Expecting Eternity (Vamp Life #2) (13 page)

“That doesn’t answer my question.  What
do you want?  What will make life worthwhile?”  I repeated myself.  I wasn’t letting him off easy.  He’d been through just as much as the rest of us, if not more, and I wanted him to know happiness.

He frowned and the confusion was evident in his brown eyes.  “I want to be with Fate.  Give her everything.  I just don’t think it is right to pull her into my world.  Look what’s happened so far to her, to
Taya, to you….  I’m not like her.”

To hear him speak of caring deeply for someone else would have made me jealous a few months
earlier, but I found myself smiling and genuinely happy that he was moving on.  It had been a long road for us and it had led us both straight through Hell.

“She’s going to do what she wants.  It’s her decision.  Fate is old enough and
perfectly capable of deciding her own…fate?”  I grinned at Antonio and he cracked another smile.

“You know, she’s right about one thing?”  He said.

“What?”

He laughed, standing up and kissing my cheek.  “You’re a nerd.”

I feigned looking offended.  “I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“
Make your madre rest.”  Vincent’s eyes fluttered a little as if he knew Antonio was speaking to him.  “See you both soon.” 

“Alright.”
  I yawned.  “Thanks for everything.” 

Antonio left without glancing back at me and I wondered why he hadn’t mentioned anything about me being human or the baby not being a vampire.  Too much to say, too little time
, I guessed.

It was the first time
my son and I had been alone together.  I was so tired.  “Well, little guy, we made it.  I’d say we make a good team.  Neither one of us gives up without a fight.”

Suddenly, my eyes were too heavy to keep open.  It may have been the medication coursing through my veins or just exhaustion.  I saw Marcus
watching me from the doorway.  Carefully, he took our son from me and into his arms.  I didn’t want to sleep.  If I could have, I would have stayed up all day and night with my husband and child. 

“And you’re both beautiful.”  Marc added to my observations.  I wanted to thank him and tell him I loved him more than anything.  It was too late, though.  I
fell into a deep, restful slumber.

The doctor released me to go home a few days later.  It took every bit of my charm and persuasion to convince him I was ready.  Apparently, a person almost bleeding to death is a big deal.  I didn’t care.  I was going home.  My protests against being carted out in a wheel chair fell on deaf ears, though.  It was irritating and hard to explain the frustrations of being weak when I’d been a vampire for centuries.

Marcus
took the lead, taking the baby in the carrier.  The nurse pushed me through the hallway behind them.  I looked down at the flowers I was carrying in my lap.  Roger Nathis had sent them.  It was a shocking gift considering we had all accused him of murder. 

The card read,

All of us at CAVE wish you a speedy recovery! 

-Roger
Nathis, Division of Safety

The
orchid arrangement was lovely.  Despite Roger’s innocence concerning Ashley’s murder, his association with CAVE made me uneasy.  I shook the thoughts away, glancing at the balloon attached to the vase.  It was blue and said “Congratulations.”  Fate and Antonio had brought a it as a gift instead of flowers.  She didn’t want to give me flowers because flowers would die.  Dead flowers were “super depressing,” she’d informed me.

The nurse stayed with me while I signed the final paper work to be discharged from the hospital.  Marcus retrieved the car. 
He stepped out of the vehicle while we waited on the sidewalk.  Only…it wasn’t my car.  It was a white four-door I had never seen before and there was an infant car seat already in the back.

“Umm…did you sell my car?”  I asked abruptly when I’d stood up and the nurse retreated.  Marc had secured Vincent in the back and was helping me into the front.

“Yeah, it didn’t have enough power.  Hybrid piece of junk.”  I don’t know how he managed it, but he kept a straight face for a few seconds while I glared at him.  I adored my hybrid and was about to go on a rant about the environment before he let the grin slip onto his face.  “I’m just kidding, babe!  Don’t beat the hell outta me.  I traded my motorcycle in on it.”

My anger shifted immediately.  “You love your bike.”  I said softly.

“Yeah, so?  I love you and Vinny more.  Gonna be hard to put a baby on the back of a motorcycle.”  Once again, after giving up things he adored, he seemed unconcerned.  “And I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in most places to tie a baby on the back of a bike.  I mean, we might be able to move somewhere it’s allowed.” 

