Chapter Two
Beth's still at work when I get up. She knows the date and the time of the funeral so that Talbot will witness what will hopefully be the full attendance of the LA vampire population. Kat will be within her rights to tell him to leave but she'll let him stay long enough to doubt any evidence he has that vampires exist. The cleaner has been alerted and she will get everybody in place.
A funeral isn't exactly on the list of places I'd like to take Beth on a date. However Beth has questions that only Kat can answer and luckily Kat seems to like Beth. The little I know about Kat, she doesn't warm to people easily.
My phone rings and my heart warms to see its Beth. "Hey, did you get to work on time?" I have no idea how long it takes Beth to get ready in the morning but it's one of many things I want to find out about her.
"Yeah I did. Thank you for making me breakfast. Did you by chance send a freezer to place?" Beth doesn't sound mad, just confused.
"No. But I had thought about it. Looks as though someone beat me to it." I can guess who it was, but how had she found out Beth's address? "Does Josef know your address?"
"Um yes. I wanted to ask him his opinion on something so he met me here. Why? Do you think he sent it?" That's a bit vague. Why would Beth need Josef's opinion?
"No, I think Katelynn sent it and got your address from Josef." What secret are Beth and Josef sharing? "What did you need Josef's opinion on?" I'm not jealous but I get the uncomfortable feeling that it's something to do with me. Dean Foster disappeared about the same time Beth quit Buzzwire. The photos Talbot had of me being hit by a car had to have been taken by Foster and yet he had never tired to blackmail me the way he had with Tierney Taylor. He didn't strike me as someone who would miss a golden opportunity like that.
"I wanted to know why Coraline came back." No, that wasn't it. Coraline had been taken away by her Brother at that stage. And there was no love lost between Beth and Coraline.
"Ok." I'll let it go for now. "So want to go to a funeral with me on Friday?" There's no way to make that sound appealing.
"Sure. If Talbot knows I'm there he might not feel the need to be there. Or at the very least, he won't stay for long. Do you wanna come over and check out my freezer?" My concern over what Beth and Josef are keeping from me is forgotten for now.
"I'll bring dinner." Well, I'll eat before I leave and bring Beth dinner. "What are you in the mood for?"
"Surprise me." God I love it with her voice becomes all breathy.
"See you soon." I text Katelynn to thank her for the bed and the freezer. After placing an order with a restaurant near Beth's apartment, I check the messages on my office voicemail and email before heading out.
I pick up Beth's dinner on the way. I have a couple of cases I need to look into but tonight I want to spend with Beth. Then there's the funeral on Friday. So far I figure the most difficult part of our relationship is going to be Beth sleeping during the night and me during the day. Still I'm hopeful we can make it work.
Out of common courtesy I knock on Beth's door before letting myself in. I wonder if she found anything out from Talbot about the list but I don't want to put her in the position of spying on her Boss for us. The freezer is sitting in the middle of her apartment. "Hey, I brought you dinner. Nice freezer. Are you going to leave it here or do you want me to move it?"
Beth appears from the bedroom. "I'm not sure where to put it yet." She kisses me hello and I'm really tempted to ask her to skip dinner. "Dinner smells great but what about you?"
"I had something before I came over. How was work?" I didn't want Beth to be uncomfortable with me keeping blood in her fridge or drinking it in front of her. I hand over her dinner.
"Talbot will be at the funeral on Friday. I asked him not to because I would be there but he wants to be there himself." Beth looks apologetic. "He's got a list of people and those photographs of you but he's not sure why or what it means. Dean Foster being missing doesn't help."
"Thanks for trying." Dean Foster's absence was unsettling. He was a leach who wouldn't quit until he had sucked his victim dry. And yet I hadn't even known about those photos until Talbot had shown them to Katelynn. Why?
"We should at least send Katelynn flowers to say thank you for the bed and freezer. " Beth dishes her dinner out onto a plate. "Or do you know of something else she'd prefer."
