You Promised Forever
Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight. That is a sad statement and after all this time I really do wish I did.
Hello, I hope you all remember me and would like to read a new story from me. My muse took a long vacation and has only recently returned. This story finally picked up some steam and I feel I have a handle on where it is headed so I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 1
Beth Turner exited the air-conditioned coolness of her office building and felt the warm evening air instantly wrapped around her. She had been working longer hours this past week, gathering information for Ben Talbot's latest case. As she stood on the top of the stone steps, she adjusted the strap of her laptop bag and out of habit scanned the street before her. She shook her head and smiled sheepishly at how learning about the existence of the Sentinels organization, she had now adopted some of Josef's paranoia.
All the activity on the street seemed normal until she noticed an attractive blonde woman sitting at the bus stop almost directly across the street from her. The woman was staring at her, holding her phone up close to her face as if taking a picture. As Beth continued to watch her, the woman lowered her phone and leaned back, keeping her gaze locked on Beth.
The attention caused Beth to begin feeling very uneasy and she hurried down the steps, walking rapidly towards the parking ramp next door. Just before she entered the ramp, Beth glanced back at the bus stop to discover that the woman was gone. Beth chewed on her lower lip, wondering how long this woman had been following her and if she was a member of the Sentinels. Since no bus had arrived during the last few minutes it was obvious that the woman had not been waiting for a ride.
Beth hurried to her car, got in quickly and locked the doors, pausing to gather her thoughts and try to assess what was going on. If the woman was a member of the Sentinels then this was not a frightening situation since the organization was mainly observers who did not take action very often. There had been no retaliation taken against Mick, Josef or Kira for the way they had killed the Carringtons almost seven months ago. What was disturbing about this woman was how blatant she was in staring at Beth. The Sentinels were more in the shadows and had not been this obvious in their studies of the vampires that they wished to destroy. This bold action did not keep with their general behavior and that made Beth uneasy. She had almost been able to forget that they even existed in the last few months because even knowing that Ben was a member, he had done nothing to make Beth uncomfortable in their work relationship. In the beginning she and Ben had stepped very carefully around each other, neither person wanting to reveal more to the other than they could help. With time they had fallen into a relaxed, professional routine.
Beth knew that Mick had been trying to do all he could to learn more about the Sentinels at Josef's orders and that he had been monitoring the movements of Ben and Dr. Charles Patterson. He had gained a few more names and faces to go with the secret group that was plotting to destroy the vampire community. The fact that Josef was paranoid and would not rest until he knew who the leaders of this organization were had kept Mick and others on Josef's staff very busy these last months. They had been trying to trace as many connections as possible between the men they knew about and those they had learned of from an article that Beth had found of a meeting in Denver. Mick was at this moment in Omaha, Nebraska interviewing William Kelley who was the disgraced writer who had dared to write an in depth article on that meeting in Colorado. She expected him home the next day but right at this moment she wished he was here to tell her that she was overreacting to this woman.
Beth had felt something was off for the last few days since Mick had left town. There had been nothing concrete to support her concerns but she had noticed that even her apartment had felt like someone had been there even though nothing was disturbed and there was no sign of a break in. She started her car and as she pulled out of the parking ramp she turned in the opposite direction of her place and headed instead for Dusk to Dawn. She knew it would be a wise move to alert Kira and through her, Josef about her newly discovered shadow. Mick would be much happier if she didn't stay alone, not even at his place until they discovered who this stalker was. He would approve of her going to seek out Kira and stay safely with her. And she had to admit that she looked forward to visiting with Kira who had fast become her closest friend.
Arriving at the club, she found a parking spot in the lot next door and hurried inside. In the dim light of the club she paused to let her eyes adjust and then made her way to the bar. A handsome Asian with a bright smile, hurried down the length of the bar to greet her as she slid onto a vacant stool.
"Good evening Beth, don't you smell…uh…look lovely tonight," he said in a low voice, giving her a wink.
"Thank you Kenji, you always know how to make me feel welcome," Beth grinned back at the flirty vampire. She couldn't pin down Kenji's age but she figured he was quite a bit younger than Mick. Since he started working for Kira five months ago, Kenji had flirted shamelessly with Beth much to Mick's displeasure.
Looking up and down the bar to see if anyone was listening and leaned closer to her from across the bar.
"No Mick tonight? Are you here looking to add some Asian spice to your life?" he asked quietly. "You know that Kenji is always available for you. I can make you very happy."
"You can do that by getting me a glass of red wine please," Beth replied sweetly.
"Of course," Kenji responded and quickly found a bottle of Kira's best red, knowing that Beth was a special friend of his boss. He poured a generous glass and presented it to her with a flourish. "I am honored to serve you. Perhaps now you will consider running away with me?"
"Don't make me get my stake out of my bag," Beth warned in a low voice, a smile on her lips.
"She'll do it too," Thomas Wolfe said as he joined them. The son of Dusk to Dawn's human manager, Thomas was the assistant manager and he wanted to make sure that Kenji wasn't bothering Beth. The vamp did have a tendency to view human females as potential freshies and had to be reined in occasionally. "And if Mick hears you suggesting Beth run off with you, he'll take your head."
