Sins of the Father

Chapter 6





I became vaguely aware of low voices speaking heatedly in the distance and I fought my way out of the comfortable cocoon of darkness.

“You have NO right to be angry with me, Athair,” Jameson growled under his breath. “YOU brought Aoife here, not me. What did you expect to happen? You think she can’t see? You think she doesn’t see the way your wife looks at her? The way your wife treats her?”

“You know why I had to bring her here,” Archer hissed back. “I had no choice!”

“And I didn’t either! I CARE about her, dheartháir! You think it was easy for me to sit there and see her cry over you, over HER?”

“She cried?” Archer asked with surprising, pain in his voice.

“Aye, she cried.” Jameson replied incredulously. “She’s been upset since Tuesday. She has tried hiding it from me, from all of us, but I can see it in her eyes, Trey sees it in her heart…and it kills me!”

“How does she even know?” Archer growled, raising his voice. “Who told her?”

Jameson scoffed. “Your WIFE told her. I found her sitting at the bar with Aoife yesterday, a terrified look in her eyes, practically being held hostage. You know how Aoife gets when it comes to you, Archer. You think she didn’t threaten Skye?”

“She promised me…”

“You are her husband, dheartháir!” Jameson hissed, cutting him off. “She doesn’t see it any other way.”

I’d heard enough and couldn’t bear to hear anymore. I didn’t want to hear about how Archer lied to me or about how he was married. I struggled against the weight of my eyelids for a moment before they finally opened. “Jameson,” I whispered softly.

“A luaidh,” Jameson whispered in relief as he hurried over to me. “How are you feeling? You’ve been out for a while now,” he said as he grasped my right hand and placed a cool, gentle kiss on the inside of my wrist.

“What happened?” I asked groggily.

“You passed out on the front lawn,” Archer answered carefully.

I did? I thought back hard to this morning and memories slowly began to reform. Jameson making love to me. French toast. Nikki. My car is totaled. No… “Jesse!” I whispered with wide eyes, my voice breaking.

“It’s okay, Skye,” Jameson said as he brushed the hair from my forehead.

“What happened?” I demanded quickly as I sat up. “Why is he dead? Why were there two…people in my front seat? Why would someone do this? Why him? Why me? Why?!” There was an edge of hysteria to my voice and Jameson made me take deep, even breaths in through my nose and out my mouth for the next minute.

As I started to calm down, I noticed that we were in my room. My bedclothes were still strewn about from this morning’s wild lovemaking session with Jameson and last night’s clothes were everywhere. I glanced over to my lamp and noticed that my ripped bustier was still lying haphazardly on top of its shade and the wreckage formerly known as my tights and thong were not far away.

I immediately turned to Archer and saw by the look on his face that he had been in here long enough to see it, too. His eyes were stormy and he was clearly not happy. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him defiantly. Oh, whatever Archer! Get over it! I silently yelled at him. “What happened?”

Jameson looked at Archer and allowed him to answer me. “From what we can tell, based on the scent, Jesse came here at some point early this morning and vandalized your vehicles.”

I shook my head, confused. “But, we didn’t hear anything. Wouldn’t it have woken us up? Woken SOMEONE up?”

Archer narrowed his eyes at me infinitesimally and continued, ignoring me. “When he was finished, I believe it was the monster we seek that killed him.”

I felt helpless and so confused. “But, I don’t understand, Archer. I thought you said this…thing…wasn’t killing humans. How do you know it was him?”

Jameson put his hand on my knee and answered for him. “The other man in your car was my friend Callum. It has to be the monster we seek.”

I rubbed my forehead for a few seconds, trying to absorb what they just told me. I felt tears begin to sting my eyes and I didn’t fight them this time. “Where’s the rest of Jesse? We have to tell someone. He has to have a proper burial. Oh, God…his poor mother!”

“We can’t tell the human authorities, Skye, or his family.” Jameson explained delicately.

“Why not?” I demanded, my brow furrowed with confused anger.

“Because this is bigger than him, bigger than his family, and bigger than your wants, THAT’S WHY!” Archer growled, his face contorted with furious anger.

I bolted out of bed, fists clenched tightly down at my sides. If it was a fight he was looking for, I was SO ready to give it to him. I stared cold daggers at Archer as he glared equally as angrily at me. There was a lot that Archer and I needed to hash out, and it looked like we were about to get down to the brass tax.

Jameson suddenly flashed to stand between us, his hands at each of our chests to stop us from taking another dangerous step toward one another. “We can’t have the human authorities sniffing around vampire affairs, Skye,” he explained to me, never taking his eyes off of Archer. “An Dílis are our best hope of catching this bastard. We need to help them in any way we can; not call attention to them and put them at risk.”

