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The shower was quick, and after tossing on some mascara and lipstick, I flew downstairs to meet my Uber driver. He wasted no time driving like a maniac through lower downtown until we reached the chain restaurant. I had to walk a block because of all the traffic, but it wasn’t a big deal. I was used to it.
I quickly went into the restaurant and made my way to the bar. I found Aden sitting on a barstool with his hand wrapped around a sweating Coors beer bottle.
I nudged him with my elbow. “Hey, bro.”
He smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Hey, you.” He hugged me and kissed the top of my head.
I stared at him, and he seemed distracted as he moved his gaze from me, down to the bottle in his fist.
I lightly punched his arm. “What’s going on with you?”
Aden took a deep breath, then lifted the beer to his lips. I hadn’t ever seen him act so nervous, so out of sorts. When he set the bottle down, he turned to me and flicked his gaze between my eyes for a few long, agonizing seconds. “Ayla.”
I grinned. “Aden.”
“Are you ready to be an aunt?”
My smile fell and I gasped. “Wh... wait. What? Aden...”
He nodded. “I’m gonna be a dad, Ay.”
“Who—”
“Celeste. She’s pregnant.”
My eyes widened. “But you two have only been seeing each other for...”
He chuckled. “Not quite six months, I know.”
“What can I get you?”
We both turned to see a young, heavily tattooed guy behind the bar smiling at me with a ring pierced through his lip.
“Tonic water for now,” I answered.
He disappeared to fill my order and I looked at my brother. I studied his face, and expected to see stress and turmoil there, but I didn’t.
“I love her, Ay,” he replied quietly. “She has been all I could think about since I met her at the damn taco bar. She’s the sweetest, most beautiful woman I have ever known.”
I put my hand over my chest and said, “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk like this. Did you plan this baby?”
He quickly shook his head. “No way. I selfishly wanted her all to myself for as long as I could have her. But she told me yesterday she was knocked up, and the kid was mine.”
I chewed my lip and stared into my brother’s eyes, which were so much like mine. “And you’re sure it’s yours?”
He lifted a shoulder and traced his finger along the rim of the beer bottle and stared at it. “When we’re not working, we’re together. I’m not sure she’s even had time to be with anyone else—”
“Except one weekend a month when you disappear into the mountains,” I interrupted.
He shook his head. “I know. But I’m going to start bringing her with me.”
My eyes widened. “She knows?”
“Fuck yeah, she knows. I had to tell her. I couldn’t keep that from her. She flipped out the first time, but she oddly accepted it. I don’t know. She’s just so perfect and I’m glad she’s having the baby. Besides”—he lifted his gaze to mine one more—“I know this sounds weird, but I just feel like that kid is mine. I also feel like it’s a boy. That’s fucking stupid, right?”
My heart swelled with joy and I grinned, my face hurting from how happy I was. I couldn’t recall being this happy for anyone in my family in a very long time. I put my hand on his as the bartender set my drink in front of me. “No, it’s not weird. It’s amazing. What do you plan to do next?”
He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed the back, then set it on the bar. “I don’t know, but you have to come with me when I... when we... tell Mom and Dad.”
“Maybe wait ’til you know if it’s a boy or girl? That way you can have something to offer them. They’re gonna flip out.”
He furrowed his brow. “You think they will? It’s not like I’m a teenager.”
I nodded. “Oh, yeah they will. But it’ll be fine. They’ll be happy.”
“That’s what I had hoped to hear. You going over there Memorial Day weekend?”
I nodded, because I had planned to, but knew I wouldn’t stay the whole weekend because of Kellan. I just wasn’t ready to share him with my family yet. “Yeah I’ll be there.”
“Good. I plan on breaking the news to Mom and Dad then.”
“Will the baby be a wolf?” I wondered quietly. “Or will it be a hybrid, like me?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, and we won’t until it’s a teenager.” He flicked his gaze around the bar and back to me. “I didn’t know wolves could get humans pregnant.”
“That’s ’cause we don’t know shit about shit, apparently.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, you got that right.”
“So, when is the baby due?” I asked, my excitement growing. A sweet, innocent life coming into the St. John family gave me hope. I didn’t think I would ever have children, so I was happy my brother was.
“Like, October.”
