Rated: PG-13
A/N: BJ is my OC, the adopted daughter of Mick and Beth. She was first introduced in Milestones, Part 1. It is not absolutely necessary to read that first, but it might help. BJ also has her own Halloween and Christmas stories.
Huge thanks to Moonlighter for being my idea bouncer this time as well as my beta. You would not be reading this if it hadn't been for her.
I update every other night.
Previously in BJ’s Freshman Adventure ...
“You don’t understand vamps as well as you think you do BJ,” Curtis replied. “Gerrard is not going to forget what you did.”
BJ should have listened to Curtis.
Chapter 4
Curtis stood in the shade under a large tree waiting for BJ to finish her class. He would have preferred to wait inside the building by the lecture hall door, but outside near the front door was as close as BJ would allow. He shook his head and smiled as the doors opened and students began to file out. She’s a spitfire, that BJ. I’ve really been enjoying spending time with her this past week. Since becoming a vampire, he had never known a human girl who wasn’t a freshie, and it was a refreshing change for him. I don’t have to hide what I am or who I am with her. There’s no discomfort drinking blood in front of her, and no awkward expectations that can come from being with a freshie. And she’s so easy to talk to! I wonder when she’ll tell me the story about her vamp relations?
Curtis came out of his reverie and looked at his watch. She should have been here by now! He walked up to the front door and entered the building. He found the lecture hall and looked inside the door, thinking maybe BJ had stayed after a few minutes to speak with the professor; it was deserted. Growing nervous, Curtis tried to scent the area, but it was a typical freshman lecture with well over a hundred students in it, and he could not positively pick out BJ’s scent. He quickly scouted out the nearest women’s restroom, but there were no heartbeats within and no trace of BJ’s scent. He called her cell phone; it went unanswered. Shit! Trying to keep the panic down, he sped off for the girls’ dorm room.
The sudden and loud knocking on the door startled Dana so much she almost fell off her desk chair. “DANA! It’s Curtis! Open up!” He banged again.
“Okay, okay!” she called back. Grabbing the silver stake she always kept near, she cautiously opened the door only to be pushed aside as Curtis hurried in.
“Tell me she’s here. Tell me BJ came back and I just missed her. She’s in the bathroom, right?” He started towards the bathroom door.
“BJ’s not here Curtis,” Dana said anxiously. “Why isn’t she with you?”
Curtis spun around to face her, his senses confirming what he had feared: BJ was not in the room. “She didn’t come out of her last class. I was waiting where I always do, where she told me to wait, and she didn’t come out.” He ran his hand through his hair, looking at Dana.
“She told me her dad was a private investigator in LA when she was little. Maybe we should call him,” Dana suggested.
“No! At least, not yet. It would only upset him, and we don’t know if anything is wrong yet.” He saw Dana’s skeptical look. “Okay, give me an hour. If I’m not back by then with BJ, then you can call her father.” He headed out the door. Dana nodded, locking the door behind him. She wiped her eyes and sent up a small prayer.
Please let BJ be alright!
MLMLMLML
When Dana realized she had read the same paragraph three times and still didn’t know what it said, she gave up trying to study. She anxiously looked at her watch for the hundredth time. It had been forty-five minutes, and still no sign of Curtis or BJ. She thought she would try to find a phone number for BJ’s father, just in case. I hope BJ doesn’t mind me looking through her stuff, she thought as she searched BJ’s desk. Nothing. She’s probably like me and has her address book on her smart phone. Dana tried to think how else she could find a phone number. Her search of BJ’s belongings had taken longer than she expected and Curtis’ hour had been up twenty minutes ago. She said her dad was a private investigator when he found her as an infant. Maybe he still is and I can search for a license. Eventually she found a database for California licensed PIs, narrowed it down to LA and the surrounding area, and searched by name. Bingo! “Mick St. John, Private Investigations.” She crossed her fingers and dialed.
“St. John Investigations.”
“Hello, is this BJ’s father?”
