Evil's Unlikely Assassin_An Alexis Black Novel

by Jenn Windrow

  “He’s a good man. A good detective. Unless you do something to change his mind I think he trusts you.”

  I wasn’t sure trust was the right word, more like tolerated until I helped solve his case, then we’d see how he felt about me. “Then I guess I shouldn’t do anything to change his mind.”

  He turned to leave, but before he got to the elevator I caught up. “Doctor Monroe, what’s your sister’s name?”

  He leaned in until his lips practically touched my earlobe. “Her name’s Julia. And please call me Julian.”

  The warmth of his breath tickled my neck, sending chills from my nose to my toes. Damn those slutty urges.

  He got on the elevator and pushed the button, but his eyes never left mine. I watched him go down, disappointed he was leaving. The front door closed and Raja hopped off her perch and wound in and out of my legs. I scooped her up and rubbed under her chin. “Silly cat, you’ve got to be nicer to company.”

  “Especially when they’re as hot as that man.” I hadn’t noticed Nathan floating next to me.

  “He’s not interested,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t be too sure. His eyes never left your ass when you walked him to the door.”

  “Were you eavesdropping?”

  “Does the queen have a crown? Of course I was.”

  Nathan and I were going to have to have a talk about boundaries. “That’s not polite.”

  “Like I care, I’m a ghost, we’re supposed to sneak around.” He had a point.

  I placed Raja on the floor. “I’m off to bed.”

  “Sweet dreams, although I have a feeling they’ll be more randy than sweet.” Nathan positioned himself on the couch. I helped him with the remote and wandered back to my room.

  I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that the only thing on my mind was finding Terrance, the nest, and now Julia, but I knew I’d be lying and so did the throbbing between my legs.

  Chapter Eleven

  I was in the middle of a very erotic dream involving the delicious Julian Monroe, a bathtub full of chocolate syrup and unlimited cans of whip cream, when the loud clunk of my phone vibrating across the nightstand woke me. I was going to kill whoever was on the other end.

  I reached down and rubbed my hand along the cold wood floor, where the offending hunk of plastic and glass plunked after it had fallen. I picked it up and read the screen, Reaper. Worst. Timing. Ever.

  “What,” I barked.

  “Meet me in front in thirty,” Reaper barked back and hung up.

  Not my ideal wake up call, I might have to make Reaper’s evening extra unpleasant.

  Half an hour later, Nathan and I climbed into the Chevelle. Reaper hit the gas and the car took off at warp speed, or something that felt like it. Good thing his passengers were a vampire and a ghost, and not prone to whiplash.

  “Are we checking out the address Arnold gave us?” I asked.

  Reaper looked confused. “Arnold?”

  “That’s what I named the vampire last night.”

  He turned his head and concentrated on the road in front of him. “When I got home I plugged the address into the police databanks. There have been several complaints about the property.”

  “What kind of complaints?”

  “Noise and unusual odors.”

  “Have the police investigated them?”

  “Nope. The overworked police department hasn’t gotten around to it yet.”

  It paid to fight supernatural crime in a big city. The police only got to a crime scene on a timely manner if someone was still alive. If you were already dead, well, there wasn’t any rush now, was there? And if you were just a nosey neighbor causing problems, you fell right to the bottom of the list.

  The car headed into the rural part of the state. All grassland, cows, and horses. It was peaceful, and quiet, reminded me of home. Not the home I’ve known for the past one hundred and fifty-five years, but Province France, where I lived before Xavier stole me away and turned me into a vampire.

  Reaper pulled the car into a long weed-lined gravel driveway and followed it up until two buildings came into view. A weather-beaten barn, missing a door, and quite a few planks of wood, and a house in desperate need of a few gallons of paint. Boards covered the windows and the front door barely hung by a hinge. There was an overgrown pasture off to the left and the wooden fence that surrounded it was knocked over. No one had called this place home in years except for cockroaches and rats.

