Blood Haze (24 page)

Quickly,
she jotted a note for Lynx in case he made it back before her. She took it back
to his suite and placed it on the nightstand. She called the taxi service, then
closed the balcony doors, before heading down the marble staircase to the front
entrance. She was under no illusions Lynx was going to be happy about her going
out today. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been paying attention to his words. But
what choice did she have? Ian’s issues were her responsibility.

Her
house looked as it’d always had, the stark white exterior with the shiny black
shutters. She was ashamed at how she’d let the flowerboxes go. They’d always
been her father’s pride and joy – and he’d had so very little of that in his
life. She hesitated only briefly before slipping the key into the front-door’s
lock. She pushed the door open and entered cautiously. It appeared exactly as
she’d left it.

Quickly,
she went through the house and did what she needed to do around her house and
packed a small suitcase. She changed into her own clothes and packed Karmyl’s
borrowed clothes into her case. Heaving a sigh of relief that nothing bad had
happened which would bring Lynx’s ire, she quickly locked the house back up and
headed to her garage for her car. Once inside the car, she took a deep breath
and before starting her car, and being a big chicken, instead of calling, she
texted him to let him know she’d already gotten her clothes. He was not going
to be happy!

~X~

At
the time Arabella was packing her suitcase, Lynx was sitting in a bar. He was
there to drink… just
not
alcohol. He’d
seen Arabella’s two calls, but couldn’t bring himself to answer as he sat in
this bar looking to basically seduce another woman. It felt wrong. It made him
feel as if he were violating some unwritten law. Were there actually any laws
which could co-exist between vampires and humans? He didn’t think so. Their
very basic needs separated them. But he didn’t really have a choice. He
desperately needed to have at least two more good feedings before he began his
fasting for the Blood Haze. And since he wouldn’t feed from Arabella, he was
forced to resort to more drastic means. He’d have to pick up a woman from the
bar, drink from her, then haze her.

He
needed to go online and find a permanent donor now that he was in a committed
relationship. He could only imagine what Arabella would think about him feeding
from random women. He’d thought briefly about just biting the bullet – so to
speak – and just feeding from her. Her blood was exquisite and there was none
he wanted more than hers, but he shied away when he remembered her look of
betrayal. Outside of the fact, she’d practically been drained just days before.
No, for now, he’d do it this way until he could make better arrangements.

He’d
almost given up – it wasn’t just about him any longer, there was Arabella to
consider when he drank from someone. He wanted them clean and drug-free. Which
was surprisingly hard to find in a bar in the middle of the afternoon. A
middle-aged woman with light-brown hair walked in and glanced hesitantly around
the bar before taking a seat at the bar. He watched as she ordered a drink and
kept her head bowed. She was obviously battling something.

He
sighed and slid out of his booth and slipped into the seat next to her. He
lifted a hand to the bartender. “Can I get two of whatever she’s drinking?” he
asked. The bartender nodded and went to get them.

He
turned to the woman. “Hi, I’m Ty,” Lynx said, giving her an alias.

She
lifted pain-filled eyes up to his and gave him a small smile. “Hi. Becky,” she
answered.

The
bartender brought them the drinks. He tipped his glass to her before pouring
the drink down his throat. He just wanted this done. A part of him felt guilt
for adding to this woman’s problems. What was wrong with him? He was a
responsible feeder. She’d not even know she’d been fed upon.

“Do
you come here often,” he asked her?

She
shook her head slowly. “No… no, today is special. I’m… well, I guess I’m
celebrating.”

He
gave her a small smile. “And what are you celebrating?”

“I
got divorced today… after sixteen years. Yea, me,” she said with a mocking
salute of her drink before she downed it.”

“I’m
sorry to hear that.”

She
gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. How
about you? You married?” she asked.

“Nope.
Foot-loose and fancy-free as they say,” he said.

She
nodded before lifting the drink he’d gotten her and tossing it back as he had
done. She grimaced at the taste. She turned to him and studied him for a long
moment before saying, “Listen, do you want to get out of here?”

He
studied her and felt bad for what he was about to do. “Absolutely!”

~X~

Lynx
had just finished feeding from the sad barfly, had hazed her, and was exiting
her car, when his cellphone notified him of an incoming text. He waited until
he’d gotten into his car before pulling his phone out of his pocket
.
Don’t
worry about my clothes, I stopped by and got them myself. See you at Night
Shade ~ Arabella.

What the hell
!
He’d been very clear, she wasn’t to leave the estate. He slammed his hand
against the steering wheel. They were going to have a long, serious talk about
this. Guilt over his feeding and frustration with Arabella’s basically flat-out
lying to him swirled together in his mind until all he wanted to do was get home
and wring her pretty little neck! God! If anything happened to her…

The
tires on his dark sedan screeched to a stop when he shoved the car into park as
he pulled up in front of Night Shade. He was really boiling now and didn’t even
take the time to park the car in the garage. He stalked up the house-steps. He
ran up the marble stairs and burst into his suite. “Arabella!” he snapped.

Silence
met his bellow. He marched into the bathroom, but all was quiet. Where the hell
was she? He stomped back into the suite and glanced around the room and saw the
note she’d propped up on the nightstand. He snatched it up and his body froze.
Lynx, I tried to reach you. The hospital
called and needed me to sign
…

His
heart stopped. The hospital! Of all the places in the whole world for her to go,
that was the worst. He dug his cellphone out and called hers. It rang once,
twice, three times; four, five… then,
Hi,
this is Arabella, please leave a message.

Damn! Voicemail!
He
punched off and immediately his phone began to ring. So startled, he almost
dropped it. Glancing at the phone, he felt both relieved and angry at the same
time. Without preamble, he clicked the phone on and snapped, “Where the hell
are you?”