His joke made me laugh. 
“You never cease to amaze me.  How did you even find time to trade?”  I watched him through the window when he shut the door.  He just shrugged before walking around the car, checking it out for safety, I assume. 

Marcus
took his seat on the driver side.  Then, he shifted the car into gear.  “My buddy helped me finish up the deal.  I’d been negotiating for a while before all the shit went down.  It was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess it still worked out that way.”

Traffic was backed up, so a drive that was normally ten minutes took us closer to a half hour.  Vincent was not happy and his wailing gave us a clear picture of
the nights to come.  I let myself out of the car when we arrived at our house, not waiting for assistance from my husband.

“Let me help you!”  He was frantic, as if I would break.  Which, I’ll admit, I felt like it wouldn’t take much to take me down.

I pointed at the back seat.  “Take care of him.  I’m fine.  Promise.”  My smile reassured Marcus enough for him to agree.  The mailbox was near where we parked, so I grabbed the mail on my way inside. 

Vincent sto
pped crying after he was out of the car.  I’d always thought babies liked to ride around.  I’m not entirely sure why I thought it.  Maybe from that commercial I saw on television a while back.  Of course, my knowledge of kids was minimal since he was my first born.  Would he be my only child?  I wondered.  Humanity seemed to be giving me more and more options.

Marc unlocked the door and I
stepped inside the house.  Immediately, my eyes were drawn to the door way leading to the bedroom.  No signs of the struggle remained.  Not even a visible blood stain.  I walked forward, peering into my room. A cradle was against the wall and an old rocking chair in the corner.

Marcus wa
lked up behind me, resting his chin against my shoulder gently.  “We’ll work on Vince’s room as soon as we can run Fate off.” 

I laughed.  “I want to keep him close by. 
For a while, anyway.”

“Yeah, Fate is like having a free nanny
, too.”

I nudged him with my elbow and he winced.  “You’re terrible.” 

Both of us were grinning.  “I know.”  He urged me into the room.

We tucked the baby into his crib and he was sleeping soundly.  After a few minutes of gazing at the miracle we’d made, we headed into the living room.  I’d forgotten about t
he mail, so I opened it while Marcus made lunch.  An envelope without postage and no outside markings caught my eye.  At first, I figured it was a card congratulating me on the baby.  It was…but not entirely.

I was still looking over the card when Marc brought over a
peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“Is that from mom?  She said she was sending something.
” He snatched the paper out of my hand and was looking it over before I could respond.

“Not unless your mom is a secret member of the Vampire Society….”  The message made me nervous, but I hid my concern as I reached out and casually took a bite of my sandwich.

He read silently, not speaking until he was finished.  “So let me get this straight.  These vamps want to make you an honorary member of the Society…even though you are free of the virus?  They also want you to bring our son to one of their doctors for periodic testing to see if he will become a vampire?”  Even though the volume of his voice was low, I could perceive the frustration.

“Yeah, I guess so.  I’m not interested.”

“Our son is fine.  I don’t trust them at all.  For all we know they would infect him!  And try to brainwash him like…
A Clockwork Orange
status.”   He was reading over the paper again.

I reached out calmly and took the card from his hands.  He was overreacting out of concern for his child.  In a quick motion, I ripped the paper in half once, then again before tossing it onto the coffee table.  Marc sighed and sat down beside me, slipping his arm around my shoulder.

“Nothing is going to happen to any of us.  You’ll be bored with how normal life is going to be from now on.”  I reassured him as I snuggled comfortably against him.  At that precise moment, Vincent started crying again.

“Well…maybe not bored….”  He said as I pulled away from him.

We both looked at each other and burst into laughter.  “Yeah…I get the feeling this will be more difficult than defeating vampires and crazed stalkers.” 

“Fine with me.”
  Marc said.  “I’ve had my fill of insane people and evil fucking vampires.”

“Mr. Hart!  You’re a father now.  Watch your language.
”  I grinned as he stared at me then, went to check on Vincent.

From the Author

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