What right did she have to barge in on her sister? Did she even want to find out what was actually happening? Maybe she should just pound on the door. But was that fair? Hadn’t Alisha defied Roman to love Sin?
“Ugh!” Wringing her hands, she headed back to the party. “Fuck!”
If Roman wanted to know where Vanora was, Alisha knew she’d lie to protect her sister’s privacy. She hated being in this situation, but how could she deny her sister’s right to self-determination? And though it pained her to admit, she was fairly certain Armando had feelings for Vanora.
Entering the ballroom, Alisha shut the doors behind her. Sheila spotted her and gave her two thumbs up.
Roman drifted into the ballroom from the patio, his arm protectively around Carlotta’s waist. The new vampire was gazing at him with adoration and Roman was clearly smitten by her. Alisha gave him a slight smile when he glanced her way, but she laughed out loud when he winked at her. It had been so long since she’d seen him so happy that it sparked a bit of joy inside her.
“Stop freaking out,” she chided herself.
Everything was fine with her siblings.
Angel moonwalked in her direction, and she moved forward to rejoin him on the dance floor.
The doors to the ballroom exploded inward and a huge black vampire named Ben barreled into the room. “I’ve got him! I’ve got him!”
“What?” Alisha stared at him in confusion.
“Some asshole dressed like a clown was trying to get some kids into his van just down the street from the house! Me and Tracy saw him!” Ben exclaimed furiously, waving a huge hand toward the doorway.
The room was absolutely frozen. Sheila even killed the music. The silence was as disconcerting as the burning red eyes of the large vampire looming before Alisha. No one moved as a female vampire, who had recently joined Roman’s family, entered with a middle-aged man dressed in a clown suit cowering in her fierce grasp. Gagged with the sash from Ben’s pirate costume, the clown thrashed about trying to break free.
“That’s the guy from the paper!” Sheila declared.
Ben paced in a tight circle around Tracy and her captive. “I found the bastard bribing four Trick ‘r Treaters! I clearly heard him ask sick sex shit in exchange for these huge bags of candy. He was telling them it was going to be fun!”
“I heard him, too.” Tracy dragged the guy across the floor to the center of the dance floor. Her sexy pirate costume was a little bit mussed, but her glowing red eyes and sharp teeth made the issue moot.
Alisha could feel the anger in the room building. It licked her skin like fire and she felt her fangs descending. Frightened, she stumbled back against the refreshment table.
“There was another guy with him, but he ran when Tracy grabbed this one. Zachary went after the other guy. Can you believe this? Two assholes hunting children in our city!” Ben stalked about, obviously enraged.
“What does he have to say for himself?” Angel asked, his dark eyes burning with hunger.
“Let’s find out,” Ben said, yanking the gag out of the captive’s mouth.
“Who are you people?” the man shrieked.
“You don’t want to know!” Sheila grinned, baring her teeth at him.
“Oh, you think that scares me! Fake fangs! I know my rights, you stupid bitch! Let me go, or I’m going to sue all of you!”
Annoyed, Sheila spit out her fake fangs.
Ben was in a state of fury. “He had fucking sick stuff in his car! A camera with photos of kids in it! Look! Polaroids, too!” Jerking the photographs from his pocket, Ben threw them on the floor.
“And they call us monsters!” Sheila raged. Alexander tried to calm her but she yanked her arm away. She came around the DJ equipment in a fury, her black cape swirling around her thin frame. “You fucked up assholes screwing with kids ought to be castrated and left to bleed to death!”
The others vampires gathered closer to the clown, murmuring among themselves. Instead of music, the room vibrated with strong, violent emotions. Vampires were very emotional about children. Unable to conceive, Sheila had explained to Alisha that children were elevated to almost religious icons in the eyes of many of the vampires. Children were strictly off limits and any vampire who hurt a child was immediately killed.
“Look, bitch, I don’t have to answer to you or anyone else here!” The clown was very sure of himself, seemingly not afraid at all. “Why don’t you call the cops? I’ll be out by morning if you do. I know my rights!”
