Bitten & Smitten

by Michelle Rowen

  “And everyone else?”

  I tried to look serious. “Not nice.”

  “Good to know.”

  I felt a cold gust of air as the door opened. I glanced over to see three more men enter the already-crowded bar. They waved at Quinn and he waved back.

  The tequilas arrived with several wedges of lime on a plate.

  Quinn grabbed a saltshaker. “So this does the trick, huh?”

  “I’m not promising much with only one, but we’ll give it a try.”

  “What should we drink to?”

  I thought about it. “To new beginnings.”

  “Sounds good. To new beginnings.” We did the shot, sucked on the limes, and smiled at each other.

  Ten minutes later the cab hadn’t arrived yet, and we’d just done our third shot. I’d decided that Michael Quinn was going to be my new best friend. Part of my new life. In other words, I was almost completely drunk. I’ve always had a low tolerance for alcohol, so sue me.

  “What’ll we drink to this time?” Quinn slurred a little as the fourth round arrived. I had no idea how long he’d been sucking back beers before I’d even gotten there.

  “To my new life,” I said.

  “New life?” He held his shot in his shaky right hand. “Can you elaborate on that, Sarah Dearly?”

  I nodded. “Why, yes, I can. To my new life as a vampire, which quite possibly could have no end.” I raised my glass. “To my newly immortal life. May my retirement-savings plan pay off big-time for me.”

  Quinn nodded. “To Sarah being a vampire.” He clinked glasses with me and downed his shot.

  “Yes!” I tried to toss the tequila back, but most of it ended up on my shirt.

  “Now”—Quinn carefully placed his elbow on the bar top so he had a hand to lean against—“you really shouldn’t kid about something like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like being a vampire. That’s nothing to joke about.”

  “Who says I’m joking? I am a vampire.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “And yet… I am.” A wide, goofy smile spread across my features as I looked at Quinn.

  He stared at me with unfocused eyes. “You’re a vampire.”

  “Yup.”

  “You don’t look like a vampire.”

  I frowned at him. “And how do you expect a vampire to look?”

  “I don’t know.” Quinn leaned back in his stool to look me up and down. “More together somehow. Maybe all dressed in black. And fangs—shouldn’t you have fangs?”

  I shifted to cross my legs. It’s true, a sparkly Diva T-shirt and pink yoga pants didn’t really scream “creature of the night.” I had to get to the mall as soon as possible and expand my wardrobe possibilities.

  “Black makes me look too pale,” I explained. “And apparently the fangs take a while to sprout.”

  “I see.” He seemed to be mulling it over.

  “So, you believe me?”

  “Yes,” he said, and reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wooden stake. He placed it in front of him on the bar counter. “I guess so.”

  I sobered immediately at the sight of the stake. It was exactly like the ones White-teeth and the boys had used last night to turn poor Gordon into a dark, wet puddle outside the cemetery.

  Poor me.

  My initial reaction was to scream my head off, but instead I forced myself to laugh—it ended up sounding a little too hysterical to be lighthearted.

  “Did I say I was a vampire? That’s so funny. I’m actually supposed to take this medication. It’s around here somewhere.” I patted my empty pockets. “Delusions, you know. Weird, fleeting images in this crazy brain of mine. Only yesterday I thought I was Marie Antoinette.”

  “Uh-huh.” Quinn stared at me. “Delusions. Sure.”

  “Anyhow, it was super meeting you and all. Thanks for the drinks.” I glanced at the empty shot glasses and my half-full Bloody Mary, not such a good choice now that I thought about it. “I guess I better get back to the psychiatric hospital before they notice I’m gone.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “I’m not?” I grimaced as my gaze was drawn back to the very sharp stake.

  Not good. Not good at all. I began to think that maybe Quinn wouldn’t turn out to be my new best friend, after all. Call it a hunch.

  He leaned close to me so I could feel, as well as smell, his alcohol-laden breath as he spoke. “I kill vampires, you see. That’s why I’m in town. I like killing evil things, and I’m very good at it.”

