Vampires Need Not...Apply? by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff Read Free Book Online Page A

window!
    Ixtab ran to the living room just in time to see the tail disappear outside.
    “No!” She stopped at the sill and looked down, but there was nothing she could do. The cat was gone. And dead. Very dead.
    Ixtab slid down onto the floor, gripping the sides of her head.
Why? Why? Why?
How could she have killed the guy’s cat? No, she didn’t actually pick the poor little creature up and chuck it out the window, but she felt just as responsible.
Poor, poor kitty…
    Gods she was so fed up with this! So sick and tired of being the bringer of self-imposed death. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to kill—well, not unintentionally, anyway. But hell! The Universe had a sick, sick sense of humor.
    A small blinking light and a beep from underneath the sofa caught her attention. Sniffling, she crawled over and found a cell phone. It was on its last legs and needed a charge.
    One hundred and fifteen messages?
She wiped her nose on her black lace sleeve and pressed play. “Antonio, this is Vanessa. Where you been, baby? Call me back.” “I gotta itch tonight, Dr. Acero, wanna scratch it? Call me.” “Meowww, Antonio. Want to play with my puss—”
    What the…? I guess he’s not going to miss the damned cat. He’s got backups all ready to go!
    As each message played, Ixtab felt the rage build and the fantasy of him being something more than just a Francisco look-alike slip further and further away until it died with a gruesome twitch right then and there. This Antonio Acero was a womanizer, a man whore, and clearly inconsiderate of anyone’s feelings. The messages, which became more and more desperate as the women concluded Antonio would not be calling them back, were a testament to his lack of respect for them or their feelings.
    Ixtab slowly picked herself up, still crying. “Well, I guess you got what you came for. This is not Francisco, and now you have proof.” The man she once knew was the most caring, compassionate being on the planet. He’d never use women in such a way.
    Now she could truly put the past behind her. Francisco was gone. And she needed to forgive herself.
You’ve just taken the first step.
    Then why was she so damned angry? Shouldn’t she feel liberated?
    Maybe because
someone
needed to pay this Antonio man a visit and let him know that treating women like single-serve coffee cups wasn’t okay.
    Ixtab smiled. “I so love it when I get to be
someone
.”
    * * *
    “But Mr. Acero,” the nurse pleaded, “he’s your brother. Why don’t you want to see—”
    “
Coño!
I said
no
. And if you haven’t noticed, I am unable to
see
anything or anyone. My goddamned life is over.” Why was everyone trying to convince him that everything would be all right?
Caray.
Nothing would be all right. Not one goddamned thing because he blew it.
    The nurse sighed. “You and I both know you hit your head. The doctor thinks it could be reversible.”
    Right. He knew how this game was played. They’d fill him full of hope only to deliver the bad news later. “I don’t give a shit what the doctor says. I do not want to see anyone. And I do not want to eat; I’m not hungry. Just get the fuck out! Let me die!”
    Antonio knew his brother remained camped outside in the waiting area, but he couldn’t bear to face him. Not after this. Without sight, his work would have to stop and there would be no hope in changing their fates. And, as if to torment him further, the nightmares only worsened. Day and night, those turquoise eyes clawed at the inner sanctum of his mind, the mysterious woman frantically pleading for salvation. A salvation he would never deliver. Not to her. Not to anyone.
    “You’re not dying, Mr. Acero—”
    “
Puta madre.
Leave me the hell alone!”
    The nurse sighed. “I’ll send the counselor. Maybe she can talk some sense into you.”
    “I don’t need a
pinche
headshrink!” he screamed at the disappearing footsteps. “And don’t come back!”
    “Hi there,” said a soft