“So they’re like a bunch of hopped-up crack addicts?” Doug asked in a matter-of-fact tone. He pursed his lips. “That’s the first explanation I’ve heard that’s made any fuckin’ sense since I woke up.”
Olivia nodded, and to her surprise, the hint of a smile played at his lips before he looked away. A modicum of progress.
“Good.” Olivia tugged her gloves back on. “We have to get going.”
“You girls better not engage them if they show up here.” Pete’s eyes flickered red, a symptom of his demon lineage.
Olivia didn’t miss the look of surprise on Doug’s face, but to his credit, he said nothing.
“I mean it, Trixie,” Pete said seriously. “You and Sadie stay inside and keep an eye on the monitors in Olivia’s office, but if you see them, do not engage them. You call me, and I’ll bring Shane.”
“I don’t know who this Shane guy is,” Doug chimed in. “But if I were you, I’d bring a lot of guns too.”
“Not a problem, partner.”
“Shit.” Trixie cracked her knuckles and let out a growl of frustration. “I wasn’t turned yesterday. I may not be part demon, dude, but I’m not a dumb ass.”
“Demon?” Doug asked, but then he held his hand up. “Tell me later.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Sadie elbowed Trixie and made a face that told her to shut up. “We’ll hold down the fort, Olivia. I did hang with you for that century you worked as a sentry, and I picked up a thing or two. We’ve got it covered.”
“I’ll leave Van upstairs too.” Olivia squatted and scratched his favorite spot. “He’ll be another set of ears and eyes for you.”
“We should get going,” Pete said.
“But it’s not sundown yet,” Maya said quietly. “I hate taking the tunnels.” She ran her hands over the red bustier minidress. “I should probably change my clothes.”
“Well, since my partner is dead,” Doug snapped, “I think you can live with getting a little dirt on that dress.” He stopped abruptly, and his features hardened. “It sounds like this mess all started with you anyway.”
“Sorry,” she added quickly. “That came out all wrong.”
Doug lifted one shoulder and shifted his weight. Olivia could tell that he felt badly for barking at Maya, and it only endeared him to her further.
“It’s okay,” Doug said apologetically. “I just want to get going and get this shit over with.”
Olivia crossed to the large chair in the living room and shoved it aside, revealing an opening to the tunnels. She sensed Doug watching her every move, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him and risk seeing that look of contempt. She dug deep down inside and grabbed onto the cold mind-set of the sentry she used to be. It was that icy attitude that got her through more hunting excursions and executions than she cared to remember.
Doug brushed past her and dropped soundlessly into the tunnels. Olivia hesitated before joining the others. For the first time in over three hundred years, she doubted her own resolve. She could kill the rogue, kill a hundred, but killing her feelings for Doug… that was one mission she didn’t think she could complete.
Chapter 10
Doug had heard the expression, the underbelly of the city, and he thought he had seen it already as a homicide detective in New York City. He could not have been more wrong. As he and the others raced through the sewer tunnels beneath Manhattan, he realized how little he really knew about the city he lived in for the past ten years. He, like most humans, was oblivious to the world that existed above and beneath his feet.
He didn’t know how fast they were running, but it felt more like flying. His body hummed with power as he pumped his arms and legs with little effort. Doug noted the way he could see and hear everything. Water trickling in the tunnels sounded like rapid gunfire. Rats scurrying away from their approach sounded like a herd of horses. The heartbeats of people on the street above sounded like flapping wings from a swarm of hummingbirds.
The entire world was amplified. Brighter. Louder. Sharper. It was as if he had been living in a two-dimensional, black-and-white world as a human, and now, as a vampire, everything was in Technicolor and high-definition. He might have been dead, but ironically, he never felt more alive, and he felt guilty as hell about it.
He shouldn’t like what he had become. A bloodsucker. A monster. He should loathe it and detest it like he did when he first woke up, but somehow… he didn’t. Doug’s jaw clenched as he battled with his emotions. Was he being brainwashed on top of everything else? Was he losing himself in this insanity?
