The Vampire Next Door (10 page)

Why?

And how the hell had he gotten this into my backyard, anyway? Both gates were chained and padlocked. I looked over at the RV gate, which was visible from where I was standing. It looked secure. I went around the back of the house to look at the smaller side gate. It was locked, too. I couldn’t see anything different about it.

How strange.

I moved back to the scooter and looked it over, my brows knitting as I realized that he had also bolted a new Rubbermaid container onto the back to replace the cracked one. Inside the container was my reusable shopping bag, the crossbow, and Cole’s 9mil.

Warmth unfurled inside me, and I curled a hand to my chest, feeling overwhelmed by the gesture. I had expected the worst from Reeve. I’d expected him to attack me, drink my blood and leave me to die. Instead he had shown more generosity than I’d received even from human survivors.

I unlocked the scooter’s handlebars and pushed it inside, struggling a little bit to lift it over the lip into the house. I left Holloway outside while I parked the scooter in the dining room and removed the contents of the Rubbermaid container.

The shopping bag held at least twice as many cans as I’d left it with. I fished one out from inside and started laughing when I saw that it was Vienna sausages.

“You are one crazy vampire,” I said, and my voice was loud in the stillness of my house.

I had to split the cans into two different loads so that I could carry them down the stairs to the shelves in my makeshift pantry, and smiled when I was finished. In addition to the Vienna sausages, Reeve had brought me various canned vegetables and SPAM.

The SPAM reminded me of the camping trips Cole and I had taken the girls on. There hadn’t been many, as I wasn’t particularly fond of camping, but Cole loved it. He always spent the entire trip cooking. While I would have been satisfied with a peanut butter sandwich, Cole loved playing gourmet camp chef- for breakfast, he’d made SPAM and cheese omelettes with fried potatoes. By the time he’d cleaned up all the dishes and his camp stove, it was time for him to start cooking lunch, and for the entire day, he was always tending to a big pot of chili or strew over the fire.

I felt that familiar ache inside me, and I leaned back against the doorjamb, curling my fingers around the watch in my pocket. When Cole had left for Florida, I’d been wholly disillusioned with him- with us. He’d been a jerk, and I wasn’t in any sort of denial over that, but I still loved him. At moments like this, I still missed him, too.

I’d waited for him for such a long time, but Eddie’s parting words had been a hard reality check for me. If anyone could make it back to the west coast from Florida, it was Cole, but it shouldn’t have taken eight months. As much as I wanted to imagine that he was hiding out somewhere with the girls, safe, but waiting for the right moment to come for me as he had promised, it was time for me to be honest with myself.

Cole was probably not coming back.

A tear slipped down my cheek, and I rolled my eyes and wiped it away. I’d realized this a long time ago, but hadn’t wanted to admit it.

I resolved then that I would find a way to get to Phoenix. I couldn’t look for a car now, but once my knee healed up, I’d start searching. In the meantime, maybe Reeve could give me a hand.

I hoisted myself up the stairs and retrieved a pen from the catch-all drawer in the kitchen. Turning Reeve’s note over, I scribbled my own letter on the back.

Thanks! You’re a lifesaver.

Any chance you could get your hands on some Arizona maps for me?

I thought about adding my name, but decided not to on the unlikely chance that Kellie found it first.

I pinned the paper under a flowerpot on the back patio.

The flowerpot was empty, and had been since we’d bought this house. If you’ve been asking yourself why I haven’t bothered growing my own vegetables instead of eating sodium-laden canned stuff, I might as well tell you- I’ve got a black thumb, or at least whatever is the opposite of a green thumb. I have killed every plant I’ve ever owned, with one exception. Cole once gave me a jade bonsai tree, because I’d always wanted a bonsai tree, but knew I had no business trying to take care of one. The poor jade bonsai promptly lost all its leaves and shriveled up, even though I followed its care instructions to the letter. I finally gave the thing to one of the tellers from work, and she nursed it back to health and kept it in the drive-thru window at the credit union. I know she hadn’t meant anything by it, but every time I saw that stupid bonsai, I was reminded of my total lack of gardening skills, and it made me grumpy.

