by Myla Jackson
“Vampires must be destroyed. I can’t let you go.” Though his voice wavered, his grip didn’t.
“The hell you can’t.” Julie shook her head, regret waning and irritation taking hold. As she dropped into a ready stance, a cotton handkerchief covered her nose and mouth and she fought to breathe which answered another question she hadn’t thought to ask. Did vampires have to breathe? She sure the hell felt like she needed to.
The acrid scent of chloroform filled her nostrils and dulled her senses, the fuzzy edges of her vision fading into pitch black. Fuck, she’d let herself get caught by the vampire slayer.
* * * * * *
“You decide what you’re going to do about your vampire girlfriend?” Parker had gone almost the entire shift without mentioning Julie until they were headed back to the station at the end of their shift.
The sun wouldn’t rise for another hour and Roger planned to be in bed before it did. Thinking about Julie was sure to keep him wide-awake for hours, now. “What’s it to you?”
“Just curious. I wouldn’t mind dating a babe who’ll still look young when I’m old, bald and wrinkled.”
“Forget it.” He glared across the front seat at Parker and then refocused on his driving.
“I thought for sure you’d dump her.”
Roger parked the sedan in the station parking lot, turned off the engine and then sat staring at the dash. “I haven’t decided.”
“Sounds like you’re stuck on her.” Parker shook his head. “Damn. I was going to make my move. Think she’d kick my ass like she did that big bad vampire?”
“Probably. If she didn’t I would.”
“So you are staking your claim?”
“I’d rather you didn’t use that term.”
“Stake?” Parker chuckled. “Uh, sorry.”
Roger climbed out of the car, hoping his partner would drop the subject. If he didn’t, he’d be forced to make him drop it.
As Parker opened his mouth to say something else, Roger’s personal cell phone vibrated on his utility belt. He fumbled to answer, scanning the number in the hope it was Julie. He almost didn’t answer when he didn’t recognize the number, but instinct told him he’d better. At 4:30 a.m., whoever it was might be in trouble.
“Decker.”
“Roger? This is Kim.”
“Kim?” The woman who’d almost died because he couldn’t save her from a vampire? Hell she was a vampire now, wasn’t she? “How are you?”
“Different, that’s for sure. But okay.” She paused and then asked, “Have you seen Julie?”
“Not since yesterday around noon.” She’d been sound asleep, her blonde hair splayed across the white pillowcase, her face angelic, her lips swollen and sexy.
“Damn. She didn’t show for work last night. I had a message on my answering machine when I got home a little while ago. Nurse Lindeman wanted to know if I’d seen her. It’s not like her to ditch work.”
Something akin to a lead wrecking ball crashed at the pit of Roger’s gut. As sure as he was crazy about her, he knew Julie was in trouble.
“William and I walked the route she would have taken to work and found her umbrella in the gutter. You have to help. Can you put out an all-points bulletin or something?”
Roger’s brain kicked into high gear. Julie was missing. “There are only two people I know who were after her—that Luke guy and Marley.”
“Luke’s dust. Which leaves Marley. I looked him up in the phone book but couldn’t find a phone number or address. Can you do some police mojo and locate him? I wouldn’t bother you but it’s getting close to dawn and Julie needs to be safely indoors before the sun comes up.”
“I’ll do what I can.” He’d tear the fucking city apart to find her.
“Thanks. Call me when you know anything.”
“Will do.” Roger flipped his phone shut and jumped out of the car.
Parker followed, running to keep up with him. “What happened?”
He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat before he could answer. “Julie’s missing.”
“Damn.” Parker hit the swinging glass doors into the station before Roger and held it for him to pass through. “The big blond vampire?”
“No. Kim says he’s dust.”
“Marley.”
“That’s my bet.” He hoped he wasn’t too late. Marley had been hell-bent on killing every vampire in the city. Would he hesitate with Julie? Hadn’t she saved his life? Didn’t he owe her? Roger sank into his desk chair and powered up his computer, tapping his fingers as the screen booted. In less than a minute he had Marley’s address and phone number printing on a clean sheet of paper. As soon the printer released the sheet, Roger was on his feet and headed for the door.
