Backpedaling, I turned to leave this hell hole of a meager existence, knowing when he returned he'd scent my presence as I had scented his, he'd know I'd been looking for him. But he already knew Vanic and I were here, or else, he'd never have come himself, at least according to the Magistrate. None of this made any sense, not the Council, not being forced to take over the Chicagoland territories, not Loupgarin, not the Crifasenos. I was slow returning to the car, my nose stung with the poisonous scent. Franc and Donny were huddled together inside the car but Paulie nowhere to be found.
“Where's Paulie?” I asked, though I already knew, Loupgarin's fetid odor was fresher here than inside the house. The old bastard had been outside waiting, watching, probably this whole damn time, but they had been warned.
Donny showed me eyes quivering with fear and this time he didn't care if Franc saw. He was ready to run. “One minute he was standing right next to me, I mean right fucking next to me, and then he was gone. I didn't see or hear anything, no one was there. Paulie was just fucking gone! We need to leave, we need to get out of here.” His hands shook as they clutched the brushed silver of his .45. Too bad it wouldn't work against Loupgarin.
Franc was trying to keep his cool in the backseat and I shook my head. “I'd get out of here if I were you, forget I'd ever been here, don't come back. Don't know if it will do any good, whatever this thing is that's hunting here will be able to scent you all the way back across town. It's probably rabid.” I couldn't bring myself to grin at Franc, it would have been too cruel, even for me, even for Franc.
“Hey, you have to get this bastard! You know what it is, just fucking take care of it! Donny start the car, we're getting out of here!” He boomed across the seat to Donny whose gaze found mine, as if asking if I was coming or not.
Shaking my head, I nodded for him to go. “I'm good. I'll make my own way home.”
Franc's window rolled down and he leaned toward me. “Donny would feel better if you went with us, come back later if you want, but make sure we get home.” Franc, hard as nails, showed me his fear filled eyes. He didn't think they'd make it back home, not without extra help, my kind of help. I had to give the man credit, he was getting smarter by the minute.
“You owe me, you owe me big.” Opening the back door to climb inside the car, I stopped and twisted around. An inhuman scream filled the night air, Paulie's last words. Did he have a family? Someone who was waiting for him to come home? I hoped not because if Loupgarin turned him instead of just eating him, Paulie would lead him right back to the people he loved. He'd need to feed too.
Loupgarin was one sick bastard. He needed to die. It looked like most of his the dregs of humanity, but Paulie... he was fit, big, powerful, just the way Franc liked them. If he had any intelligence left, he'd see how Paulie could help him. Even as a reverent, one of the mindless protectors the ancients made, he'd be a force to be reckoned with. What was Loupgarin thinking? Was the ability to reason still with him? Would he seize an opportunity when he saw it? But, I had Raymond at home to prove he might want to throw a few curves our way. Shit, things were definitely going down the crapper. This night kept getting better and better.
Chapter Eighteen
Donny drove like a possessed man back to the gaudy mansion, back to where they felt safe. He and Franc rushed inside, hoping they were the only monsters to reside there. Franc barked orders, the men scurried as they tried to offer protection. The perimeter guards were pulled tighter around the house, thought it would do little good. The big black gate which had stood open the entire time was sealed tight, again of little use. What they needed were some wards, but witches were hard to come by. The sad thing was, as bad as they were, Loupgarin made them look like gnats to be swatted. And he was a big damn flyswatter.
Digging out my cell, I rang Vanic and he answered on the first ring. “We have a big problem here. Loupgarin's hunting Franco Crifaseno's people, he took one a few moments ago, almost from under my nose. I was in the house where the Crifasenos found some bodies, and it's a freak show. The thing is, I didn't even feel him coming, didn't know he was there.
“He grabbed one of Franc's boys while he stood with Crifaseno. Scared him and one of his thugs pretty bad. They're inside right now, shaking in their shoes.” My gaze roamed the grounds. I inhaled through my nose, filling my lungs, scenting the air, and yeah, it was here too, Valerian. I exhaled through parted lips. The putrid stink settled into me, the repugnant flavor lingered on my tongue. Loupgarin must have been here earlier. He was biding his time, waiting for his opportunity. Maybe his thought process not as skewed as we thought, and that scared the hell out of me. “He's been to Crifaseno's too.”
