5. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Dash
The three of us went upstairs, and Keir went to the fridge, grabbing three beers and a bag of pretzels. He put everything on the peninsula, and Jay and I sat on the stools while Keir went about opening the pretzels and pouring them into a bowl.
“So, Bobby Miller?” Keir asked. I could see he was anxious for the gossip, and to be honest, I was interested as well.
“Yeah, back when Scotty was human, he worked as a bartender in a speakeasy toward the end of prohibition…1932, I believe. Bobby Miller worked there with him, and they developed a relationship.
“One night, Scotty went to get more whiskey and caught Bobby blowing some stranger. Scotty was so heartbroken that he shot Bobby in the head and the stranger in the gut, if you catch my drift.”
“Whoa!” I could never imagine Scotty doing such a thing. He was one of the nicest beings I’d ever met.
“What happened after that? Did Scotty go to prison?” Keir and I were both invested in the story.
“Bobby died. The stranger lived, and Scotty took off. He traveled the country doing odd jobs to get by until World War II came along and he enlisted in the Army. He was killed in Normandy, France, in 1944.”
Keir stared at Jay for a moment before he shook his head. “My ancestors are from Normandy. There’s a story I used to think was just family lore about one of my descendants being cursed back in the eleventh century by a woman who practiced dark magic. She fell in love with him and had his child.”
Jay smirked. “Hey, we all like a little trip to the dark side.” He slid his hand down his body and puffed up his chest, the ham.
I chuckled at his joke as Keir continued, “Henri was a monk and ended up leaving the woman Maria for her brother Adam. Maria went on to have their child, but she cursed the boy Francois, and anyone in his lineage that they would never have any peace in their lives. Many of the men in my family have been able to speak with the dead because of this alleged curse, and we haven’t had a daughter born into our family—until now, as you know—for centuries.”
Yes, our daughter would be the first Dearly female in centuries. Keir cleared his throat. “My hope is that our daughter’s birth will signal the end of the curse. That’s why Jo hid Lake. We don’t believe Nyx wants the curse broken because she gave Maria the dark powers to cast the spell in the first place, according to my father.”
“What are you going to do about that woman, Lorraine, who has targeted you?” Jay drained his beer and put the empty bottle on the counter.
“Is this the one who caused that mess at The Mystical Palm?” I sat forward awaiting Keir’s response.
I was pissed all over again.
“She, uh, she showed up here today. She swears I’m Claude, the one she loves. She said she’s been following Claude through many lifetimes and just when she finds him, he disappears.” I could see the anxious expression on my husband’s face.
“Is Lorraine from Normandy?” Why was everything tied to Normandy?
“We haven’t had an in-depth conversation. Besides, I think she’s mistaken me for this Claude. His last name is Bonfils, not Dearly, or the French spelling of it. I’m just trying to avoid her.”
I chuckled. “Because that always works. Go find her, Jay. Let’s chat with her. I’m guessing she’s in Limbo.”
Bring the bitch on. No way was she going to stalk my man and not feel my wrath.
Keir spoke up. “Let’s go get the time capsule. We can deal with Lorraine later.”
Keir had a point. Protecting our family was the most important mission.
I merged onto the I-5 heading north. I’d elected to drive my SUV to Lake Shasta instead of bringing the bike because the idea of something happening to our baby had me beyond distracted. It was never good to ride a motorcycle while preoccupied.
“You hungry?” I wasn’t, but I’d had a sandwich. Keir hadn’t wanted one before we left the apartment.
Keir was scrolling his phone looking at who knows what. “It means good son.”
I turned to him. “What means good son?”
“Bonfils. Claude’s last name. It means good son. That’s nice. I wish I could help Lorraine find him. It must be hard to have loved someone for that long and never get to be with them. Maybe I can reason with her,” Keir said, now just talking to himself.
“If she’s been clocking this dude through time, maybe there’s a reason he doesn’t want to be with her. Maybe she’s abusive.”
Keir stared at me. “Well, she did hurl a scalpel at me like a circus knife thrower. If I hadn’t ducked, it would have gone into my neck instead of the lid to Dr. Randall’s casket. Do you think there’s any way this Claude could be related to me?”
A scalpel? “She threw a scalpel at you?”
“Yes. I was adjusting Dr. Randall in the box. I suppose unrequited love is a reason to be so violent, but how do I keep her from attacking any of us?”
“Well, let’s hope the bottom of that scroll is in that time capsule. Should you call Adon and ask him to bring Dr. Carl back to Reardon? If he hasn’t gotten in touch with his spirit guides by now, it’s probably not going to happen.”
“You’ve got a point. I’ll call him.”
What a fucking day it had been. Learning what we did about Scotty’s life when he walked the earth as a human had been a surprise. Finding out Scotty had died in Normandy during World War II wasn’t anything I’d ever expected. I’d just assumed he’d been an angel for centuries. I wondered how he ended up an angel if he’d been a human so recently.
