Page 33 of The Psychic and the Vampire

“And that’s it.” Ant slumped in relief, quickly remembering to shield himself from the rush of magic that came flooding back to the source. But the fire was out, nothing but a wisp of smoke andthe charred frame of Viktor’s SUV remaining. “I’m sorry, but I can’t put your car back together.”

“You’re sorry? What the fuck?”

Ant was smothered again, picked up by a vampire who was clearly at the end of his tether. But as he was crushed to Viktor’s chest, at least Ant didn’t need to face the endless questions he could hear buzzing around him from the living and dead alike.Maybe I could just stay here for a while,he thought using a tiny spark of magic to remove the blood from Viktor’s collar. He didn’t want anyone thinking his vampire was a messy eater.

“I’m going to kill them,” Viktor muttered into his hair. “I’m going to take the whole Manzano family and build a new car from their bones.”

“I’m not sure a car made like that would be structurally sound,” Ant murmured. “There are better ways of getting even.” But then he groaned. Able was barking again which could only mean one thing. The police and fire crew had finally arrived.

/~/~/~/~/

“This incident was meticulously planned.” George, the local fire investigator shook his head. “You must’ve pissed off someone big time.”

“Can’t this wait until tomorrow? I need to get Ant home. He’s been hurt and expended far too much energy doing your job.” Viktor had been saying things on a similar vein for the past hour. It had to be close to midnight, but Ant wanted to hear what George had to say.

“Please wait a moment,” he said quietly, relieved that the remaining crowd had been pushed back. “Viktor, we’ll get home soon, I promise. Could you find Able some water? He must be thirsty with all that barking he did.”

“The restaurant owner already gave him a bowl of water and a full roast meal that I paid for.” Viktor crossed his arms, clearly not planning to go anywhere.

“Sorry, George.” Ant quickly covered a yawn with his hand. “It has been a long night. Can you just give me the highlights?”

“You already know the people responsible were in and out. It was likely that someone ‘dropped’ something causing it to roll under the car, and then when the person went to retrieve it, they left the explosives there, clipping the bomb fuse to the ignition wire. For people who know what they were doing that would take less than two minutes, tops.”

Ant nodded. He’d already read the scene and committed to memory the faces of the couple who’d been responsible. He’d also left a message with the attending officer for Eric, the police sketch artist, to get in touch with him in the morning.

“I know, I know. You’ve seen it already.” George put up his hand. “But whoever set this knew Viktor’s SUV and picked it out of four other similar models parked at the same time in a two block radius. They intended to kill both driver and passenger as the bomb blast originated from the middle of the underneath of the vehicle. This is not common – most bombers in a hurry, especially in a public setting would just clip the bomb material to the side they were closest too. Just sourcing the explosives and ignition unit requires a high degree of planning as nothing like that is sold locally, and it’s not like you can buy that stuff from an online store.”

“That’s handy to know.” Ant nodded.

“The big thing – the biggest concern both me and the police have in this case – is that we were prevented from getting here quickly. This restaurant is on part of the grid road system.” George indicated the area with his hand. “We should’ve beenable to get here in five minutes. But two of the fire trucks were sent out on what is now known as a bogus call twenty miles west of town. There were three – count them – three car accidents blocking the quickest roads to get here and when we finally made it to Grey Street” - he pointed to the intersection about a block from the restaurant - “there was a big assed truck parked across the road with no driver. A truck just left there for no damn reason. You were meant to die.”

Scratching the back of his head, Ant winced as he felt an egg shaped lump. “Then we should be grateful they made a mistake. Thank you, George. I appreciate your hard work. I’ll let you get on and look forward to a copy of your report.” Then he had a quick thought. “Can you send it later in the day please? I’d rather explain this to Bridget in person than have her read your email.”

“Smart move,” George grinned and nodded. And then he frowned. “What do you mean the bombers made a mistake? You’ve still got to get a cab home.”

“They connected the ignition wire for the bomb to the unlock mechanism,” Ant said simply. “If they wanted to do a decent job of blowing us up, instead of just the vehicle, then they should’ve attached that wire to the starter motor. For all that planning, it was sloppy execution.”

“That’s enough! I’ve heard enough!” Suddenly Ant found himself hoisted up and pressed against Viktor’s shoulder, his feet swinging in the breeze. “Send your reports via email. My mate and I need to have a little chat. Able, come.”

“Thank you,” Ant called out. Clearly Viktor was heading for a taxi parked just down the road. As tired as Ant was, being carried beat walking.

Chapter Twenty-Five

There was so much that Viktor wanted to say, but he ruthlessly bit his tongue and kept his thoughts as shielded as possible from his exhausted mate. They got a cab home, back to Ant's house, and Viktor stayed silent as Ant shuffled around, making sure Able had plenty of water, a fresh bowl of kibble, and a chance to water the bushes outside. Then, when Ant was satisfied that Able had been fully appreciated and tended to and had curled up on a blanket at the foot of the stairs, Viktor swept Ant into his arms again and took him upstairs to his bedroom, bypassing the bed and going through to the bathroom.

In a few short moments Viktor had set Ant down on the bathroom counter and ran a beautifully deep bath, adding a bath bomb he found in a jar on the side of the bath. It was Ant who stayed silent as Viktor slowly undressed him, peeling back the layers of clothing making sure he made no jarring or jerking movements as he moved him from the counter to standing on the floor. Ant’s eyes stayed on his face, lending an intimacy to the moment that tugged at Viktor’s control, and within a very short time, Ant was naked, and Viktor encouraged him into the water.

It didn’t take Viktor long to get rid of his clothes. He sighed with appreciation as he stepped into the bath, feeling the warmth of the water on his legs. Sitting down, Viktor made sure he had his back to the non-tap end. As soon as he settled with his arms along the edges of the bath, Ant swirled around on his butt and parked between Viktor’s legs, nestling his back against Viktor’s chest.

Perfect.While his mind was still teaming with thoughts not fit for relaxing moods, Viktor forced his body to relax. Ant was in his arms, and at the end of the day, that was the most importantthing. The smell of jasmine from the bath bomb teased his nostrils, mixing with the faint wisp of Ant’s arousal.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Ant asked quietly, his eyes closed, his hands resting on Viktor’s knees.

“No.” Ant didn’t deserve Viktor’s rant, and while in the past Viktor had never given a damn what anyone thought about his opinions or ideas, he did care about his mate.

That made Ant chuckle. “You don't have to talk about it. I can feel it in you. There's a lot of chaos, confusion, frustration, and a strong need for vengeance in that head of yours.”

“I'm still not talking about it,” Viktor said. He ran his hands up Ant's shoulders, using his thumbs to gently knead in the muscles in the back of Ant's neck. “You’re stressed. You’re tired. It's been a very long day. Just relax.”

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