Chapter 8

Randal - Chapter 8

Rosemarie hated Laney…always had, since the first time that she saw her. But she'd barked up the wrong tree with her this time, and she was going to make sure that she paid. And when she was finished with the bitch, nobody would ever know it was the same person. She was going to mess Laney up. But first, she had to get her attention.

The yard that she'd broken into was bigger than her entire floor at the place they were staying. And that had five other apartments in it. Sneaking through the trees, she was careful where she stepped. Rosemarie was going to make them all pay.

She heard her before she saw her. The part of the yard she was in was huge, and there wasn't anyone around that she could see. Someone had shoveled the walkway and surrounding area where Heather was playing. She thought that they had put her out of the house—that's what she would do with the brat—but she was only building a snowman. And seemed to be enjoying herself.

Rosemarie watched her for a little while, making sure that there wasn't some asshole adult around that would mess up her plans. And she had a good one too…take the kid, demand some money, then kill her and Laney. She didn't want any reminders around that she'd been caught.

Having the baby had given her and Lance a few extra bucks every month. She didn't use it the way that they had intended, like buying more food for herself and shit. Her and Lance had gotten more liquor and some mighty fine things by selling off the card when they got it.

Now that she remembered on it, Lance had been kind of squeamish about that part too, knowing that it should have gone to the kid. He'd always been soft in the head as far as she was concerned now that she had gotten away from him. The little fucker was going to rue the day that he'd messed with her. And he'd loved Heather when she was with them. That was when Rosemarie had started to really hate the kid.

Then Sally Anne had come to get her, telling her that she had a buyer for the kid. It would have been good had she sold her, like she said, but her idea about scamming the county agencies was better. They had the best of both worlds. Her Sally Anne, she was sure smart about the government shit that they could get.

Seeing that nobody seemed to care that the kid was outside, Rosemarie got closer to her. She was singing some stupid tune that she probably heard in the school. The noise that she was making covered any sound that Rosemarie was making as she walked to her. When there was a pause in her racket, Rosemarie said her name. The moment she looked at her, she knew why her daughter had kept her. She was a beauty. And looked just like her little girl, Sally Anne.

"Hi." Heather smiled at her. "I'm your grandma. Rosemarie. I was sent to take you to see your grandpa. He's in the hospital. They wanted me to come and get you to take you there."

"No." Rosemarie seldom lost her temper, but that single word could make her see red faster than anything. "I don't know who you are, and my grandma and grandpa aren't going to be happy with you if you say a lie again. You're not my grandma. I know who she is. Unless you're the bad one. Are you?"

Rosemarie wondered what they were telling the brat about her that would make her think she was a bad person. Smiling to herself, she thought of all the things she had done, even in the last month, that nobody knew about that would get her labeled like that. But she decided, for now, to ignore her comments about that.

"I don't lie. Not all the time. But this is the truth. He's in the hospital. They think he might die." Heather shook her head no and backed away from her. "Come on now, kid. I need you to come with me. It's important, so stop fucking around and get your ass over here."

"No. I know who you are. You're my mom's mom, the bad grandma. And she told me that you were a liar and a thief. She said that you'd steal money off of a dead man." Well, that was news to her. True, but hurtful too that her daughter would say something like that to her own flesh and blood. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Yes, you are." She was close enough now to grab the kid, and did. When she struggled to get away, she hit her with the little shovel that was lying next to the stupid snowman. When she fell to the ground, blood started to stain the snow. Rosemarie thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Grabbing her up in her arms, she put a bunch of snow over her wound so she'd not get any of the shit on her clothes. Her head was bleeding pretty good by then, but Rosemarie knew that head wounds would bleed like you cut yourself in the throat. Walking away, she realized that she was leaving them a nice trail to follow, and tried to think what to do. The road…she needed to get to the road.

Walking with the kid was hard work. Rosemarie had to stop several times just to catch her breath. But she had her now, and things were going to go her way for a change. She'd have to think about the things the kid had told her when she'd talked about Sally Anne, but for now, she had to hide away and make sure that the kid was tied up.

Tying the kid up was important. Rosemarie wanted the kid all done up when she sent a picture to Laney. She'd know then that she meant what she'd said about messing with her. And she'd pay attention to her when she made her demands. And Rosemarie had a lot of them now.

