by Alexia Ward
Luca combed his fingers through his thick blond hair. “But what about Father? He won’t be happy you disobeyed his wishes. He’s going to search everywhere for you. He’ll never give up until he finds you, kills Steve, and hauls you back home.”
“That’s why I need your help.”
Luca crossed his legs under him, facing Victor on the couch. “Of course I’ll help. I’ll do anything to help you.”
Victor smiled proudly. This was why Luca was his closest brother and best friend. He would do anything for him without hesitation. “Thank you.”
“Do you have any ideas on how you’ll do it? Without Father getting wind of it, that is?”
“No, not yet. I was hoping you’d help me come up with a plan.”
Luca swished his lips from side to side, scrunching his upturned nose. “Hmm, this is going to be very difficult.” He raised his gaze to Victor. “I know one thing for sure, though.”
“What?” Victor asked, cocking his left brow and perking his ears.
“Father can never find out Steve was in town. If he does, then he’ll put two and two together and realize you left town with him.”
Victor nodded. Luca had a point, which meant Steve had to get out of Hell before Victor’s father returned or one of Victor’s brothers or sisters, or anyone associated with Helder who recognized Steve, spotted him.
While The Beatles’ album played on, Victor and Luca put their heads together, hoping to come up with an elaborate plan to fool Helder Valente, the most cunning, ruthless, and dangerous vampire they knew.
Chapter Twenty
Steve needed more food. He hailed the waiter who had finished refilling another customer’s water glass. “Excuse me, can I have a second order of fries and another Diet Coke, please?”
“Of course, sir. Coming right up.” The young man with a tattoo of a pagan cross on his forearm nodded, smiling.
Harry gawked, widening his eyes. “You’re still hungry? You just had two burgers, a fry, and coleslaw!”
Steve shrugged, finishing off what remained of his soft drink. “When I’m nervous, I eat.”
Steve had been mulling what plausible excuse he should use with Harry. But none of the ideas he came up with were viable. Frustration coiled his nerves.
“Why are you nervous? Are you worried about Brett?”
Steve had been avoiding his boss’s texts and calls all day long. He wanted to settle things with Harry before he dealt with that bigger, more complicated obstacle.
“Yeah,” he responded.
Harry took a slurp from his coffee cup. “I figured. Brett asked me what you were doing earlier today since you weren’t answering his calls.”
Steve had been making love to Victor when Brett was on a text and voice mail frenzy. Luckily, Steve had turned off his phone. He hadn’t wanted his intimate and passionate experience to be interrupted. He’d had a hunch Brett would be hounding him about their assignment.
“I was charging my phone and didn’t hear his calls.”
“Well, you don’t need to worry. I told him our leads didn’t pan out. The cop chickened out and is no longer talking to us. The blogger who posted the pictures of two murder scenes has skipped town. Brett thinks his blog posts were a hoax since he didn’t post anything after that. If it was real, then he would have continued to look into it further.”
Not if he knew wolf shifters were behind those murders and he ran for his life, Steve wanted to say but refrained. That tidbit of reflection wouldn’t help either of their situations at the moment.
He wiped his mouth and asked, “So what else did Brett say?”
“Well, he says we shouldn’t waste any more time on this story. It’s a dead-end. He has another assignment for us about an alleged sexual harassment case against Senator Frankurl.”
Steve scooted to the edge of his chair and rested his elbows on the wooden table top. “About work. That’s why I invited you out for lunch this afternoon. I wanted to talk about—”
Steve’s phone vibrated. Wondering if it was Victor, Steve said, “Just a second.”
He slipped his phone out of his pocket and frowned. It was an unknown caller.
“Hello,” he answered hesitantly.
“Hi, Mr. Cain. This is Brian Sands.”
“Brian Sands?” Steve futilely tried to associate a face with the name.
“Yeah, I’m Guy Thicke’s landlord.”
“Oh, Mr. Sands. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.” He mouthed to Harry, “It’s Guy Thicke’s landlord.” He returned his attention to his phone conversation. “Has he returned?”
“No, but I found something in his apartment when I was cleaning it out. I think you might be interested in looking at it.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a journal.”
“A journal.” Steve paused, wondering. He’d promised Victor that he’d stay at the hotel where it was safe. But what if Guy’s journal gave them a clue as to his whereabouts? If Guy were still alive, then they could save him.
“We’re on our way,” he replied, ending the call.
The waiter returned with his second order of fries and Diet Coke just then. Offering him an apologetic smile, Steve said, “Sorry, can I have these to go? And the bill, please?”
“Sure.” The waiter shrugged, spun on his heel, and headed back to the kitchen
“So we’re going back to Guy’s apartment?” Harry asked, standing.
“Yeah, apparently Brian Sands found a journal in his apartment.”
“Should I let Brett know we may have a lead?”
“No, that’s jumping the gun. Maybe we won’t find anything helpful in it. We should wait to tell him.”
He motioned to the door. “Why don’t you get ready and get us an Uber ride while I wait for my take-out order? I’ll meet you just outside the hotel.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Harry dumped a five dollar bill on the table to cover his coffee and muffin order.
