Baited Blood (A Madison Rose Vampire Mystery)

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

  “Who’s Julianne?” asked Notchey.

  Madison stood by the doors leading to the patio and pool area. She looked out at the lights of the city. They twinkled below like fallen stars. “Julianne Jaz. She’s the vampire who’s been leaving dead vampires as calling cards.”

  “So you’re sure it’s not Ann Hayes?”

  She nodded. “Seems Julianne may have a score to settle with Samuel, and possibly another with Ann. At least we know the two women despise each other. She might have been setting up Ann and getting back at Samuel at the same time.”

  Colin left the sofa and went to Madison. “This score with Samuel, you know what it is?”

  Madison turned away from him.

  “Now who’s being the asshole?” Colin grabbed her upper arm and spun her around. “Is Julianne connected to Julie Argudo somehow?”

  When she didn’t answer, he shook her.

  “Careful there, Reddy,” Notchey cautioned, getting to his feet.

  “Yes,” she admitted. “Seems they were besties back in Bulgaria.” She looked up into Colin’s face, trying to read it, wishing some of Samuel’s talents had rubbed off onto her. “You know about that?”

  “Samuel asked my permission to terminate her. I gave it.”

  “He asked your permission?” Madison was incredulous. “He needed your permission?”

  “I turned Julie. He asked out of respect for me.”

  Madison shook off Colin’s grip. “Like I said, Notchey, go and arrest her dead ass. I’ll even drive.”

  Notchey swung his head slowly back and forth. “You can’t do that with vampires, Madison. I guarantee there will be no evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints—nothing to connect them to Kai. Not to mention the long-term ramifications if this Julianne decides to go public with what she is if we bring her up on charges.”

  “But what about Kai?” Madison walked up to Notchey and stood in front of him, hands balled into fists, demanding an answer.

  “Like it or not,” Notchey said, “in the end, Kai’s death will be deemed an unsolved crime. I can’t take a vampire in. I can’t tell my superiors a vampire did this heinous thing. It would open a can of worms no one is ready to face. That is, if they believed me at all.”

  Madison turned to Colin. “Then we will just have to do something.”

  Colin gave her a slow, sad grin. “I’m way ahead of you. All except for the we part.”

  She went up to Colin, poking him in the chest. “You know damn well Samuel is not going to let Julianne or any of her minions live after this.”

  “True.”

  “Then we need to help him. And I mean we.”

  Notchey dropped back down and leaned his head against the back of the chair. He stared up at the ceiling. “What a fucking nightmare.”

  “Is everything all right?”

  Everyone turned, including Notchey, toward the soft, hesitant voice. It was Libby. She stood in the archway leading out of the living room dressed in a floor-length cotton nightgown, her long hair loose. Hyun went to her immediately.

  “There’s been a problem, sweetheart,” Hyun told her. “Seems Julianne may have slaughtered Samuel’s favorite mistress.”

  Upon hearing the news, Libby staggered much as Samuel had. A hand went to her mouth to stifle a cry. Notchey got to his feet and stared at her like she was a ghost. Libby noticed him and stared back. A cry escaped her lips, and this time she didn’t try to hide it.

  Going over to Notchey, Madison placed a hand on his back, her outrage for Kai momentarily replaced with warmth for the living. “This is the emergency I called you about,” she whispered to him. “We found Libby.”

  She gave him a push, sending him toward his sister.

  Notchey covered the distance to Libby in a few long strides, then stopped short in front of her. Without a word, he held out a hand and stroked her cheek. When Hyun backed away, Libby fell into Notchey’s waiting arms.

  When Libby and Notchey retired to the library to talk in private, Hyun stayed behind. He approached Colin. “How are we going to handle this Jaz woman?”

  Colin sat on the arm of the chair Notchey had just vacated. “Killing Kai was a declaration of war. The only outcome is her elimination. If we don’t kill her and her followers, she won’t rest until she gets Samuel or even the whole council.”

  Hyun stood like a soldier awaiting orders. “Are we going in tonight, Mr. Reddy?”

