Into the Flames

by Multi-Author

  “I hope like hell they got him out.” Glenn turned to her. “Alex, you all right? You’re ashen.” He moved to come around the bar, but she waved him off. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. I’m sure they got the professor out.”

  Dread and uncertainty made her light-headed, compounding the nausea churning in her gut. Paul Morgan’s life wasn’t her concern, but she wasn’t beyond using it for an excuse. “I’ve got to go find out if the professor’s all right.” Grateful the lie didn’t trip her tongue, Alex removed the apron and left it balled on the bar. “The kitchen’s done. You just need to lock up.”

  “Let me drive you.”

  “No.” The word came out hard and emphatic. Turning back to him, she forced a smile, her hands pushing into the air as she backed toward the kitchen door. “I’m sorry, Glenn. I just meant … I just don’t want to wait for you to lock up.”

  Glenn nodded, his brow furrowed in confusion and worry. Alex loved him for accepting whatever she said. There was no way he could find out where she was headed.

  “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything,” Alex said over her shoulder, fleeing into the night. Stumbling through the parking lot, she worked to swallow the bile filling her throat. Nothing was going right. She could only pray the fire had swallowed her secrets long before the fire department had arrived.

  Why hadn’t she stayed longer at the mansion after her visit with the good professor?

  * * *

  The man staggered toward his car in the shadowed corner of a deserted parking lot. The cab the bartender called had dropped him off without a word. Enough money bought anyone’s silence. Besides, he didn’t intend to drive in this condition. His dinner, dessert and late night snack had been of the liquid variety. He’d sleep a few hours in the back seat of his car before heading home to his wife. She didn’t like it when he stayed out all night. She’d like it even less if she knew he was drinking again. Sobriety had been an infrequent guest in their marriage and every time the proverbial wagon arrived, she prayed he’d ride it into the sunset.

  The crumpled pink slip in his front pocket had caused this particular fall. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull himself back up from the depths this time. Right now it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except finding a quiet place to settle his tired bones. The alcohol rushing through his bloodstream made his head spin and his feet unsteady beneath him. The car keys in his hand had a mind of their own as he attempted to slot them into the door lock.

  “You need some help?”

  Though it was no more than a whisper in the darkness, the voice startled him. He turned in circles, finding nothing but deep shadows and the hiss of the wind. A cold trickle of fear snaked down his back. “Christ, now I’m hallucinating.” His heart pounded harder in his ears and he took great gulps of air, wishing it would clear his head. Focusing once again on the lock before him, he hoped the multiple keys swimming in his vision would miraculously find their way home.

  The air hissed and moved around him though no wind rustled the leaves. Damn, maybe those last two shots of tequila had been an exceptionally bad idea. “Alone and hearing things, not a good sign.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” The long fingers sliding down his arm belonged to the hard body pressed firmly to his back. Soft lips caressed his neck, behind his ear. “I’m no hallucination and you’re definitely not alone.” A silken tongue traced the length of his neck.

  He tried to turn, but strong fingers held his chin.

  “Who are you? What do you want?” His questions slurred through pickled lips. “My wallet’s in my back pocket. Take it. Take everything.”

  The throaty chuckle sliding over his ear sent chills of fear down his spine. “I don’t want your money. I just thought we could spend an intimate moment together.” The gravelly voice hot on his skin was nondescript, but the strength of the grip on his chin and the press of the body holding him in place overpowered even his bulk. What the hell?

  “No …thanks … I … I’m married. Seriously, if you’re looking for money—”

  “Oh, but you haven’t given me a chance.” The hand on his arm slid over his hip and palmed his crotch. “Who knows, you might actually enjoy this.”

  The hand stroking him promised one thing, but even through his drunken stupor he could hear the sharp edge of violence riding on the stranger’s words.

  “Thanks for the offer. But—”

  Teeth grazed the tender flesh of his neck. “Aw, come on. Mr. Happy seems to like what I’m doing.”

  Despite the panic jacking his heartrate, his dick had managed to react to the pressure and heat pressing against his fly. “I’m not interested. My wife—”

  “Trust me, she’ll never know.”

  His world suddenly exploded into violent sensations overwhelming his senses. Tender hands became steel traps. One mercilessly squeezed his dick while the other fisted in his hair, yanking his head to the side. The sensual graze of teeth rose to an excruciating agony as something sliced deep, setting his throat on fire. Moans of pleasure from his attacker were drowned by his muted shrieks of pain. The silken tongue that had laved his throat so gently now sucked and slurped, matching the torturous throbs radiating from his neck. Liquid ran down his shoulder and onto his chest and even in the muddled wash of alcohol, he understood his life was being drained from him.

  In a final attempt to save himself, he flailed his arms and legs against his tormentor’s body, but it had become a solid wall. Muscles turned to concrete and the iron grip of his captor’s hands pressed him firmly against the car. He attempted to draw breath, but couldn’t seem to completely fill his lungs to scream for help.

  His world spun in dizzying circles of pain, pulling him down into a deep vortex of black.

