Skye Morrison Vampire 2 Sins of the Father (4 page)

“Gavin?” I asked confused. “What are you
doing here?”

He turned around a few times, untangling his
legs from the leash. “Me? I live here. What are you doing here?” he
asked with a laugh, shaking his head.

“You live in East Wind Estates, too?” I asked
cautiously. I sure was running into him a lot and I wanted to make
sure he wasn’t following me. A single girl can never be too careful
these days.

Gavin rubbed the back of his forearm across
his brow and then put his hands on his hips, taking deep, even
breaths. You could tell he had been running fast. “Yeah, I just
moved in. I live over on Navajo Trail, toward the back of the
neighborhood.”

“No kidding,” I said, my brow furrowed
slightly. I lived just one street over on Comanche Cove. I had
absolutely nothing against Gavin, I liked him; I guess I was just
being extra cautious because of Jesse’s recent antics.
Ease up,
girl. It’s just a coincidence. He’s a good guy and you know it.
“How do you like the neighborhood so far?”

Gavin smiled a genuine, heart stopping smile
and began running in place. “I love it. I love it even more now
that I know you live here.”

I couldn’t help the blush I felt spreading
hot across my cheeks. Gavin was very handsome. He was my height,
had tattoo covered skin, rippling muscles, gorgeous green eyes, and
a buzz cut. He was definitely my cup of tea. I swallowed hard and
looked down at Styvi Nix in an attempt to hide the blush.

“Well, don’t just stand there, babe,” Gavin
said as he gently pulled my elbow. “Come on. Let’s get our run
on.”

I smiled up at him as Styvi pulled on her
leash, eager to start running again. “Alright,” I said and fell
into a comfortable rhythm beside him.

We alternated running and walking around the
neighborhood for the next two hours. At one point, Styvi Nix got
too tired and Gavin picked her up and carried her in his arms the
rest of the way. She was all too happy for the ride and snuggled
contently down into his arms. My heart melted at Gavin’s
thoughtfulness. Seeing a guy being so sweet to my Styvi gave me
butterflies. Every girl likes a gentleman.

We comfortably conversed during the rest of
the walk to his house on Navajo Trail. He offered to walk me the
rest of the way home but I declined.

“It’s alright, Gavin,” I said with my thanks.
“I’ve got to get ready for work anyway.” He gently handed me a
sleeping Styvi Nix, took a card out of his wallet and gave me his
number.

“Call me anytime, running buddy,” he said
with a smile and walked to his door. I watched him unlock it and
step inside.
Hm. So he really DOES live there.
I immediately
chastised myself.
Of course he does, Skye. Not everyone is a
lying psycho.
I shook my head, cuddled Styvi and walked the
block home.

I quickly showered, put on my makeup, and did
my hair. I didn’t have time to blow dry it so I put a ton of mousse
in it, tossed it around a few times, and fixed it with my fingers.
I was going for that sexily messy, bed-head look and hit the nail
on the head. Tonight I was going to be working the main bar, so I
wanted to wear something sexy but comfortable. I chose a black
buckle PVC bustier, a matching PVC miniskirt, fishnet stockings and
my black buckled, knee high gothic boots. I couldn’t stand the
thought of being in high heels for ten hours again today. I added a
black slave bracelet and choker combo and then looked into the full
length mirror on the inside of my closet door. The outfit looked
really awesome but I was momentarily concerned with the amount of
cleavage that was hanging out of the top of my bustier. I stuffed,
readjusted, jiggled, and nudged, but the cups were as full as I
could get them.
Oh well,
I thought.
As long as they don’t
pop out, I’ll be okay. I should make us some awesome tips at
least.
I smiled at the thought, grabbed my bag, phone, and
jacket and made my way downstairs.

Styvi Nix was tossing around her tug rope, so
I spent the next few minutes playing with her before I finally had
to leave for work. I kissed her goodbye, told her to be a good
girl, and walked out the front door. I got into my ’88 Pontiac
Fiero GT and jammed out to the Black Keys on the drive over to The
Mausoleum. It was a damn shame I had to throw away the sold-out
concert ticket because I would have loved to see them in concert,
but there was no way in hell I was going to go with Jesse.