I brought Holloway back inside and took a shower, gloomy as I shampooed my hair. I was generally not a patient person. The scooter had been an unexpected surprise, and my decision to leave town had cheered me up a little, but now all I had to look forward to was another day of sitting around, watching my TV show when I really wanted to plan for my exodus. Plus, Reeve wouldn’t be back until that night, so I wouldn’t be getting an answer about the maps until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

I remembered buying Arizona maps last year sometime, right before Cole had decided to buy his iPhone. We’d gone on a camping trip to Flagstaff and I’d been paranoid about getting lost. Where had those maps disappeared to? Knowing Cole, he’d either stashed them somewhere or thrown them away. Convenience stores typically had maps, so it wouldn’t be difficult to get some more, but I wouldn’t be able to visit a convenience store for at least a week- depending on how quickly my knee healed.

I stopped suddenly, my hands glopped up with conditioner. The day before, Reeve had said I could stop by anytime. Would he mind if I went over to his house today to talk to him about my plan to leave? He’d said he was a mechanic before he was turned. Maybe he could even help me with my car issue.

No. Definitely not. Even if he agreed to help, telling him was a terrible idea. I barely knew Reeve. He certainly didn’t need to know that I was planning to skip town.

Plus, he’s a vampire, Kennedy. Get your head on straight. He’s a bloodsucker!

“A bloodsucker who brought me Vienna sausages,” I said, startling myself out of my reverie with the sound of my voice. I quickly rinsed out my hair, turned off the water, and carefully stepped out of the tub, trying not to jar my knee.

I left my hair down and dressed in cut-off shorts and a tee shirt. Before I went back downstairs, I checked all the bookshelves in the house, along with the junk drawer in the kitchen. No maps. Cole had probably thrown them away, which meant I’d either have to wait till my knee healed, or ask Reeve for help.

As I descended the basement stairs with Holloway, I reminded myself several times that despite my warm feelings towards him, I’d have to be crazy to think that I could trust Reeve in the long-term sense. Sure, he was being nice to me now, but what happened the next time he got hungry? I didn’t want to end up on his dinner menu.

The elephant in the room, of course, was that I was also very much attracted to him. I knew that had to be at least part of the reason why I was so eager to see him again. This was the same kind of fluttery, twitterpated feeling I’d experienced when I’d first met Cole. The kind of flirtatious adoration that happens in every new relationship.

Except that as a married woman, I should definitely not be feeling that way about anyone- especially not a vampire.

I turned on
Doctor Who
again, and picked a Barbara Cartland novel at random off the bookshelf.

“
The Hell-Cat and the King,”
I read out loud. Ah. I’d already read this one and remembered it specifically for the heroine’s name. Never one for traditional monikers anyway, Cartland had elected to call this book’s protagonist ‘Zenka.’

“It could be worse,” I said to Holloway. “She could be named Pearl.”

It was a mean joke rather than a funny one, and I didn’t laugh at myself, suddenly feeling cruel and immature after my failed attempt at humor.

I started reading.

My mother had been the one to introduce me to Barbara Cartland novels. She’d been an avid reader of all romance, but what she’d appreciated about Cartland- or at least so she said- was that the English author never wrote any graphic sex. I honestly just liked all the silly names and the constant swooning by the heroines, along with Cartland’s preference for using the word “ejaculated” as a substitute for “said” or “exclaimed.”

“Zenka! My love! You will never leave me again!” he ejaculated.

Okay, that’s not actually a direct quote from the book, but you get the idea.

My mind wandered as I tried to read. I found myself re-reading each paragraph two or three times before I finally gave up and put the book down. Reading was just not going to happen today.

It was at that point that I decided I wasn’t going to spend another day hanging out in my basement, pretending I wasn’t bored out of my mind.

Reeve had had every chance to kill me during the night I’d spent in his house, I rationalized. I could trust him. And I was lonely. It wouldn’t hurt to make a friend.

