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Rankin was patient and had a well ordered mind. He had things in there to occupy his thoughts in a constructive manner. He was probably making lists and schedules and what not, going over plans. He’d lived his eternal life as different people, doing different things. He could learn any language in a few days. He even had basic knowledge of magic. And he had mastered the sciences and read the entire Library of Congress.
But he wasn’t able to make a decent cup of coffee. Still, she smiled up at him for the kind gesture, even though she really wanted a glass of whiskey. He sat down on the couch beside her again, crossed his arms, and went back to whatever was going on in his head. Since coming to the hospital, he’d put his attitude away somewhere.
Velvet rubbed and stretched her neck before sinking back into the plush of the couch. This room was nice. So nice that Velvet wondered if it were a VIP room. The nurse called it the family sitting room. Funny, no one offered her a special room earlier. She looked at Rankin. When they first came in, he stopped at the nurse’s station, she thought to flirt. Now, she wondered if he pulled some strings, or just taken out his never ending wallet. Baskets sat on the tables full of wonderful fruit. A nice touch, she thought, better than flowers.
They sat in the same room as Milly and her two sisters. After brief introductions, they went to the far side of the room, as if they weren’t there for the same person. Leroy loved his wife, said she was strong and good. She might be, but all Velvet was seeing was a little bitch.
Loretta, Milly’s older sister strolled past them going to the fridge for a bottle of chilled water. She ignored Velvet, but smiled at Rankin, he nodded back at her. She looked just like Milly, but her short legs were straight like pencils. Of the three, Milly was the pretty one.
Her cell began to ring, and she took it out to see the caller id. No name and the number was unknown.
“You shouldn’t be using that thing in here,” Loretta swished over to tell her.
“This isn’t my first time in a hospital.” She stood towering over Loretta’s five foot frame. A real wolverine, just like little sis, Velvet wanted to laugh.
“Hey,” Milly and her other sister who didn’t much look like her the way the other one did came over in a nervous rush.
“I was telling her she can’t be using a cell phone as she pleases in a hospital.”
“And I was about to tell her thanks for telling me stuff I already know. And to go mind her own business.”
“Actually, this room has no equipment that might be interfered with,” Rankin said. “Most modern hospitals can allow cell phone usage. The signs are precaution for those that don’t understand the technology.”
“Whatever,” Loretta said. “It’s still bad manners.”
“Look who’s talking,” Velvet said. Her phone began to ring again.
“Come on, Loretta.” Milly led her sisters back to their side of the room.
“Rankin, I’m going down the hall to take this.” She got a feeling it might be important. “Velvet,” she answered the phone on her way to the ladies room.
“My own sweet angel.”
“Jerome.” First time she heard his voice over a phone. If he wasn’t so evil, she’d say his voice sounded sexy.
“Don’t try to play hard, Velvet.”
“Ain’t nobody playing, Jerome.”
“Call them off.”
“You know that isn’t possible.”
“You call them off and deal with me, you lousy bitch. Leave my brood out of it!”
“You crossed the line and changed the rules. What happens to your brood is your fault.”
“Do you know how badly I’ve longed to taste your blood?”
“A real wet dream, huh?”
“You wonderful witch.”
“You talked to your boyfriend?”
“If you mean Troy, yes. I smelled you all over him. You cut him, but didn’t kill him.”
“Is that what you wanted me to do? You tired of him all ready?”
“Did you put a spell on him, Velvet? If you did-”
“Maybe we’re just special to each other. You know like me and Wilder. Can you stand that, Jerome?” He was silent, but that spoke loudly. He was fuming at the other end. “Jerome, you still there, sweetheart?”
“This once, Velvet,” Jerome spoke tightly for control. “This is the only time I will forgive you.”
“I don’t want your forgiveness, just your ashes.”
“All right, Velvet. Do you really think a slayer and a pimply faced wolf boy can do the job?”
“Yes, I do but they aren’t alone.”
“What? What do you mean? Who else is after me? Rankin? You convinced your immortal to be so foolish?”
“No, not the immortal. The dhampir.”
“Are you insane? The collateral damage alone-”
“Will be worth it to hold your dead heart in the palm of my hand- again.”
“You love this city, Velvet. You better think of it.”
“Now, you are threatening the city again?”
“No, baby, just you. What do you say? Call them off and it’ll be just you and me.”
“Have to admit, I’m tempted.”
He was afraid of Milton. Not just respecting that Milton’s skills probably exceeded his own, but there was fear. Not of just dying, either. Puzzled, she frowned up at her own reflection in the mirror. What was she missing here?
“What happens to you is up to Milton. That’s all I can tell you.” She ended the call and turned around, surprised to find she was not alone.
A young woman holding a baby in her arms stood directly before her. The baby wasn’t fussing or crying, but the woman bounced and rubbed her back. She also kept her big eyes on Velvet’s.
“Excuse me,” Velvet said, moving forward to the side, the woman moved with her blocking her path. “What?” The woman sat the baby on the floor. Velvet frowned. What mother would place her child on a public bathroom floor? She turned around to walk out the bathroom without a word leaving her baby. “Hold it,” Velvet commanded. The woman stopped, but said nothing, nor turned around. Upon closer inspection, Velvet realized the woman had no aura or gave off any vibes. She wasn’t shielding, just didn’t have those properties of a live human being. Not dead, or undead, just a big walking doll. A construct? Velvet scanned the baby girl. She was real, her aura vivid pink. She crawled up to Velvet’s leg and held on. The doll walked out of the ladies room.
