Disclaimer: The following is an adaptation of episode 4, season 1 of Moonlight. I do not own these characters. Credit for dialogue and plot from the show goes to their respective authors.
Author's Note: This is a revision of the chapter I originally posted. Longer with more details. I'm putting up the revised chapter Feb 9, 2013.
Please, please leave a review! Thanks for reading.
So there are many very good reasons why a vampire should not get attached to a human. Josef takes pretty much every opportunity he can find to emphasize this point. Being that Josef is at least three times my age, you would think that I'd have done a better job listening to him. But my inability to take good advice and stay out of trouble is high on my list of faults, both in my life as a vampire and before that as a human.
The first very good reason to avoid human attachments is that humans, inevitably, age and die. That's a complex issue, and one that I can share my thoughts on another time. In this case, however, I had a different human problem. To put it bluntly, it's inescapable that humans are my food source. Yes, I do get most of my blood from the blood bank. But there have been times when the blood bank was not available.
Now I feel bad enough for having to feed from a human at all. But having to feed from a human that you care about, that's one of the worst positions I could find myself in.
Go ahead, ask, and do you know this from experience? Well… more on that in a minute.
Now, I know that part of my attraction to Beth is her humanity. She makes me feel almost normal. At the very least, she's become someone I've trusted to tell my story to. There aren't very many people out there that I've shared that with, either human or vampire.
Unfortunately with her humanity, there's the whole blood issue. She has it and I needed it.
Beth hadn't contacted me in a week, not since I told her the story of my wife turning me. I'm not going to lie, I wanted her to call. I had wanted her to call for quite a while. Now she'd contacted me, but only to ask for help. Help with a case her boyfriend Josh was handling for the DA's office.
Yes, I said help her boyfriend.
Now I'm trying to be a good guy, but I really didn't want to be anywhere near her boyfriend. I was trying to just forget about the fact that she had one.
Mick was standing in his kitchen, pouring coffee into two cups. Beth was standing behind him, next to the island. Once the cups were filled, he handed them both to her. She met his eyes briefly, then turned and walked across the room to hand Josh a mug.
Josh took a sip of the coffee before he started talking. "I'm sorry about crashing your Sunday morning," he apologized as he walked toward where Mick had leaned against the countertop at the far end of the space. "But I wouldn't do it if it wasn't an emergency."
"Well, you're here now, so..." Mick gestured with his hand for Josh to continue.
"I know we didn't exactly get off on the right foot."
That's an understatement. You wanted to turn me in to the police.
"But I've heard good things from Beth," Josh said. Mick thought he saw a faint look of amusement on Beth's face as she caught his glance in her direction, but she took a sudden interest in her coffee cup, perusing the contents intently.
He looked back at Josh. "I'm glad the buzz is good. What's your point?"
"I want to hire you to find someone, a witness who's gone missing."
Mick's eyes narrowed. "Don't the cops work for you?"
"They do." Josh conceded with a nod. "And they're running their own investigation, but there's a leak somewhere. And I need someone outside the system to find her." Josh threw his gaze to Beth and then back to Mick. "I actually had to drag Beth here. She didn't want me to bother you."
Hmmm… really? Beth peeked up from her coffee and gave a slight shake of her head that Josh didn't notice. I guess I should try to not take that personally and just assume she didn't want to put me on the cops' radar again.
"Okay. Tell me about your witness," he said to Josh.
"Does this mean you'll do it?"
"It means I'll listen." Josh stared at Mick without answering right away. "Hey, you came to me," Mick pointed out.
"Her name is Leni Hayes." Josh told him. "She was the nanny for Amir Fayed's daughter."
Mick thought he recognized the name. "The arms dealer?" he asked.
"Yeah," Josh nodded. "She's only 22, but smart. Leni was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She saw Fayed murder one of his guys. Jack Toland. She's been in a safe house in Hollywood for the last month. Last night, they were hit. I need you to find my witness and bring her back to testify."
A murderer and an arms dealer… what could possibly go wrong?
"Okay," he agreed.
I went with Josh and Beth to the police safe house where Josh's witness Leni had been held and where two officers were killed the night before.
Josh walked me through the scene while Beth waited outside. It's an interesting experience looking at crime scenes with Josh following me around. I can't exactly tell him that my heightened senses give me an advantage he doesn't have.
It took almost no time at all for the detectives investigating the scene to get antsy over my presence. They don't need to know I'm a vampire to not like me. Most police are not too fond of private investigators even when it's the human variety.
