Chapter Seventeen
Dani checked the watch on her wrist for the billionth time that night. 12:01 AM. She had seven more hours in her shift and before she could clock out and make her way to the airport. Tonight would make the third night that she hadn’t seen Ramsey. It was weird to miss him like she did, but after spending so much of her free time with him, to be apart felt wrong.
Every time she’d awakened without him tangled in the sheet by her side, she slumped, missing his presence. She’d had boyfriends in the past and even thought she’d been in love once, but what she had with Ramsey was something entirely different.
She needed him, and her body craved him.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming message. She pushed her medication cart to the side of the hallway. Her evening vital signs and meds had been given. She wouldn’t have anything much to do until five-thirty when it was time to pass the morning medications and prepare for the arrival of the morning nursing shift. She locked her cart and checked her text message. Seeing it was from Ramsey instantly sent her stomach into a fit of butterflies.
Marcos has a doctor’s appointment so he won’t be able to get you from the airport. Nadine is picking you up.
I can take a cab. I don’t want to put anyone out.
It’s fine. I pay Nadine a shitload of money to lie around here all day. Besides she’s been homebound for a while and wanted to get out for a bit.
Okay. Does she know what airline and what time to meet me?
Yup. Keep an eye out for a black Jeep. She looks like a teenager and has black spikey hair. You won’t miss her. She’ll probably have her rock music playing way too loud.
Dani chuckled, imagining Ramsey with his fist in the air complaining about loud music.
Sometimes your age shows.
Hardy-har-har.
LOL. I’ll see you when you wake up.
You actually don’t know how good that makes me feel, knowing that you’ll be in bed waiting for me.
She cheesed to herself. A coworker walked by and hip bumped her. “Oh, girl. I know that look. You’re in love. Have fun in New Orleans!”
She tried to hide her embarrassment, then after a thought held her head high. She was in love, no point in hiding it.
I’ll be sure to have on something nice.
As in sexy?
Of course.
*Slowly dying waiting for the hours to pass*
LOL. I’ll see you in a bit.
Dani stuffed her phone back in her scrub pocket. Her charge nurse, Mandy, came around the corner with a clipboard. “Evans, have you had your lunch break yet?”
“Not yet.”
She scanned the paper on her clipboard and tapped the side with her pen. “Okay, you go now and I’ll go when you get back.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Twenty minutes later she was in the hospital cafeteria picking through a half-eaten salad. “I don’t know how anyone can live off a thirty-minute break,” Dani muttered. As it was, she had ten minutes to pee and get back to work. She sighed. Dani was just about to get up when an older woman slid into the chair opposite of hers.
The cafeteria was busy, but it wasn’t full. There were plenty of available tables. Dani frowned when the lady glared at her, not saying anything.
Is she a patient of mine?
Dani quickly shook that question from her head. The woman had on a party dress complete with jewelry that shined so bright that they might’ve been real. She also looked as though she wouldn’t be caught dead in a hospital gown.
“Can I help you?’
The woman smiled. Her lips had the perfect shade of red on them. Her skin looked as though she’d either had a really good tan or the glow was a product of her heritage. She flicked her hair off of her shoulders, a healthy dark lock. Her striking gold-brown eyes were unwavering in their uncanny assessment of Dani. “Yes, you can.” She folded her arms and set them on the table. “You can start by leaving my husband alone.”
Had she heard her right? Dani’s chest constricted to the point of crushing her lungs. “Wh-who is your husband?”
The woman rolled her eyes. “This century he’s going by Ramsey.”
Dani’s mouth went dry. Her lips were heavy. “He didn’t tell me that he was married.”
The lady looked Dani up and down, assessing and judging. Dani wanted to fold in on herself. Next to this woman she couldn’t compare. This was exactly the kind of woman she’d envisioned Ramsey with—beautiful.
“He does this—often. Every few centuries or so he goes off and dips his foot in the human pool to play around with the locals.” She rolled her eyes. “I think he does it to feel normal. But he’s not normal at all. We both know that.”
Every few centuries?
“I-I’m sorry.”
The lady lifted a dainty shoulder. “It’s not your fault. It’s not like you can resist him when he lays on the charm.” She let out a breathy sigh and stared into space. “It’s how he was able to convince me to marry him all those years ago.”
Dani didn’t want to ask. She knew that she shouldn’t ask. The answer might hurt her even more. “A-are you sure that we’re talking about the same Ramsey?” But then again, she wasn’t thinking logically. The rug had been pulled right from under her. This lady was bursting her bubble in the worst kind of way.
The lady chuckled, a soft willowing sound. “Oh, honey. Of course I’m sure. Otherwise I wouldn’t waste my time being here and confronting you.”
