“How were you going to do it?”
Abby leaned back against the door, suddenly afraid her legs wouldn’t hold her up. “I wasn’t--”
“A stake through the heart like Igor? Or maybe you were planning to drag me out in the sunlight and watch me turn to a pillar of flame. That’s always so festive, like a bonfire.”
“No. Jake I came here to--”
“Ulysses Van de Mir was decapitated. I don’t really go for that. There’s too much ... corpse left over. I prefer to be reduced to ash, that way it’s easy to clean up. How about you do it right here in the foyer so Martin can use the Dust Buster on me?”
Anger, she could have dealt with, but sarcasm was too much. “I came here to warn you!” Her voice tore through the silence of the house. The echo off the marble tile rattled her.
“Don’t you think it’s a little late to warn me when I’m already the target? If you don’t do it now, someone else will.”
“Jake....”
“Go ahead, say it. Say you couldn’t tell me. You couldn’t find the right words to tell me that you’re a vampire killer.”
Abby pushed off the door and took two long steps. Her boot heels snapped across the floor. When Jake looked up at her she saw there was something about his eyes. They were red rimmed. He looked haggard. “That is how it is, Jake. I couldn’t find the words. Just like you couldn’t find the words to tell me you’re one of them.” She paused, swallowed the sharp taste of betrayal. “Or maybe you did tell me, and I didn’t take it well, so you made me forget.”
That hurt. Maybe not a stake in the heart, but certainly a sharp blade. She felt it just as acutely as he did. He looked away.
“What else did you make me forget? Did I notice you didn’t have a reflection? Did I question why you never seem to go outside before sunset? Did we ever make love, Jake, and did you feed from me?” Her last words came out as a strangled cry. She wanted to rush at him and hit him. She wanted all those memories back if they existed.
“No.” He clamped his lips shut on the word. “I’ve been ... working at keeping you from noticing things. Just little things, but we never ... I never.”
“Who do you feed from? Laura? Gideon maybe?”
“I go to the bars.”
The bars. Vampires were very skilled at hiding their existence but they let certain people into their secret world. There were groupies, women mostly but a few men also, who loved the vampires and willingly submitted to the feeding. They hung out in the vampire bars. Some even got paid. That was how Abby found her first target. Marcus Durand paid for a three-course meal every Thursday evening at a club called After Dark in Bennington Heights. She’d offered herself as an appetizer and lured him into the back alley. When they were hungry, vampires were vulnerable and sometimes a little dull witted. Marcus was easy.
It made her sick to think Jake might be so easy for some other vampire killer when he was hungry. It made her sick to think he fed off the young women who did that kind of thing for a living.
“Were you going to tell me?” Her throat closed on the words.
He nodded, then laughed. There was no humor in it. “This morning in fact. I was going to tell you while we had breakfast in your sunny little kitchen.” He let that hang there for a moment. “Were you going to tell me?”
“No.” Why lie? “I never wanted you to know. I wanted to get to that last job, somewhere down the road and walk away and never have to clue you in that I kill vampires for a living. The problem is, there will never be a last job. I can’t get out of it. I can’t walk away because if I do, I lose everything that matters to me. It happened once already and I can’t go through it again. I came here to tell you to get lost--go somewhere far away from me. If I can’t find you, I can’t kill you. And when someone comes for me, at least I’ll know you’re safe for a while.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t try to make me feel sorry for you. You’re a paid assassin.”
That hurt. Now they were both bleeding.
“I’m not an assassin. I’m an exterminator.”
Another cut. This one was deep. She saw it in his eyes. If she could make him hate her--hell, mission accomplished. He couldn’t even look her in the eye anymore.
“So do it, then. I’m sure you need the money. Didn’t bring a stake? I can scare one up for you, let me call Martin. Oh, he’s one too, just in case you get paid by the kill, you can make a few extra bucks and take him out, too.”
Martin, too? Of course.
