by Rhys Ford
But the parenting blogs all said he needed to let her assert her independence and start taking more responsibility for things, so that’s what he’d do. Within reason. And only when it wasn’t actually important.
He huffed out a laugh at himself. He’d be in the running for dad of the year in no time. Except for his pesky habit of killing humans. That might give the awards committee pause.
Hugh puttered around while he waited for Ruby to finish up. He’d already packed, but he busied himself with small tasks like making sure the garden hose was off outside and that he hadn’t left the oven on or something like that. He’d be leaving for his vacation from camp, so no one would be here for the next few weeks.
He’d already emptied the refrigerator and taken the trash out. Mundane chores like that grounded him and helped keep his mind off the gnawing hunger that had been building in his gut as his anticipation of his holiday grew.
By the time they were in the car headed toward camp, he was a bundle of nerves. Leaving Ruby was necessary. It was good, even. They lived in each other’s pockets eleven months out of the year, so this break was healthy. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Ruby, who had her headphones on and was staring out the window at the endless expanse of farmland.
He wasn’t a neglectful father for needing time away. Plenty of parents did.
Only most of them didn’t murder people while they were gone.
Chapter Three
GOD, HE was hungry.
He’d dropped Ruby off at camp a few hours ago, and it had taken a toll on him. He was attuned to emotions since he relied on chi to survive, and boy did summer camp drop-off have a lot of them.
He’d watched dozens of families have tearful goodbyes. Many had seemed outwardly happy, but every aura there had been tinged with sadness, even amid all the excitement and nervousness.
Meanwhile his kid—the only one whose aura he couldn’t read—had barely been able to stand still through registration before she’d given him a single wave and then darted off into the crowd to find her friends.
He had been so tempted to feed a bit while swimming in that miasma of emotion. Not from the kids—he’d never do that. But there were plenty of parents who were distraught at leaving their precious babies.
It would have been easy to put a comforting hand on the shoulder of the mom who was openly sobbing. Hell, it would have helped her, drawing out a bit of that sadness. But he’d always been careful never to mix Ruby’s life with his vampire needs. Even that time at the PTA meeting when a fistfight broke out over whether the annual bake sale could include items with tree nuts.
Ruby deserved a life free from supernatural shenanigans. He wasn’t sure he’d ever tell her about his true nature.
Not that he thought she’d take it badly. She’d probably be thrilled.
Her self-sufficiency was almost scary. It was good she felt so comfortable at camp, but it stung a bit to know she didn’t need him. She hadn’t even batted an eye when he’d told her he was traveling while she was at camp and wouldn’t be home to get her letters. Usually he took a few weekends away but stayed close in case she needed him.
She never had, of course. Ruby was a fierce little thing. Opinionated and wicked smart, cunning and manipulative, but always honest when it counted. She could take care of herself, and she’d proven that over the last few summers.
So here he was, living the dream, a free man for nearly a month.
What he needed was a good feed to clear his head. His mouth watered at the thought of feasting on a trucker hell-bent on taking advantage of a lot lizard. Truck stops were like fast food for a vamp. Open twenty-four seven and always serving something, even though the quality wasn’t great and you’d probably be hungry again in an hour.
Hugh scolded himself for his paranoia and got out of the car, taking time to stretch his limbs. His Corolla was a good family car, but it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to drive. Sometimes he felt like he was peeling his six-foot-three frame out of a clown car when he got out.
Two big rigs were parked in the truck lot, and three sedans were scattered through the lot he was in. Probably meant a clerk and maybe a customer or two inside. Not ideal, but if there wasn’t anyone to feed on, he could at least get himself a stale sandwich and a drink.
He hung out near the car for a few minutes, pretending to check the air in his tires and inspect the vehicle. Nothing that would draw suspicion in a place like this. It only took two passes around the Corolla before he scented someone whose aura was dark enough to make his skin prickle with anticipation. He spent a lot of the year feeding on people with gray intent. People who could go either way, who he could siphon the dark energy off of and let them go on their way, harmless. A small snack for Hugh; a big benefit for humanity.
This guy was not one of those, and Hugh had never been so happy to see a rapist. He straightened out of his crouch as the man came into view. He was wearing a tattered baseball cap pulled low over his face. His T-shirt had a trucking-company logo on it, probably the one he drove for. A big rig that hadn’t been there when Hugh arrived was now parked in the truck lot.
The trucker’s aura was saturated with malice. This was clearly not the first time he’d done whatever he was about to do. Hugh wondered how someone this stupid had never been caught. Not that Hugh was going to wait and catch the guy in the act. The acrid tang of murder was in his aura, so Hugh wasn’t going to feel bad about draining every last drop of his chi out of him.
Unlike the trucker, Hugh had already scoped out the parking lot and confirmed the only camera was one directly aimed at the door to record people coming in and out of the truck stop. He could grab the guy and haul him off into a darkened part of the lot without attracting any attention.
He sprang into action as soon as the guy was in reach. Chronically underfed as he was, Hugh was still much faster than a human. Even if there had been a camera, it wouldn’t have registered much more than a blur tackling the trucker and dragging him to the ground. It would be easy to bundle him into the back of his sedan and kill him there, but Hugh had a rule about keeping his feeds as distanced from his daughter as he could, and that included not bringing them into his car or home.
