Chapter Two

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Chapter 2



Lani stared straight ahead with virtually unblinking eyes as they made the trip back into town. She listened as Colleen and Josef talked about someone named Leo. He was apparently the person that Kelly had contact with.

“She was supposed to meet him at 11:00 tonight Josef. If you drop me off there, I can take him out.”

“I dare say you could Colleen, but I’m going to provide you with some help so that it can be done quietly.” He pulled his phone out as they sat at a stop light and punched a number and waited impatiently for the call to be answered.

Lani and Colleen listened as Josef made a call to someone named Ryan and made arrangements for him and Mike to meet them at the park where Leo was. Leo apparently was a vampire who had a thing for children’s blood. Lani felt sick to her stomach; maybe from that info, maybe from everything else that had happened. She really wasn’t sure but she definitely felt queasy.

“Okay Colleen, you’re good to go. They will make sure you get home afterwards.”

“My car is at Kostan Industries, I’ll need to get it from there. What are you going to do with Katrina?” she asked, curious.

“She’s going to have a terrible accident, by my own hands this time. You interested in her job Colleen? I need someone there that I can trust.”

Colleen was quiet for a moment, a small frown marring her face. She licked her lips and said, “No, but thank you, for your trust I mean. I think it’s time for me to retire from the Cleaners. Josef, there were too many there that are fiercely loyal to Katrina; I wasn’t and I’d have no authority over them. But you’d better be careful who you chose for the job because a couple of them will be treacherous.”

“We’ll have to have a talk about that. But, would you be interested in working for me, at Kostan? Good pay and perks Colleen and I highly value loyalty.”

Colleen only hesitated for a moment before responding, “I would like that very much Josef. I’ll resign from the Cleaners tomorrow.”

“Well, wait on that until the Katrina issue is resolved, please. I don’t want her wondering why you are suddenly leaving the service.”

Lani listened to all of this glib talk of death and realized that it didn’t even bother her. What is wrong with me, she wondered. I KILLED someone tonight, I saw Beth attacked and basically watched her die and then become a vampire. Salty tears once again streaked her face and she thought of Dorothy and Clark, among others. She had to tell them tonight, it couldn’t wait. “Josef, I need to go and talk to Dorothy and Clark.”

He looked at her briefly, his eyebrows raising a notch as he digested what she said. “Lani, don’t you think maybe it would be better to tell them tomorrow instead of tonight? Let them get a good nights sleep instead of worrying about this?”

Lani shook her head no and gulped in a deep breath. “No. Josef, if it was your child wouldn’t you want to know right away?” she said quietly, her brown eyes speaking volumes of the pain she was feeling.

He nodded as he pulled into the parking spot at the park. “Okay, you’re right.” As he looked around the parking area he spotted Ryan and Mike already waiting for them. “Colleen, your ride is here.” He and Colleen both got out of the car and went and spoke with the two men who waited by a bench.

While she waited her phone rang and she looked and saw that it was Audrey calling. Apparently when Audrey had told Logan he was determined to go to see Dorothy and Clark as well. Lani made plans to meet them there and told Josef about it when he slid back into the seat of the Benz.

“Reinforcements, probably a good thing.” He cast her a sideways look as he pulled back out into traffic and asked for directions to their house.

Lani answered him, her monotonic voice alerting him to just how hard she was trying to keep her emotions under control. Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap and her breathing was harsh and unsteady. He knew it was a huge struggle for her because he was feeling the same way. It was his fault, all of this was his fault he knew because he trusted Katrina instead of making sure the job was done when he was there to witness it. He wouldn’t make that mistake with Katrina; he would take great pleasure in watching her die, the slower the better.

Another quick glance at Lani showed her worrying her lower lip in the glare of the oncoming headlights. He had killed before, it was second-nature to a vampire even if they didn’t do it regularly. It was something in their vampire DNA he figured, but Lani? Well, she wasn’t a vampire and it started to sink in to him just how she must feel about it all. Strangely enough, the man with the answers had none for her. It was a sobering thought.

When they pulled up at Clark and Dorothy’s house they saw Logan and Audrey getting out of his car. Josef opened the door for Lani and held his hand out to help her out of the car. She looked down at her clothes, sandy and water-stained from standing in the swells for so long but it would have to do. She tugged and straightened and brushed off as much as she could before walking to where Audrey was standing.

For a moment they stared at one another and then in a single breath they came together, hugging one another tightly in the inky night. Both girls cried as the memories of the night washed over them. Finally they pulled apart, both of them wiping their eyes and taking deep breaths.

