Felix slams down on the gas, and we’re at Ali’s apartment in ten minutes. My hands are shaking as I knock. The door opens, and I push it farther and walk in, surveying the scene.
Travis sits on the couch, head in his hands. He looks fine, maybe a little timid, considering his poor posture and his slumped shoulders. Normally, he walks around like he’s in the military.
Ali stands closer to the kitchen wringing her hands. The desperation in her gray eyes makes my heart skip a beat. Without hesitating, I cross through the room to hug her. It bothers me that Travis doesn’t look up to see that Diego, Felix, and I have entered the apartment. He looks like a statue.
Ali clings to me. We’ve gotten close because of Travis, and we’d hit it off right off the bat. We don’t really spend a lot of time one-on-one, though, since she’s always with Travis.
She blinks back a sheen of unshed tears. “Go to him.”
Touched, I nod and squeeze her hand. I walk back to Travis, kinda stomping so my approach won’t startle him, but he remains unfazed.
“Hi, there.” Should I sit next to him? Better not. I don’t want to freak him out.
He lifts his head, blank eyes settling on me. “Who are you?”
Okay, that stings. I feared he might not remember me, but I hoped his amnesia might only be for a certain time period. We’ve known each other for years, and now his memories are gone, just like that?
Wiped? By the vamps?
Why would they do that?
Maybe he saw or heard too much.
Or maybe it’s another way for them to toy with me and demonstrate their power. They’re flexing their might and showing that they’re in charge. They’re taunting that they can get away with murder and ruin lives.
And there’s nothing I can do about it.
“I’m Clarissa. Clarissa Tempest.” I hold out my hand.
He stares at it and then reluctantly shakes it. His grip is weak, pathetic. So unlike Travis.
“Do you know who they are?” I point to the guys in the doorway.
Travis hardly glances over. “No.”
I catch Diego’s gaze and make a phone with my fingers.
“Station or hospital?” he mouths.
“Both,” I mouth back.
I sit on the coffee table and then look over my shoulder at Ali to see if that’s okay. She’s kinda staring through Travis, almost in a trance herself.
“Do you know who you are?” I ask Travis, who has shifted back onto the couch, putting distance between us.
“She called me Travis.” He jerks his chin toward Ali.
“That’s right. You’re Travis. I can tell you all about yourself if you want, or you can talk about what you do know, what you remember.”
He shakes his head emphatically. “I don’t remember anything.”
“So you just showed up here.”
Travis’s frown guts me. “I just remember standing in front of the door. I knocked, and she freaked out, and I almost ran away, but I didn’t know where to go, and she seemed to recognize me, so…”
“Of course she recognized you,” Felix says. “Ali’s your—ooph!“
Diego elbows him.
Good. He deserves that.
“My what? Girlfriend?” Travis stands and looks at Ali. He glances at his hand and then hers. “Fiancée? We’re engaged?”
Ali takes a shaky breath. “Let’s not worry about that right now,” she says, finally sounding a little calmer. “Let’s just take you to a doctor and see what they say.”
Travis resembles a deer in headlights, but he allows us to drive him to the ER. It’s not really an emergency, but even walk-in urgent cares are closed at this late hour.
Doctor Dean approaches. “You just can’t stay away. How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” I assure him, feeling my cheeks flush as Diego smirks and puts his arm around me. I elbow his gut, slide away from him and closer to the doctor, and point to Travis. “He’s the patient. My partner. He’s been missing for a few days, and now—“
“I can talk for myself,” he says crossly. “I don’t remember anything.”
“Nothing?” Doctor Dean raises his eyebrows. “Will you follow me please?”
I want to follow, but it’s not my place.
Ali moves forward, and he asks her who she is. She mentions her connection, and I’m pleased he allows her to accompany him.
Diego’s on his phone, and he hands it to me. “It’s the lieutenant.”
Great. I’m worried as heck about Travis. I really don’t need grief right now.
“Yes, sir?”
“Clarissa, I know I’ve been hard on you lately, but think about my position, how it looks.”
“I know.” I understand, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be miffed about it anyhow.
“I’m glad Travis is safe and sound.”
“Me, too.”
Okay, I’m not sure why he’s bothering to tell me all of this. Does he have a point?
He does, as it turns out.
“Your theory, I’m sure you have some idea how to fit this in.”
“I do.”
“Email it to me,” he demands.
“Lieutenant?”
“From out of state.” And he hangs up.
Yeah, well, then you’re gonna be waiting a long time.
Anxious and powerless, I sit down in one of the uncomfortable chairs, and Diego claims the one beside me. Felix remains standing, leaning against the wall.
The waiting room is fairly empty, which is why the doctor came over so quickly. Maybe Doctor Dean walked by and spotted me. Or maybe I’m being ridiculous, although it does seem like nurses are taking back the other patients.
Diego yawns, stretches, and puts his arm around me.
I shift away from him. “Knock if off.”
“What? I thought I was getting somewhere with you.”
“Really? Your flirting with me is serious?” I can’t help being skeptical.
“Yeah,” he says, mock wounded. “Couldn’t you tell?”
