by C. J. Pinard
The other vampire grabbed the three large Igloo coolers out of the trunk and set them on the ground. Alexander closed the trunk and said, “Pleasure doing business with you.”
The vampire blitzed off toward an SUV, loaded the coolers inside, and took off.
Alexander slowly went into the sedan and drove away with one hand on the steering wheel and a wicked grin on his ugly mouth.
“Ayla!” A stinging slap to my cheek had me bolting upright.
“Ow!” I cried, rubbing my face.
Kellan’s concerned eyes were inches from mine. “Oh, thank God. What in the hell happened to you?”
“Did you have to slap me?” I asked, hurt both physically and a little emotionally.
“I’m so sorry, love. I didn’t know what else to do. I could hear your heartbeat, but you weren’t waking up. Are you a diabetic or something?”
I shook my head and looked at him. “Have you ever met a diabetic werewolf, Kellan? Come on now.”
“Actually, yes. I agree it’s rare, but—”
I stood up and sighed, going to stand in front of the windows. I looked out on the city and the horizon, which was beginning to lighten with pinks and oranges. “Sometimes I black out. It’s happened a few times since... the incident.” Crap. Why was I telling him this?
He was suddenly behind me, his cool, bare chest pressed up against my nearly bare back. “What do you mean you black out?”
Without turning around, I sighed again. No way was I going to tell him about the visions. He was a very smart and very old vampire. He would catch on way too fast. “I just do. Since I became a hybrid. It sucks.”
He gently turned me around to face him. “What happens during these... blackouts?” The look on his face and the concern in his eyes almost had me defused.
The urge to spill my secret was so great, I almost caved to the pressure. Biting my lip in contemplation, I hesitated for a minute before saying, “Nothing. I black out, then I come to a couple minutes later.”
His eyes slightly narrowed as if he didn’t believe me, or he thought I was holding something back. I mean, in reality, I was. But I held steady, not revealing more, and he slightly relaxed, and then he finally spoke. “That’s very bizarre. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Know a lot of hybrids, do you? I mean, what would happen if you were scratched or bitten by a wolf?”
His eyes widened temporarily, then he recovered. “I would become very ill. Possibly die.”
I jutted my chin toward the couch. “Yet, you sit there and kiss me like you don’t have a care in the world. What if I bit your lip or your tongue while we’re making out? What if I were to scratch your back while you’re making love to me? Hmm?”
“I do not believe your scratch or bite would cause enough harm for death. I may get a little sickness, but nothing I couldn’t recover from. Not only are you not a full wolf anymore, it would take you being in your wolf form to harm me that badly. Besides, you don’t strike me as a biter.”
I grinned. “Oh really? What about a scratcher? What if I’m so out of control during sex, I rip your back open with my claws?”
He made a tsk-tsk sound with his tongue, and said, “First off, such filthy talk from such a pretty mouth. Secondly, I don’t believe you are that out of control. You strike me as a very controlled girl in... that arena.”
I reached up and ran my thumb along his jaw, which was covered in a thin layer of dark brown scruff. “So only you get to talk filthy to me?”
He stared down at me and nodded very slightly.
“Is that so?”
“Is what so?” he came back.
“That I’m a controlled girl in that... arena.” I chewed my lip.
“It is so, and I will find out.” He brushed my hair out of my eyes and smoothed it over my shoulder. “One day.”
Surprised, I looked up at him. “Not tonight?”
He shook his head. “No.” He looked out the windows to the quickly pinking horizon and said, “I don’t see any blackout curtains on these windows, and I would rather not die by the sun, so I will be back another time, early in the evening, where we will have all night to devour each other.” He leaned down and nipped my bottom lip with his perfectly straight, white teeth. I giggled—freaking giggled—and then launched into a searing kiss with him.
It made me breathless and, well, horny. But when I opened my eyes, he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
With a sigh, I fell into bed, pondering the vision of Alexander and his selling of human blood.
