Vanessa and Veronica Ch. 06

"Are you nice to my sisters?" she asked her tone serious.

Rik and Luc looked at each other and then at the intense little girl standing in front of them with her hands on her hips.

"Why do you not ask them?" Rik asked.

"Ask us what?" Vanessa said from behind Luc.

"Are they nice to you?" Victoria asked.

"Very nice so no worries and if you're worried that you can't come to visit don't be." Vanessa said.

"I see that you've met Victoria." Ethan said when he reached the living room.

"Yes and may I say that you are as beautiful as your mother and sisters?" Luc said kneeling before her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it,

Victoria blushed and then giggled; Luc had just won her over. Following suit, Rik had the same results.

"I made you a present!" she said happy that she liked the brothers.

While Victoria ran off to get the presents Katrina looked at the two couples. She had kept her promise to her girls, they were happy and safe. Ethan was watching too and relaxed, his concerns about Luc's ability to keep Vanessa safe were diminishing as he watched how Luc was never more than a touch away and his body was between Vanessa and the door.

Victoria came back with two boxes and handed a box to each brother.

"Thank you but may I ask what's inside?" Rik asked.

"Snickerdoodles!"

"I am sorry but what are snickerdoodles?" Rik asked.

Victoria gave him an incredulous look.

"Snickerdoodles are only the best cookie on the entire planet." she replied.

"And you made these cookies?" Luc asked.

"I sure did." Victoria replied proudly.

"Then I am certain that we shall enjoy them." Rik said speaking for both him and Luc.

Katrina let them talk for a few more minutes before pulling the brothers away to the study. They waited until she was seated before they sat down. They waited in silence for Katrina to speak not quite knowing what to expect.

"I'm sure that by now you know the history of this family and how Vanessa and Veronica came to be." Katrina said, "So I won't go into the details but I want to tell you what I promised all of my girls on the day that they were born. I promised them a safe and happy life and I also promised to kill anyone or anything that threatened them and that includes the two of you."

Her eyes never lost their warmth as she threatened two vampires well over a foot taller than she was and outweighed her as well. Somehow the threat/promise felt more intimidating coming from her than it did Ethan.

"Ethan and I love those girls and if I have as much as a hint that either of you are hurting them...."

She left the threat unspoken and continued in her soft voice.

"We are entrusting the happiness and safety of our daughters to you, do not fail them or us."

Luc spoke first.

"Mad...."

"Katrina please." she interrupted.

"Katrina, I speak on behalf of Rik as well as myself, you have our word that no harm will come to any of your daughters and that includes Victoria. We are now members of this family and will die defending it."

Katrina gave each brother a long look and then nodded.

She was satisfied.

*******

Vanessa and Veronica busied themselves in the kitchen. They were actually more worried about Rik and Luc's meeting with their mother than they had been with their meeting with Ethan. They both knew that the guys were sucked in by Katrina's shy, quiet manner but a threat given in that soft voice of hers was worse than a threat spoken in anger.

"I like them." Victoria said as she watched Vanessa get ready to mash the potatoes.

"They like you too." Vanessa said with a smile, "Go grab the milk for me will you?"

Ethan chuckled as he thought about Katrina issuing a threat in her soft voice. "Those two are in for a surprise." he thought as he took the roast out of the oven at the appointed time and put the tray of rolls in oven. That done he took the creamy horseradish out of the fridge and set it on the counter to be taken to the dining room.

A few minutes later, Katrina, Rik and Luc came out of the study. Each man went to his mate and kissed her on the cheek and hugged her. Each one of them had the same thought, they didn't want to find out if their mother in law was capable of doing what she threatened although they were certain that she could and would.

Dinner was pleasant with Rik and Luc teaching Victoria several words in French. Everyone was surprised to find that she had an ear for languages and as for Victoria- she was thrilled. Dessert consisted of snickerdoodles and coffee with Victoria drinking milk.

