On the Edge of Destiny (Book 3) (A Vampire SEAL Novel) (2 page)

His expression flickered with confusion or something I couldn’t figure out. Did he think he would hurt me if he bit into me? He smiled as though he had found the answer to whatever was plaguing him.

“Why are you smiling? Seriously, if you’re hungry—”

His finger grazed my lip. “I’m fine. It’s…” His gaze penetrated me as if he were searching my soul.

Now I was confused. “What? I know it’s not legal for new vampires like me, but can you drink from another vampire?”

“I’m not bound by the law like you are. Soon enough, you will not be, either.” His eyelids dropped to half-mast. “My struggle right now…is my desire…to taste your blood. And, beautiful, it has nothing to do with my blood thirst.” His seductive voice caressed every inch of my body, inside and out.

My lips formed a silent O. I’d remembered how sensual it felt when I drank his blood.

“Exactly,” he said in response to my facial expression.

Heat stung my cheeks while a butterfly winged through my abdomen.

“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s life and part of being a vampire.”

I thought back to when I witnessed Edmund sinking his fangs into Kate. I’d felt as if I’d interrupted some private make-out session.

“Webb?” George called from the road.

“We’ll talk more later. We need to go.”

Oh, my
was all my brain kept repeating.

He took hold of my hand, and we walked to the car. Well, Webb walked, and he pulled me. I was still in zombie mode, trying to get my brain unstuck. How would it feel if he drank from me? My cheeks were going to be red and hot the rest of the night.

When we were strapped into the backseat of the car, the fragrant strawberry scent inside snapped my brain back to the present, reminding me the woman driving was human.

Webb threaded his fingers through mine as the lady turned the wheel and gave the car a little bit of gas, then we were moving. I let out a sigh, grateful we were alive. After the boating accident and fighting Edmund and his gang, I was beginning to think I had nine lives.

“What was wrong with the car, George?” Webb asked.

“Not completely sure, but the engine seemed to be flooded. It took a few tweaks, and then it started.”

“Thank you, George, for your help,” the lady said. “And again. I’m so sorry about what happened.” Her voice was soft but shaky.

She looked to be in her thirties. A studded clip secured her brown hair into a chignon. She had pale skin, which I imagined might be from her almost killing me or herself.

“By the way, I’m Lauren. I’ve met George here.” She flicked her head toward George, who was sitting in the front. “And you are?” She checked in the rearview mirror.

I slid a sideways glance at Webb. “I’m Webb, and this is Jo,” he said.

“So what happened?” she asked. “One minute you were in the road, and the next you were gone. Like in a flash.”

“We’re not sure,” Webb replied. “We lost the brakes on our car.”

I didn’t think that was what she was asking. Webb had swooped me up at vampire speed.

“You don’t even have a scratch on you.” She looked at me in the rearview mirror with a suspecting look.

“What were you doing up here?” Webb asked.

Way to change to the subject.

“My dad owns one of the homes up on the hill,” she said. “Webb, you must be the gentleman who owns the magnificent house not far from his? I have to say. You look awful young to own that home.”

There were two other homes that sat along the coast about ten miles from Webb’s home.

Webb and I exchanged glances. I was surprised she directed the checking question to Webb and not George. Sure, her father probably told her. But Webb didn’t spend a lot of time at his house. He lived on the naval base ninety-nine percent of the time. Plus he’d told me it had been awhile since he had been up to here. To me that meant Webb had little interaction with her father.

“Actually, I own the house,” George answered.

She eyed him briefly. “Oh,” she said in a surprised tone.

She seemed to know George was lying.

“Well, my dad is getting old,” she offered.

“Who is your father?” George asked her.

She’s fishing for something.
Webb’s voice sounded loud and clear in my head.

“Robert Pride.” Her eyes stayed on the road ahead.

“Both of those properties are vacant right now. Their owners aren’t here yet for the summer,” George said.

“My father will be up in a couple of weeks. I came up to unwind. It’s quiet up here.”

Silence ruled.

The lights of the town came into view as Lauren maneuvered the last curve on the winding road.

“There’s a diner up ahead on the left. Do you mind dropping us there?” Webb asked.

“No, not at all. I’ll stop a minute with you before I make my way back to Boston,” Lauren answered.

