by C. J. Pinard
My eyebrows hit my hairline and I had to pull my hand down before I punched this punk in his nose. Instead, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up against the nearest wall. “Motherfucker, when have you ever seen a blood slave here? Nighthawks don’t roll like that. Touch a hair on her fuckin’ head and you’ll have me to deal with. You dig?”
He swallowed hard and put his hands up in surrender. “Absolutely, boss. Just wanted to clarify. I know we have some club whores for sex, didn’t know if we kept blood whores as well.”
“Get the fuck out of my face.” I released him and stormed off toward my office instead of pummeling the asshole for even suggesting it.
Blood slaves! Right. We didn’t need them. None of us had any trouble feeding off willing humans. Sure, some called them blood whores, but they were out in the streets and sometimes in my club. But we didn’t keep them here as fucking slaves. We had dozens of blood bags in the freezer as well. None of us were going hungry.
I sat in my office fuming. Surely, he was the only dipshit around here who had such ridiculous thoughts, right? Guessed I better hold another meeting.
“Face!” I called out.
He appeared in my office’s doorway ten seconds later. “Boss?”
“Send out a message. Church in thirty.”
“You got it,” he replied, then disappeared back into the hallway.
My phone chimed a minute later with the group message. I didn’t know how the fuck that kid got all this technology shit done but he had set up an app on all our phones where we could all get messages at once. I was glad he was around because I had a love-hate relationship with the shit. I loved how easy it made things, I hated how complicated it was to learn.
Twenty minutes later, I found MyAnna sitting at the table talking to Jewel.
“Those are pretty rings,” she drawled, pointing at Jewel’s fistful of jewelry. “Where did you get them?”
I bit back a snort. She’d fucking stolen them. All of them. She’d been a jewelry thief when she was human. Choosing her club name had come easy.
“Oh, here and there.” Jewel smiled at her from the rim of her coffee mug. I noticed hers read Lady Boss on it. I resisted an eyeroll.
I saw that MyAnna was finishing up some kind of hot sandwich from a package and munching on what I thought was carrot sticks. She dunked them in some kind of white sauce. One paused at her lips as she saw me come in.
“Let’s go. We’re having church and you’re coming along,” I murmured.
Jewel got up to put her cup in the sink.
“Church?” MyAnna asked, following me. “You guys go to church? But it’s Thursday. How do you even go to church when it’s held in the mornings? Wait, wouldn’t you guys, like, catch fire if you stepped foot in a church with all the crucifixes and holy water? I saw in a movie once…”
Dear God, I couldn’t get this chick to talk and now she wouldn’t shut up.
“No, we’re having a meeting. We call it church.” I snorted.
“Oh, well, now I feel dumb,” she drawled before looking away and then down at the ground.
I stopped and made her face me. Using my fingers, I gently tipped her face up to look at mine. “Don’t feel dumb, you didn’t know. I’ve been at this a long time, so I sometimes forget not everyone knows the terminology.”
“Your fingers are cold,” she said.
I removed them immediately. Guessed I’d never be touching her again. Damn.
We continued to walk through the newly constructed walkway between buildings that led to Cobalt. What the fuck was wrong with me… who cared if I could never touch her again? She was out of here in a few days, anyway. I already had Face finding her an apartment and getting her name legally changed back to Jones. I was gonna dump ten grand into her account and send her on her merry fucking way. It was going to take a few weeks to get all the paperwork straightened out, though.
My five lieutenants, three prospects, and the other twenty or so club members—vampires—all sat at the tables, waiting for me to speak. The podium had been put out for me and I stood behind it. A few nursed beers. I glanced at the clock to see it was 5 p.m. Club would open up in a few hours and they had shit to do, so I needed to make this short and to the point.
“Everyone, this is MyAnna. She will be staying with us for an indeterminate amount of time. She’s human and is not to be touched. As you all know, we rescued her from a wolves’ den. We have reason to believe they’ll be looking for her, so she stays here within the safety of the club. She is not to be allowed inside Cobalt while the doors are open to patrons. Anyone tries to harm her, you’re to defend her. You’re also to treat her with respect. No feeding on or trying to fuck her. Got it?
MyAnna gasped and stared at me with wide eyes, then back to the crowd. Then, she slid behind me and pressed herself against my backside.
What the hell?
I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out to stand beside me. “They’re not going to hurt you. Not even close. Anyone tries, you come straight to me or one of my lieutenants. Okay?” I pointed at them.
She nodded slowly, her bottom lip captured in her teeth once more. God, she needed to stop doing that.
“Any questions?”
When nobody had any, I pounded the gavel and said, “Church dismissed. Now, get to work.”
Chapter 14
Highway To Hell
Tampa, Florida – 1988
I’d been working at the Bunny Hole for six months. With my apartment fully furnished with mostly hand-me-downs and newspaper ad finds, I’d grown comfortable in Tampa. I’d made a few friends at work and we even hung out some nights when I would have some time off. Giving excuses for missing Fourth of July picnics and Labor Day barbeques was something I’d learned to lie about, and while it made me a little melancholy to miss these things, it wasn’t like I had a choice. It would forever be the sun versus me, and the sun would always win.
