1 Dicey Grenor (31 page)

Or maybe Dario
possibly turning had nothing to do with my motivations. Maybe it was because I
was attracted to him.
Drawn to him by an unidentifiable
familiarity.
A familiarity that went beyond the drops of his blood I’d
tasted when he had first tried to abduct me and had gotten his nose split.

Scary
reason to let him live considering my hands were
full with
Remi
and Aaron.

 
I tightened a towel around myself and went
back into the bedroom where
Remi
was now awake,
watching local news. Pausing in the doorway, I looked him over to determine
whether he was still
Remi
.

His metallic blues
pinned on me. “It’s me,” he smirked, “the one who needs a cigarette pretty bad.”

Sprinting towards
the bed, I wasted no time jumping into his arms, completely forgetting both of
our injuries. He grunted. I eased up…after planting a big fat wet one on his
lips.

We talked about
everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours and why we were at
Saybree’s
house. I also told him about Lil’ Aaron and
my plan to keep Aaron off meds and the alternates from shifting randomly.

When he yawned, I
thought of everything he had been through to save me. He looked dirty and tired…and
totally irresistible. I was thinking sex therapy…

When
I heard a familiar voice on television.
It had gotten both of our
attentions. Apparently, a well-known athlete was coming out of the closet,
admitting he was attracted to men, had been dating one awhile and was ready to
freely be himself. He asked his fans for understanding, saying even though it
would be a shock, he was still the same footballer they knew and loved.

Looking at
Remi
, I expected to see shock on his face and it was there.
But only because he was a fan of the athlete.
There
was no other recognition on his face.

Well, duh.
Remi
hadn’t been there when I’d taken the blackmail photos.
Aaron had.

I shook my head
disgustedly. After everything Aaron and I had gone through that night, it had
all been in vain. Despite my best efforts,
Cin
had just
lost her leverage with
Rafe
and I was sure it was
coming back to bite me on the ass.

Chapter 38

Hadn’t
seen that one coming.
Best to be cool until
Cin
approached me pissed off ’cause
Rafe
had reneged on
the deal. She wouldn’t know his coming out had anything to do with it.

Once I heard
Saybree’s
client leave, I figured she would get to us soon.
She did.

Walking in with an
icepack, she motioned for me to apply it to
Remi’s
head,
then
walked back out. A moment later, she handed
me a folded t-shirt and cut-off shorts and walked out again. I was grateful for
the hospitality, but I wanted
Remi
to have that
medallion more than anything.

What’s taking
so long?
I wondered as I changed in to the clothes. I hadn’t expected us to
be here for the rest of the night. Once
Remi
and I
rested a little more, I’d take some of his blood, give him some of mine…and you
can imagine the rest. We needed the privacy of his place for all that.

When she came back
in with a tray of food for
Remi
, I’d had it. I
grabbed her arm and asked where the amulet was. She wasn’t
phased
. Said she was still working on it and left.

Huh? It was
supposed to be ready last night.

Something wasn’t
right.

Or maybe I just
needed to chill. Magic took time and patience. And
Remi
seemed to appreciate the steak and potatoes.

I decided to call
Dr. Floyd and let him know I was okay. Since I had never missed a support group
meeting until tonight, I knew he’d worry. I would leave a message if he was
still wrapping things up with the group. Aaron would have to give his own
excuse to Dr. Floyd later.

Picking up the
phone on the nightstand, I nearly pressed the first digit until I was stopped
by the sound of
Saybree’s
voice on the other end.
Covering the receiver with my palm, I listened in.

“No! I told you there’s
nothing I can do for you now,” she said.

“But
Mom!
There has to be a spell or ritual. It hasn’t been very long,” said
a familiar masculine voice.

“Your chest is
already healing, correct?”

“Yeah, but—”

“You’re hungry for
flesh, correct?”

“Yes, but I’m
surrounded by drained body parts. I haven’t eaten anyone yet.”

She sighed. “Not
yet. But it’s only a matter of time.”

“Don’t say that,”
he said softly.

“Listen, Dario. I’m
sorry this happened to you. I really am. But you knew the risks when you
decided to go after her. I warned you. Now you must live with the consequences
of your vengeance.”

There was silence
on both ends while I digested the conversation.
Contained my
fury.
Kept from going ballistic.
Accepted
Saybree’s
betrayal.

“So I’m really
turning in to a werewolf?” said Dario.

“There’s nothing I
can do. No spell. No ritual.
Nothing.
Once you’re
bitten, your body locks up. That’s only temporary, but when their blood gets in
your system, you’re infected.
Permanently.
The
infection lays dormant until your first victim—”

“So as long as I
don’t eat anybody I won’t turn?”

“The hunger will
be too strong. I’ve never known anyone to fight it and win.” She paused. “It’ll
be better for you to find a pack to help with your first transition before the
next full moon. I can make some calls.”

Gently laying the
phone back on the receiver, I sat still and contemplated my next move.

Never felt rage
like this before. Not when Ivan had cheated. Not when my parents had sold my
pet rabbit. Not when Dario’s bandits had tortured me for info they were never
going to get.

I was so
infuriated, I began trembling.

Remi
looked concerned. I wasn’t sure whether he was reading
my body language or my thoughts. Either way, he knew not to speak…not to even
blink his thick, curly lashes at the moment.

First thing
first—I needed that amulet. After all, that’s why we were here. Was she
delaying us so Dario could
come
finish what he had
started? Then again, she probably hadn’t prepared it yet because she hadn’t
expected me to survive. Second thing—
Did
I pretend I
had no idea what she’d done or did I confront her?

