23. Willow
Twenty Three
Willow
W illow opened her café the next day with an extra bounce in her step. Marla had requested the day off to attend a concert with Matteo, so Willow was alone. She placed her hand beneath her breasts to remind herself that she was protected. Plus, she was sure the boys would be in soon for their nightly dose of caffeine.
“Hey Willow!” John beamed as he strode into the café with Ryan quietly behind him.
“Long time no see!” She beamed back. It had been a while since the two IT guys had graced her with their pleasant presence.
“Yup, I’m officially married!” John held up his hand to show off the golden band that was glittering in the light. “We were having trouble with both sets of parents trying to plan our wedding for us, so we said screw it and ran off to elope in Vegas. Ryan came with me like the true best friend he is. It was magical.”
“Yeah, the Elvis priest was pretty magical.” Ryan softly spoke.
“Oh congratulations! I’m so happy for you!” Willow clapped. Her emotions were shifting and instead of finding hurt or jealousy in another’s love, she could enjoy it with them. She finally felt that she might know what it was like to be truly loved.
Her face flushed at the thought, so she quickly turned from the two to make their drinks. She listened in on their conversation about some maintenance issue at work silently, not understanding a damn thing they were saying, but appreciating the background noise.
“So, what’s been up with you? You always ask us what’s going on in our lives, but I don’t think we know that much about you. Plus, you seem happier and, dare I say, a little dreamier than usual,” John asked after they finished game planning and were handed their coffees. She hadn’t realized it until now, but she’d had a grin on her face while stirring the drinks.
Willow shook her head at the money John tried to offer her. “Keep it, this is another one on the house to celebrate your wedding. And thank you for asking, it’s rare I have customers that think about me like that. I’ve been doing really well, actually. I hired a new staff member so you might see her soon. Her name is Marla and she’s a close friend of mine. You guys will get along with her, she’s very sweet.”
“Is she single?” John asked, pointing to Ryan. His friend glared at him but did nothing to retaliate.
“Sadly, I don’t think so. I don’t know what their official status is, but she only has eyes for Matteo.”
The friendly look in John’s face died at the mention of his name. “Matteo? Like the guy that occasionally comes in here with the other three?”
“Yup, that’s the guy. And don’t worry, she knows all about him being a vampire and is safe.” Willow winked and began cleaning up.
The friendly look did not return to his face. “So, you know that they’re serial killers that feed on people?”
“We know they’re vampires . They’re not the evil jerks you two think they are.”
“You seemed smarter than that,” John frowned, “You didn’t strike me as the type to be so blind. Haven’t you been paying attention? More and more people are dying because of their kind. It won’t be long before over half of Florida is dead and replaced by these blood-sucking creatures.”
“I understand that there are some evil vampires out there. In fact, I was attacked by one of them, but not all of them are like that. I’ve gotten to know the boys pretty well, and they care a lot about us humans. Clay set up rules for his kind specifically to keep us safe.”
“All vampires are evil, Willow. They’re here to take over America by taking our jobs, our money, or freedom, and our women until we become a nation full of them. I guess you are one of the women they stole.”
“The only good vampire is a dead one,” Ryan nodded his agreement.
Her stomach twisted and she tasted bile at the back of her throat. “I’m pretty horrified that this is how you talk about them.”
“They need to be hung in the streets for what they do! Their sole purpose is to kill, rape, and destroy.” John stood up, leaving his coffee behind, and headed to the door with Ryan close behind. “I guess this is goodbye. I can’t support a business that supports them .”
Her voice shook, tears welling in her eyes. “That’s fine. I don’t want customers that are close-minded and full of hate.”
She wasn’t sure if they heard her as they slammed her door closed before she could finish her sentence. She noticed two other customers who had been listening to the argument get up and leave. The rest nodded at her with sad smiles and continued with their personal discussions.
The rest of Willow’s night went by with enough customers to keep her distracted from the argument. With only an hour until dawn, her café was empty and she had already restocked her barista cooler and wiped up the milk rings that decorated her counter. She drifted into the back room to grab almond milk and vanilla syrup when she heard the bells on her door chime. When she came back up her stomach dropped.
“Hello.” She said.
As promised, Waldo had stopped in to see what she decided. She knew his reaction would not be pleasant when he discovered Gage had been the one to mark her.
“Well hello there Miss Willow, what a surprise to see you here.” He sauntered up to the counter and gave her a smooth smile.
“Is it though? I do own the place.”
“It was a joke my dear. Are you having a rough night? You seem a little cranky.”
She changed her cool expression to her fake customer service smile. “No, my night has been fine. What can I make for you?”
Abandoning her quest in the stockroom, she took her usual spot in front of the espresso machine. She had been tempted to call him Waldo, as the boys still called him, but was afraid of his reaction. She felt safe enough for now, but was wary due to what she’d learned from Gage.
