by Laken Cane
“You’re a good friend,” Lex said.
“Don’t get all gooey.”
Lex had cheered up. “Where are we headed? I wasn’t paying attention when you divvied up the county.”
“Z and Denim are going to Blackfire, Jack and Levi to Hawthorne, and you and I are headed to Wormwood. Tomorrow we’ll try a few other places if Llodra isn’t found today.”
And he wouldn’t be. It wasn’t going to be that easy to catch the master. She just hoped he didn’t leave them more “gifts” along the way.
“Rune.”
“Yeah?”
“Tonight, don’t…don’t lose yourself because of Amy.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah.”
They both knew better.
“That newspaper reporter is following you again.”
Rune glanced in her rearview mirror at the car that had been tailing them since they’d left Llodra’s house. “I wonder who he found to annoy while I was gone.”
She’d discovered his name—Sam Cruikshank—before she’d left for the clinic. She ignored him and let him get his jollies chasing her around River County, snapping her picture when he could.
It could have been worse. Somewhere out there was a video in which she got sliced up like a tomato. If that video surfaced and was leaked to the media…that would be worse.
As long as he didn’t interfere, there wasn’t much she could do anyway.
They arrived at Wormwood and slipped inside the gates, not sparing Cruikshank so much as a glance when he rolled in and parked behind her car.
“I’ll find Gunnar,” Rune told Lex. “If vampires are inside Wormwood, he’ll know.”
“Gunnar the Ghoul who eats Baby Ruth candy bars.” Lex grinned. “He’s an enigma, that ghoul. Someday he’s going to let me touch him and I’ll get inside that head.”
“I’m not sure reading Gunnar is a good idea, baby.”
“I’m curious about him—about his past, where he came from, how he died…”
“You can get all that?”
Lex shrugged, carefully sidestepping a small, crumbling tombstone as though she could actually see it. “Maybe. It depends.”
They walked down paths made smooth by hundreds of Other feet, finally stepping off the trails and into the trees.
Lex didn’t arm herself with vguns as Rune did, but she wore the stakes. If they found the vampires, Lex would stake them the old fashioned way—by hand.
They’d nearly given up finding Gunnar when he stepped out from behind a tree. The woods were deep and dark, making the winter day seem later than it was.
Gunnar’s long face was carefully blank, his hands limply at his sides. Even if he was disinclined to give information, the scent of the chocolate would persuade him. It was his drug, and one he could not seem to resist.
“Give me the treat quickly,” he said, “and leave these woods posthaste. Wormwood is not safe for you today.” He didn’t look at Lex.
Rune shook her head. “Not so fast, baby. I have a question.”
He held out his hand, frowning. “No, I do not know where the mad vampire is sleeping.”
“How the hell did you know I was going to ask that?”
“I know many things, Your Highness. I know that you are not safe.” He shook his hand at her. “I’ll have my sweet now, please.”
But she crossed her arms. “Gunnar, you’re not getting the candy if you don’t slow down and answer some questions.”
“Some questions, Your Cantankerousness? Have you brought along some candy bars?”
There were times when she wanted to stuff aforementioned candy bars up his ass, wrapping and all. This was one of those times. “Fine.” She patted the pocket in which the chocolate rested. “I’ll leave now and take my candy with me.” And she turned to go.
“No!” He reached for her, pausing just short of actually touching her.
As far as she could remember, Gunnar had never touched her.
She turned back, eyebrow raised. “Then stop fucking around and answer my questions. You get one more chance.”
“Ask, then. You must hurry.”
She tapped her thigh with her vgun. “First question. What’s the rush?”
He threw a glance over his shoulder, and lowered his voice to a near whisper. “There is mischievousness inside Wormwood. Evil is stirring.”
“What the fuck, Gunnar?”
He stared at her for a moment. “Pardon?”
“Just tell me what’s going on.”
“There are bad people afoot. They will do you harm if you are found here.” He pointed his chin at Lex but still didn’t look at her. “And that one, as well.”
She sighed and patted his arm, ignoring his flinch of surprise. “We can take care of ourselves.” There were always bad people in Wormwood, but she didn’t have time to discuss them. “I need to know where Llodra is, baby. If he’s in Wormwood, you will know where he’s sleeping.”
He hesitated. “Then he must not be sleeping here. I am not aware of the master’s location.” He refused to meet her stare.
“What are you keeping from me, Gunnar?”
“He’s terrified,” Lex said, speaking for the first time. “We should go now.”
“Yes, yes,” he said. “That one is right. You should go.”
Lex’s vibrations, at times barely noticeable, became stronger, faster. “Rune…”
Dammit. Even she was starting to pick up a sense of desperation. “Fine,” she snapped, and threw Gunnar his candy bar.
He snatched it out of the air and almost before it was in his hand, he was gone.
“What a fucking waste of time,” Rune muttered, but she kept a careful eye out for ambushers as she and Lex got out of the graveyard.
Something was wrong. She hoped when things calmed down and the danger had passed, Gunnar would enlighten her.
