With his heightened senses came an increased ability to feel pain and he felt it now with every movement he made, felt his strength ebbing. Wounds that should have healed quickly continued to bleed; the more blood he lost, the weaker he would become. His whole body screamed in protest when he moved.
Villagrande stared at him, a smug smile on his face. He had won, and he knew it.
Rhys took a deep breath. He couldn’t lose. If he did, it was like signing a death warrant for Delacourt and Alex, although he wasn’t sure if Delacourt was even still alive. Alex lay slumped in the corner, his pale face streaked with blood.
Dammit, he couldn’t quit now. Summoning Megan’s image, Rhys gathered what strength he had left. He was about to charge Villagrande when Daisy and Megan materialized in the room.
Rhys swore, his overwhelming relief at seeing Megan alive warring with his anger at Daisy for bringing her here.
Villagrande looked at the two women, then threw back his head and laughed. “Costain and Delacourt for dinner,” he crowed. “And two plump females for dessert.”
“Is that right?” Megan exclaimed. “Well, eat this!” Pulling a stake from the folds of her skirt, she sprang forward, the stake aimed at Villagrande’s chest.
Daisy was moving, too. Taking a bottle from her pocket, she threw the contents in Villagrande’s face.
Rhys knew a moment of hope. Was it possible that Daisy and Megan had accomplished what he couldn’t? But no. With a roar of pain and outrage, Villagrande backhanded Daisy, sending her flying across the room. Her head struck a corner of the dresser, and she crumpled to the floor beside her brother.
In a move faster than the eye could follow, Villagrande grabbed the stake from Megan’s hand. He tossed it aside; then, grabbing Megan by the throat, he lifted her off her feet. “Perhaps I’ll have dessert first,” he said with a growl.
There was a sudden rush of movement as Erik regained consciousness. A wild cry rose in his throat when he saw Daisy sprawled on the floor, her hair stained with blood from a gash on the back of her head.
Villagrande dropped Megan and spun around to face Delacourt.
And in that one instant, when Villagrande was distracted, Rhys snatched the hawthorn stake from the floor and drove it into the vampire’s back. It sliced through Tomás Villagrande’s ancient preternatural flesh like a hot knife through butter, piercing his black heart. Blood fountained from the wound in a crimson arc, spraying over the room’s inhabitants, as well as the walls, the ceiling, and the floor.
Villagrande turned on Rhys with a scream of rage, his eyes as wide and red as the depths of hell. And then, as if someone had jerked his legs out from under him, he toppled to the floor and lay still.
Megan ran toward Rhys, her face fish-belly white. “Is he dead?”
“Oh, yeah,” Rhys murmured.
And even as he spoke the words, Villagrande’s body began to shrink in on itself, the flesh melting away, the bones disintegrating, until there was nothing left but dust.
“Holy crap!” Cradling his broken arm, Alex limped over to stand beside Rhys. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Megan whispered, and buried her face against Rhys’s shoulder.
He ran his hand up and down her back. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“I will be.” Rhys glanced over his shoulder to where Delacourt was kneeling beside Daisy. “How is she?”
“I’m fine,” Daisy said. “Alex, are you okay?”
“Well, other than my wounded pride, my sprained ankle, and my broken arm, yeah, I’m okay.” He looked at his sister, at Erik, and at Rhys, then looked at Megan. “I’m thinking, as the only two humans in the room, that we should make ourselves scarce for a while.”
“Why?” she asked, frowning, and then, suddenly aware that all three vampires needed blood, she said, “Oh.”
Rhys glared at Alex. “Do you really think we’d feed off you?”
Alex snorted. “Delacourt’s done it before. And I seem to remember you gnawing on my arm just a few minutes ago.”
“That wasn’t feeding,” Rhys said, scowling.
“All right, that’s enough,” Daisy said, pushing herself to her feet. “This is what we’re going to do. We’ll transport Megan and Alex to the nearest hospital. Megan will stay with him while the rest of us go and, uh, get cleaned up. And then we’ll meet back at the hospital. All right?”
