The Making of Vampires Ch. 08

Thank you Griz375 & AisieLynn for editing. Your work is greatly appreciated.

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Tony Tinkerton sat on the wooden bench lifting dumbbells. Sweat matted his blond hair and his blue eyes stared out into nothing. He was lost in his thoughts. Tony was upset having eavesdropped on Stephany and learning that she didn't feel that she could trust him. He simmered about having lost his sister's trust.

Stephany Tinkerton had been a very smart child. She left for college at the age of thirteen and completed her undergraduate studies in two years. Then after she turned sixteen, Stephany didn't return home for visits. She said it was due to her academic pursuits, research opportunities, and career objectives. Tony and his father had only been able to make a few visits to Stephany due to their own schedules. He feared he had lost too much time with his youngest sister and be unable to recover his relationship with her.

Tony's commander, August Morsus, had made him promise not to reveal to Stephany that the men had used her mobile phone as a listening device. They had heard a lot of information. August had used his vampire skill of compelling to make Tony forget hearing about World War II or anything having to do with the supernatural creatures, though.

Martin Morsus sat curling weights as he watched the room with his cold silver eyes focusing his thoughts on the new vampire in their territory. In general, vampires were a solitary lot. He and his brothers were unique in the fact that they had a community of vampires living in the city and protecting it. They ensured that other vampires didn't invade the area and cause trouble. Now, he had to determine if the new vampire, Henry, was a problem or not. If Henry was a problem, Martin would have to determine how to deal with the problem.

On top of that new worry, he was still trying to find his bride. After she had pulled him into her being, he had asked Gabriel to use magic to locate her. Gabriel had explained the only magic he knew to locate someone would require something belonging to the person of interest. A spell cast on an object could locate the owner, but without an object, he could do nothing.

Martin had nothing of his bride, not even her name. He knew very little of her and could not send his men out to find her on what he did know. His frustration grew daily as his feeling of impotence grew. He thought nearly every moment of trying to find her, but had no viable plans.

The door to the precinct weight room creaked open slowly. The humans in the room didn't notice, but the vampires in the room glanced over to see who was coming in. A petite pixie of a woman peeked into the room, looking around until her eyes found Tony sitting with his back to her and the door. She wore black jeans, a gray t-shirt, and black boots. She tiptoed silently into the room unable to hide the warm, enchanting smile on her face as each step brought her closer and closer to the man lifting the dumbbells.

Tony Tinkerton almost laughed aloud at his sister's attempts at stealth. She would make a horrible criminal as the mirrored wall, giving the officers the opportunity to watch their form, went completely unnoticed by her. Yet, it gave him a perfect view of his sister trying to sneak up on him. He pretended not to notice her, allowing her to get closer.

Martin almost shook as the scent of her blood reached him. Her presence overwhelmed him and he tried to hide his growing fangs from the humans in the room by lifting his fist as if he had to cough. Her blood called to his beast. She was the woman who had called him to help her in the desert. She was the woman that would help him maintain his humanity. She was the woman that was to be his wife, his partner for eternity. Martin couldn't take his eyes from her. She finally stood before him. He felt a lump develop in his throat. He feared for her safety.

She was nothing as he had expected. She was too small. She was too playful. She was too much the profile of a victim, appearing harmless to the predators of the world. She appeared weak and fragile. He wondered how she could have lasted in a war zone. She was the type of woman that even when she lost her temper, others would view the episode as cute. She couldn't intimidate anyone, but she would draw a lot of attention to herself by just being her.

August Morsus, Martin's older brother, and Bobby Grant, one of Martin's underlings, looked closer at the woman trying to sneak up on Tony. She was more of a cute kitten, not a sexy femme fatale. She wasn't Martin's type. He preferred the women who obviously oozed with sexuality, not someone who appeared sweet and innocent.

They expected voluptuous, sophisticated, and seductive. They had not expected a sprig of woman, mischievous and impish, as this one appeared to be. She had long dark brown hair, almost black, worn loose and flowing. Martin had a taste for curvy blondes who were low maintenance, who desired sex with him.

