Redemption (Jane #4) (2 page)

"I can't believe you made me
watch that horrible garbage."

My mouth dropped and I punched
him, a little harder than I meant to, in his tightly stretched
abdomen. He doubled over, moaning and gasping for air. I'm sure he
was at least half joking, but I apologized profusely anyway until
he quit pouting and suggested we go find an open ice cream store.
It was the first time in months that he and Jax showed signs of
wanting to have even a modicum of fun, so Annie and I jumped at the
idea.

By the time we made it back to
the sanctuary, both boys had opened up and Felipe actually pulled
out his classic smirk once or twice. Seeing him finally relax made
my heart soar and I almost didn't want to head back home. His room
was next to Ado's and his mood changed noticeably every time he
headed into that hallway. When he walked me to my door, I held his
hand.

"Stay here tonight."

"Jane..." His eyes were sad
again, but not for the usual reasons.

"I just want to be near you.
This is the first time we've really had any fun in months, and I
don't want it to end."

He stood there, my hands in
his, looking from me to my bedroom and back again. Finally, when I
was certain he'd say no, he nodded almost imperceptibly, then
swooped me off my feet and carried me in, closing the door behind
us.

"I've made a call. We're
getting reinforcements."

"It's about damn time."

Felipe sat in his chair, arms
crossed, scowl planted firmly on his face as Father Bellini glared
at him. They had been at each other's throats for months now. Both
were stressed beyond belief, the weight of the world on their
collective shoulders. It was easier for them to focus their anger
on each other than admit they were overwhelmed and terrified.
Bellini's lips puckered in an irritated frown before turning to the
rest of the team.

"As I was saying before I was
so rudely interrupted, we're getting reinforcements. You will be
supplemented with a twelve-man infantry team. This also means we
will be stepping up the attacks. You'll have less time to prepare
between assaults. We want to take out these covens before they have
a chance to multiply."

"So when do we meet these
guys?" That was Nathan, an American transplant who had lived in
Italy for half a century. He had replaced Ado physically, but his
attitude couldn't be different. He was friendly, carefree, and
didn't even let Felipe's sourness foul his mood. None of us liked
him much.

"They'll be here
tomorrow."

"Any vampires on the
team?"

"Not at this time. We're
looking to borrow a few from other companies around the country,
but most of them are engaged at the moment."

"Engaged with what? What could
be more important than stopping a plague of untrained,
unauthorized, blood-sucking serial killers?" Ronin. His faith had
suffered a bit during the last several months, but he still tried
to get us to come to his sermons every weekend. I'd folded to his
constant prodding and attended a service once. He was a powerful
speaker, but I could hear the pain and frustration in his voice as
he preached from the pulpit.

"Vampires aren't the only bad
guys in the world. Humans tend to cause their own problems, as I'm
sure you know, and terrorism still ranks quite high on the nuisance
scale. Not to mention that some are still dealing with that ogre
attack from a few weeks ago." Ronin knew all that already, but he
still grumbled in annoyance.

A silence fell in the room.
There was nothing else to be said and the casual banter from months
before had disappeared. With a nod, Bellini dismissed us and we
filed out, exhausted both emotionally and physically, struggling to
combat a group of vampires we couldn't completely name. We knew
some of the culprits. The ones we had been able to identify before
they absconded had been captured and held at a secure facility deep
in Siberia.

I agreed with Felipe on that
one. They had broken the rules, turned people (often against their
will) into creatures of the night without permission from those who
make the decisions. Now there were hundreds of these new vampires
roaming the civilized world, unschooled in ways to avoid detection
and unaware--or unconcerned--that they were vile creatures doomed
to the pits of hell if they didn't change their ways. They were
teenagers, many of them, frightened and lost, drawn into a life
they didn't want or ask for. Much like Marta, the girl we rescued
from the crack-addicted coven--the coven that led to Ado's
death.