The vampires were growing angrier as the disgusting little man in the clown suit belligerently shouted at them.
“Mother fucker, you have no rights here!” Sheila answered menacingly.
“Someone tell this bitch to shut her mouth!” the clown shouted.
The vampires were silent, their fierce eyes focused the mortal in their midst.
“I would have snapped his neck, but I remember what we used to do in days gone by.” Ben directed his gaze at Roman, who’d been silent throughout the tirades. “We don’t let his kind live.”
Angel smiled slowly. “I remember it well.”
Alisha began to feel dizzy. The bloodlust was growing in the room.
“All that he’s good for is his blood!” Ben declared.
“Roman, say something,” Alisha pleaded.
The costumed vampires swiveled toward Roman, waiting.
“Roman?”
43
“I can’t stop kissing you,” Armando complained.
Vanora giggled. “Well, I need to freshen up before Roman comes looking for me. We’ve been in here for like an hour.”
Armando reluctantly let her slide off his lap, but rose with her, kissing the back of her neck and shoulders fervently. Vanora playfully tried to fight him off, but he followed her into the small bathroom connected to the library. It only had a sink and toilet and was quite small, but he stepped inside anyway. Flipping on the light, Vanora quickly saw that her makeup was done for. Running the water, she used a hand towel to wipe off the rest of her smeared cosmetics.
Armando buried his face in her neck, his arms wrapped around her breasts, lightly stroking them with his fingers. “We can sneak up to your room.”
“Like he’d never come looking for us there.”
“My apartment.”
“Where is it?”
Rinsing off the towel, she raised her gaze to the mirror. Eyes slightly widening, Vanora stared at the faint reflection of the vampire. Lifting her hand, she nestled her fingers in his hair, watching her image interacting with the ghostly image. Another reminder that nothing about them was normal.
“Near downtown. Far from here. Let’s go there.”
Vanora was mesmerized by Armando’s transparent form as he kissed his way across her shoulders and neck lovingly. “I’m sure my brother would just love to find out that I ran off with you during his party and that you sexed me up once or twice.”
“Three times so far tonight.” Armando kissed her slightly damp cheek.
“Walking may be an issue tomorrow,” Vanora grunted, but she had to admit the soreness was a pleasing sting.
Burying his fingers in her hair, Armando’s lips trailed along her hairline. “I’ll carry you wherever you want to go.”
Vanora dabbed at her eyes, trying to clean off as much of her black mascara and eyeliner as possible. “That wouldn’t be awkward at all.
“Don’t go to Austin,” he said, his lovely accented voice suddenly somber.
Vanora could see his golden eyes watching her every move. “You mean not go to school?”
“Stay in Houston and go to school here.”
Flattered at his request, but uneasy at his tone, she said, “What will be my excuse?”
“That we’re together.”
His answer heightened the flush of her cheeks. It was difficult to believe the words he was saying, yet the look in his eyes said it was the truth. “So Roman can kill both of us?” Vanora managed to remove most of the black ma
scara, revealing her white lashes. Blinking, she felt slightly frightened at the thought of Roman finding out she was in love with Armando.
“We can go far away together. I’m rich. You will be rich.” Armando turned her about and lifted her onto the edge of the sink, pulling her legs around his waist.
“Oh?” Vanora narrowed her eyes at him mockingly. “Are you trying to hook up with me for my money?”
“Actually, your breasts.” Armando seized one of her pale pink nipples with his teeth.
Shuddering, she gasped, “Stop that! We’ll never make it back to the party!”
Lifting his head, he stared into her eyes. “I don’t want to go back to the party.”
Again his kisses left her breathless.
“The party…” she murmured. She was lost in him and knew it. Nothing in her world made sense anymore. All her plans seemed so unfulfilling in the light of his love. She wanted him but didn’t know what that truly meant.
“Vanora, run away with me.” Armando wasn’t teasing her. He was incredibly serious. His finely shaped lips were in a somber line, his gaze direct, demanding a positive answer.