They’d no sooner shut the gates behind them when her cell rang. “Hey, Z,” she answered. “Any luck?”
“Rune. I’ve been trying to call you.”
“Yeah, I’m just getting out of Wormwood. What’s up?”
He didn’t mince words. “Someone decided to burn your house down. The Fire department is trying to contain it.”
Stunned, she couldn’t speak. Her house? Her ugly house? “Is it…are you there?”
“I’m here with Denim. It’s pretty much gone, Rune.”
“I’m on my way,” she said.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Lex buckled herself in, then grabbed Rune’s wrist.
Rune shook her off. She didn’t want to say who she suspected—not to Lex—and she didn’t want the girl reading her and finding out for herself. “My house, they’ve burned my house.”
Fucking COS.
Chapter Ten
She had to feed.
Had to.
Her monster wasn’t giving her a choice.
An image flashed through her mind, there and gone in an instant. An image of her beneath the sadistic Jeremy as he abused her restrained body. It took her breath.
God, the craving…
Yeah, she had to feed. Reverting to bad habits was not good.
She and her crew, silent and tired, stood staring at the smoldering ashes of what once had been her home.
An empty gas can had been found where the porch had been—the people who’d burned her house hadn’t even tried to cover up the fact that it was deliberate.
“It’s a warning,” Z had said, and she agreed.
A warning from COS—from Tim Emerson. But she was sure they’d find no slimy trails leading to him.
A couple of months ago her own neighbors had threatened to burn her out. Half the population of River County secretly—and some not so secretly—hated her for being Other.
Did she have enemies? Were there people who wanted to hurt her?
Oh hell yeah.
She sighed when Strad’s huge truck rolled to a stop in front of her destroyed house. His face was grim as he
strode toward her, and an old feeling of uncertainness caused her to briefly caress one of her holstered shivs.
The berserker had that effect on people.
But she’d tasted his blood. Had drunk from his veins.
Had lain in his arms and let him kiss her…
God, that kiss.
He’d saved her life, not once, but twice. Still, he had the power to scare the fuck out of her.
“Damn you, Rune,” he said, clenching his fists. He shook with his famous rage and no matter how he controlled it, she could still see it. She could feel it.
Her fear and caution didn’t stem from worry over physical pain, either. It was something else. The berserker scared her and she had no idea why.
She grinned, trying to disperse the tension—beside her Z and Jack had stiffened, ready for anything.
But he wouldn’t hurt her. They all knew that. It was just something about him that made people immediately go into defense mode.
“Don’t damn me, Berserker. I didn’t burn my house down.”
He ran a hand over his carved face, visibly trying to calm himself the fuck down. Finally he let out a deep breath and relaxed his big body. “Are you okay?”
She let her gaze drift over his face and down to his throat. She wanted to jump into his arms and wrap her arms and legs around him, slam her open mouth against his smooth skin and—
“Rune?” Jack frowned and leaned down to peer into her eyes. “Are you okay?”
Strad watched her, his eyes dark and knowing. Full of promise. He knew what she was thinking. He knew what she needed.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah. I’m fine. Berserker, where’s your kid? Shouldn’t you be with him or babysitting the new hire?”
His lips tightened. “Matthew is in the truck with Tina.”
She glanced over his shoulder. His windows were tinted and it was impossible to see into the truck—where his wife waited.
That thought eased her hunger somewhat.
He looked over her head at the smoldering remains of her house. It glowed hot and red in the darkness of the winter evening. “I’m sorry about your house. Any ideas?”
“Yeah,” she said, casting a look to where Lex waited with the twins. “COS.”
He said nothing about her going to visit COS without him, or about her not fighting to have him on her vampire purge team, but she could see him struggling not to. It was understandable—he was, after all, Shiv Crew.
But he just shrugged his massive shoulders. “Maybe.”
From behind him one of the truck windows slid down. “Strad,” Tina called. “Matt is hungry. Are you coming?”
Rune met his stare and for a long moment they just looked at each other. “You should go,” she said, finally.
“Yes,” he agreed.
Still, he didn’t look away. In the dark depths of his eyes she recognized his own hunger, as well as a sharp despair she did not understand. “Go,” she said, gently.
He sighed. For a second she panicked as she imagined he leaned toward her, thinking he was going to kiss her or bare his tempting neck to her hungry mouth.
But he did none of those things—simply turned and walked away.
Z watched him go, something in his face she did not want to interpret. “You can stay with me until you find a new house, Rune. I have an extra bedroom.” He grinned. “Or you can sleep in mine.”
“If you knew how tempting that was,” she said, throwing him a bone, “you might not offer.”
Truthfully, it was tempting. Too tempting.
Fuck, she was hungry.
“I mean it,” he said.
“I know. Thanks, Z, but I’ll get a room at the River Inn. I might be there a while.”
He nodded, a slight smile lifting the corners of his lips. “Okay. But if you change your mind, my door is always open.” His eyes were completely serious.
“Thanks, baby.” And because there was nothing else to do, she told them all goodbye and climbed into her car to head to a department store. She was going to need a few items since nearly everything she’d owned had been destroyed.