I sighed. Jameson was right, as always. I wanted this monster caught just as bad as they did now. He had killed my ex-boyfriend. I may not have cared for Jesse’s recent antics involving me, but he had still been a part of my life. He was still a part of my heart. I slowly relaxed my body and unclenched my fists. As much as I wanted to scream at Archer and have it out with him right now, I knew that this was not the time. Later, my eyes glared angrily at Archer. Absolutely, his eyes glared back.

Jameson slowly lowered his arms and walked over to my closet. He brought my rolling suitcase out and set it on my bed.

“What’s that for?” I asked confused as I watched Jameson unzip it.

“Pack,” Archer said, his jaw still clenched tightly.

“Why? Where am I going?” I demanded, looking back and forth between Archer and Jameson.

“You’re staying at my house until this thing is caught,” Archer said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“The hell I am!” I said, defiantly crossing my arms over my chest, too. Aoife was at Archer’s house. I’m not that much of an idiot and, if I had to choose, I’d rather take my chances with this monster than go head to head with Aoife. I’d seen her pissed off at me and I never wanted to see it again. I had no doubt that she could and would tear me limb from limb in two seconds flat. Archer was hers and Archer’s house was their territory. I wasn’t stepping a foot in there if I didn’t absolutely have to.

“You have no choice,” Archer said, walking to my closet. He gathered most of my hangers together and took them off the rack in one fail swoop. He threw them into the suitcase as I looked over at Jameson, desperation in my eyes.

“The thing that is doing this might come after you next, Skye,” Jameson said calmly, walking over and putting his arm around me. “None of us are willing to lose you.”

I looked up into his eyes and pleaded silently.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently. “But we will at least be together, Skye. It’ll be okay.”

“Get the rest of your things,” Archer growled as he stalked toward my bedroom door. “We leave in ten minutes.”

I watched Archer walk out of the room and I turned to Jameson.

He looked down at me and sighed. “I’m sorry Skye, but I agree with Archer. It is better that you stay with us. It’s safer there.”

I looked up at him, my face full of the betrayal I felt, before I shook my head and walked over to my dresser. I silently went through my drawers, picking out underclothes, t-shirts, and jeans and threw them into the suitcase as well. I heard Jameson sigh after a minute as he turned and walked out of my room. I didn’t care right now. I was angry at being forced to leave my house. I was angry that they refused to tell someone about Jesse’s death. His mother deserved to know that her son was dead; his family had the right to bury him…even if it was only part of him.

My breath caught at the memory of Jesse’s head in The Faithful’s hand. I swallowed the sob that threatened to escape but didn’t hold back my silent tears. I cried for him. I cried for his family. I cried for the future that he would never have…and I cried for myself, too. He had become irrational and unpredictable in the months since we had broken up, but that didn’t mean I didn’t mourn the person that he was, the person I had once thought I loved.

When I was finished packing, I got myself together and quickly dressed in my ripped Levi’s, a tight white spaghetti strap tank top, and flip-flops and threw my long red hair up in a high ponytail. I slowly walked down the stairs and joined Archer and Jameson in my living room.

“Alright,” I said with an unhappy huff. “I’m packed.”

“Good,” Archer said as he moved to the back door. I watched as he opened it and let out a low whistle. Styvi Nix ran up to the door in response, but gave him a wide berth as she trotted inside. I guess she still hadn’t forgiven him for flashing around in the house last week and scaring her half to death. She quickly ran up to me with an anxious whimper and I scooped her up and into my arms. She was trembling as she furiously licked my face and neck. Styvi Nix must have had a tough time in the backyard this morning and I felt horrible. It wasn’t fair to her to have to be dealing with all of this craziness. She was used to our home life being mellow and the only visitors being close, familiar friends. I silently promised her and myself that when this was over, we’d veg out for a solid weekend and do nothing but lie around, watch movies, cuddle, eat bacon, and play in the backyard.

“I had Quinn arrange the animal’s stay with your neighbor,” Archer said as he shut the back door and walked back into the living room.

“Nikki?” I asked.

“Of course,” Jameson answered with a smile.

“What did you tell her?” I asked as I hugged Styvi Nix to my chest.

“She was told that you would be away on a business trip for a few weeks and that she had previously agreed to watch the animal,” Archer said crossing his muscular arms over his chest. “Quinn made sure to add that to the mesmerization process.”

“A few weeks?” I screeched, incredulous. “But…I don’t want to be away from Styvi for that long! Why can’t she come with me?”

