Guardian's Joy #3 (16 page)

In addition to seeing the questions in
other’s minds, Hope could ‘talk’, mind to mind, with people she was
close to. According to her, it was more a combination of pictures
and feelings than real words. Whatever Nico was sending her was a
great deal more than a simple hello if her blush was any
indication.

Broadbent came in through the pantry door
followed by a man who would look at home on a magazine cover;
obviously Nico as Hope’s blush deepened further at his arrival. He
was gorgeous, but JJ felt no I-wonder-what about him which was
strange. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t wonder? She didn’t
know she was smiling until Dov walked in and wiped it away.

“I thought you’d be gone.”

“Dov!” Six voices spoke as one.

“What? She’s the one that said she was
leaving. She was calling a cab.”

Six pairs of eyes turned to her and she
thought her face must now match Hope’s.

“I couldn’t call. I couldn’t tell them where
to pick me up and I’d look pretty stupid looking for a bus stop in
bare feet. But Dov’s right. I do need to go home.”

“Why?” Grace started pulling pots from
beneath the counter. “You said there was no one there to miss
you.”

Dov started to speak, but Col’s punch to his
arm stopped him.

“My cat,” JJ said quickly, glad of the
excuse.

“Not there,” said Col. He ran his hand over
his hair and looked a little embarrassed. “We left some food out
for it, but it hasn’t been touched. We’ll keep looking.”

“You went to my house?”

“Well yeah.” The way Dov said it sounded a
lot like “Well, duh” and then he spread his hands and shrugged. “We
had to break a window in your back door the night we brought you
home, so we went back to fix it. We couldn’t leave it like that.
Some stranger could walk right in.”

JJ sucked in her cheeks. “You don’t see the
irony of that statement, do you?”

He shrugged. “I might, if I knew what it
was.” He threw up his hands when the others laughed. “Are you guys
going to let me finish?” He frowned and the laughter was stifled.
“Okay then. Just so you know, we got a dead bolt for that door
because that skeleton key just don’t cut it and you, lady cop,
ought to know that.”

“I should have taken care of that,” she said
solemnly. “You’re right, Dov.” These twins really were sweet.

“Damn right. Anyway, we went back again to
clean up the mess you made and then tonight, when we went back to
look for the cat, Gracie said we should bring back some clothes,
but only the stuff that was in your laundry basket. She wouldn’t
let us go through your drawers or anything. She got really pissed
when we emptied hers.” He said it as if he didn’t understand
why.

“I was going to ask if you felt up to getting
a few more things tomorrow,” Grace added as she dumped a huge bowl
of meatballs into an even larger pot of sauce. “Damn,” she muttered
when it splashed onto her shirt. Canaan used his finger to scoop a
drip from her breast and brought it to his mouth, rolling his eyes.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Big Boy,” Grace laughed.

The thought of wearing her own clothes made
it easier to think about staying and heaven help her, she wanted to
stay. She, who’d always cherished her solitude, wanted to stay with
this chaotic bunch who said what they thought and apparently had
very few secrets. Besides, Faith needed her and that was something
she missed. John had needed her, too.

“Hope, you and Nico are on salad detail.
Boys, set the table and go find Nardo.” Grace turned to JJ. “So it
only makes sense to stay through New Year’s, right?”

“I suppose I could.” It would only be for a
few weeks and then she could go back to the life she had planned.
She could handle Nardo for a couple of weeks.

Chapter 16

“She’s mine. I know it. I can feel it in my
gut. And when I kissed her, she felt it in hers, too.” Nardo pulled
the watch cap down over his ears. It was so damn cold. At least the
snow had stopped. The padded army jacket helped, but not much. His
feet were freezing in spite of the heavy boots and extra socks.

Broadbent walked beside him as if he hadn’t a
care in the world. A white wooly scarf was tucked neatly into the
vee made by the shearling lapels of his heavy wool pea coat. Sturdy
hunting boots were laced up over his calves and his head was
covered in a plaid wool hunting cap, ear flaps down. Nardo wondered
again why he’d asked the professor for advice. He shook his head at
the folly of it. Well, it was too late now.

