Darkness Calls

by Caridad Piñeiro

  “I want to die. I want my freedom.”

  She only shook her head and held the bag up to him again. “I need you to live. Now, drink.”

  His body went into spasm again and she was forced to straddle him until the seizures passed. Sweat glistened on his face and she wiped it away with her hand and brought the bag to his lips. “Drink.”

  He pulled away once more.

  Frustrated with his resistance, she reached over to the tray holding the remaining bag of blood and the empty hypodermic needle. She grabbed the hypo and dragged the edge of the needle along her wrist until she drew blood. Bright red drops welled along the deep scratch and she brought her wrist to Ryder’s lips. His body jumped beneath her.

  He tried to pull his head back, but since he was so weak she held him there with little effort. A moment later, his fangs erupted and, as he turned his face, she saw the glow of his animal eyes.

  “No,” he said. “This is why you don’t want me.”

  She moved her wrist and, with her thumb, traced the edges of his lips and then his fangs. Bending, she brought her lips to his and kept him there when he would have pulled away. She kissed him, her eyes open and locked with his.

  When she was done, she whispered against his mouth, “Feed or I’ll kick your ass…again.” She brought the bag of blood to his mouth once more.

  He gave her a weak fangy grin, hesitated for a second, and then sank his teeth through the plastic of the bag.

  He closed his eyes as he drained the bag. Once it was done, she quickly replaced it with the second bag, which he sucked down a little more slowly. As he did so, a faint trace of color returned to his face. When he finished with the second bag, he was breathing more deeply, and his gaze filled with both love and anger.

  “Why?” he asked, but got no answer to his question as Sebastian came in, holding up her cell phone once more.

  “It’s David. He says it’s urgent.”

  She grabbed the phone and listened as her partner advised that they had the suspect trapped in the warehouse and needed her. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” She shut off the phone and met Ryder’s gaze. “Promise me you’ll feed on whatever Melissa brings you.”

  “Why?” he asked again.

  When she eased away and sat on the edge of the bed, he laid his hand on her shoulder. “Tell me why, darlin’.”

  “I…I need you. I know I shouldn’t but…” She shrugged and rose from the bed. “Promise me you’ll feed.”

  “Promise me you’ll come back.”

  Diana knew she’d return, only it might be to say goodbye. Nodding, she whispered, “I’ll be back.”

  That seemed to satisfy him, and she walked into the hall where Melissa and Sebastian waited. She was deeply troubled by Ryder’s condition, about her case and her career, and about what she would do once she returned. But all she said to her brother and Melissa was “He fed.”

  Melissa was clearly wondering about Ryder’s reversal. As her gaze locked with Diana’s, Melissa seemed to realize that it had cost Diana dearly to achieve Ryder’s change of heart.

  Melissa hugged her hard. Diana hesitated, but then relented and returned the embrace.

  She pulled away from Melissa and stroked her hand over Melissa’s blond hair. “I have to go. They’ve cornered the serial killer in the warehouse.” She walked to Sebastian and stopped. “Are you going?”

  He inclined his head in Melissa’s direction. “Do you need my help?”

  Melissa glanced through the open door to where Ryder lay in the bed. “Possibly.”

  Diana detected a hint of challenge in the young doctor’s voice. Glancing at Sebastian, she realized something was up between these two. It concerned her that Sebastian had been dragged into this, and now it seemed like he was getting even more involved. She stood there, hoping he would decide to go or that Melissa would send him away. Instead Melissa said, “I could use some support. Just in case. Do you think you can handle it?”

  Sebastian’s shoulders pulled back. Diana knew that stance well. She was therefore prepared when he said, “You’d be surprised at just how much I can handle.”

  Diana didn’t wait any longer. She brushed a quick kiss on her brother’s cheek and headed out.

  She arrived at the warehouse just as David and the others were preparing to go in. She grabbed a vest from one of her colleagues and then eased into an FBI windbreaker. “What do we have?”