Vanic sighed tiredly. “So now we have a monster hunting the wannabe mafioso, both trying to live off humanity. Perfect. Maybe they'll kill each other? Nah, we couldn't get that lucky. Are you on your way back?”
“Leaving now, did Raymond make it back to you okay?” I really didn't need anything else to worry about tonight.
“He's here, and fit to be tied. He didn't like leaving you with the Crifaseno’s. He thinks of you as a brother, he's anxious to get back into the thick of things.”
“Keep him there, the last thing we need is to have to find him too. Do we know anyone who can set a fire, flash a building without taking the entire neighborhood?” With a sense of foreboding, I felt the eyes that seemed to follow my movement. I hoped it was Crifaseno's security, and not our crazed ancient. “We need to get rid of Loupgarin's hidey-hole. The quicker, the better.”
Thinking for a few moments, I finally cleared my throat. “Someone's made sure he's had a regular diet of Valerian, poisoning him most likely with Council approval is my thinking. It's hard to kill an ancient, other than taking their head. Somehow, he must have broken free, and now he's loose in the Chicago area... that sounds like Council politics, doesn't it?”
Dead air filled my ear as Vanic weighed my words. “That's plausible, hell, it's probable. And they've found themselves someone else to do their dirty work. Forcing us to clean up after them. Fucking politics, this is why I stayed out of them.” He exhaled loudly and I heard his hands as they rubbed back and forth over his face. It had already been a long night.
“The stink of Valerian was all over the hell-hole he'd made for himself. It's not exactly easy to come by, and the Council hoards their store. You and I both know they use it for torture, maybe Rafael has moved up in ranks?” Just the thought was frightening. “It's the only thing I can think of, maybe he discovered him weakened, and he's been keeping him sick and weak for centuries.”
“I hope you're wrong, he was always insane, but if he's been tortured by the Council or worse, Rafael, and somehow escaped... He'll be coming for all of us. He'll blame me, and by all rights, he should. If I hadn't left him vulnerable all those years ago.... He'll be out for blood, mine, yours, and anyone associated with us. Sounds like we might need a few guards of our own.” He was silent for a few moments, occupied with his own thoughts. “I'll talk to Sarah, and then see what I can do.”
I turned to face what was left of the night, heading for home. The sun would be more than my endurance. “There's one more thing I need to take care of, but it's too late now. I had to babysit Crifaseno back to his own front door.” An exasperated breath escaped my lips. “Day's coming, I'll be home soon.” I'd promised myself a visit to Sheree Jennings's home, something wasn't right with her, and I needed to know what.
Returning as quickly as possible, I went straight to Vanic's suite where Sarah and he sat waiting for me. When I entered the room, I could tell something was wrong, both looked over at me worriedly. “Tomorrow, we'll have to return to where you discovered Loupgarin's lair. If it's as bad as you say...”
Turning to him, I said, “It is and it gets worse.” I explained my theory of Loupgarin. His ability to turn some of those taken, maybe even Paulie. If he was turning victims, giving them his own special mixture of poisoned blood, the newly turned vampires would be almost ins
ane at birth.
I thought about how I'd found Raymond, he'd been a mad hunting thing. Now, I was sure his turning had been an accident. He had to be, Loupgarin would never have let one of his own roam free, he'd keep forcing more of his blood into their bodies, filling his turns with his own madness. Raymond was better now, but his beast still roiled, ready for release at the slightest provocation. Imagine having a handful, a dozen or more who were in the same shape or worse. He'd been little more than a child, he was easier to influence. Someone like Paulie already filled with criminal intent and malicious anger would be a different story.
Raymond was my next stop. He was drawn in on himself again, worrying about what had happened between the Crifasenos and myself. Raymond was the master of the self-defensive stance, I found him with his back pressed against the wall, eyes darting back and forth between the sealed windows and the open door. When I entered the room, he sagged with relief.
“Dude, I didn't know what to think. You going off with the Crifasenos. Why didn't you take me with you?”
