Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4)

by Primo, Jaz

  She looked at me twice before scanning the room again.

  “Is there a Caleb?” she asked aloud to nobody in particular.

  A number of people muttered negative responses before I raised my hand and said, “I’m the Caleb.”

  She smiled broadly and walked over to my table.

  “Listen, I’m a friend of Trey’s, and he said to meet him here. He said he was supposed to meet someone named Caleb,” she said. “So, I think I must’ve beaten him here, and---”

  “Got it,” I said. “Have a seat.”

  “Chance,” she introduced herself while holding out her hand toward me. “Chance Noble.”

  I stood to shake her hand and pulled out a chair next to mine for her.

  “Nice to meet you, Chance,” I said. “Um, so you’re a big gambler, maybe?”

  She scowled. “You’re hilarious, but I’ve heard that one before. Actually, my dad’s more of a gambler than me. I’m just the college student in our family.”

  “Yale?” I asked.

  “Yep, freshman year,” she said. “Marketing and management major.”

  “Yeah, there’s no gambling involved there,” I said.

  She wrinkled her nose at me. “It’s not gambling if I’m professionally trained and credited.”

  I nodded. “Well, carry on, then.”

  Moments later, Trey walked into the café, his lanky frame hoisting an overly-full looking backpack over one shoulder.

  “Hey, Chance, you must’ve run over here,” he said. “Hi, Caleb.”

  “I was already on campus when you called,” she said.

  “Man, do I need some caffeine,” Trey said as he dropped his pack onto the floor and headed for the main counter.

  “Me, too,” Chance said, quickly joining him.

  I watched both of them for a few seconds.

  I like her.

  My thoughts immediately shifted to ruminating over what had suddenly become my mandated dissertation subject.

  What the hell’s so interesting about Oliver Simonson?

  I realized it was finally time to put my research skills to good use.

  * * *

  As I researched background information on the mysterious Dr. Simonson, I felt like I was being pulled in too many directions at once.

  I had three courses to divide my attentions, each of them requiring papers and further readings. Two were seminar classes on orals and prospectus preparations to help me prepare my dissertation development and defense processes.

  Academics aside, my thoughts frequently shifted to Kat and what she was up to.

  In addition, Paige and Roman were charged with my self-defense training regimen; largely knife combat skills. Although I found it somewhat ironic that all I carried with me was a small Swiss Army knife.

  Not even James Bond could probably kill somebody with that!

  Besides, I needed skills with weapons I could fight vampires with. Maybe I was just growing paranoid, but the world seemed to be teeming with vampires, and one day Roman and Paige might not be so handy when I needed them.

  Finally, and perhaps more importantly, I wanted to pursue some semblance of a social life just to unwind from the stresses of my other diversions.

  Fortunately, my newfound collegial acquaintances were excellent social outlets. Granted, most of us were grad students, except for Chance and an engineering major named Anthony Hess, both freshmen undergraduates.

  On Friday evening, Paige received a visit from Ethan, so Roman and I decided to abandon the house to them.

  I was jealous that Paige got to see her partner while I had to make do with phone calls and occasional video conferences.

  Roman and I made our way to Yalehoos, though he spaced our entrances long enough that it didn’t look like we’d arrived together. Once inside, I found Trey and a group of his friends surrounding a large table.

  They invited me to join them, and soon the beer was flowing in heavy order.

  Everyone appeared to be having a great time, including Roman, who discreetly sat over at the bar talking up a blonde bartender.

  Trey was telling scandalous stories to the group about his time as a pool lifeguard at an exclusive addition over the summer.

  “Then one day these really hot-looking babes show up and started sunbathing topless,” Trey said. “So, after a few beers in the hot sun, things got pretty crazy---”

  “Whoa, Trey,” Chance interrupted. “Um, not interested in your pervy exploits.”

  “Agreed,” said Lillian, an English Lit grad student. “If I want that crap I’ll watch old Baywatch reruns.”

  “Aww, c’mon, ladies,” Trey said. “Wait; they did topless scenes on that show?”

  Chance flicked beer at him off her fingertips.

  “Hey!”

  Anthony laughed and leaned over to me. “I wish I had any wild stories to tell. My brother and I spend our time having exciting debates with my dad over innovations in light bulbs and batteries.”

  “Light bulbs and batteries?” I asked.

  “Yeah, my older brother, Gregory, works at Benton Technologies in their R & D department. They’re a big defense contractor,” he said. “Anyway, my dad’s one of the high-level execs, and he’s hoping I’ll join him and Gregory there after college. But it sounds kinda’ lame.”

  “Well, take it from an out of work history professor, any full-time job is a good job in this economy,” I said sourly.

  “Yeah, but light bulbs and batteries?” he asked. “Gregory spends his days trying to improve the strength of small flashlight batteries. Boring. I mean, I’d rather design the next space shuttle or something.”

  “Even shuttles need batteries,” I said. “And lights.”

  “True,” he said.

  I considered that the prospects of Antony receiving a high-paying engineering job were a hell of a lot better than me landing a teaching job again.

  Still, that’s why I’m at Yale.

  I looked up at the neon lit clock near the bar’s entrance and took a swig of my beer.

