by Myla Jackson
“So what did you decide? Are you a saint or a dumbass?” Chase’s voice brought him back to the interior of the squad car.
“Neither.”
“So when are you going to get into that nurse’s pants? What’s her name? Julia?”
“It’s Julie and tomorrow. I mean, I asked her out tomorrow. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to get into her pants.” Although that’s exactly where he’d been only moments before, in his mind.
“Then you’re definitely a dumbass.”
The radios on their shoulders squawked. “All units in the vicinity of Main and Lamar Streets, assault in progress. Please respond.”
“That’s us.” Roger pressed the talk button on his radio to inform the dispatcher they’d take the call and their estimated time of arrival. Then he settled back in his seat, glad the diversion had taken Chase’s mind off the subject of Julie and her pants.
When the squad car stopped in the location given, Roger didn’t see anyone at first. “Do you think it was a crank call?”
“I think I saw movement in that alley. Let’s go.” Chase shoved the car in park and leapt out, drawing the Glock from his holster.
Before Chase could round the car, Roger took off at a dead run toward the alley, hugging the buildings along the sidewalk. Adrenaline packed his veins, shooting blood to his brain, clearing his hearing, vision and thinking processes to hone in on his quarry. This was the reason he loved his job. Not the nights of boring patrols, hauling in drunks or cleaning up prostitutes.
No, he loved going after the bad guys and bringing them down. Face it. He was a thrill junkie. The night shift was the best place to find them.
When he reached the alley, he stood with his back to the wall and waited for Chase to catch up. With a nod toward his partner, he stepped into the dark passage. A shadow moved beside a dumpster. It appeared to be a man. A man carrying another person. A woman.
“Halt! Or I’ll shoot!”
A wicked rumble erupted from the shadows and built into the sound of laughter, a deep masculine laugh. The shadow straightened, the laughter stopped and piercing red eyes turned toward Roger. “Toy cops.”
“Let her go.” Roger called out.
“By all means.” The stranger dropped the body he was holding. It fell to the pavement with a dull whomp. “Now what? Gonna arrest me?”
“Step to the side and lay face to the ground.”
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t like to play by the rules.”
Before Roger could react, the man leapt the six yards between them in one bound.
His finger squeezed on the trigger and his Glock erupted into the man’s belly.
The man only laughed, seized Roger’s weapon and slung it to the side.
Chase unloaded six rounds in rapid succession into the man’s chest.
Other than jerking at the impact, the bullets did nothing but make holes through his body.
He lifted Roger by the front of his uniform and slung him ten feet across the pavement. He landed in the street on his back, all the wind knocked from his lungs, his head pounding hard against the asphalt.
Chase landed beside him.
The stranger stared down at them, his white-blond hair standing up straight in ragged spikes. A smile crept across his face. “I just stopped for a snack. Thanks for the entertainment.” Then the man was gone so fast Roger had to blink to make sure his vision wasn’t impaired by the fall.
Recovering first, Roger sucked air into his lungs in a desperate gasp. “Fuck! What was that?”
When Chase didn’t answer right away, Roger rolled over to check him out. “You all right, buddy?”
His partner pressed a hand to his head. “Did you get the number of that truck that hit me?”
“No shit. I unloaded on him and the bullets didn’t even faze him.” Roger stared into the darkness.
“That was one scary son of a bitch.”
“Yeah. I’m beginning to rethink my career choice.”
* * * * * *
Thank God for 3:00 a.m. Julie slipped into her sweater, grabbed her purse and headed for the exit. On her way out, she passed by her dark-haired friend leading a patient into an exam room. “See ya the day after tomorrow, Kim.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do on your really hot date the Cop Candy.”
Julie paused, and rested her hands on her hips. “Is there anything you wouldn’t do?”
With a frown and a glance at the ceiling, Kim answered, “Nope. Nothing I can think of. So that leaves it wide open. Use your imagination.”