“I think I’ll skip the caffeine tonight. It’s getting close to my bedtime. That’s not why I stopped by, anyway. I was wondering if you’d considered my proposition?”
“I have.”
There was a deadly silence that amplified the tension building in the café. Willow knew she had to tell him no, but felt that he was not the type of guy to take rejection well.
“Before you give me your answer, how about I add a little more to it to help you decide? I know you hired a new girl here, which is honestly perfect timing because I wanted to offer a spot down in Miami for you. You seem to be pretty successful here, Miami definitely has a nightlife that could use a midnight coffee house like this, and I have a freshly-vacated building that needs a new business in it ASAP. Not only would you be able to turn your dream café into a chain, but you would be closer to me. It’s really a win-win situation. And of course I would give you a discount on the rent.”
He smirked in a way that gave her a sneaky suspicion that she would have to offer sexual favors in return for the discount. That made her very, very curious as to where Venice was. Surely he didn’t think he could start a harem with her and that bitch?
“How did you know I hired someone? I haven’t seen you in here recently.”
“I have eyes everywhere, my dear. That’s part of being a high-ranking, successful leader.”
“But this isn’t your territory, so I’m confused why you would have eyes here.”
She didn’t hold back on her attitude, annoyed that he had the audacity to assume she would give up her life here to follow him down to Miami like a lost puppy looking for a home. She was already building her own home here in Vista Maria.
“Did something happen since the last time I saw you? I know you had a pretty traumatizing experience with a vampire, but I thought you figured out that I was one of the good ones? I can’t lie, I’m hurt by this defensiveness you have all of a sudden. You’re a very attractive woman and very business-savvy on top of it. I’m interested in you as more than a renter. I would like to get to know you personally, too.”
“Oh? But I thought you had a girlfriend already? You know, Venice .” The name felt like venom on her tongue.
The confident appearance he had plastered on his face since he walked in disappeared and his eyes narrowed into a predatory gaze. Just as quickly, his expression returned to normal and a cold smile took over .
“Ah, so you’ve heard about her? I suppose Gage told you I stole her away. In reality, I saved her from a very abusive relationship.”
“Save it Waldo, you’re talking to someone who’s been in an abusive relationship and I can tell who’s bound to become an abuser. It’s not Gage. Where is she? Did you do something to her?”
His smile twitched, but she had to give him credit because he was still restraining the rage-filled beast she could sense was smoldering underneath his calm exterior. He didn’t seem like he enjoyed being spoken to so directly, let alone by a woman. Her hand was shaking and she clenched it at her side hoping he didn’t notice.
“Gage got to you, didn’t he?”
She shook her head at the random accusation. “What?”
“I’m offering you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build up your career and offering you a coveted position as my main girl. I have a waitlist of women who want to date me, yet I’ve had my eye on you, so I’ve turned them all down. You’re passing up not only wealth—because may I remind you that I am the highest-ranking leader in the state—but also a partner who can satisfy any of your desires and grant you any wish you might command from me. Gage must have brainwashed you into believing I’m a bad guy for you to turn that all down.”
“What are you, a genie? I’m not a gold digger and I’m very content with how my life is now. You can’t buy me with material things or whatever weird sexual innuendos you are referring to. The answer is no, and it will always be no.”
Her brazenness shocked her, she never thought she would be healed enough to stand up for herself. The fire she had in her was coming out, but this time in a controlled way. She knew her mother would be proud of the woman she was turning into.
His voice was cold. “You have not answered my question about Gage.”
“And you have not answered my question about Venice.”
“Why are you so concerned for her? Are you scared that she’ll come back and steal Gage away?”
“I want to know if you hurt her.”
“She’s fine, living very contently at the bottom of the ocean.” His smile finally disappeared. “You’ll join her one day, you know. You picked the wrong side to be on, and you will fall with the rest of them. I offered you safety, and you spat in my face. Tell me, where did he mark you? I can smell his scent on you from a mile away.”
“That’s none of your business.” This time there was no hiding her shaking as her voice gave her away. She felt like all her attitude and confidence had been gut-punched out of her at his confession.
She slipped her phone out of her back pocket and prepared to call Gage. “Get out.”
“You’ve made your choice without knowing the full story. Stupid girls like yourself always think they know better. Tell your man that there’s no point in fighting—my territory is triple the size of his and growing. He can’t stop me now, we’re past that point.” He turned and stuck his hand up in a lazy wave as he left. The tinkling bells on the door offered little solace to her fear.
As soon as he left, she ran to the door and locked it. Everything about Waldo had reminded her of her ex, and she cursed herself for letting the fear win at the end. Mixed among her racing thoughts were flashes of memories that strengthened her dread.
