Twilight Dreams (7 page)

“You remember what I told you about staying inside tomorrow?” he asked.

She nodded. “Are you going back to Morgan Creek tonight?”

“No.”

“You don't intend to stay here, do you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Tonight
and
tomorrow?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Where will you spend the day?”

“In your closet probably.”

“My closet?”

“It's dark and quiet.”

“Oh.” She had never let a man stay the night, Holly mused, grinning inwardly, and the first time she did, it was a vampire who intended to sleep in the midst of her jeans and dresses. On one hand, she was less than thrilled with the idea. On the other, she would at least have someone to protect her on the off chance that Braga came sniffing around tonight. “Well, I think I'll go to bed. Do you need anything?”

His gaze moved to the curve of her throat. The heat of his eyes was a palpable thing, almost like a physical caress.

Holly lifted a hand to her neck, suddenly remembering that he claimed to have bitten her. “When?” she asked. “When did you bite me?”

“While we were dancing at Gabriella's.”

“I don't believe you. I'm sure I'd remember something like that.”

“Not if I didn't want you to.”

She stared at him. Not only had he bitten her, but he had also compelled her to forget it. How many times had he done such a despicable thing?

“Just once.”

Holly grimaced. It was yet another grim reminder that he could read her thoughts.

“Why should I believe you? You could have done it a hundred times and I wouldn't know.”

“True enough, but I didn't.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out her cell phone and tossed it to her. “Saintcrow thought you might need this.”

“How thoughtful of him.”

“Why don't you get some sleep, sunshine? It's late.”

Nodding, she went into her bedroom and locked the door, although that seemed pointless, since he could easily turn into mist and slip through the cracks.

She brushed her teeth, tossed her robe on the foot of the bed, crawled under the covers, and all the while, she imagined Micah bending over her, his fangs piercing her flesh, drinking her blood.... Such thoughts were not conducive to a good night's rest.

When she finally drifted off, it was to dream of Leticia Braga chasing her through a dark, shadowy world. Micah ran at the other vampire's side, his eyes as red as the fires of hell, his fangs dripping blood.

Her blood.

Chapter Ten

Several years before she passed away, Holly's grandmother had decided she needed a walk-in closet with built-in shoe racks and sweater cubbies. And mirrored doors because they were all the rage. The rest of the family had considered the remodel an extravagance, but not Holly. She had bragged to all her friends about how hip her granny was. Not only did Grandma Parrish drive a Dodge Challenger, but she had mirrored doors in her bedroom.

One of the last things Holly had promised her grandmother was that she would be worthy to wear white on her wedding day. In college and beyond, Holly had come close to breaking that promise several times, but her vow to wait had kept her from crossing the line. So far. She had a terrible feeling that if anyone could make her break that vow, it would be Micah, whether she was willing or not.

In the morning, Holly stood in front of the closet doors, checking to make sure nothing was showing that shouldn't be. And all the while, her hand itched to slide one of the doors open and steal a peek at Micah while he was at rest. Would it wake him up? Was it possible to wake a sleeping vampire? Did he look gross while trapped in that deathlike sleep?

Shaking the impulse aside, she stepped into her shoes, grabbed her handbag, and hurried out to her car. Sliding behind the wheel, she quickly locked the door and pulled out of the driveway. She told herself there was nothing to worry about. Braga was a vampire. She had to sleep when the sun was up. But her bodyguard . . . what was his name? Oh, yes, Mahlon. He was human. And Saintcrow was afraid of him. Having met Saintcrow, she found it hard to imagine that he was afraid of anything, human or otherwise.

All the way to work, she kept glancing in the rearview mirror, a quiver of unease slithering down her spine every time she saw a car with a man behind the wheel following close behind her.

She didn't relax until she was safely inside her office with the door closed. By then, she was a nervous wreck.

* * *

Holly breathed a sigh of relief when five o'clock rolled around. She had just backed up her work when Micah materialized beside her desk.

“You about ready?” he asked, glancing around her office. It was small and square. A window overlooked the street, a framed painting of a running horse adorned one wall, a whiteboard hung beside the door.

Holly pressed a hand to heart. “Don't do that!”

“Do what?”

“Just zap into my office.”

“Sorry.”

Scowling, she quickly shut down her computer and gathered her things.

“Did you talk to the boss about taking your vacation early?”

“Yes. He wasn't happy about it, but he said it would be all right.”

“Good. Let's go.”

