Jack Kursed (19 page)

"You touch me again," she said with a
full smile. "And you'll lose your fingers."

She watched over Thomas'
shoulder as Collins left the bar. She kept her eye on him through
the open bar door. Another cab arrived and picked him up outside.
His friend left only a few seconds after that. She memorized his
car and license plate, in case she needed it later.

Victoria didn't expect to
learn much listening to Collins at a bar. They talked in
generalities and vagueness. Still, she fumed at being interrupted.
She knew Thomas had been following her, but didn't think he'd
approach her.

"Victoria, is it? Do you mind if I
call you Vickie?" Thomas asked.

"I mind very much."

"Sorry. Look, would you step outside
with me? I just want to talk."

"I don't like talking to people that
follow me."

"I had to, okay? Look, I don't know
anything about you. But that man Jack, I don't trust him. I don't
like the idea of a little girl staying with him."

"But Andrea Simmons, that was
okay?"

"That was a mistake. An
honest to goodness mistake. We overlooked the worries of a little
kid, like people do every single day-"

"Jack didn't."

"Now look here," he said, putting a
hand on her shoulder.

She grabbed his hand with
her own and squeezed. Thomas winced at first, stunned by her grip.
His surprise turned to agony as bones cracked. His cries of pain
drew the bar patrons to their feet. She didn't let go, even as he
fell to his knees.

A man a few seats down,
easily a head taller than Victoria, stood upright and marched
toward her.

"Hey, sweet thing, you want to let the
man go?"

She reached out and
grabbed his throat. His eyes grew large as she squeezed just enough
to get his attention. He grabbed her fingers, but couldn't break
her grip. No one else approached the vampire.

She looked down at Thomas with a glare
that would make Jack proud.

"Listen very
carefully. I don't have time for you. My brother doesn't have time
for you. He made a phone call, and you lost your job. If
I
have to make one,
you'll lose a lot more. Leave all of us alone. You didn't care
about Tiffany before. Don't bother starting now. Pretty please,
with sugar on top."

Thomas managed a nod
and something that sounded like
okay
. She released Thomas' hand and
shoved the other man to the floor. After paying for her water she
left the bar, aware all eyes were still on her.

She'd have to make a call or two to
trace the license plate in her head. Collins was a piece of some
puzzle she had to figure out.

CHAPTER 9

Jack parked his truck
alongside the fence separating the school playground from the
sidewalk. It was close to noon, and children ran around like
animals. They chased each other, played games, climbed on various
obstacles that looked remarkably dangerous. Two teachers watched
the organized chaos, doing their best to keep everything in
hand.

Tiffany sat next to him,
sipping a soda they got at the convenience store. It was her idea
to stay at Mister Soon's while Jack went to school instead. She
refused to look up at him, keeping her eyes low. She looked like a
little girl now, and not an afterthought wearing clothes one size
too small. A pair of shorts and a blouse she picked out herself. He
dressed up as well for the occasion. He used to wear suits all the
time when conducting business. Enrolling Tiffany in school didn't
call for a suit, but he did pick out a nice pair of slacks and a
tan shirt with a black tie.

"You ready?" he asked.

"No. I don't want to go to
school."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to be
immortal. But life tosses all kinds of things that you don't
want."

"What's immortal?"

"Don't worry about it. Don't you want
to learn all kinds of fun stuff? Make some new friends?"

"No. I want to go to your
house with you."

"That's not gonna happen. Let's
go."

They walked side by side
along the playground, both of them observing. Jack could sense the
apprehension in his young guest, and tried not to laugh. He watched
the kids playing, and tried to imagine Tiffany right in the thick
of them. There was one bully pushing people around in a game of
dodge ball, testing his boundaries. The teachers had to yell at him
a few times.

The school's lobby was
deserted except for a solitary teacher walking down the hall. The
main office was to their right with the door open. They sat and
waited patiently to be seen. As the minutes passed Tiffany grew
restless, and kicked with her legs.

In ten minutes they were
in an office. They ended up meeting the school's principal, Mrs.
Galloway, who gave a cursory check to the mountain of paperwork
Jack had brought. She was a nice old woman, polite and
well-mannered. She shook Tiffany's hand and introduced
herself.

"You're a new foster-parent?" she
asked. "Who's your social worker?"

"I have no
idea."

She flashed him an irritated look
before flipping through the papers once again. Jack was getting
impatient himself. He knew everything he needed was
there.

"So Tiffany's in...third
grade?"

"I was taught at home," Tiffany
announced.

"There should be an
aptitude test in there somewhere," Jack said.

"If I'm bad, are you gonna put me in
the closet?" Tiffany asked.

Jack noticed the look of horror on the
principal's face.

He leaned his head toward
Tiffany and lowered his voice. "No one is gonna hurt you again,
okay?"

Mrs. Galloway's eyes met Jack's, and
it was clear she wanted an explanation.

"Did you watch the news yesterday?" he
asked. "Andrea Simmons?"

She nodded.

"Tiffany came from that home. I'm
watching after her now."

Mrs. Galloway's hand shook
as she covered her mouth, recognition flashing across her
face.

"Tiffany. Tiffany March," she said.
"She was in the news a few years ago. Oh my God."

"I'm right here." Tiffany said with a
scowl.

Jack laughed and patted
her on her good shoulder. "Yes, yes she was. This is all a fresh
start for her."

The slight disdain Mrs. Galloway had
disappeared. She was much more easy-going as she looked through
Tiffany's papers.

"Her tests are a little
low, but we'll try her out in Miss Hernandez's class. The school
year's just started, so Tiffany should be able to catch up in no
time." Mrs. Galloway looked over Jack's shoulder out into the main
office. "Speak of the devil. Miss Hernandez?"

