If things go the way I plan, this story has 3-5 chapters left after this one, and I'm wrapping this story up. I've had fun, but I'm definitely ready to move on to the next project. Thanks so much for the reviews. When I first started this, I expected to get one or two per chapter, because of the fairly unpopular pairing. (Although it's so nice to hear when I do get a fellow Mick/Coraline shipper.) I guess I owe JoBe for having as much of a review following as I did.
LA
"Who's Jacqueline?" Mick asked one late morning, as they emerged from the freezer, ice gleaming on their skin. They'd permanently discontinued the freezer/bathtub arrangement, and happily shared the snug confines of Mick's accommodations each morning.
She stiffened in surprise, eyes widening as she glanced over her shoulder. "Where'd you hear that name?"
"You were saying it in your sleep," Mick answered mildly, barely veiled curiosity in his eyes as he reached for his robe. Well, P.I.'s were snoops by nature, she reasoned. "Is this an off-limits topic?"
"Not at all." Really, it wasn't a painful subject, just not a very often visited one. She'd made the right choice, and she'd always been at peace with it. Kidnapping Beth had been madness, since she had zero in the maternal instinct department. Well, she'd never worn desperation or sentimentality well. "She was my daughter."
"Whoa, whoa, back it up." An incredulous light had invaded Mick's eyes. Clearly, not the answer he was expecting. "You had a daughter?"
"Thus established," she retorted blithely. "What, I don't seem the motherly type?"
"Is that a trick question?"
"Would I ask one of those?" she asked, coyly fluttering her eyelashes. That earned a hearty laugh out of Mick.
"Definitely. I like it. Keeps a guy on his toes," he announced, tugging on her hair affectionately.
"A woman's prerogative, but in this case, no tricks." She slipped into her own robe, royal purple, flowing silk. To the untrained eye it was luxuriously modest, but the expensive fabric clung in all the right places.
"No, you don't seem like the motherly type," Mick admitted, but she didn't hear any reproach in his voice. It was just an honest, casual observation. "Obviously you had a daughter anyway." She could tell he was dying to hear the full story.
"I did. She's dead." There was no grief in Coraline's voice. In her opinion, it wasn't called for. Jacqueline had enjoyed a good life, filled with love and music, wealth and travel. Coraline had chosen well in her adoptive parents, they'd given her everything that money could buy, and lavished her with doting attention. Jacqueline's husband had continued the practice of adoring her, and she'd been one of the most fashionable, bejeweled women in London. Vampirism wasn't a possibility for Jacqueline, who was a child of the sunlight in every way. Hence, death was inevitable. She'd died at the ripe age of 72, and Coraline knew her only natural child had died content.
Initially, of course, she'd been saddened. Though she'd never approached Jacqueline, she'd watched from the shadows her entire life, watching for any danger her mortals protectors couldn't handle. She'd watched her grow from an energetic, but well-schooled child to a lovely young woman, to a vivacious wife, to a proud mother, and eventually, into an always graceful, always dignified elderly matriarch. The loss was indirect, but deeply felt. Yet as the decades passed, time blurred the emotion, and her memories of Jacqueline grew dim. Fondly held, but dim. It wasn't until she'd seen Beth out one evening with her mother as a little girl of 3 that the memories had been brought to new life. Over that next year, they'd grown stronger and stronger.
"I'm sorry," Mick told her sincerely.
"I was too," Coraline said honestly with an accepting smile. "But that was a very long time ago, and mortals grow old and die, Mick. It's the way it goes. Jacqueline wouldn't have traded her life for immortality, and that was her own choice. I didn't raise her, you know." She didn't know why she added that. "I was living as a courtesan when I got pregnant."
"I thought your folks were linked to the royal family," Mick pointed out.
"They were. I didn't know at any of that for most of my life. Besides, it was an illegitimate branch, and you'd be surprised how often unofficial royalty becomes tangled in all sorts of naughty shenanigans." She winked as they left the grey room, and she could see Mick was taking her revelation of profession in stride. Well, he had in the 1950's, at the height of his conservative phase. Why wouldn't he now? "Towards the end of my career, I found out I was pregnant."
