“Wait…you saw who did it?”
“I saw somethin’.”
Finally he drained his glass.
“Another?” Margaret asked.
“Yeah, what the hell. I ain’t drivin,” he replied, handing her his glass. “Eighty-five was a good year. White female, thanks, love.”
Margaret took Alex’s glass as well, leaving her and Dougie alone.
“Anyway, love, I been walking this land for near on four thousand years and I never felt nothin’ like the fella that made Dante. He a bad spirit. I followed Dante because I felt he would need savin’, by helpin’ or killin’ him. One way or another. I follow him still every now and then when he has a darkness on the horizon.”
“Darkness on the horizon?” Alex asked, curious.
Dougie looked up, toward the skylight. “Just make sure you leave with him,” he said, his tone suddenly heavy.
The bid on number 12 had closed at $210,000, the last bid of the night. People were gradually filing out of the venue and Alex turned to watch them go. When she turned back, Dougie was gone, as if he had never been there.
“I apologise for making you wait.” Dante had appeared behind her.
Alex hugged him tight. “Time to go?”
He nodded. “I told the others we’d meet at the car.”
They made their way towards the entrance doors and the street outside. Other departing vampires gathered behind them, applauding Dante as the founder and shaking his hand as he exited, thanking him for a wonderful night.
They stepped through the doors and into the empty street, when she felt Dante’s hand pull away sharply.
“Die, mother fucker!”
Alex whipped around just in time to see a figure disappear into the night. It was when her eyes returned to Dante that she screamed. Dante slumped to his knees, looking down at the sharp point of a stake poking through his chest. The round bloodstain on his shirt expanding more by the second.
Alex screamed his name but he didn’t appear to hear her. The crowd had stayed inside for more goodbyes and congratulations. There was no one in sight. She was alone.
Dante touched the tip of the stake with several fingers. A small smile crossed his face. “My heart.”
His eyes found hers and the smile disappeared. “Alex, don’t…”
Dante fell face first onto the concrete. The stake was pushed out from the impact, but the hole it left didn’t close. The wound was through the heart.
She knelt beside Dante’s body, clumsily patting and pressing him, choking out his name, praying for him to respond. But he lay still.
“Step away.”
Alex looked up to see a tall, pale man approaching. He was thin with slicked-back hair the colour of the night sky. He strode in and picked up Dante’s body.
“No…” Alex said in shaky voice, almost like a squeak, and threw her arms around the lifeless Dante. “What are you going to do to him?”
“I think you should be more concerned about what I will do to you,” the stranger said softly, but without a trace of kindness. “I have waited centuries for this moment and you are not the prettiest or youngest I have broken into pieces. Be assured, my little mule, you will die tonight. If you back away now, I won’t insert my teeth into every hole you possess and make them engorged and deformed before I do.”
Alex stood her ground, barely. The stranger gave her a delighted smile. “Bravery often gets mistaken for stupidity.”
A loud cracking sound made Alex blink and shudder. The stranger shoved her back with tremendous force. Her head exploded with pain as the concrete came up to meet her. Blackness closed in upon her, and the last thing she saw was the stranger backing away from another figure standing protectively over her.
“Dougie,” she whispered, and then nothing.
Chapter Twenty Four
Don’t You Have Anything To Say To Me?
Alex awoke not knowing how she had gotten on her bed, fully clothed in her evening gown. It took several seconds for the memories of the previous night to register, and the fact it wasn’t a dream was just as bad as seeing it play out in her head the first time. “Mum…Michelle?” she called.
She called again, this time with a plea in her voice. No one was there. She went over the incident in her mind. She wanted answers, even if they wouldn’t help numb the pain. Could she have done anything different? Was it her fault? What was Dante trying to tell her? “Alex…don’t” he had started to say. Don’t what? Worry? Forget? Cry?
It had been too late for any of those things by the time his face had hit the ground. Over two hundred and fifty years of a life, gone like that.