Jack turned in his chair
to see a strikingly beautiful woman. Dark skin, brown eyes,
straight black hair. She wore a flower dress that stopped at her
knees and showed off some nice curves. The dress had a high
neckline, only showing her shoulders and arms, much to Jack's
dismay.

At odds with Miss Hernandez's beauty
was the large scar that ran from above her left cheek to her jaw.
Her left eye was slightly red as well.

Jack couldn’t take his
eyes off it, and wondered how it happened. An abusive significant
other? An accident? Self inflicted?

"Miss Hernandez, do you have a few
minutes?"

"Sure. I was just finishing
lunch."

"This is Tiffany March and
her foster-father Jack Kursed. She’ll be starting in your class
tomorrow. Would you mind showing her around?"

She unleashed a lovely smile.
"Certainly."

Jack and Tiffany stood up, but he was
slow in moving. Hernandez locked eyes with him, her smile turning
into a frown when she realized what he was staring at.

"I’m sorry," he finally
said. "I was just looking at your scar."

Mrs. Galloway shifted in her seat as
the tension in the room grew. Miss Hernandez looked horrified and
subconsciously touched her face. Tiffany tugged on his arm until he
glanced down at her.

"Jack," she said. "That’s
not nice."

"It’s not?" he whispered.
"Oops."

"Right," Miss Hernandez
said, trying to fake a smile. "Well, let’s hit that
tour."

The teacher led them
around the school. She showed them the library, cafeteria, gym,
auditorium, and computer lab. Jack laughed to himself as they
strolled along. It was the first time he’d seen the inside of an
official school. When he went to school, it was a single room, and
the so-called gym was outside.

Jack was content not to
say a word during the tour, only stealing glances at the lovely
teacher here and there. But Miss Hernandez wanted to engage in
small talk.

"So, Mister Kursed-"

"Jack, please."

"Okay. Call me Erica. Where are you
and Tiffany from?"

He found it refreshing she
didn’t know of Tiffany’s past, but knew that wouldn’t last
long.

"Tiffany’s from right
here. I’m from all over the place."

"Ah. San Diego here. I moved here a
few years ago. My parents are from Belize."

He nodded. That explained her skin
tone.

"I went to Belize on business a while
back."

"Really?" Erica said, her
eyes lighting up. Her enthusiasm reminded him of Tiffany. "I’ve
always wanted to go there."

"Don’t. It’s a
shit-hole."

Tiffany giggled. Erica looked at them
both with hurt eyes.

"Wow. Thank you for
insulting my parents’ home."

"You’re welcome. I just
saved you a hefty airfare."

The final stop of the tour
was her classroom. Jack stole another peek at Erica’s form as she
led them through the doors. Tiffany caught him, and he simply
smiled and shrugged. The girl laughed, and Erica turned to look at
them. Jack playfully gave his house-guest a hip bump.

The classroom was empty,
as the children were still outside enjoying recess. At first glance
it looked like a normal classroom, but Jack noticed the projector
hanging from the ceiling and a laptop on Erica’s desk. Chalkboards
had long ago worn out their welcome, and a dry-erase board hung on
the wall.

"Not bad," Jack said.
"When I was a kid, there were thirty of us in a room half this
size. Cars hadn’t even been invented yet."

Tiffany laughed. "You’re
not that old."

"I think that about covers our
wonderful little school," Erica said. "Do you have any questions?
Tiffany? Jack?"

Tiffany moved from one
desk to the next, just having fun. Jack leaned a little closer to
ask a question he knew might not be comfortable.

"I’ve got one. The
cafeteria food here. Is it bad?"

Erica said nothing, but the slight
change in her expression told him all he needed to know. She opened
her mouth, but Jack spoke first.

"Say no more. Tiffany will
bring her own lunch."

Tiffany stopped jumping
around and stood next to Jack’s side.

"Did you say lunch? Can we
eat? I’m starving."

"I cooked you a king’s
breakfast this morning. Bacon, eggs, pancakes-"

"I’m still
starving."

He laughed, and looked
into Erica’s eyes. Her left eye seemed a little redder than
before.

"It’s been a pleasure,
Erica."

She held up a hand before they could
turn to leave.

"There’s just one more
thing," she said. "My scar-"

Jack tried to speak, but Erica got her
words out first.

"I'd just turned
twenty-one, my first night out at a club." She spoke as if she’d
told the story a hundred times, like it was a standard part of the
tour. "A fight broke out near me and my friends. A guy swung a
bottle, but whoever he was aiming for ducked and hit me instead. A
face-full of stitches, bloody eye. It used to look a lot worse,
actually."

Jack looked down at
Tiffany, who met his gaze. He felt like his ears had just been
violated. It was impossible to
un
hear what she said. Her scar
piqued his curiosity for a moment, but that was all. He didn't want
to know her history, didn't care in the least. As long as she was a
good teacher, her scar could have been caused by a werewolf. It was
all the same to him.

"We...didn't ask about your
scar."

"Yeah, but you were
thinking it. I tell all the parents and students. It's just one
less awkward thing in the way. Saves you both an uncomfortable
talk, gives the kids on the playground one less thing to gossip
about, that sort of thing."

He looked her up and down, storing
away details in his mind.

"Well, I can't see your
thighs because of the dress, but your calves are very nice. Ass,
chest..." He flashed a thumbs-up. "Impressive. You've got that dark
complexion, beautiful. Gorgeous hair, great smile. The jury is
still out on your personality, but you seem pleasant enough. And
the scar with the bit of red in your eye, believe it or not, ties
it all together. It's an interesting contrast, makes you one hell
of a sexy woman. I'm sure you don't have any problems getting
noticed by the fellas just from your looks alone."