“Why don’t you just kiss me and make me forget all this?” Kiss. Oh, God. Gideon’s kiss. What had he made her forget? “Gideon’s one too, isn’t he?”
“Maybe everyone is. Maybe you’re the only human left in town.”
“Jake.” Abby sighed and covered her face with her hands. How much damage could they inflict on one another? “Please. Let’s just deal with this. You need to get away from here. We can fight later.”
“I need to get away? To run away and leave my life behind?”
“You’re immortal, you can start over. How old are you, anyway?”
“I’m thirty-two.”
“A newbie.” She was surprised. All his money, all his business savvy usually came with age. He’d actually accomplished all his successes in a natural lifespan. Impressive. “What made you do it? Why did you turn?”
“I wanted to live forever.”
“Did you bank on having to die to do it?”
“Yes.” There was such anger in the word. Of course he did. You didn’t agree to be turned into a vampire lightly. That’s why the groupies, the feeders, didn’t all get turned. Most of them had no idea what they were getting into. They wanted the glitz and the glamour of it, but a wise vampire never turned someone just for fun. A disgruntled new player could be deadly. People who gave up their humanity because they thought it would be a fun thing to do on a Saturday night often went insane when they literally woke up dead the next day. It was a lot to deal with, and some people just couldn’t handle it.
“How long? When did you....”
“Three years ago. A month after we met.”
She took a step back. At least when she’d met him he’d been human. The look in his eyes told her there was more to it, but she’d probably never learn the rest, even if she begged for it.
“I’m not going anywhere, Abby. I refuse to run away.”
“He’ll send someone else.”
“Who? Tell me who you work for.”
“I don’t know. He’s ... he just calls himself the Client.”
“And what does he pay you?” Jake still couldn’t look at her. His shoulders were bowed and his knuckles were white where he clutched the empty glass tumbler.
“Jake.”
“Ten thousand is the going rate for functional vampires. The ... mistakes, the crazies, go for a lot less because they’re easier to catch. I bet you don’t bother with those.”
“You’re worth fifty.” The words spilled out with a little more anger than she intended.
“Damn. That’s impressive. Is it because I’m in line to succeed Gregori Nachevik?”
Her eyes widened. “You?” Nachevik was a vampire king. Like a mafia don, he kept the “family” in line. He made the rules that governed vampire society in this neck of the woods. “That’s impressive for a three-year-old vampire.” Abby had to wonder what, besides his looks, intelligence and charm, made Jake a candidate to take over Gregori’s empire. Without centuries of life--or rather death experience, he was at a disadvantage in the vampire hierarchy.
Jake rose from the step suddenly, tipping over the liquor bottle that sat next to him. The amber fluid spilled onto the lower stair soaking a dark puddle into the carpeting. He barely glanced at the mess. “You’d better leave, Abby. We’re done here.”
“You can’t stay here and wait for someone to kill you.” Her protest only drew a casual shrug as a response.
“I’m not waiting for someone t
o kill me. I’m waiting for someone to try. You’d better get out of town. Don’t plan on coming back.” He brushed past her as he headed toward the door. Abby had the terrible sinking feeling that he was going to physically push her out the door. She wasn’t sure she could bear that. The scent of his cologne as he passed her brought on the tears she’d been fighting since she arrived. She hung her head as he reached for the doorknob.
The sound of a car rolling up the drive interrupted Jake’s movement. He glanced out the window just as the boxy, shadow shape of a black Beamer angled across the driveway behind Abby’s car.
Gideon.
Jake pulled the door open just as Gideon bounded up the steps. His coat hung open and under it he wore a T-shirt and jeans. His lower jaw was bluish with stubble and his curly hair hung in his eyes.
“What the hell?” This had to be Gideon Price’s unkempt twin. Except for racquetball, the man never appeared in public in anything less than a three-piece suit.
“Jake, don’t you answer your phone? I’ve been calling you for--” Gideon halted when he saw Abby in the dim foyer. Jake pivoted to let him through the door. “Oh, that’s why you weren’t answering.”
