Chapter Eighteen
Dani didn’t want him anymore.
Who could blame her? Because of him she’d almost died. Angelina put her in the hospital, but guilt made it feel as though he’d attacked her himself. He’d promised Dani he would protect her, and he’d failed.
Ramsey left the hospital in a blur, not caring the panic that he caused in his wake. People screamed and startled as doors flew open, some being ripped from the hinges, seemingly by themselves. He took three steps from the building and was in the air before his feet touched the street. He had murder on his mind and headed straight to Angelina’s house.
How he traveled wasn’t by flying, not in the traditional sense of the word. He didn’t flap his arms and couldn’t manipulate the air around him. What he did would be considered gliding. When he jumped into the air, he projected himself toward a certain direction and rode the air currents until he reached his destination, then aimed to fall. He couldn’t change directions in the air. Multiple trajectories required him to land and jump again. But his route from LA to Shreveport was a single shot.
With a thunderous boom, Ramsey landed on Angelina’s front porch. The wood cracked and smashed around his legs, giving way. He sank through until his feet hit the dirt underneath. Ramsey jumped from the wreckage to land by her front door. He didn’t bother trying the doorknob. With a push of his hand, he sent the door flying off. “Angelina!”
No answer.
He stalked through the house, one room at a time, and anything in his path became a victim of his rage. He smashed everything in his sight, breaking through each locked door, pulling out every item from the closets.
He. Wanted. Her. Dead.
He screamed her name when he entered each room. No one answered his calls. No one came to greet him.
Empty.
Angelina and her fledglings were in hiding.
Ramsey stopped in the middle of the living room and turned in a circle. He raked his hand through his hair. His anger needed appeasing. He had to hit something … someone. He picked up a leather couch and threw it. It hit the wall and crashed through to the hallway beyond. He picked up a glass table and tossed it like a Frisbee. It slammed against the wall and splintered into a million pieces.
He kicked furniture. Put his hand through the walls and punched out the windows. Destruction laid out before him, but nothing made him feel better. He balled his hands into fists. The only thing that would calm him was to have Angelina’s neck between his fingers. He’d given her behavior so many passes. It was because of him that she was a vampire. He’d created a crazy little monster. Every heinous act she’d committed, he’d covered her and made excuses. If he would’ve changed her sooner she wouldn’t have taken the poison that had screwed up her brain. How many times had he told himself those very words when in fact he should’ve put her down eons ago? She was a sadistic bitch, and there was no forgiving her this time.
Ramsey planned to pluck her head off her shoulders like a dandelion.
Ramsey raised his hands to his sides and threw his head back with yell. “Valicinia!” he called out her ancient name. The name that she’d given up a millennium ago for a more modern one.
“Valicinia!” he yelled out again.
Silence.
“I will find you, and you will die!”
He jumped, crashing through the roof and into the night sky.
He was home within minutes, landing in the driveway, not taking care of the crushed concrete under his feet. He stood in a four-foot hole.
He hung his head low. A hole was where he belonged—deep, and never to be dug up again. That’s what the Creator had done. Given up on watching everything around her slip past and took the longest sleep.
A whimper escaped his lips.
He’d found true love, and he’d put her life in danger.
He had done this to her.
He couldn’t protect her.
He was nothing.
The front door opened. “Sir?”
“Go inside, Marcos.” Ramsey couldn’t move. He stared at the ground, letting his blood tears drip from his face.
“The sun will be up soon.”
Ramsey gave a curt nod. He was aware. His body tugged and pulled, sending him warning signals to go to sleep.
“Nadine and I called Dani’s cell phone. Her sister finally answered and told us what happened. I-is she going to make it?”
Ramsey didn’t answer. He couldn’t talk.
Marcos made his way down the steps, his breaths coming out in hard pants. A reminder that the cancer was spreading again.
“Leave me alone, Marcos.”
Marcos made it to him, coughing and out of breath. “I think this concerns me, too. I want to help out in any way that I can. Dani was good for you. I hate that something happened to her.”
“You don’t have to worry about her anymore.” He couldn’t bring himself to tell Marcos that Dani was through with him.
“How can I not? She brought so much light into your life. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been nothing more than a walking zombie with a bad attitude, trudging through one night after the other. You’ve laughed and smiled more during the short time that Dani has been in your life than all the years I’ve known you put together. She’s brought out a spark in you that I haven’t seen before.”
And now he’d lost her. “You’re not helping the situation.”
