How to Elude a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes Book 2)

by Alice Winters

  Why do I feel like something is wrong?

  I pick up my phone and call Orin as I head down the stairs, but it just beeps, reminding me that he said he was making a call. So I decide to call Marcus asI go over to the basement door and notice it’s ajar. Carefully, I pull it open. “Charlie?” I shout as I start down the lit stairwell into the dark basement.

  “Come on, Marcus. Pick up.”

  Why am I having such a bad feeling about this?

  When I reach the last step, I look around before noticing a switch on the wall and flicking it up, illuminating the room.

  My stomach seizes as I feel like I’m falling into one of my nightmares. This room looks familiar. Why’s this room look so familiar?

  I’ve probably been down here, right? I mean, I’ve been all over Watson’s house, in every room. Fuck, I spent nights here while recovering more than once, I’m sure I’ve stepped into this basement more than once.

  That’s all this is. That’s all…

  I lift my phone again, needing to call Marcus. Needing to tell him that he has to get here. He needs to calm me down and tell me nothing’s wrong. I’m going crazy. I’m…

  My eyes fall on another door that I rush over to and see a keypad right next to it. Like my hand is possessed, I reach up and press four numbers. The four numbers I saw that monster push when he’d dragged me in and out of the room he’d been keeping me in.

  9314

  The red light flashes once and for a moment, I think I’m wrong. I did it wrong, and I’m losing my mind. I’m seeing things where there isn’t anything. But the moment it hits green, I know I need to get out of here.

  The upstairs door slams shut, and I jump.

  No, no, no.

  He’s home.

  The monster is home.

  No matter what I do, I know he’ll hear me. I can try to hide, but I know he could follow my scent down here. He probably already knows I’m down here and nothing I can do will fix that.

  I quickly unlock my phone and click on Marcus’s number as I try to think. We’ve already proven again and again that we can’t beat this monster and now… now… I know who it is.

  And he won’t let me leave here alive.

  Before the phone even rings, it’s snatched out of my hand and my guns are torn from my side, but I do nothing to stop it. I have to be smart. I have to not panic even if my body is fighting against me.

  “Oh, doll,” Watson says as he tosses my phone and guns. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?” His voice is deeper, much like the one he uses when he has me cornered, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s his real voice. Had he even learned how to change his voice just to fuck with me? Just to make people think he was innocent and average? “I just… I just try so hard sometimes and you won’t fucking listen!” He kicks a table in rage, sending it flying across the room and making me jump.

  After I’d been taken by the monster, I studied serial killers and people who enjoy torturing others in the hopes I could understand him to stop him. I went to school, I learned all I could, and I became good at this job. Even so, I know this man better than I should. Not as Watson, no, my knowledge about him is probably all lies, but I know the monster. The monster that has followed me nearly half my life. That watches me, studies me, and taunts me.

  How had he been able to fool me for so long? Was it just the aura that he exudes that made me incapable of picking out pieces of Watson from the monster? Was it because I truly cared for Watson that I never imagined he could hurt me? I know he kept his features covered up, but I think I was blinded by the idea that someone I cared for couldn’t do this to me.

  He loves me. He’s enraged when I’m hurt. He’s afraid he’ll hurt me and tries to keep me away from him so I don’t end up like one of the many victims he’s had.

  And I need to play into that.

  “Watson… why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, voice as soft and normal as I can make it. If I look afraid or if I try to run, he’ll catch me. I know I won’t get away, so I have to be smart.

  He turns to look at me and I notice his eyes show a hint of red. “What’s that, doll?”

  “All this time… all this fucking time, I was fighting against you. If I had known it was you… Watson… Watson, you’re one of the most important people in my life and I’ve been… I’ve been trying to kill you. What if Marcus killed you?” I reach for him now, not like I’m trying to grab or hurt him, but like I’m wanting to reach out to hold on to him.