Dani couldn’t breathe. Everything hurt. Pain radiated along her jawline. Her chest tightened more, restricting her heart.
Either Dani wasn’t really having a full-blown meltdown in the cafeteria or this lady was good at ignoring it. “Has Ramsey mentioned me?” the woman asked.
Dani couldn’t find her voice.
“No? Angelina? Does that name ring a bell?”
Dani found the effort to shake her head. “H-he told me that he used to be married. A-a long time ago. Before he was turned. I—I thought … assumed.” She couldn’t form her lips to say anything else.
Angelina’s beautiful red lips turned up into a smile. “So he did mention me. What did he say? Does he want to get back together?”
Dani frowned. Confusion clouded her mind. “H-he said that I was his reason for living.”
Angelina made a cackling sound. Dani saw a crack in her beauty. The sound grated on her ears. “What? You? That can’t be right. We married when I was fourteen, and he was fifteen. I’ve always been his reason for living, then our girls and now Marcos, too. Marcos is our last. He’s an offspring of my offspring.” Then she focused on the table in thought. “Of my offspring’s offspring.” She frowned then waved her hand in the air. “Never mind. It all gets so confusing when you get past great-great-grandmother. You get the picture. Ramsey, Marcos, and I are a family. This kind of history can’t be replaced.”
Dani’s chest was on fire. Her stomach felt like it was splitting apart. How could she have ever believed that she’d been his reason for living? Seriously? How stupid was she? He probably fed that line to every idiot human he met.
Oh God.
Angelina looked away and blinked rapidly. She wiped the corner of her eyes with her sleeve. “We had three beautiful girls and from them, had many more children to look after. Marcos, my beautiful Marcos.” She dabbed her eyes again, but Dani couldn’t see the tears that were supposed to be there. “Is the very last of our line.”
Why hadn’t Ramsey told her that his wife was still alive and kicking and a vampire? Because he did this every century. She was a game to him. Something to pass the time. She shook with rage, confusion, and embarrassment.
Dani gathered her trash, throwing everything around her on the tray. Her appetite suddenly gone. “I’m so sorry. I w-won’t contact him ever again.”
The sadness on Angelina’s face slid away, revealing an inhuman, monstrous mask of hate. “You’re not even one of the prettier humans. But I get what he sees in you.” Her eyes raked over Dani. “You do have a certain … appeal.”
Angelina hadn’t smacked her, but Dani felt the sting just the same. She picked up her trash and stood. “If you’ll excuse me—”
“Sit.”
I don’t—” Dani slammed into her seat. The thought to sit was like a force she couldn’t disobey. She looked at Angelina. Dani’s mind raced a mile a minute. Fear consumed her when Angelina’s mouth quirked into a sinister smirk.
“Now slam your face on the table.”
Without a second thought Dani’s face hit the table with such force that her brain rattled and stars danced around her head. Pain shot out in bursts.
“Again.”
Dani cried out. She slammed her face against the table again. Blood splayed everywhere. Her vision clouded over.
“Again.”
****
Everything. Hurt.
“Did they find out who did this to her?”
Dani tried to wake. She wanted to wake up. But it was like fighting against quicksand. Her dad sounded so hurt. So scared.
“Dad, I told you. No one did this to her. She did it herself.”
Bride. She was crying. Dani tried to lift her hand to let her little sister know that she was fine and to stop crying. Her hand was so heavy. Dani couldn’t budge it.
“She wouldn’t have done this to herself. That’s just plain crazy.”
The bed dipped. A hand, large and rough, clasped hers. She recognized that touch. Her dad squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be all right, pumpkin.”
Dani wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Her sister cried softly.
“I just don’t believe it. I just don’t.”
“Dad, the police showed me the videotape. Dani was sitting at the cafeteria table by herself, and the next minute she was slamming her head on the table.”
No. I was with Angelina. She made me do this.
Her dad squeezed her hand. “But why would she do that?”
“On the tape she’s talking to herself and then … bangs her head.” Bride sniffled. “She wouldn’t stop. One of the doctors had to tackle her to make her stop. And even then she was fighting to get back to the table. She only stopped after she passed out.”
Her dad let out a sob and Dani’s heart dropped. Please, don’t cry, Daddy.
Dani drifted out of consciousness again.
****
Beep. Beep. Beep.
What’s that noise?
“Her blood pressure is dropping. I think her brain is swelling again.”
Someone pried her eyelids apart. A bright light blinded her. Ow. Dani tried to wince and pull away, but she couldn’t move.
The same was done to the other.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Get her out of here now. Someone call surgery. We need an operating room stat!”
The world faded away again.
****
“Dani? Dani, baby?”