“Miss St. James is being paid well over a thousand dollars for her cooperation, Skye, and I would appreciate yours too,” Archer said impatiently. “Besides, you think she’s going to be comfortable in a house full of vampires?”

I pursed my lips at him, but he did have a valid point.

“You can text Nikki and have her send you pictures of Styvi while you’re away,” Jameson said encouragingly.

I sighed and shook my head, knowing that Archer and Jameson would never understand. Styvi Nix wasn’t just an animal to me, she was my friend, my constant companion, and just about the only thing in my life that had never hurt me. We were so close, her and I, and I worried about how she would take the separation; how I would take the separation. But, I knew that if I had to choose anyone for her to stay with, it would have been Nikki. She absolutely adored Nikki, and Nikki adored her. It was much better than being boarded at some strange vet clinic for a few weeks. I took a deep breath in and resigned myself to the inevitable. Styvi and I would be apart, but at least she would be well taken care of.

I shook my head in frustration and glared at Archer. I had so much anger toward him right now that it felt like it would come shooting out of my ears in the form of flames. “Well, let’s do this shit, then,” I growled and walked to the front door clutching Styvi to my chest. When I got outside, I noticed that both mine and Jameson’s cars were gone and the driveway was spotless.

I turned around and glared at Archer as he strolled out. “Just how long was I passed out for?” I asked annoyed.

“Over an hour,” he said tightly as he passed me, never looking my direction. I watched as he walked over to the black pickup truck that was parked behind his silver Audi R8 GT. Quinn and Hunter were leaning up against the side, their posture identical. They looked like they were casually talking, but I knew by the way their bodies were angled that they were alert and ready to pounce into action at any second.

“I’m going to go load these into the truck, love,” Jameson said behind me. I jumped, startled, and turned around. He was directly behind me in the driveway and I never even heard him coming. I looked down and saw that he had my messenger bag in one hand and my two suitcases in the other. “I’ll meet you down there, okay?”

I nodded my head and turned to walk the few yards to Nikki’s door. I nuzzled Styvi Nix one last time before I rang her doorbell.

Nikki answered with a bright smile and a cold Pearl beer in her hand. “Hey, cupcake!” she greeted happily. “What’s the word?”

A relieved sigh escaped my lips and I quickly covered it with a cough. “Hey, hon,” I said smiling tightly. “How are you?”

“I’m fan-freakin’-tastic, girlfriend,” she said with a grin. “Lyric is coming over tonight. He’s making me dinner.” I studied her eyes and she looked perfectly fine. There were no ill effects from Quinn mesmerizing her, at least as far as I could see. She acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened this morning. It was business as usual in ‘Nikkiville’.

I smiled and shook my head. “Uh-oh. He’s a Jain vegan, babe. I’m scared to ask, but what does dinner even entail?”

Nikki laughed and shook her head. “I know! I hope he isn’t going to try and feed me lawn clippings or something. Yuck!” We both laughed and she stepped closer to greet Styvi Nix. “Hey, sunshine!” she said as she scratched behind her ears. Styvi barked a happy greeting and wagged her docked tail.

“Thanks for watching her, girl,” I said seriously. “It really means a lot to me.”

“My pleasure, cupcake,” she said with a carefree smile. “I’m glad Mr. Rich and Gorgeous is giving me a thousand dollars to do it, although I would have watched her for free. You know how much I love her.”

I nodded my head and set Styvi Nix down on the ground. She looked up at me one last time before she trotted into Nikki’s house. “Will you text me every now and again and tell me how she is doing?” I asked, trying to hide the sadness in my voice. I was really dreading being away from her for more than a few days. We had never been apart for longer than that before.

“Of course I will,” she said as she pulled me into a tight hug. “Have a safe flight and don’t work too hard.”

I had almost forgotten that the cover story was a business trip. I nearly slipped up and asked her what she was talking about. I gave her one last hug, called goodbye to Styvi Nix, and walked down the driveway to the awaiting cars.

I noticed the impending dilemma as I trudged down the long driveway. Quinn and Hunter were driving a single cab, three-passenger pickup and Archer was driving his two-seater sports car. I knew that either I would have to ride with Archer or Jameson would. I took a deep breath as I walked up to the handsome gathering.

“Well? Let’s get this show on the road,” I said grumpily, crossing my arms over my chest.

Quinn chuckled and shook his shaved head as he walked around the truck and got in the driver’s seat. Archer glared at me, walked over to his car, opened the passenger door, and motioned quickly with his head for me to get in.

I pursed my lips, narrowed my eyes, and promptly turned my back on him to walk over to Quinn’s truck. Hunter was surprised, but held the door open for me and I got in, scooting myself to the middle of the bench. A few seconds later, Hunter got in beside me and closed the door.