It was with that thought in mind-
friends
only- that I shrugged back into my vest and strapped my crossbow onto my back. The 9mil went in the shoulder holster that Eddie had left behind, and I secured my knife in a sheath against my hip. It seemed a little extreme to take so many weapons along, but it made me feel slightly less stupid about the fact that I was about to willingly walk into a vampire’s lair.

I traded my flip flops for hiking boots and wrapped my knee firmly with an ace bandage before I left the basement, hoping that would give it some more support while I was making the trek next door.

I took Holloway with me this time. I wasn’t sure if Reeve liked dogs, but I didn’t know if I’d be spending any significant amount of time at his house anyway.

The crutches made little clicking sounds on the concrete as Holloway and I made our slow procession down the driveway, up the sidewalk, and up the walkway leading to Reeve’s front door.

It felt good to be a little reckless, I thought as I stopped at the door. I’d spent such a long time being careful, being cautious. There was something liberating about following my gut- although I probably wouldn’t feel all that liberated if Reeve did an about-face and decided to eat me after all.

I braced my crutch against my underarm, raised my hand to knock- and hesitated.

This was crazy.

It’s not crazy,
my inner voice piped up.
It’s impulsive, but it’s not crazy. He really can help you. He already told you he’s a mechanic.

“He might not even remember anything about cars,” I whispered, forgetting for a moment that talking out loud to yourself in public was not a socially acceptable practice. “He’s got vamp amnesia.”

He knew that your scooter takes premium gas.

Well, that was true.

I knocked on the door. Holloway sat beside me, his tail swishing back and forth on the porch.

I waited for what seemed like a long time, but no one answered. I raised my hand to knock again, and then stopped, chewing nervously on my lower lip. Reeve was probably asleep. It was awfully inconsiderate of me to just drop in like this.

I was just about to turn around and leave when I heard the deadbolt click.

CHAPTER 8

The door opened a crack.

“Kennedy,” Reeve said. The door opened wider, but he remained behind it- avoiding the sunlight, probably. “Come on in.”

“I have my dog,” I said, somehow feeling scared and excited at the same time. “Is it okay if he comes in with me?”

“Sure.”             

Holloway followed me as I stepped inside. The door closed behind me, and I turned to face Reeve.

He was wearing boxers again, and my mouth went dry as I was greeted by the sight of his perfectly sculpted body. There was a little more light in the foyer than in the rest of the house, giving me an unrestricted view. His collarbone winged out dramatically above his muscular chest, and my eyes followed the light smattering of dark chest hair as it narrowed down the center of his six-pack abs, disappearing into the waistband of his boxers.

You’re staring! Stop staring!

I turned away, aghast at my blatant ogling of this poor guy, and slapped a hand over my eyes. “Um, sorry. I didn’t…I didn’t mean to wake you. And you’re half-naked. That’s not awkward. Why do we always meet like this?”

He chuckled, and the gravel in his deep voice sent shivers right through me. “Hang on. I’ll get dressed.”

I heard the clicking of Holloway’s claws on the tile as he followed Reeve into the other room. “Holloway, don’t bother him,” I said, and my voice cracked. Damn. I was like a hormonal teenager! One glimpse of a half-naked man and I’d practically dissolved into a puddle of lust.

How utterly, utterly mortifying.

“It’s fine,” Reeve called back to me. “I like dogs.”

I finally dropped my hand, taking a deep breath. What had I come here for? Oh, right. My escape plan. I’d come here not to ogle Reeve, but to talk about leaving him. Er, leaving town.

My hands were clammy as I grabbed onto the crutches and swung myself up the steps. At least I hadn’t had to accept help from him this time. If I’d had to touch him while he was wearing just those boxers, I probably would have lost all control and attacked him in a lust-filled rage.

I felt my wedding ring digging into my finger as I tightened my grip on the crutches, and I almost laughed out loud. Perfect timing.

