Love Nip Page 7

  My eyes lit up. Maybe I could learn to like her …

  I had never been in a designer store before. I don’t see a point in paying my entire paycheck for a pair of shoes. If you’ve never been, let me explain one thing I learned: if you show up with a no-price-is-too-expensive attitude and a shiny credit card you are a goddess in their eyes. We got pampered, fed, and complimented on every move we made. After trying on the fourth dress I had to force myself to stop looking at the price tags. We both picked our dresses, shoes, accessories and paid.

  “So how did you meet Ezra?” I asked as we left the store with our treasures in hand. It took everything I had to ask; I was curious, but I knew it would be difficult for me to hear her talk about Ezra.

  “It was about four hundred or so years ago, I lost count. I was feeding on some animals in an old barn; I was kind of a vampire vegetarian back then. I don’t know how it happened, but one minute I was eating and the next I was surrounded by flames. As escaped I noticed a man running into the burning barn … it was Ezra. He was trying to save his animals. I was amazed at his courage and heart to save the life of a creature. In the time it took him to save the horses, his house had caught on fire.” She stopped and swallowed hard. “His family became trapped inside. His wife and two daughters all died. Ezra was a wreck. Following him from a distance, I watched him for many days. I never let him know that I was there, I just felt so guilty about what had happened that I figured the least I could do was protect him. The night after the funeral he tried to kill himself to stop the pain. I saved him and turned him. I didn’t tell him for a long time that I had caused the fire, but when I did he forgave me immediately. He is such a pure and amazing man.” Riley stopped and looked at me. Her eyes spoke of sadness as she recalled the past. “He loves you very much, Emily. Even though the fire was my fault, he still blames himself for losing his family. He wants a second chance at life, a life with you.”

  I couldn’t speak after Riley had told me the story. I felt blinding guilt and respect. To Ezra I was giving him life, but he was so set on living he couldn’t see that he was actually dying. I dropped her back off at the office and drove over to my mom’s house. After parking, I walked in.

  “Mom, I can’t stay long I have a meeting to go to,” I yelled as I walked in. I found her in the kitchen baking dinner.

  “Oh, darn. I was hoping you would stay for dinner,” she greeted me. She was dressed nice with an apron tied around her waist.

  “Smells good. Maybe I can stay a while,” I stated. Shopping all afternoon had made me hungry.

  “I have a surprise guest!” she exclaimed, being her normal dramatic self. And Robert wondered where I got it from.

  I rolled my eyes. “Mom, I already know about Ro—” I was interrupted by the doorbell.

  She threw her hands up in the air and scrambled out of the room. I followed after her, mentally preparing myself for what was coming. She fluffed her hair and threw the door open. In strolled a tall, thin man. He wore a cheap tan suit that was three inches too short in the legs. What hair he had left on his head was dark brown and combed over the shiny bald spot he clearly tried to hide.

  “Emily, this is your uncle, Tom. He just got out of jail!” Mom introduced.

  After introductions with my newly freed uncle we sat around the table to eat. Turns out Uncle Tom had several accounts of pirating DVDs. I never knew you could actually go to jail for that kind of stuff, guess you learn something new every day.

  “So, Tom, how did they treat you in there? I’m sure it was just awful,” Mom asked. She looked worried as she picked a fuzz ball from her shirt. I wasn’t sure if she was sincerely curious or if she was asking if he was ever turned into someone’s boy-toy in the slammer. Maybe that is just what I wanted to ask.

  “Ah, it was nothing. The movies play it to be something that it ain’t.” He laughed nervously, like he had just told us a bad joke.

  Boy-toy. Check.

  “Did you ever try to escape?” Mom asked dramatically. I wanted to tell her he was in the parish prison not Guantanamo Bay.

  “Once I did, but I didn’t get too far. I still got scars on my thigh from the fence. That is some serious barbed wire up there at the top. Not like the stuff you buy at the hardware store. Must’ve been made in China’er or something,” he explained. His country accent was so thick it took me a moment to translate what he had said. I didn’t realize that China was spelled with an R.

