02 How to Date a Vampire - Rylie Cruz

by Rose Pressey

  But what else could I have done. I should have tried to work this out before it came to this. Before Jack had been, well, I couldn’t think about it right now. But would there have been a way to work it out with the vampires? It wasn’t as if we could sit down for a little chat over tea… delicious steak dinner, or maybe followed by a slice of lemon cake. They looked as if they had made up their mind about the outcome regardless of what I, or anyone else, wanted.

  I readied myself for what was about to happen. Well, as much as you can ready yourself for a bullet. I sucked in a deep breath. There wouldn’t be any escaping this pickle.

  “I don't know why you're doing this. It's not over just because you get rid of me. You know that, right? Jack’s done nothing to you. I won’t allow you to get away with this. My family will be looking for me, have you ever dealt with angry werewolves?”

  She scoffed. “Oh, I'm sure it's over. I'm not afraid of your little werewolf family. They don't instill fear in me or anyone for that matter. You all look like a bunch of weird stray half-dog half-humans who have the mange.”

  “You think you’re a funny girl, huh? Well, you won't be laughing when these so-called ugly werewolves rip your throat out. They’ll make your life a living hell and you’ll pray for them to shove a stake in your heart.” Wow, I was kind of scaring myself. “So just remember that when you pull the trigger.”

  “I'll keep that in mind.” She aimed the gun at my chest. A silver bullet right in the heart. I never figured that would be the way I’d go. This was the second time I’d had a gun pointed at me in the past few weeks. My ex-client had wanted to take me down the same way. Why did I attract crazy people? Was it some kind of cosmic pull?

  I closed my eyes. I didn't know what else to do. Running wasn't an option. She would shoot. I could lunge for her, but she would shoot me then, too. What good would I be to Jack if I was dead? I closed my eyes, but the shot didn't come.

  When I opened my eyes, Jack was in front of me.

  “Step to the side, Rylie.” Sophie pointed the gun at Jack, her eyes full of more determination than ever.

  “Jack. How did you get away from Quinton’s fangs?”

  “I won’t hesitate to kill you,” Sophie said.

  I couldn't believe my eyes. Jack had gotten away and was now standing between me and a bullet. Would he really take a bullet for me? I couldn't let him do that. I'd never get over losing him, much less allowing him do something like that for me.

  “No, Jack, I can't let you do this.”

  “I can handle it. Rylie, run,” he yelled again. “Get away from here before she shots you.”

  I hadn't listened in the past, and I wasn't about to listen now, either. But what I would do was push him out of the way. When he lunged forward, the gunshot ran out, echoing off the brick walls around us. It was almost as if I watched the scene in slow motion.

  Jack wobbled, clutching at his chest. Sophie raised the gun again and aimed it at me.

  When Jack stumbled to the ground, I lunged at her. I couldn’t help myself. The intense heat inside me was almost unbearable—I was livid. I wanted her blood this time. I could almost taste it, salty and metallic. Bullet or no bullet, she was going down. No way was she going to get away with shooting Jack. I'd kill her for this. She moved to the side and my face met with the ground.

  “Why are you running now? Fight your battles like a brave vampire. Or are you all talk? Nobody messes with my boyfriend.”

  Her eyes widened and she pointed the gun again. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  I jumped on her and she struggled to keep a hold on the gun. I grabbed her hand and pulled at the gun. She was stronger than I thought she'd be after the earlier struggles, but my strength was about twenty times stronger than I thought it would be. By the look on her face, she realized this too. Her powers were running out. She wouldn’t be able to fight me off for much longer.

  As I finally loosened the grip Sophie had on the gun, Quinton appeared behind her. After all that I’d witnessed, I didn’t know if that was a good thing. Quinton pulled at Sophie, dragging her from my attack. She struggled to break free from his hold. I ran over to Jack, leaving them to fight to the death, or whatever they called it. Since they were already undead. He had sat up, looking down at his wound.

