CHAPTER TWO
“Nicky, love, I know it’s you. They’ve invented this new thing called caller
ID, perhaps you’ve heard of it. It puts your name right there on the phone for me
to see, along with your phone number. And what ex-con did I send you? Because
I do believe I’d remember even that in my dotage.”
It was a good thing he loved her, he thought, or he’d seriously have to
consider parenticide.
“Becky Morgan. And don’t try to deny it, because she told me that you told
me to call you when she left.” He had to stop on the stairs and catch his breath.
He ran eighteen miles a day on the treadmill. What was wrong with him? he
wondered.
“First of all, her name is not Becky Morgan. Don’t you read anything
anymore? Secondly...hang on; I have to take this call.”
He pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it. She put him on hold! He
started walking down the steps again, a little slower. Just three more flights to
go. After five minutes, she came back on the line.
“Nicky, darling, did you have that poor man David try to detain your so
called ex-con?”
He was almost afraid to answer that. He could hear that tone in her voice,
the Mom tone. It said, “Don’t even try lying because I already know the truth.”
“I might have. Why?” He was at the door at the lobby now, but didn’t go
through it. If he had to grovel to his mom, he was not going to let everyone in the
lobby hear it.
“Well, they’ve just called the paramedics for him. He is bleeding on the ugly
carpet I told you not to put in. It’s much too sedate and boring. You should have
gone with the royal blue one—”
“Mom! I need you to focus here. Why are the paramedics on their way for
David?” He pushed the door open with a bang. He was three feet from a crowd
gathered around what he could only assume was his security guard.
“She said that she asked him several times not to touch her, and she also
warned him that she could and would defend herself if he did. She said that he
grabbed her arm and ripped her shirt—a borrowed shirt I might add. What is
wrong with you? Are you actually telling your employees to accost young
women now? Nicholas Patrick Grant, I’m very angry with you right now.” He
could hear it too.
Nickolas could hear her voice get just a tad more pitch behind it with every
word until she got to his full name. A kid always knew when he was in trouble
because his mom would use his entire name to yell for him. It didn’t change
much as an adult either.
“Are you saying that Becky attacked David? That just doesn’t sound—”
“Her name is Morgan Becky, not Becky Morgan, you jackass. And why
would I lie to you, I ask you? I sent her in there in good faith to get a job. And
what do you do? You—”
“Mom she’s an ex-con, I can’t—”
“You will not interrupt your mother again, young man. She is not an ex-con.
She was acquitted of all charges and released. I am not her parole officer; I’m her
counselor and friend. Well, probably not after this. How could you?”
He could hear the hurt in her voice and felt bad that he had put it there.
Nickolas didn’t know what to say. He felt like he was six years old again and
had just broken the cookie jar. Or rather, his brother Jamie had broken it—he’d
just dared him to it. Of course ,Jamie had done it; he never could turn down a
dare.
“Mom, I’m sorry. Let me see to David, and then I’ll find Ms. Mor ... Becky,
and make it up to her. I’m really sorry.”
“See that you do. And I want you to call me as soon as you have apologized
to her. Apologized to her several times, I mean. Nickolas, if you don’t make this
right, I’ll go back to setting you up with potential wives again. I swear. And I
won’t be as choosy this time.”
“God, no! Please don’t do that. I beg you, please. I’ll make it up to her, I
swear. You can depend on me.” That was a promise he would follow through on
even if he had to buy the little twit all of Tiffany’s.to make her happy.
Nick walked over to the scene and, in a glance, could see that David was
indeed in need of paramedics. His head was bleeding quite profusely from the
open wound on the back. One of the girls from his brother Damon’s office—he
had an office in the building too—was holding a pad over it and talking quietly
to him. And there stood Ms. Mor ... Becky, nearly vibrating in her anger.
“You all right, David? Did anyone call your wife?” He decided to ignore the
beautiful woman for now, at least until he got a better control on his temper.
