Aaron Parker, aka Eli something or other, aka the American Vampire, aka Fang, was tending bar alone tonight. He was chatting with two guys in flannel shirts when he looked up and caught my eye. He smiled broadly. It was the same look he had always given me since being hired here months ago.
Since stalking me and taking this job.
I must have mentioned in one of my IMs to him that my sister frequented Heroes. Initially, I had thought I would be more careful than that, but I had let my guard down with Fang. And he had not only found out who I was, but had gotten a job at the very bar I frequented with my sister.
Creepy. And well, sweet, too.
Aaron Parker was clearly a nut. That much was certain. He was also a killer. But, more than anything, he was Fang. My Fang.
Maybe we're all nuts.
I saw now the hint of longing in his eyes. Saw the deep concern for me. Perhaps it was love. I never noticed it before. Or, if I did, I hadn't given it much attention. I had been a married woman until recently. Besides, maybe I thought he had been hamming it up for an extra big tip.
But I saw him differently now. In a new light, so to speak. The attention, the intent behind his gaze...all of it was for me.
I took in a small, sharp breath.
He smiled and unconsciously pulled back his upper lip. In that moment, in this lighting, I had a brief flashback to the disturbed teenage boy who seemed to relish pulling back his upper lip in the courtroom, the boy whose fanged smile had made front page headlines across the country.
That boy was a man now. And although he had some plastic surgery, appeared to have grown a foot or more and was sporting a beard, there was enough similarity to give me pause.
He's a killer, I thought. A murderer.
The tormented young man had grown into something beautiful, but that made him no less tormented or sick. I had not known Fang to be sick. Obsessive, certainly. But his advice had always been spot on, and his caring for me had been genuine. Or, at least, seemed genuine.
And his smile - that sexy, slightly awkward smile - seemed genuine, too. I walked up to the bar just as he reached for a bottle of white wine.
"Hello Sam," he said easily. The massive teeth that dangled from the leather strap around his neck clanked together with the sound of two thick beer mugs toasting. Clearly the rest of the world thought these were shark teeth. Or perhaps some other creature. Barracuda? Sasquatch?
"Hello Eli," I said, using his official name, although I sat at the far end of the mostly empty bar.
"We are so formal tonight," he said.
"We are still in shock from last night."
"We are?"
"Oh yes," I said.
"You never expected me to be so dashingly handsome, perhaps?"
"I didn't expect you to be a renowned fugitive."
He calmly cleaned a shot glass, as if he was just another bartender. "And does that bother you?"
"That you're a wanted man? That I'm cavorting with a known criminal?"
"Cavorting?"
"It's a word," I said.
He grinned easily and leaned across the counter, putting most of his weight on his palms. His two teeth hung freely from his neck like pale corpses twisting in the wind. "It's kind of a sexy word."
I looked away. I would have blushed if I could have. "I think you're taking it out of context."
"I prefer my context."
"Are you quite done?" I said. "I thought we were just friends."
"Just friends? After that kiss last night?"
"That kiss was your idea."
"I seem to recall you enthusiastically participating."
"Can we change the subject?" I said.
He grinned broadly. "Sure. Whatever would you like to talk about, my lady?"
I shrugged and sipped the white wine. Wine has no effect on me, but it's one of the few things, outside of hemoglobin, that I can drink like a regular person. Red wine not so much. Red wines contain tannins that upset my stomach. For someone who is supposedly immortal, my digestive system is hyper-sensitive.
I said, "I just want to talk to a friend."
"You know I'm your friend, Moon Dance."
"I like when you call me Moon Dance."
"I know. I read your epic IMs this morning when I woke up. Truth be known, I like it when you call me Fang, too."
"Fang and Moon Dance," I said, shaking my head. "We're weird."
"More than anyone could possibly know." He glanced around his mostly empty bar as any good bartender would, saw that his few patrons were content, and looked back at me. "Sorry I missed your IMs last night. I crashed as soon as I got home."
"No worries. It was late."
"It's difficult to keep up with your schedule, you know."
I laughed and set down the worthless wine. Who was I kidding? I wasn't normal? Why was I so concerned about looking normal?
Fang reached out and touched the back of my hand. His warm touch sent a shockwave of shivers up my arms and down my back. "You know," he said, "there is a way that you and I could have the same schedule."
"Oh?" I said, curious. "Would I need to get a second job here as a barback?"
"That's not what I meant, Moon Dance."
He continued touching me. His thumb lightly stroked the back of my hand. His fingers slipped under and caressed my palm. I shivered. Fang wasn't looking at me. I sensed his hesitation, and I sensed his insane desire.
Now Fang turned to me and our eyes met and I found myself looking deep into another person's soul for the first time in my life. Everything opened up to me. All his secrets. All his desires. All his wants and needs and hopes and dreams. And cravings. I gasped.
Fang gave me a lopsided smile.
"Yes, Moon Dance," he said. "Make me a vampire."
Chapter Twenty-one
It had been a long night.
When I got home, I discovered that everyone was sleeping in my bed, including little Anthony. I stood in the doorway of my bedroom, taking the scene in: Tammy on her back and snoring lightly. My sister in the middle and lying on her side with her palm resting lightly on Anthony's back.
A beautiful blue glow surrounded my daughter. The blue glow was interlaced with swatches of gold. The aura around my sister was a powerful orange, a contented color, a peaceful color.
There was no color around my son. There was only a deep blackness. It was as if he didn't exist at all. The light energy around him seemed to enter that black field and disappear. Like a black hole.
I rubbed my eyes and fought my tears. I slipped into some sweats and a tank top and slid into bed next to Anthony. I, too, rested my palm on his back.