Blood Moon (Skye Morrison Vampire Series, #5.5) (4 page)

Dean

I was dutifully signing off on the weekly restocking order when Skye Morrison walked into my office.  Looking up from my paperwork, I greeted her with my usual smile before concern quickly replaced it.  Normally, her beautiful face was like a ray of sunshine, her demeanor sweet and sassy.  Today, she was moving sluggishly and her face was much paler than usual.  Fangers tended to be pale fuckers by nature, but this was something totally different.  She looked beyond tired and that worried me greatly. 

“Wow.  You look like hell, toots,” I grimaced, getting up from my desk and sliding over to her.

“Gee, thanks,” she scoffed halfheartedly, leaning up to hug my neck.  “All that healing I did last night on everyone really took its toll on me.  I’m freaking exhausted.”

“Did you manage to get any sleep?” I questioned as I cupped the back of her neck and searched her weary, colorless eyes.  I was seriously concerned about her.  She’d been through a whole hell of a lot in the past few days and it showed.

“Hell no,” she shook her head and sighed, causing her shiny, waist length, red hair to wave behind her.  “All I could think about was Nikki and if she was doing okay at your house.  I maybe got an hour of sleep before I had to go into Dan’s.”

“Well, take a load off, babe,” I said, backing her up to the chair across from my desk and making her sit down.  “Relax a bit.”

“I don’t really have much time, hon,” she blinked up at me before stifling a yawn.  “I just wanted to drop off some money for Nik.”  She dug around in her purse and produced a fat stack of cash, handing it to me.  “There’s seven thousand, six hundred dollars there.  That should help get Nikki started.  I’ll have more when Archer pays me in a few days.  Six hundred of it is her money from Dan’s.  I kept everything I made and set it aside for her.”

Looking down at the greenbacks in my hand, I shook my head.  “I told you I didn’t mind helping her out.  Keep the seven thousand, babe,” I said as I attempted to hand it back.

Skye held up one hand and slid angry eyes to pierce mine.  “And I told you last night not to fight me on this, Dic.  If Nikki won’t allow me to take care of her, the least I can do is pay for her needs.  It was my fault she was kidnapped in the first place.”

I liked it when she used my nickname, but she only did it when she meant business.  A shame, really.  She tended to emphasize the C sound at the end and it made it seem a lot dirtier coming from her.  “All right, babe, relax,” I soothed, tossing the bundled stack onto my desk before perching on the edge of it in front of her.  “I had some of the girls in my pack go shopping for her this morning.  She was going through the new clothes with them when I left.”

“Thank you,” she sighed, relieved to hear it, as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“So, what are your plans this afternoon?”

“I’ve got to run a couple errands then give Atticus Frost a call and fill him in on what went down last night.  I’ve been putting it off.  I’m really not looking forward to having that particular conversation.”

“He’s the leader of those Dark bloodsuckers, right?” I asked, cocking a brow.

“Yep,” she nodded.  “I need to warn him about Stanus Octavius.  He’s the one who was able to escape on the plane during the fighting.  The whole reason they kidnapped Nikki was to ensure I would help them overthrow Atticus so Stanus could take the throne.”

“What?” I growled.  That was news to me.  Last I heard, she had no idea what they wanted with her.  “How did you find that out?”

“Those sons of bitches bragged the second they had me silvered,” she answered angrily, her nose wrinkled in disgust.  “Stanus told me their whole plan right before they tried to get me on the plane.  The most fucked up part of it, though, is how my father was in on it the whole time.  He was just using me.  He and Stanus wanted me to join the Dark Ones at the colony and overthrow Atticus and Corvus from the inside, thus leaving the throne open for Stanus, who believes he is the rightful heir.”

“Your own father?” I rumbled angrily. That was messed up.  Talk about a shot to the heart.  “What was he supposed to be getting out of the deal?”

“A spot on the throne whenever Stanus met the final death,” she seethed, her nostrils flaring somewhat.  “He wanted to use me to further his political career. I hadn’t seen him my whole life and he conveniently appeared when news about my powers spread. I doubt he ever really cared about me at all.  I was just something he could manipulate and use to get what he wanted.  God, I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner.”

“Well, in your defense, who the hell thinks their own father capable of such a thing?”

“I didn’t even know the man, Dean,” she frowned, her brow furrowed, as she looked up at me.  “I should have been more cautious.  I should have known something was wrong the second I met him.  His timing was too convenient, don’t you think?  I didn’t even suspect it.”