First of all she was going to get Lance out of the way. She didn't want him anymore, but Rosemarie didn't want Laney to have him either. This was war, and she wasn't one to come out anyplace but at the top. She'd be the one that discarded Lance, not have him taken from her. But Lance had worn out his welcome and she was going to mess him up too. Dead was going to be her way of getting rid of baggage she no longer needed. She'd done it before, so this was old hat, she thought to herself.

It took her an hour to get to the main road. There she had to lay the kid down and rest. She had no idea that kidnapping was going to be such hard work or she might have waited until she had her car. But it was a done deal now and she'd have to move on. Planning better might have been a better way to go with this. Or to have muscles. That's what Lance had been for. Damn it all to fuck and back, she missed his brawn. He had no brain, but he sure had the other.

The car was in the parking lot to the hotel where they had been staying. Lucky for her the place had been shoveled of all the recent snow or she might not have ever gotten out. As it was, she had to make several trips back and forth to the room to get her things. And Lance's. She wasn't going to leave his shit behind just because he'd been taken from her.

Rosemarie didn't drive well. Mostly never if she could have someone cart her around. Her eyesight wasn't that good, and she would get nervous. Taking out the last bottle of booze that they'd taken, she drank down half of it before she found her courage to start the engine. The kid hadn't so much as made a sound since she'd picked her up. Not that it worried her none. She was going to die anyway, so it wasn't hurting her any to have her quiet.

Rosemarie didn't know the town well, but she had been looking around when she was out. The house that her daughter had died in was all locked up, but she knew that it was as safe a place as any to hide out until she was rested up and dealt with the brat. But she had to get there, and that wasn't going to be easy. Drinking while she drove in the direction she thought it was, she thought about the things she was going to demand she get for the kid. Plus there was the list she had in her head of rules that Laney was going to follow. Laney liked rules, so Rosemarie was sure that she'd be thrilled that Rosemarie had some. Laughing out loud made her feel much better about her driving.

The list of things she was going to make happen for her was long, but she thought of what she was also going to do once she was free of Lance. He'd been fun and she had loved him, but he'd dropped her like a hot potato and that just didn't set well with her. No way, no how.

There was going to be a house. Not one of them government jobs either, but one of her own. And she'd have nice things in it too. A coffee machine that had one of them timers on it so it was hot and ready when she rolled out of bed. She'd have a nice kitchen to eat in. Rosemarie didn't cook, that was for suckers, but she'd have one she could eat in, and that was what she really wanted.

A thick mattress on one of them sleigh beds, too. So many blankets to put over her that she'd have to have a map to get out. And to make that work, she wanted air conditioning. One of them suckers in every room too, set to zero so she'd never be hot again. Rosemarie hated with a passion to be hot. But not this cold either.

"Fucking weather. How the hell does anyone live here without killing themselves? It's colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra." Giggling, she knew that she'd never had the occasion to use that term before and was happy that she had. Rosemarie thought she had it right, but wasn't sure. But it worked.

After another hour of just driving around, she finally found the place her baby girl had lost her life in. There was still yellow tape around the place, but the walkways had been shoveled and there wasn't anyone around. Dropping the kid off at the doorway, sitting her up like a little doll, she took the car to a parking lot that she'd driven by a dozen times in her search and made her way back to the house.

"I'm gonna need me a nap when this is over." Laughing, she saw that the kid was just where she'd left her and shook her head. "I wonder what her dear sister would say if she saw her now. All boo-hoo, no doubt."

Wrestling her into the place after picking the lock, Rosemarie left her on the floor. The smell was horrible in the place, but nothing she couldn't handle. Going to the kitchen, she wasn't surprised to find that the cabinets were empty of all the food, and the ice box was empty too.

Nothing to eat, she pulled out the phone she'd taken from a nurse at the hospital. It was time to make some money. Snapping pictures of Heather, she made sure that there wasn't anything in them that would give away her location. Rosemarie even took a few of the wound on her head, making it bleed a little more so it would show better.

Sending it was trickier than she thought it would be, mostly because she didn't know how to use the phone. But after a little bit of playing around, she was not only able to send it out, but to type some of those little faces that Laney had sent her earlier. It was turning out to be a very good day for her.