I let that sink in, and asked, “So, you guys moving in together then? She’s gonna need to feel like you are there for her.”
He swiveled in his barstool and looked at me. “Ayla, I’m going to propose to her. I haven’t ever loved anyone more than I love her. I want her to quit that waitressing job and just rest until the baby is born. I will work three jobs if I have to so she can keep my kid safe inside of her.”
If my heart could explode or melt at that point, it would have. I had no idea my brother had such romantic bones in his body. “You never fail to surprise me, bro.”
He grinned. “Too much?”
I lifted my tonic water to my mouth and shook my head slightly. “Oh, hell no. She’s gonna eat up this shit.” I chewed on the ice and smiled. “I had no idea you were such a sappy motherfucker.”
He snorted, took a swig of his beer, and set the bottle down on the counter. He tossed a couple bills next to it and ambled off the barstool. “I guess love and tragedy changes us.”
My eyes widened. He was right. “You aren’t lying, Aid.”
He wrapped me in a hug and kissed my cheek. “See you at Mom’s in a couple weeks. But promise you’ll call if you get into any trouble.”
I waved my hand. “Of course I will. I may be cocky, but I’m not stupid. Well, not super stupid.”
He grinned and walked out of the bar area.
I realized I was hungry, so I ordered a plate of chicken wings and coleslaw from the flirty bartender and proceeded to devour that as I caught up on all the social media postings with my phone, resisting the urge to share my good news to the world.
Once I’d finished, I paid the bill and went to leave, but I was blocked by a set of big boobs and her husband.
She smiled at me and said, “Miss St. John, how have you been?”
I looked into her light eyes surrounded by black eyeliner and then to her red painted lips. “Agent Swift. You following me?”
She grinned. “Nah, just out getting burgers with the hubby.”
I looked at him. “Hi, Jason.”
“Hey there,” he replied with a friendly smile.
“Well,” I said awkwardly, just wanting to be out of there and away from the BSI agents because they made me nervous for no good reason, “have a good night.”
Before I could walk away, she lightly touched my arm. “Won’t you join us?” She pointed to an empty booth.
I shook my head. “No, I just ate, but thanks, though.”
“C’mon, Ayla,” Jason said. “We want to show you something.”
Fuck. They had been following me. This was no casual encounter. Realizing I didn’t have much planned for later, I gave in. “Okay, I’ll stay for a drink.”
“Great,” she said, ushering me ahead of her toward the booth.
When we sat, the server came over and laid down menus and took our drink orders. Once he was gone, Jason pulled out his phone and began scrolling on it.
“Have you seen this?” he asked, handing me his smartphone.
My eyes widened at the headline of the Denver Post article dated today: MISSING ARCHITECT AND FAMILY PRESUMED DEAD; SON FOUND MURDERED
“Shit,” I murmured.
My eyes quickly scanned the article.
“Partial remains of Alexander Von Brass and his wife, Elizabeth Von Brass, were found near a small campsite in the Rocky Mountain National Park on March 18. Their clothing, which contained their DNA, was found inside a large camping tent belonging to the couple. The body of their young son, Jordan, was found at the bottom of Sprague Lake. Police suspect he was attacked by an animal and then drowned, as his neck had wounds consistent with bite marks. If anyone has any information, please call...”
I chewed my lip and handed Jason back his phone.
“Ya gotta clean up better,” Jessica said in a scolding tone.
The server came over with our drinks, and I picked up my gin and tonic and took a big sip as they ordered their food.
“Yeah, so about that.” I sighed, not wanting to explain, but feeling defensive.
“We’re listening,” Jason replied, brushing a lock of his sandy hair off his forehead. He had really cool green eyes I hadn’t noticed before and he kinda reminded me of the country singer Keith Urban. They were definitely a pretty couple.
“So, I miscalculated the full moon when we tracked Alex to the Rocky Mountain National Park. I was too consumed with finding him. I felt desperate because I knew they had their kid with them. I shifted as soon as we got there, and—”
“Who’s we?” Jessica asked, taking the gum from her mouth and putting it in a napkin.
“Me and my boyfriend, Kellan.”
They both stared at me hard as if they wanted to say something, but they didn’t. Jason nodded. “Go on.”
