Thanks to all who left comments; I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Here's the next! As always, reviews are welcome.
Disclaimer: Moonlight and characters don't belong to me; I'm simply a fan having fun with the characters.
As soon as she felt Charlotte's grip slacken, Beth broke free and rolled away. Less than a second later, Mick descended on Charlotte and the two vampires careened into the bookshelf behind them. Debris exploded from the crushed bottom and fine sprinkles of wood puffed into the air even as books and other knick-knacks rained down around them. Beth watched in horror as the bookshelf began to tilt, unable to support itself any longer.
"Mick, watch out!" She scrambled to her feet and hurried toward her kitchen counter just as the shelf collapsed and sent out a powerful gust of wind.
Mick growled and with a single sweep of his arms, shrugged the wreckage off. He whirled around, making sure to keep one hand around Charlotte's throat, pinning her to the ground. He was completely vamped out—the blue of his eyes almost swallowed his dark pupils and his fangs were fully extended—but when Beth saw his face, she instantly felt reassured. "Beth, get out of here!" It was not a request but a command.
She nodded but had no intention of going anywhere. She was tired of running, tired of asking, "Mick, what happened?" This time, she would stay and wait it out, watch as everything unfolded.
Luckily Mick turned back to Charlotte without waiting to see if she left or not. "We're vampires," he hissed at her, increasing the pressure at her throat ever so slightly. "Not matchmakers, not God. We do not walk into people's lives and push them together as if they were pieces of a puzzle. And we do not go around giving away immortality as if it were a gift! It is not a gift!"
"There are… some… out there… who would… kill… to have… immortality," she gasped out. "But… I don't… give it… to them." Mick relented his hold on her just enough to allow her to speak. A rush of air filled her lungs and she coughed. "I don't give it to them because they have nothing to live for… they would only spend eternity like you, always busy with the career, never leaving time for anything else…"
"It's not up to you to decide! They're complete strangers to you!"
"They weren't actually," she replied smugly.
He stared at her in surprise, almost forgetting to keep her restrained. Then he squeezed her throat. "I. Want. The. Truth."
"That is the truth," she wheezed.
"No, about Shane. What did you mean when you said he was willing to try?"
"After I turned him, he told me he wanted his life back. He wanted his family—his wife, his kid. He was under the impression that he could walk back into their lives as if nothing had changed. As if it didn't matter that he drank blood and they didn't. I told him it would never work. Not unless he turned her. His wife."
"Is he going to do it?" Mick growled, feeling his anger struggling to break free. But he held it down, not wanting to do something that would cause further damage to Beth's apartment. It had only been the awareness that he was in Beth's apartment that had stopped him from staking Charlotte immediately; had they been elsewhere, he would have killed her by now, without remembering to question her about Shane.
"He was, but he didn't have the guts. Backed out of it at the last minute saying he couldn't just decide to subject her to living like this; said it wasn't fair to her. I told him that if she really loved him, it didn't matter. But he didn't take the bait."
"So what, you told him to kidnap his daughter?"
"That was his own stupid idea," she said disgustedly. "I warned him against it, gave him a million reasons why it wouldn't work. I told him that if he did this, I wouldn't help him. But he did it anyway and look at the mess he's in now!"
"What else did he tell you?" Mick demanded.
"Nothing. I haven't talked to him since he took her."
"Have you seen him?"
"No," she answered crossly. "I thought 'haven't talked to him since' implied that."
Mick sighed. He had been sure that she would be able to shed insight on Shane.
"You're going to kill me, aren't you?" she asked, looking at him through narrowed her eyes.
He bared his fangs at her and growled. "I don't owe you anything. Not after what you did, not after the trail you left for us to clean up." He picked up a thick piece of wood from the pile of debris and pushed it into her chest. She screeched as it pierced her heart and rendered her motionless. Blood spurted from the wound, staining the wood and running off her body in thin rivulets.
Behind Mick, Beth gasped. In a flash, he was on his feet and facing her, his face already beginning to look human again. "I thought I told you to leave!"
She was staring at Charlotte's body with wide eyes. "I'm sorry!"
But he could tell that she wasn't. And he found that he couldn't be angry with her even though she had compromised her safety after promising not to. Her stubbornness, her refusal to let go—it was part of what drew him to her, what made it so hard for him to push her away. So he went to her and slipped his hand under her chin, lifting it so he could inspect her face. "Are you okay?"
Beth was surprised at his touch but managed not to show it. After the way they had left things this morning… but that didn't matter now. "Bruised and sore but other than that, yeah, I'm fine. Thank you."
"You have to be more careful, Beth," he chided softly.
"I shouldn't have answered the door so carelessly," she agreed ruefully. "If you hadn't come when you did…"
"You would be a vampire right now."
"Yeah…" She looked into his eyes. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. There are worse things that could happen."
"Beth, no. You don't know what you're saying…"
"She just wanted to be loved, Mick. She just needed to believe in love again. Is that wrong? Isn't that what we all want?"
"But not at the price of this."
"Aren't you tired of being alone?" she asked softly.
"Beth…" He got the feeling that she was asking a bigger question but he didn't dare guess what it could be. "Look, I…" Suddenly, he realized he was still holding her face. Regretfully, he pulled his hand away and dropped it on the counter surface. Almost immediately, he pulled his hand away, feeling a slight tingle on his palm. He glanced down and saw a silver ring. A silver engagement ring. Involuntarily, he stiffened.
Beth tensed when she saw where his gaze had landed. "Mick…" she began, her voice trailing off.
"I should go," he said finally after several moments of silence. He turned and hurried toward where Charlotte lay.
"Mick, wait… this isn't what you think!" Beth called out. "It's complicated…"
He bent down and scooped Charlotte into his arms. He answered without looking at her. "You know what? It's okay. I understand. And besides, it's none of my business."
"Mick, please… we should talk."
But he was gone before she finished and the only sign that he had been there at all was the thump of the door as it closed behind him. She stared at the door knowing he wouldn't come back but almost wishing that he would. Then her attention shifted to the mess in her living room. There were wood splinters everywhere and now that there was no disturbance, the dust was beginning to settle. In fact, a fine layer of dust had already covered the books and other small things that lay among the remains of the bookshelf. Beth knew she should pick it all up… but she was tired of picking up the pieces. Maybe she would just leave it there. Just for one night.