She lacked the long legs of the Tinkerton family. The only thing about her that marked her as Tony's sister, besides the scent of her blood, was the bright blue eyes that they shared with their father. Had the men not have known that Tony's sister was coming to have lunch with him, no one would have realized they were related as she was nothing like him, nothing like her sisters.

The way her blood smelled to a vampire did mark her as Tony and Vincent's relation. Family members tended to have blood that harmonized with the others in taste and smell. Vampires recognized members of a family by their blood as humans recognized members of a family by their looks.

Tony waited for his sister to creep within a pace of him. He saw her lift her hands as if about to pounce, so he did instead. In one flowing motion, he turned in his seat, growled loudly, and jumped at her.

Stephany Tinkerton jumped and screamed in surprise. Then she threw both of her hands over her mouth and giggled.

Tony embraced her and said, "You are horrible at sneaking up on people."

Stephany squirmed as she replied, "Gross, Tony. Now, I have man sweat all over me. Yuck." She pushed him away and held her arms out as if they were covered in something toxic. "How did you know I was there?"

Tony laughed as he pointed to the wall of mirrors.

Stephany looked at the wall as if not understanding what she saw. Then she broke out into a fit of laughter as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She hadn't noticed the big obvious mirrored wall in the room.

She backed away from Tony as he tried to give her a kiss on her cheek and said, "Yuck. Shower first and get rid of your work-out cooties."

Tony looked passed her to the other officers in the room and said in a teasing voice, "Now everyone knows you believe in cooties."

Stephany turned around, saw the men, and seemed surprised that there were other people in the room. "Um, hi. Sorry." She glanced quickly around the room noticing how each man reacted to the siblings' behaviors. None seemed bothered.

Tony said, "Come sit by the door as I take a shower. That way, I can talk to you."

Stephany looked at her brother and frowned. "Tony, we're not at home. The other men taking a shower or using the restrooms might not like a woman sitting by an open door. You know, privacy and all."

Tony eyed the men and shook his head. "You really don't know the guys that I work with. If they had their way, they would ask you to join them in the shower to wash their backs." He glared around the room at the men. "You pervs stay away from my sister."

Stephany shook her head. "I wouldn't date a cop, too rigid. You know that."

Tony laughed sarcastically. "I find it funny that you think they date. Notice that I called them pervs. They wouldn't date you. They would...you know."

Stephany tried to hide her grin, but failed as she said, "You can't even say it. That is why I wouldn't date a cop, all uptight and stuff."

Bobby Grant said, "Hey, we're not all uptight." He caught the glare that Martin threw his way and realized that his sire was going to go through a rough time until Stephany was officially one of them.

Tony said quickly, "You were included when I said for everyone to stay away from her."

Stephany looked at Bobby. Then she walked over and around him as she looked carefully at his body. "Nice looking and all, but still a cop. Sorry, can't do it." She returned to her brother as she said over her shoulder, "I live with two of them. Both are all caught up on rules and regulations. I'm certainly not going to date one. Cops can't turn it off and my head would explode from all the illogical thoughts that they can think of."

Bobby had nearly panicked, as Stephany studied his body. He felt the anger come at him in waves from Martin. Stephany was joking, but Martin wouldn't be in a humorous mood for quite a while. He almost slumped forward with relief when she moved away from him. He regretted asking her his question and planned to remain quiet when Stephany was around.

Tony picked up a hard plastic chair and moved it outside the men's locker room. He propped open the door and said, "Sit and I'll take a quick shower."

Stephany sighed, "Fine. I'll talk, but when your buddies complain later, remember that this was all your idea."

Tony smiled and moved into the locker room and called out, "Where do you want to eat lunch?"

Stephany sat down, heard one of the showers turn on, and said, "I have no idea. You know the area much better than I do. I haven't been here in forever. You pick."

Stephany happened to glance up and noticed that one of the officers was glaring at her. He was a tall, muscular man with short dark hair and strange silver eyes. She dropped her gaze quickly to the floor as that familiar feeling of unease crept upon her. She was used to people being uncomfortable in her presence, or just not liking her, but his eyes were intense. They were too intense. Stephany wondered what she could have done to gain his annoyance so quickly.

