She opened the door and stepped outside. As soon as she closed it, the latch inside bolted shut with a click.
Her blood iced. The air seemed colder than she’d remembered. And thick with the scent of pine.
And then his words struck her as odd. If the blond male vampire from Nicolai’s house had killed the old woman, why hadn’t he died from biting her? Something wasn’t right. She knocked on the door, the sound echoing in the street. But he wouldn’t answer her.
She hurried across the dark alley and back into the dimly lit street. If nothing else, she could see her attackers better. The knife strapped to her wrist gave her an inner strength and peace. She took another deep breath of the fresh, crisp air.
The pickup truck had been pulled from the showcase window of the dealership. The tow truck still had it in its grasp. Meanwhile, several men boarded up the window to keep looters out. No police though and no sign of the driver of the damaged truck.
The men didn’t notice her as she passed by the store.
For over an hour, she walked along the dark, dusty road. Not a single car passed her. Then she thought she heard a flapping of wings. A breeze stirred. A shiver trickled down her spine. She turned.
A redheaded man stood before her, his curly hair tied back in a ponytail. He smiled. “Nicolai’s incensed about losing you. Said you’d be sleeping beside the road somewhere. You’ve come a lot farther than we thought you could.”
He took a step forward.
She shook her head. Her throat turned dry. “I won’t go back to him.” She clicked her knife open.
The blond-haired vampire, who’d held her hostage in Nicolai’s house, appeared. Undoubtedly, the redhead had sent out the call using his mental telepathy. Any vampires in the vicinity would have heard his appeal. She hadn’t a choice now but to kill them both if she could, or return to Nicolai and give in.
The blond grabbed for her arm. She shoved her blade into his heart. “For the elderly woman who couldn’t fend for herself, and all the others.”
The vampire fell to the ground, wizening into a white prune of a man.
The other attacked her, his pointed fangs bared. He knocked her off her feet. She landed hard against the pavement, the breath expelling from her lungs. A shimmer of pain spread through her back.
He fell on top of her, his weight pinning her to the pavement. She struggled to wedge her hand and knife between his chest and her body but couldn’t maneuver into the right position.
“Nicolai wanted you, but you’re all mine now.”
“Not!” Kicking her boot hard against the pavement, she twisted her body, and shoved him off. With a lightening stab, she struck at him, forcing the blade between the ribs and into the life-pumping organ. He cried out, and collapsed on his back, his skin deflating like a pricked balloon that had lost its air.
Unsteadily, she rose to her feet, then stumbled off down the road toward the city lights again. Her muscles ached from all of the walking and fighting, just like when she had to run the two-mile physical fitness training test when she wasn’t in shape. But worse than that, her heart wearied from the ostracism from her own kind. Her own people didn’t want her, but she couldn’t join the hated bloodsuckers either. She longed to be human. But it wasn’t an option.
She moved one foot in front of the other. Her combat boots weighed more with every step she took. Then a car flashed its lights at her. A police car? Or more vampires or hosts posing as normal humans? She didn’t trust anyone anymore.
The car’s siren rippled in the air briefly. She stopped. Retracting her blade, she waited as two officers climbed out of the vehicle. Both shined flashlights in her eyes. She squinted at the glare, unable to see what either looked like.
“It’s her. Captain Anderson.”
Nicolai’s henchmen.
“Ma’am, we got a call you were abducted at your hotel. The manager secured your purse and suitcase. Can you tell us what happened?”
She took a deep breath, attempting to settle her nerves. Real humans. “Can you take me back to my hotel?”
“Yes, ma’am. An elderly man called from here. Said you seemed lost and disoriented. Asked if we could check into it.”
So the vampire hunter did care what happened to her, in part. The notion warmed her marginally.
The other officer opened the car door for her. “And a Captain Robert Parker called and said he saw you some distance from here. Said he couldn’t stop at the time, some kind of emergency.”
Emergency. Liar. She wrinkled her brow. If he were a host, why didn’t he call his master and relay where she was?
“The captain thought you might have needed aid, so he wanted us to check into it. Several squad cars have been looking for you for a couple of hours now. Can you tell us what happened?”
She crawled into the car. “Yes, but can I tell you on the way back to the hotel?”
They climbed into the car. She stretched out on the back seat and closed her eyes.
“Ma’am?”
The next thing she knew, the car door opened and let in a fresh breath of cold air. “Ma’am?” The word came from some distant place. “Ma’am, are you injured?”
She opened her eyes. Exhausted, was more like it. “I’m sorry, officers. I just need sleep really badly.”
They exchanged glances.
“I pulled duty for a couple of nights. That means I have to work around the clock with no sleep. I’m fighting the urge to sleep right now.”
“Can you give us a statement?”
“Sure. A man with dark hair and eyes grabbed me outside of my hotel room. I must have blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was in a two-story home. I couldn’t say what it looked like, because I ran out of it and never looked back.”
“And? Did he molest you?”
“He intended to, but got distracted. Anyway, I escaped...then you found me.”
“Do you know who he was?”
