Chapter 22

Derek

By the time it was very late in the afternoon, I had already regained most of my strength. Roxanne had seen to cooking for us and making sure I was well fed. I was beginning to see a different side of her that I hadn't allowed myself to see previously.

Despite my previous attitude towards her, she made sure I was well cared for. She never stopped asking if I needed something or if there was anything else I needed her to do for me. There wasn't. Just seeing her around accelerated my healing process. It felt as if she was all I had been looking for all my life.

I had told Roxanne to put a call through to her school and let anyone that mattered know that she wasn't going to be around for a while. I knew she wanted to protest the order but she resisted herself not to. I was glad she did. One, I wanted her to stay with me for a while, and also, I didn't want to get into any arguments with her.

I was now fit enough to walk around the house, though I hadn't done much of that. I got up slowly from the bed. I was currently the only one in the office but I could still smell Roxanne all over me—warm and rosy. It made me want to find her and hold her so close until our bodies become inseparable. It was a very tempting idea but I had things to tend to. I had been away from the office for a couple of days and it was important that I reached out to them.

I walked slowly towards the desk and sat down on my office chair. I grabbed the phone and began to punch the numbers. I had to inform my assistant, Dennis, that I was going to be away for a while. I knew Dennis could handle everything at work. He was more capable than my brother, Jason, could ever be.

"Hello, boss," Dennis said, as soon as he answered the phone. He was probably the only one, apart from Roxanne, that I called with the villa phone. He recognized it immediately.

"Hello, Dennis. You must be wondering while I've been away for days."

"Yes. But I'd concluded it was personal business and you just couldn't reach out. I'm handling things here."

Another quality of Dennis that I liked was the fact that he didn't ask unnecessary questions. He knew when not to at all and he observed so well that he knew the precise questions he needed to ask if need be. And I could also trust him as a werewolf. Especially with confidential and significant information, just like I was about to do.

"It was the vamps," I told him. "They attacked me at the villa. I haven't figured out how they tracked me here."

I couldn't figure out if Dennis was shocked by that information over the phone. But he paused for a little longer than I expected, so I took that as his reaction of surprise.

"Are you okay? Is there anything you need me to do?" Dennis asked in quick succession. He knew that the fact that he was talking to me now meant that I had taken care of the situation.

"No," I replied. "For now, just make sure things are going smoothly over there. I'll need a couple more days to recover, so I'll be away for a little longer."

"Okay, boss."

After I got off the phone with Dennis, I began to turn to what mattered at the moment. The vampires. If they had found a way to track me down here, then they were more dangerous than any of us thought. And I needed to do something quickly. I could start by checking the dead vampires in the other room for clues.

I headed towards the room. On the way, I could hear Roxanne doing the dishes in the kitchen. In spite of the chaos that the vampires had caused here, her presence alone made this place feel like home more than any other place had ever been. Certainly not the house I shared with my wife, Diana.

When I got into the room, I found no bodies. Though I knew better, I scanned around if by any chance Roxanne had moved them. I couldn't find any. Then I walked closer and found some ashy residue on the floor. I bent slowly until I could touch and have a feel of the strange substance. It felt just like ashes.

The vampires' bodies had turned. I looked up to see direct sunlight coming through the window. The sun was now about to set but it had been stronger earlier and also on the previous day. Vampires never did well against the sun, dead or alive. The dead vampires' bodies must have been turned to ashes by exposure to the sun. That only meant that I had to find another way to get started with the situation. I let out a sigh of frustration.

I wondered what Jason and my father would say when they heard about the attack. The thought got me unsettled for a brief moment. I concluded I was going to keep that information to myself, for now.

After about forty-five minutes, I was able to pull myself through the shower, got dressed and walked up to Roxanne. She sat idly in the living room with her phone in her hands, scrolling through it. I watched her for a brief moment before I approached her and made my presence known.

She turned as soon as she noticed my presence.

"How are you feeling?" She asked me.

"I'm feeling much better, thanks to you," I told her.

She seemed a little taken aback by the last statement. She still hadn't asked me about the vampires and why they had wanted to kill me. I knew she would be greatly bothered by what she had seen the other night, but I honestly wouldn't have a sufficient answer if she did ask. I was still trying to figure that out myself, so I hoped she wouldn't ask.

After a brief moment of sitting down next to her in silence, I asked. "Is there anywhere you would like to go?"

"Well, I would love to be back in school, for a start," she said, almost instantly. She turned to look at me as she spoke, staring intently at my face as though she was trying to understand why I had asked the question.

I saw for myself that she still didn't trust me, or my intentions.

"Let's go out for a walk," I told her and got up on my feet.

She gave a confused frown at first, then she nodded slowly, got up and followed me out of the house.

The villa was located in a somewhat remote area. It was surrounded by a large and quiet yard of green grass. It was why I bought the place, for the peace and quiet, and the very low population around here. We walked for a few minutes in silence, sharing only intermediate glances as we went on.

I observed Roxanne closely, she seemed to enjoy the view more than she thought she would. Almost anyone would appreciate a walk in between beds of well-arranged green, flowery plants.

After a while, we got to a nearby farm, Roxanne couldn't hide her amazement at the sight before us, and when the farmer rode past us on a brown horse, she jumped with excitement. I had never seen her as happy and free as she was, and it made me feel really good about everything.

"You like it?" I asked.

She stopped and turned to look at me, but she said nothing,

"Do you want it?" I asked, and when I saw that she didn't seem to understand what I meant by that question, I added, "If you want it, I would buy it for you."

The look on her face told me she didn't think I was serious. So, I walked forward toward the farmer that had just ridden past us. He'd gotten down from the horse and was speaking to one of the workers on the farm.

After a few moments of negotiating with the farmer, I came back with the keys to the farm gates. I was initially met with resistance but two million was all it took for the farmer to agree to give up the farm.

"Have it, it's now yours," I said, as I passed the keys to Roxanne.

She stared at me with her mouth wide open. Absent-mindedly, she took the keys from me.

"You only need to wait till tomorrow while the owner finalizes a few things and it's all completely yours. You can also decide if you want to keep the staff or discard them. That decision is also yours to make."

Roxanne continued to stare at me, she didn't seem to believe all I was saying. I smiled and said, "It's all yours."