Black Blood (5 page)

The
summer sun was descending when Gemma threw her book on the floor.
She couldn’t read. She was too annoyed. Harrison had been pretty
gracious about her bailing, but she could tell he was still pissed.
His
I love
you
had been almost
terse before he hung up.

The computer on
her desk beeped. With a frown, Gemma went to investigate and was
soon smiling. She pulled out her chair and took a seat as she
answered a Skype call from Courtney.

“Hey.”

Courtney’s
stilted image waved, her ringlet curls bobbing.

“So sucks you
couldn’t come out tonight.”

“Why aren’t you
out?”

“The guys
decided to have an Xbox-fest instead of taking me to the movies.
Losers.” She pulled one of her curls straight and let it pop back
into place. “Darren’s going to have to make it up big time
tomorrow. It’s our last night together.”

“Where are you
going?”

“Stupid Maine
for some stupid camping and hiking around some stupid national
park.”

Gemma grinned.
“What are you talking about? That sounds awesome.”

“
My
sisters, my dad and no Darren? It sounds like crap.”

“I’m sure it
won’t be that bad.” Gemma giggled. “Besides, I’ve heard time apart
can make a relationship stronger.”

“And you
believe that?”

Gemma
scrunched her nose. “Not really. I’m so sorry,
Courtney.”

Her blurry
image sagged. “I’ll get over it… as long as Darren misses me.”

“He totally
will.”

“Yeah, I just
worry that while I’m gone his eyes might wander.”

“No they
won’t.”

“You’re only
saying that because Harrison’s never would. He’s so in love with
you, even if you did break up he’d probably be one of those guys
who would stay single until fate brought you magically back
together.”

Gemma loved
that idea, but thought it was more appropriate to scoff a little.
“He’s not that bad. He was in love once before me.”

“Really?”
Courtney sat straight.

“Yeah, some
girl called Amy. She broke up with him because he moved around so
much. He swore off girls for the rest of high school after
that.”

“But you made
him change his mind.”

“There’s an
exception to every rule.” Gemma blushed.

Courtney
frowned.

“Look, don’t
worry about Darren. I’ll keep an eye on him for ya.”

“I know he’ll
hate being a third wheel, but thanks. Dana’s been asking to hang
out quite a lot and she knows I’m going away. Do you think she’d
try anything on with him?”

“She better
not.” Gemma cringed as she thought about one of the most
manipulative girls at school. She and Courtney used to hang out all
the time before Gemma found the confidence to make a new friend.
Dana had been simmering ever since. Gemma wouldn’t put it past the
girl to go after Darren just to spite Courtney.

“Will you kick
her butt for me if she does?”

“Courtney.”

“Just keep
Darren busy so they can’t hang out. Promise?”

“I’ll do my
best.”

“Thanks.”
Courtney’s dimples popped into place as she reached her arms wide.
“Here’s a cyber hug since I won’t get to see you.”

“Call me as
soon as you get home, okay?”

“Bye.”

Gemma waved at
the screen then hung up. A knock sounded on her door. Swivelling
her chair, she turned to face her father. He pushed the door wide
and leaned against the frame. A pair of boxing gloves swung from
his finger.

“Want some
practice?”

“No
thanks.”

“I’ll let you
get a few hits in. It might make you feel better.”

Her right
eyebrow rose the way her mother’s did when she was unimpressed.
Alistair Hart rolled his eyes.

“Come on Gem,
you can’t spend the rest of the night sulking in your room.”

“Yes I can.”
She stood from her chair and slumped towards the bed.

“Gemma.”

She returned
his stern look with one of her own.

Her father’s
eyes narrowed. “We are letting you date him and work with him every
day, surely that’s got to score us some points.”

“I guess it
does.” She shrugged.

“Come on, how
am I supposed to get a smile out of you?”

She ran a hand
through her hair and folded her arms. “Let me have dinner at
Harrison’s after work on Friday?”

Her father
sighed and went for that deadpan look she hated.

“What? It’s not
like I’m asking him here.”

