Are you kidding me?
I pulled my wallet out of my purse, grabbed my Visa card, glanced at the cameras, then hit the button to drop the driver side window and armor. I shoved the parking stub that was sitting on the dash into the machine, waiting what seemed like hours then stuck my card in.
The entire vehicle shook as something dropped onto the roof.
The card spit out with a “Please wait for your receipt message” displaying. I grabbed the card, and hit the button for the window armor to drop and the window to go up.
I jumped back as a hand reached in, trapped between the armor and the glass, both pushing against the hand. I grabbed a stake off the passenger seat and drove it through the hand that was only inches from me.
It burst into dust and the windows closed. I looked ahead and saw the gate rise, then the large door roll up. I floored it, the van bursting into the night air. In my rear view I could see the remaining two chasing me, faster than any Olympic athlete. It was terrifying to see.
I turned onto the road, rounded the block, and had a good view of the office tower again.
“Zee, I’m out of the parking garage, and coming toward your parking garage entrance now!”
Still no response. I cranked the wheel into the parking lot surrounding the building, and gunned it toward the underground parking entrance.
Suddenly Zander burst into sight, racing up the ramp.
“Keep going!” he yelled, motioning for me to continue going straight.
“Ten-four.”
I glanced in my rearview and the other two were close, too close, maybe twenty feet behind me. I pressed on the accelerator a little harder. I had a good view of Zander on the display, then a horrifying view. Dozens raced up the ramp after him.
“Zee, behind you!”
“I know, I know!”
As I neared him, he disappeared from my front view. My driver’s side image was momentarily blocked, and I heard something on the roof. “Please tell me that’s you, Zee!”
“It’s me, now get us out of here!”
I shoved the accelerator to the floor. In my rearview camera dozens were chasing us, and we weren’t making enough distance for my liking. I looked ahead and gasped. A row of trees was blocking the way.
“Turn left, hard!” I heard Zander yell.
My Mom’s mantra echoed in my head. “Don’t ask questions, just do it!”
I cranked the wheel, and found myself racing headlong into a second group of pursuers who must have come out a rear entrance.
“Floor it!”
But I was already hitting the accelerator hard, taking aim at the biggest batch of them. Clouds of dust blew past the camera as I took out at least half a dozen with the bumper stakes, but I could hear a struggle on the roof.
“Zee, you okay?”
All I heard was grunting in return, then suddenly Zander’s face was filling my camera.
“Brake!”
I slammed on the brakes. Zander rolled off the front of the vehicle, along with whoever he had been battling. Zander rolled to his feet first and planted a side kick on the other’s chest as he was getting up, that sent him sailing into my bumper. Gone.
Zander rounded the passenger side and I slid the lever to unlock the deadbolted door. It opened and his foot had barely cleared the pavement when I hit the gas. He slammed the door shut and reached to slide the deadbolt back in place but the door was hauled open from the outside. A snarling mass of bloodlust, both feet on the running boards, one hand on the door, the other reaching for Zander’s throat, was determined to get in. I reached behind me for the Equalizer, and my foot slipped off the gas, the van rapidly decelerating.
Suddenly we were amidst the swarm. I moved my foot and regained the pedal, pressing it, as I finally gripped the Equalizer behind me. I swung it over Zander’s head, then squeezed off three rounds, our attacker no longer alone. Three clouds of dust were quickly left behind, and Zander slammed the door closed as I reached over and slid the deadbolt.
“Now let’s get the hell out of here!”
Zander nodded. “Good idea.”
Some were still on the roof, their pounding and clawing for the moment ineffective. “Countermeasure?”
“I used it about five minutes ago. I don’t know if it’s recharged yet.”
“Doubt it. Let’s get somewhere public. No way they’ll want to be seen.”
“It’s three in the morning. Where the hell are there people at three in the morning?”
“It’s New York City.” He pulled up the GPS and typed a few words. “Just take this right, you can open her up to a good speed.”
I spun the wheel and soon we were doing almost sixty with little traffic in our way.
Our rearview camera went out.
“I think this would be a good time to test the brakes.”
I smiled at Zander, locked my elbows, bracing myself against my seat. Zander reached forward and gripped the dash.
“Ready?”
He nodded. “Set.”
I took my foot off the accelerator and shoved the brake pedal to the floor. The tires screeched, and horns honked around me, and two unsuspecting vampires tumbled thirty feet ahead of us. I floored it again, taking out one, the other hit by an eighteen-wheeler that hadn’t been able to avoid him.
I think we both breathed a sigh of relief. “Am I ever glad that’s over,” I said, hitting the gas and reaching for the controls to retract the armor plating.
Zander grabbed my hand. “Let me take a look first.”
I nodded and he unlocked his door. Pushing it open, he stepped out, one foot on the running board, and pushed himself up. Suddenly he grunted and was lifted from his seat.
“Zee!”
I watched in horror as Zander’s legs kicked helplessly, as whoever had him appeared to have complete control, and was most likely draining his blood. I made a split second decision that I might end up regretting.