Ramsey.
Her heart leapt from her chest. He leaned over her body. Her skin reacted to his. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, to run her fingers through his hair.
Ramsey.
She was mad at him. But why?
No. He doesn’t love me. A game.
He cried. His chest heaved against hers.
Why would she think that? Of course Ramsey loved her.
A door creaked opened. “Sir? Who are you? Visiting hours are over, and besides, only family can visit the patients in the ICU. You have to leave.”
“I’m family. I’m her boyfriend.”
Boyfriend? Wait. No. He can’t be.
But why not?
Dani couldn’t piece her thoughts together.
“Sorry, but boyfriends can’t visit. You’ll have to leave.”
“And who are you?”
“I’m her nurse.”
“You don’t see me,” he said.
Dani waited for the nurse to object, to call security, but all she heard was soft whistling.
He enthralled the nurse like Angelina did me.
“Answer my questions.”
“Okay.” The nurse sounded off. Distant.
“Tell me what happened to her.”
“She was eating in the cafeteria. Then she started banging her head on the table and wouldn’t stop.”
“Was anyone with her?”
“No. She was by herself.”
“What’s the damage?”
“She smashed her nose, fractured her sinuses, and fractured her skull. She has swelling on the brain and had two emergency surgeries to relieve the pressure. The doctor is waiting to see if her swelling goes down. If it does she’ll need facial reconstruction.
“And if it doesn’t?”
“She’ll be a vegetable.”
“That’s all.” His voice broke.
The nurse began whistling again. Dani felt her arms being moved and set back down. Beeping came from one of the machines and then stopped. After a few minutes the whistling stopped and the door opened and closed.
“You’re not going to like the taste, but you have to drink this.”
What was he talking about?
He pulled her chin down. Wet drops hit her tongue.
Coppery. Old.
She tried to push the fluid out of her mouth, but her tongue wouldn’t move. Whatever he gave her continued to trickle down her throat. She swallowed. More came, and even more. She had to take gulping drinks so she wouldn’t drown.
But it felt … good.
She was getting better. The fog in her mind began to lift. She could think clearly now. Everything came rushing back to her in a flash.
She remembered. It. All.
Her heart split in two.
Ramsey was married. His wife. His family.
“Dani? Can you open your eyes, baby?”
She pried her lids apart, using muscles that were weak but growing stronger. “Ramsey.” She didn’t recognize her voice.
His eyes were red. His cheeks were stained with red streaks. “How do you feel? There’s a lot of damage, but in another day, you should be fine.”
Even as he spoke her muscles strengthened. New energy coursed through her veins. “What did you do?” Her voice came out hoarse and deep.
He licked an open wound on his wrist. It closed, healing before her eyes. “I had to give you some of my blood. I thought you wouldn’t make it.”
On reflex her stomach convulsed. “Am … am I a vampire now?”
He let out a soft chuckle and leaned over her to stroke her head. “It doesn’t work like that. It’ll help to heal you though.”
She recoiled under his touch. Everything that he’d told her was a lie. No, he hadn’t lied to her exactly, but he’d let her believe in the lie of them as a couple.
He pulled away and glanced down at her. “I’m so sorry. Am I hurting you?”
“Don’t. Touch. Me.”
He lifted away. “I’m hurting you. I shouldn’t have. My blood needs more time to work.” He seemed to be talking more to himself than her.
“You hurt me.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
He leaned over her again, avoiding his weight on her chest. He tried to rub her hair again, but she turned away. “Nadine said you never showed. I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer. I came as soon as it got dark in LA.”
Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “You.” She wanted to say more, but words failed her. Her heart ached.
He hovered over her, fussing over the bandages on her face. His eyebrows were pulled together in a straight line. He took care with his touch, gentle and soft, concentrating on not hurting her. “It wasn’t me, baby. I would never do anything to hurt you. Tell me who did this to you. Tell me.”
She turned to glare at him, hoping against hope that Angelina had lied to her. They weren’t married and that the fairy tale she’d built up around their relationship wasn’t a lie, that everything she’d felt for him wasn’t in vain, that he loved her. “Y-your w-wife.”
He reeled back as if he’d been hit with a jolt of electricity. “Angelina came here?”
Her heart splintered into a million pieces. She had her answer. “Get away from me. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
His eyebrows quivered and pulled together. She couldn’t make herself feel compassion for his pain. He was “dipping his toe into the human pool”, and she was paying the price for his games.
“Don’t ever contact me again.”
She closed her eyes, too exhausted to keep them open any longer. The door to her room opened and closed, and instantly she missed his presence. Only when she was certain he was gone did she turn to her side and curl into a ball. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, and sobs wracked through her body.