Skye Morrison Vampire 2 Sins of the Father (10 page)

“She cried?” Archer asked with surprising,
pain in his voice.

“Aye, she cried.” Jameson replied
incredulously. “She’s been upset since Tuesday. She has tried
hiding it from me, from all of us, but I can see it in her eyes,
Trey sees it in her heart…and it kills me!”

“How does she even know?” Archer growled,
raising his voice. “Who told her?”

Jameson scoffed. “Your WIFE told her. I found
her sitting at the bar with Aoife yesterday, a terrified look in
her eyes, practically being held hostage. You know how Aoife gets
when it comes to you, Archer. You think she didn’t threaten
Skye?”

“She promised me…”

“You are her husband,
dheartháir
!”
Jameson hissed, cutting him off. “She doesn’t see it any other
way.”

I’d heard enough and couldn’t bear to hear
anymore. I didn’t want to hear about how Archer lied to me or about
how he was married. I struggled against the weight of my eyelids
for a moment before they finally opened. “Jameson,” I whispered
softly.

“
A luaidh
,” Jameson whispered in
relief as he hurried over to me. “How are you feeling? You’ve been
out for a while now,” he said as he grasped my right hand and
placed a cool, gentle kiss on the inside of my wrist.

“What happened?” I asked groggily.

“You passed out on the front lawn,” Archer
answered carefully.

I did
? I thought back hard to this
morning and memories slowly began to reform. Jameson making love to
me. French toast. Nikki. My car is totaled.
No…
“Jesse!” I
whispered with wide eyes, my voice breaking.

“It’s okay, Skye,” Jameson said as he brushed
the hair from my forehead.

“What happened?” I demanded quickly as I sat
up. “Why is he dead? Why were there two…people in my front seat?
Why would someone do this? Why him? Why me? Why?!” There was an
edge of hysteria to my voice and Jameson made me take deep, even
breaths in through my nose and out my mouth for the next
minute.

As I started to calm down, I noticed that we
were in my room. My bedclothes were still strewn about from this
morning’s wild lovemaking session with Jameson and last night’s
clothes were everywhere. I glanced over to my lamp and noticed that
my ripped bustier was still lying haphazardly on top of its shade
and the wreckage formerly known as my tights and thong were not far
away.

I immediately turned to Archer and saw by the
look on his face that he had been in here long enough to see it,
too. His eyes were stormy and he was clearly not happy. I crossed
my arms over my chest and glared at him defiantly.
Oh, whatever
Archer! Get over it
! I silently yelled at him. “What
happened?”

Jameson looked at Archer and allowed him to
answer me. “From what we can tell, based on the scent, Jesse came
here at some point early this morning and vandalized your
vehicles.”

I shook my head, confused. “But, we didn’t
hear anything. Wouldn’t it have woken us up? Woken SOMEONE up?”

Archer narrowed his eyes at me
infinitesimally and continued, ignoring me. “When he was finished,
I believe it was the monster we seek that killed him.”

I felt helpless and so confused. “But, I
don’t understand, Archer. I thought you said this…thing…wasn’t
killing humans. How do you know it was him?”

Jameson put his hand on my knee and answered
for him. “The other man in your car was my friend Callum. It has to
be the monster we seek.”

I rubbed my forehead for a few seconds,
trying to absorb what they just told me. I felt tears begin to
sting my eyes and I didn’t fight them this time. “Where’s the rest
of Jesse? We have to tell someone. He has to have a proper burial.
Oh, God…his poor mother!”

“We can’t tell the human authorities, Skye,
or his family.” Jameson explained delicately.

“Why not?” I demanded, my brow furrowed with
confused anger.

“Because this is bigger than him, bigger than
his family, and bigger than your wants, THAT’S WHY!” Archer
growled, his face contorted with furious anger.

I bolted out of bed, fists clenched tightly
down at my sides. If it was a fight he was looking for, I was SO
ready to give it to him. I stared cold daggers at Archer as he
glared equally as angrily at me. There was a lot that Archer and I
needed to hash out, and it looked like we were about to get down to
the brass tax.

