Forbidden Touch

by K. S. Haigwood

  "Oh God!" Ciera said, and stomped the gas pedal to the floor board.

  "What is it? What's going on?!" Mitch shouted, then looked back out the glass. The vehicles were gaining on them. They were being chased.

  "My family," she whispered through tears, but he heard her. She pulled herself together. Falling apart now wouldn't help them any. She looked over at Mitch's confused face. He didn't have a clue what was about to happen to them. "Are you positive that you want to become like me?"

  "What?" He gave her a look like this was not the time to have that particular conversation.

  "I'm not sure it will save us, but I do know that if you are human when they capture us, killing you will be the first thing they'll do." She thought for a moment, then looked back at him. "Well, maybe it will be the second. I'm sure they will torture you first." She glanced in her mirrors again. They were catching up, and the needle on her speedometer was to the max and beyond. What the hell do they have in those trucks, rocket launchers?

  "How long will it take for me to change?" he asked.

  "A few hours; if you take my blood now you will be passed out from the transition when they catch us. And maybe if they still want to kill you, they will do it while you're unconscious."

  "Are they going to kill you?"

  "Probably, but they will kill you first and make me watch," she said as she glanced in the rear-view mirror again. "I need an answer now, Mitch. If you were serious about becoming a vampire, I am going to need to know that now."

  He didn't even stop to think about it. He knew what he wanted, but he wasn't keen on the thought of being unconscious and not being able to protect her. "Do you love me?"

  Her head shot around so she could look at him. Now was not the time to be having a heart-to-heart. "What?!"

  "If you love me, and believe that we are soulmates, the answer is yes. If your answer is anything less than that, just let them kill me."

  Ciera looked at him a moment as he waited for her answer. He wasn't going to let this go, and she didn't have time to argue that this was so not the time. She put her arm up to her mouth, and two very pointy, sharp looking fangs protruded quickly from her teeth. She struck her own wrist then held it in front of Mitch's face.

  He watched as two small streams of blood trickled down her arm.

  "Take it Mitch! We don't have all night," she said, impatiently.

  "Say it, and I will." The Vegas lights were getting brighter, and the two trucks behind them were only about a hundred yards behind them now. The trucks would catch up with them before they would be able to reach Vegas. But he wasn't interested in Vegas any longer. Ciera was finally offering him immortality, but hearing her tell him that she loved him was somehow more important. "Say it, Ciera."

  She looked back at him. She took in a deep breath then let it out slowly. "I've loved you from the moment I first saw you, Mitch."

  He smiled and put his mouth over the two small puncture wounds. She had been right. Her blood was indeed very sweet, and he sucked greedily from her vein.

  "Harder, Mitch, you are going to need a lot," she looked in her mirror again. "And we don't have a lot of time. Here, give me your wrist. The less human blood that you have in your veins, the quicker the transition will occur."

  He held it out to her and felt a slight pinch, and then she was sucking his blood from his body. He smiled as a thought came to mind. She was giving a whole new meaning to drinking and driving.

  Ciera kept an eye on the two vehicles behind them. For some reason they weren't getting any closer now. Maybe it wasn't her family. Maybe it was just a couple of kids having a very fast race.

  Then she saw it in the road up ahead, and it was too late for her to stop. A third vehicle was parked sideways in the middle of the road. There was no one in it, and she knew exactly why it was parked there. The car was dark in color, and the driver knew how fast she would be driving, and knew she wouldn't be able to stop in time. She wouldn't even be able to swerve off the side of the road without flipping her own vehicle. Ciera slammed on her brakes. There was an awful screaming sound coming from the tires. The white smoke rushed past the windows. She could smell the unpleasant stench of burning rubber and her brake pads melting under the instant pressure. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, pulled her wrist from Mitch's mouth, and placed her hand on his chest, bracing them both, just before she plowed into the side of the black Ford's door.

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  Chapter 30

  The little compact car was in a big metal ball. Ciera's shoulder hurt like hell. She knew without consulting a medical physician that it was dislocated. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she popped it back into place. It would only take about twenty minutes to heal, if she lived that long. She instantly felt for Mitch. The airbag had come out and smacked him in the face, breaking his nose. There was blood everywhere. She knew most of it was from his nose, but the rest was from the puncture wounds that she'd put in each of their wrists. Hers was already healed, but Mitch's wrist was still pumping blood out with every beat of his heart. She breathed a sigh of relief. If he was still bleeding, it meant he was still alive.

  She grabbed his wrist and ran her tongue over the two tiny holes. They instantly quit bleeding, and were getting smaller before her eyes. She shook him a little. His breathing was shallow, but he was breathing. "Mitch?" she whispered, but he didn't even moan. Damn! She was hoping that he got enough of her blood in him and was going through the transition. There was no way to tell until he woke up, if he was going to wake up.

  She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears burned behind her lids. Her breath hitched and she sobbed for him. If he did die like this, it would be a better death than her family would make him go through, she told herself. She heard gravel crunching under the soles of boots, and she froze.

  "Come out, come out, wherever you are," a man outside her damaged vehicle said.

