Waiting (36 page)

“Right. Let's go.”

I wrapped myself around him
and waited for him to take off, but he didn't.

“You smell different. You
’
r
e
determined, yes, but something's new.”

He was wary of me?

“She knows,
” Gunner spoke, making me quirk my head to the side in confusion.

“Oh, and yo
u're fine?” Francis spoke to me
and it took only a few more seconds for me to get it.

“Oh! Yes
.
I know Parker accidently killed my real parents. Am I fine? No. I never knew the people and I've only ever heard bad things about them. I'm sorry that they died, but it wasn't Parker's fault. I want to find him and tell
him that
so he doesn't keep punishing himself over it.”

I clung to Francis again and this time he took off, surprising me. I thought he'd ask more questions, waste more time, but he didn't.

We flew faster than ever.  T
his time I didn't feel the cold and my eyes didn't sting. My whole body had improved and I wanted to take advantage of every second. What if
I
depleted my power faster because my adrenaline was so high? My nerve endings were on fire, too anxious to get to Parker.

“You keep on surprising me.” Francis gave a low chuckle.

He spoke at a normal level but I could hear him just fine while we soared through the air.

“How so?”

I was so relieved to see him smiling and laughing again, where minutes ago he'd been a crumpled mess of bone and tattered clothes.

“You're so calm and level headed. Your scent only minutely changed before turning back to determination. You really have forgiven Parker, haven't you?”

“Yes.” There was nothing to forgive, really, especially since it was an accident. “Was he running across the road or something when they drove by?”

“He was chasing me, was on my heels really, so I stopped in the middle of the road and waited for him since I heard the car coming. He didn't hear it until it was too late, and then I escaped. The car nicked him then careened into a tree. I'm sorry to say that I could smell the alcohol on them from a mile away, so if we'd been there or not, they were sure tempting fate.”

“It's not your fault either.” He didn't look at me. “Men.” I blew out an
exasperated sigh
then stilled in his arms when I felt a rush of energy pass by us. “Did you feel that?”

“Yes. It was Lyle. If you weren't with
me I'd turn back and go get him
since he did most of my torturing.”

Oh, hell no!
He is NOT getting away.

I
rotated in his arms, awkwardly, until I was now flush against his back, my boobs squished as I held on tight.

“Go get him! He tricked Sam and he's responsible for most of everything bad that's happened recently.”

No questions asked, he changed directions. I stayed silent, hardly breathing as we closed in on the
now almost visible
figure flying a quarter mile ahead of us.
With the vampire blood running through my veins I could see the black aura surrounding his form, whereas humans would see nothing.
Francis turned his head and held a finger to his lips. I rolled my eyes. Like I didn't know we were trying to be stealth here.

The man was slowing, getting more relaxed, which was just fine with me. The better to take him off guard. We were low enough to the ground now, I'm pretty sure he was planning on landing.

We swooshed under tree limbs and darted around bushes before we were finally close enough to him.

Blame it on a woman's wraith, I don't care, maybe I acted
irrationally
but like I said, I was past caring. I lunged for him. Jumping off Francis' back I grasped onto the very surprised back of Lyle, who then went tumbling to the ground, with me.

A tangle of fists and teeth and legs landed in a mess as we finally s
topped rolling when his back hit
a tree hard enough to break it.

TWENTY
THREE

I'm no
t sure how old this vampire was
but he was strong enough to fly, which meant I was fighting with a very strong vampire.

Yeah me!

I had a split second's thought of regret after lu
nging for him, but after finding
our strength to be almost equal, I fought even harder to prove he couldn't best me.

When he was finally
pinned underneath me, my shirt was ripped to pieces and his r
ight ear was slowly regenerating after I’d ripped it from his head
.

Take that!

“Well done, Piper!” Francis clapped his hands together on a bark of laughter before addressing Lyle. I
'm glad he let me do this. He’
d been surprised, no doubt, but he obviously thought I'd win. “Lyle. It's a
pleasure
to see you again.”

“You filthy Fang!” Was that supposed to be an insult? “How you escaped is beyond me, but I do know they were closing in on your brother. If you leave now, you might be able to free him in time, if not...”

The asshole let it dangle. Was he bluffing? I couldn't tell, though I sure as shit wanted him to be.

My wraith, again, got the best of me. I released
my
grip from one of his arms and ripped his healing ear off again. He howled in pain for a second before I had him back in my death grip and he was glaring at me with hatred.

“I like it rough,
sweetie
, do it again.” He rot
ated his hips to collide with mine
, infuriating me more.

Francis had him up by the throat before his hips finished
the full rotation.
I yelled out, not wanting him to kill him yet, like he was about to do.

“Wait!”
Francis stilled
. “Sam! Sam gets to kill him. She only did all this because o
f him. You were tortured by him
so I say you get to share the killing, but still, wait for Sam.”

