The Guilty Innocent (23 page)

“Why don't you ask him?” I suggested. I was really enjoying hearing these stories about Darian. It gave me more insight on him. I knew perfectly well that Darian and John had sex, he did not have to mention it for me to know that teensy-weensy bit of information. I could not fault that against Darian, it was before we ever met and I suppose if I was immortal and impervious to diseases, I might have my fair share of back room escapades...I suppose...then again, Darian is a man...and Greek.

“Maybe I will ask him, Natasha, maybe I will.” John nodded his head slowly as if in contemplation.

“Alright guys, I'm too sleepy to keep my eyes open, I'm going to bed.” I declared then I looked at my watch, the time was 4:42am. “Looks like you will be going to sleep soon as well. How docs it feel when you go to sleep?” I asked with keen fascination.

“Our bodies become extremely tired to the point where we can no longer move, then we close our eyes and there is just darkness until another night comes. I can describe it best to you as a mortal being so exhausted, that when they lay their heads on their pillow, they don't even remember falling asleep. It's that peaceful,” Xavier enlightened.

It made me feel better. I would hate to find out the resting experience was traumatic. I smiled, then leaned over and kissed Xavier full on the mouth. It felt good to have a companion once again. And best of all, I felt that I could trust Xavier.

“Good night...baby,” I whispered with a giggled.

Xavier smiled and winked. “Before you go, do me a favor?” he asked.

“What?”

“Sleep in the room with Sergio and Elise. If anything should happen, I know that they will protect you. I don't want you to sleep with John and myself, please.” Xavier requested sincerely.

“Alright Xavier, goodnight.” I walked towards the room with Sergio and Elise, hoping they were not naked. I cracked open the door and peek inside. Good, they weren't naked, but they had changed clothes. Sergio was fully dressed as was Elise. I suppose they were taking their own necessary emergency precautions. I decided to take a page out of their book and keep my clothes on. I climbed on the cushioned window seat and drifted off to sleep.

I decided to focus on Warren in my visions. I tried to not pry into his personal life, I felt that it was an invasion of one's privacy, but I just wanted to peek in on him. I wanted to see if I could see Darian through his eyes. And what I saw, I did not want to see! Warren was using the bathroom! I immediately cut off the vision, I even woke up for a few seconds, embarrassed by what I saw. But I must say... Warren is weeelll endowed...shame on me! I went back to sleep with the decision to not peek in on anyone.

Chapter Seven

Day Five

I began to feel a tapping on my shoulder drawing me out of my sleep. Slowly, I opened my eyes, I looked up, my eyesight becoming clearer and saw Elise standing over me. I sat up slowly and began to wipe my eyes. I looked around the room and noticed that Sergio wasn't anywhere in sight.

“Where's Sergio?” I asked.

“He went to the store for groceries, he should be back soon.” Elise said as she sat on the edge of the bed. She looked out of the window, then back at me. “I wanted to ask you...” She said softly, her voice fading. She looked down at her hands as her thumbs rubbed the insides of her palms. Then she looked back at me, her eyes held a certain sadness and apprehension.

“I think I know what you're going to ask me and I'm ashamed that I didn't think of it sooner. Please give me something of his.” I said, speculating what Elise was going to ask me.

If I hadn't been so ruffled by last night’s horrific shoot out, I might have thought about it then. Elise looked relieved; she sprang from the bed and walked towards Devin's suitcase. She fished through his belongings looking for something special of his that I could use. She removed a belt from the suitcase and walked towards me holding the belt with an outstretched hand. I looked at it then took the belt from her and proceeded to read the words that were on the buckle. The metal buckle had the words “Fuck You” carved into it. I chuckled; the belt reminded me of something Annette would have brought, only hers would have been more flashy, like “Fuck You,” spelled out in rhinestones or something of the like.

I closed my eyes and felt a tingling sensation as I held onto the belt, I opened my eyes and looked at Elise. “He is still alive! I can tell because I felt a sensation when I made my connection with him!” I said excitedly.

“Oh thank god!” Elise exhaled as her legs buckled and she sat down hard on the edge of the bed. Her hand hovering over her mouth.

I could see her eyes water, she rose from the bed, walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind herself. I felt sorry for her; I could only imagine what she might be feeling at this point. I thought about leaving the room, but I figured if I were in her situation, I would want a shoulder to cry on. Slowly, I stood up and walked towards the bathroom door and knocked.

“Elise, may I come in?” I asked softly. There was a lengthy moment of silence then the door opened. Elise stood in front of me, her eyes reddened.

“Don't worry Elise, we're going to save him.” I said then I walked over to her and took her into my embrace. She was rigid at first, but then I felt her relax and her arms encircled me.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

But she didn't cry anymore. We broke our embrace and in better spirits, left the room. I peeked into the bedroom where John and Xavier were resting. They shared the bed, Xavier resting on his side and John was laying on his stomach, one leg tossed over the edge of the bed. I walked into the room and peered at Xavier. He looked peaceful, I touched his smooth cool cheeks and smiled. I double checked the curtains making sure no signs of sunlight could creep in. Then I looked inside the closet to retrieve another thick blanket to cover over the windows for added protection. The room was pitch black and now I was satisfied. I walked out of the room just as Sergio entered through the front door. He had several plastic bags with him, he kicked the door closed behind himself and I rushed over to assist with the bags. He handed me three of the lightest bags, I suppose he was humoring me. He took the rest into the kitchen. Elise walked in behind us.

“What did you get?” she asked him as he placed the bags on the thick wooden table. He looked at her then peeked into the bags on the table.

