The Turning (39 page)

“No, I’m fine, Kelly,” Nicole chuckled. “I’m glad you care so much. You can let go now.”

“Oh, sorry! Are you done for the day?” .

“Yes, ready to go home?” she asked me, her tone tired.

“Yep, I could use something to eat,” I hinted with a nod so she would understand. We went to the locker room, gathered our stuff, and headed out. “So how was your surgery and labs?”

“Went well. I got asked one question that I got right, so I’m very happy with that. Labs were boring, but informative, and I didn’t mess anything up.” She beamed as she spoke. Good for her! “How about your surgeries?”

“They were wicked cool,” I gushed, filling her in on the details. “And I got asked four questions and aced them all. Then I checked the vitals of the first patient, and after that Mike said to go home.” By this time we were out of the hospital and almost to the apartment. “I think it was a winning idea to get there that early, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she agreed, swinging her arm around my shoulders. “I’m sticking with you, Kel. You come up with the best ideas.” She laughed until I froze outside of our apartment door. “What’s wrong, Kelly?”

“I smell someone I know in our apartment,” I warned and hurried to open the door. “Shit!” I groaned when I saw who waited in our apartment amongst the floral shop.

“Hello, honey, how was your day?” Andre purred with a smirk and twinkle in his eyes. “I heard you and Brian broke up and Julie adopted you. That makes us of the same rank, so there will be no issues when we start dating.” He got up and was instantly across the room hugging me, which made Nicole gasp. “I’ve missed you so, you little minx.”

“What are you doing here, Andre?” I growled, pushing him away.

“I’m here to court you and persuade you to come back to New York with me,” he chuckled. “Where do you keep the blood around here? It was a short flight, but I’ve been waiting for you to come home for so long. My heart ached just knowing you were going to come home to me soon.”

I rolled my eyes and knew this was not going to be a quick conversation.

And if he didn’t start behaving, I’d be on the phone with Jules later… Explaining why I had to beat to death the elder of New York.

Damn
!

The End

A Dr. Kelly Murphy Novel, 2

Moving past the choice made for her to become a vampire, Dr. Kelly Murphy is determined not to let it derail the vision she had of her life. Instead, she transitions herself to live her once human life and adjust to her new vampire responsibilities. And those are too many to count at times.

Not only does she need to learn what navigating through vampire culture truly means—and survive—but she also has to figure out her new abilities and limitations. Oh, and there’s a King of the vampires, who seems nice… That’s not the same as being her friend though. Then again, she’s never really sure who she can trust since they all seem to have their own agenda and want something from her.

Even if it’s simply to be in her bed, winning her like a prize.

When leaders in the vampire hierarchy start being murdered, no one has any clue as to the culprit, and they could all be next. And here she was exceeding everyone’s expectations in her career. Maybe lasting through her internship really isn’t an option?

1

“I smell someone I know in our apartment,” I warned, my shoulders tightening as I hurried and opened the door. “
Shit!
” I wished I hadn’t when I saw who waited in our apartment amongst the floral shop.

“Hello, honey, how was your day?” Andre purred with a smirk and twinkle in his eyes. “I heard you and Brian broke up and Julie adopted you. That makes us of the same rank, so there will be no issues when we start dating.” He got up and instantly was across the room hugging me, which made Nicole gasp. “I’ve missed you so, you little minx.”

“What are you doing here, Andre?” I growled, pushing him away.

“I’m here to court you and persuade you to come back to New York with me,” he chuckled. “Where do you keep the blood around here? It was a short flight, but I’ve been waiting for you to come home for so long. My heart ached just knowing you were going to come home to me soon.”

I rolled my eyes and knew this was not going to be a quick conversation.

And if he didn’t start behaving, I’d be on the phone with Jules later… Explaining why I had to beat to death the elder of New York.

Damn!

“Andre, you ever break into my house again, I call my dad, you understand me?” I paused to let the threat sink in as my arms started tingling in need to swing them. “I highly doubt vamps do very well in jail, even old ones.”

“
Oh
, so we told Nicole?” He tucked his hands under his arms as he rocked back on his heels, shooting Nicole a strange look.

