A Fixer Yuletide: A Lawson Vampire Collection (The Lawson Vampire Series Book 1)

by Jon F. Merz

  I was a third of the way through the sandwich when I heard the car coming up the drive. My pistol was in my hands before it slowed any further, but my gut didn’t twinge the way it normally did when danger approached.

  Why would Amir come up the driveway? Why drive up and alert me to his presence? It didn’t make any sense. Then again, I’d been around long enough to know that an unorthodox strategy can sometimes yield good results. Maybe Amir thought by being upfront he could surprise me.

  I heard the car engine die and the door opened. I had a good vantage from one of the windows in the dining room and kept the pistol at the ready. There was a round in the chamber and the hammer was back. I only had to flip the safety down and I’d be ready to start firing.

  Footsteps crunched the gravel as they approached the house. I frowned. This couldn’t be Amir.

  Beeps sounded in the dim light and then the lock on the front door disengaged. I eased myself to the doorway leading to the foyer and used the archway for a certain degree of cover as the door swung open.

  And the person who’d been on the porch stepped inside.

  Judging by the shape, Amir was either very small of stature, or else he was a…

  …woman.

  It wasn’t Amir at all.

  I came away from the archway. “Stay still.”

  Instead, she nearly jumped ten feet at the sound of my voice. She whirled around and saw the gun in my hands. She raised her own up.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “Lauren. I own this house.”

  I kept my gun trained on her even though I didn’t think she was lying. There was still protocol to follow. “Objaruk ilum.”

  She blinked and then cleared her throat. “Zeb darul ja anuk.”

  I lowered my pistol. “Close enough.”

  “Sorry,” she said. “My pronunciation sucks.”

  “It’s not an easy language to get to grips with.” I gestured toward the door. “Wanna close that for me?”

  She did and then turned around. “I wasn’t really expecting to find anyone here.”

  “My Control told me you and your family were away for Christmas.”

  Her face clouded. “They are. I came back here.”

  “Why?”

  She sighed. “Long story.”

  I frowned. “You might want to leave. There’s a very bad man coming to kill me. Eventually.”

  She eyed me. “Are you certain of that?”

  “One hundred percent.”

  “I thought Fixers were supposed to be invincible.”

  I smirked. She was attractive in that way that 40-something women are. Still youthful, sexy, experienced. And not given to too much bullshit, provided you could find one who didn’t spend her life obsessing over what other people thought of her. “We’re flesh and blood. We can be killed, provided you have the right tools.”

  Lauren came further into the house and smiled. “Well, make yourself comfortable. I’m going to have a drink.”

  “You should leave.”

  She stopped and eyed me again. “You trying to get me to leave my house?”

  “I’m trying to save your life. You have kids?”

  “Of course.”

  “A husband?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then you should do your best to stay alive.”

  She brushed past me and walked into the kitchen. I followed. She headed right for the wine refrigerator and broke out a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Without saying anything, she uncorked it and poured a hefty serving into a glass. She drank it down quickly and then poured herself some more. When she had taken another sip, she broke away and gave a heaving sigh.

  “I don’t know what I want anymore.”

  A glance at my watch told me that it was nearing 9 o’clock. Amir had to know where I was by now. I guessed he’d wait until the early morning to make his attack. I slid onto a stool at the island. “Problems?”

  She took another sip of wine and then slid onto a stool opposite me. “You gonna be my shrink now?”

  “Seems like the right thing to do since you’re letting me hang out here in your house.”

  She considered that for a moment and I studied the short brunette hair cut she wore. Whoever had cut her hair was high-end. Everything was too perfect, too manicured. She had her own money, too, I guessed. But she still needed what her husband made to give her real freedom.

  “I’m tired of my husband.”

  I grabbed a glass and poured myself some of the wine. “Why? You guys been together a long time?”

  “Long enough. Sometimes it feels like an eternity.”

  I smiled and took another sip. “I don’t think there’s ever been a relationship that doesn’t go through that. Except maybe in the pages of a cheesy romance novel.”

  “I guess. But lately I’ve been wondering if there’s more to life than just this suburban thing. I work a few days each week and then spend the rest of my time chauffeuring my kids to an endless array of activities. It’s a wonder I get any time to myself.”

  I sipped the wine. It was a good vintage. “And what would you choose to do if you had the time?”

  “I don’t know. Curl up under a thick blanket and read a book. Travel. Lay on a beach and let the waves wash over me.”

  “It’s not a bad plan,” I said. “Why don’t you try to work some of that into your life?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I’m afraid people will judge me. And if they judge me, they might judge my kids, too.”

  I finished off the glass of wine. “Humans are strange. You guys spend so much time worrying about what other people think. Let me ask you something: are you living for someone else?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. Are you seeking someone else’s approval? Do you need their authority or consent to live your life?”

  “Well, no, but it’s not that easy.”

  “Bullshit. It is that easy, if you want it to be. Look, I’m not saying you have to flush every aspect of your life, but why not do some exploring? It’s your path, after all. At the end of your life, you’ll be alone - that’s just how it goes. Don’t you want to live without regret? Don’t you want to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment that you can from your life?”