When Stephany was six years old, her mother said that the girl was special and that people didn't always know how to act around special people. Stephany knew better. She was different, not special, and people didn't like different. People liked sameness.

As a child, Stephany kept herself busy in her room to avoid other children playing outside and becoming the target of a bully because the kids didn't like different. At college, Stephany charged a hefty fee for tutoring, discovering that people appreciated someone who was different when it came to passing classes. Then when she toured with Henry's platoon, the men needed someone who could figure out the signs of biological or chemical warfare. So being different there was a desirable asset.

Tony said, "We can eat at the Corner Diner. They have decent food and the prices aren't bad. A lot of cops eat there."

Stephany kept herself from looking at anyone in the room and replied, "Sounds great. I'm getting hungry." Then she thought for a moment and asked, "If a lot of cops eat there, what is to prevent some psycho from bombing the place or shooting to take out a bunch of you?"

Tony called, "I can't believe you would think like that. Same reason that the psychos don't bomb or open fire on the precinct. Too many of us for them to risk it."

Tony grew quiet as he showered. Stephany felt tension in the room and wished she hadn't agreed to meet her brother at the precinct. She should have suggested meeting anywhere else, such as where they were going to eat. She kept her eyes focused on the floor near her feet to avoid any hostile glares.

Martin was angry at Bobby for flirting with Stephany. He was even angrier with Stephany for obviously looking over Bobby's body. Then he had made eye contact with her. Martin felt as though he needed to breathe for just a moment, unnecessary for a vampire. He was so close to her. Finally, after months of fearing she would die before he met her, she was there.

His elation died quickly when she looked away from him. Her cheeks flushed and shame wafted off her. He couldn't figure out what had upset her. Her heartbeat quickened as did her breathing and her blood pressure increased. She showed signs of distress.

Martin looked at August and Bobby to see if they noticed her sudden discomfort. Bobby wasn't looking at her and was busy with different weights. However, August had noticed the change and was studying Stephany with intense interest.

August had never seen Tony's other sisters uncomfortable, although they tended to make others around them uncomfortable. Yet, Stephany, within a matter of minutes, had grown so uncomfortable that her body had gone into a hypervigilant state.

August met his brother's eyes and shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea what had happened to upset her. This one was certainly nothing like Martin's previous women. This one would drive Martin to distraction. He suspected that Martin would soon grow distraught wanting to fix whatever was wrong with her. He looked at Bobby, fearing the younger man would get the brunt of Martin's anger.

Tony walked out of the locker room; hair still wet, and patted his pants' pocket to ensure that he had his wallet. "I'll pay for lunch. Feel privileged because I won't do that for the other two."

The phrase, "the other two" referred to Carol and Jennifer Tinkerton. Their mother was Elizabeth Tinkerton, the captain's first wife. She was also Tony's biological mother, but he had felt closer to Stephany's mother, Amelia, the captain's second wife. Stephany found "the other two" to be painfully problematic. They had a mean side to them that bordered on psychotic. Where Stephany was an overachiever, the other two were incredible underachievers. Carol and Jennifer had dropped out of high school and now hemorrhaged money off Vincent instead of working.

When Amelia had died, she left each of the four children a sizable life insurance policy, even though the eldest three children were not hers, biologically. The terms of the policy allowed the children to have full access and control of their money when they turned twenty-five years old.

Their father, Vincent, had access to their money to pay for college education, of which only Tony had used. Carol and Jennifer didn't pursue higher education and Stephany had received scholarships, thus not needing any of her money.

When Tony gained access to his money, he bought an SUV with all the amenities available for that model and kept the rest of his money at the investment firms researched by Stephany when she was thirteen, which had allowed his money to grow considerably. He also added a sizable amount from each paycheck since he lived at home.

In three years of having access to her money, Carol had used it for shopping sprees, barely having enough to pay for her upcoming wedding. She had decided not to use the investment companies and her money had barely grown.

