"Jesus Christ - " He grabbed his cross and wheeled around. "Do you always sneak up on people?"
Payne's brother didn't answer - or perhaps couldn't. The vampire's eyes were locked on his sister and her galloping horse, and he seemed as moved as Manny was.
"I thought it was a stallion, though." Vishous shook his head. "But yeah, this is what I saw ... her on a black Thoroughbred, her hair in the breeze. I didn't think it was the future, though ..."
Manny turned back to his girls, who were far off down the retaining wall and making a fat turn to return toward the house.
"I love her so damned much," Manny heard himself say. "That's my heart right there. That's my woman."
"Word."
As a powerful accord weaved between the pair of them, Manny felt like he was home in so many ways; and he didn't want to think too much about that for fear the fragile blessings would fall apart.
A moment later, he glanced over. "Mind if I ask you something."
"G'head."
"What the f**k did you do to my car?"
"What, you mean the music?"
"Where did all my - "
"Shit go?" Diamond eyes met his. "You gonna live here, you're going to start listening to my tunes, true."
Manny shook his head. "You're kidding me."
"You saying you didn't like the beats?"
"Whatever." After a harrumph, Manny copped, "Fine, they didn't absolutely suck."
The laugh was just a liiiiiiittle too triumphant. "Knew it."
"So what was it?"
"Now he wants names." The vampire took out a hand-rolled and lit it. "Let's see ... Eminem's 'Cinderella Man.' Lil Wayne's 'I Am Not a Human.' Tupac's ..."
The list went on and on, and Manny mostly listened as he went back to watching his woman ride while he rubbed the heavy gold weight of his crucifix.
He and Payne were together ... that Butch guy and he were going to church together at midnight ... and Vishous hadn't stabbed him. Plus if memory served, Payne's twin drove that black Escalade over there, and that meant payback was going to be a shitload of Black Veil Bride, Bullet for My Valentine, and Avenged Sevenfold getting loaded into that SUV's sound system.
Just the thought made him smile.
All in all?
He felt like he'd won the lottery. In each of the fifty states. At the same time.
That was how lucky they all were.