Broken Heart 05 Over My Dead Body (15 page)

“Where is he now?”

“Dead.” I sat up and clutched the blankets to my chest. “I really don’t want to talk about it. My past is my business.”

“Only if the actions wrought three years ago do not return to harm all those you know and love.”

I stared at Dr. Merrick. No one really knew much about the doctor, only that Patrick and Lorcan vouched for her. The Consortium had brought her in to run the newly built hospital. She was the only medical professional on call. It was not easy to find a physician who could treat humans and parakind.

I had the very uncomfortable feeling that she knew more about me than I wanted anyone to know.

“Are you familiar with the stories about the Fates?” she asked.

Talk about a change of subject.

“There were three, I think. Something about spinning the threads of life?”

“Ah, yes. And when it was time for a human to die, one sister would cut the thread with her shears.” She chuckled. “The Greeks. Such wonderful storytellers, but they so often got it wrong.

“Fates are immortals, Simone. We were created by the gods to help keep balance in the world of humans.”

I swallowed the knot in my throat. Fear beat a tattoo in my nonexistent pulse. “You’re one of those?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’m a Fate. And I know what you did to Jacob.”

Horror shot through me, and I clutched the blankets. Well, shoot, what was I gonna do? Duck under the covers and hope she went away? Damn. Dr. Merrick was the last person I’d ever believed would figure out my secrets.

“What are you going to do?” I asked. I couldn’t stop the quiver in my voice.

“Nothing.” She shrugged. “It’s not my job anymore. You see, the Fates weren’t three sisters or witches, although it’s true that we are all females. In the beginning of the world, there were many of us.

“The Germans called us norns. I always liked that term best. We determined the course of a human’s life. And of course we could be bribed with offerings. A reversal of illness, a healthy child born, a lover returned.” She looked at me. “Can it really be called fate if our gifts could be purchased? Give us enough gold, enough blood, enough slaves and we might give you want you asked.”

“Band-Aid prayers,” I whispered. I felt like weeping, but I didn’t know why. I could feel those fictional threads of my life unraveling. Did Dr. Merrick hold the shears that would clip the thread? “What about God?”

I wanted so badly to believe again in the beneficent deity I’d grown up praying to, the one I had loved until He’d taken everything from me, even my own life.

“What is God—the one or the many? Is it not all the same? We are energy. We are joined by the very essence of life in all its form. God is not one thing. The father-mother God is all things.”

“You sound like my parents.”

“Then they were wise.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute, maybe to give me time to gather my thoughts. What could I say to her? She was telling me about herself for a reason. We weren’t exactly friends. We were barely even acquaintances.

“You said you knew about Jacob.”

“I was created as a Fate, and even though it is no longer my purpose on this Earth, the powers are still mine. I see into the hearts of humans, especially when an injustice has been wrought. What you did, Simone, was wrong.”

I had no words for her. I’d justified what I’d done a million times. And honestly, I’d probably do it again, only I wouldn’t hesitate. At least then I would save three lives instead of just two.

“Can you decide not to be a Fate?” I asked. “Flet is a pixie, and he says the rules of magic cannot be changed.”

“The gods realized we were abusing our privileges. What they wrought, they can destroy.”

Not according to Zerina. “You can’t destroy energy.”

“True. Think of it more as a reabsorption. The gods, or as you like, God, creates the all-in-all from the Source. He’s the source and everything we are, everything that lives, is part of the Source. The Fates returned from whence they came. All but a few us. Those who were allowed to stay were directed to find ways to help the creatures we had harmed by our selfishness.”

“You became a doctor?”

“Healing was a specialty of mine. I’ve been a healer ever since the gods decreed that we would no longer control the lives of mankind. Man became in charge of himself. Your decisions create your life. No one else, not God and not the Fates, can be blamed for where you are and what you are doing.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

“The ripple effect. You throw a pebble into the water and it creates ripples. Your action was to throw the pebble—the representation of your choice. That’s all that you can control. But not the ripples—those are the consequences of your choice. And that you cannot control.”

Getting a lecture from a Fate was scary. She was delivering bad news like a teacher trying to teach calculus to an English major.

