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  “Emily, I’m really sorry I wasn’t always there for you, but I did what I thought was right to protect you.” His voice became remorseful.

  “You weren’t always there for me? Robert, you were never there for me,” I snapped. How dare he downplay his absence from my life.

  “Just because you never saw me doesn’t mean I wasn’t there. I came to every important event in your life. Your first ballet recital when you were six, I sat in the front row. When you had pneumonia I stayed the entire time in the hospital to be near you. I was even at your high school graduation. I didn’t raise you, but I loved you all the same. I still love you and I’ve never stopped,” he admitted.

  Shock overtook my body. It didn’t make it better that he wasn’t in my life but to hear that he actually loved me was more than I could have hoped for. Tears filled my eyes and my chest began to ache.

  “I love you, too,” I cried out. The man behind the desk was practically a stranger to me, but I felt a strong fatherly connection to him.

  His blue eyes became moist. He stood, stormed over, and pulled me into a tight embrace. It felt right to be in his arms. I was a child again crying on my dad’s shoulder. My life was now the nightmare and he was finally there to make it better. After a minute we sat back down both mopping away the fallen tears.

  “Sorry about this, I’ve had a lot on my plate.” I smiled.

  “Emily, don’t be sorry for coming to me with a problem. That’s what I’m here for, anytime.” He smiled back with reddened eyes.

  “Hopefully Axle will give me another chance.”

  “I’m sure he will. He’s a good guy,” he stated as he folded his hands in his lap.

  “I mean, we haven’t even had sex yet.” I slapped my hand over my mouth. My throat felt like it was closing in. “Robert, you promised you would never do a truth spell on me again!”

  “I know, and I’m sorry that we just had that moment while you were under a spell, but I needed to talk to you and hear the truth.” He held his hands up, attempting to calm me.

  “You couldn’t just ask?”

  “I had a talk with Axle this morning. Apparently, he has an informant who stated the witches are being used as vampire slaves.”

  This caught my attention. I figured Axle would tell Robert, but I wondered if he would tell the entire truth. I had a bad feeling about this. “Go on.”

  “Axle wouldn’t tell me who his informant was and I wanted to know if you knew.” His eyes studied my every move. It wasn’t enough that he had me with a truth spell, now he was analyzing me?

  I gulped. It was impossible to lie and I could feel the words creeping to the edge of my tongue. I willed them back with everything I had. My pulse increased as I attempted to shake my head back and forth. I smiled at him nervously.

  “So you just aren’t going to tell me?” Robert finally said for me. He sighed and shook his head. Had he given me just another minute or two, I would’ve cracked.

  I smiled again.

  “Emily, please tell me you’re being careful,” he fussed.

  “See, you’re getting better at this father thing,” I joked.

  “Who is the informant?” he asked with determination in his eyes.

  My head fell back in annoyance. “Robert, I have no idea.” I was shocked to see that I had just lied.

  The look on his face matched my feelings. “So, you have no idea who knew about the vampires?”

  I smiled, feeling more confidence in my lie. “Nope, I was completely unaware of whom Axle spoke with.” I laughed.

  “I know your lying and I don’t care, but I would like to know how you’re doing it,” he stated confused.

  I laughed harder and sounded like a maniac. “I have no clue.”

  Robert tapped his chin and looked me over a few times. “Interesting.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was a good interesting or a bad interesting, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out. I left his office quickly in case he decided to try testing the spell some more. I walked down to see Ezra; I didn’t want to talk with him because I was still upset and ignoring the problem sounded much easier than dealing with the drama. I knocked on his door and walked in. Shirtless, he sat on his bed, hitting the remote on the side rail of his bed. As soon as I walked in he smiled at me.

  “You would think with how far this world has come with technology they would invent a power source that actually lasted,” he said, giving up and setting the remote down on his side table.

  “Hmm,” was the only intelligent thing I could say. I regretted coming.

