Bitten By Regret (Just One Bite #2) (3 page)

Diandra's voice silenced any thoughts that may have been
developing in that direction. "I am no longer your wife, and my body is
definitely not yours to touch. If you want my help you had better change your
thought pattern real freaking quick." Jonah looked in her eyes and gulped.
He was glad looks couldn't really kill- he had a feeling it would be painful
and messy.

"Uh, yeah, okay, I'm sorry. Where was I? Um, so I woke
up on the floor and hauled ass. First I flew to Maryland. I went to stay at
Rodriguez's house there figuring I'd be safe. That only lasted a few hours,
long enough to get a shower and shave. I went looking for something to drink. I
figured he had to have beer somewhere and I hadn't had one in a long time so I
figured I'd help myself. I opened the fridge and there was a black mist inside
it. I flew as fast as I could and managed to make it to Pennsylvania. They have
these beautiful caves there so I figured I'd hide out there. The fucking mist
found me there, too. It's been like this for a month now. I'm losing my mind. I
don't know what this mist is or what it wants. I went to the Afterlife in Dewey
Beach and sat quietly in the corner. About the only place I can find any peace
is among crowds. It's like the mist won't venture near others. I listened in on
some conversations and that's when I heard about you, so I headed here."
Jonah shrugged a little.

"Okay, first thing's first. We need to get to the
Afterlife and track down Eamon. He'll know what's going on with you, but he
won't talk to you without me there." Diandra stood up then thought of
something else. "And you absolutely cannot come here anymore. Margaret
thinks you're dead. You cannot be seen by her unless you want the world to know
about you."

Jonah got to his knees and used the chair to help him to his
feet. He picked RaeLynn up and cuddled her close. "I understand. But
before we head to the Afterlife you need to remember something. Lizbeth
absolutely cannot come with us, not under any circumstances." Sensing a
storm brewing, he spoke hastily. "This is a vampire bar, Diandra. She's
not one of us, and that makes her food to the darker sort. You don't want to
risk her life like that, I know you don't. So if you want, she can come along
for the ride and after we find Eamon we can meet back up with her, but she
cannot come in. I'm sorry."

Diandra cocked her head to the side, obviously reading his
mind to measure his sincerity. "Okay, that makes sense. I never considered
that, thank you. I'll go tell Lizbeth and we'll get ready. I'll also call
Margaret and make sure she's fine with keeping RaeLynn, at least for a few
hours." Diandra fixed him with a look, making it clear that she intended
him to stay in the parlor. Then she headed off to take care of business,
leaving him to play with RaeLynn for a while longer without her standing guard.

Jonah blew out a relieved breath. Maybe, just maybe, things
would get better from here on out. After all, he was holding his baby girl in
his arms. How bad could things possibly get? He disregarded the warning bells
clanging in his head and sat back down to play with RaeLynn until the women
were ready. He had a feeling it was going to be a Hell of a night.

Chapter
Five

It was 8 p.m. when Lizbeth parked her little Nissan one
block away from the Afterlife. She turned in her seat to look at Jonah.
"You guys go in and wait for Eamon. When he shows up you need to bring him
to this park so the four of us can find out what's going on." Then she
turned to Diandra. "If you don't see Eamon by 9, call me and update me. I
want updates once an hour until you find him, okay? That way I don't fuck
things up by trying to get into a club that views me as a menu item."
Lizbeth attempted a joke but they all knew it fell flat.

Diandra leaned in and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on
Lizbeth's lips. Then she smiled and got out of the car. When Jonah climbed out
she was tugging the hem of her thigh-length bronze dress into place. She had
gone all out and the effort showed. She'd teased her flame-colored hair until
it was thick and full and sexily mussed, and had done something to her eyes to
make them look like they were lined with smoke. Her heels were easily 5"
tall and dyed to match the dress. She looked like she'd stepped off the cover
of a fashion magazine, or maybe just out of some unhappily married man's wet
dream. Jonah shook his head, regretting the mistakes he'd made that cost him
the right to call her his wife.

