Table of Contents
I Am The Night | Book 1 | A Vampire Night Series | By Rachel E Rice | Copyright 2018 by Rachel E Rice
Soul of A Vampire Box Set | Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Historical Romance
Contemporary Romance
Erotic Romance
Stand Alone New Adult Romance
I Am The Night
Book 1
A Vampire Night Series
By Rachel E Rice
Copyright 2018 by Rachel E Rice
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
If you haven’t read the Soul of A Vampire books one two and three, they’re on sale for a low price. The books should be read in order. Enjoy and sign up to my newsletter for coming attractions, cover reveals, and free giveaways. You can always contact me at [email protected] and I promise you I will answer your emails. Please leave a review if you enjoyed the books and try the box set.
Soul of A Vampire Box Set
Copyright
COPYRIGHT © 2018 BY Rachel E Rice
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. No reproduction of this book part or whole is permitted. This book should not be scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the author’s permission.
Chapter One
WHEN HANNAH ST. JOHN boarded the subway and arrived at Columbia College for her evening class, another young woman was being stalked by a predator.
“Where have you been, Hannah? I thought I would see you before today. You don’t go out drinking like some of us freshmen who are fucking tired of listening to our parents saying, ‘Don’t do this and don’t do that. Are you smoking that stuff?’ For Christ sake, they can’t even ask that question with a straight face as if they didn’t drink and smoke when they were our age.”
Bryan and Hannah turn the corner passing the admission’s office heading for the lecture hall in room D.
Hannah trotted along with Bryan a tall thin guy who likes preppie from Hollister Abercrombie AE. She didn’t answer him letting him talk and getting his frustrations out before they got to class, and picking up two friends along the way. “Where did you sneak off to? Been to Paris or Italy lately, I know you said you were planning on going there?” Gabriela said trailing behind her holding Chase’s hand.
Hannah stops and sucks in a deep breath. “It was just wishful thinking on my part. I couldn’t get out of Manhattan if I wanted to,” Hannah said as she continued walking with her head down not looking anyone in the eyes. Her hands clutching tightly to the strap across her chest holding her heavy bag resting on her side.
“That’s too bad,” Gabriela said. “But you’ll get there. You’re focused.” Hannah knew Gabriela meant well. She wasn’t like some of the other rich girls she had met attending private schools around New York.
Her first choice wasn’t Colombia University but she accepted the scholarship because she couldn’t afford to go where she wanted—Princeton. Somewhere it was warm. California preferably.
Here she met and took up with a bunch of rich kids who would rather be close to home where they could milk their parents for cash and they didn’t have to accept any responsibilities.
Unlike Hannah’s parents, their parents could afford to pay for them to stay on campus, but they opted for apartments. Apartments she could never afford even if she graduated and got her dream job which she didn’t know what that would be.
“I have to concentrate on my classes,” she said half apologizing. “I can’t afford to lose my scholarship. I got some bad grades and my parents don’t have the funds to pay my tuition if I flunk these classes. I don’t think you’ll see me much except between classes.”
“You can move in with me,” Gabriela said. “I have a comfortable couch and it would be fun having someone with me,” her smile as warm as her brown eyes. “Just think about it. You don’t have to listen to your parents rag about drinking and pick up your clothes, don’t sleep late and don’t forget to go to class. How are you able to date living with your parents anyway?”
“She isn’t,” Chase said as they neared the door to the lecture hall. He opened it. “I’ve asked her over and over to go out with a friend of mine and she said no.” Chase and Bryan could be twins if one was a little taller. Both had light brown hair and both had blue eyes and dressed almost the same except for the colors they chose. That might have been the only difference in the two of them.
“Maybe she’s not into me,” a voice said from behind them. “On the other hand, I haven’t asked Hannah. I’ll know when she’s ready to take that step right, Hannah,” Justin said.
Hannah walked slowly into the hall looking around for a seat. The lecture hadn’t started. Students were milling about looking for a seat in the back. Normally Hannah would sit in front, but since she met these friends she changed her seating arrangement and lost focus on what she had to do to pass the class and hold on to her small scholarship.
“What about this evening. Come with us,” Bryan said. “We’ll see that you’re home early.”
“I’ll even pay for your cab,” Justin said as Hannah walked ahead of him. She glanced up at Justin who stood six feet. Light brown hair and steely gray eyes. He had not been a part of the group. Somehow he had inserted himself into a group of well to do kids unlike Hannah who they seem to like but tolerated Justin.
Hannah was without pretense and she never promoted herself. She never asked or expected to be a part of the group, but for some reason, Gabriela took her in and she enjoyed Gabriela’s company even if they were as different as night and day. Gabriela came with her boyfriends’, Bryan and Chase. They followed her around like two dogs in heat and when Hannah met Gabriela they were part of the package.
