Chapter 3
Tessa found her grandfather sitting at a table in the rec room of the nursing home. Every once in a while he would talk, but as time went by less words were spoken and it broke her heart. Alzheimer’s was a cruel disease. It took loved ones far away, yet they were right in front of you. Sometimes just looking into his kind eyes she could see him, just knew he was in there somewhere, but then the vacant stare would glaze over those eyes that had watched over her and her brother when things got tough at home.
“Sorry I’m late Gramps.” Tessa sat everything down before pulling a chair closer to him. Opening the McDonalds bag she pulled out a napkin spreading it across the table. Taking a peek at him to gage his mood, she smiled when she caught him staring at her. “Do I have something on my nose?” She teased.
His smile spread wide as he tapped her nose gently with a laugh.
“I see you’re having a good day.” Tessa chuckled along with him as she pulled out his large order of fries. She watched as he grabbed one holding it up to her mouth. It was the same thing every day and had been for the past six months. Before she could take a bite he pulled it away and plopped it in his own mouth. “Hey!” Her mouth turned down in her fake frown face which made him laugh loudly drawing everyone’s attention.
“I see he got you again.” Tammy Sims, one of the nurses chuckled as she passed them. “He’s a trickster.”
“Yes, he is.” Tessa grinned. This time when he held a fry up to her he let her have it. “Thank you. Now you eat those, okay.” McDonalds fries were the only thing she and the doctors at the nursing home could get him to eat. At least three times a week or more he had to get fed through feeding tubes so he could get his nourishment. He recovered from the stroke he suffered a year ago only to have onset of Alzheimer’s devastate his mind. He had always been her rock and her heart hurt watching him lose more of himself every day.
It had killed both her and Adam when they came to the realization they couldn’t take care of him anymore. He had always taken care of them and they had felt so guilty when they had to let him go and take him somewhere experienced people could take care of him properly.
Tessa was surprised when he gently took one finger to her mouth to raise the corner in a half smile which made a larger smile curl her lips. His eyes, which were more vacant than not, were alert now. “You rascal. I know you’re in there somewhere.” Tessa hugged him. “I miss you.” She whispered softly in his ear before pulling away.
“Hey big guy.” Mark Peterson walked up patting him on the shoulder. “You ready to get handsome for the ladies?”
Tessa smiled. Mark worked nights with the male patients helping them shower and clean themselves. He was great with her grandfather. “Hey Mark. How’s Julie and the baby?”
“Julie’s great. Motherhood agrees with her.” Mark grinned, pride radiating from him like a beaming light. “Little Mark is growing like a weed.”
“Well, tell her I said hello.” Tessa stood gathering the empty McDonalds bag, cleaning up. “Whenever you two need a night out don’t forget to call me. I would love to babysit.”
“I sure will, but I don’t think I could get her away from the little guy long enough to do anything.” Mark laughed as he helped her grandfather to his feet.
Tessa threw the garbage away then went to hug her grandfather. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hugged him tight. “Don’t break too many hearts, ya hear?” As she pulled away he clasped her face between his large hands staring deeply into her eyes, sadness and something else shadowed in their depth before he let her go.
“I love you Gramps.” Tessa stood still waiting patiently. Every once in while he would speak and she loved the sound of his voice, the voice that had calmed her as a child. She yearned for that voice. He once again pulled her into his tight embrace before patting her cheek. This time his huge smile reached his eyes and made her day much brighter because that was his way to say he loved her too.
Heading out of the nursing home Tessa groaned. Mr. Weston was buzzing his wheelchair towards her, bless his old soul.
“You got my condoms?” Mr. Weston’s saggy wrinkled face jigged as he sneaked a peep behind him to make sure no one was around.
“Excuse me?” Tessa all but choked. This little old man surely did not just ask her for a rubber.
“Adam said he would get me a box.” His anxious face turned sour. “He didn’t send them with you?”
“Ah, no. No, he didn’t.” Tessa eyed him, wondering if the little old man could even….ugh, okay not going there.
“Well don’t that just chap my ass!” The old man huffed. “I got women lining up at my door and I got me a hot date tonight with Laverne.”
Tessa could not believe she was standing in the hallway of Villa Springs Nursing Home talking to an eighty something year old man about condoms. She was going to kill her brother. “I’m sorry.” Was all she could think to say. Seriously, what could she say?