  “So, how is the investigation coming?” he asked after a long awkward silence fell between us.

  “Not so good. We have zero leads, we’ve questioned just about everyone. Now we’re finding out that the witches are vampire slaves,” I rambled.

  “Like love slaves?” he asked with disgust on his face.

  The thought of Richie in black leather made my stomach curl. “Eh, no. Anything that the vampires need that they can’t get on their own they use the witches. I don’t know exactly what they would need them for, but that’s what I heard.”

  “You want my advice?” he asked.

  “O great Ezra won’t you please enlighten me with your vast knowledge of all things vampire.”

  “Ha ha,” he stated sarcastically. “I’m serious, I can actually help you right now.”

  I studied him intently while I waited for his expert information. His chiseled abs couldn’t dare compare to the muscular structure of Axle’s body. And although Ezra had a pretty face it held no comparison to the artwork of Axle’s stone expression. I realized as I waited for the half naked man to continue that I was never in love with him. Axle was right; I never truly wanted Ezra. I wanted the idea of Ezra. That is a man to love and cherish me. He was the first man who had walked into my life and sent chills down my back. Any girl would feel lust for a man like Ezra.

  “Ezra, I’m glad that Riley is back in your life. I should tell you I’m a little upset that you led me on. If you didn’t have feelings for me any more you should have just said something. Instead you told me the reason you wanted to stay human was for me. We both knew it was over between us, but neither of us could say the words,” I announced.

  He seemed relieved and yet slightly sad as his eyes fell to the floor. “You have every right to be upset with me. I told you what I wanted to feel for you. When Riley turned me I thought that she had given me the greatest gift, but I was wrong. You gave me back my humanity and I’m so thankful for that. Maybe there was a time when I felt something for you, but I just don’t feel it anymore.”

  I smiled as I walked over and wrapped my arms around him. I felt as though all of the pressure and stress was released. I could finally be with Axle and not feel guilty or afraid of what Ezra would think. I began to walk out but stopped when he cleared his throat.

  “Don’t you want to know my advice?” he asked with a raised brow.

  I laughed. “Sure.”

  “If there is a group of vampires turning these witches into slaves, I can guarantee you that one of the witches is in charge,” he stated with a proud smirk on his face.

  “In charge?” I wasn’t quite getting his point.

  “Meaning, they aren’t what they seem,” he tried again.

  I still didn’t understand. Ashley was in charge of the witches and she wasn’t really a witch. Or at least I didn’t think she was.

  “I have to spell it out for you?” He sighed. “Meaning one of your witches is not a witch at all. One of them is acting like a witch but is really a vampire.”

  It clicked. “Why would they do that?”

  “Because the vampires can’t always be there to make sure the witches are doing what they are supposed to. So they send a vampire in disguised as a witch and, viola, they have all the information they need,” he stated as he leaned back, clearly proud of himself.

  “You are so arrogant, but thanks for the advice,” I said, leaving his room.r />
  It didn’t take me long to find Axle. He was pretending to be completely consumed in his computer. I sat down on his desk and crossed my legs. He had a small bowl filled with an assortment of candy next to his pencil holder and I helped myself to a cotton candy flavored lollipop.

  “Did you happen to get any undead vibes from any of the people we questioned?” I asked as I opened the sucker.

  “Undead?” he repeated as he gave up on his computer and gave me his full attention.

  “Was anyone missing something?”

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, I don’t know maybe like a heartbeat?” I smiled as I shoved the sucker in my mouth. I was having way too much fun.

  “That is a pretty important bit of information, you really think I would forget to tell you something like that when we questioned them?” He made a good point.

  “I have some information that makes me believe the witches have an insider planted within.” After I received a blank expression from him I broke it down, “One of the witches is really a vampire pretending to be a witch so they can report back to the vampires.”

  “Let me guess, Ezra told you this?” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his massive chest.

  “For his protection I cannot release any information about my informant,” I stated as I attempted to keep a straight face.

