Kiss of Death (Blood Brothers Book 1)

by Annie Harland Creek

  “I’m sorry, David. The longer he remains at large, the more I fear for Anna and her friend.”

  “And Anna? How is she coping?”

  “She believes the worst. I must admit. I don’t hold out much hope of finding her alive either. If Torke has the girl—”

  “No. I still believe he is holding her as bait. She wouldn’t be a bargaining tool is she was dead. He’s sure to make a move soon.”

  “As much as I want to head straight to Anna’s house, I should check in at the gym. Torke may go after other staff members.”

  “Let me do that. You need to be with Anna and I’m sure she needs you.”

  “Really? Thanks, David. I owe you.” He hung up the phone and bolted for his Porsche.

  Chapter Fifteen

  David did a double take when he opened the office door. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay at home?”

  Anna sat at the desk. Dark circles ringed her eyes and strands of her hair stood on end as though they hadn’t seen a brush for days.

  “I was getting cabin fever.” Anna shuffled together some of the papers on her desk and carried them to the filing cabinet. “I must have lost track of time. It must be dark if you’re here.”

  “I have no idea what you mean by that?”

  “Come on, David. Enough with the jokes. I’m too tired to play this game and Derrick must have told you that I know what you are.”

  “You mean that we’re devilishly handsome, super rich, and generously endowed.”

  “David!”

  “Okay. At least I’m those things. Derrick is moderately attractive, comfortably rich, and adequately endowed.”

  “Fine, play your games, but could you at least tell me where Derrick is?”

  “Probably waiting on your doorstep.”

  “Damn. I had hoped to be home before he got there.” She checked her watch. “He’s probably going to be pissed.”

  A commotion outside the office caught their attention and Anna raced to open the door.

  “What is it?” she asked Carol who was sobbing in Stephen’s arms.

  “They just announced on the radio … it’s so awful.”

  “What’s awful?” she shook Carol by her shoulders. “What is it Carol?”

  “A body. The police have found the body of a young blonde woman stuffed behind the industrial bins in an alley on Shelly Beach road. They say she’s been dead a couple of days. Oh, Anna, do you think it is … oh, god.”

  “No. It’s not her. It can’t be.” Surely she would have sensed something? Anna ran back to her office and grabbed her handbag. She rummaged in it for her car keys as she ran to the car park. David was already there waiting.

  “Stay here, Anna. I’ll go and see if it’s your friend.”

  “No, David. Get out of my way.” She vainly tried to move him away from the driver’s side of her car until it was obviously useless. Breaking down in tears she begged him, “Please, David. I must know.”

  “Derrick is going to kill me for this but … all right. If you must go, let me drive you.”

  They rushed to David’s gray Aston Martin and tore out of the car park, tires squealing.

  Using their telepathic connection, David informed Derrick of the situation. “Stay with her,” Derrick begged his brother. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

  ****

  David pulled up to the curb beside a police car instructing Anna to stay in the car until he had spoken with the officer in charge. She watched the expression on the officer’s face turn from irritation to compliance as David stared into his eyes while he spoke. She realized he was using a compulsion, much like Derrick had used on her when he erased her memories. David followed the officer into the alley behind the group of stores and disappeared from view. She waited impatiently as minutes passed without a sign. Ten minutes later, two men in dark jumpsuits wheeled a body bag from the alley. It was more than Anna could bear. She jumped from the car and ran towards the stretcher, hitting what felt like a solid wall. “No, Anna. You don’t want to see what’s in that bag.”

  “Derrick?” Anna looked up from the silk covered chest that blocked her path and into the violet blue eyes she had missed for twenty-four hours. One day felt like a lifetime.

  “If it’s Susie, she wouldn’t want you to see her that way.”

  “I have to know for sure.” Anna sobbed. “Please, let me go.”

  “No need to put yourself through the horror of opening that bag, Anna.” David announced as he approached. “I’ve saved you the trouble.”

  “Is it—?”

  “No. It wasn’t your friend Susie.”

  “Are you sure, David?”

  “Positive.”

  Anna’s legs crumpled and she fell into Derrick’s arms. He scooped her up and held her as David explained.

  “It was a young blonde woman but unless Susie suddenly lost around twenty kilos since I saw her last and managed to hide a multitude of track marks, it was not her.”

  “Any idea who she was?” David carried Anna over to a bench and helped her sit. She clung to him, afraid he would disappear the moment she let go.

  “The police believe she was a runaway who was living on the streets. She probably came here to meet a drug dealer and was ambushed by vampires.”

  “Was it Torke’s handiwork?” Anna struggled to even say his name.

  “I doubt it.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because it was a very brutal attack. Torke has a reputation for leaving tidy corpses. His methods are quick and neat. This poor young woman was torn apart. Most likely an entire rogue coven judging by the multiple wounds.”

  Anna buried her head inside Derrick’s jacket and shuddered. What if Susie had met the same fate? “Oh god. What if they got Susie too?”

  “We’re going to find her. I promise you that.”

  She raised her head in time to see Derrick stare his brother squarely in the face as he made his pledge. David nodded and left.

