After about an hour of vigorously typing, he finally stopped. I scrolled back and found I’d typed five whole pages. I didn’t know what half the sentences meant and there were a bunch of words that the word processing program didn’t recognize, so I left the spellings as is. Sounding them out was probably best.
“Very valuable information in there,” my father said. “Make sure it’s properly locked.”
Kelly slid the laptop back to him. “Of course,” he said and closed the document, seemingly without doing anything special to secure it. “Well, we should get back to headquarters—get this information properly logged and locked.”
“Show her the right way. No lazy shortcuts.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I know. I may be overly cautious, but I’ve earned that right,” my father said, then turned to look at me, his blue eyes haunted, yet hopeful. “Not bad for your first day, Fiona. I didn’t call you Abigail at all this time, did I?”
“Not once, sir,” I said, wishing we could have talked about his family for part of the time. But not with Kelly there. And I knew I had to take things slowly, so I wouldn’t spook him any more than I already had.
“Be sure to wear a watch,” he said. “Timeliness is next to godliness.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“You should write it down. Your memory can deceive you, you know.”
“I totally understand,” I said, extending a hand to him, which he tentatively shook.
Kelly led me out of the room, the closed laptop under one arm, then stopped while holding open the door. “I’ll let the assistant know to bring your afternoon snack.”
“4 p.m.”
“On the dot.” Kelly let the door swing shut and sighed. “Are you okay?” he asked as we made our way for the elevator. “I understand why you want to do this, but it has to be hard.”
“I just wish I knew him when you did—before he got so bad,” I said.
“Well, if you must know, he was always neurotic and obsessive-compulsive. It made him good at the work he did, but not always the easiest guy to deal with. Now, most of the people he’s been working with for the better part of his life have abandoned him. I’m pretty much all he has left.”
“Not anymore,” I promised. “Now, he has me too.”
Kelly smiled, glancing over at me as we waited for the elevator, almost looking embarrassed. “Well, it’s a pleasure to have you on the team.”
4
Fiona
I’d received word that Matthew had returned from his mission. He’d been gone a few days, so I was excited to have him back.
Kelly said he’d get the files transferred over himself; there’d be ample opportunity for him to walk me through the process another time.
“Why do you even do all this?” I asked as we were about to part. “Why not just take pictures of the pages he writes and save them as digital files?”
“Did you read what you wrote this afternoon?” he asked.
“What I could understand,” I answered.
“What he writes down is in his own shorthand. It’s good to have his official writings with the sketches, diagrams and equations, which is why I do exactly that. I do have a digital log of his notebook pages. But the transcriptions are important for decoding his shorthand and he gets into a lot more detail that he hasn’t written onto the page when he’s reading it off to me—us. It also helps make him feel more valued. For all he’s done, he deserves to feel valued and appreciated.” Kelly glanced down at his watch. “Well, I better get this logged, so I can get to my infirmary shift on time.”
“Timeliness is next to godliness,” I said with a smirk.
“I’ve heard that one before,” Kelly said. “Maybe a few times too often.” He stepped closer and went in for an awkward hug, banging the laptop against my back before turning to leave.
“Umm… okay…” I said to myself, as I simply stood there for a spell, then set off for Matthew’s apartment.
I strolled across the snaking trail from the North Building to the penitentiary. At least someone working always knew who I was now, so I had no trouble getting in. I didn’t even have to flash my tattoo. I took the stairs to the third floor, where I caught the elevator leading to the penthouses.
Peter gave me a warm greeting as I entered the cab, and he pressed the tenth-floor call button with a white-gloved finger; I didn’t even have to ask. He seemed to always be there. If I didn’t have my compass tattoo to confirm it, I might have thought he was a vampire too.
“Any fun and exciting plans this evening?” he asked as the elevator ascended.
“Hopefully not anything too exciting,” I mused. “I’ve had enough excitement in the past few months to last a lifetime.”
“Life is meant to be exciting,” he said as the bell chimed. He held the doors for me to walk through. “Would you like anything brought to the apartment?”
“Nothing yet,” I said with a smile. “Thanks, Peter.”
“Always a pleasure, Miss Winter.”
I hurried down the hallway once Peter was gone, eager to be in Matthew’s arms again; I hated any time we were apart. I positioned my face before the retina scanner and entered the apartment. A warm dimness oozed from inside, all its thin curtains drawn to keep out direct sunlight. They gave the rooms an orange glow.
“Matthew?” I called into the quiet apartment. I didn’t look down at the needle of my compass tattoo to tell me in which direction I’d locate him. I sensed him in here the moment I got off the elevator. My arm tingled at his proximity, which was supposed to be the case with all vampires. However, the sensation at Matthew’s proximity—as opposed to that of other vampires—was noticeably different. I’d first realized it when I’d met Frederick for the first time with my mother, but since then, I’d visited Sisters of Mercy again and discovered how Matthew was the anomaly, not Frederick.