Now she was exhausted and needed a drink. Going through the house again, this time with a mission in mind, she looked for any hooch that she could find. There had to be something here, even if it was that cooking shit that she'd drank once before. But she didn't find any booze. However, she did find their stash.

"Party time for me." She knew that to smoke weed there had to be some kind of wrapper, but all she could find was some toilet paper that had a funny odor to it, as well as some old mail. She figured that it had been delivered to the place after they'd found the bodies, because it smelled fresh rather than like ass.

Ten minutes later, she was smoking a joint. After almost setting fire to her hair and the couch, she was mellowing out. The fire had been started when the toilet paper had burned too fast, leaving drips of her fine weed to burn the couch and some of her hair. When she got them both put out, she used the paper, and again, it burned too fast, so she simply put the grass in a bowl and set fire to it. Christ, what a person had to do to get a little fun in their lives. Picking up the phone when it made a noise again, she laughed.

Laney was pissed off, it seemed, and she had sent back her own set of pictures, these of an arrest warrant, as well as some of her middle finger. She supposed it was hers, who knew. But Rosemarie didn't care. She had her attention now, and she was going to use it to the fullest.

Careful where she put her bowl, she typed up her return message. This was getting real now, and she had to be careful again not to give away her location. She didn't want her party all messed up before she got paid, now did she?

"I want money. A lot of it too. Ten thousand for the kid, and then every month I want another five grand for you to feel safe about having her unprotected." She was glad to have been able to put that little dig in there. "You should take better care of what you think of as your own, don't you think?"

The phone made another noise and she ignored it. There were more important things to get all up in arms about than a post from Laney. She thought of what she was going to say next, but the kid decided right then to wake up. Her screams could have woke up the dead.

"Shut the fuck up before I hit you again. This time I'll kill you where you lay." Heather snapped her mouth closed but didn't stop whimpering. "You should know better than to fuck with me, kid. I'm meaner than a rattlesnake."

"I want you to take me home." She said that she was home, didn't she notice. "No, I don't want to be here. I want to be with Laney and Randal. And my grandma and grandpa. My uncles too. Uncle Trent and Uncle Elijah. And Uncle—"

"Name one more person and I will backhand you so hard you'll never wake up again." Rosemarie had a headache again. She rubbed her forehead while trying to think of a way to shut her up. The whimpering like some house dog was making her want to commit murder. But she couldn't do that until she had the money. Laney might want to speak to the kid or some shit. "Now, I want you to tell me if you know where some food is in this place. I'm hungry and I want to eat."

"I had food at Laney's house." The stubborn set of her face made Rosemarie think of Sally Anne. "I want to go home."

"Yeah, well that's not going to happen. You're with me now, kid, and the sooner you learn to listen to me the better off you're going to be. Find me some food." She just sat there and Rosemarie threatened her again. "I mean it, kid. I'm going to wallop on you something hard if you don't listen to me."

"I don't feel well." And she just leaned over and puked. "I'm sick. I think you hurt me bad."

Rosemarie could not stand someone puking. It didn't matter who it was or what they were sick over, hearing or seeing someone upchucking made her as sick as, if not sicker than, the person. Leaning over the chair she was in, she puked too. Spilled out all her guts while the kid kept telling her over and over she wasn't well. Well, fuck that shit, neither was she.

The pain to her head made her dizzy. Blinded for a few moments, Rosemarie couldn't figure out what had happened to her. There was someone in the room with her, other than the kid. Trying her best to swat at the person made her sicker still. Then she simply passed out.

~*~

"I have you." Heather didn't look all that sure of it, and Noah leaned down to her level. "Your sister Laney sent me here to find you. And since I'm a friend of hers, I will be yours as well. My name is Noah."

He had to be careful with her. The smell of blood was stronger the closer he got to her. He wasn't worried that he was going to bite her—he'd fed today—but he worried. She wasn't in good shape.

"My head really hurts." He said that he knew that it did, and when she collapsed, he picked her up in his arms and laid her across his lap. She looked at him again. "I hurt everywhere, and I can't see no more."

"I can help you." She nodded then looked to be sick again. "Don't move, child. Just trust me for a moment, will you? I'm going to give you a part of myself. That way we'll be friends for a long time."