“Yeah, this is her place too.” I realized he was staring at her like dinner. “She’s off limits, you look at her like that again, I’ll rip your throat out so fast. I’m not playing, Andre!”

“My dear Kelly.” My shove had launched him a good distance away from us… I could be proud of that later. He frowned as he crossed the room to me since I’d stepped in between him and Nicole. “I understand completely. I would never hurt her or bite her unless she asked.”

I was waiting for the wave of air I felt when people lie to me, it never came. It was a talent I had before I was a vampire, being able to tell when people lie. It was hard to explain the feeling… It was like stepping outside right as a strong wind came along. Not only was there the feeling of the breeze, but the difference between the stagnant air inside and the fresh air outside.

That was what it felt like when someone lied to me, it varied depending how big the lie. I also never knew what the truth was. Someone could tell me,
I didn’t rob the store
. I knew if they were lying, but did they rob the store, or were they just involved or the getaway driver. It took me years growing up to understand what it was—and needless to say it made me pretty strange as a child.

“I believe you.” I nodded and moved away from Nicole. “Let’s go talk in my room.”

“That’s moving fast. I like your style,” he jeered, his tone laced with the implication of more than I had meant.

I sighed as I led the way to my room and closed the door behind us. “Andre, you can’t be doing shit like this, breaking in and whatnot. Now why are you
really
here?”

“I’m here to see if you are okay,” he replied, and I raised my eyebrow, but didn’t feel the wave of him lying. “Seriously, Kelly. You’ve been in a crazy spiral of news and changes. I just wanted to see how you were.”

“You could have picked up the phone, Andre.” I tried to ignore how amazing he looked wearing jeans and a long-sleeved chocolate brown, button-down shirt. It complemented his lighter brown hair and matched his eyes perfectly, drawing attention to them even more than normal since they were so captivating. He must have been tan when he was turned, since he was darker than most vampires I had ever seen. “Want some blood?”

“Yes, but I wanted to see you in person. Are you offering yourself?” he teased, referring to the blood offer.

“Ha, ha.” I threw him a pint of blood from my closet. “How long are you here for?”

“Whenever. It’s my plane. I’ll probably leave Sunday, unless you ask me to say forever.” He winked and gracefully sat down on my bed.

He’s like the tiger and I’m prey.
I shook off the thought and focused on the conversation. “Not likely, I wouldn’t hold your breath, Andre. Brian knows you are here?” I sat at my desk chair and eyed him suspiciously. We hadn’t bonded so much as friends that I didn’t think he’d ever drop his life and come check on me like this.

He downed the contents of the bag and then blew me air kisses… Drops of red still on his lips, which he had to know would alone be tempting to me. “Yes, I told him I would be here for the week on business. I just didn’t tell him if the business was personal or professional, thanks for the blood.”

“You’re welcome. You know I have to work all week. Do you have a place to stay?”

“I’ve not made any plans, I was waiting to see how you received me,” he answered with that brilliant smile. “So you told Nicole?” I glanced around as if trying to figure out what I still had to do before going to sleep—anything to avoid Andre’s focused gaze. That man could see way more than what was on the surface and I didn’t want that right then.

“Yeah, it made sense since we’re living together now. And since my fight with Brian, it was hard for her to understand why it was so devastating. I can trust her, Julie knows and is okay with it. Nicole’s cool with it. Just don’t freak her out, okay?” I yawned as I eyed my bed longingly.

“Kelly, I won’t do anything to her, I promise. I wouldn’t have even picked the lock, except I didn’t know when you would be home. Please forgive me, I was just tired and didn’t want to sit outside and wait.”

“I understand, just give me the heads up next time please. I’m exhausted, I’m going to get some rest. Want to go hunt in a few hours? I’ve only gone out with Brian once and I’d like to get some more practice if that’s okay with you?” I coaxed, hoping to at least make him useful if he was going to drop in unexpectedly.