  Then an idea completely off the wall hit me.

  Whoa. What if?

  I leaned back over to Anthony. “Hey, any chance you could arrange a phone call between me and your brother?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I’ll give you his cell number and you can call him. What’s up? You thinkin’ about a career change?”

  “Actually, I’d like to ask him about a special project I have in mind,” I said.

  Later that night as we said our goodbyes outside the bar, I noticed two shady-looking guys standing across the parking lot watching us.

  What seemed odd was, despite the cool night air, they both looked like they were sweating profusely.

  About that time, Roman exited the bar behind us and stepped out into the parking lot while gazing at the two men that’d caught my attention.

  They quickly turned and walked away, and Roman caught up with me as I walked home alone.

  “Those two men in the parking lot looked sorta’ weird,” I said.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “It was probably nothing, but I’ll keep an eye out for them. Let me know if you see them again.”

  * * *

  Before sunrise on Sunday morning, Ethan had left to return to Atlanta, and Paige seemed much more relaxed after his brief visit.

  That morning, with Roman in tow, I made a special trip to Yale’s Center for Science and Social Science Information on Prospect Street to do some research. It was an impressive facility hosting state of the art technology and a vast collection of both printed and electronic resources. It definitely dwarfed anything I’d seen during my time at Georgia State.

  I delved into my research with a vengeance, and quickly lost track of time. Although sometime before noon, Roman convinced me to stop briefly for something to eat.

  After we ate, I made a quick phone call to Anthony’s brother, Gregory, about the idea I had in the bar Saturday night.

  To my pleasant surprise, it went really
well. He liked the idea for my experiment and promised to follow up with some additional information in the near future.

  Roman and I returned to the center, and by late afternoon, I had a better idea of how to proceed with my research.

  It was past six o’clock when Roman appeared at my side. “Sorry to interrupt you, Caleb, but Paige wants us back at the house ASAP.”

  “Now?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “That’s what she said.”

  We’d barely walked through the front door when Paige appeared from out of nowhere directly before me.

  “What the hell have you been doing all day, mister?” she asked.

  “Hey, you know I was doing research,” I told her.

  “Well, you completely blew me off for your hand-to-hand training,” she said.

  “Geez, what’s got you so spun up? Did Ethan’s visit wear off already?”

  She gave me a really cross look. “Well, snarkety-snark-snark. Never mind that, sassy. Why haven’t you returned any of my texts this afternoon?” she demanded. “I had to call Roman just to get your attention.”

  “God, what are you, my Mom now?” I shot back; removing my old cell phone from its holder and flipping open the lid.

  As was the case so often recently, the battery was dead.

  “Crap. And I only made one phone call this afternoon,” I said. “This thing’s been running dry faster and faster over the past few weeks.”

  As she snatched the phone from my hand, I saw Roman making a discreet exit upstairs.

  Lucky bastard.

  “They probably don’t even make batteries for these anymore. Honestly, grandpa, how old is this stupid relic?” she asked. “I mean, I know you’re a history buff and all but there’s no reason to carry around a piece of junk like this.”

  I gave her my best ‘go to hell’ look.

  “And who still carries a flip phone around? I don’t think you can even get Internet access on this model,” she said. “You need a smartphone like mine, or at the very least something built in the past decade.”

  “My iPad has Internet access through a provider,” I said. “Besides, smartphones are still kinda’ expensive. I only need a phone to make phone calls, and maybe a text now and again.”

  Her resulting deadpan stare was slightly unnerving.

  “What?” I asked.

  She casually flipped open my cell phone and flicked at the screen with the tip of her finger. The ensuing cracking sound sent a shiver down my spine.

  I grabbed the phone from her.

  “What did you do!” I demanded, examining the shattered display.

  “Looks like your old cell phone broke, kiddo,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “We’d better go get you a new one.”

  “You broke my friggin’ phone!” I said. “You’re such an ass sometimes!”

  I was furious as she zipped around the living room in a flurry of movement. The next thing I knew my leather jacket was draped over my head.

  “C’mon, the sun just set. Let’s bring you into the twenty-first century, old timer,” she said.

  We left Roman at home and she drove us to a nearby AT&T store in her new cherry red BMW convertible.

  “Stop moping,” she said. “You’re gonna’ thank me for this later.”

  “Whatever. And when do I get to drive the car?” I asked.

  “Ha. Never,” she responded, pulling into the parking lot.

  We browsed the selection of phones until a sales associate named Len assisted us.

  “I just need the lowest end---” I started to say.

  “He needs the latest Apple iPhone; whichever model has the most memory and preferably in black,” Paige interrupted. “Oh, and be sure to add the maximum text and data plan, unlimited, if possible.”

  I tried to get a word in edgewise, but she interrupted me again.

  “Let’s see…accessories…he’ll need two chargers, a belt carrier, and ear buds. Also, he’ll be closing his current account and merging onto his fiancée’s plan,” she said sweetly.

  My eyes bugged out and I pulled at the sleeve of her leather jacket.

  “Paige. Fiancée?”

  “Red’ll be fine with it,” she told me.