“Okay, Adonis. We’ll see you there. Thanks.” Keir ended the call. “Adon and Dr. Carl will meet us in Lakehead.”
“You know, it seems awfully suspicious that there are all of these connections to Normandy, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does. I wonder what that means?”
Me too.
I drove under the canopy at The Lakehead Inn. It had the appearance of a ski lodge from the 1950s, which was quaint. I didn’t need an expensive, fancy place to spend the night. It just had to be clean.
“I’ll go check us in.” Keir opened the door of the SUV and yelped a little. “Damn, I’m glad we didn’t ride your bike. It’s cold up here.”
Opening the door, I felt a chill in the air, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Then again, my Dearly ran a little cool, so I understood it might affect him more than me. “I’ll keep you warm, Dearly.” I winked as I popped the tailgate. Keir took the cooler with Lilith’s blood.
“I’ll move the SUV and meet you inside. We’ll get settled and find something to eat.”
“Maybe you wanna try something new? Maybe you can taste me?”
I chuckled. “Oh, gladly. You know I love tasting you.”
“That’s not what I mean, though that’s good too. I mean, a little drink?”
I stopped on my way around the vehicle and turned to look at Keir, who reached up to touch his carotid artery. I was sure I looked like a goldfish out of water, mouth opening and closing in quick succession at his insinuation.
Suddenly, there was a throbbing pain in my upper and lower gums before the tissue tore. I could taste my own blood filling my mouth, so I hurried into the SUV and sped off to park in a dark spot behind the lodge.
I yanked the rearview mirror down and opened my mouth. When I saw four shiny fangs behind my upper and lower canines, I reached over and pinched my arm to see if I was dreaming. I closed my eyes and shook my head, attempting to clear the image from my mind.
When I opened them again, they were still there. “What the—” Yeah, that was a mind fuck.
I sat in the SUV for a good ten minutes to calm down. I had only tasted Keir’s blood on the surface as I cleaned and healed wounds he suffered because of his job as the Gatekeeper.
Did the mere idea of tasting Keir’s blood intensify the vampy DNA I’d gotten from Lilith when she drank from me twice? What the hell would happen if I drank her blood now?
I jerked my phone from my pocket and called Adonis. “We’ll be there in the morning, man.”
Chuckling, I said, “That’s not why I’m calling. Where are your fangs?”
“Right now? Dormant, but I’m alone. Why?” There was a hint of a grin in his voice that made me uneasy.
“How often do you drink from humans?”
God, I didn’t want to be a fucking vampire. How would I control myself, and what about our little girl? Would I be able to keep my fangs off her?
“About once a week to ten days, why? You’re not suddenly researching vampire myths, are you?”
I laughed at the absurdity of his words. “I find myself with four new teeth that are sharp and pointy.”
“What were you doing right before they came down?”
Ha! That was tricky. “Thinking impure thoughts.” He didn’t need to know my husband had offered me the most tempting offer I’d ever received.
“Well, here’s a suggestion. If those thoughts are of the intimate variety, don’t go for the carotid arteries. It’s too tempting not to stop. Go for the great saphenous vein that runs up the leg and dumps into the femoral artery. The femoral is a delicious place to bite but be very careful not to drink too much. The great saphenous vein is safer because you get a taste but can’t drain your husband.”
I swallowed at the idea of tasting Keir in such an intimate place. “Do you know if I can control myself?”
“Do you love your husband?”
I stared out the window toward Lake Shasta, the moon shimmering on the water. My mind took me back to the day I walked into Dearly & Son Funeral Home after Danny had been murdered.
Images flashed through my mind of our first kiss. First date. The first time he held me when I was in the mortuary and lost my shit at seeing my brother in a box. All the times we made love and some of the freaky stuff we’d started doing that we both seemed to enjoy. Did I love my husband?
“More than my own life…or whatever this is.”
“Keep those thoughts in the front of your mind. Your human nature and love for Keir will keep you from going too far.”
The line went dead just as there was a knock on my window. I turned toward the sound, seeing Keir standing there, his expression filled with confusion. I was sure mine mirrored it.
I hopped out, popped the tailgate, and grabbed our duffel. “Sorry. I was just checking in with Adonis. They’ll be here in the morning and then we can go tree hunting.” It was almost a lie, but not quite. I crossed my fingers behind my back as we walked to the hotel entrance.
When we went through the lobby, there was a cute little restaurant to the left. I stopped in front of it and scanned the posted menu. “We could go in here if you want to get a drink and something to eat. I can make a reservation for us in an hour. It would give us time to wash the road off us.”
Keir smiled. “Sounds good. Still gives us time to get to bed early. Give me that bag, and I’ll go start the shower while you make the reservation.” Keir reached for the duffel and handed me the folio with the other keycard inside.
“Be up in a minute. You want me to bring you a glass of wine?”
“Please, love.” Keir stopped at the elevator and made a kissy face as the doors opened, bringing a hearty laugh from me. That man…