Blood Moon (Skye Morrison Vampire Series, #5.5) (7 page)

“Maybe,” she answered, giving me a small, secret smile as she turned and headed for the hall.  “Goodnight, Dean.”

Holy shit!
  I smiled triumphantly as I interlocked my fingers behind my head and rested my neck against the back of the couch. 
Hell yeah.
  “See you in the morning, toots.”

As soon as her bedroom door shut, I dug my cell phone out of my back pocket and dialed Primo.

“’Sup, boss?” he answered on the first ring.

“Lyric paid Dan Kennedy a visit two days ago,” I growled lowly, being mindful of Nikki’s hearing.  “I want you and a crew over at Drop Kick’s pronto.  Track that motherfucker down and bring him to me.”

Primo’s answering howl was all the confirmation I needed.

Nikki

I can’t believe I kissed him. What’s wrong with me?  Am I crazy?  Is it too soon?  What will be the repercussions?  Am I ready to deal with the possibility of having real feelings for another man?  Will I ever be able to have a normal relationship again?

I hadn’t been able to get our time on the couch last night out of my head.  Sitting there with Dean, snuggling, had felt like the most natural thing in the world to me.  His touch was calming, soothing, and the best medicine for the tough day I’d had.  Plus, he was the only person on Earth now who I felt completely safe with.  I was mildly worried at first that I’d overstepped my boundaries, but he hadn’t seemed to mind; in fact, he put his arm around me as soon as I leaned into him. 

To say I was surprised by my actions would be an understatement.  I had no idea I still had the capacity to feel those kinds of things.  And feel them I did.  I’d meant what I said to him about him being the strength I needed to face each day.  Without Dean, I’d still be a blubbering mess, hiding out in bed all day, afraid of the smallest things.  He made me get up and interact with him; he made me talk…even when it was about nothing.  That man pulled me from the deepest, darkest pit of despair and reintroduced me to the light.  God love that man; he took a broken woman and helped her put the pieces back together.  I was still missing a few, but each day was better than the last…thanks to him.  I knew I’d get through this now.

Of course, the girls had been amazing, too.  DeeDee, Holly, and Jojo had come over almost every afternoon and taken me horseback riding with them.  My daily interaction with Sugar helped me to be okay with touch again.  Loving on her, such an instinctual and natural thing for me, permitted me to touch and eventually be touched.  She was the most amazing animal I’d ever met and I was so thankful for the time we spent together.

Ugh.  That kiss!  I kissed him on the cheek, not a big deal, right?  Friends kiss each other on the cheek; it happens all the time. 

“Yes, it does, but not when you want to kiss him on the mouth,” I said aloud, unconsciously.

“Kiss who on the mouth?” Fiona asked nosily as she served a beer to the customer across from me.  “Lyric?”

I visibly shuddered at the sound of his name and dropped the glass pitcher I was filling at the beer tap.  The explosion of glass was loud as it hit the hard, polished concrete floor.

“Whoa, yo!” Fiona screeched angrily as she jumped back, trying to avoid the liquid and shrapnel.  “What the hell?”  She had been less than friendly with me since returning to work yesterday.  We hadn’t been the best of friends to begin with, but she’d never been this cold toward me.  I didn’t fully understand the change in her, but I didn’t dwell on it.  I had much bigger things on my mind at the moment.

Turning to her, I swallowed with difficulty and tried to calm the sudden fear coursing through me.  Just the mere mention of my ex’s name sent my fight or flight instincts into overdrive.  Breathing hard, I knew I was seconds away from a full-blown panic attack, which confused me because I was able to discuss Lyric with Dean the night before.

“Jesus!  Are you okay?” Dan asked worriedly as he came out of the stockroom behind the bar, abandoning his inventory check.  “What happened?”  His hands came up and gripped my shoulders firmly as he looked me over in concern.

Jerking out of his hold, I took a step back as my arms encircled my torso.  “I’m fine.  I’m fine.  The pitcher just slipped.”

Eyeing me with renewed concern, Dan held his arms out to his sides and lowered his head, trying to catch my downward gaze.  “Nikki, you’re not fine,” he whispered gently.

My eyes flew up to meet his, pure panic racing through my veins. 
He sees right through me.  He knows.  How does he know?

