Jack Kursed Page 21

  Erica curled up completely on the couch, no longer interested in the TV at all. She hugged Jack's arm and nestled more into his chest. For the first time, Jack enjoyed his curse. He could savor the moment without fear of falling asleep and missing out on Erica's company.

  There was a quiet knock at the door, followed by the door cracking open. Jack looked at Victoria's red hair and green eyes.

  "Jack?"

  He fought off irritation and laughed as Erica didn't bother to sit up. She quickly turned around and threw herself into Jack's arms, forcing him to wrap his arms around her.

  "Oh no," she joked. "Caught by the older sister. Another five minutes and you would have had quite the show."

  Victoria smiled and closed the door behind her. "Thank God. The last thing I want to see is Jack's naked body on top of yours on the couch."

  Erica leaned in close to Jack's ear. "Now that's a thought," she whispered playfully.

  She leaned away and stretched her arms over her head. Jack met Victoria's gaze. The vampire grinned and raised an eyebrow, obviously overhearing the whisper.

  "Wait a minute," Jack said. "How do you know she's the older sibling?"

  Erica shrugged. "She acts older, more mature."

  "You hear that? Erica just called you old."

  Victoria laughed. "And she would be right."

  "Watch some TV with us," Erica said. "Want some popcorn?"

  "No, thanks. Actually, Jack, I need to talk to you outside a second."

  "Oooh," Erica teased. "You're in trouble."

  Jack watched Erica run her fingers through her hair as he followed Victoria onto the front porch. Erica seemed to have caught a second wind, digging into the bowl of popcorn.

  "I'm sorry," Victoria said. "I should have called. But I knew you'd be awake."

  "Hilarious. What's up?"

  "My case is going nowhere. Tomorrow night I have a...let's call it a distraction...planned for Dr. Collins."

  "A hooker?"

  "A call girl. Come on, Jack, be nice. Anyway, I need to get a look at his laptop. Come with me."

  "You don't need me for that."

  "No, but I wouldn't mind your eyes. Maybe you'll catch something I don't."

  "I'm sure I would, because you're old."

  "So, you'll help me?"

  "Sure. I just have to get a sitter for Tiffany."

  Victoria shook her head, never thinking she'd hear those words. "Can Erica watch her?"

  "I'm not gonna ask Tiffany's teacher to babysit. But I'm sure she knows people."

  "What's next for you two? She really is into you."

  He peeked in through the window at her. Popcorn fell to the floor as she laughed hysterically at the Marx Brothers. He loved her smile and laugh. Erica was a fun woman.

  "She's hot, isn't she? Tiffany says you're hotter, but I told her she was out of her mind."

  "Hey," Victoria said, looking down at herself. "I'm still attractive, even in this century."

  "She's real sweet, and cracks me up. But we're just friends."

  "Friends don't get all gropey on the couch."

  "There was no groping. Look, I honestly have no idea what's gonna happen next. The road map for my life got tossed out when I became a foster-parent."

  She smiled. "It's nice, isn't it? Life can still surprise us. Jack Kursed cares about two mortal females."

  "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, tomorrow night. I’m with you."

  "Thanks. Now go back in there and have fun with your friend."

  Jack went back inside to see Erica putting her glass in the sink. She had her sandals back on, a sign she was leaving soon. He silently cursed Victoria for ruining whatever Erica and he had going on.

  "Hi," she said. "I should be leaving. I didn’t even know it was nearly one in the morning."

  "Time flies when you’re having fun."

  "It does. I had a lot of fun."

  "Come on over whenever you want."

  She said nothing, simply staring at him.

  "What?"

  "Nothing," she said. "It’s just...nice to finally make a friend."

  He walked her to her Jeep. She walked slowly, hands in her pockets, looking at the ground. She didn’t want to leave.

  "Oh, hey, I have to give my sister a hand with some stuff tomorrow. Do you know of any good sitters?"

  Erica shrugged. "I’ll watch her."

  "I already owe you a ton of money from tutoring. You trying to bleed me dry?"