  ****

  As they walked back to Derrick’s Porsche, Anna remembered her conversation with Sofie and she enlightened Derrick about her experience. He admitted that there may be some truth in the woman’s story.

  “Maybe it’s time we paid Sofie another visit.”

  “Do you think she may know what happened to Susie?”

  “Even if she can’t help, I don’t see any harm in asking.”

  “It’s late night shopping so the store should be open. It’s not far from here so we may as well walk.”

  As they strolled the short distance to the store, Anna glanced at a missing person poster attached to a street light post. She turned her head and saw that all the posts in the street were covered with similar posters. “How many of these people do you think met with the same fate as the young woman in the alley?”

  “I don’t think you want to know.” Derrick stared blankly ahead but gave Anna’s hand a squeeze.

  “I thought we were past keeping secrets, Derrick. Tell me the truth, no sugar coating.”

  “All of them.”

  “You’re not serious?” she froze on the spot.

  “You said you wanted the truth.” He turned to face her. “I believe all the people on those posters are dead.”

  “Did you—?”

  “No. None of them. How could you even think that?”

  “I’m no expert but as far as I know you don’t drink vegetable juice.”

  “I’m not a killer, not anymore—not unless I’m forced.”

  “So you don’t kill when you drink human blood?”

  “No, I don’t. Can we drop this subject? I think we have more pressing matters.”

  Anna remained silent but David’s reluctance to answer worried her. How was she to learn about his way of life if he refused to discuss it? Maybe Sofie had the answers?

  Sofie was in the process of hanging the closed sign on the door to the shop when Anna and Derrick approached but opened the door and motioned
for them to enter before pulling the shades.

  “I was expecting you.” She hugged each in turn. “So pleased to see you Derrick.”

  “Do you know where she is?” Anna felt there was no use beating around the bush. Sofie had been right about the danger; she probably knew what had happened.

  “I warned you about Torke. He will stop at nothing to get you and in answer to your question, yes … he has Susie.”

  “Is she—?”

  Sofie felt her way down Anna’s arm to find her hand. She gave it a squeeze. “She’s alive, Anna. At least for now.”

  “How? How did he get his hands on her?” In the short time that Anna had known Susie, she had come to the conclusion that she had street smarts. There is no way she would go willingly with a man like Torke.

  “The blind date.” Sofie reminded her. “Torke set up a trap. The man drugged her drink and he took her to Torke.”

  “This man—is he a vampire?”

  “No. Not a vampire, just a bad person.” She motioned for them to sit and did the same.

  “Why would he want to help Torke?”

  “Evil men are attracted to vampires and what they represent. He wants something from Torke. It could be power, fortune, or even eternal life. In this case, I think this man wants all those things and will stop at nothing to get them.”

  Anna slumped back in her chair. “He wants to be made into a vampire?”

  “Yes, I believe he has wanted that for a long time.”

  “I can’t believe there are people who would actually choose to become monsters.”

  “Not all vampires are monsters, Anna. Your man—Derrick, he’s a good man. His brother is also a good man. Cheeky, but good.”

  “How do you know them?”

  “Derrick helped me and my daughter when my husband passed away. He is very kind and I sense he loves you very much.”

  Anna waited until Derrick moved away to examine a statue at the other end of the story. She whispered. “He’s a secretive man.”

  “Secrets are a necessary evil sometimes. Take your situation for example.”

  She shook her head. “You’re wrong, Sofie. I’m an open book. My parents used to joke that I always wore my heart on my sleeve and my face was always a giveaway when I tried to lie.”

  “I’m talking about the secrets involving you, Anna. Before Torke came to our town, your mother sensed his arrival and knew that he would be attracted to our coven’s power. She feared that if we challenged him, he would blackmail us by threatening to hurt our loved ones. She gave us each a spell to place on objects for our families to block Torke from connecting them to us and another to wipe any memory of the family of those who passed away so that Torke couldn’t use our memories to track down other families. Your mother tried to hide you from Torke and she did the same with your father. Until the day you walked into my shop and I touched your palm, my memories of you were gone. She did this to protect us all from Torke’s probing. She was a wonderful, brave woman.”

  “I know.” Anna nodded, although she was beginning to realize that she didn’t really know her mother at all. She turned to Derrick. “Do you think you could wait outside? I have a few things I would like to discuss with Sofie, in private.”

  He narrowed his eyes and his lips tightened but he left the store without complaint. Anna waited until he was across the street before asking, “What about Derrick and David? How much do you know about them? Do they have anything to do with Torke’s history here?”

  “One question at a time, Anna. It was David who came to my attention first…” She smiled as if a memory had interrupted her thoughts. “That man is such a tremendous flirt. I don’t believe there is a serious bone in his body. He started visiting me when the brothers first arrived from England, just after the fire in the warehouse. I believe it was his duty to find out as much about the incident as he could so he could report back to the Vampire council. In all these years, I have never felt any danger in his presence and I actually feel safer when he is around. To be honest, I’ve had a little crush on David and more than a few fantasies—”

  “That’s more that I need to know about David.” Anna did not want Sofie to elaborate on her x-rated fantasies.