Jennifer had used her money for shopping sprees, but only having had access to her money less than a year, she had the majority of it in her bank account. She did not use the investment firms, either, as she usually did whatever her older sister did.

Stephany, as all the Tinkerton children, knew about the money soon after her mother had died when the lawyer spoke with her about her mother's will. She had been eight years old. The lawyer explained that she inherited the house to prevent Vincent's first wife, Elizabeth, from taking him to court to gain access to it.

Elizabeth had gotten his first house in the divorce and then promptly dumped the three children onto Vincent who had to scramble to find another home for his children, a small three-bedroom apartment. Elizabeth used every opportunity to take Vincent to court and sue for more alimony, even wanting to include Amelia's income as a teacher. After that, Vincent placed everything of any value in Amelia's name to prevent Elizabeth from gaining access to any of it. Then, Stephany inherited all that had been in her mother's name, also preventing Elizabeth from gaining any of it.

Stephany smiled at her brother. "Yeah, I won't buy their lunch or anything for them, either."

Martin tried to figure out a way to get himself invited to lunch with the Tinkertons, but couldn't think of a way that didn't sound clumsy or desperate.

August knew his youngest brother well and said, "Hey, why don't we all go out for lunch and I'll treat. Tony has been talking about his youngest sister coming home, so this will be like a celebration...cheap celebration, though, since we are going to the Corner Diner."

Tony pulled his sister to his side, kissed the top of her head, and said, "That sounds great. Don't worry. Stephy can feel just as comfortable in the inexpensive diners as she can in the expensive restaurants."

Stephany cocked her head to the side and replied, "Thanks Tony. You just made me sound like a snob."

He laughed. "You are the only one of us who knows what utensil to use and when."

Stephany sighed. "The outside one. It is always the outside one."

Tony shrugged. "You forget there are two sides of the plate where the utensils sit."

Stephany pinched her brother's ribs and he jerked as he said, "Ow!"

Then Stephany said, "Tony, you haven't introduced me to anyone."

Tony looked stunned. "Right. Stephy, this is the commander of the unit, Lieutenant August Morsus. Lieutenant, this is my favorite sister, Stephy."

August was careful not to touch her as he said, "Nice to meet you Stephany...or Stephy?"

He was bonded, married, and his contact with Martin's future wife wouldn't set Martin off, but there were two others in the group that were single, Bobby and Michael, and Martin's temper would flair if either of them touched her. He hoped his behavior would set the precedence for the others to follow.

Martin would go through the normal vampire phases of jealousy, but his previous loss of a potential wife would haunt Martin until he turned Stephany into one of their kind. Even then, Martin might still be a bit overprotective of her.

Stephany tried to keep from giggling as she said, "Stephy is fine."

August smiled and asked, "What's so funny?"

Stephany answered, "Morsus is an unusual surname. In Latin, it means 'to bite' or 'bitten', but I doubt that was the original surname of your ancestors. Elis Island butchered many names on immigration papers. Sorry, it just seemed funny." She tilted her head and shrugged.

He laughed and said, "It wouldn't surprise me if it had always been Morsus and it was because of some biting problem one of our ancestors had." He looked at Martin for a brief second.

Martin's initial surprise of Stephany's knowledge of Latin ebbed and his brother's joke helped alleviate any concerns. Martin had chosen their last name because he knew the Latin definition and thought it was funny. Now, he almost regretted it. He didn't want Stephany to get a hint of what they were before she was ready. He didn't want her to become frightened to discover that vampires were real. That disclosure would come in time.

Tony pointed to Martin and said, "This is Sargent Martin Morsus. He is August's youngest brother."

Martin offered his hand wanting to touch her more than be polite. Stephany took his hand and gave a gentle shake. He saw her cheeks flush and heard the rhythm of her heart pound harder. Sadly, Martin realized that he was the reason she had been uncomfortable, before.

Stephany smiled politely and said, "It is nice to meet you, Sargent Morsus." Then she looked down at her feet.

Martin noticed she didn't make any small talk with him, which bothered him. How had he already made her dislike him? It was his curse; the women that he wanted to be with didn't like him. He would probably have to watch this one from afar as well.