“Obviously not,” I say dryly.
“You really think I gave up my duties to babysit you because I was tired of my caseload and paperwork?”
“Here I thought it was to stare at my ass all day.”
“Exactly.” He grins. The man has no shame.
“See? I can’t ever take you seriously.”
“You take things too seriously as it is,” he counters.
I can’t believe we’re talking about this, as if we might ever become a thing. Yeah, he’s fun and funny. He’s good looking, and he knows it, but now? I’ve even basically given up on Marlon.
The doctor, though…
“I’m crazy, don’t you know?” I ask. “That’s why you’re watching me.”
“We’re watching you because you witnessed a murder. You’re under a lot of stress lately.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” I grumble.
“Let me ease your burdens.” He shifts and twists me away so he can rub my shoulders.
“You don’t have—“
“Look, Clarissa. I’ve liked you for a little while now, but you’ve been mooning over that tool Marlon—“
“He’s not a tool!” It’s easier to focus on Marlon than the surprise of Diego’s claim.
“And now that doc was staring at you like he wanted to give you a personal examination. I’m not waiting any longer.”
“I…” I’m speechless, shocked. I had no idea his flirting with me was intended to be legit. “You flirt with everyone.”
“Not lately.”
Is that true? I haven’t noticed.
“Now’s not the best time,” I mumble, confused.
“Man, you’re tight.” He rubs hard.
It’s painful, but it feels so good at the same time.
“Right there. Ah.”
“I know the timing might not be the best, so I’ll wait. For now.” He stops massaging me.
Disappointed, I
groan.
Diego chuckles and pulls me close for a one-armed hug. “The first massage is free, but the others require payment.”
“How much?” I’d pay. I’ve only ever gone to a professional massage parlor once before, and his is on par.
“A kiss.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
Laughing, I push him away, but then I grimace. It feels so wrong to be laughing when vamps might be wiping other people’s minds, draining their blood, killing them. That’s not even to mention everything with Travis.
Everything that’s happened to him is on me.
Guilt and remorse leave me silent, and Diego seems to know me enough to leave me be.
After twenty minutes, I stand to stretch my legs and then start to pace. The few others waiting to be seen shoot me glares, but I ignore them. Too much anxious energy fills me. Either I pace in here or go for a walk outside, and going for a walk outside isn’t an option.
One, I want to be here the second we get an update.
And two, there are vamps out there, vamps who are toying with people’s lives.
Yes, I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but I’m a believer. Those guys are vamps, and there might be more of them. The entire city might be crawling with them.
Currently, we’re defenseless against them. The rest of the police force won’t acknowledge their existence, and I don’t have pure silver bullets.
“Aren’t you making yourself dizzy?” Diego asks lazily.
“Don’t you ever sleep?” I retort.
“Nope,” he says easily. He doesn’t seem tired, but he’s been watching my place for a while now. He should be exhausted, even if he and Felix have been taking shifts. “I’m a vampire. Don’t need to sleep.
I scowl.
“Too soon?”
I just shake my head.
“You know, it bothers me how much you try to give us the slip,” he says.
The concern in his tone makes my stomach sink.
“Not now,” I plead.
He’s silent.
I glance over. He’s really ticked off. His flirting manner is gone. The tension between his brows, his fists, and his clenched jaw tell me what I need to know.
He really does worry about me. As more than a friend? That I can’t handle right now. The flirting? Fine. That’s fun and playful. Anything else is a big fat nope.
It’s another twenty minutes before Ali, Travis, and Doctor Dean appear.
“Travis is cleared to go,” Ali says. She’s standing near him but not close enough to touch him. The space between them makes my heart ache.
“His brain?” I ask.
“We ran some tests and took some images,” the doctor says. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Diego smirking. He probably doesn’t like that Doctor Dean is talking directly to me, ignoring him and Felix. “Travis is fine. We’re hoping that his memory returns shortly, but it might take some time. It is extremely rare for amnesia to last forever, but in worse case scenarios, it can take years.”
“No other marks or…”
He nods, and I’m sure he can read my mind. No bites? “None.”
Interesting. How did the vamp control Travis then? Because I’m certain one is behind his sudden change in behavior earlier and now his abrupt amnesia.
“Can you guys get the car? I’ll be right there.”
Diego’s smirk falls into a glower. “Come on, Clarissa. Let’s all just go.”
“You can survive without me for a second.”
He clasps his hands to his chest. “I’m not so sure about that.”
I roll my eyes, wait for the others to leave, and nod to Ali. She glances behind at me with a lost look on her face.
I refocus on the doctor. “No bites?” I ask for clarification.
“None.”
“Will you notify me if anything similar to Travis or to Calinda crosses your path?”
“Of course.” He hesitates. “Do you think I could call you for dinner sometime?”
Say no. It’s too dangerous to get involved with anyone. The timing’s not right. He’ll understand.
But what I say is, “It’s a date.”