"Why didn't you keep her? Couldn't you have afforded it?"
"I could have, financially," she admitted, choosing her words carefully. "Honestly? Children weren't compatible with my lifestyle, and I had no experience with anything requiring maternal affection. No, a screaming baby hadn't been in my plans. But, especially then, preventive measures weren't exactly foolproof. I could've gotten rid of the pregnancy early, but thought the little creature deserved some kind of chance. So, I settled for a compromise that could benefit all parties involved."
"A good idea all the way around," Mick commented neutrally. If he was put off by her casual attitude, he didn't show it. Then again, he didn't seem to want to dwell on the topic either, since he changed it pretty quick. "Is Cynthia on board for tomorrow night?"
Apprehension danced up Coraline's spine, her mouth going dry. Tomorrow night, it would all be settled in less than 48 hours. Every instinct inside her was screaming to pack up shop and flee with Mick. They could work towards a cure in secrecy, appeal to her grandsire directly when an alternative version was found. But Mick was right. She'd let her brother push her around too long, and if she didn't stop him, there'd be a night where she'd never be able to. Besides, if she bested Lance, absorbed some of his power, she'd be a step higher on the food chain.
"Yes," she answered absently. "She'd follow me into hell, I told you that."
"I just want everything out on the table," Mick retorted. "Has she got the plan down?"
"Mick, my love, she hasn't survived this long, or gotten her Ph.d Degree in Biochemistry by having a slippery brain. Besides, the plan isn't exactly the stuff that would stump Plato. Lance believes you're luring me to a remote location tomorrow night…a mile or so from his fortress. Just as he's about to unleash his ambush, we retaliate, neither empty-handed nor hopelessly outnumbered."
"You managed to get your brother Alexander and Duncan to join us?"
"But of course," she replied carelessly. Winning them to her side hadn't required much effort. Alexander had always had an itch in his fly for Cynthia, who had taken the trouble of seducing the fool for Coraline's greater good. Coraline reminded herself to give her old friend a medal for that alone; Alexander was no prize in the looks department. As for Duncan, Lance had always given him the crap jobs, stepping on him whenever the opportunity arose, which it did, and often. He'd just been a mutineer waiting to happen.
"Trust me, Lance has no idea. He thinks he's got your every move under a microscope, and he doesn't have a clue." Mick had been keeping in regular touch with Lance, as originally established, and had assured Coraline daily that her brother was in for a real shock.
She snickered. "He always thinks he's ten jumps ahead of everyone else. "Not only is his 'spy' a double agent, but we've got back-up. And of course, there's always Mathew, the lapdog."
"Ouch." Mick winced playfully, quirking his eyebrows. "And what nickname do you have for me?"
"Sex slave, usually," she announced tartly. Since reestablishing the sexual side of their relationship, they'd been diligent in making up for lost time.
"I can live with that." He tugged her close, devouring her mouth, working his magic on her. Of course, Coraline had never been known as passive, so had to return the favor, working to affect him equally, if not more. These kind of contests were always fun.
Much, much later, they lay tangled and sated on the floor. Mick looked lazily content, and Coraline dreamily smug. Their fingers were linked, and Mick raised their joined hands to press a kiss to her knuckles. "Just when I think it can't get better…"
She laughed, rubbing her cheek against his chest. "Oh, baby, we haven't even scratched the surface yet." Her expression turned serious again. "About the plan-"
"Shh," Mick interrupted gently. "You'll make yourself crazy if you keep this up, and I'd rather you go out of your mind the fun way."
"Mick, this isn't any time to go lax."
"We've been over this plan 50 billion times. There's diligent, and then there's paranoid. Your brother feeds off fear, don't give him that shot. Show him your strength; you've got enough to go around."
Verbally, Coraline agreed, but something nagged at her, and she couldn't help but wonder if something had slipped under the radar. The feeling stuck with her.
New York
"What?" Josef snapped at Ryder. "Do I look like I want to see your face? Tell me, do I really?"