  * * *

  Under the guise of looking for hot spots, Reese carried an axe through the charred remains of the second-floor master bedroom. Though most of the ceiling and the roof above him were missing, the pre-dawn blanket of stars winking through the thin clouds did nothing to illuminate the piles of debris littering the floor. He didn’t need the light on his shoulder, but it wouldn’t do for a fireman to search without it.

  The exterior wall in front of him had been destroyed. The hint of dawn outlined the pines on the eastern horizon. Sunrise was only a couple of hours away. Not much time to find what they sought. Somewhere in the scorched wreckage of the professor’s mansion, Reese hoped to find some clue to the fires that plagued South Kenton.

  One of only a handful of humans who knew about vampires, Paul Morgan had been secretly working with the tribunal. Everyone had hoped his work developing a blood alternative would be a huge step in the evolution of the vampire species. Though he’d never wanted to become immortal himself, the professor had spent his last years secretly helping creatures few humans believed existed. Vampire artifacts and religious symbols lay in the burnt ruins of the man’s office. Reese had no doubt the good professor had somehow attracted the attention of the rogue vamp who’d been committing murders over the last year and burying both victim and evidence in the ashes.

  The how and why of the murderer’s motivation remained unclear. They still had no idea if it was a vamp or human targeting immortals hiding in the mountains. Though it seemed unreasonable to think humans could have discovered the vampire world after hundreds of years, Reese wasn’t ruling out the possibility. After all, the professor had known of their existence.

  Though he didn’t expect anyone to be looking over his shoulder, Reese took a quick glance around before lifting a heavy beam with ease and moving it off of a file cabinet next to the scorched roll-top desk. Only Josh, Timmons and he were left to finish sifting through the mansion with the fire marshal. The rest of the guys had been called to a fatal car fire over an hour ago.

  Just as well, he and Josh needed time to figure out what had triggered the professor’s murder. His body had been found and transported to the mortuary. No one expected the auto
psy to turn up any new information. There was no doubt Paul Morgan had died from smoke inhalation and been burned. But he’d been working with the tribunal for several years, so why eliminate Paul now?

  The only thing clear was the fact that the number of fires and executions of humans and vamps in the area was increasing exponentially. If they could discover how the web of clues connected all the fires, no doubt the information would lead them to solving who was behind the heinous crimes. But at this point they couldn’t seem to get ahead of the hell that had descended on the sleepy town.

  Reese slid open the file cabinet drawer at his feet, finding only ash. The papers had combusted in the high heat. Though he hadn’t expected anything more, frustration lashed out in the form of boot to metal. The singed cabinet flew several feet before settling next to the melted bed mattress.

  “Not a smart move, Colton.”

  Josh stood at what was left of the doorway, peering into the room, his half-smile further irritating Reese.

  “Fuck you, Burkett.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I prefer Hope’s soft curves to your ugly mug.” Josh stepped into the space and looked around. “Find anything up here?”

  “Nothing obvious. You?”

  “You saw the artifacts downstairs, but nothing that screamed, ‘I’m your answer’. I suspect if it was our suspect, they took whatever they were looking for or simply burned any evidence in the office.”

  It had been the vampire currently sifting through the remnants of the charred bedroom who’d recruited Reese five decades ago into the underground vampire military operation. The Rogue Investigative Seizure and Elimination Network, better known as RISEN, had been formed in the United States by the vampire tribunal during prohibition. Their classified operations were highly secretive and few vamps outside the RISEN ranks even knew of its existence.

  RISEN kept a presence everywhere vampires congregated. The acronym was tongue and cheek, but their mission was dead serious. RISEN worked to help vampires blend in with the human population and when necessary, control rogues who broke the unwritten codes set forth by the vampire tribunal. Not the least of which was learning to live on animal blood or feeding without killing or turning mortals into bloodthirsty creatures of the night. Reese himself hadn’t touched human blood since joining the RISEN ranks.

  It was Glenn Karr who had alerted the tribunal a little over a year ago to the number of vampire deaths occurring in the California mountains. Their bodies had been burned beyond recognition, in fires that had all been ruled accidental. There weren’t many ways to kill an immortal, but searing the flesh from their bones certainly guaranteed a final end. The tribunal had acted immediately, planting Josh and Reese in the local fire department in hopes of getting closer to any evidence that would bring down the murderer.

  Reese had been happy to answer the call. Glenn Karr was a hero to many. Well known throughout the vampire population as a kind and gentle mentor, he’d been there for Reese in the late eighteenth century. Pulled into a swamp and gorged on by several vampires, Reese had been near death when Glenn fought them off and took him back to his cabin. It had been Glenn’s own blood that pulled Reese from the arms of death into immortality. And though the years had been dragging recently, Reese was mostly satisfied with his life now that he was doing something worthwhile for RISEN.

  But Josh and Reese hadn’t discovered any new information and RISEN had thrown Ronan Nason, a new recruit, into the mix six months ago. With his chemistry background, it had only made sense to put him undercover at the university working with the professor and Alex.

  Alex. No doubt the woman would be devastated by the professor’s death. The two of them had been working for years to perfect the blood wine vampires in town had come to depend upon. Derived from the blood of pigs that Glenn raised, the three of them were close to mass producing the product. The tribunal had great hopes it would be the answer to human blood consumption for the entire vampire population.

