––––––––
Serenity replaced the receiver only to turn and collide with a wall of cold, hard muscle. Not thinking, she let out a scream and lifted her hands to batter away the sudden intrusion. Strong fingers wrapped around her wrists and she looked up into Vincent’s serious, gray eyes.
She sagged with relief. “Jesus, Vincent. You just scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry.” He glowered down at her from beneath his heavy brow. “I sensed something was wrong.”
She carefully took her wrists back and stepped away. Like most vampires she’d come across, he always made for an imposing figure. He was dressed in blue jeans and a black t-shirt that would probably be a regular fit on most guys, but on him was stretched over every bulging muscle of his shoulders, chest and biceps. His shaved head only served to make his strong features more prominent—the deep set, blue-gray eyes, the hard jaw and Roman nose.
Relief quickly replaced the initial surge of panic. She was glad to see him. While Vincent might not be her vampire of choice, he was still a vampire and might be able to help her with Elizabeth.
“You were right,” she said. “Something is wrong.”
She glanced up the stairway, toward Elizabeth’s room. The upper floor remained still and silent. She’d need to go up and check on her daughter in a minute, though she suspected the poor girl had cried herself to sleep.
Vincent’s big hand made contact with her arm, drawing her attention back to him. His touch was cool, so like Sebastian’s. Memories flooded over her and she experienced a flash of excitement that caught her breath with its impact.
He’s coming home. Sebastian is coming back to us.
Unexpectedly, her eyes filled with tears. How much she had wanted this ... but not at this price.
“Hey, tell me what’s happened.”
The big vampire lowered his head, bunching the huge muscles of his neck and shoulders, to take in the sight of her face. She turned from him slightly, almost embarrassed to admit the reason for her tears. Vincent had been a friend to her over the last few years—albeit a strange and periodical one—he’d disappeared in and out of her life at will, reappearing when she least expected it.
She didn’t know how he would react to the news that Sebastian was coming home. He was hardly Sebastian’s biggest fan. After all, Sebastian had killed Vincent’s mother, even if he couldn’t truly be held responsible. Also, she didn’t think she imagined the reason for Vincent staying around. She’d taken his blood, and taking a vampire’s blood created a connection stronger than any other in this world. She’d sensed his interest in her, in the intimacy he wanted to take further. But, in her heart, it was always going to be Sebastian. She would gladly accept Vincent’s friendship, but no one else would ever come close to the father of her child.
Vincent took her by the hand and led her into the sitting room, carefully leading her to the couch as though she were an old woman. She sat, grateful, and Vincent took a seat beside her. He leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees, the denim stretched tight across his thick thighs, his hands clasped together beneath his chin as he looked at her.
“I’m sorry.” She swiped at the tears dampening her face. “I think I’m still in shock.” She took a deep shuddering breath and told him what had happened that day.
For the first time, she witnessed Vincent’s eyes widen with surprise. “Wow. Poor Elizabeth.”
“We need to find a way to make it stop.”
“Is such a thing possible?”
“I was hoping you might be able to tell me that.”
Vincent shook his head. “I’m sorry, Serenity, but I don’t know of any other person like Elizabeth. I’m still young in vampire terms and I’ve never come across another half-vampire child. Perhaps you need to ask an older vampire ...”
The implications of what he’d suggested cleared over his strong features and the reason for her being on the phone when he’d entered dawned on him. “But then you already have, haven’t you?”
“Sebastian just called here. I had no choice. He needs to be here with us.”
Vincent growled, a low rumbling in his chest. “He’s the reason you were all in danger last time. He’s the reason my mother is dead! Yet you ask him back here?”
“He’s still Elizabeth’s father.”
“He left to keep her safe.”
“And now he needs to come home to save her from herself. He’s the only one who can really understand her.”
“I can help, Serenity. I don’t know how yet, but I’ll do anything in my power to make sure you both stay safe. Tell your vampire to stay away.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Vincent, but he’d already on his way. Elizabeth and I are his family. It’s his job to keep us safe.”
“Then where’s he been these last few years?”
“Doing exactly that.”
An uncomfortable silence fell between them. She didn’t want Vincent to be angry. Aside from the fact that the huge, brooding vampire was a terrifying sight when he was angry, she also didn’t want to make him feel bad. Outside the window, a sudden rain tore from the sky, lashing with ferocious strokes against the pane of glass. The building storm must have broken. Something tumbled and crashed against the side of the house. She guessed one of the box bushes in a tub—two of which framed the front door—had been caught by the wind and knocked over.
A scuffing on the stairs caught both their attention and they rose to their feet at the sound. Elizabeth walked into the room, her arms folded across her chest.
