“Just a lot of practice,” she said. “I need to talk to him.”
“I’ll go stay with Kevin,” Zoey said.
Victoria noted the disappointment in her voice.
“No,” she said. “You’re a part of this, too. Kevin will be okay. I think.”
Victoria took the lead. She flashed a warm smile as they approached, to let the vampire know they weren’t enemies. He leaned toward his companion and whispered. She nodded and gave him a kiss on the lips before walking away.
He didn’t return Victoria’s smile as they neared. His posture was guarded, defensive.
“Hi,” Victoria said. She kept her voice low and even, knowing he could hear.
He continued to eye them.
“New in town?” he asked.
“We are. Just passing through.”
“I take it you’re the reason one of the humans is missing a pint?”
Victoria smiled.
“A lady gets thirsty.”
“Don’t get cute.”
She turned serious. The vampire wasn’t a newborn. He wasn’t centuries old, like her, but had some age behind him. He considered Sumerset his territory, a behavior Victoria was familiar with. She thought of Baltimore as hers, her responsibility to watch and protect.
“Fair enough. I’m Victoria. This is Zoey. And you are?”
He looked Zoey up and down.
“How old are you?”
Victoria spoke first.
“Her age isn’t any of your concern. We’ve given you our names. What do I call you?”
“I’ve had several names.”
“Don’t get cute,” she said, mirroring his words. “I’m here to show you respect. You consider Sumerset yours?”
“Yes. For the last twenty years or so. I wish I could retire here. But, as you know, that’s probably not going to happen.”
She could relate. Eventually, anonymity would fade away. Mortals would recognize him, compliment how well he looked for his age. Innocent bewilderment would turn to long, hard stares. He’d have to move, learn to call another place home. Victoria had been through it before herself, many times.
“I’m from Baltimore,” she said. “Identity is a little easier there. Maybe you should move to a big city.”
“Or maybe I’ll just stay. I like it here. And maybe you should go back to the big city.”
Victoria was counting the strikes against him. She understood caution, apprehension. Fights between mortals led to broken chairs, maybe some shattered glasses and some stitches. When vampires were involved, stakes were much higher.
She didn’t want to fight. But his attitude was wearing on her.
“Could we talk for a moment? The three of us? In private?”
He nodded, and motioned for her to follow. They pushed through the mortals, brushing past gyrating body parts, toward a door at the back. Two men stood on opposite sides. The nameless vampire didn’t say a word to either of them. They exchanged a few curt nods, and one moved aside to open the door.
Relief took hold as they stepped into the smaller room. It wasn’t quite soundproof, but close. The private room was a smaller clone of the club. A single pool table, one bartender, the ball game played on a television mounted in the corner. There were fewer people enjoying themselves, close to twenty, divided into several groups. Victoria liked the atmosphere.
She couldn’t pinpoint who was who, but there was a blend of vampire and mortal scents.
“Sorry if I seem rude,” he said. “This is a small town. People don’t normally pass through, unless they want to cause problems.”
“We’re actually here to solve a problem,” Victoria said. “We never did get your name.”
“It’s Zeke.”
They approached an empty couch. Zeke sat, but prevented Victoria and Zoey from doing so with a gesture. He nodded to the bartender, who nodded to someone else. Two men broke from their groups and approached.
“Is there a problem?” Victoria asked. She eyed the men, knowing she could disable them easily.
“No. They’re just going to search you for weapons.”
Victoria laughed openly at the thought. She couldn’t remember the last time she even held a gun.
“Be gentle.”
The men were not. The man that patted down Victoria let his hands roam a little too long. She could hear his heartbeat quicken.
“That’s enough there, friend,” she warned.
Zeke motioned them away, then gestured for them to sit. She checked on Zoey with a quick glance. The girl was overwhelmed, out of her element, but holding it together well.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’m just looking for some information. Is anything unusual happening in this town?”
He laughed. A woman approached and silently handed him a flask of blood.
“That’s a loaded question. Could you be more specific?”
Victoria wasn’t sure she could. Not without going into a long history of witches and magic.
“Vampires acting strangely. Meeting at odd hours. Perhaps with humans they wouldn’t usually deal with. Any weird sales going on? Large amounts of money changing hands?”
Zeke shook his head.
“The only thing unusual happening here is you.” He regarded Zoey. “And that your friend is young enough to be my great granddaughter.”
“I think something is happening here.” Victoria pulled out a photo of the nameless vampire. “Do you know who this is?”
“I can’t say I do. I know of people, but I don’t know everyone.”
She studied him, trying to determine how much trust to place in him.
“We’re going to stay here. I’m not sure how long yet. I just want you to know. We’re not enemies, and we won’t cause you any problems.”
He sighed.
“I’m sorry, but … no. You’ll be leaving. Tonight.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“Was it something I said?”
“I’m old enough to know what trouble smells like. And the both of you, you stink very badly.”
“But I showered four days ago.”
“Enough. I’m not sure I like your attitude, either.”