  I stepped out and took a good sniff of the air. The initial smell of vampire nearly knocked me on my ass. I gagged and swallowed back the bile that now coated my esophagus. The smell was off. Like decay and rot and blood and death.

  Even Eddie stayed subdued. Sure the blood lust circled like a hungry school of sharks, but the sharks were tiny and afraid of what was causing the noxious odor.

  Something’s not right.

  Thanks for the warning, Captain Obvious.

  I pointed to the front door and wrinkled my nose. “Whatever’s in that house is bad. Really bad.”

  Nathan floated up beside me. “Maybe I should go in and take a look around.”

  I’m supposed to the big, bad vampire hunter, but I was relieved I didn’t have to be the first one to go in the house of horrors. “That’s a great idea.”

  “What’s a great idea?” Reaper asked.

  “Nathan’s going to see what we’re walking into.”

  “That bad?”

  I waved my hand in front of my face. “I’ve never smelled anything like it.”

  Reaper and I leaned against the Chevelle’s hood and waited for our ghostly partner to make an appearance. “What do you think he’s going to find?” Reaper asked.

  “Nothing good. There’s no Sire, otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

  Reaper went to the trunk and pushed a button on the side. A panel slid off to the side, revealing a secret compartment. He pulled out a camouflage bag big enough to hide a body in. He proceeded to unload an arsenal of guns, stakes, and knives, and shove them in pockets of his cargo pants and in his boots.

  He’d just finished arming himself when Nathan came back looking like he could use his happy place and a puke bucket. “Bloody fucking hell.”

  His reaction didn’t build my confidence. I placed my hand on Nathan’s arm so I didn’t have to interpret. “How many?”

  “Dozens. Alive and dead. It’s like the seventh circle of hell.”

  I pulled out my stake. “Ready?”

  Reaper nodded. Nathan backed away. “No chance I’m going back in.” Damn. Must be bad to spook the spook.

  Eddie didn’t flare to life. Something was wrong, seriously wrong. The house was full of vampires; the beast should have been forcing its way to the surface.

  Want to explain why you’re not shredding my insides to be let loose? There is nothing in there that will satisfy my hunger.

  I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  Armed and ready to play, I pushed past Reaper and kicked in the door, or attempted to. Something blocked it halfway and it closed again. I tried for the more subtle approach, and pushed it open with Reva’s hilt, making a gap big enough to stick my head through.

  My eyes couldn’t make sense of the sight laid out in front of me. Bodies, in various stages of the changing process, were scattered all over the room. There had to be thirty-five men, women, children, writhing in pain as the vampire disease ripped through their flesh and bone, stopped organs, poisoned their blood, and changed their bodies to adjust to a far tougher lifestyle. Still, there was something odd about their flesh. Open sores covered them from head to toe. Now, it’s been awhile since I was forced to become a vampire, but I’m sure I’d remember oozing pockets of blood and puss.

  Some were farther along in the process, the final rest before being reborn. Others were just starting the change. But they had one thing in common, all-encompassing pain. Pain that ripped through your organs, burned your flesh, and ignited your blood. Pain so severe
that it drove you mad and pushed you past your limits. It’s a living hell. I squeezed through the narrow opening and stepped over the body of a young boy, maybe early twenties, with a hypodermic needle sticking out of his arm, acting as a doorstop. With the tip of my boot I pushed him carefully aside and opened the entrance wide enough for Reaper.

  “What the fuck?” My sentiments exactly, but Reaper said it first.

  For once, I have to agree with the He-Man want to be, Eddie said from his hiding spot.

  “There are no words.” I wasn’t lying. Vampire Sires would never leave a protégé unprotected. They’re their children. And no vampire would ever create so many. Most vampires went their whole undead life without turning anyone, but if they did it was maybe one or two. This was wrong. Unheard of. Sick.

  “We have to find the monster doing this,” Reaper said from behind.

  “First we have to put these creatures out of their misery.” The thought made me sad, but most of the people in this house hadn’t chosen to live like this. A feeling I knew first hand.