“All I’m saying is that I’ve been worried about you for a very long time. I’ve often wondered what you would do when I died.”
“I really don’t want to talk about this right now, Marcos.” Ramsey had enough going on to send him spiraling into depression. He didn’t need Marcos adding to it.
“Since you’ve met Dani I haven’t worried about you. Finally, I saw that you could have someone else worth living for, besides a promise that you made to your children and prolonging my life. With Dani you’re happy. You deserve to be happy. Your children would be proud of everything that you’ve done and accomplished in their names. It’s time for you to claim your happiness, sir.”
“You remind me so much of Litua. Compassionate, pure of heart and quick of wit.” Ramsey sighed.
“If you’re planning to greet the sun this morning I should be with you.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. I’m not planning on killing myself.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
Ramsey looked at Marcos. “But I do have to kill your grandmother.”
Marcos covered his chest with a hand. “Good, Lord. What has she done now?”
****
Ramsey stalked down the street, not giving the pedestrians a second glance or thought. Once, a long time ago, there hadn’t been any streets at all, but dirt paths that were frequented by horses and carts. How long had it been since he’d been back to his birthplace? A thousand years? Maybe more.
Once his children’s family had migrated from the area, there really hadn’t been a reason to return to Gaul, which was now called Plobsheim. Of course, he didn’t recognize any of his surroundings. The place he knew had been leveled and rebuilt many times over.
Ramsey glided down the sidewalk with stealthy grace, determination in every step he made. To look at him someone would believe he had a purposeful destination in mind. They wouldn’t know that in his head was a map of a land that he’d frequented thousands of years ago. He’d gone to all Angelina’s old haunts: Milan, Frankfurt, Nigeria, Egypt, Barcelona, and he couldn’t get a whiff of her. He’d dropped in on her friends, and no one—supposedly—had seen or heard from her.
He growled low in his throat. When he passed a parking meter he punched it, making it break apart, and coins fell in fast succession to the ground. A nearby couple yelped and jumped out of his way in surprise.
Vallus, coming from out of thin air, fell in step with him. “Hm, I didn’t know there were any parking meters left in France. And here you are, destroying it—a relic.”
“Mind your business, Vallus.”
“You see, that’s what I was at home doing—minding my business. Then I got a frantic call from Nadine saying that you haven’t been home for two weeks.”
What the hell was Nadine doing calling Vallus? It’s true that Ramsey had thrown up all his shields, cutting Marcos and Nadine from his mind, but that’s because he didn’t want either of them to witness the moment he killed Angelina. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Vallus glanced over his shoulder at the destruction that Ramsey left behind. “Seems to me that you do.”
“Tell Nadine that I’ll be home after I kill Angelina.” Ramsey leaped in the air, disappearing in a blur from human eyes. He didn’t care who saw him. By now there could’ve been hundreds of sightings of a “flying man” being spotted all over the world.
He. Did. Not. Care.
Besides, who would stop him? He chuckled at that. Out of the five Originals that the Creator had made, there were only three left. He hadn’t heard or seen from his brethren in a millennium. They all had their own flocks to tend to rather than play catch-up.
Ramsey dropped to the ground. His feet hit grass. He glanced around. Vallus materialized beside him. “Unless Angelina is hiding in the flowers, she’s not here either.”
He’d landed in what he thought was a botanical garden. His body instinctively went back to the home that he’d been born, married, and had fathered children in. “This used to be our village.” He looked down at the spot where he stood. His house had once been under his feet.
Ramsey took in a breath. His nose was assaulted by the various scents, roses of every color for all he could see. He might’ve found the smell exotic and sensual any other time, but he hunted for one scent in particular. Angelina. He sifted through the scent of the roses. Nothing.
Damn.
Ramsey kicked at the ground, sending a chunk of earth flying through the air to land twenty feet away.
“So what’s the plan now?”
Ramsey stroked his chin and peered off into the distance. “I’ll find her. She’s trying to wait me out, thinking that I’ll eventually forgive her. She’s too much of an attention hog to stay hidden for too long.”
Vallus picked a rose and brought it to his nose. “I’m surprised that she’s stayed out of the limelight for as long as she has. She likes to visit the other Originals and rub shoulders with them. She thinks that since she is as old as they are that she’s entitled to a certain … lifestyle.”