An undeterminable
amount of time had passed before
Remi
finally reached
his hand out to me. He touched my shoulder timidly at first,
then
pulled me to his chest for a hug once he encountered no rejection.

“I’m sorry,
Willow. I can see how much you trusted her,” he said.

I didn’t realize
just how much until tears rolled down my cheeks. I was really hurt.

“I can’t believe
she did this to me,” I cried. Then I had another thought. If I had trusted her
and this was the result, I couldn’t trust anyone.

I pulled away from
Remi
, but he wouldn’t let go. “I swear on my life, I’d
never betray you. You can count on me forever,” he said.

Too vulnerable to
analyze or reject what he was saying, I decided to accept it for the time
being. So far, he had proven his loyalty.
Had to trust him
until shown otherwise.
“You realize that sounds an awful lot like
marriage,” I teased.

“If you weren’t
already married, it could be.”

We laughed…and as
we did, the double-crossing witch bitch walked in with a protection medallion.

“I’m glad you
kiddos are feeling better,” she said as if she really meant it. “Young man, you
must keep this on at all times. When you shower, when you sleep, when you jog,
always wear it,” she said while snapping it around his neck.

And no sooner had
she finished, than I was on her like urine on snow, both hands around her neck,
tightening until her eyes popped like a black moor goldfish.

She deserved to
die.
Tonight.

“O
spiritus
mortuorum
audite
me—” she began to chant.

“Speak another
Latin word and I’ll snap your neck in two pieces,” I said, squeezing even more
to emphasize my point. She could be strangled or she could be decapitated.
Her choice.
 

“Wait! Wait!
Please don’t kill me!”

I loosened my grip
a bit so she could talk. Part of me wanted a good explanation. The other part
wanted her to feel psychological pain like I did by her betrayal. Make her
think I would be empathetic then kill her anyway. She should feel physical pain
too, like when I was tortured by Dario and his best buds.

“Are you the same
witch whose son’s name is Dario?” I started.

“Yes, but—”

“And you told him
where to find me, right?”

“I was between a
rock and a hard place, Willow. He’s my son. His family was murdered. He was
grieving.”

Save the drama
for your mama,
Saybree
.
“So that’s it. I’ve meant
nothing more to you than that.” She had nothing better to say for herself than
don’t kill her because she had helped her son?
Poo
!

I looked over at
Remi
who was watching me with excited eyes. “Do it,” he
whispered.

“You know
what,
my boyfriend here’s
gonna
fuck your skull once you’re dead. And I’m
gonna
send
your rotted body parts to your son’s blood lab each of the twelve days of
Christmas.”

“Please don’t. He
doesn’t need to lose another family member.”

“Like
I give a shit!”
I squeezed again, taking pleasure in her pain.

“What about the
Ten Commandments? You can’t kill me.”

“We all sin and
fall short.” How dare she throw that up in my
face.
“You
wanna
know what Dario did to me?” I held up my maimed
hand. “
Wanna
know what he allowed to happen to me?” I
pulled up the borrowed t-shirt to show her my nipple-less breast. “Save the
sermon for your son!”

“I’m sorry. That
was not supposed to happen. It was supposed to happen quickly,” she said.

Remi
stood behind me, pressing his groin against my back,
his erection straining for release. As sick as it was, his reaction to my
violence was a turn-on.
Our own twisted foreplay.

“I know…I was
wrong and…you have no…reason…to trust me, but if…you let me live, I’ll give you
something…you want,” she was having trouble talking, but I heard everything
just fine.

“What do you have
that I could possibly want?”

“I know…how you
can break…the bond…with Max.”

Chapter 39

I threw her on the
bed like she was a bristling porcupine.
“You what?”

She started
rubbing her neck and coughing like she was going to lose a lung. I impatiently
tapped my foot.

Once her coloring
had returned to normal, I said, “What the hell do you know about breaking a
maistre
vampire bond? It can’t be done.”

Cough, cough.
Yada
yada
.
“It can be done. I can tell you how if you let
me live.”

“You don’t even
know how to reverse a werewolf infection, how could you or
would
you
help me break free of Max?”

“I betrayed you,
yes, but I have never lied to you. Everything I have ever told you has been the
truth. That’s why you still trust that medallion to work, no?”

“You’ve been
telling me my bond with Max is eternal. That it can’t be broken. You
have
lied!”

She didn’t miss a
beat. “I only recently discovered the loophole. Had I known before, I would
have told you.”

I didn’t believe
her. How could I? “How can I trust anything you say?”

“I have proof.”
She stood, raising her hands in the air to show she was making no suspicious
moves. “Come.”

I followed her to
her bedroom…where I got stuck at the door. My feet could not breach the
threshold. “What’s going on?” I said, feeling like a sap for following her…probably
straight to a trap.

“
There’s
a mixture of garlic, silver, lemon juice and human blood
at the door that keeps anyone who isn’t human out,” she said as she walked
inside to a locked trunk at the foot of her bed. “Don’t worry. It’s not a
trick. I mean you no harm.”

Humph.
Made myself a mental note to never bring her human blood again.

Remi
walked up behind me as she took an old spell and magic
book from the trunk and brought it into the hallway.

“I don’t know how
to keep my boy from howling at the next full moon, but I do know how you can be
rid of Max.” She coughed up blood then continued, “It’s just not going to be
something you’re going to want to do.”

“I’ll do anything
for freedom. Tell me what it is.”

“Promise you’ll
let me live.”

I studied her long
dark hair, large dark eyes, tanned skin, petite frame. Didn’t know why I hadn’t
noticed the relation sooner. She and Dario looked just alike.