I slammed the brakes on while yanking on the lever to retract the armor plating. As we screeched to a halt, and the night came back into view, I pressed the button to lower my window, and, grabbing the Equalizer, shoved my upper body through the window, hauling the weapon with me. My eyes bulged when I saw Zander in a death grip with his lone assailant, who clearly had the upper hand, his teeth deep in Zander’s shoulder, as Zander tore at the man’s body to no avail.
I swung the Equalizer out and onto the roof, then squeezed the trigger.
Nothing.
I was out of ammo.
Not good!
I reached into my pocket and grabbed one of the stakes I always kept with me, and shoved against the seat with my feet, then the window frame, pushing myself onto the roof. I reached forward, stake in hand.
Suddenly the creature spun toward me, his eyes red, his mouth covered in blood. I nearly pissed myself. “Don’t think, just do it!” I lunged forward, straight at him, the stake extended in front of me, and plunged it deep into his chest.
He turned to dust before me, leaving Zander barely hanging on.
“Get inside, Zee.”
He dropped from sight.
I crawled back into the van to find Zander’s door still open. I knew there was at least one more still out there, so I shoved the lever for the armor plating, then crawled over to his side of the vehicle. Zander was on the ground, but just sitting up. I reached out a hand and he took it, seeming to regain some of his strength.
Suddenly he looked back then jumped in the vehicle. “Go! Go! Go!”
I didn’t ask, and just put it in gear, flooring it. Zander slammed his door shut, and I rolled my window back up, that extra layer of protection, though feeble compared to the armor, making me feel that much more secure.
“How many?”
“Just the one that was taken out by the semi I think.” He leaned over and pulled the armor plating lever, opening us up to the night. “We’re safe now, let’s just get the hell off this road and see if we’re being followed.”
We drove in silence for a few minutes as I took several turns, and soon we were both satisfied we were alone. Zander pointed at an alleyway. “Pull in there and we’ll assess the damage.”
I nodded and did as directed.
We both climbed out and stood on our respective sides of the van. It was beat up, but otherwise seemed intact. I stepped around to the back, and joined Zander. “Looks like they got the rearview camera,” he said.
“That’s an easy fix. I’ll wire one in later.”
He nodded. “I’ll drop her off at my guy and have him hammer out the dents and give her a different paint job, just in case we need to use her again on this case.”
“Can he fix the back of my car too? I got the windshield replaced, but that bumper is torn to hell.”
“I don’t see that being a problem. Don’t forget to call the DMV and get new plates.”
I closed my eyes and pulled at my hair. There was so much to do. Mom was in a coma, Dad was dealing with the ‘break-in’ at the house, we had a swarm of vampires trying to kill us, a missing husband, a cop on our case because of the recon job at Penn Station. And now I had to get new plates at the damned DMV? It was just too much. I felt his hand on my shoulder and I let myself drop into his chest. I gave him a hug, and his arms enveloped me, like a suit of armor, protecting me against all the evils that we knew were out there. I didn’t cry, there was no point in crying. I had volunteered to go, I had done my job, properly, and everything had worked.
The plan had bit, but I had told him that going in.
But that was neither here nor there. We both survived, unscathed on my part, relatively on Zander’s. I looked up at his shoulder, and found the teeth marks almost gone. I touched it with my finger. “You okay?”
I felt him nod. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. When we get back to the office I’ll top up the tank, but I got almost as much as I gave in the exchange.”
I smiled and buried my head back in his chest. He bent his head down and pressed his lips against the top of my head, and I sighed. Grandma was right. There was something about him that was irresistible. But I knew it could never be. But this moment, I just wanted to be held by him, and nobody else.
I sighed and let go, fearing it might become awkward. He released me, and I stepped back, smiling at him. “Thanks, I needed that.”
“So did I.”
He always knew the right things to say.
Three hundred years of experience.
We circled the passenger side of the van and then the front together. “The Beast held together pretty good.”
Zander patted the hood affectionately. “She’s one hell of a girl.”
I had to ask. “Okay, why do guys always assume vehicles are female?”
Zander laughed for the first time since he had gone to plant the bug.
“That’s easy. Treat her well, she’ll take care of you. Treat her poorly, she’ll leave you broken down on the side of the road.”
“And guys are different?”
“Sure, treat us well, we’re happy. Treat us poorly, we assume we did something wrong, and try harder. When’s the last time a poorly treated car ran well?”
I frowned. “Sounds like a bunch of BS to me.”
He laughed. “Or could have something to do with vehicles almost always being owned by men in the past, and we loved our cars like we loved our women.”
“So what you’re saying is you really don’t know.”
“Haven’t a damned clue.”
“You could have just said that.”
“You’d think I’d know though after three hundred years.”
“Well, in your defense cars haven’t been around that long.”
“Did I ever tell you I saw one of the first cars ever in Paris, in eighteen-sixty?”
I shook my head.
“Great story. Remind me to tell you about it.” He smacked his hand on the hood. “Let’s get out of here and back to the office.”
We both climbed in, this time Zander driving. Suddenly I remembered why we were out in the first place. “Did you plant the bug?”