“You’re sorry?” The old man huffed again as he buzzed past her in his automatic wheelchair. “You ain’t the one who’s gonna have a case of blue balls.”
Standing there in complete shock she slowly turned to watch the old man make his way down the hall pinching every ass he passed. A huge smile broke out across her face, uncontrollable laughter close behind as she quickly made her way out of the nursing home. Yeah, she was definitely going to kill her brother.
********
This time Tessa parked in the driveway. Anxious, she jumped out of the car and ran into the house. “Adam.” She called out throwing her bag on the couch as she passed. “I am going to kill you. Old Mr. Weston cornered me at the nursing home wanting to know if I had his condoms. What in the hell are you doing promising that old man condoms? He pretty much is going to blame me if he gets a case of blue balls….” Tessa stopped cold as she stepped into her now very crowded kitchen.
“Hello Red.” There leaning against her kitchen sink was the warrior she had silver chained to the chair wearing a grin that sucked the breath right out of her and he wasn’t alone. Two other warriors stood in the room. A noise from behind her was fair warning she had passed a fourth warrior on her way in.
Fear like nothing she ever felt before paralyzed her. Okay be cool she told herself, but being cool with nervous sweat breaking out on her body was hard to pull off. “Who are you?” She was proud her voice held strong. Playing dumb was the only way she might be able to get out of this mess. “What are you doing in my house?”
Everyone looked to the one leaning against the sink. “It’s her.” He told them, his eyes never leaving hers. “I smelled honeysuckle a mile away.”
He tossed her baseball hat and sunglasses on the table which pretty much shot the playing dumb card down the toilet. Dammit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She took a step back, but ran into something hard. “You need to leave now before I call the police.” She demanded pulling out her cell phone. A huge hand snaked around her grabbing it.
“Sit down.” The one behind her gave her a small push toward the kitchen table where he just threw her phone.
“Hey.” She reached for her phone but was pushed into a seat and had to grab the edges of the chair before she hit the ground. “What the hell is your pro…” The words died in her throat when the biggest, scariest man she had ever seen snarled down at her with huge fangs, eyes black as midnight.
“Damon.” One of the others called out, Tessa didn’t know which one since her eyes were glued on her current threat. “We need her to talk, not pass out from fear. Back off.”
Tessa let out a whoosh of breath when he backed away to lean against the door frame, his snarl still in place and eyes as black, but out of arms reach. “I think you guys got the wrong house.” She tried one more time to lie her way out of this mess. Maybe if she hadn’t had her mind on condoms and blue balls she might have noticed something wasn’t right before entering into this nightmare.
“Oh we got the right house Red.” The one she had chained to the chair and her brother held the gun to his head pushed away from the counter slamming both hands on the table in front of her. He leaned in so close she cringed away. “Where’s your brother?”
“I don’t have a brother.” Tessa was getting really, really nervous, so nervous in fact she had to pee. Nerves did that to her. Just like water made people have to pee, nerves were her water going straight through her.
“Give me five minutes with her and I bet she’ll remember she has a brother.” The one they called Damon growled.
She had no clue where Adam was, obviously not here. Damn, she had to think and think fast. Standing up, she pushed her chair taking a step away from the huge warriors. Never had she been in a room so full of males that radiated power from their pores. It was almost overwhelming. Hell, what was she talking about, she was about to pee her pants, the pure male alpha power was so overwhelming. “You need to leave now!” She pointed to the door as if that was going to make them do as she ordered. “Get out of my house!”
They all stared at her with no emotion at all, well they all looked pretty pissed, but she was trying to ignore that fact. “Honey, you might as well come clean. We know you were at our compound with your brother. All we want to know is where he is and where he took Chad Evans. As soon as we find that out we will be on our way.”
Her eyes shot to the back door as it swung open praying it wasn’t Adam. Another warrior walked in, not as big as the others, but he had Adam’s eyes, the eyes of a half-breed. “He’s good. He covered his tracks well.” He announced to the others before his mismatched eyes landed on her. “Having a little trouble boys?”
“She’s coming around.” Jared replied glancing back at her. “Aren’t you honey?”
