Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (41 page)

Finding nothing, I returned my attention to the “bug guys.” It was clear that they
hadn’t moved. They continued pretending to spray the ground, foliage, and the benches in the area they were occupying.

They had yet to find their target, or targets. They knew who they were looking for, and it
wasn’t any of the students who had just walked past them. These guys were looking for us. For Oliver.

I grabbed Carter’s hand as panic ignited inside of me. What if these were the guys Ashton had been talking about? Would they try to grab me? Use me as leverage to get Oliver? I had no doubt Oliver would sacrifice himself for me. But I would never let that happen.

“Don’t you have your own boyfriend,
Laney
?” Kiera snapped.

Fully startled, I turned to look at her.

Here we were, in the midst of who-knew-what-kind-of-danger, and Kiera was staring down at my hand grasping Carter’s out of complete fear. Funny, how in the face of danger, my naïve, petty friend could focus on something so trivial. I really thought she understood just how dangerous our little town actually was.

If she had, being a jealous snot seemed to outweigh such knowledge.

Before I could say a word, before Carter could defend our actions, Kiera stormed off toward her parents’ car.

Zoey, understanding that my gripping Carter’s hand meant nothing, apologized to us, then she followed Kiera to the parking lot, Jack trailing after them. Zoey and Jack kept their eyes on the “bug guys” who seemed to have no interest in our friends.

Of course not, they were most likely after me.

For a few minutes, Carter and I silently stared after our friends, dumbfounded by Kiera’s ridiculous behavior.

When I came back to my senses, I tried to let go of Carter’s hand, but his bright blue eyes met mine and he shook his head, ever so slightly, his grip tightening.

Carter’s focus then moved to watch after his fiancée. She was making her way across the path of the “bug guys.” One of them held the collar of his coveralls closer to his mouth as he quietly spoke into it, his eyes on Kiera and the others as they headed to their cars, but nobody moved to go after them.

That same guy suddenly turned his attention in our direction. He turned away quickly.

Carter and I pressed ourselves against the pillar again, the coolness of the concrete working its way through my sweatshirt, causing me to shiver. As if my fear wasn’t already causing enough of that.

With one hand still gripping mine, Carter used the other to brush his hair out of his eyes. He took several deep breaths as he stared up at the ceiling of the archway. He was making me even more frightened. Nervously, he wiped his free palm on his jeans. He then peered around the pillar.

“They’re still there,” Carter whispered, letting me know t
he “bug guys” had yet to move.

I exhaled, not realizing I
was holding my breath.

Glancing toward the parking lot, we saw that the girls and Jack were all safe and leaving in their separate cars. This is when I noticed the Challenger sitting near my car. Oliver was there, just in sight, waiting for me. I was reli
eved and also terrified. If these men were in fact after my vampire boyfriend, they may have just gotten lucky.

I needed to get him out of there, and fast.

Very quietly, I voiced my concerns to Carter after letting him know Oliver was there.

To make matters worse, the “bug guys” were suddenly on the move, some of them anyway

About half of them were making their way in our direction, but not in an obvious way. They tried to appear as if they were continuing to do a job that did not involve us.

There was no way either of us
was buying the show, and we knew we were far from safe.

As we tried to devise a plan that would get the two of us safely to Oliver and his car, we noticed Felix heading our way from the English department. His face grew concerned, and in the blink of an eye, he was at our sides.

“Run,” Felix attempted to whisper.

We did. We headed for the parking lot, Carter
dragging me along so fast I could hardly keep up.

As we reached the parking lot, Oliver was rushing toward us. He ran past us to join Felix, and as he did, he told us to head straight home.

Without slowing down or looking back, we jumped into my car. Carter was in the driver’s seat, fumbling with the key a moment before getting it into the ignition.

With the car started, I looked back to find my boyfriend standing beside Felix as several men in dark coveralls surrounded them. It looked like some sort of standoff, and our side was outnumbered. I didn’t know what to do. I felt terrified and helpless. Horrible scenarios ran through my mind.

I had to remind myself that this was what they did for a living. I didn’t like it, not one little bit, but there was nothing I could do.

As Carter tore out of the parking lot, my heart hurt as I watched Oliver and Felix
fading away in the distance. Then I saw several coven-issued SUVs pull into the parking lot. I was slightly relieved when a bunch of Brookehaven Vampires jumped out of their cars to join the fight.

“He’ll be okay, Laney,” Carter tried to reassure me, his bright blue eyes glancing my way for a quick moment. “He always is.”

I forced a halfhearted smile as I settled into my seat. I truly hoped he was right.

Aftermath

The car had barely stopped before we were out of it and hauling ass up the steps at the apartment complex. Carter pulled me along as we rushed down the path to our apartment.

