The Vampire Next Door (15 page)

I knew why. It was because, vampire or not, I had a connection with Reeve- the kind of connection that only happens once or twice in a lifetime. During our admittedly short acquaintance, he’d managed to ignite feelings in me that I had thought were long dead and buried.

I didn’t want to say goodbye to him.

We paused beside the back door, and I stared at my feet, trying to think of something I could say that wouldn’t make me sound like a total moron.

“I guess I’ll have to rain check on Pandemic,” Reeve said lightly, and somehow that made me feel even worse.

“Thank you,” I said, and raised my chin, looking up at him and trying not to show my reluctance at leaving. “You saved my life. There’s no way I could ever repay you for that. I wish there was something I could do to pay you back.”

Reeve’s jaw tightened, and he looked away, clearing his throat. “You don’t owe me anything, Kennedy. We’re neighbors. Neighbors help each other out.”

“We’re friends, not just neighbors,” I corrected him. “If…if you ever find yourself in a bad spot, I mean, if you ever need anything…”

“You mean like a stake through my heart from your boyfriend?” His smile was utterly humorless.

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

Another pause.

Finally Reeve held out his hand. “I’m so glad I met you,” he said, and his frankness made me smile.

I took his hand. “Ditto.”

He didn’t let go, and we stood there, our hands clasped. His expression was impossible to read, the sable-crimson depths of his eyes swirling with untold emotion.

“This might be the last time I ever see you,” I ventured, feeling hopelessly glum about that possibility.

I was losing myself in his dark gaze, drowning in the beauty of his chiseled jaw and full lips, and for the first time since we’d met, I gave serious consideration to following through on the urge to kiss him.

He beat me to it, sliding one hand into my hair, cupping his fingers against the back of my head and pulling me to him as his lips came down on mine.

I put my hands on his chest to steady myself, feeling the rock-hard muscle beneath my fingertips, and my body’s electric response to his nearness was thrilling. His mouth was cool against mine, and when I felt the pressure of his tongue against my lower lip, I opened my mouth, willingly granting him entrance. His other hand slid down my shoulders, moving around the crossbow and stopping at the small of my back so that he could pull me even closer.

It was over much too quickly for my preference, and when he broke the kiss, I was breathing so hard I thought I might pass out.

Reeve seemed dazed, too. His hand moved from my hair to my cheek, fingers caressing my temple. I wanted to purr like a cat at his touch, and barely managed to keep my eyes open as I struggled to pull myself out from under his spell.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his breath fanning my face. “This might have been my only chance.”

Reality came crashing down around me.

He was right, of course. We probably wouldn’t see each other again.

I wet my lips and took a step back. Reeve let go of me, his hands dropping to his sides.

“Don’t apologize,” I responded shakily, and though I wanted to say more, the words just wouldn’t come. Instead I reached out and grasped the doorknob, not wanting to stand here during another awkward silence, and not wanting him to see that my heart was in my eyes.

He took a step back, his dark eyes boring into my soul.

“Stay safe,” I whispered.

Reeve nodded.

I stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind me.

My heart was still thumping, and my legs were still weak, but when I walked out into the sunshine, its warmth eased some of the tension in my trembling form. I skirted around the destroyed fence and walked slowly up the alley between our houses.

What was most surprising about my reaction to the kiss I’d just shared with Reeve was that I didn’t feel a single shred of guilt about it. That in itself was troubling. I had no idea whether Cole was alive or not, which meant that I should be living as a married woman and I should remain faithful to the husband who had promised to return to me.

But kissing Reeve had felt so right.

In fact, nothing had ever felt more right to me. Being in Reeve’s arms had made me feel safe and protected…for the first time in recent memory. Being pressed up against his massive frame, dwarfed by his size and overwhelmed by the electricity of his touch, was a sweet kind of torture that I would have given anything to experience again.

But that had been the point, hadn’t it? I wouldn’t get the chance to experience anything else with Reeve. The kiss had meant goodbye, and nothing more.

Eddie spotted me as I walked out of the alley, and he broke into a grin.

“Kennedy,” he said, holding his arms open wide.

He wasn’t usually all that affectionate, so his greeting came as a surprise to me. I gave him a brief hug, bitterly noting the total absence of any kind of chemistry between us as his arms wrapped around me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked when I’d pulled away. His hand was still on my shoulder, and I gently pushed it off. I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.

If he noticed my brusque attitude, Eddie didn’t say anything about it. “I made it all the way to Phoenix,” he said. “I had to come back for you, though.”

“Me?” I said, turning away from him to unlock the gate to the breezeway. “Why? You know I’m not leaving.” Or at least I hadn’t planned to, the last time we’d seen each other.

“There are survivors in Phoenix. Hundreds of them.” Eddie followed me into the breezeway and waited patiently while I locked the gate behind us. “They’ve established a base of operations and they’re looking to wipe out the vamps completely.”