Ethan, Rik and Luc cleaned up while the women went to the study to make wedding plans.

"Has anyone heard from Uncle Patrick?" Vanessa asked.

"No but apparently things are going as well as can be expected." Katrina replied as she sat down, "alright, what do we have?" asked.

They worked on the wedding for two solid hours.

"Well, it helps that you each want the same things." Katrina said relieved, "Rik and Luc will take care of calling their parents right?" She asked.

"Yes, they've already talked to them." Veronica said, "They'll be here a few days before the wedding."

"Where are they staying? Katrina asked.

"We thought that they could stay at the house down the beach from us." Veronica replied.

"Why don't we have them stay here?" Katrina asked, "We have plenty of room and they wouldn't have to worry about meals and since the wedding will be here they won't have to worry about finding their way around."

The girls agreed to talk to Rik and Luc about it and to leave the decision to them.

By the time they left, it was past one am, there was still plenty of time to show Luc and Rik around. Luc pulled up to the gate and entered the access code that Vanessa gave him. They drove to the gate and parked right in front of the door. Rik and Luc made Vanessa and Veronica stay in the car while they scanned the area for danger. As soon as Vanessa was out of the car, she looked at Veronica; someone had been in the lab.

"What is it?" Luc asked.

"Someone's been here." Vanessa replied looking around.

"Do you have lab techs?" Luc asked.

"No and we're the only ones besides Uncle Patrick who knows the codes to get in." Vanessa replied.

"Wait here......"

"Oh no you don't!" Veronica said, "This is our lab and we're going in."

"And besides, "Vanessa said, "They could still be in there although I don't smell anything."

"Fine but don't go wandering away from us." Rik said firmly.

Vanessa said the codes and the doors swung open.

"Ewww!" Veronica said covering her nose, "What is that smell?" she asked.

"Spoiled blood." Rik replied.

"Spoiled bl...."

Vanessa and Veronica looked at each other and stepped into the lab.

"Lights!" Veronica called out.

When the lights came on, they all gasped. The lab was totally destroyed, the PET scan machine was in pieces and strewn all over the lab, blood from the samples that had been collected splattered the walls and the floors, computers and diagnostic machines were totally destroyed. There wasn't a single piece of equipment spared; any data on paper had been run thru the shredder before the shredder itself was destroyed.

Shocked, they walked through the rest of the lab only to find that not even the personal areas had been spared. The thing that concerned Rik and Luc was the smell. Yes there had been blood from the lab samples but not enough to cause the stench that assailed their nostrils.

Luc stopped them when they got to what would have been Vanessa's room. The smell was strongest there, slowly he opened the door.

"Lights!" he said.

Their mouths dropped open in horror.

**********

Ethan was playing scrabble with Katrina and Victoria and as usual was getting his ass kicked. He was in the middle of laying a word down when he froze.

"Stay here!" he whispered and vanished outside.

"Who goes there?" one of his guards called out.

"Stand down it's me!" Ethan said looking around.

The guard appeared before Ethan.

"Is there a problem?"

"Did you see or hear anything?" Ethan asked looking around.

"Not a peep but I'll check with the others." he said.

"Good and let me know what they say." Ethan replied.

He took another look around, someone or something had been here. He would bet every dime that he had on it but why hadn't his guards picked up on it?

As he headed back into the house he heard Katrina call his name.

"What is it sweetheart?" he asked.

"The girls just called, their lab is completely destroyed, and the only data that they have left is what's on their laptops."

"Where are they now?" he asked.

"At the lab, they want us to come, there's something that they want us to see."

********

He felt so much better now that he had given them a glimpse of who he was. His only regret was that he couldn't see the expression on the one named Vanessa's face when they went into her bedroom. He finished another drink and vanished to the basement where his bed was. It was early yet but there were plans to be considered and initiated.

"Good rest Ethan Sinclaire." he whispered as he lay on the bed fully clothed.