by Kelly Goode
I didn’t want it to feel good, but it did.
‘Don’t take too much blood,’ I gasped, thankful when he retracted his fangs and placed cold, wet kisses against my chest.
‘Never,’ Darrick said huskily but I wasn’t comforted by his words. He seemed intoxicated by my blood. His pale face was flushed to the point that he almost appeared human.
‘I need to get up,’ I said weakly, and wasn’t surprised when the vampire shook his head.
‘No, you need to stay exactly where you are.’
Darrick kissed his way down the front of my body, pushing my dress up around my waist. I tried to pull it back down to cover my modesty but he held my hands away. His mouth moved across the outside of my knickers, his nose pressing into my already sensitised sex.
‘I bet you taste so fucking amazing here too.’
‘No, wait, stop,’ I said. ‘This is moving too fast.’
I didn’t get the chance to find out whether Darrick was an honourable vampire who would have respected my wishes and let me up, as Mari came flying across the room with a squeal. She landed on Darrick’s head and proceeded to use her tiny claws to tug at his long dark hair.
‘What the hell….’
Darrick pushed away from me and I took advantage of the distraction, slipping off the desk and quickly righting my clothes. The vampire clamped his hand around Mari’s furry body as she wriggled in protest.
‘Don’t hurt her,’ I cried. The sounds of her frantic squeaking made me feel ill as he squeezed her.
‘You never cease to amaze me, Ember. Most women would be shrieking for me to kill the animal. Are you not scared of rats?’
‘No, please don’t kill it.’
‘Why not? It’s just a rat.’
I wracked my brain for a way to get out of this awful situation without compromising my cover.
‘I’ll take the rat,’ I said desperately. ‘I’d like it…for a pet.’
‘Rats don’t make good pets.’
‘I don’t care. I’ve always wanted one. Please…’
For a moment, I thought he was going to hand me the animal, but at the last second, he clenched his fist and I heard the unmistakeable sound of bones breaking before Mari’s screeches fell silent.
‘No!’
Darrick shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Ember. Rats are vermin. I cannot allow my guests to see one running free in my club. There are health and safety laws I am bound by…’
Tears burned my eyes.
‘You’re the vermin,’ I spat. ‘I can’t believe I let you touch me. Kiss me…’
‘Now you’re just being irrational.’
Darrick dumped Mari’s lifeless body into the wastepaper bin and I shrieked in horror. Flames danced before me and a series of small fireballs erupted from my hands.
Darrick blurred and reappeared on the other side of room, away from the danger.
‘What the hell did you do that for?’
I’d set a small section of the carpet aflame. The orange tendrils and grey smoke rose towards the ceiling. I remembered Doctor Alvis saying that fire was like a vampire’s kryptonite and Darrick’s nervousness was clear to see. He couldn’t get to me without going through the flames.
I reached into the wastepaper bin and grabbed Mari, foolishly thinking she might be playing dead, but the rat didn’t twitch and I couldn’t feel a heartbeat.
‘Where are you going, Ember?’
I could feel Darrick trying to use his influence on me, trying to force me to cross the flames to him, but his vampire mind-tricks couldn’t penetrate my wall of grief.
‘I’m leaving,’ I said. ‘Don’t follow me.’
I ran from Darrick’s office just as the sprinkler system erupted, dousing the room with water.
60
I ran down the spiral fire escape, my heels clattering on the metal steps in time with my heartbeat. I needed to get as far away from this club as possible before I exploded. It did not escape my attention that Darrick had let me go. After the water had extinguished the fire, the vampire could have caught me if he’d wanted too, yet he’d not pursued me.
I looked over my shoulder in case Gary or another guard had followed instead, but I was alone…
…until I crashed into an immovable object.
‘I’m sorry, Ember.’
The collision sent me staggering backwards. I was already feeling faint and the magnitude of the rage coursing through my veins was draining my energy. I couldn’t conjure another fireball without releasing the bomb-like detonation that wanted to break free.
‘Ember, it’s ok. You’re safe. It’s Pete. Remember me from the unit?’
The agent was dressed in the compliant black combat trousers and jacket, and I did remember him from the briefings. He was Harvey’s handler.
‘How did you know I was here? Where’s Harvey? Did he get my message about someone selling a stone?’
Pete reached down and helped me to my feet.
‘Harvey is still working his assignment but there’s a homing device in your necklace. We’ve been able to track your movements all night. Carter would have been here to meet you but…something came up.’
‘Mari is… Mari is…’
I couldn’t say the word so just held out the dead rat. My grief hit me so hard that my body sagged. Pete reached out and caught hold of me again, taking the animal from my trembling hands.
‘You’re safe now,’ he repeated, scooping me up and carrying me towards a black van.
Pete opened the door on the side and laid me gently on one of the backseats. There was another man in the driver’s seat and I heard Pete tell him to head back to base. Then the agent sat down beside me and stroked my hair in what I assumed was an attempt to soothe me but it was my undoing. The tears came quickly and violently, and I sobbed until my body hurt.