A turn of a key clicked Alex awake from her thoughts. She sat up, making sure she heard what she thought. Yes, the front door was closing again. Was it Lauren? No, Alex hadn’t invited her in. But if a key was used, Lauren’s key, maybe that was an automatic invitation. It was still Lauren’s apartment as well.
The figure’s footsteps weren’t slow, they were cautious. Alex moved towards the bedroom door, unsure of what to do. What was the point of closing and locking it? She would be able to break it down.
“Alex?” a voice called.
Alex couldn’t believe it. She stepped out into the hallway and faced the speaker moving towards her.
“Hey,” Matt said, a cautious smile on his face. He looked like a returned soldier, back from doing his duty for the country. Alex was sort of relieved, but there was something strange… She froze, yet he still came closer.
“It’s ok, I forgive you,” he said gently, his arms outstretched.
“Don’t touch me.” Alex pushed him off her.
“Whoa, whoa! I thought it would’ve worn off by now.”
“Worn off?”
“Yeah, the spell he put you under. Don’t you realise what happened to you?”
“Spell who put me under? What are you talking about?”
“Dante.”
Alex began to connect the dots. “Don’t you realise what’s happened?” she roared. “You killed a man!”
Matt made a violent gesture for her to shut up.
“Oh, so you don’t want the neighbours to hear us fighting? But you commit murder in cold blood in front of heaps of people?” Alex screamed.
“Shut up, for Christ’s sake! They were all inside. No one saw me,” Matt fired back. He put both his hands up and closed his eyes. “Ok, look… You obviously don’t know what’s been going on, so I’ll level with you. Dante was not what you thought he was.”
“I know exactly who he was.”
“No,” Matt said with a patronising laugh. “No you really don’t. When you do, it will blow your mind. The fact is, I’m sorry, but I was right. He was bad news. The reason you were so infatuated with him was because of hypnosis.”
“No it wasn’t. Only certain vampires can do that. He couldn’t.”
Matt’s face fell. “What? You… You knew?”
“Of course I knew. He told me.”
“And you still wanted to be around him? He was a vampire!”
A door to what used to be Lauren’s bedroom opened and Margaret marched out, dishevelled as she tightened her dressing gown robe. “What the hell is going on out here?”
“Mum!” Alex cried. “You’re here!”
“Mum?” Matt asked. “That’s your mum?”
“I was asleep,” Margaret started, addressing Alex before turning to Matt. “Otherwise, I would’ve opened the door and introduced myself. Alex needs her rest. More importantly, who are you?”
“I’m Alex’s boyfriend.”
“Ex,” Alex corrected. The hurt she saw in his face did nothing to cool her anger.
“I think I’ll come back later,” Matt said, eyes crossing from one woman to the other.
“You don’t have to play it safe. Mum knows all about it. And I want answers before you think I should be grateful. Who told you about Dante?”
Matt looked again from one to the other, finally appearing to make up his m
ind. He continued. “I have had a few phone calls from a guy. He never told me his name. He told me what to do. He said it was the only way to free you. He said you were under a spell.”
“And you just believed him?”
“I saw Dante bite that chick he hung around with. You were there. Why wouldn’t I have believed him? He said Dante is a killer and he was after you. I saved your life!”
Alex could only shake her head in disbelief. The stupidity, the misguided efforts to prove he was her saviour.
“I told you, I know what Dante was. He was kind and generous. He reunited me with my mother. He introduced me to a very good friend who is likely in real danger after what you’ve done. Now I’m going to do you a favour. I’m going to do my best to convince her not to come after you, and it might be your only chance. Whatever you thought he was to me doesn’t matter, but to her… To her he was everything.”
Matt snorted.
Alex looked him up and down with contempt. “I hope your friend with the phone calls gives you more advice on how to run from Dante’s friends. They’ll be after you now, too. You’d better have plenty more stakes handy. Now get the fuck out of my house.”
Matt turned slowly and left.
