I bolt up from my spot at the kitchen table. I'd projected the entire scene at the pool on to Joanna's form. I'd never left our apartment in order to honor my promise to Rafe that I'd only be ten feet away.
"Rafe! Come quick. They have him!"
A shot fires off in the distance. Rafe flies up the basement stairs, taking them three at a time. He grabs my outstretched hand and we race to the pool in the opposite wing.
"Are we too late to see the actual killing?" Rafe asks.
"Not yet. Asa shot him, but my connection to Ivan says he's still alive."
We burst through the doors to the sight of a bloody Ivan on the floor, with a large hole through his chest. Asa has Joanna in his arms, comforting the cute blond vampire. Drew stands alone over Ivan's prone form with a sword raised high.
The parrots fly down with a loud squawk, ever ready to torment me. Rafe waves his hand, and the birds turn in mid-flight to land in a large, potted palm. Damn! I'm going to have to learn how to do that.
Drew's manic eyes swing up at our entrance. "Don't stop me, Vivian. I don't trust the tribunal to give me justice for the bastard killing Angie."
"I wasn't planning on stopping you, Drew." I cock my head to the side. Why hasn't he done it yet? "I was planning on bearing witness for you."
Ivan looks dazed, as well he should, with no ability to communicate. A just ending for someone who did the same thing to his own victims.
Crap, could Drew be feeling wrong about killing him in cold blood rather than getting the revenge he's been craving for months? I'll give things a nudge for him. I open the puppet-string-like hold I have on the psychopath, forcing cliche words from Ivan's mouth that are sure to push Drew over the edge.
"She loved it," Ivan rasps from his spot on the floor. "Don't think that slutty bitch didn't want..."
Drew's arms swing down, severing Ivan's head in one fell swoop. No easy feat with a dull, sparring sword. The head rolls to the side. A final grimace of hatred contorts Ivan's angry features. Blood begins to pool below the body, staining the tile in a slow-spreading circle.
"Drink and finish him," I command.
"What?" Drew's voice sounds shocked.
"Drink the blood of your enemy then cut his heart out."
I deliver my instructions as matter of fact as I can. It's not the fun part, but it needs to be done.
"You gain in strength by consuming his power. Live to fight again another day."
Drew looks unsure of himself. I take it he has never killed another vampire before.
"Now!"
Drew moves to follow my command. Choosing to drink from Ivan's wrist rather than the obvious outpouring from the severed neck. Pitiful. Drew never would have made it as an enforcer.
The pulling force of Drew's feeding stops the spreading pool beneath the body from getting larger. Good thing Ivan was weak with blood loss or we'd have a larger mess to clean up. Joanna and Asa watch in fascination. It takes about five minutes for Drew to drain Ivan. I reach down to the silver dagger strapped against my thigh.
"Here," I say, offering Drew the blade, hilt out. "Cut his heart out and we'll burn it."
Drew takes the blade, bending to do the messy task. Tears pour down his cheeks. He may have wanted to avenge his wife after she died, but I don't think he bargained for all of this when he came here seeking solace in our remote Alaskan resort.
Jonathan comes in the wide-open fire door with Jet right behind him.
"Damn, we missed all the fun. Would have been my first vampire kill."
Both men saunter in naked from their shape change. Jon grabs a towel from a nearby stack, tossing it to Jet, before getting another for himself.
Drew stands over the body with the bloody heart of his wife's killer in his hands. The tears stop and a new resolution forms beneath the shock.
"Where, Vivian?" Cold eyes meet my own. "Where can I burn it?"
"There's a fireplace in the lobby. It's the closest one."
Rafe retrieves Ivan's discarded clothing. "Here, Drew. Wrap the heart in these. Let's get rid of all of it."
Rafe walks Drew out to handle the fire while I'm left staring at the beheaded corpse.
"There won't be enough daylight to fry the corpse until spring." I scratch my head, weary from the past two days, weary to my bones. "Asa, can you drag yourself from Joanna long enough to help?"
Asa jumps like I've stung him with a cattle prod.
"Yes, ma'am."
Jon snorts and turns it into a cough, trying not to laugh out right at Asa's reaction.