When we were inside, Carter locked the deadbolt on the front door, then he ran for his room. He returned with his metal baseball bat gripped in his hands like he was ready to take off someone’s head.

Standing behind the couch, I grasped my phone in my hands. I sent Oliver a text to let him know we had made it home. Just as I hit send, we saw a s
hadow outside the front window.

Without a word, Carter grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the closet in his bedroom. He shoved me inside before he climbed in around his dirty laundry and the chicken costume. Once inside, he closed the panel so we
couldn’t be detected.

With my heart just about beating out of my chest, I kicked some of Carter’s laundry to the middle of the closet and then dropped to the floor, leaning my back against the wall. I turned on the screen to my phone, using it as a flashlight so we weren’t in total blackness.

Carter was sitting on the floor on the other side of the closet. He had his knees raised and the bat lying across them, one hand gripping the bat like he was ready to use it as a weapon.

“Sorry about the laundry,” he said, casting his eyes my way for a quick moment.

“It’s no big deal,” I told him, my nerves obvious in my voice.

I neglected to tell him that the stench of his closet was another story. I would save that for a more appropriate time. Which was probably never. Well, unless the smell escaped the closest. If that happened, I’d have to tell him, for everyone’s sake.

Carter texted the girls to make sure they’d both made it home safely. They had.

Zoey responded by telling Carter that she was home
, and she also asked if we were okay. Kiera, well, she was still upset. She chewed Carter out in a text message that he deleted and didn’t respond to. I don’t think she cared if we were safe or not.

The screen dimmed on my phone, then it went dark and so did the closet. We sat in the silent, smelly, darkness for a while.

I worried about Oliver. He had yet to respond to my text. I hated that he was out there, most likely fighting and in danger. Hell, he wasn’t even supposed to be working!

“Am I making a mistake?” Carter asked, breaking the silence, and altering my thought process.

I unlocked my phone and the screen lit the closet again. “What do you mean?” I questioned, eyeing him curiously. He was staring at the bat still resting across his raised knees.

“With Kiera. She’s so jealous. I thought she understood…” he trailed off, his tone full of worry and distress.

“She’s just stressed, over the wedding stuff, you know?” I said, trying to reassure him. It was freaking me out that he might be second-guessing his decision to marry Kiera. What if he broke it off with her? I wasn't sure that would be good for either of them. “Maybe PMS?” I said when he didn’t said anything. I was grasping for a reasonable explanation.

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, his eyes flicking up to meet mine from across the messy closet for another moment.

“You okay, Carter?” I questioned.

I could just make out a shrug in the dim light. “I don’t know,” he said.

“You’re stressed too,” I told him. “You both have a lot going on. It will be okay, you’ll see.”

I gave him a reassuring smile while hoping my words had helped, and hoping they were true.

He didn’t return the smile, and there wasn’t much more I could say. Kiera was intense, and I imagined she was being even more so because the wedding was just a couple of months away, and she still had a lot to do, as she kept reminding me. I mean, I was avoiding her and her wedding details as much as possible, but poor Carter didn’t have a choice.

A second later my phone rang, and I forgot all about Carter’s troubles because I was quick to answer Oliver’s call.

“Where are you?” he asked, a slight strain in his tone.

“In the closet.”

“Why?” The strain was quickly replaced with humor.

“We thought we saw someone outside the window,” I told him.

“Well, I’m home now, you guys can come out.” I could tell he was amused.

At least he wasn't pissed that I was in the closet with Carter. Kiera would have flipped her lid if she
knew.

So ridiculous.

Oliver was waiting just outside Carter’s closet as we pulled the panel away and slid the door open. He looked fine, not a scratch on him, which was a relief. He also didn’t hold back about the stench of Carter’s closet. He made a face that clearly showed he had smelled something nasty, and he verbally expressed his disgust.

I shrugged when Carter looked to me for support. I felt a little bad for not being honest, but I hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings.

Oliver, on the other hand, had no qualms about pointing out the stench. Oh, well.

Once we were out of Carter’s stinky room, Oliver gave us info on the now apprehended “bug guys.”

Taking a seat at the dining table, Oliver pulled me into his lap. Carter sat across from us as Oliver began filling us in on the situation.

“We have not received all of the details as of yet, but it would appear as if they were there for one of us, or possibly all of us.” When he said “us,” he was referring to himself, Carter, and me.

I slipped my fingers between his. His dark green eyes met mine, concern swimming in them. His arms tightened around me.

Oliver proceeded to tell us that it was unlikely the “perpetrators”
were after Felix, but that it was still a possibility not to be overlooked. Then he told us that the men who had been apprehended were a mix of human/slayers, Weres, and a couple of rogue vampires.

This was unsettling news. Were they all working together? This couldn’t be good.

