by M. L. Guida
Chapter Eleven
Jayden sang, gripping the microphone tighter, and glared at the vampire killers. Bastards! Where the hell was his mother? God, he wished he could read minds like Anne Rice’s vampires, instead of playing this Sherlock Holmes’s game of catch me if you can crap.
The crowd hollered and rocked to the next three sets of songs. Power thumped through Jayden’s veins, and he tried to pretend he wasn’t upset about his kidnapped mother. That he wasn’t terrified his supposed best friend was about to slit her throat. He needed a plan.
He wanted to rush to the encore, but it would give his plan away. Wishing the songs were shorter, he completed the sets. Nightmare played their last song and bowed. He introduced his members, then exited to the stage left where Justin and Eleanor waited.
Derek ran over to him. He seized his arm. “Jayden, you better come to the dressing room quick.”
They all three followed back to the dressing room. Michael had Robbie cornered against the wall.
“We’re not going to hurt her unless we have to,” Robbie said. “She’s bait.”
“Shut up, Dane,” Michael said, as he shoved him up against the wall. “Be cool, Kye.”
His warning voice sent danger signals down Jayden’s spine.
“If you want her alive,” Robbie said, “you’ll go where we tell you.”
Michael grabbed Robbie’s shirt and shook him. “Will. You. Shut. Up?”
But it wasn’t Michael and Robbie’s arguing that caught his attention. Jayden’s thumping heart raced faster than his motorcycle. A knife, coated with mud, stabbed a piece of paper into the wooden panel.
Big red letters read—Be at Rainbow Lake at midnight, or She dies. Bring the bitch.
Jayden recognized the slanted handwriting. It was Desmond’s. People were talking around him, but he couldn’t hear them. All he could hear was his blood rushing between his ears. He felt like he’d jumped into a crime show and waited for the F.B.I. to tell him to wait for the ransom call and not to panic. But there would be no ransom call. There would be no F.B.I.
A hand squeezed Jayden’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man,” Derek said. “Desmond must have put it up here while we were on stage.”
Eleanor wrapped her hands around his arm and laid her head against it. “Oh, Jayden.”
Justin ripped the note from the knife. “What the hell is this? Some deranged fan’s idea of a joke.”
“No, it’s not a joke,” Robbie said. “They’re—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Michael slammed his fist into his mouth, splitting open his lip. Robbie’s head smacked against the wall. Blood trickled down his chin.
“Once and for all,” Michael said. “Shut your damn pie hole.”
Robbie scrambled to his feet. “I’m going to…”
“You’re going to what?” Jayden said. The scent of fresh blood stirred Jayden’s hunger. The blood was warm, tantalizing, salty. He licked his lips and took a step toward Robbie, his eyes focused on the crimson. He itched to run his finger down Robbie’s chin and suck the blood off his finger like batter. He opened his mouth, flashing his incisors.
Robbie paled and pressed his back against the wall.
Eleanor squeezed his arm tight and pulled him back. “No, Jayden.”
Her steel hands wouldn’t let him move. If he tried to fight her, she’d throw him onto the ground and pin him. He took deep breaths, pushing the blood lust back and lowered his head. He closed his eyes and counted. One. Two. Three. As his desire to kill edged away, his breathing returned to normal.
“Kye, are you all right?” Michael asked.
Fear crept into his voice.
“No, not really,” Jayden muttered.
He opened his eyes. He was back in control. Barely. If Eleanor hadn’t been here, Robbie would have been a depleted bean bag.
“Why Rainbow Lake?” Derek asked.
“Because it was a special place for Kye and his brother,” Michael said. He shook his head. “What a bastard.”
Jayden didn’t answer. He didn’t need too. Rainbow would be pitch-black, icy, and snow-packed. And cold. Frostbite cold.
He didn’t know how the assholes would be able to see. But he would. He was a vampire.
And what about his mother? Would she be warm enough? Had Desmond thought to bring her coat? Even if she had it, he doubted it would battle the deathly chill at midnight.
“What are you going to do?” Michael asked.