Finally alone with her mother, Alex broke down. Margaret hugged her close.
“It’s my fault mum.”
“What’s your fault? The break up? He seems like a dingbat,” Margaret said.
“No. Last night,” Alex looked at her mother. “You don’t know?”
“Honey, all I saw was the crowd around you, knocked out. Lasander said they had heard you scream and that something had happened to Dante and no one could find Michelle or Dougie. He helped me get you into a cab and up the stairs. But he couldn’t come in, and I couldn’t invite him because this isn’t my place. So I got you inside and put you to bed and he left. You were fine, except for a bump on the head. I was going to ask you what happened when you woke up. Did you see what happened?”
“Yes,” Alex said, her throat threatening to close with coming sobs. “Dante’s dead. Matt staked him.”
Margaret frowned. “You mean like through the heart?”
Alex scrunched her eyes, feeling more tears and nodded.
“Oh, is that what happened?” Margaret asked.
“What do you mean, Mum? Did you hear me? Dante was staked. Through the heart, with wood!”
Her mother was smiling. Does she think I’m joking? Hallucinating?
Margaret placed both her hands on either side of Alex’s head and kissed her forehead lightly several times. “Don’t believe everything you see in the movies. Vampires’ hearts don’t beat.”
Chapter Twenty Five
Back To T
“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Margaret said.
“Mom, I have to go.” Alex could not keep the worry from her voice. She had not heard one word from Michelle all day. Despite Margaret’s assurances that Dante could not possibly be dead, Alex could not bring herself to believe it. If there was one thing she knew, stakes through the heart killed vampires. Some melted, some exploded, some turned to puffs of smoke, but they all went bye-bye.
Michelle would be devastated. Hell, Alex was devastated and had only known him for a few months. Michelle acted tough, but she had been there for Alex through everything. What sort of friend would Alex be if she didn’t reciprocate? It was also Halloween and T traditionally threw the biggest party in Sydney for it. In desperation, Alex used the “Find My Phone” app to track Michelle’s phone. It was located at T as of twenty minutes ago. Alex would have thought that the death of the owner would put a damper on the celebrations, but apparently no one had reported it.
Not that Alex was surprised. “Michelle will be running things now, so she is bound to be there. She’s all about how the show must go on,” Alex said. “I know she is hurting, though she won’t admit it. She hasn’t got anyone but Dante.”
A car horn blared outside. “There’s my cab, mom.” Alex walked over and kissed her mother goodbye.
*
The outside entrance to T was alive like Alex had never seen it before. She stood on the other side of the road just taking it in. Hired loudspeakers hung on heavy metal supports over the entrance, blaring what she guessed was the music inside to the waiting customers. Huge searchlights were set up next to the road, rotating and twirling beams of coloured light into the sky. Two fire-breathers were patrolling the extra-long queue, “terrorizing” the waiting crowd and attempting to outdo each other.
T staff had also obviously been encouraged to get into the spirit. They took it in turns to swap locations either inside or out. Some performed in character for the crowd and press that had shown up, clicking away. Others escorted guests down the long corridor and into the club itself. Alex approached the door and overheard the complaints of a dissatisfied customer.
“Oh come on, man. This is a big deal!” A squat-looking man waved his press pass and camera in the faces of the club’s well-built bouncers. The burst capillaries in his cheeks were darkening as he went on bellowing. “Don’t you want publicity?”
“We get better publicity if we don’t let you in,” Bison said. “No one cuts. Especially you. Back of the line.”
“I’m the sports editor of the Daily Telegram,” the man replied indignantly.
“My dick has the circumference of a can of red bull.”
The squat man took a step back. “Excuse me? What difference does that make to this?”
“About the same as what you told me you do. Absolutely nothing,” Bison replied with a grin as he spotted Alex standing behind the fuming reporter. “I’m guessing you want in, babe?”
Alex nodded. “Please. I need to see Michelle. Just for a second, I promise.”