  He touched the wound, then lifted his hand away to stare at it. “She shot me. She actually pulled the trigger,” he said, looking at me with astonishment in his eyes.

  Yeah, I hadn’t expected she had the nerve to pull a stunt like that, either. She was all talk as far as I could tell. How desperate did she have to be?

  “Can I take a look?” I asked.

  He nodded and pulled up his shirt.

  The wound was bleeding, but very little trickled out. I wasn’t sure how much blood he had to spare since Quinton had just turned him. But to my surprise, the wound was almost healing before my eyes.

  “I guess the bullet just grazed your side.” I touched his skin. “There doesn’t appear to be a hole.”

  When I glanced back at Quinton and Sophie, he pulled a silver chain from his pack pocket and wrapped it around her neck. She wouldn’t be going anywhere now.

  “Don’t even think about biting him again,” I said when Quinton ran over.

  “I promise I won’t touch him.” He held his hands up.

  “How can you handle the silver, but she can’t tolerate it?” I asked.

  “We’re all different. It doesn’t affect me like it does her.”

  I took in a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. “Why did you bite Jack?”

  “It was the only way to save him,” Quinton said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “If I turned him completely, Sophie wouldn’t want him. It makes his blood useless to her.”

  “That makes no sense. You turned him into a vampire so another vampire wouldn’t want him?”

  “Sophie realized Jack’s blood held power for her. Jack’s blood can kill a vampire.”

  “You expect me to believe that you turned him out of the kindness of your own heart?” Although what he said about the blood was exactly what Samson had said, but I wanted an explanation from Quinton. “If it kills vampires, then why are you still alive? Not to mention, the vampire who bit him in the first place. And I know that dirtbag is alive because he showed up at my house. You had to have consumed a lot of Jack’s blood to turn him.”

  “His blood is toxic at a certain level of consumption. As soon as the vampire tasted it, he stopped the attack. If he’d drank more, it would have killed him. He consumed enough to half turn Jack, but not enough to kill him. Apparently, Jack’s blood has a distinctive taste, but not all vampires are aware of this taste or can distinguish it when they taste it. That’s what makes his blood so dangerous to vampires. I finished turning Jack, but it wasn’t enough to kill me. All I had to drink was half the amount since the vampire virus was already at half level in Jack’s body.”

  “Well, I guess that kind of makes sense. Complicated, nonetheless. But why did Sophie want Jack?”

  “To have an endless supply of his blood. She could kill as many vampires as she wanted with it. She would have kept him alive, but he wouldn’t have wanted to live with the things she would have done to him.”

  “Why did she want to kill vampires? Just for kicks? A hobby? Instead of knitting?”

  “For power, of course. Plus, she’s nasty and evil. She planned on being the next vampire leader.”

  “Why did you stop her?”

  “What do you mean? You still think I’m a big mean vampire?”

  “No, I don’t think that, but why help Jack?”

  “Why wouldn’t I? She was doing something wrong. I am not the evil vampire you think I am.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you. I’m grateful for what you did. I guess I was caught up in all of the craziness. I really didn’t know who to trust.”

  “It’s okay. I understand. I probably would have felt the sa
me way if I were in your shoes.”

  “What will happen to her?” I asked.

  A couple of men who I assumed were vampires appeared next to Sophie. They must have entered the alleyway when I wasn’t paying attention which I didn’t think possible, but there was no other explanation. The vampires snapped Sophie up and zipped her away.

  “We’ll take care of her. You just get Jack home. He’ll need some rest. I’ll be by to check on him soon. There’s a lot I need to discuss with him.”

  “New vampire orientation?” I chuckled.

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  “By the way, I have the sculpture that my uncle took.”

  He quirked a brow at me.

  “Well, I don’t actually have it on me now. I found my uncle in this building and let him go. They were getting ready to roast him for dinner. He’s coming to my house with the item. But a sculpture? What the heck?” I frowned.

