He’d been reincarnated. He was a vampire. He was in love with Olivia. And even though there was a solid chance he was going to die, he was having the time of his life… of any life.
Chapter 15
Olivia and Doug landed silently in a dark corner of Washington Square Park. It was close to midnight, and this part of the park was deserted, so there was little danger of humans seeing them. They made their way swiftly down the steps of the West Fourth Street subway station, and not surprisingly, found it empty.
They hopped the turnstile and walked to the end of the platform. Olivia took a quick look around, and satisfied there were no humans in the vicinity, she pushed the black tiles in the wall that read W Fourth Street. Moments later, a large section of the wall swung inward.
“Unbelievable,” Doug murmured as he followed Olivia into the emergency armory storage facility.
The lights flickered on as the door sealed shut behind them, and Doug swore under his breath as he looked at the arsenal that surrounded them. Olivia smiled and took a brief moment to enjoy his wonder and awe at this latest discovery.
“I love seeing our world through your eyes. I’ve been doing this for so long, I forget what a shock certain things will be for you.”
“Are there armories like this in other places?”
“Yes.” Olivia snagged a new gun and a few rounds of ammunition and handed them to Doug. “We have several for the sentries, and they are the only ones who know where they are. I have my own weapons closet at my apartment, but I didn’t want to risk taking the fight there. I figure the rogues are looking for us too.”
“You heard from the girls?” he asked tentatively. “Or is your telepathy still limited to me?”
She adjusted the gun at her hip and checked the safety. “When we flew over here I tried to contact Trixie. She’s my rebel, you know, so I thought maybe… but nothing.”
“When did you turn her?”
Olivia stilled for a moment before looking up at him. She was worried she might see contempt or scorn, yet all she saw was curiosity.
“In 1980. I found her dying of a heroin overdose in the subway tunnels. She was heavily involved in the punk-music and drug scene here in the city, but her dreams of making it in the Big Apple didn’t quite pan out.”
“What about Sadie? You two seem closer than the others.” His inspecting gaze wandered over her. “She seems like more of an equal to you than the other girls.”
“Sadie’s been with me since the night I split with Vincent and just before I became a sentry. Her family lived in a remote cabin in what was then considered the frontier, and they fell victim to an Indian attack. Vincent and I smelled the blood and went to check it out. Sadie was barely alive, but her parents and five siblings were dead.” Olivia’s mind filled with the memories of that night, and she grimaced. “She looked so innocent and alone. I couldn’t leave her there.”
“It was a long time ago.” She shrugged and inspected her ammo. “I turned her, and Vincent was fucking furious. I guess he didn’t like the idea of the student becoming the teacher. He left us there, and I didn’t see him again for another fifty years.”
Doug said nothing but watched her through serious eyes.
“Maya was assaulted and dumped in the alley behind my club.” Her voice hardened as the memories of Maya’s rapist came roaring back in full color. “When I turned her, I got her blood memories.” Olivia’s body shook with rage, and her hands clenched and unclenched at her side. “Like I said, there are some memories you don’t want.”
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears, and her voice dropped to a whisper.
“I killed the man who hurt her. I let the monster out and took a human life, and you know what? I loved every minute.”
Doug reached out to comfort her, but she held up her hand and stepped back.
“There are no free rides, Doug. I got his blood memories. I felt the fear, pain, and degradation of the twenty other women he had brutalized. Monsters don’t go unpunished.”
Olivia swiped at her eyes and turned her back on Doug, unable to look at him, fearing what he might think of her now that he knew the truth. She grabbed some ammo and a silencer off the shelf and held it out to him without looking.
“Here.” She sniffled and bit back the tears, refusing to allow them to spill. “We’ll want to use the silencer because we may have to do this above ground. I’d like to keep the human involvement to a minimum. These aren’t UV rounds. They’re silver and wood, so make sure you hit them in the head or the heart.”
“Got it.” Doug took them from her and restocked his supply in a casual manner. Silence hung heavily between them for what felt like forever before he finally broke the silence. “The only monster in that story you told me was the sack of shit you killed, and if you ask me, you did society a favor,” Doug said.
Olivia turned slowly to face him but found him perusing the shelves, looking for more weapons to take. Relief washed over her. Doug wasn’t the least bit bothered by her dirty secret. Maybe everything would work out after all? So far, her fears of what might happen or what Doug might say were worse than reality.
“So we stick to the plan.” Doug snagged some silver stars and stuck them in the inner pockets of his coat. “We stake out the tunnel entrances under the hotel and get ’em as they’re coming in before sunrise. Right?”
“Actually, I think we should split up.” Olivia put the last clip of ammo in her belt and turned to face Doug. “If they come in early enough, then they won’t need to use the underground entrances, and they could waltz through the front door.”
“No fucking way, Liv.” His eyes flashed. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Doug.” Olivia tried not to be annoyed at his macho chauvinism, but it was no use. “I was a sentry for a hundred years. In case you’ve forgotten, I can handle myself.” Her voice rose as she spoke, and her body tensed. “I am not that scared, sniveling girl I was all those years ago.”