  “Then it’s a good thing I was kidding earlier. About being a vampire, that is. I’ll just be on my way now.”

  I tried to move past him, but his iron bar of an arm blocked me.

  “Let’s go outside and do this proper.” Quinn’s eyes were narrow. Mean. The flirty friendliness that had been there only a few minutes before had completely vanished.

  I looked around the bar to see if there was anyone who would help, but no one even glanced in our direction.

  I turned to meet Quinn’s eyes. “I’m not evil. Please don’t hurt me.”

  He shook his head. “It’s too bad. You seemed so normal. If you hadn’t told me, I never would have guessed it.”

  “Can’t we just forget the whole thing?” I asked hopefully.

  “No.”

  Now I was freaked. This was the second time in two nights that I’d been cornered by a crazy man who wanted to kill me. I wondered if it was some kind of record. Only being a vampire for less than twenty-four hours before getting exterminated. Kind of made the whole immortal thing just a lot of hype.

  “Let’s go outside,” Quinn said.

  I shook my head vigorously. “No way. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Then this might have to get messy.”

  I swallowed hard and was ashamed to admit that tears were sliding down my cheeks. “What about everyone else in here? I think they’ll probably have something to say if you start manhandling me.”

  He glanced around and then back at me. His harsh expression didn’t flicker. Maybe he thought my tears were fake. Or maybe he was just an asshole. I was betting on the latter.

  “Anywhere else, you might be right. But you were stupid enough to walk into the local hangout for vampire hunters. I know most of the guys in here.”

  My eyes widened at that. The local hangout for vampire hunters was right across the street from Thierry’s secret vampire club? Talk about bad planning.

  Quinn gripped my upper arm so tightly, I thought I might lose the entire limb. He wasn’t taking any chances. For all he knew, I might have super vampire strength, or something.

  Hey, maybe I did.

  I focused all my strength on pulling away from him and throwing him across the room.

  Nope. No superstrength.

  Damn.

  He turned toward the door just as it opened. An older man with graying hair entered the bar and stared straight at Quinn. “I found you,” the man said. “About bloody time, too.”

  Quinn didn’t loosen his grip, but his expression changed at the sight of the man.

  The old man shook his head. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. You sicken me, boy. The others are out doing what has to be done, and you’re holed up here drinking yourself into oblivion with a local slut.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but immediately shut it. Sluts didn’t get wooden stakes shoved through their hearts. I decided to go with his first impression without argument.

  “But, Father, I—,” Quinn began.

  The man held up his hand. “Shut it, boy. Shut your pathetic mouth. There’s a rumor that you’ve turned into a coward. There is no place for scared little boys in my plan. We’re here to wipe out the dark forces and clean up the evil, once and for all.”

  “I know.” Quinn glanced at me, and I could see hatred in his eyes. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I’m—”

  His father closed the ga
p between us and grabbed Quinn by his T-shirt, pushing him up against the wall. Quinn lost his grip on my arm.

  “Don’t make me any more ashamed of you than I already am,” his father hissed. Then he glanced at me, barely making eye contact. “You. Get out of here if you know what’s good for you.”

  “But, Father—”

  “Be quiet,” his father growled.

  Quinn’s expression was different now. It could have been shame, but to me it looked more like hopelessness. I didn’t really care.

  I backed away from them, feeling for the door handle behind me. At any moment Quinn could have announced that I was a vampire, but he didn’t say another word. Not that his father would have given him half a chance. Looked like a real sweet relationship between the two of them. If you lived in hell.

  I turned and tried to walk as calmly as possible out to the street. The cab had arrived finally and was waiting for me. I climbed into the back and almost leaned forward to kiss the driver right on the lips, since I was so happy to see him, but I managed to stop myself. He wasn’t my type, anyhow.

  No, my type seemed to be the ones who wanted me dead.

  It had turned into one hell of a week. Thank God it was Friday.