  I rolled my eyes; I had to change the subject. “So, Mom, will Robert be joining us for dinner?” I asked, letting her know I was in on her little secret.

  “Robert? Why would he be coming over? Did he say something?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye as she began teasing her curls.

  “Your date last week and the cookies?” I questioned.

  “Oh Betty, you’re dating again? Well good for you!” Tom chirped.

  “I had a date with Francis from church, not Robert. I made the cookies for him,” she explained.

  I let out a big sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure who the mysterious cookie maker was in Robert’s life, but I was glad it wasn’t my mother.

  “So, Emily, your mother tells me that you’re a witch.”

  I choked on my food. “Wiccan is the correct term. We chant around a fire and sacrifice chickens. You know, the normal stuff.” I shot my mother a glare. She knew she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. She wouldn’t be able to keep a secret even if she caught HIV from a bum on the street, she would go to church the next week bragging.

  “You think you could do a spell on me to make me rich?” Tom let out a snort as he adjusted his boring tie. He was making fun of me.

  His comment made my blood boil. I wasn’t quite used to being a witch, but I was still one and I didn’t like being made fun of. “No, but I could make a bunch of illegal DVDs magically show up on the hard drive of your computer,” I warned.

  I would later tell that story as ‘the first and last conversation I ever had with my Uncle Tom’.

  ****

  I drove home with pride written all over my face. It was wiped clean when I noticed a white envelope taped to my apartment door. The word ‘sorry’ was written on the outside. Inside the envelope was a black and white picture of myself running. It was a great picture. I looked happy and care free. I got a text from Axle later that afternoon reminding me that we were going at six to meet the coven. I had completely forgotten. I took a quick shower and got dressed. Just as I finished getting ready there was a knock at my door. I opened the door to find Kimmy standing there. She was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that said ‘I play with my food’.

  “Holy smokes! Kimmy, what are you doing here?” I asked as I pulled her into a hug.

  “I figured she could use some time away from her cell, and maybe she can help us with our case,” Axle answered from behind her.

  “Yeah, let’s go get some witches,” Kimmy replied, linking arms with me and dragging me from my apartment. Axle locked up as we headed to the car.

  So the plan was that we would ask the questions and Kimmy would use her new vampire mind reading skills to figure out who kidnapped the girls. It was a genius plan. The fact that we could actually capture the culprit filled me with an enormous amount of adrenalin. We arrived a few minutes after the meeting started. We wanted to surprise everyone, keep them on their toes. Ash was the only person that knew we would be attending the meeting. The coven met every Friday at a church. To me that felt a little strange, but who am I to judge.

  “Everyone, this is Emily and Agent A. They wanted to come by and talk to us about Maggie and Charlotte’s disappearance. Please answer all of their questions so we can find our two precious sisters. And I’m sorry, we haven’t had the privilege of meeting yet. What’s your name?” Ash introduced us and turned to Kimmy.

  “Back in the big house they call me Carrie, Carrie Oaky,” Kimmy stated, shaking Ashley’s hand.

  Ashley smiled and walked back to the group.

  “Carrie Oak
y? Seriously?” I fussed.

  “I don’t get out much. Plus, aren’t you bored of having the same name every day? She doesn’t know me. I could be Carrie to her.”

  We walked around talking to everyone, asking them the same questions. Richie was there wearing a camouflage t-shirt, big surprise there. He gave me a big grin as I walked past. Dee-Dee smiled politely at me and I smiled back. I couldn’t be mad at the girl; I didn’t really believe that she knew that I worked for the FBI. She was a nice girl and I felt a connection to her. The group broke up into groups of three after we finished.

  “Okay, so now were going to try a new spell tonight. Use your inner guardian and don’t forget about your third eye, remember we talked about that last week.” Ash explained to the group

  “Damn, I forgot my third eye at home,” Kimmy whispered.

  “So this one is called ice spell, I found it online,” Ash stated proudly as she placed a glass on everyone’s table and filled them with water.