And only then, in the quiet darkness of her car, did she let herself break down. Just a moment—that’s all she’d allow herself.
She hit the steering wheel with the heel of her hand, screaming curses and finally, sniffing back a couple of useless tears at what the fire had devoured.
Pictures, mainly. Pictures of her adoptive parents. Those couldn’t be replaced. The past was well and truly gone. Except for a few memories, there was nothing left.
Not even her ugly house.
It was okay. She’d been thinking seriously about starting over anyway.
Ellis hadn’t called, which meant he’d not heard. She glanced at her dash clock. Ten o’clock. In the literal heat of the last few hours, she’d not realized how much time was slipping away.
She frowned and punched in his number. It went to voicemail. “Ellis, just checking in. Where are you? Before someone else tells you…my house burned down. It’s gone. I’m fine. Going to get some clothes and a toothbrush and rent a room at the inn. Call me.”
She stripped off most of her shivs but left her guns and badge on before she hurried into the store to do her shopping. She ignored the stares of other shoppers. Her hunger needed appeasing and she hadn’t time to care about much of anything else.
An hour later she was ensconced in a small room at the inn and after a quick shower she tied back her still damp hair and pulled on a pair of new jeans and a black T-shirt. She tossed her badge in a drawer, stuck a shiv into her jacket pocket, and went out to eat.
To drink. To feed.
She pushed thoughts of Strad from her mind and drove to a seedy, dark town known as the Moor. She had no idea when or why the area had developed its nickname—its proper name was Mossville. The town was a mean, thin strip of badlands on the edge of the city. If you went to the Moor, you were looking for trouble.
Tomorrow she’d go back to work looking for vampires and stressing over her house. Right now, she was looking to feed.
She parked along the street in front of the first bar she came to. If the number of vehicles was any indication, the place was overflowing with people.
The hunger grew with each step she took until by the time she reached the building, she was ravenous. Her heart beat hard and slow, sending the message feed me to her brain.
“I’ll feed you, you fucking monster,” she muttered, then shook her head to clear it. No. She was not a fucking monster.
She wasn’t.
But when she didn’t take care of that part of her, it tended to rise up and kick her ass. To take over.
Because that’s what it had learned to do to survive.
“You’re thinking of yourself as two separate people.”
“I am my monster and my monster is me.”
“Yes, Rune.”
She shook her head again—there was no room in her mind for echoes from her shrinks. Not tonight.
She shoved open the door and found herself in a dark entranceway. It was empty except for a wooden bench that held up a very large man.
He stood when she entered, raising a meaty hand. “Hold it, girl.”
“Hold what, dude? Your fucking hand?”
He laughed, but it was a mean laugh. “You don’t belong here. Get your ass back out the door before you—”
She had him by the throat before he even realized she’d moved. “Don’t fuck with me, baby.”
“Fuck,” he squeaked. “Yeah, yeah.”
Her fingers tightened for just an instant then she let him drop when she realized how badly she wanted to fuck him up. The monster made her a mean son of a bitch.
She walked past him and into the crowded room. Sweaty bodies and desperation made her even hungrier. The humans in the room were all so weak, so needy.
But she wanted someone special.
No, Rune. No.
“Fuck me,” she whispered.
So maybe sh
e’d left the clinic a little too soon, but she could handle herself. She wasn’t going to pick up the wrong guy. She was better than that. Stronger than that.
Her phone rang and she fished it out of her pocket. It was Ellis, and she didn’t want to answer while inside the bar. He’d freak.
She hit mute, put it back in her pocket, and let it go to voicemail.
The music was deafening. Hazy red lighting colored the sea of blank faces with their black spark-less eyes, and made her think of blood. Everything was making her think of blood.
He wasn’t here, the man she would drink from.
No one in that room was strong enough to take her.
Fuck you, Berserker.
She turned to leave and a man started toward her from the long bar. She held up a hand to halt him and after a tiny hesitation, he thought better of approaching her. Smart guy.
After the heat and noise of the bar the cold quiet assaulted her when she stepped outside the door. She remained aware of her surroundings but her mind was on her need.
A human had a scantily dressed woman pushed up against the side of a car, and she didn’t seem to mind. A snoring man lay across the sidewalk on his back, his dirty shirt pulled up to expose his swollen belly.
She stepped over his body and went on to the next bar.
No one waited at the entrance as she strode into the building—a place, according to the weathered sign on the front, called Toad’s and Butter’s.
Whatever.
The music was just as loud as in the last bar. People danced and drank, trying to drown out the voices of their troubles and drink themselves senseless and maybe for one small minute, to connect to someone.
“Fucking depressing,” she muttered, and circled the room, looking for her own connection.
She found him sitting alone at a small table against the wall. He wore an old cowboy hat, pulled low to shadow his eyes. His hair fell over his shoulders in an uneven line. Most likely he’d chopped it off himself when it became an annoyance.
His coat was too thin and would have done little to protect him against the cold winter. He nursed a beer, and finally, when she’d stood silent in front of him for about two minutes, he looked up.
