Immortal Beloved: Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-two
Normally Vicki wasn’t one to care what another thought of her. Insults rolled off her back with the greatest of ease and she happily marched to the beat of her own drummer. It was the important people in her life, the ones she cared about, whose opinions did matter.
Mike Celluci was one of those people.
For a long time he had been something more than a friend, she’d even loved him. He had been her partner and her lover in one tall, handsome package. He had also been her best friend, her port in the storm that was often her life. Mike had always been the one to bail her out of trouble when she’d found herself in the thick of it. And that had been often.
With these things in mind, there was no doubt why Mike’s rejection of her new, well, unlife had been disheartening. He’d called her a monster and lumped her in the category of the “beings” he’d come to loathe and despise. Which could only mean that now, he hated her.
And that meant he hated Henry too.
That fact was no big shock, he’d always hated Henry, but now, things were different. Henry was not just her partner, he was her Sire. Henry had saved her life…in a manner of speaking. He had started to become in life the only one aside from Coreen that she could speak with about the supernatural. He had been her guide and protector. Actually, there was no past tense about it. He was still her guide and protector, as much as she hated to admit it.
Henry was also her lover at the moment and that dictated a certain amount of loyalty. Before, she’d been loyal to Henry, had defended him on numerous occasions to Mike, but now that feeling was intensified.
Mike was not allowed to hurt Henry. It was as simple as that.
Now she watched her Sire stand and move to her side, his eyes telling her that she best not argue with him. He was taking his place beside her, to protect her if need be, his Childe and his lover, and he wasn’t about to take any crap from her for it.
For once Vicki didn’t have an argument in her for that. With him beside her, she could protect him better anyway.
“Well,” Mike said upon entering the room. The surprise on his face coupled with a look of uneasiness passed over his features and he nodded curtly at Vicki. “The gang’s all here. Hello Coreen.”
Like a child she didn’t know he could be, he ignored Henry all together. Henry didn’t care, but it felt like a personal assault against her and she tamped down the urge to make him acknowledge Henry in the room as well.
“What brings you by, Mike?” Coreen asked calmly. Vicki could sense her unease and knew she was trying to act as though this was any other day in the office, and any other normal evening that Mike would stop by to chat.
There was nothing “normal” about this though, and Vicki knew that they were never going to be “normal” again at all.
“I didn’t expect you to be here,” Mike said, bypassing answering Coreen and focusing on Vicki.
“Well technically I still live and work here,” Vicki answered slowly.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he looked down for a minute and then popped his head back up, looking at her inquisitively. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”
“Absolutely not,” Henry said immediately.
“You answer for her now Fitzroy?” Mike snapped.
“When I think she’s in danger, yes,” Henry growled.
Vicki placed a hand on Henry’s arm and stood. “It’s okay, Henry.”
He turned to her, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”
“Mike won’t hurt me,” Vicki told him, keeping her gaze steady on the man in question. “Will you?”
“Considering the way you nearly knocked me across the room the last time,” Mike drawled, “I don’t think I’m the one that has to worry, do you?”
“I don’t trust you,” Henry snarled.
“It doesn’t matter what you think,” Mike said, focusing on Vicki. “It only matters what Vicki thinks, unless of course, things have changed so much and she’s taking orders from you now.”
He was baiting not only her, but Henry too, and Vicki knew it. Still, curiosity won out over stubbornness and she nodded. “I’ll talk with you.”
“Vicki--” Henry began to protest.
“It’s okay,” Vicki said pointedly and moved around him. Taking Mike’s arm she all but dragged him into the hall. “Outside?” she asked, letting him go.
Mike nodded. “Fine.”
*******
Henry began to pace, muttering under his breath about stubborn women and pain in the ass detectives.
“What’s going on with Mike?” Coreen asked, watching him intently.
Henry paused, stared at her and shook his head. “Typical Mike behavior.”
“From the way the both of you just reacted to him, and from the way he blatantly ignored you, I would say it’s more than just ‘typical Mike behavior’. Something happened. What was it?”
Henry looked at her warily. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re pushy?”
Coreen smiled as though proud by that. “Yes. I’ve also been told that I’m freakishly intuitive too.”
“He called her a monster,” Henry said point-blank. “And he made her feel like one.”
Coreen gasped and then shook her head. “I can’t believe…okay, yes,” she amended, nodding. “I can believe he would say that. I’m sure he didn’t mean it the way it came out. He can be like Vicki, shoot first, and apologize later--”
“I don’t care how he meant it, Coreen,” Henry said vehemently. “The fact is, he said it.”
