Deliverance (2 page)

Chapter 1

S
amantha could barely breathe. She didn’t understand why so many people liked to come to this crowded, smoky club during the hottest time of the year.

“Don’t you love this music?” Matt yelled over the noise.

She didn’t think what was playing should be termed music. The men on stage were screaming unintelligible lyrics into their microphones, making any conversation with her date practically impossible. Instead of voicing her opinion, Samantha forced a smile and nodded enthusiastically.

Matt’s brown, doe eyes searched her face for a few moments before he grinned back and nodded his head to the beat. He slid a tropical drink her way, the rim of the glass coated with large sugar crystals and overflowing with sliced fruit. “You haven’t touched your drink, and it’s pretty hot in here. I’m sure you’re parched.”

Keeping her smile pasted on, Samantha shook her head and took a sip of water. Of course, Matt had no way of knowing that drinking alcohol caused the most horrific visions she’d ever had. It had been almost three years since her drinking incident, and she still shuddered at the thought of even tasting alcohol.

When the song ended, Samantha relished the few moments of bass-free hearing until the band struck up again.

Matt’s blonde hair fell over his forehead as he leaned over to shout in his Aussie accent, “You are enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Biting her lip, Samantha gave a small shake of her head.

Matt blinked as if he didn’t understand, then his expression turned sheepish. He stood and offered a hand to her. “I’m sorry. Let’s get out of here, then.”

She accepted his hand and stood. He led her through a throng of people gyrating and pumping their heads to the song. It felt like an eternity had passed when they finally made it out the front doors. Samantha breathed deeply of the humid air, filled with the scent of the sea and car exhaust. Her ears still pulsed even though they were no longer next to the speakers.

“Sorry about that,” Matt said in a neutral tone. He walked by her side with his hand at the small of her back. He was only an inch or two taller than her; maybe an inch shy of six feet. Good thing she wore her flip-flops. Though Samantha hadn’t enjoyed the club he’d taken her to, he appeared to be the perfect gentleman.

Samantha wondered if Leisha was right about him.

“No worries,” Samantha reassured him, mimicking his Australian accent perfectly. “We simply have different tastes is all.”

“Would you like to go for a walk or should I return you to your apartment?”

She answered with a smile. “How about we walk for a little while. I need to work off that great dinner we had.”

They continued down the sidewalk, Matt’s hand warm through her shirt.

Samantha didn’t date often, but she was getting out more. She normally had to force herself to go out with a man at least once a year. This was her second in two months. But she wasn’t sure if tonight’s venture really counted as a date.

This part of West Beach was fairly crowded. Tourists and locals filled the sidewalks, threatening to spill into the street, which was also teeming with vehicles trying to find a space to park. All the restaurants they passed brimmed with music and laughter. They maneuvered around several groups of people, mainly couples. It should have been a pleasant night out with a handsome man, but Samantha’s chest was tight with anxiety.

“You know,” Matt said after a few blocks, “I’m starting to get tired. Why not get a movie and go back to my place?” The people had thinned considerably. They’d left the popular restaurants behind for shops that sold surf boards, umbrellas, and other beach gear that had already closed up for the night.

Wetting her suddenly dry lips, Samantha tossed him a playful look. “Already? How about we continue for just one more block before turning back? Maybe I’ll give you a shoulder rub during the movie.”

She’d never been forward with Matt, and Samantha could see that she’d taken him by surprise. His mouth fell open a fraction.

Shaking his head with a small smile, Matt agreed. “Sounds like a deal to me.”

His arm snaked its way to her waist and pulled her into his body. The new intimacy was electric. It felt . . . pleasant. Nothing like what Samantha remembered with Nik, but that was too long ago to compare anymore.
I just have to keep reminding myself that.

It wasn’t much farther along before the area was deserted. Once they reached the block Samantha had pointed to, there wasn’t anyone else to be seen. All the shops in the area closed at eight; the employees, eager to enjoy the rest of their night, never lingered.

“We made it,” Matt said as he steered her around. “I admit that I can’t wait for the rub you promised me.”

Samantha slowed a bit, glancing over the rooftops but seeing nothing. “Um, yeah. Looks like I’ll have to after all.” As they continued on, and nothing happened, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Her mood lightened. “But that means that I get to pick the movie. And you keep your shirt on.”

