Forever Viper (32 page)

Of course, I can hear everything that is said and I’m not overjoyed at some facts Noah tells his father. At one point I want to go in and wipe Donald’s mind right then and there, but I have to let Noah have his say. Lara clung onto me still in shock over her brothers’ reappearance and starts to shake. I don’t think she believes it is real. So I use my mind control again on her, “Lara, your brother is back and needs you to calm down. Your father will explain everything to you later. Noah loves you very much and will want you to be happy.”

She gazes at me and smiles. A couple of minutes later she sighs and wipes her tears away and I sense her ease. Noah calls me in and I notice Donald looks as white as a ghost. I'm expecting to be verbally abused but he remains silent. Noah looks drained, his emotions are all over the place, and he feels guilty about what I need to do next, but he has exposed us so he knows it has to be done.

“I take it you heard everything?” I nod my head at him and stride over to Donald. I lower myself to my knees and scrunch up my nose at the smell coming from him and just before I catch Donald’s eyes Noah says, “Juan, can you also implant in there that he will accept my relationship with you and Peppa.”

I nod my head and get down to business. “Donald, you will forget the mention of vampires in the conversation you had with Noah and that he is one. You will also apologise to Peppa for causing her unnecessary blame, grief and duress.”

I continue on to tell him he will step down from covering for Noah when asked to without any fuss and will welcome whoever fills his spot. “You will also phone Detective Payne tomorrow morning and explain where Noah has been.”

I then proceed to explain what he has to say to the Detective and tell him he will also believe this himself. I'm just coming to the end of that when Noah blurts out, “Did you feel that?”

I feel something, like fear but because I am concentrating on filling Donald’s mind with facts I push it aside. I continue on, “You will accept Peppa and I as Noah’s lovers.”

Noah suddenly calls out Peppa’s name and I hear her voice in my head at the same time. I panic and he uses his speed to get out of here and to Peppa. I quickly say to Donald, “In five minutes, you will get up from this desk, take Lara home and explain to your wife that Noah is back and why he stayed away.”

With that done, I don’t spare Donald another minute of time. I rush after Noah knowing he is across the road helping Peppa, whose fear hits me like a ton of bricks the closer I get. When I step into the café I’m torn at what to do. The screaming makes me automatically glare at Peppa, who is laid out on the floor, but I soon realize it’s not her who is screaming as my eyes settle on Noah and Jacob.

I freeze on the spot. I’m instantly taken back in time to when the only other person I love killed in this way. So much anger and hate comes in waves from Noah and images came to me of Saul attacking and killing the humans around us, all in the name of love, and it feels like it is happening again. That’s when something inside me broke, I can’t do this anymore. I feel empty and feel as though I have nothing left to give. Cruz is right, I have brought nothing but trouble and pain to everyone since that Friday night.

I don’t know what spurred me into action, is it the moan of distress that comes from Peppa? Or is it the thought that I couldn’t let anyone else die because of me? But I pulled myself out of my black hole and I have to save Noah and Peppa, not only from the situation, but from me.

I rush over to stop Noah from killing Jacob. I end up on the floor with him while he struggles in my arms and I turn to Peppa to make sure she is ok and not hurt. She lets me know she is physically okay and I can at least feel some comfort from that, but that all goes out the fucking window when Noah says Jacob was going to rape her. A part of me wanted to rip his throat out myself, but I can’t let Peppa be a part of his murder. Jacob is riddled with evilness and as he spat out his hate I can tell madness has a firm grip on him as he begged us not to kill him. I guess he wasn’t expecting to come up against vampires and I think that pushed him over the edge. He didn’t care for his life anymore and that made him even more dangerous.

When he told Noah that his mother is the one trying to destroy Viper and it is because of me, that is another nail in the coffin for me. Noah lost it again and tried to attack Jacob, which then caused our attention to be on each other as Noah fought me to break free. We stop when Peppa screams and I swallow in dread as Jacob now literally holds Peppa’s life in his hands. Everything I have ever wanted is now going to be taken from me and even though I want to kill him, I have to play it cool. I'm fucking paralysed with fear, but hold a conversation with Jacob. From the corner of my eye I can see Noah getting closer and know it will be over soon. Peppa is now back in my arms safe while Noah drained Jacob of his life force.