We moved through a tiny living room and back to a bedroom. The person who came to attack Leni came in through the front door. Bullet holes were much in evidence. I couldn't smell any estrogen in the blood on the apartment floor and walls, so none of it belonged to Leni. I took that as a good sign that where ever she is, she's not too injured.
While we were going through the safe house, Josh let slip that Beth told him it's never boring around me. I'm not sure what to think about that statement. I guess it depends on how Beth feels about boring. I'm going to go out on a limb and say she doesn't seem to like it. If I'm not boring, then that would be good right?
Of course there is such a thing as too much excitement…
I found traces of female blood on a windowsill leading to a fire escape. From the amount of blood I think it's just a cut and not a bullet wound. Leni could have taken the fire escape down to the alley. I think she was lucky enough to get out and she ran.
Smart girl.
Mick was outside in the alley behind the police safe house. He was scanning the area for traces of Leni's blood. He was also eavesdropping on Josh and Beth's conversation, but they didn't need to know that. From where they stood Josh at least would believe Mick was out of ear shot.
"This guy's good." Josh told Beth "Somehow I thought you were exaggerating."
"What did you find inside?" Beth asked.
"Beth, remember our deal," Josh shot her a warning glance.
Deal? Mick started moving in their direction.
"Come on," Beth sounded impatient. "I waited outside while you walked Mick through the scene."
"Leni's trail ends at a spot just past that dumpster." Mick stopped in front of them and interrupted their conversation. "The freshest tire tracks show something big. A truck, SUV..."
"Officer Colden drove a truck," Josh interjected.
"Well, can you put an APB out on it?" Mick asked.
"Better yet, he had a low-jack." Josh told him. "I'll get a warrant for the records."
Mick shook his head. That would take too long. "We're running out of time here."
"It's the best I can do. Look, I've got to get back to my office." Josh gave Beth a quick kiss on the cheek. "Keep me informed." He said to Mick before leaving them.
Beth didn't look up but was busy using her phone. "A warrant's going to take too long," she said once Josh was gone.
"Tell me something I don't know."
Beth didn't respond to his comment, but started speaking into her phone. "Steve, it's Beth. I need you to tap into the low-jack system. Find me the current location of a truck registered to Richard Colden."
So much for waiting for the warrant. He couldn't help smiling to himself a little in satisfaction.
An hour later they were both standing on a residential street next to Officer Colden's truck, watching it get towed away.
Mick opened the file Josh had given him on Leni, reviewing its contents. "Okay, she steals the cop's truck to get away, but why would Leni come here? There's no record of friends or family to hide out with." He closed the folder, observing their surroundings.
"Dalton Avenue sounds so familiar," Beth told him. "I think I've covered a story here once."
They started walking down the street. "So, what's your deal with Josh?" Mick asked her.
"Oh, we've been together for a while. He's smart, funny..."
Whoa, back up, don't need to hear this part.
"No. No, no," Mick laughed under his breath and stopped her. "I meant your deal from the alley."
"Oh, right." She laughed herself and looked embarrassed when she understood. "Quid pro quo." She continued. "He's really worried about this leak. Thinks his calls are being tapped. I'm a clean line of communication with you."
They had moved down the street, crossing from shade into a patch of sunlight. Mick lifted the file folder he'd been carrying, holding it above his head to shield himself from the sun. "So, what's in it for you?"
"The story of Leni's safe recovery," she replied.
"Sounds like a conflict of interest to me." A house across the street caught his attention, and he stopped. It was a small brown craftsman bungalow, probably built in the twenties. He knew he'd seen it from somewhere.
"Post-verdict, it's all legal." Beth's face screwed up and she sounded indignant. "Hey, I've been covering my boyfriend's cases long before I met you.
Mick took a few steps out into the street to get a better look at the house. But the sunlight was beginning to give him a nasty headache, and he felt weak. He took a breath and turned back to stand in the shade, leaning on a white fence for support. His sunglasses and the black jacket he wore kept the light off of his skin and out of his eyes for the most part, but they weren't helping at all with the heat. It was a warm day.
Beth expression changed from annoyed to concern as she watched him. "So, how long can you stay outside?" she asked. "Like, how much sun is too much?"
There is a reason vampires try to sleep during the day.
He looked back at her. "Any is too much."
