Moonlight, The Next Chapter: Darkness
Chapter 23
The Gambler
Intro song: Searchin', Lynyrd Skynyrd
Logan Griffen yawned as he downed his first glass of blood for the evening. A few minutes earlier, he'd climbed out of his freezer and into a clean set of sweats, Now he was bracing for a night of work.
Ever since Josef Kostan had made the observation in the Temecula freezer room that vampires slept without clothing, he'd been trying to go commando when he was in his freezer - but he didn't like it. "Maybe I'm not much of a vampire," he muttered, echoing an unkind comment the billionaire had made about him. Still, he was trying - just like he was trying to find any possible links or uncover any information that would help them in their quest to figure out what was threatening vampires.
So far, neither effort was being appreciated.
And then there was Mick's private assignment. Logan shifted uneasily in his battered recliner as he thought about the conversation the two had had earlier that week.
"I need your help with something, Logan - and it has to stay private. No one can know. Not Ryder, not Josef - and certainly, not Beth. Can you do that?"
Griffen had been hurt at the question. "Mick, you've always been able to count on me, you know that. I keep your secrets."
His tone softening, the P.I. had apologized. "I'm sorry – I know you do, Logan. It's just that you're spending a lot of time working with Ryder on stuff for Josef. It makes it harder for you to keep things to yourself. I do trust you."
He'd gone on to explain to the vampire geek that he had been trying to pinpoint the location of the additional supply of the Cure that Coraline had confessed that she had hidden away before she was kidnapped by her brother, Lance.
"It's been worse than searching for a needle in a haystack," he'd admitted. "I've torn apart all the places I could find that she visited and… nothing."
"Uhm, aren't you supposed to be lying low? Not too sure Josef or Beth would be very happy to hear that you are roaming around."
St. John had waved off his concern, jumping up to pace the small basement. "I was careful. No one saw me - and you aren't going to tell on me." He'd stopped to glare at Logan - it had not been a question.
"Of course I won't." If the man was crazy enough to take on Josef Kostan - or even worse, Beth Turner - Logan had no intention of getting in the middle of it. However, helping his friend had not been up for debate. Mick had thrown a lot of work his way, including his latest gig working for Kostan. More importantly, he'd had Logan's back on any number of occasions. "So, where do I start?"
The question had stopped Mick St. John in his tracks. He'd clearly been hoping that the geek would have suggestions for him. Logan still remembered the bleak look in his eyes as he confessed, "I have no idea." Then he'd resumed his pacing. Griffen wasn't sure he'd ever seen his friend so restless and agitated.
The two had hashed over the problem for over an hour, finally coming up with a workable idea. Logan would go over Coraline's cell phone calls and try to pinpoint her location at each call as closely as possible to see if there might be additional targets to search.
It was a long-shot, but it was also the only thing either had been able come up with.
Since then, Logan had fed the P.I. locations as he was able to identify them, watching his friend become more and more frustrated as he snuck out to search each spot, coming back empty-handed every time. Yesterday, the curly-haired vampire had finally asked the question that had been weighing on him.
"What would you do if you found this stuff?"
St. John had looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "I'd use it, Logan! I want to be human again. I want to have a normal life with Beth."
"But it's just a temporary cure, isn't it?" Logan voiced the concerns he'd been stewing over. "Even if you do find it, what happens when you use it all up? Especially now, if some psychos are after all of us, wouldn't it be safer for you to be a vamp? If you'd been human when you were shot, you'd be dea-."
"I'll work all that out! Damn, you sound like Josef now!" Mick had snapped, then sighed, exasperated. "Look, if I have a supply of it, I can get someone to figure out the formulation, make more."
Griffen had furrowed his brow in confusion. "But- but wasn't that what Coraline was trying to do with her lab set-up and scientist buddy? I mean, if she wasn't able to-"
"Enough!" Mick had growled, his eyes glowing ferociously. "Just keep feeding me those locations." In the blink of an eye, he was out the door.