“You’re getting blood all over the floor,” Fiona whined as she threw a clean bar towel my way.  Catching it in the chest, I glanced at it uncomprehendingly for a few heartbeats.

“Your leg, doll,” Dan said gently as he pointed to the aforementioned. 

Finally, coming out of my own head and realizing the situation, I gazed down to see a long red gash running diagonally down my shin.  “Oh, shit.”  I hadn’t even felt it.

“Come on,” my boss whispered softly as he put his hand on my shoulder and urged me toward the side. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Well, who’s going to tend to this mess?”  Fiona asked, indignantly.

Pausing, Dan slowly turned around to face her.  “You are, Fi, and you’re not going to say another fucking word about it.”  His tone dared her to say something else, and wisely, she didn’t.  I’d known Dan for seven years and he was never one for anger.  His statement to her had been surprising to me.

“I-I can clean it up,” I said, moving to go back.  I didn’t want to be the cause of their argument; I knew they were dating.

“No,” Dan shook his head, turning me back around and pushing me out from behind the back of the bar and through the Employees Only door.  “She can handle it.  We need to get a look at that cut.”

I allowed him to steer me into his office and sat down on the leather couch while he got out the first aid kit.  After pulling his office chair over and sitting down, he pulled my bare leg onto his lap and started opening packages of alcohol swabs.

Wincing, I hissed as the liquid came into contact with my cut.  “Fuck that hurts.”

“I bet,” he answered sympathetically.  “What happened out there?”

I froze at his question and searched my mind for a plausible explanation.  Discussing my reaction to my ex’s name would only open the door for more questions.  I couldn’t possibly tell Dan the truth, so I lied through my teeth.  “It slipped.  My hands were a little wet and the handle slipped.”

Meeting my eyes, Dan studied me with concern.  Sadly, I knew Dan well enough to know that he didn’t fully accept my story.  “Are you sure that’s what happened?”

“What?  You don’t believe me?” I asked with a hopefully convincing lighthearted chuckle.

Dan’s brow furrowed as he turned his attention back to my leg.  I accepted my black high heel from him and threw myself into cleaning off the blood with the bar towel.  After my leg was fully cleaned, Dan looked back up at me.

“The cut isn’t too deep, so you won’t need stitches.”

“Good,” I sighed in relief, giving him a small smile.

“What the fuck happened to you, Nikki?” he asked as he gazed intently at me.

I was silent a moment, too shocked to answer. I hadn’t expected Dan to question me about anything.  I thought I’d been careful when I returned to work yesterday; I tried to act as normal as possible.  And, I thought I’d done a pretty good job.

“What do you mean, boss?”

Dan’s hand moved fast as he reached over and pushed my miniskirt up less than an inch.  My eyes flashed down to my inner thighs and I saw what he’d obviously seen, the yellow and green remnants of bruises.

Gasping loudly at his unexpected and unwelcomed touch, I threw myself further back away from him as my palms thrust out protectively in front of me, keeping him at a distance.  Flashes of all the unwelcomed touches that had been forced upon me a few weeks ago came flooding back with a vengeance.  “Don’t fucking touch me.”   Cursing softly, I jerked my skirt down, took my leg back, and started slipping on my shoe.  I didn’t need this right now, and definitely couldn’t handle it.  “I need to get ba—”

“No,” he said, gently putting his hand on my wrist, “you need to talk to me, Nik.  What the hell was that?  You’ve never reacted to me that way.  It’s not normal.  You haven’t been the same since you came back from your aunt’s house.  I wasn’t going to say anything. I thought you were just dealing with something and needed some time, but I can’t overlook the bruises I just saw.  Something happened and you need to tell me.  If someone hurt you—”

Something my Krav Maga teacher used to say flashed through my mind.
“The best defense is a good offense.  Attack first.”
  I decided it applied to this situation, so I took his advice.  I didn’t need Dan prying, so hopefully I could scare him off with “old Nikki” attitude. “If someone hurt me, what?” I asked angrily, my eyes flying to his as I crossed my arms and stood up.  “What are you going to do, Dan?  Ride to my rescue?  Call in the Calvary?  Please.  We both know you’re not the type to get your hands dirty.” 

Hurt raced across his features, but I kept going.  “If I want you to know something, I’ll fucking tell you.  Otherwise, keep your nose…and your hands…out of my business!”

“Nik—”

“No,” I cut him off, putting a hand up in front of me.  “You have no right, Dan.”

