Angel reborn, p.41
Angel Reborn, page 41
Forty-Two
Nick
“I spoke with Jefferson this morning,” Mam said as I sat in her office going over the meetings on the schedule for the day. “The last of the results from your father’s bloodwork have come back. There’s nothing. Nothing that would have caused his death.”
I exhaled in frustration as the last hope we’d been clinging to evaporated. “Did Dr. Whitt say if there’s any indication what might have caused Papa to be transformed into a human?”
“No. No indication.”
“Does he think that whatever caused Papa to revert to a human state is also what caused him to have a heart attack?”
“I don’t think they can determine that. He doesn’t know what caused either, so they may be unrelated.”
“There’s no way they’re unrelated. I don’t know what happened, but something turned him, and I believe it was so stressful or traumatic that his heart gave out as a result.”
Mam stood abruptly and moved to the window.
“Are you all right?” I rose and went to join her, surprised to see her dabbing at her eyes.
“There are days when I wake and forget that he’s not here. I’ll think of him or reach for the phone to call him, and then it hits me again, like my worst nightmare being relived. I can’t imagine how awful his last moments must have been, lying on that floor alone. He didn’t deserve that. He should have lived forever, but if that wasn’t his destiny, then I should have at least been by his side to comfort him. It haunts me to think of him alone that way.”
I put my arms around her, looking around for any sign of a tissue, but there was no box to be found in the office of a woman who rarely cries and would see it as a weakness if others did so in her presence.
Patting her back, I searched my mind for the right words to say. “He wouldn’t have wanted that. He wouldn’t have wanted to cause you pain by having you watch him die. He would have done whatever he could to spare you that. You know it’s true.”
She nodded as she cried into my chest, and then with a sharp intake of air, she freed herself from my embrace and stepped back. The moment of vulnerability had been squashed.
“I’m sorry, ‘machgen i. I didn’t mean to blubber.” She wiped again at her eyes and then went back to sit at her desk. “He’s just been particularly present in my thoughts today. My dear, dear Theodoor.”
Retrieving a small mirror from a drawer in her desk, she checked her make-up and pulled out a small cloth to dab at the corner of one eye.
“I’ll have to tell Remy that her waterproof mascara held up to vampire tears,” Mam said with a smile, referring to one of the top cosmetic chemists in the Vampyre’s Kyss laboratory. “Oh, that’s a great idea for a marketing campaign. Strong enough to handle vampire tears without running. I need to make a note of that.”
She’d fully immersed herself back in the business, and I took my seat again, still feeling melancholy with thoughts of my father.
We returned to our discussion of the day’s agenda, and when we’d determined which of us would handle each of the necessary meetings and tasks, I stood to go back to my own office.
“Before you go, there was one other thing I wanted to discuss with you,” Mam said, and I sat back down in response. “I’ve been speaking with the heads of the other Turpisi families after we were targeted across the continents the evening of the ball.”
“Oh? Does anyone have any leads?”
“No, not yet.” She sat back against her massive chair and rested her elbows on its arms. “But nothing has been done beyond our own efforts.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the Council has done nothing regarding the attack on the Turpisi. No official statement has been released, no formal condemnation has been issued, and no formal investigation has been launched. There doesn’t appear to be any plan to bring justice to our families and find those responsible.”
“While I agree that’s frustrating, the Council has never been eager to step into conflicts between bloodlines. Especially when our kind is involved.”
“That may well be, but something of this scale and magnitude needs to be addressed. I dare say they wouldn’t stand by idly if any other bloodline had been targeted in such a manner.”
I drew in a deep inhale as I considered her point but also weighed what I knew to be true of the governing body. “Perhaps, but in all fairness to the Council, it’s not like there was a massacre, thankfully. The intrusions and break-ins were unsettling, but nothing has happened since.”
“It doesn’t matter what has happened since. It matters that it happened at all, and that it’s gone unrecognized and unchallenged by those in authority.”
“Surely, it’s not a surprise to any of you that the Council hasn’t rushed to defend the Turpisi. They may govern us, but they don’t recognize us as equals in relation to the others.”
Mam leaned forward, and her dark eyes flared with anger. “It’s time for that to change. We intend to petition the Council to give the Turpisi equal representation and consideration. We should have had that all along.”
I sat back as I considered what she was suggesting. “There’s no way they’ll go for that. The other bloodlines will never allow it if it’s brought to a vote. We’ve never had a seat of representation on the Council. Why would they be willing to include us now?”
“Because times are changing, cariad.” The anger faded in her eyes, and her lips spread into a smile. “There is unrest, not just within the Turpisi, but within some of the others too. This incarnation of the Council has ruled far too long. There are many who think we need fresh minds and fresh outlooks to usher us into the next era.”
“There’s always been unrest, Mam. Name one time in history that every bloodline felt the Council was doing an excellent job of representing and governing.”