Griffen looked at the clock on his computer screen and clambered to his feet with a sigh. Time for another night of fun and games at Josef Kostan's. Thinking of his friend again, he shook his head. Mick was obsessed with becoming human again for Beth. What did he think he was going to accomplish? Becoming human again was a fool's errand - and even if he were able to locate the Cure and transform himself again, it was just likely to get him killed. But he'd been unable to dissuade him from searching…
"If that's what love does to you, no thank you," he muttered darkly, heading up the stairs. As he shoved open the door, he thought about the unlimited supply of excellent blood waiting for him at Kostan's and brightened. Mick may want to be human, but he was quite content with his life as a vamp. Whistling, he headed for his van.
"Jordan, it's so good to see you!" Beth exclaimed, giving the petite young woman a hug when she reached the bar. "Are Alison and Marissa here yet?"
"Uh-huh," Jordan Sharp responded, nodding over her shoulder toward the patio door. "You know Marissa. Any chance she has to guy-watch and work on her tan at the same time is a win for her. Get a drink and come on out!"
The tiny, dark-haired woman grabbed the three drinks on the counter in an effortless manner that Beth envied and headed for the door. Shaking her head, she turned to the bartender and ordered. Paying for her drink, she began sipping it to fortify herself as she headed for the outside table, the sounds of laughter directing her to her friends.
They had shifted their get-together from Saturday afternoon lunch to Friday night drinks in order to include Jordan, whom Beth hadn't seen since Mick had been in New York. A lifetime ago...
"Beth!" Her arms wrapped around her stomach, a laughing Alison gasped out, "Sit down and help me!"
"Help you do what?" the young woman asked curiously, taking the empty seat next to her pregnant friend and plunking her drink down in the middle of her plate.
"Oh yum, what is that?" Alison eyed the drink enviously.
"A chocolate pretzel martini. And, yes, it's as yummy as it sounds - I decided to treat myself. I'm sorry, Alison," Beth added sympathetically. "Abstinence must suck sometimes."
"Sometimes!?"
The four women laughed as Beth hugged her friend and put her hand on her belly. "Hey, look at your sweet little bump!"
"Daria calls it my papoose," Alison admitted shyly.
"Well, it's adorable! So, what am I helping you with?"
"She's getting killed by us!" Jordan announced happily.
"Killed at what?!" At that moment, Beth's eyes lit on the tray in the center of the spacious table. "What-"
"I found an erotic magnetic poetry kit!" Marissa's eyes glowed with amusement as she gestured at the words arrayed on the tray. "And your new partner there totally sucks at creating smutty lines!"
"I do not!" Alison protested. "I just have 'pregnancy brain'. Everyone knows you can't think straight when you're pregnant.
"Really? Is that actually a thing?" Beth was intrigued.
"It's called 'momnesia'," Jordan interjected gleefully. "My older sister is the world's most organized person but she locked her keys in her car five different times when she was pregnant. I thought my brother-in-law was going to strangle her."
"Well, how would that impact Alison being able to create smutty poetry?" Beth looked around the table, puzzled.
Marissa burst out laughing. "Beth, quit being so literal! My working theory is that 'pregnancy brain' - or 'momnesia' to you, Jordan," she amended, with a nod toward the young woman, "is caused by lack of oxygen. It's all going to the baby now! So anything that does that is going to impact all cognitive functioning - including coming up with smut poetry."
"I just needed a partner," Alison grumbled. "I'm gonna kick your butts now that I have Beth."
Her mind moving in its usual logical fashion, Beth asked, "Who decides who wins?"
"Oh, trust me," Marissa replied archly. "It'll be obvious." With a snicker, she dug her elbow into Jordan's ribs and nodded toward the table.
Beth followed her motion and fixed her gaze on the words lining the metal tray. She raised her eyes to her friends, confusion evident on her face. "Happy cat shudder? What the hell is that?!"
Marissa and Jordan began howling with laughter as Alison glared at them. "That," the scientist answered haughtily, "is the line I came up with for orgasm and I'm quite proud of it, thank you."
Jordan choked back her laughter to demand, "Now read ours!"
Beth looked back down and recited, "You scream in wet ecstasy..."
"Tada!" Marissa almost shouted. "And we had the same number of words to work with. Do you really think that required a judge?" She went off into peals of laughter again which Beth found impossible to resist.
"I'm sorry, Ali," she gasped, wiping tears from her cheeks. "But I'm afraid they're right."
"Screw. You. All." the pregnant woman pronounced deliberately. "I'm handicapped! Besides pregnancy brain, I don't get any alcohol to help me!"
