Of Blood & Consequence (Book 2 of The Blood Bond Series)

4. Baby Giggles

“Not certain what they really want,” Michael was saying to Eli as they stood in the older vampire’s study. “But their letters are coming more frequently than ever. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re looking to expand their hold on America.”

“Do they have a foothold yet in The States?” Eli wasn’t all that up on Mafia ties with Italy, though he knew that each large city had their own underground dealings, and many of them Mob-related. He kept it pretty much out of sight, out of mind, though, he had to admit. His money had come from building his empire from the ground up, and he wasn’t all that keen on expanding into drug cartels, brothels, or the casinos that laundered money anytime soon. It was a great topic for the movies, but that was as involved as he ever wanted to be.

“Not sure,” Michael replied. “Once I left Sicily, I put that all behind me and started fresh. I kept in touch with my parents, and for a while they said they understood, but I should have known they’d try to bring me back into the fold. I think they thought of this as ‘sowing my wild oats’ or being a rebellious child.” He shook his head. “The longer I’m away, the more sure I am that I did the right thing in cutting ties. I just want to live my life with my mate, even if it’s not one full of all the luxuries that having a s**t-ton of money would allow.”

“Delia doesn’t need the money, nor would I think she’d want to live a life you weren’t happy with just so that you could afford to house and clothe her in lavish finery. Besides, once she’s over her human bloodlust, she could always go back to Promises. She made more money there than she does at SecurElite, anyways.”

Michael wasn’t happy with that notion, and shook his head in response. “We’re doing fine with what we have now, Eli. I don’t fancy her being ogled for 8 hours a night or having her ass fondled by some horny douchebag with too many shots under his belt.”

Eli remembered that feeling well and how rashly he’d responded to someone grabbing Cassie’s ass the one night at Promises before she knew they were mates. He was sure only his reputation had kept him from being kicked out that night, not that he would have taken that as the old heave-ho. He would have paid off management had they told him to shove off and never show his face there again. He’d waited far too long for his mate, and he wasn’t going to let a little roughhousing get in the way of seeing her whenever he could.

“I understand.” He nodded his head. “And I’m sure Delia would too. It’s not like her life’s work was being set aside when she had to quit Promises, but at least a whole new world of employment opportunity would be had after she is over her initial newborn bloodlustiness. I suggest casting a wide net and seeing what she enjoys doing. What does she do when she’s not at work?” Michael looked at him, a smile quirking his lips. Eli rolled his eyes skyward and elucidated. “Besides riding your d**k so damn hard it nearly falls off. What are her hobbies?”

Michael thought about that. While they did spend a lot of their time f*****g, he sometimes saw her sketching in a notepad or watching life go on outside their humble condo in L.A. If he had to guess, she probably enjoyed scribbling and sketching, or at least was amused with what she came up with on the fly. The smile she had on her face when doodling certainly looked content enough.

“Drawing. I see her doing enough of it when she’s pretending to watch TV with me or listening to me talk about work. Don’t know if it’s something she’s truly interested in or just a diversion during her isolation, though. Hadn’t really thought about it much because she never seems to draw attention to it—pun not intended, of course. And whenever I ask about it, she clams up, almost likes she’s scared to share what she’s done.”

“She ever think about going into the graphic arts? Lots of artistry there without having to create your own images per se. Web design or advertisements. s**t—there’s a ton of billboards out there that graphic designers handle all along the two-thousand freeways in L.A. alone. Movie billboards, big brands—hell, they even need them for advertisements for TV as well. You think she’d be interested in something like that? SecurElite has a further education program that she might want to look into. Helps with paying for classes and the materials needed.” Eli wasn’t stupid enough to do what he initially thought of doing—offering to pay for her advancing education. Michael was prideful, that much he could tell. If he hadn’t been, he would have folded under with the first few letters from his mother.

“I’ll ask her about it later on,” Michael assured him. He thought it was a good idea, and he was thankful Eli had thought of it. “In the meantime, what do you think about my parents? Alex hear anything in the underground grapevine about vampire mafia popping out of the woodwork? He’s the one with all the connections.”

Eli agreed with a nod. “I’ll ask him tomorrow about it. I could also get a P.I. looking into it as well. It would have to be one of a few vampire agencies around, and they’re not as widely used. I may need to head to San Diego for it.”

“You could just see if that old hag could read your palm or whatever she does and look into the future for you.” Michael smirked as Eli’s eyes narrowed a bit. “What was her name again? Maleficent?” Michael had heard about the sassy seer from Delia, who’d gotten the scoop directly from Cassie.

“You mean Calliope Brenneman, that old witch.” Even her name dug in his craw like barbed wire underwear over his genitals. “I’d go to her only if she was the last seer on earth.”

“She was helpful, though, you have to admit.”

“Yeah, and a big fat pain in my ass as well.”

