by J. L. Myers
“Oh, right.” Of course Ty hadn’t been about to get intimate in a disgusting place like this. His brain was on the job. Not that I could say the same for mine. “Let’s go then.”
Ty hesitated. “I’d rather you didn’t.”
“You don’t want me to come with you?” Was my lack of experience getting in his way?
“No, it’s not that. At least not in the way you think.” Ty reached for the inside pocket of his jacket and withdrew two silver stakes. “I think the victim was abducted from the club. And she was a royal, taken out by new vampires.” One stake was shoved into the back of his pants. The other one he slid into the front, concealed by his bomber jacket. “Normally new vamps target easy prey. They’re not strong yet. Not until they’ve fed a few times. They definitely aren’t as strong as a royal.”
“So you don’t want me there in case the killers come back looking for another vamp to feed on?”
“Yes,” Ty breathed, almost looking relieved that I understood.
That look wasn’t going to last long. “Well,” I said. “Are new vampires as strong as the damned we took down on the cruise?”
Ty’s response was hesitant. “No—but what if I’m wrong? It could be a damned attack.”
Ty was right, it was a definite possibility—but that wasn’t about to change the outcome of this discussion. “Well, aren’t you training me to be able to defend myself against any evil creature that tries to kill me? Dead or not?”
Ty sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re coming with me, aren’t you?” I nodded. “And nothing I can say will change your mind?”
“Nothing.”
Ty bent and lifted the leg of his pants. Below the cover was another silver stake strapped to a holster at his ankle. Prepared for anything, as usual. He slid it free and held it out. “Then you may as well be armed.”
~
A few minutes later found us in the alley behind Pulse. Being out here in the place I’d almost killed the first person I bit for blood made my chest tight. The dumpster was still here. The stink of rotting garbage hung on the frigid air. And there was the brick wall I’d pinned my prey against. I shivered, trying not to release my fangs at the memory of the quarterback’s fresh blood. Trying to believe I wasn’t anything like that monster anymore. This was also the place Ty and I first met. The night he’d stopped me from killing. The night he’d intended on putting me down. But he hadn’t been able to. Something about my reaction to having almost killed a guy had reached his heart. He’d never seen a blood-hungry vampire repent and beg for death.
I looked at him, amazed. My would-be killer was now my boyfriend. But now wasn’t the time for reminiscing.
Ty was jiggling a thin piece of metal in the back door’s lock, grunting with frustration. When it clicked open he sighed and faced me. His expression fell with regret. “I can’t believe I almost…” He stared at a spot of asphalt. It was the exact spot I’d begged for death from. “It would have been the worst mistake of my life.”
I ran a hand down his face, lifting his chin. “But you couldn’t do it. Remember? Even then you saw the real me. You saw right through my fear into my very soul. You saved me.”
“Always,” he growled. His fingers curled around my waist and he pressed a brief kiss to my lips, stealing my breath. “I can barely believe where we are now. That you’re doing this with me. Just promise you’ll stay close and be careful.”
“O-okay,” I said, blushing, my lips tingling with warmth as I followed Ty inside.
Past a dark narrow hallway the inside of the club opened up. The air was electric, buzzing with energy. It was past ten and the place was packed. The dance floor was filled with close-dancing bodies, hands groping and lips touching flesh. It was easy to tell which dancers were vampire, and which were human. Apart from their pale flesh, the way they moved was somehow primal. Their hands were rough and controlling. Their lips searched for the supplest blood-delivering spot to bite on their companion’s necks and collarbones. Their irises were also charged, silver sparks ready to command their thirsty needs.
“They don’t, uh…drink on the dance floor, do they?” I’d only ever been inside this club once. At the time I’d been so determined to find Kendrick while holding back my own dark desires. I hadn’t taken any real notice of the clubbers.
“It’s against house rules,” Ty said. “On level one, that is.”
“What?” My gaze slid upward. Beyond the strobe lit dance floor was what appeared to be a second level. It was hidden behind mirrored glass. A guarded, black stairway to the right led up there. I gulped as an image similar to the cavern below Bite at the Armaya resurfaced. Were there partitions with slumped-over feeder humans up there too? “They feed up there?”