"Katelynn gets hay fever so I doubt there will be many flowers at the funeral. But a plant might work." Actually Katelynn wouldn't want anything but it was sweet of Beth to want to do something to repay Katelynn's kindness.
"I'll organise something tomorrow." Beth takes a bite of dinner. "Oh my God this is delicious." If Beth keeps making noises like that, dinner is going to get cold. "I tried to find out more about what Talbots working on but he said he got a couple of anonymous envelopes and a couple of phone calls. He doesn't know how it's all connected apart from your name being on the list and the photos being of you."
"You didn't have to do that. I appreciate it but I didn't want to put you in that position." The last thing I wanted was for Beth to feel used. "Maybe I should keep clear of him for a while."
"I don't think that's a good idea. At the moment you're the only link. If you start avoiding him he might start thinking there's a reason to look deeper into your background." Beth has a good point.
"Pretty sure he's going to look into my background just for being with you." I lean closer to Beth. "You're a dangerous woman to be around."
"Don't you forget it." Beth grins as she puts her plate in the dishwasher. "So what cases are you working on? Maybe I can help."
"Not tonight. I have a few things to work on tomorrow. I figured tonight we could just spend it together. No work, no unexpected visitors. Just you and me." Perhaps move the freezer into a less conspicuous part of the apartment.
"I like the sound of that." Beth's arms go around me. "Still I have a few questions." I should have seen that coming. Ever since Beth had walked in on me checking Simone's blood type, she had questions. Our argument outside of the frat house had proven that.
"What questions?" I lead her over to the sofa. There's no way I'm having this conversation standing up by a freezer. If Beth and I are going to work, we needed to be able to communicate without anyone's feelings getting hurt.
"When you were in the desert you looked horrified when I offered you my blood and even when I finally got you to agree, you drank from my wrist, not my neck, why?" She looks nervous asking or maybe it's my answer she's nervous about hearing.
"I didn't want to treat you like a freshie. You mean more to me than that." I'm not sure I can explain this well. "You were with Josh and you didn't know we even had a past at the time. It already felt as though I was crossing a line with you that I shouldn't. Feeding from your neck would have been way too intimate."
"That's why you said it wasn't a big deal." Beth cuddles into my side. "There was nothing intimate about drinking from Simone's wrist. I just felt as though there was more going on in that moment."
"I'm sorry. I had no intention of making you feel as though you'd walked in on something. Josef didn't help. I just hate you seeing that side of me." Most of the time, Beth made me forget that monster inside of me. I almost felt human with her.
"It doesn't bother me. I'm not saying it's my favourite side of you, but you shouldn't worry about me seeing that part of you. After all, that part of you saved my life on more than one occasion." This is why I would forget myself around Beth. Because she saw beneath the vampire to the human I used to be.
"Coraline never gave me a choice about becoming a vampire. I never wanted to take your choice regarding any of this life away from you." This conversation was getting too heavy. "So do you think Josef's going to make a play for Katelynn?"
"She's out of his league." Beth giggles. "Don't get me wrong, Josef's like a brother but Katelynn was royalty. Do you know if she has a type?" Now this feels wrong matchmaking with Katelynn and Josef. "Did you have any clue that she was Mary, Queen of Scots?"
That particular royal hadn't occurred to me, but I had always suspected she was royalty. The way she carried herself and spoke to others with such grace. "I've always thought she was a royal but she's always been so private that I never asked for details. Ryan thought she walked on air so I didn't want to cause any fiction by asking about her back ground."
"Why did she go to you when Ryan died?" It's a fair enough question and there's no sign of jealousy. "You've said yourself that you didn't know her as well as you knew Ryan."
"Ryan was a good friend. We mainly kept in touch via email over the last few years. He knew what I was and why I had to move before anyone noticed I wasn't aging. He and Katelynn had to keep reinventing themselves and moving as well. I guess I was one of the few constant people in his life." Until now I hadn't thought about it. "She didn't seem to know Josef was in LA."