“Yup, just before a bunch of the bastards came out of a freight elevator.”
“Do you think they know?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think so.” He tossed his head toward the back of the van. “Check the monitor, see what it shows.”
I climbed into the back and strapped myself into the seat since we were moving, then tapped a few keys, bringing up the tracking display. “It’s on the move.”
“Told you!”
“Yeah, yeah, oh ye of little faith!”
He laughed. “Let’s drop the old girl off at the body shop, take a cab back to the office, then you go home and get some sleep. I’m going to pop out just before sunrise and grab my car, it’s still parked near that building, then we’ll start tracking down where that truck I tagged went.”
“Shouldn’t we do that now?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll watch it, but I want us in tip top shape if we’re going to physically follow it. Right now let’s let the tech do the work, while we rest.”
I yawned.
“Okay, the insurance company is sending over a team tomorrow”—I looked at my watch—“today, so I’ll be helping Dad with that after classes. I’ll swing by in the evening.”
Zander nodded. “Sounds good. By then they should be wherever it is they’re going.”
I unbuckled my seat and climbed back into the front. I leaned my head against the glass and closed my eyes, the vibrations of the road lulling me into a deep sleep before we even reached the body shop.
TWENTY-EIGHT
She was a sweet kid. But I had to remember that. She was only nineteen, with an entire life ahead of her, and I had a really bad feeling about what Lazarus was up to. Whatever it was, it was big, and involved a lot of vampires, and a lot of money. This was one mission I had to do alone.
Once I got her back to her hotel, I had the cab take me back to the office. I grabbed some ‘Special Blend’, and checked the tracking app on my iPhone. Still on the move, and if my guess was right, I knew exactly where they were headed.
Detroit.
I had killed Tarkan there only days before, and the way things were looking, this wasn’t a coincidence. He must have been an advance scout for Lazarus, or, Lazarus was already set up there, and had just been in New York on business when we met at the club.
I lay down on the couch for a few minutes, sipping my drink, while replaying the attack at the bar on the back of my eyelids, trying to compare the faces there, with the faces at the office. Were they the same people, or different members of the same group?
I needed to know how many there were.
I launched the browser on my iPhone and Googled the finance company’s name. Their mobile website appeared, and I did some quick reading. Their address was the thirteenth floor of the tower, but there was no indication if that was just the mail drop, or if they occupied more floors. I searched for the office tower itself and found the property management company, then a company directory for the building. There were dozens of companies, occupying the remaining floors.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
At least now I knew I was only dealing with one floor’s worth. Like that made it any better. Christ, how many could have been on that floor. Then I realized I already knew the answer, I just hadn’t thought about it. I closed my eyes again, and started to filter through the smells from my brief visit, most fresh, their suppliers there that day, others older, the vampires that left them behind not having been in the office for days or even weeks.
Fifty-two.
One for every damned week of the calendar.
Plus Lazarus.
With what I now knew about Lazarus, there probably was something significant in that number. But we had killed more than a handful of that number tonight, and another handful at the bar. Would it affect his plans?
I doubted it. Fifty-two was most likely symbolism than necessity.
He still probably had about forty at his disposal, which was more than enough to cause havoc. I dropped the iPhone on my chest and closed my eyes. The case I was working should take me to Detroit. But the case was now bigger. I needed to know what Lazarus was up to, and, by extension, take the opportunity to kill him should it present itself.
The question was, do I go to Detroit now, before I even knew if that was their destination, or do I wait to be certain? I swung myself to a seated position and stretched. No matter what, there were loose ends to tie up here first. And risking going to the wrong city wasn’t worth it. Lazarus was the priority, not a missing husband. Ten billion dollars, a swarm of vampires working together, with Lazarus their leader.
I feared for mankind.
TWENTY-NINE
I hated to do it. Zander deserved his privacy, but when it came to Lazarus, he didn’t always think straight. Sometimes he was so single-minded, he put himself in danger, leaving me, Mom or Grandma, and I guess Great Grandma, to save his ass.
I should have a cape.
That would be cool. I closed my eyes, picturing the movie poster. “Sydney Winter, Vampire Slayer”. Me, because of course I would play myself, standing there, stake in one hand, the Equalizer propped up on my shoulder, cape billowing behind me, the wind whipping my hair.
And Zander standing behind me, bare chested, his arms wrapped around my waist, his teeth barred, just for show, about to pierce my neck.
I shivered.
A good shiver.
My iPhone vibrated. I picked it up from the hotel nightstand, and brought up the tracking app I had installed on Zander’s phone. He knew it was there, and I don’t think he really cared if I knew where he was going, but I always felt a little guilty when I used it without him knowing. It was how I saved his ass in Detroit, and at the bar.
And right now it was indicating movement.
I watched the screen for a few minutes, and it became obvious he was headed for the office tower.
He’s getting his car.
Fool.
For all he knew, they were still there, and knew about his car.
The phone vibrated in my hand.
It was Zander.
Turned (Zander Vargar Vampire Detective, Book #1) Page 16