“Who put you in charge, Daisy Mae?” Alex asked.
“Have you got a better idea?”
“No, I guess not.”
“It’s settled then,” Daisy said. “Let’s go.”
Megan looked up at Rhys. “You can drink from me if you want.”
Rhys shook his head. “I need more than you can spare.” He ran his knuckles over her cheek. “What happened? I couldn’t sense you anywhere. I thought…” He took a deep breath. “I thought you were dead.”
“We’re fine,” Daisy said, smiling. “It’s the zombies that are dead. I think Villagrande sent them after us, maybe just to keep us out of the way, or maybe…” She shrugged. “Who knows?”
“What happened to the zombies?” Megan asked.
Daisy looked at her as if she wasn’t very bright.
“Oh.”
“As soon as they were out of the way, I grabbed you and transported us here and that, as they say, is that.”
Alex cleared his throat. “Do you think you two could reminisce about that later? I’m in a bit of pain here.”
“Sorry,” Rhys muttered. He glanced at Erik and Daisy. “Let’s go,” he said, and wrapping his arms around Megan, he transported the two of them to the hospital.
Moments later, Erik, Alex, and Daisy materialized beside them.
Daisy smiled at her brother. “Make up a good story,” she said. “You used to be aces at that when we were kids.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Catch ya later.”
Megan looked up at Rhys. “Be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me. Ask the doctor to check you over while you’re in there.”
She rubbed her hand over his cheek. “I’m fine. Come on, Alex,” she said, slipping her arm around his waist, “let’s go get you patched up.”
Rhys shook his head as he watched Megan help Alex up the driveway toward the emergency room entrance. She was quite a woman.
“Costain?”
He answered Erik without taking his gaze from Megan. “Not now.”
Erik took Daisy’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll meet you back here in, oh, say, half an hour, all right?”
Rhys nodded, his attention still on Megan. No matter how long he lived, he knew he would never see her like again. She was everything a man could want in a woman—kind, caring, with a loving heart and a generous nature, and he knew that, from this night on, his existence would never be the same. Leaving her would be the hardest thing he had ever done, but it was best for both of them. When he was gone, her life would go back to normal and so, he thought glumly, would his.
He watched her until she was out of sight, and then he melted into the darkness, where he belonged.
Chapter 46
Feeling chilly, Megan wrapped her arms around her middle. It had been a heck of a night. Alex hadn’t wanted to stay in the hospital, but the doctor had insisted. In addition to his broken arm and sprained ankle, Alex had two broken ribs and a possible concussion.
Rhys had told her to have the doctor check her over, too, but there had been no need for that as far as she was concerned. She didn’t have any broken bones, and there was no cure for the nightmares she was likely to have.
Tapping her foot, she glanced up and down the street. Where was Rhys? Hadn’t he and the others agreed to meet back here in half an hour? Had she been mistaken? Or maybe it had just taken them longer to get cleaned up. Cleaned up, indeed. She knew what that meant. They had all gone to feed. Good grief, she was hanging out with vampires. Megan shook her he
ad. After all she had seen and heard, did Daisy really think she was such a nervous Nelly that she couldn’t handle the truth?
Megan scrubbed her hands up and down her arms as a chill wind blew down the street. Of all the times to be without a cell phone, she thought impatiently, and then lifted a hand to her head. She had a bump the size of a goose egg where the zombie had hit her. She was, she thought, lucky to be alive.
She almost jumped out of her skin when Daisy and Erik appeared seemingly from out of nowhere. Even in the faint glow of the lights that lined the driveway, Megan could see that they had both fed and fed well.
“Where’s Rhys?” Daisy asked, glancing around. “I thought he’d be back by now.”
A horrible sense of foreboding settled over Megan. Closing her eyes, she tried to find the bond she shared with Rhys, but there was nothing there. Only emptiness.
When she opened her eyes, the look on Erik’s face, the pity in his eyes, turned her stomach cold.