Julie turned to leave, a smile on her face.
“Hey,” Kim called after her.
“More advice?” Julie fisted a hand on one hip.
“If you need to borrow my Kama Sutra book, just stop by tomorrow anytime.”
The old lady leaning on Kim nodded. “That Kama Sutra book saved my marriage, it did. Although some of those positions are physically impossible at my age.”
Julie ducked out the side door to the sound of Kim’s giggles.
Out in the parking garage, Julie climbed into her car and turned the key.
Click.
She tried again.
Click.
She checked the battery gauge. “Ah, shit.”
Her battery was deader than dead.
“Fuck!”
Although she only lived four blocks from the hospital, the thought of walking home on her aching feet brought tears to her eyes. The hospital parking lot was completely empty of people. She could wait another two hours until Kim got off, or call a cab. Hell, she could walk her butt home faster than it would take a cab to get there.
As she climbed out of her car, and slung her purse over her shoulder, every bone and muscle in her body sagged.
Damn cars. Why couldn’t they break down at a more opportune time, like on the way to work when her feet didn’t hurt?
She strode down the garage ramp and out onto the sidewalk, working up anger as she walked. No, mechanical problems had to wait until frickin’ three o’clock in the morning when not a single car passed by. When only the drunks and bums wandered around. She sure as hell hoped they wouldn’t bother her on her way home. Thank goodness there was no such thing as the monsters that Bob Marley had ranted about earlier. She owed Roger for that one. The man was delusional. All his talk about vampires and demons.
Good thing Julie didn’t believe in all that nonsense.
Because if she did, she’d be a little afraid tonight. She glanced up at the full moon ringed in an eerie red glow. Yup. A more superstitious woman would be running back to the hospital and waiting for Kim to get off to bum a ride home. But not Julie. She was the levelheaded one. Not easily spooked. “No, sir. I don’t believe in all that Goth vampire shit.”
Just as she spoke the words out loud, a man appeared in front of her. A very tall, broad-shouldered man with blond, spiked hair and dark eyes. No. Make that red eyes. He reminded her of a bulkier Spike from a Buffy rerun.
“Maybe you should believe,” he said, his voice more a growl than anything else.
Julie dropped back a step, swallowed a scream and said the first thing that came to her mind. “Geesh! You shouldn’t jump out at people in the middle of the night. I could have died of a heart attack.”
“I doubt you’ll die of a heart attack tonight.”
“Only because I’m in pretty good shape and eat healthy.” She stared hard at him, though her pulse beat at an erratic rate. This man, with all his bulging muscles, could easily take her, rape her or anything else he had a mind to. She was a lone woman armed only with her purse.
Her hand shifted to the bag. She did have a small canister of mace at the bottom of her oversized bag, if she could get to it before he killed her.
“If you want money, you can have whatever is in my wallet. I’ll get it.” Like he couldn’t see right through her ruse? She jammed her hand inside her handbag and rummaged frantically.
He plucked the purse from her sho
ulder and tossed it and the mace several yards away.
“Okaaayyy. I guess I’ll just have to use my black belt in karate.” She dropped into a crouch, her hands in chop position and yelled like she’d seen the bad guys do in the Jackie Chan flicks. Not that she knew any more than that. But maybe she could bluff her way out of a potentially lose-lose situation.
Where the hell was a cop when you needed one? Where was Roger? He should still be on duty. Why couldn’t he drive by about now and rescue her? “So? What’s it gonna be? Are you going to let me by without a hassle, or am I going to have to take you down?” Please let me by. Please.
Chapter Two
“Julie? Julie, wake up!”
What? She was in such a dead sleep, she could barely push her eyelids open. When she did, she stared up at a familiar face. “William? What are you doing in my apartment?” Julie pushed against her bed, only she didn’t feel the soft, clean Laura Ashley sheets. Instead, she felt the grit of pavement and grime beneath her hands. “What the hell?”
