Blood Candy (15 page)

Jimmy glared at him. “Thanks, Dave. I’m not
playing basketball at one in the morning. I’m exhausted and I want
this night to end.”

Blake aimed a wide grin at Candy. “That’s
fine,” he said. “Let me know when you come up with something you
can beat me at.”

“I don’t want to beat you. I don’t want to
play you at anything. What I would like is for your mother to get
back down here already.”

“I understand. If you’re scared say you’re
scared,” Blake said.

“Scared? You think I’m afraid of a spoiled
jerk who’s dressed by his fourteen year old mother?
Please.”

Nigel leaned close to Medium Dave and said,
“What’s up with these wankers?” Medium Dave shrugged.

“Name your game, then,” Blake said.

Jimmy looked to White Paul, who took Medium
Dave’s stance and shrugged. “Fine,” Jimmy said. “Dungeons and
Dragons. That’s my game.”

“Please God no,” Candy begged.

Blake burst into laughter. “Dungeons and
Dragons? You mock Monopoly and basketball, but you want to play me
at
Dungeons and Dragons
? Could you be any more of a
pussy?”

Jimmy shot up from his chair and pointed a
finger. “Shut your fucking mouth!”

The manservant and Medium Dave flinched, while
Nigel leaned back with his hands behind his head in anticipation of
a possible show.

“You no good vampires are the reason we’re
here in the first place. You owe us your help,” Jimmy
said.

Blake sprung up out of his chair. “You want to
take this outside? Let’s show Candy who the real man is. I’ll rip
your head off and have your asshole friend shit teeth down your
neck!”

Candy buried her face in her hands.

Anastasia’s voice drifted into the room. Still
in her southern harlot getup that made everyone uncomfortable, she
strolled over to the table and took a seat on Medium Dave’s lap.
Her eyes flashed over Jimmy and her son, who were both still
standing and glaring at each other.

“Now, now, boys,” she said. “There’s no need
to fight. What’s the problem?”

“Nothing, Mother. Just friendly competition,”
Blake said.

“I’m sure,” Anastasia purred. She threw her
arms around Medium Dave’s neck and nibbled his ear. “Why don’t we
all sit back down and hear what the good Sir Nigel has to
say?”

Jimmy glanced at Nigel and said, “I don’t care
anymore. We can solve this problem ourselves. As a matter of fact,
we’re leaving.” He held his hand out for Candy.

“How chauvinistic.” Anastasia frowned. “Why
don’t we let Candy decide what she wants to do?”

Everyone turned their attention to Candy. She
sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was exhausted and she didn’t want
to deal with this anymore. The only thing she knew was she needed
help and she wasn’t about to leave without first hearing what Nigel
had to say. As much as she appreciated Tinch and the Misfits for
everything they had done, it was clear they were out of their
league when it came to Rupert and his family.

“We need their help. I need their help,” Candy
said. “I understand if you want to go, Jimmy.” She looked at White
Paul and Medium Dave. “If you all want to go I understand. It’s
okay. This is my problem, not yours.”

Jimmy sat back down, his face twisted into a
grimace.

“Very good,” Anastasia said from her place on
Medium Dave’s lap, who was thoroughly enjoying her company. “Why
don’t you tell us what you have set up, Nigel?”

“It would be my pleasure.” Nigel watched
Anastasia and Medium Dave with a wide grin. “I got Hayden on the
phone and as you might have guessed he has no intention of
releasing the claim on Candy. He said Rupert wants her back, but I
informed him that I believe you can legally contest his claim and
that I would be contacting the Magister, which I did. This didn’t
please Hayden at all. Nevertheless, I was able to set up a meeting
between your family and his with the Magister. Tomorrow night an
hour after sundown.”

“You’re a wonderful man.” Anastasia nuzzled
Medium Dave’s neck. “I think we all owe Nigel our sincerest
gratitude.”

“Thank you,” Blake said.

Jimmy grumbled his appreciation.

Anastasia stood up and moved to the head of
the table behind her son and Candy.