  “Samuel filled me in on the information Libby passed along, such as how many vampires and consorts are living there. Sounds like every night’s an orgy, so we might be able to surprise them if we treated it like a clandestine operation.” Colin looked at the bodyguard with respect. “That’s where you come in, Hyun. I was trained to take on my opponents face to face on an open battlefield. If I get more blokes to go in with us, could you get us into the castle for a surprise attack?”

  “It’s very possible. Libby can give us an idea of the layout of the grounds and building—where everyone sleeps or spends their time.” Hyun gave it more thought. “Though it might be best to go in around daybreak. Seems Julianne likes to run at dawn. If she keeps to her schedule, we could go in while she’s gone. Libby said the others in her entourage went to bed before then. We wouldn’t have the cover of darkness going in, but we would meet with less resistance, if any.”

  “If it was right at daybreak,” noted Colin, “our vampires might still be strong enough to fight. Much later, and we’d start weakening. It would be best if Julianne was out of the way when we attack. Fighting men without their leader are far easier to conquer.”

  Madison stepped forward. “I can help with that.”

  TWENTY-NINE

  W

  hen Samuel returned to the living room, he was more like his old self, but it was clear something had snapped inside him like a branch broken from a strong tree.

  Colin approached him first. The two embraced. Taller than Samuel, Colin clasped a hand behind Samuel’s head and bent his own until their foreheads touched. “We are going to get the bastards who did this. I promise you.”

  Colin mapped out his plan like a captain to his general. Samuel listened, making the occasional comment and suggestion. When Colin was finished, Samuel stood straighter and a single-mindedness of purpose emanated from him like a strong cologne. His jaw was set, his mouth thin and tight with bloodlust. More importantly, he was back in control of himself.

  Because it was so late and Madison was not supposed to know Julianne was a vampire, she texted Julianne rather than called her. She left a simple message: sorry about last minute. want to run sunday 6 am?

  About twenty minutes later, she received a message back: sure. 6 great.

  “I’m going with you,” Notchey insisted, not at all pleased. He and Libby had emerged from the library with wide but sad smiles about the time Samuel had rejoined the group and in time to hear the plan for attacking the castle. Brother and sister were sitting next to each other on the sofa.

  “No, you’re not,” Madison said, putting her foot down. “She’ll be suspicious if you show up.”

  “She doesn’t know who I am.”

  “This is supposed to be a girls’ run.”

  Notchey would not be put off. “So you’re going off in the woods at dawn with a killer. Smart, Madison. Very smart. And just because you’re going alone doesn’t mean she will be.”

  “I’ll be wearing my bracelet, Notchey. She won’t be able to hurt me.”

  Notchey’s eyes swept the gathering in Samuel’s living room. “Is that bullshit really true?”

  All the vampires nodded in various degrees of speed.

  “Quite true,” answered Colin. Samuel remained silent, turning instead to stare out the window, his hands clasped behind his back.

  “No.” Notchey stood up, ready to push home his point. “Leave Madison out of it. This isn’t her fight.”

  Madison approached him. “I want to do this.”

  He grabbed her arm. This time it was Colin who stiffe
ned. “They’re using you as bait again.” Notchey’s voice rose, and his face flushed in anger. “Can’t you see that?”

  “I offered, Notchey.” Madison put her hands on her hips. “And I’m going to do it. I’ll have my cell phone and a bottle of bloodroot with me.”

  “What in the hell is bloodroot?”

  It was Dodie who fielded the question. “It’s the only thing that will knock out a vampire. And it’s herbal,” she added with a smile.

  Notchey addressed the group again. “Are one of you going with her?”

  “We’ll all be at the castle,” Colin explained. “And we’ll need every hand if we’re to succeed.”

  “I still don’t understand why she needs to go. She’s already baited the trap. Julianne will be there and out of the way for your attack.”

  Madison spelled it out to him. “And if I don’t show, she might smell the setup and return to the castle before it’s taken by our guys.”

  Samuel finally turned around. “It’s Madison’s decision, Mike.”

  Notchey walked up to Samuel, going almost nose to nose with the vampire. “You just suffered a great loss, Samuel; I respect that and am sorry for it. But, considering what happened to Kai, are you willing to put another young woman you care about at risk?”