Knowing most of the students in her class, she was aware of their families and their statuses in the community. You could open any paper in New York and there were their names and pictures going to fundraisers for colleges, the Opera and contributing to the Arts.
When Hannah had enrolled in Colombia it was because she couldn’t afford Princeton even with a scholarship she would never be able to pay the outer state tuition. And there was a matter of room and board.
Not even on a good day and with what was left of her inheritance from her grandmother, her part-time job would she be able to cover the cost of tuition and room and board. Especially now since there was little left that her mother and father hadn’t used up.
She could hear her father, “We had to use some of your money put aside for your college. We had expenses keeping you in that private high school.”
“That’s fine dad but how much is left?”
“Maybe five thousand give or take a few. If you get that scholarship at Columbia you can stay in Manhattan and in your own room and commute.” Oh yeah, that’s just what she needed. To be forever a child in her father’s house. But what choice did she have now?
Hannah got the scholarship but still, she didn’t have enough for anything else and now that she had waited to the last minute to register at Columbia, she had to take some clas
ses with professors who the other students knew were the hardest classes to pass. She should have known when she walked into class and there were nine students in her advanced classes, and they were all from China or India. And to make it worse, the professor was Chinese and English was his second language.
So she failed her two most important classes, getting two D’s to bring her grade average down and putting her in jeopardy of losing the little scholarship she had.
The group of two girls and three boys walked down the aisle of the lecture hall looking for seating for four students. Hannah sped off to the right and the others went to their left. They knew Hannah didn’t want to be bothered especially if she had to concentrate and she couldn’t with them talking throughout the lecture.
This group of rich entitled Millennials could afford to stay in school forever. They had plans of taking over their fathers’ businesses. Hannah had dreams of becoming an engineer and moving to the west coast.
Get out of New York and away from her parents who appeared to be sapping all the life from her and leaving her like a corpse. There was no way she could be herself. She had gone through high school with the same notion and there was no way she thought she could live through another year the way she felt.
Even separating herself from her friends did nothing for her concentration. She had used up the last money she had for books, and now she was without books. She couldn’t even afford to purchase the EBooks and they were cheaper.
If she could manage to get through this semester, she could take off for the summer and work and then maybe have enough to pay for a semester in a local college that didn’t charge such outrageous tuition. That was just a passing thought as she sat waiting for the professor.
“You never said you would have a drink with us,” Justin said after tapping her on the shoulder.
Looking behind her, immersed in her thoughts, Hannah shuddered at Justin’s voice. “You startled me. I thought you were sitting with the others.”
“This isn’t one of my classes. Come on. Are you going to hang out with us?”
“Yes. Yes,” Hannah said just to get rid of him so she could concentrate. She didn’t see him when he left and she never remembered him before. He just showed up one day and he was part of the group.
When class was over she walked out with the crowd of students. Because it was winter and dark outside, Hannah tried to get home after her last class which had dismissed at eight pm. Not wanting to see anyone she lowered her head and tried to blend in with the other students but that was of no use. She had reddish-brown hair that stood out in a crowd of blond or dark haired girls and guys. And she wore old jeans and a sweatshirt unlike the preppy dressed group of rich kids in the school.
Hannah had freckles with green eyes. She stood five feet five inches. She twirled her long curls as if she was nervous and she was nervous for more than one reason.
“There you are. I thought you had gotten away from me,” Justin said. He grabbed Hannah’s hand. “You said you were coming with us to the bar and I’m buying you a drink. I’m not taking no for an answer. You need to relax. I can feel your hands they’re shaking,” he said in a soft tone that made Hannah relax.
Justin stood six feet and extremely handsome. Hannah considered herself lucky that a guy that handsome and soft-spoken had found her attractive. She never saw herself as being a beauty not even close. But Hannah was and never knew it. She spent her years in high school with her head in her books. Never went to the prom because no one asked her. She was more of a loner trying to find out where she fits in this world.
She thought she never fit anywhere and therefore she never tried to cultivate any long-term relationships with classmates or guys she found attractive or even the fun guys she would have for friends.
“Sure. Why not?” she said. She dropped his hand Justin’s hand and trotted off with him. When they reached the outside of the building, standing waiting for them were Bryan, Gabriela, and Chase.”
“You’re good,” Gabriela said to Justin. “We’ve been trying to get Hannah out of that shell since I met her.” Hannah gave a weak smile. She had never had a drink. If she was to fit in she had to act like she knew how to party.
The group walked a block heading in the direction of the bar. At a distant, the sign showed bright in the dark. It said The Maze out front all lit up above the door. The Maze set near a boutique on one side and a large apartment building on the other side. “That’s it,” Bryan said. “Great place, I’ve spent many lonely hours here until I met Gabriela.” He smiled knowing that was a lie.