  Chapter 6

  As soon as the cab dropped me off at my building, I ran for the elevator and took it up to my apartment, then locked the door behind me.

  I’d been so stupid giving Quinn my real name. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  The only thing that kept me from hyperventilating about my monstrous lack of intelligence was the fact that his father had a real hold on him. He probably wouldn’t let my new admirer out of his sight long enough to come looking for me.

  I hoped.

  I felt tense. My shoulders were in knots. I’d normally take a long, hot bubble bath while I read the latest issue of Cosmopolitan to help calm myself down, but this was no time for relaxation. For all I knew, Quinn had followed me home and was on his way up here to add a little more grain to my diet. Wood grain, that is.

  I threw my purse into the corner of my tiny living room, but then had a thought and ran to grab it again. I searched frantically for the business card, but after a minute I gave up. It was gone. Somewhere between here and the vampire club.

  I went to the phone and called information. They gave me the number for Midnight Eclipse Tanning Salon on Lakeside Drive

  . I wrote it down on a yellow sticky note and put it on my fridge, then began to peck out the numbers on my cordless phone.

  I was calling Thierry. He’d know what I should do.

  It rang once before I hung up. I couldn’t call him. He’d think I was crazier than ever. No, this was my problem. There was no way I was going to bother him again. At least not until tomorrow night.

  I went to sit on the sofa and turned on the television. The eleven o’clock news was just finishing for the night. I clicked around for a while, but then gave up and turned it off. I crossed my legs, grabbed one of my big embroidered pillows, and hugged it tightly to my chest like a makeshift teddy bear. If only that would help me chase all the monsters away.

  Except now I was the monster. I made a mental note to rent all the vampire movies I could over the weekend. Research material.

  Every noise, every creak through the apartment, even the sounds that carried up from the street below, made me jump. There was no way I was getting any sleep that night. I was way too wired. It was good, though. I was ready to react. By instinct. Protect myself. Fight for my life, and all that.

  Nobody was going to sneak up on me. That was for sure. Just let ‘em try.

  But after half an hour, my eyelids began to feel heavy.

  I fought for a while, but ended up closing diem. I hugged the pillow tighter to my chest and drifted off to sleep.

  Well, I had had four tequila shots and half a Bloody Mary. I was a vampire, not a machine.

  When I woke up, the sun was streaming through the glass door to my balcony. My legs were still on the sofa, but the rest of me hung off so that the side of my face was pressed into the beige carpet. And I was drooling. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

  I pushed myself up. My neck was killing me from being in such an awkward position. I shielded my eyes from the blazing sun.

  There was a loud and insistent knock at my door. Who the hell was it? Nobody usually knocked at my door unless they rang up from the lobby first.

  Unless…

  I stood up so quickly that I felt a wave of dizziness. I’d almost forgotten about last night. It was Quinn. He’d found me. He’d come to kill me. What was I going to do?

  Defend myself, that’s what. He might be a macho vampire hunter, but this was my apartment. I glanced around. Yeah, my tiny, six-hundred-square-foot rented apartment. There wasn’t anywhere to hide, so I suppose defending myself was my only option.

  The knock came again. The weight of fear felt as if it added about twenty pounds to me. I waddled over to the kitchen and opened the utensil drawer. There had to be a knife in there. A big knife.

  I frowned. There was nothing. Didn’t I have any big knives? What kind of a cook was I? Oh, yeah, the kind who ordered takeout.

  I settled on a lethal-looking pie lifter I’d once received as a crappy gift. It was sort of pointy. It would do. Once, in a movie, I saw someone get stabbed to death with a cob of corn. A pie lifter was much more dangerous than that.

  There was another knock. I moved toward the door to look through the peephole to see who it was.

  If I look through the peephole, he’ll poke my eye out. Stab me right through my brain. The gory visual was enough to make me shudder.

  Just a quick peep. Look and move. Peek and hide.