Parker followed on Roger’s heels. “You’ll need backup.”
“Thanks. We’re off shift, we’ll have to take my truck.” Roger crossed the parking lot to his SUV.
“Wait, I have a strobe. Let’s take mine.” Parker led the way to his brand-new black Mustang. He climbed in the driver’s seat and reached behind into the back for a bubble light with a powerful magnet. Once he popped it on top of the vehicle, he squealed out of the parking lot and hit sixty in less than twenty seconds.
Except for the strobe on top, Roger wished he was driving his own truck. The effort of keeping the vehicle on the road at high speeds would have taken his mind off what they might find at Marley’s apartment.
The dark night sky gave way to the battleship gray of predawn, and with it, Roger’s heart hung heavy in his chest. One more block, just one more block. They would make it. He hoped like hell Marley had taken her to his place. If he hadn’t, they’d be too late to find her anywhere else.
When they pulled up beside an older apartment building located in the seedier part of the city, Roger didn’t wait for the car to stop, he leaped out and ran for the building. According to the address, Marley lived on the top floor of the four-story building. Racing through the entrance, Roger didn’t expect to see an elevator, he headed for the stairs and climbed them two at a time.
By the time he reached the fourth floor, his heart raced and he was gulping in air.
He stopped and held his breath to listen. Was that a sound on the roof?
Parker’s feet pounded up the stairs behind him. When he reached the top, he collapsed against the wall beside Roger. “Wh…which…room?” he asked between breaths.
“The end of the hall, but I think there’s someone on the roof.”
“Marley?”
“Maybe.”
“I’ll go for the apartment, you take the roof.” Parker pushed away from the wall and pulled his Glock.
Having located the stairway to the roof, Roger was halfway up when he heard Parker kick in the door to Marley’s apartment. Torn between the roof and the apartment, Roger charged upward. His gut told him the roof, but what if he was wrong? He didn’t have time to second-guess. The door to the roof was locked. Roger put his shoulder to it and slammed against it. Wood splintered but the lock held. He hit it again and the door broke open.
As he stepped out onto the roof, the cold barrel of a pistol pressed against his temple.
“Make a move for you gun and I’ll shoot.”
That’s when Roger spotted Julie lying on the flat tarred roof, her hands tied to a clothesline pole.
“That’s right. I decided not to kill her. I’d let nature do it for me.”
“The sun? You’re going to let her fry in the sun?” Roger’s stomach roiled at the vivid image playing out in his mind. He could almost smell the scent of seared flesh. Julie’s flesh.
His hand jerked toward his pistol.
“I wouldn’t if I were you. A bullet might not kill her, but it sure as hell would kill a human.”
“Bastard,” Roger said through gritted teeth.
“No. That’s where you got it wrong. I’m just like you.”
“You’re nothing like me.”
“I’m here to protect peo
ple. Isn’t that what a cop does?”
“This is wrong. She can’t help it she’s a vampire. She’s got just as much right to live as you do.”
“They’re parasites. How can it be wrong to rid the world of parasites? These creatures live off the blood of others. It’s morally and biblically wrong. Don’t you see? They have to die.”
“All I see is a man murdering a woman.”
“Come now, she didn’t tell you she was a vampire at first did she?”
“That’s none of your business.” She hadn’t and he’d been angry. None of that seemed to matter, now. “No one deserves to die like that.”
“She didn’t tell you, did she? And she bit you. Am I right?”
The tip of the pistol shifted from his temple to the spot on his neck that still ached from her bite. His anger at her betrayal paled in comparison to the desperation he was beginning to feel as the first rays of light bled over the horizon illuminating the morning clouds, blazing them mauve, magenta and orange. The bright orb of the sun had yet to make its appearance, but it was only a matter of minutes. Roger had to do something.
