Chapter Fifteen
“But how do you know it’s him?” Jamie adjusted the miniature car harness around her toddler son, Luca’s, shoulders and torso. Jimmy, her husband, and their oldest child, Ashlin, were on another ride. Luca was just big and old enough for the little carnival car ride. He joined ten other excited toddlers.
“Because who else could it be?”
“Ramsey.” Jamie stepped back to survey her work. “You don’t think that he’ll escape from this, do you?”
Dani shook her head. Luca was a little daredevil at three years old, but even he wouldn’t be able to get out of the strap that crisscrossed and bit into his chubby stomach. “Nope.”
The carnival worker was making his way around and checking that all the harnesses were secured. When he came to Luca, both Jamie and Dani stepped out of his way. He gave them a thumbs-up and went to the next car.
Jamie motioned Dani to follow her out the enclosure and behind the gate.
“The first rose, I thought maybe it had come from Ramsey. But then the next night I got a dead rose, and then the…” Dani leaned in close to whisper. “Dead rats last night.”
Jamie shivered. “So three nights in a row you had something left on your car?”
“Yeah, and progressively worse. Besides, Ramsey said it wasn’t him, and I believe him.”
The ride started, and the cars began moving around in a small circle on a track. The cars were going about a mile in hour, but the kids laughed and screamed with glee. Anyone not watching would think the cars whipped around the track at breakneck speeds.
“And you tried to reach this Alex fella?” Jamie leaned against the gate and waved, smiling and gushing at Luca as he went by.
Dani leaned her back against the railing. The small carnival in the high school parking lot drew plenty of kids and families. It was her first night off in three nights and she would’ve rather have spent it in a nice warm bath soaking her tired legs and feet, but the last few nights had been too disturbing to sit at home alone.
Dani had woken at noon, dressed and left the house. She’d been relieved to find nothing but raindrops on her car. The rose had been nice, the dead rose had given her pause, but the dead rats, mutilated, with their throats ripped out had given her nightmares. To kill time and to soothe her nerves she’d gone to Bride’s job and taken her out to lunch. Then she’d gone to her dad’s house until Jamie called and invited her to the carnival with her family. Dani had been tired, but accepted the invitation anyway. At least she wouldn’t be home to receive anything else left on her car.
Dani glanced up—bright orange painted the sky as the sun set. Ramsey would be on his way soon. The creepiness that had soaked down to her bones was beginning to ease. With Ramsey staying at her house she could finally get some sleep.
“Earth to Dani.”
She snapped out of her thoughts.
“Have you tried to get in touch with Alex?” Jamie asked again.
“I don’t know where Alex is. It’s like he fell off the face of the Earth. I’m a little concerned about him actually.”
She should’ve told Ramsey about the rats, but with Alex still missing she didn’t want to. Ramsey said that he hadn’t seen Alex since he told him to leave her house. And she believed him. But there was a niggling feeling in the back of her mind that something wasn’t right. There were too many things happening at once. A budding romance with Ramsey, Alex missing, and now the “gifts” being left on her car.
“Don’t worry about that dude. If Alex is showing up at your place when you told him not to, then you don’t want to be dealing with that creeper anyway.”
“I know, and you’re right. It’s just that I was worried that Ramsey did something to him.”
That caught Jamie’s attention. She turned around to face Dani. “What would Ramsey do to him?”
Dani shook her head and tried to laugh. “When Alex didn’t look like he was going to leave my house, Ramsey wasn’t too happy about it. But Alex left though.” Dani waved her off. “Forget I said anything.”
She’d told Jamie and Bride about Alex showing up unexpectedly and how Ramsey had to chase him away. Of course, she’d left out the part about Ramsey being two seconds from killing Alex. She wasn’t ready to tell her sister and best friend that her new boyfriend had a murderous streak. Somehow that wouldn’t sit well with them.
Jamie waggled her eyebrows and bumped Dani’s shoulder with her own. “Damn, girl. You already have Ramsey fighting for your love?”
Dani chuckled. “It’s not like that. Like you said, Alex was being a creeper, and Ramsey had to be … forceful with him.”
“Well, good riddance.” Jamie turned around and waved at a passing Luca again.
“Yeah, you’re right. Alex isn’t my problem.”
“So, tell me what’s going on with you and Ramsey? Whirlwind romance, eh?”
Dani couldn’t help but smile. A tingling sensation erupted in her stomach. “Something like that. He’s spending my off nights with me. The next three nights should be … pretty interesting.”
On her last off-work stretch they’d done nothing but cuddle on the couch and watch old movies. Oh, and they’d had a lot of hot, earth-shattering, scream out each other’s names, sex. This time she’d planned to take him to the movies. She’d been appalled to find out that he’d only gone to two movies in his lifetime. The first “picture movie”—as he’d called it—didn’t have sound, and the second was an old Dracula movie. He hadn’t liked either.
“Whoa. That’s serious as hell.”
Heat crept from her neck up her cheeks. She hoped it was serious. He hadn’t mentioned anything about her upgrading to girlfriend status or anything, but she hoped that it was just a matter of time. “Yeah.”
“So what time does his flight get in?”
Dani glanced up at the sky again. Dark gray. The sun had officially set. It was already dark in New Orleans, but Ramsey had to wait for the sun to go down in LA in order to make the trip. As he’d put it, he didn’t want to burn up in-flight because a miscalculation. “Anytime now.”