  Samuel studied Notchey with such intensity that everyone expected his fangs to pop out. Finally, he said, “Kai wasn’t Madison. She wasn’t prepared for what happened. Madison is.”

  “But—” Notchey continued to argue.

  Samuel stopped him. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us and for Kai, Mike, but I think it’s time you left. Feel free to come back tomorrow and visit Libby, but for now we need to discuss matters you cannot be involved with.”

  “Just like that, I’m being dismissed?”

  “Not dismissed, Mike, protected.” Samuel turned back to stare out the window. No one else spoke.

  Notchey spun on his heel to leave, but Libby hopped to her feet and stopped him. “Mike, please don’t be angry. They really are trying to do what’s best for all of us.”

  Notchey kissed his sister on her cheek and held her tight for a few moments. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Count on it.”

  After Notchey left, Samuel took Madison aside. “You need to go to bed if you’re going to be sharp in the morning.”

  “No,” she told him. “It’s only a few hours away, and I’m too keyed up to sleep.”

  Some of the iridescent spark had gone from Samuel’s eyes, but it didn’t affect his insight. “You’re a natural leader, Madison—courageous, smart, and dedicated—and, I’m afraid, a bit of an adventurer. Are you sure it wasn’t the thrill seeker in you speaking earlier? If so, you can change your mind. We won’t hold it against you.”

  “Kai was my friend. I will see this through. Notchey will just have to live with that. He only sees a helpless girl when he looks at me.”

  Samuel smiled. “No, he sees a woman he wants to love but doesn’t know how.”

  They all gathered around Samuel’s massive dining table and went over the morning’s plans. Libby helped them learn the various entrances and corridors of the mansion, including some passages that were hidden. They were almost done when the front doorbell rang.

  Colin looked up from the plans Doug had drawn from Libby’s descriptions. “That would be Stacie. I asked her to bring a little something by after the party.”

  Hyun disappeared to the front of the house to get the door. Shortly after, he returned, leading Keleta, with Byron and Ricky, behind him.

  “As soon as Colin called us with the news,” Byron explained, “Keleta insisted we come here.”

  Approaching Samuel, Keleta dropped to one knee in front of him and said something in a foreign language. No one else knew what he was saying, but everyone understood the passion in his voice. Samuel clapped Keleta on his shoulder and replied, his voice more somber than the young vampire’s. Keleta said a few more things, this time with more fire. Samuel studied his young, strong face a moment, then answered, giving a slight nod. Keleta beamed and stood.

  Samuel turned to Colin. “Keleta insists on joining us.”

  “I can help,” Keleta told the gathering. “Lady, she trained me for fighting, but I told her I would not. I think that is why she tried to kill me.”

  Doug stood up from the table. “We are not asking you to fight, Keleta. We will have plenty without you.”

  “No,” Keleta said with determination. “She ruined my life. She threatened to kill my family, so I remained silent. Now she has murdered Mr. Samuel’s consort. I cannot remain silent any longer. She must die.”

  It was then Keleta’s eyes caught on Libby. “Libby!” He gave her a wide smile, obviously quite fond of her. “How did you get to this place?” He rushed to her, but Hyun moved to stand between them. Keleta was confused.

  “She’s no longer a consort,” Hyun said, spitting out the words.

  “No, Hyun,” interrupted Libby.

  “You are Libby’s Hyun?” He smiled at the man ready to accost him. “She told me much about you.”

  Libby pulled on Hyun’s arm. “Keleta and I were friends. He would never hurt me.”

  Hyun looked to Libby for confirmation. She nodded and smiled. He turned back to Keleta and offered him his hand. “Glad to have you aboard.”

  “Absolutely,” confirmed Colin. “With Keleta with us, we won’t have to rely on remembering Libby’s instructions.”

  They were bringing Keleta up to speed on the plan of attack on the castle when the doorbell rang again. Colin looked up. “I hope that’s Stacie.”

  Hyun, his gun drawn, went again to the door. This time he brought back Stacie. With her was Ann Hayes, her hands and legs trussed tight, her mouth gagged, her magnificent red hair wild in its disarray. Ann shuffled along in baby steps like a lame duck. When they reached the dining table, Stacie deposited her hard into a chair and removed the gag.