“You just keep giving me reasons to murder you,” I whispered before falling asleep.
Chapter 13
Truth was, I did have curtains for the big block of windows; I just never used them. Technically they weren’t hotel-quality blackout curtains, but they worked when I needed them to. I probably should have used them more often, but for some reason I didn’t have any problems sleeping during the day with just the regular blinds drawn. I didn’t need that much sleep anyway, so when I fell asleep at six a.m. and woke at one-thirty p.m., I was totally rested.
My cell was almost dead when I checked it. A few angry texts from Aden replying to the message I’d sent him from Kellan’s car. He really had no idea who Kellan was, but I had a hard time explaining him to my brother. By my casual comments, I had passed Kellan off as just a hookup, casual sex thing, and as a guy himself, he sort of understood. But he also knew I was still entangled with Ryder, and while he would never ‘tell’ on me to him, I definitely had some ’splainin’ to do.
I shot off a quick text to Aden, telling him I needed to see him, and then plugged it into the charger. I stalked to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. As I stripped off the clothes I’d slept in—and by clothes I mean the leather pants and bra, I kicked the door shut, and then stepped into the steamy shower, groaning as the hot water pounded my back and head.
So much had happened last night. I used a double dose of shampoo to make sure all the vampire blood—or was it demon blood?—was out of my hair, and then scrubbed my body clean into oblivion. I had a busy evening ahead of me. After what my blackout-vision had showed me of what Alexander was up to, he was gonna die tonight. Fuck all this pussyfooting around. If I had to break into his house and kill him and everyone in the house, I was gonna do it and be done with it.
Once I was as clean as I was gonna get, I stepped out and wrapped my hair in a towel, then another around my body. I could hear my cell ringing from the kitchen, but I paid it no mind.
Once I was dried off and dressed, I blow-dried my hair and then pinned it up into a messy bun before stalking to the kitchen to get something to eat for my grumbling belly.
The fridge and pantry were both in a sad state, so I grabbed my little purse and keys and headed out the door for some coffee and food. I took the stairs down two at a time, and once I reached the lobby, I smiled and waved at the resident security guard, Tim, and stalked out into the late afternoon sunshine.
As I walked to the local grocery, I thought about my night with Kellan. How awful it would be not to be able to feel the sun on my face. And why was he living in a state that had over 300 days of sun a year? That was just dumb.
I grinned, thinking about the popular vampire novel I had read in middle school about how vampires were forced to live in upper Washington State where there was hardly any sun.
Smart.
I grabbed a cart from the front of the store, then headed straight to the back where they always had the coffee samples. I filled the tiny paper cup with some from the machine, and proceeded to slam down four more cups. I then filled up a fifth to drink while I walked around the store.
As I turned down the second aisle, I made eye contact with a young woman in a fitted black business suit, a red shirt underneath unbuttoned down to her cleavage. She nodded at me without smiling, which I thought was odd, but whatever. I also noticed she didn’t have a basket or any items in her hands. I ignored her and put some frozen meals into
my cart and keep rolling until I reached the next aisle. As I was deciding on which cereal to get, I saw her again, and she was watching me. I decided to just finish my shopping and ignore her. If she kept staring at me or, God forbid, followed me out, I would deal with it. I did try to get close enough to her as I passed by to get a scent, but there was nothing. She was just human, as far as I could tell.
Once I had everything I needed, I went to the register to pay, and noticed my strange stalker was gone. I took a brief look around the store and didn’t see her. I tossed my coffee cup into a nearby trashcan on my way out of the store, and as I was fishing for my sunglasses from my purse, I froze when I saw the lady standing against a car parked in the first aisle. She wasn’t looking at it or getting in, she was just leaning on it. It was a newer-looking plain sedan with federal government plates.