Her smile faded as she sat back once more. “I can tell you from the meetings I’ve attended so far that I believe this time it’s different. I think you should come with me. After all, you’re the head of this family now, and you should be involved in any decisions made on where the VanCleaves and our considerable influence might stand.”
“It smells of rebellion, and you know how Papa felt about that. We can’t allow the Gilde or VCBI to be dragged into bloodline politics and theater. Our mission is too important, not only to the Turpisi we serve, but also to the humans who depend on us worldwide.”
“This isn’t about humans or VCBI. This is about equal representation to ensure that our future endeavors are protected in equal measure. Whether we participate or not, decisions will be made that will affect us. Wouldn’t you rather have a seat at the table from the start? Demetrios believes your presence could go a long way in ensuring the more reluctant families who trusted your father.”
The mention of his name in the same sentence with my father provoked my ire. “Demetrios? That’s who you’re listening to? That’s who is filling your head with plans of rebellion? He knew damned well how my father felt about challenging the Council. He’s trying to weasel his way in now that Papa is gone, and you’re allowing it to happen.”
“You’ve got him all wrong, Nicky. Demetrios knows how respected your father was across the bloodlines and with the Council.”
“And he’s trying to manipulate you to use that respect for his own motives. Demetrios never respected our family or anything we stood for, and you know if Papa was alive now, there’s no way he would be aligning with the Laranskis or against the Council.”
“But Theodoor is not here,” she said, all trace of her smile gone as sadness clouded her eyes. “And you and I must consider what is best for the future without chaining ourselves to the past. I’m not saying we need to sign up to wave the flag of rebellion…yet. I’m just saying I think you should attend a meeting and hear what they have to say before rejecting their cause.”
My irritation at my mother’s involvement with Demetrios Laranski and whatever rebellion he was seeding followed me the rest of the day. It created an undercurrent of impatience that wasn’t improved in the slightest by a schedule filled with meetings and conference calls.
This was the reason my father had hated running a company and had turned over the day-to-day management to my mother so he could spend all his time in the lab.
I missed the small-scale operations of Blood for All. In my role as president there, I’d worn every hat and performed every position, right down to taking out the trash and changing the toner in the copy machine. I’d been on the ground in third world countries, meeting the people who needed our help, and I’d met each global partner and personally shaken their hand.
In contrast, my recently acquired role at VCBI felt like my presence was only needed to check off a box of who was in attendance at this meeting or that. I wasn’t involved hands-on in anything the company did. I just had to listen to presentations and reports and sign off on what others were doing.
I’d had more meaningful experiences in my former role as vice-president, and much more autonomy as well.
Today’s entire day had been scheduled for me without any input from me. I was simply looped in wherever I was needed. Granted, we were all still playing catch up after so much disruption over the past few weeks, but there was a reason I had always resisted this role being the end goal of my career path. And yet, here I was in the role I’d never wanted.
So, when Felicia called to say she needed someone to cover for her at Blood for All, I was more than happy to oblige her request and tell my mother that I’d need to clear my calendar for the following day.
I wasn’t completely off the hook though, since Mam had Carla send me several reports to look over once I was home.
“Still working?” Aria asked when Zeck dropped her off from school. She leaned over my back and wrapped her arms around me as I sat at the dining table, and I gathered her hands in mine and turned to give her a kiss.
“Yes. Felicia’s baby is ill, so I’m going in at Blood for All tomorrow, but these are matters that needed addressing at VCBI and can’t be put off until Thursday.”
“Oh, I hope the baby’s okay.” Aria released me from her embrace to sit in the seat next to me. “What’s wrong with the little fella?”
“She’s said he’s been colicky, and now he’s spitting up everything he eats, so they’re going to take him in to see the pediatrician.”
“Poor baby. Is Felicia still nursing?”
“I have no idea. That isn’t something I asked.”
Aria grinned. “Understandable, I suppose. I was just thinking it may be a sensitivity to something she ate. Hopefully, they’ll be able to figure it out so they both can get some rest.”
“Yes. She offered to come in for the afternoon after their appointment since her mom can take the baby, but I told her just to take the whole day and be with him. I’d rather spend the day at Blood for All anyway.”
“Uh-oh. VCBI getting to you?”
“It’s fine. I just miss feeling like what I was doing mattered. Like I was actually helping people.”
She laid her hand on my shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “You’re still helping people. You’re just doing it from the top. What you do makes it possible for VCBI to do what it does.”
Frowning, I lifted one of the reports my mother sent for me to approve. “This is a spending budget for remodeling the lobby. For what they want to spend on chairs, I could open a pop-up clinic in any one of a dozen locations where it’s desperately needed and fully staff it for at least a month. And there’s nothing wrong with the existing chairs, by the way. The public relations team just feels it needs a friendlier vibe.”
“Can’t you just say no to the chairs and direct that money elsewhere?”
“I wish it could be that easy.” I laid the report back down and then pushed my chair back to pull her into my lap. “What about you? How was class?”
