by Cynthia Eden
Then Mick headed out of the bedroom, softly closing the door behind him. He needed to get over to the killer’s location, ASAP, but first—he had to get the right weapons for this job.
***
When Mick pulled up in front of the old townhouse that sat on the end of a narrow, rather deserted-looking street, there was no sign of Will. Actually, there was no sign of anyone. He shut the door to his vehicle and studied the building. The windows were boarded up, and a big No Trespassing sign hung in front of the door.
Mick took out his phone and dialed back the number Will had used. He advanced toward the townhouse slowly and—sure enough—he could hear a ringing coming from inside that place. “I told you to wait,” Mick said. Hell. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and then he pulled out his gun. He crept up those porch steps, his feet moving softly along the bricks. When he got to the front door, he wasn’t particularly surprised to see that it was slightly ajar.
He just hoped he wasn’t about to find Will’s dead body on the floor.
Cautiously, he entered that place, his gaze tracking from the left to the right. The building smelled musty and old, and cobwebs and thick dust covered the floor. But in that dust, he saw footprints, a perfect outline.
He started following that trail.
“Help!” Will’s scream. Loud and desperate. “He’s going to kill me!”
Mick didn’t cut and run forward. He’d been in too many instances in which hostages were just used as bait to trap cops. So he took his time as he advanced, making sure to glance behind him every few moments so he’d be sure no one was coming up from the rear.
He saw Will, got a visual on the guy—he was tied to a chair, his face stained with blood. Will saw him, too, and the guy yelled, “Help!”
Way to not attract extra attention. The guy needs to shut the hell up.
Mick closed in on the guy. The rest of the room was empty, and there was no sign of the other vampire. “Just calm down,” Mick told him. He holstered his gun and pulled a knife from his boot. He sliced through the ropes. “Didn’t I tell you to wait?”
There was a faint creak from behind him. In a flash, Mick had his gun out again—out and aimed at the man who stood there. Tall, dark, with cold blue eyes.
Mick’s finger tightened on the trigger.
And something hard slammed into the back of his head. He went down, ramming face-first into the wooden floor. At the impact, the gun slid from his hand.
Fuck. Not a victim! Not—
“See?” Will called out, sounding impressed with himself. “I told you…I can help. I did my part, just like I promised.”
Mick’s hand flew out. He grabbed that asshole’s foot and yanked Will down to the floor beside him. Will yelled when he hit the old floor, but Mick wasn’t worried about him. He knew the real threat was at the door. He reached for his gun.
But the vampire’s foot shoved down on his hand, nearly breaking Mick’s fingers. “Now why would you want to do that? Especially after I’ve gone to all this trouble so we could have a little chat.” The vamp smiled at him.
Will had crawled to his feet.
“I’m not in the mood to chat,” Mick spat.
“Too bad. But then, I don’t really give a shit how you feel.” The vampire motioned to Will even as he kept his cold gaze on Mick. “You’re going to listen to me, one way or another.”
Mick lunged up, ignoring the pain as he felt his wrist snap beneath the vampire’s foot—
And that dick Will slammed a chair into Mick’s back. Mick went down again, and this time, he didn’t get up.
***
The bed was cold.
Savannah fought against the ever-so-tempting pull of sleep. For the last few days, she’d been pushing herself nearly non-stop. Even staying out in the daylight because she’d been so desperate to find Mick.
But she’d found him now. He was safe. They were safe. She should be able to sleep peacefully.
But the bed was cold.
Mick wasn’t cold. He was hot. Nearly scorching. Only when she reached out to touch him, he wasn’t there. And the pillow next to her—the pillow and the sheet—they were too cool, as if he’d been gone for a long time.
Savannah rose from the bed. She didn’t even think about grabbing clothing. If she had her way, both she and Mick would be heading back to bed soon. Her steps were sluggish as she headed to the bedroom door. “Mick?”
She opened the door and slipped down the hallway.