“So I shifted and it startled Alex, of course. I lost my shit, and took his head off.” I shrugged and looked down at my nails, picking at them.
Jessica chuckled. “What’s with you supes, tearing people’s heads off?”
“Not sure. It felt like the right thing to do at the time. Which, by the way, is not as easy as it looks.”
Jessica nodded. “Yes, I know. I’ve, uh... well, I’ve seen it plenty.”
My eyes widened. “You have?”
Jason shot a sideways glare at his wife and then cleared his throat. “Go on, Ayla.”
“Kellan went into their tent to get the kid—we planned to drop him off at a police station. But he was too late. Alex’s new vampire wife had already torn his throat out. We probably should have burned the body, but we didn’t want to start a frickin’ forest fire. So I buried him next to the water instead. We hoped it would break down his flesh and leave no traces.”
“You must have put him too close to the water and the tide carried him out. Furthermore, human bodies float after they’ve been in the water a few days. You really should do your homework before you dispose of a human body,” Jason scolded quietly.
“Well excuse me for not Googling it, geez. The sun was almost up. We had to do something fast. Besides, that lake doesn’t have tides.”
“Those lakes are connected to fast rapids that run throughout the mountains,” Jason pointed out.
“Just call us next time,” Jessica said, a little nicer than her husband. “You won’t be in trouble.”
I nodded. “I will, don’t worry. I am still having nightmares about that poor little kid. Seeing the look on his face. It was awful.” I shuddered.
The server brought the food and asked if I wanted another drink. “Actually, I do. Bring me a double?”
He nodded and left.
Jessica pointed to my almost empty drink. “How long you gonna keep drinking before you learn you can’t really get drunk?”
“As long as it takes,” I said, tipping the glass back and swallowing down the rest.
Jason shook his head and mumbled something with food in his mouth.
“So do you feel better?” Jessica asked between bites.
“About what?”
“Killing him. Do you feel vindicated now?” she asked.
I lifted my chin. “Yeah, I do. I’m glad he’s dead. I just feel like shit for what happened to the kid.”
“If what you say is true, you couldn’t have stopped that regardless. Alexander was irresponsible in turning his wife, knowing how much uncontrollable bloodlust she’d have. He should have sent the child somewhere safe for a few months until he could teach her. He was obviously a foolish and reckless vampire, so we’re grateful he is gone.”
Was that a thank-you? “Well, you’re welcome.”
A boy, who didn’t look any older than eighteen, seemed to come out of nowhere when he appeared at our table. He had two raggedy-looking teen boys standing behind him. And by raggedy, I mean, purposely unkempt—and nerdy. One of them had his eyes locked on Jessica’s ample chest.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I was sitting in the booth behind you and I couldn’t help but hear. What game are you talking about? My buddies and I love vampire video games. That one sounds totally rad.”
Jason chuckled, while I undoubtedly could not hide the mortification on my face.
Jessica smiled. “It’s the new Dracula one. You should totally get it, dude.”
His face lit up and he whipped his head to the right to clear the fringe from his eyes. “Thanks, lady!” Then he and his friends left.
I looked at them both and bit back a smile. “Don’t tell me you guys are closet gamer nerds. Actually do tell me you are. That would make my night.”
Jason’s burger was paused at his lips. “We have a game system, but only use it when we’re bored or my nephews come over. To be honest, I didn’t even know there was a Dracula video game. Glad she can lie fast.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, well if you guys weren’t so damn human, I would have been able to talk quieter.”
“Like we’ve never heard that before,” Jessica murmured as she shoved her fork into her taco salad.
“So, you get the answers you needed? Can I go?”
The couple looked at each other, then back to me. “Yes, but one last thing,” Jason said. “Give me your phone.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “No.”
He chuckled. “Just for a sec.”
I hesitated for a second, and pulled out my phone, giving in after seeing the innocent but mischievous look in his eyes. He hit a few buttons, typed something, and then handed it back to me.
My contacts were open, he’d created one called Swift Justice and it had two phone numbers on it. “Now. You call or text us if you get in the shit again, understand?”
I stood up, shoved the phone into the back pocket of my jeans, and saluted them both. “Sir, yes, sir.”
“Get outta here,” he replied, shaking his head with a laugh.