Desire After Dark (Page 65)

"Yes, I suppose so."

If they went to St. Louis, her mother and Karen would assume Antonio was on vacation, so she wouldn’t be able to excuse his absences during the day by telling them he was at work, although she might be able to come up with some plausible excuse, like he was the head of a big company that was looking to open an office in St. Louis. Of course, the fact that he didn’t eat posed another problem. Her family would expect them to stay at the house. Antonio might be able to skip a meal or two, but not all three.

But the mirror thing would be the biggest obstacle. One wall in Karen’s living room was mirrored from floor to ceiling, as was one of the walls in the dining room. The closet doors in the bedrooms were mirrored, as well. Her sister’s house was small, and she believed that the mirrors made the rooms look larger.

"So, we won’t go visit my folks," she said with a dismissive shrug. "It’s no big deal."

But it was one more aspect of her life that he couldn’t share.

Sitting down on the sofa, he put his arm around her waist and drew her close. With a little sigh, she rested her head on his shoulder. "This is nice," she murmured. "Just the two of us, alone in front of the fire."

He nodded, thinking how much he would miss her when she was gone.

Chapter 36

Vicki woke late again the next morning. Rising, she was filled with a mingled sense of anticipation and dread. If all went as planned, they would be rid of Falco by nightfall. It sounded so simple, but there were a hundred things that could go wrong, any one of which could get one or all of them killed.

While showering, she told herself there was nothing to worry about. Antonio would protect her. Ramsey and Duncan were both vampire hunters, and Ramsey was a vampire. They knew what they were doing.

"Everything will be all right." She repeated the words over and over again as she dried her hair.

A look out the window showed that it was drizzling, and she dressed accordingly in a pair of jeans and a bulky green sweater.

Tom Duncan was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee when she went downstairs. "Morning."

"Hi." She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from him. "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat."

"What would you like?"

He shrugged. "Anything you feel like fixing is fine with me."

"Scrambled eggs and bacon sound okay?"

"Perfect."

She finished her coffee, then set about making breakfast. "Have you and Bobbie Sue set the date yet?"

"She wants to get married in February, on Valentine’s Day."

Vicki smiled, thinking how romantic that sounded. If she were getting married in February, she would want her attendants to wear red and carry red and white flowers.

"She wants you to be her maid of honor, but that’s probably no surprise."

"Not really." She opened a package of bacon and dropped several slices in a frying pan and put it on the stove. "She said you’re going to give up hunting."

"Yeah, it’s time."

Vicki scrambled some eggs and poured them into another pan. "Do you think you’ll miss it, hunting, I mean?"

"Probably for a while. It’s quite a high when you’re closing in on your quarry. Adrenaline pumping, heart pounding in excitement when you find the vampire’s lair and you know he’s yours for the taking."

Vicki turned away from the stove, sickened by his description. She couldn’t help imagining Duncan finding Antonio’s resting place and…

"You look a little green," Tom remarked. "I guess what I do for a living doesn’t make for very good breakfast conversation."

"Not really," she agreed with a weak smile.

She served breakfast a few minutes later. Sitting there doing something as mundane as eating bacon and eggs made her think of Antonio again. He’d said he no longer missed solid food. How long would it take to adjust to a warm liquid diet? Would years have to pass before she got used to never seeing the sun again, or enjoying a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night, or pigging out on her favorite candy, or eating popcorn at the movies? What was it like to never see your reflection in a mirror again? How did female vampires put on their make-up?

"Vicki?"

She looked up at the sound of Tom’s voice. "Did you say something?"

"Where were you just now?"

"Oh, just lost in thought."

"Want to tell me what you were thinking about?"

"Vampires, of course. Isn’t that what we’re all thinking about these days?"

"Vampires?" Tom asked. "Or one particular vampire?"

"Actually, I was wondering what it would be like to be one."

Duncan swore a vile oath, then immediately apologized.

"I guess you’ve never considered it," Vicki said.

"I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind even thinking about it. They’re all killers.

Doesn’t matter if they’re handsome and charming or repulsive and meaner than hell, underneath, they’re all killers. Sure, some have learned to survive without killing, but most don’t want to. After they’ve been vampires for a while, they no longer consider themselves as human and they no longer give any thought to taking human life. We’re food, prey, fodder, nothing more."

She stared at him, repulsed by the ugly picture he had painted. "What about your friend, Ramsey? Is he like that?"

"Like I said, they’re all like that."

"I don’t believe it."

"You don’t want to believe it because you’re in love with Battista."

And that, she thought, said it all.

Vicki grew more anxious with each passing hour. She tried to read. She tried to watch television. She stared out the window at the rain. She played chess with Tom, but she couldn’t concentrate on the game and finally gave up. She wondered if he was as cool and calm as he appeared. How could he be?

She fixed lunch, then tried to take a nap, but to no avail. She couldn’t relax.

Where was Antonio? How soon would he be able to rise? She needed to see him, to touch him, hear the sound of his voice. Were they doing the right thing? Maybe they should just pack up and go to his villa inItaly. Maybe Falco wouldn’t find them there. It was tempting, so tempting, but then she thought of Sharlene and Leslie Ann Lewis and all the other women Falco had killed in the last few weeks. The hundreds and thousands of women he would murder in the future because she was too chicken to do what had to be done. And running wouldn’t accomplish anything. He had taken her blood. He would find her no matter where she tried to hide.

Staring into the flames blazing cheerfully in the fireplace, she took a deep breath.