“You can’t beat yourself up, toots,” I said gently, leaning forward and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.  “You didn’t know.”

She let out a frustrated growl and leaned forward, elbows on her knees, to rest her head in her hands.  She was quiet for a time before she spoke again.  “He asked Stanus and Weston to burn my house down because I listed it as one of the things keeping me in Austin when he asked why I wouldn’t join their race,” she whispered, her voice thick with exhaust and sadness. 

My eyes immediately narrowed in anger.  “That son of a bitch,” I growled deeply. 

Looking back up, she wiped a lone tear from her cheek.  “Have you told Nikki about our house yet?”

“Not yet,” I shook my head, crossing my arms to keep from reaching out and pulling her into a hug.  I desperately wanted to comfort her.  She’d been to hell and back these last few days and I hated to see her suffer.  “I’m going to tell her when I return home.  I didn’t think it wise to spring it on her last night.  Hell, I don’t think it wise to tell her today, but it’s got to be done.”

“The arson investigator wants to speak with her,” she nodded before digging a card out of her purse and handing it to me.  “Just so you know, I told him Nikki was out of town visiting a sick aunt in Maine and that she’d be home in a week. I couldn’t very well say that she was kidnapped. You might want to mention that to her when y’all talk.”

“Does she have an aunt in Maine?” I questioned, looking over the card.

“I think she mentioned something like that once, but fuck if I know,” she sighed, running her fingers through her hair again.  “Nikki doesn’t talk much about her family.  I think it’s a sore subject for her.  Anyway, I had to give Dan the same story so he wouldn’t file a missing person report on her.  He’s been really worried about her.”

“How long will you be covering for her over at Drop Kick’s?”

“As long as it takes,” she answered, shrugging her shoulders.  “I’ll work her shifts until she’s well enough to return to work.  I owe her that much, Dean.”

“How long does she have before Dan begins to suspect that you lied about her visiting a sick aunt?” I wondered, looking down at her with sympathetic eyes.  I could tell she was trying so hard to hold everything together while outwardly making it seem like there was nothing wrong.  But I knew that inside she was suffering.  I wanted more than anything to be able to take the weight of the world off her shoulders, but even if I could, I knew she wouldn’t let me.  She was crazy strong like that.

“A week maybe?  Two tops,” she said, and then worried at her bottom lip with her teeth.  “I’ll buy her as much time as I can.  With me there, at least the position is filled.  Dan’s less likely to make a fuss.”

“I’ll do what I can on my end to help her adjust,” I promised.  “I called in some girls from my pack to stay with her this afternoon.  They themselves are rape survivors and if anyone can help Nikki, it’s them, babe.  We’ll take good care of her, I promise.”

“I have no doubt you will,” she said, heartfelt.  “I don’t trust many people these days, but you and your pack are definitely the exception.”

“I’m always here for you and yours, toots,” I smiled.  “Even though you are a freaking bloodsucker now.”

She let out a genuine laugh and leaned forward to swat my knee.  “Behave, wolf boy.”

“Listen,” I spoke up, remembering the errand I needed to run when I left Tricky Dic’s, “I’ve got to stop by the grocery store and restock the house.  I wasn’t really prepared for company and I doubt lunchmeat sandwiches are going to cut it for very long.  Is there anything in particular that Nikki likes to eat?  What should I buy her?  Isn’t she some hippy-dippy, hipster vegan or something?  Wasn’t her ex some shit like that?”

“Oh ho!” she scoffed out incredulously in a rush of air as her eyebrows shot skyward.  “Hippy-dippy?  First off, don’t ever let her hear you say that.  She takes what she puts into her body and her carbon footprint pretty seriously.  I know it’s a little weird to you cavemen out there, but there’s nothing wrong with it.  Secondly, Lyric was supposedly a spiritual and physical Jain vegan, but he was a crazy motherfucker and there wasn’t anything in him that was pure or caring.  He wouldn’t have given his girlfriend over to those masochistic fucks if there were.  And, Nikki may do things a little differently, but she’s not even remotely extreme in her lifestyle.  She just likes her food preferably organic, pesticide free, antibiotic free, grass fed, and humanely treated before slaughter.  That’s not so much to ask for, now is it?”

“And lastly,” she said in a cold, serious whisper as she stood up and took a step toward me, “don’t ever mention Lyric again.  Not to her and not to me.  He’s already dead, Dic.  I just have to find his worthless ass and deliver the message.  And I’ll be sure to get right on that as soon as I can find some extra time in my seemingly endless, fucking nightmare of a schedule.”

