Strange Neighbors (19 page)

   Jason groaned, but in a good way. "I want you so much. God, I can't stand to wait another minute."

   The doors stayed open and a strange voice said, "Apparently not."

   Oops.

   Whipping her head around, Merry spotted Sly. Wearing his usual all-black attire, he stood just outside the elevator. His hand blocked the door and prevented it from closing again.

   "Really, Allison. I'd like to say I raised you better than that, but the truth is I never raised you at all."

   "Um… What do you mean?"

   Jason tried to sit up. Merry scrambled off his lap and stood. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt.

   Jason levered himself uncomfortably off the floor and stood beside her. "Merry, why did he call you 'Allison'?"

   "I—um… need to ask him some stuff."

   "It's a long story," Sly said. Then he focused his gaze on Merry. "I understand you wanted to see me?"

   "Yeah. I guess Konrad finally gave you the message."

   "No, he told me right away, but I had to wait until your evening off."

   "Oh—yeah. I guess you would, if what I was told is true."

   Jason scratched the back of his neck. "Does someone want to tell me what's going on here?"

   Sly lowered his voice and breathed heavily a couple of times. "Luke, I am her father."

   "Funny."

   "No, really," Merry said, wide-eyed. "It might be true." Jason raised his eyebrows and glanced at one, then the other, then back again. "Damn. I can see the resemblance, but…"

   Merry cast a hopeful gaze at Sly. "So how…? Um, why…? Oh my, I have so many questions!"

   Jason kissed the top of Merry's head. "Why don't you two talk?" He pulled a key card from his pocket and handed it to her. "I had an extra one made for you."

   Merry's mouth dropped open. "My own key?"

   "I'll be upstairs when you're, um… ready."

   "I bet you will," Sly said.

   "Thanks, Jason. And you…" Merry pointed an accusing finger at Sly. "You don't get to have an opinion on the matter. I have an overprotective father already, and one's enough."

   Sly lifted his hands in a "don't shoot" gesture and took a step back.

   "I will see you later," Merry said and kissed Jason on the lips—hard.

   "Mmm-hmmmph."

   When she broke the kiss, Jason retreated into the elevator and Sly let go of the doors so they could slide shut.

"So, you're telling me it's true? You're a… a vampire?" Sly pulled his long, dark hair off his neck and fastened it behind his head with a silver elastic. Then he leaned against the back of Merry's leather sofa and crossed his ankle over his knee. "If I weren't, you wouldn't be alive."

"Oh, you mean that super-human strength thing?

That's true too? I guess it must be. I wasn't sure how you managed to toss that assailant off of me like he was a sock monkey."

   "Strength, speed, heightened senses. All of it. But that's not the first time I rescued you. I was turned right before you were born. It was the only way I could get your mother to the hospital fast enough."

   "Wait a minute, are you telling me that because you couldn't hail a cab you had yourself turned into a vampire?"

   Sly smirked. "Not exactly. Your mother was attacked by a vampire. She fought, but by the time he let go of her, she had lost so much blood… I was afraid she'd die and take you with her. I begged the vampire to help me and he said there was only one thing he could do."

   "But that's a lie. He could have rushed her to the hospital…"

   Sly gave her a sidelong glance and lowered his head. "He was a vampire, Allison. He didn't care about your mother or me or you. He selfishly offered to turn me, probably for his own amusement. He acted like a cat playing with a mouse. But I didn't have much of a choice."

   "Oh."

   An uncomfortable silence followed. At last, Sly followed up with, "I didn't believe vampires existed until I saw one with my own eyes."

   "I'm with you there." Merry shook her head as if clearing it. "So what happened? To my mother, I mean?"

   "It was too late to save her. They took you by C-section—and just in time. You were going into distress. As it was, you were a month early. You had to spend a couple of weeks in the hospital in an incubator. It gave me time to think about what kind of father I'd be."

   "You thought about keeping me?" I wasn't rejected.

   "I wanted to, believe me. I wrestled with the decision. You were all I had left of your mother, and I loved her dearly."

   "You must have! You were willing to become a vampire to try to save her."

   He nodded. "When I realized I'd never be able to drive you to school on a sunny day or attend any of your daytime events—and you'd have to grow up in a dark home with a father who might be tempted to snack on you in desperate times…"

   She snapped to attention. "You wouldn't!"

   "No, I wouldn't. But I didn't know what to expect back then. I didn't know what I was destined to become. Some vampires are pure evil, and who knows why?"

   Merry settled back into her chair. "I'm so sorry. I mean, about what happened to you and what you had to go through all these years because of a selfish, uncaring… Well, you know."

   "Yes, I know. As it turns out, vampirism doesn't make a man an undead asshole. It's the illusion of power and omnipotence that does. Very small people, when they get a taste of power, seem to abuse it."

   Merry nodded. "That makes sense. But you're not an asshole. Um… are you?"

   Sly laughed. "Depends on who you ask."

   "You sound well-educated. What did you do, before the, uh… incident?"

   "I had an engineering background and founded a small company. Without me there to run it every day, my partner took over and kicked me out on my butt."

   "But that's awful!" Merry realized she had already formed an alliance with Sly. Here she was, taking his side in an argument that had nothing to do with her and happened long ago. Uh-oh. Don't be gullible, Merry. His story might be horse shit.

   "Look, Allison…"

   "Call me Merry."

   "Do I have to?"

   She sighed. "I know, it's kind of a weird name—especially if I'm in a shitty mood. People who don't know better will use it as a reason why I should be cheerful absolutely all of the time."

   "What about the people who do know better? What do they do?"

   "They stay out of choking reach."

   Sly laughed with a hearty resonance that warmed her. "I can see a lot of your mother in you."

   "Really? What was she like?"