  “It was the vampire leader’s art. It was the one item he had from when he was human. It meant a lot to him. Not to mention he had other values stashed inside.”

  “I expected some kind of priceless jewel the way they acted. But a sculpture? What, did he make it in art class? A clay ashtray? A ceramic bowl?”

  “Very funny. I’ll have you know, he’s an accomplished artist. It’s worth thousands of dollars, not to mention the valuables inside the sculpture. Some of which are priceless.”

  “Well, I’ll make sure he gets it back as long as they don’t hurt my uncle.”

  “So now you’re bargaining with the vampire leader? You are brave.”

  “After what they did to Jack, it’s the least they could do.”

  “I’ll see what I can work out,” he said.

  “Thanks a ton. I have another question.”

  “I’ll try to answer it,” Quinton said.

  “Was that you in the graveyard? The first time when Jack and I ran into Nelson and Sophie? Then again when I was leaving the hotel, someone was following me. You spoke to us that night, and now that I’ve been around you a bit, I think that was you.” I stared, waiting for an answer.

  “You looked like you needed help.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything.”

  “Jack has a special vampire talent. One that has more skill than ten vampires combined. But it’ll take a lot of practice on his part.” Quinton looked at Jack. He was still out of it. There are a lot of vampires who will be envious of his special skill. There aren’t many like Jack.”

  “And what is this so-called special talent?”

  “Jack will be able to hypnotize people. Like I said, very few can do this. Well, some can do it a little, but not like the power Jack now possesses. The vampire leader will want to employ him.”

  I shook my head. “Jack won’t want to be involved in anything like that. How can you tell he has this talent?”

  “You can see it in his eyes. The fact that it was evident as a half vampire means he is very powerful.”

  “This is a lot to take in, you know?”

  He nodded. “I’m aware. I’ll be there to help you every step of the way.”

  “One more thing, why did you want Jack to come with you at his apartment if you knew what Sophie was up to?”

  “I didn't know, not until I got to the French Market. Nelson let it slip.”

  Hmm. I supposed I’d have to accept that answer.

  He gestured at Jack. “You should get him home.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  He winked at me. As I walked away, he called out. “Hey, Rylie, I’d ride in a pink car with you any day.”

  I couldn’t fight my smile. “I’ll see you soon, Quinton.”

  I helped Jack back to my car. We received our fair share of strange looks from patrons as we made our way through the French Market. Helping Jack walk was like carrying a bunch of cooked spaghetti. I prayed Uncle Ernie made it back to my place with the missing item before I had another battle with the vampires. The ring was still in my back pocket, I’d forgotten to ask Quinton about it.

  When we reached the car, and Jack climbed into the passenger seat, he said, “A pink car?”

  “Not you too. You’ll just have to deal with it.” I chuckled and handed him the seatbelt. “Here, put this on.”

  He was still as gorgeous as ever. His blue eyes sparkled, and the side of his mouth tilted up in a half smile.

  “Now I know what Quinton meant when he mentioned a pink car.”

  “It’s Jennifer’s. She likes pink. I think it’s cute. Pink’s a good color.”

  He smiled. “Yes, pink is a good color.”

  “So you did hear some of the conversation back there? You weren’t totally out of it?” I asked.

  Had he heard what Quinton had said about him?

  “Bits and pieces,” he said. “I have to be honest, I was a bit out of it when I jumped in front of Sophie. But I was fully aware of what I did.”

  “You saved my life. You took a bullet for me.”

  “Not before you saved mine,” he said.

  Aw, how sweet was he?

  “I know you blame yourself for what happened, but you have to stop. It was an accident.”

  “But—” He touched my hand and I stopped the sentence.

  “Accidents happen all the time. I don’t care that it happened. All I care about is that I’m with you.”

