Protector (34 page)

Dylan stares off into the darkness, seemingly lost in the memory of the night that changed both of their fates forever.

“I got caught up at work so I was running late.  I was trying to hurry home so we could go out to dinner and celebrate.  I was in such a rush to get out of the car I never saw anyone standing around.  As I was closing the car door, I felt someone grab a hold of me from behind.  I swear I thought I was being stabbed to death, but I couldn’t turn around to see.”

He looks at her now desperately regretting not paying more attention that night.

“I was so scared.  I just knew I was going to die, but then he let me go and the stabbing stopped.  I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to make it to the sidewalk.  I used every ounce of strength I had to get there.  I knew if I could just make it up the steps and into the apartment to you, I would be okay.”

“Did you see the man who did this?”

He stares back off into the night.  “No.  I looked back once or twice to see if he was coming after me, but I never saw him.”

“I wonder what interrupted him.”

Dylan shrugs.

Anna
-Marie is silent again for a few more seconds.  “Why didn’t you come to me right away, before you found out what you are?”

“Honestly, I thought I was a ghost.  When I woke up I found myself encased in total darkness.  I was barely able to move.  I managed to claw my way through the wood and dirt.  I didn’t know which way was up or down.  I just took my chances. When I was finally out, I had no clue what was going on or where I was.”

Anna-Marie stares at his him with wide eyes and puts her hand over her mouth.

“Oh
, my God, that had to be so horrible!”

“It was, but then I met a man as I was stumbling around trying to get my bearings, who became my friend and mentor.  Well
, as much of a friend as any of them can be.  He had been around for a long time and showed me how to survive.”

Anna
-Marie moves her hand from her mouth and swallows the hard lump from her throat. “Have you had to kill anyone?”

He looks down at the ground ashamed of what he has become
.  “Anna-Marie, please don’t ask me that.”

“No
, Dylan, I need to know.  Have you killed anyone?”

“Of course
, I have!  How else am I supposed to survive?  I need blood.”

Anna
-Marie looks away trying hard to disguise the disgust she feels towards him for taking a life.  She knows he needs blood to live, but the thought of him murdering someone is too unthinkable.

“Isn’t there any other way?”
she pleads.

“Animals aren’t as succulent or fulfilling, but they are enough to sustain me for a little while, but it’s never enough.  Human blood is like heroin, which would make animal blood like Methadone, it gets you high but not as far out as heroin.  Of course, I’ve never told anyone this.  I’ve developed a bit of a reputation with them as a killer.  A few even think of me kind of as a leader
,” he says.  He looks at her and smiles.  “Honestly, I don’t know why they do, but it has been mighty lucrative so far.”

After a long pause he says, “I hate to do it, but I have to run.  It is getting too late.  The Brotherhood should be out and about lurking around.  There’s no doubt they come here to patrol.”

They both stand up and she grabs his arm.  “Will I ever see you again?”

He lifts his hand and strokes her hair like he used to.

“I’m always around.  As hard as it has been to force myself to stay away from you, I have been watching you from afar.  Your pain has never gone unnoticed and believe me when I say, I am truly sorry to have made you go through that.”  He lifts her chin up.  “Your recent happiness hasn’t gone unnoticed either for that matter, Anna-Marie. With that said, I will not contact you again,” he says to her.

Anna
-Marie gasps and looks away.  She is embarrassed at the thought of him seeing her with Alessandro.  Then the second part of what he said finally registers and she looks back at him.

“
What?  Why not?”

“
Anna-Marie, it is too dangerous.  I am too dangerous.”

“Dylan, I know you could never hurt me
,” she says and tries to grab for his hand.

He pulls it away at the last second
.  “I am a monster.”

“But my blood is no good to you.”

“No, it is not, but it doesn’t mean the monster inside of me won’t rip your throat out.”

Anna
-Marie gasps.

“I’m sorry
.  I told you I am too dangerous.  I am finding it harder and harder to stay in control of myself.  I will not allow myself to lose control around you.  I just wanted you to know from me that I am alright.”  He bends down and kisses her forehead.  “Good-bye, Anna-Marie.”  

In a blink
of an eye he is gone.  She sits back down on the ground and thinks about all he has said.

“He is losing control?  The animal is taking over?”
Anna-Marie stares off into the night. “There has to be a way to help him.”

24

As soon as
Anna-Marie walks through the door at work Monday morning, Peggy is on her instantly, as if she were sitting by the door waiting for her. 

“
Anna-Marie!  Where the hell have you been?” she demands.

“Some things kind of came up suddenly.  I had to go out of town for a few days.”

“Seriously, you could have called.”

“I know I should have
.  I’m sorry.”

Her anger dissipates as worry sets in
.  “Well, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I guess, as much as it can be.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,
that’s okay.  It’ll be alright,” she says mysteriously.

“Well, do you need more time off?”

“No, I’m fine, really.  I want to be here.  Peggy, I have to be here.”  For the first time in a long time she really meant it.

“Alright, but if you need me, you better let me know this time.”

“I will Peg, thank you and again I’m sorry.  Did Marvin notice I wasn’t here?”

“He asked once or twice where you were but I covered for you.”

“Oh, good.  The last thing I need is him coming down on me.”