  She laughed and leaned against her Jeep. "I like Tiffany. I don’t mind watching her for a night. We’ll do girl things, maybe go out and get some ice cream."

  Jack thought it over. It almost felt like he was taking advantage of Erica, but the truth was she was the only person he trusted besides Victoria.

  "You wouldn’t mind?" he asked. "That doesn’t go against your code?"

  "I’m not a samurai warrior, Jack. I don’t have a code. I had a parent ask me out on a date one time. I turned him down, and when his kid got a C on his next test, he accused me of grading him unfairly, even though his kid wasn’t the smartest cookie."

  He smiled. She was showing him more of her personality, and he liked it.

  "Anyway, I just make it a point not to get involved with the hot single fathers out there."

  "But you’ll watch the Marx Brothers with one? Unless you’re saying I’m not hot."

  "Oh, you’re hot," she said with a sly smile. "And you’re also different."

  They stared at each other a moment longer before she climbed in her Jeep. Jack was confused about his own feelings, and he liked it. Confusion made life more interesting.

  CHAPTER 14

  Victoria listened to quiet music as she lay in bed, reviewing the plan in her mind. The objective was simple. She needed to see Dr. Stan Collins' laptop.

  Dr. Collins was proving to be the most boring case she ever had, both a blessing and a curse. She had time to enjoy the sun, lie out on the beach, and spend the occasional evening with Jack and Tiffany. All she had to do was pay someone to watch Collins, a chore that wasn't hard to do since he seldom left the hotel room.

  But something gnawed at Victoria, told her that despite the lack of activity, something important was happening. Collins would spend hours a night watching adult movies and working at his laptop. She needed to see what he was working on.

  The call girl she hired was named Tonya. Tonya picked up Collins ten minutes ago for a night in Parkville. Jack was late. She would give him another few minutes before moving on without him. He was right in that she didn't exactly need him, but Jack had amazing senses. He could spend minutes with someone and know intimate details about them. She missed working with him.

  Victoria had her fangs buried in a bag of blood when she heard someone exit the elevator in the hall and stop outside her room. She opened the door and grabbed Jack's shirt before he could knock. He stumbled inside as she quickly emptied the bag of blood. He wore all black, just like Victoria.

  "You and your timing," she said, licking her fangs.

  "Erica was a little late. She picked up dinner for her and Tiffany, although I told her not to."

  "I don't think we've ever done a job where you were on time."

  "Hey, I can turn around and leave right now, if you want."

  "Oh, shut up and hold this," she said, handing him a pack. "Tonya will keep Collins out a while, but I'm sure he wants to screw eventually."

  "Tonya's the call girl?"

  "Yeah. She's cute. You'd like her."

  "That would go over real well at the house. I'm sure Tiffany would love me bringing a call girl home."

  She opened her balcony door and looked at him. He met her stare and narrowed his eyes, showing that angry look of his.

  "What?"

  "Everything you do revolves around Tiffany now, doesn't it?"

  "Are we gonna get started or what? I don't want to be out here all night."

  He joined her on the balcony. She smiled at him, pleased she still had the abilit
y to push his buttons so easily. She looked for any bystanders below or hotel guests on their balconies.

  "You could have given me a room number and I'd have had a key in five minutes," Jack said.

  She nimbly jumped on the balcony railing and squatted on the balls of her feet, keeping perfect balance.

  "So could I. But this is more fun."

  "Yeah," he said, climbing over the railing. "I almost forgot how much fun we've had."

  She laughed and jumped down next to him. She held onto the railing only with a single finger and let one foot dangle in the air. He looked at her as a corner of his mouth lifted. She was showing off, and he knew it.

  "Don't drop that pack," she said, wrapping an arm around his waist.

  "And here comes the fun part-"

  Victoria let herself fall, her arm still tight around Jack. As they rushed by the balcony below she grabbed the railing with her hand, slinging Jack forward. He stumbled and nearly fell, but held onto the pack. She easily gripped the railing and flipped onto the balcony outside Collins' room.

