by Nina Pierce
Wordlessly, Reese grabbed an axe, Josh the thermal imager, and they ran into the building. Flames engulfed the paneled walls to his right and twisted up along the ceiling. Thick smoke rolled just above their heads. The cracked mirror behind the bar swam with the reflection of the fire. Bottles of liquor lining the wall had exploded in the intense heat, spilling their contents down the wall. The building was more involved than they’d first believed. There wasn’t much time before flash over would occur and the whole room combusted.
“You start here,” Reese called into his mic. “I’ll search the back. If we need to, we’ll both head downstairs.”
Josh nodded and Reese strode purposefully toward the kitchen.
“Hello?” he called as soon as he pushed the door. Flames hadn’t yet reached this corner of the tavern. Only smoke and heat warbled along the ceiling. Reese scanned the room, curious to see the charred markings on the far wall. A kitchen fire he could understand, but the fire hadn’t started here or it would be burning out. Someone had evidently doused these flames before the main fire spread. He walked around the prep island, getting a closer look.
A body lay face down in front of the stove. Reese dropped the axe and rolled the man over. The wood protruding from Ronan’s chest held him suspended in death. The kid had probably been following up on leads Reese had told him would best be left to him and Josh. Stupid shit. Obviously the rogue vampire, whoever the hell he was, had caught him unaware.
Without hesitation, he pulled the stake from the guy’s chest. Reese pushed off his face mask and helmet while he waited for the wound to close. Ronan’s eyelids fluttered and he coughed. Air rushed into his lungs. “Ronan, it’s Reese. You’re going to be fine.”
The fog of death receded from Ronan’s eyes and he focused on Reese. “She’s here. Watch out, Reese. She’s dangerous.” Ronan’s fingers dug into the sleeves of Reese’s bunker coat as he tried to pull himself to a sitting position.
“Stay put. Rest. We have a minute.” Reese tried to calm the trembling kid. “Who? Who’s here?” he asked, though Reese already suspected he knew the answer.
Ronan’s gaze flew wildly about the room and he coughed up blood while his body continued to heal. “Alex,” he finally managed to choke out.
The name slammed into Reese’s gut as solidly as a mule kick. Josh had been right. His erection had stood between him and the obvious truth. “Alexandra Flanagan?”
“Hope … she was right … I … I wanted to confront her.” A coughing fit seized Ronan.
Reese rolled Ronan on his side. Coming back after death was a bitch. As annoying and reckless as he found Ronan, even an asshole didn’t deserve this pain.
“She … she killed Chris,” Ronan continued when he caught his breath. “I caught her in the cellar sucking him dry. Reese, I tried to stop her. But she’s too strong. Too powerful.” Ronan took a great gulp of air, his lungs filling more easily. “She tried to kill me. Like all the others. She’s the one. The rogue that’s been burning the vamps—”
“Alex? You’re sure?” Reese could barely push the words over his dry lips.
“You think I’d make something like that up?”
Reese supported him while Ronan struggled to sit up.
“I’m no liar. For chrissake, Colton, open your eyes! Put it all together like I did. One …” Ronan shoved a fist in Reese’s face and lifted his index finger. “She’s been working on the blood wine with the professor. Two …” he thrust another finger in the air, “all the vampires killed and burned were her clients.” He spit the last word out with venom. “Three. Obviously, she couldn’t finish this without killing Glenn and burning down the winery. Damn it all, Colton!” Ronan slapped his hand down hard on the linoleum. Reese got the feeling he would rather have slammed it into his face. “You’ve obviously been fucking her, but you shouldn’t let it get in the way of doing your job!”
Reese’s hand shot out and fisted in Ronan’s shirt. He yanked the man’s face an inch from his nose. To hell with Ronan’s pain. “My private life away from RISEN is none of your fucking business, Nason.” He shoved him away, gathered his gear and stood. He couldn’t bring himself to admit Ronan had a point. Hadn’t Josh said the same thing? Was his heart blinding him to the facts laid out in front of him? “We’ll get the job done. If Alex is the one, the tribunal will see to her trial.”
Ronan struggled to his feet. “The woman needs to die! You need to finish this.”