I’m hit again with images of Saul as he drifted from one body to the next feasting away. I'm fearful that Noah’s blood lust is going to take over and I begged him to stop. I ended up whispering in his ear, I didn’t want Peppa to hear, “Please, you’re scaring me Noah. Don’t do this to me. Think of Peppa and what this will do to her. Fight the blood lust, please I can’t fucking lose you this way.”

He finally stopped and I burst out in tears and Noah joins me as he realizes he has killed a man. Somewhere in the bleakness, we find our way back to Peppa and hold onto each other. I’m brought out of my emotional fog by the ringing of my phone, but I’m not ready to let go of Peppa yet. When I finally answer it, I’m sucker punched by the devastation that tonight has caused. My first thought is I needed to get Peppa out of here and then I have to clean up the mess. I have to enlist the help of Cruz and Saul, which didn’t go down well and after I ended the call, everything closed around me. I let the feeling of self-loathing back in and I hadn’t realized I had voiced it until Peppa’s face comes into view and I detect her anger, which shocks me. She calls Jacob the monster; I let my sadness show as she has no idea that I feel like the monster.

Cruz, Saul and Jade show up and everything escalated fast. Right in front of my eyes Cruz loses it with Noah and Peppa fights his corner. I decide it is time Peppa left and after I explain where she is going the night finally catches up with her, and she is soon in the car with Jade. Saul and Cruz are still arguing about how Noah could have exposed the vampire race with his stupidity and Noah blankly walks past me. I watch him share a moment with Peppa. I feel so lost that she no longer needs me and I'm never going to get her forgiveness. That’s when I’m numb and detach myself from everything and switch myself onto autopilot.

Noah storms back into the room and gets in Cruz’s face, “This has nothing to do with vampires and everything to do with saving the woman I love from that.” He points to Jacob. “Tell me Cruz, could you stand by and watch a man rape and kill someone you loved?” Cruz didn’t say anything, he stands there lost for words. “I had no choice Cruz and I would do it all again to save Peppa. So get off your fucking high horse and help us out here.”

Noah then turns to me and I sense his misery, “I need to see my mother. I just need ten minutes to find out why.”

I close my eyes and sigh, “Jacob said it was because she wanted to hurt me, is that not enough?”

Cruz’s angry voice stops Noah’s from answering me, “What is your mother’s involvement in all this?”

I answer him before Noah can, “She is the one who has been sabotaging Viper.”

Cruz stands there and frowns and shakes his head in disbelief.

Saul comes over and grips my shoulder, “Go, we can handle matters until you get back. I will look to see if there are any street cams and wipe any I find and clean and straighten everything up here. While you are there, you might want to use some mind control on them about Jacob.”

I nod and Noah asks, “Have you thought about how we are going to get rid of him?”

I glance over at Jacob’s dead body, “I know a way where there will be no trace left of him, but I need him in smaller bits.”

It has been so long since we had to get rid of a body, but we knew the drill and Cruz said he would take care of it. I stride to the front door of the Café and Noah takes my hand and leads the way to his parents. Once there, the door is opened by Lara, who then jumps on Noah again crying with happiness as we enter. Donald exits a room to see what all the fuss is and then Noah’s mother walks out behind him. She glares at me like I’m an abomination. She storms over her face red with rage, “Get out of my house! I don’t want you near my son! Do you hear me?” She pushes me trying to move me but it doesn’t work.

“Do I not get a hug mother? Aren’t you pleased to see me?” She gapes at him and then back at me, but she steps up to Noah and puts her arms around him.

They quietly talk and I hear her say she is glad he is back, but she will not tolerate me in the house and wants me out now. She stiffens in his arms as he says he knows what she has been up to and she walks away, back into the room she just left.

He starts to follow her then turns to me and says, “Will you be ok out here? I don’t think she will talk if you come in there with me.”

