Blood Battles (Fallen Angels Book 2)

by Judith Post

  "Right." She leaned against the wall and sighed. "I'm getting restless. We need a plan, something to do. I'm not good at waiting."

  "None of us are, but not everyone's here yet." Concern crept into his voice. "I don't know what's keeping them."

  "Typical Gunther, does things his own way. Once a Hun, always a…"

  Enoch shook his head. "Ulrich's not like that. He and Gunther rode together as mortals. They were bitten at the same time, but Ulrich respects Bart."

  "So does Gunther, but he still has the rape and pillage mentality." Nula grimaced. "It's too bad the hunter didn't take him out instead of Victor."

  "I'll miss Victor."

  "We all will." Nula pushed herself off the wall.

  Amado entered the kitchen, close on Eva's heels. Bart and Claudia brought up the rear. Eva went to the kitchen's island. She poured herself a glass of red wine and grabbed a ruby red grapefruit. She sank her fangs into it and drained its juice. "Sorry. I'm in a hurry. I have to meet Keb in half an hour."

  Voronika surprised Enoch by walking into the kitchen, dressed in a short, black skirt and a red, stretchy top. He blinked and gawked. High heels accentuated her long, shapely legs. She grinned. "I thought this might motivate you to take a girl out on the town."

  "You don't have to motivate me, but I sure as hell enjoy the effort. Where do you want to go?"

  "The nightclub so we can keep watch on Kandice."

  "I'll take you, but I'm going to be distracted."

  Nula laughed. "Down, boy. Wish I had that effect on men."

  Claudia shook her head. "You do. I haven't met too many who'd kick you out of bed."

  "I would." Amado sipped his wine.

  "She said men, not boys." Nula went to the refrigerator and poked inside for her usual tomato juice wake-me-up.

  Elijah was the last one down. He nodded a brief hello to the others and went to make himself a cup of tea. A vampire of few words, he spent most of his time reading.

  Enoch settled at the table to talk shop with Bart, but Voronika grabbed his hand. "Come on. Let's go."

  "Don't you want to eat first? All they serve at the nightclub is liquor."

  "We can grab burgers on the way."

  "Burgers? You are in a hurry. Just let me change my clothes."

  "You look fine. You always look good." She tugged on him. "I'm ready to dance."

  "Dance?" Enoch had danced more last night than he had in years.

  "Like this." Amado crossed the room and swept Voronika into his arms. He raised his elbow and pulled her close to tango from one end of the kitchen to the other. They made a stunning couple with his dark coloring contrasting her platinum beauty. His moves were dramatic, filled with passionate flare. He gave a seductive smile as he dipped her. "I could teach you a few moves."

  When he righted her, Voronika turned to Enoch. "Can you do that?"

  In answer, Enoch yanked her to him, crushed her close, and did a tango that left her and the other female vampires breathless.

  "Honey, where did you learn to do that?" Eva fanned herself with her hand.

  Enoch gave her a come hither look. "I don't always brood and read."

  "Then forget about laughing out loud," she told him. "You've got intensity that rockets off the charts. If you danced with me like that, you might be able to convert me."

  Enoch smiled and shook his head. "That's what every vampire says."

  Eva laughed and glanced at Amado. His dark eyes flashed fire. He could barely contain his temper. "Simmer down, Lover Boy. No need to have a pissing contest with the angel here. That girl's taken, is all."

  "She's a vampire. No one owns us."

  "But we mate. She's out of bounds."

  Amado shrugged. "It's not final. Ask him."

  Enoch released Voronika to smooth his black hair into place. "We're together, not mates."

  "Really?" Nula narrowed her eyes to study Voronika.

  Eva glanced at the clock. "Oh, shit! Gotta go! Keb will be waiting for me." She flipped up the kitchen's metal grid and ran out of the house, then leapt into the air.

  Barefoot. She was flying away barefoot. Enoch's breath caught in his throat. He held it until she was out of sight. What if a hunter had been out there? How would she protect herself? But the vampires wouldn't cower in the house forever. He knew that and understood. It wasn't in their nature to hide. Still, he wished she would have let him check to see if there was anything suspicious in the area before she bolted away.

