She was hoping that if Paul was turned before he was caught that it might make a difference. The fact that he was her life mate and one of them should help. She hoped. It was the only reason she would even consider turning him on her own without drugs and IVs to aid in the endeavor. But she might not have to do without those items. A visit to the nearest hospital and a little mind control would get her anything she needed. Except for the specialized drugs developed in R and D, she acknowledged unhappily, but then decided she would worry about that when the time came.
“Sounds good,” she said finally.
Six
“Jeanie?”
Jeanne Louise stirred slowly and opened her eyes to find Paul leaning over her. Blinking sleepily, she peered around, her hand automatically tightening on the bundle of fur in her lap as Boomer too began to stir. The car was stopped. They were parked in a big, busy Walmart parking lot. Obviously she’d dozed off and they’d reached the Kitchener/Waterloo area. Or maybe Cambridge. She wasn’t sure which.
“I was going to let you sleep while I ran in to get you some clothes, but I don’t know what size you wear,” Paul explained, sitting back in his seat so that she could sit up.
“Oh.” She smiled around a yawn and then shook her head. “I’ll get them.”
“Uh, well, it’s maybe better if you don’t. You might draw some attention like that,” he pointed out gently.
Jeanne Louise glanced down at herself and frowned as she noted the mud-streaked front of her clothes. She was dry now, at least, but the mud hadn’t evaporated with the damp. She would definitely draw attention. Sighing with resignation, she nodded. “Size six most of the time, but sometimes an eight.” When confusion entered his face, she chuckled. “Different manufacturers fit differently. Just go with six.”
Nodding, Paul glanced in the backseat.
“I’ll be here,” she reassured him. “And I’m awake now.”
“Thanks,” he murmured, and then reached for the door handle and slid out, saying, “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Okay,” Jeanne Louise said just before he closed the door. She watched him walk away from the car, and then glanced at the cars around them. He’d parked at the back of the lot, but still among the other cars rather than off alone. The parking lot was surprisingly busy for this hour. By her guess it must be nearly nine o’clock. Most Walmarts stayed open until eleven though.
A sleepy murmur from Livy drew her attention and Jeanne Louise shifted to glance in the back. The girl was still asleep, however. Her color was good, her cheeks actually a little rosy. Two meals and some time to be a child at Chuck E. Cheese’s had done her good. She needed a couple more days of eating and having fun to rebuild her strength though before it would be safe to turn her.
Jeanne Louise settled back in her seat, her hand automatically holding Boomer in place as she did. When he gave her hand a wet swipe with his tongue, she smiled at the animal, and ruffled his ears. He was a good dog and had apparently slept the whole time she had, Jeanne Louise thought and then glanced after Paul, wishing she’d thought to tell him to get some dog food for the poor animal. They hadn’t fed him before going out for supper. She supposed Paul had intended to when they got back, but instead they were driving around looking for somewhere to hide. And the dog still hadn’t eaten.
Her attention was distracted from that thought by the sight of a family walking up the row of cars, bags in hand. Two young children were chattering away to a weary-looking mother and father as they were herded toward a small minivan across the aisle and a couple cars up. Jeanne Louise watched the parents stow the bags and kids in the van and then get in themselves, and grimaced as her fangs tried to slide out.
She was hungry, and not for food. Her belly was still happily full of pizza. It was blood her body wanted and the need was beginning to gnaw at her. She had to feed soon. That thought in mind, Jeanne Louise let her gaze slide over the people moving back and forth in the parking lot, some returning to cars, some leaving them to head into the store. Most seemed to be in groups or at least pairs. In fact, several minutes passed before she spotted a man on his own. Her eyes narrowed on him, considering. He was young, perhaps in his early twenties with short preppy blond hair and an athletic build. Healthy-looking.
Jeanne Louise automatically reached for the door handle and then recalled Boomer in her lap. Pausing, she bit her lip and peered down at the dog. He was awake and lying nicely in her lap, but she couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t hop into the backseat and disturb Livy if she left him in the car.
Her gaze slid back to the young man. He was slowing as he approached the car across from Paul’s, a small, sporty red coupe. Feeling her fangs slide down and out again, she forced them back once more, but then reached for the door and this time opened it.
Jeanne Louise took Boomer with her as she slid out of the front seat. Holding the dog to her chest with one hand, she eased the door carefully closed to keep from waking Livy and then turned to peer at the young man again.
He had opened the driver’s door of his car and was about to slide behind the wheel. Jeanne Louise didn’t speak, simply slipped into his thoughts and took control of him. It was as easy as poking a finger in soft butter. Unlike Paul, the man was as malleable as mud.
Smiling to herself, Jeanne Louise made him close his door and cross the aisle to her. His expression was blank when she brought him to a halt in front of her. She took a moment to search his thoughts and be sure he hadn’t been drinking or taken any drugs, and when she found he was clean, and in fact a health nut, she relaxed and made him bend toward her as if about to kiss her. But at the last minute she made him turn his head.
To anyone watching it would look like they were merely embracing and she was nuzzling his neck, Jeanne Louise thought, as she braced her hand on his chest. She raised up on her toes, let her teeth slip out and—
“Jeanne Louise?”
She turned instinctively at that questioning voice, not thinking to retract her fangs until she saw the way Paul’s entire expression froze. Cursing herself for not thinking to check the parking lot before making her move, Jeanne Louise quickly let her teeth slide back into place and removed her hand from the man she’d been about to bite. She stayed inside his head, though, sensible enough not to release him yet.
“Paul, I—”
“You were going to bite him,” he hissed accusingly as he moved up to join them between his car and the sedan next to it.
Jeanne Louise didn’t bother trying to deny it. She raised her head, straightened her shoulders, and said with simple dignity, “I need to feed, Paul.”
His mouth thinned, and then he glanced sharply to her intended dinner. His eyebrows immediately drew together as he took in the blank expression on his face. “What have you done to him?”
Jeanne Louise grimaced. Now she’d have to explain things she hadn’t wanted to explain. Buying herself some time, she said, “Hang on,” then turned her full attention to the man again and sent him walking back to his car. She had him get in, and then took a moment to make sure he didn’t recall his brief detour to her side, before releasing him.