Foreshadowed (4 page)

CHAPTER 7

            Wanting a drink from the bar, I excused myself from the table, reaching down to grab Alex's hand in invitation. We picked our way through the crowd to the bar, the loud music pumping in the background. Alex caught Kyle's attention and made his way over to him to order our drinks. As I sat down at the bar to wait, I noticed the cute blonde Ethan had been eyeing earlier sitting in the chair next to me. She gave me a friendly smile and I smiled back. After all, it wasn't her fault Ethan could be such a man whore.

            The girl nodded towards the band on stage at the front of the crowded room. "Great aren't they? My boyfriend is the one singing."

            I nodded my agreement. "Yeah, they're awesome. He's got a great voice. You're a lucky girl."

            She smiled sweetly. "Yes, I am." She stuck out her hand, manicured with glossy black fingernail polish. "I'm Macy. Nice to meet you." If I hadn't been a vampire and recognized that Macy was one as well, I never would have been able to tell just by looking at her.

            I shook her hand. "I'm Brooke." I gestured to Alex who was still talking to Kyle. My breath caught a little at how incredibly sexy Alex looked. His dark wavy hair fell over his forehead and his button down shirt was rolled up at the sleeves showing his muscular forearms, just the way I liked it. He caught me looking at him and winked. Blushing, I turned back to Macy. "And that's Alex, my husband."

            Her face registered surprise. "Really?
The
Alex Chase. Wow. I think everyone kinda thought he'd be a bachelor forever. I think
you're
the lucky girl."

            I laughed. "I think we both have it pretty good." Seeing Alex with our drinks in hand, I stood up. "Well, it was nice meeting you Macy. I'm sure I'll see you around sometime."

            "You too." She waved and turned back to her drink.

            Meeting Alex on the way back to our table, I leaned over to whisper in his ear. "I wonder how things have been going between Ethan and Anna while we've been gone."

            Alex smirked at me. "I think you've been way too worried about the two of them tonight. It seems I need to keep you a little more distracted."

            I shot him a sideways glance. "And just how do you plan to do that?"

            He gave me a heated look that caused my stomach to flip. "Oh, I have my ways."

            There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he most certainly had his ways, I just didn't know if this was the place to discover them. 

            We arrived at the table to find Ethan sitting alone, a dark look on his face. I followed his gaze to find Anna dancing closely with a tall, good looking guy. They were dancing in a large crowd of people in front of the stage. From the looks of it, they seemed to be pretty into each other.

            I couldn't stop myself from grinning widely. Anna was really laying it on thick. I was kind of proud of her. Maybe I didn't give her enough credit for being able to handle Ethan. It seemed she was doing pretty well on her own.

            Ethan got up, shooting Anna one last glance, obviously annoyed, and made his way towards the bar. Alex and I sat down on the booth side of the table facing the band. I watched Anna laughing and appearing to have a good time with the guy she was dancing with, but I wondered how much of it was an act to annoy Ethan. My bet was that it was
all
an act. I had been really worried about her dealing with Ethan, but I was glad to see she wasn't letting her obsession for him show.

            A couple of guys Alex knew came and sat down in the empty seats at our table. They were laughing and talking with Alex, but I was too busy scanning for Ethan and keeping an eye on Anna to insert myself into the conversation much. I was so busy; in fact, that I barely noticed that Alex's hand had crept high up on my thigh, sliding under the short dress I was wearing.
Surely he wouldn't...
My eyes widened and I looked quickly at Alex, but he was carrying on a conversation and hadn't missed a beat. I glanced at the guys he was talking to and they didn't appear to notice anything either.

            I was trying to keep myself together when I heard Alex's voice in my mind.

            Distracted yet?

           
Very. If you keep it up we're going to have to leave.

            What about Anna and Ethan?

            Who are they? My mind seems to only know one thing right now.

            Then by all means, let's go. After all, who am I to deny you?

