Wicked Love

by Michelle Dare

  Not sure why I just now noticed that the bar was decorated for Halloween. I guessed I’d been too distracted earlier watching Judson’s every move, and the groupies screaming for the band’s attention. There was a large stuffed spider in a cotton web in the corner of the bar. There was a fat witch on a broom above the bar. The cotton spider webs were strewn everywhere.

  My favorite was the life-sized Count Dracula standing in the corner, one eyebrow cocked and his arms folded over his chest. He had blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth, and fangs poking out. I wondered if it was a wax figure or something. It looked pretty real, but I was close enough to know it wasn’t a person.

  Scoffing at the cheese of it all, I turned and looked at the rest of the tacky Halloween décor.

  “It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”

  I whirled around on my stool and was met with a pair of amused green eyes.

  Judson.

  Lifting a shoulder and letting it fall, I said, “Yeah, but it’s Halloween, what do you expect?”

  With him standing way too much in my space, I was going to slide off the stool and back up but decided against it.

  Judson used his beer bottle to point at the Count. “That one’s my favorite.”

  I glanced over my shoulder to look at it, then back to him. “Why’s that?”

  Still, with a flirty look in his eyes, he gestured around the bar but kept his gaze on mine. “Witches, ghosts, killer spiders… none are real.”

  I put my hand on my hip and said, “And vampires are?”

  He nodded and put the bottle to his lips, simply saying, “Yep,” before taking a swig.

  “And how do you know?” I asked, trying to gauge if he’d made me as one, or if he was just trying to pick me up, thinking I was human. He had, after all, tried to lure some out of bars in the past, according to his file.

  A group of women began to pile up behind us. Some were touching him and others were calling his name. A few were bold enough to interrupt our conversation and take quick selfies with him. I acted like it didn’t bother me, but I was more annoyed by the intrusion than the general ridiculousness of the groupies.

  “You wanna get outta here?” he asked, ignoring my question.

  Well, guessed I had my answer.

  Or… did I? Wouldn’t he keep his knowledge of vampires a secret if he was trying to trap or lure me?

  Quite a mystery, this Judson Creed. Smith. Whatever his name was.

  I set my drink down and flipped my hair over my shoulder. “Go where?”

  “Anywhere from here. I’d like to talk to you some more but it’s too damn loud in here.”

  Chuckling, I quipped, “Says the rock star. If it’s too loud, you’re too old, right?”

  He laughed, too. “What’s your name?”

  “Dani. You?”

  “Judson Creed, nice to meet you.” He lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles.

  I mock-rolled my eyes. “Okay, Romeo, let’s get out of here.”

  3

  His apartment was predictably mundane. A bachelor pad to a T. Why I had followed him here instead of just stabbing him in the brain was beyond me. That being said, he was sort of calling to me… the attraction to him giving me pause and making me question everything I’d been trained on in the past six months.

  Once we were in his apartment, everything changed. While trying to maintain his cool demeanor, he still seemed nervous. He offered me refreshments, to which I declined. After plopping my thick ass onto his sofa, I waited for him to come over and join me, and then wondered why I hadn’t cut his head off in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

  Maybe because I had been intrigued by the sexy blond rock star.

  He popped open a bottle of Blue Moon and then sank his muscular body onto the sofa next to me. “So, Dani… what kind of name is that for a girl, anyway?”

  I glanced down at his lap—meat-gazing was my new favorite pastime and I was satisfied with what I saw behind his jeans—and then I let my stare travel up to his firm chest, scruffy jawline, then to his infuriatingly sexy eyes. “Well… Judson… my name is actually Daniela, but it’s just way too much work to speak that extra syllable.”

  With the beer paused at his lips, he cocked his head to the side and regarded me carefully, his eyes filled with what I could only describe as amusement. “Is that so? So, how lazy are you, Daniela?”

  “Very, very lazy. Like, if I were any lazier, I’d slip into a coma.” I grinned at him.

