Scent of a White Rose (8 page)

The first neighborhood we drove to was only
about ten minutes away from my house, and honestly, I wasn't sure I
wanted to be that close to home. But it was a nice complex and was
within walking distance of some really great shops and restaurants.
That added some bonus points to my checklist.

As we drove up, I couldn't help but giggle. The
complex was named "Tranquil Acres." It sounded like a fucking
retirement home.

This was supposed to be one of the nicer
apartment complexes in the area, and the business district would be
a relatively short commute from here. Even though I didn't need
money, as my mom's settlement would sustain me for most of my life,
I was still was planning on getting a job after college. So being
close to where I planned to work just earned this place another
bonus point.

As Jillian and I headed towards the main office,
I noticed a swimming pool off to my left. It was oversized and had
wonderful landscaping. I had to pause momentarily, because I was
having a severe case of déjà vu.

Suddenly, I found myself on the ground and
Jillian was hovering over me. My breath was coming in rapid
succession, causing me to hyperventilate. I was seriously close to
a full-blown panic attack.

"Rose, my God, what's wrong?"

The complex manager was headed towards us and I
tried to calm myself, but I wasn't sure I could. This pool reminded
me of the one that my mom used to give swimming lessons in.

I didn't know why this was happening to me. My
mom had been a swim instructor, and it wasn't like I hadn't been
around pools since her death, but for some reason seeing this pool
had me reliving more than I wanted to face.

"I'm so sorry." I repeatedly apologized to the
complex manager as I raced my way back to Jill's car. I hated that
I had made such a scene, but I really needed to get the hell out of
there.

"What was that about?" Jill asked.

"I'm sorry I freaked out. That pool must have
reminded me of where my mom used to give swim lessons." My voice
was watered down with tears.

Jill leaned over and gave me an awkward hug in
the car, "Oh, Rose. I'm sorry. Why'd you even put this one on your
list then? Maybe we should mark off any complexes that have
pools."

My voice caught on a sob. "I didn't realize
something that simple could get to me so badly. Let's just get out
of here."

I looked back and watched the pool fade into the
distance as we drove off. I couldn't believe that I had just had a
panic attack because of a fucking swimming pool. But with
everything that I had experienced with Mom during her lessons, I
guess it shouldn't have come as that big of a surprise. Finding Mom
being fed on by a vampire after one of her lessons was how I had
come to learn that vampires existed.

* * * * *

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Dread

(Christian)

I woke up and thought of Rose, just as planned.
The image in my head was enough to start anyone's night out with a
smile. But as I got dressed, a sense of dread slowly settled in my
chest. I listened but couldn't hear anything out of the
ordinary.

Maybe I was one of the first to rise. I hoped so
I couldn't wait to meet with Evie and see what all that craziness
last night had been about. After showering and dressing for my
night, I headed out to locate Evie and Dax to see what was on the
agenda for the evening.

I rounded the corner at the end of the hall to
find Dominique and Tori standing outside Evie and Dax's room with
concerned looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Evie hasn't woken up," Dom replied.

Dax was sitting on the side of the bed, but as
he got up and walked towards me, Evie's prone form was revealed. It
looked like she was still comatose. "Something's wrong," Dax
stated. "She hasn't actually woken up, but I can hear her thinking
in my head when I scan her. It's like she is aware, but she
can't
wake up. I keep getting glimpses of Terrance feeding
from some woman in the dark, and for some reason, this
really
has Evie upset."

I wasn't sure why this would be so upsetting to
Evie. Feeding in the dark wasn't exactly unusual behavior for any
of us. None of us had ever killed anyone or been discovered, so the
fact that this particular scene of Terrance feeding was so
upsetting to her was definitely strange.

"Anyone have any ideas of who this woman could
be?" Dax asked. "Has Terrance mentioned that he's been seeing
anyone new lately?"

We all supplied a round of "No's" as our
individual answers. Just then Bobby joined us. "Why don't we just
ask Terrance?" he suggested.