~*~
Rankin didn’t approve of the child coming home with her, but what was she supposed to do with an abandoned baby someone clearly wanted her to have? On her lap, the baby sat calmly like she was passed off to a stranger every day. She wore one of those hospital bracelets that spelled her name in colorful plastic beads like they did in the seventies until someone decided that was dangerous for infants. Was the baby from the seventies? She checked out the diaper, not old timey or bulky.
“You should turn it in to the authorities,” Rankin told her again.
“This is a baby, and her name seems to be Carmen.” She showed him the bracelet, he barely looked at it. “Carmen?” Velvet cooed the name and she turned responding sucking on her plump fingers. “See?”
“Carmen is an unknown.”
“Luckily, I know how to find out things I need to know.” From out of the air, she produced a bottle of warm milk and placed it in Carmen’s hand, to see if she could hold it. She did and fed herself, leaning her head into Velvet’s stomach. Poor thing was both hungry and sleepy. “I ran a check on her before we left the ladies room. She’s in possible danger, but she isn’t a threat to me or anyone else.”
“You sure of that?”
“As sure as I can without a mind probe.” She frowned, hating it might come to that. For now, she was relying on vibes and feelings.
“Why do you think she’s in danger?”
“Someone gave her to me, I think to protect her. And that person went to the trouble of making sure I wasn’t able to track them.”
“By using the doll?”
“Yeah. All signatures were erased.” Carmen was sucking the bottle in her sleep. Velvet eased it out of her mouth. She picked the sleeping child up and gently placed her over her shoulder. “Time for bed.” She’d been up since dawn. Rankin trailed her down to the bedroom. Quietly, he watched her lay the baby in the middle of the bed, and wash her face with a wet wipe. She stood back trying one more time to read her for something she missed. Nothing, Carmen was just a baby. Nothing bad had happened to her. Just lost her folks, maybe.
“I don’t understand why anyone thinks it a good idea to give you a baby,” he said quite indelicately.
She let it go and turned out the light, leaving her bedroom and him in the dark. Bastard was capable of good things, but a jerk was a jerk.
She stopped in her living room, noting the arrival of Devon and Tyra on her front porch. Devon was having a smoke, he was considerate that way, and Tyra was keeping him company. They were tired and needed to unwind before coming inside.
Milton sat on the arm of her couch. His battle suit was clean, either he changed or never got to engage the brood. He stood greeting her with a smile and hug. “How you holding up?” He was referring to Leroy.
“Fine, I kept busy. And I just left the hospital, Leroy is doing very well, might be able to leave the hospital in a couple of days.”
“Really?”
“So, you didn’t get near him?” she asked, changing the subject. He gave her a sidelong glance, then walked around the room. Velvet got the feeling they were about to have a talk. Devon and Tyra weren’t on the porch to unwind. “You hungry?”
“Naw.” He came up to her giving her a smile. “How long have we been together, Vee?”
“About eleven years, give or take.”
“You trust me, right?”
“What?”
He lightly rubbed his lips then said, “Vee, there’s something I need to do, and it has to be done now. I know you have a lot on your plate, and normally, I wouldn’t consider leaving your side.”
“Leaving?”
“I need to get to Amsterdam. There’s some business.”
“In Amsterdam?” What business did he have that she didn’t know about? “Are you sure it’s that urgent? If it is, don’t you need help?”
“No. Just keep the bank accounts up to date.” He gave her a half assed smile again. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
“You chasing someone?”
“Vee, don’t ask for details. Just trust me.”
“When you leaving?”
“This morning. Need to be in New York by noon.”
“Wow, Milton!”
“Look, I already told the kids. They understand you are going to need to rely on them more and more to take up the slack. I, uh also, gave them early raises.”
“Damn, Milton! They aren’t even trained yet!” And was the world going mad? Had to be, if Milton was talking about leaving.
“Yes, they are,” he disagreed. “Tyra is a natural slayer, with a sword she’s the best. And Devon, well, he’s a werewolf. Not much really to teach them, except to remember to think.”
Of course, he was right about ‘the kids’ as he called them. She was just grasping at anything to give him pause. “Milton-” She wouldn’t play that card. Saying she needed him with tears in her eyes. “Milton, I don’t want you to go, but it’s your call.”
“I need your blessing.”
“Why?”
“This adversary is a real monster, Vee. It’s my duty to stop him. And I will, even if it kills me.”
She searched her mind for such a vampire that was crazy. In Amsterdam? Who was so strong that Milton believed he possibly couldn’t defeat? Why was such a vampire in Europe so important?
“Milton, you shouldn’t go. Your duty is with me, in Fairlight.”
“Vee, this evil started in Fairlight.”
“I don’t care! You can’t expect me to give you blessings to go face some horror alone! We’ll all go,” she decided.
“I won’t be alone. I was recruited for this.”
“By whom?”
“I can’t say. Just trust me.”
“Why do you keep saying that? You know I trust you. You and I started this business. Now, you want to pull out and leave me alone?”
“You have a team, and friends. You’ll be all right.”
“I’ll give you my blessing, if you promise to keep in touch.”
“I can do that.” He smiled opening his arms for her to walk into for a hug. “I love you like a sister,” he said, kissing her cheek. “And Vee, keep Rankin close. We need him on our side. Over these few years, he’s proven loyal and useful to the team.”
“If I call you, will you come back?”
“No, Velvet. I’m going in all the way.”
“But-” It was too serious for her to be giving him a hard time saying goodbye. This morning could be the last day they saw each other. “All right,” she resolved. “But if you need us, you call us. I’ll have us all there so fast-”
“I know,” he said, giving her a tight hug.
He wasn’t intending to call her for help. He wasn’t intending to come back either. Those two things she knew in her heart. Whatever happened in Amsterdam, he wasn’t counting on coming back to Fairlight.