“I’m worried about you!” he shouted at me, standing up as well, anger evident in his eyes.  “For fuck’s sake, Nikki!  You’re not acting like yourself.  I know you, dammit, and I know something is wrong.  Why won’t you just talk to me?  I don’t need every detail, but I need to know you’re okay.  You’re my oldest employee.  Aside from what you think of me, I’ve always been a friend to you and I always will.”

His words gave me serious pause.  Dan was only being a good friend and he didn’t deserve the way I was treating him.  His touch had made me uncomfortable, but I knew deep down he had no malintent.  The fight left my body and I sighed as I slid back down onto the sofa.  We were quiet for a while and after a few minutes, Dan lifted my leg back up and finished treating it.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered finally, meaning it fully.  “You’re right; you’ve always been a good friend.  I shouldn’t have said those things to you.”

“You’re a bitch,” he said with a small smile, shrugging one shoulder.  “But it’s one of the qualities I like best about you.”

“Thanks,” I scoffed and smiled back.  Sighing, I gave him the only answer I could.  It wasn’t the whole truth, but it would have to do.  It was admitting far more than I wanted to.  “I was with Lyric…things got rough…bad stuff happened and I don’t want to ever see him again.”

“Lyric?” he asked, completely surprised.

If only you knew
, I thought bitterly.
He’s not the choir boy we all thought he was
.  “Yes,” I nodded.  “I went to my aunt’s house in Maine and you know the rest.”

“Shit,” Dan sighed, his face paling somewhat as what I’d hinted around to finally sank in.  “My God.  Have you called the police?”

“No, and I’m not going to.  It’s over and I really don’t want to talk about it further.”  His sad eyes found mine once more and I saw the deep sympathy there.  I knew without a doubt that Dan cared genuinely for me and I felt doubly bad for the way I’d treated him.  Reaching out for his hand, I grasped it tightly.  “I just need to move on…to forget.  Okay?”  My eyes began to sting and I knew tears were imminent.

“Does Skye know?”

I nodded my head and left it at that.  My current relationship with Skye, or lack thereof, was another story.

Dan nodded and put his free hand over mine.  “I’m so sorry, Nik.  If I’d known, I never would have brought it up; I was just so worried about you.  I could tell something was really wrong…”

“Well, now you know,” I near whispered, blinking back the tears.  “I’d appreciate it if this didn’t leave the room.  I know how close you and Fiona are, but I’d rather not have my business gossiped around behind my back.”

I knew Dan understood when he nodded his head.  Fiona was a blathering busybody and if she were told, the whole staff would be talking about it by week’s end.  “Your secret is safe with me, doll.  I swear.  Besides, I won’t be telling Fiona anything.  We broke up a few days ago.”

Well, that was news to me.  “Was it mutual?”

“Not really,” he sighed.  “I just got tired of her shit.”

“She’s kind of a mean girl,” I admitted.  “She hid it well for a long time, though.”

“Yeah.  That she did.”

Giving him a small, sympathetic smile, I watched as he finished wrapping my leg with gauze. 

“If this gives you any trouble, make sure you see a doctor,” he advised as he put the final piece of tape in place.  “It shouldn’t though.”

“Thanks, Dan,” I sighed, putting my leg back down on the floor.  The bleeding had stopped, thankfully, and there was almost no pain.  I was glad it hadn’t been deep.  A trip to the E.R. was not something I could do at the moment.

Standing, he put away the first aid kit and offered me a hand off the couch.  “Take the rest of the evening off.  You can have tomorrow off, too, if you need.”

“No,” I shook my head as I smoothed down my skirt.  “I need to work.  I need my routine back.”

“Fine, but if you ever need a day, just let me know.  It’s yours.”

Nodding my head, I dug Dean’s keys out of my back pocket.  “I appreciate it, Dan.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Getting into my borrowed vintage Charger, I decided to take a detour before heading home to Dean’s.  I hadn’t been able to return to my townhouse since I first discovered it had burned to the ground.  It almost killed me to see all my hard work go up in flames.  Now that I was by myself, and more stable, I wanted to see it again.

When I pulled onto my street, I was shocked to see a cleanup crew busy clearing the debris from both my home and Skye’s.  Getting out of Dean’s Charger, I headed straight for the first man I saw.