by Zoe Allison
He sat straighter in his chair. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“She asked me not to. She didn’t want you coming to her unless you really wanted to.”
Suddenly nothing mattered to him anymore—not who she was or what she had kept from him. He had to get to her. He stood.
“What are you doing?” Hayden asked.
“Packing my things,” Vale said, turning to leave. “I need to see her and check that she is okay.” He walked away.
“But you haven’t asked me where she is,” Amber called after him.
“It does not matter,” he called back from his bedroom as he lifted out his case. “I do not care how far away she is and it will not make a difference to me. I am still going. You can tell me where after I have packed.”
He grabbed the contents of his wardrobe and hurriedly placed them in his bag, taking much less care to fold neatly than he normally would. He zipped up the case and carried it through to the living area. He got the feeling that the two of them might have been talking about him again, but he didn’t care.
“Okay,” he said. “Where is she?”
“She’s gone home,” Amber said.
He frowned. “London?”
She shook her head. “Sydney.”
His heart sank. He’d thought he would be seeing her in a few hours, not a few days. No matter—he would see her soon enough. Unless…she was so sick that something could happen in the meantime. Surely not? Not from a wound to the arm… It was nowhere near her heart. His panic rising, he stared at Amber. “I need you to tell me that she is going to be okay.”
“Vale—” Hayden said, but he was silenced by a look from Amber.
She took Vale’s hands. “Everything is going to be okay. But you need to go now.”
He studied her face for a second then hugged her before releasing her and hugging Hayden, who squeezed him tightly. When he pulled away, it seemed as though he wanted to say something, but then he let go and stood back.
“I will call you once I get there,” Vale said. He opened the chalet door and strode out to the car, throwing his case into the back then getting in and accelerating down the country road.
Amber watched Valentino leave. As the car sped out of sight, she turned. Hayden was standing watching her, his arms folded.
“What?” she said, the pang of guilt inside her magnifying about a thousand times as she remembered the terrified expression on poor Vale’s face.
Hayden raised his eyebrows. “You know what. That was a low blow.”
She sighed. “I know. I feel terrible, but we were running out of options.”
Hayden ran a hand through his hair. “He’s really panicking. It’s unfair to do that to him, to lie to him.”
“I couldn’t think what else to do without breaking Vic’s confidence.” She moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. “And we needed to push him into it somehow. Can you imagine how he’d feel a way down the line, once he realized what he’d thrown away?”
“How do we know this is what he wants?” Hayden asked.
“If his feelings for her weren’t obvious before, they are now,” Amber said. “As soon as he heard she might be in trouble, he couldn’t get out of here fast enough.”
She could tell that Hayden knew she was right from the way he tightened his arms around her.
“Anyway,” she continued, “it wasn’t really a lie. She actually is sick.”
His voiced vibrated through his chest. “Yeah, but not in the way you made him think. She’s got a condition, not a disease. Vampires don’t get sick in that way.”
“I know,” Amber said, lifting her head to meet his eyes. “So isn’t it strange that they do get morning sickness?”
* * * *
Valentino climbed into a cab outside Sydney airport and read out the address that Amber had messaged to him. The car set off and he couldn’t help thinking that the last time he had been here, Victoria was with him.
The journey had been long, but it had seemed about triple the length of what it really was. He couldn’t relax the whole way, and whenever he did manage to doze off, he awoke again with a start, due to horrible images invading his mind of Victoria lying in pain on her sick bed. Just remembering it made his heart-rate rocket. He leaned forward and asked if the driver could go any faster.
As they drew nearer their destination, his anxiety mounted—not just at what sort of state he would find her in but also regarding how she would react to him. Would she want him there after he had rejected her in her hour of need? He frowned. Did she even know he was coming? He hadn’t asked Amber if she’d told her because he had been in that much of a hurry to leave.
He tried to assess his jumbled emotions, because he hadn’t managed to work through any of them on the journey. He’d been too stressed. But he really needed to have some idea regarding how he felt, because he should be honest with her when she was so ill. He sighed. He really cared for her. He knew that much. He had tried to shy away from it, but before he had found out who she was, his feelings had been running really deep, deeper than he’d thought possible. And if he were honest with himself, they still were.
But did the fact that she hadn’t trusted him enough to confide in him negate his feelings? Was none of it valid if she had deceived him? She had expressed her regret but that didn’t necessarily mean she cared for him in the same way he did for her. Perhaps she had just felt guilty about pulling the wool over her colleagues’ eyes and that was why she’d apologized. It might be that the reason she wanted to see him was to put things right in that sense, before parting company forever. But then why had she said ‘we can start over’?
He could tell that they were nearly at their destination. He decided to reassess his feelings once he saw her, steeling himself for the possible outcome that she would say her piece, get it off her chest, then want to carry on as friends. He just hoped that whatever was wrong with her wasn’t serious. He couldn’t bear the thought of her suffering in any way, and he needed to ensure that she was okay.