Jayden shrugged, not willing to make a statement with Robbie watching his mood.
Eleanor stepped in front of him. She lowered her voice, practically mouthing the words, “You’re not going up there without me.”
He kissed her on the lips briefly and stepped around her, heading back on stage. Derek followed him into the hallway. “You’re going up there, aren’t you?”
Jayden unscrewed the lid on the water bottle and brushed past him.
“Kye,” Derek called. “We need a plan.”
A plan could get Derek and Michael killed. He didn’t know this Desmond. A week ago, he’d have smashed his fist into anyone who suggested that Desmond would hurt his family or a member of the band. But now, he didn’t know what lengths Desmond would take to see him and Eleanor dead.
Jayden pulled the curtain on the stage and scanned the audience. He was going to march over to Desmond and give him his answer in person, showing the bastard he wasn’t scared. To his horror, Desmond was no longer sitting at the tall table. A couple of rowdy drunks were loud and downed their beer. At the bar, the two burly vampire killers were gone, along with the red-headed woman. Were they afraid to confront him after he’d read their damn note?
A delicate, feminine scent filled his senses and soft curves molded next to him. He turned around, and Eleanor put her hands on his massive chest.
“You’re not thinking of going there alone, are you?”
“Eleanor, it’s too dangerous. You need to stay home.”
“The note said both of us are to come. And I think I’ve proved once or twice that I can take care of myself and you.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near Rainbow Lake.”
“I know you don’t.” Her voice grazed softly against his ear like a warm summer breeze. She leaned close and kissed him.
He closed his eyes to block out the background music playing and the loud voices. All that mattered was Eleanor. Her velvety tongue probed to open his mouth. Jayden wrapped his arms around her to taste what she invited. He slipped his hand around her neck, and his thumb brushed her vein. He could feel the blood pumping through her, and he wrestled with sinking his fangs in her flesh, and feasting on her blood, but he pushed it back. She was sweet and succulent. Her taste wiped away the fear and hate burning in his mouth.
The kiss deepened into something fiery it was tender, hot, desperate. This could be the last time they tasted each other’s lips, explored each other’s mouths. The world melted away and only Eleanor existed. He indulged in what she offered and molded her close to him, wishing he could feel her skin-to-skin. Lightning rushed in his veins, and he wanted so much more than kissing.
Jayden’s body burned with fever, throbbed with urgency, with hunger. He wanted to take her back to her mansion and run his hands over her naked body, licking and sucking her, discovering all of her sensitive secrets, what brought her to orgasm.
She pressed her breasts against his chest and her thumping heartbeat matched his rhythm. They were one. Little whimpers escaped from her throat, and it heightened his passion. God, his self-control was weakening. How could he think of kissing and satisfying his lust with Eleanor when his mother’s life was in danger?
He broke off the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. “I’ve got to finish these last songs. And—”
“Then we’ll go to Rainbow Lake together,” she said.
Michael and Derek came up on either side of him. “We’re coming too,” Michael said.
“No, you’re not,” Jayden said. �
�It’s too dangerous.”
“You can’t stop us,” Derek said. His voice was determined and hard.
Jayden raised an eyebrow, and Eleanor rolled her eyes. He only hoped she didn’t tie his drummer and bass player into human pretzels.
“Okay, maybe you can.”
“Don’t under estimate me,” she mumbled under her breath.
Derek lifted his hands, his palms facing them. “Okay, okay. I get it. You’re both bad asses. But we want to help.” He punched Jayden in the arm. “You might be the undead. But you’re our lead singer.” He lowered his voice. “And more important—our brother.”
“Yeah, you can’t get rid of us that easily,” Michael said. “Besides they won’t be expecting all of us.”
Jayden didn’t have time to argue with them. He couldn’t believe how they accepted him and didn’t run to the other side, threatening to hunt him and Eleanor down. A hole formed in his heart. Why couldn’t Desmond be like this? How could he have missed judged him so badly? Burying the pain, he scanned behind his two knights. “Where’s Robbie?”