He was running out of time, and he knew that Laney and Randal would forgive him for what he was about to do. Opening his vein, he pressed his wrist over her mouth and told her to drink. The second time, he had to command her to do so, and it tore at his heart. Reaching to Randal, he told him what he'd found.

Save her. He said that he was trying his best. We're on our way. And Anastasia is coming to you as well. She might be able to help.

The faerie would be able to help, but he knew that it was going to cost them both. As soon as she appeared in the room, as her true self, he told her what he'd found and what he was doing. Saving this child was all he could think about.

"I'll give her some of my magic as well." The blood of a faerie, given freely, would help Heather, but he was afraid they might be too late. Her heartrate was slowing and her breathing was shallow.

When the child's heartrate stopped, so did his own. She was so innocent in all this, and her life had been snuffed out by a greedy person. Just as he was ready to bundle her up, he heard the slightest flicker to her heart, then it started to beat regularly. When her eyes opened for just a second, he was startled by the color and looked at Anastasia.

"She will be well." He nodded. "I think that together we have a child, but with my blood she will become older and not remain a child for all time. We have saved her, but at a cost, I think. Not just to us, but to her as well."

He wondered about her eye color. It was no longer the dark brown that it had been. With the magic of the faerie, her eyes were now a crystal blue, almost clear in color. And they would change more now. With each year of her life, the child would gain more powers, and it would show in the color and hue of her eyes.

"They're going to be pissed off. The magic that she has, it's stronger than most have at our age." Anastasia said that they'd be happy to have the child. "I hope you're right because I'm thrilled beyond words to see her looking better."

"What will we do with the woman? We can't kill her, more's the pity. I'd like nothing better than to take her away from here and make her suffer in ways that no one will ever know." So did he, he told Anastasia. "Well, then what? The police are on their way. Should we just make it look as if she had a heart attack? It would make me feel better, but humans can be picky about what they consider justice being served."

"In this, I think she must be made to suffer at the hands of those that need it. Closure, to humans anyway, is something that they need very much." He looked over at the woman in question. "She has caused a great many people heartache, and if they cannot have this moment, then they'll suffer for it."

"And the man, the father to Laney? What do you think will happen to him?" He asked her what she meant. "Laney has confessed that she cares nothing for him. That so far as she is concerned, he is dead to her. I believe, and this is just me, I think she has only written him off because he had no desire to come to her, and in order to save her own heart, she did this to protect herself. What do you think about making him only a small part of the happenings that have transpired?"

"You can do that?" She said that she could do a great many things. "I suppose that you can. Yes, I think you might have a good idea there. It will, to me, close a lot of heartache for the two of them if he were allowed to be around. She will be glad for it, I think. Laney has a good heart. But I think, for now, we should leave here before the police arrive. The child will need to be left behind, but I'll talk to Laney and the others."

It was decided that he would stay behind in the shadows to make sure that nothing more happened with Heather. Anastasia said that she could talk to Trent, then Laney, about her father. To him, he thought the man should rot in prison for the way that he'd hurt his daughter, but Noah hadn't had a kindness in his heart for a long time when it came to humans. As soon as the medical team entered the place with the police, he took to the skies.

You saved her. He told Randal not without a cost to the child. Anastasia said that you both saved her and changed her. I can't thank you enough for this. Laney is happy too, but she's also upset. Her father wants to have time with her, and I think she's going to go along with him, but slowly.

The faerie said that she could make his involvement in the deeds of the woman lessened. I didn't know what you or your mate would want, but I will help her should she need it. This would be up to Laney to decide. He said that he understood that. If there is fallout, or he hurts her again, there will be a reckoning for him. And I do not mean a life in prison. I will hunt him down and tear him into pieces. This is a promise that I will make to him as well.

I think you should. Noah was surprised by his consent to do this and thanked him. No, thank you. If he is as big a fuck up as he was before, then he doesn't deserve to be in any of their lives. Thank you again.

Randal, I don't think you're told enough how brilliant you are. Randal laughed and said it was missed a great deal. I think that you are. And a good kind man too. I have missed that as well.