But…if the slayers had vampires working with them, why did they still want my boyfriend? Why didn’t they just torture and dissect one of their own? Assuming this was their goal…

Perhaps there was another reason why they wanted Oliver in particular
…

Still sitting on his lap, his arms tight around me, my eyes met his. It was clear that he was just as concerned as
I was, but I wasn’t sure it was for the same reason.

Most likely, his concern would not be for himself. He was worried about me. But I was worried about him. Why would the slayers want him? What was their reason?

I didn’t voice my concerns out loud. They felt too scattered to try to piece together and explain. Maybe in the morning…

A moment later, Felix arrived. He pounded on the door. Carter and I jumped.

Oliver smirked at me. His hands slipped to my hips, guiding me to stand so he could go answer the door.

I took a seat in his chair and shared a look with Carter from across the table.

As soon as Felix stepped inside and closed the door, he and Oliver started to argue. At first it was quietly, but then it escalated. Felix stayed calm, but Oliver was upset. When Oliver was upset, he paced.

Carter shrugged at me and then headed into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich.

I moved into the living room, hoping my presence would keep Oliver calm. I took a seat in the chair. I kicked my shoes off and tucked my feet under me.

“I can’t even think about what
would’ve happened had I not shown up!” Oliver shouted at Felix, who shot me an exhausted look as he took a seat on the couch.

We all watched Oliver as he continued to slowly pace in the space between the TV and the coffee table. His movements really reminded me of his brother. It gave me a little chill.

Oliver stopped, his stare focusing on Felix. “We can’t stay here anymore.”

I glanced over to Felix and caught his expression change, only slightly, his eyebrows
rising just a smidge. He stretched his longs arms out across the back of the couch and said nothing. He waited for Oliver to finish his rant and calm down.

“I’ve almost lost her too many times,” Oliver concluded. He was concerned for my safety, and my safety alone.

I was concerned for all of us.

“You are overreacting,” Felix told him.

Oliver narrowed his eyes on Felix. “This apartment is not safe enough,” Oliver argued.

“Delaney is much stronger than you think. So is Carter. They can hold their own pretty well,” Felix said. He winked at me, his dimple forming as he smiled.

It was clear Oliver was frustrated, but Felix’s comment and his wink and smile to me seemed to irritate Oliver even more. But, before Oliver could defend his argument, Felix’s phone rang. Looking down at the screen, he excused himself. He rose from the couch and stepped out to take the call.

Oliver dropped on the couch and put his head back, sighing heavily.

I moved from the chair to sit beside him. He hugged me tight, gathering me to him, and burying his face against my shoulder.

When Felix came back inside, he had bad news. “Professor Stuart has passed on.”

“Who?” I questioned. I recognized the name, but I couldn’t place it.

“I believe you called him Professor McBaldy Bald,” Oliver quietly told me.

“Oh,” I responded softly. I looked down at my fingers intertwined with Oliver’s. I felt bad for not remembering my English professor’s name, especially since he had been attacked by werewolves while scolding Oliver and me for not being in class. I should have remembered him…

“He passed this evening. If you are interested, I will inform you of the funeral details when I have them,” Felix said, his voice taking on a compassionate tone.

I nodded, so did Oliver.

“We have another issue,” Felix continued. I looked up at him as I listened. “It would appear as if we can no longer stop Felicia Harding’s labor. The baby is coming.” I felt my heart kick me. “I must go,” Felix told us. He turned to leave.

“May I come?” I squeaked before even thinking about what I was asking.

Felix turned his attention back to me, but it was Oliver who questioned me. “Why?” he asked, still holding me tight.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I just…” I wasn’t quite sure why I wanted to go. Maybe it was because I had unintentionally upset Felicia the last time I’d seen her. Maybe it was because her boyfriend, Justin, had given his life to save Oliver and me. Maybe it was the fact Marcus was dead and undoubtedly Felicia’s baby’s father. Or, maybe it was all of those things plus the fact Professor Baldy was dead because he was so busy being angry with us, and maybe because I had felt that little life move beneath my hand, and maybe it was because the likeliness of that baby’s mother living was fairly slim. She too would be alone in this world, with no family. And, the slayers wanted my boyfriend dead… Maybe it was all of these things or none of them. It didn’t matter, I felt I needed to go.

“It’s probably not even Justin’s baby,” Oliver said, softly, suddenly understanding the struggle I was having.

I didn’t want to talk about whose baby it was or wasn’t, but I also knew I couldn’t just sit there in that apartment and wait to find out if Felicia and her baby would survive.

“Can we just…go?” I asked Oliver, tears in my eyes.

Oliver kept his gaze on me, his concerned green eyes searching mine. With a sigh, he pulled me closer and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Okay,” he whispered.

