by Jenn Windrow
The guards at the door stopped a man and pulled him off to the side. They patted down his exposed flesh, checked his canines, and searched his wrist for a pulse. Great, the VAU equivalent to the TSA.
I clenched my jaw, gritted my teeth. “Where the hell is he?”
Screw this. I don’t care how much Reaper needed me to go in and talk to his old friend, I wasn’t putting my life on the line.
I pushed against the wall, ready to leave my hidey-hole, but something held me back, refused to allow my sandal-clad feet to move from this spot.
The girl I saved and the one I couldn’t. I owed it to them. The vampires I killed had been babies, probably out on their first hunt. That meant there was a Sire creating them. The escalated attacks meant there were more where they had come from. I needed to locate and stop them, and Coleman was my best option. I leaned back against the wall and continued to wait.
Coleman had knowledge that Reaper and I couldn’t get from the scanners.
Hopefully he was in a sharing mood. Hell, hopefully I made it past the sniff test.
My vampire enhanced hearing heard the rumble of the Chevelle’s engine come up the ramp of the parking garage. Seconds later, Reaper parked and slammed the door. When he was within arms reach I grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him into my hidey-hole.
“You. Are. Late.” Each word hissed through my clenched teeth.
Reaper shrugged and took a step back. His gaze traveled up my body, then back down and settled on my cleavage.
I placed my finger under his chin and lifted until his eyes met mine. “Up here.” When he was once again focused on my face, I asked, “Are you sure this is necessary?”
“Did you watch the news? Do you want another girl attacked? Almost killed? This is your chance to help others like her.” Dirty. Rotten. Bastard.
“Anyways, you’re already here, and you look…” His eyes went on another journey before finishing his sentence. “It’ll do.”
“Can’t we just call Coleman?”
Reaper stared at my breasts. “No, we…” his words trailed off.
“Reaper, focus.”
“You look so…alive.” He placed his hand over my heart. “Still not beating.” His hands rested on my shoulders, their warmth seeping into my skin. “Cold as usual.”
I shoved his hands off my body. “Knock it off. I’m not a science experiment.”
“Is this what you looked like before you turned?” He started touching my arms.
“If I didn’t know you were a blood sucker…”
This was ridiculous. I bared my fangs and growled.
Reaper’s eyes widened and his heartbeat took off in a gallop. Spell broken. “We need to find another way.” I turned and started to walk off.
He grabbed my arm, pulling me back into the shadows. This time when he looked at me the hatred seeped back into his eyes. I was once again Alexis the vampire. His hands fell away from my shoulders, taking their heat with them.
“You’ll be fine.”
“Says the human.”
“All we have to do is make it past the guards at the entrance and the front desk.”
“How are we going to manage that?”
“Just follow my lead.”
I’m glad one of us was confident because every second closer to walking through the doors unnerved me. If I had a beating heart it would be ramming against my flesh.
“Anything I should know?”
“Keep your story simple. James is good at picking up on lies. The rest I’ll help you with.”
He placed a hand on the small of my back. I pushed back the last bit of doubt and walked one step closer to a vampire’s nightmare. Even Eddie stayed silent.
We stepped out onto the sidewalk and started walking the thirty paces to the entrance. Guards flanked the doors, their machine guns loaded with silver bullets. Canisters of holy water hung from their utility belts and their eyes were covered with visors made from a special lens to keep them from being glamoured. The humans made it their business to know all our secrets.
Reaper pulled me close. “Pretend to cry.” He pushed my face into his shoulder and patted the top of my head.
Who needed to pretend? I buried my face deeper into Reaper’s neck and pretended to sob. Loud enough that every guard would hear.
“You’re not trying to win an Oscar. Tone it down.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and led me past the guards. “Poor thing, lost her fiancé to a vampire,” Reaper said to the guards. I cried harder.
“Evil bastards.” The guard answered and waved us past. They didn’t even pay attention to the mountain of snot leaning on Reaper for support. Men hated dealing with tearful females.