  “Garfield… my favorite eighties cartoon,” Judson replied.

  I laughed. “Yeah, me, too.”

  What the hell was I doing, schmoozing and joking with this guy when I was supposed to be killing him? I tried to analyze it in my mind as he droned on about his band and wanting to take it on the road. He never once mentioned the murdered sister.

  Maybe he was just trying to get laid? Or, hell, even have a civilized conversation with a pretty lady?

  All I knew was that the longer he talked, the softer I was becoming. I also knew that if he had wanted to kill me, he’d have made a move already and certainly not brought me to his place. So… we were sort of at an impasse where only I was aware of this cat and mouse game, in which we were equally the cat and the mouse.

  It was then and there that I decided Judson wasn’t going to die. Well, not yet. I had admittedly killed almost a dozen targets—most of them supernaturals, not humans—but none of them had struck a chord with me the way Judson had. It wasn’t just his good looks. There was a niggling in the back of my brain telling me there was something different about this target. The proof was in the fact I was sitting in his apartment shooting the shit with him instead of just plain shooting him.

  That being said, I’d had enough for the night. He kept scooting closer, touching me intermittently and saying flirtatious things to me.

  I abruptly stood up and smiled down at him. “I’m gonna get going.”

  A look of disappointment crossed his features, but he quickly put on a smile instead. “Okay. I’ll walk you out.”

  “Thanks,” I replied.

  After grabbing my small clutch from his kitchen counter, I let him walk me out to my car. Being a gentleman, he held the door for me and then locked it behind us before escorting me to my Audi. I noticed he didn’t take cautious looks around the parking lot, check over his shoulder, or keep his distance from me—you know, the way paranoid people do.

  This guy was definitely some kind of amateur and not some experienced vampire hunter/vigilante.

  He whistled when we got to my SUV. “Very nice, love the black.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, suddenly regretting the decision because now we were at that awkward should we kiss? moment before I got in and drove away.

  “So, SUV, huh? You have kids?”

  I laughed. “No. I just, ah, transport big things for my job.”

  Crap. Bad choice of words.

  “Oh, yeah, like what?” His gaze ran along the length of my vehicle and I wondered what the hell I was gonna tell him. I was fairly sure “bodies” would freak him out.

  “See, I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” I smirked at him.

  He laughed. “Okay, it’s your secret. I can take a hint.”

  “It’s not a very glamorous job at all, trust me. Sometimes it even gets messy. But it pays the bills,” I replied, really pushing my luck now but enjoying the banter a little too much. I liked the way my intrigue and sarcasm made his gorgeous eyes light up.

  “It seems I’ve got no choice but to take your word for it,” he said, staring directly into my eyes while putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

  “Well, I better go. Gotta get up early for work tomorrow,” I lied.

  He took his hands from his pocket and put them against my car, boxing me in. I immediately stiffened. “I’m gonna kiss you now, Daniela Diaz.”

  Relaxing, I made no move at all, just licked my lips and nodded slightly. When his face met mine, he stopped
and placed a hand up to cup my cheek. With a gentle brush of lips on lips, my body involuntarily arched into his. When he applied more firm pressure to my mouth, I opened up to allow his tongue to sweep in with gentle strokes.

  I was immediately aroused at the way he was kissing me, my panties becoming damp with the simple gesture of a kiss. My nipples pebbled and I moaned into his mouth. Unfortunately, my fangs began to descend—the other involuntary bodily function I couldn’t control.

  Dammit.

  I broke the kiss and smiled up at him with closed lips.

  Retract, stupid eyeteeth!

  “You’re very, very hot, Dani,” he whispered, staring into my eyes.

  I simply nodded, knowing my fangs weren’t all the way retracted yet. I leaned my head onto his chest to avoid showing my face at all, and was quickly rewarded in a firm, warm hug. It relaxed me like nothing else and I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt my teeth were back to human-looking.