***

Adam and Charlotte took a nap after they’d drank their afternoon ration of blood. Adam was always harder to put down being as rambunctious as he was, but Charlotte had barely finished her meal before her eyes were fluttering shut. They were put to bed and snoozing peacefully, and Cassie had the baby monitor set on the coffee table as she and Delia chatted about life.

“How’s work?” Cassie asked. Delia replied at first with a harsh pinch of her lips.

“It’s alright, I guess. It pays the bills, anyway. Not my idea of a dream job, but then again, I’m not so sure what my dream job would consist of.”

“What about your mom and gran? How are they doing?” Cass knew how much the two subjects bothered her, though for very differing reasons. Delia loved her grandmother to bits, but held only amused disdain for the woman who had raised her to adulthood.

“Mom’s got a new Sugar Daddy, and gran’s complaining because he keeps leaving the toilet seat down when he comes over. I think it’s just because he’s a slimy shithead, but then again, she usually hates anyone Mom dates. She has the absolute worst taste in men. If there was a room full of good guys to be had, she’d pick the one t**t waffle that had deep pockets, a big d**k, and the personality of a politician. At least she got rid of the last creep. He lied when he said he was neck-deep in oil money. The only thing oily about him, was him. When she found out he was a scam, she tossed him out with the rest of the garbage they collect every Thursday morning.”

“Is Gran’s lupus acting up?”

Delia’s face pinched up tight again. “She says not, but I have a feeling if I went down to see her, she’d resemble a pufferfish. She’s always stating she’s ‘right as rain’, but you can’t hide the pain sometimes, and I can hear it in her voice. Sometimes not so much, but at least half the time I call, her voice sounds tight, like she’s biting back from crying out. It drives me mad that I can’t go down and see her and make sure she’s alright, ya know?”

That was the problem with being a newborn vampire. That first year was taxing. You couldn’t see your old family for fear of breaking out in a feral bloodlust and try to drain them dry.

“Well, maybe it won’t be so bad. I saw you when I was only a few months old, and I didn’t try to eat you,” Cassie pointed out. “Maybe it would be the same since she’s family to you. You mom, however…”

Delia scoffed. “She’d be dead within minutes. But maybe I can visit Gran when Sasha’s on vacation with her latest fling. I’m sure she’s pulling out all the stops for her newest boyfriend to take her to somewhere tropical and sunny. I have no clue how she can afford to take that much time off of work, though.”

“Maybe she goes on unpaid leave?”

“Probably, and then cries poor, pitiful me when she can’t pay the taxes on the house. Luckily the mortgage is paid off or they’d really be screwed and I’d have to look into getting Gran into a goddamn nursing home. She only has her social security and some of Granddad’s pension money coming through each month. That doesn’t amount to much, honestly.”

Delia’s grandfather had passed away several years ago from mesothelioma after having struggled with his breathing for years. He’d been in the Navy up until thirty years ago, and the whole family blamed the subpar conditions on the ships for his illness. Asbestos leaked from the insulation in many of the submarines in the fleet and was still being discovered in smaller amounts as the military tried to fix its mistakes even to this day.

Delia couldn’t really find fault with them when no one knew the harm it could do back then, but she would have hoped the Navy at least had paid out to its sick and dying before closing the books on the dreaded disease. It was absolutely unfair, and that was what made her angry.

They chatted a bit more about Caroline Parker, or as Delia called her, Gran or Nena, depending upon her mood. Before long, the men came out from wherever they were hiding, and the babies started babbling in the other room. Eli and Cassie went to grab them, and Michael sat down next to Delia, curling an arm around her and pulling her into his chest. She sighed and snuggled there for a moment before they heard Cass and Eli talking to the infants in that idiotic but charming baby talk as they fawned over their young. It was still a little odd to see Eli smiling as much as he did when he came back into the room with his daughter held securely in his arms.

Michael had known Eli for a few years as an occasional employer before becoming a reluctant and surprising friend. He had Delia to thank for much of that as her best friend was Cassie, and he found he had a lot more in common with the older vampire than he would have thought. Eli enjoyed several sports that he did, and they never lacked for topics of conversation. They both had appreciation for movies and TV, and sometimes chatted or suggested new shows for the other to watch. Michael was a big fan of Netflix, and had encouraged Eli to get a subscription to that and Hulu.

As Charlotte babbled and used her pudgy paw to pat at her father’s scruffy chin, he captured it and placed a kiss on the palm, making Charlie giggle and clap her hands when he let it go. Adam made a displeased squawking noise, and reached for Eli from the safety of Cassie’s lap.

“Trade?” They switched children, and Charlie started to look around the room until her arms started to reach for Auntie Delia, who welcomed the child with open arms. She then sat half on Delia’s lap, with her feet kicking at Michael’s thick thighs until he pinched each cute little toe and then tickled the bottom of her flat feet.

Giggles exploded around them, delighting them all. There was nothing as grin-inducing as a baby giggle, and if you could point out something that was, Eli would probably have given you hell for even suggesting it.