“Kid, I was doing my job. I had to see what they knew, but I also couldn't let them take two of us, it could’ve been a trap. You warned Vanic, that was your job.” I grinned at him and shrugged. “You did good, and yeah, it's a stretch to think they would be smart enough to take me out, but sometimes, people get lucky.” He still wasn't happy, but I was glad to see him becoming part of our family. “Well, dawn's coming, you going down for the day?”
“Yeah.” He rolled his shoulders, releasing his tension. “Try not to do that to me again, okay?”
“Sure, kid, whatever you say.” Smiling, I clapped his shoulder. “Thanks for having my back. It could have gotten dicey back there.”
“No problem, bro, freaked me out leaving you though.” He grinned as he rose fluidly from the floor, the kid was learning.
*****
The first purples of the dawn were breaking over the Eastern horizon as I fell into the dreamless sleep of the vampire. Only, this time my sleep wasn't dreamless, thoughts of Sheree Jennings occupied me.
She seemed to come from nowhere and at the same time, her essence surrounded me. I luxuriated in the feel of her presence, felt her fingers dance across my flesh, and though I knew this could be nothing more than some residual feeling from experiencing the woman in real life, it drew me further.
Vampires do not dream, sleep for us is like a little bit of the death we'd escaped by becoming what we were. Never before had I experienced disturbances in my sleep, not since my mortal life ended and the vampiric began. I had forgotten how real it could feel, to hold her hand, to stroke the softness of her flesh.
I found myself hard and ready, throbbing with need, how was this possible? She seemed to slip across my body, the feel of her flesh pressed to mine, my heart burst to life, pounding. My hands curled around her dream body, hips touching mine and I heard the tinkling of her laugh. Suddenly, it was hard to tell if this was some kind of dream, a wishful longing, or if it was real.
The feel of her body against mine, my fingers drifted through her auburn curls, the scent of her clung to the air, my nose filled with it. My lips captured hers in a lingering kiss, and my tongue probed the softness of her mouth. Her breasts felt heavy in my hands, her ruby tips already hardened, rolling them between my fingertips, waiting for my lips. With a groan, I captured them...but the groan brought me back to myself. My eyes opened to a darkened room, I felt deprived of my feast, her body taken away too quickly. I struggled to keep sleep from finding me again, but it was impossible. It swallowed me back into the darkness and when the dream began again, I welcomed it. Somehow, Sheree Jennings and I had become connected, it was like nothing I had experienced before, there was something different about her. Was she thinking about me while I was dreaming of her?
Vampires do not dream, I didn't have any idea what the hell was happening to me, but I was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.
*****
The next night broke to the music of falling rain, lightning flashed to brighten the darkness while thunder rumbled with ominous rage. Again the night was warm and I set off to complete the task I'd promised myself to fulfill. First, I checked in on Franc Crifaseno, just to make sure he was still in the land of the living. Loupgarin taking Paulie last night had shaken up the mobster.
Pulling up to the still closed gate, I glanced up smirking, knowing the camera would see me as the gate swung open on well oiled hinges, hardly making any sound at all. Donny met me at the door. “Franc said to bring you back.” He held out his hand to me. “I just wanted to thank you for last night, you didn't have to make sure we got home, but you did, you're aces in my book.”
“Not a problem, Donny.” I took his offered hand. “Just doing my job. How's Franc doing tonight?” Peering around the house turned fortress, I noticed there were new additions and fortifications.
“He isn't taking chances, Mr. Tepes, that's for sure.” Donny led me into the house and continued toward the rear. From the looks of it, Franc planned on holding up in his home with its new improvements. When you have a lot of money, work gets done fast. Add in being a local gangster, and people fell over themselves to help out. It's nice being one of the favored.
We made our way to the back of the house. If Franc had fortified the front of his home, the rear was even more strongly secured with bullet proof glass, bars on the exterior of the windows, coded and fingerprinted entrances, and coded exits. This was Franc's safe house, his panic room inside his home. When I entered, he sat in one of the rear bedrooms surrounded by computer displays of most of his property. Everything he needed could be found in this one room.
“Have you checked on Sheree?” I asked what I thought was an obvious question.
He shrugged. “She's safe, Bobby's with her.” But he wouldn't meet my eyes and I brushed against his thoughts. He knew Bobby was supposed to be with Sheree, just not if he actually was. Something was up.
