Broken Heart 01 I'm the Vampire, That's Why (26 page)

Emily had called me that night. I remembered that now. And Charlene had planned it? She had not only tried, but had actually managed to pry apart my marriage. What did that say about me and Rich? That we were human and prone to stupid mistakes? Or that we didn't love each other enough to trust or to forgive?

"He was a good man. But he was still a
man
," Charlene continued. "Enough temptation and even a good man will do the wrong thing. He caved, and you got there just in time to see him do it. I'd already dropped my little bomb. I was pregnant—two months along. Even when he stood there and told you he was leaving, the minute you walked out the door, he changed his mind. He wanted to go to you. Wanted
me
to tell
you
how I trapped him with his own lusts."

She sounded disgusted, but I didn't know if it was because she felt the weight of her own actions or because Rich had wanted her to face up to the consequences of what they'd done.

"God, Charlene. I threw him out." I pressed my fingers to my temples. "I was so angry. Lord-a-mercy, I'd never felt that kind of anger before in my life. Everything shattered. Because of you."

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"Yes," said Charlene. "Because of me. Rich moved in with me and tried to make it work. He got a lawyer because you got one, but I knew he didn't want to divorce you. Didn't want to lose his family. He loved y'all."

My insides crumbled into dust and the cold hollow left filled up with acid. It burned me, burned me until I wanted to scream, but I clenched my teeth together and swallowed the barbed knot lodged in my throat.

"He would've done right by me if I had let him go. He'd've supported the baby, took care of me financially. But I kept hanging on, tooth and nail. I was scared. So scared, I couldn't admit I was making him miserable," said Charlene. "What's worse? Killing a man or killing his spirit?"

"I don't know," I said softly. How should I feel about Charlene's disclosure? Everything I had believed about Rich… everything I had allowed myself to think about him… hadn't been true. Well, he
had
fucked Charlene. Was that something that could've been forgiven? He hadn't left us, hadn't wanted to end our marriage.
He hadn't wanted Charlene
. At least not forever. All this time, my anger and self-righteousness had clouded my mind and poisoned my heart.

"The night he died? He wasn't going to the hospital." Charlene sounded like every word was being pulled from her by force. Her jaw clenched, but she got ahold of herself. "We had a terrible argument. He told me that he loved you, that he wanted his life back. He said he'd rather beg your forgiveness for the rest of your days than spend another minute with me."

I saw the truth in her eyes. And I knew it was the truth, because glittering along with it was a big ol'

helping of shame. All this time I'd felt like the bitchy wife who hated the poor, young, single mother who'd committed the sin of loving the same man I did. No matter how young or how pretty or how conniving she'd been, Rich had wanted me.

"You tell me this now, when I can't take back what I said, what I did. We were so hateful to each other.

That's what I had in my heart for that man. Hatred. And before you, I loved him. Together, we had created something good together. Something wonderful."

"That's true enough," she said softly.

Hadn't I just been thinking about building a bridge to Charlene? Wasn't it time to heal wounds and begin again? I had to rethink what happened with Rich and what that meant to me.

What about Patrick? I loved him. In a desperate, terrifying, oh-my-God way. My feelings for him weren't comfortable or serene. But maybe love wasn't supposed to wrap around you like an old comfy robe all the time. To love strongly meant taking risks. Was I ready to risk for Patrick?

"I figure you'll protest."

I blinked down at Charlene, startled out of my thoughts. "Protest?"

"Yeah. I understand why you wouldn't want me teaching Bryan and Jenny same as I understand why you don't want 'em to know their little brother. But I'm applying for the teaching job," Charlene reiterated, with steel in her tone. "You go on ahead and try to stop me."

She turned around and stalked away, chin tipped and shoulders straight. I watched her leave, feeling like she'd punched me in the stomach.

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Well, now. Charlene sure had issued a challenge.

So what was I gonna do about it?

"We cannot keep protecting your brother just because he is the son of Ruadan!" roared Ivan Taganov.

Patrick looked at the big Russian, one brow quirked. Ivan reminded me of a snorting bull, pawing the ground, just waiting for the hapless bullfighter to step into the ring.

The meeting had been in session for ten whole minutes and it wasn't going well. The announcement aboutSharon 's death had been received poorly, particularly by Linda, who kept siding with Ivan. I didn't know if she agreed with him because she figured Lorcan was the bad guy or if she felt compelled to support her Master's viewpoint.

We all sat in a circle of chairs like we were having group therapy for the damned. I sat between Patrick and Darrius. On Patrick's right was Stan and on Darrius' left was Drake. Stan, Linda, Marybeth, and Ivan filled up one side of the circle. François, Brigid, Johnny, and the rest of the Panel of Doom members filled up the other side. Completing our little Dante's ring was the Broken Heart Turn-bloods. (We were thinking of starting a band with that name. I've always wanted to play the drums.) Ivan held up one of his huge hands and counted off on his sausage-shaped fingers. "Lor kills eleven people that the Consortium is forced to save. He mauls innocent humans, including his favorite donor. He even tries to kill your mate and still you wish to save him!"