He flicked his gaze to Olivia. She ran beside him, matching his speed, and in spite of how fast they were moving he saw her perfectly. She was as stunning as ever. Her red curls flew behind her, but she stared straight ahead, intensely focused on their destination.
We’re almost there. Her thoughts touched his, tickled almost, along the boundaries of his sanity. The main entrance is just around the bend here to the left.
Doug said nothing. He simply kept pace beside her and looked straight ahead. He could sense Pete and Maya right behind them, but he didn’t want to turn and look. It seemed like a bad idea to take his eyes off the proverbial road.
Seconds later, Olivia’s hand rested on his, and they came to an immediate stop. He wavered briefly from the biggest head rush of his life. For a minute, while he stopped moving, it felt like the world around him hadn’t.
“It will pass in a minute.” Olivia squeezed his arm gently and held him. He looked into her worried green eyes as the dizziness subsided. “It’s a common side effect after running at that speed for the first time.”
“I’m fine.” Doug pulled his arm from her grasp and stuffed his hands in the pockets of the long coat, even though what he really wanted was to hold her hands. “Thanks. Where are we?” he asked, quickly needing to change the subject.
“The Cloisters are directly above us.” Olivia pointed up. “The Presidium is located underneath The Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park.”
“I thought vampires lived in luxury.” He looked at the wet, mossy tunnel they stood in and made a scoffing sound. “This is a shithole.”
“We’re not in the Presidium yet.” Olivia smirked and arched one eyebrow as she reached above them and pushed in a rectangular stone in the wall.
A section of the wall swung inward, and bright light flooded the sewer tunnel, revealing a lush, decadent hallway to a whole other world. Crystal chandeliers hung from a curved ceiling, and portraits lined the brightly lit corridor.
The door swung shut, closing silently, and when Doug turned around there was no sign of the door. He tried to squelch the feeling of being buried alive and took in the rest of his surroundings as swiftly as possible. The floors were red marble and reminded him of a river of blood, and the walls were a sunny yellow. The paintings gave him the eerie sensation of being watched.
The four of them walked down the hallway in silence toward a massive arched doorway made of wood, which conjured images of medieval times, but the camera watching them with its blinking red eye brought him back to the present.
Before they reached the doorway, Pete stepped ahead with Maya clinging to his arm like a damsel in distress. The girl looked terrified, and by all accounts, she probably should be. Pete placed his thumb on a button to the left of the door, and a moment later, it swung open.
“Stay close,” Olivia said as they followed Pete. “Lots of listening and no talking.”
“No promises,” he said evenly.
She shot him a look of warning but didn’t respond. After what felt like forever, they finally arrived at their first destination. Another ornate, wooden door fit for a castle swung open, but the room inside was decked from floor to ceiling with LCD screens and filled with cigarette smoke. An older woman sat behind a massive desk, puffing away on what was clearly not her first smoke of the day.
“It’s about damn time,” she rasped as she crushed the cigarette in an ashtray overflowing with butts. “You kn
ow, for someone who doesn’t like to turn new vampires, you’ve done it twice this year already.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Millicent,” Olivia responded humorlessly. “We need to register him ASAP so he can help us hunt the rogues.”
“Yeah, I heard.” Millicent fiddled with her lighter. “Before you go hunting, be sure to see Xavier in the lab. He wants to know if that synthetic blood worked, and I think he’s got a new weapon.” She wagged a finger at Olivia. “No more younglings outta you this year. You’ve hit your annual limit.”
“Limit?” Doug asked with a curious look to the others. “There’s a limit on how many vampires you can create? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it does.” Millicent walked up to him, her hands in the pockets of her suit jacket, and looked him up and down. “You’re a big one. You sure can pick ’em, Olivia. Anyway, too many vamps can cause a food shortage.”
“You mean, people,” Doug said sharply.