My purse started ringing, effectively
interrupting my thoughts, and I reached over to the passenger seat
and retrieved my cell phone from the inner pocket of my messenger
bag. I quickly glanced at the caller ID, but didn’t recognize the
number.

“Hello?” I asked uncertainly into the phone
as I turned down the radio.

“Hey, baby girl! Long time, no talk. Did you
like the gifts I left you?”

My whole body tensed as soon as I recognized
the voice on the other end of the line. Jesse Prescott,
ex-boyfriend/abusive stalker/total delusional asshole, had just
called me.

“Well, aren’t you going to say something?”
Jesse asked with an amused chuckle.

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath to
steady my nerves. “What the hell, Jesse? Why are you even calling
me?”

“Now, now, baby. There’s no need to be rude,”
he said with a tsk. “I just wanted to see how my favorite girl was,
that’s all. Did you like the lingerie I picked out for us? When I
saw it, I knew you’d like it. God I can’t wait to see you in
it.”

“Why would you even think that it was okay to
buy me something like that, Jesse?” I asked, my voice quivering
with the anger I felt. “And, why in the hell do you think I’d ever
wear it for you? We broke up almost three months ago! We are NOT
getting back together!”

“Don’t say that,” he whined petulantly. “We
love each other. We’ll get back together, Skye baby. You just need
a little time to get used to the idea.”

My jaw hit the floor. I couldn’t believe what
I was hearing. “Are you delusional?” I scoffed. “I don’t love you,
Jesse. You CHEATED on me. And worst of all, you put your hands on
me in the middle of Drop Kick Dan’s last week. That is absolutely
unforgiveable. How could you even do that to me? You really hurt
me.”

“Man, you have a hard time letting go of
things, don’t you Skye?” Jesse asked, anger tinting his voice.

“I’m not the one who has a hard time letting
things go, Jesse!” I seethed, my voice rising. “Who’s stalking who
here?”

Jesse chuckled softly. “Yeah, like I have
time to stalk you. You always were silly.”

Lord, help me
, I thought as I sighed.
“No, I’m exasperated, not silly. And you sure as hell ARE stalking
me. What do you call all of the phone calls, text messages, emails,
and visits to my house and job? It seriously frustrates me whenever
I pick up my phone and see messages from you or when I have to hear
from my boss that you were in the bar AGAIN looking for me. You are
unwelcome in my life, you KNOW this, and yet you still try to
assert yourself into it. This behavior is not normal Jesse. You do
realize that, don’t you? ” I asked, but then quickly added, “And
please, spare me the pseudo witty ‘but-I’m-really-a-good-guy’
retort. I honestly don’t want to hear it. I’m so beyond tired of
dealing with this shit. I’m not trying to be mean to you, Jesse,
I’m just being honest. I can’t do this with you anymore. This is
completely beyond ridiculous.”

Jesse was quiet for a long moment. Finally, a
small sigh broke the silence. “All I wanted was to see how you
liked the teddy…and to congratulate you on your new job. You really
have no place to judge me on whether you think I’m normal or not,
Skye. I’ll go now…for the sake of keeping my own energy positive,
but this isn’t over.”

My jaw dropped again in shock. “How did you
know I got a new job? Huh? Don’t you dare hang up on me, Jesse!” I
spat quickly, but it was too late. Jesse had already hung up.

“Dammit!” I yelled in frustration, throwing
my phone back down into my passenger seat. I took a couple of deep
breaths and tried to calm my racing heartbeat. I shouldn’t have
even talked to him; I should have just hung up the phone when I
realized it was him. But, I thought that maybe I could reason with
him. There is obviously no reasoning with him; not after that
conversation. I realized that it didn’t matter what I said. He was
going to hear what he wanted to hear.
I should tell Archer and
Jameson what’s going on
, I thought and then shook my head
.
No, I can’t tell them
.
They’ll just freak out and they don’t
need that
.
They have enough on their plates to deal with
without my added drama
. I sighed and tried hard to put the
conversation out of my mind as I drove the rest of the way to
work.

When I pulled down the back alley and into
The Mausoleum’s employee parking lot, I was surprised to see only
three cars and a big, white 16-person passenger van occupying the
spaces. It was just now 5 o’clock, so I was a little early. I
parked in the parking space closest to the alley, locked my car,
and headed in the back door.