Logan was beside himself at what had happened. He wanted to kill someone for the first time in his life; except of course Lani had already done that. And apparently wasn’t handling it well either. When Audrey had told him what had happened the young vampire went ballistic, something that was rare for him. Now, they were faced with telling two people that he loved dearly what had happened. He couldn’t even imagine how they would take it.

The four of them walked towards the door and pushed the bell; it was only a few moments before Clark answered the door. He stood there for a minute, looking at the four of them, taking in the girls pale, tear-stained faces and he knew, he just knew.

“Is she dead?” he asked, a feeling of panic rising in his throat.

“No, um, not really,” Josef answered, meeting Clarks eyes and hoping that he understood that.

He did, he got it. Was it relief that sent shivers up his spine or was it torment? He didn’t know. “Come on in. We were just watching the news. I don’t know how she’ll take this though.”

They followed him into the house, to the family room where Dorothy was sitting on the couch, a glass of milk in her hand. As she took in their appearance she sat it down on the table next to her and stood up, her hand covering her mouth in a nervous gesture.

Logan and Josef both listened to her heartbeat and the babies as well. She was breathing quickly and Josef was afraid she would start to hyperventilate. She placed a hand over her baby bump and rubbed it tenderly for a moment and finally said, “Tell me.”

“Honey, why don’t you sit down,” Clark encouraged and tried to gently guide her to sit.

She pulled away from him, tugging her arm away from his hand willfully. Her eyes were sparkling brightly with tears and then they burst forth, running in rivulets down her face. “Tell me!” she demanded again. “Is she dead?”

Josef looked at first Logan and then Clark. How did they answer that one? He took a breath, but before he could speak Lani reached out and held Dorothy’s hand, rubbing it softly between her own.

“She – there was an…” Words seemed to fail her for a moment and she pulled in a deep breath and let it out in a harsh rush. “She was attacked, at the beach; at my beach house. Mick had to, um, he had to turn her Dorothy.” Lani barely got the words out; they were only painful whisper that made her throat ache as she spoke them. She watched Dorothy’s face as the words sunk in and watched as Dorothy sank in slow motion onto the couch, shock writing starkly on her face. Lani dropped down onto her knees in front of Dorothy and licked her lips before speaking. “I’m sorry, so sorry. If I hadn’t asked her out there…”

“Shhh, Lani. It wasn’t your fault honey,” Dorothy said as she watched the tears flow down Lani’s face. “Where is she? Is she at home? Can I see her?” Dorothy asked, one question quickly following the other.

“No, Mick took her to Seattle, to their house where she can get used to everything in seclusion. Dorothy, you won’t be able to see her, I’m sorry for that.” Josef hated saying the words but she might as well understand from the beginning.

“Seclusion? Why can’t I see her? She’ll want me there!”

“No honey. Don’t you remember when Logan was turned? They – they can’t be around humans because of the blood for a little while. Remember?” Clark asked, hoping that it would all come back to her.

The word ‘they’ meaning vampire, sliced through her and with that came the true understanding of what happened. “I don’t care! She wouldn’t hurt me, she’s my daughter!” Dorothy’s voice was just shy of yelling and hysterical to boot. Clark was scared and knew they needed to calm her quickly. This wasn’t good for the babies. It was understandable, but definitely not good.

Logan stepped forward and knelt down on one knee and said, “Dorothy, Mick is the best sire; I know that from experience, remember?” He smiled at her reassuringly and continued, “He’ll get her used to it pretty quickly, I know and then they’ll come home and you can see her. I promise,” he said, hoping that she would accept that. Josef and Clark both nodded, trying desperately to give her some faith in it all.

Dorothy looked at Lani again, sitting in front of her trying desperately to hold back more tears. Something else was wrong, she could see it in Lani’s face, the way her shoulders were sloped, curving forward in a miserable gesture.

“Lani, what else is wrong? What aren’t you telling me?” There was a sharp tone of panic in Dorothy’s voice as she reached out and took Lani’s hands in her own.

“I killed her, the woman who attacked Beth, but more than that, it was my fault we were at the beach, so it’s my fault what happened to Bethy.”

Clark drew in a sharp breath at the pain that was in Lani’s voice. He watched as Dorothy slid down onto the floor and pulled Lani to her, hugging her tightly and rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. Dorothy held her while Lani’s heartbreaking sobs filled the room. Audrey was crying and so was Logan; he even thought for a moment that he saw tears in Josef’s eyes.

Clark swallowed hard as he watched the two of them, unaware of the tears that were streaking his own face. Dorothy had been more of a mother to Lani all these years than her own parents were; there was an inexplicable bond that they shared over the years and Lani’s ill-conceived guilt and pain was tearing his wife up.

