Part 21 (1/2)
”Maybelline Magenta?”
He shook his head. ”Chief Fairfield.”
”I don't know anyone named Fair-wait a sec. You think Remy blew the whistle on us?”
”You don't?”
”Well, no. I mean, he wouldn't...” My words faded as I remembered the he likes me exchange we'd had back at Ty's apartment, followed by the kiss and the nibbling. ”Never mind.”
Not that I thought Remy had done it.I just wasn't one hundred percent positive that he hadn't.
What I was positive about was that he'd taken an oath to serve and protect (my folks had been at the ceremony when he'd been sworn in), which certainly included blowing the whistle on suspected felons who ran the streets of his small, exclusive, upscale Connecticut community.
Even if said suspected felon was only running the streets out of obligation to said suspected felon's overbearing, conservative, crazy family.
He punched b.u.t.tons for a few moments, sent an e-mail to his ”guy in a league all by himself” friend and then snapped the lid closed. ”I've got to go out and get supplies.”
”But it'll be daybreak soon.”
”That's why I have to go now. It's been a long night. You should relax and turn in. I'll be back in a little while.” He pinned me with a stare. ”I mean it. Stay inside. We've got a safe place now, but we won't if you start flying around and socializing again.”
”Who needs to fly?” I held up the cell phone he'd given me. ”I can still use this, can't I?”
He nodded. Then he moved so swiftly that I saw just a black blur. The door closed and I was all by my lonesome once again.
Alone. Not lonely, I reminded myself. Big difference. I was (a) used to living alone and being independent and (b) not the least bit dependent on Ty's presence to make me feel complete.
Sure, I'd just had a close brush with the cops and whoever was out to get me had dragged my fantasy man into it. My nerves were on edge, but I could deal. It wasn't like I was really and truly scared.
Get real. I was a vampire, for Damien's sake. The baddest of the bad. The fiendiest of the fiends. The most wicked of the...
well, you get the idea.
I ignored the urge to check the lock on the door, picked up my cosmetics bag, and headed for the bathroom. After I washed up-while humming ”Dontcha” by the p.u.s.s.ycat Dolls to kill the oppressive silence-I climbed up into the loft and slid beneath the camouflage comforter.
Considering my mood, it wasn't nearly as creepy as I'd antic.i.p.ated. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a pillow-top mattress. I closed my eyes and focused on the exhaustion that tugged at my muscles.
Exhaustion was good.
It meant sleep rather than tossing and turning and feeling like a beta in a fishbowl thanks to the stuffed bobcat who sat in the loft corner and eyed me.
Then again, I did have an entire thirty-three minutes until sunrise. I'd never been much for turning in early. I sat up in bed and reached for the cell phone that sat on the nightstand.
Chapter Twenty-three.
I had a total of five messages waiting in my voice mail. Not a huge number, but enough to pa.s.s the time until Ty returned and distracted me from the bobcat.
Previous Top Next”It didn't work,” my mother announced as the first message played. ”Your father and I spent two hours with him after you left with that woman. Two useless hours. Jack is completely bewitched.”
”That's whipped,” my father added in the background.
”Whatever, dear. The point is he's not listening to reason.” Aka my mother. ”He's going through with this madness and actually pursuing a relations.h.i.+p with a human. I swear I'm this close to throwing myself on the nearest b.u.t.ter knife.”
The Wedding March played in my head. Wait until she heard the real scoop.
”He insisted that we show up tomorrow,” my mother went on, ”and while my first instinct is to decline, I can't not show up when my son is being so obviously manipulated. What kind of mother would I be?”
The non-interfering kind who let their children grow up and make their own mistakes. In other words, not my mother.
”That woman won't hurt Jack. I simply will not allow it. I have every intention of saving him by whatever means necessary. If that includes destroying a few pesky humans, then so be it. I've already notified your brothers that we have a family crisis and I'll need all of you at tea tomorrow.”
Code for ”I'm b.u.t.ting my nose into his business and I expect the fruit of my loins to show their support and join in.”
”Eight o'clock sharp,” my mother added. ”Do not be late again.” Beep.
The again lingered in my head and I remembered my mother's first message when she'd switched hunt night.
If the police had been monitoring my voice mail-and Ty had a.s.sured me they were-then they had known about the hunt.
Which meant they'd had my parents staked out on the off chance that I would show. I did and so they'd followed my from my folks' house, back to the city, to Ty's place. Hence, the raid.
Then again, if they had been following me, why hadn't they nabbed me when they'd first spotted me in Connecticut? Why tail me all the way back to the city and risk losing me along the way?
Because no one had been watching.
Except Remy.
I thought again of Ty's accusation. The dead certainty in his gaze. The conviction in his voice.
But we're talking Remy. We'd been fixed up dozens of times. We'd talked. He liked me.
Duh.
He's head over heels for you, pitting away every night, plotting various ways to make you fall in love with him.
Meanwhile, you're hiding out, playing kissy-nibble with a megalicious made vampire.
On top of that, you're trying to set the poor schlub up with someone else. Of course he freaked and tipped off the cops.
He's jealous. You're the one and only as far as he's concerned and he can't stand the thought of facing eternity without you.
It made sense.
Message two played and a familiar male voice slid into my ear. ”Hey. It's Remy. I know I told you to call me, but I figured why wait? So here I am. I know you're not picking up, but I'm really psyched. I can't wait another minute.”
What'd I tell ya?