Vampires Need Not…Apply? (Accidentally Yours #4)(55)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“We will surprise him and push him in. My only hope is that he’ll never find a way back.”

Ixtab looked at Antonio. The light of the moon bounced off the sharp angles of his exquisite face—his jaw, his cheekbones, his thick strong lips. It was then that she noticed how Antonio had a gentle goodness in his eyes that radiated outward. It shaped the angles of his mouth, it brightened the light in his eyes, and it made him tilt his head to one side when he felt concerned. Antonio was simply magnificent. And he deserved to live a happy life. Even if that meant being with another woman. It ripped her heart into pieces thinking such a thing, but it was the truth.

You must truly love him if you’re willing to give him up simply to make him happy…

Sigh. No one said being the Goddess of Happiness would be easy.

“I will take care of getting your father inside the portal. You just open it and get the female.”

“What about your men?” he asked.

“There won’t be time, Antonio. Opening a portal to another dimension isn’t like opening the garage door where you can drive your giant incubus in and out as you please.” And it wasn’t as if his father wouldn’t notice the fabric of space opening up right inside his own home. No. If they were lucky, they’d be able to lure the demon to the portal and push him in. If extra–super lucky, they’d do it before the woman got out. If she were, in fact, there.

Antonio stared with his inquisitive eyes. “Why would you give up your plans? I know you and the gods are depending on freeing your men to win your war.”

Because she couldn’t stand the thought of sacrificing Antonio’s happiness. Not after everything he’d been through. Not when she cared so much for him. And not when there was one other little fact. “Cimil has clearly been manipulating all of us, herding us like mindless sheep to this destination. She wants us to use the tablet to free our men, and given her evil deceptions, I’m not so sure this is what we should do.” Yes, they might be better off finding another to way to free Guy, Niccolo, and the others. She only hoped she was making the right decision.

Oh. Look who’s leaning on Faith now!

Shut up!

Antonio continued to stare. Was that gratitude in his eyes? “Why are you still wearing the veil?”

She didn’t know. Perhaps to hide her sorrow; she didn’t want to lose him to this other woman, yet she certainly didn’t want to deny him the chance to save his brother or follow his destiny. There was simply no getting around it. The portal had to be opened. “Old habits, I guess.”

He opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut and stood. “I’ll go prepare. Can you have my father in the basement at midnight?”

“Sure.” I’ll go to him after I light some candles. Maybe make a call to Fate…

Because pulling this off would require a miracle. Sadly, the last time she’d seen Miracle, she was somewhere in the Bahamas with Chance.

Chapter Veintiséis

“Are you sure you understand? Don’t let anyone see you, and you are only to intervene if the physicist needs help.” Cimil popped a handful of Milk Duds into her mouth and chewed nervously, staring at Roberto.

Roberto nodded and then kissed her wrist.

“Gud. Becosh whateber happens, dosh Scabs can’t be awowed to go fwee. Got it? We mush start kiwing dem off.” Chew, chew, chew. “Gods, I wuv Milk Duds.”

Roberto tightened his parachute.

“Shee you in”—chew, chew, chew—“Shedona, baby.”

She gave Roberto a push out of the plane’s rear door somewhere over Vilafranca del Penedès.

Gods, this was going to be wicked hard. She needed to have everything set just right or Operation Over would be… well, over. Phooey on that! She hadn’t carefully planned centuries of events merely to have it all fall apart in the final phase.

Cimil chewed and looked at her watch. She’d need to make a detour to her piggy bank—an ancient temple where she kept her most prized treasures (gold; jewelry; three Thighmasters; Bigfoot; the world’s largest pachinko machine; a few spare tablets for the all-necessary time travel and dimensional hopping; magic fairy dust; a flea circus; her collection of Betamax Love Boat episodes; and last but not least, a few hibernating armies for that rainy day, aka apocalypse) in Mexico and then head over to Bacalar to ensure all was ready for Chaam’s big arrival. According to her calculations, she’d still make it to Sedona in time to meet up again with Roberto, hand off the spare tablet, and then turn herself in. All part of the master plan.

I wonder if I’ll have time to hit a few garage sales before I’m imprisoned? A few beanbag chairs might be nice for her jail cell, and she needed a new saddle for Minky.

“I’ll jus hab to make time…” Chew, chew, chew.

Yes, because some things were too important to pass up even when the world’s fate hung in the balance. Garage sales being one of them.

* * *

At a quarter to midnight, Ixtab sat in her room and took one final look at the page she’d written, debating whether or not to put it in the envelope. What good would the truth be for Antonio now? No good at all. Yet she wanted him to know who she really was, not who she used to be: happy. Because of him. He’d freed her soul from the demons of her past—well, sorta. Mentally, the shackles were gone. And now she knew she was good not in spite of her flaws, but because of them. They taught her humility and compassion. They taught her to forgive—mainly herself, but forgiveness nonetheless. She wanted him to know that she’d never loved his father. And as much as it pained her to say so, she wondered if she had truly loved Francisco. Her past felt like an illusion caused by desperation and loneliness. It took meeting Antonio and feeling the powerful bond between them to realize that. Antonio helped her to understand what true love felt like. And she was eternally grateful for it, even though he didn’t love her back.

She sighed. What good would it do to know all that? None. If she cared for Antonio, she would not stand in his way to a wonderful life.

She tore up the page, threw it in the trash, and then gazed up. “Please. Just let him be happy, that is all I ask…”

But would the Universe listen this time? She could only hope. Because this plan of hers was insane. Completely insane. And it depended on her ability to lie. For the record, lying never came easy for her, and tonight, she needed to put on the performance of a lifetime.

She shook her head. How had everything gone from bad to messed up to seriously messed up to this? She’d come to Spain looking for Antonio, filled with hope, and found instead her dead lover who wasn’t a monk, but a stinking, rotten incubus. Now, she was going to help Antonio and give him up forever to another woman.