There was a lit candle on the coffee table, but the living room was still much lighter than it had been the first day I’d entered- probably because of the light filtering through the frosted glass window in the foyer. Reeve emerged from the bedroom as I was settling myself on the couch. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans and was shoving his arms through the sleeves of a white tee shirt, giving me another glimpse of his rock-hard abs. While my first urge was to thank him for the view, it was awfully distracting, and I averted my eyes.

“Can I get you something? Water?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“Thanks, I’m fine.”

He sat down on the loveseat opposite me. “I’ve never seen you wear your hair down before.”

I brushed a strand back from my face. “It’s annoying when it’s down. Always getting in my eyes. I should have pulled it back.”

“I like it this way.”

I didn’t know how to respond to the compliment, so I kept silent. There was an awkward pause that probably would have gone on for quite a while if Reeve hadn’t said, “So…crutches.”

Grateful to him for changing the subject, I nodded, leaning the crutches against the couch beside me. “I had some lying around the house. But my knee is feeling a lot better today. I probably won’t need to use them for long.”

Holloway sat down in front of the loveseat and placed his head on Reeve’s leg, staring up at the vampire adoringly. Seriously? How had he managed to survive this long during a vampire apocalypse?

Reeve grinned as I glared at my dog, obviously knowing what I was thinking. “What’s your dog’s name?”

“Holloway,” I said. “He’s an idiot.”

“He’s friendly.” Reeve scratched Holloway’s head, and the dog’s eyes closed in ecstasy. “There has to be a story behind that name.”

My cheeks heated, and I smiled sheepishly. There was no guessing at his reaction, or whether he would think it was as funny as I did. “I’ve always named my pets after characters in Dolph Lundgren movies. I mean, I haven’t had a dog since I was a kid, but when Holloway showed up a few months ago, I figured I’d continue the tradition.”

“Dolph Lundgren? The Russian guy from
Rocky IV?
”

“Yeah. Well, he’s not Russian in real life. He’s Swedish. But yes. That guy.”

Reeve seemed to ponder this for a moment before asking, “Which movie is Holloway from?”

“A really crappy 90’s action flick called
Storm Catcher.
It’s one of my favorites. I have all his movies, I think, although most of them are on VHS because they were never re-released on DVD or blu-ray.” I propped my leg up on the couch, trying to get comfortable. “We’ll have to do another movie marathon one of these days, this time with movies released after 1970.”

Reeve smiled and nodded, but I could see the question in his eyes, illuminated by the candle sitting on the table next to him. He wanted to know why I’d gimped over here on crutches. He knew- or maybe just hoped- it wasn’t for the sole purpose of inviting him to a Dolph Lundgren movie marathon.

“Thanks for bringing my scooter back,” I said. “And for the food. I can’t believe…I mean, it’s just unusual for a stranger to be so nice. I really appreciate it.”

“We’re neighbors,” Reeve said. “That’s what neighbors do. Don’t sweat it.”

“I am kind of sweating over how you got the scooter into my backyard, to tell you the truth.”

“I unscrewed the hinges on your gate,” he replied, as if there was nothing at all unusual about deconstructing someone else’s property. “I put them back on, though.”

“Kellie didn’t notice?” I asked, brows knitting.

“She was…a little caught up in her story,” Reeve answered.

Oh, how embarrassing. He’d actually been outside while Kellie had been screeching about her sexual exploits. I decided to change the subject.

“I actually came over here to ask for your help with something else. Another favor.”

Holloway lay down at Reeve’s feet, and Reeve leaned forward, clasping his hands as he braced his forearms against his knees. “Name it.”

I started to blush again, but I continued, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell in the dim light. “I’m leaving town. I want to look for my family in Phoenix. But I need a working car first.”

“Phoenix?” he repeated, and the expression on his face was…strange. I couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking.

“Yes, Phoenix. My dad lives there, along with my aunts and uncles and a bunch of cousins.”

“Phoenix,” Reeve said again.

This time I said nothing, simply watched as he let the name roll off his tongue a third time. The name had triggered something- a memory, perhaps. I waited, holding my breath. Would he remember now?

After a short pause, he shrugged and looked at me again. “The name sounds familiar, but I don’t know why it feels so important.”