“What am I supposed to do? What am I doing
wrong?”

The professor sighed. “You can begin by
avoiding the word gut. It sounds distasteful. Next, instead of
declaring ‘You’re mine’ and expecting her to jump into your arms in
gratitude, you might try wooing her.”

“Wooing? I think that’s something that went
out with top hats and tails.” He might as well stick with
Broadbent’s earlier suggestion of reading poetry outside her door
or Dov’s helpful hint; get her drunk.

“Wooing, courting, call it what you will.
Women like romance. ‘Hey baby, want to get laid?’ may work for Dov
and Col, but you’re talking about the woman of your heart. You have
to show her that she’s more than a bedmate.”

“I don’t think she’s going to fall for a
dozen roses and a box of candy. She doesn’t strike me as the type.
I watched her toss Dov on his ass in the gym the other day.” Nardo
snorted remembering the look on Dov’s face. “He said he was going
easy on her, but I don’t think so. That girl has some moves.” He
spoke with pride.

Broadbent stopped and turned with his finger
raised. “You can admire her physical prowess. It’s a part of who
she is, but not all she is. You mustn’t treat her like a comrade in
arms. Make her see that she is the woman you cherish above all
others; a creature of beauty and delight. When she’s finally in
your arms, she needs to know that she is someone precious, someone
you’re willing to love and care for forever. And you’re wrong about
the roses and candy. It’s not very original, but women seem to like
it.” His collar shrugged up around his cheeks. “Although there’s
always the chance she’ll throw them out.”

“She probably will. She barely looks at
me.”

“Find something that will make her
smile.”

“Thanks for nothing. I haven’t seen her smile
since I kissed her.”

Broadbent’s look was speculative. “Perhaps
that’s because you haven’t kissed her again.”

Another cold stream of air gusted down the
wind tunnel known as Main Street. Nardo stamped his feet and hugged
his arms around his chest. His breath formed a cloud around his
head.

“We’re not going to see any action tonight,”
he grumbled. “Fucking demons are smarter than we are. They’re all
home where it’s only mildly chilly and damp. Sometimes I wonder if
it’s worth it to patrol from December through February. Too damn
cold.”

There was always an increase in demon
activity in the spring when the weather began to warm. The
incursions reached their peak in July and August and waned with the
rains and cooler weather of the fall. The twins believed that the
otherworld, where demons lived and spawned, was cold and dark and
damp; opposite from the Hell described by the religious. Dov and
Col thought the demons sought the dry heat of summer because it was
a luxury their home world couldn’t offer. It was as good a theory
as any, although Nardo wondered if the heat had more to do with
opening the gates or portals through which the demons passed rather
than the monster’s preferences for balmy weather.

“If we catch one of the bastards, it’s worth
it.” Broadbent rubbed his gloved hands together. “Canaan wants us
out until the bars close. No reason we can’t stop in one of them
for a quick warm up before they close. Then we’ll wander around
until the streets are empty. Shouldn’t take long on a night like
tonight.”

They’d taken no more than a half dozen steps
in the direction of the nearest tavern when Broadbent swore softly
and reached into the inside pocket of his coat. His phone was
vibrating angrily as he pulled it out. He was lead tonight and any
messages from Canaan or the House would come through him.

Nardo knew it wasn’t good by the way
Broadbent’s jaw tightened as he fought for control of his Rage. Of
them all, Broadbent was the most even tempered, so seeing the tips
of his fangs emerge was a sure sign of serious trouble.

“There’s been another attack. Over on
Kramer.” He started off without looking to see if the younger
Guardian followed.

As for Nardo, he didn’t waste time with
questions. The professor would give him the details once they were
in the car and on their way.

*****

JJ Stared at the map and colored pins. There
was something there that she should see; something she almost saw
the first time she looked at it, before Nardo kissed her.

Nardo kissed her. Damn him! She’d managed to
avoid him for the past few days. Like a cartoon spy, she tiptoed
past the door to the War Room when he was working at his station
and inevitably, as soon as she thought she was clear, he’d call out
a greeting and laugh. It made her furious with him and with
herself. She was acting like a twelve year old and to make matters
worse, the more she avoided him, the more she thought about
him.