  “He was in there when we got here about an hour ago. The imaging shows he’s sitting in the middle of the space. There’s some kind of light, powered by either gas or kerosene, judging from the heat it’s throwing off.”

  She nodded and made sure her holster was securely tucked into the small of her back. “Have you been able to make contact?”

  “We’ve tried on several occasions, but his first response came only about five minutes ago. He said he wanted to talk to ‘the slut on the dance floor,’” David explained.

  Diana nodded and grabbed the walkie-talkie he held out to her. “You and I go in together.” She glanced around at the other agents who were waiting for her instructions and picked out positions for them to take on the roof and along the perimeter of the building.

  “Do we know if there are other exits?”

  “We’ve got them all covered and Daly’s on the roof with some members of his SWAT team.” David pointed out Daly’s silhouette on the building across the way.

  ADIC Hernandez walked over and inclined his head in greeting. “Glad you could make it, Special Agent in Charge Reyes. How’s Latimer?”

  “Badly hurt and under a doctor’s care. It looks like he may make it,” she replied, and reached for the bullhorn sitting on the hood of David’s car. “He can confirm who took and tortured him.”

  “Good. We’ll need his testimony.”

  Diana wasn’t about to contradict him in front of everyone. There was no way Ryder could testify. She was afraid of what the killer might reveal once captured, but she would have to cross that bridge when she got to it.

  “Let’s go.” She waited until the other agents were in place before approaching the windows along the street level. She brought the bullhorn to her mouth and said, “Rudy. You wanted me and now I’m here.”

  She listened carefully. There was a scrape, like that of a metal chair on cement and a shuffling sound. “I’ve been waiting for you. I wanted to tell you about what I did to your friend,” he called out.

  Diana tightened her grip on the bullhorn. Anger swept over her at the glee she heard in Rudy’s voice. He’d enjoyed hurting Ryder, just as he’d savored what he did to his earlier victims. She wanted him to pay. She reached for her gun and pulled it from the holster even as she responded to him via the bullhorn. “Well, I’m coming in now so you can tell me, Rudy.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at David and motioned for him to head toward the door. He grabbed the handle, pulled and it opened freely. He held it open with his body, his gun ready.

  Diana laid the bullhorn on the ground and entered the space, quickly moving out of the fatal funnel created in the doorway opening. She paused once she was inside and against the wall. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Rudy stood within a small circle of light thrown off by a gas-powered lantern, right by the beam on which Ryder had been suspended. The wood of the beam was dark in spots, stained with the blood of Rudy’s victims. “I’m here, Rudy.” She inched closer, her gun trained on him.

  “Do you really think you need that—Diana, is it? Your friend Latimer called your name more than once,” he said, his hands tucked into the pockets of the nylon jacket he wore.

  “It is Diana. Is Rudy your real name?” She pressed forward, with David behind her as backup.

  “Yes. Rudolph Alexander Williams Jr. to be precise. But you can call me Rudy,” he said nonchalantly, as if either totally unaware or uncaring of the situation.

  “Take your hands out of your pockets,” David requested.

  Rudy laughed and
ignored him. “Your friend Latimer was very interesting, but you must know that.” He smiled.

  She couldn’t let him say any more about Ryder. She had no doubt from the tone of his voice that Rudy knew. “Why did you kill the girls?” she asked, trying to redirect his attention.

  “Why do you think, Diana? Because it felt good,” Rudy replied with relish. “Because they deserved it.”

  “Like your mother or girlfriend deserved it?” Diana challenged, hoping to elicit a rise and additional information.

  Rudy fidgeted his hands in his pockets and Diana tightened her finger on the trigger, ready to pull. Rudy made no other move with his hands. He just smiled at Diana and grew slightly more agitated.

  “My mother used to whore with her lovers in front of me. She’d stick me in a closet, but I could see what she was doing through the keyhole.”

  “It must have been difficult for you. It must have made you feel bad.”