Doug swore loudly, put his hands on his hips, and stared at the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. Just when Olivia was about to start screaming her fangs off, he ran one hand over his short blond hair, and a smile cracked his handsome face.
“I sounded like a dick, didn’t I?” He glanced at her sideways.
“Yes.” She folded her arms over her chest. “A big, macho dick.”
“I’m sorry.” His expression softened as he placed both hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “I know you’re capable and could probably kick my ass if you wanted to, but there’s one thing you need to understand.”
“What?” She braced herself for more male posturing and formulated her blistering response in her head.
“I love you, Liv.” His fingers gripped her shoulders tighter, and his throat worked as he swallowed. “I have been chasing you my entire life, and I kept every other woman at a distance because they couldn’t live up to you, or the idea of you. I never thought I was worthy of love or marriage or any of that shit. I thought I didn’t have what it takes to be a husband or a father.” He stopped, and his brow knit together. “Wait—can vampires even have children?”
“No,” she said through a laugh. Hell, the man wanted to have children with her?
“Really? Well, that’s too bad. I’d love to have a spirited little girl with your curly red hair and green eyes, not to mention your bad-ass fighting skills.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Since she’d be as gorgeous as you, she’d have to be able to fight off all those rotten boys.”
“Doug,” she whispered in a shaky voice.
“No.” He shook his head. “Let me finish. There’s still a part of me that thinks I’m not lucky enough to feel this way, and I am fucking terrified of losing you. So,” he sucked in a breath and continued, “you’ll have to forgive me for being an overprotective dickhead. That’s not going to change. I feel more alive with you as a vampire than I did as a human, so you’re stuck with me. We stick together. No one hunts alone—th
at’s non-negotiable.”
He loved her. He said it and put his heart and everything else on the line. As her eyes searched his, she knew that no matter what happened, he would be there for her. Her eyes stung with tears, and a smile played at her lips. For the first time in centuries, she didn’t feel alone.
“Okay.” She nodded and looked at him warmly. “We stick together. We’ll check the West Village again and then go to the hotel before sunrise. We can glamour the clerk and find out if Moriarty checked in and what room he’s staying in, then ambush them when they come back to sleep for the day.”
“That’s my girl.”
He leaned down and captured her lips with his as he cradled her head in his hands, kissing her desperately, as though he might never get another chance. Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back as if it was indeed their last kiss.
* * *
They walked the Village much of the night but didn’t catch the scent or any sign of the rogues. After hours of coming up empty-handed, and with sunrise only an hour away, they agreed that it was time to hit the hotel.
They stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the luxury hotel, and the doorman smiled tightly as he looked them up and down. Doug buttoned his coat and gave the man a friendly smile as they approached. Olivia scanned the human and sensed his nervousness but wasn’t sure what they did to make him uneasy.
As he opened the door for them, Doug leaned down and whispered in her ear. “The two of us look like we stepped out of the Matrix. Most of the clientele at this place are decked out in high-end designer duds, not black leather.”
“Right.” Olivia rolled her eyes.
She was about to make another remark, but when she stepped into the plush lobby with red walls and art deco paintings, she was rendered speechless by the stink of rotting flesh and dirt. The scent of Rogue One filled the lobby and wafted over her in unpleasant waves.
Doug stood still inside the entrance next to Olivia, but based on the tension in his body and the look on his face, he’d picked up the scent as well. She reached out with her sonar senses but didn’t pick up on any vampires in the immediate vicinity. However, the perfectly manicured man behind the counter was looking at them like they’d landed from Mars.
“May I help you?” He looked them up and down with blatant disgust.
“Actually,” Doug said almost inaudibly, “you can.”
Olivia stepped up to the desk with him and placed both gloved hands on the gleaming black countertop. She leaned close and held the tall, slim man’s gaze as she glamoured him.
“We need information about a guest,” she said evenly. The clerk nodded, slack-jawed and eyes vacant, but he remained silent. “Do you know who Michael Moriarty is?” He nodded again as drool dripped down his chin and his hands rested limply on the counter. “Good. Has he been staying here?”
“Yes,” he said on a sigh.
“Excellent.” Her voice remained soothing and clam. “What room is he in?”
“Mr. Moriarty has all of the rooms on the ninth floor.”
“Wonderful.” Olivia put her hand out. “I’d like a copy of the master keycard please.”
She maintained her focus as the clerk handed her the keycard from a drawer.
“When I walk away, you will remember none of this. Do you understand? It’s been quiet, and you saw no one come or go. Is that clear?”
He nodded like a bobblehead doll. Olivia released her hold on the weak-minded man, and they whisked to the first floor hallway, leaving the clerk alone and bewildered. They ducked around the corner, and Doug snagged her around the waist with one strong arm and placed a kiss on her head.
“You are something else, do you know that?”
“I have my moments,” she murmured. Olivia held up the keycard and flashed him her fangs. “Time to clean house.”
They flew up the stairwell, and the stench of the rogues grew more pungent. It was strongest at the ninth floor landing and stuck in Olivia’s throat.
“We do one room at a time,” she said, peering through the small window at the top of the door. “And we do it as quietly as possible.”