“Sometimes, what you’ve done in the past is still rippling . . . right into your present.”

“You’re saying that what I did back then is about to catch up with me now?” This terrified me in a way nothing else ever could. I didn’t know how such a thing could occur, unless the authorities finally found me. And even if they did, what could they do? I was a vampire. My heart sank to my toes. Would the Consortium, or, worse, Queen Patsy, judge and punish me instead?

“What will happen is unclear,” said Dr. Merrick. “The future is never written. But I do know that evil is here in Broken Heart. And that whatever has been unfolding these last few days is because of you. Retribution is at hand, dear girl.”

Was she saying I was the indirect cause of the deaths? Or of the disappearance of Darlene and her daughter? Impossible. I didn’t believe her. At least, I didn’t want to believe her. The truth of her words weighed heavily on me.

“I’m giving you this warning, Simone. You cannot escape what you have started, but you may be able to save those you love.”

“And myself?”

Dr. Merrick looked troubled. “I don’t know. What will find you? Revenge . . . or justice?”

After Dr. Merrick finished giving me her doom-and-gloom predication, she said I was okay to go home. I wanted to see Gran and Glory. I wanted to drink some of Gran’s lemonade and have a warm chocolate chip cookie and pretend like everything was okay.

I got dressed in the clean clothes that Gran had apparently brought on her last visit. My cell phone was clipped to my denim overalls.

I was more subdued when Brady returned, but he didn’t call me on it. Instead he tucked me into a wheelchair and rolled me to the front doors of the hospital. I could walk just fine, and I was glad when Brady took my hand and held it all the way to his truck.

As he drove out of the parking lot, I opened my cell phone and called Gran to let her know that we were on the way.

“Oh, honey, I’m so glad!” Her voice held relief. “We were worried.”

“I’m all right now. Let me talk to Glory.” I waited a few seconds, then said, “I’m coming home, baby! I love you.”

She tapped the receiver—her little way of saying, I hear you and miss you, too.

Gran took the phone again. We talked for a bit longer, then hung up.

“What did Dr. Merrick tell you?” asked Brady.

“I told you. I should be okay so long as I just drink your blood.”

There’s something else. Why won’t you tell me? Why won’t you trust me?

“I do trust you.”

Brady glanced at me. “What?”

I turned toward him, my seat belt pulling against my shoulder. “You asked why I didn’t trust you. I do.”

He was silent for a long moment. “I didn’t ask why you won’t trust me, Simone.”

“Yes, you did. I heard you.”

He pulled off the road, parking the truck on the shoulder. The engine rumbled. I was so glad Brady kept the air-conditioning on high. The summer heat was atrocious; the humidity felt thick in my useless lungs. He turned toward me. “I didn’t say it,” he repeated. “I thought it.”

Jesus. He’d thought the question, and I’d heard him. “Maybe it’s the blood. Or the nanobytes working their science mojo.”

“Maybe.” He took my hand and looked deeply into my eyes. “Or it’s an indication that we’re mates.”

It was true that vampire mates shared the ability to read each other’s thoughts. But there was a problem with Brady’s theory.

“You’re human.”

“So what?”

“Vampire mates share a telepathic bond, Brady. It makes more sense that the nanobytes are somehow linking us.” It made me nervous that he’d even suggested the whole we’re-mates idea.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked him. A lot. And I owed him for his kindness and care of me and my family. But I couldn’t commit to the L word, much less the whole let’s-get-married-for-a-hundred-years thing.

“Don’t you think we should try for a second date?” I asked, smiling. I was trying to lighten the mood, but Brady didn’t seem to appreciate the attempt.

“I know what I want, Simone.” He straightened and started driving again.

Neither one of us bothered making small talk. We settled into the uncomfortable silence, which made the rest of the trip oh, so fun. Brady pulled up to the house, then turned off the truck. He unbuckled his seat belt.

“I want you, Simone. I’ll take as much time as you need, but I’m not going anywhere.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I’m not Jacob. I swear on my life I would throw myself into a pit of rusty spikes before I hurt you or Glory.”

