Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's) (3 page)

  
Allison was on a guilt trip and was afraid that it would be a one-way ticket.
Would their relationship recover or would it be forever strained?
One thing was
certain;
Jenny would never
let her forget it.
She would probably be jabbed with reminders for the rest of her life.
Allison’s eyes searched for forgiveness, and then she remembered. “Jenny, your grandmother is outside waiting for you. Are you going to postpone or are you going to go
out
with her?”

    They could almost see Jenny
’s
brain
jumping into a lower gear
.
The time spent with her grandmother was always appreciated.
“If we’re stinking rich why do we live here?”

    “Jenny, you’re the one that’s stinking rich as you so eloquently put it.”

    “I’ll bet he’s helping you out financially.”

    “Maybe.”

    “Mother, my whole life has bee
n a stretch.
What a complete lie I have lived not knowing my own father. Does that make any sense or am I babbling?
Is there
a bankbook
around here with my name on it?
Dracula
, would you be so kind as to
read her mind and tell me where it is. For
whatever reason I can’t mind her
.
Otherwise I would have known years ago that my father is you-know-who, the big cheese with teeth.
They say that you are the most powerful creature on the planet.
Let me see your fangs.”

    “No.” Dracula continued to feel uncomfortable.

   
Allison
got up and
stood beside Dracula and they held hands, and Jenny
pointed at them and
told them to stop it.
Jenny stood and made her way to the window and looked out. Hannah w
as busy putting on rouge and Jenny
could sense her excitement from where she was standing
. She really didn’t feel like going out, but because her grandmother was looking forward to the outing she would go, although she knew her mind would be busy with the Dra
cula thing. “I’m gonna go. I don’t want to disappoint her
. Mother, we have some talking to do when I get back.”

    “Believe me I know.”

    Dracula smiled as he looked down at Allison. “Ha, you’re going to get lectured.”

   
Jenny turned and looked up at her father.
“Wait a minute. You’re the one that’s been standing out there and watchi
ng the house, like once a month?
”

    Dracula shrugged. “Maybe.
Is it a crime to want to get a glimpse of my own daughter?
”

   
Jenny wanted to give her father a good kick in the shin but didn’t dare. “I
can’t wrap my brain around it that you’ve been l
ying to me for years. Does
Martin even exit?
Was he ever a real person?
”

    “No,
I thought we’d established that.”

    “So mister Dracula, do I have any brothers or sisters running around out there?”

    Dracula shook his head at her tenacity. “No, I believe you’re the only one.
There were others long ago.
”

   
Jenny nodded.
“Who, Jack the Ripper? Attila the Hun?
Aren’t I special?
”

    “More than you know.” The Master raised his eyebrows for emphasis.

    “
Oh brother.
An
d
you Mother,
how he sent you a card with a single word on it
.
Nice.
What was the word, bullshit?
” Jenny looked up at Dracula and examined him; he looked down at her and smiled as best he could. “
And you, w
here’s my autograph?”

    “What would you like me to sign?”

    “Oh never mind I don’t even know if I want
it anymore! It’s just not the same when Dracula’s your father
!
I bet I could sell your pants on eBay for a fortune.
I suppose my uncle is a werewolf? Nice family tree Mother.
Why don’t you just take a branch from the family tree and beat me with it.
Oh wait, I think you just did.
”
Jenny left t
he house and slammed the door; s
he stuck her head
back
in with another
statement. “If my grades fall off a cliff yo
u’ll know why.
I should tell Nan and you can deal with her stroke
, heart attack and nervous breakdown
. Where the heck is my purse, on my shoulder, of
course?
”
S
he slammed the door
once more
.

    “That went well.”

    A
llison took her hand out of Dracula’s
and gave him the look. “This is
your
fault you know.”

    Dracula looked down at Allison and was enamored by her beauty. He went into her mind and asked her for a kiss but she refused. “How
the hell
is it my fault? You lied to her. I told you to tell her
years ago
but no, you refused and now it’s my fault? Tell me about this Martin guy.”

    Allison slapped him. “
Dracula that
is not the least bit funny.”

    “I’ll tear him to pieces.
”

    “It’s your fault because you didn’t force me to tell her. I’m only a defenseless woman, not a vampire.”

    “I see.”

    “Shut up. She’s never going to forgive me.
I’ll tell her that you wouldn’t let me tell her. Yes, that could work.
”

     “
That certainly wouldn’t work for me. Oh, I’m quite sure that she’ll forgive you in time
, though I can imagine that she’ll play the Dracul
a card for the next few months.
Perhaps years, who the hell knows?
She’s a feisty little thing.
I can’t wait to get to know her better.
”

    “Why don’t you go with her to the next parent and teacher meeting?”

    They embraced as their eyes met. A passionate kiss and then he stopped and stared. “Oh how I’ve missed that
.”

    Allison smiled as she started to melt. “You can stop showing me images of us making out. I’ll never forget so you don’t have to remind me.”

    “Shall we?”

    “Right now?”

     Dracula ran his fingers through her hair. “Better now than when Jenny comes back.
She probably won’t be in a good mood for a few years.
I know you want to.
”

    “
No.
Oh I suppose.”

    Dracula picked up Allison and headed for the bedroom. “Don’t scream too loud.”

    “
After all this time
I make no promises.”

    “And I like it when you scratch my back.”

    “Oh, I’ll scratch you alright.”

    The
Master blurred into the bedroom and the wind slammed the door shut behind them.

CHAPTER TWO

    T
HE NEW YORK SKYLINE
had a thunderstorm that was approaching
with the occasional flash of lightening in the distance, and as Lauren stared at it she hoped that it wasn’t the mood of things yet to come
.
Besides regretting the loss of Michael, she had a peculiar feeling going through her. Usually the feelings were a little clearer but this warning, if that’s wh
at it was, remained murky.
Unsettled and uncomfortable something was disturbing her comfort zone
, but with missing Michael it was a conflict of feelings
.
T
his time she couldn’t tell if the warning was for her or not.
Perhaps something big and nasty was getting ready to go down.
She hoped it didn’t mean that Michael was in serious trouble.

   
The day was fiery and
humid. The skyscrapers
stood
seemingly
in defiance o
f the approaching weather.
A few faces looked out some of those windo
ws with hopelessness
, as if they wanted to leap.
The state of New York City was scarier than it had ever been.
Rush hour t
raffic was heavy and
impatient, with two large
men engaging in fisticuffs i
n the middle of the street,
the battle evenly matched.
One tripped and fell awkwardly, skinning both of his knees.
A wife’s screams for her husband to return
to
his shiny
silver
Mercedes-Benz went unanswered.
He quickly got up
and then they went right back at it.
Many people watched the battle for the entertainment value.
A blond 7-year-old boy in the backseat of a red Toyota Yaris covered his eyes
as it was a little too much
for him
.