The hallway outside my front door was an indoor corridor. There were no cameras. I’d checked and would periodically do so to make sure I was safe.
I didn’t keep much inside it but it was a fully furnished apartment, which was just how it came. My closet was stocked with clothes I’d specifically bought and kept there, never to be intermingled with my regular outfits. And the master bathroom was filled with my makeup, wigs, and prosthetics.
When I exited the building a half hour later, I was unrecognizable—with new facial features, different hair, colored contacts, and a change of clothes; I left in the sedan from my assigned parking space. If anyone was watching the building, waiting for me to emerge, then they’d be waiting several hours and would have missed everything I was about to do.
It was midmorning and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, which was good for my mission. There were quite a few vampires nowadays with access to the sun serum, but they didn’t want to waste it when they didn’t have to. Most still avoided the sun whenever they could.
I’d tracked the movements of Mr. Burgess several times, enough to know there was a good chance he’d be spending his morning indoors. He was one of our members, and he’d recently been coerced into giving insider information about Fangloria to the Los Angeles consul for the Vampire Order, Gideon Brent. We knew that the Order had been looking into our operation and had been working to turn our exclusive clients against us, acting as informants. We determined that Mr. Burgess was one of them.
I arrived at his door and innocently rang the doorbell. By the second time, he was annoyed enough to answer it. As soon as he did, I hit him with several sleeper bullets from my sound-suppressed 9mm—the same one I’d used on Matthew several months back.
He had no idea what hit him as he stumbled backward, crashing into furniture before finally crumpling to the floor. I glanced around to make sure no one had seen me, stepped into the apartment, and shut the door.
“I’m sure you don’t recognize me, Mr. Burgess. But we’ve met before,” I said, stalking into the room with my gun still outstretched. You just couldn’t be too careful with these creatures; they could turn on you fast.
“Your voice is familiar,” he groaned, still trying to back up along the floor as I approached, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
“You probably won’t be able to place it, but I’m here on behalf of Susan Winter,” I said. “You’ve been talking to the Order about Fangloria.”
“No—it’s not true,” he pleaded. “I would never do that. I value my membership too much.”
“Well, I’m not here to negotiate—that’s above my paygrade—but to collect.” I stood over him as he gazed up at me with fearful eyes.
“What did you hit me with?” His voice was weak. He probably hadn’t felt such fear since he was human.
“Something to keep you from healing and attacking me,” I said, squatting to his level. “If you try anything, I’ll empty this clip into your face. Do you understand?”
Mr. Burgess nodded.
“Are you going to cooperate?”
He nodded again.
“Good.” I stared straight into his bloodshot eyes. “Where’s your keycard?”
He looked horrified at the question, mumbling a little before actually answering. “In—in the top drawer of my dresser.”
“Can you walk?”
He tried to get to a seated position but fell back to the floor in pain.
“That’s fine,” I said. “Stay here. And don’t even think about trying anything while I’m gone.” As a warning, I put one more shot into his left thigh, causing him to shriek—and forcing me to cover his mouth until he quieted down.
As soon as Mr. Burgess was somewhat calm, I ventured into the bedroom and opened the top drawer to his dresser. I waded through his assortment of clothes and found the exclusive member’s keycard. Satisfied the card was back in our possession, I stuffed it into my pocket and returned to the vampire on the living room floor.
“Please don’t take it from me,” he pleaded. “It’s the last good thing in my life.”
I’m sorry,” I said. “But your membership has been revoked.” At that point, I almost thought he was going to cry, the most pathetic sight I’d ever seen. With everything these creatures were capable of, crying should have been stripped from their arsenal.
This wasn’t a personal visit. I had nothing to savor. So, I pumped several sleeper bullets into his vampire heart, knocking him out cold and stopping his pleas for mercy. The wood casings would dissolve in four to six hours, but he would be gone long before then.
I examined the windows for the best line of direct sunlight and threw open the curtains. Then I dragged the unconscious vampire into the light before leaving him to his burning fate. The evidence would be gone soon enough, nothing left but ash that could easily be swept away. It's interesting how they burn to ash without catching fire, so their deaths don’t end up torching their surroundings.
Mr. Burgess was the last informant on our current list, so he was my one and only collection for the day.
I returned to my staging apartment and removed the disguise, put on the clothes I’d originally come in with, and sauntered into the parking lot as cool as could be. With dark sunglasses, I glanced around the lot as I approached my Volvo, not noticing anything amiss. I hadn’t seen Matthew following me for weeks, figuring his failed strike against Damien and Clementine had been taking up much of his time. His preoccupation was allowing me to move more freely again, not that he’d ever been able to encumber me to a great degree.
From the apartment, I headed to the club and updated my files to log the confiscated keycard. IT would then download all of Mr. Burgess’s information and bring the card back to its default settings, ready for the next member.
Just as I turned toward the door to drop off the card to IT, I flinched at the sight of Frederick standing in the doorway.