  She didn't recognize the voice, but it didn't matter. He wasn't here to make friends with her. She caught sight of a hand coming through the window and she bit it hard.

  "Shit! You fucking bitch! You can come out of there on your own, or you aren't going to like it when I take you out. Dane gave me strict orders to make sure that you were alive when he got here, but I'm not afraid of Dane. Killing you slowly would be the highlight of my decade."

  "Go to hell!" Ciera screamed at him.

  "Perhaps one day. I want to play with you first," he said seductively, but Ciera wasn't swayed by his charm, if that's what he was aiming for. "Come out, or I will reach in there and pull your boyfriend's head off!" he shouted.

  Ciera looked over at Mitch in a panic, then unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled on top of him, surrounding as much of his body as she could manage with her own. She did notice that his nose had stopped bleeding and his breathing was more stable. She wanted to cry out to God in relief, but she didn't have time, the passengers from the other two vehicles were approaching her crumpled car.

  She looked out the shattered back glass as three men walked up to the vampire that had been harassing her.

  "You want us to pull the top of the car off?" one of the men said.

  "It looks as though you may have to. It seems this little vampess can walk around in the sun, and we can't. We only have a little over three hours to get her out and get to safety," the guy that she was coming to realize was the leader, said.

  They began to surround the car. She pulled Mitch's limp body close to hers to keep him safe. She looked down at the crumpled up mess of the floor board. His legs didn't seem to be trapped. That was a miracle in itself with the condition the car was in. It wouldn't take a whole lot for them to rip the roof off the car, then they would be on her and Mitch in a matter of seconds. She had to get them out of there. That was all she could think of when she saw the metal begin to tear away like a hot knife through butter. It was a god awful sound.

  She straddled Mitch's body, putting a foot on each side of his hips, sliding her arms around him
to get a firm grip on his upper body. She went invisible, and in the process, made Mitch disappear as well.

  When the roof came completely off, the car appeared to be empty.

  "What the fuck?" one of the vampires said.

  "She's still here." the leader growled. "I forgot a very important piece of information Dane told me. She can make herself invisible. That is how she can walk in the sun. Find her!" he shouted at the other men.

  Ciera took Mitch's body securely in her arms and pushed as hard as she could with her legs, springing them out of the car and twenty foot over the wreckage of the Ford. She didn't waste a second before she started running for Las Vegas. She knew she wouldn't make it carrying Mitch before they caught her. She was still a few miles away. She was invisible, but her foot falls on the desert floor were super loud to a vampire. There was nowhere to hide. The vampires would smell Mitch's blood anywhere they went.

  She heard them behind her but she didn't risk a glance back, she already knew they were gaining on her.

  She ran as fast as she had ever run before, but it wasn't fast enough. A hand fell on her shoulder and a pair of arms engulfed her upper body, making her lose her grip on Mitch. He went flying from her arms and was instantly visible to the other vampires.

  The vampire that had her contained wasn't letting go, but she kept her invisibility in place and tried to wiggle free of his strong hold. She did realize that it was the leader, and she bit his hand again. He let her go with a scream of profanities, but grabbed her by the hair as she tried to escape, jerking hard. She screamed, then swung her foot around to collide with his jaw. He staggered, not having a choice but to let her go.

  She moved slowly away from him so he couldn't hear the movements her feet were making on the packed dirt. She moved closer to Mitch and the other three vampires. Mitch had lost his disguise; he looked like the old Mitch, the Mitch she had fell in love with only four short weeks ago. The only thing different was that Mitch looked like he had been in a car wreck. Go figure. She didn't know the extent of his injuries, but he looked better now than he had only a few moments before. She could only hope that it was the transition healing the injuries in his body. She could already move her arm. Being a vampire was a wonderful thing sometimes.

  "Ciera," the leader said, and she stopped inching toward Mitch. "If you go anywhere near him, they will rip every limb from his body. You can't take on three male vampires. Don't fool yourself."

  She couldn't speak as she looked back at Mitch's limp body in the hands of the vampires. She knew he was right. They would kill him if she tried to free him.

  "If you want there to be any chance at all for your human to live, I would suggest you do as I say." He waited a moment, then continued. "Show yourself."

  Ciera never took her eyes from Mitch. She could get away from them and run to Vegas. She could get away and live. The problem with that fine scenario was they were holding her whole reason for living in their dirty hands.

  "I know it's childish, but I'm going to count to three. If I don't see your pretty little face by three, your human dies; simple as that, sweetheart."

  "He isn't human. He's in transition!" she exclaimed.

  The leaders facial features faltered, like he had been misinformed about something she didn't know about, then he smiled big yellow teeth at her as he shrugged his shoulders. "No worries, we've killed vampires before. What is one more?" He waited a few seconds then began counting. "One…Two…"

  "Okay!" Ciera shouted, then only hesitated briefly before making herself visible to her company.

  The leader grinned. "My, my, my, aren't you a pretty little thing? No wonder Dane is so obsessed with you." He walked closer to her, knowing that she didn't have a choice but to let him do whatever he wanted. He sniffed the air and smiled. "And I smell innocence. You haven't ever been touched. Have you?" he looked puzzled. "How is that possible?"