“Yes, sir. Roger called her. She’s gonna meet me there. It’s all my fault, Mr.
Grant. Miss Becky told me to let her go and she said that she’d hurt me if I didn’t.
I should have just let her go like she said. My missus is gonna be pissed about
this. I ripped her shirt too. Miss Becky’s, I mean.” David handed the small strip
of material over to Nick that he still had clutched in his hand. Nick looked up at
Morgan.
“Don’t you have something to say to David, Ms. Becky? I mean, was it really
necessary to hit him in the head?” Her hands were trembling when she took the
material from him. Snatched would have been a better word, but he let it go. He
was in enough trouble with his mother without adding insult to injury.
“You mean I should apologize? I don’t think so. I’m sorry he was hurt. I
never meant for him to hit his head. If anyone should apologize, it should be
you.”
“Me? What the hell did I do? You’re the one who knocked him over. I wasn’t
finished talking to you and you left.”
“Screw you.” And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the
building. Nick would have given chase, but the ambulance showed up just then
and, as David’s employer, he felt it was his duty to go with him.
David Tulle was fine after a quick trip to the hospital and fifteen stitches
later. When he had grabbed at Morgan’s arm as she moved to pass him, she
countered with a sweep of her leg under his and threw him to the floor. Falling
down, he had hit his head on the corner of the front desk, grabbing at her
borrowed shirt and ripping it.
Of course, the firm paid for the entire thing and even sprang for lunch for
David and his obviously pregnant wife, who had met them at the hospital. Nick
then made the trip back to the office to pick up Ms. Becky’s file and make
everything all right with his mom. No way was he letting her set him up on blind
dates again.
Nick was okay with being single. He dated when he wanted to, which wasn’t
really that often. At twenty-nine, he was a widower of nearly eight years now.
His wife Nancy had been killed in a car crash about a year into their
marriage, along with his dad on their way back from dropping him off at the
airport. He had been on his way to a conference in Milan when slick roads and a
drunk driver had crashed into them.
Chapter three next week see what happens, Can't wait it's available now everywhere
Sneak Peek of Charlotte Blackwell Book Immortal Embrace
Chapter 1
Changes
Her scream rips through the entire house, as the family runs to the horrific source. The wailing cuts right through to my very core. The memories flood me of the day I bellowed the same cry so many years earlier. But I can’t think about my own terror anymore, I have a new life now. I can’t allow her to go through what I did. What’s he done? I know her terror, her fear, the panic that is starting to set in for a girl who has become like a sister to me.
“She’s in Caspian’s room!” I shout.
Within moments of the painful cry, my entire family reaches the door. Elijah grabs for the brass doorknob, only to find it locked. He pounds at the solid oak door, his demands for it to open becoming more and more desperate as her cries fall silent. I take notice as Elijah and Florence share a glance and then, with his unnatural strength, he throws his shoulder into the door with all his might. The door splinters into pieces as what is left of it crashes to the ground.
Inside the room, Caspian is frantically fighting to save the woman he loves. “I...I didn’t... I didn’t mean to! I didn’t...Please help her! Please!” The tears stream down his face; blood no longer pours from the wound he inflicted on Ashley.
I look at the two of them and wonder how did this ever happen? She lays limp in his arms, as he is desperately trying to give her life again. The bed beneath them is stained crimson with her blood. I notice the small puncture mark on his wrist. It is seeping slowly, almost completely closed over. Surely that is from his attempt to save her. Surely...
“Ashley, NO! Please wake up. I can’t lose you, my love. I’m so sorry,” Caspian cries in utter anguish.
Isaac and Constance push through the rest of us, to their aid. If anyone can save her, it will be one of them.
“She is too far gone,” Isaac observes. “There is nothing any of us can do to save her now.”
“Can I help? There has got to be something one of us can do.”
