Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down (16 page)

God
, they were adorable.  It restored my faith in romance, a man risking everything for the person he loved.  I felt like I had to do more to ensure that romance got a fighting chance.  “Listen… this is my phone number,” I said, scribbling it down on the back of a get well soon card on the dresser.  “Get a disposable phone and send me a text in a couple of weeks.  Maybe there’s something I can do to get you those forged documents after all.”  I didn’t want to get their hopes up too much, especially with Rob away on private business, but I had to try.   

“For reals?”  Javier’s eyes popped wide.  “
Santa Maria madre de Dios
, you really are an angel!  He dropped the pair of pants in hand and impulsively hugged me, Abel following suit a half second later. 

“I can’t promise anything, but I can make some inquiries,” I promised.  There had to be someone who could help me, maybe Leander might point me in the right direction.  “Hey, one more thing.”  I carefully extricated myself from their embrace, injecting a note of seriousness to my voice.   

“
Si
?” Javier’s head tilted expectantly.

“Just so we’re clear, Javier, Abel is your responsibility.  He’ll need a lot of guidance to keep his hunger in check, so watch him carefully
.  If I find out either one of you is killing humans, I’ll come after you both myself,” I said gravely. 

Javier immediately nodded.  “
Si
, I am his Sire, I understand what this means.”

“Good.”  Only one last thing.  Deciding to see if I could compel them both at the same time, I found I could easily catch hold of both of their wills with mine.  Maybe it was only because Abel being a total newbie made him that much easier to control, but I took it as a good sign. 

“You will both forget that I compelled the Order.  You remember getting out of town before they got here.  The only person who stopped by was me, to give you my phone number in case I can help you get some forged documents.  Got it?”

“Got it.”  They both nodded, and I broke into a wide smile. 

“Great. Now, let’s get you two lovebirds packed and ready to fly the coop.”

I glided home feeling better about myself than I had in a long while.  Finally I’d done something instead of just talking about it!  In the days that followed, I listened carefully, but didn’t hear a peep from the Order, or any chatter that there was anything amiss with Javier and Abel’s sudden departure.  I also had a private conversation with Leander, asking him to put me into touch with some local artists who might be able to help with forged documents, and he offered to be my middle man to screen potential candidates. 

The dinner with Hanna and Mason had me sweating bullets, but Mason gave no sign that he remembered anything about our encounter at the hospice.  All we did was enjoy a few drinks while my sister ate, and
then I chatted with Hanna while he watched a bloody shoot ‘em up movie.  Hanna seemed to be accepting the whole vampire thing better than I’d expected, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d given her a nudge in that direction.  But I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to open that can of worms.

Each night I woke as the sun went down, and each night I questioned whether I’d been right in sending Jakob away.  Being alone didn’t bother me too much
; the girls kept me too distracted to dwell on it for long, but I felt bad about hurting him.  Maybe if I’d given it longer I could’ve learned to love him?  But the moment that thought solidified in my head, I knew I’d made the right choice.  Going into a relationship, hoping you’d learn to feel something you didn’t, seemed destined to failure from the start.  Unless you had the lead role in a Regency romance.  That reminded me to dig out some of my old favorites, and I spent what idle hours I had revisiting hapless couples that somehow turned into perfectly married couples with babies on the way.

A
few days went by, and there was no word from Leander that any of the usual forgers were willing to attempt the docs needed to fool the Order.  Regular driver’s license and a social security card, no problem.  But going up against the Order still had people spooked.  I couldn’t blame them.  It was a dangerous prospect, and I hated having to text Javier back that I was still working on it when he reached out to tell me they were living in up in Salem, Oregon. 

We didn’t have much luck finding an apartment big enough to house all of us that didn’t cost an arm and a leg
, or wasn’t located out in the boonies.  I almost considered trying to find a smaller studio apartment of my own to retreat to, only I knew I’d never be able to leave Ellie unsupervised with Maggie in the house. 

Christmas was coming, and I started to think we might not have a place to hang our stockings as a family.  Because that’s how I’d
begun to think of the girls, and even Gunnar and Isak – as family.  A family I loved to pieces, but still occasionally needed to escape from for the sake of my own sanity, especially since Ellie showed no signs of controlling her bloodlust any better.  

I jumped at the chance to go Christmas shopping with Hanna, ready for a night of regular, human type activity for once.  I even made the guys take the night off, convincing them that nothing could possibly go wrong in a public shopping arena.  Okay, so I might have thrown a little compulsion in there too, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. 