Marta had gone through a
brutal detox, still addicted to the drug after a month of being a
vampire. For hours, I sat with her in a windowless room, holding
her hand or holding her down, depending on her mood at the time.
She frequently bounced between thankful for us saving her life and
hating us for not killing her with the rest of her new friends. She
never once tried to hurt me or anyone else after that night, but
she did try to take herself out more than a few times. It took
three months before we could leave her alone without her being
sedated. She still has episodes on occasion, but they typically
fall along the lines of self-pitying sob fests rather than suicidal
screaming sessions. I'd say we made definite progress.

As we were leaving the room,
Father Bellini pulled Felipe aside, inviting him to his office for
a little tete-a-tete discussion. Not wanting to be part of that
painful experience, I bid them both farewell and headed off to find
the girls. I often sought out Annie and Marta after a tense session
like the one I just attended. Though they had been affected by the
war we were waging, they were still sheltered enough from its
horrors to be pleasantly girly company. They were right where I
hoped they'd be--hanging out in the lounge watching Project Runway
repeats. I'm far from a fashion guru--jeans and t-shirts all the
way, baby--but that show is horribly addicting. Damn you, Heidi
Klum. You and your auf weidersein.

"Hurry, hurry! It's the one
with Kenley!"

I plopped myself onto the
couch next to Marta, who shared my affinity for the quirky
fastener-loving fashionista. Kenley's sense of style was unlike any
other and she turned out beautiful pieces time and again, though
her penchant for bursting into tears does get a bit old after
you've watched that season a dozen times or so.

Annie, a true hostess, had
brought drinks and a bag of potato chips, so I settled down with my
fellow female vampires and spent the rest of the day in fabric
heaven. By the time the reruns ended, the bag of chips and the
six-pack of wine coolers were all gone and we were lamenting once
again over the misguided choices of the judges.

"I want food," declared Marta
randomly, popping up off the couch. "Let's go out somewhere."

Annie and I smiled at each
other. Marta, when she was in a good mood, was a bundle of energy
and happiness. She could even make Felipe crack a faint smile on
occasion, if she didn't let him scare her away right off the bat.
Her red hair and bubbly personality belied the dark demon of
depression that sat just below the surface, waiting for the right
moment to rear its ugly head. But Annie and I did our best to keep
that demon hidden well away, and we had noticed a difference over
the past months. It was a long, slow process, but as long as Marta
remained with us, she would continue to improve, and that was
something to look forward to.

"Should we call the boys?"
Annie was always the voice of reason, worried about offending
Felipe and Jax if we headed out on the town without them.

"Noooo. Come on. They're so
depressing!" Marta actually stamped her foot as a frown marred her
pretty face and she clamped her hands on her hips in defiance. I
did my best to control my smile, and it ended up as more of a
smirk. It was so easy to forget how young she really was--only
sixteen--when you considered everything she'd been through
recently. Lucky for us--not so much her--we had some excellent
tutors, one of whom hailed from ancient Egypt. Marta was receiving
a top-notch education, despite her attempts to forgo learning and
join my team of vampire hunters.

"Fine, fine." Annie raised her
hands in submission, a smile showing her pleasure at having a
girls' night out without the moody men. "So what do you want to
eat?"

"Gelato!"

"You have to have some real
food first. Let's go to that little restaurant by Donna's salon.
There's a gelato shop that stays open late on that street,
too."

"Sounds good," I agreed. "We
can stop in and see Donna, too."

Donna hadn't been doing well
with the loss of both her sister and Ado. And she was still angry
at me for essentially stealing Felipe away from her, though I
hadn't done that intentionally. Donna was the first female vampire
friend I had, and it broke my heart knowing that I was the cause of
so much of her pain. I'd been at the death of her sister--though
she didn't know that--and I'd taken the only men she really cared
for--even if Ado wasn't really my fault.

We piled in Annie's car, a
sensible sedan that held five adults comfortably and looked like it
should belong to a soccer mom and not a half-vampire. The sun had
barely sunk below the horizon, but it was enough that we could head
outside without the fear of burning to a crisp. Annie, of course,
didn't have to worry about that as much, but Marta and I preferred
our skin a nice tan shade instead of the color of carbon. Annie was
a much better driver than Felipe or Donna and we made it safely to
the restaurant.