  “You know a lot about death?” The question came at me hard. Unexpected. She must have seen the look on my face because she followed up pretty quick. “Being a Fixer, I mean.”

  I looked away. If she knew the job, then she knew the answer to her question already. But I knew there’d be a certain allure to it. Some people attach too much mystique to the Service. Especially human Loyalists. “I kill bad people,” I said finally.

  “Someone has to,” she said. “Didn’t Churchill once say that we sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm?”

  “I’ve seen it attributed to Orwell, but whatever, it speaks the truth.”

  “You are rough, aren’t you?”

  I could feel her eyes on me, roving and probing. She was a suburban mom. I guessed the husband worked in finance - they all seemed to - or sales. An office jockey who made enough to give his family a decent life, but maybe one that lacked any real passion. I was probably the closest thing to extreme adventure that she’d ever seen. But there was no way her universe could ever handle what I was.

  “When I have to be,” I said.

  She finished off her wine and went back for more. “You’re not bad at this, you know?”

  “What - the marriage counseling? Don’t quote me on any of it. Love and I aren’t exactly the best of friends.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ve got someone special.”

  I thought about Talya. We seemed to have it down right, although who knew? She was off on another mission for some high-paying client. I was waiting to be attacked by the brother of a terrorist I’d killed. She was human; I was a vampire. We weren’t supposed to be together, but we were anyway. I risked be
ing sanctioned by the Council for the transgression of loving a human, but I said fuck it and went ahead and did it anyway. Love was many a fucked up thing, but at the same time, it was pretty goddamned awesome.

  Lauren emptied the bottle into her glass and sipped it, looking at me over the lip as she did so. “Wanna go to bed?”

  I cocked an eyebrow. She was aggressive. Usually, I like that killer instinct. I hate games. There’s no point to them except a mental jerk off that fails to deliver every time. I looked her up and down again and was tempted to indulge. Talya and I had an arrangement, after all. We were free to do whatever and there are times when the release of a good primal fuck is just what you need out in the field - especially when anyone and everyone is trying to kill you. As professionals, we both recognized the therapeutic necessity of it.

  And Lauren looked like she was pretty much down for whatever.

  But the pistol sitting nearby reminded me of why I was there in the first place. I didn’t think that Amir would be good enough to wait while I humped the hell out of Lauren and delivered the best night of sex she’d ever had.

  Terrorists are rude like that.

  “Unfortunately, I’ve got to decline,” I said.

  She shrugged. “Your loss.”

  “No doubt,” I said. “And thank you for the offer.”

  Lauren looked around the kitchen. “So, this is it? You just hang out and wait for this guy to show up to try to kill you?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Lauren got up and took her glass with her as she left the room. “The living room is more comfortable. We could put a fire on.”

  “Fair enough.” I followed her into the room and watched as she lit a fire. I glanced out of the windows, but saw nothing.

  “Why is he trying to kill you?”

  I turned away from the windows and saw that Lauren had settled herself on the sofa. She kicked her shoes off and crossed her legs, smiling at me as she did so. It was a good thing she didn’t know about my affection for human women.

  “I killed his brother. A long time ago.”

  “Why?”

  I sat down opposite her in one of the armchairs. “He worked for all the major terrorist groups operating in Europe at the time. His work put my race in jeopardy. You know that humans cannot know about us.”

  “But I know about you.”

  “You’re a Loyalist. Sworn to protect our secret existence just as much as me.”

  She nodded. “So after all the time, the brother is finally coming to get vengeance? What took him so long?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  Lauren sipped her wine. “Well, I can’t say I blame him for wanting to kill you.”

  “Why? Because I won’t sleep with you?”

  “No, silly. You killed his brother. Family.” She shrugged. “I’d kill for my family.”

  “I did my job,” I said. “His brother potentially compromised the lives of my entire race. I am sworn to protect that secret by any means necessary. And by choosing to do what he did, he chose his punishment as well.”

  “Killing is killing,” said Lauren.

  I shook my head. “The act of taking a life could be seen that way, yes, but the reason for doing it varies tremendously.”

  “You’re going to argue about the nobility of taking another life?”

  “If taking that life is in the defense of another, yes.” I frowned. “What his brother did could have cost the lives of every single member of my race. Men, women, children. So yes, I absolutely believe his death was justified.”

  “I’ll bet he sees it differently.”

  “Probably so,” I said. “But when he comes for me, I’ll kill him as well.”

  Lauren nodded and sipped her wine. “Two killers each gunning for the other. Sure, there’s nothing inherently stupid about that.”

  I leaned forward. “Do you get this way anytime someone turns you down for a romp in the sack?”

  “What way?”

  “Bitch central.”

  She laughed. “Am I a bitch? I’m fine with that label.”

  “Why would you be fine with that? You’re proud of it?”

  “I think men use the word ‘bitch’ because they’re afraid of a strong woman.”

  I sniffed. “Not me. I use the word bitch to describe an actual bitch.”