  He’s watching me closely and I don’t know if he’ll lean into my lies or pull away from them, but he hasn’t picked either way yet. He snorts, a look of amusement crossing his face. “You try to tell me that you care about me? Oh, doll…”

  Miller said he had a lack of emotion which means he probably doesn’t comprehend emotions as well, but he has an understanding of what they mean. If I play on that, will he listen to me?

  “Watson… no… what you did to me was awful and horrible and I hated you for that, but… you’re also Watson. You’re the person who cared so much for me… you can’t tell me that care was fake? Was that fake?”

  He looks shocked I would even suggest that. “Of course not! You’re the only thing I care about. That is why I’ve allowed you to be spoiled. I’ve given you what you wanted to keep you happy because I want you happy and yet—”

  He’s leaning into my lies; I have to keep playing along. I have to get him to trust me enough that he gets lax so I can grab my gun and shoot him. The only fucking issue is that the special bullets are in my pocket. I was afraid I would waste the three bullets I had in case I was ever in an altercation, and I started to carry them in my pocket as a way to show myself that I was done hunting the monster that wouldn’t be hunted.

  Even if they were in the gun, if he saw me lift the weapon, there’s no way I’d ever hit him.

  “Watson, you can’t tell me you didn’t realize I was in love with you. I thought it was just a crush when I was a teen, but you didn’t… you seemed to ignore it, so I thought you didn’t care for me.”

  He’s uncertain now. I can’t tell if he knows I’m lying or not, but emotions are probably something he doesn’t truly understand, so he’s feeding into the idea that I want him as much as he wants me.

  There’s a bang of the door closing upstairs, and I jump as I realize that it’s Orin.

  I grab for Watson instinctively, but he snatches my wrist first, squeezing it tightly. “Watson, please. If you love me and care for me, you won’t hurt him. I’ll willingly do anything you want if you just leave my family out of it.”

  He’s quiet as he punches the pin into the door again and pulls it open before dragging me inside. As my eyes hit the room he’d taken me into when he’d removed my arm and leg, my legs feel weak. I was drugged and confused but I know this room. I know this place. And for years, for fucking years, it was right here in this house.

  “I fear I got a bit… lax with locking my doors, didn’t I?” he asks as he pulls open another door and shoves me inside. “When you’re the strongest thing alive, you forget to care. Now be good.”

  The door slams into my face and my stomach seizes at the thought of Orin upstairs. He knows I was here. If I don’t come home, he’ll know it was Watson.

  I look around the room, recognizing it as the one I’d been thrown into. The one I’d been stuck begging and praying and hoping that someone would save me. Anyone.

  There’s nothing in here to help me. Nothing to save me.

  No, I can’t focus on that. I was a kid then. I didn’t know what I know now, so I need to focus and get through this.

  He didn’t pat me down, so I grab for the special bullets and quickly slip them into my sock. That’s all I have… a fucking sock full of bullets. But it’s more than I had last time.

  So I wait.

  And wait.

  But I know… I know it shouldn’t take him this long to just tell Orin that I need to stay and to come and get me later. Orin’s in danger,
but I don’t know what to do.

  MARCUS

  “What’s wrong?” Karsyn asks.

  “Finn called twice and when I answered the second call, he wasn’t there. He’s not answering, so I called Orin and Orin’s also not answering.”

  Karsyn looks concerned, feeding into my jump to panic. “Fuck. He said he was going to the mall, right? We’ll head that way and try to get a location on their phones.” He pulls out his phone as he rushes for the door.

  “Is Finn here?” Brooks asks.

  “No, why would he be?” I ask.

  He bites at his lip, looking thoughtful. “I called and asked him to come in.”

  “Why?” I growl.

  “I wanted to ask him some questions about Orin. I know Orin was afraid of losing his parenting rights with Finn at the time of the accident, but he fought so hard to have everything from the crime erased. Does he know something?”

  “Finn’s not answering his phone, and neither is Orin, so let’s go,” I say as I rush out to the car with them following. As I get into the driver’s seat, I realize I don’t know where to go. Are they just at the mall with low reception? Hell, maybe they went to see a fucking movie and I’m losing my mind.

