Hunger Within (A Sable Hart Vampire Slayer Novel Book 1)

by Megan Hawke

  I stared at her. Jaw on the table type of gawking.

  "Two hundred thousand?"

  "Yes, ma'am, and then some." Desiree was so pleased with herself. "And that's after all the startup fees."

  If I scrimped and saved, I might live years on that stash of cash, but I wasn't good at saving. I could spend as fast as I earned. Girls like to shop, you know.

  "That's going to take some time to absorb."

  Next, we got on the computer and logged into my accounts. I entered the username and password Desiree gave me, then changed the passwords to the ones I had used when I was alive.

  Stuffing the checkbook and savings passbook into my back pocket I slanted a crooked grin at Boney. "Could I get you to drop me off at a used car dealership that stays open late?"

  I had plans. I didn't want to trash a brand new car. If all went well, the car would be fine. Really, I was more concerned about having to abandon it than it getting wrecked.

  "I know just the place. He's a vampire," Boney said.

  A vampire and a used car salesman? I laughed at the thought: he wants to sink his fangs into your neck and your wallet.

  Thirty minutes later, I was standing before Raymond Higgens. He was six foot two, two hundred eighty pounds. Kinda stocky. No fat. Never any fat on vampires.

  Ray had a smile as big as his off-white felt cowboy hat. His fangs were filed down so he looked mortal when he smiled, which apparently wasn't all that unusual among certain circles of vampires. I failed to see any sign of sincerity in his eyes.

  "Well, howdy! Ain't you the prettiest little filly I ever did see," Ray said, with the thickest Texas twang I ever heard. He had to have practiced that. He was looking me over with a toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth. "What can I do for you, honey?"

  "For one, stop staring at my boobs." I really needed to buy a bra. He laughed, then looked me straight in the eye. "Thank you." I pointed to a line of five Mustangs. They ranged between 1988 and 1999 models. My recently lost car was a 1990. "Got any really fast Mustangs?"

  "Shoot, all those puppies are so fast they'll knock your socks off." Ray gave me a speculative look, then grinned. "You like speed? I got a hopped-up IROC Z over there, too."

  "That's nice, but I like Mustangs."

  What can I say? I was a SMU alumni. Mustangs were our mascot. How could I drive anything else? Dane said I was as obsessed with Mustangs as I was with Texas and shoes. I don’t see how that was possible, but…

  I bought a 1995 Mustang GT, after test driving all of them and the IROC Z. My new car had a big engine, standard transmission, and was very fast. My new little ’stang was black with a red leather interior, with a few dings from a hard life. I paid with my new Visa check card. Ray took care of everything – tax, title, and license. I drove it off the lot forty minutes after Boney dropped me off. Fastest I’d ever bought a car. I liked the way vampires did business.

  Two blocks away was the realtor Boney recommended. Rosita Chavez looked mid-fifties, big boned, and short – like under five feet short. She had a bubbly personality and a get to it attitude, and already had listings setup for vampires. I picked a single family home near Deep Ellum and rented it sight unseen. I had all of eternity to look for another house, and a lot more shopping to do that evening. So I handed over the deposit and first month's rent, and took the keys with a sweet as can be, "Thank you."

  I found a vintage clothing store on Harry Hines, three minutes from the realtor, and bought three pairs of jeans, some rock t-shirts, and several tank tops. I found some vampire themed t-shirts and tanks, too, with some of the wickedest naughty messages written across the bosom. I couldn't resist them, so bought quite a few in all colors.

  By eleven o'clock, I was decked out in dark blue jeans, Adidas running shoes, red tank with "Bite Me" above white fangs, and the cutest little denim jacket. The jacket's only purpose was to hide the shoulder holster and pistol I planned to buy at the next place.

  I already knew where to get firearms and blessed silver bullets – Shuster's Gun and Ammo in Garland. Bob, the owner, recognized me. He hadn't heard I'd been Changed, so he sold me ten boxes of silver plated bullets, blessed and with tiny crosses engraved in them. No problem. I also bought two Beretta Px4 Storm 9mms from him – matte black finish.