We hit the malls, braving the crowds to get at the biggest sales.  Mom and Dad always had champagne tastes on a beer budget, and I wanted to get them something special now that I had some cash in my pockets.  I settled on a crystal music box shaped like a miniature grand piano that played
Ave Maria
.  It was one of the first pieces I’d ever performed solo, and it had been played at their wedding.  Hanna insisted on going in on it too, and we waited in the food court for the engraving to be ready. 

I have to say, shopping as a vampire – so much better than as a human.  My feet didn’t hurt, I never felt overheated, it didn’t bother me to play packhorse and carry all the packages, and I didn’t feel tempted to eat a single Cinnabon.  Hanna
, however, ate one as big as her head.  I hadn’t felt the urge to eat anyone since I’d drunk Jakob’s blood, and I started to wonder how long his
Ellri
blood would stay in my system.

“Whatcha thinking about?” she asked, chasing the whipped cream in the bottom of her iced mocha with her straw.

“Vampire stuff,” I shrugged, not wanting to bring up anything that might gross her out.

S
ure enough, her nose crinkled with distaste.  “Blood and stuff?”

“Something like that.  Does it bother you to hear about it?”

“It’s not my favorite thing ever, but I can handle it.  I do know that’s what you have to drink to survive.”

“Have you let Mason…?”  I didn’t finish the thought, the mental image
that sprang to mind was far too intimate.  “Hmm, nevermind, I don’t want to know.”

“No, we have a strict no biting rule until I’m ready for it.”

“Sounds like a good policy.”

“What about you?  Are you getting any neck lately?”

I shook my head, stealing a dab of cream from the edge of her cup.  “I haven’t had to eat since I was with Jakob.”

“How long ago is that?”

“A week or so.” 

“That sounds like quite a diet. I can see why you might go for a guy who keeps you satisfied for weeks.”  Hanna waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively and I suppressed a laugh.

“Actually, I broke things off with him pretty soon after we… you know.”

“Good, he sounded like trouble.”

“He meant well, his execution was just a bit off.”  I don’t know why I felt compelled to defend him, especially since I’m the one who did the leaving. 

“How are you
?” she asked, head tilted to one side as she studied me closely.  “Are you okay?”

“Sure, I’m fine for the most part.”  I couldn’t explain why I felt so down sometimes
.  It wasn’t that I actually wanted Jakob back, but I didn’t like how things had ended between us.  “I guess I have some regrets.  I never should’ve slept with him for one thing, not if I knew I didn’t love him.”

“Anja, there's nothing wrong with
having sex with a guy even though you're not head over heels in love with  him.”

“There should be.”

“Ah, my sweet innocent sister,” she smiled, nudging my foot with hers until I smiled back.

“Not all that innocent.  I did sleep with him, remember?”

“No, I get it, sex plus love equals the best.  But how many of us find that?”

“You did, you love Mason.”

“Damn right I do,” she nodded decisively.  “But I wasn’t in love with him the first time we…”

“TMI again…
” I waved her off, but I felt better about the slut bunny I’d become.

“Does that mean you’ll be going back to Bishop?”

Where did that come from?  I resolutely refused to ask her why she’d gone there, not wanting to know if she had more intel eavesdropped from Mason’s Skype conversations.  “He knows where to find me if he wants me.”

“Mule
.” She nudged my foot until I found my smile again. 

I didn’t want to dwell on Bishop or Jakob anymore.  I’d spent most of my life single,
so it wouldn’t kill me to be alone for a while.  In fact, I resolved to give up men until my heart matched my hormones for a change. 

“Listen, are you going home for Christmas?  I don’t think I can take being there alone this year.  Especially since they got so fond of Jakob and now he’s out of the picture.”

“I don’t know.  I guess I’ll talk to Mason about it. I think Dad freaked him out a bit when we were there for Thanksgiving.  But if you don’t want to go, don’t go.  You’re a big girl now, you can have your own Christmas celebration on the day, and then we’ll all meet up later for a gift exchange.”

“I might do that.”  I guess I didn’t want to have to field too many questions about my new job and what I planned to do with my future since I’d chased Jakob away.  There was nothing like a good healthy dose of familial guilt to make the holidays complete.  Why stress myself out if I didn’t have to?   

