her temper really got going… ooh boy. Besides, she tried to tell herself that he wasn’t worth the heartache.
**
Vince stared at Penny as she angrily marched back inside. Once her sexy ass disappeared behind th
e dark glass door, he let out a bark of a laugh. It was either that or scream in frustration, which he still might do later.
Penny was mad at him, but it was better than her being resentful when she realized just how much he wasn’t the man she’d expected him to be. He wanted to be seen as a protector and a provider, not a feeble invalid that needed everyone’s help. Even his father, a man he’d never met before, could see he was sick and wanted to help him.
If one more person offered their help, he swore he was going to punch them.
**
Vince shut himself in his room, then sat on his bed and slumped back against the wall as he closed his eyes and listened to music. Or tried to. He’d finally met his father for the first time in his life, yet Penny was the one on his mind right now. She still hadn’t seen him at his worst, on full moon night. She’d said once that she didn’t date humans because they weren’t strong like her. They couldn’t run around as their animal with her and didn’t understand shifter things because they weren’t supposed to know about their kind.
Vince couldn’t run with her, and was just now starting to learn things about shifters that he should’ve known all along. That didn’t make him much better than a human. And being sick every month wasn’t something he wanted to burden the woman he loved with. Or burden a future family with…
His heart felt heavy in his chest as he hung his head in hopeless misery.
Chapter 25
Penny jammed the toner cartridge into the heavy duty copier with a little more force than she needed to. She reset the machine and the test pages printed out fine, so she swapped them out with a picture of a naked butt she found online. It was definitely a man’s ass as he sat on the copier glass, a smattering of dark hairs on his cheeks giving his gender away. At least she hoped that was a man. She left it in the printer tray for whoever would pick up the next set of copies.
There was fine black dust all over her hands and arms now, and a peek at her thighs showed she somehow had black smudges on her pants, too. Ugh. She hated changing toner cartridges out.
And how did she not see that Vince didn’t really care about her? His act was so convincing! That asshole. He just wanted some no strings attached sex. That was it. He was new to their world and she was the first shifter woman he’d happened upon. She felt like an idiot. She was just the woman he was going to dip his toes into this world with. The woman he could play around with until he decided what he really wanted.
The back burner girl that would always be around for when he felt like using her…
She wouldn’t be that person anymore. He could just figure out his life issues with someone that really mattered to him. He could talk to some other woman about meeting his dad for the first time, and about why he couldn’t shift, and, and…
She shakily wiped at the tears leaking down her cheeks, then hustled into the bathroom to see that she had swipes of black toner dust on her face. Awesome. She cleaned herself up feeling completely numb inside.
**
Vince turned the TV off when his mom and Ed sat down in the living room with him. They’d been acting funny today, so he wasn’t surprised when they said they wanted to talk to him.
“Honey, Ed and I, well, I love you very much.”
He stifled a smile. “Mom, it’s ok. Just spit it out.”
She briefly looked up at Ed, his giant arms holding her close. He had an anxious energy about him, and seemed a little worried.
Vince almost laughed. “Jeez you guys. Obviously something’s up. Are you engaged or something?”
Heavy silence made him finally start to worry.
“Honey, I’m pregnant. Ed and I are going to have a baby.”
His gut dropped, though he wasn’t sure why he felt so shell shocked. “A baby. Wow. Congratulations.” He managed a forced smile.
Ed piped up, “We talked about getting married, but we wanted to have this discussion together. As a family.”
That’s what was wrong. Vince wanted the life they were now making for themselves… a life he could never have. He looked away when he felt his face flush hot with emotion.
“Honey…” His mom’s hand on his shoulder made him feel selfish for stressing her out.
“You guys should do it. Get married.” He shrugged half-heartedly and said, “You’re a cute couple. And mom, you deserve to be happy. Really.” He gave her a big hug as Ed caught his eye.
He released his mom and said, “You should go celebrate.”
She got the cutest smile and a blush crept into her cheeks.
Ed said, “So we have your blessing?”
“Of course.” They shook hands and he felt like at least one goal was accomplished by coming to Brookhaven. His mom now had a life that made her happy.
