Waiting (14 page)

"It's too bad about her dad though."

"Her dad?" Now
I
was completely interested in hearing what happened.

"Yeah, didn't you hear?" Julie leaned forward, excited to be spreading the gossip. "Rumor has it he had some pretty big gambling debts and right before the bank foreclosed on their house, he disappeared."

It took all my strength to keep it together. Parker had to have had something to do with the disappearance. No doubt about it.

"Some people think he committed suicide, others say he ran with what little money he had left and never looked back."

I didn't want to think of Parker as a killer, a murderer, but he'd told me before that he was forced to deal
with him in order to keep his
brother alive, or so he thought. He'd changed the subject before I found out what happened in the end.

"Strange. I never heard anything about it until now. When did he disappear?"

"Pre
tty much right after graduation,
" Julie helpfully answered. "It's been so long, I wonder if they ever found anything." The waiter came and removed our plates while we finished our drinks and the conversation. "Ashley seems to be doing fine though. She makes good money and every time I talk to her she never brings him up, like he never existed. I can only imagine the pain it put her mom and sisters through."

Parker quickly changed t
he subject to sports with Bruce
while
I
finished off my drink and continued to stew over this new bit of information. There was going to be a good excuse, the real one, as soon as we were alone for Parker to explain.

We made our way out onto the busy night street an
d waited for them to hail a cab
before we took a stroll to meet his brother, or so that's what Parker told them. Since Julie didn't have to work
tomorrow
and I could go in at any
time to sign off on things,
she insisted they walk with us
to continue the night since she wasn't tired. Bruce agreed, only
wanting to make his wife happy
since he
did
have to work
tomorrow
.

I guess I could wait a little while longer before I exploded while thinking of what Parker's answers were going to be from my questions.

"Where are we meeting Francis?" Did we need to call him and have him meet us, since I didn't think th
at was the original plan at all?

“
A few blocks up." He squeezed my hand in reassurance before pulling his phone out of his pocket with his other.

He sent a quick text then re
-
pocketed it while smiling at me. He knew I'd corner him the second we were alone, so was probably enjoying having the distraction with us for now.

No matter. I wouldn't forget. For now I'd enjoy just being out with friends.

We'd gotten about three blocks before Parker's mood swiftly changed. He tossed his phone at me while protectively standing in front of all of us. I clutched the phone and put myself on the other side of Julie to ensure she didn't get hurt. She was pregnant and I'd
rather get myself hurt,
than her.

"Call Francis," he ordered
before his eyes seemed to zero in on the darkness down an alley.

My fingers fumbled with the keys but I eventually found the correct number then pressed send. Parker's hand came back to grab my wrist
when he whirled
in the other direction as if danger was coming at us from all sides.

"
It hasn’t been five minutes yet,
" Francis answered lightly, without a care in the world.

"We need you."

That's all I had to say for him to become alert.

"Where are you?"

Parker moved again, facing back into the alley while slowly pulling us
along, past the darkness toward
more lights.

"Third and Birch
Street
."

The line went dead.

"Bruce, I'm going to need you to stay with the women."
 
His tone was not one to question, but Bruce was confused and had every right to be.

"What's going on? I don't see anything." He kept swiveling his gaze to try and find the unknown threat that Parker obviously saw.

Instead of responding to him, he seemed to be talking out loud to himself, or possibly to me.

"There's
four
of them. Pulpa
s. And they aren't in a chatty mood."

As if summoned, one of them stepped from the shadows a few feet from us with an evil grin. He was shorter than Parker, but wider. The distinc
tion between
Fangs
and Pulpa
s were completely obvious. The blood red eyes made them all look like Satan, while Parker's and his broth
ers changed from black to a non-
threatening color.

Parker took a stance, readying himself for the attack.

"Parker. It's been too long."

Parker growled at the greeting. Obviously they weren't friends.

He continued to usher us backwards, Julie crying hysterically and Bruce trying to act tough and protective, though he would be as useless as me against these enemies.

"Leave. Find your meal somewhere else." His fangs shot out in a warning, but the other vampires did the same as a threat.

I turned my head to the si
de and found another emerging
from the opposite wall, fangs extended and approaching us with a lethal, hungry stare.

"Give them our purses, Park
er!
" Julie cried, oblivious to what they really wanted.

"Leave now and I'll let you live." Parker's voice was deadly and promising, though the first vampire merely laughed.

We couldn't f
ollow the movement but
the next time I blinked
the vampire was lying on the hard cement floor, his head
separated
from his body, rolling around with the rest of the trash until it lost momentum. Parker was back standing in front of us as if he hadn't moved and Julie screamed
.
I covered her mouth with my hand to k
eep other humans
from coming to help us, knowing they would probably just add to the body count.

"It's alright. Parker will protect us."