"You're a delicate flower, Mick St. John." Her eyes flashed as she teased him.
He gave a short laugh again, quietly. "Don't you have a job or something?"
"Yes." Beth nodded seriously, but the corners of her mouth were still curved up. "Today it's following you."
So does that mean we're okay?
He took a breath then paused. "After last time, what with the incinerator and the stakes in the heart… I wasn't sure if I was going to see you again."
Beth nodded, considering. "It was a lot to process," she admitted.
I'll bet.
"But I'm glad you told me about your wife turning you and..."She was looking at him but didn't finish the thought.
Mick held her eyes for a few seconds before turning away.
"Yeah, I think this is it." He changed the subject and started across the street. He could hear Beth following him.
Mick could see a few drops of blood on the front walk.
Yep, Leni was here.
"Whose house is this?" Beth asked, looking around as they stepped onto the wide front porch.
"I don't know." Mick flipped up the welcome mat. There was another spot of blood underneath it. "I think Leni knew where the spare key was." He gave Beth the file folder. "Hold that." He took a lock pick out of his wallet, and in less than thirty seconds, the door unlatched and they went inside.
To the left of the entrance was a stairway leading to a second level. On the right of the front door was a living room. Mick could see the kitchen on the far side. Beth started walking slowly through the house, running her gaze around. Mick did likewise.
"Why would Leni come here?" she asked.
His eyes landed on a pile of tissues, stained with blood and left on the floor, just past the entryway where they stood. "To clean herself up." Mick answered Beth's question.
Across from the front door and against the wall was a wooden desk. Next to it was a filing cabinet. Mick thought he recognized the type of box sitting on top of the cabinet. He crossed over to it and raised its lid. The outline of a handgun stood out in the lining of the box, but the gun itself was missing.
"And to get some protection," he told Beth.
Mick turned his attention to the desk and started to sort through the contents.
"Okay… So, the mystery owner has a gun, bandages," Beth's brow wrinkled as she looked around the room. Piles of what looked to be dirty clothes were stacked in several places. "Sub-par housecleaning skills..." She moved to the kitchen table, picking up a letter from the mountain of mail left there.
"Mick!" She spun around, stalking back to Mick and waving an envelope. "This is Jack Toland's house."
Mick's head shot up and drew back. "The guy Fayed's accused of killing? I didn't know Leni knew him."
"Nobody did. Not even Josh." Beth said. "Leni was his witness. Why would she hide something like this?"
Mick opened a package of photographs that had been lying on the desk, pulling out the prints.
And this would be why Leni came to this house. She was familiar with it.
Mick held out the picture to Beth. In it Leni had her arms around a man's waist, her cheek resting on his chest. Both of their faces were turned toward the camera, happy and smiling. He recognized the man in the photo. It was Jack Toland.
"Looks like they were in love," he told Beth.
Beth took the photos from him without looking up, rifling through the stack. "If that were true, maybe she kept it a secret so her testimony wouldn't seem biased."
Mick had resumed looking through the desk and found a telephone bill. Only it wasn't for this address in Los Angeles.
"Let me see that," he said to Beth, taking the photograph from her. Leni and Jack were standing outside, in front of a wood building. Behind them the number 164 was mounted on the wall. He checked the phone bill and showed it to Beth. "164 Las Cruces Lane. It's in Victorville."
He put the bill down and grabbed the phone from its stand on top of the desk. He looked over at Beth. "Fingers crossed." He hit the redial button on the phone to pull up the last number that had been called.
"Rapid Trek Bus Line," a voice responded through the phone.
Mick shot a glance sideways over to Beth. She shook her head as if impressed.
"Yeah, can I have the times for all the LA-Victorville busses today, please?" He asked the operator.
The operator told him to hang on and then gave him the bus times which he wrote down. He thanked her and hung up the phone.
He turned back to look at Beth. "Well, this is where we go our separate ways."
"Oh." Her face fell. "Why can't I go with you?"
She's disappointed she can't come?
"Because this girl is scared and she has a gun." Mick told her truthfully. "Besides, you're my contact to Josh, remember?"
"I know," she shrugged. "It's just that being on the hunt with you is kind of fun."
"Yeah," He laughed and rolled his eyes. "It's a giant thrill ride that never ends." He walked to the front door, opening it. "You know, sometimes, it does end…" he turned back to remind her, waving a hand for emphasis, "in terrible screams and bloodshed."