“Relax. I was joking.” Victoria shook her head sadly. Zeke wasn’t easily charmed. She noticed several vampires in the groups, their eyes on them. They were mentally preparing for a fight. “Look, Zeke, no one wants a battle, here. I’m not here to fight. We’ll happily pay for however long we’re here.”
“You’re not hearing me,” he said, rising to his feet. “You have an hour to leave my town.”
Victoria stood as well. Zoey followed suit, and the atmosphere in the room changed. The idle social chatter stopped. Several vampires stepped forward, clenching their fists. One human reached under the bar and pulled out a shotgun. Another unveiled a handgun.
“Victoria,” Zoey said, her first words in some time. Her tone was strained, worried.
Victoria agreed. Her experience could only take her so far. A mob was still a difficult thing to handle.
“Hey!” she said. “Would you stop? Zeke, I’m on your side, here.”
“I said—”
His words died when something caught his attention. Victoria saw it, too.
A vial, heading toward the ceiling.
The glass shattered. There wasn’t even enough time for confused glances before every human in the room lost consciousness. They collapsed and landed on top of each other. Some took the tumble harder than others. Arm and legs wove and entwined like puzzle pieces. A gun skidded across the floor.
The vampires looked about, stunned, before one head turned toward the corner of the room. All other eyes followed, including Victoria and Zoey’s. Kevin stood there, leaning against the wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
At his side, he held a mirror.
One vampire raced forward, toward him. Victoria moved to intercept, but knew she didn’t have the angle.
It didn’t matter. Ke
vin had prepared.
He lifted the mirror and pointed it at his attacker. The light struck home, catching the vampire in the face. He crumbled in agony. The scent of burning flesh filled the room as a pool of blood formed under him. Smoke rose from his skin. Zoey recoiled and clutched Victoria’s arm.
Three other vampires inched forward, including Zeke, but fell still when Kevin raised his weapon. His words were simple.
“No one move.”
They listened.
Zeke spoke, his words equally simple.
“What the fuck?”
Seconds of silence passed as Zeke’s group tried to figure out what was happening. One risked moving closer to their fallen companion and checked on him. Kevin allowed it. He shrugged out of his coat and looked at Zoey. He tossed it at her from across the room, but the toss wasn’t natural. The coat floated over the carpet, as if an invisible rope pulled it along. Zoey caught it as it approached.
“Put that on,” Kevin said. “If things get bad, cover your head.”
Frustration gnawed at Victoria, along with a sense of pride. Kevin would protect anyone, especially those close to him. When the time called for it, he had no problem taking control of any situation.
“Who are you?” Zeke asked.
“The three of us are going to walk out of here,” Kevin said. “You won’t try to stop us.” He showed off another vial in his free hand. “Do you see this? If I smash it against this mirror here—” He held up both items. “Every vampire in this room turns to dust, except for them.” He pointed at Victoria and Zoey. “Do you understand?”
Victoria motioned for Kevin to join them. The vampires made no move. Zeke kept his gaze locked on the trio. Victoria met his hard stare with one of her own.
“Just leave us alone,” she said. “And we’ll be gone before you know it. I’m sure we’ll be in touch. If anything does cross your mind that you want to talk about, call me.”
She set a business card on a chair near the door.
They left the private room and returned to the premier club. Victoria led the way. Pride waned as the frustration grew. Kevin and Zoey spoke behind her.
“Kevin!” Zoey said. “That was amazing!”
“Thanks. Are you both alright?”
“Yeah. Could you really have killed everyone in there?”
“No,” he said sheepishly. “But hurt them, yes. I exaggerated a little.”
“Oh, here,” Zoey said, removing and handing over his coat. “Would this have protected me? I hope you weren’t lying about that.”
Kevin laughed.
“You’d have been safe. Same with Victoria. The coat protects—”
He didn’t get to finish. They’d stepped onto the sidewalk outside the club, into the cool night air. Victoria quickly turned to face him. Her stern expression was enough to silence him.
“Kevin,” she said, searching for words. “That … wasn’t smart.”
“Huh? What?”
“No one in that room knew about witches. Now, they all know.”
“I was trying to help. If I didn’t, they would have beaten the shit out of you both.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. But we would have survived. Zeke’s not a killer. But now, who knows what he and his friends will do? Maybe hunt you down? Try to figure out what you are?”
Zoey meekly raised her hand.
“Uh, I, for one, am glad we didn’t get beat up.”
“I know, I know,” Kevin said. “Low profile.”
Victoria nodded.
“And that wasn’t it. Those mortals, they’re going to wake up and ask questions. You just exposed everyone there to witchcraft, and you didn’t have to.”
“I’m not letting a bunch of thugs, whether they’re human or not, beat on my friends.”
“Your safety, your anonymity, is much more important than—”
“No,” he interrupted, surprising her. “To whatever you’re about to say. No, it’s not.”
Victoria was speechless for the first time in decades. Kevin turned and walked away, toward the hotel. Zoey followed him slowly for a moment, then turned to face Victoria. She shrugged, almost apologetically, before sprinting to catch up to her friend. Victoria didn’t want to think in terms of taking sides, but apparently, Zoey agreed with Kevin.
