Skye Morrison Vampire 2 Sins of the Father (3 page)

We quietly sat like that, our arms wrapped
around each other, for a long while.

The office door abruptly opened and I
jumped.

Archer lifted his head from my chest and
looked up into my questioning eyes. “What do you need, Aoife?” he
asked, never breaking his gaze.

I broke eye contact and turned to look at
her. She had her fists clenched tightly down at her sides as she
looked back and forth between us. She looked angry.
Oh hell
,
I thought miserably. I didn’t feel like dealing with her attitude
right now. I turned back around and let go of Archer as I moved to
stand up.

I saw the muscles working in Archer’s jaw as
he stood up too and crossed his arms over his chest. “I asked you a
question,
páiste
,” he said firmly.

Aoife bowed her head somewhat in submission.
“Everyone is finished,
Athair
,” she said, a slight bite to
her voice. “They await our departure.”

Archer swiped the cufflinks off his desk with
a sigh and roughly shoved them into his pants pocket.

“I’ll get your jacket,” I quickly offered and
crossed the room. I tried not to look at Aoife, but I could feel
her watching my every move.

“Enough, Aoife,” Archer suddenly growled
behind me. “
Ifreann na fola
!
Mórán cainte ar bheagán
cúise
, don’t you think?”

“
Ní maith liom ise
, Archer!” she bit
back, harshly annunciating his name.

“
Is cuma liom
, Aoife!” he replied,
copying her.

Oy vey
, I sighed inwardly. These two
were giving me a headache. I was guessing she must have been
talking silently to Archer before the fight broke out. The look on
his face clearly stated he wasn’t happy with her.
Well, this
isn’t awkward at all
, I thought sarcastically. I brought the
jacket over to Archer and chanced a peek at Aoife. She was still
glaring at me, her nostrils flared.

Archer took the jacket from me and slung it
over his arm. He quickly handed me the five black wristbands that I
would need for the VIP dancers tomorrow. “Would you like us to
follow you home?”

I shook my head and put the wristbands in my
back pocket. “Thank you, but no. I’ll be okay.” The last thing I
wanted was Aoife knowing where I lived. I shuddered at the thought.
I looked into his eyes and silently spoke.
I’m going to go. Have
a good night and be safe.

He closed the two foot gap between us and
placed a gentle, lingering kiss on my forehead. “Thank you for
everything,” he whispered gently before stepping back.

I nodded my head, turned, and made my way to
the door, quickly sidestepping Aoife in the process. I was eager to
get out. You could have cut the tension in the room with a butter
knife. I hurried down the spiral stairs, completely forgetting
about the pain in my feet, and, when I reached the second floor,
descended the second set of stairs equally as fast.

“Where are you off to in a hurry?” Jameson
asked me, concern filling his voice, as I crossed the main
floor.

I stopped and detoured over to the barstools
where Jameson and the rest of the crew sat talking. “I’m going to
head home,” I answered. “Archer and Aoife will be down any second
and then you all can leave.”

“Do you want me to follow you home?” Jameson
asked, concern lacing his voice.

I shook my head and thanked him. “I’ll be
fine,” I said quietly. I leaned over and quickly kissed him on the
cheek. “Thank you, though. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be here, love.”

I gave him a small smile then walked two
barstools over to where Trey sat staring into a glass of amber
liquor. “How are you doing?” I asked him, putting my hand on his
shoulder.

Trey looked up and smiled tiredly. “I’m
better now…much better, thank you.” He turned in his chair and
reached for my hand. He held onto it tightly with both of his and
said, “I want you to know that I really appreciate what you did for
me up there…with Greyson. You are a kindhearted and compassionate
soul.” Trey patted my hand and his brow furrowed momentarily as he
searched for words. “You…radiate goodness, grace, mercy and love,
Skye Morrison. I’ve been on this earth a long time and have met
thousands of people over the years, but you, my dear, are a rare
find.”

I put my other hand over my heart. “Aw, thank
you Trey. That’s really sweet.” I was genuinely touched by his
words. I reached over and hugged his neck.

“You are a real gem honey, and I am glad to
have you as a friend,” he said as he patted my back.

