Love Is The Beginning (Valerie Dearborn) Read online

  Nate walked over to a chair in the corner of the room, but seemed unable to decide if he should sit down or continue standing. “Do you have much family, Jack?”

  Jack's throat closed up with loss, and he could only shake his head no.

  “What will happen to you now? Is there anything I can do for you? Money, information, anything that would help you that I can give, I will. Here is my card, if you want to think about it.” He reached into a pocket and withdrew a business card, holding it out to Jack.

  “No.” Jack knew what he wanted. He wanted revenge. He wanted that woman in the blue dress, Marion, to die for what she'd done. “I want to go with you. There is nothing for me here, no family or anything. It's a small town. I can't stay here and always be the boy who....”

  “Was a victim?” the man said softly.

  “Was at fault,” Jack said, waiting for what came next.

  Nate was silent for a while, studying the card in his hand like it was a Rubik's Cube that had the answer. “That doesn't mean that you should run off with a complete stranger and endanger yourself. Staying with me is more likely to get you killed than just about any other decision you can make.” He gave Jack a sad smile, but his eyes were watchful and expectant.

  Jack shook his head in disagreement. “You do this because of your wife? What about my parents?” He struggled for a word. “For their honor or memory?” He'd been thinking about this for the last few days. How he would live. If he could stay here. He wouldn’t. Revenge was what he wanted above anything else. This wasn't fair, and up until those five minutes when his world went to crap, his life had been perfect.

  “I don't think vengeance brings honor, Jack. Good doesn't come from death.” He said it almost as though it was a question and he was waiting for Jack's response.

  Jack spoke quickly, his accent thick. “No. It does, or you wouldn't kill these things. I need to do something.” He took a breath and realized it was shaky. The numbness of the last few days had fled, leaving him feeling jittery and amped up.

  “Well, all right then.” Nate stood. “It will take us a while to get the proper paperwork.”

  Jack squinted at him, unable to believe it could be this easy. “Do you know how slowly the Italian government moves?”

  The man chuckled. “That's why we forge everything. It's much faster. You should see the Romanians.”

  Jack went back to the apartment to pack while Nate waited in the lobby. His uncle was at work, but he still needed to be quick, get distance from the town before anyone realized he was gone. He packed up some of his things. A few pictures, his grandmother's quilt, and some clothes. Jack looked around his room and saw the rosary hanging from the corner of his mirror. He'd put it back there after his parent’s funeral, and had avoided looking at it ever since. Should he take it?

  It would never bring him the easy comfort that it once had. Life was too cruel for him to continue believing in a benevolent God, but prayer could save him from a vampire. Jack imagined how disappointed his parents would be if he left his rosary behind, so he put it around his neck and left.

  They went out the front door, and the street was empty in either direction. Nate took his bag and put it in the trunk of the car, while Jack opened the back door and climbed in next to Valerie. She turned to look at him, a magazine on her lap and huge sunglasses on her face. She blew a giant pink bubble at him and, somehow, it was offensive.

  “So, he got you too, huh? The girls will love you. Foreign, cute, an accent, and a tragedy. Do you know the word pop-u-lar?” Valerie dragged out the syllables so he wouldn't miss it. The front door opened, and Nate got in. When the car pulled away, Jack didn't look back at the home he'd grown up in. Valerie watched him keenly, as though she knew he was debating whether or not to take one last look. He didn't do it, didn't want to see it again.

  As they left the town behind, he heard her mutter, “Stone cold, Jack. You are stone cold.”

  After a few days of traveling and stops to get documents, they arrived at the airport in Rome. They went to the counter and bought tickets for the following day's flight.

  “Well, the flight is nine hours away,” Nate said, looking at his watch and yawning. “It’s ten o’clock. What do you say gang, should we sleep here?”

  Jack heard a screech from Valerie. “You want us to sleep in the airport? What about him? He's had a tragedy! He needs a bed, even if I don't.” Nate dismissed her statement with a small frown, and left them with the bags while he went to get them dinner.

  Val slumped against the wall, long skinny legs in front of her. Jack squatted down on his knees to look her straight in the eyes. He knew this type of girl, and his gut told him to ‘start off as he meant to go on,’ as his father would have said. “Don't ever speak about the death of my parents as a way to get what you want. Actually, don't talk about them at all.”

  Unexpectedly, she threw herself forward and put her arms around his neck. “I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said it. It was mean. I just get so mad at him, then I say stupid stuff when I should just shut up.” Valerie turned her face and kissed his cheek.

  She looked up again, and the look on her face made him worried. She was smiling. “I am sorry. You know, you're like the best thing to ever happen to me.”

  Jack was speechless for a moment. “Why do you say that?”

  Valerie gave him a beatific smile. “You can be the prodigy now. I'm well out of this. You can be the...student he never had, but always wanted me to be. You can dig through dead people's clothes.” She sounded relieved, yet she was also watching him for his reaction.

  His gaze met hers, and they had a silent conversation. He saw her worry and desire to be free of this life. It was perfect for both of them. Jack blinked, breaking their eye contact and nodded. That was what he wanted anyway. She relaxed at his nod and dug a book out of her bag.

  Jack watched her warily. Could it really be that easy?

  ***