  She swatted at my hand and cast a movie star worthy smile at the associate, who pointedly ignored me. He appeared much happier at being the center of her attentions.

  “I’m only too happy to help. I need to enter this into the system and I’ll be right back with you,” Len said, clearly smitten with her. “Would you like bottled water or maybe a soda while you wait?”

  “Sure, I’d love one,” she said with a gleam in her eyes.

  Len hurried away on his mission as I scanned the store and then stared at Paige.

  “They give bottled water and soda away here?” I asked.

  “Who knows,” she said with a slight shrug. “Nice staff here, though.”

  “And what’s with putting me on Kat’s plan?” I asked.

  “Aw, keep your shirt on,” she said. “She’ll be so flattered she won’t even think twice.”

  Great; yet another facet of my independence absorbed into the vampire collective.

  Bottled water was quickly provided to Paige by the young man, though I noticed I wasn’t asked about one.

  Oh, brother, the effect she has on people sometimes…

  We wandered around the store, and I paused to gaze outside through the storefront glass. Under the glow of a street lamp on the other side of the boulevard, I caught sight of one of the pasty-faced men I’d seen outside the bar the other night.

  The man was exiting a small shop while talking on his cell phone, and he appeared agitated.

  “There’s one of those guys,” I said.

  I looked around, only to see Paige on the other side of the room.

  “Paige,” I called.

  She frowned and quickly made her way over to me, but once I looked back outside, the guy was nowhere to be seen.

  “What?” she asked.

  “It’s one of those guys Roman and I saw outside the bar last night,” I said. “He came out of that shop over there.”

  “Did you see where he went?”

  “No, I was trying to get your attention.”

  We were interrupted by Len’s nervous-sounding voice over at the main counter. He was talking on the phone to someone.

  “The manager? Oh, yes, ma’am. Wha---? Right away, ma’am,” he said in a concerned tone.

  He immediately sought out the manager. “Mr. Spalding? This lady, Ms. Rawlings, asked to speak with you.”

  “What’s the matter, Kevin?” the manager asked, taking the phone from him.

  “Oh, this should be fun,” Paige murmured.

  I frowned.

  “Hello, Ms. Rawlings, I presume? I’m Glen Spalding, the manager, and we’re trying—” he said, glancing in our direction. “Why, yes, he’s standing directly across the room from me, along with a short, blonde-haired young lady… Oh, yes? Well, this is highly irregular; we typically require the account holder’s signature and—”

  Glen’s eyes widened and he almost came to stand at quasi-attention as his grip visibly tightened around the handset. “Yes, ma’am, I understand entirely, but— No, there’s no need to contact the district office. Surely we can— Oh, yes, a fax request with a copy of your ID would be more than fine, I’m sure,” he stammered. “I do apologize for the inconvenience, Ms. Rawlings. We’ll have this ready for him immediately.”

  “I knew I’d love this,” Paige said with snicker.

  I jabbed her in the ribs with my index finger. “Troublemaker.”

  “Stop poking me,” she said, swatting at my hand.

  The manager’s facial expression appeared strained, as if he’d rather be anywhere else but on the phone at that moment.

  “Ms. Rawlings, would you like to speak with your fiancé?” he asked. “Oh, no, I merely— Yes, ma’am, I’m right on it; this should take only a few minutes. Thank you, Ms. Rawlings.�
�

  The man swallowed hard as he hung up the phone and sharply glanced in the direction of our associate.

  “Len, gather the merchandise right now,” he snapped. “I’ll enter this myself.”

  “Kat didn’t want to talk to me,” I said, feeling somewhat disappointed.

  “Ah, she was probably just busy,” Paige said. “But did you see that guy’s face? Priceless!”

  I gave her a withering look.

  Less than twenty minutes later, I walked out with Apple’s newest smartphone and a bagful of accessories.

  I sent my first text to Kat: Luv U. Thanks bunches, Kat.

  She quickly replied: Anytime, my love :)

  I felt somewhat better about the entire affair; that was, until I got home and had to manually program my phone with all my old contacts information. My phone had been too outdated for their transfer process.

  It was a real pain, to say the least.

  Chapter 24

  Caleb

  A few days passed before I heard back from Gregory Hess.

  I was pleased that he thought my idea had merit, though the prospective costs of pursuing the project further were higher than I’d expected.

  Unfortunately, I needed additional resources that were way outside the capacity of my personal savings account.

  I didn’t dare call Kat; she’d ask too many questions, and might even try to talk me out of the venture. And there was no way I’d ask Paige for money.

  However, there was the unexpected investment from my Slovenia trip that Alton invested.

  I stepped out onto the front porch and dialed my new smartphone.

  “Hello, dear boy,” Alton answered. “Is everything okay?”

  “Oh, absolutely. Everything’s fine,” I said. “I’m calling to ask a favor of you, but first, I need to ask if we can keep this just between us for now.”

  There was a silent pause.

  “That’s a tall order, given how sensitive Katrina is regarding your activities,” he said in a guarded tone.

  “Uh, yeah. Well, I’m concerned that, if my idea doesn’t work out, she might be disappointed in me.”

  “Then perhaps you should reconsider your options,” he said.