“Me too, Trey,” I said, squeezing his neck
one last time before bidding goodbye to the somber gathering of
vampires.

I stopped by the lounge and retrieved the
messenger bag from my locker before heading out the back door. All
I wanted to do was get home, take a blisteringly hot shower, and go
to bed.

Ten minutes later, I pulled into my driveway
and parked next to Nikki’s old brown Volvo wagon. I looked over at
her side of the house and saw that she was still awake. Her living
room light was on and I fought the urge to knock on her door and
tell her about the awful thing that had happened tonight.
How
would she take it if I told her that vampires really existed, that
I was working for them and one of their vampire friends was
dismembered earlier tonight inside The Mausoleum?

I shook my head and chuckled bitterly. “She’d
have me committed to a mental institution,” I said aloud to
myself.

I really wished that I could open up to her
about my new job. I talked to Nikki about everything; she was my
best friend, but I couldn’t talk to her about this. Archer and
Jameson never told me that I couldn’t tell anyone about them, but
I’m sure they’d appreciate my silence on the subject.

I grabbed my bag and keys and made my way
over to the front door. As I approached my porch, I saw a vase full
of flowers, a card, and a giftwrapped box sitting on the doormat. I
stopped mid stride, looked around, but saw no strange cars and no
one outside. It was 3:30am and all was quiet on my street. I
hurried to the door, unlocked it, grabbed the gifts from the
doormat and brought them into the house before quickly shutting the
door behind me.

Styvi Nix, my three year old miniature French
bulldog, quickly came bounding down the stairs to greet me. I sat
the gift box and my bag on the floor and placed the vase of flowers
on my entry table. I bent down, scooped her up, and held her tight.
“How’s my gorgeous girl?” I purred. “Were you a good girl today?”
She barked and licked my face, her stubby tail wagging furiously. I
sat her down and went to the kitchen to retrieve a treat for her.
She followed me in, jumping up and down all the way before sitting
obediently at my feet. “Here you are, super star,” I said as I
handed her the small milk bone. She happily tossed it around the
kitchen a few times before taking it over to her black skull doggy
bed to devour.

I remembered the gifts left at my door and
walked over to retrieve them. I brought the flowers, card and box
into the kitchen and sat down with them at the kitchen table.
Who could have gotten me these?
The flowers were a gorgeous
mix of colorful Peruvian Lilies and Gerbera Daisies. I took a
moment to bend over and inhale their happy scent. I decided to open
the box first and slowly undid the ribbon and wrapping paper. The
gift box was pink and stamped with a gold V.S. My brow furrowed and
I put the box down.
What the hell? This is from Victoria’s
Secret.
No one should be buying me anything from Victoria’s
Secret. I wasn’t dating anyone so the box was really starting to
weird me out. I hesitantly reached out, took off the top, and
peeled back the gold tissue paper. Inside was a skimpy cut-out,
barely there white eyelet and ruffle teddy. I swallowed hard and
put it back in the box. I was suddenly scared to find out who had
been so bold as to buy me lingerie. I grabbed the card and tore the
envelope open. My hand started to shake as I read the
inscription.

“
My dearest Skye,

Please forgive me for how I’ve been acting.
I’ve been a complete jackass. I’m just so lost without you baby. I
thought maybe we could try dating again and take it slow. What do
you think? I’ve included a ticket to this weekend’s Black Keys
concert and I hope that you will meet me there. I’ve got the other
one and will be waiting for you by the front entrance. Wear the
teddy for me, sexy. It’ll be a night to remember for sure…

All my love,

Jesse”

Jesse Prescott was my ex-boyfriend turned
delusional creepy stalker. Just last week he put his hands on me at
my old job, Drop Kick Dan’s. I hated to admit it, but I was
terrified of him.

I looked into the envelope and there sat the
white concert ticket. I dropped the card in horror and got up from
the table. “Are you freakin’ kidding me?” I said aloud, my voice
rising angrily. I scoffed and put my hands on my hips.
“Un-freakin’-believable!” I was angry. Not just angry, I was
furious. How dare he come by my home and leave that disgusting
teddy!
As if I’d EVER wear something like that for him
again!
Hell would freeze over first. Jesse and I were over and
had been for months.