The revolving door welcomed us into its octopus-like embrace and deposited us into the lobby. Every square inch of the puke green walls covered with vampire-hating propaganda. Emergency contact information in case of a vampire sighting. Human Only posters, advocating for an all-human society. And my personal favorite, 10 Safety tips to ward off a hungry vampire. I might have stepped closer to read their advice if I hadn’t been afraid for my life.
A balding man sat behind a tall counter, a phone receiver at his ear. He looked up, smiled, and held up his index finger.
Reaper leaned over close to me. “Johnson. Family man. Desk jockey. Harmless.”
Johnson placed the receiver back on the cradle, and stood. “Blake. How the hell are ya?” He offered his hand. “It’s been what? Three years?”
“Almost. How are the wife and kids?” Reaper didn’t understand that this was not the time for small talk.
Johnson picked up and placed a hand-made picture frame on the desk. Reaper picked it up and showed it to me. A red-haired woman and four red-haired kids smiled back at me.
I didn’t care about his family, but pretended to be normal. “You have a beautiful family.” He beamed like I told him he won the lottery.
Their small talk faded into white noise. I wanted to focus on what they were saying, but it was hard with the sound of the rubber on the bottom of the revolving door scraping along the floor. With each new turn I expected a pair of fangs to walk through and blow my cover. Because nothing said innocent human woman like glowing red eyes, fangs, and the personality of a serial killer.
Flumph. The door turned again. Just another VAU agent.
Flumph.
Man in a business suit.
Flumph.
Holy hell, get me out of here.
My hand inched toward Reaper’s shirt to force him to move on, but I pulled it back before touching him. I didn’t want to appear rude in front of Johnson.
After several moments, Johnson said, “Coleman’s expecting you. Go on back.” He reached under the desk and a shrill buzz sounded from the glass door off to our left. I jumped at the noise.
Reaper leaned in. “Relax. Employee entrance.”
With a wave to Johnson, Reaper pushed open the door and the buzz stopped. I hesitated, unable to force my feet forward. Reaper reached for my hand and for once I was happy to feel his flesh against mine. He pulled me over the threshold and led me past rows of desks filled with VAU agent after VAU agent. Reaper greeted some of the agents on our way through, but didn’t stop to chit-chat. We entered a long hallway of doors and stopped at the second to last one. He knocked twice and then opened it.
Keep your lips zipped, I warned Eddie before we walked into Coleman’s office.
I won’t utter a syllable.
Detective James Coleman sat behind an old metal desk, surrounded by mountains of manila file folders. Two diplomas hung on the faded beige wall behind him, one from the police academy, the other from the VAU. There were no personal effects in the office, nothing to tell you who the man sitting across from us was. So far all I perceived was a man buried in work, who didn’t mind clutter.
The detective looked up from his paperwork and glanced briefly at Reaper, but then turned his attention to me. Studying me. These guys were trained to notice anything out of the ordinary
human appearance. I hoped my disguise held up under the scrutiny.
His facial expression didn’t give any indication of his thoughts. He turned to Reaper and his smile turned friendly. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.”
“Didn’t want to let you down.”
“Appreciate that.” His attention turned back to me, the smile he gave Reaper wiped away.
“Who’s your friend?” He walked around the desk and held out his hand. I really didn’t want to touch his flesh, but I had to remember that whole acting normal thing. I rubbed my hand on my dress hoping to warm it up and placed it in his.
“I’m Alexis Black. So nice to meet a friend of Blake’s.” I was trying for harmless girl next door, but it sounded more like guilty suspect.
He let my hand drop. “It’s nice to meet you, Alexis.” He studied me for a moment. “You’ve got the most unusual eyes. Purple’s not a color you see often.”
Fuck. There was no way to hide my damaged retinas, the blood that mixed in with the blue of my eyes whenever I got nervous, turning them more periwinkle than blue. Thank the fates it wasn’t a vampire trait, just another present from Caleb. Hopefully he didn’t get any closer. “Contacts,” I explained.