I’m not going to cause conflict between Noah and his mother, even if her attitude towards me does wound me. I tell him I’m fine. When the door shuts behind Noah, I turn my awareness to Donald and Lara who both glare at me. I kill two birds with one stone and use my mind power on them both saying, “Jacob will send you a text message tonight Donald, saying the job isn’t working out for him and he resigns with no notice to start again somewhere else. If you are asked about him by anyone, that will be your answer because that is all you know.”

They both blink a few times and smile at me, Donald offers me a drink but I refuse, saying I need to get back and they both disappear into a room at the back. I lean back on the wall and listen to Noah and his mother talk. She really does hate me and she won’t accept me in any shape or form. Her next words blow my mind and I feel sorry for her in some way. I also worry when Noah tells her that he chooses his relationship over her and again I feel like this is another nail in my coffin.

Noah calls me in and his mother goes ballistic, screaming at me, calling me all the names under the sun. Noah strides over to me and his sorrow shows on his face as tears run down his cheeks. I storm over to his mother who steps away from me in fear. Her eyes find mine and I have her where I want her. I use my mind control on her and tell her the same thing I told Lara and Donald about Jacob.

I also add something else, “You may not like Noah’s choice in partners, but you will retain a relationship with him and forget you disowned him. You will also be polite to Peppa and I when we are in your company.”

Noah leaves the room and I follow. I ask him if he’s ok, but he doesn’t answer and we quietly make our way back to the Café.

When we walk back in there is a black bag where Jacob’s body was lying when we left. I ask Cruz if he has Jacob’s mobile phone and he hands it over and I send Donald the text I told him he would receive. Saul tells me that the street cams have all been wiped and they are now moving on to clean the café since Cruz made a mess with body parts.

My mind started ticking off boxes as I flip through everything that has been dealt with and something occurs to me that could be a problem. “I told Donald to phone Detective Payne in the morning, to explain that Noah is back home safe. Would it make sense to make contact with him and use some mind control so he doesn’t ask any more questions and closes the case?”

Saul answers me, “That makes perfect sense and leave that with me.”

I thank him and turn to Noah who seems to be in a world of his own. I pull him into my arms and kiss his lips, “I need to go and get rid of Jacob’s body. Saul will take you back to Jade’s.”

He only nods at me. I kiss him again and tell him I love him. I then thank Saul and Cruz and ask one more thing of them. I ask one of them to leave a note for Lara saying Peppa won’t be into work. I pick up the black bag and make my way to what will be Jacob’s final resting place.

“Hello Dolly, I haven’t been much of a friend lately so I’m here to make up for that.” I stroke her head and then I silently throw what remains of Jacob in her pen and watch as she enjoys the flesh and bone. It didn’t take long before she is joined by the other pigs and I empty the remaining contents out of the black bag. I look on as they all oink, grunt and barge each other to gorge on the meaty morsels.

I suddenly sink to my knees and break down. I brood about what brought me to this moment and that last piece of hope snaps. I can’t cope with the thought that Peppa and Noah have to go through this because of me and I shout out into the night air, “I’m so fucking sorry.”

I run and I run, I want to leave that part of me that is broken with Dolly and her friends. The part that said I am not worthy of my Entwined. I don’t want to cause them any more suffering and my only thoughts are if I am not here then there will be no pain.

I end up on the same hill I have been to the last few nights and it is there I decide to meet the sun. I know it will be too painful to say goodbye to Noah and Peppa. It even hurt me to put this on my brother, but I need to know they will be looked after.

I text Saul,

I know this is a lot to ask of you, but as my brother, I know you will abide by my wishes. Please take care of Noah and Peppa. They deserve much better and they will get that from each other and you. I love you Saul.

There is so much more I wanted to say, but I have to hold back. I sent the text and it isn’t long before my phone rings. I didn’t answer. It rings again and then I received a text message and I read it,

I will do as you wish, but as your brother, who you say you love, at least respect me enough to tell me where you are so I can say goodbye.

I want to text back and say I'm better off doing this alone. But he is right, we have been through so much and no matter how much it will hurt, I need to say goodbye to him. I text back letting him know where to find me and I wait for him.