I quickly gathered the flowers, card,
giftwrapping and box and walked out the side door that led to my
garage. I lifted the lid on my trash can, threw everything in it
and put the lid back down. I walked back inside, locked the door
and washed my hands.
There is something seriously wrong with
him. How could he think, after what he did to me in the club last
week, that I’d ever want to have anything to do with him again?
I shook my head, dried my hands and realized that my whole body was
shaking.
Get a grip, girl. You’re in your house and you are
safe.

My eyes flew to the front door and I realized
that I had forgotten to lock it when I came in. I ran over to it
and threw the deadbolt as quickly as I could. I locked the door
handle and threw the chain on it too just for good measure. I
leaned my back up against the door and tried to take even, calming
breaths. My heart was racing and I felt sick to my stomach. Jesse
Prescott had become an object of my nightmares. He had been calling
my phone and coming by my work and house for weeks. He was defiling
my home, my sanctuary, with his unwelcome visits and gifts. I shook
myself again, made sure all the doors and windows were locked, and
went upstairs to take a scalding hot shower. After the day I had at
work, Jesse’s loser antics were just the icing on the cake. I was
mentally exhausted and couldn’t wait to crawl into bed.

I showered quickly, toweled off, and blew my
waist length red hair dry. I threw on my TXRD Holy Rollers t-shirt
and a black pair of bikini panties and crawled into bed. I whistled
for Styvi Nix, set the alarm on my cell phone, and snuggled under
the covers with her. “I love you so much, my good girl,” I said
kissing her head. She licked my cheek and snuggled in my arms.
“Goodnight, sweet pea.”

My alarm went off at noon and I groaned,
fumbled around, and finally managed to cut it off. Styvi Nix was
sitting at the end of the bed, patiently waiting for me to wake up.
“Well good morning, sunshine!” I cooed at her. “Are you hungry?”
She wagged her tail furiously, barked once and turned around in a
circle. I laughed and threw back the covers. “Okay, okay I’m up!
Let’s go.”

I followed her down the stairs, rubbing the
sleep from my eyes as I went into the kitchen. I put out some fresh
water and a cup of dry kibble and watched her happily attack it for
a minute and before turning and putting a kettle of water on the
stove to heat up.

I took out a coffee mug, added a bag of
English Breakfast tea to it, and set it on the kitchen table. I
felt like having cereal for breakfast and poured myself a small
bowl of Raisin Nut brand. When the kettle whistled, I filled my cup
and let the bag steep as I leisurely ate.

When I was done I went upstairs, threw on
some running shorts and put my hair up in a ponytail, grabbed my
iPod and my armband, and got ready to take Styvi for a walk. I
whistled and she bolted through the doggy door and ran up to me. I
helped her into her harness, attached the leash, grabbed my house
keys, and stepped out, making sure to relock the door behind me. I
quickly glanced around to be sure Jesse wasn’t sitting outside my
house and took off jogging down the street.

Styvi Nix loved going for runs with me, but
she couldn’t keep up for very long. I normally ran half a mile then
walked half a mile and examined the pace so I would not tire her
out too quickly. She loved yipping hi to Mrs. Tatum’s shitzu Dolly
whenever we passed by and today was no exception. I watched as they
happily barked back and forth as we turned the corner at the
entrance of my neighborhood. I was jamming along to Guns n Roses,
not paying attention to where I was stepping, when I crashed right
into someone.

“Oh my goodness!” I said as I reached out and
gripped the stranger’s arm. Styvi Nix had wound her leash around
both of our legs and I quickly bent down, struggling to free us.
“I’m so sorry, sir. I…I wasn’t paying attention.” I stumbled as I
took the ear buds out of my ear and hung the cord around my
neck.

The man laughed a deep, masculine purr. “It’s
okay. It was my fault. I wasn’t watching either.”

His voice sounded really familiar and I
glanced up from my work on the leash to look at the stranger’s
face. It was Gavin, the guy that I met at the gym and the one who
had saved me when Jesse tried to drag me out of Drop Kick Dan’s by
my hair last week. He was wearing athletic shorts, a black tank
top, and he had an mp3 player strapped to his bicep like me. It was
obvious he was out for a run too.