"So if she had, she might have just as easily gone to see him. How did Ryan cope having a wife who never got any older." Beth was trying to figure out what our future held.
"Maybe you can ask Kat that. All I know is that he loved her. He couldn't believe she chose him and wanted to be with him. I guess I can relate to that." I still can't believe Beth is here with me discussing our future.
"So who do you think sent that list to Talbot? And why with no explanation?" Beth's subtly changing the subject.
"I doubt Emma or Jackson had time to send him the list and it makes no sense to send it without even a hint of what the list means. I'd say it was Dean Foster but that doesn't make any sense considering he's not trying to black mail me and nobody's seen him for a couple of months." That's what the most troubling part about all of this is. The main suspects aren't available.
"Jackson could have passed the list on before he caught up with all of you. It could have been a precaution in case you didn't get Emma out." But who would Jackson have trusted to deliver the list. "It could just be a co-incidence that Dean sent the photos to Talbot as well." Beth had a point.
"So where shall we move that freezer to?" I didn't want to spend the time I have with Beth when we weren't working, talking about work or who was trying to expose us. "You can't leave it in the middle of your living room."
"You want to move my furniture around?" Beth seems amused by this which I'm relieved about. These weren't the usual conversations you had with your boyfriend. "Will it fit behind the bedroom door? There's a plug socket there and it's away from the window."
My Beth. Always thinking of the little details. We have to move some of her bedroom furniture around and then of course test the furniture out in case it needs moving somewhere else. It's not until the early hours of the morning that I worry that Beth will panic at the sight of me in a freezer when she gets up for work. For that reason I'm alert to the sounds of her moving around the bedroom when her alarm goes off.
The temptation to join Beth when I hear the shower start up is strong. Unfortunately I need to spend a certain amount of time in the freezer in case some of my cases require me to be up and about during the day. Or if Beth needs me. She pauses by the freezer on her way out of the apartment to go to work. I don't sense any fear but this must be strange for her.
The first of my cases was easily solved. A runaway who hadn't run far. Another would need more investigation and then there was the mystery of who was sending Talbot information and why? With the only link between the list and the photos being myself, I was eager to find out who was slipping him information.
Beth texted me for Katelynn's address to send a thank you plant to for the freezer and the bed. I miss her already. A freezer at her place and a bed at mine was not going to be enough. I think about asking her to move in with me but it's way too soon. We haven't been dating for long and I didn't want to rush Beth.
It's getting late by the time I've made any progress on my second case. Beth will be sound asleep by now. I think about going over to Beth's and crawl into bed with her, but by the time I get over there it will be almost twilight. It won't give us any time together. I only just make it back to my apartment on time. There's always tomorrow night. I've only spent three nights with Beth but it's already difficult to sleep without her nearby.
By now I should be used to surprises, but waking up to find Beth sitting by the freezer reading a magazine still threw me. "Not that I mind but what are you doing here?" This was a much better way to wake than having Josef banging on the freezer.
"We've been invited to dinner with the Queen." Beth puts the magazine down. "Looks as though Josef's been giving out my number as well."
"He's quite the chatty Kathy these days." I climb out of the freezer and help Beth up from the floor. "Will he be there as well?" I love Josef like a brother and I trust Katelynn but I would prefer that Josef didn't give out so much of my girlfriend's information.
"She didn't say. Should I be worried?" Beth looks incredibly calm for someone who is looking at having dinner with three vampires.
"Probably not. I'm not sure that you really want to watch three vampires eat." Actually, it's not so much how we eat but more what our liquid dinner is.
"I'm pretty sure you all know your table manners and that we won't all be having the same meal." She looks me up and down. "You can't go to dinner with royalty with no clothes on."
"What time do we have to be there?" It's been twenty four hours since I've seen Beth and my table manners are going to be the least of my problems.
