Chapter 6 Sweet Blue Eyes

The ride home from Mick and Beth's was quiet. When they were almost back at Long Beach Brian started to stir and Robbi kept twisting in her seat to keep an eye on him. He was getting hungry she knew so once they were home she could feed him.

Kevin pulled the Enclave into the garage after the door opened and even before the door had closed Robbi was out of the vehicle and pulling Brian out of the car seat. He was sucking on his fist, a sure sign that he was convinced he was starving and for the first time all evening she smiled and then kissed him, murmuring quiet words to soothe him. She inhaled his sweet baby fragrance deeply, loving the feeling of connection with her son. Kevin opened the door into the house and she stepped through and headed into the nursery to change him before she fed him.

"Kevin, can you warm a bottle for him please?" she called out as she unsnapped his onesie and pulled the diaper tabs open but left it in place over him while she reached for a new diaper. She'd quickly learned the lesson that with little boys as soon as cool air hit them they tended to pee again and tonight was no different she noticed with a smile.

Kevin stood in the doorway, leaning against it as he watched her. He loved her so much and would do anything for her but she was pushing him out, slowly, gradually and it hurt so much. He knew that she loved him but what if in the end that wasn't enough? Tonight was hard, for all of them and the same way he knew that she loved him he also knew that she loved Beth. Could she succeed in pushing them all away? She might if she could and he was determined to not let it happen.

She got the clean diaper on Brian and slipped him into his pajamas and picked him up, startled when she saw that Kevin had been watching. It seemed to Kevin that she held Brian just a bit closer to her as she said, "Oh, I didn't see you standing there Kevin." She stepped past him and headed into the kitchen to check on the bottle.

Kevin followed and said, "Hey, I'll take care of this, why don't you go and sit down and I'll bring it in."

For a moment he thought she was going to protest and then she turned and headed into the living room to sit in the rocker. When Kevin walked in with the bottle she was rocking Brian and singing softly to him. She glanced up with a smile as Kevin handed her the bottle and for a moment his heart skipped a beat, so happy to see that smile.

Brian started wiggling when he realized the bottle was ready and she continued to rock steadily as he drank. "His eyes are so intense, you know?" she said, watching her sons sweet blue eyes as he drank.

"I know. He has to get that from you," Kevin said.

They were quiet while Brian ate and when he was done and had been burped he was falling asleep in her arms. Kevin stood up and said, "Here, let me take him into bed okay? Why don't you take a shower and I'll get us some wine sweetheart?"

She chewed anxiously on her lip, undecided about what to do but finally did as he suggested. A warm shower would feel wonderful and it did she thought as she stood under the fine spray. Thoughts of the conversation with Beth flickered through her mind and she determinedly pushed them out, not willing to think about them yet. When she was done she headed into the living room wearing a soft satin robe, and sat down on the couch as Kevin came in with two glasses of her favorite white zinfandel. He handed her one of the glasses and then sat down next to her, sinking into the deep leather cushions with pleasure.

"So, are you ready to talk about it Robbi? What happened at Beth's?"

She looked at him blankly for a moment, trying to decide how to respond. What Beth had told them was stunning and not in a good way. Robbi could never in a million years have imagined what Beth told them. Vampires? Ridiculous. Until she saw the evidence of the teeth. And the eyes, Beth's intensely blue eyes and Mick's silver ones.

"What is there to say Kevin?" she said, and then a small, almost hysterical laugh escaped her and she added, "My best friend and her husband are vampires, but it's all hush-hush, secret..."

"You know, I'm almost not surprised. I mean, I didn't really think...but there were definitely things I didn't understand like Bri's reaction to him and how chilly his hands always were, even this summer at the cookout at her mom's. And his friend Josef, he has to be one too because his hands were just as cold."

She looked at him and blinked back tears that made her eyes glimmer in the low light of the living room. "And Lani knowing too. They didn't even tell me."

"Sweetheart, how could they? Would you have wanted to know if it hadn't happened to Beth?"

"I don't know Kev, I only know that they didn't tell me!" she said and the tears broke then, running silently down her pale cheeks.