As her vision cleared, she focused on William Fagan, the guy who lived in the apartment across the hallway from her in the old colonial house on Sixth Street. The gray light of predawn filtered through the buildings to barely illuminate the alley in which she lay flat on her face on the dirty pavement. “Where am I?”
“You’re about three blocks from home and we need to get there in a hurry.”
“What happened?” She sat up, brushing gravel from her cheek.
“I’ll explain what I know when we get you inside. But if we don’t get you home soon, you’ll fry.” He scooped an arm beneath her shoulders and hefted her to an upright position. “Come on.”
Julie sprang to her feet, feeling strangely light and bouncy for having slept on the pavement. What the hell was going on? Before she could ask another question, William took off at a run, her hand still in his.
Because she hadn’t made a move to follow, he practically jerked her arm out of socket. Once she got her running legs going, she had no trouble keeping his pace, which was strange in itself. She hadn’t jogged or worked out on a regular basis in months. The night shift had thrown her workout schedule completely off. By all rights, she should be gasping for air. But she wasn’t. In fact, she was barely breathing hard at all. “What’s the rush?”
“No time to explain,” he called over his shoulder. “Hurry!”
The sky changed from dull, battleship gray to the vibrant pinks, purples and orange of dawn just as they arrived in front of the huge old house that had been divided into six apartments. As the sun popped over the horizon and cast its first rays of light onto her and William, she could feel a terrible burning sensation ripping across her exposed skin. Tingling, turned to prickling and finally to searing and she smelled the distinct odor of burning flesh. Her burning flesh.
William yanked the front door open and shoved her inside. He pushed her so hard, she sprawled on the floor, sliding several feet before she stopped. “Hey, you don’t have to be so rough!”
He slammed the door closed behind him and collapsed against the heavy wood paneling. “Whew! That was close.”
“Close to what?” Julie pushed to her feet and dusted the grit from her hands. “I thought you were such a nice neighbor. What’s with slamming me to the ground? That’s no way to treat a lady.”
“Honey, I hate to break it to you. But you’re no lady.”
“That’s not funny.” When William only stared at her, Julie’s back straightened, anger rising in the form of a blood rush to her head. “I beg your pardon.”
“Beg all you want, but as of early this morning, you’re no longer a lady.” He hooked her elbow and ushered her to the staircase leading to the second level of the house and their apartments. “If you’ll step into my apartment, I’ll fill you in.”
She planted her feet against the smooth black and white tiles of the foyer, bringing William to a halt. Then she shook his hand free of her elbow. “I’m not going anywhere with someone who tells me I’m no longer a lady. I’ll have you know, I don’t sleep around. In fact, I haven’t had sex in…well…that’s none of your business.” Three years, three loooonnnng years. But that was about to change. Tonight. She had a date.
“I’m not talking about sex.” He reached for her arm again.
Julie pulled away. “If you’re not talking about sex, then what are you talking about? Unless you know about a sex change operation I might have had in the few short hours I was unconscious, I’m still a woman and therefore—”
“Could you shut up long enough to get up the stairs?” William left her standing in the hallway and took the steps two at a time. “Sheesh, woman.”
“Ah hah! You admit it. I am a woman, therefore a lady.” She followed behind him. Taking the same steps he did, two at a time. She never took steps two at a time. Normally, she was wheezing and gasping for air as she climbed steps one at a time, never mind two at a time. But here she was taking two and…she tried it…three steps at a time. No problem. Maybe she should get conked on the head more often. It beat the hell out of a regular workout routine.
Much as she’d like to get a shower and head for bed, she needed to know a few things. “By the way, William, why was I sleeping in an alley like a homeless person?”
He waited for her to cross his threshold, and then he closed his door and pushed the bolt home. “Now that we’re inside and don’t stand the chance of being seen or overheard, I can fill you in. Why you couldn’t just keep quiet until we got here, I don’t know.” He took a deep breath and stared down at her.