“Ooh,” I smiled as I slowly held my hands up in surrender.  She was a little hot under the collar and I loved it when she got all riled up.  I’d never tell her this, but she looked scorching hot when she got mad; it was kind of hard to keep a straight face sometimes. “Love it when you get all feisty, babe.”

Skye’s face broke into a slow smile and she laughed as she playfully pushed me in the chest and then sat back down again.  “Whatever.  Save it for Archer, Casanova.”

“I should,” I smirked.  “It’s always more fun when he’s around.”

“You two are something else,” she shook her head on a smile.  “I have a feeling it has less to do with me and more to do with you wanting to royally piss him off.”

I gave her a secret smile but kept my mouth shut.  As hot as I thought Skye was, now that she was a vampire, she was sort of off limits to me.  Our kinds didn’t mix with each other socially, much less sexually.  We were pretty much pushing the ancient boundaries by even being friends.  I’ll admit though, I was really feeling her when she was human and it was a crying shame to lose such a fine piece of tail, but I kind of dug the relationship we seemed to have now.  We were friends, the kind who stuck around and had each other’s backs.  That was worth more than a hundred pieces of quality pussy to me.

“So food,” I smirked as I redirected.  “I guess I’ll be hitting up Whole Foods on my way home.”

“Good idea,” she nodded before slouching down and leaning her head back in the chair.  “And just a heads up, Nik has a pretty serious baking habit when she’s upset.  She says it’s cathartic.  If you’ve got a hankering, big boy, I suggest you buy the ingredients for her.  With everything that went down, she’ll probably be baking up a storm for the next couple of months.”

“No shit?  Well, I’ll make sure she has everything she needs if it helps her.”

Skye gave me a small smile as she tiredly got up from the chair and wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing me tight.  “Thank you.  You are such a good man, Dean,” she said softly on a sigh.  “Nikki and I are both very lucky to have you as a friend.  I can never thank you enough for all you’ve done for me.”

Sliding my arms around her small waist, I hugged her back with equal force.  “I’ll send you a bill one of these days,” I teased then turned my head to kiss her temple.

“One I would gladly pay,” she smiled, pulling back from me, and looking into my eyes.  “I mean it, Dean.  You’re the bee’s knees, my man.  Taking care of my best friend like you are…there aren’t enough words.”

“I’m happy to help, toots,” I smiled down at her.  “Honestly.”

Taking a deep breath, she glanced back at the doorway before turning back to me.  “Well, I should really be going.  I’ve got a few things to take care of before I talk to Atticus.  Will you let me know how she’s doing?”

I told her I’d keep her up to date before she hugged me one last time and walked out my office door.

Nikki

Sugar was beautiful…absolutely beautiful.  Her cream coat and blonde mane were soft, and her distinctive smell musky, earthy, and soothing.  I smiled widely for the first time in days as I gripped the reigns and gave her an encouraging nudge with my heel, urging her to take me faster.   With Sugar running at a full gallop, I felt almost completely worry-free.

After helping me put my new clothes away, the girls led me outside and showed me Dean’s stables.  There he housed six of the most adorable quarter horses I’d ever seen.  DeeDee, Jojo, and Holly said this was their favorite place to come after they found Dean’s pack and how the horses had helped them adjust to their freedom.  They spent most of their free time tending to the horses and riding around Dean’s vast property.  Jojo swore it was the best therapy on Earth and I was inclined to agree.  Not once during the last two hours had I given any thought to my kidnapping and rape.  I was too busy being captivated by this magnificent, gentle creature. 

As I guided Sugar around the far side of the house and followed the girls as they took their own horses through the little stream, I heard a sharp whistle.  We each slowed and turned to see Zephyr motioning for us to come in because Dean had returned. 

“I see you found the horses,” Dean called out as I trotted Sugar up the long dirt driveway.  When we slowed and stopped in front of him, Sugar nickered as he ran his hands over her nose, petting her.  To my surprise, she lowered her head to Dean’s and rested her forehead against his as he softly spoke to her.  It was obvious the two had a very special bond.

“She’s amazing,” I said, leaning forward and stroking her neck. 

Dean smiled as he lifted his head from Sugar’s, but it quickly fell as he addressed the girls.  “I need to speak with Nikki alone please.  Take Sugar back to the stable when you go and I’ll give you ladies a call if we need anything else today.”