“No, no Lani, it’s not your fault sweetie, it’s not. Beth is still with us, just in another way now and if you killed this person you did it in defense of Beth. Shhh, it’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Lani nodded and tried to get herself under control. Slowly the sobs abated and all that was left was an occasional hiccup. When she looked up her face was red with the vigor of her grief. Dorothy brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her on her forehead, trying to wipe the tears away with her thumbs. Clark grabbed a tissue from the box behind him and then thought better of it and grabbed the whole box, handing them around.

Josef knelt down next to Lani and smiled at her, speaking softly said, “Lani, I know how hard this is for you, but you were the hero of the night. Kelly might have been able to get to Beth again and things could have been so different.” He took one of her hands in his and said, “Please don’t feel this way; you probably saved Beth.”

Lani nodded at him but couldn’t muster anything else. This night would live with her forever.



OOOOOOOOOOOOO



An hour later, when everyone had talked it all through Lani, Josef, Logan and Audrey left, walking out to their cars.

“I guess I’d better go and get Travis,” Logan said, resignation in his voice.

“We have to head over there now and grab some clothes and things for them. I’m having them flown up tomorrow. You guys want to follow us over there now?” Josef asked as he unlocked the door of the Benz.

“Yeah, might as well. Audrey, you want to come with me?” At her nod he told Josef, “We’ll meet you there.”

When Josef and Lani were situated in the car Josef pulled out his phone and called someone, asking them to bring the Ferrari to Mick’s so he could park the Benz. He had grumbled about the ‘dinosaur’ many times that night; in other circumstances Lani would have found it funny. Tonight, nothing in the world was funny.

At Mick and Beth’s house they met Randy, one of the guys who brought the Ferrari over. Josef thanked him and made sure the Benz was locked tight and then they headed upstairs. Logan and Audrey weren’t there yet, they’d lost them somewhere on Wilshire and no wonder, the kid drove like an old man as far as Josef was concerned.

Upstairs, as soon as they opened the door Travis made a bee-line for them, jumping into Josef’s arms and meowing pitifully. Josef scratched him behind the ears, talking soothingly to him. “Travis, we gotta come to an understanding about the Armani, okay? It’s silk puddy cat. Silk. It doesn’t like kitty claws.”

Lani watched him with curious eyes as he cared for the cat, petting him and tying to comfort him. He was so gentle with the cat, almost loving. It didn’t quite jibe with the mental profile of him as a player and ruthless vampire that she thought he was.

Logan and Audrey walked in and as soon as Travis saw him he let out a plaintive meow, as if he knew what that meant.

What Logan saw was the cat opening his mouth and showing fangs that were too big for an ordinary cat. And he was still sure that the cat’s eyes could silver over. “Did you see that?” he asked Audrey as he pointed a Travis. “He barred his fangs at me!”

“Logan, don’t be ridiculous, he only meowed. I was watching him.” She walked over to Josef and reached out for Travis who came willingly into her arms, purring loudly as she scratched his cheek. “Would you like to go and see Plato Travis? I know he’d like to see you.”

She continued to hold him while Logan gathered Travis’ belongings to take with them. Soon he had everything and they headed out the door, Travis securely in his kennel. Josef stood for a moment, looking at Lani who hadn’t said a word since the left Dorothy and Clark’s house. He headed up the stairs and said, “If you could gather a few things for Beth, that would be helpful. I’m sure she’d rather you hunt for her lingerie than me!”

“Okay,” Lani said, heading up the stairs behind him. “What should I get?”

“Soft clothing mostly; her skin will be really sensitive at first. A few pairs of jeans and that kind of thing for later on. And whatever personal grooming items you think she’ll need.”

Lani quietly went about searching for the requested items; a silk robe and several soft cotton nightshirts and then she thought better of that – vampires sleep in the freezer, naked so she hastily put them back in the drawer. After she had what she hoped were the right items gathered and packed into a small bag she headed into the bathroom, gathering all the personal care items she knew Beth would want and then added Mick’s stuff that she found too. She met Josef back in the bedroom as he was finishing putting Mick’s clothes into another bag.

“I got all the stuff from the bathroom. I think we’ve got everything covered,” she told him.

Josef nodded and picked up Beth’s bag as well as Mick’s and headed downstairs with Lani following with the overnight bag full of shampoo, deodorant and all that type of things. She closed the door behind her and headed down the stairs. Each hollow, echoing step felt like a door closing on Beth’s life and for a moment she felt overwhelmed again.