  "You done showing off?" he asked.

  "Probably not. Give me a break, I'm excited. It's been a hundred years since we've done anything like this together."

  "I'll keep an eye out for any werewolves or witches."

  She frowned at his mention of witches as the bad memories returned once again. But she saw the humor in his eye, and smiled along with him.

  Jack laughed as she slid open the balcony door without any trouble.

  "I broke the lock a few days ago," she explained. "The good doctor doesn't even know."

  He simply nodded as he examined the apartment. She went directly to his carrying case on the bed.

  "Single, organized, maybe a little too much," Jack said. "Might be a little obsessive compulsive. Right handed. Interesting, he has eczema."

  "Now how can you tell that?"

  He lifted a shirt out of the dresser. "His clothes are all cotton."

  "Put that back just like you found it," she said. "You sure he doesn't just like the feel of cotton?"

  "All his toiletries are fragrance-free."

  Victoria nodded and turned on the laptop.

  "I'm guessing you're not gonna just take the laptop?" he asked.

  "Of course not. I don't want him panicking and doing anything crazy." She frowned when the laptop froze, asking for a password. "And what do you know, I can't get lucky."

  "It's been a while for me, too," he said. "I haven't removed a woman's clothing since I moved here."

  "I mean the laptop. It wants a password."

  Jack studied the apartment again. "Not really much in the way of password clues here. No pictures of any family, or even a pet."

  "And I thought you were boring."

  "Funny."

  Victoria grabbed the pack Jack had left near the balcony and removed a portable hard drive. She rebooted and inserted a CD she'd burned an hour ago.

  "Clever," Jack said. "Copying the hard drive?"

  "Yeah, protection and all."

  "So, you're a computer junkie now?"

  "Not at all, but I've got a contact not too far away who said he'd help me with this if I couldn't get in."

  "You always did plan ahead."

  "One of us had to."

  He laughed. "I've missed working with you."

  She looked up from the laptop as Jack leaned against the wall. "Seriously? Have you missed this?"

  "I didn't miss the Girl Scout crap, having to save every person. But hunting creatures with you, I did miss that."

  Victoria smiled. "The first vampire Girl Scout."

  "Yeah. Anyway, who are we saving here? You really don't have anything?"

  "Nope. Bradley gave me the name and place, and here I am. It was just a bonus when I found out you were here, too."

  "Who the hell is Bradley?"

  "His name was Jonathon before."

  "Jonathon? You still do work for that wannabe-British-vampire?"

  "On occasion. He pads my bank account very well."

  "He never did like me."

  "No one ever liked you, Jack, besides me."

  He shrugged. "Oh well. It's not like I've lost any sleep." Jack pushed himself from the wall and wandered aimlessly. "This is so exciting. How long until that's done?"

  "About a half hour. Hey, it could be worse. Remember when we fought that newborn vampire who thought he was Dracula?"

  Jack smiled and nodded. "He ruined one of my favorite shirts."

  Victoria laughed as they reminisced about their adventures in another time.

  *****

  Tiffany sat quietly and watched the streets of Parkville race by as Erica drove through the streets of Parkville. Erica had the windows open, and the wind blew through their hair wildly. They had just got done watching a movie and were on their way for ice cream.

  "Did you like the movie?" Erica asked.

  It was difficult to talk in the loud Jeep, and Tiffany had to raise her voice.

  "Yeah, I did. Thank you for taking me."

  "Anytime, Tiffany. You're good company."

  "If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell Jack?"

  "Sure."

  "It's a lot more fun to ride in your Jeep than his truck."

  They stopped at a red light. Tiffany took the chance to stick her hand out the window.

  "Whenever you want to go for a ride, as long as it's okay with Jack, we'll do it. It'll get cold soon, but it's fun to ride on the beach at night in a Jeep."

  "You do that? That's so cool. Me and Jack went to the beach the other day. It was awesome."

  "Jack and I," Erica corrected. "I haven't been in a while. Didn't have anyone to go with."