He gestured to a pair of beat up blue plastic chairs in front of his desk. “Mind if I ask you a couple of questions about last night?”
Guess the pleasantries were over. How disappointing. I was looking forward to making Detective Coleman my new best friend. “Not at all.” I plastered my best I’ve-got-nothing-to-hide smile on my face.
He shuffled some files, pulled one out from the stack and placed it on the desk in front of him. He grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and leaned back in his chair with a creak. “Did you see any vampires last night?”
What a lead in. “No. None.”
“Are you positive?”
“I’d remember if I saw a vampire.”
The detective’s eyes shifted back and forth between us. He leaned forward and tossed the paper and pen on the desk. “I find it hard to believe you didn’t see one. Especially since vampires rarely leave anyone alive.”
I crossed and uncrossed my legs. Settled my skirt around my thighs. Detective Coleman watched my every move. I willed myself to stop fidgeting, but the thought that Coleman suspected something had me on edge. “Maybe we scared them away.”
“Two,” he paused. Coleman’s gaze tick-tocked between us. “Humans?”
Time for a quick change of subject. “Did the girl make it?”
“She’s in the ICU and expected to make a full recovery.”
I snuck a glance at Reaper. He was composed, like a robot, no emotion at all. “Has she said anything?” he asked.
“No. She can’t remember a thing after the first bite.”
Thank goodness for vampire pheromones and their ability to wipe a memory. “That’s a shame.” I lowered my eyes hoping to conceal my excitement that something had gone our way.
“We need to find the vampires responsible.” Detective Coleman stared directly at me again. “Anything you’d like to share?”
I shook my head because my voice had packed up and gone on a trip with my nerve. Some big, tough vampire I was.
Reaper spoke up. “You mentioned other attacks last night. Same M.O.?”
Detective Coleman sat back and steepled his fingers under his chin, his eyes locked on mine. “We’re keeping that information confidential, but yes. Two others in the past week. Only their victims didn’t survive.”
Damn. Three attacks in less than a week. Vampires didn’t dare create a pattern, it draws attention, and attention in a post Eradication world is the last thing you’d want.
The detective nodded. “You know any vampires, Ms. Black?”
Ha! Eddie broke his vow of silence.
“Not a one.” Besides the one sitting in front of him.
“Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything that will help the VAU catch the vampire responsible?”
I shook my head, mostly telling the truth. I didn’t have any information that would be useful to Detective Coleman or the VAU, but I had learned something that would help me.
The detective slammed his fist on the desk, the impact causing the stack of folders to wobble, but they didn’t topple. He stood and ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks for coming.” His dismissal was abrupt.
Reaper stood and I pushed back my chair, moving next to him. Thankful this meeting was coming to an end. The farther I got from Detective Coleman, the VAU, and their arsenal of death, the better.
Detective Coleman pushed Reaper aside and stepped closer. Close enough to see the freckles I’d always hated. Close enough to see the frown lines my current life-style etched around my lips. Close enough to see the flecks of blood that swam in the ocean of my eyes. Close enough to learn my secret.
One step back gave me distance. Two steps back kept my secret safe.
I saw it in his eyes the moment he caught my unease, my discomfort. That look confirmed I’d never be able to hide my true identity.
The smile he gave said he knew all my deep, dark secrets. He held out his hand. I didn’t want to shake it, but didn’t have a choice. If I refused his suspicions would be confirmed. I knew what was coming the moment I slipped my palm into his. We were screwed. And here I was without my trusty dagger.
His index finger slid over my wrist and pressed down. He held it there for five seconds, just enough time. Shit. If he didn’t suspect I wasn’t human before, he did now. No pulse always gave it away. That’s why they taught the VAU that handy maneuver.
“She doesn’t seem like your type.” His brown eyes hardened before he looked at Reaper. His grip on my hand tightened. I thought about yanking it away. Hell, I thought about tearing out his throat. But, acting on impulse would end badly for both of us. How did I get out of this mess with my fangs intact?