He stepped out onto the porch. Beth stood in the doorway behind him, staring. Her expression was still warm and not the least bit intimidated. "Still," she said. "We make a good team."
He couldn't help the smile he gave back to her.
Only one bus going to Victorville had already left today. I jumped in my car and got ahead of it. According to their schedule, the next stop was at a gas station and diner, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
I parked my car and stood there, waiting. It wasn't very long before the bus pulled in and a girl I recognized to be Leni climbed off it, walking over to the vending machine. I came up behind her, trying to approach as cautiously as possible. I introduced myself and told her that Josh had sent me to help her.
I wasn't cautious enough as it turned out. For some reason, she didn't actually believe my story. Having a hit man take out the police officers assigned to protect you would make anyone suspicious I guess.
What she did do, was pull out Jack Toland's gun, aim it at me, and pull the trigger. This should have been my first clue that I might have made a mistake getting involved in this case. Leni only hit my arm, but it hurt like hell. Thankfully I heal fast enough that she thought she missed me.
After that I tried explaining to Leni that she needed to trust me, because if I had wanted to kill her, she'd already be dead. If I was standing here getting shot at, I probably didn't mean her any harm.
She relented and agreed to at least sit down inside the diner and talk to me.
We found a table and she explained to me how she'd watched Fayed murder Jack. Somehow she felt guilty for Jack's death, like it was her fault. But she swore she couldn't testify anymore.
As we talked I couldn't help focusing on Leni's heartbeat. There was something odd about it. It took me a little longer to put my finger on what it was… an echo in her heartbeat, smaller and faster.
Leni was pregnant. That's what she was trying to protect, and why she'd had a change of heart in testifying. Jack had been trying to change and become a good guy for her. In the end it's what got him killed.
Seeing Leni, how young she was and how scared, there was something about her that I couldn't shake. She was a good person in a tough position. I promised her that if she would trust me, I wouldn't let anything happen to her, or to her baby… Jack's baby.
I called Beth to give her a status update. Josh insisted on sending a local police escort to bring us back to L.A. I tried arguing with him, but he didn't want to take no for an answer.
Mick was waiting by a window in the rundown truck stop diner and gas station where he'd caught up to Leni. She was in the ladies room and he'd checked on her not long ago. She'd sworn she was okay, just wanted to wash up a little before going back out into the heat.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see a man in a local police officer's jacket approaching from a side entrance. Mick gave him a quick glance.
"Mick St. John?" the officer asked, walking up to him. Mick had no choice but to acknowledge the guy. "I'm Officer Clark, Victorville PD. I'm supposed to give you an escort back to L.A." He held out a wallet with an identification card for Mick's examination.
"I told the D.A. I didn't need an escort," Mick explained to the officer, checking out the card and handing it back.
The guy shrugged and gave Mick a friendly smile. "I just know what I was told."
Mick nodded that he understood. "Must be hot in that jacket." He indicated the heavy coat, designed for much colder weather, which the officer was wearing.
"I never get hot," the officer assured him with another smile.
Fake ID, heart beat too fast, winter coat, and he keeps smiling at me. This guy is not a cop. He's bad news.
"Cold as ice, huh?" Mick replied, keeping his tone light and upbeat as well.
"Something like that." The fake officer laughed. "Your girl ready to go?"
"Yeah, she's resting up in the ladies' room," Mick answered him. "I'll get her." Mick walked past the officer toward the bathrooms. The officer stayed close at his heels, forcing Mick to stop. He needed to convince this guy not to follow him.
"You know what, she's a little overwhelmed at the moment. Why don't you wait here?"
Mick could see a flicker of uncertainty cross the officer's face as he hesitated.
Aww, come on shithead, no big deal here, you can trust me.
"Sure," the officer finally answered with a nod.
With a smile that was supposed to indicate gratitude, Mick walked away as calmly and deliberately as possible.
Gravel spun up from the dirt parking lot leaving a cloud behind them as Mick floored the accelerator on the cop car. With a rough bump and squeal of rubber however, they made it onto the road. He checked the rear view mirror. It killed him to leave his car sitting in the parking lot, but he didn't have a choice. The man that had been sent to do god knows what to them, kill them was his first thought, had a clear view of Mick's extremely recognizable vintage black Mercedes. They couldn't have gotten into it without him noticing.
Good thing Victorville PD's police cars were old enough that hot wiring them wasn't a challenge. Also good that the would be hit man had left the cop car out of sight, behind the building.