Pete allowed me my moment of weakness, keeping silent until my sobs eventually tapered to snuffles. My head pounded and my eyes stung, and I brought my knees to my chest and hugged them. The rumbling of the van’s engine was comforting as we made the journey through Soho.
When we pulled into the underground carpark, I sat up and wiped my eyes.
‘I need to see the rest of the team… I need to explain what happened to Mari.’
Pete shook his head. ‘You’re in no state to see anyone. Go back to your room, change your clothes and try to sleep.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah, tonight hasn’t exactly gone to plan so I doubt Chief Andrews will be ready to debrief everyone until the morning.’
I nodded my understanding and somehow managed to stumble from the van and into the building. I blindly made my way through the maze of corridors and must have been acting purely on autopilot, as the next thing I realised I was standing under my shower, still in my short white dress.
The hot jets pounded against my skin and soaked through the material. Tears threatened again but I held them back.
The time for crying was over.
Crying wouldn’t bring Mari back. All I could do now was finish the mission and tell her daughters what a brave lady she’d been.
I stayed under the shower until my skin turned wrinkly then I ripped the silly white dress from my sopping body. I curled the wet material into a ball, threw it to the ground and stamped on it.
I never wanted to see it again.
Part Four - Retention
61
‘Do you have the stone?’
Harvey was surprised to hear Chief Andrews’s voice greet him from the other end of the phone line rather than his handler.
‘What happened to Pete?’ he asked, switching the receiver to his other ear. ‘He was supposed to meet me outside the club.’
‘He ran into Ember. She was in a state, so he brought her back to base early.’
‘Is she ok? Did Darrick hurt her?’
Harvey’s mind immediately conjured those images of Darrick ripping Mr Smith’s arm from his body. If he’d hurt Ember, he would kil
l him.
‘She’s fine. A little shook up, but she’ll pull through.’
Harvey felt the knot of apprehension between his shoulder blades ease.
‘Do you have the stone?’ the chief repeated.
‘Yes.’
‘Excellent. Bring it to me.’
‘What’s so important about this thing anyway? Darrick lost it when he realised Mr Smith didn’t have it to sell.’
Harvey examined the small oblong stone. It didn’t shine like a diamond, and it didn’t sparkle like a ruby. It looked like a piece of bluish rock. What was so special about a rock? He thought he could see tiny fragments inside, but they looked like shells or something.
‘What it is, doesn’t concern you. You deliver the toothstone to me, and your crimes will be pardoned. Your remaining sentence quashed. That’s what you wanted, right?’
It was what Harvey wanted, and he hated that he was dithering. He’d never dithered before. It was a sign of weakness, and a testament to how long it had been since he’d cared about another person’s future, above his own.
‘What about the others?’ Harvey asked.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Ember, Mari, Sasha and Gerrard. What happens to them once I hand over the stone?’
The line went silent for a moment so all Harvey could hear was his breathing echoing back to him.
‘Any other members of the team who fulfil the terms of their contract will be released,’ Chief Andrews finally said.
That should have comforted him, but it didn’t. While Ember and Mari had played their parts, had they fulfilled their terms? And what about Sasha? The succubus had not managed to seduce Darrick. Would she be sent back to the detainment unit with Gerrard?
‘Come back to base, Harvey. We’ll sort out the remaining paperwork and by tomorrow lunchtime you could be sitting on a beach somewhere, surrounded by beautiful women, sipping cocktails.’
Chief Andrews cajoling voice in his ear didn’t settle the trepidation he felt. He wanted out, so the only option he had was to trust the old man.
‘Ok. I’m coming in. Have my release forms ready.’
62
After drying, I dressed in my usual black trousers and black top. Slipping those garments on, felt as if I’d somehow put my emotional armour back into place. Kitted out like this I was part of the team and not some floozy whose only role was to sleep with a mark for information.
I made my way towards the briefing room, outwardly displaying a confidence I did not feel. The room was empty which meant Sasha and Gerrard were either still on assignment as Harvey was, or they were asleep already.
I decided to see if I could find Carter or Chief Andrews somewhere around the unit. I pressed my palm against every security panel I could find. Not all of them granted me access, but I went through any doors that opened until I found myself at the bottom of a staircase.
I remembered Carter saying he slept on the upper levels, so I took a deep breath and went up the stairs. The door was already open in the first room I came to. The lights were off, but that didn’t stop me going inside.
The room was similar to mine but larger. There was a double bed instead of a single, and a bureau instead of a dressing table. Curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself venturing further inside. I picked up the framed picture from the bureau. It was of a woman smiling happily at the camera. She had perfect, straight, white teeth and a mass of dark curls. I wondered whose girlfriend it was.
Pete’s? Carter’s?
Suddenly the shadows disappeared as a lamp was switched on, illuminating me in my act of snooping. I dropped the photo frame as I saw Carter sitting on the floor in the corner of the room. He looked rough. There was dark stubble around his mouth and deep smudges under his eyes.