  Gently pulling away, I looked up and said, “I really do have to go. Thank you for the kiss and the hug.”

  God, I was so awkward!

  He chuckled. “No, thank you, beautiful.” Then he dropped a kiss on my nose and opened the driver’s side door.

  I threw my clutch onto the passenger seat and then slid into the driver’s seat and smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

  “I hope I can see you again. Can I get your number?”

  Oh, shit. What do I do? I actually wanted to see this guy again. Target or not target, he was hot and I could use a little sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll in my life. And by drugs, I meant blood.

  Fuck it.

  “Sure. Gimme your phone.”

  He slid it from his back pocket and handed it to me. I quickly sent myself a text and handed it back to him.

  He grinned at the text I’d sent him, which read “Dani the Groupie”, and re-pocketed the phone. “Are you really a groupie?” he asked.

  I pushed the button to start the car and shook my head. “Absolutely not.”

  Laughing, he said, “Have a good night.” Then, he closed my door and I drove off with a stupid-ass smile on my face.

  4

  Judson

  Dammit. That was not supposed to happen.

  Vampires were evil, soulless creatures that needed to die. Not hot brunettes with long legs, nice tits, and serious self-control.

  I opened the door to my apartment and then closed and locked it. Eyeing the flask of holy water I kept on the small table next to the front door, I was glad I hadn’t needed to use it on Daniela.

  Truth was, I knew she was a vamp from the first time I’d caught her practically eye-fucking me in the crowd at the club while I’d been onstage. I had always wondered if they knew their eyes reflected silver in fluorescent lights. I mean, they’d usually been alive so long, one would think they’d know these things and stay out of clubs. Or maybe they did know but didn’t pay it any mind. After all, if a human were to say anything, they could just play it off as a trick of lighting.

  Or just use that fucking vampire hypnotism on them.

  I tried hard not to think about the night I first learned about vampires, but unfortunately, it was never avoidable.

  Six months ago, Audrey and I were coming out of Bash. With my arm around her slender shoulders, I was on a high better than any cocaine I could have ever snorted. It was Innubis’s first night onstage and we absolutely killed it. The crowd loved us, and we were taking photos and signing autographs well past two a.m. Audrey had always been my number-one supporter when it came to being in a band, and the smile she’d beamed from ear-to-ear before, during, and after our set had made me feel so proud. As my twin, we didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but she did support me in everything I did.

  All of that ended after we left Bash and were heading toward my bike. I was going to take her home before going back to my apartment to try to get some sleep.

  “I am so happy for you, Jud. I always knew you’d be successful”—she played air-guitar—“but to hear you and see you perform in front of hundreds has totally made my night. My month. My year! I’ll never forget tonight. You’re gonna be famous. I just know it.”

  “Thanks, sis. I’m just so stoked Adam took a chance on us. He could have told us to fuck off.”

  “Adam’s a smart business owner. Just look what he’s done with Bash. He knows talent when he sees it.” Audrey winked at me.

  As we exited the alley, a scruffy man with greasy blond hair and crazed ice-blue eyes seemed to have come out of nowhere. He smiled freakishly as he hopped in front of us, and then froze, like something out of a horror movie.

  “What the fuck?” I said, immediately pushing Audrey behind me.

  The man hissed at me but continued to smile. It was then I noticed the fangs. I relaxed slightly and shook my head. “Listen, there’s a goth club about two blocks from here, you might wanna try that one. Now go away.”

  He moved his gaze from my twin to me, and his smile fell. “I don’t know what goth is, but I have no interest in clubs. I only know the hunger.”

  What the…

  I turned and screamed at Audrey to run. She flicked her gaze to the freak then back to me.

  “Now!” I snapped and watched as my sister went running the opposite direction down the alley. Thankful I had my switchblade in my pocket, I pulled it out and flicked it open. “Get the fuck out of here, freak, before something bad happens to you.”