Jameson suddenly flashed to stand between us,
his hands at each of our chests to stop us from taking another
dangerous step toward one another. “We can’t have the human
authorities sniffing around vampire affairs, Skye,” he explained to
me, never taking his eyes off of Archer. “
An Dílis
are our
best hope of catching this bastard. We need to help them in any way
we can; not call attention to them and put them at risk.”

I sighed. Jameson was right, as always. I
wanted this monster caught just as bad as they did now. He had
killed my ex-boyfriend. I may not have cared for Jesse’s recent
antics involving me, but he had still been a part of my life. He
was still a part of my heart. I slowly relaxed my body and
unclenched my fists. As much as I wanted to scream at Archer and
have it out with him right now, I knew that this was not the time.
Later
, my eyes glared angrily at Archer.
Absolutely
,
his eyes glared back.

Jameson slowly lowered his arms and walked
over to my closet. He brought my rolling suitcase out and set it on
my bed.

“What’s that for?” I asked confused as I
watched Jameson unzip it.

“Pack,” Archer said, his jaw still clenched
tightly.

“Why? Where am I going?” I demanded, looking
back and forth between Archer and Jameson.

“You’re staying at my house until this thing
is caught,” Archer said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“The hell I am!” I said, defiantly crossing
my arms over my chest, too. Aoife was at Archer’s house. I’m not
that much of an idiot and, if I had to choose, I’d rather take my
chances with this monster than go head to head with Aoife. I’d seen
her pissed off at me and I never wanted to see it again. I had no
doubt that she could and would tear me limb from limb in two
seconds flat. Archer was hers and Archer’s house was their
territory. I wasn’t stepping a foot in there if I didn’t absolutely
have to.

“You have no choice,” Archer said, walking to
my closet. He gathered most of my hangers together and took them
off the rack in one fail swoop. He threw them into the suitcase as
I looked over at Jameson, desperation in my eyes.

“The thing that is doing this might come
after you next, Skye,” Jameson said calmly, walking over and
putting his arm around me. “None of us are willing to lose
you.”

I looked up into his eyes and pleaded
silently.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently. “But we will at
least be together, Skye. It’ll be okay.”

“Get the rest of your things,” Archer growled
as he stalked toward my bedroom door. “We leave in ten
minutes.”

I watched Archer walk out of the room and I
turned to Jameson.

He looked down at me and sighed. “I’m sorry
Skye, but I agree with Archer. It is better that you stay with us.
It’s safer there.”

I looked up at him, my face full of the
betrayal I felt, before I shook my head and walked over to my
dresser. I silently went through my drawers, picking out
underclothes, t-shirts, and jeans and threw them into the suitcase
as well. I heard Jameson sigh after a minute as he turned and
walked out of my room. I didn’t care right now. I was angry at
being forced to leave my house. I was angry that they refused to
tell someone about Jesse’s death. His mother deserved to know that
her son was dead; his family had the right to bury him…even if it
was only part of him.

My breath caught at the memory of Jesse’s
head in The Faithful’s hand. I swallowed the sob that threatened to
escape but didn’t hold back my silent tears. I cried for him. I
cried for his family. I cried for the future that he would never
have…and I cried for myself, too. He had become irrational and
unpredictable in the months since we had broken up, but that didn’t
mean I didn’t mourn the person that he was, the person I had once
thought I loved.

When I was finished packing, I got myself
together and quickly dressed in my ripped Levi’s, a tight white
spaghetti strap tank top, and flip-flops and threw my long red hair
up in a high ponytail. I slowly walked down the stairs and joined
Archer and Jameson in my living room.

“Alright,” I said with an unhappy huff. “I’m
packed.”

“Good,” Archer said as he moved to the back
door. I watched as he opened it and let out a low whistle. Styvi
Nix ran up to the door in response, but gave him a wide berth as
she trotted inside. I guess she still hadn’t forgiven him for
flashing around in the house last week and scaring her half to
death. She quickly ran up to me with an anxious whimper and I
scooped her up and into my arms. She was trembling as she furiously
licked my face and neck. Styvi Nix must have had a tough time in
the backyard this morning and I felt horrible. It wasn’t fair to
her to have to be dealing with all of this craziness. She was used
to our home life being mellow and the only visitors being close,
familiar friends. I silently promised her and myself that when this
was over, we’d veg out for a solid weekend and do nothing but lie
around, watch movies, cuddle, eat bacon, and play in the
backyard.