Josef smiled kindly at her; it would take her awhile to get past this, maybe a long while. “Are you ready to go? It there anything else you can think of?”

She shook her head no and headed for the door without another word. Josef closed the door behind them and made sure it locked correctly. Before they knew it the elevator whisked them down to the parking area and Josef was tucking the bags into the Ferrari. “Lani, what if early afternoon tomorrow I take you out to pick up your car? I really think you need to rest now, okay?”

For a moment Lani thought about it; it might be relaxing to go out and get it and drive home with the wind blowing through her hair, but she was weary. She needed to rest; what she didn’t know was if she could.

“Would you like to stay at my house tonight Lani?” He saw her eyes spark for a moment as anger bubbled up. “In your own room, in a totally different part of the house from my living quarters, I promise.”

“Is this the part where your ‘meals on heels’ live?” she retorted, still suspicious.

Despite himself Josef couldn’t hold back a huge laugh. “Meals on heels? I love that. No, they live in another area. This would be the guest wing. You’d be totally by yourself in that area, but at least there would be other people around, if you, like uh, needed anyone.”

She wanted to fight it, she just wanted to go home but she didn’t want to be alone really. Finally she nodded her assent and Josef said, “Okay then. Do you need to stop by your place for a few things?”

“Yes, that would be helpful.” She choked back a sob that was trying to make its way up her throat and murmured, “Thank you Josef.”

“Not a problem.”



OOOOOOOOOOOOO



Logan took Audrey home and when they got there she said, “Logan, do you have to sleep in your freezer every night?”

He smiled at her and shook his head no and said, “No, I don’t. Would you like me to stay at your place; I can. I understand if you don’t want to be alone.”

“I would really like that Logan; I – I just don’t want to be alone.”

“Okay, I’d be happy to stay.”

They carried in Travis and all his accoutrements and let him out as soon as they were inside. He immediately ran over to Plato and they nosed one another and as if by silent consent they stopped and grabbed a couple of nibbles of food and then headed out the kitty door. Logan laughed and said, “Well, that takes care of those two!” He turned to Audrey and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close for a hug. “Do you have a pillow for me here on the couch?”

For a moment Audrey looked confused and then realized he meant to sleep on the couch. “I, um, I was talking about sleeping in the bedroom Logan. I understand though, I’ll get you a pillow.” She figured that maybe he couldn’t rest in a bed with her.

The two of us are so unsure of one another that we are constantly misinterpreting half of what we say. It was a startling thought to Logan and one that brought a moment of crystal clarity.

“I’d be happy to stay with you, I just wasn’t sure you wanted that. Audrey, we’ve both got to be a little clearer about what we want.” He leaned down and lightly kissed her on the nose and then on her mouth.

Her lips opened to his, her tongue tangling with his and she started pushing his jacket down his arms and then pulled off her blouse. “Is this clear enough Logan? I want you.”

Logan swallowed a nervous laugh down and instead emitted a low growl of desire. Oh yeah, he wanted this too and he told her so. She took his hand in hers and led him into her bedroom, shedding more clothes as she went. Maybe this was the wrong time to even think about this; the circumstance was horrible, but she only knew that she needed him as she had never needed anyone in her life.

By the time they got into the bedroom and by the bed both of them were naked. There was no embarrassment, no fear. It was just the two of them and it felt perfectly right. Audrey crawled up the bed and lay back among the pillows and Logan followed her, taking in her beautiful body as he did. He had never imagined she would be this breathtakingly lovely, this sexy and just looking at her made him ache to be inside her.

He kissed her again, his cool mouth melding with her warm one; their tongues stroked and explored, tasted and delved as deeply as they could. Logan’s hands weren’t hesitant at all as he moved them gently down her body, stopping to caress here and stroke there and soon his mouth followed. The textures of her skin made him sigh with delight; his tongue swept along her neck, teasing along the vein that throbbed with her desire for him.

She drew in her breath excitedly as she felt his mouth on her neck and almost sighed in frustration as his lips then journeyed farther down the lush expanse to her breast; paying silent homage at the beauty of her body. He worshiped the planes of her belly, tickling lightly with first with fingertips and then his tongue. Finally he was at the apex of her desire and cautious fingers slipped inside the dewy folds and stroked her tenderly.

Audrey almost came off the bed when his fingers touched her; they dipped into the warmth and slipped over the aroused nub of desire and she started to fall over the edge, calling his name out over and over.

“Now Logan, please, now,” she told him and he traveled back up her body and seated himself between her silken thighs. She could feel his manhood probing at her and it thrilled her. She had waited a lifetime for this; she had waited a lifetime for Logan.