He knew I was right, though time was of the essence here.

“Let me drink from you once more, then I can hold him here and you can send someone back. Go get Parker.” That seemed the only logical way to do things.

“I'm not leaving you here with him!”
He'll rape and kill you before you can even blink.

Whoa! What was that? Did I just hear his thoughts?

His head turned to give me a questioning glance.

“
Can you hear me?”
I directed my t
houghts to him, watched him nod
then took a step back to gain my bearings. That is so cool! “
He won't rape me if I still have my strength. You can have someone here in five minutes. Your blood should last a few hours, right?”

“Doesn't mean I feel right about leaving you here with him. And the answer is no. It's not happening!”

Stubborn fool.

Someone was coming.
I braced in attack form.
Francis' lips twitch
ed
as he took me in. Apparently he knew who it was since he didn't seem tense.

Sam landed a few feet from me with an evil smirk as she eyed our captive.

“Thanks for going after him. I was following him until I saw you change direction, then went and made sure Parker was fine.” She looked at me with an excited, friendly smile. “He is. Everyone is fine and he should be h
ere any minute if he senses you.  I
f not he'll go home for you
.  Y
ou might want to be there
so he doesn't go insane.” Her evil smile came back when she stepped around me. “You, Lyle, are going to have a
lot of fun with Francis and I
for the next few years. M
onths if you're lucky.”

“Let's drag him back. You carry Piper.”

“Thanks for talking Francis into waiting. And I'm sorry. About everything.”

So not the time for apologies.

“You're forgiven. As long as you don't do anything like this again.” She looked on the verge of tears. Did my forgiveness really mean that much to her? “I'm sorry for calling you all those nasty names a few nights ago.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“It's the least that I deserved. I want you to know, if they would've tried to do anything to you, I would've stopped them. I was on a mission and all, but I wouldn't have let them hurt you, or touch you.”

“Good to know.” I offere
d her my most sincere smile,
then looked back at Francis
and spoke into his head
.
“No, this is not going to turn into a porn.”

He laughed and shook his head, clearly amused.

“Did you just have one of those mind talks with him?” Sam looked confused.

“Yeah. I think his blood makes it work.”

It would be a blast if it worked with Parker's. The naughty things we could say to each
other, describe to each
other. I wonder if it'll work when I see him now? I could...

“Enough!”

Oops. Had I been talking in Francis' head? I smiled innocently and turned to Sam.

She took me in her arms and
started
off. I could feel Francis close behind.

Everyone was alive. Parker and Francis
would be reunited and Koopa…well, let’s hope he stays away
. Who else was involved and would they leave us alone now?

Hopefully.

**********

 
             
We landed in
Parker's 'front yard' to find
Gunner and Brian playing cards on the front porch. They both jumped up, game forgotten, when they saw us.

“What happened? Where's Parker?” It was Brian who asked, though it was Gunner who paled. Worried.

“Go get some silver from below, Brian.”

He didn't have to.  A
pparently he had some in his pockets, ready.

I grabbed
the
chain, wrapping
it around Lyle's throat so Francis didn
’
t have to hold him. He went down to his knees from the pain, then laid
on his side with his eyes shut.  P
rob
ably praying he'd die from that
instead of what he knew was in store for him.

“So, what happened?”

Sam took over, slowly inching
everyone back from me
,
I noticed.
Francis did the same. Did I smell?

“Parker will be here in a minute. Everyone on our side is alive and well. Lyle here is the reason for all the recent chaos and he's going to be my prisoner for a
while, until I tire of him.” She craned her neck to look at Francis. “
Our
prisoner, if you'd like.”

“Oh, I'd like. My current prisoner is more than likely dead now that I haven't been home to feed him, so I have plenty of space if you need a storage bin. I promise to leave him in there unless you're there.”

“Don't promise that! 
I want him tortured whi
le I'm off having fun somewhere!
It'll make me feel better.”

Lyle gro
aned on the ground while keeping
his eyes closed.

“If you...” Now Sam very visibly took a step back from me, pulling Brian with her. Gunner took a few and Francis was
practically
in the tree line. “What the hell?”

Sam's lips tw
itched and was about to explain
before my eyes narrowed
in on
an
enclosing
figure in the sky.
I
t crashed into me
with a gentle force
. We rolled on the ground a few times, his arms protectively making a cage around me so I was barely jostled before his lips were on mine.

It was a welcomed kiss, his arms still wrapped around me when he floated us to a standing position.

“
Get a room.”

Francis' voice floated into my mind. Parker pulled back and responded, not knowing I heard it too.

“She's too beautiful to keep my hands to myself. It only bothers you because you'r
e jealous. Don't worry, brother.  W
e'll find yours one day, then I can say annoying things to you that you won't listen to or care about. I doubt she'll be as thoughtful, caring, loving, brave and amazing as my Piper, but she'll do.”