The Complete Midnight Fire Series

by Kaitlyn Davis

  "Here we go," Kira whispered.

  Luke nodded. His phone was already on his lap, and the tracking app was open. The thief hadn’t acted yet, but it was only a matter of time.

  Or so they thought.

  But the first item was sold, and nothing.

  Then the second.

  Third.

  Fourth.

  And so on.

  And so on.

  "Are we sure this thief got the memo?" Kira mumbled.

  Luke just shook his head, eyes on the tracker, which hadn’t moved in an hour. Impatient as always, Kira glanced to the side where Tatsuya stood surveying the entire event, eyes locked on her as though he'd been anticipating her frustrated reaction. He nodded once, enough to tell her that he was still confident in their plan.

  But another item went.

  And another.

  Kira slumped in her seat, leaning back, just about ready to give in.

  A scream filled the air.

  "What?" Kira jumped up, spinning.

  A woman was screaming and clutching her neck as blood poured from an open wound. A vampire. It had to be a vampire, and a bold one at that. To take a bite out of a human in a room full of people, well, to do that you just might need to be invisible.

  "The thief is here," she said to Luke under her breath.

  "I know, but where?"

  Eyes scanning, Kira almost didn't notice when another shout broke the silence. But before she could locate the sound, the rising chime of clinking glass filled the air, almost ethereal, almost calming, and totally out of place.

  Until she looked up.

  Yup.

  The chandelier was plummeting toward her head.

  Just great.

  "Out of the way," Kira shouted, pushing an old woman dripping with diamonds to the side as the massive light rushed toward them. Using all the strength she had, Kira gripped the seat of an old man in a tuxedo and pushed the wooden chair, sliding it across the floor as far as it would go. "Luke!"

  But he was nowhere.

  And Kira was out of time.

  Flinging herself sideways, she slammed against the ground inches from where the chandelier crashed to the floor. Glass shattered, blanketing her in a wave of sharp shards that sliced deep enough to draw blood, even through her dress.

  "Are you all right, miss?" A waiter bent down.

  Kira ignored him, jumping to her feet and brushing the glass from her hair, her clothes, her skin. Cuts she could deal with. Luke's disappearance she couldn't.

  "Luke!" she yelled again, eyes piercing through the broken remains of the chandelier for a body caught underneath.

  But just as her freak-out was reaching extreme heights, an arm slipped around her waist, yanking her into a warm chest. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," Luke murmured into her hair, kissing her brow fiercely.

  Kira looked up at him. "Did we really say we missed having near-death experiences?"

  "No, of course not. I thought we said we love having a totally boring life where nothing ever happens. Well, where almost nothing ever happens."

  Kira smiled.

  But they'd already wasted too much time. "Is the sword gone?"

  "Yeah." He nodded, stepping back and giving her space. "And it's moving fast."

  Kira crossed her arms, glancing down at the tattered shreds of her evening gown sadly. And then she walked to the nearest table, grabbed a steak knife, and cut the bottom of her dress off, revealing a little too much thigh but freeing her legs to run.

  "Let's go," she said to Luke, who watched on, gaping.

  "That was…" He trailed off.

  "Hot, sexy, something from your wildest dreams?" Kira offered, teasing.

  But Luke just nodded. "Uh, yeah. We might need to reenact this later."

  Kira grabbed his hands, pulling him through the party, which had devolved into utter chaos. "If we survive our meeting with this invisible, katana wielding, vampire thief, I'm in."

  Luke grinned. "I'll take those odds."

  And then the chase was on.

  Chapter Five

  "I'm not sure we thought this through," Kira sighed, glancing down at Luke's phone as her feet pounded down the front steps of the main entrance to the ballroom where the charity event was being held.

  The vamp was moving fast.

  Lightning fast.

  Faster than two conduits could match.

  "Don’t worry, I have a solution," Luke said, snatching his phone from her hands before shoving the heavy front door to the building open.

  "What solution?"

  Luke shook his head, keeping his lips sealed. But judging by the slight gleam in his eyes, Kira already knew she wouldn’t like where this was going.

  And then he stopped right next to a motorcycle.

  Yeah…no.

  "Okay, now I know we definitely did not think this through," Kira muttered.

  But Luke just tossed her a helmet. "Put this on."

  "You're not serious, are you?"

  "How else are we supposed to chase a vamp with hyperspeed?"

  Kira chewed on her lip. "The subway is pretty quick…"

  Luke just lifted his brows.

  "Okay, fine." Kira sighed, slamming the helmet onto her head. "Have you ever driven one of these things? Or is this one of those plans that you've always wanted to try because it looks so cool in the movies?"

  "Well—"

  "Never mind," Kira interrupted. "Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

  Before she had time to second-guess, Luke revved the engine, and Kira hopped on behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist as the bike rumbled beneath them.

  "You need to navigate," he said, slipping the phone into her fingers.

  Kira stared at the map, watching the blinking light move farther and farther away, time ticking by.

  "Uh, Kira?"

  She shushed him. "Give me a minute, I'm trying to figure out a way to go that won't get us killed."

  "No faith," he murmured under his breath.