  “How dare you,” Ann spat at Stacie.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Stacie said with disgust. “I’ve heard it all before. Save it.” She stuffed the gag back into Ann’s mouth.

  Colin moved to stand over Ann. Looking at Stacie, he asked, “Have much trouble?”

  “Nah, I waited until most everyone left or were otherwise occupied in private. Then I snuck up on her in the sack with some stud vampire I paid to help. From there, it was just a matter of shutting her up and getting her to the car.”

  For the first time that evening, Samuel chuckled. “Money well spent, Stacie. Make sure you put in a reimbursement slip.”

  Stacie turned to Samuel, her usual bulldog demeanor softened. “I’m very sorry about Kai, Samuel.”

  “Thank you.”

  Stacie bent and gave her old friend a kiss on the cheek.

  Though the gag, Ann Hayes whined and mumbled. Samuel indicated for Colin to remove it.

  “Really, Mr. La Croix,” she sputtered, “from you I expected more dignified behavior than a kidnapping, but obviously I was wrong.”

  “Grabbing you was my idea, Ann.”

  She looked up at Colin. “Then shame on you. I turned you. Show some respect and at least unbind me.”

  “You were brought here for your own good,” Colin explained. “Julianne Jaz is behind the murdered vampires. Who knows what else she’s going to try.”

  “Oh, please. I already knew that. She’s just a copycat bitch. Couldn’t even come up with her own original brand, had to use my old castoff, just as she picked up my discarded lovers.”

  “You mean Parker Young?” asked Madison.

  “Yeah,” added Stacie. “Why did you lie to us about knowing Parker?”

  “This is a fight between Julianne and me, not something that needed to involve all of you.”

  “It involved us, Ann,” noted Doug, “the minute the first vampire was dumped into our pool.”

  “I was dealing with it in my own way.”

  Colin leaned down, putting his face close to Ann’s. “By throwing a
party, hoping she would come? Well, isn’t that very Gatsby of you.”

  “I simply wanted to confront her, but I didn’t know where she was. She always did love a good party—drawn to them like a harlot to platform shoes.”

  “Only one problem with your half-baked plan: Julianne didn’t show up, did she? Instead, she was out murdering an innocent woman.” Colin jerked a thumb at Madison. “Madison here found Julianne in no time. It just took patience and brain power, something you are definitely lacking as time goes by. I didn’t know vampires could become senile.”

  “Shut up, Colin.”

  “No, you shut up, bitch.” Madison got to her feet and went to Ann.

  “Don’t you dare talk to me like that, beater bitch.”

  Madison wasn’t the least bit phased by the rudeness. “If you had told us the truth from the beginning, we would have been able to stop Julianne before she killed again.” Madison slammed her fist down on the table. “Kai would still be alive.”

  “Who’s Kai, another beater bitch?” Ann stuck her nose up in the air and sniffed. “You’re all a dime a dozen, sugar.”

  Without thinking, Madison reached out and slapped Ann hard across the face. When no one stopped her, she slapped her again.

  Ann only sneered. “Dumb girl—like that’s going to make me feel bad.”

  “Maybe not, but it made me feel a hell of a lot better.” Madison leaned down, going eye-to-eye with Ann. “Though not as good as driving a stake through that cold, black heart of yours.”

  Ann hissed and bared her fangs like a rattlesnake. Madison was undaunted.

  Turning to Doug, Ann tried a different tactic. “Are you going to let one of your servants treat me like this?”

  Doug smiled with pride at Madison and put an arm around Dodie’s shoulders. “She’s not our servant, she’s our granddaughter, and she’s only saying what we’re all thinking—stake and all.”

  THIRTY

  M

  adison danced from foot to foot as she waited for Julianne in the cool morning dampness. Sunrise wasn’t for another fifteen minutes. Overhead, the sky was the color of a porpoise, shiny and sleek with just enough shimmer to show the running path. There was a light drizzle coming down. Officially, the trail didn’t open until seven o’clock, but those who liked to get out earlier paid no attention to that.