“No, Sophia. I’m sorry, but she has lost too much blood, and her heart has stopped. He drank too much too quickly. I’d try to give her blood if I thought it would help, but it won’t do any good. I am sorry,” Isaac says, “but Ashley is dead. We cannot help her now.” His grim confirmation ends all hope.
Every instinct within me tells me to run and cradle her, to use every power within me to breathe life back into her limp body. “I can feel it now. She is gone forever.” I didn’t need him to tell me; I had felt it the second he released her hand.
“I have much more experience than you, Sophia. In time you too, will have the ability to detect separate entities and feel when the life force leaves,” he adds before he rises from his knees and pulls Caspian from her body. “We have all made mistakes, and I’m so sorry. We all loved her.”
Elijah wraps Caspian in a bathrobe and leads him out of the room away from the rest of us. Standing there for a moment we are shocked into silence by the tragedy... Caspian has lost the woman he loved, but we all lost a woman we considered part of our family. It’s not very often we let someone in, but Ashley is just...well, she is special or at least was.
“What are we going to do now?” I ask. Glancing around the usually immaculate room, I see it is in total disarray. The white, satin sheets appear black from the dried blood they are now soaked in. Blood splatter covers every wall, as well as the two lovers’ clothing that’s haphazardly strewn about the floor.
Isaac calmly observes our surroundings and tries to piece together the details. “Elijah will handle this. He is a very wise man, and he’ll assist Caspian in dealing with his loss and the details of the accident.”
Constance agrees. “We’ll know more after Caspian clarifies what happened.”
Constance’s and Florence’s footsteps pound in my head as they walk down the staircase toward the kitchen. The sound of splashing water echoes through the corridor as they prepare a bucket to do the cleaning. We have to remove any and all evidence of this tragedy.
I realize my senses are increasing from the blood exposure, and quickly turn my focus back to Caspian. “Why wasn’t anyone aware of Caspian and Ashley’s situation? Could no one sense what was happening? This could have been prevented.” My face burns with anger, and my throat is as dry as charred forest. As I become more aware of my surroundings, the drying blood brings the repulsive metallic scent of death. “I better open a window,” I say, needing relief. “It’s starting to smell in here.” It’s time to air it out a little; even if nothing will remove the smell of Ashley’s spilled blood. I head to the large window at the front of the room. I pull the shades and open the window before taking a seat on the window bench.
Alexander opens a second window on the other side of the room. “Agreed. I hate the smell once the blood stops moving and what is left begins to settle.”
I can’t help but wonder how the blood can be so appealing until it starts to congeal in the body and reek. The wind rushes in through the open glass, and the scent of her young blood swirls around the room. I can feel the urge hastening through my body. I’m ready to come apart.
“Sophia, relax. You can handle this. Nothing is going to happen. We’ll all be fine.”
Alexander understands me only the way a twin can. He is so protective of me, and the connection between us is strong, almost unbreakable. Why though, brother weren’t you watching over Caspian instead? I thought but dare not say.
Alexander puts his large hands on my tiny shoulders, looks me directly in the eyes and interrupts my thoughts again. “He asked me to butt out tonight, Sophia. They had a special evening planned, and he did not want my intrusion.”
“I’m not blaming you. I’m only wondering if there was anything we could have done.” I run both hands through my hair, loosening the layers to fall around my face piece by piece. I let out a huge sigh, not wanting to lay blame on anyone. This is just one of the risks we take with our lifestyle, nothing more than a terrible unfortunate mishap.
“What about now? Do you know what happened, what is happening?” I ask, still looking up at my brother, who towers nearly a foot over my diminutive five-four frame.
He lowers his head, letting the sandy blond hair cover his face.
I try to gauge his emotions. I can tell he knows something, but getting him to share it with me is an unattainable feat, at least for tonight.
“Okay, everyone grab a cloth and start cleaning. Caspian does not need to walk back in on this mess,” Florence urges in her motherly tone as she enters the room with a cache of washcloths and cleaning supplies.