“Are you meeting him at the airport?”
Dani shook her head. “I sent him a text when we first arrived and told him to meet me here.”
Jamie bumped her again. “You go, girl. You have a man that isn’t all about playing games.”
Dani chuckled. “No, he isn’t.” She’d wondered if they were moving too fast. There wasn’t a day that went by that they didn’t talk or text. When he’d found out she had three days off in a row he’d wanted her to come to New Orleans. She’d declined because her dad was on a fishing trip, and she didn’t have anywhere to take Libby. Ramsey hadn’t hesitated to ask if he could go to her house.
“So three days of hanging out at your house and the two of you playing house. Should I start picking out my bridesmaid dress?” Jamie pointed at her. The grin replaced with seriousness. “If you stick me in some pastel, puffy mess, I will boycott your wedding.”
Dani pushed on Jamie’s hand, lowering it. “No wedding bells yet.” Did vampires get married? “Just hanging out.”
“Playing house,” Jamie added.
“Yeah.” The smile dropped from Dani’s face. Oh, no!
The dead rats had worked her up, and she’d left her house without cleaning. Ugh. There were three days’ worth of dishes piled in her sink, and she could probably make a whole new dog out of Libby’s fur that was in clumps on her floor. Dust bunnies were probably everywhere. Had she even changed her sheets from his last visit?
Dani grumbled. Jamie leaned over and rubbed her arm. “Hon, what’s wrong?”
Dani dropped her head in her palms. “I’ve been so busy working and finishing my thesis and worrying about the crap being left on my car that I forgot to clean.”
Jamie gave her arm a squeeze. “And? Just clean when you get home. He knows that you’ve been busy.”
Dani lifted her head to look at Jamie. “You’ve seen my house after a three-day work stretch. You don’t even let your kids roam free in it.”
“I don’t let them loose because your house isn’t kid-proof, not because there’s something wrong with it. The last time we were there Luca was eating dog food and Ashlin was trying to dry her baby doll’s hair in the stove.” Jamie folded her arms and rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait until they grow up and move out.”
Dani laughed, remembering the day vividly. Jamie had had a conniption while her kids were on a reign of terror. Dani tried to straighten her face when Jamie glared at her.
“I can’t wait until you have kids. Only then will you understand my pain.”
Dani’s smile easily slid from her face. Vampires can’t have children.
“Danya.” An eerie voice called out to her.
She frowned and glanced around. It was as if the voice whispered in her ear. She scanned the sea of people, but no one looked familiar and no one paid attention to her.
Jamie laughed about something she’d said and called out to Luca. The ride had stopped.
Uneasiness settled over Dani, making all the hairs on her arms stand on end. A chill ran through her. She crossed her arms and rubbed them with her hands. She glanced around again. The people that passed her were laughing and having a good time. But still, something was off. “Do you need me to help get him?” she asked Jamie.
“I got it.” Jamie made her way through the gate to Luca, and Dani stayed where she was.
“Danya, I see you.”
She looked left. Nothing there. She turned in a small circle, eyes wide and searching. Nothing.
Then, she saw him, standing on the other side of the ride, a lone figure in a crowd of people. He watched her.
Alex.
His eyes were focused and … glaring.
“Alex?” She lifted her hand to wave.
“Come here, Danya.”
He scared her. Something was wrong. She wanted to tell him no, shake her head, but she couldn’t. There was a tug she couldn’t resist. She had to go to him.
Dani took a step in his direction and hit a brick wall. She had to get around the wall. She needed to get to Alex. He’d called her. He wanted her. She wanted him.
“Dani?”
The invisible rope that pulled her to Alex snapped, jarring her into the present. She tried to blink away her confusion. Alex was gone.
“Dani, sweetheart.”
Dani frowned and shook her head. Where had Alex gone?
Strong hands held onto her arms. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”
She looked up. Ramsey. The fogginess left her head in an instant. Relief flood through her. She’d been saved. But from what she didn’t know.
“Ramsey.” She rushed out and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. She shook. “When did you get here?”
Ramsey glanced to where she’d been looking, where Alex had been. “Just now. Where were you headed off to?”
She willed her mouth into a smile and rose on her tippy toes to kiss him. “Nowhere. Just waiting for you.”
Jamie walked over with Luca on her hip. “I was wondering where you were running off to.” She winked at Ramsey. “Now I see what the rush was about. Hey, Ramsey.”
Ramsey took Jamie’s hand and gave the back of it a light kiss. “Nice to see you again, Jamie.” He nodded at Luca and grinned. “Is he yours?”
Jamie kissed Luca on the cheek. “Yeah, I’m claiming him this week.” She looked over Ramsey’s shoulder. “And my husband and my big girl are headed this way.” Jamie waved at Jimmy.
“Are you ready for this?” she whispered in Ramsey’s ear.
“I’ve met girlfriend’s friends before.”
Dani lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Oh, have you now?”
“Pft. Yeah, like, three hundred years ago.”
She elbowed him. “Well, be prepared for Jimmy to ask you twenty questions.”
Ramsey wrapped an arm around her waist, and they walked behind Jamie as she went to meet Jimmy. “Or I can just enthrall him to make him think that he’s already asked me all the questions then you and I can leave here and go back to your place.”
Her chin dropped. “You wouldn’t.”
“To be alone with you?” He smiled mischievously. “I would.”