Steve waited until Harry had exited the restaurant before he texted Victor. Going back to blogger’s apartment. May find a clue where he disappeared to. Will be back at hotel soon. Luv u. Miss u.
He hoped Guy’s journal had the key to finding him safe and sound.
Chapter Twenty-One
Luca’s light gray eyes sparkled when he snapped his fingers. “I got an idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.”
He and Victor had been brainstorming for almost an hour. Victor was starting to get discouraged, thinking there wasn’t anything they could do to keep their father from coming after him and Steve.
“What is it?” Victor asked following his brother to his desk
Music continued to fill the room, deafening their conversation from anyone who may or may not be eavesdropping.
Luca turned on his laptop. “Echo had told me about the dark Internet site on witchcraft.”
“How does Echo know about it?”
“He said his friend used it to make someone who hates him fall in love with him.”
Victor stood behind his chair. He crossed his arms. “Luca, I’m not looking for a love spell.”
Luca rolled his eyes, huffing. With a hint of irritation, he responded, “I know. Echo said you can find all types of spells through the site.”
“What type of spells?”
“Easy ones and powerful ones, too.”
“How do you know they are real and actually work?”
“Well, the spell Echo’s friend used worked. And apparently, rumor has it a powerful witch created the spells.”
Victor snorted. “A powerful witch, huh? Why would he or she post them on the Internet?”
“He didn’t. The site is just a platform to communicate with him.”
“Isn’t he scared people will find out who he is through the Internet?”
“He’s using the darknet.”
“What’s the difference?”
“The darknet is deep. There are many shields up to keep th
e sites in there hidden.”
“So how can we find this witch?”
“Well, apparently if I send a message through a specific site’s contact page and use code words Biosphy and Nephilim in my message, plus include the name of the person who told me about him and who I am,” he began to type something on the screen, “I’ll get a reply later on with a link to communicate with the witch.”
“How long do we have to wait?”
“As long as it takes for him to check out my information and verify I’m a legit customer who wants a spell for a fee and won’t get him into trouble.”
While Luca continued to type diligently, Victor’s phone vibrated.
Checking, he cursed.
“What’s wrong?” Luca asked distractedly.
“It’s Steve. He is leaving the hotel.” He scrambled to the door. “I gotta go keep an eye on him and make sure he stays safe. Text me when the witch contacts you.”
“Gotcha. Good luck,” Luca mumbled, not looking at Victor while he left.
Victor had to hurry back to that building he’d seen Steve and Harry visit earlier today.
He wondered what in the world would have Steve going back there.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Steve rang the bell anxiously. He cringed when the annoying chime followed. Harry and he stared at one another while they waited.
Throughout the ride here, Steve had been wondering what they’d find in the journal. Had Guy uncovered the truth? Was that the reason for his disappearance?
It took little more than a minute for the door to creak open. It seemed Brian Sands still hadn’t combed his disheveled hair. It looked as greasy and tangled as it did this morning. He did, however, wear a faded denim shirt over the torn and stained undershirt.
“Hi, Mr. Sands.”
Without a smile, Brain nodded, looking upward. “Yeah, I left the journal upstairs.” He reached for the key hanging on a lone nail in the wall next to the door. “Come up to check it out.”
He shut his door and unlocked the apartment’s door. He had to wiggle the key once to get it fully into the lock.
Once it was open, they followed him up the narrow stairwell. Their heavy footsteps reverberated into Steve’s ears.
The stairwell opened into a square hallway. The royal red wallpaper and brass chandelier that hung in the area made the layout of the small apartment appear cozy and classy, totally the opposite of the dull, unkept outside of the building.
“This is a nice apartment,” Harry assessed, walking in the arched entryway of the living room. A Persian rug in the same shade of red as the wallpaper was centered in the tiny square room. A black leather sofa sat against the wall facing them. There was a brass, stained-glass coffee table in front of it.
A laptop rested on the coffee table. Steve found it odd. A haunting chill rushed over him. If Guy had skipped out or went into hiding wouldn’t he have taken his laptop with him?
“Where is the journal?” Harry asked checking his cell phone which had begun to vibrate. Harry’s frown told Steve there was a good chance the text he was reading was from Brett.
“The journal…” Brian scanned the room, “is there.” He pointed to a thin book that rested on the desk in the corner of the room.
Steve walked up to it, picked the book up and flipped through the pages. He frowned. “This is a book, not a journal.”
“There is no journal,” Brian said meandering to the archway. “I made that up to get you two back here.”
Harry flashed alarming eyes at Steve. “Why did you do that?”
Brian spread his arms out, touching both ends of the archway. “Because I was ordered to. When I told Anthony two reporters came snooping, he told me I needed to clean up the mess Guy started.”
“I don’t understand. Who’s Anthony?” Steve’s voice trembled.
“He’s my contact around here that I go to when problems arise. And you two snoops are a problem. You could blow the lid on our covert incursion.” Brian growled.
Even though he pretended to be calm, Steve was quivering on the inside. The worst nightmare imaginable had started to weave itself in front of his eyes.
