How Nina Got Her Fang Back: Accidental Quickie (Accidentally Paranormal Series Book 13) (12 page)

Literally, she was on the desk between them in mere seconds, wrapping her hands around January’s throat and dragging her across the surface until she had her on the floor and was on top of her.

Her eyes were hot with rage, her face so contorted it was almost as if she wasn’t even the same person. January went limp rather than tightening up, even though she wasn’t sure Nina was acting anymore.

But it wasn’t easy. What she wanted to do was soothe Nina, remind her with words she would always be safe with the people she loved the most in the world. But that wouldn’t look good for the camera.

Gathering her up, Nina jerked her close to her face so they were at eye level, with January sprawled helplessly beneath her. “Shut the fuck up!” she screamed, spit flying from her mouth as she shook January like a ragdoll. “You don’t know
anything
about us but what those asshole counselors and clan members and whothefuckeverelse wrote in some fucking report! I’m not a bunch of half-assed paragraphs with meaningless words! So shut up or I swear to Christ, I’ll kill you right here! Hear me,
Dr. Malone
? You know nothing about me and my family!”

She was about to wave the white flag, because wow, this non-vampire was pretty strong and a crushed windpipe was not the goal here. But then Nina leaned in even closer, the curtain of her hair creating a cocoon, blocking them from the cameras discreetly placed behind books amongst the shelves on her wall, and whispered with urgency, “Do it! Just do it! Finish it and make it fucking good!”

So January clawed at Nina’s hands, trying to tear them from her throat as she yelled back, her voice hoarse from the pressure of Nina’s hands. “That’s not true! I know everything about you, Nina!
Everything!
I know your father abandoned you—your mother abandoned you! Why does everyone abandon poor pissed-off Nina? What is it about you that makes everyone you love leave?”

Leaning back, Nina howled her fury. Her face beet red, her eyes wild, she raised a fist high in the air, ready to bring it down on January’s face.

And in that moment, even as January kept telling herself this was all an act, she saw something in Nina—she saw what terrified her the most.

Everyone leaving her.

Because she couldn’t be enough—couldn’t keep up—couldn’t do what everyone else could now that she was human. And though January was sure she knew the idea was irrational and born of paranoia, because no one loved her as much as Marty and Wanda and her family, Nina hadn’t entirely left her past in the past.

The irrational side of her, the frightened kid, the helpless victim of her mother’s substance abuse, had crept back to the surface and firmly planted itself within her heart of hearts, and she was doing everything in her power to prove to them she could fight the good fight right alongside them.

And it was exhausting her. Taking all of her energy and what little patience she possessed to keep all the balls she juggled in the air.

As the door to her office burst open and Marty and Wanda rushed in, yanking Nina from her and, as pre-planned, chastising her violent outburst, January had to fight tears and pretend outrage for Artem’s cameras.

But what she really wanted to do was pull Nina close and hug away her pain.

W
hen January saw Nina for the first time since that afternoon’s session, she lunged for the vampire. Throwing her arms around her neck and hanging there to beg forgiveness.

Each time she closed her eyes, she saw that one vulnerable moment Nina had exposed to her. That second where all of her was laid bare, and it broke January. Made her fight the impulse to call her up all day long and apologize profusely. But she was too afraid to take the risk that Artem would catch her.

So she’d waited an agonizing six hours since their session, counting the minutes until she could make things right.

“Doc, quit squeezin’ me, for fuck’s sake! Enough with the touchy-feely already,” Nina groused.

But that only made January cling tighter and bury her face in Nina’s shoulder. “I’m sorry! Oh God, I’m so, so sorry, Nina. I hated every second of that. Please, please forgive me. I would never, as a doctor, ever use that technique. It’s awful and ugly and so cruel,” she sobbed.

“But GD efficient, huh? Got me from zero to a hundred in no time flat.”

January shook her head vehemently. “It’s invasive and brutal. I hate it.”

Untangling herself from January’s clingy claws, Nina set her away from her. “Some people say
I’m
invasive and brutal. Kinda like a colonoscopy. But you were just fightin’ fire with fire.”

“You listen to me, Nina. When this is over, if we…well, you know, if we’re successful, I want you to continue to see me—free of charge. No mortgages paid on your dime. Will you think about that? Please?”