“Dammit, Frederick. Why do you insist on doing that?” I chided, then rose from my desk chair.
“To keep you on your toes,” he said with a wry grin. “I can’t have you getting complacent.”
“Of all the things I am, complacent is not one of them. And for your information, Mr. Burgess is taken care of.” I held up the keycard. “I’ll have it reprogrammed.”
“Good. Hopefully, we’ve plucked out the eyes that the Order has within our operation.” Frederick crossed his arms and leaned his shoulder against the door frame. “But that’s not my only concern right now.”
“What else is hot?” I asked.
“I’m concerned about Fiona.”
“She’ll come around. We’re asking a lot of her and it will take some time for it to sink in. But she hasn’t spoken a word of our arrangement yet. She’s kept the secret all summer. She won’t defect now. She’ll come around.”
“I wish I could share your confidence,” Frederick said, his expression growing dark—an expression I knew all too well.
“She’ll get you to the portal,” I said. “I’ll make sure of it.”
His face lightened as he stepped into my office and warmly took my face in his hands. “I know I can always count on you. That’s why you’re my Clementine,” he said and kissed me.
“And you’re mine—Mr. Damien Galt,” I said, then returned the kiss.
16
Sean
The night I had at Fangloria was unreal and I wanted to go back so badly. I’d never hooked up with two girls simultaneously; to be with girls as gorgeous as Taylor and Lacy was unreal. These were no high school girls, either. They were older, exotic, and experienced. It was one hell of a night to remember.
There were certainly some weird characters there, with some pretty questionable interactions taking place, but all in all, everyone seemed to be having a good time. I wasn’t going to judge the fetishes of others when I had such beautiful girls on my arms. All over me, in fact, practically ripping off my clothes in the open club.
Even though I was leaving for
New York, I still asked for phone numbers, email addresses, Facebook profiles—anything that would allow me to contact either one of them again. But they wouldn’t hear of it. They didn’t want to sully the fantastic evening with follow-up phone calls and awkward conversations. The magic of the evening was gone by sunrise and all I was left with were bite marks and memories.
I couldn’t believe it took Fiona seeing me in that club to finally text me—and she had wanted me to leave. Thank God I hadn’t received those texts earlier in the night. Thank God she hadn’t approached me and told me to get out of there herself because I probably would have listened. There was obviously something about the club she didn’t like, but I thought it was absolutely amazing. The 100-dollar cover charge ended up being worth it after all.
I told Harrison that when we came back for Thanksgiving break, we had to go visit the place again. He just had to make sure not to mess things up with Amaya in the meantime.
Over the next two days, I wasn’t thinking about the upcoming school year and wasn’t worried about my cross-country drive. All I could think about was my night at the club and how it had opened my eyes to the kinds of carnal encounters out there, awakening desires I didn’t even know I had.
I picked up the small U-Haul trailer early in the morning, Dad helping me load it up. It didn’t take long since I didn’t have much stuff to bring. The dorms would have all the furniture I needed, so all I required were clothes and personal items. When we were done, the trailer was only half full, though it was more than I could have fitted in my sedan alone.
We went out to lunch as a family—Mom, Dad, Emma, and Erica. We talked about how quickly the fall semester would go by and how it would be Thanksgiving before we knew it. I now couldn’t wait to come home, but for another reason. At one point, Mom started to cry, but Erica made a joke and quickly got her laughing instead. Once the food was gone and the bill was paid, everyone remained seated—all of us just looking awkwardly at each other. No one wanted to leave, because once we did, then it was time for me to go.
When we finally did get home, Alexis was sitting on the front porch, her arms wrapped around her knees, which were nearly up to her chin.
“Just give me a few minutes,” I said as I exited the car. “I’ll come get you when I’m ready to leave.”
“Don’t you dare try to sneak away,” Mom said, her eyes glossy again.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said and made my way over to Alexis. “I thought we already said our goodbyes.”
“We did, but I wanted to see you off,” she said. “It didn’t feel right to miss it.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” I said, giving her a hug when she rose to greet me. “We’ve been through a lot together. I hope I can find a friend in New York half as cool as you.”
“Half as cool I will allow,” she said with a sly smile. “Any more than that and there will be trouble.”
We hugged again, but this time she grabbed me tight and didn’t want to let go. Within seconds, she was sniffling into my shoulder. I vowed that no matter what happened, she wasn’t going to make me cry too.
“Have you heard from Fiona?” Alexis asked without lifting her head off my shoulder.
“She texted me,” I said, but I wasn’t about to elaborate what those texts were about—that they had nothing to do with me leaving.
“That’s it?” Her head shot up, her expression aghast. “I can’t believe after all these years, that’s how you two are going to leave things.”
“I know I was initially at fault,” I said, backing away from her. “I took responsibility and I did what I could to win her back. But she doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore. She’s moved on, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“I know she still cares for you,” Alexis said. “You can’t be inseparable for as long as you two and not have some lingering feelings.”
