Without his influence in my life, I walked the world alone for centuries. I came into contact with other vampires now and then in my travels, but I’d never stayed with them. They reminded me too much of Robert. The older I got, the less I had to feed and little by little, my desire to hurt a human when I fed from them waned. I remembered my human life with fondness instead of the disdain Robert had burned into my dead heart.
That’s when I decided to be reborn as a vampire with a soul.
I realized that I didn’t have to kill humans to feed and I made good on my pledge to myself. I wouldn’t kill anymore. It had happened a handful of times since my maker died but only by accident. I always felt horrible about it afterward. With Romeo, I found myself wanting to be a better person, not the cursed vampire I’d had no choice about being. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was about the man. His posture, his eye for detail, and his need for knowledge about me and other supes would no doubt make him a fantastic lawman.
I could tell right away that Romeo was a good man. He was rough around the edges as I expect anyone coming from the infamous LAPD with its history of racism and rampant corruption would be. But underneath his tough exterior, I’d found a gentle lover, a kind man, and I’d fallen for him. How? I couldn’t explain and right now, I really didn’t want to. I needed rest.
After I’d kissed him goodbye and listened to him close my front door, I took in the bloodstains on the sheets, the scent of come, sweat, and blood; I had to smile. I walked over and stripped the sheets, depositing them in the washing machine, and turning it on. The last thing I needed was bloody sheets lying around… just in case I had an unexpected visitor. As I took the elevator downstairs to my basement bedroom, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
Romeo’s blood, the way his face looked as he came apart in my hands, all of it would give me good dreams this day. I crawled into bed in my windowless room and lay my head on the pillow, thinking good thoughts about the man I’d made love to. I hoped his day would go well, but somehow I just wasn’t sure about it. His face was the last thing I thought of as I drifted off to sleep.
Romeo
Sally was waiting for me when I got to the sheriff’s station. She looked grim as I walked over and shook her hand. The moment we touched, I watched her lift her face and sniff the air, narrowing her eyes as she stared at me. The sudden realization that she could smell Vincent on me was slightly disturbing. Was it possible that Sally—my deputy—was one of the supernatural creatures Vincent had talked about? Noooo… I dismissed the possibility just as quickly. I should have taken a shower. Maybe I smelled like sex even though Vincent had taken the time to clean me up.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked, pushing away my racing thoughts.
“We should get out there. The sheriff from Lompoc said it’s bad.” She jangled her keys. “We’ll take the Blazer. That okay with you, Sheriff?”
“Yup. I don’t mind if you drive at all, Sally.” Without another word, she turned her back on me and headed for the door.
I followed behind her, unused to the cold shoulder treatment from the woman who’d smiled and greeted me with friendliness less than a day ago. I locked up the door to the station with the keys she’d given me soon after meeting me and followed her to the department’s Blazer, getting into the front passenger seat beside her. She started it up with a roar and we drove out of town.
“So, tell me about Frederick,” I said, trying to break the sudden ice-cold mood in the car.
Sally sighed. “Think of Frederick as a dirty uncle you just can’t get rid of.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Elaborate?”
She glanced over at me and I caught the ghost of a smile cross her lips before she turned her attention back to the road.
“Seriously—and I’m not trying to be cliché here—Frederick is the kind of place folks would be happy to be from, if they were lucky enough to ever leave the place.”
“You make it sound like Dorothy trapped in Oz with no way out,” I said.
She glanced at me again, nodding this time before looking back at the road.
“Let’s just say, most people would never leave the place because it’s one big town where everyone is related to everyone else. Think of those tiny little Appalachian towns.”
“We’re not talking incest here, right?”
She shook her head. “None of that I know of, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s rampant in Frederick if I’m being honest. What I’m talking about is that first cousins definitely marry each other and most of the girls are married by the time they’re thirteen or when they get their first menstruation.”
“Christ.” I reached up and rubbed my hand over my face before letting out a pained groan of horror. “Are the residents not aware that the legal age of consent is eighteen in California or is it that they just don’t give a shit?”
“I think it’s the latter, Sheriff.”
“Who’s going to marry them? I mean they can’t get a marriage license without parental consent and even then, the petition to marry under the age of eighteen has to get a superior court order