"Okay, okay, we'll try it again with Beth to help you," Jordan announced cheerfully, her dark eyes sparkling with glee. "We're still gonna kick your butts - and we won't need a judge to decide."
"You're on!" Beth's competitive juices were flowing now and she took a gulp of her martini, then leaned over to whisper in Alison's ear. "I've been having amazing sex with Mick. They don't stand a chance."
Her partner snickered and glared across the table. "You guys are gonna be in trouble now!"
There were giggles and groans around the table as words were drawn from the pile on the red napkin laid out on the tabletop. The two 'teams' huddled together to confer and come up with their selections.
"Time!" Marissa finally called.
"No problem," Beth said smugly, leaning back in her chair, arms folded as she stared at her competition. "You go first."
Marissa and Jordan took the tray and arranged their magnetic strips on its metal surface.
"Here you go, the winning entry," Jordan chortled, setting the tray back in the center of the table.
Beth leaned in to read the lines. "Mad ecstasy. Joy explodes. Linger and devour." She raised one eyebrow as she looked from Jordan to Marissa. "What does it mean?!"
"What does it mean?" Marissa echoed testily. "It means it's hot, that's what it means! I suppose you can do better?"
"Uhm-hmm," Beth hummed as she arranged the words on the tray in front of her. With a final flourish, she gestured toward the finished product. "Read it and weep."
Jordan cleared her throat and read Beth and Alison's submission in her sexiest voice. "Bite my nipple. Spread my legs and plunge wildly. You are a god."
There was silence for a second, broken by Marissa's murmured "Oh my," and then Jordan began clapping. "Ladies, we have a winner!" She fanned herself with her napkin. "Okay, I need a drink and a cigarette..."
There was laughter around the table as Beth rose to take a bow. "And Alison contributed 'you are a god', so it wasn't all me."
"Well of course! I protest though," Marissa said, laughing. "Beth has an unfair advantage with inspiration like the man-god."
"You use what you've got," Alison replied smugly, crossing her arms over her belly and glancing slyly at her partner out of the corner of her eye.
"Well, what Beth's got, most women would die for. I'll never understand how she leaves his bed to come hang out with us." Marissa reached across the table to grab her friend's hand. "But I, for one, am happy you do."
You have no idea. Blinking back sudden tears, Beth squeezed Marissa's hand in return.
The four women set the game aside and opened their menus, chatting about everything and nothing as they sipped their drinks and ordered their food.
Beth ordered, then sat back with a happy sigh. These get-togethers had become even more important to all of them as they realized that their opportunities would diminish significantly once Alison had the baby. They were a lifeline to her since she'd begun her romantic relationship with Mick St. John - an oasis of normalcy in an otherwise increasingly crazy life. With a wistful sideways glance at Alison's baby bump, she picked her drink up again.
Mick groaned and dropped his chin onto his chest as the eight ball missed the cup by a hair. How can I still suck at pool when I'm a fucking vampire?! Straightening, he stood the cue against the side of the pool table and reached into his pocket, coming up with a handful of bills. Avoiding Josef's smug gaze, he counted out five hundred dollars and laid the pile down on the edge of the table.
"Why thank you," Kostan grinned at his friend as he picked up the money and tucked it into his hip pocket. "How about another drink to ease your pain?"
Mick glowered. "Given the way you gloat, I'm not sure there's enough alcohol in the world."
"Pessimist."
"Realist is more like it."
"Well if you're such a realist..."
"Yes?" Mick braced himself for whatever Josef was planning to throw at him. He had been drinking and playing pool with his best friend for two hours and Kostan had been teasing him during most of it. He downed the rest of his drink and set the empty glass on the edge of the custom-made mahogany pool table. Its felt top was blood red instead of the traditional green.
The billionaire turned suddenly serious. "What is it you've got Griffen working on for you?"
Mick stiffened. "What do you mean?" he asked evasively, picking his glass back up and carrying it over to the bar area for another refill. He was stalling and he knew Josef would see right through him. Damn it, Logan!
Josef sighed theatrically. "Do we really have to play this game? You suck at it almost as much as you suck at pool. You've got Logan tracking Coraline's phone calls from before she left with Lance. What for?"