"No, sir." Ryder cleared his throat awkwardly. "Miss Turner is missing."
"The girl's a free spirit," Josef replied dismissively. "She hardly has her ass nailed to her bed. You're a vampire, Ryder, try a little patience." Josef sat at his desk, finalizing some last minute arrangements. Everything else Mick and Coraline could settle for him later.
"No, Mr. Kostan. I mean, yes, I agree with you, Mr. Kostan, the girl is a free spirit if I've ever seen one," he added hastily when Josef shot him a cool stare. "What I mean is it's more serious than that. The restaurant she was last seen at found her purse, holding her credit cards, I.D., everything but the kitchen sink. It was found in the ladies room. It had been abandoned. I, er, checked the ladies room personally, and I smelled-"
"Urine, I presume," Josef snapped, but Ryder had gotten his attention.
"Well, yeah, but I smelled what happened to Beth, because her fear was still in the air. She was snatched, sir."
"I see." Who had the girl pissed off now? Just listing the possibilities was an endless task. After all, reporters were not universally loved members of society. And as much he wanted to claim Beth wasn't his problem, she was. She was working for him, and was under his protection by vampire law as he'd put his mark on her.
Not to mention, the thought of someone with their grubby little paws all over her had some stirrings of emotion going off inside him, traces of rage, near as he could figure. Surely not signs of life, he thought ruefully. Wasn't he finished? He certainly wanted to be, but apparently, blondie needed him to stick around a little bit longer. Anyway, what was the difference? Whatever would serve as his afterlife would still be around in a few days.
"Thank you, Ryder," Josef said formally. "It's good for you to remind me why I pay you the upper scale of a six figure salary." He sighed, long and tiredly. "I suppose her cell phone was in the purse?"
"Yep." Ryder was beginning to relax now that he saw his boss wasn't going to feed him his own heart. "What do you want me to find?"
"Get Beth's cell phone records. I want to know everything about whoever she was talking to recently. I want credit card records, too. Bring back the results. Get my best guys on tracking the abductor's scent. I want answers yesterday, Ryder."
"I understand," his lackey was quick to assure him.
"If you understand so fucking well, why are you still standing there, gaping at me like a moron?" Josef barked, recent events, plus this, not wearing too well on his manners.
"No idea, sir," the younger vampire practically yelped, fleeing from the room, no longer relaxed or sure about his safety. Josef just rubbed his forehead, sighing again. Oh, jolly, he mentally mused. The not so dainty damsel was in distress. He tried to pretend it was just an annoyance, that it wasn't worry that was tightening his throat.
He glanced at the picture of Sara on his desk. Such a pretty face. At least he knew that Sara hadn't been trapped all this time, at least he hadn't turned her own body into a prison. Lola, you bitch, he thought with nearly blinding fury. Pity Mick had been the one to give her that silver bath, but hindsight and all that crap.
Still, he shouldn't have trusted Lola as far as he could throw the Empire State building, so in the end, it all came back to him. His fault, his doing. Somehow, Lola got close enough to spike Sara's drink. Why hadn't he smelled it? The question popped into his head for the billionth time. Why? It must have been minute traces, but apparently, it got the job done.
Well, one way or other, he wouldn't be around much longer to wonder about it.
Lance's Fortress
Days had passed, and Lance hadn't made another appearance. Hey, Beth wasn't complaining. Just a little of that guy went a long, nauseating way, and she wished like crazy she never had to see his creepy face again. Still, the waiting for him to make his move was killing her. It was just her and four walls. The room was nice, and for an added bonus there was an adjoining bathroom with a toilet and a shower, but Lance had purposefully left nothing for her to do, not even a magazine to read. She was fed regular, although initially she'd been terrified of being drugged. Eventually, hunger won out, and she had to admit, Lance didn't need drugs. He could do that eerie hypnotizing thing, whatever it was.