Coreen sat back and regarded him thoughtfully. “You’re in love with her.”
Henry stopped his pacing and stared at her. “Freakishly intuitive huh?”
********
“How are you?” Mike asked once they were outside.
Her arms folded across her chest, Vicki kicked at some imaginary dirt and looked up at him. “This is what you had to talk to me about alone?”
Mike frowned. “No. I-I wanted to apologize.”
“For being a complete prick?”
He shot her a look. “Yes.”
“Could you actually say that in the apology? Hearing it would make me feel so much better.”
“Vicki, come on--”
“You called me a monster, Mike,” she stated. “And you made me feel like one as if I didn’t feel like enough of a freak. Do you have any idea how it felt to have my partner--”
“Former partner.”
“Not the point.”
He held up a hand in surrender. “You’re right, you’re right.”
“So?” Vicki prompted.
Sighing wearily, Mike lifted his head as though it took great effort and said, “I’m sorry I was such a prick.”
“Once more with feeling,” Vicki urged.
“Don’t push your luck. Look, I really am sorry, all right? It was just a shock to see you come out of Fitzroy’s bedroom and look…”
“Look?” she prompted.
“Like him,” he muttered. “I didn’t expect it and it angered me and worried me, and you of all people should know what it’s like to react without thinking first.”
Looking down, Vicki didn’t agree or disagree. “It hurt.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I just…I don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“How…why? Did you and Fitzroy have some kind of agreement in the event you should get killed in the line of duty?”
“No, we didn’t,” Vicki mumbled.
“Then…?”
She glared at him. “What - would you rather I was six feet under right now?”
“No, no, of course not. It’s just…are you happy with this arrangement? I mean, you’ve never expressed any desire to…if you should ever…”
“Oh come on Mike, this has nothing to do with whether or not I’m happy with this arrangement,” she scoffed. “This only has to do with whether or not you’re happy with it. Whether or not you’re comfortable with me being as I am now. We all know you hate the supernatural.”
“Don’t believe in it,” he corrected and then winced once the words were out of his mouth.
She spread her arms wide. “Well here I am, Mike! I’m real.”
“Vicki, I know,” he muttered. “Jesus, I can’t say anything right can I?”
“Doesn’t seem that way, does it?”
Sighing heavily, he straightened. “Then you won’t like what I have to say next.”
“Great, this should be good,” Vicki muttered.
“Because I didn’t know when or if you were coming back to work, I came by earlier today while Coreen was out and made a copy of your call log. I called your clients and set up appointments with them.”
“You what? How the hell did you get in anyway?”
“I still have a key. I came by here tonight to let Coreen know in case she had any way to get in touch with you. Look, I didn’t do it to be malicious. I did it because I didn’t know if you were coming back or when and these people were waiting for you.”
“You could have called me,” she said angrily.
“You sleep during the day now, don’t you?” he countered.
“Ever hear of leaving a message?”
He nodded slowly. “I have…and I didn’t think of it. Listen, if you want your clients back you can have them back--”
“Gee, thanks,” Vicki snapped and started to walk away.
“Vick…Where are you going?”
“I’m going for a walk. Tell Henry not to worry about me,” she called over her shoulder. “Tell him I’ll meet him at home.”
“I’m not in the business of making Henry feel better, Vicki, you know this,” Mike tried. “Come on, come back here and let’s talk…”
“Fuck you, Mike!”
Frustrated, Mike turned to head back inside when he slammed into something hard.
Henry.
“Proud of yourself?” the Prince asked him tensely.
Mike glared at him. “This is between me and Vicki, Fitzroy. Butt out.”
“I made her, Celluci. She’s my responsibility now.”
“Trust me when I tell you she doesn’t want to be anyone’s responsibility,” Mike said, chuckling at Henry. “Obviously you don’t know her as well as you think you do.”
Henry smirked. “Oh, I know her very well, trust me.”
Mike narrowed his eyes suspiciously and opened his mouth to question that comment. Cutting him off at the pass, Henry said smoothly, “Carnally even.”
Mike’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
“That’s right, Celluci,” Henry told him, still smirking. “Vicki and I are lovers. I guess all we needed was for you to get out of the picture for a while…or at the very least for you to make her feel like a monster. In a way, I should be thanking you.”