Hugh eyed the camera, confirming it was pointed solidly at the sickly yellow pool of light that illuminated the front door, one of the few security lights in the parking lot. He could feed on the guy here in the shadow of his car, but then he’d have to drag the body away later. That would be hard to pass off as a buddy helping his friend get somewhere to sleep it off if anyone discovered them, which was his go-to ruse when he was dealing with scumbags like this. He’d done it for years and never had anyone question it.
It wasn’t as safe as feeding in clubs and areas where the bouncers and police knew who he was and what he was doing. Hugh had a decent network of people who helped point him toward criminals to drain during his hall-pass trips, which made things a lot safer and easier for him. But he wasn’t going to pass up a golden opportunity to feed to his heart’s content and get a dangerous predator off the streets for good.
Hugh headbutted the struggling man to knock him out, then wrapped him in a bear hug and stood up. He could walk with the added weight easily, but he staggered around in case anyone was watching. There were dumpsters around the side of the building, and he headed in that direction, restraining himself from siphoning off any of the trucker’s aura as they walked.
He’d made it into the patchy brightness of the lights near the dumpster area when someone grabbed him from behind.
The shock of being snuck up on was a harder blow than the scrape of his face against the dirty cinder-block truck-stop wall. He’d had no inkling they weren’t alone in the parking lot. How was that possible? His attacker had no aura. No scent.
He lost his grip on the trucker, who fell to the pavement with a thump. Hugh saw him crawl away out of the corner of his eye, but he let him go, his attention focused on the man who was attacking him.
Hugh fought back, moderating his strength so he didn’t hurt the person. He could toss a human twenty feet if he wanted, but attracting that kind of attention was never good. Instead he pushed back, surprised when he found that even if he tried, he couldn’t free himself from the iron-like hold.
“Demon! How dare you feed so brazenly?”
Hugh struggled, unleashing his full strength in a panic. Even trying his hardest, he barely moved his attacker an inch. This wasn’t good.
The man leaned in and took a deep sniff. Despite himself, Hugh’s pulse jumped at the intimacy. His power pulsed, taking on a life of its own as it probed his attacker. He couldn’t stop it, and it was good, letting his humanity take a back seat to his vampire instincts. Like being alive for the first time in a long time. He hadn’t lost control like this in decades.
Tendrils of his aura encased the man behind him, caressing skin that was so curiously free of any scent. Hugh reared back when he realized that even with his extra senses at full blast, he still couldn’t smell his attacker.
Just like Ruby.
That put the brakes on his bloodlust like a bucket of ice-cold water. He’d never met anyone else that he couldn’t sense. It explained how the man had snuck up on him, but it also opened up more questions. What was he? And why did he lack a smell like Ruby did?
He struggled in the man’s viselike grip around his chest, his lungs screaming from lack of air as his breath came in tiny gasps.
“Do not try your tricks on me, you disgusting bottom-feeder,” the man muttered.
So he’d been able to feel Hugh’s aura? But it hadn’t weakened him like it should have. Usually when fully deployed, his powers were almost like a numbing agent. They prevented his victim from struggling and allowed him to feed without drawing attention.
Hugh stopped moving. “What are you?”
The man flipped him around like he weighed less than a rag doll. Hugh’s head bounced against the cinder block with a thud. He managed a few deep breaths before the man dug a forearm into his windpipe, choking him.
Hugh grasped at his attacker’s shoulders to dislodge him, but fighting only cut off his airway further. His lips tingled, and spots crowded his vision.
The man didn’t look like he should have enough strength to hold down a vampire, but he hadn’t even broken a sweat. He must be supernatural, but Hugh had never heard of a creature that didn’t have a scent. He’d suspect a spell or talisman that was hiding it if he hadn’t experienced the same thing with Ruby.
Did that mean she was supernatural? She’d never shown signs of superstrength or any other latent abilities, aside from her lack of scent. God. Ruby. He had to get out of this for her sake.
Hugh struggled harder against the man. He needed to get the upper hand so he could find out what kind of supernatural he was. What kind of supernatural Ruby was.
Fear for his daughter flooded his limbs with a well of new strength, and Hugh landed a punch to his attacker’s solar plexus. The man gasped and faltered for a split second, but it was enough time for Hugh to duck out of his grasp and pull the man’s arms behind his back. The move would have wrenched both shoulders out of their sockets if the man had been human.
Hugh swung him around and pinned him to the dumpster.
“Who are you?” he rasped out, his throat sore and raw.
“Someone duty bound to avenge the lives of the innocent humans your kind murders!”
“I have never killed an innocent,” Hugh said evenly. “Tell me what you are.”
The man renewed his struggle but remained silent.
The irony of this being very similar to the place he’d found Ruby gave him a renewed sense of purpose.
A terrified scream from inside the building made them both stop. He held the man’s gaze, both of them barely breathing as they listened.