The effort brought on another coughing spasm, but Reese only stared incredulously at the arrogant vamp. There was no way in hell Reese could mete out that kind of justice without a tribunal hearing—especially against Alex. Focusing his energy, Reese clenched his teeth against the angry vampire rising within. Ronan had pushed a little too hard. “I will get the job done.” He replaced his face mask and helmet and turned back toward the bar. “Chances are she’s long gone by now.”
“No. I’m sure she’s down in the cellar.” Ronan’s declaration came out hard and clipped.
Reese turned back to him. “Why would you think that?”
“She spouted things about Glenn and the professor and distilling the blood wine … something about tainting true vampire blood … and breaking the code. How the hell would I know? She stabbed me! But I’m telling you, she’s down there.” His shaking finger pointed toward the cellar door. “You have to go down there.”
Something wasn’t adding up. The vampire before him had morphed from weak victim to impassioned juror at lightning speed. And though it was possible Ronan could have come to the same conclusions as Josh, the vamp had wrapped Alex and the crimes into a tidy package a little too quickly for Reese’s taste.
The room next to them rumbled as the fire roared in victory. Instinct had Reese throwing Ronan to the floor and laying over him protectively.
“Burkett, you there?” Reese asked into the mic.
“The bar flashed over. Roof came down,” he heard in his headset. “We can’t get to you. Two hoses battling here. You need help?”
“Negative. Kitchen’s clear. No one’s here. I’ll make a quick check of the cellar and head out the back.”
“Ten four. We’ll be there when this is under control,” Josh said.
If Alex was indeed down there, Reese needed to get her out as quickly as possible. And he sure as hell didn’t need Ronan around when he brought her back up to question her. He stood and offered Ronan a hand up. “You’re a stupid shit. You know that, Nason?” Reese pushed the words out with a laugh, hoping Ronan would think he believed his story. “Lucky, but stupid.” He flicked the vampire’s ripped shirt. “No one approaches a rogue vamp alone. You’ll have a good story to tell at the next tribunal.” He scooped the axe up from the floor. “No one needs to know you were here. Why don’t you head out the back door and make yourself scarce? Make it quick. Things are heating up in the other room.”
Ronan nodded and slogged out into the night.
Turning back to the cellar, Reese studied the scene again. Everything looked as it should. Walking down the stairs, he worked to focus on his job and keep his mind off Alex. He didn’t want to think about those sapphire-colored eyes searching out victims or that sweet smile luring vampires into traps. He couldn’t believe those talented fingers could be used to drive stakes into their hearts or set fires. He hadn’t been able to coax her fangs to graze his skin, let alone suck a human dry. No, Reese couldn’t quite wrap his head around Alex doing anything but tending bar, arguing with customers and warming his bed.
Training stopped him at the door to the wine cellar. Every muscle drew taut. A year of fighting the beast had honed his skills. Instinct told him it lived and breathed behind the barrier. He took off his glove and touched the door with the back of his hand. Hot. He checked the lights in his mask. Only one green light had gone out. Plenty of air to go back for a line. But did he have the time? Getting water involved Josh pushing through the bar or dragging a line around back. If Alex—or Chris for that matter—was in this r
oom, they had only him to save their lives.
The decision was made in seconds. Lives first. Structure second.
Reese hefted the axe and came down hard. The flimsy latch splintered under his strength. Dropping the axe, he barged into the office, thick smoke disorienting him for a moment. Fire roared in the back room, spewing its toxic fumes into the little office. Bottles of blood wine exploded as the flames devoured everything in its path. Chris couldn’t survive this heat. If Alex were here, as long as she hadn’t been burned, forcing air into her lungs would save her. She would be his priority. Reese convinced himself saving Alex was the only way to get answers, but deep in his soul he knew it wasn’t the real impetus for wanting her to live. She’d crawled into his bed and wormed her way into his heart, for chrissake. He deserved to know if he’d been used.
Dropping to his hands and knees, his eyes cut through the murky smoke. He saw the silhouetted forms tucked under a heavy canvas tarp beneath the desk. He pulled it free and found Chris cradled in Alex’s arms. Neither of them moved. Deep holes cut through the pallid skin of Chris’s neck, his gaunt features testimony to the vamp that had sucked him dry. Lucky shit. He’d died at the hands of a vampire, not suffocating in the toxic fumes of hell.