“Tomorrow night at sundown it is,” she said.
“Why don’t I show you out, Nigel? I can take you through the parlor
on the way.”

Nigel stood up and took her hand. He gave
everyone a cheerful wave before they left the room
together.

“Holy shit you vampires are freaks,” White
Paul said once they were out of the room.

Blake stood up and without a word he stormed
off towards the kitchen with the manservant on his heels. White
Paul tried to get a high five from Medium Dave. Candy had to force
herself to ignore him before she yelled at him.

“This has to be one of the longest nights of
my life,” she said.

“One thing’s for sure,” Jimmy said. “We’re not
staying here tonight.”

“We can crash at my ’rents,” Medium Dave
said.

Jimmy pursed his lips. “We don’t have much of
a choice.”

“Are you sure about that? It seems really safe
here,” Candy said.

Jimmy jammed the heels of his palms into his
eyes. “I’m sure,” he said plainly, though his voice was laced with
aggravation. “There’s no damn way in hell I’m staying in a vampire
nest and neither are you.”

Candy crossed her arms. “Last time I checked
you weren’t my father.”

“No, I’m not. I’m just the guy who saved your
life.”

“Thank you Jimmy, how could I forget? I’m just
the stupid girl who needs saving. I guess now I have to show my
gratitude. Why don’t we go to the parlor? That’s what you want,
right?”

“Can I come too?” White Paul said.

Jimmy whirled around on him. “You need to shut
up! You tore the bathroom up on purpose, didn’t you? What’s wrong
with you?”

“I didn’t, I swear.”

“You ate a whole horse! What did you
expect?”

White Paul shrugged. Modesty never made
extended visits with him. “It was most of a horse and I don’t
regret it, that’s for sure. You have to admit that Blake the
vampire
puking his guts out will be a lasting
memory.”

Jimmy turned back to Candy, not bothering with
trying to talk sense to his friend anymore. “Listen. I truly
appreciate the help they’re offering but they’re still vampires. We
can’t stay here, Candy. Don’t forget what we told you.”

“He’s right. We’ll be safe at Dave’s place for
a day. We can get some badly needed rest and then come back at
sundown,” White Paul said.

They were right. Candy didn’t have much choice
other than to agree. As they made their way into the antechamber,
Blake came from the kitchen to escort his guests out. He offered to
have his driver give them a ride, but they told him friends were
waiting to pick them up. This didn’t seem to surprise him and he
watched as they walked down the driveway, which took nearly ten
minutes to traverse. The gate opened as they approached.

Something rustled in the brush across the
road. Candy nearly had a heart attack, though none of the guys were
worried when a black wolf slipped into view from between some
bushes. The wolf’s hard, amber eyes passed over Candy as it trotted
into the open. Then it stepped up onto its hind legs and in one
fluid motion changed into a naked Were-Jew. Candy had to avert her
gaze away from him.

“They spotted me,” he said. “They have
surveillance all over the place and guards on both levels of the
balconies, as well as on the roof. Half a dozen from my count on
the outside, all armed and sporting some good tech. At least a few
of them had night vision. These vampires take their security
seriously.”

“Yeah, we know they spotted you. Consider
yourself lucky,” Jimmy said.

“Please,” Were-Jew said with a self-assured
grin. “Their blasters aren’t nearly accurate enough. What happened
in there?”

“We’ll fill you in later,” Jimmy said.
“Where’s our ride?”

Headlights appeared down the road. The SUV
rolled up with Felicia behind the wheel. She looked exhausted.
Were-Jew squirmed into a pair of pants in the back seat.

Candy fell asleep while Jimmy gave his friends
the rundown of what happened. She was only vaguely aware that she
was leaning into him with her head rested on his chest as she
drifted off.

Chapter Twelve

Felicia drove the SUV back to the parking
garage. The Mullin mansion was out in the country beyond the
borders of suburbia and it took nearly an hour to navigate back to
the city. Candy nodded off several times during the ride. When she
woke up she saw everyone else was in the same state of drowsiness.
She got into the Pinto with Jimmy and Medium Dave after they told
others they’d see them back at the house.

