Night Walker (Undeadly Secrets Book 1)

by Aaron L Speer

  “That’s enough now, kiddies.”

  Alex just barely recognised the voice. She looked over to see Michelle standing out of the sunroof of her silver car, pointing a silver handgun, which gleamed in the streetlight, at the two others.

  The driver lay in the road and let out a pitiful scream. “She shot me! She fucking shot me…in the arse!”

  “Be thankful it’s not your dick,” Michelle said, still keeping her eyes on the other two as Alex bolted over to her car. “But I don’t know if I’m that good a shot.”

  The driver was crying with the pain, both hands trying to stem the blood flow.

  “Hey, you. Fat guts,” Michelle said to Pete. “You like breaking bottles? Me too. Let’s play.”

  The already broken bottle exploded in Pete’s hand as he tripped over himself. Finally, Michelle pointed the smoking barrel toward Jonesy, who did not move a muscle save for the raising of trembling hands.

  “Now where can this one go…” Michelle said, pursing her lips and waving the gun dramatically. Suddenly she burst out laughing. “I’m just fucking with ya. Seriously, put your hands down. You look like such a wanker.”

  Alex wasted no time getting in the passenger’s side of Michelle’s car. Michelle hopped up in the air and landed cleanly on her butt in the driver’s seat and whipped the car into gear, screeching the tires as she accelerated away from the van.

  “Oh my god! Thank you…so much,” Alex said, hugging Michelle as best as she could in the cramped conditions.

  “You’re welcome,” Michelle smiled, rubbing Alex’s hand. “What the hell where you thinking going over to them?”

  “I know…I know…but I don’t want to be that girl who assumes every group of men is a bunch of rapists, you know?” She shrugged. “What are you doing here?”

  “Dante asked if I could stop by. He had a feeling you would try to talk to your friend. He suspected it wouldn’t go too well and he was worried about you. Luckily, I got held up in traffic otherwise I wouldn’t have seen you. So, I’m guessing he was right?”

  Alex felt tears start to sting her eyes as she explained the night’s events, from the answering machine message, the strange behaviour of Lauren at Ryan’s, the fight with Matt and finally the men in the van on the side of the road.

  Michelle grimaced. “So he just drove off and left you here? No offence, but your boyfriend sounds like a complete tool. What the hell do you see in him?”

  “Lately, I have no idea. I fell in love with the fact he was so unco-ordinated, so scraggy and adorable, but now… Anyway, to hell with him,” Alex said, wiping the fresh tears away. “So what is it with you and Dante? Are you his girlfriend?”

  Michelle let out aloud “Ha!” as she turned the car into the main street. “No, Dante doesn’t have a girlfriend. I’m his personal assistant, if you have to put a name to it.”

  “Does being his personal assistant require you to know how to shoot?”

  Michelle looked out at the street with slightly raised eyebrows. “You’d be surprised.”

  “Ok, seriously, can I ask you something?”

  “Now would seem like a good time. Go ahead.”

  “What the hell is with Dante? He is like no one I have ever seen. Handsome, charming, an old soul, yet he can go all freaky like he did when he looked at Ryan that night at T.”

  “To be fair, given what you have seen of Ryan, wouldn’t you say Dante was correct in his freakiness?”

  “Yeah, true, but that’s not what I mean. I actually felt scared when I looked at his eyes. He looked so angry. And another thing: he is like the sweetest guy on earth; he carried me into up the stairs and into my bedroom the other night, yet he makes you go to Ryan’s place tonight instead of going himself. What if it did get bad? I don’t think I like the fact he would’ve expected you to just follow his orders, when he was the one with the suspicion of Ryan in the first place. Why all the secrecy? It makes me think it’s all an act.”

  Michelle nodded. “I know what you’re saying and that is admittedly more difficult to answer, but I will give it my best shot. Dante isn’t playing a game, but he can’t get personally involved, because it has nothing to do with him. It’s like it’s not his…shall we say, jurisdiction.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look. Dante has the strongest sense of right and wrong I have ever known, in anyone. Although he mostly keeps to himself with regards to the world, if he believes someone he cares about is being hard done by, he feels as if he has to act. But he only truly cares for very few people. It just so happens that you’re one of them. As for worry about you tonight, well, it’s hard to explain. Dante and I felt he would’ve been more of a hindrance if he showed up. Trust me though, he is never far away.”

