My parents abandoned Freddy and me to governesses and, later, boarding schools while they embarked on a new business venture in what is now known as New York City. From what I could learn through public records, they prospered for a time, selling building supplies from England to the settlers, but then the money either dried up or they simply stopped caring.
My brother and I were left to fend for ourselves. I fought for money. Freddy won’t talk about what he did to survive, which means he probably struggled too. I can only hope that my second time around as a human is not as difficult.
“There is only one way to find out how I will feel about being human again,” I say. “To do it. And then you and I are getting married.” I peck Miriam’s wet minty lips. “I will go wake up Stella. And don’t forget, you must call me Freddy from now on.” Which is why I am dressed in a black shirt and pants, like one of my own guards.
I leave the bathroom and find Miriam standing in front of me. Someone is getting the hang of her vampire speed.
“What was that you said?” she asks.
I know she means the marriage part, but I am in a playful mood. I’ve just been making love all night to the woman I love, and I have my emotions back. “I said I was going to wake up Stella.”
Miriam narrows her big brown eyes. “That other part.”
“Oh, that.” I shrug. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll get used to calling me Fred—”
“Stop it.” She laughs. “Say it again or the answer will be no.”
So much is happening inside me, it is nearly impossible to wipe the smile off my face. I do it anyway so she knows how serious I am.
I get down on one knee, take her hand, and hold it tightly in mine. “Miriam Murphy, will you start a new life with me today, human and human, man and wife, librarian and assistant librarian?”
She smiles so brightly it blinds me with happiness. “Yes. I will marry you! Even though everyone’s going to call me a cougar.”
I still look twenty, and she is in her mid-thirties. “Cougars are hot.” I hop to my feet and pull her in for a deep kiss. Everything about her is delicious and warm. I cannot get enough. I never want this to end. As vampires, it wouldn’t, but I want her to have her dream and a perfect life. She never wanted to become a vampire.
I release Miriam. “Let us go wake up Stella.”
“Stella. Say it again!” Miriam claps.
“Stella.” I give myself a proud nod. “Feels good to be back.”
“Mommy? Daddy?” A tiny little voice rings out from the doorway of the other bedroom.
I look over at the small girl with a mess of blonde hair snarled on all sides of her head. She’s dressed in one of my extra T-shirts I had left here. It nearly reaches her ankles.
“Are we going?” she asks.
I walk over and pick her up, hugging her for the first time as her father. She smells like sunshine and joy. “She is so warm and cuddly, like a puppy.”
Miriam laughs. “Did you just call her a puppy?”
It’s the only frame of reference I have. One of the servants who took care of me when I was young got it from a neighbor. Sadly, the puppy grew into a very large dog, and the servants set it out on the street to fend for itself. Money was tight between payments from my parents.
I set Stella down, determined to make her life everything mine was not. She will have both parents; she will have love; she will not go hungry. And I’m getting her a puppy she can keep.
“Let us get ready to go. We must meet Michael at the lab and start our new lives today.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
We arrive at the lab just before seven in the morning. Freddy has been hard at work through the night, preparing everything in the basement lab adjacent to the jail. It is the only space in the building with reinforced concrete block on all sides. Not that I am worried about anything exploding, but if we were to be attacked by anyone, this lab could be locked down and secured. Not even a rocket launcher could get through the door and walls, and what’s inside must be protected at all costs.
We return to the building the same way we left, using an underground service passage that was constructed in the early 1920s during the prohibition era. Vampires made hefty sums during that time, producing, moving, and selling alcohol to humans. We supplied almost ninety percent of the market. Because who better to operate under the radar? Of course, the history books will tell you it was hillbillies in the Ozarks, the mob, and people with distilleries in their basements, or rumrunners from Canada who kept the booze flowing, but really? Vampires.
The building is quiet as we enter, and both Miriam and I are on high alert, making sure it is the right kind of quiet.
I know the Keeper is still out there, waiting for his or her chance to strike. Also, someone tripped the alarm on one of the emergency exits yesterday. I did not want to alarm Miriam, but I have doubled security. Because today, this morning, Michael Vanderhorst is going to change the world. He will give his serum to his woman and “cousin” and announce to the vampires around the world that they are once again human.
Then, in a turn of irony, which the world will gobble up since they are addicted to gossip, Freddy and Miriam