  Voronika studied his face and said, "She's all right. They haven't found the house yet. They will, but we'll be ready by then."

  He draped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you ready to go?"

  "Don't I look ready?" She glanced down at her skirt and heels.

  "That's what worries me." He grabbed her hand and led her to the Land Rover. The little dance moves and the following conversation had unnerved him. Voronika was with him, but she wasn't his. Now everyone knew that. And wondered why.

  On their way across town, Enoch stopped at a drive-thru and bought burgers and fries.

  "These are good!" Voronika licked salt and catsup off her fingers. "We should do this more often."

  "If you like balancing food in your lap." Enoch crumpled his empty wrapper and tossed it on the floor. He'd clean up later.

  "We should have stayed there to eat. It's harder for you. You have to drive."

  "People do it all the time. It's part of the American lifestyle, eating on the go."

  "I like it, and I like nightclubs. What else have I missed?"

  He sighed. "I have a feeling you're going to try to find out." When he pulled into the parking lot, the crowd was smaller than before. He parked close to the door and led Voronika inside.

  "You're back." Kandice hurried to wait on Enoch. "Did you miss me?"

  "Couldn't keep away." Enoch looked at Voronika. "What would you like to drink?"

  "A Black Italian."

  Kandice frowned. "Excuse me?"

  "Sorry, a Black Russian."

  "And you?" Kandice leaned forward to hang on Enoch's words. "What can I get you?"

  "A chardonnay."

  "Coming right up." Kandice went to get their drinks. When she returned, she grinned. "You couldn't keep your eyes off me. Should I give you my number again?"

  Enoch shook his head. "No, but I just found out we have a common friend, Danny Nahler."

  "Danny the detective? He's a neat guy, one of my dad's buddies. I like him. How do you know him?"

  "We met in a bar."

  She laughed. "I'd guess he was there for cheap food. Danny loves to eat."

  "That he does." Enoch put a hand over Voronika's to include her. "We've been friends ever since."

  Gino was sitting at his usual table. He raised a hand and motioned for Kandice. She gave a quick nod. "Gotta go. My boyfriend needs refills."

  Enoch turned on his stool to look at him. "That's your boyfriend? I expected someone younger."

  She looked Enoch up and down. "I like older men. How old are you?"

  "Ancient," he said. And she laughed.

  "Not too old to dance, though," Voronika said. She was tired of being ignored, Enoch could tell. "Come on, handsome. It's time to earn your keep." Her yellow eyes glittered behind her blue contacts.

  "Okay, woman. Let's see what you've got." And just as he expected, she had plenty. They danced until he was hot and sweaty and Andy gave the last call.

  It was a relief to sit in the cooler air of the evening with the Land Rover's windows down and wait for Gino and Kandice to leave the club.

  "You didn't learn any of those moves in heaven," Voronika said, lifting the fall of her moonlight hair off her neck.

  "I haven't been Home for a long time, and you know what they say. When in Rome…"

  She laughed, but grew alert when Gino and Kandice left the club and strolled to his silver Audi. They stopped to grope and kiss every few steps along the way. Once Gino finally started his car, Enoch followed them back t
o his hotel and circled the block before sliding into a parking spot at the back of the lot. He watched as a light turned on in a fifth floor room. Half an hour later, the light was extinguished. Gino must have decided to call it an early night. Enoch leaned back to relax, but Voronika slid to the edge of her bucket seat and leaned over to be close to him. "What is it the kids do these days? Make out?"

  "We're on watch."

  "Then don't take your eyes off that dark window while I do this…" She pressed herself against him and kissed his cheek, unbuttoned his shirt and ran her fingers over his muscles. "Mmm, you feel good."

  "Voronika…"

  "We didn't get to finish the last time we tried doing it in a car." Her hand slid inside his trousers, circled his penis.

  Enoch gave a surprised gasp. "I'm trying…"

  "You don't have to do anything, handsome. I'll do it all."