  But Kira ignored him. New York was the city that never slept—trying to find a street that wouldn't be crowded on a Friday night was an impossible task. She sighed, squeezing Luke tight enough that he wheezed, and whispered, "Just drive."

  Needing no other prompting, Luke released the clutch, jerking them into motion. Kira yelped, slamming her eyelids shut, trying to let the feel of his warm body calm her, allowing herself to get distracted by the clenching muscles in his back and the hard abs beneath her fingers.

  A little too distracted…

  "Directions?" Luke shouted.

  Kira flinched, suddenly remembering they were chasing down a vamp and not on a joy ride through the countryside.

  "Uh, stay straight for a few more blocks," she replied quickly and then opened her eyes, trying her best to focus only on the blinking dot on the screen and not on the taxis and lights flashing by.

  I never thought I would actually miss his pick-up truck, Kira mused. But Luke was actually pretty good at this. It was everyone else she was worried about.

  Pedestrians. Bicyclists. Cabs.

  New York was just too crowded for a motorcycle. Give her an open highway in the south, a dirt road outside of Sonnyville—heck, she'd even take the woods at this point. But this city was a landmine waiting to blow. Every five seconds, someone either honked the horn as Luke flew by or screamed and threw them a finger. Three cabs nearly ran them over in the course of five minutes. A cop tried to chase them down as Luke ran a red light, weaving through cars that were completely deadlocked in traffic. Pedestrians just walked right in front of them without bothering to check the street, too busy typing something on their phones.

  And then Kira caught the break she was hoping for.

  "Queens!" she blurted.

  "What?" Luke shouted back, barely audible over the sound of the wind rushing into her ears, whipping her hair around her face.

  "Queens," she yelled again. "The vamp just passed over the East Ri
ver into Queens. Take a right in three blocks and then head over the bridge."

  Thank god, Kira secretly confessed.

  It wasn't the middle of nowhere by any means, but the streets would have fewer cars and fewer people to watch out for. At least, she hoped so.

  "I think the vamp is stopping," Kira said as they passed over the East River. The blinking dot had started to slow.

  "Any idea where?"

  Kira shook her head against his back, furrowing her brows, trying to figure out where the vamp could be going. But it was a total mystery. An apartment probably. Maybe a home. A hideout. A warehouse of some sort. Ten minutes later, when they came to a skidding stop in front of a padlocked iron gate, Kira's jaw dropped.

  "A cemetery?" Luke gawked. "Isn't that a little cliché? Even for a vampire?"

  Kira frowned. But the tracker wouldn't lie. "He's in there somewhere. Come on, we've got to hop the fence."

  Luke knelt down, giving Kira his palms and boosting her over the iron bars. By the time her feet slammed against the wet grass on the other side, Luke was already on top of the gate and jumping down.

  "Tell Tatsuya where we are," Kira whispered, "and then follow me. The vamp will hear us coming a mile away, but maybe we can trick him into hiding instead of running, into thinking he might have lucked into an easy meal."

  Luke nodded, and together they ran through the gravestones, following the path the tracker had laid out for them, closing in on the target.

  When they spotted the mausoleum at the top of the hill, Kira slowed down, just knowing that had to be where the vamp had taken the sword. Why? She had no clue. But luckily, she didn’t have to.

  Instead, she stopped running, yanked on Luke's shirt, and slammed their faces together, kissing him loudly. "Luke," she giggled, pulling her lips away. "Where are we going? I don't think we’re allowed in here at night."

  Catching on quickly, Luke nodded before slipping into his part. "Come on, babe. I've got a blanket in my bag, a bottle of wine, some candles. We're away from the noise, under the stars. It's romantic, just go with it."

  Kira giggled again, rolling her eyes for Luke to see, knowing even vampire senses couldn’t pick up that form of disdain. "But it's so scary."

  Luke wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

  Then he kissed her loudly, making sure their lips really smacked. It took all of Kira's strength to sigh in an exaggeratingly happy way, rather than crack up laughing. And Luke knew it too. She could tell by the way he was smiling against her mouth, by the way his shoulders had silently started shaking. Any moment, one of them was going to break and totally ruin her plan.

  So Kira pushed Luke away, yelling in a high-pitched voice, "You have to catch me first!"

  Luke growled, in what Kira really hoped he didn’t think was actually a sexy way, then reached for her. Kira screeched, jumping out of range, and raced toward the mausoleum, Luke tight on her heels. When she reached the door, it was already open—a good sign. So she lunged inside, making a show to try to close the heavy door before Luke got there, pretending to fight against him when he pushed through.

  "Gotcha," he said, grabbing Kira around the waist and lifting her off her feet, swinging her around. "What's my prize?"

  Kira turned in his arms, reaching her hands around his neck, staring into his eyes. "Me."

  Their faces drew together.

  Closer.

  Closer.

  And right before they touched, Kira whispered, "Now."

  In the blink of an eye, the entire mausoleum was in flames. Kira and Luke exploded, shooting fire from their hands in a massive blast that invaded the dank, dark space, turning every shadow to light.

  And it was empty.