“Sounds good. Gives me an excuse. Sometimes when you get older you will find bagged blood doesn’t always feed your cravings.” He rubbed his hands over his face a few times before sighing and finally coming out with it. “Are you really okay, Kelly?” I could see the deep concern in his hawk-like eyes that were studying me so intently. For all his jokes and flirting with me, he really did care.

I shrugged and shooed him off the bed as I stood. “I’m really not sure. How much do you know?”

“Enough to know Brian’s an idiot and understand why you would be hurt and confused.” I couldn’t bear to look at him when his tone was as gentle as it was… I wanted to accept his comfort too much already.

“Sounds about right. We’re supposed to talk at the end of the week, I just have to figure out what I’m going to say to him. Thanks for asking though.” I plopped on the bed and crawled under the covers. It was a nice night out, still early, but I wasn’t snuggling with my covers for warmth. Twenty-six or not, it was nice to have a security blanket sometimes… Even if it was literal.

“May I join you?” he hedged and I shot him a look. “No funny stuff, I promise. Just seems like you need a friend.” After a few moments, I nodded. He kicked off his shoes and joined me. I couldn’t help but snuggle up to him and he put his arm around me, careful to not touch anything inappropriate.

It was nice. He felt so different than Brian and since Andre was keeping it non-sexual, I could relax. His six-five, well-built frame made me feel secure enough I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up when the alarm on my phone beeped several hours later. It was set for one, so we had slept a little over three hours. I quickly changed out of my scrubs, threw on some jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt in my closet. Turning around, I would have had a heart attack if my heart still beat.

Andre stood there watching me change with a very large grin on his face and I had forgotten he was there.

“Ready?” I ignored the grin but felt a slight ego boost through my negativity of late that he was so intent on getting any look at me without clothes.

Andre had already put back on his shoes, and he gave me a half bow and gestured to the door. “After you.” I grabbed my keys and wrote Nicole a note.

We went downstairs, got in my car, and headed to where my dad worked during the day. It was only a few minutes away, but I seemed to get sideways glances from Andre. Finally he just asked, “Where are we going? Why didn’t we just stay around your place?”

“My dad works here and I figure if we’re going to hunt, we might as well do some good in a crappy neighborhood.” He just looked at me and nodded, whether he understood what I was really up to, I didn’t know. I found a parking spot and from there we got out and walked. He took my hand and it was nice, uncomplicated. There wasn’t a single person in sight so we could walk at what was normal speed for us. “Andre, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, as long as it’s not how many women I’ve slept with. I find it poor manners to talk about such things when trying to get one interested in me,” he teased, making me laugh before I could stop myself.

“I understand completely. I was thinking last night, and I should have asked Julie but we were dealing with enough things. I was wondering—am I soulless now? I mean, do we lose our souls?” The idea of it made my whole body start churning but when he didn’t respond right away, my heart felt as if it was melting.

“Wow, that was so not where I saw this conversation heading. To be honest, I’m not really sure. We have morality. It’s not like in the movies where we are monsters who don’t care. Our bodies work, just our hearts don’t beat anymore. Does that make us dead? Yes, technically?” Andre paused a moment but then squeezed my hand. “Let me ask you this, has the way you feel about your family changed? Do you still love them?”

I didn’t have to think to answer, but I wondered where he was going with this.

“No, I love them just the same as before.” It was my turn to pause as I mulled that idea over in thinking about the future. “Do you? After hundreds of years, can you still love?”

“Do you think you can love without a soul? Know what’s right from wrong without one?” I stopped where I was and gave him a huge hug. “And yes, I can still love.” Andre’s tone changed on that last part and I realized that it was longing. He longed to love. How weird. A hot, sweet guy like him had to be crawling with prospects.

“No, I don’t. Thank you. I realized last night I might have lost my soul and it really bothered me. I mean, I’m Catholic, even if I’m not practicing—I still went to Catholic schools and have the beliefs. Can we go to church? What about holy water?”

“We can,” he assured me gently, “and holy water has no effect on us. I still go to church here and again. I was raised Catholic too. I go on the anniversary of my parents’ and my ex-wife’s deaths.” He pulled away, and I let him, understanding the need for space at times.