Silence
met his words. “Arabella?” he said with a little less bite.

Her
voice watery, she replied, “I’m at the hospital. I’m sorry I missed your call,
but I was just finishing up…”

“You
told me you wouldn’t leave the house! You lied to me! Do you know how stupid…”
even though he didn’t hear the click, he knew the instant she’d hung up.
Everything in his day ran through him once more, his guilt at the brokenhearted
barfly, his frustration at her attacks, and her final act of defiance of
hanging up on him. Rage flooded him and he bellowed as loud as he could.
Punching redial on his phone, he bellowed in frustration once more when it went
straight to voicemail.
Dammit, dammit,
dammit
!

~X~

The
tears she’d striven so hard to contain throughout the long ordeal with the
hospital over Ian’s hospital bill, dealing with the insurance company, having
to explain over and over, that yes, she was his only remaining relative,
spilled from her eyes and slid down her cheeks. She was tired, she had a
headache, and she’d already felt battered enough before Lynx’s phone call. Now,
she just wanted to sit down somewhere and cry. Being here, brought back all the
horror of the last few weeks.

She
was standing by the elevator wondering where she was supposed to go – Night
Shade or her home - when she felt someone step up beside her. She swiped at the
tears and took a deep shuddering breath. A shiver went down her spine. From
under her lashes, she glanced at the man standing next to her. The man was tall
so she couldn’t see his face without lifting her head and give away the fact she
was staring at him. She gained a little comfort in the fact she could see the
scrub pants he wore, so obviously he worked at the hospital. He glanced in her
direction as well. “Hey,” he said. “Do you remember me? From the other day?”

She
looked up and smiled as she recognized the man. “Yes, hey.” Still her unease
grew for some reason

“How’d
things work out with your brother?” he said.

“As
good as could be expected,” she replied.

“Everything
okay?” he asked with a kind smile.

“It’s…
been a long day.”

“Oh,
well, here’s the elevator. I think I’ll go down with you… if you don’t mind,
that is?” he said.

All
her instincts were screaming at her to wait for the next elevator, but she just
shook her at herself. Lynx and her imagination were making her way too paranoid.
“No, of course not.”

~X~

Lynx
stood for several long moments with his phone clutched in his hand. Sitting
down on the bed, he slowly allowed the anger to slip away. While he’d directed
his anger at Arabella, most of it didn’t belong at her door. Should she have
stayed safely in bed, absolutely; however, he’d never given her a chance to
explain. That he’d acted irrationally was obvious. She wasn’t his to control,
no matter how he wished he could.

Anxiety
had him back on his feet. With agitated steps, he paced in indecision. He hated
this. He hated these feelings of vulnerability. He hated that he was here and
she was right in the middle of the vapor’s lair. Finally, unable to stand the
thought of her there alone and in harm’s way, he moved swiftly down the stairs
and grabbed his motorcycle from the garage. He wanted to get there as fast as
possible. He needed to see her, touch her, and make sure she was okay… make
sure,
they
were okay. God! Talk about
over-reacting.

Slipping
on the back of his sleek machine, he roared down the streets with as much speed
as possible. It took him fifteen minutes to finally reach the hospital parking
lot. He drove around a moment and spotted her car. He didn’t know whether to
feel relief that she was still there, or
fear
that she was still there. Parking close to the front of the hospital, he moved
swiftly to the lobby and stopped at the receptionist’s desk. An older woman
with short, white hair sat behind the desk. She smiled up at him.

“Can
I help you?” she asked smiling.

“I’m
supposed to meet someone here, but she didn’t tell me which office she was
going. Can you tell me?” he asked.

Pulling
out her logbook, she said, “What’s her name?”

“Arabella
Marks.”

The
woman scanned the books for what felt like hours. “Ahh, here it is, she went to
the business office, it’s on the fourth floor; with Ms. Caruthers.”

“Thank
you!” he said before dashing toward the elevator. He punched the button
impatiently. What a mess he’d made out of everything. Once again, he wondered
if he could do this. He’d not felt this helpless since Celeste… and he didn’t
like it – not one bit! Impatience had him turning from the elevators and
heading to the stairs.

~X~

She
woke with a jerk. She strained to see into the darkness, but there wasn’t a
shred of light to help her. Her heart began to pound. Wherever she was, it was
unfamiliar to her. She struggled to focus her mind and catch her breath as
feelings of claustrophobia crashed in on her. She reached out her hand to see
if she could tell where she was in that way. Panic rushed over her like a
tidal-wave when she felt the cold metal of the metal coffin.
God
! It was just like her dream. Her
stomach clenched painfully.
No, no no
!
She didn’t want to die like this. Her body was already so weak and her heart beat
erratically in her chest, plus it was freezing cold. She couldn’t stop her body
from shivering uncontrollably.

The
side of her head throbbed where the nurse she’d known as Cal had punched her. He’d
been so kind to her when she’d been desperate to get in to see Drew. She had a hard
time reconciling this monster, with that caring person. She hadn’t truly make
the connection between Nurse Cal and her attacker until he’d stepped up behind
her in the elevator and whispered in her ear, “Here, Kitty, Kitty.” She’d
opened her mouth to scream inside the elevator, knowing no one would ever hear
her when he’d punched her solidly in the side of the head. She’d gone out like
a light.

This
was it, the end. Tears leaked out of her eyes. She should have listened to Lynx.
He would be so worried… if he even looked for her. He’d told her to stay in
bed. He’d called and told her how stupid she was… right before she hung up on
him. No, she doubted he’d be looking for her anytime soon. Sadly, no one would
even miss her. How pathetic was that? Sobs bubbled up and echoed in the closed-in
walls of her prison.