“It was good.” She smiled as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “The lecture wasn’t as interesting as the class last night, but I was just happy to get out of the house again. These long days while you and Sage are away are brutal for an anxious mind. Way too much time spent in my head overthinking everything we’re facing right now.”
I leaned over to kiss her as I swept her hair back from her face. She kissed me back with an enthusiasm that promised more, but I knew better than to pursue that promise when I still had so much work to get through.
“Why don’t you come to work with me tomorrow? It’ll be like old times when we were first getting Blood for All off the ground, and you were helping out in the office. We could have lunch at that little place on the river.”
Her eyes lit up her face, and her smile lit up my heart. “Yes! Oh my gosh, that would be awesome. I was seriously dreading another day wandering around the house by myself. I even thought about calling Haley and Cricket to ask if they wanted to come over for lunch, but I know they’re both working tomorrow. It’s too far for them to drive to Nyack and back on a lunch break.”
“Do you want to see if either of them wants to meet you in Cornwall?”
“No.” Her grin widened as she leaned in closer. “I’d rather have lunch with my handsome husband.”
She bent to kiss me, and I kissed back wholeheartedly. It didn’t take long for the reports to get pushed off the table and onto the floor.
And it was only after Aria had gone upstairs to bed fully satisfied and thoroughly ravished that I returned to the cost of the lobby chairs.
Forty-Three
Aria
It truly did seem like old times being back in the little Blood for All office with Nick. He’d just been getting the charity off the ground when we started dating, and back then, we were excited to be working together for a cause we believed in.
Those were good times. Happy times.
But simpler times, for sure, and not only because we were both human.
Things were much more complicated now.
Nick spent most of the morning on the phone, following up on leads and accounts that Felicia had been working on.
By mid-morning, I’d put away all the filing that needed to be done, so I opened my laptop and started working on the assignment I needed to do for next week’s class.
I found it hard to focus, though. My thoughts kept returning to all our present-day worries, and my anxiety continued to spiral out even though I wasn’t stuck at home alone.
At some point in the morning, I became convinced that a French vanilla latte was the cure to all my problems.
Closing my laptop, I grabbed some cash from my purse and motioned to Nick that I was going out for coffee.
He reacted as though I’d said I planned to march through the streets of Cornwall in the nude.
“Could you hold on for one second, please?” Nick said to the man on the phone, and then after putting the man on hold, Nick said to me, “Where are you going?”
“I was gonna run down to the coffee shop and get a French vanilla latte. Do you want anything?”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“I’m not going to fill up with one latte,” I said, assuming his concern was that we would be going to lunch soon. “Don’t worry. I’ll be hungry by the time we go to eat.”
“That’s not what I meant. Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to go to the coffee shop alone?”
“Are you serious? What do you think is going to happen to me at the coffee shop?”
“I would hope nothing, but I don’t know that I want to take that chance. We’ve had round the clock security at home for a reason.”
“Babe, do you really think the masterminds behind break-ins carried out simultaneously across the globe are hanging out in a tiny coffee shop in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson just in case I happen to walk in unprotected?”
“Not necessarily, but it’s not a far reach to think we could be watched, and they could be waiting for a moment when you’re vulnerable.”
While I understood his concern, the rebellious side of me also prickled at being called vulnerable.
“First of all, I haven’t spent years training on the mat to be afraid to walk down the street in broad daylight. And secondly, I may have been weak and vulnerable when I walked out on that roof, but I was human then. I’m not human now, and that’s not public knowledge, so that gives me an advantage they’re unaware of. So, if they’re really unhinged enough to carry out a hit on a human in a coffee shop filled with humans—which your own rules would forbid, according to what you’ve told me—what’s the worst that can happen to me? Somebody might shoot me in the chest with a crossbow? Oh!” I gave my forehead an exaggerated slap. “That already happened, and guess what? I survived! Because I’m a superhero like you now, remember? Now, do you want some coffee or not?”
Nick rubbed his hand over his face and groaned. “Aria, I have to get back to this call, but I—”
“So, get back to it! I’ll be back in fifteen minutes, tops. And hey, don’t forget I have a built-in supernatural radar now.” I pointed to my eyes with a grin. “If I spot anyone with a colorful aura surrounding them, I’ll turn and go the other way, okay? Be right back.”
He didn’t look too happy with me leaving, but I was getting tired of cowering and hiding. Even if we did learn who was behind the Turpisi attacks and eliminated that threat, there was no guarantee there wouldn’t be another threat looming behind it.
Gwen had cautioned me that the world I’d been thrown into was a brutal one. But if this was our new existence and this type of danger was going to be a routine part of our life, I wasn’t willing to live in a bubble of fear afraid to go outside.
I wasn’t defenseless. I could take care of myself before I became immortal, so it would stand to reason I’d be even more capable of kicking ass now that I was faster, stronger, more aware of everything around me, and capable of melting metal and commanding water. Not to mention self-healing at an unbelievably fast rate.