  Clutching my pie lifter, I neared the door. When I was only inches away, the banging came again, and I almost jumped out of my skin. I let out a shriek and clamped my hands over my mouth. The lifter fell and clattered noisily to the ceramic-tiled floor.

  Shit.

  The knocking stopped.

  “Sarah?” Amy called through the door. “Are you in there? Open up!”

  My eyes widened, and I let out a sigh of relief long and loud enough to wake the neighbors, if they hadn’t already been woken up by all the door pounding. I unlatched the safety lock and twisted the handle.

  Amy stood in the hallway, rubbing her red knuckles.

  “I’ve been worried sick about you,” she scolded, then breezed past me into the apartment. “Why didn’t you answer the door, you big loser?”

  “I was asleep.”

  “I’ve been trying to talk to you since you disappeared from work yesterday. I’ve called you, like, a bazillion times. I even stopped by yesterday before my date, but you weren’t here.”

  “Oh.” I brightened. “How was your date? The dentist, right?”

  She pouted. “He thought I needed braces. He was most definitely not the one.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Tell me about it.” She frowned at me, the corners of her pink-lipsticked mouth going down. “Hey, wait a minute, we’re talking about you. Why didn’t you call me back?”

  “I’m sorry, really. I’ve had a lot of stuff to take care of.”

  She threw herself dramatically on my sofa, and I decided to make coffee. Alcohol at night. Caffeine in the morning. The yin-yang of my life. My hands were shaking as I measured it out from the can.

  I wondered if she’d had breakfast yet. And this is when I realized how long it’d been since I’d eaten. Not since that Mexican meal with Gordon. I wasn’t hungry. Maybe I’d never be hungry again.

  Amy watched me, silent but curious, while the coffee brewed. I tried not to make eye contact. I’d decided not to tell her about my little predicament. At least, not yet. I didn’t know how she’d take the news that her best friend was a vampire. Knowing Amy—she’d either think it was cool, or she’d run screaming for the hills and I’d never see her again. The last time I’d announced that I was a vampire loud and proud, I’d nearly gotten myself sliced and dic
ed. Not that I expected Amy to do anything weird, but… I don’t know. It just wasn’t the right time.

  I poured us each a mug and topped them both off with cream and sugar—we took our coffee the same way. Her eyes didn’t leave me for a moment as I handed her a mug. She was waiting for the big explanation. We normally told each other everything that happened in our lives. Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to be one of those times.

  “Well?” she finally asked, her eyebrow held high in silent accusation.

  “Well, what?” I sipped my coffee. It tasted weak and slid unpleasantly down to my stomach. I placed the mug down on the coffee table.

  “I was worried about you.”

  “Yeah, you already said that. I’m fine.”

  “Ms. Saunders isn’t talking about what happened. Why did you get fired?”

  I paused for a moment while I came up with something that sounded logical. “She didn’t like the job I was doing. She fired me. End of story.”

  Amy exhaled deeply and her usual bright, shiny smile returned to her face. “I knew it had to be something like that. You would not believe what everyone is saying about you.”

  “What are they saying?”

  She shook her head. “You don’t want to know. Really. But I’d stay clear from Sally in accounting, if you catch my drift.”

  I didn’t, but decided to let it go. I didn’t want to catch any drift that had to do with “Skanky Sally.”

  “Okay, so you got fired because Saunders is a bitch.”

  “Essentially.”

  “That still doesn’t explain where you’ve been since yesterday and why you haven’t returned any of my calls. Don’t you know it’s rude to just disappear when people are worried about you?”

  “Sorry, I… I’ve been around. But I’ve just been a little too upset to pick up the phone. I guess I’ve been feeling sorry for myself.”

  She drank her coffee but didn’t comment on the weak taste. Maybe it was just my taste buds that were faulty this morning.

  She squinted at me. “You look different.”

  “I do?” My hand went immediately to my hair.

  “Yeah.” She leaned closer. “Actually, you look amazing.”

  My eyebrows went up at that. “Amazing? And that’s different than normal? Gee, thanks.”