“No problem. Maybe you can cheer her up. She wasn’t looking good when she came in today.”
Alex moved past the reporter, now so furious she could almost feel the heat emanating off him. “What.The.Fuck.Man. You said no cuts!”
“Jeez, you whine like a little bitch.” Tyson rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, when you look this fine in tight jeans, we’ll let you cut.”
Alex smirked and ducked into the club, leaving the agitated journalist to the bouncers. They’d have no problem dealing with him, and she needed to talk to Michelle. If even Bison and Tyson noticed Michelle wasn’t right…
Finding her wasn’t going to be easy, though. The club was packed and had been completely rearranged for Halloween. Huge set pieces and horror movie props were suspended from the ceiling and the walls. The bar had been removed, replaced with a DJ and smoke and laser effect device. At certain moments during the music, white smoke would venture out slowly and waft around the room, hiding the people behind its creeping tendrils. The dance floor was the only thing that had remained untouched.
Behind where the bar had been, Alex saw electronic effects glowing in a perfect circle around the floor, and realized they were lights attached to giant floor freezers. Inside was presumably where the alcohol was kept. People walked back and forth from them with bottles in hand.
Is the club giving away drinks for free? Alex wondered, before noticing the patrons wore lanyards around their necks. A girl in a sexy nurse costume inserted the lanyard card into a freezer’s slot and opened the door. They must be linked to a credit card or something, like a cruise ship.
Alex made her way toward Dante’s office first, figuring that was a likely place to find Michelle. And if not, it had a good window overlooking the dance floor. She might be able to spot her from there. It was difficult avoiding the jostling crowd, but as she wound her way through people, a pair of hands grabbed Alex round the waist from behind. Alex recognised the citrus fragrance. The same one she had given Lauren for her last birthday. The vice-like grip led her toward a dark corner of the club. Alex wanted to turn back, but didn’t dare, afraid of what she would see.
Alex’s breath caught in her throat when she felt Lauren smell the nape of her n
eck and her cracked, chapped lips pecked at the sensitive skin, followed by thin, cold fingers under her jaw, forcing her head slowly back, baring her throat. Alex clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly. She was going nowhere and couldn’t call out for help.
The music was pounding and her heart followed suit. “Loz, please don’t,” Alex begged in nothing more than a whisper. She almost screamed when she felt a hard suck on her earlobe, but then the pressure released. She put her hands to her neck, probing. No blood. She let out a sigh of relief. She chanced a look behind her and Lauren was there, simply staring at her.
Alex had no idea what to say to someone she had known for almost ten years. Lauren’s gaze was the worst thing of all. It wasn’t a look of anger or lust or hunger. There was simply no emotion on her face whatsoever. She was really dead. Lauren kept her eyes on Alex as she moved away, towards the exit at the back. There was only one other way out of T, and the parking lot for the staff was it.
Alex decided she couldn’t just let her friend leave. She still loved her, and if there was any chance Lauren could live like Dante had, then things might still be ok between them.
Lauren disappeared behind the exit door. Alex followed seconds later and found herself in a stairwell. Above her, she spotted the side of Lauren’s jacket rocketing up the curling staircase. Leading her up in a blur, silently willing her upwards.
It didn’t matter that it might be a trap. Alex ran as fast as she could to follow.
Alex pounded through the door and hit the open-air parking lot, seeing nothing but cars. She took a few steps and inhaled, ready to call for Lauren, when she heard the door lock behind her and a high-pitched laugh.
She turned to see Matt, sitting bound and tied against the door.
“What the—?” Alex rushed over and ungagged him. “What happened?”
“She’s crazy! Get me out of here!”
Alex worked on his bonds but didn’t get very far.
“Bout time you showed up, babe. I was getting worried.”
Lauren, hands on hips, stood over them, dressed in a red miniskirt with matching stilettos and black leather jacket.
Night Walker (Undeadly Secrets Book 1) Page 21