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Bash takes control of my body, guiding me to the stairs. He pushes me into his bathroom. I don’t know how to handle this new development.
“Bash?” I ask, hoping he has the answers somehow.
“One step at a time, baby. I’ll bring you some clothes.” He walks out.
I turn on the shower and strip off the ruined clothing. I’m sad that the shirt Penny gave me is ruined. It was so soft, and she was so kind to give it to me. She wore the same one when she came to visit, just in a different color. I commented on it, prompting her to buy it for me. I’ll have to ask her where she got it. I’m still holding it when Bash steps beside me, mourning its loss.
“Get in the shower, Marie,” Bash reminds me. “I’ll be in the other bathroom. There’s no way I’m showering with you with your parents downstairs.” He shudders and shuts the door after him.
I have to smile. The big badass vampire is scared of my parents.
I scrub every inch, making sure the blood is gone. I dress quickly. Bash knew I would need something comforting, so he set out one of my old hoodies. I shut everything out that wants to bombard my senses, not knowing what to expect when I talk to my parents.
My dad has a glass in his hand and is kicked back on the couch, making himself at home. My mom is lecturing him on drinking alcohol so early. Bash is sitting across from them, watching and waiting. He’s tense and quiet.
“Alright, tell me what’s going on,” I demand. I settle next to Bash. Oddly, I can smell their blood. I have no urge to do anything other than smell it.
“We have known for years about vampires and shifters in the world. Of course, we didn’t know you would be one, but I’m glad you are mated to Bash.” Mom smiles proudly. “He’s one of the good ones.”
“You know me?” Bash asks.
“We know about you,” Dad starts.
“How?” I ask.
“We are your contact,” Dad says.
Bash and I stare stupidly at them. “Uh…” What the fuck! My parents?
“Maybe we should start at the beginning,” Mom says, turning her head to Dad.
“Probably,” I said snottily.
“When we got married, we were so excited to start a family. We tried so hard to get pregnant but failed. We thought about adopting, but it never worked out. We struggled to find a purpose besides having a family. Your dad could only garden so much. One day, a man in the neighborhood took a child. He seemed like a kind man; we had no idea he would do such a thing. It was the ultimate sin for people like us who wanted a child so badly. We won’t repeat the horror stories of the things that poor boy went through.
“Everyone was shocked that he didn’t get sentenced for more than he did. It was sad, but it also made a lot of people angry. The boy's father took it upon himself to make sure justice was served. He shot him on the court steps. The father got more years than the sick man did. Is that fair? It was horrible to see.” Mom sniffs, getting choked up.
Dad continues the story. “We started a neighborhood watch. We went out in pairs. Our goal was to keep the rest of us safe. We didn’t know that a vampire had moved into the abuser's house. I met him one night while walking around. I was alone and saw his teeth. It was shocking and scary. He did his best to calm me. He hid his teeth and told me his story. Little by little, day by day, I relaxed and saw him as more of a man than a vampire. It took a bit longer for your mother to get used to him, but eventually, she liked him. For months we got together, and we learned about the world of the supernatural. He told us things that were hard for us to believe.
“We kept seeing these headlines that broke our hearts. The assholes doing the crimes were never caught, or if they were, they got a slap on the wrist.” Dad scowls. “We wanted to do something about it. One night, the vampire was over for supper, and we talked about it. He let us in on the things he was doing to make a difference, but he was doing it alone, and he wanted a partner. Of course, I wasn’t in any shape to wreak vengeance. He explained the work we would be doing. We invested in some high-tech computers, cameras and such.”
“While this was going on, I discovered I was pregnant,” Marina says, looking at me fondly. “We had been so wrapped up in our business that we relaxed and forgot about worrying about getting pregnant. By the time I noticed, I was four months along. We were so happy, thrilled. Even though we were advanced in age, we desperately wanted you. Since we weren’t doing anything dangerous, we kept finding the information for our friend. Life went on, you got older, and we didn’t think we should tell you. We were able to stay home and make a difference and be there for you.”
“We know we weren’t the best parents, but we loved you and still do. You are, to this day, our biggest accomplishment,” Dad says sincerely.
“I’m speechless,” I say.
“How did you know who I was?” Bash asks. His expression is unreadable.
“We didn’t for a long time, but he eventually wanted us to know if something went wrong and he had to disappear.” Dad and Mom share a loaded look. “He hasn’t taken a file for a few months, which isn’t unusual, but we worry,” Mom says.
“I can’t wrap my brain around this,” I confess. “My parents are spies.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Dad says.
“You sneak around collecting information to send to your contacts that torture and kill them. You live a simple life in a quiet neighborhood and hide what you do,” I say. “That is the definition of a spy.” I stand up, waving my arms at them. “Does anyone else know?”
“No.”
