Chapter 8
The wind blowing in from the
Pacific was icy as it made its way across the Santa Monica Pier. Buffy shivered under its merciless touch as
it whipped around her. She realized now
the dress that at first was sexy, then embarrassing was now impractical. She was waiting for Angel to give the limo
driver instructions on where to pick them.
It was taking too long, and Angel was being too precise. She turned toward the park, antsy to get to
Dawn and Andrew before they got into further trouble.
“It’ll be okay,” Spike
reassured her, slipping his jacket over her shoulders. He
pulled her hair out from under it voluminous folds. “It’s not Tuesday, so she can’t be in too much
trouble. Maybe she’s just imagining the
tail.”
“Funny.” There was comfort in his attempt at levity
though. Ever since she and the other two
had left
“What’s funny?” Angel asked, as he rejoined them.
“Spike’s feeble attempt at
reassuring me,” Buffy teased, with a grin.
“He should have just told me that he would handle everything for me. You know be the knight in shining armor
dashing to my rescue on a white charger.”
“Now, you’re mixing us up,”
Spike retorted, starting to walk off. He
hesitated long enough to make sure they were following him. “I’m the bad ass boyfriend who is great in
the sack,” and then he pointed at Angel.
“Now, he’s the bloke you go to when you need a Prince Charming.”
“Don’t you think we should
be looking for Dawn?” Angel asked, with
a roll of his eyes.
“That’s easy, mate” Spike
said. “They’re at Rusty’s.
Remember we told them to stay in plain
sight and act casual.”
“This is Dawn though,” Buffy
said. She sighed, reaching for Angel’s
hand without forethought. “She hasn’t
changed a bit. She still doesn’t
listen.”
“We told her to go ahead and
order food so they could stay,” Spike continued. “To get back at us, she and Andrew probably
ordered the entire menu.”
“It’s you she has a problem
with,” Angel said, slinging an arm around Spike’s shoulder. His
grin lit up his face. It was something
Buffy was unaccustomed to seeing in him, but she liked it. “Me, she could care less about.”
“You were about to sleep
with her sister again,” Spike said.
“She’ll care.”
“Guys, stop it,” Buffy
commanded. “My god, it’s not some
contest.” She shook her head when she realized
what she said. Thankfully, neither of
them said anything to go along with the glances of amusement they cast her
way. It had always been a competition
between these two vampires in one way or another over the years. With her, it had been the same, because she
could never love only one of them. She
didn’t say anything else, just allowed them to lead her through the crowd.
If she was smart, she would
have been looking around, trying to spot trouble, but she left that for them,
too. There were too many other things on
her mind. Worry over Dawn and Andrew,
what Reggie was up to, and what she’d been about to do with Spike and
Angel. Yeah, it had been a long time
since she’d had sex, but she couldn’t blame it on being horny, or excuse it
away to being in love. It was a
combination of both, and a perverse desire to be wanted
by them. She just wondered exactly what
they wanted from her. Until yesterday,
they had no intention of coming anywhere near her, and now they desired her. It didn’t make sense, and she didn’t want
just a casual sexual relationship with them.
Yet she wasn’t sure exactly what she did want or was ready to handle.
“There it is,” Spike said,
pointing to a large building with a lot of
windows. The top was painted pink with
neon flashing different foods the establishment offered to the hungry crowds. It was also noisy, so if they’d stayed put like they were supposed to then Dawn and Andrew were probably
safe. At least she hoped they had
listened.
They made their way into the
place, looking around for the two. Buffy
spotted them sitting at a table against the wall. There was a bright blue surfboard hanging on
the wall behind them. There was room for
the three of them to sit with them. Dawn
waved her hand when she spotted them.
Spike was right. By the baskets
of food scattered across the table, Dawn had ordered everything on the
menu. However, it seemed they’d shown
consideration for Spike, there was a basket of untouched Buffalo wings waiting
for him. The blonde
grinned as he took a seat and pulled them toward him.
Angel chuckled, pulling a
chair out for Buffy, before sitting himself.
He leaned back ignoring the food while Buffy picked through the
offerings. None of them had really eaten
very much earlier, and now her stomach was rumbling at the tempting aromas. She grabbed a clean plate and put some onion
rings, and a wedge of quesadilla on it.
“You want a wing?” Spike asked, picking up his third one. He was wolfing them down as if he hadn’t eaten
in quite a while.
“You starving?” Dawn asked, wrinkling her nose as she watched
Spike suck the meat off the bone. She
waved her fork toward him. “Would think
you would be eating something else?”
“I probably would be if you
hadn’t called,” Spike said, with a straight face, but his wink at Buffy let her
know exactly where his thoughts were going.
She blushed, biting into one of the greasy rings to hide her embarrassment. He turned his attention back to the teenager. “Besides you know I get peckish,
Dawn. You and me
spent plenty of afternoons eating junk food together.”
“That was a long time ago,”
She said, returning her attention to the pasta.
Since Sunnydale, Dawn had
perfected a mask of indifference. The
hurt ran too deep for even the younger sister of a Slayer, and she’d somehow
learned not to wear her heart on her sleeve.
The attitude earned her the nickname of Ice Princess from quite a few of
her peers, but Buffy knew the truth.