  “Fire marshal come to any conclusions?” Reese asked.

  Josh finished searching the desk, apparently coming up empty. “Accidental, like the others. Coroner’s got the body now. Preliminary findings indicate the professor stumbled and hit his head. The fire definitely ignited from the fireplace in the office either before or after the man passed out. They suspect he may have been trying to extinguish it when he either fell or something dropped on him.”

  Reese looked at Josh knowingly. This fire had been set deliberately, but without evidence of an accelerant, the fire marshal would believe it was nothing more than an accidental death like all the others that were still considered suspect and under investigation by RISEN.

  “Is there a computer?” Reese asked.

  “Melted. I’m sure there’s no way to recover the hard drive. No doubt the Fire Marshall’s office will be back to collect it, regardless. You know, make sure it’s totally hopeless.”

  “Another big, fat nothing.” Reese stepped over the debris littering the floor. “Looks like we’re finished here.” He stole a look at the eastern horizon. “I’m not really interested in getting caught here when the sun comes up. Not good for my complexion.” He slapped Josh on the back as they made their way down the stairs and back to the station.

  Besides, he had a sexy redhead he needed to check up on.

  Chapter Three

  Alex led Ronan down the backstairs of O’Malley’s Tavern into the private wine cellars. Her legs trembled with exhaustion, her head fuzzy from the restless night that had passed. Normally her mornings off from the university were spent reconciling the night’s receipts and restocking the bar, perfect activities for a woman on the brink of collapsing. But when Glenn called before dawn saying something had come up unexpectedly, it left Alex responsible for this morning’s appointments. Just as well. She needed to stay busy to keep her mind off her new reality.

  A fire. The death of a colleague. Research gone forever.

  Alex had no doubt her payment for keeping secrets was coming due and collection had already begun.

  “Aye, I’m pleased I get to see your operation.” The heavy brogue of Ronan’s native land pulled Alex from her depressing thoughts. “I didn’t know until recently the wine you brought to work was made and bottled here at the tavern.” The lilting tone of the vampire’s speech was in total conflict with his twitchy movements and instead of relaxing into comfortable chatter with a colleague, Ronan’s incessant prattle was unraveling the last threads of her frayed nerves. “I had no idea it was you and Glenn fermenting the blood wine here at O’Malleys.”

  For most people, the statement would have come across as a casual remark, but from Ronan it sounded like a condescending insult as if they weren’t capable of coming up with a blood mixture that vampires could actually drink to survive. Whatever. Despite the fact that she worked side-by-side at the university with this man, there was something about Ronan that always left her agitated. Get in. Get the wine. Send him on his merry way. She repeated the mantra over and over as she unlocked the heavy wooden door and entered her office, wishing Glenn were here to deal with this vampire.

  “The blood wine has only been available to the general population for the last few years. It’s a closely guarded secret,” she said. “There are few who actually know the blood base comes from Glenn’s pigs. It wasn’t until the tribunal caught wind of it that we really needed to step up production.” The metallic smell of rusted metal and damp wood replaced the cloying odor of Ronan’s spicy cologne. Alex took a great gulp and refocused. “Glenn and I worked on it for decades before we even thought of offering it to the vampires in the area.”

  “So, you let all your customers pick up their product here?”

  She laughed. “Hardly. There are only a few vampires we trust with the location.” She pulled the chain on the low-wattage bulb hanging naked from the ceiling. Its weak light chased away the darkness but not the shadows. Normally, Alex enjoyed the damp quiet of the cellar, but t
his vampire’s presence made the space feel small and uncomfortable. “We have trusted couriers who pick it up weekly and distribute the wine out to the community. I shudder to think what could happen if everyone knew we made and bottled it here in the cellars of O’Malleys.”

  “Then I feel quite privileged.” Ronan peeked into the adjoining cask room. “Quite a setup you have here.”

  Ronan stepped close to her, his butterscotch hair spiking erratically around his face, accenting his arched brow. “You are a fascinating woman, Alexandra. I am bewitched by your beauty.” With a graceful wave of his wrist, his finger swept a short lock of hair behind her ear. “You don’t worry about the locals wondering how a lassie stays so young?”

  His gaze roamed her face, lingering on her mouth before taking a leisurely glide back to her eyes. Something oddly familiar and completely dangerous crawled just beneath the man’s polished veneer and though she had no desire to set it free, she couldn’t seem to look away from his hypnotic gaze.

  “Hello,” a male voice called from upstairs.

  Like a switch, the heavy footfalls coming down the stairs broke their odd connection. Alex cleared her throat and stepped away. “I know you’ve been talking with Glenn about the progression of your orders.” Alex rifled through the stacks of papers on the heavy oak desk in the corner until she found the clipboard with the orders. Flipping a couple of pages, she worked to focus on the task at hand and not the heartbeat pounding in her ears. “Ah yes, you’re at two bottles.”

  “Alex, you down here?” called the voice again.

  “In the wine cellars,” she hollered back. Alex didn’t need to consult the appointment calendar to know who was thumping down her stairs.