Matt guffawed jovially. “Keep my clothes on? Massages are always better naked.”

Trying to look stern over a giggle, she managed to say, “Well, you’ll just have to deal with it, or you get nothing.”

“Why?” His mouth lowered to her ear. “You worried you might see something you like?”

“No. If you’ve got a hairy back, there’s no way I’m touching those shoulders.”

They laughed softly together, though Samantha knew her joke wasn’t that funny. It felt nice, whether he was forcing it or not.

A sudden whoosh of movement startled her out of the moment, and Matt was ripped away from her side by a dark blur.

Recovering from the surprise, Samantha looked over to see Leisha and Liam holding Matt down on the cement sidewalk. Leisha held his arms against his body with one arm, her other covering his mouth. Liam wrapped his arms around Matt’s legs. The poor man tried to struggle, but wasn’t able to move much with two strong creatures restraining him. His eyes darted this way and that, perhaps trying to get a glimpse of his attacker, or maybe desperately looking for help. Then his big, round eyes found Samantha. Soft moans and grunts slipped through Leisha’s fingers as Matt stared at Samantha in shock and horror.

Samantha dropped her gaze so she wouldn’t have to meet that accusing stare. But she could still hear Leisha’s mouth on his neck, sucking gently without spilling a drop. And she could still see Liam’s long fangs were buried deep in the man’s stomach.

Liam looked to be about nine, though he’d been born less than three years ago. He’d started speaking when he was only three months old, and even for the nine-year-old he appeared to be, Liam was unusually intelligent and athletic—but he was still messy when it came to hunting. Splatters of dark blood splashed this way and that as mother and son stole the life of Samantha’s date. On the silent street, Samantha actually heard the blood dripping onto the pavement, burning the scene even deeper into her brain.

Samantha’s chest felt constrained again as she studied Matt’s now-lifeless body lying on the pavement. So Leisha had been correct about him, after all. She shouldn’t be surprised, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Liam raised his head to study her.
He probably heard what I was just thinking.

His emerald green eyes were a perfect match to Leisha’s. His wide nose and square chin were very similar to Tafari’s, but everything else was his own. Liam’s cheekbones were more prominent than both his parents, his hair raven black, yet fine and silky. His skin was a creamy chocolate, a lot darker than Rinwa’s. Though he was just a boy, he promised to be tall and lean. In fact, Liam was already to Leisha’s shoulder.

“I thought that you didn’t like him,” Liam stated in an accent that she still couldn’t quite pin down. Leisha told her once that it reminded her of ancient Rome, but with the vowels drawn out more.

Not allowing her gaze to wander to Matt’s corpse, Samantha shrugged with forced nonchalance. “I didn’t like him at first,” she explained in her normal, American accent. “But it wasn’t that bad of a date. And then, when you two were late, I thought maybe he was actually interested in me.”

Leisha walked over and placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “He was, just not in a way that you’d want.”

Liam nodded. “If you had heard his thoughts when you talked about being naked, you would have clawed his eyes out.”

Samantha shuddered and held up a hand. “Please don’t tell me what he was thinking. I seriously don’t need to know.”

Squeezing her shoulder, Leisha let her hand drop and stepped back. “We’ll need to dispose of the body. We’ll meet you back at home soon.”

“Actually, I’ve got some errands to run before heading back, so don’t worry if you get home before me.”

Samantha could tell Leisha wanted to ask her for more details, but appreciated that the vampire restrained herself. Samantha had been struggling for more independence over the past year and was beginning to make some headway. It helped that Liam needed looking after. Samantha was able to get out a lot more while Leisha stayed in with Liam, teaching him the basic social etiquettes of different cultures so they could blend in more easily when they moved again. Sometimes Samantha would stick around and take a lesson herself.

“Don’t be out too late, or I may have to track you down,” Leisha said. Her voice was grave, but there was just a hint of a grin tugging at one corner of her mouth, and Samantha knew it was her friend’s way of saying to be careful.

“Don’t worry.” Samantha replied, failing to repress a grin of her own. “It shouldn’t take more than an hour.”