Kevin closed his eyes for a moment and hesitated before saying the next words. "What about what you're keeping from them Robbi? You're angry with them but do you have any right to be?"

"It's different Kevin."

"A secret is a secret Robbi. You three, you've shared so much, everything practically all your lives and now, when the biggest secrets weigh each of you down, you don't, can't seem to talk. Robbi, you need to open up to them."

"I have time Kev, maybe forever in fact."

He shook his head, knowing how much his wife needed to talk to someone because talking to him didn't help. He felt helpless because he didn't know how to help her but it was tearing them apart and he wouldn't go down without a fight. He loved her too much.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



The men gathered in Josef’s office, seated comfortably and sipping the libation of their choice. Several of them also enjoyed a fine Cuban cigar, while Mick and Tango both abstained.

“Before we get started on the issue with Malcolm, do you have any news on the hunt for Katrina?” Miguel asked, drawing on the cigar with satisfaction. Josef always managed to procure the very best and this one was amazing.

“Logan and Ryder have followed her trail down South America, through Chile and then into Paraguay, where she was a week ago. She has since managed to disappear again but we have a hefty bounty out on her, a million American dollars, enough to fuel any border guards wet dream, not to mention the customs agents in South America. The boys think she is making her way north again because she can’t get a flight or ship out from the main ports. Logan thinks it’s a good bet that she’ll try to catch a small boat into the Caribbean and disappear there.”

“I thought they’d confiscated her money and exposed all her alias’?” Miguel stated.

“Every bit of money that they could track to her. Actually, 3.2 million total.”

“That’s in the banks that we know of though isn’t it Josef? As far as I can tell from the books she siphoned off at least 3 million and if you add interest to that, there is still some money out there that they haven’t found don’t you think?” Tango said, watching Josef as he stood up and began pacing back and forth in front of the windows.

“We’ve called in every marker we have with the banks; I’m sure there are some of the Arabian banks, maybe in Dubai that won’t cooperate because we have no investments with them.”

“I might be able to help there. I know some people who have invested heavily in Dubai. Let me see what I can do. We’ll need to know what name she’s using though.” Heroku drew deeply on the cigar, his mind thinking about some of those contacts. He already had a need to contact them because of Beth so hopefully he could get some answers.

“Okay, that sounds good Heroku. We’ve got pictures out everywhere, as well as the reward. Of course, she has likely changed her looks so the pictures include her with blonde and red hair, short hair, you name it.”

“We'll get her eventually Josef,” Tango said. He understood the deep guilt that he still carried for what happened to Beth St. John. Sooner or later Katrina would be found and it wouldn’t be pretty, her fate. “What do we have about Malcolm?”

“Carl came to Mick and I yesterday with the information that he has contacted Detective Fiorentino about pursuing the names on the list. Fiorentino turned him down but Carl feels sure that Malcolm will try again. He’d like to see if they can’t track down where he is and alert us. We explained that if it is Malcolm, he is a vamp and a very dangerous one at that. Heroku, I was wondering about this new technology that you are installing on the computers at Kostan? It can immediately tell us where a hacker is at; can that technology be used in phones? Cell phones?”

Heroku frowned for a moment as he contemplated what Josef had asked. When they had did the first beta test on the new system Logan had hacked in, bouncing through a dozen satellites and the system had him within 3 seconds. Could that be done to trace phone calls?

“It was not created for that purpose Josef, but does it have the capability? I’m not sure, but I will talk to my people and see what they think about it. The idea behind it should make it possible but can it be made tiny enough to fit into a phone? That is what I don’t know. If it could be that could ensure that if he calls we could find him quickly.”

“We decided that Carl should talk to Luka and get him to sort of string Malcolm along, say he’s considering the list or whatever it takes so that we can stall for time. Let us know as soon as you can whether it’s possible. In the meantime Logan is looking at some other trace technology to see if that would work.”

“I really don’t get where this guy is coming from,” Miguel said. “He’s tried this in the past, but what the hell does he actually accomplish if he succeeds in starting war between the humans and vamps?”