“I never was very good at surprises and I get the feeling you’re about to surprise me. I’m not going to like the surprise, am I?”
With a worried frown, William blew out a long, steady breath. “Maybe you better sit down.”
Uh-oh. She didn’t like the way he was stalling. “What, did the landlord evict me and I stumbled out into the street, devastated and homeless?”
“No, nothing as simple as that.”
“That’s simple?” Double uh-oh. She perched on the edge of his bomber-jacket brown leather sofa. “Okay, I’m sitting. Just tell me already. I’m dying here.”
“You can’t die, Julie. You’re already dead.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Huh?” Who was he trying to kid? She was a walking, talking, gawking person sitting in his living room. “Uh, William. Have you been smoking some wacky weed or something? Hellooooo. If I’m here talking to you, how can I be dead?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Try me.”
“Then keep an open mind.” His eyebrows dropped toward the bridge of his nose in a V.
“I’m open.”
“Julie, last night, you were turned.”
“Turned?” She grasped for any possible meaning she could come up with for the unfamiliar phrase. “Like a fruit held too long on the branch turned?”
“No.”
“Like coming out of the closet gay turned?”
“No.”
“I give up.” She sat back against the couch, her arms crossing over her chest. “What do you mean?”
“Turned as in from human to vampire.”
She could have caught flies as low as her jaw dropped. “William, I’ve known you, what, a year and a half, maybe?”
“Yeah.”
“And this is the first time you’ve ever done anything remotely weird.”
“So?”
“So.” She pushed up from the couch and strode for the door. “I’ll cut you a break. I’m going home to shower and bed. When I wake up, maybe we can start this conversation all over. ‘Cause I know you didn’t just say I’ve been turned to a vampire, and I know you’re not crazy. I’m counting it as a really bizarre nightmare I’ll wake up from after a decent amount of sleep.”
William appeared in front of her, blocking her path to the doorway. “It’s true.”
Wait a minute. One minute he was behind her at the couch. Now he was in front of her. When ha
d he made the trip? Had she blinked? She shook her head.
He grinned. “It’s one of the perks.”
“What’s one of the perks? And perks of what?”
“Speed. Vampires are really fast.”
She put a hand up. “No, wait, forget I asked. I don’t want to hear any more trash talk about vampires. You know and I know they don’t exist. You sound like that Bob Marley guy we sedated at the hospital earlier. He was ranting about vampires loose on the streets of Houston.”
“They are.”
“But everyone knows vampires are just a bizarre manifestation of some writers’ fancy. Like werewolves and demons.”
“They exist too.” William’s face set in grim lines.
Julie shook her head, having a hard time grasping reality. “You do that so well.”
“What?”
“The straight-faced thing.” Julie laughed out loud and looked around the room. “All right Kim, you can come out now. I know you’re hiding back there somewhere.”
The confused expression on William’s face looked very real. “Kim who?”
“My practical joking friend from the hospital. That’s who.” Julie poked a finger into William’s chest. “She put you up to this, didn’t she?”
Her neighbor grabbed her finger and pulled her hand into his. “Look, Julie. This is a lot to take in all at once. But no kidding. You’re a vampire. And as a vampire, there are certain, shall I say, rules you have to follow. The immortality thing is only if you follow the rules.”
Julie’s heart sank into her belly as dread washed over her like a mudslide in California. “You’re not joking are you?”
“I’m sorry to say, no.”
“But how?” She sank onto the couch staring up at him as his words sank deeper.
“Come with me.” He grabbed her hand and marched her into his bathroom. When Julie stood in front of the mirror, William lifted the hair away from her neck.
“See the bite marks on your neck?”
“Shit.” She leaned closer, rubbing at the six puncture wounds scattered across the column of her throat in sets of two, conveniently aligned with her jugular vein. “Where the hell did these come from?”
