by Tina Folsom
He was coming for her.
Maya silently begged that her battery hadn’t run too low in the days she hadn’t used the phone and was relieved to see the screen coming on. Good. A few more seconds and the phone was fully booted. But she could only stare at it. This couldn’t be happening, not now, not when she needed to call for help! No Service, it read.
The sound of the door opening made her lift her head, and then she saw him. Ricky stood just inside the room, the door behind him sliding shut a moment later.
“I had your service disconnected,” he drawled, his Irish lilt a little more pronounced now. “No use wasting money when you won’t need to make any more phone calls where we’re going.”
Maya froze. Her mind worked frantically to assess her chances of getting past him and out of the house, but he was blocking the door effectively and short of her knocking him over, she would come up short. Her skin prickled uncomfortably now, and she realized it was the same feeling she’d had in the hospital and also that time when she’d met Ricky in the kitchen. At the time she’d written the feeling off to her illness, the approaching fever, but had she been well, she would have been able to connect the sense of danger in the air with Ricky.
It was too late now.
“I want you to leave,” she said as calmly as she could. “Yvette will be coming soon.” Despite the suspicion she had, she needed to stall him from whatever he was planning. Her suspicion was confirmed with his next words.
“I’m afraid Yvette’s a little tied up right now.” He chuckled at his own sick joke.
“Is she dead?”
“She will be, soon. But let’s not talk about other people. Let’s talk about us.”
Gabriel would be back soon. Despite the fact that she didn’t want to talk to Ricky, she knew she had to keep him talking, but not about herself. “What did you do to her?”
He ignored her question. “You liked me at first. I know you did. Did you know that I dumped my girlfriend for you? And what thanks did I get?”
“I’m sure I didn’t ask you to do that for me. I never go after men who’re in relationships.” And for sure she wouldn’t have gone after him—just looking at him made her skin prickle with revulsion.
“We met the night your car had stalled. I helped you fix it. You were grateful, very grateful,” he insinuated.
She didn’t believe it. No, she would have never allowed him to touch her. “No.”
“Oh, yes. Shall I tell you more about how it was between us?”
Disgust rose in her stomach and settled uncomfortably at her solar plexus. “There’s no us. There’s never been an us, and there’ll never be an us.” Even though she still remembered nothing about him, she knew instinctively that she’d never had sex with Ricky. Her body told her as much. It recoiled from his presence.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” He took several steps into the room, closing in on her.
“Gabriel will kill you if you lay a hand on me,” she warned and took a step back.
“We’ll be long gone by the time Gabriel figures things out and gets back here.” He pulled a small, flat device out of his pocket and turned it to her. Maya looked at what appeared to be an iPhone with a map. In the middle of it, a red dot blinked. “I know exactly where he is right now, so don’t you worry about Gabriel.”
Maya cursed. “You prick!”
“Now, now, are those the words for a lover?” The sick grin around his mouth made her physically nauseous. She would never be his lover. She’d rather kill herself before she let him touch her.
“You can’t possibly think I’d ever become your lover.”
“The way I see it you don’t have much of a choice, seeing that you’ll be all tied up soon. And then I’ll take what I want, whenever I want and how often I want. It’s your own fault. It could have been different between us. But no, you had to lead me on, make me want you, and then just turn away as if I was a nobody. And generous as I am, I even gave you a second chance. We started all new, and, you little bitch, you did the same thing again. There are days when I really love my gifts.” Then he growled.
“And there are days when I recognize their limitations. Unfortunately now that your doubts about me are confirmed, there’s no more dispelling them, nor erasing your memories. It was easier when you were human, at least I could wipe the slate clean. But you left me no choice.”
The snarl around his mouth made his average face look ugly. She could practically see the ugliness inside him, the evil that lived within him. Her skin crawled with awareness of the bad vibes his body was projecting. She felt it more intensely now that he was only a few feet away from her. The little hairs on her arms rose as if preparing for an attack. And she knew he’d attack. All she could do was distract him until help arrived.
The silence from downstairs told her that Carl wasn’t coming to her defense. Maya feared the worst for the sweet butler, who’d only ever treated her with the greatest respect. “What did you do with Carl?”
His facetious grin confirmed her worst suspicion. “Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.”
Maya swallowed hard. She was alone in the house with him. Yvette, the only other person who knew she was alone, was tied up somewhere, Carl was dead, and Gabriel was with the witch. Ricky would instantly know when Gabriel was approaching the house, so she couldn’t expect any help from him either.
She was on her own. On her own with a madman—no, make that a mad vampire. A madman she could defeat with her new strength as a vampire, but looking at Ricky’s strong physique she’d bet her last paycheck that he’d take her in a fight.