“Girl, just get to work.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Anna-Marie says with a smile as she salutes her friend.

“Smart ass
,” Peg says and walks away.

Anna
-Marie avoids eye contact with anyone else as she rushes to her office.  Everyone knows she has had a hard time since Dylan’s death.  Most people know better than to ask questions, but there are still a select few nosy people who may try. 

Once her office door is securely closed
behind her, she walks behind her desk and sinks down into her cushiony chair.  She closes her eyes and seems to breathe for the first time since entering the building.

The welcoming silence doesn’t last long before her cell phone starts to ring.

Reluctantly, she opens her eyes and fishes the tiny contraption out of her purse.  She is startled when she reads the name on her caller ID seeing it is Alessandro.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Anna-Marie, how is your trip going?”

“I’m actually back in town now,” she says nervously.
 

“You are?  Where are you?”

“I’m at work.”

Silence
.

“It was pretty draining, but it was good.  I was right.  My mom did know more than I thought she did.”

“Well, good, I’m glad.  Does that mean you got your answers?” he finally asks.

“Yeah
, I did.”

“And?”

“Hey, Alessandro, are you going to be around later?”

“Yeah, I’ll be out and about all day.  Why, what’s up?”

“I just feel weird talking about all this here and over the phone.  Do you want to meet me after work at the coffee shop?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”  He pauses
.  “Anna-Marie, is everything okay?”

It takes
Anna-Marie a minute to think about that question.  That one little question alone holds so much weight to her right now.

“Yes, I’m fine.  It’s been really crazy lately.  I’ve missed a lot of work, so now I’m swamped and wondering if I’ll ever catch up.”

“I know it has been and I’m sorry you have had to go through so much.”

“I am
, too, but that’s life, right?  Well, my life anyway?”

“Seems like it.  Alright, I’ll let you get to work.  I love you
, Anna-Marie.  I’m glad you’re back.  I’ve kinda missed you.”

Anna
-Marie laughs.  “Well, thank you, I think.  I guess I kinda missed you, too.”

“I’ll see you after work.”

“Okay.  Bye.”

Anna
-Marie hangs up the phone and sits back in her chair.  She has been so confused since she saw Dylan the night before at the cemetery.  He had been her life for so long and this past year has been impossible without him, but he has changed and so has she.  He is a vampire now, choosing to live this new life as a Rogue.  She knows she will love him until her last breath, but she wonders if the part of him that she loves so deeply is the part that died with him on that sidewalk. 

Now, there is Alessandro.  There’s no doubting her feelings for him.  He has managed to mend a part of her that was so broken
, a part of her she never thought could ever be fixed, but he did.

She looks at the stack of work on her desk and decides to put those thoughts of Dylan and Alessandro on hold.  There is so much work to be done now.  She can pick those thoughts back up later, preferably much later.

At five o’clock
Anna-Marie closes her laptop and looks at the dwindling pile of work on her desk.  She smiles, satisfied with the amount of work she somehow managed to get through in one day. 

She gets up from her desk and stretches her achy muscles.  She has hardly left her desk all day and now she is paying for it.

Peggy pokes her head in the door.  “Hey, Anna-Marie, I’m out for the day.”

“Yeah, me too.  I have to go meet someone.”

Peggy straightens and walks into the office and closes the door behind her.

“Someone?”

Anna-Marie doesn’t look at her friend, but instead smiles and continues to pack up her stuff to go.

“
Anna-Marie, spill it already!”

“What were we talking about again?”

“Don’t make me hurt you.”

Anna
-Marie bursts out laughing.  “Okay fine, if you must know.  His name is Alessandro.  We met a little while ago.  You’ve seen him.  He was the guy I danced with at that club you dragged me to.”

Peggy sits down in the chair in front of her desk, “Oh
. . . my . . . God!” she draws out.  “That man was gorgeous!  You definitely have a type; dark and gorgeous.  Why have you been hiding this from me?”

“Yeah, he’s alright.”

“Seriously, Anna-Marie, he is more than alright.  He is beautiful!” 

Peggy sits in silence trying to allow this shocking news to set in.

“So, you’re happy?” she asks, “Because you look happy.”

“You know what, I am.  I can’t honestly tell you how it happened or exactly when, but it has.  I am completely in love with him.”  She covers her mouth quickly
.  “Did I really just say that out loud?”

Peggy stands up and walks in front of her friend
.  “Yes, you did and you know what?  You absolutely deserve it.  Dylan was a great man and I loved him dearly, but honey, you are just as great.  You deserve to be happy and to find love again.  What happened to him was a tragedy and to be honest, I felt like it wasn’t just him we buried.”

Anna
-Marie looks at her, confused.

“Girl, we all lost you that day
, too.  It was like you jumped in that casket with him and never came out.  This stranger that has been walking around in your skin all these months wasn’t you.”  She points her finger up and down.  “This is you.  I love you, girl.  I’m glad you’re back.”

Anna
-Marie stands up and gives her friend a hug.  “I love you, too.  I’m sorry I made you worry.  I promise to do better now.”

Peggy pulls away and wipes her eyes
.  “You better or I’m going to take that fine ass man of yours.”

They both start laughing.

“Okay, Anna-Marie, once again, I’m out.  I’ll see you tomorrow?”