Was this it? The moment when reality would rear its ugly head? Or was this the moment she tossed all caution and familial expectation to the wind and did something crazy?
“Is this because Roman is going to kill you?” Vanora tucked her hands into the small of his back and drew him closer to rest her chin on his chest.
“No, it’s just that if we are to be together, we need to leave Houston. Leave the States actually.”
The edge of the sink was uncomfortable, but Vanora didn’t want to shift away from Armando. She loved him with all her heart, but did he love her?
“Why?”
Raising his eyes, Armando lifted one shoulder. “Because your brother is going to kill me.”
“Is that the only reason?”
Hanging his head, Armando sighed.
“Armando?”
“Do you love me?”
“Of course!”
“Then leave with me tonight. I’ll show you the world by starlight. Make love to you by moonlight. We’ll be together.” His golden eyes peered straight into hers, pleading, loving, and perhaps a little afraid.
“I’m seventeen.”
“I’m over four hundred. Eternally old according to you.”
Vanora melted under his kisses and she felt his erection pressing against her. She was sore but craved him inside her again.
“Leave with me,” Armando whispered against her lips.
Again, the image of her falling into his emptiness and filling him with light flashed through her mind.
“Why do you want me to go with you?” she asked, at last, needing to hear the words he had yet to say.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Vanora was about to answer when abruptly she lost her vision. Armando’s face disappeared into a blur. Fear and rage tore at her. Trembling violently, she almost threw up.
“Vanora, what is it?” Armando’s voice sounded tinny.
Gasping for breath, Vanora shook her head violently. “It’s…out there. Something bad.”
Angry, fearsome shouting sounded somewhere in the house.
“I’ll go check on it. Stay here!” Armando helped her down, then pushed her onto the closed lid of the toilet.
“Armando!” Vanora cried out. “Don’t go out there!” Fright filled her. “Something monstrous is out there!”
A voice inside her was screaming in terror. If Armando left, she’d lose him.
“Armando!”
Armando heard her admonitions, but he was in a panic. If his Master had arrived early, he wasn’t sure what he could do to protect Vanora. Tugging on his jeans and t-shirt, he fought the fear swelling within him. He shoved his feet into his boots and gathered Vanora’s things, including the necklace and bracelet she had discarded. He used the hem of her dress to lift the jewelry off the bookcase. There was no way he’d leave her defenseless.
Returning to the small bathroom, he was struck once more by her beauty. Slender limbed and fine-boned, she was so delicate in appearance. The long whitish hair, lavender eyes, and snowy eyelashes made her even more ethereal. Kneeling before her, he pressed her jewelry into her hands, careful not to touch it directly. The muted pink of her lips compelled him to kiss her, but he knew he had to discover the source of the ever louder shouts.
“I need to go see what is happening,” he said, willing her to understand.
Shaking her head, she stared at him blindly. “It’s…terrible. Don’t go. Please.”
The desire to flee with her was overwhelming, yet it was Alisha’s voice he heard crying out Roman’s name. He couldn’t abandon his friends, Vanora’s siblings.
“Vanora, I will always protect you,” he swore.
Her slim fingers found his face and he kissed her palm. Her warmth enthralled him, but he couldn’t allow himself to stay. If his Master was in the house Armando knew he was going to die, but he wouldn’t fall without trying to protect her.
“Armando, don’t go,” she pleaded one last time.
He kissed her and wanted to keep kissing her, but instead, he left her alone in the small bathroom. Unlocking the library door, he slipped into the hall and hurried toward the ballroom.
44
“Roman?” Alisha’s voice cried out.
Roman could feel her fear, but it was not nearly as intoxicating as that of the mortal before him. Struggling to control the growing hunger pulsating inside of him, Roman took a step toward the clown. “It’s not our place to bring justice to him. We’ll call the police. We have evidence”
“You ain’t got a thing on me,” the clown spat out. “Nothing!”
“The photos,” Angel said, pointing.
“You can’t prove those are mine!”