Dawn still carried some deep hurts over Spike, and there had never been
time for the two to repair their relationship. It was too bad that Buffy planned to send her
sister back to
“Maybe,” Spike said, looking
somewhat abashed even for him. “But I
still remember it.”
“That’s nice,” Dawn snapped. She paused, and then turned to Angel. “I mean after everything else that happened,
you’d remember babysitting me.”
“Dawn, it was more than
that,” Spike said, suddenly pushing his plate away. “You were never just a chore to me.”
“Really? I thought all
you wanted was in Buffy’s pants.”
If a vampire could blush,
then Spike would be at that moment.
Buffy felt bad for him. Dawn was
pushing his emotional buttons as fast as she could. It was too bad that she was creating more
problems when all she really wanted was for Spike to reaffirm his love for her
as more than just Buffy’s sister.
“Dawn, shut up,” Buffy
demanded. She wasn’t sure how much Angel
knew of her past with Spike, but this wasn’t the time or place to hash it
out. Plus, she
was worried that in Dawn’s emotional tantrum she’d say something that she was
sure Angel didn’t know about.
There was a flash of anger
on Dawn’s face, but she didn’t say anything else. Instead, she squirmed in her seat before
putting her fork down. Buffy
sighed. For a few minutes, things had
been more than fine, and now because of Dawn’s emotionalism it was gone.
“Let’s get out here,” Buffy
said. “Lose your tail, get to someplace
safe, and figure out what to do next.”
“No, I want to know what
Dawn is so upset about,” Angel said, folding his hands and placing them on the
table. “What haven’t you told me?” He directed his question solely at Spike, who
leaned back in his chair as if it would put much needed distance between him and
the question. “There has to be something
I don’t know for her to be this upset.
She hated me, and all she did was just act as
if I wasn’t there. So, what did you do
Spike?”
“Don’t worry about it,”
Buffy interjected, placing her hand on Angel’s arm. She’d forgotten how intuitive he could be
when it came to her emotions. She stared
at Dawn though when she continued, “It was something between Spike and I that
in the end is no one else’s business.
Let it go, okay?”
“I think we should go,”
Andrew said, speaking for the first time and startling the others. “Those guys are across the pier waiting for
us.” He was peering fearfully over
Buffy’s shoulder and out the window.
“All the more reason for us
to stay right where we are,” Spike said, returning to the wings without
enthusiasm. It was just something to
occupy him. “Where’s the waitress? I could use a cold brew.”
“Why stay here?” Andrew asked.
“Because
of safety in numbers.”
Buffy rubbed her
forehead. Spike was being his usual pain
in the ass, Angel was brooding, Dawn was moody and Andrew was being fearful
again. It was just what she didn’t need. She laid her hands flat on the table, waiting
until she had all their attention before speaking.
“Look guys, I don’t know
whose following us or why.” She raised
her hand when Angel was getting ready to interrupt her. “I’m tired, cold, confused, and have a headache. I want some sleep,
and some time to figure things out. We
are going to walk out of here, now, and together. If those guys get close
to us, I’ll rip them apart and toss them in the ocean. We will get back into the limo, go to our
hotel, pack our shit, and then go back to the Hyperion for the night.” She pointed at Dawn, and then Andrew. “Tomorrow morning, you two are on the first
plane to
The four looked at each and
then slowly either nodded or murmured their consent to her speech. There wasn’t any argument so either they agreed or decided
that it was the time to push her any further.
Angel threw more than enough money on the table to cover the tab, as
they all stood. Andrew and Dawn were cradled between the other three as they left the restaurant.
Buffy smiled though when she
noticed Dawn positioning herself next to Spike.
Despite what she’d said earlier, Dawn knew Spike would protect her, just
like he promised so long ago. And maybe if Dawn
still trusted her hero, then there was a good chance they would find their
friendship again…eventually.
Right now though, they
needed to get out of here safely. Sure enough,
there were two guys in suits leaning against a railing
and watching them as they exited the restaurant. Buffy fought the urge to flip them a bird as
they passed them. She was in a bad mood,
and only wanted some comfy pajamas and sleep. It was a couple of hours away. No matter how she looked at it.
The car was waiting for them
at the curb. Spike and Angel ushered the
others into the limousine first while they kept an eye out for the goons. But they’d gone for
their own car because their limo hadn’t even gotten out of the parking lot
before they were followed. Andrew
started to say something, but Angel laid his finger over his lips and shook his
head. All discussions would have to wait
until they’d returned to Spike and Angel’s place. They made their way to The Beverly Hilton
without incident, and when the limo pulled up to the front door, their tail
pulled to a stop at the curb across the street.
Angel climbed out first,
followed by Spike; the two of them shielded the others between them as they
walked inside. Buffy hated not being in
control of the situation. There were too
many factors involved to know exactly who was behind what, and what they were
trying to prove. Were they just waiting
until the right time to try to kill them?
Or were they just trying to scare or intimidate
them?
The answer was clear when
they entered their suite. There were a
dozen long stem red roses on the table in front of the couch. Buffy hurried over to them so she could read
the card. It was from Reggie, and all it
said was, I will
never let you go. It was signed with an R.
“The Immortal?” Angel asked.
“Who else?”
Buffy said, putting the card down.
“It seems the games have begun, and may the best side win.”
to be continued…