"Hey, asshole," I interrupted, my temper snapping, "I'm the mate in question and I want to save him, too.

I don't think Lorcan killed Emily or Sharon. And he didn't try to kill me, either."

Ivan's glacier blue eyes raked me. "Yes. We heard the tale of another lycan. Pah!"

"Oh no, you didn't. You did not just
pah
me!" I launched myself off my chair with every intention of marching across the gym and ripping off Ivan's balls, but Patrick grabbed my shirt and yanked me into my seat.

"Apologize to Jessica," he said mildly.

"This is not the council of ancients," sneered Ivan. "I say what I like, even to you. Here, you are not a prince."

"And you still owe Jessica an apology," said Patrick patiently, ignoring Ivan's jibe.

Obviously, the whole apology thing was a pissing contest between two males with egos the size
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ofMontana . Even if Ivan did apologize to me, it wouldn't be sincere.

"You are not a prince here!" yelled Ivan.

What is he talking about? Are you a prince? I sent the questions into Patrick's mind.
Your father is… is

…
a vampire king? Holy shit! Does this mean you'll shower us with caviar and diamond tiaras
?

You know very well I'm not a prince. Ivan still thinks too much like a Romanov. They run their sect like a royal court.

Huh. Well, lucky for you that I hate eating fish eggs and wearing things that pull my hair. But Jenny would love a tiara.

Then she shall have one.

"Where isNara ?" asked François suddenly. "Should she not be here?"

Silence descended as thick and cloying as a bad perfume.

"When did she go missing?" asked Ivan, distracted from his temper tantrum. "Did no one search for her?"

I found it interesting that only François had noticedNara 's absence. Why? Had he noted that she was missing because he was involved with her in some way? Oh, c'mon. I couldn't see him andNara doing the horizontal bop. Maybe he'd been put in charge of keeping track of her movements in case she was a Wraith trying to bring down the Consortium. I liked that idea better.

"ForgetNara !" said Ivan. "She is empty-headed and useless."

My irritation at Ivan had an instant reversal. A guy who insulted my nemesis wasn't all bad.

Ivan surged to his feet. He was one of the few vampires I'd met who wore facial hair. His goatee dripped off his chin like frozen black tar and it was pointy, which made him look sinister. "We must decide what to do about the Wraiths. And whether or not Patrick agrees—we must also hunt Lorcan."

"Someone else is attacking and killing innocents. Jessica barely escaped with her life."

"Pah!" yelled Ivan.

"Sit down, Ivan," demanded Brigid softly.

He glanced at the woman sitting primly in her chair, her serene gaze zeroed in on him. The gold symbols on her skin flared brightly as they swirled into a new pattern. Ivan looked as if he might be willing to take on an armada, but no man was brave enough to argue with Brigid. He slunk back to his seat, obviously unhappy but at least he kept his trap shut.

"I don't believe Lorcan attacked Jessica or killed Emily and Sharon," said Patrick. He stood in the middle of the circle, looking all strong and cute and leaderlike. "I believe there is another creature…

maybe one that lived in this area and was drawn to us. Maybe one that is already among us."

"Diseased vamp," drawled Johnny. "You think one of us has the Taint."

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"It's possible," said Patrick. "Though I find it strange that a vampire would kill without feeding."

"Progression of the disease," mused Stan. He was tapping information into his PDA. "If the vamp is in the dementia phase… who knows what he's thinking. But once that stage is reached, it's not possible to hide the effects."

"Everyone's accounted for," said a guy that I remembered seeing briefly at the first meeting. He had an exotic accent I couldn't place. I had no idea what his name was, either. "And no one has exhibited symptoms of the disease," he added.

I studied him while conversation weaved around me. His skin was the color of chocolate and he was so big and tall that he looked capable of snapping Ivan in half. He wore casual, but expensive clothes. He had a shaved head and while I've never found skulls particularly alluring features, this guy's was
sexy
. But the most fascinating thing about him was his eyes. They looked like burnished copper.

"Let's just say that we buy your theory about Lorcan not being the murdering bastard," said Linda. She leaned forward and gave Patrick the stink-eye. "If all the paranormal folks are accounted for and vampires aren't showing signs of the Taint, then we're left with the humans. Most of 'em have already packed their bags and headed to greener pastures. That being the case, we're left with believing there's an unknown attacker running around Broken Heart and clawing people to death."

Damn. Her logic was almost irrefutable. And I wasn't the only one who thought so. I saw people nodding and heard murmurs of agreement.