Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) (7 page)

I glanced at Dante. He looked just as perplexed as my mom and grandma.

Maybe my homecoming dinner wasn’t the best time to get paranoid on everyone, but I needed to know my family would be safe. I’d talk to Mom about it later, ask to go to their next lesson and see for myself.

“Everything’s great,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’m just tired.”

Mom leaned into the table. “They worked you hard?”

I nodded. “Had to cover a lot of miles every day.”

“Sounds more like boot camp than an internship,” Gran said.

The table went silent until Dante said, “This pasta is delicious. Bet you missed your mother’s home cooking while you were gone.”

“That reminds me,” Gran said. “We also took cooking classes this summer. The cake decorating one was my favorite.”

Mom scrunched her nose. “I liked the sushi one.”

“And I liked tasting the extras,” Dante said.

They all laughed, so I pushed myself to laugh along with them.

At the end of dinner, Dante began doing dishes while Mom and I cleared. Grandma dried and put things away.

On the next trip to the table, Mom motioned me inside Gran’s small office. Mom flicked on the light switch, illuminating a couch made up with a pillow and blanket beside Gran’s desk.

“Sorry it’s not your old room,” Mom said. “But I hope you’ll be comfortable before your big move.” She sniffed and touched my face gently. “My little girl is all grown up. I feel like I missed a big chunk of your life. You just got back and now you’re already moving out to start college.”

“Yes, but I’ll only be fifteen minutes away,” I said, giving her a hug. “I’m right here whenever you need me.”

“Same goes for you,” she said. “I’m here if you need me.”

She smiled and blinked back several tears.

The couch looked very appealing after my flight and the ordeal of my training kill. I was ready to crash. And it was a relief to find she and Dante weren’t in collaboration about me staying at his place. Good to know she wasn’t pimping me out like one of Melcher’s undercover vampire informants.

Now I had to break the news to Dante.

4

While Mom made tea, Dante and I slipped into the living room. I walked over to the large windows overlooking Westchester Lagoon. Grandma’s condo, while smaller than our house, had an unbeatable view.

Dante joined my side. “What time should we head out?”

I glanced sideways at him. “I’m staying with my mom and grandma tonight.”

His face fell, but Dante quickly recovered, all grins when he said, “You’re right. What kind of gentleman would I be if I stole Mrs. Sky’s daughter away from her on her first evening back?”

Gentleman? Yeah, that was pushing it. I had no doubt that the things Dante wanted to do to me were far from honorable.

As he leaned into me, I leaned away.

“I have a lot to do over the next four days,” I said quickly. “School shopping, going through my things to decide what I’ll take with me to my new apartment, packing, moving, unpacking, and settling in. Then school starts and I’ll be even busier with homework and studying.”

Dante’s cheeks dimpled as an amused grin spread over his lips.

“Aurora…”

“And Melcher’s probably going to throw my next assignment at me before I’ve even finished my first week of college.”

“Aurora.”

“What?”

Dante looked like he was holding back a laugh. “Relax. If you want to take things slow, we’ll take them slow.”

I took a deep breath and released it. The problem was I wasn’t sure I wanted to take things anywhere except back to what we used to be: partners. Friends. Dante in the driver’s seat. Me telling him to slow down, certainly not speed up.

“Okay,” I said, nodding. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Hey, I’ve got your back no matter what.” Dante reached his hand over and touched my cheek gently. “And I’ll help you move. Free labor, what do you say?”

“How can I refuse?” I asked.

Dante pulled his hand away and placed it on his hip. “Aurora Sky, you only want me for my body, don’t you?”

I snorted.

“What are you two giggling about over there?” Gran called out.

She and Mom had settled onto the couch with their tea.

“Nothing,” I said. “Dante offered to help me move into my new place.”

“How nice,” Grandma said.

Mom frowned, which surprised me. Maybe it was the idea of me moving out that saddened her. Thank the gods I was moving. Sharing the condo with Mom and Gran while trying to go to college and take down vampires would have driven me right over the edge and into the lagoon.

I loved my mom and grandma to death, but too much of them—Grandma especially—exhausted every ounce of me.

“I should get going,” Dante said, giving my arm a quick pat. “Let Aurora have some time with her family and get some rest.”

“Thank you for picking our little girl up at the airport,” Gran said.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” I said.

Our shoulders brushed against each other as we passed by the living room.

“See you later, Dante,” Mom called after us.

“Bye, Mrs. Sky.”

Dante stopped in front of the door and flashed me one of his deviant smiles. He leaned in closer, kissed me on the cheek and said, “Sleep tight, don’t let the vampires bite.”

“Ha, ha,” I replied. “See you later, Dante.”

“Where are my things?” I asked Mom after Dante left.

The wave of exhaustion that hit me after dinner had broken and now I wanted to go through my belongings and decide what would come with me to the new place.

Grandma went to bed, leaving Mom and me in the living room. It was nice to be out of the barracks, but at the same time, I couldn’t get comfortable. This was temporary. I was a guest in my grandmother’s home.

I wanted my own space and privacy. I wanted to get settled in and establish some normalcy as I began a new chapter in my life.

“We put your belongings in a storage unit, honey,” Mom said. “Most everything is boxed up and ready to move into your new place. Agent Melcher sent a courier over with the key last week. He said the place is fully furnished and ready for you to move into.”

Melcher had texted me the address. So far, he hadn’t mentioned anything about me having to come in, which was fine by me.

“Thanks, Mom. Sorry I wasn’t around to help you pack.”

She shrugged. “Your grandma pitched in and Dante helped move everything.”

“That was nice of him.”

The tick from the antique grandfather’s clock against the wall filled the ensuing silence. It hadn’t occurred to me that I was leaving behind my childhood home forever. Even my mom had become a new woman in my absence. She looked healthy, happy… skinny, and she hadn’t mentioned Dad once.

I wasn’t the same, either. Honestly, I wasn’t sure who I was anymore.

Mom cleared her throat. “I made an appointment for you at Planned Parenthood.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Why?”

“I know how these things work, Aurora. You’re about to start college. You’re dating. I want to make sure you have the right protection.”

“Oh my god, Mom!” Speaking of awkward. Why didn’t she book Dante and me a room at the Captain Cook Hotel while she was at it? Maybe throw in a bottle of champagne.

Mom folded her arms. “Oh my god what? This is the kind of thing you have to be smart about.”

If only she knew. I was sterile, so was Dante, and between the two of us we had enough diseases to wipe out the planet. At least they were contained. Melcher had us on a monthly treatment, which prevented us from turning into one of the undead. Other than that, we were like vampires in many ways, including fun side effects like blood cravings. Push-ups and ten mile runs didn’t make the cravings go away.

I moistened my dry lips. Mom watched me, unblinking.

Poor woman, she couldn’t get it into her head that I’d never lead a normal life. I decided to be kind and not sabotage her dreams of becoming a grandmother one day. Not yet. That never would have worked anyway, not in my line of work
.
“Hey, Mom. Mind watching Junior while I’m off killing vampires?
”
I snorted.

Mom frowned. “I’m serious, Aurora.”