  “That’s funny since that is the same thing Ezra told me this morning,” he explained, crushing my dreams.

  “Dammit, Axle! Why didn’t you stop me?” I smacked his arm as I climbed off his desk.

  He laughed. “Cause it’s so much more fun to watch you try to be the big bad detective with the scoop.”

  I walked back to my desk in defeat. After opening the brown folder I went through every bit of information I had. Each member had their own file, which stated everything from their occupation to their favorite color. If they were a vampire it would surely say it in their file. The only one that even remotely had a past, besides Dee-Dee, was Richie. He tried to rob a Piggly Wiggly in the eighth grade. An old lady grabbed his gun and smacked him with her purse. He got off with a hundred and twenty hours of community service and a forever broken manhood. I gave up later that afternoon and decided to call it a day. I grabbed my purse and logged off the computer. I waved to Gavin and began to search for my keys. I looked up to see Robert at the door waiting for me.

  “May I walk you to your car?” he asked, seeming uneasy about something.

  “I guess,” I replied slowly as I wondered what he was up to.

  We began to walk toward the elevator in silence. As the doors closed he pressed the button marked lobby and turned to face me.

  “I wanted to see if you would like to have dinner Thursday night,” he requested.

  I smiled. “Sure, Robert. Where are we going?”

  “Well, that’s the thing. I want you to meet someone.” He blushed.

  I laughed at his embarrassment, “Robert, are you finally introducing your girlfriend to your kid?”

  “Oh no, nothing like that.”

  “Then who is it?”

  “My mother.”

  Chapter Seven

  After hearing the news that I would finally meet my grandmother for the first time I did what any normal girl would do … I went shopping. There wasn’t a single outfit in my closet that I could imagine wearing to meet her. After hours of shopping I decided on a simple blue floral dress and some cute cowboy boots. It screamed ‘I’m an innocent country girl, but I have issues’. I threw my bags on the bed and took a shower. After I was dressed I heard a knock. I prayed the entire walk to the door that it was Axle. I looked out and saw Dee-Dee smiling at me.

  “Well howdy.” I opened the door and let her come in.

  “How’s life treating you?” she greeted me.

  “Like a red-headed step child,” I joked.

  “Hmm, interesting word choice.” She chuckled.

  “What can I do you for?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen to get a drink. I opened the fridge and realized I was out of beer so I settled on two Cokes.

  “I just wanted to see how the investigation is going, I haven’t seen you or the hottie around lately.” She tried to play it off as simple conversation but I saw right through it.

  I took a sip of my Coke and handed her the second bottle. She wore black leggings and a blue jean mini skirt. Her black vest was wrapped over a red t-shirt and her chucks matched. “You know I can’t tell you anything, right?”

  “Oh yeah I was just wondering if there was any leads, that’s all.” She smiled sweetly. No matter how much I wanted to be skeptical about the girl I couldn’t help but like her.

  “Nope, nothing new.” I should have asked Robert if it was okay to tell people what we learned, but since I didn’t know I felt it would be safer to keep quiet.

  “Okeydokey, well …” She nodded as she looked for something else to talk about. “Oh, my boyfriend’s band is playing on Thursday night at The Nuclear Bar, I was wondering if you would like to go.”

  “Yeah, that sounds great. Can I bring some friends and make it a girls’ night out?” I asked suddenly excited. Kimmy was the only girl friend I had ever had. Being able to go out with a group of girls sounded like a dream come true and I really wanted to get to know Riley some more.

  “The more the merrier,” she replied.

  “So how is your photography class going?” I asked.

  “It was a bust, I’m not so good with a camera. Turns out there’s more than just point and shoot.”

  “Oh, sorry to hear that. Did you have a new hobby in mind?” I finished my soda and walked over to recycle the bottle.