All Holly's senses came alive as they rode the elevator down to the parking garage. As she walked toward the car, her gaze darted left and right. Was there someone lurking in the shadows?

She quickly unlocked her car, and Micah slid into the passenger seat. His presence, so close, made her pulse race. The car seemed smaller with him in it. With her hands clenched on the wheel, she drove out of the garage and headed for the freeway.

He chuckled softly when she glanced in the rearview mirror for the tenth time in as many minutes. “Relax. There's no one following us.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I'd be able to sense her if she was nearby.”

“What about that bodyguard of hers? Can you sense him, too?”

“Yeah.”

A handy talent
, she thought as she pulled off the freeway.

At home, Holly changed into jeans and a T-shirt. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, washed down by a glass of milk, served as dinner. She cleaned out her refrigerator, disposing of everything that would spoil, then asked her neighbor's teenage son, Josh, to water the yard until she returned, and to collect her mail—most of which was junk these days, since she paid her bills online.

And all the while, she was keenly aware of the attractive vampire idly thumbing through a magazine in her living room.

Doubts assailed her as she packed a bag with enough changes of clothes to last three weeks. Another small case held her toiletries. Was she doing the right thing? She was going off to a ghost town with a man she scarcely knew, putting her life—and her future—in the hands of a vampire and his two friends—who were also vampires.

Muttering, “I must be insane,” she closed her suitcase, slung her handbag over her shoulder, and picked up the smaller of the two bags.

“I'm sorry about all this,” Micah said from the doorway. “I didn't mean to put your life in danger.”

“I know. It's not your fault.” She glanced around the room. “I guess I'm ready.”

“You can trust me, Holly. I won't let anything happen to you.”

Looking up, she met his gaze. In some ways, she was more afraid of him than she was of Saintcrow and Braga combined. They could harm her physically, but caring for Micah could bruise her soul.

Micah grabbed the other suitcase, then wrapped his arm around her waist.

Moments later, they were back in Blair House.

Feeling nervous and ill at ease, Holly looked at him. Why had she agreed to this? What was she going to do in this place for three weeks? The town was deserted. There was nothing to do here. He slept during the day.

He set her suitcase on the floor beside the sofa; then, as if he knew his nearness made her uncomfortable, he put some space between them. “I need to go out for a while. You'll be safe here.”

She dropped her purse and the small bag on the sofa. “Where are you going?”

“Just where you think,” he said, his gaze meeting hers. “I need to feed.”

He said it so casually, she thought. As if it were no big deal to go out and prey on some poor, unsuspecting man or woman.

“I know you think it's awful, but it's necessary.”

Holly sank down on the couch. “Do you like being a vampire?”

“Like it?” Micah frowned as he thought it over. He had never stopped to think about it. It was a fact of life, something that, once done, couldn't be undone. “What difference does it make?” he asked bitterly. “There's no going back.”

“But would you, if you could?”

Would he? Sure, there were things he missed, like playing football with his brothers on Saturday mornings, digging into his mother's homemade lasagna and apple pie, teasing Sofia and Rosa about their dates while driving them to early church services on Sunday. But there were things about being a vampire he would also miss, like his preternatural strength and speed, his enhanced senses, his immunity to disease, never growing old and feeble.

And things he wouldn't miss, like the hunger that clawed at his vitals even now, urging him to sink his fangs into Holly's throat and savor the warm, rich nectar that flowed through her veins.

“I'll be back in a while.” And with those few words, he was gone.

Holly shook her head, wondering if she would ever get used to watching him vanish in the blink of an eye. Wondering what she was going to do in this dreary place for the next three weeks, and what she would do if Braga was still a threat when those three weeks were up. She couldn't stay locked in this place forever. She had a job she loved, friends, family.

She closed her eyes, her mind reeling with questions for which she had no answers.

* * *

In the morning, Holly woke with a start. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was, and then it all came rushing back to her.

She was in Morgan Creek, alone with three vampires.

In the cold light of day, being trapped in a ghost town with Micah and his friends suddenly seemed like the worst decision she had ever made.

Grabbing her handbag, she fled the house. If she was careful to always be home before dark, if she armed herself with a sharp wooden stake and a bottle of holy water and a big silver cross, surely she'd be safe from the monsters.

She was out of breath by the time she reached the bridge. She glanced over her shoulder, but there was no sign of Saintcrow.

Gathering her courage, she started across the wooden expanse, repeatedly glancing over her shoulder, constantly wondering if she was doing the right thing.