She smiled to herself as she trailed behind. Kevin was powerful, passionate, and kind. He wanted to use his powers only for good. He was amazing, and sometimes, she wanted to slap him silly.
While unproductive, the night wasn’t a total loss. She’d learned a few things, even if Zeke had nothing to offer. He was in control of his town, and might be useful later. He wasn’t trustful of outsiders, meaning he was honest when he said he didn’t know of anything unusual happening under his nose.
Victoria brushed her hair away from her eyes with a sigh. She didn’t want to admit it, but maybe Jack was right. Not everything led to a neatly closed case.
Still, she had to wonder what secrets Sumerset held.
CHAPTER 13
THE SCENTS WERE an unusual medley as they danced through Marie’s nose. She immediately recognized Jack’s delicious chocolate aroma. There were other scents, not nearly as pleasant. She almost winced as a hint of something horrible assaulted her, and her eyes fell on the woman at Jack’s side. Frail, exotic, with copper skin. Her expression gave away that she was overwhelmed. Her scent gave away that she was a witch, lately an additional element to Marie’s life. All witches smelled terrible to her, except for Kevin. It was an odd mix of rotten garbage and moldy towels. She wished she could forget the scent, but that wasn’t a simple task for a werewolf.
The young child smelled far better. An appealing blend of coffee and pine. Her scent told Marie what she already knew. Jack and Tiffany weren’t biologically related. Their scents weren’t alike in any way.
There was the scent of hot dogs, from an earlier meal. Marie’s own stomach growled. The smell made her hungry.
“Hi,” Marie said, after Jack’s tired leash joke. She shifted the shopping bags she collected to her left hand and extended her right. “I’m Marie.”
“You’re also uninvited,” Jack said. “What are you doing here?”
The child who could only be Tiffany ignored her adopted father and stepped forward, holding out her hand.
“Hi! I’m Tiffany. Are you Jack’s girlfriend?”
Marie was taken back, her jaw dropping. She didn’t expect that question at all, much less the very first asked of her.
“Uh, no?” she said, her own tone sounding silly to her. “No, we’re not a couple.”
Jack wore that smirk, saying nothing. She was still getting to know him, but knew enough to realize that he was enjoying watching her squirm.
“Oh?” Tiffany said. “You’re just friends?”
Marie let out her own smirk.
“I wonder about that myself, sometimes.”
Tiffany rolled her eyes and nodded, and Marie almost burst out laughing.
“Are you hungry? We have to fix up a bedroom, but you should eat with us.”
With that, Tiffany moved past and unlocked the front door. The woman next to Jack said nothing. No hello, no introduction. She merely smiled as she followed Tiffany into the house. Marie still held her shopping bag. She would have thought the woman rude, but she came across as more awkward and odd.
Jack took a step toward her.
“You should have told me you were coming.” A playful twinkle danced in his eye. “I would have cleaned up the yard. Filled up the water bowl. Made up a bed for you.”
“Get all the little jokes out now, please. So we can move on.”
He took another step, far closer than friends would allow. His scent was intoxicating, but she’d already told him that once. She didn’t plan on telling him again.
“You look good,” he said.
Marie smiled. She was beginning to understand Jack’s language. That translated to I’ve missed you.
“Thank you. So do you.”
She squeezed his arm, and he didn’t back away. She had the feeling there would be more touching in their future.
“What brings you to my town? You picked a hell of a first time to drop on by.”
They walked shoulder to shoulder to his porch. He was a full head taller than Marie.
“You owe me,” she said simply. “I’m here to collect.”
“Owe you? For what?”
She laughed at his brief memory.
“You asked me to watch your friend. Kevin. Not only did I do that, but I saved his life. You’re lucky I don’t charge double.”
“Whoa, whoa. I call bullshit. There is no way I called him my friend.”
“He’s a good kid,” she said, smiling. “I like him.”
“We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that one.”
“Anyway, we decided on new TVs for the bar. Renovating my office area.” She gave him a flirty smile. “And some other things.”
“Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like me. That’s an awful lot of business mixed with pleasure.”
“We do it all the time.”
“Hmm. I don’t know.”
She took his hand as they approached the front door. Tilting her head back, she pulled him in for a kiss. The world faded away for a moment. His hands drifted to her hips. Her animal instincts crept from the shadows, and she let out a quiet growl. Jack was the only man she’d ever been with that knew what she was.
“Wait,” he said, holding her close. “I’m remembering something.”
“I bet you are.”
A noise pounded Marie’s ears. Loud music blared. Her ears filtered it, reducing it to a more comfortable level. Wincing, she turned toward the house. Through the living room window, she could see Tiffany dancing in the kitchen. Her companion sat on the couch, watching and laughing.
“And the fun begins,” Jack said. “I thought you said you didn’t want to meet my daughter?”
“I’m just here to get my payment,” she said, rubbing the back of his thigh. “Not propose.” Her gaze fell on the woman. “Who’s the witch?”
He arched an eyebrow, surprised.
“You can tell?”
“Yeah. They, uh—” She couldn’t find the right words. “Don’t smell very good.”
Damned and Cursed | Book 10 | Fallen Skye Page 18