Sighing heavily at what might have been, Jonah led Diandra
to the door of the bar. When he opened it and walked in the whole place went
silent. Every head turned to get a look at the newcomers. Of course, once they
got an eyeful of Diandra every undead neck in the place damn near snapped to
look twice. Jonah fought down the almost uncontrollable rage that he had no
right to feel. She had dressed this way deliberately to set herself up as a
kind of bait for information. If she was all right with it and Lizbeth wasn't
complaining, who was he to judge?

He knew they were attracting more attention just by the
difference in their appearances. He looked like a homeless person standing next
to a movie star. It really wasn't fair, but since Diandra had disposed of all
his clothes long ago, there wasn't much he could do about it.

Diandra grabbed hold of his arm and let out a loud,
flirtatious laugh. It rang through the eerily silent bar like church bells
through a graveyard. Jonah followed her lead and they walked up to the bar. She
turned to him and batted her eyes, asking," What do you recommend,
baby?"

Jonah ordered her a bloody martini and he ordered a wet
scotch on the rocks. At her raised eyebrows he laughed, feeling lighter for the
first time in a month. "Yes, a martini with blood in it, not just gin and
vermouth. And mine is scotch with a few shots of blood added to it. How else do
you expect a vamp to drink?"

"I drink all the time at home," Diandra protested.
"It's not like it hurts me to imbibe a little."

Jonah took the drinks from the bartender and slipped him
some cash to cover the cost. "Ah, yes, but you still need blood as well.
Why not find a new way to enjoy it?"

Diandra reluctantly agreed that he had a point. They sat at
the end of the bar farthest from the door. She took the corner seat so her back
was to a wall and she could see who walked in. There'd be no missing Eamon if
he ever showed up. She checked the time and found that only fifteen minutes had
passed since they left Lizbeth at the park. They had plenty of time before they
needed to check in.

The couple passed the time by talking about RaeLynn. There
were many things Jonah had missed in the four months since her birth, so
Diandra did her best to fill him in. He was a captive audience, just as amazed
by the baby's development as Lizbeth had been. Diandra promised him copies of
the pictures once they returned to the house. She still had his wallet in a box
in the basement, and she offered to return it to him. She had kept some of his
things in a chest to give to RaeLynn when she got older. Since that was
unnecessary she might as well return his things to him.

Diandra checked the time on her cell phone and saw there was
only five minutes until it was time to call Lizbeth and check in. Just as she
was getting ready to place the call she heard Eamon's voice in her mind.
No need to check in, Dia. Get the slug
you're sitting with and meet me at the park.
Diandra let out a little laugh
of surprise and stood up.

"Come on," she said. "He's already waiting
for us outside." She linked arms casually with Jonah and they strolled out
the door. The mist that swirled up behind them went unnoticed by them both. The
others in the bar saw it, and as one they turned their heads away.

*****

As they walked towards the park Diandra called to Lizbeth.
We’re on our way, baby. Eamon should be there
soon as well. He said he'd meet us there.
Jonah watched her as her brow
furrowed in concentration. "I take it you can read minds from a
distance?"

Diandra spared him a glance. "Actually, I can read them
and reply." At his look of surprise she laughed again. "Yes, I am
that good apparently. I don't know how it works but somehow it does."

Jonah smiled a little. "So that's how you heard from
Eamon. You just conversed with him inside your head, huh?"

Diandra shot him a dirty look as she trudged on towards the
park in her heels. "Figure that out all on your own, huh?"

Jonah stopped and yanked Diandra towards him. "What is
your problem? You've been nasty and rude towards me from the moment I knocked
on our door this afternoon."

"My door.
You knocked on my door.
You don't live there- according to the state of Delaware you're a corpse. Guess
you're just lucky I didn't have you cremated, huh? I swear some days I wish I
had,
then
you would go the fuck away." Diandra
yanked hard on her arm. Jonah lost his grip and the suddenness of her movement
caused him to land face first in the dewy grass. A surprised laugh bubbled up
from Diandra. "Oh, and I'm a lot stronger than I look." With that,
she turned her back and continued walking towards Eamon and Lizbeth.

Jonah was disgusted with the whole situation. He climbed to
his feet slowly and brushed the dirt and dew from his face and clothes as best
as he could then followed her. "You still didn't answer my question!"
he called to her.