I watched through the windshield as Archer glared at me, walked around to his driver’s side door and got in his car, roughly slamming the door behind him. Jameson looked at me briefly before he got in the open passenger door of Archer’s Audi and closed it. I could see that Jameson wanted me to be nice to Archer, but I just didn’t feel like it right now. I was still really upset with him.

Archer pulled off the curb with an angry screech of his tires and Quinn pulled out behind him.

The twenty minute drive out to the lake was a quiet one. Hunter and Quinn pretty much kept to themselves. You could tell that they were thinking heavily about Callum and Jesse’s murder. My heart instantly sank at the sudden memory and I pushed it away. I couldn’t think about that again right now. I was about to step into a house where Aoife and the rest of Archer’s vampire family temporarily called home. Everyone else I could handle, it was Aoife I was worried about.

Before long, we had turned onto a small, one lane paved road that was surrounded by woods and drove for another five minutes. This road was full of twists, turns and hills. Finally, the trees stopped and I saw beautiful Lake Travis 100 yards in the distance. I took a deep breath and smiled. It was absolutely gorgeous out here on the lake.

The road made a final turn to the right and dead-ended at an enormous house. I felt my jaw drop in shock. I had never seen a house this big in person before, only on television. Archer’s house was as big as a Hollywood mansion and just as nice. There were several cars parked out in front of the six car garage.

Quinn pulled his black pickup into an empty space in the driveway and killed the engine. “Are you ready for this?” he asked suddenly, seriously.

I looked over at him questioningly. Does he know something I don’t? I took a deep breath in and blew it out, shrugging one shoulder. “Like I have a choice in the matter, Quinn? Archer made it pretty clear that I don’t.”

He nodded his head and agreed, almost sympathetically. “Aye. Well, Hunter and I are here if you need us.”

I looked over at Hunter and he nodded his head. “Thanks, guys,” I said with a small smile. “I appreciate it.”

“Well, come on then,” Quinn said getting out of the truck and shutting the door. He walked around to the bed of the truck as Hunter got out and gave me a hand. Quinn handed me my messenger bag and he and Hunter carried my two suitcases.

As soon as Hunter opened the front door, I was fully accosted by someone.

“Oh, you poor dear!” Trey said as he wrapped his arms tightly around my neck. “I heard what happened. It’s just so horrible! Are you okay?”

I relaxed when I realized it was him, wrapped my arms his slim waist and hugged him back. “I’m doing better now, hon. It was a little touch and go for me earlier, but I’m much better.”

He leaned back and held me at arm’s length, his hands on my shoulders. He looked deeply into my eyes for a moment, searching, and then nodded his head. “I’m so sorry you had to see that again, darlin’. No one should have to see it once, let alone twice. But, I’m glad you’re doing better. I feel that you are okay and that makes me happy. I was so worried about you when I heard. I wanted to come…but…” he said as his face fell and tears filled his hazel eyes.

“I know you couldn’t come, honey. It would have been too overwhelming for you. But, I appreciate the thought…really,” I said as I gently cupped his cheek and gave him a small smile. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

He sniffed and hugged my neck again. “Me too.”

I had found a true kindred spirit in Nathaniel Herschel Thomas Hatfield, III. He and Jameson would make my stay in this house worth all the trouble I knew would inevitably find me.

“Alright you two break it up,” Quinn said behind me and I turned to realize I was still standing in the door blocking his way.

Trey grabbed my hand and pulled me into the massive interior of the house. My jaw dropped as I looked around the impressive foyer. The floors were dark wood, the furniture expensive, and the grand chandelier breathtaking. There was a huge, beautiful double staircase a few feet away and I found myself gravitating toward it. The hand railing was polished black marble held up by twisty, black wrought iron balusters.

Trey came up to me and laughed as he put his slight arm around my shoulders and read my emotions. “If you think that’s something, wait until you see the rest of the house.”

“We’ll leave your bags at the bottom of the stairs until you’re assigned a room,” Hunter said as he and Quinn dropped my bags by the right staircase.

“Thank you so much for your help today, guys,” I said and they nodded their heads before walking through an archway between the stairs and into the rest of the house.

“Shall we take the grand tour?” Trey asked with a wag of his delicately arched eyebrows.

I smiled brightly. “Leave nothing out,” I said with a twinge of excitement. I had never seen a home as nice as this before; well except maybe on MTV Cribs. This was completely new territory for me and I wanted to see and experience everything this place had to offer.