“Looks cool,” Chase said leaning kissing Gabriela.
“I think you should kiss me, too,” Bryan said pulling Gabriela from the arms of Chase. He didn’t look surprised when Bryan wrapped Gabriela close to him. “You can’t show favoritism like that. I might get my feeling hurt.”
Gabriela glanced at Justin and Hannah, “He’s just being a big baby. He knows I love him as much as Chase. Maybe more,” she said casting a glance in Chase’s direction. They continued walking as Justin tried to reach for Hannah’s hand.
“I’m not ready for a relationship,” Hannah said to Justin.” Her voice soft but firm.
“Not even a friend?”
Surprised at the display of kissing and holding hands with the three, Hannah looked to Justin and he shrugged.
“Maybe a friend. That’s all I have room for now,” Hannah said walking slowly with Justin and behind the threesome who couldn’t seem to part for a second.
“I’ll take what I can get for now.” He looked at her with a mysterious grin. One she couldn’t quite understand.
Hannah had thought that the group wanted her to be a part of it because one of the guys didn’t have a girl to hook up with, but she was wrong. She had been wrong about a great many things. She had been wrong about college and about her parents.
She didn’t want to be wrong about her choice in a boyfriend just to have one. And she didn’t need that added burden of dating just when she required that time for studying.
“We’re here,” Justin said as he held the door open. They entered the crowded bar. Loud voices blending over the sound of Sam Smith’s song, “Leave Your Lover. Leave Him For Me.” Chase leaning into Gabriela and singing along with the song.
The mingling of the song with the clinging of glasses and bottles and laughter made for a cheerful night. Maybe she had been missing something, after all, Hannah thought. Her face brightened and she eased closer to Justin.
Justin found a booth in the middle of the bar when a group of six college students exiting leaving their beer bottles neatly arranged on the tables in a circle. Before they could sit and get comfortable, two waitresses carrying trays and dressed in white blouse and black shorts quickly cleaned up the mess and scooped up their tips.
The booth faced a large flat screen television. There were several all over the bar. Some were tuned into a football game and others to basketball and then one was on the Fox channel and CNN. The sound was off but you could read what was being said.
Another young woman murdered.
“What do you want, Hannah? Justin asked as Hannah peered at the news. “I’ll get our drinks at the bar. It’s faster.” Hannah looked at Gabriela confused.
“Get her a Tequila shot. Just one,” Gabriela said to Justin. Hannah smiled because she had heard the name of that liquor before and she knew a shot came in a small glass. That she could handle.
As Justin strode away from the table, a young waitress walked up to them and took Bryan, Chase, and Gabriela’s order.
“Two Heineken’s and a shot of Tequila with lime,” Gabriela said. Then Gabriela’s attention focused on the news. “Look at that. There’s a killer of young women running crazy in Manhattan. You would think they would have caught him by now.”
“How do you know it’s a man? It could very well be a woman,” Bryan said kissing Gabriela. “Look how you’re killing me.” Gabriela pushed him away.
“Come o
n. Everyone knows it’s a man. I read the statics in a newspaper and it said more men commit this kind of crime than women. Who drains a woman’s body and then leaves it in the trash where everyone can see it. What woman is going to go off with another woman like that?”
“A woman who’s into women,” Chase said. “I’m glad you like men,” and he whispered into Gabriela’s ear.
“I heard that,” Bryan said.
“How do you do it?” Hannah said looking over at Gabriela. “I’ve never even had one man and you have two.”
“I heard that,” Justin said sitting down with his two Tequila shots.
“I said just one for...” Justin placed one in front of Hannah and one for him.
“I know what you said. Stop trying to play mother to Hannah. She can take care of herself. This is how you do this shot. All at once and then you suck on the lime.” He demonstrated to Hannah and she did as he directed. Her head felt light afterward and she smiled. A wide lazy closed smile.
“See. Not bad for your first drink,” Justin said. Gabriela glanced up to watch the news.
“Exactly what I said. The detectives have a profile of the killer. He’s a man, between twenty-seven and forty,” Gabriela said. “The FBI had to adjust their profiles because they thought previously only white males committed serial killings.”
“I bet they will have to make another adjustment when they discover that it may be a woman killing these women.”
“Women don’t do heinous murders like that. They just fuck you to death,” Chase said. Gabriela gazed at him, shook her head and raised her hand. “I need another drink.”
“Bring me one too,” Hannah said.
“Are you sure?” Gabriela said.
“Don’t be a mother hen. It’s like Justin said. I can take care of myself.”
Chapter Two
“I THINK I’VE HAD TOO much to drink,” Hannah said raising her hand to her head. The room swirled and the voices became louder mixed with laughter and music. She tried to make a half attempt to stand but instead swaying and reaching for Justin’s shoulder to prevent her from falling.
I Am the Night Page 1