“Shit.” Doug ran a hand over his mouth. “I can’t imagine this is gonna be fuckin’ quiet. Vamps make a lot of damn noise when they get dusted.”
“Not much of a choice.” Olivia gripped the door handle and drew her gun. “Ready?”
Doug nodded and drew both guns, but he captured her gaze before she ducked through the door. “Be careful, Liv.”
“You too, detective.”
Olivia ran the key through the reader on the first door, swung the door open, and they whipped into the room with guns raised. Olivia had seen plenty of death and destruction in her day, but this place looked like something out of a horror film.
The next three rooms they checked were the same, and all told, there were over thirty dead humans, but no vampires. Doug said nothing, though she sensed his rage building, knowing it was only a matter of time before he completely lost it. His anger ticked up twice as much with the dead women.
With only one room left, no sign of the rogues, and sunrise thirty minutes away, Olivia was beginning to think they found a new place to nest and had abandoned this one. She and Doug stood outside the last room, and just before she opened it, a familiar scent filled her nostrils. She flicked her wide eyes to Doug and saw that he’d picked up on it as well.
Jerry.
“That little weasel,” Doug seethed.
He kicked the door open, and side by side, they stepped into the room with guns raised. “Wait,” Olivia shouted. “Don’t shoot.”
Jerry was chained to the bed and blindfolded. Thick ropes of silver were wrapped around his neck and gagged his mouth, while all four of his limbs were lashed to the bedposts.
Michael Moriarty stood calmly next to him with a gun pointed at his head.
“Took you long enough,” Moriarty snapped. He inched the gun closer to Jerry, who was passed out cold. While Olivia was pretty damn mad that her snitch had snitched on her, she didn’t want him to die. Moriarty flicked his beady eyes to Olivia. “Your friend here decided to warn The Maker and tell him about your little visit.”
“Who turned you, Michael?” Olivia tightened her grip on the gun. The faint scent of Rogue One filled the room like a phantom. “Tell us, or you’re going to end up like the rest of the rogues.”
“I gotta admit—I freaked the fuck out when I woke up at the medical examiner’s office, but once I got a taste of her and drank her sweet blood… everything felt better.”
“You killed Miranda?” Doug said through clenched teeth. “Too bad you and your maker missed our little party in the tunnels.”
“Yeah, he was pretty steamed that you two wiped out his brand-new coven.” He jutted his chin out. “I mean, there was a hell of a party around here, and you had to go and ruin it.”
“Moriarty,” Doug said tightly. “You and me go way back, and you know I’m not going to play these games. You’re gonna go down one way or the other. Human. Vampire. Cloud of dust. I don’t give a shit.”
“Paxton,” he spat. “Even as a vampire, you’re a pain in my ass. I know this will be a blow to your overblown ego, but this whole situation has nothing to do with you.” Moriarty smirked and shook his head as he leered at Olivia. “What the hell did you do to piss him off so bad, huh? You know, you’re the whole reason he came back to New York and started getting this coven together. Then, after you wiped ’em all out in the tunnels last night, I wanted to help him build it again. He was so steamed all he could think about was killing you and hitting you where it hurts, so he’s moved on to phase two. He left me here with Jerry so I could give you a message.”
“Me? Phase two?” Olivia’s brow furrowed as she struggled to understand what this could possibly have to do with her. “What are you talking about, Moriarty?”
A smile slithered across his face as he leered at her. “Been back to your club tonight, Olivia?”
Pani
c slammed into her as she realized what he meant. “Oh my God.”
Moriarty laughed. Olivia saw the microscopic movement of his finger tightening on the trigger, but before he could shoot, she flew across the room, tackling him against the wall. His gun fired and clattered to the floor.
Somewhere through the frenzy of rage, she could hear Doug’s voice calling her name as she sank her fangs into Moriarty’s neck and ripped his throat out. Blood sprayed over her as she tore his head from his body, turning him into a cloud of smoking ash.
Shaking with fury and drowning in panic, two strong hands gripped her arms and shook her, pulling her from the abyss. As her vision cleared, she found herself looking into a pair of painfully beautiful blue eyes—eyes that were laced with worry and a touch of fear.
“Liv?” He said her name gently as his fingers curled around her upper arms. “Liv, are you alright? Hey, can you hear me?”
She blinked as the fog lifted. Olivia allowed herself to lean against Doug’s body for support as she regained her bearings. It had been a long time since she lost it like that, and it was more unsettling than she remembered.
She glanced to the bed and saw the bullet had missed Jerry, and although Doug had released him from the silver, he was pretty banged up. The burns were healing; however, the little guy was pretty out of it.
“Wake up and get out of here, Jerry,” she said in an unsteady voice.
“I’m sorry, Olivia.” His dark eyes filled with tears, and his slim body shook uncontrollably as he struggled to remain conscious. “I was going to call you, but didn’t want you to be mad at me for being big jerk.”
The cold hand of panic grabbed her by the throat as everything that Moriarty said came rushing back. Olivia clutched the front of Doug’s coat. “The girls and Damien.”
A sob choked her as it all came together.
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