Chris was beyond saving. But, if he acted quickly, Alex still had a chance.
He rolled Chris away and gathered Alex in his arms. For someone who killed without remorse, Alex’s face still showed evidence of the tears that had streamed through the soot on her cheeks. It made no sense. If she’d killed Chris and plunged the stake into Ronan’s chest, why would she be locked in the wine cellar? Pieces of the puzzle clicked into place in rapid succession. The picture formed in quick, methodical steps.
Ronan had joined RISEN shortly after the killings had started. He’d been transferred to Reese’s team at Ronan’s request. Ronan had been present at the university fire and Glenn’s fire, for sure. Reese suspected when he went back through the records, Ronan would be connected to all the victims in some way, including some association with the professor. He’d bet his balls Ronan had called in the fire tonight and somehow staged his own murder.
The kid had been baiting him upstairs. Knowing Reese cared for Alex, Ronan had tried to get him to strike the final blow that would finish whatever hellish mission Ronan Nason had begun. Alex had been his final target. Reese processed all this in the time it took him to stand.
Ronan had tried to take Alex from him. Anger rose and filled him with heat, pulling the vampire from his slumber. He needed to get Alex out of the fire and give her air. Ronan would not claim another victim. “To hell with you, Ronan Nason.”
“No, Colton. The fires of hell are waiting for you.”
Reese turned to see a fireman swinging his own axe at his throat. The move was intended to decapitate him—a sure kill for a vampire. Reese dropped to the ground with Alex, somersaulting into a shoulder roll to move them both out of its lethal path. The axe grazed his shoulder, cutting through the bunker coat and sheering away his radio. It had come close to Alex’s head. Hatred pushed rational thought aside. He rolled Alex’s body against the far wall and came back up with lightning speed. Fangs long, eyes piercing the darkness, Reese spun and roared above the clamor of the fire. “No more vampires will die.”
“The traitorous bitch is human, you idiot.” The axe swung and missed again. “You can’t save her.” The helmet and air tank read Burkett, but the voice coming through the speakers on the mask wasn’t Josh’s. It was Nason’s. Reese had no time to wonder what the crazed vampire had done to his friend or what he meant about Alex. He simply needed to stop him.
“She’s vampire. She. Will. Live.” Reese jumped high, intent on tackling Ronan. The vamp anticipated the move and flew at the same time. They clashed in mid-air, coming down hard on the cement floor. “You’ve done something to her.” Reese pushed the mask and helmet off Ronan’s head. Even a vampire couldn’t breathe toxic smoke for long.
An explosion from the cask room sent hungry flames through the door. The fire leapt and tasted the beam on the ceiling above. Happy to have found new fuel to feed its voracious appetite, flames ran in wild joy along the old wood.
In the confusion, Ronan swung his fist and connected with Reese’s ear. “I had nothing to do with it.”
Sparks of pain shot through Reese’s head, disorienting him. He loosened his grip and Nason scrambled for the mask.
“My father turned her human,” Nason yelled.
Reese grabbed his foot and pulled. Ronan’s fingers grazed the edge of the mask, but didn’t quite connect. He kicked out in anger, finding only air. Nason flipped the air tank from his back and hurtled it at Reese, who deflected it easily. Heat and smoke were stealing Ronan’s strength.
Poisonous air filled Nason’s lungs and he shook in fits of coughing.
Reese stood and retrieved the axe, letting his anger fuel the hatred. If what Nason said was true and Alex was human, the vampire had added the woman he loved to his list of victims. Reese stared down at Nason—a rogue who’d broken every civil rule of the vampire code. The asshole had left him without a choice. There was no doubt Nason was the vampire they hunted, the one who had been killing his own kind and infiltrated the RISEN ranks in order to stay one step ahead of the investigation. The vampire tribunal would sanction his death.
“I should not kill you so mercifully.” Reese raised the axe.
“Taking my life will not save hers. Alex is dead to you, Colton.”