Admittedly, I was beginning to crave being around people who were like me. I knew a personal and sexual relationship was out of the question, so the occasional hookups with me sneaking out of her place before dawn would have to do it for me. But I longed for others of my kind. It was clear that vampires were rare, as I’d never met one aside from Agnes. And who knew where that crazy bitch was. Not that I had any desire to seek her out.
Maybe our rarity was why she had turned me into this. Maybe she had wanted a companion she didn’t have to keep any secrets from. But turning guys against their will and tying them to beds and damn near torturing them wasn’t going to get her very far. I was loath to think about how many more men Agnes had captured and turned in my absence. Instead of just breaking her neck, I should have turned it all the way around and removed her head.
On an average Thursday night, I was working my bartending job at the Bunny Hole when a young man sat at the bar and ordered a gin and tonic with a lime. I fulfilled his request and when our eyes met, he paused. There was something about him that was mesmerizing. He slowly smiled at me, and when his eyes turned black with no whites at all, I gasped.
“You,” I breathed.
“Me, what?” he asked, still smiling, his eyes returning to their previous blue.
“I’m Everett, and you are?”
I detected a slight accent as he spoke.
I shook his proffered hand. It was just as cold as mine. “Vane.”
He grinned. “Very nice to make your acquaintance.”
I didn’t know what to do. I was borderline desperate for other vampires, but this guy seemed kind of weird. He looked young—maybe late twenties, but when I looked into his eyes, he seemed much older. What was that about?
“What time do you get off, Vane?” he asked as he sipped his gin and tonic.
“Uh, two. When we close.”
Grinning, he said, “Very good. Mind if I stick around until close, so we can chat in private?”
“Uh, no, that will be fine—”
“Yo!”
I lo
oked over to see a college-age kid and his friends crowding the end of the bar. “We need some beers over here!”
I smiled at the vampire stranger and went to help them. Drunk college kids tipped pretty well, and I needed the money. I refused to touch what was left of my inheritance. Not only that, it sat in a bank account in California I was unsure how to access. But after saving here, I almost had enough to buy a used motorcycle so I didn’t have to walk everywhere. I still hadn’t seen the beach and I was dying to feel the sand between my toes. Even if it was under the cool moonlight and not the warm sun.
Everett sat perched on that barstool all night until close. When it was time to lock the doors, I told him I’d meet him out back, as taking out the trash was the very last thing I did before my trek home.
“Thanks for meeting me,” he said with his very proper English.
I dumped the trash into the dumpster and closed the lid. “No problem.”
“They said there was a vamp working in this club, but I didn’t believe it. I just had to see for myself.”
I looked at the man. He wore what looked like expensive designer clothes. Even his haircut looked costly. He looked like an old soul wearing the mask of a young man. I started to walk toward my apartment.
“Why did you need to see it for yourself? Do vampires not have jobs?”
Everett chuckled. “No, my man. They usually do not. Unless it’s just to pass the time.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Well, that must be nice. I have rent to pay and a bike to save up for.”
He gripped my arm, which caused me to stop walking. I looked down at it and then up to him, waiting for him to speak.
“Come with me, I’d like to introduce you to some people.”
I hesitated. Some people… he meant vampires. Surely he meant some of “my kind”… right? Shit. I had nothing to lose. Nothing at all.
With a shrug, I said, “Sure, lead the way, Ev.”
He paused at my use of a nickname but looped his arm through mine and led me down the street. We garnered quite a few looks from passersby, but I paid them no mind. They could think what they wanted.
“What the fuck is this?” I snapped, backing away from Everett, intent on bolting for the door.
I’d let him lead me several blocks away from the direction of my apartment to a large house set in some kind of suburb-type area. The house was several stories, and once inside, I realized it was most likely a house of horrors. Blood, that I could still smell, spattered the walls of the entryway, and didn’t wane as he led me up to bedrooms on the top floor. The post-traumatic memories of being tied to a bed by a sadistic female vampire flooded my mind. When we reached the top of the stairs, we entered a room where a man, looking like a vampire from the movies with a cape and black hair, sat in a large, ostentatious chair in the middle of the room.
“Master, this is Mr. Vane.” Everett bowed. He fucking bowed at this creepy fucker.
The man in the chair—or was it a throne?—regarded me carefully. After his head-to-toe assessment of my Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and the moccasins on my feet, he wrinkled his nose. He looked at Everett. “Thank you, Everett. That will be all.”
I folded my arms across my chest. I wasn’t gonna let his Bela Lugosi wannabe intimidate me. I watched as he rose from his chair and came toward me slowly.
“How long have you been a child of the night, Mr. Vane?” he asked, sniffing me discreetly.
This vampire gave off power in waves. I knew better than to fuck with him, but I also wasn’t going to stand here and be treated like one of his lackeys.
“Not quite a year. Why do you ask?”
His face grew angry before he reined it in. “You don’t ask the questions here, boy. I do.”
I set my jaw and it bunched in annoyance as I nodded slightly.
“All new vampires to this area are to report in with me.” He lifted his chin as he crossed his arms behind his back.