  Alex had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but understood from Michelle’s tone that was all she was going to get.

  “I’m bored talking about me and him. I know about that. Tell me more about you,” Michelle said. “Let it take your mind off tonight.”

  Alex leaned her head back in the seat and closed her eyes a moment. It felt nice to follow Michelle’s advice and she felt herself relax, letting her mind wander back to her childhood. “Well, there’s nothing much to tell. I guess the first thing is I was raised by my aunt since I was about two.”

  “So, your parents?”

  “My dad died when I was really young. Cancer. My mum, well…” Alex made a face.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No, it’s just… I love her, but she’s not exactly my favourite person in the world. I haven’t spoken about her in a long time.”

  “Ah. No worries. You don’t have to if you don’t feel like it.”

  “No, it’s ok. The only people who know the whole story were Lauren and Matt, and I could tell they were sick of hearing it, so I just stopped talking about it. But sometimes it helps to get it off my chest. My mum was clinically depressed and went insane after my father died. I was given to my aunt while mum went to a home. I always figured it was my dad’s dying that set her off. But the weird thing was, whenever my aunt took me to go to visit Mum, she would ignore me. All she would say is ‘I don’t know you’ or ‘I don’t have a daughter.’”

  “Wow, that’s got to be rough. But you can’t blame her for that if she was sick, right?”

  “Well… You see, the doctors told us her memory was fine. They had no idea why she was acting like she couldn’t remember me when she could certainly remember everything and everybody else. It got to the stage where anytime I visited, she would cry and beg me to go away. There is something about me that she can’t stomach. I haven’t set foot in that place for almost twenty years.”

  The rest of the trip was silent as Michelle drove her home. When she pulled up outside Alex’s apartment, Alex spotted Matt’s car.

  “What the— What’s he doing here?” Alex asked.

  Then Matt emerged from the building with a box. He put it in the boot of his car and slammed the lid closed.

  “He must be clearing out his stuff,” mumbled Alex.

  “He hasn’t seen you. Are you going to stop him?” Michelle asked.

  Alex sat staring at Matt, conflicting emotions running through her. On the verge of tears, her throat clenched and she couldn’t answer. She crossed her arms and forced herself not to break down.

  Chapter Thirteen

  You Are Not Alone

  “Alex Hensley?”

  Alex shot up and rushed over to the desk, though she could tell by the look on the officer’s face, the news wasn’t good.

  “I’m sorry. There’s nothing.”

  Alex rubbed the back of her neck in fear and frustration.

  “It has been days and no sign of her. No messages, no calls, nothing. I had her mum on the phone to me yesterday saying she hasn’t heard from her. When I told her I had contacted the Police she completely flipped. Don’t tell me you have just given up. Please, there has to be more you can do.”

  “Miss Hensley
, I’m sure this is a trying time for you. We have searched your apartment and the apartment where you said she was last seen. We found not so much as even a hairclip. The owner of the apartment in question told us they had an argument after you left that night and he hasn’t seen her either.”

  “He is lying!”

  “Miss Hensley, I’m sorry, but he was perfectly accommodating to any and all queries. Every alibi he provided checked out. The case is still open, but we can’t hold him as a suspect solely based on your personal misgivings.”

  Alex couldn’t stop her voice pitching even higher as her anger flared. “Haven’t you been listening to me? I thought the job of the fucking police was helping people!”

  Alex’s arm was abruptly gripped and she was firmly led toward the front door. She tried to twist out of the person’s grasp when she realized it was Michelle.

  “What’s going on?” Alex demanded.

  “Shh. Come with me.”

  Outside, Alex let her frustrations loose. “I can’t fucking believe them!” Alex screamed.

  “Okay, I know, but you’ve gotta calm down. You’re no good to anyone like this.” Michelle wrapped her up in a hug.

