Page 9 of Heartbeat Girl
We came across Jayne McCall before seeing her at Black Hearts with Ruth. She didn’t know because I compelled her to forget.Jayne, Jayne, Jayne.Then and now, she proved to be out of my reach. On the one hand, Jayne was too skittish and cautious to be near vampires. But on the other, I sensed a sensual woman hidden beneath her fears. Jayne’s tears were engraved in my memory from that night. Her heartbeat echoed through the halls, as if begging for me to hear her that night. I recognized,memorizedher light, slightly clumsy footfalls from the very beginning.
I wouldn’t touch the skittish creature, but I wanted her near me. No,needed.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Pete asked. “Asking her here with us? She’s always been tempting, and it’s danger—"
“Ruth left her to us. Without words, she knew we would go to her. She’s not an idiot,” I told Pete. “Besides, if I’m wrong, Ruth is in the Underworld, and it’s not like we’re hurting Jayne. We want her close because we want to look out for her.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed. “Be honest, we took Black Hearts offerafteryou found Jayne again. Ruth spent a lot of time at that recording studio, too. You knew that already. What you didn’t expect was Jayne running away all the damn time, making it hard to befriend her.”
My jaw tightened.
“It’s not just Ruth and her neutering us if we get close to Jayne.” Pete exhaled. “I meant Marilyn. We shouldn’t show or have affection for anyone. Even if she’s asleep, she still senses our emotions by reading our minds. We’re putting Jayne in danger.”
Jayne occupied my thoughts a lot since the first time we met her. Marilyn was a danger to Jayne, even if I hadn’t found her again. Steve was right, but I’d never admit it. Black Hearts hadn’t been the only company offering us a contract. I didn’t come there to sing with rap sensation Ruth. I came to watch over Jayne while doing what I fucking loved—singing and performing. I called that fate. Why else would Jayne be right in the middle of something I loved if she wasn’t supposed to be somewhere I could see her? Marilyn probably sensed my growing restlessness for Jayne long before I did. Back when it started out small, then expanded to lethal amounts where I could feel her three stores down.
“Too late for that,” Steve said, crossing his arms.
Ignoring his knowing look, I muttered, “Jayne needs to be with us. Remember, Marilyn could know about Jayne through our minds. All the more reason to find a way around the bond.”
“Tongue tied. Hands bound. Eyes closed.” Steve nodded as he repeated what another vampire said, explaining a sire bond perfectly. “But how can we find help when we’re not even allowed to speak the words?”
He meant asking someone to kill Marilyn.
“There’s got to be a way. We asked a witch for a sleeping spell,” I said.
“A sleeping spell is one thing, but we can’t ask anyone to...” Steve clenched his jaws, unable to string the wordskillandMarilyntogether because of the bond. “And if she wakes and doesn’t kill us, she’ll steal the phrase sleeping spell from us so we’ll never be able to use them again.”
“Can’t we find the witch again? Let’s keep putting the same curse on her,” Pete said.
The puncture wounds on the blonde’s body were already healed from Steve’s saliva. Nibbling on Steve’s ear, she asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but can we fuck now?”
Steve laughed and grabbed her chin. “I’m afraid you won’t remember any of this, and I didn’t bring you here to fuck. But it still felt good, right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Her head drooped.
“Maybe give her Vitamin C,” I suggested.
“Still got those shots, right?” Steve looked at Pete for confirmation, who nodded. Steve resumed the conversation. “Well, we can’t approach Jayne at her house. That will only make her more cautious.”
“She’s meeting a lawyer over at Ruth’s will next week. We can approach her out in public. Maybe we’ll look less frightening.”
Pete scoffed. “Oh, yeah. We’ll look totally harmless showing up somewhere we should know nothing about.”
“Just imagine how much fun it’s going to be when we get her on the bus with us all summer?” Steve chuckled.
“I smell trouble. We’re risking her finding out what we are.” Pete shook his head, then smiled, unable to hide his excitement.
“No one touches her. Let’s not scare her again,” I growled.
“You should tell yourself that.” Steve scooped up the blonde in his arms. “You’re the one that looks like you’re expecting something. Just stop expecting, okay? Don’t get hurt. No matter how much we care about her, Jayne isn’t someone who could accept what we are.”
He was right.
But if she could…
A slow smile spread over my face.
Chapter Four