The Gung Ho Lady (Gung Ho Series #1)

Chapte 12

"KEVIN..." The name escapes my mouth before I realize who owns it. I am lying on a couch as the lights meet my eyes. I try to get up gently, but there's a pinch of sudden pain coming from my shoulders. I contemplate where the unpleasant feeling is coming from. A bite mark with a complete set of perfect teeth. A vampire bite? No. Impossible. My face feels cold as if blood drains from my face. Vampires don't exist. Definitely, they don't.

"Hey! Margaux, are you okay?" I hear a familiar voice. As I turn, a set of gray eyes is staring at me.

Woo! Vampire. I am surprised. He looks like one by how they are portrayed in books and movies. It's the gray eyes.

"Who are you?" His face turns pale at my confusing inquisition. He looks familiar. Oh. I stop. He's the twin brother of Carra. He isn't a total stranger. My eyes stare at him. Yes, he is. He is Kevin Tasker. His presence sends shocks in me.

"Your condition is not showing any progress." Worried and concern, a very familiar voice pops out behind me. It's from her, Carra. She's here. I turn to her and give her a hug.

"Carra!" My voice is almost a plea. I feel relieved somehow, seeing a more familiar being. I let her escape my arms when I finally get a hold of what has really transpired. I can't believe that an attack has occurred. It has been a year since I have encountered it.

"Thank God, you're here."

"Calm down... we don't want your condition to worsen," she reminds me. Panic won't help me. She brushes and pats my back gently to pacify any outburst or attack I might have again.

"I'm fine. I think I'm going to be alright." Almost teary eyed, I feel grateful that I have Carra by my side as a doctor and most especially as a friend. I don't have many, a few friends are all I have.

"Can you remember what happened to you before you completely passed out?" she asks hesitantly. She must have learned it from experience. Nagging me with questions won't help me get any better in my condition. She eyes me gently, anticipating some answers.

"I was ..." I pause for a moment. "I was with him." Undecided, I don't want to mention his name.

"With whom?" she curiously asks. I wonder if it's part of the therapy.

"Kevin ... Kevin Tasker," I say to satisfy her. She smiles when it is obvious that I do remember and probably, she must have heard the rest of the story from his brother.

"Vin ... stop what game you're about to play with Margaux. I already explained to you her condition. You should have known better." She turns and scolds him. She sounds like a mother to him as she throws daggers at him through her eyes.

He smiles sheepishly as his gaze locks on the floor. He looks apologetic, like a young boy in his teens.

"You never grow up, Vin. You better bail Margaux out of this mess as soon as possible." Her voice demands and won't take no for an answer. "And I forgot, don't ever bite her again. I mean it," she adds as a warning.

"That's what I've been trying to do, sis." I am not certain if he meant the 'bite' thing or the 'game' he is about to play on me, but the annoyance is evident in his voice.

Yes. Maybe, he is having a hard time with the case.

"No. It's fine, Carra. You don't have to put pressure on his job." And I don't want to be a burden to another Tasker.

"No, he has to do it. He must save you from this mess. It's pretty obvious that you didn't commit the crime." She sounds so confident and definite.

"How did you know?" I ask her curiously, glad she feels that towards me.

"Kevin ..." she calls his name as if she is summoning a slave.

"Yes, sis?" He submits to her call with an equal sarcasm. Then, he puts down a laptop on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Play it, bro," she says candidly and he clicks the video on the monitor.

***

KEVIN STANDS by the door as he waits for the arrival of Miss Esteban, the 30-year-old landlady of the condominium building where I'm staying. A knock on the door startles me and he stops whatever reverie he has in mind. He looks cautious as he carefully opens the door. I'm pretty sure it's her, I have to put on my act. Calm and collected. That's what I should be. Any hint of irregularities might trigger something inside her. I pant as I struggle for air in this tiny closet of his.

As I recall the video Kevin and Carra has shown me, I can't help but fear the woman who has been all smiles to me since I met her. Sure, I feel weird around her, but she has been very accommodating since I moved to the condo unit two months ago. And to see her put a huge garbage bag in my room-in my place, is a horror I want to forget for the rest of my life. She has duplicate keys that my scattered brain never thought of.

"Thank you for complying with my request." Through a slit from the closet where he has hidden me, Kevin welcomes and offers her the seat across me. She looks happy, and a bit energetic than the usual. Her usual smile turns into a wide grin, flashing her complete set of teeth. She seems stylish today, and isn't wearing her black T-shirt and maong pants uniform she wears whenever she does her everyday routine around the condo. I can see a hint of red paint on her lips. Unbelievably, she's wearing makeup today.

"It's a pleasure, Kevin." The way she utters his name is pure seduction. It feels like she is a totally different person. Her timid and mousy aura seems to disappear and she is all bright and game for whatever is about to happen between her and Kevin. An unknown pain pinches my heart as his name crosses my mind. Kevin being with her at this very moment sends unimaginable annoyance.

Engrossed with my thoughts, the landlady sits down leisurely as Kevin moves closer to her. They look too close, just too much proximity between them. I want him to stop, prevent him from any stupid moves he is about to make on her. He leans closer as she brushes his face, his beautiful face.

There is an urge that is about to take over me, but I have to tolerate it, endure it until he gets what he needs from the landlady.

"Aggressive..." she comments. There is a hint of playfulness in her voice. The landi factor is evident in every sound she produces. Her hands travel at the back of his muscled body.

Don't touch him. I feel possessive for some reason. It is not like I have any connection with this guy I met just a few days ago and coincidentally, he is the twin brother of Carra.