Hugh was tempted to loosen his hold on the man, but he’d been on the receiving end of his brutality too recently to underestimate him. He kept the pressure on the man’s arms steady even though he hated the thought of how much pain the man must be in. His own injuries were throbbing in time with his heart, which was beating much slower than it should be. He needed to feed… and soon.
The man he’d been about to drain must be inside the truck stop now. Hugh was torn between the desire to go help the woman who had screamed and pressing his advantage with the man he had up against the dumpster so he could find out what he was.
Another scream rent the air, followed by a gunshot. Hugh gritted his teeth and made a decision.
“The man you ‘rescued’ from me is a criminal,” Hugh said, his voice low. “And he’s inside right now attacking a human that he intends to kill. When I grabbed him he had murder in his aura. Nothing but ill intent. I don’t kill innocents. I feed off men like him to save innocents from situations like this one.”
His attacker seemed to be weakening the longer they spoke. His tanned skin was turning sallow, and his breaths were becoming more labored.
“If I release you, will you try to kill me again?”
The man closed his eyes. “My name is Rykoff of Harlow. You have my word as a servant of the fae summer court that I will not harm you.”
Hugh sent up a prayer that he wasn’t being a soft-hearted idiot and let go of the man. He stepped back, ready to defend himself, but the man slumped forward into a heap on the dirty ground.
“Will you heal?”
The man looked up, and the color of his eyes struck Hugh. They were gray like Ruby’s, and in this light they almost looked amber. Like hers did when she got upset.
“Aye, but not in time to help. I need to get away from this iron before I can regain my strength. Go.”
Hugh hoped he wasn’t signing his own death warrant as he turned his back on the man, but unless he was a terrific actor, the guy wasn’t in any shape to attack. Hugh tried the back door, but it was locked from the inside. Cursing, he ran around the perimeter of the building and wrenched open the front door.
An electronic chirp sounded when he stepped inside, but neither of the occupants acknowledged him at all. The truck stop smelled like burned coffee and stale hotdogs, all overlaid with the overwhelming stink of lust and hatred.
He hadn’t been lying when he’d told the man he never drained innocent people. It was one thing to siphon off a little greed or sadness—or even excitement and attraction—to get by, but he didn’t believe in killing innocents so he could live.
Hell, he rarely even drained people who weren’t innocent. His powers didn’t work that way. He fed off a person’s chi, and he was very good at directing what part of the aura he consumed. If he was at an orgy, he’d sample a little lust from everyone. If he was just with one person, he’d feed at the moment of their orgasm, siphoning off the burst of pleasure but leaving them with the endorphin high.
When he fed off criminals, it was different. He’d dig down deep, pulling out all their darkest emotions and motivations. Unlike when he fed off innocents, he didn’t worry about going too far. He’d search out every bit of lust, anger, or hatred that the person harbored and yank it out. Besides giving him the nourishment he needed to stay strong, it also had the basic effect of chemically castrating the offender. The only time it killed them was if there was no redeemable part of their aura left. He didn’t feel bad about those.
This guy, though.
This guy he was definitely gonna kill.
The clerk must have been restocking energy drinks when he’d come up on her, and the man had her forced up against a pallet of them, one hand holding a gun on her while the other pawed at her clothes. The gunshot they’d heard must have been a warning, since Hugh didn’t smell any blood. The woman was unharmed. Physically, at least.
Hugh didn’t bother masking his speed as he rushed the man, hitting him with his full body weight and sending the gun skittering across the floor. The woman jumped up and ran to the front of the store, and Hugh figured he had a few minutes before the police arrived. Not ideal, but he could work wit
h it.
Since vampires drained psychic energy and not blood, contrary to pop culture’s portrayal of them, there wouldn’t be any sign of Hugh’s feeding when the medical examiner autopsied the body. Vampire kills were recorded as strokes or heart attacks. The abrupt severance of the chi from the body could cause both.
Hugh flattened himself over the man’s body, and from the clerk’s view it would look like he was just holding him down until the police could arrive. That would be the statement he gave the officers too.
Hugh nestled his head against the man’s throat, using the man’s heartbeat to help ground himself. He gathered his energy and cast it out like a net around the man’s body. His own muscles went stiff as he drained him, the influx of power both exhilarating and painful. He normally liked to take his time to avoid this, but he had to finish before the police interrupted them. There was nothing to salvage in the man’s aura. If Hugh didn’t kill him, he’d do the same thing again.
Chapter Four
“AND YOU two don’t know each other? You don’t know how he came to be all banged up?”
Hugh looked over the cop’s shoulder to watch the paramedics tending the man who’d jumped him. Rykoff, he’d said his name was. Hugh doubted they’d be able to do anything to help him, since he was supernatural, but they probably couldn’t do anything to hurt him either.
He sent up a silent prayer that the fae had excellent hearing, like vamps. He needed Rykoff to give the same statement he did so they could get out of here without raising any alarms with the police.
“He was on the pavement when I got here. He told me some lunatic had jumped him and then gone inside, and I ran in when I heard the woman scream and a gunshot.”
He saw Rykoff incline his head a fraction, and Hugh almost sighed in relief. So yes on supernatural hearing.