  “Wow,” Axle chuckled. We sat down to watch.

  “I’ll demonstrate,” Ash placed her hands on the glass at the nearest table to her. Her face changed; she squinted her eyes and took a sudden deep breath. She squeezed her eyebrows together and looked severely constipated. “Wind and fire, rock and stone, turn this water cold as bone.”

  Nothing happened.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Axle mumbled, placing his hands on his face.

  “Hmm, maybe you can’t use tap water,” Ash murmured. “You guys go ahead and give it a try. At least we can practice the words of the spell.”

  “Should we get out of here?” I asked, ready to leave. I was slightly disappointed that it hadn’t worked. I wanted someone else to have powers like my own so I didn’t feel like such a freak.

  “Wait, we should try. I might be a witch,” Kimmy replied, running to a table nearby and grabbing a glass.

  Axle looked at me and shrugged. I walked over to watch. She said the chant a few times and nothing happened. She tried the constipation look and chanted again. Nothing.

  “I guess tap water doesn’t work. Here, you try, Em,” she said as she pushed the glass my way.

  “Kimmy, I don’t want to do this. I’m tired, let’s go home,” I said as I pushed the glass back to her. As I touched it a cold sensation crept down my arm and immediately froze the water solid. I snatched my hand back and looked up to see if anyone saw what I had done.

  “Whoa, you really are a witch,” Kimmy yelled. Everyone’s eyes shifted to see what the commotion was about. I felt my face redden.

  “Guess tap water works just fine.” Axle laughed.

  I wasn’t in a laughing mood, I was embarrassed and scared of myself. I didn’t say a chant or even use my third eye. I only touched the glass and it turned to ice. I turned around, grabbed my bag, and ran out. I wanted to go home. I really was a freak and I felt like I would never be able to control when my powers decided to make an appearance. I opened the door and tripped over something big, landing flat on my face. Pain shot up my hands and through my arms. Tiny pieces of gravel were embedded into both palms. I knew I would be covered in bruises the next morning. I groaned and rolled over, looking to see what I had tripped over. There was a girl lying on the ground. Blood flowed from her neck from two tiny holes. I knew immediately what kind of creature’s bite looked exactly like that.

  Vampire.

  Chapter Five

  The police had the scene taped off before Robert and Gavin showed up. The body was identified as Charlotte’s. I was being questioned by a police officer who looked way too young for the job and a little green. I wondered if he had ever seen a dead body before. Robert tapped him on the shoulder, spoke in his ear, and the man left.

  “Are you all right?” Robert asked.

  “Yeah, I’m okay, just a little shook up,” I stated, looking over at the black bag that housed Charlotte’s body. The image of her dead body swam through my mind. The horrific expression plastered on her face would be a memory I would never forget.

  “Gavin and I will take care of this. You guys go home and get some sleep,” he said as he pulled me into a hug. His affection surprised and flattered me.

  We dropped Kimmy off back at the station; she still refused to go home and I didn’t feel like arguing about it. We didn’t say much the entire drive home. Axle pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building and turned his car off.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” he finally asked. The only light came from a streetlight he had parked in front of. It lit his face and all I could really make out were his brown eyes, they seemed more golden than normal. His stare could melt chocolate.

  “Yeah, I just wish we could figure this out. I don’t even know where we go from here. Maggie is still out there, maybe even dead,” I said, disappointed.

  “We will find her, Em. The bad guys never win.” He kissed the top of my head.

  “Seems like they just did,” I mumbled and got out of his car.

  I slept like a baby that night. Meaning I woke up every two hours, and even though I didn’t cry I sure wanted to. I woke the next morning to someone banging on my door. I jumped out of bed and scrambled to answer it. Peeking through the hole I spotted Axle on the other side. I opened the door, frowning at him.

  “Whoa, baby. You look pretty scary, rough night? I should have stayed over to keep you company,” he joked as he walked past me, inviting himself in. In his hands were two coffees and a white bag that I knew from previous experience was doughnuts.