Her ex would use cruel names, but would play them off as jokes. He would break things or hide items of hers, but convince her she was the one who did it. He constantly demanded that she tell him her every move. She couldn’t go to the store without his permission, couldn’t talk to her friends anymore, couldn’t even take a walk around the block without him tagging along. He accused her of not knowing how to handle money, so he eventually took control of her bank account to make sure she was spending it appropriately .
As time went on, he escalated. The verbal abuse grew physical the day she had to stay late at work. She could still feel her clothes being pulled from her body as he stripped her naked to inspect her for any signs of sexual evidence, roughly pulling her arms and legs apart and twisting them in ways that felt torturous. He ended the invasion with a sharp slap across her face that stung her pride more. She was scolded like a child and sent to cry by herself in a scalding hot shower.
He was a toxic poison and had been slowly seeping into every fiber of her being. She’d stayed until she had almost been fully infected by it. He’d made her believe she could never escape him, so there was no point in even trying—he would hunt her down like the prey he turned her into. He’d shaped her world so that she relied on him, from financial control to cutting off the small number of social ties she had, there was no way out.
But he didn’t account for the centuries of female rage that were burning in her soul. Her mother raised her to be cunning, to only appear weak but always be ready to run. Her ancestors’ stories of being burned, abused, tortured, and raped all at the hands of their husbands helped her see the need to escape.
But it hadn’t turned out how she planned. The idiot hadn’t kept to his schedule, even though he demanded that of her, so he’d walked into their apartment as she was walking out with her small bag of essentials and cash she had secretly saved gripped tightly to her side.
An argument had ensued and carried out into the hallway as she utilized the power of her personal rage to walk past him. He’d followed her down the corridor, yelling until his face turned red, and into the stairwell. She’d known her neighbors could hear the expletives that were flying out of his mouth and welcomed their ears as it would provide proof of his enraged state. Because when men were angry, sometimes they stopped thinking. And sometimes they made dumb mistakes .
She’d felt her mother’s spirit with her as she’d turned to look at him. He had spittle hanging from his bottom lip, his face blotchy from the high blood pressure, and his eyes wide with crazed rage. It would be the last image she would ever have of him alive.
She’d placed her bag down and grabbed him around the waist before throwing them both down the concrete stairs. She made sure to stay on top as best as she could as they tumbled down and crashed into each sharp step. A blur of grey, black, and red flashed around her as they fell, plummeting to his demise. The sound of his bones cracking and flesh smacking into the hard surfaces had fueled her adrenaline. It had felt like an eternity until they’d landed on the final step with him groaning beneath her like a wounded child.
She’d felt no pity and sat up to grab his bloodied head between her palms. She’d slowly bent down to his right ear with an earring ripped out and licked the trail of blood making its way to his collar.
“My mother’s waiting for you.” She’d whispered before using the last of her strength to smash his head into the edge of the step.
Blood had squirted as his skull had cracked and his eyes had rolled back as his body went into an intense seizure. It had lasted for a minute before he’d went still, but she’d made sure to watch every second of his last moments on her plane of existence.
Once he was dead, she’d played the innocent, small girlfriend who he’d attempted to push down the stairs, but accidentally tripped and caused them both to fall. Her pleas for help had been heard by her neighbors, and they’d rushed to her assistance, soothing her over the heartbreak they assumed would happen once she learned that he did not survive the fall. It was a quick and easy clean up—the police had never questioned her too closely after the reports of the screaming from the neighbors. Soon, she had been free to leave and made her way down to Florida to restart her life.
She sat down in her booth until her heart rate lowered. She knew she should call Gage, but his voice wouldn’t be enough. She wanted his arms around her. She sat there for a while, reliving the memories of her ex and contemplating what Waldo meant that his territory was already three times bigger and growing. He must have taken over other territories and was coming for Vista Maria next.
Looking at the sun creeping through the slits in her blinds, she decided to finish closing up and drive over to Gage’s home to crawl in his bed. She couldn’t picture him complaining about that surprise.
When she arrived at his home, she knocked on the door and waited. The mansion was dark, so she knocked much harder. She was surprised to find a groggy and slightly hesitant Sammy who opened the door.
“Willow?”
“I’m so sorry to bug you, but I need to see Gage. Waldo came into my café last night.”
The tiredness instantly left her eyes. “Oh shit, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am. Is he asleep already?”
“He is and he sleeps like a rock so good luck waking him up.” She shuffled to the side to let Willow in. “If you need someone to talk to, we can grab a beer and head down into the basement. I was heading to bed, but a beer always helps me sleep better.”
As much as she wanted to curl up with Gage, she also wanted to talk to someone. Plus, she wanted to know Sammy better. “A beer sounds great.”