“It’s the state capitol,” I said. “I’m sure you’ve been there before.”

“How far is it from here?”

“Two hundred miles, roughly.”

“That’s what I thought. You could make that on a single tank of gas,” he mused.

“I know. It’s not that far. About a three hour drive.”

Reeve was silent for a few moments before he asked, “Have you been in touch with your family? Do they know you’re coming?”

The tone of his voice made it sound like he was more curious than concerned. I would have been upset if he’d tried to talk me out of the plan, but that didn’t seem to be what he was doing. That was good. “I haven’t talked to them since this all started,” I admitted, “but I don’t want to stay here any longer. I just can’t handle Kellie anymore.”

“She was pretty brutal last night,” Reeve said, and I grimaced. Even when she was alive, Kellie had been rude, condescending and downright embarrassing when we were in public places together. I recalled her arguing with a dentist over his decision not to pull one of Pearl’s baby teeth- as though she somehow knew more than he did about teeth. Like her fashion sense, The Ex’s decorum had not improved in un-death.

“I know. She’s driving me nuts. I figure if I leave during daylight hours, she probably won’t even know I’m gone, and she’ll just keep doing what she’s doing, except I won’t be here to hear it.”

“But you need a car.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes. All I have right now is my scooter, and I can’t ride that to Phoenix.” Actually, I probably could, but I wouldn’t be able to take much with me, and the scooter was hard-pressed to hit sixty miles an hour. Not exactly an ideal getaway vehicle. I also did not want to turn a three-hour jaunt into the six-hour trip from hell because I’d elected to make the journey on a pink 125cc scooter.

“I’ll need maps, too. If there is some kind of detour between here and Phoenix, I’ll want to know how to get back on track. I usually take I-10 all the way up, but I know there’s another route where I exit on 8. That would take me right by my dad’s house in Surprise- and that path is mostly through a rural area, which would be safer.”

I’d only used the I-8 route once, when I was taking Pearl to the town of Surprise for her school’s regional science fair. After seeing a sign proclaiming a one-to-two-hour delay due to a traffic accident, I’d called my dad, freaking out because we couldn’t be late to the science fair. He’d quickly suggested the alternate route to me, which Pearl had then located using the GPS on my phone. We’d made it to the science fair with minutes to spare.

That had happened almost exactly a year ago- a year ago in February. That was when Cole and I had been going through the worst of our relationship problems. Honestly, all those issues felt so insignificant now. That day, I’d been worried we might be late and Pearl wouldn’t have been allowed to participate in the science fair. Today I was thinking about taking that same route as a means of saving my life.

I know I’ve said it before, but there’s nothing quite like a vampire apocalypse to give you some perspective on the important things in life.

When I came out of my reverie, I noticed that Reeve was watching me silently. The expression on his face was unreadable, and I realized that I’d been sitting there, reflecting on my own memories while he waited for me to speak again.

“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I can distract myself awfully fast sometimes. Did you say something?”

“Not yet,” he said, leaning back and propping his right foot up on his opposite knee as he spread his arms across the back of the loveseat. His fingertips nearly reached end to end on the overstuffed piece of furniture.

It was impossible not to feel intimidated by Reeve’s size. He was massive, and I was suddenly very grateful that he had decided to befriend me rather than attack me. There was no question in my mind that he would have overpowered me easily.

I spoke up before my thoughts ran away with me a second time. “I was wondering if you could help- with the maps and the car. My mobility right now is pretty limited. Maybe when you go…out, you could keep your eyes peeled.” I’d almost said
when you go hunting,
but stopped myself at the last second. The less said about Reeve’s blood-drinking habits, the better.

He remained silent, and I shifted on the couch, trying not to let my nervousness show. Back in the safety of my basement, asking a vampire for assistance with my escape plan had seemed daring and exciting- but not quite as scary as it did now. I was fast becoming accustomed to the thrill and sense of danger that Reeve’s presence afforded, and part of me was enjoying it- but another part of me was resolutely steeling itself for the other shoe to drop. No vampire could actually be this nice…right?