Julie stirred and tried to stretch. When her wrists met resistance, her eyes opened and she stared straight into his. “Roger? What’s happening?” Her voice sounded groggy as if she’d drugged.
“Chloroform is very effective on vampires. Did you know that?” Marley’s voice was almost gloating. “She didn’t even have a chance to put up a fight. Did you, my dear?”
“I’m going to kick your ass, Marley. I should have let Luke kill you. Instead I saved you and for what? So you could kill me? Fat chance.” She struggled to free her hands, glancing over her shoulder at the horizon. “I’m going to kick your ass, Marley.”
“Let her go.” Roger knew it was only a matter of time before Parker climbed the stairs to the rooftop. But would he in time to save Julie? Roger couldn’t wait to find out. His hand jerked upward, knocking the pistol away from his neck, at the same time as he ducked and rolled away from Marley.
A shot rang out, hitting the roof beside Roger. “Don’t move, or I’ll kill you.”
As the sun inched over the horizon, Julie still lay partially hidden from its killing rays in the shadows of an air conditioning unit. She didn’t have much time and her hands weren’t coming loose from the ropes Marley had used to bind her wrists. Still groggy from the chloroform, she couldn’t seem to make her super-vampire strength work to free herself. “Let him go. It’s me you want to kill, not him. Just let him go.”
“No. I won’t let him leave you here to die.” Roger pushed to his feet and faced Marley. “Go ahead, shoot me, because I’m not going to let you kill her. I love her.”
Julie’s heart swelled as tears formed in her eyes. “No!” Julie fought her bonds. “Don’t kill him. He’s not a vampire. Roger, please, don’t try to help me. Please don’t die.” Her tears tumbled down her cheeks.
He wasn’t listening to her as he made his way across the rooftop.
Another shot rang out, hitting the tarpaper in front of Roger’s feet. He kept walking, his gaze locked with hers.
“No, Roger. I don’t want you to die,” she cried, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.
He snorted. “And you think I want you to?”
“I mean it. I’ll kill you.” Bob Marley’s voice wasn’t nearly as convincing as he’d been before. “She has to die.”
Julie’s breath caught in her throat when another shot rang out.
Roger stopped only two feet from her and glanced over to Marley, a surprised look in his eyes.
Had he been hit? Julie’s gaze scanned his body for the telltale sign of blood, but she didn’t see any. Then a thump made her look to where Marley had been standing a moment before. He lay at an odd angle on the rooftop, a bullet hole in his chest, his eyes open and staring at her. Behind him, at the door leading down into the apartment building, stood Chase Parker, Roger’s partner.
Julie sagged against the clothesline, relief washing over her. At that moment the sun touched her leg, then her arm and the side of her face, her skin heating to a searing pain.
“Come on, we have to get you out of here.” Roger pulled a knife from his pocket and hacked away at the ropes, blocking as much of the killing rays of the sun from her skin as his he could while he worked over her bonds.
In a few moments, he lifted her from the roof and ran toward the door just as the top of the building was bathed in sunlight.
Once the door was closed behind her, Roger set her on her feet and stared into her face. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I am now.” Where the sun had burned her skin, the marks had already begun to fade. She shrugged and gave him a wry smile. “One of the perks. I heal fast.”
“Come on, let’s get you home.” Without another word, he led the way down the steps to the bottom floor.
“I have a blanket in the trunk of my car. Wait here.” Parker left them standing in the entryway and ran for the car.
When he returned, Roger wrapped her in the old wool army blanket and hustled her out to the Mustang, settling her low in the backseat.
Parker handed Roger the keys to his car. “Here, take my car. I’ll handle everything here.”
“You sure?” Roger stared hard at his friend and then stuck out his hand. “Thanks.”
From her position in the backseat of the car, Julie called out, “Thanks, Chase. I owe you.”