"I already have," Dax replied. "After I couldn't
wake Evie, I went straight to his cell and questioned him about
what happened last night. Needless to say, he wasn't very
forthcoming. As I scanned him, all I got were images of Evie and
him locked in the same embrace we all saw them in. It was like he
was trying to only relive that moment. It just kept repeating in my
head like a record."

Dominique shook her head, Tori started to bite
her nails, and Bobby just swore "Well, shit."

I hated leaving things unsettled, but we had a
club to open. "Well, this is going to have to wait until tomorrow.
We all need to head out to feed and get back in time to open the
club."

Dax looked at me with a worried look on his
face. Who could blame him? "I'm not leaving Evie. Christian, you're
in charge of the club tonight, but come get me if there are any
problems."

With our marching orders, we all scattered in
different directions. As I walked past Terrance's cell, I glanced
inside to find him with his back to the opening. Whatever. It
wasn't like I wanted to talk to him anyway.

"I know it was her. What the hell did she do to
me?" I heard Terrance say. His voice was like a whisper on the
wind.

"Who the fuck are you talking about?" I turned
around to confront him.

As he slowly spun around, I registered the
strange look on his face. He just stood there...staring at me.

I asked him again, "What the fuck are you
talking about? And, who did what to you?"

This time, he rose to his feet and took a couple
of steps in my direction. "Can you hear what I'm thinking
Christian?"

Frustrated, as it was obvious that he was
fucking with me, I tightened my fists, wanting nothing more than to
enter his cell to beat his ass for some answers. But, since Evie
had commanded us not to go near him, I literally couldn't touch
him. So instead I flipped him off and continued towards the stairs.
What an asshole.
I'd never really liked Terrance. Especially
with the crap he'd been pulling lately: killing that girl in the
woods, plus it was looking more and more like he'd done something
to Evie while their minds were connected. I was really over this
guy.

* * * * *

(Evie)

Dammit, what the hell had Terrance done to
me? I was laying here trapped like a prisoner inside my own body.
The last thing I remembered was leaning in and, pretending that I
was about to deliver the true death, feeling his mental shields
give way, and that's when I struck. I was trying to make him "sing"
about the root of what had caused him to drift permanently dark,
but the second I found the image, he clamped his shields back in
place, and damn that had hurt.

No one had ever been strong enough to do
that to me before, but then again, it's not like I had to scan my
people very often anyway. Maybe my gifts were starting to fade
since it looked like Christian was close to becoming the new Sire.
Who the fuck knew...but I had to wake up soon so we could figure
out who that woman was, and why in the world Terrance was afraid of
her.

* * * * *

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Hiding

(Rose)

After my melt down at the apartment complex,
Jillian drove me back to her house and I cancelled all my other
appointments for the day.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

And I was, it was just a little startling to
realize how much I had blocked out about Mom. Apparently I had
gotten very good at hiding things...even from myself.

Once we got back to Jill's, I realized that I
needed to do some serious thinking. "Do you mind if I take a bath?
I just need to be alone right now."

"Sure thing. Let me get you a towel." Jill
headed towards the linen closet, glancing back repeatedly with a
concerned look on her face. There was no way I would be able to
explain to her why I was so freaked so she was just going to have
to continue to think I was missing my mom. Which was true, but
honestly what I really needed to contemplate was how the hell
Jillian had gotten mixed up with a vampire, and if I could use him
to complete my original plan.

* * * * *

(Christian)

The club ran smooth, even though we were all on
edge. After closing, as we headed back to the pit, we heard Dax's
raised voice. "Tell me what you did to her!"

That didn't sound good. I guess Evie hadn't
woken up. We all stopped and continued to listen from around the
corner.

"I didn't
do
anything to her, I swear."
Terrance's low voice sounded tired and oddly enough, sincere. "I
honestly thought she was going to deliver the true death and
instead she scanned me, trying to force me to "sing." It hurt and
all I could do was scream. I wish she had just killed me instead."
He sounded so sad.