“Oh, he had a ponytail and stood six foot. Broad-shouldered, no scars or anything. Someone called him Nicolai.”
“There were others in the house?”
“Yes. Sorry, I’m really tired. Maybe thirty men and women. I didn’t know any of them and none mentioned names.”
One of the police officers handed her a card. “If you think of anything else, call me.”
“Thank you, officer.”
Only specialized units dealt with the clean up of vampire carcasses. The regular police force had no interest in apprehending the rogue vampires. That job was better left to the experienced hunters. But she couldn’t tell the police officers she was a huntress. Not if she didn’t want it to get back to her Army boss and face losing her job.
“We’ll help you with your bag and make sure you get settled in your room.”
She smiled. At least the humans were helpful.
The hotel manager’s face lit up when Crystal walked into the lobby. “Thank God you’re all right, dear.”
“Yes, thank you for reporting me missing and for taking care of my luggage and purse.”
One of the police officers lugged her suitcase toward her room, while the other reported back to his office. Crystal glanced around the area wondering if Nicolai or his minions watched her. Then she caught sight of Robert in his convertible. If it didn’t put her more at risk, she’d have given him a piece of her mind. But for now, getting into her room, and sleeping the rest of the night away was about all she could manage.
She thanked the officer again, then bolted her door.
* * *
Robert stared up at Crystal’s motel room window as the lights turned off inside. He rubbed his chin. A late night shadow of prickly growth already covered it. He shook his head as he thought about the woman. Crystal Anderson was beyond comprehending. She visited Nicolai, Dimitri, and his minions regularly, then claimed to be hiding in Robert’s car to flee them? Please. Couldn’t she have thought up a better tale than that?
She was an accomplished actress. She’d acted scared to de
ath. What had she planned on doing? She’d have caused him to wreck his vehicle, then called for her bloodsucker friends to put an end to his life. That’s what she would have done. And he couldn’t have allowed it. That’s why he had to ditch her like he did.
But there was something about her blue eyes that pleaded with him in earnest. He’d driven slowly to see if she’d chase after him, pleading further. But she didn’t. She just watched him, as if he were her knight in shining armor, leaving her behind to fight her battles alone.
He ran his hands through his hair thinking of the feelings she stirred in him, dangerous to his very existence. No way was he falling for the woman. He had to call the police and hope they found her in time, in the event she told the truth. He sucked in his breath. She didn’t tell the truth. She couldn’t have. No one ever visited with vampires as she did without being one of them.
She was one of them. And if he was to live, he had to remember that.
* * *
Before Crystal could have a nightmare, the clock alarm woke her early the next morning. She rubbed her eyes. They felt as if she’d been in a sandstorm in the West Texas Panhandle as scratchy as they were. Somehow, the little bit of sleep she managed made her more tired than before.
She dragged herself out of bed and headed into work. Only this time, she wore a wrist knife at both wrists, and a knife at her waist.
The boss wasn’t in, so she made it her priority to check out Robert Parker. Since he’d taken the swimming survival training with her, it meant he served in the same division. That narrowed it down.
She called the headquarters. “Hello, I run the staff duty roster for the division and I’m trying to locate a Captain Robert Parker. Could you tell me which unit he’s with?”
“Yes, he’s with the AG Company.”
“Thank you.”
She hopped up from her chair and grabbed her hat. Thankfully, she had two spares because the other sat in Nicolai’s bedroom still.
She poked her head into the sergeant major’s office. “Is the colonel around?”
“Out sick for the day.”
Yes! “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I have to head over to the AG Company. Won’t take me long.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
With a spring in her step, she readied herself for the confrontation with Captain Robert Parker. She only hoped he’d be in an office where she could confront him properly, without anyone else seeing or hearing them.
When she arrived at the AG Company, her heart sank. An officer stepped out of the redbrick, two-story building at an angle to her, looking very much like Parker. But when he headed for a pickup truck, she took a breath. From the back, he looked just like Robert. But in green fatigues and hat, with short cropped brown hair, and same build, many would have looked alike.
She strode across the parking lot to the front door of the building. The metal door creaked as she pulled it open. Everyone in the building would know of her arrival, she felt as her stomach muscles tightened.
Inside, she glanced at a directory. Second floor, second office, Captain Robert Parker. Now, if only he was in and no one else was there, she could get this business over with.
The wooden steps creaked with her weight as she climbed them to the second floor. She walked down the long nondescript hallway, the floorboards squeaking to announce her arrival. Sensitive to sound, one of a hunter’s special genetic traits, every noise created a lasting painful impression. She just knew Robert was waiting to pounce on her as soon as she entered his office.
She stepped in front of the room where his redwood sign hung prominently on the door. Captain Robert Parker, Records Chief.
Four doors opened into offices on either side of the hall. Most of the doors sat slightly ajar or fully open. Not Parker’s. She hesitated at the closed door.
If she knocked on the door and had to say who she was before entering, would he allow her in? Maybe he wasn’t even in the office, or was speaking to someone else behind the closed door.