  But soon they were panting in the back seat, and her head thunked against the car door as she came. Enoch kept glancing at the hotel window. Still dark. When they finished, he squeezed himself back behind the steering wheel and said, "From now on, you have to go home when we leave the nightclub."

  She slid between the seats to join him up front. "If Gino got in his car and drove somewhere, you'd have heard him."

  "What if he decided to walk?"

  "I'm a vampire." She readjusted her bra to be more comfortable. "I'd be able to smell and hear him the minute he left the hotel."

  Enoch hadn't thought of that. He hadn't thought about much of anything once she scooted across the seat. He'd tried to keep watch on Gino and make love, but Voronika was too much of a distraction. "Still…"

  "I'll be good from now on," she promised.

  "You're always good."

  "You know what I mean." They finished their stake-out when the sun hovered near the horizon and it was time for Enoch to drive Voronika home. He walked her into the house, a shield to protect her just in case, and waited until she slowly climbed the stairs to bed. The other vampires were already settled for the day. The house was quiet.

  She stopped on the third step and turned to look at him. "Want to come up and snuggle with me?"

  "Can't. Things to do."

  She yawned. "That's what I thought, but it doesn't hurt to offer."

  "Aren't you tired?" he asked.

  "Exhausted." A bigger yawn. "But what a great night!"

  "You needed one."

  She folded her arms across her breasts, looking serious. "What are you going to do with your day?"

  "Follow Gino." He'd noticed that Gino kept glancing at them while they visited at the bar. Kandice had probably told him that Enoch knew Danny, the detective.

  She raised an eyebrow. "Your Land Rover has tinted glass. I could come with you and keep you company."

  "I want to concentrate this time." He smiled. "I'll see you tonight."

  "Good, because I can't keep my eyes open." She went the rest of the way upstairs.

  He waited to hear her door softly close before he took a quick shower and changed into jeans and a tee shirt. He made a pot of coffee and filled a thermos, then pulled and locked the metal grids. Satisfied that everyone was safe, he drove downtown to watch Gino's hotel. It would be interesting to see if Gino's pattern changed now, if he left the hotel more often. Soon, Enoch thought, he wouldn't just be watching Gino. Gino would be watching him back.

  Chapter 21

  Danny was helping a tech get fingerprints off a dumpster when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. Enoch. "Are we done here, Jay?"

  The tech gave a quick nod.

  Danny flipped open his phone. "Yeah?"

  "Danny? I'm sitting outside of Gino's hotel downtown. I'm hungry. If you pick up some lunch, I'll pay."

  "Mine too?"

  "You can even keep me company while we eat."

  Why did he and Enoch always meet for lunch? Danny wondered. Simple. That was the only free time they had during the day. "Do you have anything new to tell me?" Danny asked.

  "Not much."

  "I have something that might interest you. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

  When Danny opened the passenger door and tossed Enoch a white bag, his friend jerked with surprise. He'd been listening to Rimsky-Korsakov on his iPod, oblivious to Danny's knocks on his car window. Not that Danny would have known one composer from another before he met the angel. He still only knew the ones who were Enoch's favorites.

  "Sorry, I didn't hear you." Enoch looked at the bag. "What is it?"

  "A reuben sandwich from the deli." Danny slid inside the car and opened his own bag. "I know you like them. I got myself ham and swiss on rye."

  Enoch handed him a twenty dollar bill and bit into his sandwich. "Thanks."

  "Is this my tip? I get to pocket the change? Next time maybe I'll wear roller skates and be a waiter on wheels."

  "Funny."

  They didn't talk until their food was gone. Then Danny said, "Remember the guy who supplied drugs on Fourth Street? The one who helped us nail Gail Lahmeyer's nephew?"

  "Yeah, but he didn't really have a choice. You made him cooperate."

  "He's disappeared."

  "How do you know?"

  "We picked up a small-time hood who was trying to score a hit with someone new. Unlucky for him, he tried to buy from an undercover cop. When we asked him about it, he said his regular dealer's gone. No one's seen him for over a week."

  "Do you have our guy's address?"

  "Been there. All of his stuff's still hanging in his closet. The place looks like a guy left it in the evening, expecting to come back, but didn't."