  “Sorry.” Sofie cleared her throat. “What I mean to say is that these men are not killers. Although…”

  “Although what?”

  “David once told me that when he was turned, his first instinct was to kill. The demon inside him was hard to control but he conquered his lust for the hunt. Not all vampires succeed. Some are consumed by the blood lust and never recover. Others only lose control for short periods of time. There is no way of knowing the outcome until after the transformation.”

  “So, if Torke turns me into a vampire, I may attack humans?” She shuddered at the thought.

  “David and Derrick would not allow that to happen. They are strong leaders, sent here as to take over the area after Torke had left. Torke was self-absorbed and didn’t bother to train the vampires that he had turned so they became a real problem in the community. It was the Corel brothers’ responsibility to clean up the streets, so to speak, and they did a great job.”

  “What about all the ‘missing’ posters around town,” Anna pointed out. “They couldn’t be doing as good a job as you describe.”

  “All these posters went up the day after you arrived.” Sofie told her. “It was the strangest thing, like a plague had hit town.”

  “So I brought death to Azure Waters?” Her hand shot to her throat. All those people … dead because of me?

  “No, Anna. I’m saying that Torke brought death back here and he will continue to kill as long as he remains on this earth.”

  “But he came for me?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  Anna wasn’t sure how to react. She already knew in her heart that this was the case but hearing it out loud made it seem more real.

  She reached out and took Sofie’s hand, trying not to be offended when Sofie shuddered at her touch. “Your premonitions seem pretty accurate. Please tell me, am I going to die?”

  “He hasn’t decided yet,” Sofie answered honestly. “He would like to make you an immortal as a payback to your mother, but he harbors so much hate, he may kill you outright.” She patted Anna’s hand and added, “I’m so sorry to be blunt but you need to know that you are in real danger.”

  “Well…” Anna sighed. “…I did ask for an honest answer.” She thought for a minute and then asked, “What did my mother do to him to piss him off so badly that he tried to kill a whole coven of witches along with my entire family?”

  “Vanity is a trait shared by humans and supernatural beings,” Sofie informed her.

  “As I was saying, Torke was once a handsome man, not as handsome as Derrick and David mind you, but definitely a head turner.”

  Anna was tempted to ask how Sofie could tell that the brothers were handsome seeing as how she was blind but considering Sofie’s talents, she assumed there was a way.

  “He used his looks to attract willing victims, humans who would gladly offer some of their blood in order to spend time with him.”

  “Did he kill them?”

  “Not at first. He was satisfied with taking enough blood for a meal and compelling the victims to forget afterwards. But after a while, he became bored and began to take advantage of some of the women, sexually. Our coven confronted him and ordered him to stop.”

  “I guess he didn’t listen?”

  Sofie shook her head and continued. “Your mother was our strongest witch and our elected leader. She demanded that he stop or else she would hex him. He laughed in her face and we found out that the next day he had raped and then killed a young woman. Your mother called a meeting at the warehouse. We knew that we weren’t strong enough, even as a group, to stop him completely, so Elena decided that we should put a curse on him, making him as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside which would make it difficult for him to attract his victims. She als
o blocked his ability to compel his victims so he had no way, besides ambush to feed on humans.”

  “I guess that didn’t go over very well.”

  “Especially because it was clear to all of us that Torke lusted after your mother. He took her rejection hard and the hex very personally.”

  “So … what happened on the night of the fire?”

  “He came seeking vengeance. Your mother was late getting to the meeting, you had a bad cold and she was reluctant to leave you. By the time she arrived, the building was ablaze and all besides me were dead.”

  “How did you escape?”

  “Strangely enough, it was Torke who saved me. I was young and overconfident. I tried to be a heroine by confronting him. He struck me, his claws raking my eyes, and the force of the blow sent me sailing through one of the windows. I was unconscious outside in the gutter when he set fire to the warehouse and by time I regained consciousness, it was all over.”

  “That must have been awful for you Sofie.” Anna leaned across and hugged her. “You must have felt so helpless.”

  “Feeling unable to help those you love is a terrible burden, Anna,” Sofie told her. “It can influence your behavior and it often leads to misunderstandings.”

  “I’m sure it does,” Anna agreed, although she wondered why Sofie shared this information.

  “Torke is an evil man but not all vampires are evil.” Sofie stood up and walked to one of the counters, holding her cane in front although she seemed to know by instinct and memory where she was going.

  Anna rose too and followed, arguing, “But they drink blood.”

  “Yes, and you eat meat.”

  “That’s not the same.”

  “In some cultures, eating meat is considered barbaric.”

  “I don’t kill the meat myself and I certainly don’t eat the meat while it’s alive.”

  “Not all vampires kill to eat and there are some humans who offer their blood freely.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s a pleasurable experience.” She winked a knowing smile.

  Heat rose to Anna’s cheeks. Her experience of being a human beverage did come with a certain amount of pleasure.

  “I don’t want to discuss blood sucking anymore today. I want to find Susie before it’s too late. Can you help me?”