  Michelle had been there for her since Matt had skipped out. Frankly, she was glad to be rid of him, but it was still hard to get used to. With that and the desperation of not knowing what had happened to Lauren, Alex had found herself reaching out to Michelle, calling and messaging her for support and advice. She hated to be needy, but Michelle was so accommodating and didn’t seem to mind. Michelle had offered to take her out for drinks and a talk the past two nights. So finally when Alex needed to see if she could find out something more about Lauren, she asked Michelle to accompany her to the police station. Michelle once again, had been happy to come along and be supportive.

  “I’m going back there myself, right now,” Alex said.

  “What? To Ryan’s? You can’t do that.”

  “Why? They don’t want to do anything.” She pointed back at the police station. “I’ll prove he knows something.”

  “Whoa… That’s seriously crazy. What do you think you can do?”

  “I don’t know, but something. Anything! I know I made him nervous when I was there last, I know it!”

  “Sweety—” Michelle said, taking both of Alex’s hands. “Just calm down for a second. You’re tired and emotional. It’s understandable. I’m going to take us back to your place, where you can get a few hours sleep. And if you still want to go there when you wake up, I’ll go with you, I promise. Just take some time to think about exactly what you want to say and how you want to play it, ok? He’s not stupid enough to fall for just any line. There’s no sense going in without a plan. Just wait until nightfall, that’s all I ask.”

  Alex thought for a moment and then nodded. After this many days, it was unlikely Ryan was expecting any visits from her anyway, so waiting a bit longer probably wouldn’t make much of a difference. She had come to trust Michelle and her judgment. And a few hours of sleep couldn’t hurt. She realized just how exhausted she felt.

  *

  It was 7 o’clock—the time when the young and trendy generation were out on the town hunting for pleasures of all sorts. Drugs, booze, company or just to dance. Strange to think that she, one of the leaders of that generation—at least in Sydney—found herself walking towards an apartment building rather than a nightclub.

  Every step she took, every movement, no matter how small, was different. Felt better. Where before she strode with confidence, her gait had now become bold, fearless. The reflection in the glass door was a surprise, but not as much as the ease with which these sultry legs crossed the threshold and ascended a staircase that was all too familiar, yet felt very new.

  Her heels drummed out a rhythm, one after the other, as she made her way down the corridor toward her target. Hesitation? No, a memory. Of the last time her eyes saw this place. What a difference several days had made. She couldn’t smell him, but she could hear him breathing. The sound threatened to rush her yet she fought its pull. She listened harder, raising her head, finally lowering it and turned her body towards the door, smiling. He was alone.

  Cold hatred fuelled her next steps. A thirst she had never experienced before tightened her throat, telling her without words what she needed was beyond the door. She stopped in front of Ryan Teeran’s apartment and knocked, repeating her silent vow—the one she’d made when she woke. He would not die before he suffered.

  As the door opened, he said, “Man, you pizza guys must drive like the wind. That only took ten…” He trailed off when he realized no one was there. He stepped outside his apartment and looked left to right, finding not one soul.

  He turned to go back inside when he was lifted off his feet and crashed into the opposite wall of the corridor and finally to the floor.

  “Miss me, baby?”

  Ryan lay there, crumpled in a pathetic heap. Lauren stood before him.

  “Hey… Hey, wait a minute.” He scrambled backwards away from her. “They said they would protect me from you. All I had to do was provide them a child, and I did. They took you away. You aren’t supposed to come back. You’re not welcome here!” Ryan bellowed the last sentence, pointing a shaking finger at Lauren, who stalked him slowly before getting to her knees and crawling, cat-like towards him.

  “Not welcome? Silly boy. You were only safe inside your flat. This is a hallway. Public domain, honey. You remember our hallway, don’t you?”

  Ryan attempted to get up and run, but he wasn’t going to get away from her that easily. She struck out with her hand and plunged two fingers through his shoe, the elongated nails piercing leather, flesh and bone. He yelled in agony and looked down at his foot. With ease, Lauren pulled Ryan’s entire body towards her with those fingers and smiled as he screamed and cried. She released her fingers and brought one up to her mouth, sucking on the nail of her forefinger.