Mick was steering the car with one hand and dialing his cell phone with the other. In the passenger seat beside him Leni was still fumbling to buckle her seat belt.
"What's going on? Why did we steal a cop car?" Her expression was more than a little upset and her voice was panicked.
"To put miles between us," Mick told her. "Dammit!" The phone blinked at him as the call refused to go through. "Still no signal."
"Miles between who?" she asked.
Mick dropped his phone onto the seat next to him. "Us and the guy sent to kill you." He didn't look at her, but focused on forcing the car to go as fast as possible.
"What?" She swiveled her head to look behind them, back toward the diner. "How did he find us?"
"Doesn't matter." He shook his head. "Now it's about losing him."
They were hurtling down a stretch of highway out in the desert. Los Angeles and civilization was still a good distance away. Only a few minutes had passed when his hearing picked up an odd whomp, whomp, whomp sound from behind them. He was pretty sure he knew what made that sound, but he took a few seconds to tell himself it wasn't possible.
He took off his sunglasses and checked the rear view mirror, nonetheless.
You have got to be joking.
His worst fears were confirmed. A black helicopter was outlined against the blue sky, and it was gaining on them rapidly.
Leni noticed him staring at the mirror. "What?"
Mick shook his head. "You had to piss of an arms dealer, didn't you?"
Leni spun around in her seat to stare out the back window at the helicopter. By Mick's estimation her heart beat had increased by quite a large and dangerous amount. "Look out!" Leni yelled over to him.
Mick checked the rear view again. Oh shit! A rocket was now flying through the air toward them, courtesy of the helicopter. "Hold on!" Mick ordered Leni, slamming on the brakes. The car spun in a 360 degree turn and skidded to a stop and the rocket flew over their heads to hit the sand on the shoulder of the road, exploding in a bright ball of orange flame.
Mick threw his arm across Leni, flinging open the passenger side door. "Get out! Get out!" he commanded her. "Shut the door." She gave him a startled look but did as he asked, jumping out of the car and running into the underbrush.
Mick grabbed the police officer's nightstick from the floor of the car. He wedged the gas pedal down with it, before throwing open his own door and flying out of the car, rolling out of the way.
He looked up just in time to see the car, still speeding down the road, get hit with a second rocket and explode.
Damn it!
The helicopter, evidently satisfied with its work, flew off into the distance. "Great!" he exclaimed loudly, getting to his feet. Leni stood up as well, looking over at him. She was shaking. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she nodded, her breathing coming out in fits and starts. "Just a little freaked out. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he told her, "I will be as soon as we get out of here."
But the crushing heat and glaring sun had already started to wear on him. Sure, a vampire stranded in the desert. If we don't get out of here soon, I will be very far from okay.
Mick could hear the sound of police sirens getting closer to them, attracted, no doubt, by the twin fireballs. Leni could hear the sirens too.
"The police… Do you think we can still trust them?" she asked.
Mick was holding his cell phone up high, but the screen still indicated he had no signal. He gave a sigh and shook his head. "We're probably going to regret this, but we're not gonna stick around to find out." He looked out toward the expansive wilderness of sand and brush leading away from the road. "Come on," he said to Leni, and they turned to walk away, out into the desert and the heat.
Did I mention that vampires are not well suited to the desert? Well in case you didn't know, I'm telling you now. Yes, we can go out in the sun, but we can't regulate our internal temperature very well. Cold we can handle. In fact cold is vital to our health. Heat has the opposite effect. Too much time in the desert, I'll end up comatose. Before that happens I'll become a danger to any human I get near. Human blood however, has healing properties that help me overcome the heatstroke.
Leni and I walked through the desert for what felt like forever. The longer we walked, the worse I felt. I can't even imagine what Leni must have been thinking about me at that point. But I didn't have the strength to worry about it, I felt like I was dying. The pain was indescribable.
We finally found a motel, a real run down dive. We got into a room and I collapsed in the bathroom. I crawled into the bathtub, filled it with water, and asked Leni to get ice. She did, but it wasn't enough. My body was too far gone and I couldn't heal without blood. I yelled at her to get away from me before I hurt her.
And if I didn't get blood soon, I would hurt her.
I told Leni to call Beth.
Mick was dimly aware of the sound of the bathroom door being flung open, but he couldn't bring himself to move or turn to see who it was. The pain in his head, running through his whole body, was too much. He couldn't think straight. Every fiber of his being felt like it was on fire. He was being tortured, disintegrated from the inside out.