The sensation of Matthew’s presence wasn’t nearly as strong as that of the others. His was muted somehow, yet it was nice to be able to distinguish his nearness from that of a potential threat.
Standing in the middle of the expansive living room, I made a 360-degree turn to snatch glimpses into the adjoining rooms. While I did so, I found Matthew sauntering out of the hallway of the bedroom wing.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said with a growing grin on his face.
I ran to him and leapt into his arms, wrapping my legs tightly around his waist. Instantly, his lips were on mine as he carefully squeezed me back. He kissed me hungrily and was soon walking over to the nearest couch, carrying me like I weighed nothing. Matthew dropped to a seated position, and I maneuvered my legs to where I was comfortably sitting on his lap, all the while our lips never separating. Then his hands were in my hair, his fingers combing through the strands and pulling them back to expose my neck. Fingertips trickled down the skin of my neck, sending an exquisite shudder through my body. I gripped him tighter with my thighs, pressing my whole body against him, not wanting a single inch of us apart. I felt his cool body warming as our kissing intensified, until I finally had to pull back for air, my chest heaving, the skin of my cheeks and neck flushed.
“That’s a pretty nice welcome home,” he said, a little short of breath himself. “Maybe I should go away more often.”
“You’re already gone enough as it is,” I said, kissing his nose, then his cheek, then moving over to playfully nibble on his earlobe.”
“Careful, or you might draw blood,” he teased.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I said but stopped all the same with the mention of blood. It was a delicate subject I wasn’t ready to truly explore just yet. I wanted the normal things first, not jumping straight into kinky bloodplay.
“I didn’t say to stop,” he whined, so I went back to playfully kissing him, minus the usage of any teeth.
Then he cupped my face in his hands, gazing at me intently with his smoldering eyes before nipping at my plump lower lip,
then pushing his tongue past my lips in search of mine.
When we parted the next time, I saw that his cheeks were flushed now. He licked his lips, his eyes still boring into mine. “I love you, Fiona,” he said after a long moment and tucked a strand of my hair behind my right ear, causing not just my cheek to burn, but also the silver lines tracking down my face.
He was only the second guy to ever say that to me, and it hit me hard. I’d been afraid of what he really thought of me, making the words that much sweeter to hear, especially after his absence of several days. I’d been immediately attracted to him in the beginning, but we’d had our rocky start. It wasn’t only what he’d revealed himself to be, but all the secrecy that surrounded him and the True North Society.
Secrecy was always difficult for me to deal with, even now; each of us was still holding back pivotal information. But the more time we spent together, the more I could begin to look past that and just be in the moment with him—accepting the couple we were undoubtedly becoming.
“I love you too,” I finally said, not knowing if the words would escape my lips until they were already out there and couldn’t be taken back. Right after I’d said it, I felt a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach—afraid that I’d jinxed us somehow—afraid that once my heart had truly committed, it would soon be ripped from my chest again.
“I wasn’t expecting you to answer,” Matthew said. “I would never want you to say anything you didn’t mean. Just seeing you here today, holding you in my arms after everything I’ve been through made it clear to me that I didn’t want to continue my life without you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. He spoke as if something had suddenly changed, and I knew if I asked him about it, he wouldn’t be able to tell me. But I asked anyway. “What happened on your mission? What was it about?”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” he said, planting another soft kiss on my lips. “It’s over now. I’m safe and sound and will remain that way, especially with you at my side.”
“I’d feel safer knowing where it was that Janice and the Assembly were sending you,” I said.
“Not everything will be so confidential,” he promised, trying to disarm me with a heart-melting smile. Frustratingly, even with my knowledge of what he was doing, it worked. “Are you hungry? I don’t have a lot here right now, but I can have something brought up.”
I climbed off his lap and plopped onto the couch cushion beside him. “It’s still early for dinner, but I could go for a snack.”
Matthew cut up some fruits from the refrigerator and mixed them into a large serving bowl, larger than what was really needed. We stood in the kitchen, munching on the assortment of apples, strawberries, pears, and grapes. He didn’t make me eat alone, even though I knew he wasn’t enjoying the food.
“I heard that today was your first day working with Roland—your father,” Matthew said, tossing a grape into his mouth. “How’d it go?”
I shrugged. “I need to get a watch and set it five minutes fast, so I’m sure to be on time.”
“He always was a stickler for punctuality when he was running his teams. I didn’t realize he was still so strict. What about just setting an alarm on your phone?”
“Don’t get me started.” I laughed.
“Maybe I’ll find you a dinosaur watch to match his.”
“I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t think I can pull it off as well as he can.”
“Face it; no one over the age of six can successfully pull off a dinosaur watch without being a professor of paleontology.”
“Well, that counts me out,” I said and moved the bowl closer to me, so he’d stop eating all my food out of politeness. Plus, I was the one who needed it. When he reached over, I playfully slapped his hand away. “Don’t you dare! There are only a few left and I actually like fruit.”