  I loaded up while I was there. He sold a lot more than guns and ammo. Bob was the closest thing to a vampire slayer outfitter in Dallas. I bought a small crossbow and fifty wooden darts with blessed silver heads. Crossbows didn't have to be big and powerful, since most were used pointblank. Long range shooting was rare in vampire slaying. So you only wanted enough pull to push the dart up to the fletching, to impale the heart. The darts had to be bare wood, too. Painted or vanished wood had no more effect on a vampire than a steel rod.

  Armed, I was ready for revenge.

  I had a great plan. I couldn't confront Yuri eye-to-eye, so another direct assault would be foolish. Worse than foolish. Instead, I was going to stake out their house and determine who was inside come daybreak. Then, with barely enough time, I would start a fire on the roof. A fire slow enough that it would be full daylight before anyone realized it was burning. They might have a fire evacuation plan, but I doubted it. Fire killed vampires too. They burned just as well as humans.

  Perfect plan, if I do say so myself.

  I parked the car three streets over from Yuri's house, just after one a.m. My blood pressure spiked as I approached. This could go either way. Were Dane and the gang already staking the place out? Were my friends waiting, ready to pounce on me and stake me? Or was Yuri even there anymore?

  A panel truck was out front. It was badly repainted all white, and in no way large enough to carry all of their stuff in one load. It was shaped like a smaller U-Haul truck, with the pickup truck cab and oversized cargo box behind. There wasn’t a pass-through between the cab and cargo compartment. I spotted Yuri and Darcy carrying trunks into it, then returning to the house. Yep, they were bugging out. My fire plan was dead in the water, but another was quick on its heels.

  Fools. They should’ve left last night and never come back. Minions could've come and collected all of their stuff during the daylight hours.

  The garage was open, showing that all the vehicles were gone. The truck was all they had. Perfect. Plan B it is. It wouldn't kill them, but oh would it sting.

  I watched them pack that truck until Yuri closed the back door and returned inside. I made my move. Running up to the truck, I climbed inside behind the wheel. No key, but one of my many unsavory skills was hot-wiring cars. Dane had taught me well.

  "Suckers," I called, as the engine turned over and I put it in gear. I hit the gas, and learned that trucks didn't move with the same sense of urgency as a Mustang. I eased out of the drive, and turned left. Banging on the steering wheel, I cursed that truck's soul and demanded more speed. All to no avail. "Oh shit."

  Vampires came pouring out of the front door. I was not a happy camper.

  Claude proved the fastest of them all. If they ever organized a vampire Olympics, he would win the gold for sure. I was moving along at forty-five when he caught up to me, grabbed the side mirror and stepped up onto the runner. So I pressed my Beretta into his left eye and pulled the trigger. Three times with blessed silver bullets. Ouchy. He let go after the third shot.

  A pair of thick legs slammed into the hood before me. It was Yuri. I don't know if he climbed over the top of the truck, jumped over it onto the hood, or flew there. Rumor was some vampires could fly, but I’d never seen it and I hadn’t heard anyone who’d seen a vamp fly. Levitate, yes, but not fly.

  I avoided his eyes, even though I wore mirrored sunglasses, and started to swerve. He dropped to one knee, both hands forward on the truck's roof above the windshield to balance himself. The Russian vampire then kicked in the windshield.

  "Son of a bitch!" I cried.

  Yuri reached in with a snarl. He seized my throat in one hand and squeezed.

  "Stop the truck!"

&
nbsp; "Nuugh."

  His grip tightened. I couldn't believe his strength. A mortal's neck would've already snapped. Thankfully I didn't need to breathe, but I couldn't drive like that either, so I shot him in the head, the throat, and the heart before he let go. With the blessed silver bullets suppressing his vampiric powers, Yuri was unsteady upon the hood.

  I spotted Dominique in the driver's side rearview. She was racing along just steps behind, reaching out for the rear of the truck. Within seconds she would join Yuri on the truck and then I'd have two vampires to fight off.

  I hit the brakes hard and Yuri flew off to land a dozen feet ahead of me. Dominique slammed face-first into the rear end of the truck and bounced off to lay on the road. So I slammed down on the gas, pedal to metal, and ran right over the Russian vamp – bumpity bump.

  Bet that hurt.