She stared sullenly at Vincent. “What’s he doing here?”
“Hey, honey,” Serenity said. “How are you feeling?”
Elizabeth ignored her question. “What’s he doing here?” she repeated, staring at Vincent with open hostility.
“He felt something was wrong. He wanted to help.”
“Well, I don’t need his help. I don’t want any goddamned vampires anywhere near me.”
“Elizabeth!” The venom in her daughter’s voice shocked her.
“Vampires did this to me. What do you think I’m going to do? Embrace him with open arms?”
“Vincent isn’t responsible for what happened today. And no one did this to you. You are who you are.”
“I’m half-fucking-vampire, that’s what I am! I wish I’d never been born.”
Serenity gasped. “Don’t say that.”
“This is your fault,” she spat at Serenity. “What sort of freak gets into bed with a vampire anyway?”
Serenity felt like she’d been slapped.
Vincent stepped in. “Elizabeth, don’t talk to your mother like that.”
She rounded on him, her eyes fierce. The effect was almost comical, the girl taking on the massive vampire. “You shouldn’t even be here. You’re not my father!” She turned back to Serenity. “Does Sebastian know about his visits? What’s Dad going to say if he finds him here?”
It wasn’t often Serenity found herself mad at Elizabeth, but anger flared inside of her, hot and consuming. Perhaps an element of truth in Elizabeth’s accusations caused her reaction.
“I’ve not hidden anything from your father, Elizabeth. He’s never asked and I’ve had no reason to tell him.”
Elizabeth cocked her hip and her lower lip pouted. “Sounds like you’ve been hiding things to me. I’d like to see your reaction if I gave you that excuse about not telling you something.”
Serenity sighed, her anger melting. “You’re right. Not telling him is as good as lying, but sometimes we hide things from the people we love in order to not cause them pain, especially when there isn’t any reason for that pain.”
“Yeah, well, he’d be pretty mad if he found out.”
“He’s going to find out.” She took a deep breath, unsure of how her daughter was going to react, considering the mood she was in. “Elizabeth, your father is coming home.”
She watched a whole spectrum of emotions cross Elizabeth’s face, each passing like the briefest flicker of light, only to be replaced by the next—shock, happiness, fear, disbelief.
“But ... but I thought it wasn’t safe for him to be near us.”
“With what happened today, I think we need him here. What’s happening to you far outweighs any risk.”
Her daughter’s gaze drilled into hers.
“And what is happening to me?”
Serenity couldn’t bring herself to say the words: You’re turning into a vampire. Instead, the question hung unanswered between them.
“When will he get here?” Elizabeth asked finally.
“I’m not sure. Some time tonight. He’s been in Canada.”
Tight-lipped, Elizabeth nodded. They both knew the distance didn’t mean much. He could move faster than any vehicle, covering the miles in minutes.
“But while we wait for him,” Serenity continued, “if you have any questions about what happened today, or about how you’re feeling, then Vincent is here to help as well.”
Elizabeth only offered the big vampire a scowl. “I don’t want your help. Just because you and my mom have got some weird thing going doesn’t make you my dad.”
He glowered at her. “I’m not trying to be. I just want to make sure you and your mother are all right.”
“Well, I’m not all right, am I? I would have thought that was pretty obvious.”
Serenity felt a wave of sorrow for Vincent. Indirectly, because of her, he’d been displaced from every family he’d ever known. She’d killed his maker, Demitri, in New York, after he’d kidnapped Elizabeth, and then Sebastian had killed his mother, Bridget. Now, here he was, and had been for the last six years, trying to create a place for himself within their home—a place that was already taken, albeit by a person who was no longer there. Perhaps she should have been crueler, told him he wasn’t wanted and sent him on his way, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Vincent had more reason than anyone to want to see the destruction of her little family, to want them to suffer, yet he’d remained a solid presence in the background, a shoulder for her to cry on when she’d struggled to survive without Sebastian in her life. He’d even offered his own blood as a substitute to the stock of Sebastian’s. Of course, it had occurred to her he hadn’t made the offer purely for altruistic reasons.
Elizabeth stamped her foot on the floor, like a much younger child. “None of you can help me! I’m going to turn into a bloodsucking freak and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. And if Sebastian thinks he can waltz in here to save the day after we haven’t seen him for God-knows-how-many years, well, he can just think again!”
With that, the girl spun around and tore from the room, stomping back up the stairs. Her bedroom door slammed, the sound ricocheting through the house.
Serenity and Vincent exchanged a glance.
Vincent gave her a tentative smile. “A teenage vampire. Just what the world needs.”