Derek stuck out his thumb. “Justin’s tying Mr. Fat-ass up.” He flashed a grin. “He wasn’t happy doing it, but Robbie kept threating to burst onto the stage and tell the audience you’re a vampire. Justin stuffed a rag in his mouth to shut him up. He doesn’t want his customers upset or thinking that the bar doesn’t know the difference between Halloween and Christmas.”
“We need to get through the encore quickly. We’ll do a cappella,” Jayden said. His voice was stronger than the uneasiness inside him. He had never sung a cappella and hoped they could pull it off. Springsteen did, but then again, he was Springsteen.
Eleanor slipped her hand into his and squeezed it. Her assurance gave him the little burst to convince band members.
Derek squinted. “You’re kidding?”
“No, I’m not,” Jayden said. “Christmas is only three days away. The crowd will love it.” Darkness spread through him and his fangs lengthened. “Then we go get my mom.”
Michael clapped Jayden’s stiff shoulder. “We’ll find her, man. We ain’t going to let a couple of psychos hurt your mom.”
Jayden released a shaky breath. For Desmond’s sake, his mother better be in one piece. If he’d hurt one hair on her head, there would be no hole in hell that the bastard could hide where Jayden wouldn’t find him.
Eleanor leaned her head against his arm, and the scent of her fragrant hair helped push back the rage threatening to burst through him. He only had a couple of more songs to perform. He could do this. “Let’s roll,” he said.
Michael and Derek followed him out onto the set while Eleanor waited in the wing. He wished Justin would return. He felt better when he was there. She was stronger than any man in the nightclub, but alarm rang through him as he stepped out onto the stage. Besides, he knew she carried her derringer.
The crowd clapped and hooted. Their roar sent adrenaline gushing through his veins. It was better than getting high, and he never wanted it to end. With a little push, he thought he could fly. Maybe with his vampire powers, someday he would. The hair on his arm stood straight up as if he had rubbed his arm with a balloon. But the atmosphere was different tonight, as if evil had settled into the Mountain Bar Grill, the shadows shielding it. Watching. Waiting.
Lights faded on the patrons and a white and red stage light shined on Jayden, Michael, and Derek. He blinked from the glare. Eleanor smiled and nodded at him. She was safe. For now.
He picked up the microphone. “Frisco, are you ready for Christmas?”
Michael sat behind his drum and smashed the cymbal.
People cheered. “Yeah!”
Others yelled, “No!”
Clapping and whistling shook the tavern. Jayden smiled. “We’d like to give you a Nightmare Before Christmas gift.”
The noise rumbled louder and he nodded at Michael and Derek. Jayden covered the microphone. “Santa Claus is coming to town.”
Michael beat on the snare, rat-a-tat-tat. Derek strummed on his bass. Jayden sauntered across the stage. “Have you been good this year?”
More no’s and yay’s battled each other.
“You better watch out, you better not pout.”
“Why?” Michael and Derek sang.
“I’m telling you why,” Jayden sang. “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.”
The crowd joined in the song with Jayden, Michael, and Derek. Eleanor clapped on the sideline. Jayden couldn’t help but smile. She was beautiful, the way she moved her hips, the sway of her body. She set him on fire, and he wanted to pull her out onto stage and kiss her, indulge in a little dirty dancing. He forced himself to push back his lust and played to the crowd. For a minute, all was forgotten—he allowed the music to thump through him to follow his impulses as he danced across the stage.
“He knows,” Jayden sang, “If you’ve been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake.”
“But you haven’t,” a male voice cried out. Not on the dance floor, but on the stage. Fear shot up through Jayden’s toes and chills rushed down his back.
“Who said that?” Jayden asked, his words echoing in the microphone.
Maniacal laughter rang through the tavern, but it was twangy as if through a speaker. Where was he?
All the lights buzzed and flashed and then all went black, except for the candles glowing on the tables. The glow cast ghost faces of the frightened, startled patrons sitting at the table.
Derek’s bass died with a thump. Footsteps thundered behind the stage. Jayden couldn’t make out how many. Had Robbie escaped or had someone freed him? Turmoil stirred in his churning gut.