  Guess that really did put us in that boyfriend/girlfriend status. I liked the sound of that. Curse be gone. Maybe the curse was finally broken. I hoped it would never return. Thoughts of our wonderful night together flooded back to the front of my mind. Was our night together on Jack’s mind too? Probably not. He had a lot more to worry about at the moment. Would he become so involved in the vampire family that he’d forget about me? No. I needed to push those insecurities out of my thoughts. I’d just enjoy having Jack back in my life.

  “I have a question. How did Sophie get you to leave with her?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure exactly. It was as if I was in a dream-like state. But unless I was dreaming, there was another vampire with her. I had thought it was Quinton, but now I realize it was not. It couldn’t have been, or he wouldn’t have turned me and saved my life. That sounds strange doesn’t it? He saved me by turning me?”

  I nodded. “It does sound a little strange, but they say life is stranger than fiction. Nothing really shocks me anymore,” I said.

  “Anyway, I walked right out of the room and out of the hotel with her just like a zombie. I don’t remember being anywhere with her other than the building where you found me. She told me what she planned to do to me.”

  “Jack, I’m so sorry.”

  “Rylie, you don’t have to apologize. Sophie is obviously a sociopath.”

  “Well, I hope that’s the last we see of her.”

  Next I’d have to match up Isabella before she got her fangs into Jack.

  Which reminded me to ask, “Do you remember what I told you about Isabella? That she’s a vampire?”

  “No, I don’t remember. She never mentioned it, but I guess that’s not something you start the conversation with, huh? I was surprised when she showed up at my door. We hadn’t spoken for a couple of years. I was shocked to see her in New Orleans.

  “Apparently, she was turned recently like you.”

  “She was a sweet girl back then. A little free-spirited, but she seemed different now. Maybe she’s just older, but I felt uneasy with her around. I’ll have to let her know just because we were friends in high school doesn’t mean she’s welcome to drop in anytime she wants.”

  Something told me we’d be seeing her again. But at least she wouldn’t be hunting Jack down to take him to the mysterious vampire leader.

  Once I climbed behind the wheel, my cell phone rang.

  “Are you okay?” Jennifer’s voice screeched once I hit the answer button.

  Before I had a chance to answer, she continued, “Stephen has been tu
rned. As in he is a vampire now. Really, a vampire. Lily and I took him to the hospital.”

  I would never get used to a statement like that. I never thought Lily would be tame enough to help anyone out of a jam.

  “What happened?” I asked. “Is he okay?”

  “He’ll be fine, I guess. A vampire and some other mean-looking dude showed up at the hospital. He wanted to take Stephen with him, but I convinced him to let me take him home. Stephen’s acting all weird like Jack was, but worse.”

  “Well, I have news for you. Jack was fully turned today.”

  “What? We both have vampire boyfriends now?”

  “Where are you?” I asked as I turned the ignition.

  “I’m on my way home now.”

  Within a few minutes, we pulled up to our building. As we made our way on the sidewalk, Danielle and Dave strolled hand-in-hand toward us. Despite the bad past forty-eight hours, I couldn’t help but smile. The fairy and the werewolf had been a good match. They had that giddy, getting-to-know-each-other glow.

  “Rylie, we wanted to thank you.” Danielle waved at me.

  “I’m surprised to see the two of you together so soon. It isn’t even date night yet.”

  “We came by to thank you. We know it’s early on, but I never met anyone I had this much in common with,” she said.

  Score one for the matchmaking werewolf.

  “I’d just listened to your message when Dave called me,” Danielle said, smiling at Dave. “We talked for about an hour and got along so well that we decided to meet right away.”

  “I have to tell you, Rylie, you’re a genius when it comes to matchmaking,” Dave said.

  Yeah, tell that to Lily. I didn’t think she’d agree with that statement. Danielle stroked Dave’s face and he practically melted on the sidewalk. Maybe I needed to take a hose and spray those two down with some cold water. It was a little early to declare success, but as long as they were happy for the moment, then I was happy, too.