"I'm only having a little fun Thomas. Beth knows that…right Beth?" Kenji said quickly, throwing up his hands. He gave Beth a pleading look, hoping she would understand.
"I know you don't mean it Kenji but it might be good to tone it down when Mick is around. He does get territorial at times," Beth said kindly.
The young vampire nodded and moved off to serve another customer.
"One of these nights Kenji is going to get in a load of trouble," Thomas sighed. "Some jealous vamp who doesn't know about his love of flirting will take his head."
"He is really harmless," Beth said. "Mick does understand that and he won't hurt Kenji."
"I know Mick won't hurt him but not every vamp is as understanding. Kenji needs to be careful, he's in LA now, not Hawaii. We're not as laid back here as the locals are there. I even had to warn him away from Simone the other night. Oh, here comes Kira, talk to you later Beth," Thomas said and moved away as Kira Starling approached.
"Good evening Beth, I didn't know you were planning to stop by," Kira said warmly as she sat on a vacant stool next to Beth.
"I wasn't planning on it but I noticed something strange today as I left work tonight. Since Mick isn't home yet, I wanted to talk to you," Beth informed her.
"What happened?" Kira asked becoming instantly concerned.
"It's not really something we should discuss out here," Beth said quietly. "We don't know who is listening."
"I see your point," Kira said as she scanned the fairly full club. "Let's go to my office."
Taking her wine glass, Beth followed Kira back to her private office that was behind the bar. The comfortable, plush office had a leather sofa and a couple of chairs that were near a wall of monitors that allowed Kira to keep a close eye on what went down in her club.
Taking a seat on the sofa, Beth set her wine glass on the coffee table and after pouring herself a glass of wine, Kira joined her.
"Tell me what happened Beth."
"I came out of work tonight and there was a woman sitting at the bus stop across the street. She was staring at me and I think she took a picture of me with her phone. Even after she lowered the phone she continued to stare. I headed for my car and before I entered the parking ramp I looked back and she was gone. Kira, no bus had stopped during that time frame," Beth told her, trying to keep to the facts.
Kira thought about what Beth said, her lovely face becoming very serious.
"Do you think she was one of the Sentinels?" she asked.
"I don't know what to think," Beth admitted. "I don't doubt that they are watching Mick and me but it's just been the last few days that I have felt like someone or thing has been just out of sight. Yesterday when I got to my apartment something didn't feel right but there was no sign that anyone had been there and nothing was missing. I chalked it up to missing Mick and feeling a little paranoid. But maybe I am not being paranoid."
"No, I don't think you are," Kira agreed. "This sounds very suspicious but given how long the Sentinels have been watching us without being noticed, this woman sounds too obvious." She frowned. Are you working on a case that could be trouble?"
"No," Beth replied, shaking her head. "I'm doing some background on a case Ben is trying but that has been mostly computer work. I haven't personally been questioning anyone."
"I think you should stay here tonight. I can have Thomas go with you to your apartment and pack a bag," Kira suggested.
"It's not necessary for me to stay here but thanks for the offer," Beth protested. "I feel better now that I have talked to you about it."
Kira reached out and took Beth's hand in her cool ones.
"Listen to me, my friend, I trust your instincts and if you think someone is following you then there probably is someone. Mick is one of my dearest friends as are you and I will not allow you to be in danger. Please stay here and give me some peace of mind," she urged seriously. Then a sly smile appeared on her lips. "If you don't, I'm just going to sit on your balcony and keep watch all night."
Laughing, Beth blushed and nodded.
"All right, I'll stay. And we don't have to make a trip to my apartment for a bag," she told Kira. "I always have a packed bag in my trunk….if I need an emergency change…..in case…" she trailed off, turning an even brighter shade of red.
"For when you stay at Mick's?" Kira finished with a grin. "I would think you had part of your wardrobe at Mick's place by now."
"I'll have you know I have my own closet," Beth boasted with twinkling eyes and a quick laugh. "But I've learned there are times to have spare clothing handy. Mick can forget his own strength at awkward times."
"Men," Kira clucked sympathetically. "They have no respect for women's delicates. I sent Josef a bill once for all the ruined clothing. He growled about it but paid up."
"I bet he opened an account for you at Victoria's Secret," Beth stated.
"You do know Josef," Kira smirked. "And he did indeed. Give me your car keys and I'll send Thomas out to get your bag."
Beth handed over the keys and Kira went out to find Thomas. It wasn't long before he returned and knocked on the door, delivering the bag and keys.
"This should be fun, I haven't done a girl's night in forever," Kira said happily.
"I hope I can stay awake for a while," Beth grinned. "I do have to work tomorrow. But I do feel safer staying here, thank you."
"Mi casa su casa," Kira said warmly.
End chapter.
Thank you to all who read this. I would really appreciate hearing from you because reviews do feed the muse and she is very greedy. I am going to try to stick to a weekly posting schedule if real life will let me. It is nice to be back, I hope you enjoy the story.