by Candy Crum
“Mia,” Tristan said. “He’s all yours.”
“Do you know someone named Jay?” I asked.
Jose immediately turned nervous. He looked to Tristan for solace. Tristan merely nodded. Jose turned back to me then and nodded.
“I do, miss. I’ve worked for him for many years.”
“Exactly how much do you know about him? Family? Siblings? Places that he would call home? Anything at all would be helpful,” I said.
“Jay is a man with many secrets. He is a snake. He’s the one that got me locked up in here. He said that it was for the greater good, that he would get me a good lawyer and get me out, but he never did. I had to get one of those public attorneys. They ain’t worth a shit, lemme tell ya.”
I could tell through his accent that he natively spoke Spanish, but his English accent was damn near flawless. He’d more than likely grown up here.
“I know he’s a snake,” I said. “That’s why we are here. Do you know anything else?”
“He has many houses all over the country. It’s hard to say where he would go. All I can say is that he doesn’t stay that way for long. Especially right now.”
“Oh? Why is that?” I asked.
“Rumor has it, he is about to go to war with someone. Something, to be exact. The man’s gone off the deep end. He’s lost his mind. He thinks there’s a vampire coming for him.”
I smiled. “Oh, does he? That’s cute.”
Jose nodded. “Yeah. One of the guys that Jay has always thought of as a brother is in here. Jay got one of the cops to get him a message to call as soon as he got the chance. Jay told him all about it. He said he’s killed the bitch twice, but she just won’t die. He’s obsessed. He’s going insane.”
“He’s not that crazy,” I said.
“Oh, he’s crazy. A vampire?”
“Well, I’m not a vampire,” I said, allowing my power to flash in my eyes. “But I am coming for him.”
“Dios mío,” he said, his eyes wide.
“Tell me, Jose, why are you in here?” I asked, a smile on my face.
“Murder,” he said.
“Oh! That’s wonderful. I was hoping you’d say that.”
“You were?” he asked. “Why?”
“Because my father and I are going to meet every cop in this place and compel them to watch the inmates that have any ties or even the suspicion of a tie to Jay. Because you’re going to tell everyone that someone came here asking about him. About Jay. If you don’t know where he is, someone does. Someone will contact him and the cops will know about it. They will go straight to Andrews and tell him exactly where he is. That’s how we’re going to find him.”
“Why would I tell everyone that? Why would I try to piss him off more than he already is? What keeps me from telling everyone what you are and that you’re trying to get anyone involved with him killed? That’s it, right? That’s what you’re trying to do?”
Tristan stepped in, gripping the man by the throat as he stared down into his eyes. “You won’t say a word because I don’t want you to. You hurt innocent people, so this is what you deserve. You will do exactly as she says. If you do not, you will disappoint me. Do you want to know what happens if you disappoint me?”
“You’ll kill me,” he said.
“Oh, I’ll do worse than that. I’ll eat you. And I’ll make sure it’s the most painful thing you’ve ever experienced right up until the moment you die. Do you understand?”
Jose was terrified. He gave up everything that he knew. There were two houses, one in Florida and the other in Tennessee that Jay liked to vacation at. The one in Tennessee was a cousin’s house, while the one in Florida was his sister’s. It wasn’t much, but for someone that hadn’t been with Jay in a long time, it was the most we could hope for. We spoke to a couple of other people, but didn’t get very far.
It was close to shift change, which was what we’d really been waiting on. Shift change allowed us to gather all of the cops and have Tristan compel them to report any weirdness to Andrews. Anything suspicious at all revolving around Jay would go straight to him. Once the next shift clocked in, we repeated the process. Though it wouldn’t be everyone, it was a good chunk, and that was what we needed.
Things seemed to be off to a great start. I was on the right path to finding Jay, and it seemed that I was on the right path to learning a hell of a lot more than I anticipated. There was a whole world out there that I had no idea about. A whole world beyond my own.
Things had changed so quickly in such little time. I no longer cared about my own insecurities and my own worries. There were bigger things to worry about. Things like avenging girls murdered and buried in basements. Rescuing young girls sold to other drug cartels or into sex slavery. Past those things, there were even bigger things to worry about.
My life as a human had been full. I was grateful for everything and everyone in my life. My life as a succubus, however, had opened me up to find true meaning. I realized that I was never meant to live inside my own four little walls. I was meant to do something big.
It was becoming abundantly clear that my life had only just begun.
Chapter One
Funerals. Never are they fun, but to mourn and bury someone that is young, the devastation can be sensed before you even get out of your car.
Andrews wasn’t really family, but in the short time that I’d gotten to know him, he’d certainly become someone that I’d consider close to it. I couldn’t quite let him that far in. I didn’t want to friend-zone him, given that I did find him extremely attractive, and I am a succubus after all. Regardless, that didn’t stop me from caring a lot about him.
When he’d asked me to accompany him to the funeral of his niece, Michelle, I couldn’t say no. She’d been dead and gone for too long to have an open casket. She’d been buried under the concrete in Jay’s basement for a while. We’d been lucky that she’d been preserved enough to be identified by standard means. Standard being that Andrews recognized her the moment that Cass had busted through the concrete.
