Damned if I Do (24 page)
Authors: Erin Hayes
Then, the door breaks down and Jude rushes to my side. Carl stands in the doorway, his tearstained face looking on the charred corpse that was once his mother.
Then, he collapses to his knees and screams.
Jude
“Yes, Graeme,” Edie sighs. She is sitting on the couch of the living room, holding the phone with her one hand. “No, I don’t want you coming over. It’ll be safer if you don’t.”
She’s been on the phone with him for a long time, since he’d been texting her and calling her, wondering if she was okay. She hasn’t mentioned the fact that she’s missing her arm; she also hasn’t told him that her aunt has betrayed us all.
And after this, at some point, she’s going to have to call the police to either report her aunt as a missing person or say someone killed her. I have no idea how that is going to pan out.
Her cat is holding vigil over her by sitting on the back of the couch, and I’m starting to feel glad for her presence.
Carl has shut himself in his room, and I don’t know if we’re going to hear anything else from him. I want to give him time to mourn his mother’s death, yet at the same time, we don’t really have the time to spare.
Edie’s hazel eyes meet mine, and I notice how tired she seems. All I want is a bit of respite for her, because we don’t know what’s next.
My own phone beeps and I check it. It’s Zhi, saying that they’re in an undisclosed location, keeping the Progenitor safe. I nod with approval.
I’m not going to tell him that we were betrayed either. It feels like a private matter, the details of which I’m not privy to.
“Tell Amelia I said hi,” Edie says, her eyes filling with tears. “Love you too.”
She hangs up, fumbling with the phone a bit since she’s now doing it all one-handed. How hard is it going to be for her to get used to living with one arm? How long until she’s able to fight again?
She hits the ‘End’ button and drops the phone in her lap.
“They’re safe?”
“Yeah,” Edie says quietly. “It’s probably for the best.”
I want to wrap her up in my arms and tell her that everything will be all right. But it won’t be. Not for a while.
“I’m sorry, Edie. I told you that I’d never leave you, and then Tessa told me to shower because…” I don’t want to tell her that I’d been covered in her blood. Carl had been on this very couch, sleeping nearby in case something happened. “I thought you’d be safe with her for a moment.”
Edie catches my drift and nods. “You don’t need to apologize. The person that needs to is now dead. I killed her.”
She tries to wipe away her tears, her left arm clumsily moving in an effort to reach her face. The feeble movement of it makes her cry harder in frustration.
I move from my spot on the armchair to the couch and hold her to my chest while she cries.
We stay like that for a few minutes, the sobs wracking Edie’s body as she finally lets the despair of all the events that have happened hit her fully. She needs to grieve, to let herself experience these emotions.
I don’t tell her that it’s going to be all right, because I honestly don’t know if that’s true. We have a mad vampire that has Edie’s blood on tap now. We have the father of all vampires who is almost comatose hiding out somewhere in case Anthony tries to make a move. And we have the Harker who may still be infected, who is without her main weapon.
However, she’s not without
me
, and I’m going to do everything I can to help her live a normal life.
“What do we do now?” she asks, her voice hiccupping.
“I told you five months ago that I’d help you,” I say into her hair, inhaling the scent of her, wanting to keep it with me forever. “That offer is still good. We’ll find another one of the Progenitor’s direct descendants. We’ll make them become the next Progenitor. And we’ll find a cure for you. That hasn’t changed.”
I kiss the top of her head. She sits back and looks at me a mix of emotions playing across her face. “Anthony recognized you,” she says at length.
“I know. And I promise, I’m not on his side.”
She nods. “I believe you. I just…” My heart thuds erratically while I wait for her to continue. “I don’t want to find out who you
were
.”
I kiss her trembling lips. “I can understand that. Because if that’s any part of my past, I don’t want to know who I was anymore either.”
“I just want you to be Jude. From here on out, no matter what happens.”
She clings to me, and I hold her.
We’ll have to figure out something, what to do next. The clock is ticking and neither of us can guess what’s around the corner.
For now, we are just Jude and Edie. Past, present, and future, that’s all I want to be.
To be continued in Damned if I Don’t, coming January 2016
Damned if I Do
has its roots as a story I wrote back in 2003. Along the way, so many people have had an impact, made suggestions, and wanted more.
First of all, thanks to the Nerd Crew. You all are my crew and I’m grateful for you.
Thanks to BIC for making me keep my B in C. Sometimes it was very hard, haha.
My eternal gratitude goes to Emily Boehnke for being there since the beginning. You read this in its original incarnation back in high school and you haven’t given up on me yet. Love you like a sis.
Special thanks to Emily Goodwin for asking me for Jude’s point of view about two weeks before it was due to my editor. I might not have forgiven you yet for that, but holy crap, that made it so much better.
A Freddy Krueger-high five to Lori Parker for your support. You’re the first and the best.
Big hugs for Blaire Edens who had an early read of it and helped polish it from a nugget. You “showed” me the way. Versus telling me. Wink, wink.
Oodles of groveling to Felicia Sullivan, my editor. I seriously don’t know what I’d do without you.
Thanks to all of my friends and coworkers who I’ve neglected while writing this book. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.
Thanks to my Mom, Dad, Daniel, and Caitlin. We’re a tight-knit bunch and I’m grateful to have you every moment of every day.
And thank you to my husband, Chris. Without you, none of this would be possible. Without you, I wouldn’t have the strength to do this.
And thank you, reader, for believing in me.
Damned if I Do
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coming January 2016
damned
if i don’t
the harker trilogy book two
I may be a vampire hunter.
But I’ve single-handedly screwed up big time.
After botching our chance to cure vampirism and the infection that’s killing me, I’m at a loss. My cousin Carl won’t speak to me. The bastard who killed my sister is still alive. And Jude, the amnesiac vampire, says he’s in love with me.
What’s even more shocking is that I love him back.
But the more Jude learns about his past, the more it will tear our relationship and our lives apart. I’m running out of time to find a new successor to become the new Progenitor. Because when I die, it’s game over for all of us.
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About the Author
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.
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