The taxi arrived at a house on a residential street in the outskirts of Sydney. He looked out of the window. Down the side of the house, there was a blonde woman sitting in the back garden, her back to him as she tipped her face up toward the sun. The mere sight of her caused the last of his denial regarding the depth of his feelings to unravel.
I am in real trouble here.
Chapter Seventeen
Victoria took a deep breath and lifted the phone. She had been psyching herself up to make the call for half an hour. She dialed the number and held her breath.
“Weber residence.”
“Hello, Henry, it’s Johanna. Johanna Fischer.”
“Johanna! It’s good to hear from you.”
“How’s Anna?” Vic asked.
Henry paused. “Okay. We’re just taking it a day at a time.”
“I assume you heard about the attacks in New York and London?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “I could hardly believe it all.”
“I know,” Vic said. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“I mean,” Henry continued. “Vampires? It’s crazy.”
“It really is hard to comes to terms with.” Vic paused. “But I need to speak to you about that. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Is it an update about Erik?” Henry asked.
“It is,” Vic said. “But I’m afraid it isn’t good news.”
There was a pause. “That body was his, wasn’t it?” Henry asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Vic said. She waited, allowing Henry time to take it in.
He sighed. “We knew that too much time had gone on for there to be any good news. Then I figured with all the vampire stuff, anything was possible. So that body probably was his, as strange as that seemed.”
“Well,” Vic said, “I have to tell you it is connected. Does that surprise you?”
“No,” he said. “Nothing surprises me anymore.”
She took a deep breath. “
I felt that you and Anna deserved a full explanation, so I asked to be the one to call you. I want you to know what happened so that you can get some closure. I know it isn’t something you can move on from,” she continued, “but perhaps there can be some acceptance and a grieving process for you, with the facts in place.”
“Thank you,” Henry said quietly.
“Shall I continue?” she asked. “Or do you need a few minutes? Or I can call back?”
“No,” he said. “Please keep going.”
“Okay,” Vic said. “You can stop me anytime you’d like.” She drew breath, her heart rate quickening. “I work for The Organization, not the coroner’s office.” She paused. “We were investigating the activities of malevolent vampires in their attacks on large-scale buildings, and that’s how we came to be involved with Erik. It was the malevolent who killed him, Henry.”
She heard him blow out a deep breath down the phone line. “I’m not surprised, to tell you the truth,” he said. “After what was in the news in New York and London, we figured it was connected.”
“Yes,” Vic said. “Before we go any further, I have to emphasize that Erik wouldn’t have suffered. He would have been injected with vampire venom. It’s like an anesthetic. It would’ve been like sleeping away.”
Henry let out a small sob and Vic thought her heart was going to break. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s… It’s okay,” Henry’s voice cracked. “I appreciate you giving us the truth. And believe it or not, there is some comfort in knowing he was unconscious, rather than being in a bomb blast.”
Vic tried to suppress the lump in her throat. “Is there anything you want to ask me?”
“Not just now,” Henry said. “I need to speak to Anna and try to process everything.”
“You can call me on this number,” Vic told him. “If you think of anything else you want to ask, just phone.”
“Thank you,” Henry said. “I know that you didn’t have to be the one to phone, and I’m sure you didn’t have to call at all. These things are probably hushed up a lot of the time. I appreciate what you’ve done for us. You’re a good person, Johanna.”
Tears pricked at Vic’s eyes. If only that were true. “My real name,” she said quietly, “is Victoria.”
“Victoria. Thank you,” Henry said.
They ended the call and Vic sank into the sofa, emotionally drained. Inevitably, Gareth entered her mind. She thought about him every day and speaking to Henry brought back his loss. She wished she could have been at his funeral, but she hadn’t wanted to upset Valentino by turning up. He would have had enough to contend with that day without her causing him more stress. He’d be over-analyzing everything and finding ways to blame himself, and the thought of that killed her. She wished she could hold him, comfort him. The threat of tears resurfaced. She needed some fresh air.
Vic made her way into the back garden and took a seat. The sun seemed to soothe the nauseous feeling that never fully left her nowadays. She had first noticed it around five weeks after the London attack and she had no idea what it meant, since vampires never felt ill. It was only once she realized that she’d skipped her period that the reality had dawned on her.
She had decided not to tell Valentino, because she didn’t feel she could contact him and give him that sort of news when they were estranged. Thinking about it still brought tears to her eyes. It wasn’t fair to put him in that position when he was upset and thinking so badly of her. She figured she would give him time to get over what she’d done, then she could approach him in a neutral manner and let him know he could be involved as little or as much as he wished, though she was sure it would be the former—and she didn’t blame him.
When Amber had phoned, she’d briefly considered ditching the call. She’d hardly known what to say. But then she’d realized that she needed to face up to her mistakes and make amends. If Amber was mad at her, then she needed to take it on the chin and accept responsibility. But, to her surprise, Amber wasn’t angry. She’d asked if Vic was okay and whether she needed anything.