“Sorry; I didn’t realize I was hogging them all,” Matthew said, sheepishly. Then he glanced over at the clock on the stove. “When you’re done, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“A good surprise?” I asked, taking the last piece of apple, then placing the empty bowl in the sink. “With everything that’s happened since I’ve met you, it’s something I now have to qualify.”
“I believe it to be a pleasant surprise.” He flashed another debonair smile.
“I like pleasant surprises,” I said, my curiosity now successfully piqued.
I expected him to retrieve a gift from another room, but instead, he led me to the door. “Let’s take a drive.”
5
Matthew
My heart was still hammering from Fiona saying she loved me too. In the beginning, I’d tried so hard to distance myself from her, but in the end, the effort was futile. As much as I thought I knew what the future held, there were still so many variables.
And if she died in a few short years like my mother had told me all those decades ago, why was I denying myself a few good years over the fear of some heartache that may or may not happen? If she insisted on remaining human, then she had a finite lifespan anyway. Jack and Ashley had made it work; why should it matter whether it was fifty years of happiness, or five?
I knew I loved her, which was all that should matter. The role she was destined to play would happen one way or another. I was tired of fighting my feelings and wanted to make the most of our potential.
Our fingers were interlaced as I guided Fiona to the North Building underground parking structure. She’d been leery of my suggestion that she move into one of the luxury apartments above the penitentiary, so I hoped she’d like what I’d chosen for her instead.
After she was initiated, a bank account was set up in her name and she began getting a small monthly salary. It was initially supposed to match and replace the compensation from whatever job an initiate was doing prior to their candidacy. Fiona’s wasn’t much since she’d only worked part-time at Hot Coffee and wasn’t immediately in need of another job after they’d let her go—the latter being Mallory’s doing, no doubt. But after weeks of getting everything behind the scenes in order, it was now time to reveal the next level of the Society’s compensation package.
“Are you simply taking me home?” Fiona asked after we’d been driving a while.
We were currently headed toward her apartment, but we’d be soon sailing right past her residence complex and continuing past the freeway. “Would that be a pleasant surprise?” I asked, sarcastically.
“It would be a surprise since I didn’t think you wanted to get rid of me so fast,” she said, her lips pouty.
“Well, it might be hard to believe, but I don’t.” And when we passed the cross street to drive her home, I added, “Satisfied now?”
“Not quite yet,” she said with a sly smile.
It took another fifteen minutes to reach my surprise destination, where we turned into the guest lot for a high-rise condominium tower. We turned and descended the ramp into the underground parking structure, where I parked in an assigned space. Right next to us was a nearly identical Land Rover, which Fiona picked up on as soon as she exited the front seat.
“Are we meeting someone else from the Society?” she asked, glancing at the twin SUV.
“Perhaps,” I said, vaguely, causing her to roll her beautiful blue eyes in annoyance.
We shared the elevator with several other people getting home from work and I made a show of inserting my key to unlock the penthouse floor. After several stops, we were the last two people remaining in the elevator. We exited on the 24th floor. It held two mirror-imaged penthouses, but only one of them had unobstructed ocean views, coming at a hefty price increase. A glass enclosure leading to the front door showcased that ocean view, which looked spectacular with the sun sinking over the sparkling water.
“Someone’s got a lot of money,” Fiona said, staring out at the picturesque horizon.
“Someone obviously does,” I answered, putting the key in the lock.
“Is this yours too? Bringing me here to brag?”
Fiona’s eyes were wide as she passed from room to room, the view from outside following her wherever she went. The living space was over 5000 square feet, with an additional 1000 square feet from the wraparound balcony. In the main living room, an expanding glass wall opened up the entire room, all glass panels able to be folded to one side; it created a twenty-five-foot opening. I demonstrated what the glass wall could do, amazing her even more.
“Who are we waiting for?” she asked as she stepped onto the balcony and proceeded to the glass railing.
“No one,” I said, causing her to turn and give me a questioning look. “Do you like it?”
“The view? It’s gorgeous.”
“What about the condo?”
“It’s pretty spectacular too. Why are we here?”
“Surprise,” I exclaimed, my face beaming as I gestured grandly to the space around us.
“What is?” her face was still a mask of confusion, causing me to chuckle.
“This place,” I said. “It’s yours.”
“Umm… Are you serious?” Now she looked dumbfounded. “How can I afford this with the salary the Society’s giving me? This has to be way, way out of my price range.”
“Maybe for what you were making, but not with your current raise and bonuses,” I said. “And besides, it’s already bought and paid for—in your name. All you’ll need to upkeep is utilities, property taxes. You won’t even owe association fees.”
“I got a raise?” It was clear she was trying to process everything. It would take a few minutes or more to sink in. “This place is in my name? It’s mine?”
“To do with as you please.” I stepped out to join her on the balcony. I felt the effects of the sun serum starting to wear off, but hopefully, I could make it to sundown without having to take another dose. The direct sunlight was only a mild irritation at that point.
Angeles Betrayal Page 3
