Kevin was reading in the library, trying to do some research for Howard when the phone rang.
“Hello?” he answered. Before he could go further, Eadon began sobbing and talking quickly & incoherently.
“Slow down, Eadon. Take a deep breath & start over – from the beginning,” Kevin commanded in a calm voice.
“The Garden is in shambles! The front & back doors are busted in, the bar is destroyed, all the tables, lights, chairs – everything is broken or destroyed! I have a show tonight! What am I gonna do?” Eadon sobbed.
“Damn! Is anything burned?” he asked.
“Thankfully, no!”
“Good. Where are you? Are you in the office or are you on your cell phone?”
“Cell phone.”
“Ok. I’m going to make a few phone calls. I’ll take care of everything, Eadon. Don’t worry. I’m sending Sammie to town; meet her at the Garden.” Kevin said as hung up the phone. “Sammie!” he called out.
“Yes?” she asked coming into the library.
“Take Nickolas & Brian and go to town. Eadon just called; the Garden was broken into. Go check it out for me, make sure Eadon & the staff are ok. I need you to be at the club for the new delivery of the liquor – the bar was destroyed.”
When he paused to take a breath, Samantha spoke. “Don’t worry about it, love. I’ll go & take care of it. That club is more my baby than yours anyway. Just call for the delivery. Nickolas!” She called out as she turned around.
“Yes, m’lady?” he asked as he & Brian walked through the door.
“Ah! The two men I needed to talk to. We are taking a ride to town, gentlemen,” she said, grabbing her keys and purse as she passed them.
“Uh oh,” Nickolas sighed.
Kevin laughed at the look on Nickolas’ face as he realized that Samantha was driving.
“Kevin, this place is trashed!” Sammie said less than an hour later. “Are you sure your men will be able to get it back in shape before tonight?”
“I’m positive, sweetheart. Has the delivery truck made it?” he asked.
“Yes. It arrived just before I called you. Eadon is still real upset. She told me more about those vamps from last night. I’ll explain it when I get home.”
“You won’t have to wait; you & Eadon go into the office. Have Brian & Nickolas stay out by the bar. I want to speak to you both privately.” “Yes, dear,” she said as she hung up the phone. “Eadon, let’s go into the office & get out of the men’s way, ok?”
“Sure. I just can’t look at this anymore!”
As the two women walked into the office, Kevin & Alex appeared. “How bad is it out there?” Kevin asked, going over to the one-way mirror & looking out at the damage. “Damn! They certainly did some damage,” he said as he saw the bar.
“I told ya so!” Eadon sobbed, breaking down again.
“I need to know what you know about those vamps, Eadon. Have you seen them before?”
“Yes. Before last night, they had been in here almost every other night for at least two weeks. As you know, we get them in here once in a while, but they never start anything! If I had thought that they were gonna be different, I would’ve called you & warned you.”
“It’s alright, Eadon. You didn’t know that a fight would break out,” he said.
“But it put everyone in danger, including Angel & your new friends! I was so upset when I found out a second fight happened outside after that, I just had the DJ take over the music; I couldn’t perform anymore!”
“Everyone is safe, Eadon. They are now all marked & under our protection. You can not let anything affect your performance tonight! I know how much this fundraiser means to you,” Alex said, comforting her.
“Thank you, Alex,” she said, returning his hug.
“I want to take a closer look at the damage. Sammie, you take Eadon out to go shopping for a couple hours. We will meet here at the club tonight, so you don’t have to make the trip to the Manor again,” he said, kissing his wife gently. He then turned to Eadon, “This place should be back to normal when you get back, I promise,” he said hugging his friend.
Kevin & Alex followed them out of the office & walked over to where Nickolas & Brian were standing. The two women grabbed their purses & saying a quick goodbye, left to go shop their worries away.
Kevin watched Brian’s expression as Eadon walked away. “My young priest seems to be having very un-priest-like thoughts, hmm?”
Brian blushed heatedly. “I’m sorry, Kevin. But there is something about Eadon that makes me want to give up the priesthood. Is that so bad?”
“Not at all, Brian. As we have told you, as long as you have your Faith, it doesn’t matter what you do,” Kevin said.
“According to your religion, if you think it, it’s considered done, am I right?” Alex asked.
“Yes. Then I have sinned many times over since last night. The funny thing is, I don’t care. When she smiled at me earlier, I wanted to give it all up if I could just see her smile again instead of those tears!”
“Then follow your heart,” Nickolas said. “Kevin, the men just walked in.”
Kevin turned and greeted his men as they walked in the door. “Gentlemen! I’m glad you could get here on such short notice.”
“Not a problem, Boss,” the man said looking around. “Nothing we can’t clean up in a few hours. How long do we have?”
Kevin looked at his watch. It was 4pm. “You have about 4 and a half hours. We have a fundraiser here tonight & the doors open at 9. I need this place looking as it should, if not better before my wife & Eadon get back. Need I say more?”
“No, Boss! No explanation needed. No need to upset Ms. Sammie. Boys, get to work!”
“Why did Brian walk away like that after you introduced us?” Eadon asked as she & Sammie got into the car.
“As you can tell, he’s a priest, Eadon. He told me this morning though that he may give it all up to help us out. What he’s seen the last couple of weeks, and last night, he may be making the right choice. He still has his Faith, which is all that matters.”
“So he knows who & what you & the others are?” Eadon asked.
“Yes. Kevin tells me he saw Terra last night. I’m going to have to think about that one for awhile, though,” Sammie said as the two friends got out of the car and walked into the store.
“Are you certain, Paul?”
“Very certain, my friend. He’s immortal, half-vampire – he’s a day-walker. He was awake when we went downstairs & he lunged for Abigail. She blocked him, throwing him back. He’s now sleeping deeply – care of a sleep spell.”
“Good. I’m going to send Brian with Alex first. I will have Nickolas stay here & supervise the work here.”
“We will be prepared for Brian. Abigail has the wine ready.”
Kevin hung up the phone and turned to Alex & Brian. “Brian, Alex will transport you first, then come back for me. You may feel a little ill after this, but Paul & Abigail are waiting for you and have something for you to drink.”
“Yes, m’lord. We’ll see you soon then?” Brian asked as Alex came over to him and took his arm.
“Yes. I’ll be there soon,” Kevin assured him.
“Then I’m ready,” he said just before he and Alex disappeared.
Kevin then turned to Nickolas. “I want you to stay here and supervise this work. That way the girls will be safe when they get back. Do you want me to tell Breeze anything?”
“Can you give her this?” he asked, handing Kevin a folded piece of paper.
“I will deliver it to her personally,” Kevin smiled, putting the paper in his pocket. “She means something to you, Nickolas?”
“Yes. Sammie told me this morning about our auras blending. What did she mean by that?”
“It means you & Breeze are soulmates & that you have once again found each other. If you two were separated now, it would cause harm to the other. If she will take it, I suggest an exchange – soon. She accepted the mark & all our explanations readily. She may very well accept the exchange. You are strong enough to do it yourself, so do it soon, my friend. Time is running out,” Kevin explained as Alex appeared again. “We will see you tonight, Nickolas,” Kevin said, disappearing with Alex.