           
Alex's laugh echoed through my head and standing up he quickly gave his excuses to his friends and pulled me behind him. We made our way through the crowd, pushing through the large wooden doors that led to the sidewalk outside. It was already after midnight and the streets were deserted. As we rounded the corner toward the dark parking lot, a bloodcurdling scream tore through the night causing an icy chill to shoot straight down my spine. It was the kind of scream that left no doubt that something
very bad
was happening to someone.

            Alex and I froze for a split second and then using the kind of speed only vampires could obtain, we took off towards the scream.

            Coming to the center of the parking lot scattered with cars, a crumpled pile of clothing and a pocketbook lay on the pavement. My breath caught as we came closer and I noticed it was the same leopard skin dress Macy had been wearing. It sat on a thick pile of ash, the pocket book close by, its contents scattered on the ground around it.

            "Oh my God," I breathed.

            Alex's gaze shot around the parking lot, searching for the responsible party. I followed his line of vision to a silver sports car tearing from the parking lot onto the deserted street. I jumped at the sound of screeching tires. My gaze focused automatically on the driver of the car. What I saw caused my stomach to turn. It was the distinctly familiar blonde head of the one person I use to trust with everything I had... Brad.

            Alex and I sat on the leather couch in our living room. Ethan, Kyle, Paul, and several members of Alex and Ethan's security team were scattered throughout the room.

            Ethan leaned against the fireplace, drumming his fingertips on the black painted wood, deep in thought. "So, you think that the person responsible for killing this Macy girl is a vampire slayer? Odd, we haven't seen any in this area before. They usually keep to the larger cities."

            Alex stood, walking over to the window overlooking the gently rolling hills of the estate, his hands pushed in his pockets.

            "This makes two vampires destroyed by the Coalition in the past few weeks. A former boyfriend of Brooke's told her recently that a slayer had destroyed a vampire that was trying to attack him outside the same bar. We think her ex, Brad, is the slayer responsible for Macy's destruction."

            All eyes in the room turned to me and I swallowed. "Brad was a long time boyfriend of mine. Apparently, a vampire attack on him a few weeks ago was the turning point that drove him to become a member of the Coalition. He met me the other night with a threat that he meant to destroy as many of us as he could. I really didn't think he was capable of it-- until I saw what he did to Macy. I think it's safe to assume that I don't know who he is anymore."

            Paul spoke up. "What's being used to attack?"

            Alex answered him. "Brad had a titanium dagger the night he threatened Brooke. I'm assuming he used it to spike Macy straight through her heart. It's the only thing that would turn her to dust like that. A regular dagger, if removed quickly enough, wouldn't have done anything but injure her. It would have been nothing that she couldn't have healed from relatively quickly."

            I turned to Alex. "What does titanium do to us?"

            He met my eyes, seeming to contemplate his answer. "Just a slight touch of the titanium to our flesh and it results in a severe burn. It fairly melts our skin. When pierced through our heart, it effectively ends us. It's one of the few means of destroying a vampire."

            I shuddered as I thought about how close Brad had been to me with the titanium dagger the other night at the park.
Had he known how lethal it was to me?
No wonder Alex had freaked when he saw Brad holding it so close to where I was standing.

            I was hit with an overwhelming feeling of sadness that my relationship with Brad had disintegrated to the point it had. I'd hoped to continue to be friends after our split, but while he still seemed to struggle with his feelings for me, he had become blinded by his hatred for my kind. So much so that he had put me in danger that night by just having the titanium around me. The old Brad wouldn't have taken the chance.

            I didn't realize I was lost in thought until I heard Alex's voice ease into my mind.
He will
never
put you in danger again. I won't allow it. You are the most important thing to me. Anyone that thinks to harm a hair on your head will pay... and pay dearly.