“Well, I didn’t… ah, get the memo on that.” I put my hand in my pocket. “Sir.”
He ignored my sass, went back to his throne-like chair, and sat. “Where have you come from, Mr. Vane?”
I suppressed a huff. “First off, it’s just Vane. That’s my first name. Second, I came here from California after a crazy vampire bitch named Agnes attacked me and turned me against my will.”
A couple of men stationed around the room I hadn’t noticed gasped audibly at my insubordination. I glanced at them briefly, both dressed in black suits and ties. Must get hot wearing that shit in Florida. Not that I can recall being hot. Or cold. Or anything since being turned. They must be vampires, too.
“I see,” he replied. “And why are you here, and not still in California?”
I sniffed and held my head high. “Because I almost killed the witch while escaping. She had me tied to a bed for months. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I fucking bolted. Is there anything else or can I go home? I’m tired.”
“Vampires don’t get tired,” he replied haughtily.
I scoffed. “Wanna bet? Dawn’s almost here and I need sleep.”
He looked at one of his cronies and said, “Show Mr. Vane to a room.”
What the…
“No. Seriously, I don’t need a room. I just want to go home. Mister…?”
“Name’s Dick Sheridan.” He lifted his chin. “I rule Tampa.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You rule… Tampa?” I chuckled. I shouldn’t have laughed, but I did.
“Why is that funny?” he asked, a murderous look on his face.
Suppressing the need to make a penis joke, I said, “Well, Dick, I just didn’t know anyone ruled anything. Especially in today’s America.”
“You fucking peons,” he said, standing up from his chair, his fist balled. “You young bastards know nothing of what once was. The good ol’ days where we ruled without ridicule. Everyone respected us.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. “Okay, great. Thanks for the history lesson. Can I go now?”
I didn’t have time to even breathe before two arms were gripping me and dragging me out of the room.
A little while later, I awoke in a strange room. Bed, dresser, adjoining bathroom. No windows at all.
Fuck.
Memories of Dick and his insistence on how all vampires new to Tampa were to report to him flooded my brain. I got up from the bed and banged on the door when I realized it was locked. “Let me out!”
A full hour I stood there pounding with no reply. What had I gotten myself into? Why had I trusted that Everett guy, and where was he now?
I sat back on the bed and contemplated my dilemma. Were they gonna feed me? Surely, they’d feed me, and when they came in to do so, I’d attack them and get the hell outta here.
On my third day of being imprisoned with no contact at all, I was pacing a hole in the floor. I’d tried to figure out how to escape, but it was impossible, as the room was windowless, the door locked from the other side. I stopped after hours of the task when I heard a noise near my door. Using vampire speed, I rushed to the door and listened.
“Open it, shove the bag inside, close the door. It’s easy.”
The voices were whispering, but I could hear easily enough.
“The doors should have slots like a mailbox. We could shove this shit through,” another voice said. “I saw it on a TV show about prisons. Brilliant feeding plan.”
I smiled because he was right. There really should be some sort of slot to deliver food. Because as of now, he had to unlock my door to feed me.
“Okay,” he said quietly. “Well, we don’t have those, dumbass. Just open it and throw the bags in.”
I watched as the lock was turned, and as soon as the door swung open, my primal vampire side was unleashed. After tonight, I knew I would never be the same.
Chapter 15
Fade To Black
Tampa, Florida – 1988
I stood staring down at the bloodbath I’d caused. My chest heaved in and ou
t at a rapid pace, and I told myself to get a grip on my breathing or else I would hyperventilate and pass out. Then I remembered I barely needed to breathe at all, and hyperventilation wouldn’t happen to me.
Make a run for it! I screamed inside.
Staring down one last time at the two vampires whose heads I’d practically torn off and whose blood I’d gorged myself on, I quickly picked up the two bags of blood they’d attempted to deliver and flew down the stairs. Before I could blink, I was outside the house, standing on the walkway. Lush lawns spread out on either side of me under a blanket of twinkling stars.
What just happened? One second, I was in that house of horrors, the next I was standing in this very spot! How did I get here so fast? I looked up at the sky to see the moon shining bright. It was almost full and provided more than enough illumination to light my path. I glanced up and down the street, trying to get my bearings.
Think, Vane, think! I chastised myself.
I supposed it didn’t matter which way I ran. Anywhere away from this place. That man—that sick vampire Dick—and back to my apartment downtown.
“Get him!”
I turned to see two men looking out of the downstairs window. I didn’t know who they were talking to, but I wasn’t about to wait around and find out. With what I thought was adrenaline pumping, I sped down the street and followed the route I had taken to get here, glad I had remembered it.
As I was about to turn the corner to the main drag that would take me past the Bunny Hole and toward my apartment, I felt myself being grabbed by the collar and thrown to the ground. Two men—two vampires—jumped on top of me and slammed my head against the concrete.
“Fuck!” I yelled. That hurt. But then, the pain dissolved. I screamed, “Get off me, you assholes!”
One had a knife and he twirled it with a sadistic smile on his face before he plunged it into my stomach. “Nobody leaves Dick’s mansion. Nobody.” He laughed like a comic book villain.