  “It made me feel dirty to watch her. Hear her sounds.” He closed his eyes tightly as if seeing it all over again.

  “Did you kill her, too, Rudy?”

  His eyes snapped open. “No. I didn’t, but I wish I had. Then maybe my dad…” His voice trailed off. He took a step away from them and finally pulled his hands out of his pockets as he approached a table a few feet away. Diana walked toward him, and the glint of the knives and other instruments on the table became clear. He picked up one of the knives.

  “Drop it, Rudy. You’ll never get to use it.”

  “Oh, but I did, Diana.” He picked it up, anyway, but remained feet away from them. “I used this on all of them, except your friend Latimer. I didn’t get to take his heart.”

  “Why the hearts, Rudy?” David asked from behind Diana.

  Rudy laughed harshly. “Their cheating hearts, just like in that old country-western tune, only it isn’t something to sing about really, is it?”

  “Did your father know about—”

  “Oh, he found out and when he did…” Rudy held the knife in his left hand, turning to face them as he reached for something with his right.

  Diana fought to keep an eye on what he was doing, but it was difficult to see in the dim light. As long as he stayed where he was…“What did he do? Was he the one who killed your mother?”

  “My father was a gifted surgeon. A respected man with a good family name and wealth. None of that was enough, except maybe to protect him.” Rudy continued to hold the knife in the air while slipping his right hand behind his back, hiding whatever he had taken. “Or should I say, protect his reputation,” Rudy added, almost as an afterthought.

  “He killed her with that knife?”

  Rudy glanced at the knife and nodded. “My grandparents were able to cover it up.” A sad look came to his face. For a moment, Diana almost felt pity for the young boy who had suffered as he watched his parents’ tragedy unfold before his eyes.

  “Your father didn’t go to jail?”

  Again Rudy laughed harshly. “No, he didn’t. He exacted his own kind of punishment.” Rudy whipped his hand from behind his back and she saw the gun. Only, she didn’t shoot to kill and neither did David, for Rudy’s intentions were clear. She pulled her trigger, aiming to disarm, but it was too late.

  Her shot caught him in the shoulder, but Rudy had finished putting the gun to his temple, and even as his body reeled from the impact of Diana’s shot, he pulled the trigger.

  Diana watched as a stunned look crossed Rudy’s face. He remained upright for what seemed like long seconds before falling to the floor. She holstered her piece, and she and David ran over. David radioed instructions to those outside as she knelt beside Rudy and felt for a pulse.

  There was none.

  She bowed her head and closed her eyes, glad that it was over. But Rudy’s self-inflicted punishment wasn’t enough somehow to make up for the pain of all of the victims. To make up for what he had done to Ryder.

  Rising, she glanced at her partner, and as his gaze met hers, she knew he felt the same way.

  Chapter 28

  It took more than three hours to finish the preliminary work at the crime scene. She still had more to do to close the file for the case, including interviews with Rudy’s remaining family. She dreaded the thought of speaking to his grandparents, if they were still alive, because of the suffering it would bring to a family that had already had more than its share of heartache.

  With Rudy’s body on the way to the morgue for examination and identification, and her team cataloging everything at the scene, she excused herself, explaining to the ADIC, David and Peter Daly that she wanted to check on Ryder before it got too late.

  She headed back to Ryder’s apartment and Sebastian was still there. He and Melissa were in the kitchen, making fresh cups of coffee. “Don’t you think it’s time you left, hermanito?”

  “What if Melissa needs more help?”

  She held up her hand because she could see that if she pressed, he would get even more stubborn. “I’m here now.” She directed her next comment to Melissa. “How is he?”

  Melissa rose and motioned for her to follow. As they walked to the stairs, Diana hesitated. “You’ve moved him to his room?”

  “It took a little doing, but he was strong enough to walk with Sebastian’s help. It seemed best since the windows there are treated and mine aren’t.”