“Just get inside. I’ll see you later. Maybe you can fill me in on everything then.” Chase saluted her and pulled his cell phone from the leather case on his utility belt. “Go on.”
Roger climbed in and shut the door. A moment later, the car roared to life and whipped out onto the street.
All the way to her place, Julie tried to think of something to say to him, but the longer Roger remained quiet, the less Julie wanted to break the silence. What was he thinking? Was he still angry at her? Did he wish he’d never met her? Did he really mean it when he’d said he loved her?
Julie bet he’d thought she was still unconscious when he’d said those three words. Perhaps she had been and she’d dreamed them.
The car finally eased to a stop and Roger leaped out. Once he’d adjusted the seat forward, Julie climbed from the back seat, the blanket wrapped around as much of her body as she could manage. She hurried into the old house, met in the entryway by William and Kim.
“Thank God.” Kim wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close. “I thought he’d killed you.”
“For a while there I thought he would too,” Julie muttered into her friend’s shirt.
“What about Marley?”
“He’s dead.” Roger stepped in and grabbed Julie’s elbow. “If you have a moment, I’d like to talk.”
Kim’s eyes widened and she moved to stand next to William. “I’ll be across the hall at William’s, if you need me.”
“I shouldn’t, but thank you.” Julie held her breath all the way up the stairs to her apartment, wondering what Roger could possibly have to say that he couldn’t say in front of her friends. Or was this it and he was going to say he never wanted to see her again? Her feet slowed and she almost tripped. Why hurry to listen to that? It was the last thing she wanted to hear from Roger’s mouth. Could she just turn around and walk back out into the sun? Death by burning almost seemed preferable to dying of a broken heart.
Her feet continued moving and eventually she made it to her apartment and inside.
She stood with her back to Roger, listening to the sounds of him softly closing the door. Time to face the music.
Before she could take a deep breath, Roger’s hands descended on her arms and he turned her to face him.
The haggard look on his face made her heart ache.
“I’m sorry, Roger. I should have told you,” she blurted out.
“Shhh.” He pressed finger to her lips.
“But I was wrong to keep it from you.” She ducked her head, afraid to see the disappointment in his eyes. “Yo
u must hate me.”
“Shut up.” His words were followed by his lips, pressing against hers. The heat generated burned sweetly all the way down to her core.
“But—”
“I said shut up. I’m trying to kiss you.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. “Oh.”
Roger took advantage of her surprise and claimed her lips in a soul-defining assault, his tongue pushing past her teeth to tangle with hers.
When she came up for air, Julie’s thoughts were jumbled and she fought to make sense of them. “I don’t understand. I thought you hated me for lying to you.”
“I never hated you. I was mad, but I never hated you.” He kissed her again, his fingers cupping her chin. “How could I?”
She leaned her head against his chest, afraid to believe what she was hearing from the only man she’d ever loved. “I’m a vampire.”
“So?”
“I can’t go to the beach and lie in the sun?”
“Ever heard of walking along the shore in the moonlight?” He blazed a trail of kisses down the side of her neck.
She gulped back the happiness his words gave her. “I can’t have your children.”
“Then I won’t have to share you with anyone else.” His fingers found the hem of her scrubs blouse and he lifted it up over her head. He unclasped her bra and slid the straps from her shoulders. He bent to take a nipple between his teeth, rolling it gently.
Julie’s head dropped back, her breasts pushing out. “I’ll outlive you.”
He sucked the nipple into his mouth and let it go, making a loud popping sound. “I’ll always love you.”
“You’re making it hard for me to let you go.”
“Then don’t.” He tugged the elastic band of her scrubs bottoms downward.
When he reached the floor, she stepped free of her shoes and the pants, standing before him in her bikini panties, feeling incredibly sexy and loved. “Before we go any farther, I have one thing to say.”
With his fists planted on his uniformed hips, Roger gave her a hard stare, the twinkle in his eyes softening the affect. “You’ve already told me you’re a vampire. Are you keeping any other secrets from me that I should know?”