We spent the rest of the evening shopping, and I picked up a couple of things for the girls as well.  Gunnar and Isak were harder.  Part of me wanted to pick them out some casual clothes, but I had no idea what sizes to get.  Besides Gunnar’s love of plants and Isak’s fondness for pudding, I really had no idea how they spent their down time.  Resolving to nail them down and worm some more information out of them, I headed for home, my arms weighed down with packages. 

A little more wary than I used to be, especially with my bodyguards off for the night, I slowed my steps as I approached the building and spotted a dark figure leaning against the side of the vestibule.  I’d have to pass right by him in order to get inside.  Not that I had much to fear from an ordinary person, or even most vamps, but my head was already spinning scenarios on what I’d do if he made a move. 

I made it nearly to the door before he leaned out of the shadow and I recognized who it was.  “Rob?” I gaped, unable to believe my eyes at first.  He’d made it sound like he’d be gone for months!  But there he stood, as plain as the nose on my face, in his usual jeans and a t-shirt, a tight fitting motorcycle jacket stretched across his broadly muscled shoulders.  “Oh my God, Rob!”  Dropping my bags, I ran up and threw my arms around him in a big hug, immediately conscious of the way he tensed up instead of hugging me back.  Okay, so maybe he wasn’t the hugging type, but I thought we were closer than that.  “What’s wrong?” I asked, letting go of him to get a read on his expression.

“Nothing
.  It’s nice to see you, miss,” he said blandly.

I stared at him for a full five seconds, drawing in a breath that didn’t go anywhere before I recovered, snapping my mouth shut hard enough to make my teeth rattle.  Something was definitely up, but I was too chicken to press him on it.  Shoving my bruised feelings aside, I forced a tight smile.  “It’s nice to see you too,” I said in a much more subdued voice.  “What
, um, brings you by?”

“I’ve been tasked with a job.”

“Oh, a job around here?  What kind of job is it?”

Instead of answe
ring, he strode to his black sedan and opened the passenger door.  “Get in.  Leave the bags, I’ll put them in the boot.” 

“Alright.”  Anyone else in the world, I might have asked a question or two, but Rob I trusted with my life, even if he was acting buggy.  I slid into the plush leather seat, waiting for him to stow away my shopping bags as promised.  Only once he was strapped in beside me did I ask any questions.  “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“Can’t you give me a hint?”  I tried for a winsome smile, but Rob didn’t so much as look at me.

“You’ll see,” he repeated, speaking slower this time.

“Is it far?”

“No.”

“Will we be meeting anyone there?”

“No.”

Taking the hint, I stopped with the questions for a while, hoping it became evident where we were going
before to long.  We drove north, and once we passed completely out of my neighborhood, I started to worry. 

“Okay, Rob?  You’re kind of freaking me out here.  You wouldn’t be taking me out to the desert so you can strip me naked, tie me up
, and wait for me to greet the sun, would you?”

That rated me the first look he’d given me since we got in the car.  “What are you going on about now?” he asked, clearly puzzled with the question. 

“I’m sorry, I’ve been reading too much pulp fiction lately.  I’m just saying, you’re acting a little cloak and dagger, don’t you think?”

“You really think I would do you wrong like that?”

“No,” I admitted plainly, “but I had to think of something to make you say more than two words at a time.”  He didn’t so much as crack a smile.  So much for my shot at lightening up the situation.  “Seriously though, it’s not a bad thing, what you’ve been tasked to do, is it?”

“Bad?  No.  Hard…?”  He let out a pent up breath.  “Jury’s still out on that one.”

“Well, what is it?  Maybe I can help.”

Rob’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, but he didn’t reply.  Taking that as a sign he didn’t want to talk, I fell silent for the rest of the car ride.  For whatever reason
, Rob was all wound up about something and didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about it. 

We came to a stop in a residential area surrounded by big sprawling houses with well manicured lawns.  Rob got out and came around to open my door for me, continuing to pull open a wrought iron gate leading to a wee
d choked path.  Whoever lived there wasn’t much for gardening, and I couldn’t help but think Gunnar might either find it a paradise to restore or a crime to find it so overgrown.  

I picked my steps carefully, not wanting to trip as he led me up to a huge Victorian house with a covered porch.  Despite the ruined garden, the house itself seemed to be in good repair.  The siding needed a wash, but the white paint with dusky blue trim was in good condition.  There were no lights on inside, but the windows were obscured by heavy drapes, every one of them.

“Who lives here?”