Mick’s senses went on full alert. “Yes it is. Who’s calling, please?”
“Mr. St. John, this is Dana Miller, BJ’s roommate.”
“Yes, Dana. What can I do for you? Is everything alright?”
“No, it’s not. How soon can you get up here? BJ is missing.”
Mick’s gut clenched. He jotted a note on a piece of paper: Contact Josef for flight to Berkeley ASAP. BJ missing. While still talking to Dana he left his office in search of Beth. “I can be there in less than two hours. What happened?” He found Beth and handed her the note. Beth let out a small gasp. With a nod she immediately pulled out her phone as Mick returned to his office.
“I was forced into being a freshie and got in trouble and Curtis helped me, but then BJ confronted the guy to make him give me my back pay and let me quit, and Curtis threatened him with a gun so he paid but now she’s missing and Curtis said he’d be back in an hour and went to find her but it’s been almost two hours now and they’re not back so I’m calling you.” She took a huge breath.
Mick’s head was spinning. Dana’s a freshie? I would have known that when I met her, and she wasn’t one then. How did that happen? And who the hell is ‘Curtis’? “Dana, listen to me. Where are you?”
“In our room.”
“That’s too easy to find. You need to get someplace safer. Someplace with a lot of people, so if he comes after you it will be noticeable. Is there a place like that?”
Dana thought for a minute. “How about the library? There should be plenty of people, plus it’s quiet. If anyone tries anything it will quickly attract attention.”
“That’s a terrific idea, Dana. Can you get there safely?”
“Yes, I think so. It’s not far.”
“Okay, go there right away and let me know when you’re safely inside. Then stay there, do you understand?”
“Yes sir,” Dana said meekly.
“Good girl. I’ll call you when I’m airborne. You can fill me in on the details then.”
Mick hung up the phone and immediately went to find Beth. He found her in the bedroom throwing clothes into a suitcase, a few tears running down her cheeks. Mick went up behind her and put his arms around her. She turned into his embrace and began to cry.
“What’s happened? Why is she missing? Did someone take her? Why would anyone want to take our daughter?” Mick just held her and let her cry.
“I don’t know much yet. It seems that Dana became a freshie against her will and got into some trouble. And you know our Bethany - always the one to rush to the rescue! It sounds like she and a boy named Curtis went to bat for Dana and now both are missing. Dana is scared to death.”
Beth looked up at Mick and wiped her nose. “Yes, that sounds like our Bethany, defending the underdog.” She gave a weak smile. “But who is Curtis?”
“I don’t know. It sounds like he’s helping the girls. Maybe he’s a vamp.”
“And how did Dana suddenly become a freshie?” Beth asked as she returned to packing. “She wasn’t one when we met her.”
“No idea. I’ll find out more when we’re on our way. I told Dana I’d call her then and she can fill us in on the details. So what did you work out with Josef?”
Beth closed the suitcase and Mick carried it to the front door as Beth went to the kitchen and began to load blood bags into an insulated shoulder bag. “He’s sending a car to pick us up and take us to a nearby helipad. His chopper will meet us there and fly us to his private hangar where his plane will take us to Berkeley.” Mick nodded. Beth zipped up the satchel of blood. “That sounds like a car now.”
MLMLMLML
Mick sat in his plane seat reading Dana’s email a second time. She had texted from the library that she was safe inside, but added that she wouldn’t be able to talk to him on the phone to provide details. Mick texted her to send an email describing everything that had happened, and to make sure no one could read over her shoulder.
He glanced over at Josef, who had been waiting for them at his private plane. “What? You didn’t think I’d come along to save my favorite niece?” Mick smiled at the memory. Of course Josef would want to come along.
“Josef,” Mick addressed his friend now. “Have you ever heard of a ‘First Timers Club’ for vamps?”
“Sure. It’s a place for the well-heeled who get off on giving a freshie her first bite. Why?”
“Are they legit?”