The city was mostly silent and barren at
nearly three in the morning. Medium Dave got into the back seat and
fell asleep right away. Candy decided she’d drive since Jimmy
looked exhausted. They didn’t say anything to each
other.

That suited Candy just fine because she had a
lot to mull over. She thought she might have been too hasty in her
decisions earlier, most notably in allowing Blake to take some of
her blood. Then again, when she had dozed off, it was his whispers
she heard, not Rupert’s, which was a huge relief. She hadn’t slept
long enough to truly dream, but there was something going on in her
drowsy mind with Blake. She wondered if the Mullins knew it would
work out that way.

She was fairly certain she remembered the way
back to Medium Dave’s place so she didn’t bother Jimmy when he fell
asleep in the passenger’s seat. The city streets were mostly empty
anyway and she didn’t have any problems finding the way back to the
highway. She wasn’t quite sure which street to take from there
until she saw a Burrito Trumpet up ahead she remembered seeing
earlier. Her stomach grumbled. Felicia had given her ten dollars at
the mega-store, and though it was supposed to be for emergencies
she figured she could stop to get a super combo pack of burritos
for everyone. She slowed down and pulled into the drive
thru.

Burrito Trumpet was one of the few fast-food
joints that stayed open past midnight. There was usually a long
line of drunken idiots, but as Candy pulled up to the order board
she noticed the place was practically empty of customers. The Pinto
was the only car in the drive thru. Static and a garbled voice came
through the speaker on the order board.

“Welcome to Burrito Trumpet, what’s your
desire?”

“Can I get a twenty pack of combination
burritos?”

“Drive around.”

Candy frowned; he hadn’t given her the total,
but she knew it was a little under ten bucks for that particular
combination pack. She pulled around to the pickup window and
started digging in her handbag. When an employee came to the window
with her order she reached out to hand him the money.

“Hello, love.”

Candy’s eyes went wide. Rupert leaned through
the window with a wicked grin. He was wearing a red and black
checkered uniform stained with blood.

“You want any hot or mild sauce? I bet you
like it hot.”

Candy could only stare at him. Her eyes
widened in terror when she saw the interior of the store behind
him. A young man in a Burrito Trumpet uniform was sprawled over the
counter in a pool of blood.

She pushed the gear into drive and slammed her
foot on the gas pedal. The Pinto hit the curb and went up onto the
grass, jostling Jimmy awake. Half asleep, he grabbed the dashboard
for dear life and yelled, “What’s going on?”

Candy pulled hard on the steering wheel in an
attempt to get the car out of the grass and onto the street.
“Rupert! He’s in there!”

Jimmy turned to look out the back window. A
loud crash sent the Pinto spinning, throwing him about. Candy
slammed into the door and lost her grip on the steering wheel. She
didn’t have time to regain control and steer away from the sharp
curve ahead. She snapped forward when the car violently swerved
into a ditch and came to a halt. Jimmy was lucky; his side of the
car smashed into the wall of the ditch. A little bit of blood
trickled down from the side of his head.

“You okay?” Jimmy said.

Candy opened her eyes. She had to hold her
hand in front of her face to block out the headlights from an
idling car on the road directly in front of them. Jimmy took hold
of her arm to see if she was hurt. She winced.

“Shit, your arm may be broken.”

Candy didn’t hear him. She watched the other
car that had run them off the road. The driver door opened. Though
she had a hard time seeing through the high beams, she knew it was
Vivian who stepped out by the silhouette of his long hair and
crooked nose. He took quick steps towards the decommissioned
Pinto.

Candy fumbled with the seat belt.
“Shit!”

Jimmy turned and matched her curse. His side
of the Pinto had settled against the ditch, rendering his door
impossible for escape. Candy pushed against her door but it was
jammed. Jimmy stretched over her and tried to force it open with
his legs. It didn’t budge. She tried for the window roller only to
find there wasn’t one.