Tessa had about enough. She was scared as hell and had to pee like a race horse. Her red headed temper was legendary and as hard as she tried to keep it to a slow simmer it was getting ready to steam ahead. Fear usually sent her over the edge in a stupid kind of way.
“We already know all about you and your brother, honey.” Jared continued. “We just need to know where he is before things get out of control.”
“I’m not your honey, vamp.” Tessa hissed. “And you don’t know a damn thing about me.”
“Afraid we do…honey.” He laughed and pulled a packet out of his back pocket throwing it on the table next to the baseball hat and sunglasses. Tessa eyed the packet of paper.
“Don’t think she believes you Jared.” Sid shook his head as he leaned casually against the wall.
“Tessa Pride. Twenty-three years old. Graduated at the top of your class. Bartends at the Sand Trap nights. Had to drop out of teaching academy to pay bills. Adam Pride. Eighteen years old. Graduated a football star with a full ride to Penn State. Mother, Rose Pride, was killed in a head on car accident. Father, Frank Pride, is still alive, but left over a year ago. The only other living relative is Ollie Pride aka Gramps, who now resides at Villa Springs Nursing Home.” Jared never took his eyes off her. “You want me to keep going or do you get the point….Tessa.”
When she didn’t say anything, just looked at the packet, the half-breed took a step forward. “This is your last chance.”
Tessa’s eyes slowly rose to his mismatched gaze, her head tilted slightly, eyes narrowed daring him to lay a finger on her. He didn’t have to. A pressure started to build behind her eyes spreading throughout her entire head. Closing her eyes, she tried to keep it together, but the pressure turned to pain in a split second dropping her to her knees. Not wanting to give the bastards the satisfaction of screaming she bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. Doubled over on her knees all she could do was pray she died quickly to end the pain.
Jared had to give it to the gutsy red head; she was tough. A room full of vampires and she hadn’t cracked…yet. He’d seen grown men crack under the pressure and pour their guts out. She was also more curvy than he remembered. Damon might have the right of it. Give him five minutes alone with her and he could have her singing like a little bird, at least it would be fun trying. Her hair was the color of burnished copper in a shaggy cut reaching past her shoulders. Just enough to hold on to when he was licking his way up her back to her neck. Her eyes were the color of lake moss and shaped like tear drops, drooping down on each side. Oh yeah, he would have loved to have met her under different circumstances.
Shocked, Jared watched as she sank to the ground holding her head. Pushing away from the counter he rushed to her side, cursing himself for paying more attention to getting her in bed than what the hell was going on.
“Hey.” He tried to lift her face to his, but she was so stiff he was afraid of hurting her. Glancing up for help, he looked right at Levi who was glaring at Tessa, his golden eye now black, rimmed in red. Standing up quicker than the human eye could track he had the half-breed against the wall by the throat. “What the hell are you doing?” Jared roared.
With the contact broken Levi looked at Jared. “I’m getting the information we need.”
Jared slammed Levi against the wall hard once before letting go. “We do not hurt women.” Jared’s hiss should have been warning enough.
Levi got right back in Jared’s face. “You don't want to f*ck with me warrior. I can have you removed from your duties with a snap of my finger.”
“The day the Council allows us to hurt women is the day I walk. So you go on and snap that finger, breed.” Then in a split second he grabbed Levi’s shirt pulling him close. “And you definitely don’t want to f*ck with me. Now get the hell out of here and let us do our job.”
“The Council wants me here.” Levi pulled away. “I’m the only half-breed in the Council so they think I can get this situation under control.”
Duncan, who had been quiet up until now stepped forward. “I think under the circumstances they will understand since I am giving them a full report.” Duncan, who usually showed no emotion at all, gave Levi a nasty grin. “You are on thin ice as it is Levi. I suggest you step back from this one.”
Out of the corner of his eye Jared saw something flying through the air. Dodging to the left he watched a glass shatter against Levi’s chest. Turning he saw Tessa standing, chest heaving in anger, grabbing for another glass. “Get out!” Tessa screamed, her hand drawing back to let go of the glass.
Jared barely had time to bat the glass away before it made contact. This time it was headed toward him. All hell broke loose. She grabbed another glass aiming toward Damon this time. Levi headed toward her, his golden eye blacker than midnight. Jared grabbed him by the front of the shirt again lifting him off his feet slamming him to the ground, planting his knee on the half-breed’s chest. He felt a glass bounce off his back.