We slowly wound our way up the stairs and through the second floor. This was where seven of the nine bedrooms were and five of the bathrooms. There was also a huge media room up here, a separate game room that housed a veritable wet dream of pinball machines, arcade games, and video game consoles, and a snack area that had a refrigerator and a fully stocked wet bar. Most of the rooms had a large window that overlooked the massive lake and all were ridiculously spacious.

After oohing and aahing at the exquisite second floor, we moved to the first floor. Trey led me through the archway between the stairs and into the formal sitting room. It was beautiful, open and furnished with class. The colors were stunningly rich, warm, and very inviting.

I ran my hand over the back of the couch as I looked around. “It’s so nice! Have you ever seen such a gorgeous house before?”

He chuckled at my amazement. “Well yes honey. I’ve been around a long time. Our Archer likes the finer things in life. Stick around for thirteen hundred years and you will, too.”

I stopped mid-step and looked over at Trey with wide eyes. “Thirteen hundred years? Are you 1,300 years old?”

Trey put one hand on his cheek and quickly waved the other one in my direction, dismissing my question. “Oh now, never mind that. Let’s go into the kitchen, shall we?” He turned on his heel and disappeared through another archway without a word.

But...who’s thirteen hundred years old? And, why doesn’t he want to tell me? I shook my head and followed him into the kitchen. It was massive, to say the least. There were two refrigerators, a large island, and black marble covered countertops. The cabinets were the same dark colored wood that was on the floors and everything was polished to a high shine.

Trey opened the fridge and took out a bag of blood. “Would you like a bottle of water, dear? Or, I could make you something stronger, if you’d like?”

I shook my head. “No thank you, hon,” I said as I watched him pop the bag of blood in the microwave and hit start.

Thirty seconds later, he took it out and we resumed the tour. He showed me the formal dining room and the wine cellar before taking me into the family room. Quinn, Hunter, Seamus, and Lochlan were playing a game of Texas Hold’em at a small poker table in the corner. You could immediately tell that these guys didn’t mess around when it came to their poker. Everyone had on their ‘poker face’ and there was a huge stack of cash in the middle of the table. Hunter saw us as we crossed the room and gave us a polite, but quick nod of his head. Seamus and Lochlan briefly said hello to me before returning to the game as well.

I looked around and the family room was as impressive as the rest of the house. The ceilings were high, the sectional couch was long and cushy, and the flat screen television was at least 72 inches. I stared at the wide screen and grinned. This would make one hell of a place to watch the Saturday night UFC matches. I pictured myself sitting on the couch, beer in hand, watching Anderson Silva easily hand some dude his ass and I smiled widely. Oh yeah. I’m definitely making that happen! I don’t care who I have to bribe…

Trey grabbed my hand and pulled me through the right side of the family room and down a long hall. The first door we came to was an empty guest bedroom.

“You’ll most likely be rooming here, sweetness,” Trey said as he opened the door. “All of the other rooms are ocupado at the moment.”

I peered inside the guest room and immediately fell in love. The bed was a massive, king-size canopy with romantic sheer white curtains around it and was covered in white silk sheets and tons of large, fluffy pillows. I immediately wanted to run, fling myself on the bed and roll around in it.

Trey chuckled and I looked over at him. “I can tell someone likes this room very much,” he said with a grin. “You are radiating some serious excitement over there.”

I blushed and bit my lip. “I can’t help it. I LOVE silk sheets and big, fluffy pillows,” I said as I looked around the rest of the room. There was a beautiful vanity against the left wall, a dark wood armoire in the left corner, tall French doors that led to a flower garden against the far back wall, a white microfiber chaise lounge in the right corner by the bed, and it had its own massive bathroom.

I turned to Trey again and smiled. “I am SO rooming here.”

He laughed as he walked us out of the room and further down the hall. The next room we came to had the door shut. “This is Archer’s room here, so we won’t go in,” he said as we started to pass it.

I stopped and stared at the door. He’s going to be sleeping less than fifty feet from me? I really didn’t know how I felt about that. After all, Archer was far from my favorite person right now. Mr. High-handed himself. I was still angry about being forced out of my home. I understood his reasons, and maybe even agreed a tiny bit with them, but I didn’t have to like it, did I?

I groaned under my breath and followed Trey to the last door. Trey brought his hand up and knocked a couple of times. After a few seconds, he handed me the bag of blood and told me to go in. “Give this to our Archer, will you?” he asked quickly before turning and flashing back down the hall. What the hell is he in such a hurry for? Throwing me to the wolves is what he’s doing, dammit. I wasn’t ready to have a conversation with Archer yet, but it didn’t look like I had much of a choice. I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and opened the door.