Everyone works together to try to remove the hideous evidence from Caspian’s room. This is going to destroy him. He loved her more than anything else, and he will need our help to cope.
“He’s gone! I had no chance of stopping him. He is devastated over the accident, and he returned his day ring to me and said he is no longer fit to be a member of our family. And then, just like that, he took off. I...I do not think he is coming back—not ever.” Elijah gently places his
arm around Florence’s shoulders. “Not only has our family lost Ashley tonight, but we’re losing Caspian too. We can mourn our losses tomorrow, but tonight we must take care of business.”
We all agree and get to work. We never question Elijah; he is the head of this family and demands respect. What reason would we have to doubt him? He never steers us wrong and always guides us in the right direction.
Elijah and Isaac wrap Ashley’s body, already growing cold, in a sheet.
“We will dispose of the body,” Elijah says, lowering his head at the thought. “The rest of you should continue cleaning the room.”
Once again, we find ourselves drowning in silence as the older men in the family remove the body of our friend.
Constance sets the scene in Caspian’s room to create the appearance of him running away with Ashley. She even initiates a goodbye letter on his computer.
I can hear Florence on the phone with Ashley’s family: “Have you seen or heard from Caspian? We found his room in disarray tonight and a letter on his computer. He said he could not handle the pressure of college and was leaving.”
The plan is being set into motion, much like a story being written. We will file a missing person report after the required forty-eight hours. As for tonight, we will pretend to go search for the two lovers that we know are forever lost to us and to each other.
With every passing day, I wonder about Caspian’s safety and his emotional state. We have not heard a word from him since Ashley died, and my only hope is that he will return to us soon. If or when he decides to, he will know how to locate us. I still can’t believe everyone in town believes our tale that Caspian and Ashley ran away together, but our secrets have been well kept. I only wish the two lovers were still with us.
I don’t want to leave, but it’s time to move on, as we are needed elsewhere. I grab my suitcase, pack my belongings, and prepare for our relocation. All the while, I can’t help being slightly frustrated that Alexander still won’t share what he knows. Maybe one day I’ll get it out of him, but for now, only unanswered questions linger in my mind.
It has been almost thirty years and eight moves since I last spoke to my oldest brother on the night when his girlfriend was prematurely taken from us. Still, I am convinced I’ve seen him lurking in the shadows from time to time, possibly to check up on us. I hope he decides to confront us someday soon. I think about him and the accident every day. That night changed me forever. The ache in my heart returns often, and I miss my brother. He was always willing to tell me what others refused to. Things were much more exciting with him around; humdrumness has taken over since he left...at least until recently, when she came into our lives.
Our family is not the same without him; we have since taken in a new girl. She is young, with a birth age of only fifteen. I remember when Constance found her outside the hospital one evening last summer. We knew by the nature of her injuries that she would soon be one of us. We took her in and helped her through the Embrace, training her and inviting her into our family.
“It’s time to move on again and introduce Danika back into society. Where better to start than the same place we all began our lives again so many years ago?” Elijah declares, and he begins arranging for our relocation.
“This scares me,” I confess. “She’s still so young. How do you know she won’t rebel?”
“Sophia, my dear, you made it through, and she will too. You need to have some confidence in her ability to socialize—not to mention that Alex, Mati, and you will be with her all the way,” Florence assures me with far more confidence in the decision to proceed than I have.I watch with dismay as Elijah takes Caspian’s family ring, hanging on a thin gold chain, and places it around Danika’s scrawny little neck.
My emotions get the better of me, and I shout, “How can you just give her Caspian’s ring?” Danika is only a teenager, after all how can we trust her? She is too new to this life, and giving her a day crystal at such a young age, where she can still rebel seems foolish to me.
With a firm hand and stern voice, Elijah replies, “He has not shown himself in three decades, Sophia. She may use it until we can have one made for her. It will not take long once we return to Wenham.”
That was the end of the discussion, for we never question Elijah.
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