“Well, she’s given no indication of that. But whatever—I’m over it. Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be. I’m glad you’re here and that’s all that matters.”
“I’m sorry, Sean.” She lowered her eyes and shook her head. “I wish things had worked out differently.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that—if she was talking about Fiona and me, or us, the two best friends who’d never taken that leap into becoming a couple. I didn’t want to read too much into it and wasn’t going to ask her to clarify. So, I simply said, “Things worked out the way they were supposed to.”
After another tearful hug—her tears, not mine—I went back inside to get my family. The situation was getting too emotional and I just needed to cut the cord. It was time to get on the road. We did hugs all around, and I ended with Alexis.
“Drive safely,” Mom called as I climbed into my car. “And call us every night when you stop.”
“I will,” I said after rolling down the passenger window.
“And don’t forget about us,” Alexis said.
“Impossible,” I said, waved, and pulled away from the curb. As I drove away, I glanced into the rearview mirror, at everyone still standing in the grass—and for a split second, I could picture Fiona there with them.
17
Fiona
I went to Hot Coffee to have some pleasant interactions with my friends but instead got a hearty scolding from Alexis for not saying goodbye to Sean in person. Apparently, I’d had the gall to say goodbye to him over text messages. I didn’t correct her to say I hadn’t even done that.
“After all you’ve been through together, you don’t even give him a proper goodbye?” she said, as disapproving as I’d ever heard her. “I know you’re not his girlfriend anymore, but you should still be his friend. He’s left for college. He’s driving clear across the country. Things will never be the same again.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” I said. “I know things are changing and it’s time to embrace it.”
“The girl cut ties—nice and clean—why’s that such a crime?” Candace asked, walking up from the espresso bar.
“Because you don’t do that to friends,” Alexis argued.
“She just did that to us—temporarily anyway,” Candace shot back. “We were all pissed for a minute or two, but we got over it. She had her reasons then and she’s got her reasons now. Right, Fee?”
“I was never mean to him,” I said.
“He said you don’t want anything to do with him anymore. That’s what he thinks,” Alexis said.
“I don’t want to be his girlfriend anymore, but he’ll always hold a special place in my heart.”
“Gag me,” Candace said, jabbing a finger in her mouth.
“That’s what I told him, but he wouldn’t believe me,” Alexis said. “Whatever. He’s gone now, and he thinks you hate him.”
“I don’t hate him,” I said. “But he can believe what he wants. I’m not going to coddle his emotional neediness.”
“He’s not emotionally needy,” Alexis said.
“He kinda is,” Candace chimed in. “Remember when he was all over you before Fiona here took him off your hands?”
“It wasn’t like that. We were friends.”
“Oh, come on!”
“He totally liked you,” I said. “Even I knew that.”
“What?” Alexis cried. “It was so not like that!”
“God, I can hear the squawking from outside,” an irritatingly familiar voice said. I glanced over to see Mallory approaching the register. “Don’t the three of you have things to clean or something? What do we even pay you for?”
“I don’t work here anymore, remember?” I said, sourly.
“That’s right,” she said with her superior smirk. “But you’ll always look like you do. Where’s Eli when I need him? I’d like to get a chai I can actually drink.”
“You love my saliva,” Candace said. “Don’t deny it.”
“I’m coming!” Eli called from the office. When he came rushing behind the counter, he eyed Candace with surprise.
“You actually have both feet on the ground.”
“I know. I’m full of surprises today,” Candace said, then hopped up onto the counter as soon as Eli got to the espresso bar to start Mallory’s chai latte.
“She did it again,” I heard Mallory say to Eli, leaning against the bar and watching him work.
“Candace!” Eli yelled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Candace said, slinking back down to the floor.
Mallory smirked at me and tipped her paper cup as she made her way for the door. As soon as she walked out, I sprang from my barstool and chased after her. She was two stores down when I caught up and cornered her.
“Why are we doing this again?” I demanded. “I thought we were past this petty grudge.”
“Petty grudge?” Mallory asked. “Do you remember the story I told you? How your mother ruined my family?”
“Yeah, my mother did some pretty awful things—and more that I’m just finding out about—but I thought we were connecting. I thought our time together in the hospital had actually accomplished something.”
“It did. It showed me that I have as much reason to hate you as I do your mother,” she said. “I’ve been angry with my own mother for a long time, but I still loved her. She died while I was in that Goddamn asylum. Everyone was able to see her in the hospital before she died except me. Now she’s gone and I’m the only one who didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“I didn’t—”
“It’s your fault I was put in there. You and that bloodsucker and his Assemblywoman pet,” Mallory spat. “So, no, we’re not good. We’ll never be good. And if you don’t get the hell out of my way, I’ll throw you to the ground in front of all these people.”
As angry as I was, I felt for her and knew there was nothing I could do. Her blame was misplaced, but her anguish very real. No matter how livid I was with my own mother at that time, I still couldn’t imagine losing her. I didn’t attempt to further the argument and stepped aside.
Angeles Betrayal Page 9