"In an hour. Did you need someone to scrub your back?" She turned and headed in the direction of my shower with an extra sway to her hips. "I brought a couple of outfits." Shower and a fashion show.
We're late for dinner. Josef will be joining us and Katelynn is slightly amused by our lateness. "Dinner is almost ready. I had a feeling you might be late."
"Sorry. I couldn't decide what to wear." Beth really shouldn't blush in a room with three vampires. It makes it more obvious that she's lying.
"Mick couldn't help you with that?" Yeah, we're not going to get anything passed Kat. "By the way, I asked around Dean Foster's not going to be troubling anyone."
"What did you find out?" And why do Beth and Josef look so uncomfortable. "Is he linked to the list as well?"
"Not that I can tell. At the moment it is just a co-incidence. A couple of rouge vampires said they were paid to dispose of Foster. They didn't ask any questions. Apparently it was a lot of money." Katelynn's face doesn't give anything away. Beth and Josef on the other hand are looking very guilty.
"Well that explains why he never tried to black mail me." I turned to Beth. It suddenly becomes clear. "When did he try to black mail you with those photos?" Although I have a sneaking suspicion that I know.
"Just before I quit Buzzwire." Beth almost looks relieved. "He emailed the photos to me. I think Katelynn is right. He didn't know about the list. Photos were his bread and butter."
"You didn't quit Buzzwire because of the photos, did you?" I'm pretty sure Josef provided the money to whoever took out Dean Foster. Although I'm sure Beth is safer working for Talbot that she was doing her own research for Buzzwire.
"No, it just gave me another reason to quit. I took a certain amount of pride in the fact that my stories were researched. Under the new management it would have been print the story, retract it later if it was false. Which it probably would have been."
I pull Beth into my arms and just hold her. She was protecting me. That's why she had gone to Josef. "You should have told me." So many other things made sense, such as Beth asking what would happen if it became public knowledge that I was a vampire.
"Didn't you say dinner was almost ready, Your Highness?" Josef needn't think that I've forgotten his part in all of this. But that would be a conversation I would have when Beth wasn't around.
"We have time. I think these two need a moment." Katelynn walks into the next room. "Josef, your presence is not required nor is it needed." At her command, Josef holds back on the cocky comment he was going to make and follows Katelynn into the next room.
"You asked Josef for help after you found out I would have to leave town if I were exposed." I'm not ready to let her go. Even I had known I would have packed up straight away and left town to protect Beth from being associated with me. As it is I feel bad that Beth was even in the position to feel she had to go to these lengths.
"I didn't want to lose you. Even if I had given Dean a heads up for every story that I covered, he would have just kept expecting more and it could have ended up exposing everyone you know." Even though Beth is mumbling every word into my chest I hear it all. I couldn't love her any more than I do in this moment.
"Do me a favour. If you have any problems like this in the future, let me know and we will work them out together." I couldn't have left town without her. I would have tired, but I know now I would've turned back before I got far. I might have had trouble convincing her to go with me but I wouldn't have left without her.
"Ok. You're not mad?" How could I be mad when she had loved me so much that she had gone to such lengths to protect me.
"I'm not mad. No keeping anything else from me alright. If Talbot finds out something more than we'll figure a way around it. You've seen what a quick thinker Katelynn is. I know she's had longer to practise thinking on her feet but I'm a quick learner." Especially when Beth's safety is involved.
"Could you two hurry up. Beth's dinner's getting cold." Josef's getting inpatient. "Ow!" And Katelynn's patience just ran out.
Beth's giggle reassures me that we're ok. "Let's go and have dinner before Katelynn finds where she stored her swords."
"She really has swords?" Beth must really be starting to feel as though she's Alice and she's fallen down the rabbit hole.
As unbelievable as it sounded, Katelynn had managed to hold on to a few items from her human life. Ryan had managed to track some down for her. "Yeah. She used to have them on display but I haven't seen them in this house. Probably because the one thing she would have wanted to keep from that life, she couldn't."