On the nights he was assigned to patrol, she
hit the gym where an hour’s worth of yoga felt good to her body but
brought no peace to her soul. Her concentration was constantly
disrupted by the sound of his voice, the sight of his body, the
feel of his hands and the taste of his lips. All in her head.

“Dammit girl, get your head back in the
game.” JJ shook her arms at her sides and rolled her head on her
shoulders like a boxer getting ready for a bout. She stared at the
map on the War Room wall.

Two blue pins, three red pins. According to
Otto, they weren’t sure the blue pins fit the profile. Those deaths
occurred months ago. The only thing that connected them with the
current killings was Nardo’s discovery that much of the information
about them, witness and autopsy reports, had been deleted from the
files which meant someone else was dicking round with the
department computers and erasing what they didn’t want found or
someone in the police department thought they might be connected to
the case and didn’t want them leaked to the press.

Not that the press needed facts. They’d
already dubbed him the Vampire Killer and speculation was running
rampant. If word of tonight’s victim got out, there wouldn’t be a
piece of garlic left in town. Crosses would become the fashion and
there would be fist fights over who drained the last of the holy
water. Reason would not prevail and why should it? This vampire was
real.

Tonight’s victim was another young
Paenitentia woman whose body was found by her brother and several
friends. They’d kept their wits about them long enough to call an
uncle of one of the young men, a member of the private police force
that patrolled Moonlight Sanctuary. The officer called Canaan.

She picked out another red pushpin from the
cracked mug that held them and stuck it into the address Canaan had
written as he took the call. 26061 Kramer. She stood back and
looked at the pins again. Nothing. Finally she fished through the
mug until she found two yellow pins, found the red pin representing
the female Paenitentia she’d discovered and replaced it with the
yellow. She then replaced the pin at 26061 Kramer.

Two female humans, two female Paenitentia,
two unknowns. It didn’t help. Except the nagging at the back of her
head grew stronger. She needed more information about vampires. Who
better to ask than a primary source?

Once she was sure Faith’s daily treatments
had healed her wrist, she brought the news to Hope. It was a sign
of Faith’s returning strength and a worry lifted from Hope’s
shoulders. The other women claimed that a Daughter who couldn’t
control her gifts, whether through weakness or because she was
untrained, would eventually go insane or die. To Hope’s knowledge,
Faith didn’t know about her lineage or her gifts before she was
rescued and she was fast approaching that crucial age. Somehow, she
had discovered her gift and was open to its use.

When told of the cure, Grace suggested
seeking Otto out to remove the cast. Now, JJ considered it an
opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Uncle Otto slowly cut a vee shaped wedge from
the length of the cast with a razor sharp blade attached to a high
speed drill. He grinned when JJ tensed.

“Don’t trust me, do you?” he chuckled. “What
if he cuts the skin? Will the fresh blood set him off?” He started
another cut, this time along the center of the vee. “You wouldn’t
be the first to wonder it. I worried over it, too. It was hard at
first. If Manon or Grace got a simple cut or if one of the boys got
clawed, I’d have to leave the room. I’m fine now. So,” he smiled
and started another cut on the underside of her arm, “If I slip and
slit your wrist, you’ll bleed to death, but it won’t be by fang.”
He used a pair of surgical scissors to finish the job.

“Thanks,” JJ grinned and flexed her fingers,
then rotated her wrist. There was no weakness, no pain, not even
the stiffness that comes from keeping a joint immobile for any
extended length of time. “Just so we’re clear, I tensed because you
were zipping pretty fast with that blade, not because I was afraid
of you. I got the scoop on you at the dinner party they gave
upstairs the first night I was awake. Then I saw the big bastard
and I figured he’d rip your heart out the minute you stepped out of
line.”

“Canaan is our Liege Lord. Be careful how you
speak.” Otto’s grin took the sting out of the rebuke. “And it was
his job to take my heart when I first turned. He couldn’t do it. He
loved me.”