Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) (28 page)

I turned to my mom. “You and Gran will have to leave town. It’s not safe here. I can’t stand guard all the tim
e
an
d
track Giselle down.”

Dante nodded. “Aurora’s right. Do you have someplace you can hole up until it’s safe?”

Mom scratched her chin. "We'll go to Florida,” she said suddenly. “Mom keeps talking about all the things she has to sort out in storage. She hasn’t been through any of it since Aurora’s grandfather died. I told her I’d help her out this winter. I’ll tell her we should go now.”

“She’ll be suspicious,” I said.

“Better suspicious than dead,” Dante said.

Mom nodded. “I’ll find a reason, a tennis tournament or something happening this weekend.” Her face lit up. “Better yet, I’ll tell her I ran into Aurora’s dad and his mistress and need a change of scenery right away.”

I frowned. “Should I be worried about Dad?”

Ever since he walked out of our lives, he hadn’t worried about me. He hadn’t attempted to contact me once. But he was still my father. Better a deadbeat dad than a dead corpse dad.

As I chewed on my lower lip, Mom set a hand on my leg. “If you warned your father, you’d have to tell him everything, and that would only endanger him more.”

I took a deep breath. “He wouldn’t believe me, anyway.”

Dante gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t worry, Aurora,” he said. “We’re going to get her, and everything will return back to normal.”

Normal. There was no such thing, unless you called hunting vampires normal.

Sometime around two in the morning I’d entered slumber land, deciding I wouldn’t be much help to my family if sleep deprivation turned me into a zombie. Vampire vs. Zombie. No
-brainer. Pun intended.

“Dana, have you seen my floral shawl?” Grandma called out.

I woke up when Gran barged into her office, where I’d been snoozing a second earlier. I rubbed my eyes with my fists.

“Hello, sleepy-head,” Gran said, giving me a pat on my head. “You didn’t happen to see my floral shawl in here, did you?”

I shook my head. “Sorry, Gran.” She smelled like lilacs. It tickled my nose. I sniffed.

She flicked her wrist in the air. “That’s okay, I’ve got a pink one down in Florida.”

The foldout bed dipped down when Gran took a seat beside me. Once I sat up, Grandma took my hand in hers. “Honey, I know this departure is sudden, but you remember what your mom was like right after Bill left. Neither of us wants to see that happen again.”

I nodded my agreement, black tangles of hair falling forward as I did. “I understand.”

Gran sucked in a deep breath and released it. “She’s been so happy these past six months. I won’t let Bill ruin that.”

I kissed her on the cheek. “You’re a good mother, and a wonderful grandma.”

Gran patted my hand. “And you’re a great granddaughter. I realize we’re leaving you after you only just returned to town.”

“That’s okay. If I’d gone to college out of state, we wouldn’t be having this conversation to begin with.”

Gran patted my hand, silent for several seconds until her eyebrows lifted at the same time as her smile. “I’ve got it! How about Christmas in Florida? Dante’s invited, too of course, but I imagine his own family will want to spend the holidays with him.”

I sighed wistfully. “I’d love to spend Christmas in Florida.”

Grandma gave my hand a tight squeeze. “Then why not?”

I shrugged. “Dante might want me to meet his family.” Or Melcher might want me to stick around to battle vampires in North Pole, Alaska. “But I’d like to come.”

“So come!”

Sunny Florida… yes, please! Relaxing in a tropical paradise would beat boot camp in the high desert any day of the week. I’d ask Melcher. There had to be vacation time, even in the vampire hunting business.

“Maybe,” I said slowly.

“I don’t want to hear another word about it,” Gran said. “I’m buying you a ticket.”

Even better. How could Melcher say no to that? What excuse could he possibly give if my own grandmother bought the ticket? And it wasn’t just a vacation. It was Christmas for crying out loud!

Last Christmas had been a complete wash. My mind had been absent after the accident until Melcher shocked it back to life during initiation. That’s how I ended last year. How would this year end? In Florida with my family. I was determined.