“As you wish,” Felix responded. He turned for the door. I hurried to get my shoes back on before we followed him out.

Carter stayed behind, telling us that he’d had enough excitement for the night. He was opening a beer and having a seat on the couch with the remote already in his hand as we walked out the door.

In the cold of the night, Oliver and I followed Felix down to the parking lot. Oliver insisted on taking his car instead of us riding with Felix. He
didn’t want us stranded at the vampire hospital if we decided we needed to leave.

Then, on the way to the hospital, when it was just the two of us in his car, he informed me that if things got too intense, we would be leaving, whether I wanted to or not. This irked me a little, but I realized I was feeling rather emotional at the moment.

Thankfully, I was wise enough to hold my tongue. I’m pretty sure had I argued, Oliver would have turned the car around and done everything in his power to prevent me from leaving his sight.

At the hospital, Oliver and I were the only people in the waiting room. Nobody else was waiting to see what the outcome of the night would be. Nobody else was waiting to meet this baby or see if Felicia would survive. It was just us.

Oliver held my hand, his fingers interlaced with mine, while we sat there waiting to find out what would happen. We didn’t talk; we just waited in silence.

Oliver occasionally checked his phone, but there was no TV, or any other people to distract my attention. Only a nurse working the front desk who spent very little time at her station, and a few magazines strewn across an end table.

From where I sat, perched on the edge of my seat, I had a good view down the hallway. I watched the nurse leave her post at the front desk, yet again. She hurried to assist a couple of other nurses who were wheeling Professor McBaldy’s body by the opening of the hall.

My stomach lurched when I saw him.

Oliver was quick to notice something was wrong, and he pulled me close, gently turning my face away from the dead body not far from us.

I rested my head against his chest, taking several deep breaths to try to calm myself while listening to the sound of the gurney’s wheels squeaking across the floor as Professor McBaldy’s body was rushed away.

Oliver rubbed my back while he held me. There had been too much death. Would Felicia and her baby be next?

A
scream filled the hallway.

I bolted upright and out of Oliver’s grip. The sound of that scream
gave me head-to-toe chills. I knew it was Felicia. It had to be. I stared down the hall, wondering how far away her room was.

I found Oliver’s hand again and squeezed it while I waited on the very edge of my seat. My chills amplified as her distant screams grew louder and more pained.

Next to me, Oliver scooted forward, he was also sitting on the edge of the seat.

There was one more scream, and then silence.

Tears sprang to my eyes. I bit the inside of my lip to prevent myself from crying.

Oliver pulled his hand free of mine and gently wrapped both arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. He said nothing, he just held me. Then we heard a baby crying. I sat up a little straighter, as did Oliver.

A few minutes later, Felix, in powder-blue scrubs, came down the hall and stood before us. He had a grim expression. “She did not make it,” he said, his deep voice grave.

Tears blurred my vision and a
huge lump formed in my throat. Oliver pulled me against his side and held me to him.

“The infant is healthy,” Felix told us. “Would you like to see her?”

A tear escaped as I nodded. I quickly wiped it away.

We followed Felix down the long, dimly-lit hallway
, and Oliver kept a tight grip on my hand.

This was what he had been talking about. This was what happens with vampire offspring. This could easily be me someday. He would lose me, and I would never get to meet our son or daughter. I
couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving our child motherless. I knew all too well what that was like.

I needed to accept the fact that we would never have kids of our own. It was heartbreaking to give up that dream, to know I would never get to experience any of it, but it was what I needed to do.

Oliver pulled me against him again as we walked. I welcomed his support. I felt like I was about to break. I’m sure he knew, he just didn’t know exactly why.

When we reached the room where Felicia had just given birth and died, it was almost
completely dark inside, only the dim light from the hallway lit the room, and that light landed on a rocker in the corner. A rocker Amber was occupying.

As we stepped inside the room, I could smell blood. A curtain was drawn around Felicia’s bed, hiding her lifeless body. I couldn’t see anything, but I knew she was there. And dead…

I fought back a sob as I thought about her never getting to meet her little Justine, the baby she had so clearly loved, even though she had never actually met her.

I focused on Amber, in her usual long, white doctor’s coat, dress, and heels. She was sitting in a wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room, cooing to the newborn Justine who was bundled in her arms and wrapped in a pink and blue striped blanket.

Amber looked up at us when we entered the room. She smiled, sadly. I wondered how many times Amber had lived through this same scenario. Did it ever get easier?

Felix and Oliver stopped just inside the door as I made my way across the room. I stood beside the rocking chair, gazing down at this new life Amber was cradling. She was so tiny, even in Amber’s delicate arms. She looked so fragile. She had a little round face and dark eyes that stared up, unfocused, at Amber.