He had attacked and bit Leni. He remembered it so clearly. He'd sworn to protect her and now he'd failed. But he knew he hadn't fed on her.
"Mick!" Beth's voice reached him, calling his name.
It's not real. He had to be imagining this.
But then her hands were on his face and she was shaking him. "Mick! Stay with me! Stay with me!" Her voice was urgent.
He sucked in a breath and could taste her scent. He wasn't hallucinating. She was really here. His eyes popped open in a panic.
"Mick?" She laid her hand flat against his forehead. "You're burning up."
She'll know what I did! She'll hate me.
"I bit her." Mick panted, struggling to catch his breath. "I'll die before I feed on her."
"Mick, Leni's in the other room. She's fine," Beth reassured him.
She's not hurt? He'd only imagined hurting her.
His eyes shifted to Beth's face and latched on to her, trying to believe what she'd said. She looked back at him, her features softened and she smiled at him gently. Her hands were still on his cheeks, and her touch felt good. His panic receded.
"I guess…" his voice shook, "I guess I am a delicate flower." He tried to make a joke.
She exhaled a breath, not moving her eyes off of him. "I guess you are."
Has she been crying? He could almost swear her eyes were damp with tears.
He let his gaze linger on Beth's beautiful face for a moment, gave her a small smile back. Finally he managed to gather his thoughts.
"Take Leni back," he ordered Beth. "Get her out of here. He's coming."
Beth shook her head and set her mouth in a tight line. "I'm not leaving."
"You have to protect her now."
Now he could clearly see fear reflected on Beth's face. She shook her head again, vehemently. "You're dying," her voice broke.
He'd tried to read what he saw in her expression. Is she scared for me?
He'd been captivated by her for weeks now, but he hadn't considered that she might feel a connection too.
I don't want to die and leave you.
Beth ran her thumb across his jawline, stroking it. She continued to stare at him, but as he watched, her expression hardened. He could see her clench her teeth and the muscles of her throat worked as she swallowed.
She let go of him, rose to her feet, removing her jacket, and letting it fall to the floor. Her body started to shake as she reached up, pulling her hair off her neck, and then holding open her shirt collar with both hands, exposing her neck.
"I don't know how to do this, but I know you need it." Her voice was unsteady.
Oh God, no… she wants me to feed on her.
Horror raced through his body. She'd be frightened of him if he fed on her. She'd see him for the monster he was and he'd lose her forever.
"No!" He shouted and thrashed his head away, not meeting her eyes. "No, get out! Get out!"
Please, I don't want to do this. I don't want to hurt her. I have to make her leave. It struck him that this was in fact a worse feeling than dying.
"You need blood," she insisted, sinking down to her knees next to the tub.
"Not yours. Not like this!"
He wanted to get close to her and hold her in his arms. In that moment he knew in his heart that he did. But sinking his fangs into her body, stealing her blood on a dirty, roach infested bathroom floor, was not the way he wanted it to happen.
She reached out and grabbed him with one hand on either side of his head. Her eyes beat into him. "I want to do this." Her voice was firm and certain.
She wasn't going to let him go. Under other circumstances that would have made him feel good, but not now. Not this way.
'What do you do when the one thing you need to save your life, is the one thing that would make life unbearable?'
When she could see his silent agreement, she let him go and leaned back, sitting up, and clutching her shirt collar. Her pulse was racing, her breath coming out in hitching gasps. "I know you won't kill me" she said "and I know you won't try to turn me, either. I've got this vampire friend who's been explaining this stuff." She made a sound that he thought was supposed to be a laugh, but he could tell she was still scared.
The pain in his heart was excruciating.
She was offering her neck to him but he couldn't take her there. It was too intimate, too close. His eyes fixed on her arm. He reached out and took it in his hands, cradled it gently. Beth's breathing sped up, as had her shaking. She closed her eyes briefly.
He sat up straighter and pulled her arm closer to him.
"At some point you're going to need to stop me," he warned her in a low voice.
He let the vampire come to the surface and take over, his eyes changed color and his fangs descended. He lifted her arm to his mouth and let his fangs sink in to her flesh.
Beth jumped and leaned her body forward, her weight pressed onto him. Her head fell to rest on his shoulder.