Brian’s face began to grow darker as pores widened and deepened. Steve realized thick brown hair was poking through the enlarged holes. Brian’s voice became gruffly. “I killed Guy, and now I’m going to do the same to you. I’m going to feast on you for days.” He licked his canine teeth that had suddenly become sharp and elongated.
Brian Sands was a cannibalistic wolf shifter who had killed and eaten Guy Thicke. Now he was going to do the same to them.
A shriek from behind him had Steve turning to see Harry in hysterics. Harry bolted backward trying to get to the window to escape, not looking where he headed. His eyes seemed glued to Brian’s transformation.
He didn’t see the potted plant on the side of the couch that obstructed his path. He lost his footing and fell forward. His head impacted the pointy edge of the brass coffee table. The sound of it cracking wafted toward Steve’s ears.
Harry lay sprawled on the carpet unmoving. If he were bleeding, Steve couldn’t tell because of the crimson-colored carpet.
Steve turned to sprint to him to help, but a loud growl alerted him of imminent danger. He spun around to see Brian in full wolf form pounce on him. He tried to bite Steve’s neck with saliva-drenched wolf fangs. Steve blocked his attack, shoving the book he still held into the wolf’s mouth.
Brian flung it to the side, growling in anger. He came at Steve again with his lethal jaw.
Steve blocked his attack with his arm. Brian sank his sharp teeth into his flesh. Excruciating pain shot through his arm.
He screamed out in agony as Brian’s teeth sank in deeper. Steve’s legs weakened, making him collapse to the floor.
He knew Brian was trying to rip his arm off. He didn’t know how much more he could take before he passed out.
He felt weaker and weaker every second that passed. He was going to die. There was no escape.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Victor didn’t know if Steve was here. He paced back and forth on the sidewalk, wondering if Steve had already arrived and was in the duplex or if he would be coming soon.
There was no trace for Victor to follow since Steve had most probably used an Uber car. Steve wasn’t answering his phone either.
Victor cracked his knuckles anxiously. The stress was getting to him. It felt like danger lurked in every nook and cranny.
He was about to call Steve once more when he heard someone scream. It was muffled. But he was pretty sure it came from the second floor of the duplex. A human most probably wouldn’t have picked it up, but Victor did with his keen vampire hearing. It was times like this where his blasphemous abilities came in handy.
His hair stood on end. Steve was in terrible trouble. He could feel it deep in his bones. He leaped to action, hustling to the door. He didn’t waste precious time seeing if it was unlocked. He launched his right shoulder against it, ramming it. It crashed open against the wall and was about to swing shut. But he blocked it with his hand and rushed up the stairs.
He widened his eyes in shock when he entered the apartment, Harry lay on the floor unmoving in the middle of the living room. To the right, a towering wolf blocked his view of another human. A scream from the mysterious victim alerted Victor it was Steve.
He dashed, grabbing the wolf with both hands, flinging it against the opposite wall.
He knelt beside Steve. There was blood all over him, but he couldn’t tell where it was originating from. Utter fear had Victor shaking when he asked, “Steve where are you hurt?
Tears streamed down Steve’s blood-stained face. He raised his mauled arm right before his eyes rolled to the back of their sockets, and he passed out.
Victor checked his pulse. It was strong, thankfully. So was his steady heartbeat. That was good news. But Steve was still in peril. He’d been bitten. A wolf shifter’s bite was serious. If he wasn’t treated early, the p
oison would turn him into a rabid wolf shifter or what humans called a werewolf.
Just before he picked Steve up in his arms to try to bring him to safety, he felt sharp teeth biting his back. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees. He looked over his shoulder while the wolf gnawed at his flesh.
He spun around, grabbing it and dragged it against the wall. The wall came crumbling down around them, though it didn’t deter them from their ongoing fight.
Victor let his vampire fangs extend out, and he hissed. It was more a scare tactic than anything else. He could bite the wolf shifter to suck all its blood. But although its poisonous blood wouldn’t kill Victor, it would certainly weaken him. He couldn’t allow it. He had to take Steve to the mansion and inject him with the Wolf Bane Serum as soon as possible to stop him from turning into a werewolf.
He had to find another way to stop the wolf. It lunged at him with its claws, slashing his neck and face.
The wounds burned bad as if the wolf had just branded him. Victor moved away trying to get his bearings and buy himself some time to come up with another plan.
That’s when he saw the answer—the sharp letter opener resting in the paper tray on the desk. It, along with his super strength, would do the trick. He just had to aim accurately.
He grabbed it with such speed the wolf didn’t see what was coming before it was too late.
He drove the makeshift weapon deep into the wolf’s eye, hoping to puncture its brain.
The wolf yelped and struggled as Victor dug the opener deeper and deeper until its thrashings turned to twitches and then stillness.
It was dead.
Catching his breath, he needed to act swiftly. Time was running out. He wouldn’t make it back to the mansion in time to save Steve.
But if he called Luca and asked him to meet him halfway with the serum, he could still save him.
In swiftness, he lifted Steve into his arms and flew down the stairs to his car He gently laid him in the passenger seat. Steve slumped against the backrest unmoving. Victor sighed as he called Luca.