“Come on,” he said, putting his arm around her. “We’ll take you home.”
Before Megan realized what was happening, she was standing in her own living room.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Erik suggested. “Daisy, would you bring her a glass of water?”
“I don’t want a glass of water or anything else,” Megan said, her voice brittle. “I just want to know what’s going on.”
“Why don’t you sit down?” Erik repeated.
Megan sat on the edge of the sofa, her hands tightly folded in her lap. “He’s left me, hasn’t he?”
Erik nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“But why? It’s over. Villagrande’s not a threat anymore.”
“He’s afraid for you,” Erik explained. “Afraid of what might happen in the future.”
“So, just like that, it’s over?”
Erik’s gaze slid away from hers.
“Why didn’t he come and tell me all this himself?”
Erik shrugged. “That should be obvious.”
“I never took him for a coward,” Megan said.
“I’m sure he was only thinking of you,” Daisy said. “You’ll always be in danger as long as your life is tied up with his. It’s one of the reasons vampires rarely get involved with mortals.”
“Is that right?” Megan asked, her anger rising. “Then how do you explain the two of you?”
“I said rarely, not never. It happens from time to time. But such pairings aren’t usually successful unless…” Daisy looked at Erik and smiled.
“Unless the mortal becomes a vampire,” Megan said. “Is that what you’re trying to say?” Rhys had left her. She couldn’t think about it anymore, not now, when the hurt was so fresh. And so she changed the subject. “Why did Villagrande send zombies after us tonight?” Zombies. Megan shook her head. Even now, it was hard to comprehend.
“For no good reason, I’m sure.” Erik smiled at his wife. “Whatever his reasons, I guess he underestimated your powers.”
Daisy made a face at him. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. As soon as I went outside, I knew I’d made a mistake. While I was dispatching one of the zombies, the other one got inside and knocked Megan unconscious. By the time I got back in the house, the zombie had Megan slung over his shoulder and was heading for the back door.”
“I can’t believe such creatures exist,” Megan said.
“Oh, they exist all right,” Erik said. “But they’re not too bright.”
“How do you…? Never mind,” Megan decided. “I don’t want to know.” Zombies had once been human. Did they return to normal when whoever held them in thrall released them? Or did they remain mindless creatures with no will of their own?
“It’s late,” Daisy said, patting Megan’s hand. “You should get some sleep.”
Sleep? After the last few days, she didn’t think she would ever get another peaceful night’s sleep. And even as the thought crossed her mind, she was yawning.
“We’ll stay until morning, if you don’t want to be alone,” Erik offered.
The idea was appealing. But rather than seem cowardly, Megan shook her head. “I’ll be all right, but thank you, both of you.”
“You’ve got our number,” Daisy said, giving Megan a hug. “Call if you need us.”
Megan nodded. She started to rise, intending to walk Daisy and Erik to the door, but they were gone in a swirl of twinkling blue and dove gray motes before she gained her feet.
“A neat trick,” she murmured, and burst into tears.
Thursday morning dawned cold, gray, and gloomy, the perfect setting for Megan’s misery. She had cried most of the night, hadn’t slept more than an hour or two at most, which explained why she woke with a headache and eyes that felt like they were filled with sand.
It seemed strange to wake in her own bed in her own room. Strange to know she was alone in the house. The nightmare was over. Tomás Villagrande had been destroyed. Erik and Daisy had returned to Boston. And Rhys…? Where was he? Knowing it was useless, she tried to open the link between them, but it was like trying to call a number that had been disconnected. No one was there.
Rising, she stepped into her slippers and plodded downstairs to make a pot of coffee. When it was done, she sat at the table staring into her favorite Grumpy coffee cup and wishing she could just disappear. How was she supposed to go back to her old, boring life after having known Rhys? Yes, he was dangerous. Yes, being around him was risky. But as scary as it had sometimes been, being with him had made her feel vibrant and alive. And she loved him as she would never love anyone else.