Nina glanced away only briefly before she said, “Yeah. Whatever. I’ll think about it.”

A tall, unbelievably good-looking man strolled toward her. His hair dark and thick, his skin pale like Galen’s.

He slung an arm around Nina’s shoulders and pulled her to him. “She’ll definitely think about it. I’m Greg, by the way. The ex-vampire’s husband.” Then he held up a hand. “No, don’t apologize. I knew what I was getting into. Besides, I like ’em mouthy and saucy,” he joked, dropping a kiss on Nina’s forehead.

“It’s so nice to actually meet you. I’m sorry about all this…about involving you. I didn’t know what else to do…”

His clear eyes narrowed in obvious disgust. “As though you need to apologize for a madman? Don’t be ridiculous, Dr. Malone. I’ve known about Artem for a long time. I’ve suspected his motives for a long time, too. I just couldn’t prove them. Now, I’m happy to help prove the bastard shouldn’t be anywhere near another vampire, let alone running a clan. The hell he’ll get his hands on my wife and have her booted. And the hell I’ll let him create some kind of hate clan and infiltrate the rest of us with that hate. This is hardly your fault. No apology necessary. Besides, seeing you has been good for my lovely wife. She won’t admit it, but I will for her.”

January laughed, warmed by Greg’s words. “Ammunition is always a good thing to have in my therapy arsenal. I’ll be sure to remind her.” Then she squeezed Nina’s arm and gave her a warm smile. “And again, I’m sorry, Nina.”

But Nina simply thumped her on the back like it was an everyday occurrence, one getting mentally abused by the psychologist in charge of mending them.

“S’all good, Doc. You were just doin’ what I told you to. Hit all the buttons everybody expects to hit when they wanna make me crazy. It’s fine.”

“Goddess, I hate Artem,” she spat. It was going to be a long time before she was able to forget what she’d done this afternoon.

But Nina tilted her chin, her fingers going to the still-red lashes streaked across January’s throat before flashing a look of guilt. “Damn. Did I hurt you, Doc? How’s your neck?”

But January flapped her hands at Nina, dismissing her concern. “It’s fine. Forget me.”

Nina looked at her for a long moment, a moment where she conveyed with her eyes there really were no hard feelings. “Look, Doc, here’s the good news. Grampire Galen gets to live because of what you did today, right? It’s all part of the bigger picture and all for the greater fucking good. You’re just tryin’ to save your boy-toy, and
my
ass along with him. No skin off my nose. We did it for the show this wank Artem wants so bad.”

But that wasn’t entirely true, and if she did nothing else, she was going to help Nina understand that just because she was no longer a vampire, that changed nothing for anyone but her.

Yet, she couldn’t help but praise Nina, too. “You were amazing. You all were. I mean, if I didn’t know better, if we hadn’t pre-planned that little show, I’d have never known you were acting.”

Nina winced again as she assessed January’s neck. “I got caught the fuck up in keepin’ shit real. Sorry about that, Doc. Five Red Bulls and three cups of coffee’ll do that to ya. I wanted to be in the moment, ya know? For reality’s sake.”

“I’ve prepared something soothing for your throat, Dr. Malone,” Archibald said, zipping in from the kitchen of the house Ingrid had rented under a fake name for the weekend.

It was an amazing log cabin with wide decks sprouting along the back, off each bedroom. Nestled in the trees, the cabin sported six bedrooms—one for each couple, and two spare bedrooms for Carl, Archibald and Darnell, and Ingrid and Teddy. The setting was peaceful and soothing, situated in front of a roaring brook, but secluded enough by the fully bloomed foliage.

January took the tea from Arch gratefully, smiling her thanks.

“Now, Dr. Malone, do drink all of it. I think you’ll find between your very clever familiar Farley and myself, we’ve whipped up something that will surely soothe all your aches.”

“You’ve met Farley?” She’d had a feeling Archibald and Farley would hit it off, just by sheer age and nurturing qualities, but especially due to their love of cooking.

“Aye, lass,” Farley acknowledged in his Scottish brogue, his broad chest expanding as he smiled, his fiery-red beard, neatly trimmed, spreading up to brush his cheeks. “We have indeed. And my new friend is correct. This brew will surely fix what ails ya.”

She took a sip of the tea and found a quiet spot in a rocking chair by the dormant fireplace to watch the chaos around her. After the day they’d had, she needed a moment to get her bearings back.