I don't think I'm all that smart, but just a nice man. Sometimes, according to my family, a little too nice. But that's okay too. He landed near a group of men standing around a camper and wondered what they were about. It occurred to him that it was much too cold to be camping, and realized that they were fishing. An insanely boring thing to do, he thought. Noah, they're taking her to the hospital now. I think I've had enough of hospitals for a while, how about you?

Yes, I do believe that I have. He captured the men with his gaze, and set about taking a little from each of them. I shall see you soon, my friend.

When he bit into the older man, he knew the reason for the late trip. The elderly man was dying, soon too. Feeling better than he had when he arrived at the house with Heather, he decided to help this man as well. In the hearts and minds of the other men, he was a good father, a man who could be depended upon, and one that would be missed a great deal. It saddened one of the younger men that his dad would not see his son being born, nor his youngest daughter being married. He gave the man a little of himself, and took away the cancer that ate away at his lungs. There were other ailments as well, easy things that he could fix, and he did. By the time Noah left them, he needed to feed once again and found himself another group. At this rate, he'd still be trying to find himself a meal when the sun was high in the sky.

It was too late for him to go to the hospital when he was finished. Noah made his way back to his lair, his home, and settled in his living room. There was much going on in his home; a full remodel had been due for a long time. It was only in the last few months, since his Joe had found her mate, that he'd decided to stay in the area. Noah wasn't one to remain in one place for very long. But here, he thought he could.

"Sir, you have a visitor. It's the mate to Ms. Anastasia. He said that he would like to ask you a favor." Noah told Michael to let him in. "Very good. Also, I have made some refreshments for the man. He is mostly human, so I have made something that would tempt his palate."

Noah had no idea where that had come from, and was still puzzling over it when the man, Doug he thought his name was, joined him. Michael said he would return and Doug had a seat. He only sat for a moment before he stood up again and began pacing. He thought that whatever was on the man's mind, he'd spill it sooner or later.

"I should like to warn you about the refreshments that my man is bringing in." Doug paused in his walking to ask him why. "I'm not sure. He said that he was going to tempt your palate. And that you're mostly human."

"That's what I'm here for." He told him he was at his disposal. "I'm sorry that it's so late for you. Or early. I'm not sure."

"It's fine, Doug. I'm very old, and the sun doesn't bother me as much as it might someone younger. I do come home when the sun is rising simply out of habit." He didn't tell him that he had fed well and was well enough to enjoy the day, should he want to. He thought Doug was a little on edge enough for now. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"A baby." When he said no more, Noah pointed out to him that he wasn't able to help him in that department. However, the joke went by without even a small laugh. "We're going to have a baby, Anastasia and me. She said it will be like her. Simply because of her age."

"Yes, well, she is very powerful." Doug nodded then sat down. "You don't wish a child with her?"

"I do, more than anything. But I won't see it grown." He asked him why not. "I'm going to die."

"Soon?" Again, the humor was lost on the man. "You're an immortal, Doug. All of the people that I know are. I didn't give you that gift, but you do have it. When you mate with a powerful being, such as your own mate, you are given this gift, by whatever means, so that the two of you can live on forever."

"Since when?" He said that he would imagine the first time he was with his mate. "I see. No. I don't. Why wasn't I told this? I mean, I should have been told, don't you think?"

"Did you ask?" He said that when he thought about it, he'd get sidetracked. "Yes, well, that does happen a lot with new mates."

"I will live as long as her? You're sure?" Noah assured him that he was very sure. "Thank you. So very much. You've made my…well, I was going to say day, but I have a lot of those, don't I? To spend with my wife and children. I'm...I have no idea why I didn't ask, but I feel so much better."

When Michael joined them a few minutes later, Doug was very relaxed. And when Michael pulled a bottle of root beer from his pocket, Noah wasn't sure what to think. Then he uncovered the pizza, still steaming hot, and the pepperoni was curled up on the edges. Noah looked at Michael when he pulled three slices off the platter and put them onto a plate. Michael, of course, was all smiles.

"I have been playing with my knowledge of human food. It is most strange." Noah said that he thought so as well. "Very good. I'll be in the kitchen trying my hand at a smooth. Enjoy."

Noah started laughing when Doug told him it was a smoothie, not a smooth. Whatever it was, he thought the old boy was off his noodle a little, but fun. Noah wished he could have enjoyed a slice of the pizza. It looked very good.