He’d once kept company with others of his kind, but over the years solitude had suited him better. On his hunt for Angelina he’d revisited old friends he’d long since fallen out of touch with. A small part of him missed the camaraderie but he was also reminded why he’d left the inner circles. Vain. Conceited. Self-serving. Angelina had taken to the vampire lifestyle with ease. There were more important things to live for than vying for a position the top.
There was family. Love. Loyalty.
“So where are you off to now?”
Ramsey looked up. “Home.”
Vallus gave him a nod, and Ramsey took to the sky.
Ramsey landed in his driveway. The hole that he’d put there almost two weeks ago was fixed. He strode to the sidewalk and bounded up the steps. At the front door, he punched in the codes and the lock clicked. He pushed the door open to the sounds of clanging.
“What the—”
Pots and pans had been stacked against the door and fell over when he opened it. In a flurry of pitter-patter, Nadine appeared at the top of the stairs in a pajama short set. “You’re back!”
“What’s all this?” He bent to pick up the pans.
“A trap.” She squeaked and scurried down the stairs so fast that he feared she would trip, fall and hurt herself. She ran into him with open arms then hugged him tight. “I’ve been setting it every night.”
He glanced at the blinking security console by the door. “We have a security alarm.”
Her scrawny arms squeezed him tighter. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
He hugged her back, taking care not to crush her back or ribs. “Has Marcos been insufferable while I’ve been away?”
“He’s been a peach. But … but we were worried about you. I didn’t know when you would come back home … or if you would come back home.”
“And the trap?”
She pulled away to look up at him. He noticed for the first time that she wasn’t wearing the dark eye make-up. Her face had been scrubbed clean, revealing her healthy beauty underneath. She was delicate and pure. “I was afraid that I would miss you when you did come home. I wanted to see you.”
Had anyone ever waited for him to come home? He couldn’t remember. Marcos had always been self-sufficient, even at the age of fifteen when he’d come to live with Ramsey. A memory flashed in his mind of him walking through the front door of the old cottage where they once lived and his children running to clamor on him, each vying for his attention. “That’s … sweet.”
Nadine pulled back and punched him in his stomach.
It didn’t hurt, but he feigned pain. “Ouch! What was that for?”
Nadine folded her arms and tapped her foot on the floor. “We tried to call you and you didn’t answer. You were gone for days without a word. How do you think that makes us feel?”
“Um, grown?”
She pointed to her head. “I even tried the mind thing. I couldn’t do it. I asked Marcos to try, and he couldn’t get through either.”
“That’s because I blocked you both out. I wanted some time alone.”
She narrowed her eyes. “We’re a family, Ramsey. Families are there for each other in a time of need. I know there’s shit going on with Angelina and Dani, but we talk it out and we deal with it. We don’t run off all vigilante style by ourselves.”
He wished it were that simple. He’d been alone for more years than she’d been alive. “I’m a vampire, love. I do run off by myself vigilante style.”
She stabbed him in the chest with a finger. “You have responsibilities. Here. With. Us.” The last three words were said between sniffles. “Marcos needs you and … and so do I.” She let out sobs.
Behind the “leave me alone” heavy make-up she wore, Nadine was a scared kid. She’d never opened up or told him why she took to living on the streets. She didn’t need to. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, trying to hide behind a hard persona when she really wanted to be loved and accepted. When he gathered her into his arms, she cried out more, her body shaking. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should’ve kept in touch with you both.”
“You and Marcos are the only family that I have,” she said through broken breaths. “I-I can’t lose you guys. I know that you probably won’t keep me around when Marcos dies, but … but I’m not ready to be alone yet.” Her tears came out uncontrollably.
He held her close, giving her the stability she needed. “Is that what you really think? Marcos, that old man, he still has a few good years left in him, and you … you’re my family, too. I know I don’t tell you that, but you are.”
She sniffled again. “R-really?”
“Of course. Do you think that I would allow just anyone to live in my house?”
“I—I thought it was because I’m a blood donor.”
“Honey, take a look around. Do you see Krista or Celine living here, too?”
“N-no.”
“That’s because they are employees. You’re family.”
Another round of sobs went through her. “I—I just kept thinking so many horrible thoughts. I thought you wouldn’t come back, and Marcos…” She sniffled. “Then I would be back on the streets.”
“I probably should’ve told you before now that I set up a trust fund for you. Love, you don’t have anything to worry about. If anything happened to me, you’ll get the house, the cars, the money, Marcos, and Mewlissa.”