“Fingerprints, that sort of thing,” a vampire said, sneering. “Sure we can.”
“You can’t let him go!” Sheila protested. “Roman, he’s not human. He’s vermin.”
There were murmurs of agreement from many of the vampires.
Struggling to contain his own emotions, Roman vehemently shook his head. “We can’t take justice into our own hands.”
“Roman,” Alisha said in a stricken voice. “He’s seen you.”
Lifting his hand to his face, Roman realized he had removed his mask and hat while speaking to Carlotta.
“Yeah, I saw all your faces!” the clown grinned with triumph. “I’ll tell the cops you kidnapped me.”
Roman shoved his hands through his dark hair, uncertainty clawing at him. Could they risk bringing the authorities into the mansion? Wouldn’t it put them all at risk?
“Got him! We got him!” Zachary bust into the room, dragging yet another man dressed as a clown. The redhead from East Texas was dressed like Woody from Toy Story, but the savageness in his eyes wasn’t innocent.
The fragrance of human blood filled Roman’s nostrils, making his head swim with the hunger. Blood dotted the second prisoner’s outfit. His cheek was badly scraped and bruised, leaking fresh blood.
“Larry,” the new captive moaned, obviously far more frightened than the first man.
Roman had a feeling Zachary had let his prey know that he was a true vampire while subduing him.
“Shut up,” the first clown hissed. “Just shut up.”
“They ain’t human, Larry. They ain’t human.”
The scent of the blood was so overwhelming Roman could actually taste it on his tongue. He wasn’t the only one. The other vampires had gone eerily still, their gaze fastened to the two men.
“Just what the hell is going on here? I know my rights! I want the hell out of here!” Larry tried to break free of Tracy, violently twisting about.
With a smirk, she deliberately released his arm. “Try to leave.”
Zachery let go of the second prisoner as well. “Try to go.”
Falling to his knees, the man began to weep while Larry rushed to his side. �
�Get up, Will.”
“They’re not going to let us go,” Will said in a hoarse voice. Yanking off his red fuzzy wig, he revealed dirty blond hair. “We’re going to die.”
“They can’t hurt us!” Larry shouted angrily. “You can’t hurt us! We’re American citizens.”
“They’re not human,” Will sobbed. “They’re not human.”
Beads of sweat slipping down over his brow, the man in the decrepit clown suit slowly backed toward the hallway, abandoning his partner. A vampire dressed as Cleopatra darted with vampire swiftness to block his path. She shoved him to the center of the ballroom as the vampires drifted forward to encircle him.
Wincing with pain, Larry climbed to his feet. Nearby, Will continued to sob.
“I want to go right now! You don’t have a right to keep me here! You aren’t the cops! And I know my rights!”
The molester rushed several vampires and tried to thrust them aside, but they tossed him back into the center of the circle.
Rocking back and forth, his eyes darting all around, Will wailed while Larry paced around the interior of the perimeter the vampires had formed.
“You ain’t got the right to keep me here!”
Roman stood at the edge of the gathered vampires, trying to look away. The blood fever was pulsating all around him. The disgusting perverts’ hearts were thundering with fear, further fueling the bloodlust. The clown’s quick, darting movements mesmerized Roman. He had to fight the urge to pounce on him and rip his throat out.
Again the molester made an attempt to break through the vampires. This time he tried to shove Alisha out of the way, but with an angry hiss, she sent him sprawling across the floor with a vicious blow.
Seeing the monster in his sister’s face, Roman discovered his waning humanity. “Wait! Wait! We can’t do this! I’ll call the police! We’ll show them what we have in way of evidence!” Roman pushed his way through the crowd. His face was strained, his eyes burning. The hunger roared inside, begging to be sated.
Alexander gazed at the photos Ben had tossed on the floor and a single, diamond tear tinted with the sheen of red fell from his eyes. Deliberately he raised his head, his eyes glowing. A low growl erupting from his throat, he reached out to Sheila, who took his hand.
Vampire in the Night: In Darkness We Must Abide, #1 Page 28