My brow furrowed momentarily with worry as I looked back at the girls.  DeeDee gave me a reassuring smile and winked at me before Dean wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me from the saddle.

I watched him hand Sugar’s lead off to Jojo; then he motioned with his head for me to follow him inside.  Trepidatiously, I went along.  I could tell by the reserved look on his face that I wasn’t going to like what was about to happen and it made me worry.

“Dean,” my voice quivered out as I unconsciously hugged myself and followed, “what’s going on?  What happened?”

“Sit down,” he commanded softly with a sigh, taking a seat on the couch and patting the spot beside him.  I chose to sit on the ottoman a few feet away and eyed him suspiciously as he silently studied me.

Running his fingers through his dark hair, he took a deep breath in and attempted a warm smile.  “Did you enjoy your time with the girls?”

“They were very welcoming,” I answered reservedly as I waited for the real conversation to begin.  I knew the ride with Sugar was not what he wanted to talk to me about.

“Good, good,” he nodded his head and sighed again as he turned his body to face mine.  He was quiet for a few more seconds before he spoke.  “So…there is something I need tell you.”

I hated how his voice sounded.  I knew for a fact I wasn’t going to like what would come next.  I gripped my sides tighter, preparing myself, and nodded my head.   “Just spit it out, Dean.  Whatever it is…”

“Your house is gone,” he said gently, his eyes watching closely for my reaction.

“My…my house?” I questioned, my brow furrowed, not understanding.  I was prepared for anything…but not that.  “What do you mean ‘gone’?”  My heartbeat picked up as the realization started to set in.  This was going to be bad…so, so bad.

“There was a fire early yesterday morning in Skye’s side of the townhome.  It completely gutted her unit and destroyed the majority of yours too.”

The news hit me like a slap in the face and I silently stared at him in shock. 
No, not my house.  Not my house. 
Everything I owned was in that house.  Everything.  Everything I’d worked my entire life for, it was all in that house.  “No,” I whispered as I begged Dean with my eyes to tell me it wasn’t true.

“I’m so sorry, Nikki,” he said sadly as he scooted closer and slowly put a hand on my shoulder.  “The firefighters did everything they could, but by the time they got there, the fire had spread to your unit.”

“My clothes,” I whispered, looking up at him accusatorily.  “That’s why you had them bring me new clothes this morning.  You knew my house was gone and you didn’t tell me?”  I angrily brushed his hand away and stood up, pacing the small living room.  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this shit last night?”

Dean stood up and crossed his arms over his broad chest.  “I didn’t tell you because you were in no condition to hear it,” he said sternly.

“That’s no excuse,” I argued, stopping in front of him.  “Everything I own is in that house, Dean.  Everything!  I needed to know.”

“And now you do.” He frowned, cocking an eyebrow at me.  “You need to cool your jets, toots.  I’m not the enemy here.”

I shot him a frustrated look as I continued my pace around the room.  He was right, though.  I was angry, but I didn’t need to take it out on him of all people.  He was the only person helping me at the moment.  Sighing, I dropped to my knees and fisted my hair as I took deep breaths in an attempt to maintain my composure.  I silently wondered how much a person could actually endure before they had a nervous breakdown.  Either way, I knew I had to be close.

“What more can possibly happen to me?” I wondered aloud bitterly as I sat back on my heels, palms to my forehead, and gazed up at the ceiling.  I’d been through absolute hell this week and the hits just kept coming.  I couldn’t believe I’d lost my house. The house I pulled doubles and moonlighted to afford. The house that had been my home for the last six years and held every single item of my life, every item I’d worked so hard for…and now it was gone.

Standing up, I turned to face Dean.  “I have to see it for myself,” I said in a near panic.  “I need to go.  I need to go now.”  I started for the front door but a strong arm stopped me.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dean drawled gently.

“I don’t care.” I shook my head as I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp.  “I need to see it for myself.  I need to see my house, dammit!”

Dean growled at my tone and the harsh sound seemed to knock some sense into me. 
Big bad werewolf…probably shouldn’t piss him off.
  I instantly stilled, took a deep, calming breath, and met the deep chocolate pools of his eyes.  “Please, Dean,” I begged as my eyes began to sting with unshed tears.  “I want to see it.  I need to see it.  I’ll walk if I have to, but I’m going.”

He sighed as he studied my face for a few seconds.  Finally, he nodded his head and dropped my arm.  “Fine, if you must, but I’m not letting you go alone.” 

With that, he grabbed a set of keys hanging by the front door, and then led me outside to a vintage blue Charger.