And suddenly, she was the cold one. Because her place was empty. Mick had left her. Fear slid through her veins.
He isn’t safe. If she didn’t get to him in time, Savannah knew that Mick would be lost to her.
Maybe, forever.
Chapter Six
“Are the ropes secure?”
The pounding in Mick’s head brought him back to awareness. An awareness that he was in a wooden chair and that jerk-off Will was tying him up—
Screw this. Mick slammed his head into Will’s face. Will screamed. Blood spurted from his nose—looks like that already happened a time or two—and Will fell back. Mick yanked against the ropes and surged to his feet.
Only to find his own gun pointed at him.
“I’m guessing that means the ropes weren’t secure,” the vampire said, shaking his head. “Oh, well, I’m the one with the gun now. So maybe you’ll just stand there like a good mortal and listen to what I have to say.”
“You’re a killer!” Mick snarled.
The guy just shrugged. “Like you never killed in the line of duty? I don’t buy that. I did some checking on you today. You’re quite the decorated officer. Or you were, until too many bullets hit you.” He lifted the gun. “This weapon is so close, I’ve nearly got point-blank range. Isn’t it terrible, the things a bullet can do, when it hits so close?”
Every muscle in Mick’s body locked down.
Will scampered back, moving to stand behind the vampire.
“Since when are you working for him?” Mick demanded. Or maybe the guy had been working for him all along and he just hadn’t realized it.
“S-since I decided I wanted to keep living,” Will threw back at him.
The vampire smiled. It was kind of eerie because the guy…sort of looked like Mick. His face was leaner, his nose sharper, his jaw a little softer, but there was a similarity there.
What is up with that shit?
Their eyes were different. And of course, Mick wasn’t a depraved monster. That was different, too.
“She didn’t tell you, hmmm? That we looked alike?” Now the vampire’s voice was mocking. “My, my, but that should make you wonder…what else has the lovely Savannah forgot to mention to you?”
Mick’s jaw locked. “She didn’t know who you were, so I guess it would be hard for her to say—”
“Savannah knows me well. Intimately well.”
Mick’s left hand fisted. His right wrist was broken—throbbing and burning steadily. He ignored the pain. He’d deal with it after he took care of this bastard. “Savannah knew a vampire was hunting here, not who that vamp was.”
Only the bastard in front of him smiled, showing off the tips of his fangs. “I think she had an idea. A very, very good idea. But she didn’t want to tell you too much. After all, that would mess up her plans.”
“Her plans didn’t involve killing two men.”
The vamp blinked. “Are you really so sure about that?” He raised one eyebrow. “Just how well do you know her?”
“Well enough,” Mick gritted out. He prepared to make a grab for that gun.
“You fool, you already slept with her, didn’t you?”
Mick glared back at him. “I don’t fucking kiss and tell, asshole.”
But the vampire stepped forward. “You didn’t let her bite you, did you?”
Mick’s chin jutted up.
The vampire lunged forward. Mick grabbed the gun from him but the vamp didn’t even seem to notice. The vamp fisted his hands in Mick�
�s shirtfront even as Mick put the gun right to the SOB’s chest.
“Oh, shit,” Will muttered.
The vampire blasted, “Tell me she didn’t bite you!”
“You’re about to die, you bast—”
“Not three times,” the vampire said quickly. “You didn’t let her do it three times, because if you did…then she owns you. She controls, you, totally.”
What?
“Not three times.” The vampire’s shoulders slumped. “Because if you did, then I’m too late. You won’t die, you’ll just be a vampire, and you’ll be…hers. Forever.”
This scene wasn’t playing right. Nothing about it was right.
The vampire’s eyes widened. “She didn’t tell you, did she?” He still didn’t seem to notice the gun pointed at his chest. “Of course not, because you would never have let her close. You are one of the few who can change. A mortal who can be more. Three bites, and you won’t be a human any longer. Three bites…and she has you.”