As Marta climbed out of the
back seat, I looked to where I knew Donna's all-night doggie
groomers would be. My mouth dropped and I felt my brow furrow as I
saw the sign on the door--Closed. It was a 24-hour salon; it wasn't
supposed to close. I walked up to the door, hoping for some
indication of why Donna's livelihood stood dark. There was nothing
aside from the rarely used CLOSED sign, black with bright orange
letters, hanging in the window. Through the windows, I could see
all the equipment and supplies, but no people or canines.

I heard Annie gasp beside me
as I pulled out my cell phone. Donna hadn't returned the last dozen
voicemails I'd left for her, but I held onto a slight hope that
someday she'd forgive me. The ringing grew in my ear as I watched
Marta press her face to the window, leaving a faint greasy
impression of her forehead on the dirty glass.

"Whoever you are, I'm not
interested in talking to you right now. Leave a message and if
you're lucky, I might call you back. If this is Jane, leave me the
eff alone."

Well, then. At least Donna
wasn't bitter or anything... I frowned, biting my lip in
frustration and drawing a little blood.

"Anything?"

I shook my head at Annie, not
trusting my words yet. I could feel tears building at the back of
my throat, but I refused to let them show. I took a deep breath and
turned away, heading toward the restaurant. The other girls
followed in subdued silence. Thanks to the wonderful Marta, the
awful mood didn't last long and she soon had us laughing so hard
the other patrons were giving us annoyed looks. By the time we paid
our bill and headed for gelato, I'd all but forgotten about Donna's
closed shop. I made a mental note to speak with Father Bellini
about it when we passed the dark store on the way to get sweet,
creamy goodness.

As we pulled into the garage,
still eating our cones, Felipe left Father Bellini's office,
heading to his car. He kept his head down and didn't acknowledge
us, though it was entirely possible that he hadn't even seen us.
His forehead held deep creases, his face was pinched, his lips
pursed. He had his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans and he
walked hunched over in a manner I'd never seen before. He was
always strong, confident, and sure of himself. At that moment, he
looked confused, lost, scared, and extremely angry.

When Marta made to intercept
Felipe, I grabbed her arm, shaking my head rapidly. She looked at
me questioningly for a moment, then actually focused on him. Her
own face dropped, sadness creeping across her features. She was a
very empathetic child. She hated to see others in pain and took
their burdens onto her own shoulders, even if she didn't know what
they were.

Annie and I decided it was
time to call it a night. Marta's room was right next to mine, a
decision made by both Bellini and I in an attempt to keep an eye on
her. It wasn't often that a vampire so young was brought to the
sanctuary and we weren't equipped for many of their needs. I bid
her goodnight and headed to my own room, mulling over the events of
the evening. Donna's 24-hour salon, closed. For good? I had no
idea. Felipe, taking on a vulnerability I'd never seen before. What
had Father Bellini told him? Was it something about the new
vampires? Did someone else die? Did Donna die? I mentally slapped
myself, refusing to give into that line of thought. It wasn't true
and it would only lead to more sadness. No matter how hard I tried
that night, sleep would not come.

The sun was still high in the
sky when I finally gave up on sleep and rolled out of bed. I knew
because the clock on my nightstand read 1:00 and I'd gone to bed
way after that. My head felt cloudy and I could feel the blood
pounding in my temples. It's rare that a vampire gets a headache,
but when the do, it's a very painful experience. I recognized the
symptoms from my time as a human. A shower didn't ease the aching
throb, so I grabbed my keys and threaded my way through the
sanctuary. It was a sprawling, multi-level behemoth located just
below Santa Maria de Maggiorre. At that point, I'd only really seen
about a third of it and my time was spent mainly in the dining
hall, lounge, two dormitories, and training rooms. Just then, I
needed the infirmary desperately.