And you won't remember a thing when this is over.
That thought helped me keep calm while he faced off with the other vampire now infuriated at the loss of his friend.

"Fangs? Are those fangs?" Bruce's voice level rose.

"Don't be silly." That's the only thing I could think of as a reply at the moment.

"He was o
nly fifty.
I'm much older than him
and
you. Still want to take us on? You could just leave so we can enjoy our meal in peace."

"They're mine." Possessive. Though right now I didn't mind at all.

The next thing I knew
Julie was taken from beneath me, her scream filling my ears when I saw her in front of Parker being held by her neck, the
vampire’s
eyes fixated on her throat.

Bruce yelled out and tried to push past Parker, but he held him still.

"Wait! I'll handle this," h
e warned Bruce, but he didn't want to
listen
so
Parker
ended up having to hold him in place next to me. "I've got first rights. You take one drink, one sip, one tiny little nip and I'll be able to kill you where you stand without consequences."

The vampire gulped, knowing he'd be helpless if the circumstances were true. That much I'd learned. If Parker told him to stay, his body would have to do as commanded, leaving him a sitting duck to be killed. But I was
pretty sure Parker was bluffing
since he'd told me before he didn't drink from anybody I knew.

The vampire sniffed her neck
then looked up at Parker with a sneer.

"You've got no rights with her, or anybody with you. My senses wouldn't lie, but
you
did." He lifted his mouth in a
striking position. Bruce yelled out and tried
to get to his wife.

"No! No, please! Take me. Don't hurt her."

"No need." Francis came walking out of the shadows, throwing a head to the ground as if a candy
wrapper
then stopped at our sides. "I've got first rights on everybody here, so go ahead, take a nip. You'll get to taste her sweet
nectar
for a second before my brother and I play hopscotch with your heads."

The two vampires looked at
each other
then sniffed her neck again. Parker was holding Julie's gaze,
entrancing
her, hopefully to keep her calm and the baby safe.

"You've got ten seconds to back away from my people, and another ten minutes to leave the city completely. If we ever see you again, or you try
anything like this again in my presence
, I'll kill you without the polite warning. Understood?"

They were gone before he finished talking, two dead vampires laying in the alley and Bruce was let free to go to his wife. He ran to her and hugged her close, kissing frantically while continuing to rub her belly, telling her how much he loved her. It was beautiful.

I stood in silence, letting them get everything out while we waited. Parker silently watched me, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb before pressing a kiss to my forehead.

Francis walked past my friends
into the alley, grabbed both of the bodies and heads,
and
th
rew them into the dumpster. He
withdrew a lighter and tossed it in with them, effectively igniting them, going up in flames instantly.

"Thank you." Bruce's words drew my attention back to them. "Thank you so much for saving her." He let go of his wife for a second to wrap Parker in a hug, then did the same to Francis when he rejoined us. "I don't care what you are, I am so thankful you were with us."

Julie kept looking at me, most likely wondering why I wasn't freaking out as much as they were.

"No problem."
Parker’s
eyes began to swirl and I could tell he was entrancing both of them at the same time. "We were
all going to go get some drinks
but Julie got very tired and you need to head home. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. You will stay away from danger and dark
alleys
from now on, but if ever threatened with your life again you will remember t
hese words and these words only.
‘
Francis has first rights
’
."

"Francis has first rights
." They both repeated the words
then got into the cab Francis hailed for them.

When they were safely tucked in the cab and driving away, Parker and I whirled on Francis, though it was me who spoke first.

"Thank you so much. I probably shouldn't be thankful that you've drank
 
my
friends’
blood, and apparently mine too, but I am. Thank you." I wrapped my arms around him, effectively startling the both of them before I turned to Parker. "Thank you, too. For everything
." I wrapped my arms around him
then kissed his lips.

"Oh sure, he
gets
a kiss? Not fair if you ask me
." Francis winked and I smiled
when Parker rolled his eyes. "Before you start on me, you know that
I
nicked
her skin last week befo
re you threw me across the roof.  N
ever before have I drank from her. And as for her family and fri
ends, I knew you wouldn't do it
so I made them safe in my own way. No one can harm them now without consequences."

Parker seemed torn from wanting to scold him, threaten him, something to that effect, or to thank him. He settled for nodding in acceptance.

"There were six of them
but the rest took off, uninterested in being killed over a meal. Some of them are getting braver, a public place lik
e this, drawing attention. The Counc
il probably knows, but what can they do about it? Nothing, unless caught in the act."

How had I, or anyone else, gone most of
their
lives without knowing about super natural beings? Wiping their minds. That had to be the only way.

I wrappe
d my arms around Parker's waist. H
e wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gently ki
ssed my scalp, making me lean into
his touch.

My hand felt sticky
.
I withdrew it and looked to find Parker's side was bleeding. I gasped and moved his jacket out of the way to find his white shirt blood soaked on his side.