  "I won't like it if somebody hurt him." Enoch stared out the tinted windows. "What if it's not vampires who are taking these guys and dropping them somewhere? What if the dealers from Detroit are taking them out in a wood and dumping their bodies?"

  "It could happen. We've got men on the streets, but no leads." Danny looked at his watch. "I have to get back to the station. I need to leave on time tonight if I can. Maggie wants me to look at wedding cakes with her."

  "You've waited until now? This is the end of June. Your wedding's August third."

  "I know the day I'm getting married."

  "Most people pick out cakes way ahead."

  Danny shrugged. "I was hoping if I stalled long enough, she'd pick out something on her own."

  "You guessed wrong. Go with her and then let her pick the cake out herself."

  "You're not so stupid for an angel." Danny got out of the car and nodded toward the hotel. "Good luck."

  "What were you doing when I called? You sounded distracted."

  Danny grimaced. "The manager of a fast food place found a baby in her dumpster."

  "Alive?"

  Danny's face told the bad news. "We don't think the mother murdered him. It looks like he was early and stillborn. Doc will know."

  Enoch gave a grim nod. "I guess it could be worse."

  "Yeah, like the kid in the ICU right now. His dad brought him in when he was afraid he wouldn't make it. He might not make it anyway."

  "I read about him in the paper."

  "Most kids don't have dents in their heads." Danny gave a wave. "Thanks for the lunch. I hope your day's better than mine."

  Chapter 22

  Enoch's luck did get better. An hour later, Kandice got in Gino's Audi and drove away. Soon after she left, Gino and the third hunter walked to the pizza parlor on Wayne Street for lunch. Enoch followed them, dipping into the Irish pub across the street for a quick beer to keep an eye on them. When they left the parlor, he threw money on the table and trailed them at a distance. They walked up and down streets and alleys, pausing every time they saw a dead rat, stooping to study it.

  Keb and Eva couldn't have left more blatant clues. The rats were flat, clearly drained of all blood, like a pop can sucked until its sides collapse. When Gino and friend were finally satisfied they'd found what they were looking for, they returned to the hotel. What had this excursion bee
n about? Enoch wondered. They had to know the vamps were in town by now. Did they think a trail of dead rats would lead the way to their nests?

  Enoch stayed and watched until Kandice got back later in the day, loaded down with shopping bags. It looked as if Gino handed her money every time he wanted her out of his way. No wonder the girl was sticking around. When she went into the hotel, Enoch drove back to the stone house. He'd learned what he wanted to know. The hunters didn't have a clue what they were doing. It made him wonder. How did mortals find the nests of the vampires they'd already killed? Vampires lived in almost every major city in the world, but humans never knew they existed. How did the hunters not only see Gunther and the other generals they'd found, but follow them back to their nests?

  When he got home and entered the house, his luck ended. He felt like someone kicked him in the gut. Voronika's back was pressed against Amado, and Amado's arms circled her waist.

  Enoch's hands curled into fists.

  Amado looked up, saw Enoch, and froze.

  Voronika looked up too. She wriggled out of Amado's grip. "It's not what you think!"

  "What is it?" Enoch didn't recognize his own voice.

  "Amado's teaching me some basic fight moves for when we battle."

  "We battle?" Enoch's vision was blurred with red. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "I don't want you anywhere near the fighting."

  Her back stiffened. Crap. Now he'd done it.

  "What? You'd rather I stayed helpless and had to hide?"

  "No, if you want to learn to fight, I can teach you, but this isn't the place to start. We're facing professionals, probably lots of them."

  "That's why I want to learn to defend myself."

  He took a deep breath, fighting for calm. "It takes years to become a warrior, not a few lessons."

  Her yellow eyes blazed. "But don't you see? That’s something I could do. I could become a warrior like Claudia and Nula. I could travel with you to fight rogues."

  Fear knotted in his stomach, clutched his heart. He didn't like the idea at all, but what could he say? It wasn't like she'd found anything else that interested her. "Voronika…."

  She turned her head. "Amado's happy to teach me. I won't jump into the thick of things, but I can learn from this, can't I?"