The world swam away and all sense of time and place was lost as her blood rushed into him. The vampire in him was reduced to taste, sound, smell, and raw emotion, running on instinct. Comfort filled him up, rushing through his limbs, his chest, and his head. He gulped in her blood, losing himself in this connection. Her blood tasted amazing, sweet. In it he could taste her fear, but far beyond that, it was colored by a stronger emotion, one that he could almost name.
Lightness spread through his chest. He felt good, for the first time in many years, he felt really good.
Mine, she's supposed to be mine, my girl. The refrain played over and over in his head. It wasn't just a thought, but a feeling that spills over everywhere throughout him.
After what seemed like an eternity, in reality probably only a few minutes, he felt her pulse weaken. Her breathing had calmed. She needed him to stop and let her go. He'd taken enough. Strangely the taste of fear had diminished from her blood and the tension that initially gripped her body was gone. She had relaxed into him, and her muscles were soft and pliable against him.
He eased his bite on her arm, and his fangs retracted. His body returned to his human state, and his consciousness returned.
Jesus what was that? Why did it feel like that?
He was suddenly overwhelmed by the proximity of her body. He was hyper aware of her scent and her warmth. His breathing quickened, and he hoped as a human she hadn't noticed.
That thought… mine, my girl… where did that come from?
He needed to wake her up, her arm was still wrapped around him and her head was on his shoulder.
"Beth," he said her name softly.
"Hmm?" she murmured, her body stirred a bit.
"Are you okay?"
She didn't respond right away, but she hunched her body into him, and snuggled her head closer to his shoulder. She let out a shuddering breath. She had pulled her left arm into her lap, cradling her wounds in her right hand.
It's time to let her go, he told himself.
Not yet, came a voice inside.
He lifted his arms and encircled her body. Turning his head toward her, he pressed his nose into her hair. My girl, the thought whispered again unbidden.
He held her close to him for a short while. She didn't move to pull away from him. He could feel her chest expand and contract beneath his arms, a peaceful rhythm.
"Thank you," he managed to say quietly.
With those words she pulled back from him, away but not completely out of his embrace. Her eyes locked onto his. Her face a bit lost and confused.
"You're welcome," she answered.
"I… I'm going to go get a towel," she stammered looking down at her arm.
His eyes jerked in horror to the puncture wounds in her arm, still bleeding. He swallowed and then looked away over her shoulder, nodded quickly. "I just need a minute. I'll be out."
"Okay," she said, standing up.
She left the bathroom and he was left sitting alone. He closed his eyes, lifting his left hand to cover them.
As Beth left the bathroom he could hear her call Leni's name. There was the sound of movement, heavy footsteps, male. Mick inhaled quickly and pulled in the scent of another man, the hit man. He vaulted his legs over the edge of the tub and was on his feet and at the bathroom door. He could hear the hit man on the other side of the door. He had Beth and was threatening her. Rage flew up to Mick's brain.
You're not going to hurt her! He punched his fist through the bathroom door, grabbed the attacker. With a sharp twist, he snapped the attacker's neck. Beth was thrown to the floor. She looked from the attacker then back up at Mick.
Beth. He looked down at her, his heart constricting in his chest. He immediately started in her direction.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded back at him.
He was startled by the sound of Leni's voice calling his name and asking if he was okay. He looked in her direction, half hidden at the edge of the room, and told her that he felt better. She let out a sound of relief and ran to him, throwing her arms around him in a hug. He hugged her back.
He looked down at Beth and gave her a small smile.
Leni got safely home and made it the trial as a star witness. Josh even caught his leak, another DA in his department who'd gotten in too deep with gambling debts. Fayed had bought him off in exchange for information on Leni's whereabouts. Aside from my ill advised walk through the desert and one dead hit man, I guess we all came out relatively unscathed.
That's what it would look like on the surface at least.
But then there's me and Beth…
She tried to come and see me after she fed me, the next night. I could see her standing on the other side of my door, knocking. I wanted to answer it. You have no idea how much I wanted to answer it. I could swear I could still feel her. I could swear her blood in my veins let me feel her heart.
I stood there, my forehead tipped against the door, my eyes closed. There's so much I want…
It has to stop. Being near me will only get her hurt.
I left the door closed and let her leave.
See it wasn't that feeding on her felt bad because I care about her. If anything, feeding on her felt amazing. It was the separating from her afterward that hurt.
Funny, I took a piece of her when I drank her blood. So why does it feel like she's taking a piece of me with her as she walked away?