We rolled into the diner, and a neon light flashed Open in the window. All of us exited the vehicle.

“You should be okay to make it back to Boston,” George said. “But now that we have more light, let me take one last look at the engine.”

“That would be wonderful,” Lauren said. “I need to use the facilities.” She snatched her purse and headed inside.

“George.” Webb followed him to the front of the vehicle. “Did she say anything to you when you were helping her?”

George popped the hood of the Lexus and buried his head underneath, fiddling with a few things.

“Just small talk. She’s a bit shaken up,” he replied. “I’m not sure she is who she says she is. A Robert Pride does own one of those homes, but I wasn’t aware he had a daughter.”

“Is he a vampire?” I asked.

“No. He’s not.” He stopped what he was doing. “And he doesn’t know most of this town is made up of vampires. The folks who own those two homes up on the coast are only here a few times a year.”

“When you left the house earlier, where did you go?” Webb asked him.

“I came down and sat with Trina for a bit and had some pie. Then I got gas and a few things at the store. Afterwards, I worked in the yard. The only time the limo was out of my sight was when I was in the diner and in the store.”

“Mmm. When you finish, can you round up Stan from the sheriff’s office and alert him to what happened tonight? I need to call in.” Webb reached into his pocket for his phone.

“No problem, sir.” George bent forward and resumed tinkering with the engine.

Switching my attention to Webb, I followed him across the parking lot to the edge of the diner. “Are you calling my father?”

“If we want to get back tonight, I think it’s wise. He is expecting us.”

I’d overheard Webb telling him before we left we’d return by midnight, and we were at least three hours away.

Webb talked on the phone as I leaned against the building. The area outside was quiet. A gas station sat across the street. A trucker was filling up. Two blocks down, a marquee for Tam’s country store lit up the darkness.

My mouth was parched, and water sounded good, although George had mentioned pie. For some reason, the thought of something sweet tickled my taste buds. Food had not been appealing to me since I became a vampire. Dad had said we needed to eat human food, protein mostly, and although I did consume a few of my favorite meals like hamburgers and pizza, they didn’t have the same lure to me anymore.

I pushed off the building only to be stopped by Webb. I swatted away his hand as he continued to listen to my dad.

“Um. I need some water.” I glared at him.

“Hold on, Commander.” He pressed the phone to his chest, covering the speaker. “Wait until that woman comes out. I don’t trust her.” He planted a soft kiss on my nose then resumed his conversation with my dad.

How could I refuse?
Smart vampire.

He draped an arm over me, and I snuggled into him. My senses tuned in to Dad’s voice.

“Lieutenant, do you think it was on purpose?” Dad asked.

“Not sure. I can’t check it out, either, since the limo is in the ocean. My instincts tell me this wasn’t an accident.”

I jerked up my head as Webb pulled me tighter. He must’ve known how I was going to react.

“Well, stay put for the night,” Dad said.

I stiffened in his arms. Stay overnight with Webb? Alone?

My heart sprinted.

Webb rubbed a hand down my back, as though he were telling me we’d be fine, just the two of us.

Silence reigned over the line.

I envisioned Dad biting the inside of his cheek. I glanced up. Webb’s eyes waffled from blue to black then blue again. I flushed, remembering our recent conversation about how he wanted to taste my blood.

“Commander?” Webb probed.

“Sorry. Tripp walked in,” Dad said. “Mr. Jackson is here. We’ll talk tomorrow. By the way, how much blood did you take for Jo?”

“I brought a few extra containers in case of an emergency. If it’s not enough, I’ll check with Dr. Vieira. He’ll advise if she’ll be okay with what we drink.”

“Can I talk to my daughter?” Dad sounded bothered by something.

Webb handed me the phone.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Pumpkin. Are you okay?”

“It was a little scary, but I’m fine.”

“Will you be okay for a couple of days?”

“Wait. You’re asking
me
? I should be asking you that.” I wanted to laugh and run at the same time. I was nervously excited at the idea I’d be spending time alone with Webb. Nevertheless, I couldn’t believe my father, the old-fashioned vampire, was allowing me the freedom.

Dad laughed into the phone. I couldn’t tell whether or not he was nervous. “First, Jo, I can’t keep you chained, although part of me would like to.” He laughed again. “Second, you’re growing into an adult, and I need to let you make decisions. Finally, Webb knows I’d cut his head off if he did anything.”