“Yes, people. Come ’ere.” Millicent grabbed his hand and brought him to the back wall that looked more like one enormous computer network. He went with her and surmised that even as a human, this older woman wouldn’t have been someone to tangle with.
She punched buttons on the large touch screen, and a stainless steel platform slid out. She put his left hand on it and punched a few more buttons. A flash went off as his picture was taken, and a needle quickly pricked his finger, taking a blood sample.
Doug removed his hand and watched as the small puncture closed and vanished. He opened and closed his hand, rubbing at it absently as he moved back to stand with the others again.
She punched a couple more spots on the screen, and seconds later an electronic identification card came up with his picture. “Too many vampires, and we’d all eventually starve to death. We can survive on vampire blood if we have to, but too much of it, and we can get a little nuts.”
The screen blinked, and a loud beeping sounded as Doug’s ID flickered to life on the screen. Doug Paxton: Vampire 12-52-6459—Maker: Olivia Hollingsworth.
So that was it? He was a vampire, and the woman of his dreams had turned his life into a nightmare.
“There.” She lit another cigarette and took a long drag. “Your newest coven member is registered. Now, don’t go rescuing any more dying humans, or you’ll answer to Czar Augustus. And from what I’m hearing, you’re in enough trouble as it is.”
“Thank you, Millicent.”
The door swung shut soundlessly, and they continued down the stone hallway, turning several times and making Doug feel like a rat in a maze.
Doug stopped walking, and Olivia gave him a curious look. “What?”
“You said that once I registered, you’d give me a gun.” He stuck his hand out and moved closer, daring her to deny him. “How about it?”
He invaded her space, but those emerald green eyes were glued to him, tracking his every move. Doug dropped his hand and stopped inches from her as her familiar scent wafted over him, testing his resolve.
“Gun,” he whispered. “Now.”
The corner of Olivia’s mouth lifted. Eyes on his, she reached beneath her jacket with both hands and withdrew a sleek, black gun and two magazines. She held them up and ejected the magazine to show it to him.
“It’s a semiautomatic loaded with mahogany and sterling rounds. Put one in the brain or heart, and these will turn a vamp to dust. But hit ’em anywhere else, and it’ll just slow ’em down, so be sure you shoot to kill.”
She placed them in his hands, and when her fingertips brushed his palm, fire flickered over his skin and his fangs broke free. Lust and need roared through his blood. Olivia’s eyes glanced to his bared fangs, and her tongue flicked out, moistening that gorgeous mouth.
“Believe me.” Doug leaned closer, his lips a breath away from hers, and whispered, “I won’t miss.”
“Good.” Olivia blinked and stepped away as she squared her shoulders. “See that you don’t.”
Doug stuck the magazines in the pocket of his coat and reached behind him, tucking the gun in the waist of pants. He didn’t miss the curious looks from Maya and Pete, but he couldn’t blame them. He and Olivia stood there eye-fucking each other like a couple of horny kids, and until two seconds ago, he had forgotten the two of them were even there.
“Let’s go,” she commanded.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with an exaggerated salute.
Olivia gave him the finger as she walked on, and he chuckled. She was tough as nails, and despite everything that had transpired, she still turned him on. He admired the way she handled Maya and the rest of her coven. The woman was powerful and commanding, but she was also sensitive and empathetic.
He studied her carefully, and it dawned on him how alike they were. Olivia was a rescuer and a protector. She seemed consumed by the need to save people, cats, dogs… vampires. He wondered what drove her? Who was she really trying to rescue?
The hallway opened into a cavernous space that looked like something out of ancient Rome. White marble statues of gods and goddesses lined the circular room, and at the center were towering white columns, framing pristine double doors of black-and-white- swirled marble.
“Welcome to the Presidium’s New York office,” Pete said. He placed a hand on Doug’s left shoulder and leaned in. “Looks like Caesar’s Palace in Vegas, doesn’t it?”