That was another thing that terrified Beth. What if he used it…ick, to actually make her want him?! She would have liked to believe there was no force on earth that could pull that off, but Lance apparently had some freaky power thing going on, and who knows what he could do? He seemed to want her willing, but how long would his patience hold out? If he waited for her to want him the old-fashioned way, there wasn't an eternity long enough.
In additions to the nightmarish scenarios floating around in her brain, Beth was swamped with painful nostalgia. She missed everyone in her previous life, her parents, co-workers, Mick and Josef. Hell, if Coraline showed up, she probably would have done a happy dance, that's how bad it was. She might have held a major grudge against the vampiress, but at the moment, she was very much the lesser of two evils. Heck, compared to Lance she wasn't bad, and Beth couldn't stand her! She just longed to see a familiar face that didn't belong to the psycho.
Scowling down at herself, Beth decided that she'd never wear red again, especially not this shade! This really was trashy. Beth always considered herself pretty open-minded, and this was the 21st century, but come on! If she was going to be all but naked, she'd rather it be for Josef.
Another stab of longing hit her, tears blurring her vision. Josef. She hadn't realized how much she'd grown to care about him. Okay, the sex was mind-blowing, but obviously their bond went a little bit deeper, at least on her end. She guessed she should be going to pieces about missing Josh right now, but Josef's face kept filling her brain. As hedonistic as he was, Beth realized he was a source of safety she'd grown to rely on. Did he even know she was missing? If he did, would he be able to get here in time?
Lance had mentioned Coraline would come for her, and she desperately hoped so. Still, she doubted it. Why would Coraline risk her neck after everything? Not only had Beth stabbed her, but she was major competition for Mick's affections. You don't want Mick, but you sure like the idea of him wanting you, Josef had told her once, and he was right. Part of her had felt hostile towards Morgan before she even knew she was Coraline for sure. She'd even wanted her to be Coraline so she'd have a logical reason to hate her, because being the sole receiver of Mick's attentions made her feel special.
Did that make her a bad person? Beth wondered. Since she didn't have much else to do, she might as well reflect, get her thoughts in order. Finally, she came to the conclusion it had made her a little immature, but she was basically a good person. If she ever got out of this, she vowed that she'd set Mick straight, and never lead him on again. With any luck, he'd be understanding, and not bail on their friendship. Josef seemed to think he'd be forgiving.
As for Josef, and the whole Sara mess, she didn't know what she'd do if she got out. Probably what she'd been doing, try to find the girl's reincarnation so Josef would have something to hold on to. She fought off the twinge of jealousy. She'd had enough problems with the green-eyed monster, thanks very much.
Lance interrupted her mental processing, and she scowled at him. Geez, he made her skin crawl. "Don't you have a black hole to jump into?" she snapped. She knew she should be more afraid of him, but all he'd done so far was leer at her, and unless she really pushed it, she figured she wasn't in too much physical danger.
She'd figured wrong. Before she could even register a movement, he slapped her across the face. The sting took her breath away, even though she correctly sensed he'd held back. "I've had enough of your insolence," he growled.
Oh, her big mouth really couldn't help itself. "Well, gee, why didn't you just say so?"
He slapped her again, in a different spot thankfully, but this time the impact sent her sprawling across the bed. For a sickening moment, she wondered if he'd pounce on her prone form, but he didn't. All the same, she curled up, forming a protective little ball.
"Enough. Obviously, I've spoiled you too much." What bug crawled up your ass, she longed to say, but wisely kept it to herself. Then to her horror, he slunk onto the bed next to her, uncurling her body and pinning her. "And I'm through waiting."
Instead of pawing her, which is what she anticipated next, he sank his fangs into her neck. From idle conversations with Josef, she knew a vampire could numb the pain, even make it pleasurable, but Lance wasn't feeling generous. He let her feel every ounce of pain he could. Past pride, Beth howled in outrage, which just made him rougher. She kicked and fought violently, but it didn't faze him. She could feel herself getting weaker and weaker, until she couldn't even lift her hand.
Then he was shoving his wrist on her mouth, forcing her mouth open with the other. Instinctively, she swallowed the foul tasting fluid coursing down her throat, just wanting it to be over.