  I could hear Dominique cursing in French. I saw her in the rearview, still sitting on the road, face all bloody.

  “I hope I broke your nose!” I shouted. Maybe I knocked out a few front teeth. My encounter with Yuri and Dominique had seriously cut my speed. The LaFere girls were catching up fast. Darcy was leading her sister by a good twenty feet. Don't these people ever give up?

  Darcy vanished behind the truck. She found my blind spot. I suspected she was climbing up on top of the cargo box, and I really wanted to slam on the breaks. That might throw her off, but if she hadn't reached me yet, that would make it that much easier for her to do so. Darby would also catch up to me.

  "Come on, truck!" I beat on the steering wheel some more.

  I ran the four-way stop. There were no cars, so I didn't cause any accidents. Some cars were parked on the narrow, tree-lined street. The limbs banged into and brushed the top of the cargo box, which I prayed kept Darcy from getting to me.

  Glancing in the driver's side rearview, I didn't see any sign of pursuit. Darby had begun to lag behind. She wasn't as fast as Yuri and Claude. I didn't have to worry about her anymore, so I glanced at the passenger side rearview, and found Darcy. She was clinging to the side of the cargo box and trying to scoot forward to the cab. I hit the brake, then the gas. She hung on, and then started moving faster. Really? How attached to the trashy fetish clothes could she be?

  Spotting a Lexus SUV parked on the street, I swerved to the opposite side of the street, then turn straight towards it. I grinned as I sideswiped the overpriced toy. Amazingly, though, Darcy raised her feet up and passed over it. Nice trick. So I did twenty-five thousand in damages for nothing.

  I made a beeline for a large oak between the street and sidewalk. Darcy saw it and released. She hit the pavement hard, tumbling a good twenty feet before slamming into a parked car. That was going to be one pissed off vampire if we ever met again.

  Checking the other rearview, I expected to see Darby stop to help her downed sister. Instead she morphed into a bat. It was quite a sight. The bat seemed to explode out of the neck of her shirt, while her clothes slumped to the street. She came right at me. Darby could fly faster than she could run.

  Talk about being impressed. "I'm going to have to practice that trick."

  I was doing forty now, and increasing slowly. God help anyone that pulled out in front of me. I only had eyes for that Godforsaken bat chasing me. Only an undead bat could fly fifty miles an hour.

  Darby slowly flew past me. I tried to get a bead on her with my pistol, but she was effectively evasive and the road wasn't smooth enough to allow that kind of aim anyway. I watched as she flew past me, then moved slowly in front of me. I saw what she planned, fly straight back into me like a little brown, furry missile, and then morph back into human form and kick my butt.

  I smiled. There was a major intersection before us. I would turn off on it before she could execute her plan. That would leave her far behind and surely even vampires could get tired pushing themselves so hard. Darby had to be nearly spent after all that effort.

  "Die!" Darby cried, suddenly transforming into a woman in midair.

  She slammed bodily into my face. The back of my head shattered the cab's rear window. Her elbow came around and smashed my left cheek, then she sank her fangs into my right shoulder. I turned north at the intersection, more to avoid a wreck than anything. Two cars laid on their horns and went into spinning skids. I bit her neck, ripping it open with my fangs. She screamed and released me as hot blood spurted right into my face. I opened the door and shoved her out.

  I smiled as she hit the hard concrete. That was the end of her tonight – I thought. Darby bounced twice and morphed into a bat again. I did a double-take. What was that girl made of anyway? I never knew vampires were so determined, and it made me wonder if Wendy and Anson had escaped the previous night.

  If anything, she came at me faster. I lost a lot of speed in that turn. The truck was seriously underpowered. What did they have in there anyway, a shitty four cylinder? I beat on the steering wheel and watched her close the distance in the rearview. Objects in mirror were definitely closer than they appeared. Darby was coming straight for the driver's side window. No more games.

  "You are," I yelled as she reached me, "so stupid!"

  My hand swung out at her in a savage backhand. She dodged it by dropping a few inches. I expected that. She didn't expect the return. I caught her on the back stroke, index finger and thumb encircling her tiny neck. Darby squawked loudly. I didn't know a bat could make such an odd noise.