“What the hell’s going on?” Derek demanded.
Before Jayden could answer, Eleanor screamed.
Gun fire exploded, and a flash lit up the back stage. Glass shattered. Jayden inhaled sulfur. Crap! “Eleanor!” he yelled. He raced to where she had been standing. She was a vampire. Stronger than any man here. Hadn’t she proved that more than once?
“Answer me, damn it.” He scanned the back stage, and she was gone. How could anyone move so fast?
The lights flashed on, and anger surged through him. Bits of glass were scattered across the backstage. A broken arrow lay in droplets of blood. Shit, Desmond.
“What happened?” Derek rushed over to him.
The crowd yelled for Nightmare and clapped their hands. Jayden didn’t care. “They have her.”
Derek bent down and picked up the broken arrow. “What the…”
“It’s been dipped in hallowed mud.”
“Hallowed mud?” Derek stood and examined it.
“Cemetery dirt that’s been blessed and mixed with holy water. Deadly to vampires.”
“She’s dead?”
“No,” Jayden said. He hoped to God she was alive. “Not yet. Show’s over. Desmond’s going to kill her.”
Michael ran over to him, his face pale. “I found Justin. He was tied up and not happy. Some of his people are helping him. It was Desmond. The bastard freed Robbie.” He moistened his lips. “Tonight, they’re going to kill Eleanor. They plan to behead her. They think if they do, you’ll return to normal. Desmond’s obsessed with you being human.”
Jayden’s soul split into two. Desmond threatened to kill Eleanor. He didn’t want to go through eternity without her. Not because he’d be lonely. As an immortal, he could have any woman he wanted until he grew tired of them. But he’d done that. It was empty. Shallow.
He wanted something more. For all his father’s faults, he had adored Jayden’s mother. She was his most precious gift.
Eleanor was Jayden’s gift. God, he’d cared for her. More than care. He’d never felt like this for any other woman. She was a light in his world of darkness.
“He better get used to disappointment,” Jayden growled. He was done with being a vampire that only fed on donated blood. Tonight, he’d seek his revenge on Desmond and his band of Christmas scrooges. Tonight, he’d feast on their blood. Tonig
ht, he’d be their worst nightmare.
Chapter Twelve
Eleanor woke to a sharp pain in her back, and she groaned. Grogginess failed to leave her brain. She shook her head, trying to get a bearing on her surroundings. Iciness cut her to the bone. She shivered, wishing she had a coat and gloves.
The moon peered down at her from a cold, star-filled sky. The wind howled. Snow fluttered around her and blew bits of flakes around a small frozen lake. Shit! She knew where she was. Rainbow Lake.
She sat on an icy bank with her arms stretched around a tree, her wrists bound. When she moved, pointy spikes tore into her flesh. Nausea swirled in her stomach. She was weak as a newly hatched chick. Hallowed mud.
A memory slashed through her foggy mind. All she could remember was dancing to Jayden’s version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. She had been too caught up with his half naked sweating body and his husky voice to pay attention to the lengthening of her incisors, her vampire powers warning her danger was near. That’s when an agonizing pain pierced her back.
She’d managed to fire the derringer, but paralyzing pain had ruined her shot. The bullet had gone into an overhead light. Agony had stolen her breath then all went blank. And now the derringer was gone.
Footsteps crunched on the snow. Four figures approached. They all wore heavy parkas and had on gloves. Their ski masks iced her rushing blood. All black except for the forehead that had the vampire skull with a sword through it. The moon glittered off the swords strapped to their side. She swallowed her fear to try to gather her strength, pulling on her wrists, but the more she pulled, the deeper the spikes dug into her flesh, the weaker she became.
“So, you’re finally awake?”
Desmond.
She refused to answer him and clamped her jaw tight.
He laughed. “So, you’re not going to answer me? Hear this, bitch, I don’t care. You’ll be dead soon, and Jayden will be free.”
She blinked and her curiosity got the best of her. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t play games. If I kill you before he kills someone, he’ll be human again.”