"What was that? My knowledge of the history of Mary Queen of Scots is rusty." But I bet Beth will be brushing up on it soon.
"Her son." Ryan had mentioned him once but I got the impression that Katelynn didn't like to talk about it and Ryan would never push her.
"No wonder she's so good at handling Josef. She's a Mother." Beth takes my hand and heads in the direction Katelynn and Josef had gone.
Dinner overall was a pleasant affair. Any smart comments from Josef were met with an icy glare from Katelynn. At one point Katelynn reminded Josef that he had invited himself to dinner and nobody was asking him to stay. No further snide remarks were made.
"Dinner was delicious. Did you cook or do you have someone cook for you?" Beth was much better at pleasant dinner conversation that I am.
"I cook. Ryan taught me how and then was my taste tester." Katelynn smiles sadly. "Thank you for giving me an opportunity to cook for someone."
"Have you thought of going back to your original name?" I had kept mine but it was easier for me to claim to be my own Father. Nobody batted an eyelid when a guy had the same name as his Father. It didn't work the same way for a woman.
"No. I haven't been Mary Queen of Scots for a long time. I don't want to be someone who was found guilty of plotting to assassinate someone. Reinventing myself down a branch of the family tree is easier." Katelynn looks over at Beth. I imagine you have a few questions for me."
"I was just wondering how you and Ryan made a relationship work when you're so different." I can see that Beth is choosing her words carefully.
"No secrets, good communication. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." Katelynn is the picture of serene calmness as well.
"You make it sound so easy." Beth is right, but I know from experience that it's not.
"It's not. Ryan's instinct to lie to protect me was strong. My trust issues were difficult to get over as well." Katelynn rubbed her neck. "But he was worth it. Every moment I spent with him was a gift."
Trust issues. So that's why Katelynn was so private. I can only recall actually speaking to Katelynn a handful of times prior to Ryan dying. Ryan and I caught up for a drink or two over the years but Katelynn never joined us. "How did you know you could trust me?"
"Ryan had trusted you. Even when we moved to another state, you and Ryan stayed in touch. Since my husband considered you a friend, I felt safe in doing so as well. My apologies for the timing though." There was no way Katelynn could have known about Beth. I hadn't mentioned her to Ryan.
"Ryan's timing wasn't always great either." I could remember a couple of occasions when he had walked in on me having a snack.
That makes Katelynn smile. "Yes, well I think his bad timing was more calculated than accidental."
"Did Mick ever tell you how he and Beth first met?" Josef is clearly feeling left out. "He was the investigator hired to find Beth when Coraline kidnapped her at age four."
"I understand the Coraline is back with her siblings." Katelynn doesn't appear surprised at this information. "What did she do to deserve that?"
"She took something that didn't belong to her, but I get the impression that there was more to the story than what I got to hear. I wasn't even aware that she had Brothers. " It had been in that moment that I realised that I didn't know that woman I had married at all.
"If it weren't for the fact that both the photos and the list link to you Mick, I would suspect Coraline was behind this. I doubt she would be happy about your relationship with Beth. She never did like to share." Katelynn had given me something to think about.
"I don't think she's in a position to cause any trouble." It seemed that Katelynn had just about as much information as Talbot did. Maybe a little more.
"So you're not bothered that Mick's been keeping tabs on Beth since she was four." Wow, Josef is really desperate for attention tonight.
"Josef, I know about Beth and Sarah Whitley. I have no right to pass judgement so I won't. My concern at this present time is that all of our friends, human and vampire are kept safe." Katelynn had a lot of years addressing her subjects and right now Josef knows his Queen has spoken.
The rest of dinner is a mixture of good times remember and pleasant dinner conversation. I had forgotten what it was like to spend an evening with friends. Beth has work tomorrow. So we say goodnight and head back to my place.