  I moved farther into the room, kicking discarded needles out of my way, careful to step over the bodies in my path. How many other places like this were there? How many people were being forced into this life? Judging by the sheer number in this room I imagined quite a few.

  My foot landed next to the head of a skinny man who looked like he had a hard life living on the streets before he was turned. My other foot was just ready to come down when a hand wrapped around my ankle, claws poking through my leather boot. I looked down and one of the resting vampires growled. Lips pulled back. Fangs bared. Hungry. Looking for a fight.

  Eddie awoke with a fierce determination that kicked the air out of my lungs.

  Unnatural beasts need to return to hell. Then he proceeded to use me as his own personal weapon.

  I reached down and yanked the vampire up by the throat, avoiding the spit that flew from his mouth. He growled and hissed until I squeezed his larynx and cut off his ability to make noise. The last thing I needed was for him to wake up the rest of his friends. Sharp claws dug into my skin and scratched deep furrows into my flesh. I might have felt some sympathy for him if he didn’t start causing bodily harm; after all, I knew how he felt. That complete lack of control, and insatiable hunger you woke up with. Everyone is your enemy or food. You’re more animal than person at this point. I wish I could tell him it got better, but that would be a load of crap.

  “Alexis.” Reaper’s pained cry, combined with a scream, came from deeper in the house. I plunged the stake into the young vampire’s heart and dropped him to the ground. Rushing past the rest not caring who I kicked on the way, I went in search of my partner.

  On my way, I kicked more needles out of the way. Telling myself that once things were under control I’d take a closer look.

  I entered the kitchen and there was Reaper. Backed against an avocado green refrigerator, with a pair of fangs dangerously close to his jugular. Dinner was about to be served for the female vampire at his throat. I snuck up and plunged my stake through the vampire’s back and into her heart. She screamed loud enough to alert the others before the hand holding Reaper’s neck fell away. The body dropped to the floor and started to smolder.

  Nathan rushed in. “There’s about fifteen awake and looking for dinner.”

  “You ready to fight our way out of here?”

  Reaper pulled a Beretta out of the small of his back and held it high in answer.

  Eddie, I’m going to need a little help here.

  My fangs elongated. Blood boiled. Brand burned. I was ready to fight. Kill. Destroy.

  I pulled out Reva and went through the door first since I had the best chance at survival against a mob of hungry vampires, but Reaper wasn’t far behind. Two vamps blocked the entrance so I sliced and diced my way through. Heads rolled. I continued on into the melee.

  For every vampire that I sent back to the gates of hell, two more took its place.

  Shots reverberated through the room. I glanced back to see Reaper filling two vampires with lead. I turned away confidant he had things in hand and fought the enemy in front of me. A thud sounded from behind, and something hard hit my heel. I looked down, Reaper’s gun rested by my foot.

  Reaper was on the ground, three vampires clawing their way up his legs. Across his stomach. To his chest. I moved fast, but not fast enough. He screamed when they sank their fangs into the tender flesh of his neck, sucking and feeding.

  Four vampires surrounded me, but Reaper needed help, and no matter how much he pissed me off he was still on my team. Holding tight to my dagger, I forced my way through the mob of the undead, leaving a trail of severed heads behind.

  I rushed to Reaper, stake in hand, and pierced the hearts of the vamps that held him down, turning them into nothing but ash.

  Reaper’s clothes were torn and he was covered in bite marks and gashes. Blood pumped from a large, deep, wide cut on the side of his neck that looked extremely painful.

  I knelt next to him, licking my finger and placing my saliva over the worst of his wounds that was hemorrhaging. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”

  He grimaced and then pointed over my shoulder. I turned. The room was full of vampires. All awake, all headed our way.

  “Nathan,” I screamed. He appeared in an instant. “What’s the exit look like?”

  “Surrounded by blood suckers.”

  Shit. How many were in this house? “I’ve got to get Reaper out of here.”

  Reaper pushed up off the floor and used the wall for support. I was amazed he was standing at all. “I can make it, just clear the way.”

  Playtime was over…time for some vamps to die.