  Diana told herself she could climb the stairs and face her demons, both literally and figuratively. It was what she had been telling herself for the last hour as she sat in the tail end of rush-hour traffic on FDR Drive. Now she had to put what she had decided into action, but somehow her feet weren’t cooperating.

  “Having second thoughts?”

  Diana chuckled. “How about third and fourth thoughts, too?”

  “You’re not sure what you want to do?”

  “I’m sure of what I’m going to do.” The problem was, she wasn’t quite sure it was what she really wanted. What she really wanted was impossible and would only lead to even greater heartbreak farther down the road.

  The other woman nodded and glanced up the stairs. “I know I have no right to ask this, but don’t hurt him too badly.”

  Her words cut Diana to the quick. “You don’t think much of me, do you?”

  “Actually, I think a great deal of you. I know you love him. But I also know you realize just how unrealistic anything between the two of you could be.”

  “Freeing him up for you, right?” Diana said in anger, though she knew that wasn’t the case.

  Melissa looked past Diana and smiled at Sebastian. “Ryder and I have always been friends. And right now, I think my interests lie elsewhere. Let him down easy is all I ask.”

  Taking a bracing breath, Diana convinced her feet to take the first step and then another and another until she was in the upper hall of Ryder’s duplex. The door to his room was open and she saw him lying in bed, his chest bare except for the bandages and the comforter.

  He opened his eyes and smiled. “You came back.”

  Diana sat on the edge of the bed. “I promised you that I would. I keep my promises.”

  Ryder laid his hand on her thigh. She took hold of it and held it tightly. He was warm once again and it was clear he was regaining strength. Although he remained pale, there was a faint stain of color in his cheeks. His hand was dry and lacked the sickly cold sweat that had bathed him earlier. Smiling, she reached out and brushed her hand through a wayward lock of hair that had drifted onto his forehead. “You’re feeling better.”

  “Give me a little time and I’ll be back to normal.” He grinned, only there was a hint of fang, as if he was unable to control what he was right now.

  She hadn’t planned on getting into it so soon, but his comment and toothy grin gave her no choice. “But you’re not normal, Ryder. You’re not even human.”

  “A part of me is, Diana. And that part—”

  “Betrayed me. Betrayed my trust. Making love to me—”

  “Was something I hadn
’t dared to dream about because in all the time I’ve been a vampire, I’ve never cared for anyone the way I care for you,” he replied, baring his soul to her in the hopes that she could accept his love.

  She shook her head and released his hand. “A long time ago, after my dad died, I didn’t care about what I did. And I drove people away because I couldn’t deal with the pain that came from caring.”

  Ryder understood what she had suffered. “You did what you had to do to survive.”

  Her gaze locked with his and pain still shimmered there. “I swore I wouldn’t let myself feel again. And then you came along and made me break that promise. Made me scared that if I lost you…”

  “I love you, Diana.” He slowly eased himself up, wanting to be closer. It was painful. He groaned and a light sweat broke out at his slight movement.

  She reached out to help him, placing her arm beneath his shoulder so he could raise himself into an upright position. Her actions brought them close, intimately close, and she lingered there for a moment. He ran his thumb over the flush of sudden color on her cheeks and she abruptly pulled away.

  “You didn’t care enough about me to tell me what you were,” she said softly, and looked away from him.

  “Would you have believed me if I had?”

  She stiffened her spine. “We’ll never know.”

  “Diana, before you, there wasn’t anything sacred in my life. No trust. No honor,” he confessed, wishing he could convince her that he had done the only thing he could. That he hadn’t meant to hurt her.

  Diana recalled that there had been a time in her young life when she had felt there was nothing worth keeping her on this earth. It had taken a moment of extreme pain to make her realize how far she had sunk. With his many years of existence, Ryder must have suffered through more than one such time, until, at some point, he’d stopped caring. The man she had first met had been aloof, but slowly he had come to feel something for her. She had no doubt about that now, just as she had no doubt about the fact that she loved him. In a perfect world, that was all that mattered. But in the real world, was it enough?