"Haul the remains out front. We're going to have us a bonfire on the driveway. Oh, and go around the wing, will you-not through the lobby? I'd rather not get any blood in there."
Asa bends to his assigned task, so I turn to face the towel-hipped Jonathan.
"Can you start calling all of our people up and get them to spread the word? I'll call the rest of the hunters in."
"Don't bother," Liam calls out from the doorway. He's standing with Antonio and Salvador. "We heard gunfire and ran right over. Once we saw you all had it under control, we stayed back to let Drew have the kill."
Liam pats Asa heartily on the back as he walks by carrying the headless corpse in his arms, the severed head piled on top.
"What a fine way to spend a vacation," he says with a big grin. "I can't tell you when I last had so much fun."
The charred smell of a burning heart and bloody clothes in the fireplace apparently make the others think party. I'm not sure how it happens exactly, but before I could say boo, the lobby had filled with the people coming upstairs from the basement.
Warm hugs and loud, life-affirming kisses could be heard through the vast space. The giddy high associated with surviving a terrible event, seems quite prevalent here tonight. Laughs come out a little too loud, a little too quickly. Word of the bonfire spreads and as Dr. Cook mills around, checking for signs of shock, some industrious soul has set up a buffet table for the enjoyment of those who can still eat.
But still, I feel like all that's happened is rather surreal. The retelling of "the hunt," as they're starting to call it, has begun. Sal's role in flushing Ivan to the main building has become a thing of legend. Liam's brave part, flying around as a cloud, sounds a bit like an intelligence-gathering mission against large enemy forces.
Jet, on the prowl in wolf form, is accredited, by his own account, with knowing exactly where the killer was at all times. Antonio receives claps on the back in thanks from the families he and the wolf-dogs helped to protect. Joanna and Drew are the stars of the event, each having played an equally crucial part in stopping the killer. One in acting as bait, and the other in implementing the iron hand of justice.
Note, I didn't say "of the law." The law has no place here in Alaska on our resort for the undead. But justice-yes, justice-will always prevail.
No one knows of my involvement with orchestrating Joanna's part in it all, except for Rafe. I can never hide anything from him, so I don't bother trying. I'm off lurking in a corner, near the entrance to the dining room, with Rafe by my side. This is one time where I have no desire to seek the limelight. The events of the last two days have left me drained. All I want is to curl up in a hot tub with my man by my side.
Seeing Bunny and her children across the room reminds me of Paul. I need to find out the results of that talk Jon had with her. The arrogant werewolf is still wearing only his towel. If it keeps slipping lower on his hips, we may have an orgy in here soon. I motion him over to ask about Bunny.
"You need to get some clothes on." I can't help but smile when I say it.
His thick wrestler's body is stocky and powerful. He wears that towel like a toga any Olympic athlete would be proud to wear. If my heightened senses can pick up the pheromones he's kicking off, making me think of hot wrestlers and athletes, then you can damn well bet all the others can to.
"Is that really why you called me over here, Dria?" Jon purrs my real name out of earshot of the other employees. His golden-hazel eyes move from me to linger on Rafe. "Or is it because you and Rafe decided to finally beg me for a threesome?"
Familiar warmth pools low in my middle. It's dangerously close to spilling over to my pussy and lighting it on fire. Rafe throws his head back and barks out a loud laugh, helping to break some of the spell.
"The day I need more than my dick in my wife, will be the day I'm dead." Rafe's laughter abruptly cuts off. His next words come out low and deadly. "And since I plan on killing you with my dying breath, we can guarantee it won't be your dick in her either." Rafe brings his voice back up to almost normal. "Why don't you put some clothes on and stop teasing the whole damn room. There are children in here, for God's sake."
He sighs, letting out the rest of his anger. "If you'd rather consider it an order from your boss, then do it. But seriously man, you need to get clothes on, quick."
"For you, boss," Jon winks cheekily at us both, "no problem."
He turns, heading into the north wing where the gym has some workout clothes available for the guests. Letting his towel slip down as he goes-until it drops to the floor in the carpeted hall and his bare ass is revealed to the whole room.
I project out a wave of calm, smoothing over the hot, boiling waters that churn up at the sexy werewolf's exit.