“Audrey, I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you a bit, but I’ll try to be gentle, okay?” he asked as he pushed against her.

She lifted her legs up and felt him enter her, stunned by the feel of his body in hers. They both felt it when he found the barrier hidden away and she nodded at him, encouraging him to push farther. For a moment she felt a sharp stabbing of pain and then it was gone.

Logan was in her as far as he could go and he hesitated for a minute, giving them both a chance to get used to this. It was going to take iron control on his part to last any length of time at all he realized and then when he started moving again they were both lost to the sensation. He was loving her, trying to show her the depth of his emotion and it wasn’t enough. “Audrey, I love you, I love you…”

“Logan, I love you too,” she whispered against his neck. She felt her body responding again, coming undone and she went with the feeling, feeling safe with him. Soon he was there as well and bit into his shoulder as the emotions rocked them both.

Finally he moved off of her and then pulled her body over so that she was lying half on him and wrapped his arms around her, not willing to let her go.

“I thought you had to uh, bite, to, you know?” she said as she tried to catch her breath.

Logan was shocked that she knew that. One of the female vamps most likely. He explained what Mick had told him and she seemed to accept it. “Next time?” she asked as she was falling asleep.

“Next time,” he murmured in reply. “Next time…”



OOOOOOOOOOOO



Lani came out of her building with a small overnight bag and climbed back into the Ferrari. “Ready?” Josef asked and when she nodded he pulled out into the street. It was 3 am and the traffic was slow but still there. This was LA and there was always traffic. It took them 20 minutes to reach the mansion and Lani leaned her head sleepily against the window, watching the lights and other cars go by.

Josef was startled by how young she looked. Dark sooty lashes hid her eyes for the most part, sometimes resting on her pale cheeks. She was relaxed and that was a good thing. It would be a the best thing for her to get her settled at the house and he had a few calls to make. While she had been upstairs he had already called Franklin and had him get a room ready for Lani; the yellow room, bright and cheerful and just the thought of Lani in that room made him smile.

Tomorrow Katrina was going to meet hell and he, Josef Kostan was personally going to drive her there.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



Beth smiled as she sat on the edge of the freezer and looked over her shoulder at Mick. Suddenly she had turned around and was in his arms, only knowing that she had to be there.

“Mick, oh Mick, I was so confused. I thought Elka had turned me and she wasn’t here but then I looked at you and it was you, wasn’t it? That’s what I’m feeling isn’t it?”

Mick held her close and said, “Yes baby, you’re feeling the sire/fledgling bond.” He was aware that she was crying and he stroked her back, telling her it was okay. “Hey, I think you need to feed. Are you ready to try?”

“I don’t have any fangs!” she exclaimed. “I think something is wrong,” she told him, crying all the harder.

“You’ll have them, I promise. Now, lay back and rest your head on my shoulder, okay?” At her nod he continued, “Now look at my arm. Do you see all the veins in it?”

Again she nodded, fascinated by the veritable highway of veins that hid below the surface of his skin. They stood out starkly against his white skin and she suddenly felt hungry and realized her fangs were descending. It didn’t hurt exactly, but it certainly felt weird. “I do have fangs,” she said proudly, running her tongue over them and realized they were razor sharp when she cut her tongue on them.

“Um hm, now, remember how I sort of run my tongue over your vein until I find one? You’ll know when you have…” he was saying as she ran her tongue over his arm and then bit him. It was a light bite, deep enough to hit the vein but not painful at all. Of course, she took to it like a duck to water. Josef would be proud.

“There you go baby, you have it. You’ve got great instincts.” He felt her mouth on his arm, her tongue lightly coaxing the blood from his vein without pulling too much on it. He relaxed back and took a deep breath and a startling thought occurred to him. He had never in the past experienced this – this bliss that he was feeling now. With Coraline it was always a battle; the bites were usually vicious, angry, born more of necessity than love. This bite was one of love and it was a sensation he knew that he would never tire of. The more he relaxed the harder and more aroused he became until he was almost to the point of exploding all on his own. It was amazing.

He felt her pull her fangs out and then lovingly lave over the twin holes which were already healing. She placed light kisses over his arm and then shifted to lean up to kiss him. “Did I do alright?” she asked shyly.

“You did very well Beth. It was amazing,” he said.

She smiled delightfully, her baby fangs peeking through her lips. She looked down and saw that he was rock hard. She was ready as well, already wet and full of desire for him. She reached her hand down and stroked him a few times. “Now Mr. St. John, what are we going to do about this?”

“Why don’t we see what your instincts tell you? They did a pretty good job before!”



To be continued…