"What happened to you Terrance?" Dax was
practically pleading. "Why can't you just tell me? We've been best
friends for centuries. I've always known your darker appearance
stems from the pain and sorrow you carry with you due to the loss
of your family, but you never killed anyone and you've always
drifted back...what changed? And how the hell are you hiding it
from us?"

"I'm not hiding anything. I don't know why you
and Evie can't scan my thoughts. Honestly, I don't know what has
happened to me."

What was weird about this was that I actually
believed him. As silence spanned the next few seconds, I motioned
to everyone and we moved around the corner.

"Everything okay?" Bobby asked.

"No. It's not okay. Evie is still comatose, but
I can still scan her thoughts and keep getting the image of
Terrance feeding off a woman. It should be no big deal, but it's
really upsetting Evie. And Terrance won't tell me who the woman is
or why Evie can't wake up." Dax sank to the floor with his back
resting against the wall and placed his head in his hands.

I'd never seen him this distraught, but who
could blame him? I knew he felt helpless–we all did.

"I told Dax I don't know why they can't scan my
thoughts. I'm not purposely trying to hold anything back. I can
remember a woman, but I don't know anything about her. Whenever I
think of her, things just get fuzzy," Terrance said, sounding
defeated.

I'd never heard of anything like this before and
I wondered if Evie had. Unless you'd gone through the ritual of
being triggered and becoming a new Sire, no one else really knew a
lot about the process or what went along with it. I was starting to
wonder if her scanning ability had been weakened by the fact that
she could no longer inflict
the change.
If Evie didn't wake
up soon, I'd have no idea what we were going to do next.

Dax didn't seem to have a clue as to what was
happening either. And from the looks of it, he was getting pissed.
Suddenly, he pushed himself up off the floor in a burst of speed
and had Terrance by the throat a second later. "I may not have the
poison of true death, but I can still make you suffer."

I grabbed Dax's arms and tried to ease his grip
on Terrance. "Hey, hey, hey...I think we should all just clear our
minds and calm down.
Wait...maybe that's it!

"Dax, you said that you can scan Evie's thoughts
and see what's she's thinking, right?"

"Yeah? So?"

"Well, what I'm thinking, is that we need to try
to use your scanning abilities to communicate with Evie. Since
you're her consort, the bond you two share should not only allow
you to scan her thoughts, but it should also let her scan
yours."

Dax looked at me for a moment and I couldn't
tell if he thought I was crazy or if he could see the brilliance of
my plan. "Okay, so you're saying I should just think about how I
want her to clear her mind and that should work?"

"Yes. Terrance said that when he thinks of this
woman
, his thoughts get all fuzzy. What if that's what's
happening to Evie? Because she's so focused on her, maybe that's
why she can't wake up."

Everyone stared at me like I suddenly had three
heads. I couldn't explain it, but I just knew that this was the
right thing to do and there wasn't a moment to waste. "Come on. We
at least have to try."

As everyone headed towards Evie and Dax's room,
I heard Terrance whisper again, "What did she do to me?" It was
becoming glaringly obvious that we needed to wake Evie up fast and
find out who this mystery woman was.

* * * * *

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ancient History

(Christian)

Dax sat down on the bed next to Evie while we
all gathered around the door. He took her hand, closed his eyes,
and lowered his head. I had told him to focus on giving Evie a
clear picture of letting go of her thoughts and clearing the image
of Terrance and this woman out of her head.

After a few minutes, Dax opened his eyes. "I
think it's working. When I scan her now I can see that she is
trying to focus on calming her thoughts and blanking out her mind.
I think we should know any minute whether it's worked or not."

We all stood there holding our breath,
anticipation so thick it coated the air. Nothing like this had ever
happened to any of us before and honestly, I think we were all a
little scared that Evie might never wake up. This situation was
quickly becoming fucked, but right then Evie's eyelids fluttered.
She was fighting to wake up. Thank God.