She carried her coffee cup into the living room and switched on the TV. Talk about a vast wasteland. Did anyone even watch TV in the morning? There was nothing on but black-robed judges trying to look important while they ruled on mundane cases, cheerful talk show hosts who discussed even more mundane topics, ubiquitous soap operas, and mindless cartoons. Where had all the good shows gone?
She refilled her cup twice and then, deciding she couldn’t just sit around in her pj’s and mope all day, she called Mr. Parker and told him she was back in town and that she would be at work that night. Early.
It turned out to be the best decision she could have made. Mr. Parker was genuinely happy to see her again. Being back at work, talking to people who didn’t drink blood or disappear in the blink of an eye helped to ground her in the real world again.
Shore’s was having its once-a-year sale, which meant they were even busier than usual, for which Megan was grateful. She didn’t have any time to think of anything—or anyone—else.
It was after eleven when Drexel swaggered into Shore’s. Clad in a fluorescent pink shirt, black velvet vest, and skintight black pants, he was a sight to behold. His face lit up brighter than his shirt when he saw Megan.
“Babe!” he exclaimed as he wrapped her in a bear hug. “I’m so glad to see you!”
“Thanks, Drexel. I missed you, too,” she said, and meant it. “Hey, I thought you were going on tour?”
“We cut it short.”
Extricating herself from his embrace, she asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Just my head. Ever since the fire, I’ve been having trouble performing on a stage unless it’s outside. My shrink says it’ll pass, in time. He says I should take a vacation, so that’s what I’m gonna do. So, I need some new threads, something hip but subdued, you know?”
“I’m sure we can find something that will work.”
Ninety minutes and nine thousand dollars later, Drexel pulled her into another exuberant hug. “Thanks, babe. Just seeing you makes me feel better.” He smiled at her, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “So, babe, have you decided to marry me yet?”
“Drexel…”
“I know you think I’m too young and that I’m just kiddin’ around, and that I don’t really mean it, but if you say yes, I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world.”
“You’re sweet, really, but I wouldn’t be good for you or anyone else right no
w.”
“What happened, Megan? Some guy hurt you?”
“In a way.” Lifting a hand, Megan caressed his cheek. “If I was going to marry anyone, it would be you.”
He laughed at that. “I’ll hold you to it,” he said, and kissed her on the cheek. “See you soon.”
Megan stared after him as he left the shop. Maybe she should marry Drexel. He wouldn’t ask much of her, and it would be nice to share her life with someone so uncomplicated, someone who adored her….
Good grief, what was she thinking? Drexel was nineteen years old. Did she have some kind of perverse weakness for younger men? Rhys might be an old vampire, but physically he was still on the shy side of twenty-one.
Pain stabbed at her heart when she thought of him. Young or old, right or wrong, she missed him more than she would have thought possible. Why was it, when she had finally met the perfect man, it turned out he wasn’t really a man at all?
She blinked away her tears as a new customer stepped into the shop. Grateful for the distraction, she hurried toward him.
The first two weeks without Rhys were the hardest. She went to work early. She offered to come in on her nights off and help Mr. Parker take inventory. She decided to paint her kitchen, and spent a day looking at color swatches before choosing a pale yellow. When that was done, she threw herself into redecorating her bedroom. She painted the walls a pale, pale lavender. Painted the trim and the ceiling white. She bought a new white quilt and a lavender dust ruffle for her bed, then added several throw pillows in varying shades of lavender and purple. She bought new white curtains, and ordered new carpeting, recovered the seat cushion on the desk chair to match the dust ruffle. And when she was finished, she hated it because she couldn’t imagine Rhys being comfortable with all that lavender.
The next day, she painted the room sky blue, traded the lavender dust ruffle for a white one, exchanged the lavender and purple pillows for blue, and threw her paint roller away.
Later, standing in the doorway admiring her handiwork, she decided she was going insane.
“Definitely insane,” she muttered, “when you worry that a man you’re never going to see again might not like lavender.”
Everlasting Desire Page 27