Damn the furry bastard!
It sure as hell doesn't help that Jon's got a fine ass, not to mention that I was just checking it out with my husband right next to me. Ugh, not good. Thank God, Rafe isn't the jealous type.
"How can I fault you, my love," Rafe whispers next to my ear. "When I too am drawn into the same web he weaves. It's his nature." He kisses my temple. "We need to find him a mate."
I know, hon, I know.
The bigger problem is who you will allow next to him and thus next to you?
I shake my head in answer, no desire to voice my own fears, even if it's only in my mind. Sharing Jon will be the hardest thing I've had to do in nearly a hundred years.
The night I turned away from a young, teenaged Rafe, still ranks as the hardest. I left him in his mother's secret yoga studio to spare him from a future with me. Little did I know the strength of his will at that point. I often wonder if it was the fates that brought us together, or just some cruel, cosmic joke. I'll never know for sure and I don't care either.
I hope Jon hurries back soon. I don't think I can take Joanna's gaze on me from across the room much longer without some kind of a diversion.
Crap. She's got that puppy-dog-adoring-look going on. I tried to take very little blood from her to avoid this. I won't have this problem with Asa because I didn't move in and camp out in his head for several hours.
If I could have known when Ivan would break in, I could have timed it better... But come on, there is no way I could have known that. I think I'm going to have to talk to her.
Fuck me ten ways to Tuesday! Why now? I'm tired. That's borderline PMS human behavior for me.
Joanna gets up from the chair she was in, heading our way.
I reach out in a silent plea to Rafe to save me. Don't let this go on longer than a minute or so, okay?
Yes, dear.
I don't need to turn to see his smile. It came through loud and clear.
"Hi, Vivian." Joanna sounds tired too. Good.
She doesn't know I literally held her mind in my hand. The same hand she so calmly holds between both of hers right now. Rolling a fellow vampire without their consent, while very rare and hard to do, is a crime still decreed by the ancients to be punishable by death.
I let Joanna know everything that happened, exactly when it happened, letting her think it was herself running that situation and not me controlling her. She walked away feeling very brave and proud of what she accomplished. Unfortunately, she also feels an exceptionally strong connection to me she can't explain away easily in her subconscious.
Damn. This is a bad week.
"Hey, Joanna. How are you feeling?"
"I'm good. Feeling really solid right now. Does that sound odd?" She gives me a soft, calm smile.
She had a good bit of my blood, maybe two ounces. I bet she feels great.
"Nah, no worries, Viv. I'm right as rain. Even better, I swear."
"Well, that's good, love."
I look frantically toward the north wing, hoping for some kind of reprieve. There. I see gray sweats.
"Sorry. I'm in the middle of a meeting," I nod my head at Jon. "We can talk later, 'kay?"
Coward. Rafe's liquid voice stirs up what didn't quiet with Jon leaving the room. I feel my panties getting damp. Something I never expected tonight, that's for sure.
"Sure," Joanna replies. She reaches out, to grab my left hand, now holding both of mine in an earnest grip. "I'd like to stay after Liam returns to Europe. May I?"
Criminy! Another one who wants to stay here. What the hell is this? A boarding house for the chronically lost, damaged and undead or a damn hotel? Maybe I'm not a big enough bitch. Why do they all want to come play in my sandbox?
Because, you throw a damn good party, Rafe inserts smoothly. Now buck up and be nice to the young woman. It won't kill you.
Jon arrives at that second. The biggest, fakest smile I can muster on short notice comes blazing out for Joanna.
"How about we talk about it tomorrow. Okay, Joanna?"
"That's fine." She lets go of my hands.
Finally. That was getting creepy.
"I'll see you later." Joanna leans forward, kisses one of my cheeks, and swings across to kiss the other in quick succession.
I don't think I can handle more vampires here on a permanent basis. Truly, I don't.
"You done teasing," Jon, who apparently only has eyes for Rafe and I tonight, glances after the statuesque blond like she was wearing a garbage bag, "and flirting for the night?" He decides to live dangerously and continue in the same taunting tone. "Or do you want to hear what Bunny said to do with Paul?"