Ty nodded. “Yeah. A vamp will pick out their date and compel them to comply. Then they take them upstairs. Afterward, their memories are wiped clean.”
“How do you know all that?” I dared to ask, my skin crawling.
Ty took my hand and led me to the solid, black bar. He ordered a bourbon and cola for himself and a vodka-lemonade for me. After a quick sip he said, “Because, I’ve been up there.”
I coughed, choking on my own drink. Ty had been up there? I knew he was part vampire and could drink blood. But as a werewolf-hybrid he didn’t need it to survive like the rest of us. So had he taken some girl up there to ‘get on’ with? The thought made me feel sick. “Oh, okay…”
“It wasn’t like that.” Ty leaned in to whisper in my ear. Over the loud thumping music no else would have heard his next words. “They only let vamps up there, a flash of silver eyes as proof. Which I can’t do. So I imprinted a vamp that’d already left the club to gain access. Marika was my human prop.”
I began to move away, not wanting to hear what he and Marika had gotten up to behind the privacy glass. Because this had to have happened before she’d moved away and come back. Which meant she and Ty could still have been together.
Ty’s hand caught around the back of my neck. His eyes blazed behind brown contacts. “Nothing happened. We just needed to check that club rules on killing were being followed. That there wasn’t a cover-up going on.”
“And was there?” I downed my whole drink, wishing it were chocolate sauce. Thinking about Ty with Marika always brought back the memories of that night. Ty almost naked and ready to take someone else. Marika disguised by my imprinted flesh.
“No,” Ty said. “Everything was above board.”
He scanned the room, glancing from the occupied velvet lounges to the dance floor, then at the stairs. There was a stunning female vampire having words with the guard there. Her hands rested on her slight hips and she tapped a high heeled foot impatiently. Beside her were two guys with their backs to us. Their shoulders were slumped and their stances docile. Even from this distance I could detect the strong aftershave cloaking their bodies.
Irritated, the guard barked into the speaker at his shoulder. His face set with hard lines and a second later he stood aside, allowing the vampire and her company to pass.
“Well that’s good, right?”
“Yeah.” Ty took my hand, pulling me past the lounges strewn with intimate groping couples. “But that means that any victims picked from here are taken elsewhere. They’d have to go willingly or be under compulsion.”
“So what do we do now?” I asked, seeing the guard at the stairs eying us as we neared.
“We’re going upstairs.”
“What?” That last thing I wanted to do was see a gang of hungry vampires chowing down on unsuspecting humans. At least at the Armaya those feeders were volunteers. Their hope was to one day be rewarded for their service by being turned into vampires themselves.
“It’s against house rules to let a vamp take more than one date upstairs,” Ty said. “The only exception is for royals.” We were still a few yards away from the guard as Ty turned, his back facing the staunch-looking guy. “I’m your human date, and you’re going to take me upstairs.�
�
“That vampire was a royal?” Ty moved from in front of me and I wiped the shocked look from my face. “What now?”
“Take the lead,” Ty said with a smile.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The guard looked me over as we met his post. “Can I help you, Miss?”
My face was clammy and sweat trickled down my back. “I uh, would like to take my date…” My gaze glided up the black-carpeted stairs. Beyond them was a glass-mirrored door. “Upstairs.”
“First timer?” The guard’s gaze slid over Ty who stood lazily, shoulders slack and skull bobbing as if heavy. “Boy, what do you expect to happen up there?”
Ty blinked slowly, his mouth parting. “Want to make Samantha happy. Will be quiet and obey.”
Somehow I kept my mouth from falling open as the guard moved aside. “Enjoy your date.”
I took Ty’s hand and pulled him up the stairs, wanting to get through the door as fast as possible. Once past the barrier I took a deep breath and slumped against the door. “Aren’t you all surprises, Mr. Hollywood.”