  Or—

  My phone rings and I see that it’s Aria, so I quickly answer. “Hello?”

  “M-Marcus, I just got to my dad’s. When I pulled in the driveway, I saw his car there but there’s blood all over it… Marcus, I don’t know what to do. Is he here? Is that man here? Marcus—”

  Panic swells inside of me. “Calm down. I need you to go into the basement and get into the saferoom. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

  I know I can run and move faster through the town than taking the roads, but I also know I can’t run that distance at that speed for ten minutes straight. So I have Brooks throw the siren on top of the car, and once all three of us are inside, I gun it.

  “Marcus, don’t be reckless, we won’t help anyone if we kill people along the way,” Brooks says gently, but I still want to snap at him. He doesn’t understand how much I need to get to Finn. I need to protect Finn.

  When I pull into the parking lot, I see that Orin’s car is running in the driveway, door open. I’m out and over to it before anyone else. I could smell the blood the moment I opened my car door, but when I look inside, I see the spray of it across the interior and the clear indication of a fight.

  I breathe it in, but the blood smells like Orin’s. There isn’t even a hint of Finn’s blood.

  “It’s Orin’s,” I say, feeling horrible that I’m relieved. But Orin can lose a hell of a lot more blood than Finn and still live.

  “Let’s go,” Brooks says as he turns to the field that the trail of blood leads to. I move after him, following the scent until we hit a wooded area.

  I put my hand out, stopping Karsyn from rushing past me. “I hear something.”

  The two listen, but their hearing’s probably not as good as mine. “It’s extremely risky if you guys go with me,” I say, but I’m sure they already know that.

  “Just go,” Karsyn growls, so I keep moving. The two stay by my side as I quietly make my way in until I get to an area where the blood has thickened. The smell is all around me as I turn, trying to pick apart which direction it goes in as the wind whips it around.

  And that’s when I see him. He has Orin on the ground, but his body language tells me he’s noticed me. I don’t know if it’s because there are three of us or if something else happened, but he turns and rushes from us.

  Without thinking, I race after him but with the head start on me, he’s already disappeared into the brush before I reach the spot where Orin lies. With his speed, I know I’ll never catch him, so I turn back to Orin. Karsyn catches up as I notice that Brooks is kneeling next to Orin.

  “Is he alive?” I ask.

  “Barely,” Brooks says as blood pumps from the cut across Orin’s throat that Brooks is trying to compress. It looks like the vampire tried cutting his head clean off, but Orin is fighting for life. He catches my eyes, so I kneel next to him.

  “Where is Finn?” I ask.

  His hand is shaking as he reaches out to me, blood dripping from his fingers. He opens his mouth, but I don’t think he can even talk like this. When his hand drops, it hits my leg, so I guide it gently down.

  “I’ll find him,” I promise as I get up and pull out my phone. I quickly call Claude.

  “Hey!”

  “Orin’s been attacked, and Finn is missing. Do you have anything you can do to help me?” I ask. “Any idea of who it is?”

  “You guys told me to stop, but I’ve looked into it some more. So in the city where it seemed to have originated, there were names of people who have no death records. Keep in mind they could’ve just never had a record or they could have moved without record. There are so many possibilities during that time. But the names I’ve narrowed it down to are a Billingsley, Clark, Gale, and I can’t tell if it’s Walter or Watt. Hold on… Watt is a diminutive of Walter, which could be why there are inconsistencies or maybe there were two families with different names—”

  “Dammit, Claude, just tell me if you have something.”

  “Do you know what name is derived from Watt? Watson. Isn’t that the name of Finn’s doctor?”

  “Fuck,” I growl. “It’s Watson. Claude, meet us at his place.”

  “His doctor?” Karsyn asks in disbelief.

  “I have to go,” I say.

  Brooks shakes his head. “You can’t go alone, but I can’t leave Orin. Just… fuck. Wait for backup,” Brooks urges.