I didn’t want to know what he meant by “anything.” Dad must’ve put the fear of God into Webb before we even left the base today.

“What’s going on with Mr. Jackson?” I moved on to something less awkward.

“I’m not sure,” Dad replied.

Mr. Jackson was becoming more curious about Sam and me. I couldn’t blame him. One minute we were living with him, and the next we had all but vanished. Lately though, his concerns were more about his son, Ben, Sam’s best friend, who always seemed to end up in our medical facility. He’d had a few encounters with Edmund Rain and the team.

“Don’t worry about Mr. Jackson. Before I forget, the council pushed out the hearing another few weeks, so I’m working on getting you a tutor for the summer,” he said.

“Why are they postponing it?” Not that I wanted to go back to school right now. The whole incident with Blake Turner was still raw, and I didn’t want any reminders.

“Something came up on their end. No need to be concerned about it,” he said. “Look, pumpkin, put Webb back on. Be careful, and I love you.”

I smiled. Mountains had moved, it seemed, for me to hear those three words from Dad. We had just shared our feelings about our father and daughter relationship a few days ago.

“I love you, Dad.” I handed the phone back to Webb.

“Yes, Commander.”

Lauren walked out of the diner and over to George.

Webb said, “Yes. Don’t worry. She’s safe,” then he pocketed his phone. “Everything okay?” Webb asked Lauren as we met her at her car.

“Fine. Why?” She dropped her phone into her purse.

She had seemed to take forever in the ladies’ room.

“I want to make sure you’re okay to drive back.”

“Thanks for your concern,” she said, eyeing Webb.

What the heck? She was checking him out. I didn’t blame her for looking. Still, a tinge of jealousy zinged through me. I almost growled but caught it in my throat. I didn’t want to call attention to us, given that Webb was suspicious of her.

George closed the hood. “Everything pans out. It was probably a fluke.” He wiped his hands on a towel.

“I should be fine. Boston isn’t far anyway.” She got into her car, started the engine, and rolled down the window. “Mr. London, here’s my card. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.”

Webb didn’t flinch when she said his last name. I didn’t remember him telling it to her. He just took the card and quickly read it before glancing up at her.

“I don’t think we’ll be needing a lawyer, Ms. Dryer,” he said with no inflection.

“If you ever do, you have my number.” Then her gaze flicked to George. “Thanks for all your help. I’ll tell my dad to look you up when he’s here.”

George nodded. “Be careful driving.”

With the good-byes out of the way, she drove off.

“How did she—?”

“Don’t know, Jo.”

I racked my brain, trying to figure out how Lauren knew Webb’s full name. We’d only told her our first names.

Her last name was Dryer, not Pride like her father.

I shrugged it off. The difference in her last name could be from adoption, marriage, or even divorce.

“I didn’t say anything,” George added before we even looked his way.

“Well, let’s not worry about Lauren right now. Did you happen to get ahold of Stan?” Webb asked George.

“I did. He should be here shortly. He was out at the Millers’ farm. They had some cattle killed recently.”

“Let’s go see Trina.” Webb slipped Lauren’s card in his jeans.

The bell dinged when we entered the diner. A couple, stood at the register. Webb nodded at the pair as though he knew them. Then a short stocky man rose from his seat, taking money out of his wallet. Webb guided me to a stool at the counter, and the three of us settled in as the patrons paid their bill. No sooner had the couple and the short man left than did the waitress turn the Open sign to Closed and glided over to us.

“Webb, darling,” she cooed, throwing her arms around him. “I haven’t seen you in ages. Where have you been?”

Webb stood and embraced the petite blonde. “Trina. Nice to see you.” He kissed her on the cheek.

She had a perfect white smile and deep green eyes. Her short hair was pulled back with a wide headband, exposing her smooth, high forehead.

“Trina. I would like you to meet a friend of mine. Jo, this is my dear old friend, Trina.”

She rested her fists on her hips and looked me over, her eyes growing wide. “She’s lovely, Webb. Wherever did you find her?” She ran her fingers through the ends of my hair.

Why did people do that when they met me? My headmistress, Ms. Lawrence, did the same thing when she first laid eyes on me.

Webb glanced around before saying, “Jo, Trina is a vamp.”