  "Well, that's a bit of a letdown," Luke murmured.

  Kira frowned, keeping her power just as strong as she stared through the bubbling orange glow, searching for any sign of the vamp.

  "I don't get it," she snapped. "The tracker said he was right here."

  "Do you see the sword?"

  Kira shook her head. Nothing could hide in here. For some reason, Kira had thought the inside would be on the gothic side, complete with creepy ghoulish statues and all sorts of fancy accents. But this room was pristine. The walls were utterly flat, lined with square marble inlays signifying the different graves built into the sides of the building. Overhead, a glass dome allowed for the moonlight to pour in. And the only decoration in the entire structure was a tomb in the center of the room topped with the statue of a man holding a woman, sheltering her from something unseen.

  "Kira," Luke whispered.

  "What?"

  He didn't answer. Instead he nudged her arm, forcing her to look at him while he had what Kira could only describe as a seizure.

  "Why are you twitching like that?" she asked.

  He widened his eyes with exasperation, flicking his head back and forth again. Finally she realized what he was doing, trying to point something out. So she turned her gaze, noticing what Luke already had.

  She grinned.

  The lid of the tomb in the center of the room was out of line by about an inch. Subtle, yet obvious. But another thing was obvious too—moving the massive stone statue was the sort of thing only vampire strength could do.

  Kira chewed her lip, thinking, and then just went with her gut. "Show yourself."

  Luke snorted. "That was convincing…"

  Kira threw him a pointed glare.

  But he was right.

  There was no reply. Not even a noise. Nothing.

  Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "Come out, and we won't hurt you."

  "We won’t?" Luke mouthed.

  Kira shrugged, waiting.

  And waiting.

  Just as Luke was opening his mouth to take a try, the sound of stone scraping against stone stopped them both.

  "I'd believe that a little more if this place didn’t resemble an inferno right now," came the snarky reply—the snarky female reply.

  "You're a woman," Luke blurted.

  "And?" the voice retorted. "What? A master thief can’t be a girl?"

  I like her, Kira thought, grinning and glancing at Luke. "Yeah, what did you mean by that, Luke?"

  "Um, nothing…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "I just—wait, how'd this get turned on me? We're supposed to be trapping a vampire, not debating feminism."

  "Oh, it's not a debate," the vampire called from her hiding spot. "Women are obviously the superior sex. It's just so much easier to manipulate men when they think they're in control."

  "Well, lucky me then, because I learned a long time ago that I'm never in control."

  The only reply was a soft laugh—from Kira.

  Luke frowned. "Wait…I mean—"

  "No, that was accurate," Kira jumped in, cutting him off and then turning her attention back to the shadows of the barely open tomb. "But as much as I like your style, he has a point. We have a job to do, so come out. Or actually, stay in—it doesn't really matter much to us."

  There was a pause. "Why?"

  "Because," Kira said, deciding on truth as the best course of action. "In a few minutes, we won't be alone anymore and—"

  "Hate to break it to you," a deep voice cut Kira off—a deep voice she didn't recognize. "But you already have company."

  "What?" Kira jumped, spinning around and brightening the flames she had let fizzle, sending a blast of heat toward the man now filling the door.

  She waited for him to fall back.

  Waited for the fire to hit.

  Waited for her power to hold him at bay.

  But the man stepped forward into the light of her blaze, not at all affected by its heat. And with the shadows gone, Kira took him in—the young athletic build, the dark brown hair, the bulging tense muscles, the aggressive expression flaring on his otherwise attractive face. Dressed in a formal suit, he looked more like an out of place prom king. And then her eyes met his, and she gasped.

  What
the…?

  His irises were a light sage, soft and green.

  He wasn't a vampire.

  He was human.

  So what the heck was he doing here? And why was he not at all scared by the fire spewing from her palms?

  "Who are you?" she asked, not releasing her fire.

  He held out his hands. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't leave now."

  "In case you hadn't noticed, it’s two against one," Kira fired back. With their conduit powers still filling the mausoleum, the vampire wouldn’t be able to help this guy, whomever he was.

  But he didn’t look scared.

  In fact, he just shrugged, not backing down. "I'll take my chances."

  And then he stepped forward, slowly, purposefully, as Kira's flames rolled over and around him, not burning his human skin. Her powers were only made to hurt vamps.

  "Don't come any closer," Luke challenged, jumping in front of Kira, just as protective as ever.

  "Or what?" the guy asked, totally smug for someone who was outnumbered.

  And Luke must have thought so too, because a moment later, his fist was flying straight for the stranger's cheek.

  Then just as quickly, it wasn't.

  Right before his punch struck gold, the stranger lifted his palm, catching Luke's closed fist and stopping it dead in its tracks. He was stone, not even straining as he held Luke still. An eerily calm expression passed over his face. And before Luke had time to counter, the stranger shoved his other hand into Luke's chest, lifting him off the ground and sending him flying into the stone wall on the other side of the mausoleum.

  In two seconds, Luke dropped.

  Knocked out.

  "Looks like it’s one against one now," the guy said.

  Kira took a step back, eyes wide.

  What in the world have I gotten myself into?

  Chapter Six