  He narrowed his eyes and hissed at me once again before taking off down the alley toward my sister. He moved so fast I couldn’t see him. I wished I had known then what I know now—that vamps were like wild animals. Run, and they live for the chase.

  Watching him give chase to my twin lit a panic fire in my chest.

  I had never seen any man or animal move like that, and the dread that settled in my stomach made me want to vomit. What in the ever-loving hell was this thing?

  Screaming at him to stop, I ran as fast as I could after him. But he had disappeared from sight and so had my sister. I slowed down to look down alleyways and around corners, but I couldn’t see either of them. My heart was pounding so fast I thought it might explode out of my chest. Stopping to catch my breath, I had both hands on my knees, wondering what I was going to do. Deciding I didn’t have any other choice, I pulled out my phone to call 9-1-1 when I heard the bloodcurdling scream that continues to haunt my every waking moment.

  I took off toward the sound, but the dread that pooled in my stomach was already there because I just knew this night, that had started as a dream, was going to end in a nightmare. But nothing could prepare me for what I saw when I turned the corner into an alley. Audrey’s prone, bloody body lying carelessly on the ground, her head at an awkward angle and one leg bent against the brick wall of the filthy building. I sprinted toward her and picked her up and began to rock her, telling her everything would be okay. But I knew it wouldn’t. I screamed into the darkness until a nearby cop found us.

  I was in a very bad place for the next couple of months. I stopped going to practice or doing gigs. My bandmates weren’t too happy, but they understood and gave me space. I wasn’t very happy they’d found a temporary guitarist to replace me, but I got over it. After I got tired of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I hoisted myself up by my bootstraps and went back onstage.

  My first night back, the lead singer, Ashton, dedicated the whole set to Audrey per my request. During my downtime I’d been able to pen four songs—ballads—in memory of her and we’d performed those that night. It seemed like after that, our band started to get more attention and recognition.

  There was also something else I started to do after Audrey’s death: Complete and total obsessive research on vampires. By the way the freak had moved, along with all the movies I’d seen, I had a big slap of reality in the days and nights following her death—that vampires were fucking real and one was responsible for my sister’s death. So, aside from writing those songs, the only other productive thing I did in those m
onths was find out everything I could about them. It was a long and lonely project. Honestly, though… how could I have asked anyone for help with this? They’d have me institutionalized. The coroner had ruled Audrey’s death a homicide, and I was grateful he had included bite and tear marks along her neck in the report. He had stated they’d seemed animal-like, but acknowledged that it was impossible, as they didn’t match any kind of animal bite he’d ever seen. Her case was, of course, still unsolved but I was determined to change that.

  At first, my rage and need for vengeance outweighed any common sense. I learned quickly about the silver-eyed characteristic so I hung out in clubs and bars at night, knowing they could not go out during the day. The darker the club, the better to see their freaky reflective eyes. There were nights when I would just follow one out to see where it went, but it seemed like they’d disappeared into thin air. Or they would already be dead, a pile of ash and clothes on the ground. I knew they turned to ash upon death from my research. But I was never able to catch one. Not that I knew what I was going to do once I did. I carried holy water and a wooden stake on me at all times just in case I had to defend myself. I honestly thought I could talk to one, see if they knew which one had killed Audrey.

  When I’d spotted Daniela in the crowd, I figured I might be able to get to know her—pretend to be ignorant of the existence of vampires—and see if I couldn’t draw some information out of her. After all, from what information I’d gleaned out of my research, these creatures hung out in packs or “nests” and most likely all knew each other. After all, Denver wasn’t overrun with supernatural beings or else everyone would be wiser about their existence. What I was unable to figure out was why the one that had attacked my sister had been so feral, almost like a wild animal, while the rest I’d observed seemed to very humanlike. Even the ones I’d seen in other clubs seemed to be normal. Maybe my sister’s killer had just been overly hangry?