  “Says the professional assassin-“

  But before I could say anything, I was already diving for the floor as the first rounds tore open the windows and slammed into the wall behind the couch. I jerked Lauren down even as she started to scream, three bullets impacting the sofa where her head had been a nanosecond earlier. The gunfire continued for ten seconds while Lauren screamed.

  “You’re welcome,” I said as I rolled over and brought the pistol up, cursing myself for being lulled into an argument with Lauren. “We need to move.”

  She regained her composure. “Where?”

  “Basement?”

  She nodded and got to her hands and knees. We crawled out of the room and back into the kitchen. The gunfire ceased. Amir would be coming now.

  Lauren reached the door handle and opened it. I was worried that the basement might have a door leading outside, but when I asked Lauren, she shook her head. “Only way down is here.”

  “Good.” We got down the steps and I pulled the door shut behind us. “Keep the lights off.”

  “I can’t see.”

  I took her by the hand. “I can.” We moved down below. I positioned her by the far back wall underneath the stairs that led down from the kitchen. I figured it was the safest place for her if Amir lobbed a grenade through the door.

  A moment later, the door from the kitchen eased open.

  I fired from my position below. Two rounds. I heard them smack flesh and then the figure at the top of the stairs fell back and away from the doorway.

  And everything went quiet.

  I heard Lauren moving and shushed her. I didn’t know if it was truly Amir I’d killed or not. Creeping up the steps, I kept the pistol up and ready to fire again. As I came up to the kitchen, I saw shoes first and then the rest of the body. I cleared the area and then returned to confirm the kill.

  Amir didn’t look like I’d expected him to. He was fair-skinned. And in his hand he held a Skorpion submachine gun. The thing was a relic from another era, specifically that of his deceased brother.

  Movement behind me told me that Lauren had come out of hiding. I turned and saw the pistol in her hand.

  “Don’t.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to shoot you.”

  I dropped my gun. “What the hell is this?”

  She frowned. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “You’re Amir?” I tried to see it, tried to see the surgery or the makeup that would let me know that she was actually a he. But I couldn’t. Either Amir had never been a man or else he’d found someone so skilled that the transformation was seamless.

  “She’s not.”

  The voice came from behind me. And it dripped with the sort of venom I knew had a killer behind it. I turned slowly.

  He looked exactly like Aziz. It might have been that fateful night all over again.

  I glanced back at Lauren. “What the hell is this all about?”

  Amir smiled. “I’m here to kill you.”

  “Yeah, I got that,” I said. “What’s her role in this?”

  Lauren shook her head. “I didn’t want to do it, Lawson. But he’s got my family.”

  “When did he get to you?”

  Amir answered. “As they were all driving home. Rather convenient, wouldn’t you say? Imagine my delight when they pulled up and got out to check their mailbox for lots of wonderful Christmas cards. Don’t you just love it when opportunity presents itself?”

  I turned and in Amir’s hand I saw the Glock. I knew he’d have Fixer rounds in the magazine - designed to kill vampires with the exploding wooden tips. If any of that got into my bloodstream, I was a goner.


  “Where is her family?”

  Amir shrugged. “Another associate of mine is with them outside. Once I’m done with you, they’ll be set free.”

  I shook my head. “I doubt that very much. You’ll kill them all.”

  “I will do no such thing,” said Amir. He looked at Lauren. “You can give me the gun now, my dear.”

  I leaned against the counter. “Use it on him, Lauren. He’ll shoot you all if you don’t.”

  I saw the indecision in her face. The barrel of the gun wavered as Amir reached for it.

  Lauren jerked it up and squeezed the trigger.

  The hammer fell with a dull click.

  Amir clucked. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. That is always the joy of manipulating amateurs who don’t know the weight of an actual gun with bullets in it. I’m very glad I gave you the empty gun.” He turned to me and leveled the Glock on my heart. “This one, I can assure you, is indeed loaded.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” I said. “But you kill me and the Council will hunt you down like a bug.”

  “The Council didn’t even know I existed until I made sure they couldn’t help but notice me,” said Amir.

  I smirked. “They have been known to be rather unaware.”

  Amir cracked a grin. “You don’t-“

  I was already moving offline of the barrel, knocking it away and driving the edge of my other hand into Amir’s exposed trachea. He tried bringing his free hand up to ward off the blow, but failed and I chopped into his throat, then immediately went for the disarm, slapping both hands down hard on the gun hand, wrenching it over and free with a joint lock that snapped his wrist bone. I fleeced the gun, turned and fired twice at point blank range.

  But Amir wasn’t where he’d been and the bullets slammed into the wall. I felt him thunder into me, driving his shoulder into my gut. He’d gone low for a tackle. We fell backward, him doing his best to get atop me. I went with the force of impact and rolled, bringing my knees up as I did so. I got lucky and caught him in the crotch. He grunted and rolled clear, shooting an elbow at the side of my head as he did so. I barely managed to avoid the brunt of it, but even still, he knocked my temple and had me seeing stars for a second.