Mercy's Danger: Montgomery's Vampires Trilogy (Book #2) (Montgomery's Vampires Series) (17 page)

Every once in a while a girl has to give in, you know? Loose her grip a little.

Or a lot.

I hurdled over the railing that separated Pizza Hut from the sand and sprinted towards the water. When I reached the shore, I lobbed a fat tangle of seaweed into the ocean. I stepped on a seashell in the process, and it cut into the tender flesh of my heel. Cursing, I picked up the offending shell and hurled it into waves. Then I hurled in another one for good measure.

“I . . . I . . . I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!” I shrieked. I felt melodramatic and ridiculous, making such a spectacle of myself. But damn if it didn’t feel nice going nuts for a minute. I should have yelled “Stella!” while I was at it—that would have
really
added some flair to the tantrum.

Two surfers came gliding in on the whitewash, a young blond couple splashing each other playfully. Tanned and happy, they stood ashore and unhooked themselves from their surfboard leashes, the sun setting behind them. The boy hung his head over the girl and shook droplets of hair water onto her face. She giggled and spanked him on the butt.

They stopped smiling when they saw me.

“What are
you
looking at?” I snarled.

The couple exchanged a look—
okay, crazy woman
—and trotted away from me in a hurry. Robert stayed out of my way.

I wasn’t done.

“Why?” I probed the sky, shaking my fist. “What can’t I just have a normal life? Is that asking too much?”

I wasn’t all that shocked to hear that a Southern twang had crept into my voice. Over the years the Pelville redneck in me had faded significantly, though it would never go away completely. It tended to manifest most when I was upset. It was a reflex I couldn’t control, like being hit on the knee with a rubber hammer.

Spent, I dropped down on my knees in front of the crashing waves. I rocked back and forth, panting, clutching fistfuls of sand. I swiped the back of my hand across my upper lip to dab off sweat.

Robert tried to offer comfort by rubbing on my back. “Mercy?”

I swatted poor Robert away, who was only trying to help. “They’re never going to leave me alone, are they? Did you see what the VGO did to those people?”

“We don’t know it was the VGO,” Robert said weakly.

“Come on, you don’t actually believe that, do you? Think of the countries where people have been combusting—those are the
exact
countries Leopold sent the serum. The VGO must have tainted the serum, put a toxin in it that would make the ex-vamps go up in flames, which would totally explain why they wanted Edgar to monitor the shipments.” It was a leap, but the explanation seemed as reasonable as any. “They didn’t want to steal it; they wanted to poison it.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Robert agreed.

“They aren’t going to stop until I’m dead. They have eternal life, so it’s not like they’ll grow old and tired from searching.”

“Hush now, baby,” Robert soothed. “We’ll think of a solution.”

It didn’t seem right. On the surface, things looked perfect. Robert and I were two people in love, supposedly honeymooning on a tropical island deemed one of the most beautiful locales on the planet. We had endless funds at our disposal and health was on our side . . . Or so it appeared. A passerby never would’ve guessed that the handsome man at my side was a recovering vamp. His handsomeness may have made their hearts race, which was ironic because Robert used to have no pulse to speak of.

“Will we?” I whispered. “We’ve been here a week and things have already started falling apart. That man went up in flames! I don’t think I’ll ever get that image out of my head.”

Robert could barely muster a nod. “It’s going to be al—”

“Please stop telling me that it’s going to be alright! I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but what I don’t need is you patting my head. It brings me absolutely no comfort.” I met his eyes. “I love you
so much
, but you’re a terrible liar, Robert. I’m not a child who needs placating. I’m a big girl. It would make me feel far less terrified if you’d level with me. Denying the truth makes me feel alone, like . . . like I’m losing my mind or imagining things. I am in serious trouble, Robert, and I am scared.”

Robert flopped down on the sand next to me. Had I tried the same maneuver, I would have looked like a drunk trying to settle back into a beanbag. Only an ex-vampire could make such a graceless movement appear elegant. It was peculiar how some of Robert’s vampire talents lingered, like his ability to move swiftly. Some of his lost traits even appeared to be coming back—impeccable hearing, strength, and impossible muscle tone. I didn’t care what vampy traits he recovered, as long as he didn’t get sick again.

“Alright, Mercy.” Robert sat back and sighed. “You are in trouble—
serious
trouble. We both are. The VGO’s reach extends far beyond what I’d imagined.”

“They won’t stop until I’m dead, will they? They won’t kill you because you’re one of them, but they’re going to get to me eventually. It’s a matter of time, isn’t it?”

“I’m
not
one of them.”

“But you used to be vampire,” I countered. “That has to count for something.”

“Human is human to them, Mercy. I’m a traitor for helping you.”

“Assholes,” I grumbled. “And you didn’t answer me about the other thing.”

“I don’t know anything for certain.”

“Sweetheart . . .”

“Okay,” Robert said. “They won’t stop until you’re dead.”

I sniffed, but the fresh tears I’d expected never showed. I’d developed quite a thick skin. “I figured as much. But thank you for leveling with me.”

“You don’t seem too upset.”

I surprised myself—and Robert—by chuckling. “I wouldn’t say that. You
were
present on the beach a couple minutes ago, right? When I went mental over by the water? Sorry about that, by the way. I’m embarrassed. I think I scarred that poor couple for life.”

“There’s no need to be sorry. This is a stressful time—for both of us.”

“Yah, yah.”