I found my sunglasses and put them on my face as I stared her down. She watched me carefully as I went to go around the building to walk back to my apartment. The bags were heavy, but nothing I couldn’t handle. When she lifted off the car and followed me down the sidewalk, I immediately stopped and turned around.
“What do you want?” I asked her. She was now about five feet from me, her own sunglasses on.
She reached into the breast pocket of her suit and produced an official-looking badge. “Ms. St. John, do you have somewhere we can go and talk?”
I was alarmed, wondering what was going on. Was I in trouble for cutting off Alexander’s hand last night? (Even though I hadn’t done the actual cutting). Did he call the cops on me for stalking his house? As far as I was aware, he didn’t even know we’d been watching him.
I glanced down at her badge and read it:
Special Agent Jessica Swift
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
BSI Division
I looked up at her. “Well, I’m on my way home, so why don’t you let me drop these off and I’ll meet you at the coffee shop over there.” I used a bag to indicate The Pour House across the street. The same one I’d met with Evan for the first time.
She nodded. “Very well, I’ll be waiting.”
I rushed home, taking the elevators to save time. I quickly dumped the fridge and freezer things into their respective places, then flew back out the door. I was dying to find out what the frickin’ FBI wanted to talk to me about. If I was in trouble, I would have assumed she wouldn’t have let me out of her sight.
Although, I had no doubts they knew where I lived.
After I arrived at the coffee shop, I ordered a cobb salad and a water at the counter, and brought them over to where Jessica sat.
She was sipping coffee.
“Thank you for agreeing to talk to me,” she said, piercing me with a pair of light bluish-gray eyes. They looked pretty with her light-blonde hair, which she had pinned up into a twist on the back of her head.
“Sure. What’s this about?” I asked.
She set her coffee cup down and folded her hands on the table in front of her. “First, I think I should explain that I work for a sub-department of the FBI called the BSI. It stands for the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation.”
With my fork paused at my mouth, I lifted an eyebrow. “What did you just say?”
She stared hard at me. “You heard me, Ayla.”
“I didn’t think I’d heard you right. So... that’s, like, a real thing? The government knows about us?”
She nodded. “Yes, of course. And it’s my job to make sure that all the supes in my district are behaving themselves.”
I set my fork down and looked around the coffee shop. It was busy, and therefore noisy with the low chatter of voices. Nobody could hear us. Plus, she knew she didn’t need to speak very loudly in order for me to hear her.
“And what makes you think I’m not behaving myself?”
“We don’t think that,” she replied. “We just happen to know that you’ve got your sights set on a certain vampire, and we want to issue a word of warning.”
“Okay, first, which vampire? Because there are a couple on my ‘Vampires Who Are Dead Meat’ list,” I said, finally taking a bite of my salad.
She bit back a smile and continued, “Alexander Von Brass. He’s high-profile because of having been in the news as a missing person. There are more people other than you and your friends watching him, and who want him dead.”
“So, what are you going to do? Arrest me if I kill him? It’s not murder if the fucker is already dead.”
She smiled a little, and I was jealous of her full, red lips. She looked more like a stripper than a special agent. “No, we’re not going to arrest you. We don’t care what other supernaturals you kill. Our only job is to protect humans from you. If you’re caught harming any humans—and I mean any—then you and I are gonna have some problems. We do have a justice system set up for supernaturals, and it’s nothing like the American or human jails and courts.”
My eyes went wide. “Really? You just execute us on the spot?”
“No. We’re not barbarians, Ms. St. John. We have a supernatural prison on a remote island. Pray you never have to visit it.”
“Yikes, okay, duly noted.” I took a drink of my water and watched her watch me. “So you guys really don’t care if I take this guy out? I mean, now that you’ve told me others are watching him, you’ve turned this into a major competition for me. I have to be the one to do it.”
“No, we don’t, but you clean up your messes, you hear me? That mess you made with Elda Stoker was a nightmare.”
“Damn, does anything get past you people? It was my first kill, okay? I did it for money, which was wrong. I only kill for vengeance now.”