“Not Bobby from yesterday, right? Don't tell me you trust that bastard to take care of your only daughter?” Glancing up at me, Franc finally managed to meet my eyes with a sheepish grin. What I saw reviled me. “How can you trust someone else, especially Bobby, to keep her safe?” His answer astounded me.
“Yeah, well, he's her husband. We let him know what happened, told him to be careful.” He turned away, watching his computer monitors, back to avoiding my eyes. Maybe I should have told him he'd never see Loupgarin. He or his boys wouldn't know the difference. He'd slaughter them all, lapping up their blood as they died in his embrace, but his cavalier attitude pissed me off.
“Aw, fuck me, you really are trusting him.” Part of her mystery began to unravel. Now I understood the long sleeves, the scarf. Bobby was a mean bastard, abusive, you could see it in how he treated others. “How the hell did she get involved with him? He'd leave her to the wolves in a heartbeat.” Why Crifaseno didn't see this was beyond me. Maybe he didn't care, a true sociopath.
“Give me her address, right fucking now.” I snarled while he rattled off the address and I sped from the house. Bobby was a thug in the truest sense of the word; cruel, malicious, vicious. A bully ready to take his anger out on the rest of the world.
Arriving in Lake Park, I scoped out the neighborhood, definitely not poor, but not luxurious either. I was a little surprised Franc would let his daughter live anywhere but in the lap of luxury. But then again maybe I wasn't, he was probably happy to have her off his hands.
Vampires are supposed to have excellent senses, but mine were off somehow. I'd have to watch and wait, biding my time. I hadn't sensed Loupgarin earlier, and I didn't know why. The old vampire somehow was able to elude me.
Then I spotted Sheree climbing into a black Suburban and I followed her silently. She shopped at one of the local markets, and when she finished, just as silently, I followed her home. As far as I could tell, she was the only one there. Bobby had vanished, and this was the person her father trusted to take care of his only daughter.
&
nbsp; Valerian had a very distinct odor after ingestion. I knocked on Sheree's door, inhaling deeply. Fear lanced through me, Valerian wafted faintly through the evening air. Loupgarin had been near. I pounded again on the door and finally, it cracked open.
“Mr. Tepes, what brings you here?” She was genuinely curious and surprised. Bobby hadn't told her there was something out there, maybe hunting her.
“Where's Bobby? He's supposed to be here, making sure you're safe.” The bastard should have his ass kicked for leaving her alone, his freaking wife and Franc Crifaseno's daughter. He was asking for trouble, and trouble wasn't very far away.
“He said he had to go out, meet some of the guys from work. I assume he's at my father's.” She shrugged innocently. “He isn't here, and that's all I care about. Why, is there something wrong?”
My beast growled, this was an odd turn of events, it wanted to protect her too. As long as I could remember, it loved death and destruction, and yet here it was, making me want to cover her body with my own.
“The son of a bitch wasn't supposed to leave you alone.” I growled out, my beast was going to be looking for Bobby, the bastard was going to pay. “Come on, I'll take you to your father's house. At least it's protected.” I reached out for her, but she pulled away.
“I'm a big girl, Mr. Tepes. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for years.” She shook off my hand. “Now, why don't you tell me what's going on?”
“I think your father should be the one—” I started.
“I'm not going to my father's, I thought you understood. I want no part of that life.” She glared back at me. Damn, she was going to be difficult.
“And yet you're married to Bobby, one of his thugs. Why is that, Mrs. Jennings?” My disbelieving look caused her embarrassment, and she turned slightly pink as she looked away.
“Bobby may not look it, but his family is wealthy and legitimate, unlike my own. My mother sent me away to expensive boarding schools for my whole life. I never even used my real name. Bobby and I met in high school and then later he turned up at college. He was everything the men my father insisted I see weren't, and I was tired of my father and his demands.” She grimaced. “I thought I was being rebellious. By then, I knew what my father did for a living, saw what it did to our family, what it was doing to my mother.” She sighed. “Bobby told me he loved me, said he would do anything for me. I was stupid, young, and naïve. When I got pregnant, my father made sure Bobby proposed. We were married like the good Catholics my father pretends we are.” She shuddered, closing her eyes.
Vlad Tepes, the Vigilante Vampire Page 13