  Eddie sent me another surge of vampire-ass-kicking power

  With Reva in one hand and Reaper’s gun in the other, I shoved my partner behind me and mowed through any vampire who was unlucky enough to be in my way. Blood flew, sprayed, splattered and the bodies piled up.

  The sorry excuse for a front door was just ahead. Five, maybe six feet, and thanks to the gun and the dagger only three vampires stood in the way. I rushed forward and made a crossing motion with Reva. Three heads hit the ground and I stepped over their bodies, watching Reaper limp his way down the stairs. He stopped on the bottom step. “Come on, Alexis.”

  I’d already made the decision that not one creature in that house of hell could make it out alive. There was no way I was leaving until I left Terrance a calling card and a message. “Get to the car,” I yelled before walking back in the house and slamming another clip into the Beretta I retrieved from the ground.

  The scene was gruesome. Dead bodies. Piles of ash. Blood dripping from the ceiling and walls. And about fifteen vampires still alive and kicking. But not for long. I squeezed the trigger.

  Fifteen shots left a smoking gun, empty clip, and fifteen vampire carcasses on the ground. I followed the trail of dead bodies and stabbed anything that wasn’t already ash.

  Smoke from the smoldering bodies filled the small room and made it difficult to see, but I found the stairs and took them two at a time, dreading what I would find on the second floor. I searched the four bedrooms and two closets, but the vampires were all gone. I went back down and did a second pass of the first floor just to make sure. For a brief moment, I considered leaving Terrance a note in blood on the wall, but looking at the carnage I doubt it was needed.

  Before I ran out the door, I scooped up one of the needles for evidence, and headed to the car. Reaper was slumped in the passenger seat, chin on his chest. His neck covered in multiple bite marks, his arms scratched up.

  Nathan looked at me when I got in the car, relief written all over his face. “He needs help and I’m useless.”

  I searched Reaper’s jacket for his keys, put them in the ignition, cranked the engine, and drove like a bat out of Dracula’s castle back to my place.

  Reaper moaned beside me, his eyes pinched shut. Staying and healing him in the house from hell wasn’t
an option, who knew how many other vampires were on their way home. So, I headed to my place. But I had to make it fast, or I’d be down a sidekick.

  Chapter Twelve

  When you’re leaving a vampire massacre with a bleeding man, fate makes it a point to stick bumpy potholes in your path. And I managed to hit every one on our getaway. I’d just like to know what I did to get on her bad side.

  The bumps on the road tore moans and groans from Reaper’s throat. I had to choose between comfort and speed; one look at the bloody mess passed out in the passenger seat and I used my black leather stiletto boots to push the pedal to the metal. To hell with comfort, I had a pain-in-the-ass to save.

  The Chevelle’s tires sprayed loose gravel when I fishtailed into my parking lot and came to a stop. Reaper’s head bounced off the window.

  “Hey, Mario, careful of the patient,” Nathan grumped from the backseat.

  I ignored him, went to the passenger side and lifted Reaper out of the car. He put all his weight on me and we slowly shuffled to the building. I couldn’t handle anymore of the old man pace so I picked him up, hiking him over my shoulder.

  It was times like these I was grateful I didn’t live in a fancy high-rise. How do you explain a five-foot-five woman, weighing no more than one hundred and ten pounds, fireman carrying a two hundred and forty pound man covered in blood through a gleaming condo. You don’t. That’s why I live in an isolated piece of shit. I leaned Reaper against the wall and called the elevator. His eyes rolled back, thanks to the vampire pheromones rampaging through his blood stream. Short shallow breaths raised his chest and his skin tone gave me a run for the money in the pale department.

  Once we were upstairs, I carried Reaper to my couch and carefully laid him down. I ran to the kitchen for my first aid kit, a damp cloth, and container of water. Then gently wiped away some of the blood that covered his skin to get a better look at the deep fang marks that marred his neck, throat, and shoulders. Three vampires left ten bite marks in a matter of seconds. They sure didn’t waste any time getting their first meal.