SWNOVELS Chapter 37
I'd love to leave right after sunset, but AJ tells me I should wait until after the bar closes so Zev doesn't have to be in wolf form and she's not too busy creating a "lust tornado of nymphiness." Her words, not mine.
So Darius and I plot behind the bar between his dances, deciding how exactly we'll get inside.
"I should go in first," I say, trying to take charge of our strategy. "If anyone's inside, at least I'm a family member and I can make up some story about being worried."
Darius smiles condescendingly, and I realize immediately that my plan is unrealistic. "You understand that we're breaking in, yes? Trying to enter unnoticed."
He makes a very good point. Planning for an encounter with a nurse or a custodian sort of handicaps the whole operation.
"Fine," I say, reluctantly relinquishing my authority. "How do we get in undetected? Without tripping the alarms?"
"Well," Darius says with a casual shrug, "the alarms sense either motion or heat, and since my blood runs cold and I move too quickly, I'll just go inside and disable the system."
Right. The fact that I thought I should take the lead on a heist with a vampire shows my mom brain still isn't firing on all cylinders.
We agree on the strategy and that we'll leave as soon as the bar doors lock, and I decide I'll catch a quick nap before we go. As I start for the stairs, Darius stops me.
"Remember, we've pledged not to take your child without your permission."
"Right. That's why I can leave her while we go." I feel like I've got this, but Darius gives me a look that suggests I'm missing something.
"That's correct," he says, "as long as you don't give permission."
"So, what, I need to just leave her on the floor and walk away?" Either I don't understand what the word permission means, or these paranormal pledge rules are a little vague.
"No," Darius responds, doing a better job than normal at staying patient. "You can hand the child to any of us, as you've been doing. You can say 'play with Rain,' or 'hold my baby.' The only phrase you cannot say, without breaking the pledge, is 'take the child.""
Take the child. This is good to know, and the type of thing someone might have told me earlier, but maybe each of them was hoping for a slip. So strange to think that these men, now my companions, maybe even friends, definitely objects of many affections, could still turn on me. But it's nice to know they can't do it unless I give them the go-ahead.
"Can I say, 'take the baby,'?" My question's half in jest, and yet these semantics seem to have cosmic importance.
Darius nods. "Only the phrase take the child will break the bond."
With that, he struts toward the dance floor and I head upstairs, happy to know I have powers--and terrified I might slip up.
At five past midnight, Rune carries the last drunk out the door and AJ locks up. I pass her the baby, ensuring I won't misspeak and destroy my life, and head to the car with Darius.
As we buckle in, I realize I'm alone with him for the first time. Yes, we've had moments in one room while everyone else was in another, but now we're in a car, driving away. A few weeks ago I would have accepted this as a death sentence, now I can't help but feel a thrill run through my body. Ever since our shared moment in my room, the chemistry between me and Darius has changed. Less antagonism, lots of sexual tension. It certainly doesn't help that he strips down to almost nothing in the bar night after night.
Darius stares out the window as we drive to Ipswich, taking in the scenery, which I'm sure he can see just fine even though it's dark.
"Does anything look familiar?" I ask, wondering how much time he's actually spent in this area. He's been alive forever, so maybe he's summered in Eastern Mass for eons. Who the hell knows? I realize with a sudden sobriety no matter how much we talk, or how long I end up living with the Sexies, they will always remain mysteries. They have lived longer than I can even imagine. This is nuts.
"Only vaguely," Darius answers, pulling me out of my thoughts. There's a hint of sorrow in his voice that he covers quickly. "A lot has changed since I last visited. Both here and in my world."
He seems a little melancholic, so I leave it at that. Plus, I've got to start steeling my nerves for the crimes I'm about to commit.
There are three other cars in the lot when we arrive, which doesn't seem like a lot. Maybe two nurses and a security guard? Thin staff to care for a building full of invalids. I'm worried for Nanny, but also relieved that our scheme might be easier to pull off than expected. We pull around to the back and Darius does a quick survey of the building.
"Are you sure about this?" I ask. "They might have a more complex system than you're used to."
He looks at me, the condescension roaring back into his striking eyes. "I've broken into kingdoms protected by magic spells and guarded by dragons."
"Dragons? You're just going to throw
that out there willy nilly? Dragons?"
But he doesn't respond. He's already out of the car and moving swiftly toward adadder that leads to a ventilation duct near the roof, leaving me to stew about dragons and unicorns and whatever else might exist that I always thought was fairytale. It's probably safest to assume everything is real, but that
might make my brain explode.
I shove my existential crisis to the side as I get out of the car and glance around, not really sure what to do next. Darius has taken full control of the plan, and I'm just along for the ride, which isn't a position I enjoy being in.
It only takes a few seconds before
the back emergency exit pops open and he waves me toward him. I jog over, noticing how good my legs feel. I've recovered very quickly from this birth, and if anyone asks me howd
wdid it I'll just say some bullshit like kale smoothies and yoga. Namaste, bitches. Who would believe the truth anyways? I can barely wrap my mind around my
current situation, and I'm living it.
As soon as I get inside, I see Darius hasn't gone totally unnoticed--a security guard lies unconscious on the ground by the door.
"I assume this was necessary?" I say in an aggressive whisper.
Darius looks down at the guard and shrugs. "Sometimes an elbow to the temple works more effectively than mind control. Let's go to Tilly."
Before I can show him the way, Darius starts striding down the hall toward her room.
"How do you know where you're going?"
"Magic," is all he responds. At first it seems like he's brushing me off, but then I think about it a little more.
"Your magic? Or hers?"
Darius throws a quick glance over his shoulder, "the latter."
When we get to her door, I'm about to ask how we'll get it unlocked, but my brain catches up fast enough for me to keep my mouth shut. With a flick of his wrist, I hear a soft click and the door pops open. I'm excited to someday learn the extent of his powers, because right now the man feels like a walking cheat code.
With a final look behind us, we tiptoe into Nanny's room. Well, I tiptoe. He just walks in his normal stealth mode.
Enough moonlight spills through the window that we're able to see her bed. Nanny's asleep, but tossing a bit like she's having a bad dream. As I move toward her, Darius stands back by the door.
"Stop," he quietly commands. I do as I'm told, though I can't imagine what his concern is with me getting closer to my grandmother. "She's not well."
I roll my eyes at the obvious statement; that's why she's in a home, bro. I realize immediately that my thoughts have been heard, because Darius takes slow steps toward Nanny while explaining the dilemma.
"She's powerfully afflicted. The episodes you've talked about have nothing to do with you or her surroundings, and everything to do with what's going on in her mind."
He arrives at her bedside and kneels, every step taken in silence. Ever so slowly, he reaches up and grasps her hand. The move is done gently, but Darius seems to tense as the two connect, like a shock has gone up his arm.
Seconds later, Nanny's eyes start to
flutter open. She looks at the ceiling, then slowly turns to me. After my last visit, I'm terrified at how she might react. Screaming would be bad for our cover, of course, but I assume the vampire could fix those problems. I'm more worried about the emotional damage another episode might cause her and me both.
However, instead of becoming agitated or distressed, my sweet Nanny smiles. It's a smile I haven't seen in years, not since I was a little girl and my mother was alive.
Then she lets her head fall to the other side, facing Darius, and something even more unexpected happens.
"It's you," she says softly, the smile still on her face.
"Hello, Matilda," Darius responds, his voice so full of kindness that unexpected tears spring to my eyes.
It's beyond beautiful, seeing Tilly recognize a face and speak coherent words. At the same time, I just want to scream until everything makes sense. After all these years and so much mental unrest, she recognizes the effing vampire?