Galen caught her eye from across the room as he fed a sleepy Calista her bottle, making her heart clench with love. When he crossed the room, Calista on his shoulder, she patted the rocking chair next to hers.

Leaning down, he dropped a kiss on her forehead before he settled into the chair, stroking Calista’s tiny back, her chubby legs slowly relaxing against his chest.

“Heard you had a tough day, Doc Malone. Wanna talk about it?”

Stupidly, her eyes filled with tears she had to swipe away with her thumb. “I hated that hour more than I’ve hated almost anything in my life, Galen. Maybe almost more than I hate Artem for what he’s doing to us.”

Reaching over, he scooped her hand up in his larger one and pressed it to his lips. “You didn’t do it to be cruel, honey.”

“I know, but…still. I just want this to be over. Over and done so we can hopefully get on with our lives. All of us.
Together
.”

“That’s the plan,” he murmured, nuzzling Calista’s cheek with his nose.

“You’re still not sure about
this
plan, are you?”

“I’m not sure about anything, honey. I’m pretty sick with worry that when they try to plant that recording device, they’ll get caught. Artem’s not an idiot. This close to the summit, he’s going to be extra sharp. And what if he doesn’t say anything that’s of use to us anyway?”

She swallowed more of her tea, noting it was indeed incredibly soothing, then she rolled her eyes. “Please. You don’t think a man like Artem
isn’t
going to gloat with his henchman this close to the summit, do you? It’s his big day. Of course he’s going to talk about it. Take it from someone who knows the type of personality Artem is. I do have a degree in psychology. Artem’s a narcissist, an egotist, a full-on sociopath. He’ll talk about it; he’ll likely make a toast about it. He’ll pat himself on the back about it. He’ll be busy drilling his platform into his goons’ heads until the word go. That much you can trust.”

“I wish they’d let me go with them, do something. I feel a little useless here.”

“We can’t afford for Artem to find you anywhere near his place, Galen. We have to be very, very careful at this point. If nothing else, he doesn’t know Darnell or Teddy or Ingrid. No matter what, we stick with the plan, right?”

“No matter what,” he repeated, but it was a canned response that left her frightened he’d take matters into his own hands. They’d spent so much time planning this, carefully outlining all the details, she needed extra reassurance.

“Swear it to me, Galen. We stay here while they go in. No crazy acts of bravery,” she pleaded. “For my sake…for Calista’s.”

His eyes captured hers. “I swear, no crazy acts of bravery. I’m here with you and our girl for the duration.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, she smiled at him as he rocked their daughter, January’s love swelling, strengthening, growing each time she saw the pair like this. “Farley told me what our genius daughter said today just before I got here.”

Galen knew exactly what she was referring to when he smiled smugly at her. “You mean how our rocket scientist here called me Da-Da for the first time ever?”

January grinned at his smile of pride, reaching over to stroke Calista’s dark brown curls as she slept. “Yeah. That. I can’t believe she didn’t say mommy first. This is the thanks I get for spitting her from my vagina after thirty-eight agonizing hours of un-medicated labor? Imagine this ungrateful cur at fifteen.”

“I imagine it all the time, honey. All the time,” Galen said, burying his face in the top of Calista’s head and squeezing January’s hand.

They rocked together for a long time—as the sun faded and the coming night prevailed, reveling in each other’s company, in just being a family. Something they’d done so rarely since she’d had Calista.

As everyone prepared for their roles for the next evening, as Arch and Farley and Darnell swapped cooking tips, Carl read
Goodnight Moon
to little Charlie and Hollis to keep them distracted, and the OOPS girls’ men sat with their wives and talked softly about what was to come, January closed her eyes and sent up a prayer.

That someday they’d all be able to do this again.

Together.

Each and every last one of them alive and well.

* * * *

“What is all this?” January breathed to Nina, Marty, and Wanda, her eyes scanning the long deck just outside the sliding glass doors of the cabin’s kitchen. Trees surrounded the space, making it feel like you were sequestered in a secret treehouse hideaway.

Lights twinkled from the big red umbrella over a rectangular glass patio table, and candles burned all along the railing of the deck, their flames blue and orange. Something classical played on a phone, and Archibald and Farley were both on hand with wide smiles on their faces.