It had been a field trip to a concert so that I could feed that led me to her killer. I’d fed on him and saw his memories. She was one of them. What a horrible way to die. While at the funeral, I walked around and looked at every single photo that they had. Each one enlarged, of course. Every last one of them seemed more beautiful than the last. She looked like an African American princess. Flawless skin, bright, exuberant eyes, and a smile that could stop a man in his tracks.
Unfortunately, Jay had gotten ahold of her and wouldn’t let go. He’d gotten ahold of several girls. A handful of young women had been buried that week. Autopsies and investigations had been completed, and one of them even had a journal. A heavily mourning Andrews handed that evidence to me, asking me to read it. Imagine my rage when I read that she’d met Jay. He’d promised her that she could be a model. She could be a movie star. She could be anything she wanted—as long as she stuck with him.
Jay told her that he’d “help” her get wherever she needed to go. Later on, he’d told her that she needed to shed a few pounds before a shoot. He’d given her something to help. She didn’t say what, but she did say that her new friend Michelle was asked to do the same thing, and she did. Andrews and his sister, Paula, had no idea. They thought she just got mixed up with drugs. They didn’t have a clue that Jay was getting sixteen-year-old girls hooked on his drugs with the promises of helping them to get to stardom.
In a town like Jackson, you don’t go anywhere. It holds you. It swallows you. You only get out if you fight and claw your way out through a shit load of hard work. Michelle was from another town over. Mount Vernon wasn’t much different for someone that wanted big things in his or her life. It was beautiful country. Lots of opportunity for a clean, simple life. I loved it there, though I hadn’t been in years. But for someone that wanted nothing to do with a life like that, then that’s where you went to watch dreams die. Not Michelle. She’d had big dreams. Unfortunately, Jay told her
that he had all the tickets to all the rides she needed to be on to get there.
God…
I could not wait to destroy him. I couldn’t wait to watch him breathe his final breath.
It was too late for Michelle and Paisley, the girl who owned the tragic journal that I read. It was too late for the other girls found in the basement. It may have even been too late for several other girls that I didn’t know about. However, it wasn’t too late to stop it from happening to anyone else.
Because of that journal, we knew that Jay liked the sixteen-year-old girls. Along with that journal and another guy that I’d gotten information from at the prison, we learned that Jay would find these girls, break them, and keep them for a year or two before pimping them out. He needed them good and desperate. He didn’t mess with the bad girls, the ones already on drugs, the runaways, or the offenders. No. He preyed on the ones that had a life ahead of them. He took them, molded them, and turned them loose to use all that will and determination for his benefit.
Why, you ask?
Because they were good girls… They weren’t used to screwing people over to get by in life. They weren’t used to stealing and lying. In other words…
They would be loyal.
Fucking asshole.
In the last few weeks, I’d been to Michelle’s funeral, sat in on several interviews with inmates at Andrew’s request, and began training with bladed weapons more. Things were moving, though a bit slow. I didn’t like it. I had no way of knowing if more girls would be taken, or if more girls would be sold into sex trafficking—which I knew happened from time to time with Jay. If he didn’t think he could turn them bad, he’d simply export them. He was beyond sick.
My days usually consisted of waking up, training with Tristan, shower, breakfast, on-line college work—since I couldn’t have a day job any longer—and then relaxing with some more files. It was monotonous, but it worked. Every other night, I’d go out and hunt. While I still didn’t like the idea of sleeping around, I liked the thought of losing Jay and losing this battle even more.
A happy medium was somewhere between getting laid once or twice a week and having hot, energy-sucking make-out sessions between sex fests. It didn’t make me strong, per se, but it certainly didn’t leave me weak. I had been informed that wouldn’t sustain me for long, but I figured I’d use the time I had to get even more accustomed to my new life. Nothing wrong with slow and steady, right?
Learning to take everything in stride while focusing my efforts on Jay, his operations, and his movement had made things a whole hell of a long easier for me. My panic attacks had slowed, and my mom worried about me a lot less, too. Poor woman. I always had her worried. Then she’d call Andrews or Tristan and worry them over me, too. I loved her, but she drove me crazy sometimes. Regardless of her overprotectiveness, I was just happy to have her.
I was also happy they still let me live with them for the time being. It was nice, given that I lost my house the week before. I couldn’t even fathom going back in there. Jay knew where I lived, so going back wasn’t an option. Andrews said that it was a terrible idea. So—in my twenties, jobless, and homeless. Can anyone say, “Winner?” Because that was me…
To say that I was unhappy with myself was an understatement, but it was the transition. It was the transition of going from fully independent to lost, confused, and living with Mommy and Daddy again. You try keeping a job and normal life after you want to eat your coworkers… Take that however you wish.
My phone rang as I was stepping out of the shower. I quickly wrapped a towel around myself and another around my hair before taking baby steps across the tile floor. I saw Andrews gorgeous mocha-toned face grace my phone screen. He didn’t know that I took the photo, which made it more amusing.