            Several days passed where I breathed a figurative sigh of relief. There had been no more talk of attacks and Kyle had reported a relative calm at The Crimson Tide. Word had gotten out about the recent slaying there and while business had not been affected, Anna said she sensed a watchfulness coming from the vampire patrons towards human guests. I had spent the rest of the week staying at home, settling in, and enjoying the peaceful calm of the estate. Alex had even taken a day off and we'd passed most of that day in our room, not getting dressed or leaving its confines except to grab a bag of blood from the freezer. We seemed not to be able to get enough of each other, and as much as I wanted to bask in the joy of the life we were living now, a part of me was worried. In my human life, if everything seemed calm, it wasn't long before some type of calamity hit. When I mentioned my worry to Alex, he assured me that we would face anything that came up together and not to stress about things that may or may not happen. But with the Regency looming as a constant threat and the recent slayings in the area by the Coalition, it was hard to shake the feeling that I needed to look over my shoulder constantly.

            With the return of things to relative normal, we were taking advantage of every opportunity we had to spend time together. There was so much that we didn’t know about each other and still so many everyday things that we’d never gotten a chance to experience because of the whirlwind that had been our life since day one of meeting.

            It actually felt kind of strange to be sitting on the other end of the couch from Alex, my toes digging into the plush black velvet. It was dark in our living room, the only light coming from the widescreen tv hanging on the wall across from us. I think this was one of the first times Alex and I had actually had a chance to sit down and watch television together. Between kidnappings and Alex running a worldwide company, we just really hadn't had the opportunity to squeeze it in. And, honestly, I hadn't been paying much attention to the movie at all. I was studying Alex's profile out of the corner of my eye. I took my time admiring the chiseled cut of his face, the way his dark wavy hair fell across his forehead, the strong line of his jaw and the thick, dark lashes most girls would give their right arm for. There was some benefit to using the excuse of watching TV to actually Alex-watch. I could look at him all day; and I pretty much had been for the past ten minutes. Of course, I would never let him know that. He was already cocky enough as it was.

            Just then he turned his head to look at me and it was too late to pretend I was watching the action movie he'd picked out. I was so not interested in it, but who could be with Alex Chase sitting in the dark next to them?

            The corner of his mouth was quirked up in amusement and it was pretty clear I was busted.

            "You don't like the movie?" he asked.

            I shrugged a shoulder, the roomy top I was wearing slipping off one side. That may have been
a little bit
on purpose. "I guess. You're much more interesting to watch, though."

His eyes had drifted to my bare shoulder and were working their way over my exposed skin. They were glowing a fiery blue when they met mine again. "Is that so?"

            I nodded. "Yeah, action movies aren't really my style."

            "What, gorgeous, is your style, then?"

            "You."

            He raised an eyebrow, a slow grin spreading across his face. He flicked the television off and the room went pitch black. My vision immediately compensated for the darkness and within a few seconds I could see him just as clearly as I could in broad daylight.

            "Your eyes are glowing," he said.

            "Yeah, so are yours. I didn't know mine would do that too."

            Our eyes were locked together as he studied mine. "They're glowing this lavender color with flecks of green. Very unique. I don't think I've seen any like them."

            I sighed. "Of course mine would be weird."

            He smirked at me in true Alex form. "They're not weird, they're beautiful."

            I gave him an exasperated look. "You're partial."

            He shook his head at me in mock annoyance.

            “Brooke, I've come to the conclusion that you'll never love yourself the way I love you-- or see in yourself what I see in you. But don't worry. I plan on spending the rest of eternity trying to convince you to anyway.…”

            And Alex could be so very convincing when he wanted to.

            When Alex left for work the next morning, I grabbed a book and blanket and ventured out for a walk to the pond. It was an overcast day so I was excited at the prospect of being able to stay out longer than usual. Now that I was sensitive to the sun, I'd grown pretty fond of days when the cloud cover was thick and my skin was protected from its stinging rays. As I hiked through the silence of the woods, crunching through the leaves and stepping over branches, my phone rang loudly. Glancing at the display, I was thrilled to see that it was Kara, the girl who'd taken my assistant position at Chase, and a good friend. I had missed getting to see her everyday. As soon as this mess with the Regency cooled down, I was going to press Alex on the issue of going back to work. 

            "Hello," I answered.

            "Brooke! How are you doing? It's been so long since I've talked to you!" Kara's bubbly personality was one of the first things I'd noticed about her and also one of the qualities I loved about her.

