Suddenly, he heard loud voices. Ian was arguing with a woman right outside his office. She was yelling at him. “How
dare
you tell me I can’t go in there? I don’t care if he’s your boss. The guy’s an asshole and I intend to tell him just what I think of him!”
The door burst open and banged against the wall. Julie stomped into the office and stood facing Dorian.
He got up slowly. Ian stood in the doorway. “I’m sorry, Mr. Taylor.”
“Don’t you
ever
apologize for me, Ian!” Julie whipped around, her eyes furious. She turned her attention back to Dorian.
Ian tried to take her arm. She yanked it away.
“It’s alright Ian. Let her speak,” Dorian said calmly.
“Oh, thanks. Like I need your permission.” Julie said caustically.
Dorian said nothing.
“I came to tell you what Jennifer won’t. Believe it or not, the girl has pride. Unlike most of the women you fuck. How could you treat her like that? She’s not like you or Ian or even me! And she doesn’t play stupid games or sleep around. She’s pure and good and decent and she loves with everything she has. There isn’t an ounce of pretense in her entire body. You unimaginable
bastard
!
She laid herself bare to you, gave you the kind of love people dream of and you threw her away. And for what? Some fucking floozy who will play your sex games and submit to your every fucking whim? Or maybe someone who wants you for your money? She doesn’t care if you’re rich or not. She cares about
you
!
Did you know she’s only been with one other guy besides you and that was in high school? She’s never given herself to any man like she did you. She fell
hard
for you. And to think, I hounded her to go to that masked ball. Now I hate myself for it, and I hate you for what you’ve done to her. Or do you even know what you’ve done? You took a woman who truly loved you and you
used
her!” Julie stopped and stared at him with unmasked hatred.
Dorian still said nothing. He knew Jennifer was an innocent, loving woman. He also knew she’d fallen hard for him, just as hard as he’d fallen for her. Yet he couldn’t tell Julie anything. He simply couldn’t risk it. Most likely, they were being watched. He’d only talk about Jennifer in the safety of the bomb shelter.
“Wow! You really are a prick. You have
nothing
to say? I better leave. Jennifer would kill me if she knew I came here, but I had to. And to think, she thought she was out of your league and that’s why you dumped her. If you ask me, she’s the one who’s out of your league.” Julie turned and swiftly walked to the door.
Ian stood looking down
at the floor.
“Are you coming, Ian?” Julie asked.
“I’ll catch up with you.”
“Fine.”
She looked at Ian then back to Dorian. “Oh, by the way, I thought you might want to know. She’s sick.” Julie stared at him defiantly. Tears pooled in her eyes. “Fucking creep,” she muttered, slamming the door on her way out.
Ian handed an envelope to Dorian. “It’s the keys to the Mercedes. Jennifer wants it removed as soon as possible. She’s going back to Maine by the end of the week.”
Dorian opened the envelope. There wasn’t even a note, just the cold metallic keys.
“Well, that’s that I guess. Have someone bring the car back,” he said coldly. He didn’t feel cold or detached at all. His heart ached.
Both he and Ian knew not to say anything else in this room. Ian left and Dorian went back to work on their plan to destroy the vampires of e.Vampire.com. He concentrated on it with all his might, hating them more than ever.
Just how sick was she?
He thought
,
knowing he’d have to
wait until his meeting with Ian to find out. His mind wouldn’t stop wandering back to that question.
The next night he was up early. They’d need every bit of time from now on to execute their plan correctly. Dorian was not a man who left anything to chance. Every detail had to be worked out.
Still, they had to wait. Malachi decided the vampires deserved a special treat, a blood feast which would take place at the Dark Island in two weeks. Dorian had planned to suggest the feast, after Taylor & Van Ness landed the Global account, but as luck would have it, Malachi had taken care of that part himself.
It was the perfect place to rid the world of them. He and Ian had discussed where they could do this thing. They couldn’t very well do it at Taylor and Van Ness. That would attract a lot of unwanted attention. And there were the employees who depended on them for their livelihood to consider.
He heard the keys in the heavy door. Ian was there. “Oh, Dorian. You’re up early.”
“How sick is she, Ian?” He asked impatiently.
“She’s, um, terminally ill. Stage 4 Lymphoma Julie said. But I’m not supposed to know and neither are you. Jennifer doesn’t want anyone to know. Julie told me in confidence. I’m so sorry, Dorian.”
Dorian paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair. “Jesus Christ. I don’t want that sweet girl to suffer for one minute. How long does she have?”
“About four months. She refused treatment. She doesn’t want her life prolonged. She told Julie she was going to live and die on her own terms.”
Dorian knew exactly why she didn’t want the treatments. He also knew her biggest fear had just come true. He thought of his mother, alone and dying without him there to comfort her. His sister had needed him too. He’d failed them both. He would not, could
not desert Jennifer in her time of need.
He couldn’t cure her
, but he could give her a new life, his life. If she didn’t accept his gift, he’d make her take it. He had to for her and for him as well, because his biggest fear wasn’t just being lonely anymore. It was being alone without her.
“Make sure Armando, Jose and Mitch follow her to Maine. I don’t want her unprotected for even a minute. Pay them whatever they ask.”
The three men Ian had hired to watch Jennifer came in handy in numerous ways. They were familiar with Miami’s underground. They’d obtained the C-4 and recruited 3 more men to help carry out the final mission.
“Consider it done.”