Chapter 18
I curse my stupidity the entire trek to the car, which Diego has parked out front, waiting for me. Maybe I just want to forge a connection with someone and that’s I said yes. Right now, though, I’m kinda feeling like I’m under a curse. Do vamps curse people? Or is that only a witch thing?
Great. Do I believe in witches, too? Like real witches with magic and fireballs?
No. Seeing is believing, so they say, and I’ve seen vamps. I haven’t seen a witch.
Yet.
That one woman did claim to be one, but she didn’t perform any magic so I’m assuming that she can’t.
I climb in and close the door, squished in the back seat with Travis between Ali and me. In a way, I envy Travis, as terrible as that is. At least if I had amnesia, I wouldn’t have to live in fear. I wouldn’t have to endure questions about my sanity or worry about my friends and myself.
How different everything would be if I had gone straight home after visiting my parents’ graves! I never would’ve come across that first vamp.
But then I never would’ve come across Calinda or Gizmo or connected them to Jennifer Hamilton. Maybe it’s better all of this has happened.
How can I think that sitting next to an amnesic Travis?
Diego turns on the radio as he pulls away from the ER.
“Ugh, change it,” I demand.
He turns it up instead. Of course.
“Please?” I beg. I really can’t stand rap.
“Man, turn it. She had to listen to it on repeat for an hour once.”
I gape at him. “You remember that?”
Travis blinks. “I… I think so. I remember you and me in a car… listening to this song… Why? Where were we?”
“We were on a stakeout, and the neighbor’s house had this song playing on a loop. So distracting!”
Ali laughs, the sound like pealing bells. “You came home so tired that you took a five-hour-nap, and I recorded you rapping it in your sleep.”
“You did?” Travis sounds incredulous.
“Show us!” I grin. We so need something like this.
“Not fair,” Diego grumbles. “I wanna see it, too.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll hear it.” Ali fumbles in her purse for her phone, and she scrolls through. This had been… a year ago? Two? A while ago, so it takes some time before she finds it. “Here we go.”
Diego shuts off the radio.
At first, all we hear are snores. Travis is sleeping on Ali’s couch. He must’ve just crashed there and never made it to the bed. He rolls over, scratches his nose, and rolls back.
And then he starts to rap. It’s just a line here, a pause, another line from a different part of the “song,” another pause, and then a few lines.
We’re all cracking up, but Ali gasps, “Just wait!”
A few more scattered lines, and then he raps the entire song.
Backwards.
We’re all laughing so hard. Diego has to pull over because he’s crying. It’s amazing. It’s refreshing.
And maybe I don’t hate that one rap song quite so much anymore.
Travis doesn’t remember anything else, even though Ali is going through her phone and showing him a ton of pictures. I have to admit that he seems fine. He’s taking everything in stride, and he’s definitely warmed up to her the most, which is as it should be. It’s hard for me to watch the two of them climb out of the car. As his partner and friend, I want to be there for him. Right now, though, Travis needs to be with whom he feels most comfortable with. It’s only fitting that that person is Ali.
“They’ll be fine. He’ll be fine,” Diego says. For some reason, he’s sitting in the back with me. Felix has the wheel now.
“I wonder what’s going to happen,” I mumble.
“With?”
“The stew he brought
me. The poisoned stew.”
“Oh. You’re not going to press charges, right?”
“Of course not!”
“So, what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that I want to know how he got the poison, who gave it to him, and why he lost his memories.”
“You have more questions than a news reporter.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“You’re gonna wear yourself down to the point of exhaustion and end up in an early grave. What you need is—“
“Answers.”
“A hot bath, another massage by me, and a long night’s rest.”
“Not with you in my bed.” I snort.
“Did I say anything about me being in your bed? And if I was, trust me, there wouldn’t be any—“
“I just can’t shut off my mind lately.”
His playful smirk falls, his expression now serious for once. “Maybe you need medication.”
“I’m not crazy!”
“I’m not talking about the vampire bit. I mean to help you sleep. Or maybe your thoughts are racing because you have OCD or… I don’t know.”
“Maybe I should see Dr. Harris again.”
“It can’t hurt any.”
“Have you always been like this?’
“Been like what?”
“Cocky and full of himself twenty-four-seven and then every blue moon has some advice that’s worthwhile?” Felix calls from the driver’s seat. I jump. I almost forgot about his being here. “Yeah, that’s Diego.”
“I resemble that,” Diego agrees, his grin returning full force.
He does have an amazing smile, one that could make a woman feel like she was the only one in the room.
Not five minutes later, Felix parks out front of my house.
“Do you want me to come in? All jokes aside. I’ll make no move against your virtue unless you want me to.” Diego beats a fist to his chest.
I’m tempted. I don’t want to be alone. But I also don’t want to give him the wrong impression. Plus I think I still have to clean up from the fight with Travis, and all I want to do is sleep. Although that bath does sound like a good idea…
“Maybe another time,” I say softly.
A pained expression crosses his face for so brief a time that I might’ve imagined it. “Good night, Clarissa.”
“Good night, Diego, Felix. Oh, and, guys? Thanks for watching over me.”
When Vamps Bite (Bedlam in Bethlehem Book 1) Page 13