            "I'm doing great, but I miss seeing you!"

            "Well, that's why I called, actually. I was hoping we could get together for lunch today. Noon at the deli next door to Chase?"

            "That'll be great, Kara. I'll see you then." Kara hung up and I took a quick peek at my watch. I still had a few hours until I needed to meet her, so I decided to continue my trek towards the pond. Just as I was clearing the forest, a slight rustling noise broke the silence that usually followed me outdoors. Due to the fact that animals for miles around me had already scattered the minute I stepped out of the house, the sound was out of place and caused me to freeze mid step. With a stillness only a vampire could portray and using my sharpened eyesight, I took in my surroundings, searching for the person or thing responsible for the sound.

            I almost wasn't surprised to see Brad emerging from the woods on the other side of the clearing, his hands tucked in his pockets and ambling toward me as if he didn't have a care in the world.

What the hell is he up to?
I narrowed my eyes at him watchfully as I started back walking towards the center of the clearing. Alex was going to blow a gasket when he found out Brad had not only met up with me again, but on our own property. Yes, things were going to get ugly.

           
Considering what I had seen Brad do just a week ago to another vampire, I was leery of him-- but not scared. I was more than certain I could take him if need be.

            As we approached each other in the grassy clearing, I said, "What a surprise. I can't say I ever thought to see you here. What do I owe the pleasure?"

            "Yeah well, I'm full of surprises lately, I guess."

            "You most certainly are." I eyed him with interest. "This must be pretty important for you to risk your life for. When Alex finds out you've stepped foot on this property, if he doesn't know already, things are going to get ugly for you."

            "I'm planning on doing away with Alex anyway-- might as well be now." He sat down on the ground stretching languidly and yawning. I rolled my eyes at him. He was obviously trying to show me he wasn't worried, but I couldn't help but think he was either stupid or had a death wish. Brad continued on. "Besides, Alex should be thanking me. I've come here to warn you."

            I spread my blanket on the ground next to him and sat down. "Okay Brad, I'll take the bait. What's this super important warning you have for me? I thought that's what the other night at the park was about. Warning me that you were a big, bad vampire slayer intent on destroying everyone important to me. Yeah, message received. You can go now."

            Brad leaned back on his elbows, making himself comfortable on my blanket, clearly not going anywhere. "That warning still stands. I have a new one for you, though. And it doesn't have anything to do with the Coalition."

            "Yippee, someone else to worry about now?"

            He watched me for a moment before saying. "I thought you'd like to know that Ophelia is in town." My eyes widened in surprise. I'm not sure why I found that surprising. It was bound to happen eventually. I'd just hoped for a little more time between dramas.

            Seeing his revelation was news to me, he went on. "I saw her last night while combing the streets for my next victim. I thought about taking her out-- but then I thought maybe it'd be more interesting to wait this one out and see what happens."

            I blew useless air out of my lungs and sat up, looking down at him. "Why do you get off on upsetting me now? After all we've been through over the years; I thought we could at least be cordial to each other."

            Brad looked away to stare out over the pond. "You're not exactly the same person you were." He snorted. "You're not even a person at all. I guess I just can't decide whether I love you or hate you-- or both."

            I hopped up in one fluid motion, yanking the blanket out from under Brad. I looked down at him feeling both hurt and angry. "Well, let me decide for you. We'll just go with hate. Then the feeling will be mutual."

            Not wanting to stick around to continue the conversation, I took full advantage of my lightning fast speed and materialized back in my bedroom within seconds. Standing in the middle of the room, I caught my reflection in the large mirror on the wall across from me. I walked towards it, taking in the person reflecting back. I still looked the same as when I was human. Same mass of golden and brown hair, same green eyes and lithe figure. Everything was just enhanced-- better somehow, but still familiar. My personality was still the same-- nothing had changed there. Why then was Brad so intent on hating me now? I was beginning to wonder if it had anything to do with my being a vampire at all. Or if it had to do with the fact that he wasn’t over me.