“No, it’s not.” Jake’s reply was quick and decisive. He slammed the front door behind Gideon. “Abby was just leaving.”
Gideon’s eyes bounced from one to the other and Jake did his best to dampen his curiosity with a hard stare.
“Uh ... we have to go, Jake. There’s an emergency meeting.”
“What kind of--oh.”
Gideon nodded. “Tomorrow night. It’s been called for tomorrow night.”
“You can say it, Gideon. Abby knows.” Jake watched Gideon’s expression change. His emotions flickered through shock to confusion and landed on a hint of amusement.
“Is that why you’re leaving, Abby?” Gideon’s voice was low, sympathetic rather than sarcastic. Jake eyed him. “I really never thought you’d have a hard time accepting it.”
There was annoyance in Jake’s tone. “She’s leaving because she’s a vampire killer, and she can’t complete her latest assignment.”
Gideon’s eyes widened. “Abby? You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
Abby didn’t look up. Jake’s throat burned and his hands itched. He wanted to touch her, to kiss her and do exactly what she’d bade him to do. He could kiss her senseless and make her forget this awful night.
Why had he said those things to her when she came here only to warn him? She cared enough to risk her life for him and he’d struck out at her with the intent to wound. He may as well have punctured her skin with his fangs and fed from her until she was only a dry husk. That might have been less painful for both of them.
“So you’re the one,” Gideon said. “I got word tonight that there was a killer with a new job and that the plot was to eliminate all the remaining candidates.”
“I got word, too,” Jake said. “Martin found a packet outside with a lot of interesting information in it. Somehow I don’t think it came from Gregori’s people, though.”
“It probably came from him,” Abby said. Her voice was just a whisper.
“Who?” Gideon asked.
“My client. He knows how I ... feel about Jake. He knows everything about me. He’s playing me. Probably clued you in to make it that much harder for me.”
“What about me?” Both Jake and Abby turned toward Gideon. “Am I on your hit list?”
“No so far.”
“Oh.” He seemed disappointed. “I’d like to see that packet, Jake.”
“Me too,” Abby said. Jake looked at her too sharply and she turned her eyes away.
“Go home, Abby. Gideon and I will handle this.”
“Jake! You can’t send her home.” Gideon actually stepped between them in a protective gesture that caused a faint surge of jealousy in Jake. “If her client knows everything like she says, then he’s probably watching us. If she leaves, he’ll send in his back-up team to take care of us. We need to keep her with us for now.”
Jake hesitated. He couldn’t send Abby out there, leave her at the mercy of her client. If she got hurt, he’d never forgive himself. Before he could speak, light flooded the foyer. Jake tensed. Martin stood in the doorway of the dining room fully dressed and blinking at them.
“Good morning, sir. Mr. Price, Miss Shore, always a pleasure. Is everything all right?”
Jake sighed. “Martin, can we get some coffee? Let’s go into the kitchen and away from these windows.”
“Of course, sir. Would Miss Shore care for some breakfast?”
“No, thank you, Martin,” Abby replied. Her voice was dull now. She moved stiffly across the foyer, following Gideon and Martin toward the kitchen.
Jake brought up the rear, holding back to put distance between them. He wondered, as he watched her move, her dark hair swaying across her back, if they hadn’t met that night in the park, would her job have been easy tonight? Could she have killed him without a second thought and been happy to rid the world of another vampire?
* * * *
Abby turned page after page of the dossier Jake showed her, growing angrier by the minute. Only the client could have provided the complete timeline of her employment, kill by kill. He’d even included a page of quotes taken out of context from their various telephone conversations. One line stood out when she skimmed over the incriminating collection.
“Please give me another assignment. I’ll do anything.”
It sounded like she couldn’t wait to kill again, when really she’d been begging for her life back. The conversation in question had taken place only a few hours before she’d met Jake.