“Shit, a little bit of everything. If my stomach growled at it, I put it in the shopping cart,” he chuckled. “We have a ham, some eggs, bacon, steaks, chicken breasts, salad fixings, hmmm, let's see, ground beef, potatoes and some fruit.” He finished his grocery check and looked up at Elise.

“You forgot the milk!? How could you forget the milk?” she asked, her hands on her hips.

He looked off to the side, then back at her.
“I
didn't, it's in the car...I'll go get it,” he said. Then he left the kitchen, a few seconds later, we heard him start the engine and drive off. Elise laughed, doubling over, her hand covering her stomach. I laughed also, Sergio did a typical blunder, it was adorable.

“I knew he was going to forget the milk, he always does. The funny thing is, he loves milk more than anyone else in our Pride!” Elise stated, shaking her head. She reached into another bag and found a few bottles of Synblood. Elise rolled her eyes, “I see that he did not forget this.” She said as she held up two six packs of synthetic blood. She placed them back into the bag then removed the ham. “Let's get started cooking,” she suggested.

We unpacked the groceries and began stocking the refrigerator. Afterwards, we began preparing breakfast. Elise sliced the ham and I cut the potatoes and vegetables into bite-size portions. She glazed the ham while frying the slices on the stove. I baked the potato slices as I grilled the vegetables on the burner. Thirty minutes passed by before Sergio returned carrying two more bags. He came into the kitchen area and placed the milk on the table along with two gallons of juice, one orange and the other, apple.

“I thought you just had to go to the car?” Elise teased.

“Okay, so I forgot!” Sergio admitted. “Mmmmm,” he moaned as he stood behind Elise and watched as she flipped over the honey glazed slices of ham. I watched them secretly and thought they made a lovely couple. I could understand Sergio's frustrations over Elise's lust for Darian. Hopefully, she'll see what she has right in front her before he finds someone else. Finally our lunch was ready and we sat down to eat. I had a slice of ham, some potatoes and a moderate helping of vegetables.
I
watched as Sergio and Elise piled their plates high with food.
I
swear, just one of these shape-shifters could eat enough food in one day to feed a small country!

Surprisingly, I finished my meal before them and made small talk as they ate. I tried not to watch Sergio stuff his face with a huge slice of ham. He didn't even cut it into bite size pieces, he just forked it and stuffed it! Elise at least ate like a lady, cutting her food and eating bite size portions of everything.

“I remembered something today,” they looked at me. “Warren said he was going to send us some surveillance equipment, we need that now, more than ever. We're going to have to go back to the hotel to pick it up.” I said looking at both Elise and Sergio. Elise was nodding her head in agreement, but Sergio continued to eat, only the expression in his eyes letting me know the information registered.

“We'll go after this meal, do you think it's there already?” Elise asked.

“I don't know, let me call.” I rose from the table and went to retrieve my purse. I found it by my suitcase, I pulled out my cell phone, praying that the battery was still functional. I found the little silver cell phone and clicked it on. The blue indicator light flashed and I checked the battery status and noted that I was good to go. One thing I knew for certain, my roaming charges were going to be through the roof on next month’s bill! I dialed the number to the hotel we had checked out of and hoped that I would not get cussed out by management...we did leave our room in shambles. The telephone rung twice before the receptionist answered. I was thankful she spoke English, I asked her if a package had arrived for me and she said yes. I informed her that we would pick it up shortly then hung up the telephone. I walked back into the kitchen, by now both Sergio and Elise had finished eating.

“They confirmed the arrival of the package, we can pick it up anytime,” I said as I sat down in the wooden seat opposite them.

“What kind of surveillance equipment is it?” Sergio asked, his Italian accent thickening slightly.

“Well, hopefully there should be some wires and listening devices along with night vision goggles, thermo goggles, sort of like a spy kit.” I shrugged. “Ever wanted to be a secret agent?” I joked.

“No.” Sergio said dryly.

Well that's one way to kill a mood.
As I looked at Sergio,
I
was intrigued, he appeared to be so manly and forceful, yet reserved somewhat. I was kind of curious as to which medical field he was in.

“Sergio, if you don't mind my asking, what type of doctor are you?” I asked letting curiosity kill the cat (I swear, no pun intended!).

“I do mind you asking,” he said flatly.

He stared at me for a few seconds, making me feel uncomfortable then a wicked smiled began to spread across his face and he started to chuckle.

“I'm just fucking with you. I'm a pediatrician, I work at a small clinic. What do you do?” he asked.

First I had to get over the shock that Sergio played a joke on me. I did not realize he had a sense of humor. Then I was still taken aback that Sergio was a pediatrician, I wonder if his patients feared their doctor visits with him. I smiled then told them that I worked for the
Chicago Word
as a photographer.

“Of course, I might not have that job by the time I get back to Chicago,” I said sadly. Sergio remained silent for a few moments, then he slapped his hands on the table before rising from his seat.

“Come on, we have to go and pick up our spy kit,” he said as he walked out of the room.

“You go with him, I'll stay here,” Elise said. I looked at her and smiled. I was thankful she was willing to stay and watch over John and Xavier.

“Thank you, we won't be gone long.” I told her as
I
rose from my chair and followed Sergio, stopping to put on my thick coat. It wasn't freezing but it was cold enough for my taste. Sergio was wearing a bomber jacket, blue jeans and a t-shirt. I did not bother to ask him if he felt the differences in the weather, I knew the answer. Warren had told me that all shape-shifters bodies could acclimatize somewhat to different climates...lucky them. I stepped outside and noticed that Sergio had a different car. I looked around for the cab and did not see it. I walked to the car and climbed in, he climbed in alongside me behind the wheel and started the car. He drove just like all the other supernaturals I knew. I suppose the speed limit was just too slow for them. I turned to him and decided to ask him about the car.