Mick shoved the vampire back. “Tell me why I shouldn’t put a wooden bullet in your chest right now.” Because, yeah, he was ready for this joker. He’d stopped by a hardware shop and bribed a buddy to make him a very fast and lethal weapon to attack a vampire. If wooden stakes took out vampires, then he figured wooden bullets would definitely do the trick, too. He wasn’t completely clueless about vamps. In every movie he’d ever watched, a wooden stake killed the undead. So I figure my bullets will do the trick, too.
The vampire lifted his hands, as if showing he wasn’t a threat. “I’m not the killer. I haven’t been attacking the men in town. She has. She was looking for a human to change. Vamps have to bite the prey, they have to taste the blood, in order to know if the human can be more. She bit those men and found them useless. So she killed them. It’s what she does.”
Was he really supposed to believe that guy?
“She’s found you, and if you let her bite you again, it will be your last mistake. You’ll never have another conscious thought or choice again.”
“What the hell do you mean?”
“She was born, not bitten. That means she has power. When she makes another vampire…” The fellow heaved out a rough breath. “The new vampire is totally under her control. A companion that she keeps and uses until she gets bored. Then she kills the poor fool and goes onto the next victim. I know. I’ve seen her do it. I’ve tried to stop her.” His eyes were slits of blue fury. “She looks harmless. She looks like a walking wet dream. But I am telling you, that woman is a nightmare.”
Mick heard the thud of frantically running footsteps. His gaze shot to the left and he saw Will running for the door. The vampire didn’t even try and stop him. “That guy doesn’t matter,” the vamp muttered. “You matter. You have to help me stop her.”
“Who the hell are you?” The gun was still in Mick’s hand.
The vampire looked down at the weapon. “My name is Kale Vargas, and, once upon a time, Savannah took my life.” His gaze returned to Mick. “So now I’m here to take hers.”
***
Mick wasn’t at his PI office. He wasn’t at his home. Desperate, Savannah headed to Intoxication, thinking maybe he’d gone back there to push for information from the bartender. But the place was locked up, completely sealed for the day.
Her hands slammed into the front door. “Dammit!” She had to find him. She’d tried calling his phone, again and again, but he wasn’t answering her.
She spun around, staring out at the street. The sun beat down on her, weakening her even more. Things couldn’t fall apart this way. She’d worked so hard and so long. This had to work. She’d been so close.
But now…now Mick could be lost to her, after all of her careful plans.
Kale, you bastard. You won’t take him from me.
She’d been searching desperately for Mick, even since that night at the hospital. Savannah didn’t always take blood straight from a living source. Sometimes—through a contact at the local hospital, one who didn’t ask too many questions because the money Savannah paid was good—she’d use bagged blood. Donations. She’d been at the hospital months before when she’d caught a sweet, tempting scent in the air.
What she’d told Mick before had been true. Mostly. Vampires could tell if a human could turn when they took that first delicious bite but…
If a vamp smelled the blood first, the blood didn’t just have a normal, coppery scent. Humans who could transform had blood that was sweeter. Blood that called to the vamps.
That night in the hospital, his blood had called to her.
Only she’d had one hell of a time figuring out just who he was. The hospital had been packed. There had been so many people there and then—
Then I’d thought that maybe I should stay away. That I was better off not finding him.
She’d stopped being weak and sentimental a few weeks after that. Unfortunately, by then, Kale had also been in on the hunt.
It had only been a matter of time until the bodies started turning up.
***
“I don’t know how she tracked you,” Kale said. “But she did. Savannah found you first, and now, unless I’m wrong, she’s drank your blood. But has it been three times? Or two? Because if it’s already three, then the only way you’ll be free of her is if you take her pretty head. Chop it straight off.”
“The way I see it,” Mick kept all emotion from his voice, “the only person in danger of losing a head is you. I’ll take it after I put a wooden bullet in your heart.”