Waving to Leisha and Liam, Samantha left them to their dirty work and walked back toward the club. Her fingers were shaking and she cursed to herself. What was even worse was that she felt tears threatening.

“You barely knew him, and he was a psycho killer,” she whispered to herself. “Get over it and move on.”

She approached the part of the street where the crowds were heavy. Taking a deep breath, she let it go and forced herself not to feel bad about anything that just happened. She walked to where her car was parked and focused on its beauty. Every time she opened the door of the Jaguar F-type Convertible, she couldn’t help but feel giddy. After years of driving second-hand cars, Leisha finally said she was ready for the sports cars Samantha had coveted since she was thirteen.

Though they weren’t related, Leisha often acted like an overbearing sister. It stemmed from when they had met and Leisha pulled Samantha into the world of vampires, putting her into all kinds of different trouble. She knew Leisha simply wanted her to be safe, but she wondered if Leisha realized that Samantha was grown up now. Hopefully, the car was an indicator of that fact.

After all the traveling they’d done, Samantha could speak Spanish and Portuguese fluently, as well as mimic accents fairly well. She’d also learned a variety of mixed martial arts that ranged from typical street combat to karate and tae kwon do. And of course, being Leisha’s human servant made her a little stronger and able to heal more quickly.

Revving the engine a couple of times and turning her favorite band to high volume, Samantha peeled out into the Australian traffic, heading back to Adelaide. While she loved the speed of her car, she made sure to drive responsibly. They still had to maintain a low profile, especially since she’d been seen with Matt so recently.

It took no time to arrive at the mall. Samantha rushed inside, glancing at her phone and noting they’d be closing in only twenty minutes. Christmas was less than a week away and she hadn’t gotten anything for Leisha and Liam yet.

After pushing her way through the crowds and ignoring the cloying scents of various perfumes, scented candles, and body odor for fifteen minutes, she decided to get Liam a Contraptions plank set and Leisha a crystal rose figurine.

Heading back to her car, Samantha reflected on how different she was from the others wandering the parking lot and heading home to bed. A couple was walking directly in front of her, their bodies leaning suggestively into each other as they spoke with their heads close together. She wondered what they murmured to each other. By their body language alone, she knew what they were going to do after leaving the mall.

Will I ever have that?
she wondered. Who could she find in this world to connect to in that way? She wasn’t supposed to be with vampires or immortals, but how could she ever be with a human? After all, she’d just witnessed a murder. Sure it was the murder of a man who had planned to kill her, but she shouldn’t be feeling so ordinary after seeing that. Yet here she was, Christmas shopping, of all things. Samantha shrugged.
At least I’m not that helpless victim I used to be
, she thought to herself.
I never want to be that girl again.

Chapter 2

L
eisha glanced at the clock again, noting that Samantha had been gone for more than an hour. She knew it was silly to fret. The girl had grown into a very capable young lady, but the paranoia of hiding and being on the run from three equally dangerous groups had Leisha acting like an overprotective parent.

“It’s all right that you worry for her,” Liam said in his unusual accent as he filled out a worksheet on algebra. He used soft consonants and rounded vowels in a way that no person on earth did—not even in ancient times.

“Yes, it is. But it’s not okay for me to show it. Samantha feels like I’m stifling her.”

“True,” he agreed. He’d know better than anyone. “But she’ll miss that when she’s on her own. As they say, ‘greener pastures are just around the corner.’”

Smirking, she forced down a chuckle. “I think you mean ‘the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.’”

Frowning, Liam bent and scribbled the phrase she used. “My phrase works just as well as this one,” he mumbled.

Sighing, Leisha sat back in the brown, microfiber couch. “And you honestly think there’s a time when she’ll be on her own? I don’t think it will ever be safe for her.”

“We’ve had a few close calls the last couple of years, but no one has caught us yet.”

“Yet. That’s a comforting word in our situation.”

Liam smiled playfully. “If you continue being so sarcastic, you’ll sound like this sister of mine you keep mentioning.”

Returning his grin, Leisha leaned over and ruffled his hair. “I’d love to introduce you, but that would probably lead back to the immortals catching us.” She sat back. “Out of them, the vampires, or the U.S. government, I’m not sure which of them would be the least evil to contend with.”