“Seriously?” I gave him an incredulous look as I moved past him to the storm door. “Why haven’t we heard anything about this before?”

“You know how small towns are. News never gets around fast enough. Anyway, they haven’t expanded the containment beyond the Phoenix area yet.”

I paused with my key in the lock of my front door. “Phoenix is completely contained?”

“Not completely. But they’ve cleared out most of the west valley.”

“Surprise, too?”

Eddie looked taken aback by my questions. “I’m…not sure. You know someone in Surprise?”

Eddie knew that most of my family was in Maricopa County, but he obviously didn’t remember that my dad lived in Surprise. I opened the door and stepped inside without answering. My mind was spinning. If Phoenix was contained, that meant my dad might still be alive. He might be waiting for me.

Eddie swept the ground floor while I waited at the door like a stone statue. I didn’t know how to react. I’d been steeling myself against any kind of hope, because I knew how dangerous it could be, but if Phoenix was contained…

“I’m sorry,” I said when Eddie returned, looking exasperated at my silence. “I just…I can’t believe it. That’s such good news. About Phoenix, I mean.”

Holloway greeted me happily when we opened the basement door, and Eddie let the dog outside while I turned on the UV lights and headed downstairs. I was halfway down when Eddie spoke up from behind me.

“Did you hurt yourself?”

I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, so he couldn’t see my slow-healing road rash. I was also walking almost normally, but steps presented a whole different issue. It was hard for my left leg to support all my weight, so I went down the steps sideways, putting my right foot first and then easing my left leg to the next stair down.

“I had a scooter accident,” I said, and it was hard to keep the disdain out of my voice. “The day after you left, I had to get supplies, and some jerk tackled me while I was on the scooter. But don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Eddie didn’t respond at first, obviously aware now that I was none too happy at his departure and sudden reappearance. “Can you run?” he asked when I reached the bottom of the staircase. “We leave tomorrow morning. I want to be prepared for anything. You need to be able to at least run.”

“What makes you think I’ll be leaving?” I asked, irritated that he was assuming so much. “I told you last week that I wasn’t going with you.”

“Come on, Kennedy. Some of your family had to have survived. They’ve got to be there. I would have looked for them myself if I’d known their names or what they looked like.” His words were a jab at how little I’d talked about my personal life with him. I wasn’t in the mood for it.

“My family might be on their way here right now,” I said. “Cole and the girls could be anywhere. What if they get here and I’m gone?”

“Then they’ll probably head to Phoenix, too. Cole knows where your family lives.”

Eddie had a point, and since I’d already decided to leave on my own, my heart wasn’t in the argument.

I sat down on the couch and unstrapped my crossbow, feeling depressed. On one hand, my family might still be alive. I’d spent the last eight months trying not to think about my dad, and the knowledge that he could be alive right now, wanting to find me just as desperately as I wanted to find him, was enough to make my poor battered heart tremble with hope.

On the other hand, I hadn’t been planning to make this journey with Eddie. I certainly hadn’t planned to endeavor the trip without Reeve’s help.

I sighed and rubbed a hand over my eyes. It was silly to feel upset about Eddie’s return. Nothing much had gone right in his absence, and I certainly could use his help to get to Phoenix.

“Does that car outside have air conditioning?” I asked grudgingly.

Eddie grinned, recognizing my surrender. “Yes, it does.”

I fidgeted with the hem of my t-shirt, thinking about Reeve and the star projector he’d found just for me. In a few days, I’d be in Phoenix, and once I was away from Kellie, I’d probably be able to stargaze to my heart’s content. But somehow the miniature version of the night sky that I’d seen inside Reeve’s bedroom held more meaning for me now.

I remembered abruptly that the sky wasn’t the same in Phoenix as it was here. The lights of the city and the smog obscured any chance of seeing the stars.

The realization only added to my frustration.

“I’m going outside,” I announced, desperate to escape the smothering effect of Eddie’s presence.

In the backyard, I sat on the patio bench, eating Vienna sausages, and Holloway ran up and propped his head on my right knee. His pink tongue lolled out across my jeans, leaving a wet patch. His nose was muddy, and he’d left dirty paw prints on the patio. He’d obviously been digging.

“Better get your kicks in now,” I told my dog, without feeling. “After tomorrow, we may well be surrounded by concrete and astro turf for the rest of our lives.”

It was an unfair generalization, because Phoenix had a ton of gorgeous golf courses and several man-made lakes. There weren’t even any ponds here. Although I wasn’t terribly keen on the prospect of the Phoenix heat, I was looking forward to being back in some semblance of civilization again, and maybe even finding my family.

I set my half-finished can of sausages on the bench beside me- on the side opposite from Holloway- and pulled Reeve’s letter from my pocket. I read the last sentence over again.

I don’t want to lose your friendship.

I didn’t want to lose his friendship, either. What a pair we made. A total odd couple from the get-go. We were supposed to be mortal enemies, and yet we’d somehow managed to forge a relationship in the midst of all this death and chaos.