“Hey there, hot chocolate. What can I do for you?”
“I need you. Now.”
I smiled. “Well, why didn’t you say so? It took ya long enough.” While I realized that he didn’t mean it the way that I’d suggested, I still enjoyed flirting with him. He would always close his eyes and shake his head at me. He loved it. Well, I told myself he did.
“Mia, not now. This isn’t the time.”
His voice sounded a bit strained, urgent. My “business” expression replaced my flirty expression.
“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“There’s been an explosion at the middle school. We think the chem lab exploded. I need you. If Tristan is around, bring him. I’m going to need help saving kids. You know as well as I do that medicine can only do so much.”
“You know that I can’t breathe life. I’m not strong enough to do that, but I’m on my way. I might not be able to do the breath of life, but I can withstand a whole hell of a lot of pain now, thanks to Tristan and Cass’ training.”
“Just get here. They think it was a drug lab.”
My blood ran cold. A drug lab… in a school. A middle school. With children.
“I’m on my way.” My voice sounded much colder than I’d meant for it to, but I knew that he understood.
Chapter Two
I could smell the smoke before I managed to get even a little close to the school. SCHOOL! I just couldn’t get over it. The closer I got, the less the scents blurred together, and they became more pronounced. Burning drywall, insulation, food, wood, and even bodies. All the smells wafted into the sky and blanketed the nearest city blocks. I wanted to throw up. While it was a horrid thing to wish for, I hoped the bodies burning were adults. At least they’d had a chance to live some. Children… Every one of them was someone’s baby. Anyone in that building was someone’s baby.
I had to put my feelings aside, or I’d never make it.
Parking was a bitch. Impossible, really. I had to park a couple of blocks away and hoof it up to the scene. When I got there, as expected, I was met with tape and other blockades, including cops and firefighters pushing everyone back.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t let you through,” a short cop with an adorable face and big blue eyes told me. “If you have children or family in there, I assure you that we are doing what we can to get them out.”
“Nope. No kids. And I’m part of the search and rescue, Saucy McTough-stuff, so you should let me on through.” I winked.
He wasn’t having it. Damn it all.
“Let her through!” Andrews shouted.
I smiled. “See, Red Hots? We’re partners!”
His eyes narrowed, his head shaking slightly. “What’s wrong with you?”
I shrugged. “I really don’t know. I think I have a problem.”
He almost smiled. I know it. At least, I’m telling myself he did. Otherwise, my stupidity was lost on him.
“Mia, come with me,” Andrews said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me through the street. “The fire is blazing out of control. The firefighters said there are a lot more drugs in there than anticipated. In some places, the fire has burned through multiple floors down to the basement. Do you get high?”
“Well, maybe we can smoke a bowl later, there Officer Weedles, but—”
He shook his head and waved his hands, effectively shutting me up. “Do you have a name for every occasion?”
I shrugged again. “Pretty much.”
“I didn’t ask if you wanted to get high. I asked if you could get high. The firefighters and other rescue people are having trouble going in there. There have been so many budget cuts across the city that their equipment is inferior. The drugs are burning in the air. It’s hurting them. If your body can filter it out quickly enough, then you should be fine.”
I looked at the school; rolling smoke poured out of the broken windows. “I think I should be okay. But I need help. I know there isn’t much time, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.” I handed him my phone. “Wendy Cain. Call her. Get her here now. She might even be with Tristan. Tell her that we need all the help that we can get. She’ll come. She’s an Immortal.”
“What about Cass?” he
asked.
“Uh… From what I hear, Vampires are a little bit allergic to fire.”
“Right. Good point.”
“Wendy Cain! Don’t forget!”
Without another thought, I took off my leather jacket and ran toward the front door. The heat was intense. It was worse than reaching inside of a hot oven. My adrenaline kicked up as I looked around, trying to sense life around me. It was hard. I was so distracted. That was the very school that I’d gone to as a child. I remembered walking those halls. Now, the flames were everywhere, and the smoke made it nearly impossible to see. The fire was destroying one of the only good things that town had to offer. Opportunity.
Finally, I felt something, a spark. Several, actually. I turned to my left, avoiding the flames where I could. They were hot, but the building was built a long time ago, back when structure and integrity were something important. While it wouldn’t take too long for the school to become weak enough to fall, I knew that I had some time.
“Hello?” I called out as I ran down the halls, my eyes blurry and watering from the smoke. I doubted that a single soul could hear me over the blazing fire.
Again, I felt energy. It was coming from above me. I looked up, seeing only fire eating away at the floor, but there was something else.
Life.
Like a snake, I could see the glow from several humans. I ran further down the hall to the stairs. I turned and took them two at a time. I ran as fast as I could down the hall. The flames weren’t nearly as bad up there, which was lucky. It didn’t take long to find their room with the kids shining like a beacon to light my way.
I ran in the room, and the entire class had huddled in a corner. At least fifteen of them, the teacher, and what I assumed was a teaching assistant.
“Everybody up!” I shouted.