“Thanks, Gran,” I said, giving her a quick hug.

Mom walked in as I pulled my arms back and smiled briefly before turning to Gran.

“I told you not to wake her,” Mom said.

Gran patted her impeccably coiffed Helen Mirren hair.

“She was already up, and guess what, Dana? Aurora is spending Christmas with us in Florida.”

Mom looked at me with a wide smile. “You are? Oh, honey, we’ll have a great time.”

“Can’t wait,” I said. 

Grandma lifted herself off the bed. “I need to finish packing, and I imagine you need to get ready for school. What time’s your first class?”

“Ten.”

“So hop to it.”

I glanced at Mom.

“Chop, chop,” Gran said.

“Mom,” my mother said.

“What? It’s nine o’clock. She needs to get her butt in gear or she’ll be late for school.”

“Don’t say that word.”

“Butt? It’s better than saying ass.”

Mom took a deep breath. “Let’s give Aurora a little privacy so she can get ready.”

“That’s exactly what I was trying to do,” Gran said as she walked out.

Mom shot me an apologetic smile.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I managed to get some sleep.”

“Good. I’ll drive you to campus.”

“I’m not going to school.”

I had promised myself I wouldn’t miss a single class, not at college, no matter what Melcher said. But I wasn’t skipping school for a mission. This was for my family.

Mom clucked her tongue. “I don’t want you to miss class. If you stop living your life, the enemy’s already won.”

I rolled my eyes. “I think you’ve read too many books. Besides, I’m only missing one day.” 

“I insist,” Mom said.

“You can insist all you want. I’m not going to class until you and grandma are either in the air or in Florida.”

“Wait here a moment,” Mom said.

That’s exactly what I planned on doing—waiting around until Mom and Gran got the hell out of dodge.

After Mom left the room, I swung one foot after the other to the ground and stretched both arms high in the air, yawning. I turned and set to work folding the blanket, sheets, and putting the sofa back together. Mom returned as I pushed the folded springboard into place. I grabbed the first cushion, glancing at her purse, which she held up as though presenting a corsage to a prom date.

Mom pulled out a small revolver and grinned wide.

“What are you doing with a gun?” I dropped the second cushion.

Mom’s smile wavered like she was disappointed I hadn’t shown more enthusiasm.

“It’s for protection against vampires. I know how to use it, too. I took shooting lessons all summer.”

Between tennis tournaments. Of course she did.

Mom held the gun, barrel pointed up. “The point is, I’m perfectly capable of defending myself and your grandmother should the occasion arise. I also know what Giselle looks like, so she’s lost the element of surprise.”

I gave the last cushion a firm push into place.

“Only she doesn’t want the element of surprise,” I said. “If she did, she wouldn’t have taken over your French class or left me such obvious clues.”

Mom’s forehead wrinkled. “What do you suppose she wants?”

“To scare me,” I answered. “She thinks I’m responsible for her family’s death. Now she’s threatening mine, which is why I’m not going anywhere until I see your plane take off.”

Mom lowered the gun. “Can’t you get a message to her that it wasn’t your fault—that you actually saved her?”

I shook my head. “She won’t care.”

“How do you know?”

I stared at my mom. “Because this woman lost the only family she’s had for the past two centuries. Because she’s a vampire. A cold-blooded-killer, according to Melcher. The only thing she’ll care about is avenging her family’s death.”

I didn’t need to know Giselle to figure out her motives. Mom wasn’t the only one who’d read and seen enough shows to understand how this all worked.

Mom’s shoulders slumped forward. “Can you at least study or work on a paper or something while I pack so I don’t feel as bad?”

“That I can do,” I said, snatching my backpack off the floor.

I spread my things out on the dining room table with a pot of tea while my mom and grandma finished packing. I tried to block them out and throw myself into my reading, but I had my eyes on my textbook and ears open to everything else.

Shortly after five, Dante knocked on the door to take my family to the airport.