  "Idiot!" I pulled her into the cab. I had no plan. I was winging it. I brought her up to my mouth… and bit off her head. Yeah, Ozzy! I spit it out a split second before it turned back into a human head.

  Darby's limp, headless body morphed back into human form, and fell across my lap. That surprised me. I lost hold of the steering wheel for a second, but once I regained control, I opened the door and let gravity do its thing. Darby's naked, decapitated body tumbled out onto the street. I kept the head.

  I was drenched in blood. My new outfit was ruined. All that blood smelled great, though. Made me hungry.

  I soon reached eastbound Loop 635. It was only a short run up to the High Five Interchange, where I turned south on Central. I was glad I decided to go ahead and rent a house. It gave me a place to unload all my ill-gotten loot.

  I couldn't stay with Boney, not after the stunt I just pulled. If Yuri found out he was helping me, then Boney would be as good as dead. Yuri and his gang would probably butcher all the hookers, too. I couldn’t have that on my head.

  I pulled out my new smartphone. It came with the phone card plan I bought at a convenience store. The kit came with a hundred pre-paid minutes. Since Yuri had tracked me down via my cell before, I’d decided to go with nothing but burner phones.

  I punched in Yuri’s number. It rang twice before he answered.

  “Hello?” Yuri said.

  “Hello, Yuri Romanov.” I grinned. “Having a nice night? Hmm?”

  “Sable! Bring that truck back to the house right now.”

  “Uh, not a good idea; not for me anyway.” I enjoyed tormenting him. About time he suffered some. “How come you didn’t ask about Darby?”

  There was silence for a long moment. “What about her?”

  “She’s dead.” Perhaps I shouldn't have sounded so cheerfully. “Her head is rolling around the floorboard by my feet. I dumped her body in the middle of the street. So, no more Darby. Please give my condolences to Darcy.”

  “You black-hearted bitch,” he growled. I mean growled. Like a wolf. It startled me. “You killed your own kind.”

  “Bastard.” Now I was mad. “You have the audacity to call me black-hearted, after all that you’ve done since coming to Dallas? I’m an angel of mercy compared to you.”

  “I am going to kill you, Sable Hart.” That was the most menacing voice I’d ever heard. Made me regret calling him.

  “Kill me? Again?” I said as mockingly as I could muster. I didn’t want him to know he’d shaken me. “How many times do I have to die?”

  “You are not funny, Sable Ha
rt. I am going to kill you.”

  "Gotta catch me first, ass wipe."

  I punched End. Seconds later the phone rang. It was Yuri. I smiled, and turned off the phone. He wasn't going to be allowed the pleasure of tormenting me via phone again. Tracing me with phone calls wasn't going to happen a second time, either.

  I'm not as dumb as I look, you know?

  I drove up Central, toward downtown. I exited on Haskell. The Citiplace building towered over me. It was that one skyscraper outside of downtown and to the northeast. Citiplace looked so alone off by itself. The perfect landmark for me.

  Driving east on Haskell, I headed towards home. It felt weird calling this place “home,” since this would be the first time I'd seen it. The house was empty of furnishings, but it was cheap and had a basement sealed against light. I didn’t have a coffin, so it would be tough when the sun came up. Kinda scary.

  The house was a white wood-frame, single-story place in a distressed neighborhood. Even in the dark I could tell it needed paint. There was twelve hundred square feet of living area, counting the basement, and a detached two-car garage that looked newer. The lawn was in serious need of mowing, but the backyard had an eight-foot privacy fence. There were massive oaks front and back, providing shade for most of the windows.

  Vampire paradise.

  It was a quarter to two in the morning when I pulled into the drive. The neighboring houses were all dark. It was a work night, so no partying going on there. The garage was in back, behind the tall wooden gates. The gates were open, so I drove straight into the back yard and turned off into the weed-covered yard, and then I hurried to close the gates.

  "This will have to be good enough."

  I checked out the cargo box. It held far more than I thought it would, mostly trunks and suitcases. I grinned, thinking I took away most, if not all, of their clothes. The men probably wouldn't be that upset, but Dominique and Darcy would be furious. Fetishwear wasn't easy to find in Dallas, and it wasn't particularly cheap. I bet it took years to build up their kinky wardrobes.