A cool blast of air-conditioned air greeted
me as I opened the door and walked to the employee lounge. No one
was around, so I quickly deposited my messenger bag in my locker
and went off in search of the crew.

When I turned the corner, I was surprised to
see Aoife standing behind the first floor bar. She was normally
stationed at the second floor bar, so you can understand my
confusion. I glanced up at the second floor; there was no one else
in sight. I groaned inwardly, squared my shoulders, and walked up
to Aoife.

“Good evening, Aoife,” I said with a smile,
sitting down on one of the swivel barstools. She and I may not care
for each other, but there was no cause to be rude. “How are you
today?”

She slowly peeled her eyes away from the
garnishes that she was preparing and glared at me. “What’s it to
you?” she growled lowly.

I shook my head and crossed my arms over my
chest. “What’s your deal, Aoife?” I asked, irritated at her
constant negative attitude toward me. “I’ve never done anything to
you. Why do you hate me so much?”

She scoffed and slammed the sharp paring
knife down on the cutting board. “What’s my deal, human?” she
screeched with hatred. “You are my ‘deal’.” She put her hands down
on the counter and splayed her fingers apart as she leaned in
closer to me. “I don’t like you Skye. I see right through you and
your pathetic little game. Archer is too dumb to see it, but I’m
not. The way you have him wrapped around your finger is
disgusting,” she spat. She lifted one long, manicured fingernail
and jammed it in my direction. “You had better wise up, child, and
stay the hell away from me and my man. I was around long before you
and I’ll be around long after you’re dead.”

I stood up and put my hands on my hips. “What
the hell are you even talking about?” I asked her angrily. “I’m not
playing any games here, Aoife. And I’m not after your man.”

“I smelled you in his bed!” she yelled, her
eyes immediately draining of their gorgeous crystal blue color.

I took a step back and shook my head. “You’ve
got the wrong idea Aoife,” I said lowering my voice and calming my
tone. She was obviously pissed and I didn’t want to be on the
receiving end of her anger any longer. Vampires are positively
terrifying when they’re angry. “I spent the night because Archer
and Jameson made me. I was too drunk to drive home one night last
week. Nothing happened.” Something did happen that night, but I
wasn’t about to be the one to tell her that. Archer and I made out
on the dance floor that night. It was the same night that I had
found out they were vampires…and it was the same night I hurt
Jameson.

“Lie!” she screeched louder. “You can’t lie
to me, human. I can tell when you are being truthful and when you
are being a filthy little liar!”

I backed up even further and put my hands up
in surrender.
Oh hell. I’m really in deep shit now. Where the
hell is everyone
, I thought in a panic and looked around
quickly, not wanting to take my eyes off of Aoife for more than a
couple of seconds at a time. I didn’t know how she knew I was
lying, but she did. “Okay, I’m sorry I lied. Honestly. It was just
a kiss earlier that night. It didn’t mean anything to me, I
swear.”

Her eyes, aside from her tiny black pupils,
had turned completely white. She jumped up to stand on top of the
bar in one quick flash and stared down at me, her fingers arched
like claws. “Lie!” she snarled as she hopped down over the
barstools and took another step toward me.

My eyes were so wide I thought they’d pop out
of my skull. I took a few more steps back and continued to hold my
hands out in front of me. “Okay, Aoife, okay. It meant something to
me at the time, but it doesn’t mean anything now,” I quickly
explained. My chest heaved and I worried I was going to
hyperventilate. I was good and panicked right at that moment. “I
saw you kissing Archer the other day. I now know you’re together. I
didn’t before. I swear to you Aoife, I won’t touch him again.”

She growled lowly and studied me for a few
moments, her head cocked to the side. “Truth,” she finally said. I
blew out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and clutched my
chest with both hands. This bitch was going to give me a heart
attack if she didn’t back up soon. She stared at me with her eerily
colorless eyes a moment longer then smiled. “I’m glad we understand
each other,” she said as she turned around and flashed to stand
behind the bar. She picked up the silver paring knife and resumed
slicing fruit while she softly hummed.

I stood there for a minute, unsure of whether
it was safe to move or not. Aoife eventually took out two glasses
and poured a shot of cold Jagermeister into each. “Sit,” she
commanded as she poured.