Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Series Book 1), page 13
“What did it taste like, exactly?” Dr. Baxter asked.
“It was…sour, bitter and just…rotten. Like spoiled fruit juice. But that doesn’t even do it justice. I’ve never tasted blood like that before, Doctor. Please, what’s wrong with him?” Angelica felt panicked, trapped. She could do many things and heal him from many things, but not an illness like this. Even if she drained his blood and changed him into a vampire, it wouldn’t work now, not if his illness was terminal. It would be too late.
“Mr. Price, have you experienced any difficulty breathing?” the doctor asked.
“Only sometimes, when I run. I’m fifty, Doc. I cannot do what I once did. I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Jonathan replied.
“Breathe for me.” Jonathan did, and the doctor heard nothing wrong. “How’s your appetite?”
“Not great, to be honest.”
“Feel like there’s a rock in your stomach?”
He nodded, and the doctor ordered him to the hospital for an x-ray that very night.
Angelica watched as a photo appeared on a screen. She could clearly see something stuck in her husband’s stomach. “What in God’s name is that thing?” she asked, wondering if he had eaten something odd that could cause that.
“Mr. and Mrs. Price, I am very sorry to tell you this…Mr. Price has a cancerous tumor in his stomach that’s growing rapidly,” the attending ER physician said, his face ashen.
Angelica would have remembered nothing after that: she fainted.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay unconscious forever, and when she awoke she had to deal with the death sentence her husband had been given. The tumor was too large to operate on and they were years away from chemotherapy treatment. Cancer meant death. The only question was how long would it take?
Angelica wasn’t the type of person to cry, but her eyes were now never dry. Jonathan, bless his heart, kept her spirits up for as long as he could. They spent a month traveling to Europe, something they always wanted to do, but never got around to it. After they returned, Jonathan looked progressively worse. He’d lost weight, lost energy and eventually took to his bed for most of the time. They had opium for his pain, which was severe, and she also helped ease it with small doses of her blood. He was never comfortable. There was always pain, always sorrow. It got to where he was too tired to even cry anymore.
Angelica watched her love suffer daily, knowing all the while that Fiona Guilfoyle was behind this, but was unable to find her and break the curse. She had disappeared and Angelica didn’t have the time to search for her. She couldn’t let Jonathan die alone. She spent all of her time with him, talking to him and reading to him. She didn’t know how she would deal with Jonathan’s death. She hadn’t had nearly enough time with him. She had expected another thirty years, at least, before his mortal body gave out naturally. There was nothing natural about this.
One night, as she read to him from one of his favorite books, the pain hit him and he couldn’t hold back a scream. She leaped up, mixed her blood with the opium, and gave him an injection, which worked immediately.
His eyes clenched closed and he grayed out for a moment from the pain.
“Is that better?” a soft, sweet voice asked, dragging him from the darkness. He felt a hand through his hair and opened bleary eyes to see Angelica with tears in her eyes and falling down her cheeks, turning them red from the blood in her body.
“Yes. My love…I’ll miss you,” he said, feeling his body begin to fade away. He knew he had come to the end of his journey in this life.
“I’m so sorry. I should’ve changed you. I don’t want to lose you,” she said, her voice cracking. “I was too worried, not thinking about what would happen when your time finally came.”
He shook his aching head. “No, Angel, you did what you felt was right. We’ll meet again one day, I promise.”
Her sobs caught in her throat. How could she lose him? How could she live an eternity without him? “I love you, Jonathan.”
“I love you, Angel. Promise me you’ll go on now that I’m leaving. Find Fiona. Find Vincent. But don’t forget to be happy,” he said.
“I swear, I will. I’ll carry you in my heart always, no matter how long I live,” she promised.
He smiled, though even that small movement hurt.
She bent down and kissed him, feeling his cold, dry lips. She wished she could forget this moment. She didn’t want to remember him this way. He had been a bright, happy, laughing man. That’s what she wanted to remember.
“Goodbye. I’ll come back for you one day.”
“You better,” she hiccupped. She didn’t need to be a vampire to know when his eyes closed that he was gone. His face relaxed and she had one final thought before the grief overtook her: “He’s not in pain anymore.”
****
When Danny came to after this long vision ended, he felt the tears on his face for what he had once had and would never have again: love. He was alone, and it was no one’s fault but his own.
To Be Continued…
Acknowledgements:
Since I was eight years old I wanted to write paranormal fiction. I’ve had a lifelong obsession with vampires and books and I am so proud to be writing my very first acknowledgement page in my first novel!
After God, I have three people I would like to dedicate this book to.
First and foremost, my wonderful mother, Annie. She’s always encouraged me, aided me, was my toughest critic and best friend. Without her behind me, I would have quit long before this point. No words can describe how amazingly grateful I am and how much I love her!
Second is my grandmother, Mary, who passed away when I was five. She would read to me for hours (even though I could read to myself before I was three), always engaging me in the story and reminding me that reading was fun.
Finally, my second grade teacher, Mrs. Dobyne. I hated writing, I thought it hurt my wrist and took too long. She made me have a love of language, taught me how to put my thoughts coherently onto paper and never let me give up.
There are so many other people to acknowledge, people who have helped me and hurt me. All of whom contributed to making this story happen. Everyone at Vamptasy: Sarah for believing in this book, Rue for the amazing cover art, Elizabeth for her awesome editing job, and all of the other authors and promotion team for answering my naïve questions and accepting me into the family. You’re all so wonderful!
To those I’ve known, who’ve helped promote and support me, both with my books and in my real life, you know who you are. But I want to make sure I mention my godfather Allen, Krista Walsh, Stephen Kozeniewski, Paul Cude and Robert Zimmermann. You five have gone above and beyond with your emotional and professional support.
Last of all, to you reading this, THANK YOU! Without readers, I am nothing but a crazy woman who has a lot of friends in her head! I appreciate that, out of all the books in my genre, you chose StakeOut. You can’t possibly know how happy that makes me!
xoxo LL
Lily Luchesi, Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Series Book 1)