“Are you waiting for her to run out of f*cking glasses?” Jared yelled at Sid who stood ready to dodge if he had to. Levi struggled under him cursing. Jared picked him up and tossed him toward Duncan. “Get him the f*ck out of here now.”
Tessa continued to throw glasses, she couldn’t stop, she was out of control. Seeing Jared heading her way she started throwing them at him, but he dodged and batted them away with an ease that made her throw faster. He caught her wrist in a firm, but gentle grip reaching for the glass.
“Let me go you….you piece of bat shit.” Tessa tried to pull away still holding the glass in a death grip.
Jared’s eyebrow rose, a smile tugging the corner of his mouth. Bat shit….that was a new one. He’d been called a lot of things, but never a piece of bat shit. “Let the glass go.” His voice was calm and even.
Glancing around at the other two vampires she shook her head. “No.”
“No one is going to hurt you.” He kept hold of her wrist, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Little late for that.” Tessa snorted, but loosened her grip enough that he took the glass.
Jared frowned putting the glass far enough away from her. “It won’t happen again.” He let go of her wrist. “Can I trust you not to throw anymore glasses?”
“Are you going to get out of my house?” Tessa shot back rubbing the aching pain in her temples.
“No.” Jared replied, lifting his hand to her face he frowned when she flinched. “Hold still.”
Tessa leaned back as far as she could go as his large hand reached for her face again. “What are you doing?” She slapped at his hand.
Sighing Jared quickly grasped her face with his hands and gently massaged her temples. When she started to struggle he tilted her face to his. “I am trying to help you. Hold still.”
Once she settled down, Tessa noticed the difference in her head. The heaviness and aching pain was slowly easing. Closing her eyes she moaned her pleasure. God that felt wonderful after the blinding pain she had just suffered. Slitting her eyes open she peaked at the vampire massaging her head. His features were strong and hard with lean lines. His golden eyes, framed with the longest lashes she had ever seen on a man, focused on her lips. What was it when a man looked at a woman’s lips her tongue automatically had a brain of its own snaking out to moisten. Yeah, her tongue had a mind of its own. His eyes darkened as they shot to hers. His hands pulled away so quickly she stumbled back a step.
“Thank you.” Her hand shot self-consciously to the side of her head. Looking around the tall vampire she saw the other two staring at them.
“Where’s your brother?” He growled looking downright pissed off. What in the hell happened to the nice guy?
Tessa swallowed hard. “I have to pee.” Shot out of her mouth. Embarrassed Tessa turned running up the steps. “I have to pee.” She whispered to herself rolling her eyes not believing she couldn’t come up with a better avoidance of his question than that. At least it got her out of the room.
At the top of the steps she turned to make sure no one was following. Slamming her brother’s door loudly she tiptoed into the bathroom because she really needed to pee. Leaving the door open she quickly went to the toilet praying no one came up the steps. If they did they would have a perfect view of her sitting on the toilet. While doing her business she toed off her shoes pushing them to the side.
Tessa finished her business quickly then stood still listening to the quiet of the house. She could hear them talking in hushed tones below her. She almost felt like a teenager again sneaking out in the middle of the night. Tiptoeing down the hall to her room she made it to her bed. Climbing up she crawled across slowly then placed her big toe on the floor putting pressure down to see if it squeaked. She used to know every squeaky board in her room. For years she didn’t really have a need to worry about it, until now. When it didn’t squeak she started to tiptoe across the floor toward the window. Her last step before she made it to the ledge squeaked loudly sounding like the whole house was coming down around her. Cringing she stood completely still waiting for the three huge warriors to come busting into the room. After a few seconds she felt safe enough to slip out the window.
Looking at the tree she had used as an escape from her room many times as a teenager she sighed. What in the hell is she getting herself into. Crawling out the window she grasped the tree branch and let her legs swing away from the window. This day definitely rated up there on her suck list.
Tessa felt her grip loosen on the branch she was gripping with every ounce of strength she had. Small pieces of bark rained down on her face. Crap, she remembered this being easier. “Maybe that’s because you were much younger and skinnier….dumbass.” she mumbled with a grunt. Glancing down she gasped. She didn’t remember it being this damn high.