Maya let her eyes travel around the room, trying to find anything she could use to her advantage.
“What were you trying to gain by turning me into a vampire?” She had to make sure he continued to talk while she tried to figure out a way of how to get away from him.
“Your undying love and devotion, of course,” he teased lightheartedly, “but I’ll be happy with just your body, your legs permanently spread for me.”
“You sick bastard. You really think I’d spread my legs for you?”
“You did it for Gabriel,” he shot back, hatred suddenly flooding his voice. “What has he got that I don’t, huh? He sure hasn’t got it in the looks department. And he’s no charmer either. I’m just as rich as he is, and I’m far better looking. Is it because he lets you drink his blood?”
Maya gasped. She hadn’t realized he knew.
“Oh yeah, don’t look so surprised. You really think I don’t know what’s going on here? I can smell him on you. You’re positively reeking of him. But don’t you worry, a few days with me and his smell will be gone. I’ll make sure of it, even if I have to drain you of the last drop of blood and replace it with mine.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
He jumped and stood only inches from her now. His breath ghosted over her face, and she felt bile rise. “Wouldn’t I?”
“He’ll kill you.” She knew Gabriel would—whether she was still alive by then, she wasn’t sure, but she knew Gabriel would not stop until Ricky was dead.
“He’ll never find us. We’ll be long out of the country by the time he even knows you’re gone. And then we start our lives together, just like we would have if those idiots hadn’t interrupted us when I turned you. You would have woken up in my arms and looked up to me as your protector. But I’ll rectify that. You’ll be mine, and nothing in this world will stop me from making you mine. Don’t you ever forget that.”
The threat hung heavy in the room, poisoning the atmosphere around her. She understood only too well how serious he was. Not even rape was beyond him. She could see the madness in his eyes. No, he wouldn’t stop at anything.
That’s why she had to stop him.
Determination spread within her, and her mind cleared itself of everything else but the thought of getting away from him. Just the way she approached any research problem, she assessed her options one by one and determined the probabilitie
s of succeeding. Her mind raced from one scenario to the next, her heart pumping rapidly to provide her brain with the needed oxygen.
Sweat built on her brow, but she ignored it. Let him think she was scared: it would only serve her purpose. She was beyond fear now—she was in survival mode, and instinct and logic were her best friends. The knowledge that Ricky had killed her two best friends fired her resolve.
“You killed my friends.”
“Useless humans. They knew too much. You gossiped about me to them. Their blood is on your hands.”
Maya pushed the guilt away. Ricky was the culprit, and she wouldn’t allow herself to fall into his trap. He was the evil one, and she would make sure he paid for his deeds. “I’ll make you pay.”
He only laughed at her threat. Then he turned serious again and gripped her arms. “I should like to see you try, but later. We’re leaving. Now.”
She heard the faint beeping sound coming from the iPhone in Ricky’s pocket and knew Gabriel was on the move. And he knew it too. The time for stalling was over. Maya tried to push against him and wiggle out of his hold, but he only tightened his grip on her wrists. He would break them if she gave him any more resistance.
“I’m stronger than you,” he gloated.
She knew that already. But she was smarter. Her gaze drifted to the fireplace where a poker leaned against the mantle. She concentrated on the long metal stick with its sharp two-pronged tip.
Then she funneled all her pain and the hatred for Ricky into her thoughts and directed them toward the poker, willing it to move. But it didn’t budge. Her forehead furrowed as she concentrated more. She had to succeed. It had worked in the bar when she was with Thomas. She knew she could do it, if only she could concentrate hard enough.
Ricky pulled at her arms. “Move!”
Maya didn’t obey the command and went rigid. A flash of anger washed over his face, before a wicked grin stole onto his face. “Fine, then how about this?”
Before she knew what he was about to do, he’d pressed his lips onto hers. Bile rose and anger churned in her belly. She clenched her jaw, keeping her lips firmly pressed together as she tried to push him away. But even her vampire strength was no match for his.
Despair and hatred mingled in her head as disgust for him made her feel nauseous. When he pulled her flush against his body and pressed his hips into hers, it was as if he’d flipped a switch inside her brain. She suddenly remembered him.
For weeks he’d chased her, pursued her first with gifts and fancy dinners, then with threats. She’d immediately seen it in him, the fact that he was obsessed. And it had scared her then. She remembered the one night when he’d come to the hospital, the night when he’d almost raped her. Had her unconscious patient not suddenly flatlined, and the monitor he was hooked up to not alerted the Code Blue team, which had shown up within seconds, he would have succeeded.