Diandra spun and planted her feet as firmly as the soft
grass would allow. "You lied to me. Our entire life was a lie based on you
being Wonder Cop. Now I find out you were as big of a scumbag as the losers you
locked up over the years. I had to bend my ethics to keep your name from being
tarnished. I didn't want RaeLynn painted with the same brush growing up.
Lizbeth nearly lost her life helping to protect you. I owe you not one shred of
kindness. I wish you had stayed dead you son of a bitch. You ruined my life the
day you showed up at my door. I wouldn't help you at all if it weren't for my
daughter."

"She's our daughter, not just yours," Jonah put in
quietly.

Diandra shook her head slowly. "No, you haven't earned
the right to be her father yet. As far as I'm concerned you were just a sperm
donor, and my feelings won't change on that until I see that
you
have changed." She looked at
him with utter contempt. "So far it doesn't look very damned promising. So
let's go save your life so you can get the fuck out of mine." She turned
her back on him once more and continued her walk. The darkness that was the
park they were heading for was just barely visible in the distance.

Jonah stood there a moment longer, watching her retreating
form. His face was a picture of despair as the truth of the words she had
spoken hit him like a series of physical blows. He knew he had a lot of work to
do to fix this if he intended to be involved with his daughter's life. If only
he knew how to undo the damage he had done. He made a vow to himself that he
would remedy the situation, no matter what it took. Then Jonah took a deep
breath and followed Diandra to the park. The black mist followed behind him,
unseen by the rest, lost in the shadows.

When Jonah caught up Diandra was scolding the man he had
seen at the bar so often. Eamon was a tall, muscular man with weird light
colored hair and the strangest blue eyes he had ever seen. His pupils were
elliptical, almost looking like they'd be more at home in a feline face rather
than a human one. The man seemed to take the scolding well- it didn't look like
he was really paying attention. Jonah gave him credit for cutting off the irate
woman. That was a lesson he'd never learned. Of course, he'd never had to worry
about any of that before he'd changed her.

"Look, Dia, what do you want? You know everything I
could possibly teach you. What's the point in us spending any more time
together?" He ran his fingers through his whitish hair and sighed heavily
and deeply.

"No, Eamon,
you
look! I'm sorry if I tweaked your damned ego but I can't help it if the thing
is so damned big you trip over it!" Diandra shot Eamon a dirty look when
he snickered. "I'm talking about your ego being big, not your damned
equipment." He rolled his eyes but didn't speak. "You have nearly 300
years' experience over my own- I still need you, Eamon. There is so much I do
not know is possible, so much I need to learn, and you can help me. I want your
help." Diandra hugged the man and Jonah's jealousy flared to life again.
After all, she was with Lizbeth- what was her relationship with this guy?

Diandra was ignoring Jonah for the moment. She saw the
envious looks he shot at the man as he studied him- the anger filled his face
as he watched the two of them. She couldn't help but compare and contrast the
two of them. Jonah was a bit shorter than Eamon. She figured Eamon was around
6'3" or so, and Jonah wasn't quite 6 feet. Eamon looked like he's spent
his lifetime hitting the heavy weights at the gym, while Jonah was muscular,
but very slightly so. His was more natural muscle from every day activities
while Eamon appeared to work at it. Even though Jonah was only 31 when he was
changed and Eamon had said he was nearly 30, Jonah appeared a good five years
older, maybe more.

His jealousy was amusing to Diandra. This was a side to
Jonah she had never seen while they were married. Insecure, petty, childish-
all this was new. It was amazing to see someone who had been such a huge part
of her life in a new light. The more she learned about Jonah the more she
realized she had never really known him. How tragic was that? The more distance
she had from the time she spent with him the more obvious it became that their
life together was a lie. It broke her heart to realize how much time she had
spent as a weak, vapid creature. She loved her new life with its ups and downs,
ins and outs. Her life was bright, shiny, new and full of honesty. Her previous
life was a house of cards built on the shaky table of dishonesty. All she had
needed to find the truth was turn on a light- it's a shame the light had been
his "death."