In contrast to my expectations, the area was dark and empty. No partitioned feeding areas. No fang-to-neck action in plain sight. On our left was the glass barrier that peered down over the dance floor. On the right were entrances to rooms that were covered by mosaic curtains. All the curtains were drawn shut, except for one. More continued along a wide hallway. Rumbling music penetrated the space, blocking out any sounds of feeding. Thank God.
Ty shrugged. “Deception comes with the job.”
He began moving along the closed curtains, listening before peeking inside at the vampires feeding on their humans. I followed close behind, hoping anyone inside wouldn’t notice our snooping. When we reached the eighth entry Ty paused.
I held my breath.
Even with the pumping music, noises emanated through the curtain. Panting and moaning. I stepped closer to Ty and peeked through the gap. Inside the room two people were colored by red light. There was a guy, fully naked and pinning a partly clothed woman to the wall. His fangs were buried in her neck as she moaned in pleasure. I jolted back so fast I bumped into Ty. Fire scorched my face.
I was about to babble something when another sound stopped me.
“You’re not h-humans,” a female voice rattled in alarm, coming from behind another curtain down the hallway. “You’re not even alive.”
Before I had time to react, Ty clutched my shoulders. “I knew it. The two guys are damned. I need you to go and pull the fire alarm. Then wait out here.” He shook me a little. “Do you hear me? Wait. Out. Here.”
Feeling shocked and unprepared I nodded, then I raced back down the hall. At Ty’s nod I broke the glass and pulled the alarm. A split second before it went off a scream cut through the pumping music.
Then all hell broke loose.
Partially dressed humans and vampires spilled out of the rooms, yanking on discarded clothes as they ran out the exit.
My eyes darted back down the hall. Ty wasn’t there. All I could see was a red glow casting shadows across the opposite wall. No one body visible. Just mashed movement. The alarm pounded through my ears, drowning out any noise coming from where Ty was.
I crept closer, heart pounding and body shaking. Now was not the time to freak out. Ty was in there trying to save that Pure Blood. And he was up against two damned vampires. If I didn’t hurry up they’d kill him. Hell, they’d probably kill the both of us. Still, there was no way in hell I was about to let Ty go out alone.
My hand found the stake in my hoodie’s pocket. My fingers gripped it so tight my bones hurt.
Feet gunning, I shot through the curtain into the room. Black smudges marked the wall and day bed. Aftershave clouded the room and a satin blanket lay on the floor. Slim legs and a heel-covered foot stuck out. Unmoving. I didn’t know if she was already dead. And there wasn’t time to find out.
Ty was pinned against the wall, growling and thrashing. The damned had its fangs extended, snapping for his jugular. Its irises flashed, as red as the blood pooling from beneath the blanket.
Fearing for Ty’s life, I leapt for its back. Before I landed, the damned moved, cracking its elbow across Ty’s cheek. There was a hideous crunch and Ty’s body fell.
“No!”
The damned spun with enough time to catch me. The stake impaled its shoulder and it screeched in pain. But that didn’t slow it down. Next thing I knew I was on my back on the day bed. The soft mattress absorbed me, making escape impossible, while puffs of ash constricted my lungs.
One hand scrambled to reclaim my weapon from its sizzling flesh. The other pushed against the creature’s neck, trying to hold it back. But he was too strong. His open mouth reached for my neck. Crimson-tinted drool dripped from his fangs, patterning my chest.
I was seconds from death.
Then the damned’s expression contorted in pure agony. A flash of pointy silver protruded from his chest. I waited for the instantaneous combustion, but it never came.
“Let go of her and stand up,” Ty grated. His hardened face appeared behind the damned. “Slowly.”
The damned stared down at me with venomous hunger as he released me and slowly backed off the bed. His lips curled back from his fangs and my trepidation peaked. But he didn’t lunge. The stake Ty kept pinned through his chest from behind somehow restricted his obvious need to attack.
