Caught in Darkness (34 page)

Veronica cringed. She had come to
understand why he drank so much coffee—it certainly helped more than regular
water or juice—but she was also coming to be tired of it. Releasing a strained
sigh she pushed herself to a sitting position and asked, “We don’t have to
renew our proverbial vows at any regular interval, do we?”

Seth offered a faint, bitter chuckle
and shook his head as he eased back onto the side of the mattress. He began
carefully pouring the coffee into the mugs as he replied, “No; it’s a one-time
deal.”

“That’s a relief,” she mumbled,
watching while he topped off his own mug, set the thermos down, and then lifted
her mug with both hands. He handed it over to her, nodding when she offered a
quiet thank you, and she accepted the drink with mixed feelings. In another
hour they could feed again—on each other—but they needed to be consistently semi-nourishing
their bodies or it just wouldn’t be enough.
Which meant more
flavorless coffee.

They sat in silence while they
drained the contents of their mugs and then Seth set both objects back onto the
dresser top, beside the thermos. He was leaning back, task accomplished, when
they heard the front door open.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve died
in here,”
Jasen
called,
his
tone annoyingly casual.

Veronica groaned and let herself
fall back on the bed.

“We’re in here,” Seth replied even
as his lips twitched as he glanced down at Veronica. He was clearly amused by
her reaction.

Jasen
stepped into the doorway before stopping, leaning his gigantically tall figure
against the doorframe and slipping his hands into his pockets. “So not yet, at
least,” he commented.

Veronica knew he was mocking them. She
caught the almost imperceptible lip twitch as he studied them. Jerk.

“Did you find anything?” Seth
asked, ignoring
Jasen’s
jibe.

“I wouldn’t tell you if I had,”
Jasen
replied, faint amusement gone as quickly as it had
come. “You’re in no shape to do anything about anything.” He paused long enough
to let Seth frown at him before adding, “And no, I haven’t. Probably they’ve
cleared out.”

Seth sighed but it was obvious that
he wasn’t overly surprised.

“You two should be eating like
normal vampires by tomorrow, right?”
Jasen
asked.

“Right,” Seth replied.

“Finally,” Veronica added without
actually moving.

Jasen
inclined his head, straightened, and said, “Then I’m heading out. I’ll see you
in Sacramento, and I’ll let Trista know you’re coming.”

Seth inclined his head as he
reached again for the thermos. “All right; thanks.”

Veronica offered an unenthusiastic
wave as
Jasen
turned and started back down the hall. She
wasn’t sure when it had happened, but apparently she was no longer afraid of
him. Though she wasn’t quite sure that that meant she actually liked him. There
is a difference. But what was more important was what he’d reminded her of. She’d
never been to Sacramento—though she’d also never been to California in general.
What mattered, though, was that Sacramento was heavy. That was where the First
Family was living.

“Are they going to try to eat me?”
Veronica asked quietly as the door shut in the distance.

Seth chuckled softly and shook his
head. He paused to take another long drink from his refilled mug before adding,
“No. They’ll give you funny looks at first, but don’t worry about it. You’ll be
fine…just
don’t
back-talk Trista.”

“Right,” Veronica said with a
half-nod. “Note to self: don’t back-talk the oldest vampire on the planet.
Shouldn’t be a problem.”
She held her hand out, toward the
dresser, silently asking for more coffee.

He poured it without a word and
handed it over.

She gulped half of the contents in
one breath before asking, “Are we done yet?” Their eyes met and they exchanged
a small smile before she resumed draining her mug.

“This is almost disturbing,”
Veronica declared Tuesday night from where she was leaning against the counter.
Her eyes were focused on the newspaper in her hands and she was frowning.

“What is?” Seth asked from down the
hall. She swore she could feel him pause as he stood over his suitcase and she
wondered idly if it wasn’t just her imagination.

Shaking her head, Veronica called,
“My funeral’s tomorrow.”

Seth’s light footsteps announced
his arrival as he strode down the hall and stopped beside her. “You’re reading
it,” he said, a note of surprise in his voice.

They’d had possession of the paper
with her obituary in it since it had been released, but Veronica hadn’t been
able to bring herself to touch it. When Seth had offered to throw it away,
however, she’d quickly asked him not to. She had wanted to see it, but she
hadn’t really wanted to see it. She’d been horrendously confused and entirely
not ready for that visual confirmation of her human death. So she couldn’t
blame him for being surprised to see her reading it now.

She offered him a small smile and
nodded. “It seemed like the right time.”

Seth reached out and gently pried
the newspaper from her grasp, tossing it onto the counter before pulling her
into his arms. He tucked her head beneath his chin and said, “Give it time,
honey. The pain will fade.”

Veronica smiled into his collar,
took a deep breath, and twisted her hands into the back of his shirt. It was
amazing how much better she felt than when the day had started. And as
difficult as the process had been she already knew that she would do it all
over again if she had to. Eternity didn’t sound nearly as daunting knowing that
she would never have to spend it alone.

“I know it will,” she assured him.

He gave her a gentle squeeze before
pulling back, holding her gaze, and whispering, “I love you, Veronica Wyndham.”

Her smile broadened and she pressed
a soft, brief kiss to his lips before replying, “Actually, if it’s all right
with you, I was thinking I should introduce myself as Veronica Hunter when we
hit Sacramento.”

He responded with a powerful kiss,
arms tight around her, and she knew he approved of her decision.

The End

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