The few sips of coffee she’d managed to drink roiled in her stomach. While Gideon looked over the pages, she stared into the cup wishing she could fall into the swirling black void. He whistled when he was finished reading and poured himself a second steaming mug with cream and sugar before he spoke.
“According to this, you’ve taken out six of Gregori’s twelve candidates. Two that aren’t on this list are also dead--someone else must have made those hits. That leaves me, Jake, Phillippe Rogenet and Mick Garvey. You’ve been systematically narrowing the competition for us.”
“You killed Igor Danislo just last night ... was it on your way here?” Jake’s voice was cold as surgical steel.
Abby didn’t look up. His tone sliced another wound in her resolve. “It was on the twenty-third. Would you like details?”
“Committing murder doesn’t bother you?”
Abby closed her eyes. She felt lightheaded. To keep from falling over, she clutched the edges of the butcher block where they sat with their coffee and an untouched plate of scones between them.
“Jake, it’s not murder.” Gideon’s voice still held a hint of amusement. “When humans kill humans, it’s murder. When vampires kill humans, it’s supernatural murder. When humans kill vampires it’s--”
“What? Justice?” Jake snapped.
Gideon laughed. “A service to humanity, some would say. God’s work.”
“I don’t work for God.” Both men looked at Abby. She met their surprised gazes with quiet rage.
Across the large kitchen, dishes clinked as Martin stacked them in the cupboard. He finished his task and turned to them.
“And we don’t work for the devil either, Miss Shore. Being a vampire doesn’t automatically make one evil.”
Abby might have argued that point before she’d met Jake. Every vampire she’d come across up until now seemed to lack a moral compass. She knew enough about the ones she’d killed personally to know that evil came in degrees with vampires, just as it did with humans.
“So true, Martin,” Gideon replied saving Abby from the awkward silence. “True evil takes decades of hard work to achieve.”
Abby hated the responses that ran through her mind. She wanted to remind Gideon that vampires killed too, and with their mind control powers, they could cover up their sins. Humans didn’t have the luxury of
being able to change the perceptions and memories of those around them. They had to rely on their wits to get away with murder.
“When do we have to be at Gregori’s?” Jake asked. His question filled the leaden silence and sent Martin back to his chores.
“After sunset, of course,” Gideon said.
“We should leave soon.”
“Now you’re in a hurry?”
“I want to get this over with, Gideon. There are still four of us left. Gregori will choose one. With any luck, it won’t be me. Then I won’t be worth so much to Abby’s client. Whoever is chosen will be safe at Gregori’s estate and the rest of us can go on with our lives.”
“He doesn’t just want the candidates dead,” Abby said. She wrapped her hands around her coffee mug in an attempt to draw a little warmth into her soul. Her fingers were so stiff. All her muscles ached and her heart felt like a ball of ice between her lungs. “His plan is global extermination.”
“That’ll take a while.” Gideon shrugged.
“Yeah, but he’s not alone. Half the people who know we exist want us all dead.” Jake sounded so bitter. Abby hated that she’d done that to him.
“And the other half wants us to turn them. Maybe we should track this guy down and bring him over.”
Jake gave Gideon a sour look. This was no time for levity. It was odd, but since Gideon’s initial panic had faded, he seemed almost euphoric. He tasted victory. He wanted to be Gregori’s successor and before tomorrow was over, he might be. Jake hoped he was. If Gideon wanted that power and responsibility, let him have it. Then Jake could get back to his life. No, scratch that. Life as he knew it had ended. Things would never be the same after the ritual was over, no matter who was chosen.
“Gideon’s right, Jake. Our only chance might be to track him down,” Abby said.
“And do what? Kill him? None of us can do that.”
“Turn him,” Gideon said.
Abby shook her head. “Just turn the tables on him and fight back.”
For the first time since she’d arrived, Jake met Abby’s gaze. The pain he saw there burned him. “How?”
“Out him to the vampires, all of them. If they all know who their biggest enemy is, he won’t be able to operate. They’ll take ... care of him.”
Bonfire of the Vampires Page 4