His eyes stayed
dark and hazy.

“Would you
rather I lied and told you I was going somewhere else?”

“Is that what
you’ll do?” Her father’s eyebrows bunched together.

Gemma bit
her lip then pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “I will
if I have to. I’m sorry that makes you mad, but I want to spend
time with my boyfriend. Ruby and Dom-"

“This isn’t
about Ruby and Dom.”

She
looked to the floor, annoyed her plan wasn’t working. Well if he
was going to be pig-headed about it, he could get the hell out of
her room. She gripped the edge of the door, forcing a polite
goodbye to her lips.

“
Alright
fine, but it will cost you a training session now, a one hour run
in the morning
and
you have to
be home by nine on Friday.”

Gemma
forced her expression to remain nonplussed.
“Nine-thirty.”

“Eight-thirty.”

“Okay, nine’s
good.” She couldn’t help a grin now.

Her angelic
smile was met with a mixture of anger, defeat and maybe just a
touch of amused pride? She kept the smile in place until his
expression morphed to his usual straight-faced army man.

“Now come and
spar with me before I change my mind.”

Gemma took the
gloves and followed her father down to the training room. She would
make it her best training session yet. In spite of her previous
anger, she somehow felt she owed him big time for the Friday night
privilege.

Chapter Six

St Augustine, Florida
– 2011 AD

Gemma
looked like a black panther as she stepped out of the sunlight and
into the garage. Her long, olive legs were sporting a short pair of
ripped off denims, and her tank top was fraying around the waist
and covered with wet splotches. But it was the way she moved that
made him think feline. Her strides were sleek and smooth. Her dark
braid flipped like a tail, snapping back in the opposite direction
as she turned to greet a shouting Sam.

Harrison
grinned as he watched Gemma catch his six-year-old half-brother in
a flying hug. In another unwitting demonstration of her strength,
she chucked him over her shoulder and spun him dizzy before
dropping him back to the floor. His giggling laughter filled the
concrete space, bouncing off the walls with delight.

Gemma hauled
the giddy boy back to his feet and tousled his hair as they walked
into Bryan’s office. She leaned against the doorframe, her arm
still draped around Sam’s shoulders as she waited for Bryan to end
his phone call.

Dropping the
hood of the Ford pick up he’d been working on, he sauntered towards
them. Bryan hung up the phone just as Harrison got to the door and
placed a light kiss on Gemma’s neck. He noticed her skin prickle
and grinned.

“Enough of
that, you two.” Bryan rolled his eyes as he lifted his clipboard
and studied the computer print out.

Harrison hooked
his finger in Gemma’s belt loop and rested his hand on her hip. He
loved the fire that shimmered over his body every time he touched
her.

“Right.” Bryan
dropped the clipboard on his desk. “Harrison I need you to head
down to Daytona Beach. There’s a guy there with an old Mustang
convertible that I want checked out. Apparently it’s still
driveable, but it’s gonna need a little work. I don’t want to pay
more than five hundred bucks. If that guy’s being honest about the
rust damage, which he’s probably not, it shouldn’t be worth more
than that.”

“That’s cool. I
can negotiate if I need to.”

Bryan’s eyes
filled with pride. Giving him a firm slap on the shoulder, he
handed over the wad of cash.

“Mind if I take
Gemma along?”

“Who else is
going to drive my truck back?”

Harrison
squeezed his girlfriend’s hip and watched her face light with
glee.

Bryan’s eyes
narrowed then opened up with a pleasant smile.

“Wanna go too,
Sam? I’m sure these lovebirds could use your company.”

“Awesome!” Sam
jumped into the air, punching his arm high with a loud whoop.

Gemma giggled
as Harrison’s hand and shoulders slumped.

“Come on then
boys, let’s go check out this Mustang.” She smiled as she plucked
the keys being lobbed through the air towards Harrison.

“I can drive if
you want.” Harrison made a swipe for the keys.

“
Or I
could.” Gemma swive
led
away from him.