She pulled away and stared up at him with watering eyes and a quivering lip. “You did that? F-for me?”
He nodded. “You can even charge Marcos rent if you want to.”
She laughed and wiped her tears away. “You do know that I’m not hanging around for the money, right?”
“I know.”
She lifted her chin. “Dani was discharged from the hospital. Miraculously she made a full recovery. She’s back home now. She hasn’t gone back to work yet.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’m friends with her on social media.”
He stepped away and leaned against the wall. The weight of his shame made him hang his head. “She doesn’t want me anymore.”
“Ramsey, you can’t control what Angelina did. Dani can’t blame you for that either. And if she does, then I hate to say it, but maybe it’s better if she kicks rocks. You’re a good guy.”
He shook his head. “Yes, she can blame me for what happened. I promised to protect her, and I didn’t.”
“Do you honestly think that you can watch over her 24/7?”
“She was attacked on my watch. I’ll never forgive myself.” His head became heavier and heavier.
Nadine sighed and leaned on the wall next to him. “Well, she knew that you had a crazy ex. I mean, you didn’t think Angelina would go after Dani. But Dani has to understand that you would’ve moved heaven and earth if you’d known that Angelina would target her.”
“Um, I never told her that Angelina was still in my life.”
“What? Dani didn’t know that you were married?”
“I’m not married anymore.”
Nadine held up a hand. “There’s no divorce paperwork. You’re still married. And I’m sure that’s the same thing that bitch told Dani, too.”
He shook his head. “Dani wouldn’t care about that. She knows how I feel about her.”
Nadine turned to face him and crossed her arms. “Um, hello. Human woman right here. Dani’s probably not upset about Angelina jumping her.” She frowned. “Well, maybe she is. But I think what really hurt her is the fact that you’re married and your wife is still walking around and you didn’t bother to tell her.”
“But I’m not—”
Nadine put up a hand, stopping him from saying anything else. “Angelina showed up, giving Dani all types of history about you two, and she probably brought up your kids.” Nadine slapped her face. “And of course then she would bring up Marcos.” Nadine cradled her head in her hands and groaned. “Now I know why she’s pissed, and I don’t blame her.”
“Wait. A few minutes ago you were on my side.”
“That was before you told me that you let your ex blindside her.”
“Huh. You think I should’ve told her?”
Nadine dropped her hands and stared at him like he was the stupidest person in the world. Maybe because he was. “You guys have been spending so much time together and boom! Out of nowhere, here comes Angelina waving her relationship with you in Dani’s face. Not to mention that your ex jumped her, throwing salt in the wound.” Nadine rolled her eyes. “Yes, Ramsey. You should’ve told her.”
“And here I was thinking that the only reason Dani hated me was because I’d failed to protect her. Now, I find out that she also hates me because I didn’t tell her about Angelina. Thank you, Nadine. I really needed another gut punch.”
Nadine turned to her back and bumped him with her shoulder. “She doesn’t hate you, dufus.”
He held up his fingers. “Yes, she does. For two reasons now.”
“Take my advice on this. She probably doesn’t blame you for Angelina attacking her. What’s hurting her right now is that she was told that you’re married. And not only married, but you’d built a life with Angelina and still have one with Marcos as the child that’s keeping you two together.”
“That sounds ridiculous.”
“No, that sounds like a logical thought process.”
“So you don’t think that she hates me?”
“Right now, she’s hurt. But that could turn into hate. Like burn your clothes in the driveway hate.”
“She doesn’t have any of my clothes.”
Nadine humphed. “Well, believe me, buddy. She’s scouring her house looking for anything that you left behind, planning to set it ablaze.” Nadine imitated a bomb going off.
“So what do I do? Should I text her or call her?”
Nadine chuckled. “Oh, boy. You’ll need to do more than ‘text or call her’. I’m talking about something epic. Something that will make her forget—at least for the moment—that you didn’t mention a crazy ex to her.”
Ramsey scratched the side of his face in thought. “Like what?”
Nadine opened her arms wide. “I’m thinking like one-hundred long stemmed roses, a big box of chocolate, her favorite wine, and probably a new car or something.”
“I can do that.”
She clapped her hands together and pushed off the wall. “Get a good night’s sleep because you have errands to run when you wake up.”
“Thanks, Nadine.”
She backed away, beaming. “And you know what, Ramsey?”
“What?”
“You got women advice from me.” She winked.
It really was a sad day indeed.