“Ty, you’re okay.” I held back the need to wrap my arms and legs around his body and never let go. Ty needed his attention locked on keeping the damned on a leash, and there was something I desperately needed to know. I rolled off the bed, dropped to the floor, and pulled back the blanket. The Pure Blood’s eyes were open and lifeless, a life-sized doll frozen in time. There was no heartbeat. “She’s gone.” Guilt at not checking her earlier flooded me. “If I’d only—”
“No,” Ty snarled. “There’s nothing you could have done. The first one had already snapped her neck when I came in. That black smudge is all that’s left of him.”
I glared daggers at the second damned frozen with the stake in its chest. Burning flesh sizzled around the protruding weapon. “Why didn’t he die? He’s damned too, isn’t he?”
“The heart’s not pierced, but one quick shove can fix that.” Ty took the damned by the shoulder and hurled him face-first at the wall, bearing down on the stake through its back. “Tell me who sent you?”
“Screw you,” the damned spat, black tar streaming from its red eyes.
“Have it your way,” Ty said, smiling dangerously. He twisted the stake and edged it sideways.
The damned shrieked, its claws rending down the walls.
“Feel that?” Ty asked, canines long and threatening. “That’s the feel of your disgusting life on the brink of being snuffed out. That’s just a fraction of what instant incineration will feel like. But since you don’t want to talk…”
“Okay, okay!” the damned screamed over the still blaring alarm. “We’re building numbers. Different groups get stationed at different locations, turning every vampire we find. Except Pure Bloods. The order is to take them out.”
I re-covered the woman’s body and face with the blanket and stood next to Ty. “Why?” I demanded. “Why Pure Bloods?”
The damned’s red gaze fell on me, hunger flashing like lust in his eyes. “To thin the blood lines.” He sniffed the air, then licked his pasty lips. “But I woulda kept you on tap.”
Ty cracked a fist across the damned’s face. “Look at her again, and I will end you. Now tell me who gave the orders?”
“Get fucked.” He spat black. “I’m as good as dead if I tell you.”
“Wrong answer.” Ty twisted the stake and hammered it sideways. The damned’s cry cut short as he burst into a human-shaped body of smoldering coals. When the coals settled into an ash pile on the floor, Ty grabbed my arm. “We need to leave,” he said over the still wailing alarm.
I planted my feet. “I’m not leaving her.” I knelt and peeled back the blan
ket from the woman’s face. The dead fish eyes still shocked me. The chewed and gory flesh at her neck and wrist made little nips of pain touch my own flesh in those same spots. This woman wasn’t a crowned royal—as far as I knew—so she’d have family. People who loved and cared for her. “Her family deserves an explanation. And The Council needs to know what we found out.” I got up and pushed Ty past the curtain and out to the hall. “But you need to go. If they find you here and realize you’re a—”
“No.” The single word and his unyielding tone matched the fierce look on his face. “I’m not going anywhere.” His unspoken words said more than his spoken ones. He didn’t trust The Council for a second, and he never would. “I won’t leave without you.”
I shot a glance up and down the hall, expecting guards to swarm in at any second. I began to argue, fearing for Ty’s life at The Council’s hands if he stayed.
“Call him, if you must,” Ty spoke over me, jaw clenched. “Tell Marcus what happened and where to find the body. You trust him with you secrets, your life. You should be able to trust him with this.”
Ouch. Stuck by his dare, I yanked my iPhone from my back pocket and dialed. My sharp stare shifted from Ty the moment the line picked up. “Marcus, it’s Amelia. Can you hear me?” The ongoing alarm bells echoed through the speaker. I grabbed Ty’s hand, heading for the exit. “There’s been another murder.”
“Where are you?” Marcus’s voice was sharp like a blade. He sounded seriously pissed off. “I said, where are you?”
The alarm suddenly died. Through the one-way glass windows the dance floor below was empty. “I’m—”
The glass door swung open.
Marcus stalked inside, face alight with indignation. His entourage of two advanced at his signal, taking hold of Ty. One had him by the neck. The other restrained his lengthening claws.
Ty snarled, challenging their concrete containment. His body began to tremble, ready to release the wolf.
“Marcus, stop! Please.” I tugged at his lean-muscled arms. “You don’t know what’s going on.”