  She stiffened as he touched her cheek. He smiled.

  "Does he love you, Ciera?" he whispered in her ear. She quit breathing as the smell of his breath wafted up her nose. She wanted to puke. "It's obvious that you care for him, or you would have run off and left him here with us. Tell me, do you think you can change the outcome because you stayed?"

  "You got what you wanted, now let him go. He is a vampire now. There aren't any rules saying that vampires can't know about vampires. I did what is supposed to be done to humans who find out about us. You either turn them or kill them. I turned him, so let him go. My family doesn't want him, they only want me."

  The leader laughed out loud for a few moments, and when he finally stopped there was still laughter in his bloodshot eyes. It had been a while since he'd fed. "Your family? Dane is the only one of your family who knows that you have gone Rogue, my dear. He is coming here to collect you." He shrugged his shoulders. Dane hadn't contacted her family or the Elders about what she had done? What? "But you are wrong, Ciera. He does want your friend here. He has a specific purpose for him, and he will not stop until you are his. I may just keep your sweet virgin ass for my personal enjoyment. Like I said before, I'm not afraid of Dane." He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek and she jerked away from him. He smiled again then ran his hand up the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair. He grabbed a handful and jerked her head back. He kissed her hard on the mouth and she bit his lip. He shoved her away from him. "You bitch!" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at the blood when he pulled it away. It looked black in the night's sky, with only the quarter moon to illuminate their surroundings. He reared back and slapped her hard across the face.

  She stayed in the position the blow had left her in. Her head was turned to the side and her hair was covering her face. "Where is Dane?"

  "Oh, I don't know. He was finishing up some business with a certain psychic and a witch in Arkansas about twenty-four hours ago. He should be along anytime."

  Ciera thought that one through. If this guy was telling the truth, Dane had only been a matter of minutes behind them. But he wouldn't have been able to travel during the daylight hours, unless…

  The leader laughed crazily. "I can see those wheels turning in that pretty little head of yours. You figured it out, didn't you?"

  Ciera could hear a vehicle coming toward them in the distance. It was coming from the Vegas direction. She didn't want to look up. She knew it would be him. As soon as he found out where she was headed, he caught a flight to Vegas to head her off. He had probably caught the first flight out at dusk, and had been waiting hours for her arrival.

  She was no longer in disguise, so he would be able to read her clearly. If she had ran and left Mitch here to die, Dane would have still caught her. He is the best at what he does. He had been doing this job a lot longer than she had.

  Just like she knew it would, the vehicle pulled off the road and came to a stop only a few feet from them. The engine shut off, the driver's door opened, and Dane stepped out and smiled at her. "It is so good to see you again, Ciera."

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  Chapter 31

  "Where were you going, Ciera? I couldn't get the psychic or the witch to tell me anything. They were very good at hiding their secrets before their untimely death. Although, I did manage to get your direction out of the psychic's head before I bashed it in."

  Ciera's breath hitched on a sob. "You're a monster, Dane."

  He shook his head as he smiled at her. "No, I'm not the monster. I'm not even the individual in charge here. The boss and I have a deal, you see. I get you, and he gets your human. It was all planned out from the start. I was the one who suggested to the Elders to put you in charge of the Rogue vampire's murders."

  Her eyes grew wide as she stared at him. "You know who the killer is?"

  His smile broadened. "Of course I do. I helped him frame your pathetic human." He shrugged his shoulders as he walked closer to her. "I got out of his head that he was headed to the gym that night, then I called my boss to let him know of his whereabouts.
He took it from there, and I raced to our parent's house to await your arrival. I knew that you would lie to me. I do have to say that it still hurt my feelings a little when you did. I really do love you, you know."

  Her face hardened, she clenched her jaw and spoke through her teeth. "You have no idea what love is."

  He slowly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of air through his nose. "I have waited so long to be the vampire in your life. I knew when he suggested that it be you who brought Mitch over, that there was a huge chance that you would give your heart away, even to a mortal. But you have not given your body to him, and now you won't have the chance. Your feelings for him will fade in time, and you will see that I did this so we can be together."

  "What are you talking about?" she said, with pure confusion in her eyes and voice.

  "The Rogue vampire is Mitch's father. He knew Mitch would be assigned to a case that big because Mitch is the best detective they have. He also knew that I would be assigned to find him and turn him over to the Elders, so he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He knew Mitch would refuse to be turned by him, but if he was in love…he may not find it so appalling. And you have played your part brilliantly, I might add." He sniffed the air around Mitch. "He will be a vampire soon enough. And with the power his father possesses, he will make a pungent young vampire."

  Her eyes grew wider as she analyzed him. She was having trouble catching her breath. They had set this all up. They had planned for Mitch to become a vampire all along, and now it was her fault that he was. Dane knew she would make the decision to turn Mitch into a vampire to save his life. She had fallen for the whole thing.

  A tear escaped her eye, and she flinched as Dane tried to wipe it away. "Awe, Ciera, I am truly sorry to have tricked you, but you made it so easy,"

  She met his gaze with her own. "I will never love you. Mitch is a vampire now, so we can be together."