Only another few steps until she reached the road.

She heard a car in the distance. If she hurried, maybe she could flag down the driver and hitch a ride.

Almost there!

Relief flooded through her when she reached the end of the bridge. And then a strange thing happened. She couldn't go any farther. She couldn't see anything blocking her way, couldn't feel any kind of barrier, but try as she might, she couldn't get past the edge of the bridge to the roadway beyond.

She let out a wail of frustration as the car drove past.

“Going somewhere?”

Feeling like a child caught playing hooky, she whirled around to face Rylan Saintcrow.

He shook his head, his expression rueful. “Micah told me you had agreed to stay here for a while. What changed your mind?”

She clutched her handbag to her chest, as if it would protect her. “What do you think?”

“I find it hard to believe that any rational person would rather face a vampire she's never met than stay with the ones who are trying to protect her. Or do you have a death wish?”

“Rational?” She swallowed a burst of hysterical laughter. “I think I'm losing my mind.”

“Try pretending you're here because you want to be,” he suggested. “This is a nice place. The mountains are pretty this time of year. Pretend you've come here to relax. Take a look around, pick one of the houses you like, and I'll give it to you. Once it's yours, we won't be able to enter unless you invite us, which means you won't have to see any of us if that will make you feel safer. I'll open the movie theater and the other stores and stock your house with food and whatever else you want.”

“Why can't I cross the bridge?”

“A little vampire magic. You and Kadie can't go out. No one else comes in.”

“So, you've decided to spend the rest of your existence in prison?”

“Hardly. But for now, this is the safest place for you. And for Kadie.” He glanced at the sky as he pulled the hood of his jacket forward. “Think about what I said.”

“I don't have much choice, do I?”

“Not really.” He jerked his chin at her handbag. “I'll be needing that phone back.”

She was tempted to refuse, but what was the point? She couldn't outrun him. Couldn't hope to fight him off. She glared at him as she reached into her bag, withdrew the phone and tossed it at him.

He caught it easily, sketched a bow, and vanished from her sight.

She stared at the place where he had been standing, thinking how cool it would be to be able to just disappear like that.

Since she couldn't leave and she didn't have anything else to do, Holly decided to take Saintcrow up on his offer. Walking the few blocks to the residential section, she noted that the houses were set on large lots, well back from the street. Most of them had wide front porches and old-fashioned picture windows.

She spent the rest of the morning going from one house to another. Although the floor plans were basically the same—one large bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, service porch—the furnishings, paint, and wallpaper were all different, no doubt reflecting the tastes of the former occupants, she thought with a shudder. Men and women had lived in these houses, helpless prey to the vampires who had ruled the town. How had they endured such a horrible life? She couldn't imagine such a thing. And even though the houses were lovely, a prison was a prison no matter how richly furnished.

In the end, she decided on a house painted pale green with white shutters, partly because she liked the color and partly because it was closest to the town and farthest from the house on the hill. The previous owner had had a preference for French blue, and the color was predominant in all the rooms, from the flowered sofa and chairs in the living room to the quilt and matching drapes in the bedroom. The appliances in the kitchen were stainless steel. She found a set of flowered china and glassware in the cupboards, silverware in the drawers, pots and pans in the lower cupboards. The bathroom had a nice whirlpool tub, as well as a shower. In the living room, a pair of built-in bookshelves filled with books and DVDs bracketed a widescreen TV. As prisons went, it was better than most.

She was here, she thought glumly, and here she would stay for the better part of a month. Might as well try to make the best of it.

Returning to Blair House, she gathered her belongings and made the long walk back to the cozy little house that was to be hers.

It didn't take long to put her things away. Her stomach was growling by the time she finished. Being one of the many women addicted to chocolate, she always kept a candy bar in her handbag for emergencies.

With a Midnight Dark Milky Way in hand, she went into the living room and perused the bookshelves. The previous prisoner had had a penchant for mystery novels and sci-fi and fantasy movies.
The Lord of the Rings
trilogy
, X-Men, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Mummy, Ghostbusters, The Avengers, Men in Black, Mission Impossible.

All of her favorites, Holly noted, pulling the first
Pirates
movie from the shelf. What could be better than dark chocolate and Johnny Depp? she mused as she turned on the TV, slipped the DVD into the player, then settled back on the sofa.

* * *

Micah woke with the setting of the sun. He sensed immediately that Holly wasn't in the house. He wasn't worried; he knew she couldn't leave town. But it was dark outside. Where would she go?