“That’s the mystery Miguel. He believes that the vamps will win but I’m not so sure, at least not now. I think we all know that the day is coming when humans are going to know and be forced to acknowledge our existence, that they will all know. I can’t see that being a good thing at all, but it’s going to happen eventually,” Josef said, a sharp edge to his voice.

A freaking vampire apocalypse, he was sure that was what would happen.

As the men ended the meeting Mick pulled Heroku aside. “Heroku, do you have a moment?”

Heroku knew exactly what Mick wanted; he wanted answers that he might not be able to provide but the young vampire was worried about his mate so Heroku decided to share what he could. “Of course Mick.”

Tango and Miguel were gone already. Josef stood looking out at the city, the blinking lights of traffic below them flashing as the traffic hurried to their destinations. He heard Mick ask to speak to Heroku but paid little attention until he heard Mick’s first question.

"Heroku, who are these Qamar-al-atfal? The Children of the Moon?"

Heroku sat back in the chair and said, "They are very old vampires Mick; the original vampires in fact."

Josef turned around, watching the two men talk. He had never heard of the Children of the Moon.

"The first ones?" Heroku nodded and he continued. "They are still...alive?"

"Yes, they are."

"How old are they? How many of them are there?" The questions rushed into Mick's mind helter skelter. He needed answers.

"They are much, much older than I am Mick. And there are 13 of them."

"Thirteen? That's an odd number it seems Heroku. And you're what, a thousand years old I think? Forgive me, I mean no disrespect Heroku but older than that is almost unimaginable."

"The number 13 has had great importance and impact, throughout history Mick. And I take no offence."

Josef came and sat down, listening intently now. How could these people have existed and he had never heard of them?

"You're not one of them though, you said the other night. You are a guardian?"

"Yes, I am a guardian, in the Brotherhood of the Moon. I am not one of the Children."

"How can Beth be? You said she could be a descendant of them. Heroku, how can a vampire have a descendant? "

"Those questions are best answered by others Mick. I'm sorry that I cannot give you more information. Just make sure she drinks fresh on the full moon Mick. Otherwise, she'll need blood daily, but she can eat regular food as you've discovered. And Mick, if she is, as I expect, Qamar-al-atfal, you need to understand that she is royalty."

Heroku stood up, quickly followed by a stunned Mick and an extremely curious Josef. "Goodnight gentlemen."

Mick and Josef watched in stunned confusion as the door closed and then stared at one another. Josef grinned and plopped back down in the chair. "Damn, the girl is some kind of royalty?" He laughed and finished, "Didn't see that one coming!

He missed the scowling look that Mick gave him.



OOOOOOOOOOOO





Logan held Audrey close and felt her mouth melt against his just as her body did. The connection between them still thrilled him in a way that he never experienced before. She completed him although he'd never admit that to any of the guys because they'd laugh at him.

"Um, good morning my love," she told him and then went back to resume the kiss. She felt wonderful this morning and in some ways wondered how that could be since they'd been up half the night making love.

Logan pulled back and looked at her, smoothing a strand of hair away from her face. "You are beautiful Audey, so beautiful and I happen to be the luckiest guy around."

"Well, thank you but I think there are guys that would insist that they are the luckiest. Still, I appreciate the thought because I happen to know that I am the luckiest girl!"

At the door Logan could hear both of the boys protesting loudly; when they thought it was time for breakfast they made sure that Logan at least knew it. He sighed.

Audrey held her head up and sure enough she caught the faint kitty talk and paws clawing at the door, a sure sign that the boys were hungry. "Do you think Beth and Mick will want Travis back?" she asked. She had come to love the little cat a lot and while she would give him back, she would also gladly keep him. He just had a way of looking at you as if he understood everything. She had finally even gave in and bought him that kitty chow that he liked instead of the Healthy Cat that she preferred for them to eat because Plato would no longer eat it either.

"I hear you boys," she called out and was rewarded with loud kitty demands and both she and Logan laughed.

"Why don't you get ready for work and I'll go and feed the starving masses," Logan told her with one final kiss.

