The Source (34 page)

And with that we
are dismissed. Bree and Abe shake Mr. Caulfield’s hand again before leaving his
office. Rick and I verify all of our bank details with Allison so we can
receive the large deposits for the work we have done. We also shake Mr.
Caulfield’s hand again, leave his office and walk outside in complete silence.

Standing in front
of my car Rick says, “A lot to think about over the next couple of days.”

I nod, not able
to completely grasp what has just happened. When I started this project, I was
excited to have a steady paycheck to help pay my debts. Now I have an extra
fifty thousand dollars and the possibility of a new career with the U.S.
government, investigating all manner of life – and probably un-life – that I
had no idea existed before today. To say it was like a dream was an
understatement.

Abruptly, Rick
gives me a rather firm hug. “You did great work, Emma. It was a privilege
working with you.”

Taken aback, I
hesitantly wrap my arms around his waist. “You did great, too, Rick.”

He pulls back and
looks down at me. “Let’s go back to your apartment and try to relax after all
of the excitement. Once the adrenaline stops rushing, maybe we can think more
clearly about Mr. Caulfield’s offer.”

I look at him and
smile, silently counting my blessings while I can and recognizing that trying
to think clearly with Rick in my apartment will be more difficult than I care
to admit out loud. Something needs to change about that.

Smiling, we get
into the car to head back home. Yep, a lot of things will be changing soon. Hopefully
I’m ready for it. FOHVA has thrown the bait, but will I bite?

After only thinking about it for a little over a day,
I turn in all of the needed paperwork so that I’m now an official member of the
FOHVA Paranormal Investigations team, or FOHVA PI as I like to say – lends to a
little more mystery about what we do.

The bonus money came in handy, and I can now claim to
be debt-free. No more collectors calling me, and I can rightfully say that my
education has been paid in full. With the money that I’ll be making with FOHVA,
I can afford a much nicer apartment in a better part of the town that is Rowan.

Yes, I moved to Rowan since the FOHVA offices are
based there. My mom was not happy that I’m not returning to Huntington, but I
promised to visit as often as possible. I’m still learning my way around the
town and meeting some of the locals. Thankfully I’ve been more accepted than
the other members of the team. Being from West Virginia seems to be a huge
benefit with my new job. People seem to feel more comfortable talking to me.
Anytime we need to investigate anything in the Mountain State, I will be taking
the lead.

The newly formed team does include Rick, Bree and Abe.
I’m not sure how I feel about working with Bree, but I look forward to working
more with Rick and getting to know Abe better. Hopefully Bree won’t spoil any
fun we try to have while doing serious work. She can definitely be the vampire
version of a buzz-kill.

Since we’re both staying in Rowan, Rick insisted on
renting an apartment in the same duplex as me. No one has seen or heard from
Tucker, but Rick still thinks he’s a threat. He even suggested that we live
together, but my libido and dignity just couldn’t handle the thought.

Speaking of Tucker, I have to admit that I still
sometimes look over my shoulder thinking that he might still be in Rowan. Given
that no one has seen him and his apartment is empty, I’m pretty sure that he
went back to New York. Well, pretty sure. Let’s just say that I continue to
hold my breath whenever I come home, even if I do live in a different
apartment.

Having paid off my debts, my stress level has
decreased and I’m sleeping better at night…or day…or whenever I can get seven
hours in. Definitely not sleeping like a vampire, but it’s better than before.
Regardless, I’m still haunted by the images of the child vampire and still
struggle with what I did during ALL of the experiments, not just the last one. I
don’t think my thoughts will interfere with my work. If anything, it will make
me better because I know that I won’t be the type to proverbially jump the gun
and strike out at someone until we know all of the facts. This is how I will
add balance to Bree’s shoot-and-ask-questions-later attitude.

It will be interesting to see how we all work
together. Two vampires who are as opposite as can be and two humans who are
probably more alike than we realize. One thing is for sure, humans and all
others won’t see us coming.

J.B. Stilwell is a novelist of paranormal romance/thrillers. “The Source” is
her debut novel in the upcoming collection The Mountain State vampire series.

She was born and raised in the foothills of Appalachia and currently resides
in the Seattle metropolitan area with her husband and daughter.

She is eclectic, having diverse interests that show in her writing. She has
a degree in Sociology in which her studies focused on crime/deviant behavior
for undergrad and race/gender relations in post-grad. She loves to travel,
particularly to India, and her varied experiences around the world are woven
into her stories.

Aside from writing, she loves to read, listen to music, watch good
TV/movies, crochet and above all else, spend time with family and friends.

To get the most updated information on J.B. Stilwell, visit
http://jbstilwellauthor.com/

You can also follow her on Facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/jbstilwell.author
)
and Twitter @JBStilwell.