"Left? Is that what you call it? I'd call it kidnapping."
"As I recall, you told me she went of her own free will."
"To save me," Mick insisted irritably.
"Oh, god. Here we go. Mick the Martyr." Josef tossed his pool cue down on the table and reached for his drink, perched precariously on the edge. "Is that was this is about? Are you trying to save that witch, Coraline?!"
"Josef, I-"
"Mick, you have to let that heinous creature go. She's been nothing but trouble for you, made your life a living hell. She turned you without your permission, for god's sake! Why in the world would you waste your time - and risk your life - to help her?! I don't get you sometimes." Kostan turned away, shaking his head as he downed the scotch in his glass.
"I don't-" Mick stopped. The last thing on his mind was rescuing Coraline, but better that Josef think that's what he was doing. If he knew the truth - that his friend was chasing the elusive Cure - Kostan would likely come unglued. With an inward groan, he went along. "You're right, Josef. I just felt responsible for her having to leave with Lance. She was frightened." That much was true.
Mick still remembered the look of resignation - and abject terror - on his ex-wife's face when her brother, Lance, an old, powerful vampire, had staked her and then taken off with her. She'd gone without putting up a fight in exchange for Mick's life being spared. He'd been human again, courtesy of the Cure she had shared with him; it would have been easy for her brother to kill him.
It had been one of the few kind acts Coraline had ever done for him.
No, he wasn't interested in rescuing her. Whatever trouble she was in with her brother was of her own making. He just wanted to be human again. For Beth. He was shaken from his reverie by Josef's stern voice.
"Let it go, Mick. Let her go. Don't do anything to fuck things up with Beth. Seriously." Kostan reached out to seize Mick's shoulders and gave him a small shake. "She's far and away the best thing that's ever happened to you - although I'll deny saying it. Do. Not. Fuck. It. Up."
He released his friend and a grin spread across his face. "Oh, and don't let Logan work on anything on my computers that you don't want me to know about. Automatic scans of activity. Every day. And I get the report..." With a snicker, the billionaire moved off to replenish his drink.
Shit! Well, at least Logan hadn't blabbed. He had been thinking he might have to have a harsh conversation with his friend. He decided to change the conversation. Josef was way too sharp for his comfort. He didn't trust that he wouldn't be able to put two and two together and come up with the proverbial four… Change the conversation.
"So…we've never talked about it since Coraline disappeared. Why do you think Lance was so pissed off at her? I mean, you said he almost never leaves Europe so he had to have had a compelling reason."
"I'd say her spreading around the joy of humanity to vampires would be a pretty good reason, don't you?" Kostan responded drily.
"Would it? I mean, what does Lance care if some vamps choose to be humans again?"
"Those old European vamps are pretty paranoid. I would guess they'd worry that these newly-returned humans would know all our secrets. Our identities, our needs, our habits, our weaknesses… What if someone got hold of them and threatened their cute little newly-human life if they didn't divulge these secrets?"
"Well freshies know a lot about us too and that doesn't stop vampires from having them." Mick protested.
"They certainly don't know everything. In fact, they don't know that much when you get down to it, other than that we need blood & freezers to live – and we don't like sunlight. Big deal. Hell, you can get that from a movie." Josef shrugged. "But imagine what someone knows who has lived as a vampire, how many of us could be identified and outed. You and I have the resources to deal with it – relocate, get new identities, whatever we need. Not all vamps can easily do that."
"Easily? I wouldn't call what you just described, easy," Mick growled.
"It's not. It never is. I've had to do it before and I can do it again – and I have a lot more public profile than you do. Are you afraid your girlfriend wouldn't want to come with you?"
Mick sighed heavily. "No." Maybe. "Let's hope it never comes to that."
"I'll drink to that. And to your girlfriend. Are you sure we shouldn't go give her and her friends a ride home?"
"Josef…!"
"Just wondering." With a grin, Kostan grabbed his pool cue. "One more for the road? I could use some more walking around money."
St. John hated losing – especially to Josef. But… at least it'll get his mind off Coraline – and the Cure... No matter what the risk, he was willing to gamble with his life for a chance at real happiness with Beth. "Gimme some more of that bourbon and you're on. Double or nothing?"
End song: The Gambler, Kenny Rogers