**
Vince felt dead inside as he decided it was time to become invisible again and move out of Brookhaven. This place was for shifters and vampires, not for the physically challenged. He was sick of being sick, and nothing the doctor suggested was making him any better. In fact, he felt worse after eating more, drinking shifter blood, the vitamins… everything made him want to crawl away into a dark corner and die, now more than ever before.
And meeting his dad for the first time had been an angry, confusing mess. Min-chul was just a stranger that happened to have fathered him. Trying to get back in the picture now wasn’t something Vince even cared about anymore, and he certainly didn’t want his help with his life. Years ago he might have thought differently, but now it was way too late.
After his mom and Ed left to go to a Thai restaurant they’d never been to before, Vince looked around himself. His life needed to change again. He couldn’t stay living in this apartment while Ed and his mom created their new family here. She’d either move in with him or he’d move here, so Vince needed to leave. And if he was moving out, it might as well be right back into the human world. He belonged there way more than he belonged here.
He didn’t feel like looking for a place tonight, though, so he went down to the club for a drink while he mulled over how he was going to do this. He sat at the bar in the same spot he had the first night he’d come here, but this time he was the only one on a stool. He sipped his beer as he browsed through the roommate wanted ads online on his phone until movement to his left caught his attention.
Anthony and Kaia emerged from what he’d heard people call the vampire hall. It was the hall next to the bar that all the vampires went down to get to the sub-basement where they slept each day. Anthony’s expression was emotionless and stiff as usual, but when he noticed Vince, he looked more relaxed. Vince gave him a two fingered salute of a greeting and Anthony bobbed his head back at him.
When Kaia looked his way, he realized he’d forgotten about his promise to be there for her after she turned vampire. Oh hell. When was she turning again? Now that he’d made his decision to go back to the less painful way of life he used to have, he wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.
He gestured to her. “Hey. Are you on your way somewhere?”
“No. I think we’re just hanging out here tonight.”
He flicked a look at Anthony, then back to Kaia.
She frowned. “What’s up?”
Anthony quickly said, “I need to do some work in the office upstairs for a while. Vince, could I get you to guard Kaia while I’m busy? Feel free to take my office if you like.”
Kaia gave them both a suspicious look, but said to Vince, “Ok. Let’s take a walk, then. I want some fresh air.”
“Sure. Sounds good to me.” He finished off his drink while he waited for her to grab a jacket. When she re-appeared, Anthony walked them out the front door upstairs before leaving them to go do whatever he was pretending to do.
They took their time walking slowly along the path that wrapped around the buildings. “So how are things going with him?”
It was a little chilly tonight and Kaia’s hands were stuffed deep in her jacket pockets. Her shoulders rose up as if she were
trying to stay warm, and she didn’t look at him as she carefully said, “Anthony’s a good guy.”
“But…”
Her shoulders dropped and she finally turned and stared at him. “Did you know he’s going to turn me vampire?”
He nodded. “You don’t want him to?”
“I do, but I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
She shrugged and was quiet as she looked around into the dark night. He gave her time, figuring she had something big on her mind. Not that being turned vampire wasn’t big. He looked around himself, too. It was nice and peaceful out here. They were in the middle of a busy suburb, but far enough away that the sounds of nature were all that he mostly heard. If he moved back to Atlanta he’d have to look for a place in a quiet neighborhood like this.
She broke the silence when she said, “I could die.”
“We all die someday.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “I could die instead of turn vampire.”
He winced at her tone and felt bad for his flippant response. He had his own issues that felt bigger than he could handle, but she had an equally big issue in her life, so he more gently asked, “You think Anthony will kill you? You don’t trust him?”
She frowned. “That’s not what I’m saying. It’s not about trust, it’s about the fact that this isn’t an everyday thing. I might not be strong enough to survive turning vampire. And if I don’t turn, then I’ve only had Anthony in my life for such a short time before he’s just… gone. Before I’m gone.” She shook her head in worry. “Who knows where I’ll go when I die, but he won’t be there.”
He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “You’re not going to die.”
She quietly huffed. “You don’t know that.”
“No, but I believe him that he needs you. He said you keep him human. If you don’t make it through your turning, well, he really doesn’t want that to happen.”
“He told you that?”
He nodded.
She got a little twinkle in her wary eyes. “Are you guys friends or something now?”