We could eat him. Problem solved. Eddie liked to think he had all the answers.
“Would Lorelei approve?” Coleman asked Reaper.
In half a second he was going to have a close encounter with Eddie if he didn’t back down. I’m positive whoever Lorelei was she wouldn’t approve of that either.
“Don’t bring her into this.” Reaper’s voice was low, almost a growl. He reached down and grabbed Coleman’s wrist. “Let her go.”
While Coleman and Reaper worked through their Mexican standoff, I fought to tamp down my inner monster who wanted to turn them into human sushi rolls.
Coleman finally released my hand and took a step back. “I think we should get a beer sometime, Blake.” Guy-code for, we need to have a talk.
“Sure, I’ll call you.” More guy-code for, not a chance.
“No. I’ll call you.” Reaper wasn’t getting off that easily.
Reaper grabbed my hand. “Ready?” I nodded and he led us back through the maze of desks. I was tempted to turn and see if Coleman was watching us, but I fought against it, choosing to pretend he wasn’t.
The ride home was quiet, both lost in our own thoughts. Mine a jumbled mess. Detective Coleman had rattled me, unnerved me, scared me. Would he turn me in? Hunt me down? Would I have to kill him?
“Coleman knows.” Reaper’s words surprised me out of my thoughts.
“What will he do?”
“Depends.”
I wanted to strangle him, but instead I urged him on with a wave of my hand. “On what?”
“How useful he thinks you are.”
“If I’m not?”
“I won’t save your ass when he comes gunning for you.”
What a reassuring thought. I hoped Detective Coleman caught his vamp and didn’t need any further assistance.
And no matter how shitty that situation was, it wasn’t our biggest problem. “We’ve got a nest,” I said.
Eddie murmured in agreement.
“What makes you say that? Don’t Sire’s control the nest and all the vampires in it?”
Reaper’s question reminded me of my
time spent in the world of nests and Sires. A time I thought I left behind when I fled Xavier, my Sire, and his land of twisted morals, but it looked like the universe wanted to pull me back in.
I rubbed the back of my neck and gave it a tight squeeze to release the tension that had built up in the muscles before I started with my explanation.
“Usually, but I think we have a nest that’s missing its Sire. Those vampires we encountered the other night, they were newly turned, maybe three days old.” My raised eyebrows wrinkled my brow. “If I’m right then they were hunting for the first time. Without a Sire they’re surviving by instinct. They don’t know the rules.”
“The VAU knows the minimal amount about nests, but you were in when you were newly turned, you’ve got to know more. Know how they operate.”
“More than I want to.” I thought back to my time as a newly turned vampire and what it was like to hunt that very first time. Xavier teaching me the in’s and out’s of the undead hunting rituals. My reluctance, horror, and disgust of what it took to survive.
The humans are not to know this.
They have to if we want to find out who is doing this.
Then you will doom your race.
But protect another.
Eddie snarled in my head and I felt him fade back into the abyss that he lived
“A nest is the baby vampire’s home, where a newly turned vampire is safe, secure, and totally protected. When a Sire takes his baby vamps out hunting, it’s just the Sire and one protégé, never a pair or a group. The Sire uses that time to teach the vampire how to hunt, drink, and what rules apply to cleaning up after your meal.” I slumped back into my seat, the cool leather offering me comfort from memories best forgotten.
“They never venture far from home, choosing to only hunt in a circle around the nest. That way they can always get back to safety if they are in danger. To find the nest, we just have to locate the center. Find an area with a large rate of sightings or attacks in all directions and follow the path to the middle.”
Reaper nodded his head. “I’ll start checking the scanners, reports, and maps. Tomorrow we’ll start searching for the nest.”
Reaper and I had a volatile personal relationship, but when it came to our working relationship we got shit done. I knew when he picked me up tomorrow night we’d be on our way to search for our rogue vampires, and one step closer to taking them out.