She grabbed the doorknob. A captain emerged from an office two doors down from Parker’s. His brilliant red hair made his blue eyes sparkle as a sprinkling of red freckles dotted his nose. He winked at her. “He’s in, but if his door’s closed, he’s most likely busy.”
She stepped away from the door. “I need to see him.”
“Maybe I can help you.”
“I’m afraid this has strictly to do with Robert Parker.”
“Well, he gets all of the interesting business.”
He glanced down at her nametag. “You’re the female officer who showed up at water survival training.”
“You were there?”
“No. Couple of the other guys were though.” He grinned broadly. “Sorry I missed the training.”
Parker’s door opened. Crystal flattened herself against the wall so Parker wouldn’t see her. A pretty blonde second lieutenant stepped out of his office. She smiled at the other captain, ignored Crystal, then strode toward the stairs.
“Guess he’s all yours now. Where do you work?”
“Second Armored Division.”
He tilted his head back slightly, then smiled again. “I see. Since when do officers from the other division train with us?”
“They don’t.”
She marched into Parker’s office and closed the door in the other captain’s face. She couldn’t afford a relationship with anyone, not with Nicolai after her. Hopefully her answer would have discouraged him sufficiently. Of course the Second Armored Division personnel didn’t train with the 1st Cavalry Division, unless they were performing an exercise against each other...one as the enemy, and the other as the good guys. But anybody who grew interested in her would become Nicolai’s target too.
Though Parker narrowed his dark brown eyes at her and opened his mouth to speak, she didn’t give him a chance to say anything. She rushed his gray metal desk. Using her superhuman strength, she shoved it into him, pinning him against the wall.
He gasped, his eyes widened, then he swore under his breath.
“You son-of-a-bitch.” She held the desk firmly against his broad chest. “Quit stalking me or I’ll turn you over to the police.”
“I should never have told the police where to find you.” His words were spoken as harshly as hers through clenched teeth.
Her adrenaline coursed through her body at an all time high. The urge to kill him overwhelmed her better judgment. “Next time, I’ll take your car and leave you for dead.” She fought opening her wrist knife. If vampire hunting had given her this kind of drive, she’d have no trouble killing any of them.
She released the desk and turned to walk away. Just as quickly, he shoved the desk back. She turned to look at him. What was he? Twice now, he showed he had the same kind of strength as a vampire. Yet, she’d never known one who could live when exposed to sunlight. And if he didn’t report back to Nicolai or try to return her to him, was he a vampire from another family? A rival perhaps?
She had to know. Was he a vampire?
Chapter 5
Crystal crossed the floor to where Robert now stood. This time he prepared himself when she reached out to touch his arm, to see if he truly was a vampire. Her sensory preceptors could determine it, if he’d been turned very long. She jumped when he grabbed her wrist hard. His fingers gripped her so tightly, the nerves in her wrist screamed out in pain.
The electricity flowed between them, unnerving her. He was a daylight vampire. Did her people even know they existed?
She twisted her wrist free and shoved him away from her.
He responded with force, grabbing her shoulders, and slamming her against his maple bookcase of Army regulations. “Nicolai claimed you, didn’t he?” His voice was harsh and grated on her.
“Let go of me,” she growled back at him. She swung her leg behind him, caught his wrists and shoved. He fell with a bang when she caught him off balance with her hand-to-hand combat maneuver.
If anyone heard them, it would sound li
ke they were doing acrobatics in his office. A knock at the door stopped her before she completed the maneuver. Though she intended to stomp on his chest with her combat boot to knock the wind out of him, she hesitated.
“Captain Parker?” a male voice, riddled with concern, asked beyond the door.
Parker glared at her as he sprang to his feet. “Yes.” He opened the door.
A young private, looked to be no more than eighteen, gangly and unsure of himself, shifted his attention from Robert to Crystal. Her hair had loosened from her bun, and now drifted to her shoulders. The private’s eyes widened. “I...I thought maybe there was some trouble, sir. I’ll...ahem, leave you alone.”
“I’m fine.” Parker shut the door. A slight smile appeared on his face evidently amused the private thought he partied with a female captain in his office. But when Parker looked at Crystal, the smile vanished. “Are you finished?”
“Only if you quit stalking me. I won’t be as nice next time.” She shoved past him.
“Bloodsucker’s woman.”
She grabbed his wrist, and jerked his arm behind his back, then shoved him against the door. He quickly freed himself from her grasp with a twist and pinned her against the wall with his body.
The same kind of electricity coursed through her system, filling her with warmth and desire. His aftershave served as an aphrodisiac and despite fighting the urge, she breathed it in as if her lungs craved oxygen.
When her senses returned, she attempted to wriggle free. “Let go of me you...you, vampiric host.”
His eyes widened. “You think that’s what I am?”
No. He was a day-dwelling vampire. But she didn’t want him to know she knew.
“Doesn’t matter. You’re Nicolai’s concubine.” He released her as her face heated with anger.
“He’ll never have me.” She rubbed her wrists. “And neither will you.” She turned to grab the doorknob, but he seized her arm, and held her tight.
Terry Spear - Vampire Page 7