  “Oh, God. Please don’t do this,” sobbed Ryan. “It was just a job. I’ll give you back the money, I swear. You’re not supposed to kill me. That was part of the deal!”

  Lauren launched a stinging open hand across his face, slicing his cheek open diagonally from eye to mouth. “Your deal, not mine.”

  She was on top of him in an instant. She marvelled at how she ever could have felt any attraction to this pitiful, squirming specimen. Tilting her head to one side, she gazed at him coldly, allowing her eyes to go black. He began sobbing in earnest now as her fangs extended. Lauren grew weary of his bleating. This wasn’t fun yet.

  She opened her mouth and slashed at him with her teeth. Ryan screamed as he saw her come up with something in her clenched jaw, his own blood spluttering over his cheeks. She spat what he recognised as his ear onto his chest. Lauren grabbed one of Ryan’s hands and led him, screaming for help, back towards the door. Suddenly he saw her two creators behind her.

  “His wails are beginning to bore me.” Vickrant sneered down at him.

  With a last act of desperate strength, Ryan released himself from Lauren’s grip and lunged himself at the other two, falling at their feet, blood oozing down his face.

  “Help me! You c–can’t let her d–do this!” he stammered. “You promised…”

  “What did we promise you, human?” Vickrant hissed. “We paid you. You witnessed the making of a vampire and we took her away. That was our agreement. We never promised you would be safe afterward. Our daughter must learn how to feed.”

  “But…the prince sent you to me. He paid me!” Ryan pleaded.

  “Did you believe you were being rewarded for your website? You stupid morsel. You knew too much. This is your punishment. You are turned or you die. That is the law. That is Vincent’s wish.”

  Lauren grinned at the other vampires, her fangs hanging over her bloodied chin. “They are here to watch what I do to you. You know how people like to watch, don’t you, honey?”

  She stomped her heeled shoe into his groin. The veins in his throat jumped and pulsed wit
h the screech that erupted from him. He rolled over, leaving a patch of shimmering blood in his wake.

  “Stop! Please, no more… Just, please…”

  “You’re right. One last kiss for old time’s sake, then?”

  Ryan was suddenly standing, held against the wall by Lauren. Without time to protest, Lauren had her mouth over his. With quiet ferocity, she bit his tongue. Her lips muted a lot of his terrified and desperate cries. He tried to beat her with both fists as blood seeped and then flowed steady through the gaps of their two mouths.

  Finally she released him as he choked and spat out blood. She was done playing. She thumbed his earlobe and when she held up her hand, she had a fistful of twenties. She stuffed them down the front of his pants, deliberately taking her time before removing her hand, coming up with his phone. The same one he had used to show her the videos they had made.

  She looked thoughtful as she handed the phone to Vickrant. “Thanks for making my dark fantasy come true.”

  With that, Lauren roared and flung him to the floor, her already dripping teeth reaching for his neck. She didn’t cover his mouth. She wanted him to scream. She enjoyed it. She didn’t drink, not at first. She bit, she chewed and pulled at his flesh. Ripped and teared. Over and over again. The vampires behind her moved slowly to get a better view, standing over his twitching feet.

  “Smile for me, darling,” Vickrant cooed. Lauren ignored him and continued to feast, blood continuing to coat her cheeks and nose as she heard the whirring of the video app. “To all those who enjoyed the website, I trust you will enjoy this. Let this be a lesson. This will be the last video you see. If you know of us, beware. We are not your allies. We are not your playthings. We will hunt you without warning. We will destroy you without mercy.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  I Know Who You Are

  Alex faced Ryan’s building. Michelle had kept her word, but strangely not before Alex changed her clothes. Michelle actually went into her bedroom and picked out the items she wanted Alex to wear. When Alex had got them on she looked at herself in the mirror with a quizzical expression. Bright colours. Like Michelle always wore. They had been ready to go for about an hour, but Michelle insisted on waiting for a bit longer, always looking at her watch or through the window. Alex was going to ask what was up, why the fascination with the time and even the rainbow colours, but she didn’t really care. She was just grateful Michelle would be with her, and if this is what it took for Michelle to be happy then she was all for it.