  “The apartment has a strict no dog policy,” I stated and grabbed a coffee.

  “I take it you’re not a morning person?” he questioned. He was wearing dark jeans and a white button-up shirt. The white against his skin made him look tanner than usual.

  “I take it you are?” I groaned and stuffed a doughnut in my mouth.

  “I have something for you.” He pulled a small black box out of the bag.

  “What’s this for?” I asked curiously.

  “Happy Birthday,” he said as he handed me the box.

  I took it from him and gave him a look that said he really shouldn’t have. I opened the box to find a beautiful key necklace. Tiny diamonds accented the silver antique-looking key and hung on a thin silver chain.

  “Axle, this is amazing. Thank you so much.” At that moment I felt like the most special girl in the world. No one had ever given me such a thoughtful gift. I couldn’t imagine how much it must have cost him.

  “It’s the key to my heart,” he replied.

  “Really?”

  “No, not really. It’s just a necklace.” He smiled.

  I laughed, playfully punching his arm. I had completely forgotten about my birthday, but already it was the best birthday ever. I looked up into Axle’s big brown eyes and became lost. There was no Ezra, no case, no problems. Here was a man who handed me doughnuts and diamonds within ten minutes of waking up, what more could I ask for?

  “Go get dressed. We have an appointment at the morgue, and then you have an appointment at the spa,” he said, knocking me off cloud nine.

  “Spa?” I questioned as I pulled the necklace from the box.

  “Yeah, the benefit is tonight. You need to look your best,” he explained as he sipped his coffee. I would take a bet that it was plain, black coffee; he looked like that kind of guy.

  “Geez, why does everyone keep saying that?” I asked as I walked towards my room to get dressed.

  The morgue was exactly what I thought it would look like … creepy.

  I stayed close to Axle and he noticed, showing me his gleaming smile.

  “Cold?” he asked.

  “Scared shirtless,” I shrugged. We walked up to a door that was marked Biohazard. That’s a great start. Charlotte’s body was laid out on a metal table. She had a small blue towel over her private areas and I was thankful for the modesty. Gavin was gowned up from head to toe. He looked as if he was about to perform brain surgery.

  “Hey, w
hat are you doing?” I greeted him.

  “I’m assisting with the autopsy,” he replied.

  I felt like I was going to hurl.

  “You all right, Emily? You’re looking a bit pale.” Robert walked in dressed in the same get up as Gavin.

  “Bad coffee,” I answered, receiving a knowing smile from Axle.

  Robert walked over and placed a gloved hand on my arm. “Happy Birthday, Emily,” he said.

  I looked down at his glove and attempted a smile. That’s just nasty.

  “We’re beginning the initial gross examination of Charlotte Ruck,” Robert stated after he turned on a tape recording located next to the table. He began searching through her hair and came down to her neck. “She has a bite mark located on the left side of her neck, demonstrating that of the vampire species.”

  I gulped. My theory had been correct. She was killed by a vampire.

  “Male, couldn’t have been over thirty in his mortal years,” Gavin stated as he examined the bite. It was hard to believe they could tell all that by two little marks.

  “Okeydokey, that’s great guys. I’m glad you dragged me here to tell me what I already knew, but I have an appointment I have to get to,” I stated, backing out of the room. If I had stayed any longer I was going to blow chunks.

  Axle laughed and waved at the guys. He drove me to the spa and dropped me off. After I was scrubbed, waxed, and polished he picked me back up. I climbed into the car. Turning to buckle my seatbelt I noticed Axle was leaned over extremely close to my face.

  “What’s up?” I asked curiously.

  “You smell amazing,” he moaned as he inhaled. My heart fluttered in my chest.

  I don’t know if it was the way he said it or just him, but my hormones went crazy. I leaned over and our lips met. He reached behind my head and pulled me in tight. His tongue slipped into my mouth and had a slight honey taste to it. He bit at my lips, teasing me. I finally pushed him back.

  “Sorry, I don’t know what just came over me,” I murmured, feeling embarrassed.