For an instant, what could have been fear flickered in Kale’s eyes. “Don’t waste that bullet on me, pal. Save it for the real threat.” And he moved to the side. Kale gestured toward the door. “You heard what I had to say. That’s all I wanted, really. To give you the chance to make your choice.”
Keeping his eye on the vampire, Mick eased toward that door. He noticed that his smashed cell lay in about twenty pieces on the floor. “I don’t buy that. You were tying me to the damn chair when I woke up.”
“Because I didn’t want you waking up and attacking.” Kale shrugged. “If you don’t believe what I’ve said, go ask her. Ask, and see how she responds. See if you can tell when she’s lying or not as she explains how she tried to kill me before.”
“And I’m just supposed to walk away and let you stay free?” Mick laughed. “No dice, asshole, you—”
Wind whipped around Mick. No, not wind. That had been the vampire—moving far too damn fast. He’d raced around Mick and the slamming of the front door told Mick the guy was long gone.
So much for him being weak in the sunlight. Savannah had told him that story about vampires, and now he wondered…was it true? Were vamps really weaker during the day?
Mick headed to the door, but the street was empty. No sign of Will or Kale. “Sonofabitch.” He kept his gun in his left hand. He knew he’d be seeing that vamp again, sooner or later.
Chapter Seven
Just before sunset, Mick returned to Savannah’s place. Mick pounded on the door again and again. When it didn’t unlock, he glared at the security camera positioned near the front door. “Let me in, Savannah.” He hadn’t come straight back to her place. Mick hadn’t been sure that Kale wasn’t hanging around, waiting to follow him, so he’d made a few pit-stops.
He’d broken into the apartment of Ben Travers and searched the place. Then he’d paid a similar visit to Steve Douglas’s place. After his recon work at their homes had been finished, he’d checked in at the police station and with the ME. Mick now knew that the victims had been drugged, all right, given enough sedatives to knock out a horse.
He pounded again. “Savannah!”
There was a faint click, and then the door opened. Damn. About time. He secured the door behind him, then hurried up the steps that would take him to the main area of her home. With every step, Mick was conscious of the gun that rested in the holster, tucked just beneath his arm. The wooden bullets were still in that gun.
He stepped
away from the stairs—
“I was wondering if I would see you again.”
Mick froze.
Savannah’s back was turned to him. She’d cracked the shutters, just a bit, and she stared out at the city below. She wore a figure-hugging black dress. High heels. Her blonde hair gleamed under the lights.
“I searched for you, when I realized you were gone. But I couldn’t find you. There was no sign of any struggle, so I knew you’d left willingly, even though you said that you’d stay…” Savannah glanced over at him. With shock, he realized there were tear tracks on her cheeks. “I just wanted to see you again. I wanted you to be alive. But the minutes kept passing. You wouldn’t answer your phone. You weren’t at home. You weren’t at your office…I couldn’t find you.”
Mick exhaled slowly. “I met Kale.”
Savannah flinched. “I figured as much, but what I don’t understand…is why did he let you live?”
He took a step toward her. Savannah inched back. Odd. She’d never retreated from him before. Mick lifted his hand. One of his pit-stops had been a side trip to the ER. His broken wrist had been reset and the blue cast was a bright contrast to his skin.
“What happened?” Savannah surged toward him. “What did he do to you?”
“Easy.” Her gaze seemed worried. And her fingers were touching him with such delicate care. “He let me go. The guy said he just wanted to talk to me. That he wasn’t the killer.” Unfortunately, her reaction—and her words—were confirming one truth for him. She did know Kale. She knew him, and she knew he was in the city. There’d been no shock from her at the mention of his name.
“So he said he wasn’t the bad guy and—what? You believed him?” She gave a frantic shake of her head. “You can’t believe him! He’s a liar, Mick. A cold-blooded monster. He will do anything to get what he wants.” She whirled away from him and rushed back to the shutters and her small view of the city. “He must have followed you. It had to be a trick. He wanted you to think that you were getting away but—”