“I know.” I unbuckled my seat belt and slid across the space between us. He took my hands and held them tightly. I didn’t know how to reassure him. I wanted him, too. But I was scared of commitment. Of making another really big mistake. That wasn’t fair to Brady and I knew it. Yeah, I knew it, and it didn’t matter.

“You’re still trying to decide if you can confide in me,” he said softly. “There’s nothing, Simone, nothing you could do that would change how I feel about you.” He kissed me gently and pulled back. “Is that it? Are you afraid to tell me what happened with Jacob?”

No, I was afraid to tell him what I had done to Jacob. Brady could say whatever he wanted. In the end, how could he look me in the eyes as I confessed the details of that night, and say that he still lov—I mean, respected me?

“I just need time,” I said. “We have that, right?”

“Yeah.” He smiled and then kissed me again. I melted against him and took all the solace I could from his embrace. God, he made such wicked promises with that mouth.

Finally, we pulled apart. He was panting and dazed, and I was all hot and bothered. Oklahoma summers had nothing on this man. Hoo, boy.

“I need to get back to the Invisi-shield. It’s almost done. It should be operational before the festival begins.”

“That’s good news.” And it was. More protection we’d need if Dr. Merrick was right about the lurking evil. (Why did evil always lurk?)

Brady kissed me good-bye and left. I felt torn up inside, knowing I’d disappointed him. He’d wanted more of a commitment from me. He deserved as much—the whole damned truth, for one thing.

You know what? I’d disappointed myself, too. As I walked up to the porch, I realized that I had to take Dr. Merrick’s warning seriously. Maybe the ripples of past events had caught up with me. Had I really believed I could escape from what had happened?

What could I do? Take Glory and Gran and go somewhere else? Yeah, and leave Brady and the citizens of Broken Heart to their fates. Why should they bear the consequences of what I had set into motion? No, I couldn’t do that. The alternative was to admit to everyone the truth, all of it, and hope we could find a way to deal with whatever was coming for us.

I paused on the porch steps, clutching the railing. I had to get my emotions under control. Acting rashly wouldn’t get me out of trouble. In fact, anger and anguish had been the key ingredients to the biggest fuckup of my whole life.

Maybe working on one of my little projects would clear my head. I kept several in the house, just things to tinker on during my free time. I needed to think this through before deciding what to do next.

I entered the house. Glory sat on the couch, watching television, Flet glowing gold and sparkly on her shoulder. I heard the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song blare.

Glory noticed me. She squealed and scrambled to her feet, running toward me. I picked her up and hugged her tightly.

“I love you so much.”

Glory leaned back and cupped my face. Then she gave me a big, sloppy kiss. I longed for the day my little girl would speak again. I wanted to hear her voice so badly. That anxious-love-ohcrap-whoawow mommy feeling flowed through me. I wanted to laugh and cry. God, she was precious. She deserved to be in a safe and loving environment. If I did nothing else, I would ensure that for my daughter.

I hugged her again, but she was already wiggling out of my arms. She took my hand and led me across the living room. I entered the kitchen, my greeting to Gran dying on my lips.

Opening-a-nudist-colony George sat at the kitchen table with Gran, drinking coffee. To my utter shock, he was holding my grandmother’s hand.

“Simone!” Gran popped up from the table. She swung around and with her usual unerring aim (did she have sonar, or what?), grabbed me into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re all right. When you called and said you were okay, I thanked God.”

I hugged her back, very glad I was still around to do so. Then I let her go and looked at George. Well, maybe I glared. His guileless gaze met mine. He smiled. You don’t fool me, buddy.

“So, what’s been going on since I’ve been unconscious in the hospital?” I asked. Yikes. Did that sound like an accusation?

Gran’s cheeks went red. Oh, my God. What had she been doing? No, wait. I didn’t want to know.

George patted her hand. “Well,” he said, grinning up at me, “the best news is this: I’m courting Elaine.”

“You’re what?” I screeched.

“We’re dating, honey. George’s been here every day, just helping out and . . . well, being real nice.”

I. Just. Bet. I stopped short of demanding more information, too afraid of what they might tell me. What if they kept dating? What if Gran moved into the nudist colony?