‘Holy shit, Carter,’ I cursed.
‘Be careful with that,’ he said. ‘It’s the only picture I have of my sister.’
I quickly replaced the photo, grateful the glass had not broken due to my clumsiness.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked. ‘Apart from scaring me to death?’
‘I was thinking.’
‘In the dark?’
‘Yep, thinking and drinking.’
Carter lifted a bottle of vodka to his lips and took a large swig.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked after he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
‘I was looking for you,’ I replied.
‘In the dark?’
Carter repeated my question, which caused me to blush. I dealt with my embarrassment the only way I knew how, by going on the attack.
‘Pete brought me back to base as he said you had something else to do. I didn’t realise that task was getting shit-faced.’
‘I’m not shit-faced.’
‘You’re not sober either, and I need your help. I don’t know what to do next.’
‘You seemed to know exactly what to do in Darrick’s office.’
He took another glug of vodka, but it didn’t mask his sarcasm.
‘I was just following orders.’
‘The order wasn’t to sleep with him,’ Carter barked.
‘What do you care?’ I challenged. ‘Chief Andrews made it clear that I was to go as far as I needed to in order to find that stone.’
‘And did you find it?’
I shook my head.
‘Everybody in the control room heard what you were doing,’ he said softly.
‘What do you mean?’
Carter slammed down the bottle and got to his feet. He stalked towards me. Instinct told me to cower, but I stood up straighter. If he tried to hit me, I’d set him on fire. He reached down and yanked the silver cross from around my neck, snapping the clasp.
‘This,’ Carter said angrily, throwing the chain to the floor and crushing the cross beneath the heavy sole of his boot. ‘It’s bugged.’
‘I know. Pete already told me there was a tracker in there. Something you failed to mention. Call it an early Christmas gift, you said. Bullshit!’
Carter shook his head.
‘Not just a tracker. It picks up video and sound. I heard you and Darrick…together.’
My first reaction was to feel ashamed, but that soon gave way to anger.
‘You were the ones that sent me in there. Don’t judge me…’
‘It was for the sake of the mission,’ he interrupted.
‘Everything is for the bloody mission. Mari died for the bloody mission, and you’re hiding in here, feeling sorry for yourself by chasing the bottom of a bottle of vodka.’
‘What?’
Carter seemed genuinely surprised by my outburst, and I nodded my head, biting my lip so I wouldn’t start crying again.
‘I think she wanted to help me, but…but Darrick crushed her.’
Carter reached for me. He slipped his hands around my waist and pressed his head into the hollow of my collarbone. I wasn’t sure whether the move was supposed to comfort me and or him.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I left the control room. I didn’t know about Mari…’
I leaned into him, craving the contact. His body felt solid against mine and in his arms, I felt protected. Just as I had in the gym when he’d pulled me onto his lap.
That feeling, however, was short-lived as Carter pulled away.
‘We can’t do this,’ he said wearily. ‘I’m already in too much shit with Chief Andrews. I can’t afford to do anything that might threaten my position in this agency.’
I felt a streak of anger shoot through my spine, and I pushed his hands away from me.
‘Oh no, that would never do, would it? We can’t be honest with each other. We can’t break down the walls and barriers, and admit what we’re really feeling, can we?’
Carter remained silent.
‘Can we?’ I repeated.
‘No,’ he replied quietly. ‘We’re here to be objective and do our jobs. There are casualties in any mission. Mari knew what she was getting into…’
I shook my head.
‘No, I don’t think she did. I don’t think any of us did. Not really.’
63
Carter shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers, so he wasn’t tempted to reach for Ember again.
‘What do you want me to say?’
His frustration was bubbling in his stomach along with the vodka, making him anxious and edgy.
‘I want you to admit you’re angry,’ Ember said.
‘I am angry,’ he replied, his mind taunting him with images of that vampire sinking his fangs into her neck. He could still see the two small scabby holes and that made him furious.
The killing kind of furious.
Ember shook her head.
‘That’s not good enough. I want you to admit you’re angry because you care.’
‘You know I care… about this mission,’ he added as an afterthought.
Ember shook her head again.
‘No, I mean really care. I want you to tell me that what you heard tonight ripped at your gut and you wanted to hurt someone like you were hurting.’
‘I can’t do that,’ Carter replied, although her words summed up exactly what he’d been feeling. How could she know that?
‘Because it’s not true?’ she challenged, her green eyes seeming to look straight into his soul. ‘If you tell me it’s not true then I’ll understand.’
‘It’s true, damn it, but I’m an agent, and that comes first.’
‘And I was just the bait in this operation. I don’t mean anything to anyone.’
‘I didn’t say that.’
Ember continued to hold his stare defiantly, and Carter realised she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
‘What would have happened if Chief Andrews hadn’t walked into the gym today?’
Ember had asked the question that Carter had been thinking all day.
‘Nothing,’ he said with as much false sincerity as he could.