“Yeah, as far as I know. There is a group of them affiliated with UC; a club at every campus location. I’ve even been to the one at UCLA a few times,” he added as he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Knock it off!” Mick growled. “So what happens to the freshies after they’re no longer virgin bites?”
“There’s a procedure to place them in other clubs. It’s all by the book and the girls are all treated well. Why, what’s up?”
Mick handed his iPad over to Josef. “It appears the guy running the UC-Berkeley club has gone into business for himself – with a different agenda.”
Josef read Dana’s email, growing angrier by the minute. “Let me make some calls. The vamp who runs the UCLA club is a business associate of mine.”
MLMLMLML
BJ opened her eyes and sat up, fighting the dizziness. Her throat was dry and there was a strange taste in her mouth. She tried to remember what happened. I was in class; the professor asked me to stay after for a few minutes and asked about the paper I turned in recently. I hurried out of the hall knowing Curtis would be worried if I was late. Someone bumped into me and knocked the books out of my hand that I hadn’t bothered to put in my backpack. I knelt down to pick them up. Suddenly there was a cloth over my mouth and nose… she looked around the small room …and here I am. She saw a pitcher of water and a glass on a table, next to some fruit. I wonder if it would be okay to drink some water? She walked over to the table and poured a glass. She smelled it and took a small sip; it seemed okay. Well, if they want my blood they aren’t going to drug me or kill me, so I might as well have some. She drank the water and her throat felt better. She inspected her surroundings some more. A cot, a small wooden table and chair, no windows, a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling, one door – locked from the outside, and a small lavatory with a toilet and sink. So basically, I’m in a cell. She sat back down on the cot. By now Dana must be a nervous wreck! And Curtis is probably furious with me. I guess I should have listened to him.
She startled when she heard someone unlock the door, and her heart began to race. Eric Gerrard slinked into the room. Like the rat he is, she thought.
“Well, well, how nice to see you again, Miss St. John. I hope you like your accommodations,” he said as he walked around the room. “You may be here quite awhile.” He drew a finger across the table and then brought it up to his face, as if inspecting it for dust. “Or hardly any time at all. I haven’t quite made up my mind yet.”
BJ jumped to her feet, her cheeks flushed with anger. “You just wait till my father…”
Gerrard spun on his heels to face her. “Your father is nothing but a washed-up PI pretending to be human, with his little adopted daughter and house in the suburbs,” he sneered. With a menacing stare he stalked straight up to BJ, who backed away until she hit the wall and could go no further. “He should have drained you when he found you.”
Without thinking BJ slapped Gerrard across the face. He grabbed her arm and slammed it back against the wall, his face inches from hers and his eyes silvering over as BJ winced. “My, aren’t you a little hellion,” he growled as he sniffed her neck. “I like that.” He let BJ go, walking back across the room.
BJ let out her breath, rubbing her arm. It was already starting to bruise. “What do you want with me?”
“I haven’t decided,” he said in a disinterested tone. “I could put you in the First Timer’s Club, but I’m not sure if having previous knowledge of the bite would be a detriment or enhance your value.” BJ’s eyes followed him around the room as he walked in circles. He paused and turned to stare at her, raking his eyes up and down her body and licking his lips. “Or I could keep you for myself. It’s been awhile since I’ve indulged in a virgin bite. And who knows? Maybe I’d decide to keep you around as my private reserve.” BJ shuddered at the thought. “But then something happened that made my mind up for me.” He snapped his fingers. Two men came into the room carrying a body. They dropped it on the floor and retreated, closing the door behind them. Gerrard used his foot to roll the body from its side over onto its back, exposing a silver stake protruding from its chest.
BJ gasped. “Curtis!”
To be continued...
Really, though, I am scared for Curtis and BJ. And poor Curtis is in for a world of hurt, with a silver stake in his chest. But at least Mick and Beth are coming. Oh yeah, and Uncle Josef. One should remember never to piss him off... 
Poor Curtis! 