In the end, Vic just hadn’t been able to keep the news from her. She’d had enough of lies. They had already gotten her into a world of heartache and pain. She had felt terrible asking Amber to keep the information from Vale, but it needed to be her that told him, once he was ready to talk. Then maybe he would also let her explain why she’d done what she had. She was aware that it would make no difference to what he thought of her, but he was entitled to have the truth.
She had never deserved him, and deep down she’d always known that, known it was too good to be true and that it was going to end. But at least if she explained everything, they could part with him knowing the facts. Then it might be easier for her to come to terms with losing him.
Vic rubbed her hand over her belly. One thing was for certain. She was going to do her best for the baby. Her own family experience had been terrible from beginning to end and she was determined to make a new start. She had finally snuffed out the last of her abhorrent bloodline and now it was time to start fresh. She planned on loving and caring for her own child more than any parent before her, and maybe, they would be able to keep her mind off how much she missed and wanted their father back.
Her mind drifted to how she’d treated Vale when she had been upset about overhearing him on the phone to Hayden and misconstruing his relationship with Priyanka. She couldn’t believe now how badly she’d behaved. He deserved so much better than her. She wished she could go back to that point, because being angry with him was so much more preferable than him being aggrieved with her. She couldn’t even call his reaction anger, because he had never acted in that manner. Rather, he had been sad and hurt—and that was so much more painful for her to witness than his rage would have been.
Her thoughts moved to how they had reconciled, and how relieved and gratified he’d been once she’d figured out his identity. She had felt like the most privileged person in the world. The only one he’d let in, and not only that but he’d actively been giving her clues, hoping she would be the one to figure it out. Then she had gone and squandered it all. She should have told him then, but she’d been too much of a coward.
She squeezed her eyes shut, tilting her face up toward the sun and trying to block out how horrible remembering her foolishness was. Her mind shifted inevitably to the feel of his skin against hers and the soft bass of his voice breathing her name at her ear. She shivered. For a moment she thought she could really hear him.
“Vic.”
She froze. That hadn’t been in her mind. She turned to the garden gate, which was open, and there he was, standing there watching her.
Her breath caught in her chest and a strange buzzing noise interfered with her hearing. He said something but she couldn’t make it out. She shook her head. “Sorry?”
A panicked expression crossed his face. He quickly closed the distance between them and knelt to take her hand. “Are you all right? You look pale.”
She blinked, sure that he would disappear if she did it hard enough, but he didn’t. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I’m fine. I just…didn’t expect to see you.”
Vale searched her face. “Amber did not tell you I was coming?”
Her heart rate accelerated. Of course he was here because of Amber. How else would he know where she was? But what else has Amber told him? “No, she didn’t,” she said, studying him, trying to fathom what he knew.
He dropped his gaze to the long, jagged scar snaking up her forearm. He reached out to gently stroke the raised flesh with his fingertips. He lifted his eyes back to her face. “It left a scar.”
“Yeah,” she said.
“We never scar.”
“I know,” she said frowning. “I just didn’t get it tended to in time.”
There was a strange look in his eye, and for a moment, she thought it could be concern, but that couldn’t be possible, not with the way he had acted toward her when they’d last parted.
“How are you?” he asked.
Confused, she hesitated. The last thing he’d said to her was that he was sorry, but he didn’t think they could start over. Why was he suddenly here, asking her if she was okay? Of course, she wasn’t. But why would he now care about that? Has Amber told him?
“I’m fine,” she said hesitantly.
He took a tighter hold of her hand. “You do not sound sure.”
She tried to make sense of her jumbled thoughts and emotions. “Well, I mean, I’m fine, all things considered.”
He moved closer and reached up a hand to brush her hair away from her face. She thought her heart was going to stop. “Which things do we need to consider?” he asked, quietly.
Shit. She has told him.
She took a deep breath. “I suppose the way things ended between us is a big factor.”
“I am sorry that I prevented you from getting the proper attention for your wound,” he said.
She blinked. What did her wound have to do with anything? “That’s okay. It was bad for a while, but it’s healed now.”
“Does it still cause you pain?” he asked, his own eyes pained.
“No, not really.” Why are we still talking about my arm?
He seemed a little confused. “Then what is making you ill?”
She examined his face, trying to fathom what he was getting at. “Ill?”
He nodded. “Amber told me that you were sick.”
Vic tried to take that in. She wondered how to find out what he knew without giving anything away. “Okay…sick in what way?”
Vale shook his head. “She did not say.”
Vic blinked. “That’s strange. You’re sure she didn’t say anything else?”
“No,” he said, tilting his head. “Should she have?”
She hesitated, unsure where to go next.
“Wait a minute,” he frowned, standing up and letting go of her hand. She felt as if she’d lost her lifeline.
He rubbed his neck, staring into the middle distance. “Was that a lie to get me here?”
Vic shook her head, trying to piece together what was going on. “I’m not sure.” She snapped her gaze up to his, concerned he was misconstruing her part in it. “I had nothing to do with it.”