“I had Quinn arrange the animal’s stay with
your neighbor,” Archer said as he shut the back door and walked
back into the living room.

“Nikki?” I asked.

“Of course,” Jameson answered with a
smile.

“What did you tell her?” I asked as I hugged
Styvi Nix to my chest.

“She was told that you would be away on a
business trip for a few weeks and that she had previously agreed to
watch the animal,” Archer said crossing his muscular arms over his
chest. “Quinn made sure to add that to the mesmerization
process.”

“A few weeks?” I screeched, incredulous.
“But…I don’t want to be away from Styvi for that long! Why can’t
she come with me?”

“Miss St. James is being paid well over a
thousand dollars for her cooperation, Skye, and I would appreciate
yours too,” Archer said impatiently. “Besides, you think she’s
going to be comfortable in a house full of vampires?”

I pursed my lips at him, but he did have a
valid point.

“You can text Nikki and have her send you
pictures of Styvi while you’re away,” Jameson said
encouragingly.

I sighed and shook my head, knowing that
Archer and Jameson would never understand. Styvi Nix wasn’t just an
animal to me, she was my friend, my constant companion, and just
about the only thing in my life that had never hurt me. We were so
close, her and I, and I worried about how she would take the
separation; how I would take the separation. But, I knew that if I
had to choose anyone for her to stay with, it would have been
Nikki. She absolutely adored Nikki, and Nikki adored her. It was
much better than being boarded at some strange vet clinic for a few
weeks. I took a deep breath in and resigned myself to the
inevitable. Styvi and I would be apart, but at least she would be
well taken care of.

I shook my head in frustration and glared at
Archer. I had so much anger toward him right now that it felt like
it would come shooting out of my ears in the form of flames. “Well,
let’s do this shit, then,” I growled and walked to the front door
clutching Styvi to my chest. When I got outside, I noticed that
both mine and Jameson’s cars were gone and the driveway was
spotless.

I turned around and glared at Archer as he
strolled out. “Just how long was I passed out for?” I asked
annoyed.

“Over an hour,” he said tightly as he passed
me, never looking my direction. I watched as he walked over to the
black pickup truck that was parked behind his silver Audi R8 GT.
Quinn and Hunter were leaning up against the side, their posture
identical. They looked like they were casually talking, but I knew
by the way their bodies were angled that they were alert and ready
to pounce into action at any second.

“I’m going to go load these into the truck,
love,” Jameson said behind me. I jumped, startled, and turned
around. He was directly behind me in the driveway and I never even
heard him coming. I looked down and saw that he had my messenger
bag in one hand and my two suitcases in the other. “I’ll meet you
down there, okay?”

I nodded my head and turned to walk the few
yards to Nikki’s door. I nuzzled Styvi Nix one last time before I
rang her doorbell.

Nikki answered with a bright smile and a cold
Pearl beer in her hand. “Hey, cupcake!” she greeted happily.
“What’s the word?”

A relieved sigh escaped my lips and I quickly
covered it with a cough. “Hey, hon,” I said smiling tightly. “How
are you?”

“I’m fan-freakin’-tastic, girlfriend,” she
said with a grin. “Lyric is coming over tonight. He’s making me
dinner.” I studied her eyes and she looked perfectly fine. There
were no ill effects from Quinn mesmerizing her, at least as far as
I could see. She acted like nothing out of the ordinary had
happened this morning. It was business as usual in
‘Nikkiville’.

I smiled and shook my head. “Uh-oh. He’s a
Jain vegan, babe. I’m scared to ask, but what does dinner even
entail?”

Nikki laughed and shook her head. “I know! I
hope he isn’t going to try and feed me lawn clippings or something.
Yuck!” We both laughed and she stepped closer to greet Styvi Nix.
“Hey, sunshine!” she said as she scratched behind her ears. Styvi
barked a happy greeting and wagged her docked tail.

“Thanks for watching her, girl,” I said
seriously. “It really means a lot to me.”

“My pleasure, cupcake,” she said with a
carefree smile. “I’m glad Mr. Rich and Gorgeous is giving me a
thousand dollars to do it, although I would have watched her for
free. You know how much I love her.”