"Okay. Are you going to get some freezer time today Logan? You look sort of tired. I can't wait for the house to be done so that you can have a freezer at home."

"Yeah, I will I promise." He stood up and reached for a robe to slip on.

"Hey, don't forget that tonight is the night that I'm going shopping with the girls."

"Oh yeah, I did forget. Are you having dinner there too?"

"Yes, Lani and I."

"And Beth too, don't forget."

"Um, I had forgot. Strange, isn't it?"

"It sort of freaks me out, you know? I've spent hours the past two days trying to find information about vampires that can eat food. Outside of weird vampire lore that is totally fiction I can't find anything."

Audrey laughed as she laid out her work clothes before getting into the shower. "Logan, what did you expect to find on the internet anyway? It's all about fake vampires for heaven's sake," she told him.

"Not all of it. You'd be surprised at how much is real information, written by vampires who trade on the fact that humans will think it's all fake. We need a vamp wiki, that only vamps can get access to. Have to talk to Ryder about that one. But he's never heard of that either and let me tell you, that dude knows a LOT!"

"Okay, if you say so. Now go and feed the boys before the pull the door off the hinges," she told him as both the cats had their paws under the door trying desperately to pull it open. Of course, being cats they didn't realize that it opened in, not out. Thank god for that Logan thought. Next thing he knew they'd figure out how to turn the doorknob. He was going to be sure that the new house had a lock on the bedroom door, that was for sure.

He opened the door and both cats jumped back, as if suddenly feeling guilty for being caught but of course, they were cats and couldn't possibly think that Logan assured himself. "Okay you two, for heaven's sake, just hold on for a minute!"

He headed into the kitchen with both cats dancing around his feet; they almost succeeded in tripping him once and he growled at them, causing them to back off a bit. He pulled out the bag of kitty chow and got the scoop out so he could give them their morning ration of the crunchy food. He and Audrey had given up feeding them in separate dishes weeks ago because the only ate from the same dish. Worked for Logan, one less dish to fill and wash.

While they were eating he headed into the office and booted the computer up, looking for emails from Ryder who was currently two hours ahead of him. He found only one this morning which included a picture of someone that could definitely be Katrina, with short red hair boarding a fishing vessel heading out of Venezuela and heading to the Caribbean. She couldn't catch a commercial ride, he was pretty sure because they had every port, terminal, every nook and cranny covered in South and Central America. She had to get out of there and this was about the only way to do it. The picture was clear and they got the name and port of registration off of it so that would help. Ryder was sending out some contact info to see if they could track it further and figure out where it was headed.

He heard Audey turn the water off in the shower and decided he'd catch a quick one himself before he left to go home for some freezer sack time. If he didn't get at least a few hours every day in the frozen bliss he really didn't feel so great. He remembered Beth saying the other night that she couldn't handle the serious cold, something else that puzzled him a good deal.

What kind of a vampire was she anyway? She could eat food, didn't need sub zero temps in fact couldn't handle them? Weird. He and Ryder really did need to get busy on the vampire wiki and soon.

He started to roll the chair backwards and Travis let out a howl before jumping on the desk in front of the monitor. Logan knew he hadn't roll over him but had only bumped him and damn, the cat could get in the ways sometimes. He reached over to pet Travis and said, "Hey buddy, I'm sorry. You scared the shit out of me though. You okay?"

Travis turned to look at him and Logan almost fell out of his chair.

"Your eyes Travis! What the hell?" he said, backing away from the cat. Those eyes, blue, like Beth's. Was he a vampire after all?



Travis watched the vivid blue of the wallpaper on the monitor for a moment, lightly pawing the screen as it reflected off his eyes. When the screensaver kicked on, displaying photos of the boys and the family he meowed softly and jumped down into the chair that Logan had just vacated. He enjoyed the still warm seat and circled until he found the perfect spot and settled down. A minute later Plato came in and jumped up into the chair too. Both cats settled down for a brief early morning nap before they'd go outside to take a mid morning nap in the cool grass with a nice sunbeam warming them.

Hey, it was a rough life but someone had to do it.



To be continued...