  "You can come with Jack and I-"

  "Jack and me."

  Tiffany rolled her eyes. "You can come with us."

  "Well, thank you. We’ll run it by him tonight when we see him."

  "You want to kiss him, don’t you?"

  Erica looked at the girl with her eyes wide. "What?"

  "You want to hug him and kiss him," she said, giggling.

  She shifted uncomfortably. "We’re just friends, and I’m your teacher. You wouldn’t want the kids in school teasing you about us kissing, would you?"

  "It would be cool," she said. "Then they’d stopping teasing you about your face."

  Erica ran a finger along her cheek. "They still do that?"

  "Just a few. At lunch I hear them talking. Anyway, you can kiss Jack. I’ll let you."

  "Oh, you will?" she said with a laugh.

  "Sure. It’s not like you’ll be my teacher forever. And Jack doesn’t want me forever."

  "What?"

  "He takes care of me, but he keeps telling me I’ll need a real family soon. He just doesn’t want to say he doesn’t want me."

  "I don’t think Jack thinks that. He’s very honest, almost too much. He wants you to have a mother and father, maybe a brother or sister."

  "I want to stay with him."

  Erica simply watched Tiffany, unsure of what to say, but keenly aware of the sadness in the girl’s eyes. The light turned green.

  She was halfway through the intersection when a car rammed her from the back. Their bodies lurched forward against the seat-belts and slammed back against the seats. Erica looked at Tiffany, who was just as surprised as she was. She was registering the fact that they’d been in an accident when another car crashed into the driver’s side, sending the Jeep into a light pole.

  The last thing she heard before falling unconscious were muffled voices and Tiffany shouting.

  *****

  "I hate technology," Jack said. "How much longer?"

  "Another ten minutes."

  "And then what? You go meet your contact?"

  She nodded. "We crack this data, and I find out why I’ve wasted a month of my life in this wonderful town."

  "Hey, I like Parkville."

  "The beach is nice."

  Jack sat on the bed next to Victor
ia. He looked at the laptop to see the progress bar barely moving. Computers definitely kept track of time in an odd way.

  "You asked me once if I have any regrets over my life."

  Victoria perked up. "Now you have my attention. You actually have regrets?"

  "Only one. Well, two, if you count falling asleep next to a witch. I was angry with you, but shouldn’t have held a grudge for a hundred years."

  "Aww, Jack, you’re getting soft on me."

  "Yeah, I know. Tiffany’s made me a little soft. The funny part about all of that, it worked out exactly the way it was supposed to."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The people we saved in Monterrey, two of them got together, and now Tiffany is here. They were her great-grandparents."

  "Wow. You’re kidding."

  "Nope. The world would be a lot darker without her in it."

  Victoria smiled. Jack still had his moments, but he was a very different man from the person she knew that didn’t care about mortals.

  "Do me a favor," he said. "Let me know what’s on that laptop."

  "Ah, you’re curious?"

  "Yeah. This guy...he’s not an evil mastermind. He’s just a tool, and someone’s using him."

  "Would you like to be there when I really dig my claws into this thing?"

  "Eh, nah. Tiffany hasn’t said anything, but she wants to learn an instrument. So we’ll be dealing with that soon."

  She shook her head. "I never thought I’d see the day you’d be looking after-"

  Her iPhone chimed, signaling a text message. Her jaw dropped as she scanned the abbreviated words only a mortal of the twenty-first century could come up with.

  "Shit."

  "What’s up?"

  She left the bed and ran to the balcony, looking to the street below.

  "That was Tonya. Collins is bringing her back here to conclude their evening. He must be horny. She couldn’t keep them away. They’ll be here any minute."

  Jack laughed. "Maybe Parkville really is boring. Nothing to do but screw."

  "This isn’t funny. The laptop’s not done copying, and I can’t just take it. Go down there and stall them."

  "So, this is why you brought me along..."

  "Come on, Jack. Help me out here. Just give me..." She checked the laptop. "nine minutes."

  "More like twenty, the way that thing’s running."