Her lip twitched and her eyes danced with amusement. “That’s not true, and you know it, young lady.”
I made a scoffing noise. “Who are you ‘young ladying’? You don’t look any older than me.”
She shook her head. “I am much older than you, but we’re not here to talk about me.”
“I have two very good teachers. They help me clean up when I kill vamps.”
“DustBuster, I know. Very inventive. Probably gets clogged easily, though.”
I lifted a shoulder in a shrug, then swallowed my bite. “I guess. Besides, Evan and Karina only give me jobs where the vamp is a bad guy and needs to die. I don’t go around killing random vampires just for existing. In fact, I have vampire friends.”
“So who’s the other vampire you have your eye on?”
I popped a cherry tomato into my mouth and studied her for a minute, trying to decide if I should tell her. After I swallowed, I decided I had nothing to lose. Maybe she could help me locate him. “Linden. I think his last name is Rich. He’s some kind of leader of the Vlasé.”
She sat back in her set and whistled through her teeth. “Well, you sure aim high.”
I lifted my chin. “I have my reason.”
She folded her arms over her large breasts and said, “Let me guess, he killed your brother.”
“You’re smarter than you look,” I quipped.
She grinned. “Like I’ve never heard that before.”
I nodded. “To answer your question, yes, he did. In cold blood, right in front of me. It’s been a year, and I can’t even get close to the bastard.”
“Good luck with that. He’s very well protected, not to mention, an Old One. He would never be outwitted by a young hunter.”
My eyes twinkled. “Watch me.”
“I would love to. Even we can’t get very close to him.”
“Where does he live or hang out? Do you know?” I asked, feeling excitement bubble up inside me.
“In Aspen, mostly, but he keeps a place here in the Denver area.”
“Can’t tell me where?” I asked, desperate.
She leaned forward and put her hands on the table, lacing them together. “We don’t exactly know, but if you can find him, knock yourself out. He’s a serious menace. Feeds on humans without their co
nsent, kills other supes for what we have determined is really no reason other than to instill fear into lesser vampires, and because he has a temper. Just like he killed your brother for no reason.”
“He didn’t kill Austyn for no reason. I killed his vampire brother, or whatever he was, while I was the wolf. He was just getting revenge.”
“Well, then... aren’t you two even now? A sibling for a sibling.”
That made my blood heat, and I could feel the red creep into my cheeks. “No way. Not even close. I killed the vampire because he was hunting during our shifts. My brothers were trying to chase him out of the area. He jumped out of a tree and we pounced. My pack did what wolves do, we killed a natural enemy. We had no idea who this vampire was. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Linden killed my brother out of pure spite, and on purpose. He’s gonna die for that,” I spat.
“Well, good luck.” She stood up and pulled a business card from the flap of her FBI credentials. She handed it to me. “You call me if you need to report anything, or if you get yourself into a jam. Meanwhile, you remember what we said about humans. They are off-limits, no matter how much they might seem to be in the way.”
I got the message loud and clear: No wiping out Alexander’s family. I smiled and nodded at her, then watched her leave. Remembering the very important errand I had to do today, I quickly finished my salad and left the café, turning left down the street until I saw my destination: St. Matthew’s Cathedral.
Chapter 14
For a church, it was pretty dark in here. I looked around at the ornate ceiling, floors, and colorful stained-glass windows depicting cherubs and saints, and made my way to a set of highly polished wood doors. I slowly pulled one open to see the large sanctuary decorated similarly to the lobby. There were a few people kneeling in front of the statue of Jesus on the cross, candles burning lazily in front of it, and some sitting in the pews, rosaries clutched in their hands, silently praying. An older lady was tidying up around the church, but I didn’t see a priest.
I turned around to leave, but then something caught my eye: a confessional booth. Knowing that was the quickest way to a priest, I slipped inside and waited for about five minutes but nothing happened.