Dorian walked over to the far wall where the cartons of C-4 were neatly stacked. He’d already inserted the detonator chips into 2 cell phones. Only he and Ian would have them. The extra men were back-up in case things got messy and hand to hand combat became necessary. They might not be able to kill the vampires outright, he didn’t know, but they could slow them down. Only fire and direct sunlight ensured certain death.
They’d also taken Shane aboard. Dorian was hesitant about it, but Ian reassured him the man was solid and he also had 24/7 access to Malachi. Shane could keep them abreast of his every move. According to Ian, Shane had learned to cloak his thoughts
from his boss and had been doing so for quite some time. Hopefully, he was successful. Malachi was quite intelligent.
“What about the armored truck? Did you acquire it yet?” asked Dorian. The armored truck was perfect. Dorian would climb in just before dawn, ensuring his safety in the dark vehicle.
“Yes. And the others will be driving the Escalade.” Ian laid out a map displaying a single, narrow road which was the only way on and off the island. The house itself was buried in the deep woods. If one didn’t know it was there, they’d never find it.
“Excellent. Malachi’s already made his choice for the blood feast. Be sure to get her the hell out of there before we blow the place to kingdom come. Hit that detonator as soon as the dawn is low on the horizon and only on my word. Not a moment before. Got it? I’ll have the other detonator as back-up in case yours malfunctions.” Dorian took a deep breath. “I guess we’ve got everything covered, still we’ll go over it every night until it’s time. I don’t want any fuck-ups. I don’t need to tell you what would happen if even one of them gets away.”
“They won’t.”
“And Ian, keep me informed of how Jennifer is, what she’s doing, how she’s feeling. I want to know everything. I need to keep her close in my heart, even if she’s twelve-hundred miles away.”
Chapter 32
When Jennifer got off the plane in Manchester, New Hampshire she was hit with a blast of frigid air. She’d forgotten how cold it was at this time of year. Miami never seemed to cool down. Tina picked her up and turned the car’s heater on full blast.
She’d packed everything in the Miami apartment which belonged to her and had the post office ship it to the house in Maine. She wasn’t going to pack the
skydive DVD. What for? The thing was a part of her life that was over and done with. And yet, she couldn’t find it in her heart to leave it behind. At the last minute, she threw it in the last box she’d packed and sealed it.
When she got to the Maine house, she felt a sense of peace and well-being wash over her. She closed her eyes, breathing in the fresh northern air. It was so crisp, clean and laced with the scent of pine trees and burning leaves, very different from the heavy air in Florida. She’d missed it.
She and Tina walked into the house. A stack of fresh kindling and seasoned firewood were stacked by the fireplace.
“Want me to light a fire?” Tina asked.
“No. I want to do it. It’s been a long time. Not much use for fireplaces in Miami.”
“Okay. Well, how about some coffee? I bought Green Mountain, the pumpkin spice flavor you like so much.”
“Sounds great. Thanks Tina. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all your help and not mentioning . . . him.”
Jennifer had eventually broke down and told her about Dorian the night she’d called to let her know she was coming home.
After Jennifer got a blazing fire going, she looked lovingly at all the pictures on the mantle. There were so many. They summed up whole lives spent in this house, on this farm, happy times.
She stepped out onto the back deck and marveled at the sweeping vista, the expansive fields which stretched out, surrounded by majestic pines, oaks and maple trees.
Although she’d missed the peak of foliage season, her favorite time of the year, some of the beautiful fall colored leaves still clung to the branches of the trees.
“
Home.
This is where I belong and it’s here that I’ll live out the last days of my life
, she thought.
Oh, how she wished she could share this with Dorian. But, he didn’t want her. He’d probably already moved on with his life and was doing who knew what with another woman. The thought sickened her. She shook her head to clear it, to get him the hell out of her mind. It didn’t work.
Tina didn’t know anything about her illness and she’d keep it that way. Dealing with her knowing about Dorian was all she could stand.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Tina said, placing the steaming coffee on the coffee table. “I saw Jesse again this week and when I told him you were coming home, he asked if he could maybe see you.”
“Jesse Moore wants to see me?”
“Yeah, he seemed really excited about it.”
Jen sighed. At one time she would have been doing cartwheels if she’d been able to snag a date with him. Now she really didn’t care. “I don’t know if I’m ready to see anyone right now.”
“You need to move on with your life and he’s even hotter than he was in high school. Hell, I wished he wanted to go out with me!”
A little over a week later, she did go out with Jesse.
As she was leaving, Tina stopped her. “Can I watch the DVD while you’re gone? I can’t believe you went skydiving! I have to see it.”
“Sure. Knock yourself out.”
Jesse picked her up at the end of the driveway. He was even more handsome than she remembered. He’d lost that boyish
look and was all man. He had that rugged outdoor look, blonde hair, brown eyes and muscular arms.
He took her out to dinner. She barely listened to him. He was so cocky and totally full of himself. Dorian was confident and a little cocky at times as well, but in a classy, charming way.
She felt absolutely no attraction to Jesse whatsoever, unlike Dorian who she’d been drawn to like steel to a magnet, a high powered magnet at that.
“I hear Miami is a shit hole. How could you stand living there?” Jesse asked, forking mouthfuls of potatoes into his mouth.
He didn’t look at her when he talked to her. Dorian always looked her directly in the eye in that deliciously intense way he had whenever they spoke.
“It’s not all bad. There are some really beautiful beaches and palm trees.”
And Dorian Taylor lives there,
she thought.
They chatted about mutual friends and acquaintances. Jennifer had a few glasses of wine. She didn’t really want it, but Jesse insisted.