With a mighty roar of contempt, Reese brought the axe down, ending the murderous reign of the rogue vampire. The tribunal might never find Nason’s motives for all the killings, but at the moment, none of that mattered.
Exhausted, Reese dropped the axe. Alex looked lifeless curled against the wall. Flames fluttered above them. In moments, everything would combust. Without thought, he scooped up Josh’s helmet and flung the air tank over his shoulder. Leaving them would be like leaving Josh in the fire. And no firefighter ever abandoned a comrade.
Gathering Alex close, he stalked from the office, slamming the heavy wooden door behind him. It might buy him the few precious moments he needed to save Alex’s life. He laid her unresponsive body on the floor next to the stairs. If air would revive her, Reese couldn’t chance taking the time to get her outside.
The yellow light in his mask flicked off, vibrating as the alarm screamed in protest. Still, he pulled it from his face, flipped the purge valve on the regulator to push the air out and pressed the mask to Alex’s face. She didn’t move. Didn’t stir. Could Nason have been right? Had she somehow become human? Reese tamped down the fear and leaned into her ear.
“Breathe, Alex. Don’t leave me alone.” The vibration stopped and the alarm cut off in mid-wail. His fucking air tank was empty. In desperation, Reese detached the hose from his tank and attached the mask to Josh’s. Gently, he covered her angelic features and waited. But even with the air flowing, pushing into her lungs, Alex didn’t awaken. The air should have allowed them to heal. She wasn’t burned. It should have been enough to revive her.
Reese fell back on his haunches in defeat. Alex needed something more from him.
He simply needed her.
Reese knew with absolute certainty he could not live another decade without her by his side. Hell, he wasn’t sure the pain piercing his chest would allow him to draw his next breath.
Leaning over, he filled his nose, not with the smoke permeating her hair and clothes, but with the pure essence of Alex. The beast rose and Reese sank long fangs deep into her flesh, gorging on her sweet nectar.
Chapter Ten
Six months later
“A little to the left,” Reese yelled up to Josh from the dirt parking lot. A talon of moon hung high in a sky filled with stars. The warm spring breeze ruffled his hair, carrying the earthy scent of the surrounding forest.
“Here?” Josh shifted the cumbersome wooden sign and centered it on the front of the newly renovated tavern roof.
“Yep,
right there.” Reese jumped to the roof with ease. Grabbing the power drill, he began setting the bolts. “We should be able to have the grand opening next week, right before Easter, like we planned.”
“Guys at the station have been bugging me about getting the old watering hole back.”
“Yeah, well, they’re being a little impatient. It’s not like I’ve ever renovated a demolished building. Let alone two.”
Josh slapped Reese on the back. “Looks like you’ve found your next career.”
His friend hadn’t quite found his easy rhythm, but Reese hoped it would only be a matter of time and he’d move on. Or, maybe, he’d never stop looking for Hope. Even after all these months, no new information had been uncovered.
“You still planning on heading out to Montana?” Reese asked, hopeful the man would stay and help him run the tavern.
“Yeah, probably week after next.” Josh held the sign while Reese secured it with a couple more bolts. “The tribunal’s still trying to piece together the remnants of the professor’s research you pulled from the fire. Not sure what I can do to help, but staying here …” Josh paused. “Let’s just say, South Kenton’s lost its appeal.”
Reese swallowed hard. Nason had surprised Josh at the back of the tavern the night of the fire. He’d taken him down with the wooden stake he’d used on himself and dragged him into the kitchen, removed his gear and headed downstairs to finish off Reese.
Only, it had been Reese who’d come out of it alive—not Nason.
When he’d come into the kitchen and found Josh’s burned and lifeless body, Reese had replayed Glenn’s death. Fortunately, the physical damage hadn’t been as severe and, unlike Glenn, Josh had survived.
“You ever think about what Alex and the other vamps did?” Reese asked.
“Forever’s a hell of a long time to hurt for the woman you love.” Josh looked over and forced a sad smile. “But you know that.” He cleared his throat. “I figure if I’m out kicking some rogue vampire ass it will keep the pain, the anger and the frustration at bay. Sitting around here just sucks.”