  “Not really, I was thinking about singing. The equipment they have nowadays you don’t really have to be a good singer to sing. They can make your voice sound good, you just have to stand up on stage and look pretty.” She flashed me a brilliant smile as if she was practicing.

  “Good luck with that.” I chuckled. “Can I get your opinion on something?” I asked, picking up my shopping bag.

  “Sure,” she stated.

  “Well, it’s a long story but I’m meeting my grandmother for the first time Thursday. I picked an outfit, but I’m not sure if it’s all right for the occasion,” I said, taking the dress out of the bag.

  “You have to try it on! This is huge,” she exclaimed, shoving me to the room.

  I laughed and shut the door behind me. After I got the dress and boots on I took a look in the mirror. I couldn’t decide if I should leave my hair down or put it up. I pulled it into a messy bun and secured it with a rubber band. I walked out to show Dee-Dee.

  “Wow, you look good,” she stated.

  “You don’t think the dress is too short? It feels too short,” I asked, playing with the hem as I attempted to pull it down.

  “It’s cute. You look like a fashionable country girl,” she offered, looking me over.

  “Thanks, so hair up or down?” I asked.

  She cocked her head to the side and made a duck face as she thought it over. “Up, definitely. Well, maybe down.”

  “Wow thank you for your excellent insight,” I answered sarcastically.

  ****

  The work week went by slower than ever. We decided to sit on the information we received and wait to see what happened next. I was upset when I found out we were waiting, every moment we waited was that much closer to finding Maggie dead. Axle still wasn’t talking to me and I didn’t blame him. I couldn’t even bring myself to start a conversation. He found things to do and was out of office most of the week.

  Thursday after work I shot out of the building and broke every law to get home quickly. Robert was picking me up at six, which gave me plenty of time to get ready, but my nerves caused me to feel rushed. After taking a long shower I threw some gel in my hair and let it curl naturally. I rarely wore my hair curly because I hated the way it looked, but I figured my grandmother would probably like it. I slipped into my dress and put on the boot
s. Since the dress was dark blue I traced dark blue eyeliner on my lids and colored the rest brown and blue. I smeared some lip gloss over my naturally reddened lips. After teasing my hair with the dryer I braided a few strands back. My feet began to ache, so I searched for socks to put on but I’ve never been one to keep things in order. My sock drawer had multiple single socks askew. I finally gave up and tossed on a matching pair of hot pink socks to keep from getting blisters. I looked in the mirror to make sure the socks were hidden. My life isn’t the least bit glamorous, but I love fashion. The outfit, the makeup, the hair, it all came together to form a new side of myself. I couldn’t help but feel a little proud of my appearance.

  A knock on the door pulled me away from the mirror. I opened the door to find Robert standing in the hall. He wore jeans and a green polo shirt. His hair was gelled and made him look years younger.

  “Emily, you look great. Are you ready to go?” he greeted me.

  The butterflies began fluttering in my stomach. I was minutes away from meeting my grandmother. A moment I dreamed of most of my life. Words had escaped my train of thought so I nodded in reply. Grabbing my purse, I locked up. We took the highway to the outskirts of the city. After making a few lefts and rights we pulled into a driveway. Before me was a tiny brick house; the blue shutters matched the assortment of flowers in the front garden. We hopped out and walked to the door. Robert didn’t even bother knocking, he just walked right in.

  “Mom?” he called out.

  I thought I would pass out from the nerves. I clutched my purse for comfort.

  A woman popped into view down a short hallway. She looked the same age as my mother. Her curly blonde hair swayed in a bob over her shoulders. She wore blue jeans and a beautiful purple shirt. My grandmother wasn’t what I had expected at all.

  “Oh my,” she breathed in awe as our eyes met.

  “Mom, this is Emily,” Robert introduced proudly.

  She stepped close to me, her eyes never leaving mine. “Emily.” Her eyes glistened in the light.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I told her. As much as I wished I had met her sooner at that moment I didn’t care. I had her in my life now.