Blood Red

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then the small feet of the thing biting all hell out of his hand were suddenly propped against his stomach and he felt the powerful muscles under his son’s Levi’s flex. Alan Tripp was thrown through the air and hit the bedroom window hard enough to shatter it. His head struck a crossbeam and drove through the wood and glass alike, even as his body bounced against the interior of the frame.

Before he could even catch his breath, he felt small hands pushing, shoving his body out the window to the roof outside. He barely had time to realize just what was happening before he was pushed from the steeply angled shingles and sent rolling to the ground below.

Alan kissed the concrete hard, and heard the sound of glass tinkling and fast-moving feet slipping across the roof. A second later he saw Avery’s feet, spread wide apart, slap the ground.

“We’ll come back for you, Daddy.”

Avery loomed over him, the bulk of Meghan’s dead body slung over his shoulder. Her legs and hands scraped the ground around him as he turned and ran, hauling the weight of a woman a full two feet taller than him as if she were a feather pillow.

Alan tried to stand one more time, and failed miserably. The darkness came for him a few seconds later, and he slipped away from consciousness into the soothing balm of dark dreams.

Chapter 12

I

The sun wasn’t up yet, and Jason was sleeping beside her, nearly completely motionless. Her body ached, but in the nicest ways. The man was definitely imaginative.

Technically it was morning now, and she had things to do. She rose from the bed and looked down on his sleeping form. He was handsome. He was also very strange. She liked him. He was charming and pleasant and very attentive. He was also filthy stinking rich.

She stepped over to her strapless black number and pulled it back on, starting at her feet and working it up to her chest.

Jason turned over in the bed and looked at her. He had a smile on his face. “Time to leave already?”

She smiled back, looking into his eyes in the faint light. He had lovely eyes, dark and deep. “If you don’t mind, handsome. I have classes in a few hours.”

“I don’t mind. Thank you for the company.” He stretched and she watched the muscles play across his torso. He looked almost soft when he was clothed, but once in the nude he was sinewy and powerful.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. Anything you’d like.”

“Not that I’m complaining, but why all the priests and such?”

He chuckled. “For now I’ll simply say that they needed to relax. Ask me again after we are together again.”

“We’ll be together again?”

“If you’ll have me, yes.”

“I’ll keep you to your word on the final answer, you know that, right?”

“I would be disappointed if you did not, Maggie.”

She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his lips. Once again that strange flavor was in her mouth and she tasted it in his breath. He kissed her deeply and distracted her with his tongue a few seconds later. When he broke the kiss he smiled at her. “You had best leave if you plan on getting away from me, Maggie.”

He was fully aroused, but not being an ass about it. She smiled down at him and slid back out of her dress. He lay back and let her take control of the situation.

The sun was up before they were finished. She didn’t mind and he was most certainly not complaining. The drive home was a quiet one. Even the early morning traffic was feeling pretty subdued. She liked it like that, too. She wanted to get home and shower and get ready for school.

She got home.

But the rest of the day failed to turn out the way she had planned for it to go.

II

The sun was going to be coming up soon. Ben had thought about drinking, but somehow he never quite got around to picking up a bottle. It was too much effort.

So he sat in the darkness and listened to the night and thought long and hard about his life. So far, it was mostly uneventful. He was at peace with that.

So Maggie had an unusual choice for a career. So what? He was more worried about someone trying to hurt her than her having sex.

Well, most of him. Part of him was depressed as hell about it. But that wasn’t important. It wasn’t his life and he had no claims to make. He just wished he did.

“Grow the fuck up, loser.”

“Talking to yourself, Ben?” The last thing he’d expected to hear was Tom Pardue’s voice.

He turned his head and spotted the blond ape in Maggie’s doorway. Tom was smiling.

“I didn’t know there was anyone else here to talk to.” He shrugged.

“Well, here I am.” Tom was smiling. He had a very unpleasant smile.

“I don’t think Maggie’s home, Tom.”

“Yeah. I know. She’s probably not gonna be back tonight.”

Ben nodded. “Well, I think I’m going to call it a night. I have class in five hours.”

Tom slid two feet in his direction and leaned against his door. “You know what? I was thinking we should have a talk, you and me.”

“What about?” He was doing a damned fine job of not panicking. At least in his own estimation.

“About Maggie.” Tom was smiling again.