Liam nodded. His eyes always had an amused glint to them, even when his expression was solemn, like now. “At least it’s been calm since we moved here. Five months is a long time to stay in one place.”

Leisha waved off the optimism with her hand. “Quiet before the storm. In fact, we should think about moving soon. I know Samantha needs stability, but routine isn’t safe.”

As he shifted his legs on the floor and bent over his paper on the coffee table, Liam muttered, “Hopefully not before Christmas. Samantha is really looking forward to celebrating it this year.”

Using the remote to turn off the television, Leisha looked over at her son. “Really? I didn’t realize. Do you know why?”

The boy shook his head. “From what I can gather, she just wants to do something human. You know, feel normal.”

Leisha raised a brow. “I’d thought she’d moved past that inclination.”

“It’s a human emotion to have. You wouldn’t understand.” He erased some of his work, burnt rubber rising to her nostrils, and then continued to write.

“I wouldn’t? I’ve reminisced about my human days more than a handful of times.”

“Yes, but you’ve been able to accept what you are. Samantha is still human, yet living an inhuman life. Plus, she’s linked to you.” Liam refused to call Samantha Leisha’s human servant. “It’s a perfect recipe for longing and confusion.”

Amusement trickled through her. “You’d make a great psychologist.”

He gave a sad smile. “That would be nice.”

Liam had been using a lot of those enigmatic expressions lately. Leisha opened her mouth to ask about it when Samantha walked through the front door, warm, balmy air flooding in with her.

“I’m running straight to my room so you guys can’t see what I got.” With that, she headed for the stairs and ran up.

“She thinks we already have Christmas gifts for her,” Liam stated.

“I got her an amazing car. What else could she want?”

He pursed his lips. “I didn’t catch anything specific. I guess she’s assuming that you’re going to get her something small to open on Christmas. She was thinking of her mother, too. Maybe her mom always made sure there was a little something under the tree, whether she got a car or not.” Liam grimaced. “But that’s only my interpretation of her thoughts.”

Leisha rolled her eyes. “She would think I’m more thoughtful than I really am.” Standing, she headed into the kitchen. “I’ll find something for her tomorrow. And I’ll get something that’s from you for her as well.”

“No need. I already have a gift for her.”

She stopped and turned back to her son. “How did you buy something for her without one of us with you?”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “I didn’t say anything about buying a gift. This is something more priceless.”

Knowing better than to pry, Leisha continued on to the kitchen to make herself a snack. She’d made brownies earlier, and put two on a plate. She added some raspberries and poured herself a glass of milk before sitting at the table in front of the laptop.

Leisha took a large bite and chewed as she looked at the machine. All she needed to do was open it, and look up the chat room. She could see if Tafari had left her a message there. It was tempting, and she finally decided there was no harm in checking.

Her heart fluttered as the page loaded. She didn’t know why she should want to hear from the man. After all, they had decided only to communicate under dire circumstances. So if there was a message, then it wouldn’t be good news.

They’d only sent messages in this chat room four times over the last three years. Each one was to warn Leisha that the immortals had found her trail. Even with his warnings, the last one had still been a narrow escape. Leisha had killed nine immortals while Samantha had done everything she could to keep Liam away from the violence.

Once Leisha was signed in and pulled up the domain, she scrolled to the area where they left messages. It was filled with tons of discussions, but nothing from Tafari. She tried not to allow herself to feel any disappointment as she engaged in some of the discussions about classical literature. She forced herself to do that on occasion so it would look inconspicuous to post in the chat room when necessary.

Leisha closed the lid to the laptop just as Liam walked in.

“I would like to exercise,” he stated.

Nodding, Leisha penned a note to Samantha in case the girl woke to find them gone. Then they were out the back door. There was a large park behind the house, and it was simple enough to leap over the fence to get there.

Adelaide was filled with parks. This one had lots of trees and picnic spots. Of course, there was also a bike path—there were a lot of those in Adelaide, too.

Liam may have been young, but when it came to physical abilities, he was more advanced than Leisha could have ever imagined. Sometimes he jumped so high that she wondered if he was actually flying instead. Tonight, he stayed lower. Her son climbed up the nearest tree and jumped to another one twenty feet away. When he paused and glanced down at her, Leisha knew he wanted to play tag.