   "She was a spitfire. Full of piss and vinegar, as they say."

   "Ewww. Who says that?"

   He shrugged. "It's just a saying. It means she spoke her mind, and nobody used her for a doormat. She was passionate about everything she did. She stood for good causes. She believed in doing the right thing, even if it wasn't the easiest thing."

   "You mean she was some kind of an agitator? Or zealot?"

   "No. She wasn't the militant type. Far from it. She was a social worker—more of an advocate. If there was an underdog who needed her help, she was there. If there was a cause that needed a sign to be carried, your mother was there, waving it."

   "I advocate for my patients and their families all the time."

   Sly nodded. "It doesn't surprise me."

   "And something else makes sense now. I've always been able to smell blood, like a mile away."

   Sly nodded. "In my desperation, I tried to turn your mother as I felt her life slipping away. You may have received a drop of my vampiric blood."

   Merry was stunned by all these revelations, yet she had to know more. "What was her name?"

   "Alice."

   A stab suddenly hit Merry in the chest. "You named me after her?"

   "Yes. There was no kinder, purer heart on the planet. She deserved someone to carry on her name, if not her legacy."

   Merry hushed, temporarily. "No wonder you want to call me by that name. But just so you know… my mother called me Merry, because I was such a happy baby."

   Sly smiled. "I'm glad. Your biological mother and I were thrilled to learn you were on the way. Perhaps you picked up on our vibes and knew how much you were loved." He adjusted uncomfortably. "I hope you didn't grow up thinking you were unwanted."

   "I never knew why I was given up, but at least I knew I was wanted very much by my family—the family who raised me."

   "They knew you were special. I made sure you were in good hands."

"Made sure? How?"

   "Let's just say I kept tabs on you. I saw your adoptive parents take you home. I watched the Schooner newspapers. If I'd heard anything negative, I'd have taken action against whomever didn't treat you right."

   "How did we wind up in the same place? Was that some kind of crazy coincidence?"

   Sly shook his head. "I began advertising Boston apartments for rent in the Schooner paper as soon as you graduated from high school. I always knew you wouldn't be content to stay in a small town. I was thrilled to see you had been accepted to nursing school! I knew you'd make a wonderful nurse. I can't tell you how proud your mother would be."

   Merry sniffed.

   "I began placing ads again as soon as you graduated. I checked out each place. Made sure you'd be safe and that I could stay in the vicinity to protect you. Morgaine was the one who guaranteed that you and your family would be the only ones to see the ads. She put a spell on each one."

   Merry couldn't speak. She was aware that her mouth hung open, but she couldn't shut it. It was almost as if she had reverse lockjaw. "I—I don't know what to say. I don't like being manipulated, but if you hadn't done that, I'd have never met Jason."

   "Please watch your heart. I've heard things. It seems he likes to love 'em and leave 'em."

   "No, he's not like that with me. You don't have to worry."

   "I hope not. I might have a hard time staying out of it if he hurts you."

   "So do you think that's your role? To hover and make sure nobody hurts me?"

   "No need. The MacKenzies took good care of you. I just kept myself handy, in case they didn't."

   "Okay, this is going to sound weird..."

   "Weirder than discovering your father is a vampire?"

   "Yeah. Well, maybe. I always had the feeling that I had some kind of guardian angel looking out for me."

   Sly grimaced. "I'm not much of an angel, although I imagine myself as a secret crime fighter sometimes. I suppose I could be thought of as an avenging angel."

   "So what did you do to the perp—No, never mind. I don't want to know."

   "No, you probably don't."

   Merry took a deep breath. "What would you have done if my family hadn't taken good care of me?"

   He shrugged. "Whatever I had to do."

   "Including…?"

   "Including anything."

Jason parked himself in front of his computer and opened his email. He'd told his family in Minnesota that he'd let them know right away if Merry had accepted their invitation. But she hadn't. He wasn't ready to take her "no" for an answer yet, damn it.

   He minimized the page and stormed off to unpack, throw some laundry in the washer, and do any other mindless chore he could think of until he could talk to Merry again.

   As he opened his suitcase and transferred what clothes were still clean back into his dresser and closet, his mind drifted and ruminated and obsessed.

   My mother always said when it was right, I'd "just know." A few minutes ago I did, but now... Why did Sly call himself her father? Who is that guy? He can't be much older than she is. And why did she seem okay with it? "I guess all I have to do is ask her."

   Instantly, he felt better. Of course. Stupid of me. All I have to do is ask her when she comes up to see me later. She would tell him the truth. That's one reason he knew it was right. No games. She had always been honest with him. Hadn't she?

   He slung the bag of dirty laundry over his shoulder and headed for the elevator. As he passed his computer desk, he noticed the page he had been working on was open and stopped suddenly. Didn't I minimize that?

   Setting down the laundry bag, he reread the page. A few words had been added to the end of what he had typed.

   They read, Do you want my advice?

   Startled, Jason glanced around the apartment. Who the hell could have come in while he was in his bedroom and want to give him advice?

   "Aunt Dottie," he yelled.

   When there was no answer, he did a quick search of the place.

   Empty.

   If it wasn't Dottie, then who? Chad? Nah…

   Just for peace of mind, he grabbed his lucky bat from its place of honor on the wall of his exercise room. Then he walked from closet to closet, throwing doors open and quickly adopting his "batter up" stance.

   Nothing. "Crap. I must be losing my mind."

   Everything was too low to the ground to hide beneath, but just for the hell of it, he bent over and scanned the floor anyway. Maybe some anorexic child is hiding under there?

   A bizarre thought reentered his mind. "The ghost?" He shook it off. "I must be losing it—big time."

   He set the bat down and returned to retrieve his laundry. Just as he was about to pick it up, he heard the gentle tap tap of his keyboard.