“You’re taking the news awfully well.” Robert cast me a sideways glance. “Are you
smiling?
”

“What else can I do? I am so completely and utterly screwed. All I can do at this point
is
laugh.”

Robert pulled me onto his lap. I nestled against his shoulder and he caressed my hair. I felt better instantly. I studied the shimmering waves, their individual crests highlighted by moonlight, like whipped vanilla frosting in a bowl. Leave it to me to think of sweets at such a perilous time.

“If I’m going to die, I suppose there’d be worse ways to go.”

“You’re not going to die, Mercy. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Robert promised.

“This one may not be up to you. You can’t be there to save me all the time.”

“I will die protecting you, if that’s what it takes.”

The adrenaline that had coursed through my body earlier had been replaced by drowsiness, like I was crashing from the strongest caffeine buzz of my existence. I grinned lazily. If these truly were my last days on earth, I didn’t want to spend them stressed out and depressed. I vowed then and there to make the best of my situation, whatever the outcome.

“What are you going to do, Robert, beat up everyone in the VGO?”

“You shouldn’t make jokes, darling,” Robert chided. “But I will if that’s what it takes.”

“My hero until the end,” I murmured against his chest.

I watched as the sea crept over land, licking away my footprints, foam sloshing and smoothing over sand to make it perfect once again. I wished life could work like that—that each day came with a tide that would roll in at the end and smooth out the mistakes a person made along the way. Perhaps I wasn’t designed to have a flawless life, or even a normal one for that matter. Maybe I was never going to be regular the same way some people would never have a decent singing voice or be skilled at painting. Maybe it wasn’t in the cards for me. Maybe I was a weirdo, through and through. A freak until the end.

And you know what? I was okay with that.

I asked, “Do you think things would be different if
I
were different?”

“None of this is your fault, Mercy.”

I sat up and then eased off Robert’s lap, sitting cross-legged next to him. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh?”

“What I mean is . . . Do you think it would make any difference to the VGO if I weren’t human anymore?”

“You mean if—”

“Yes. If I were vampire.”

“But I thought you weren’t sold on immortality.”

“Well, sure,” I said, doodling a happy face in the sand. “That was
before
I had a band of lunatics trying to kill me. It seems I no longer have a choice, doesn’t it?”

“But . . .” Robert was stunned. And a little excited, judging by the twinkle in his eye.

“If I were vampire, it would negate the VGO’s need to come after me, wouldn’t it? I’d no longer be a threat to them if I were no longer human, right?”

“I imagine . . .”

“But what?”

“But . . . I . . .” Robert hesitated. “I wouldn’t want you to make such an important decision because your hand was being forced. You should make the change because you
want
to be vampire, not because you’re afraid.”

“I never said that I
didn’t
want to be a vampire.”

“Yes, but you never said that you
did
, either.”

“I wasn’t sure, that’s all,” I reasoned. “It’s daunting—living forever, drinking blood, and giving up the sun.”

“And you’re positive now?”

“Positive as I’m ever going to be. I guess.”

“Mercy—”

“Look at it like this—
you
didn’t really have a choice, did you, when you were changed over? And we know what happened to Liz. And yet you and Liz both
love
being vampires.” I paused. “When I think about it, I’ve never
met
a single vampire who doesn’t adore being immortal.”

“It’s . . . But . . . I . . .”

“See! You have nothing left to argue.” I added fangs to my happy face. It didn’t make the doodle look better or worse—just different.

“I have one detail to argue, though I suppose ‘argue’ is the wrong term.”

“What is it?”

Robert paused. “I imagined that
I
would be the one to turn you.”

“Ah,” I said. “Now I see. But you can’t because you’re human.”

“Yes.”

“What a turn of events, huh? Now
you’re
human and
I’m
the one who’s going to be vampire.”

“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind,” he said.

“I only want this nightmare to be over. Don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“And so what about you not being able to turn me? It’s probably for the best, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“From what I understand, the one who makes you will forever have a sort of power over you, right? A kind of pull?”

“It’s not a power, more like a sense of loyalty,” Robert clarified. “It’s very difficult—not just emotionally, but physically—to go against the wishes of your maker. This is why the situation with Leopold proved to be so difficult. I knew he was wrong and yet—”

“And yet it was very difficult for you to stay angry at him,” I finished.

“Exactly.”

“There you have it. If you made me vampire you’d have influence over me.”

“So?”

I leaned in and planted my lips on Robert’s. “Baby, I think you already have enough.”

He chuckled. “Yes, that would be
terrible
—you giving me my way all the time.”

“Right. I’m sure you’d
hate
that.”

“Who do you want it to be, then?”

“At this point, I don’t think it’s a matter of who I’d
want
it to be, but rather who it
can
be. If I had my choice it would be Liz, but we know that isn’t going to happen.”

Robert scowled. “Yes, they’ll be keeping tabs on the vampires closest to us and have surveillance on Dignitary. So this means Marlena can’t change you, either—not that you’d want
her
to be the one. Leopold should have to do it, after what he’s brought upon us. It would serve him right, having to change you.”

“You make it sound like a punishment.”

“Changing you would be a punishment for Leopold. Imagine Leopold, ‘stuck’ as a human.” Robert grunted. “I bet if he were the one stuck, he’d have a cure in no time.”

“That’s right! How could I forget?” I flapped my hands at my sides. “Great, another obstacle to hurdle. How are we going to find a vampire willing to give up their immortality for the sake of changing me?”