  I can’t. I can’t wait for anything. He has Finn and he could take him away from me. He could keep me from ever seeing him again. He could kill him and then I’d have nothing.

  “I can’t,” I say as I turn from him and run back to the car before anyone can stop me. If Finn’s at Watson’s, maybe I could beat Watson back to his own house and get Finn away before he returns.

  I get into the car and start it just as Karsyn grabs the passenger door and pulls it open.

  “I’m… helping,” he says as he gets into the car.

  “You’re young—you’ll probably die.”

  He folds his arms over his chest. “Yes, well… you clearly can’t win alone,” he says with that stubborn look on his face.

  “Karsyn… thanks,” I say as I back out of the driveway.

  “I’m doing it for Finn, not you.”

  “You can do it for whatever the fuck you want. I’m still going to thank you, and you’re going to take it, you stubborn ass.”

  He snorts. “You’re welcome.”

  “That’s better,” I say as I turn the car out onto the road. “This makes so much sense. A while ago, I was told that Finn’s prostheses have GPS trackers in them because of the technology inside them. If the technology was to get out, it could be sold or used elsewhere. But that’s how he’s been tracking us. He knows literally everywhere Finn is by his arm and leg.”

  “But what I don’t get is that he had Finn in his grasp and yet he let him go. He lets you be with him.”

  “He said it’s because he’s afraid he’ll kill Finn. So instead, he gets his kicks by still being in his life and just watching and manipulating him. Maybe I should tell Claude to stay away. I know… I know he nearly died last time but… fuck. I hate putting people in danger,” I say.

  “It’s his choice, just like it’s mine. But you’ve already proven that you can’t do it alone,” Karsyn says as he pulls out his phone. “Why isn’t your brother more like you?”

  “It’s his only character trait to be annoying,” I say.

  When we reach the house, I park down the street before getting out.

  “The issue is how hard it is to pinpoint or even feel his presence until he wants you to,” I say as I move toward the house. Karsyn tenses as I sense someone moving toward us, but I immediately recognize the movement.

  “It’s Claude,” I tell him as I continue slowly moving
toward the house because I don’t want to rush and end up in a bad situation. I know I need to be careful as I enter the house. The two stay behind me as I reach the door and listen. When I grab the door handle, it turns easily in my hand, so I swing it open and step inside.

  By now, if Watson is here, he’ll know we’re inside the house, but Finn should make enough noise for me to hear in the deadness of this place. Claude pushes open the door to my left, checking the medical examination room I’ve visited so many times with Finn, never once expecting that the doctor who seemed so kind and caring was an emotionless monster. Karsyn pushes open the door on the right that leads to the room Artemus had been kept in while he recovered.

  But something inside me tells me he’s gone, and he’s taken Finn with him.

  “Did you hear that?” Claude asks as he hesitates.

  I listen closely before hearing the noise coming from downstairs. Steadily, I move forward until I reach a door that’d been left ajar.

  “It could be a trap,” Karsyn says.

  I think about telling them to wait up here, but are they more vulnerable without me?

  “Move carefully, listen closely. If it’s too much, just do what you can to get away. I’ll slow him down,” I promise. I’ll do everything I can to keep them safe.

  They nod, but I’m not even sure how well I’ll be able to slow anyone down. So I gradually descend the stairs, into the lit basement. I can smell Finn down here, but the smell isn’t thick enough to tell me if he’s still here. When I see his gun sitting on a counter, I rush over to it, knowing the bullets inside might be the only thing we have to slow the monster down. I grab the gun and hold it out to Karsyn.

  “You’re a better shot than me. The bullets inside the weapon were stolen from the evidence room. They’re the same bullets you got shot with.”

  “How is he so much smarter than you?” Karsyn asks as he takes the gun before switching the safety off.

  We move deeper into the room and over to a door with a keypad on it. I have no idea what the code might be, but the door is human proof, not vampire. Watson was clearly only concerned about keeping humans in or out, so when I kick the door, it cracks and swings free.