“You aren’t kidding.” Doug rubbed his chin as he they walked down the four steps and into the center of the room. He gestured to the statues. “Are these gods and goddesses?”
“Yes,” Olivia said with a snort of derision. “These are a few of Czar Augustus’s mementos from his human life in ancient Rome. For a guy who looks down on humans, I always thought it odd that he surrounds himself with so many keepsakes from his human life. This room leads to the Presidium’s main chamber, which is where official proceedings take place.”
“I would’ve expected decor more like your club.” He continued to look around them, wanting to know any way in or out. “This seems odd.”
“The czars rule for two centuries in each city, and then a new czar takes over.” Olivia kept her voice down, and he noticed her hand resting on the gun at her hip. “It’s like when a new president moves into the White House and redecorates. Augustus was a senator in ancient Rome, so he decorated like this.”
They moved slowly through the massive room, and their movements echoed. As each sound bounced back, Doug realized that the sound waves were helping him see the room. He didn’t know how or why, but he had a multidimensional view of the space in his mind. He’d heard of bats and dolphins using sonar to see and wondered if that was happening to him.
Doug said nothing as Olivia watched him but simply nodded his understanding. His senses were on high alert, and he couldn’t escape the feeling that something bad was about to go down. They continued across the open space to the steps that led to the double doors, but before the four of them even hit the first step, the doors swung open to welcome them.
“Olivia, I’m scared.” Maya clung to Olivia’s arm like a child and refused to move forward. Doug couldn’t get over how completely different she was from when he first met her. Her big blue eyes were filled with tears, making her mascara run down her face. “Please don’t let them kill me.”
“It’s going to be alright.” Olivia wrapped her arm around Maya, and in a motherly gesture, kissed the top of her head. “Be strong and stick close to Pete.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Maya sniffled.
“You’ll be okay, kid.” Pete patted her on the back and then glanced at Doug. “You’re not gonna cry too are you?”
“Fuck you, Castro.” Doug tried to suppress a smile, but he couldn’t stop it.
“That’s enough,” Olivia hissed. “It’s game time.”
They climbed the staircase and crossed the threshold into the meeting room, and Doug fought the urge to let out a whistle. There were five people on a platform, and the one in the center—Augustus.
> Wearing elaborate white robes with gold and burgundy trim, he sat in what could be described as a throne. He wore a golden laurel wreath on his head and had the same arrogant look as the painting Doug had seen. The women and men on either side of him were clad in similar robes and seated on small gold chairs.
Olivia, Pete, and Maya dropped to one knee and bowed their heads, but Doug stood his ground and kept his attention on the czar.
“Clearly, you haven’t trained this one in our ways, Olivia.” Augustus narrowed his eyes at Doug. “Your little coven is quite a mess.”
“I’m not getting on my knees for you or anyone else,” Doug said tightly.
Shane appeared out of nowhere and flew to Doug’s side, lowering his voice to above a whisper. “You should do as your leader commands.”
Tension filled the room, but Doug didn’t waver.
“Give it a rest,” Olivia said, rising to her feet. “He’s new, and we have other issues to worry about.”
“Perhaps,” Shane murmured, his face emotionless as he stepped back. “Rules must be followed to maintain order.”
Augustus rose from his spot on the lounge as his dark eyes went to Maya, who was still on one knee with her head bowed. “You must be the little vampire who started this messy situation in my city. Come here, little one.”
Maya sniffled and slowly rose to her feet as she looked to Olivia for reassurance.
Augustus walked calmly down the steps and took her hand in his. Maya, head bowed and eyes averted, sniffled and adjusted the skirt of her small dress as the czar stepped back and looked her over from head to toe.
“You’re a lovely little thing, aren’t you?” His gentle tone was in stark contradiction to the cruelty in his eyes. Augustus was the kind of man who got off on hurting people, women in particular, drunk on his own power. “Have you been making rogues, little girl?”
“No.” Maya shook her head furiously as tears continued to fall. “I swear it to you.”
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