Grinning, she ran for him as fast as she could. It was too quick for human eyes to track, but not quickly enough for Liam. He continued to tree-jump, and Leisha joined him for a better advantage. The rough bark scraped her hands as she jumped to other trees, the smell of sap and wood clinging to her clothes. No matter how hard she catapulted herself, she could never quite catch him. It was a mixture of frustration and pride for her when they played these games. She’d always beaten him until last year. That’s when he developed his skill for jumping.

Liam’s gleeful laughter filled the air. A dozen feet away, several late night joggers studied their surroundings, as if trying to place the sound. Leisha’s chest felt light, and she laughed as well.

After an hour of jumping and running around, Leisha stopped and motioned to Liam. He nodded and headed back to their house.

His lips pinched at the corners, and she knew that he would have liked to stay out a little longer. But he needed at least ten hours of sleep, and it was well past midnight. She was grateful her son was so obedient. Leisha had never had to worry about disciplining him.

She would probably give in to him if he begged to stay out longer. Since he was growing so fast, she wasn’t sure how much longer he’d want to play with his mom.
What if he outgrows me before I’m ready?
It was a scary thought.

They walked through the back door. If they’d been human, they might have been out of breath. As Leisha leaned down to give Liam a side hug, she stiffened at a noise that didn’t belong. It was a distinctive heartbeat that pulsed through the air and it beat faster than a regular human. Vampire.

Body strung tight, Leisha pushed her son behind her as she turned toward the vampire about to come through the front door.

“Mom,” Liam said, trying to move past her.

“Stay back,” she hissed as she pulled him by his shoulders. “Can’t you sense the vampire coming?”

“Of course.”

It was spoken at the same time as the door opened and Nikita walked through.

Leisha’s neck and shoulders released some tension, but she was still wary. “What are you doing here?”

The vampire’s eyebrows rose slightly. “I was invited.” As usual, his whole demeanor was unperturbed by her sharp tone.

“I didn’t tell you where we were,” Leisha murmured, her mind alert for traps.

He glanced down at Liam by her side.

“I called him yesterday,” Liam explained calmly.

Eyes wide, Leisha glanced down at her son. “Why?”

“I just have a feeling that we’ll need him soon.”

A trickle of uncertainty flickered through her. Liam didn’t have any precognitive abilities that Leisha had noticed, but perhaps he had some kind of intuition to be heeded. There had been times in the past when he suggested they move, and she always followed his advice. She later found that most of the times he’d suggested it, their home was later raided by one of their enemies. But not always. And sometimes, they had close calls that Liam hadn’t been aware of.

“And does your
feeling
tell us anything else?”

Smiling softly, Liam shook his head.

Leisha nodded to Nikita with a sigh of defeat. Ruffling Liam’s fine hair, she instructed, “Please go get ready for bed.” She turned to her unexpected visitor. “Let me show you to the guest room.”

Nik gave a half bow as she walked past him and down the hall of the first floor.
I wonder how Samantha will take this when she sees him
. Nik and Samantha had only seen each other a couple times since they’d broken up. The vampire preferred to lay low on his own. But those two times were enough to plunge the girl into a rut after he went on his way.

Leisha closed the bedroom door behind Nikita. “What, exactly, did my son say to you?”

“Just that he felt it would be a good idea if I stayed with you guys for a short while,” Nikita said casually. “It didn’t sound extremely urgent, but the request was odd enough that I thought it would be best to come.”

Pursing her lips to the side, Leisha left and headed up the stairs. She heard Liam climbing into bed and stopped at his door to blow him a kiss. Her son gave a sleepy smile in return and closed his eyes. He was already asleep as Leisha continued down the hall to her own room.

She didn’t need much sleep, but the solitude was always welcome. She sat on the floor to meditate. She closed her eyes and focused on exhaling longer than she inhaled and let her mind empty of thought with every breath. As she did, intuition told her that she was on the cusp of something big. This seemed different than their regular bouts with eminent danger. Leisha hoped she could figure it out before anything happened. Her last thought before entering her trance-like state was of Liam.
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe. I don’t care what the sacrifice might be.