Their scuffle
ended with raucous laughter when Gemma finally allowed Harrison to
pin her to the ground and wheedle the keys out of her hand.

“It’s not like
we’re taking your Stingray!” She protested with a door slam as she
slid into the passenger’s seat next to Sam.

“
Tell you
what, babe,” Harrison started the engine of the swanky pick up
Bryan had just purchased, “you let me ride that bike of yours and
you can drive to Daytona
and
back.”

Gemma tipped
her head to consider him for a moment before wrinkling her nose.
“Not worth it.”

He grunted and
ignored her smug smile as he headed towards the I-95.

Forty-five
minutes later the trio were pulling off a main street and onto the
forecourt of a run down gas station.

Sam’s incessant
talking had dominated the entire trip. Harrison felt his nerves
fraying as he pulled up alongside the building and cut the
engine.

“…
and
you wanna know why?”

Harrison
gripped the wheel and muttered through clenched teeth. “No Sam. No.
I don’t want to know why Joey Berrillo keeps his boogers in a jar,
okay?”

He let out a
frustrated sigh as he watched Sam’s face melt into a pout. Lowering
his tone, he patted his brother’s head.

“Just stay in
the car. We won’t be long. Here, I’ll even leave some music playing
for ya.”

Turning the
key, he set the radio to Sam’s favorite station and got out of the
car. Gemma’s hand slid around his sweating back as they walked into
the air-conditioned store.

“That has got
to be the longest trip of my life.”

“Thanks for not
making me stay to find out why Joey keeps his boogers. I really
wasn’t looking forward to that story.”

They both
chuckled as they approached the counter and Harrison pulled a piece
of paper from his back pocket.

“Yeah, hi. I’m
looking for…” He glanced at the paper again. “Simon Baker. I’m here
to see him about a car.”

The man’s
eyebrows rose in greeting before tipping his head towards the door.
“It’s out back.”

Harrison laced
his fingers through Gemma’s as they wove their way around the
counter and out into the cluttered back yard. The black Mustang sat
old and dejected in the dirt, grass sprouting from beneath its
axles.

Harrison pasted
on a smile as he opened the door and popped the hood. The car
groaned with the movement, making him even more dubious of what he
might find. His spirits were lifted on closer inspection as he
studied the details of the engine. It looked solid and workable,
nothing a few new spark plugs and fan belt couldn’t fix.

“Gem, jump in
and start it up for me, will ya?”

She took
the keys from the man and slid into the driver’s seat. It took a
few spurts and starts, but the engine eventually spluttered to
life. Harrison watched it move into action, casting a critical eye
over each working part.

“Okay that’s
good!”

Gemma cut the
engine and got out of the car. Harrison noted the way the gasman’s
eyes traveled over his girlfriend’s sleek frame and shot him a dark
look.

“What do you
think?” Gemma murmured into his ear.

“
Well,
the engine’s pretty good. Bryan was right about the rust though.
I’m a little worried about that front axle.” Harrison crouched down
to look under the car, reaching his hand beneath and feeling around
the frame.

Standing tall,
he brushed his hands on the back of his pants and looked over at
the man.

“Would you take
two hundred?” he said with a smile.

The man was
looking dubious and shaking a no when Harrison felt it sweep over
his body. A sense of dread started at the base of his spine and
shot up each vertebrate, exploding in his head with warning.

“Sam!” he
whispered, bolting from his spot and back into the store.

Chapter Seven

Daytona Beach, Florida
- 2011 AD

Gemma watched Harrison wrench the door open
and fly through. Her muscles were tight as she chased him out to
the forecourt. She arrived just in time to see Bryan’s new truck
screeching away with a screaming Sam in its passenger seat.

Harrison stood puffing on the forecourt, his
eyes wide with shock, his lips exploding with one repeated
expletive. Gemma placed a calming hand on his shoulder as he
reached into his pocket for a cell phone. She watched the truck
swerve around a car and flinched.

Her eyes scanned the court for any cars she
could “borrow” for pursuit, but the need was ripped from her when a
motorcycle pulled up and screeched to a halt at her feet.