Instead he’d wiped her memory right there. But her memories were back now, and she wouldn’t let him succeed now. He would never touch her again.
She concentrated harder, remembering the poker near the fireplace. All her energy went into this one item. Her body tensed from the effort.
With a surprised grunt, Ricky suddenly let go of her and pulled back. His face distorted in pain and disbelief as he turned his head and looked at his flank. Maya followed his gaze and saw the poker lodged in his side, blood trickling from the opening.
“You bitch!”
She knew it wouldn’t kill him, but it gave her some time.
Maya raced from the room and down the stairs. She jerked the front door open and ran into the night. Her eyes darted frantically up and down the street, not sure which way to run. She let instinct take over and turned west toward the part of the city she knew best.
At the next stoplight, she saw a flatbed truck which carried flattened cardboard boxes. She eased onto the back of it taking shelter behind the cargo, making sure the driver didn’t see her. When the lights turned green, the truck jerked into motion.
Thirty
Gabriel jumped out of the car, his long legs eating up the distance to the front door of Samson’s house. It stood wide open, and light spilled onto the steps. Not a good sign.
The panic that had already gripped him earlier only intensified at the sight of the empty foyer and the silence in the house. He instantly saw the dust on the floor, together with a cell phone, some loose change, and a ring – Carl’s ring. Oh, God, no! Ricky had already been here.
The grief for his friend and Samson’s loyal servant almost made his knees buckle. But he couldn’t—wouldn’t—be weak now. Not when Maya … “Maya! Maya!” he yelled, not expecting any answer. He knew what he would find.
Taking three steps at a time, he ran up the stairs and stormed into the guestroom that Maya had been occupying. The stench of blood instantly assailed him. His eyes zeroed in on a metal fire poker, which lay on the rug, its tip covered in blood.
Gabriel inhaled and for an instant, he felt relieved. The blood wasn’t Maya’s. She had fought him. A sense of pride spread within him, only to be instantly replaced by more fear. He recognized the blood as Ricky’s. Was he dead or had she merely injured him before he was able to take her away with him? There was no telltale dust on the rug so he had to assume both of them were alive.
He stared at the blood-covered metal stick and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather his strength. He couldn’t lose her, not now, not when he’d just paved the way for them to be together.
Before he could turn to leave the room in order to search for them, he felt a stab in his head. A split second later, his eyes looked at the scene in front of him, a scene that had played out in this very room only minutes earlier. He’d tapped into Maya’s memories. How, he didn’t know. This had never happened to him before. He’d never been able to access somebody else’s memories unless he was physically close. Maybe his connection to Maya was so strong, he didn’t need to be close to her to tap into what she’d seen.
Gabriel concentrated and watched as Ricky kissed her brutally. He saw how she used her new skill to disable him so she could get away from him. As she ran out the door, he saw everything through her eyes, including the streets she looked at, the truck she jumped onto.
His feet carried him downstairs and out the door. He slammed it shut and headed for the Audi. While concentrating on traffic with one eye, his inner eye kept the connection with Maya’s memories. He recognized the streets and houses she’d passed as the truck she sat on drove further and further west.
She’d gotten away from him, but Gabriel didn’t delude himself for even a second that Ricky wasn’t on her heels already. He had to get to her first and make sure she would be safe.
***
The truck stopped at a red light, and Maya jumped off. They’d reached the east end of Golden Gate Park. She realized the sun would come up soon, and she needed to find shelter before it was too late. While it was tempting to run to the hospital which was only blocks away from the park, Maya knew Ricky would expect her to hide out there and find her. No, she had to go somewhere where he wouldn’t suspect her and hide until she could summon help.
She crossed the meadow and passed the children’s playground with its carousel. The tennis courts lay to her right. While there was a club house where she could find shelter from the sun, it would be swarming with people as soon as the sun came up and the first tennis players arrived for an early morning game. She wouldn’t be safe there for long.
Maya headed deeper into the woods. There was a place she knew of, had heard one of the paramedics talk about when they’d picked up a homeless man. She’d listened to the story of exactly where they’d found him, and knew she would be able to remember the way. She’d been there before. Curiosity had led her there on one of her Sunday walks, partly to check out whether the paramedic had told the truth, and partly because she’d had nothing better to do that afternoon.
She found the path she was looking for and jogged at a fast p
ace. At every sound, she jerked, ready to speed up if Ricky was coming for her. He’d never give up until he had her; she’d seen it in his eyes. The evil that had rolled off him had been strong, and now that she knew what he was capable of, she was surprised at herself that she hadn’t sensed it the moment Gabriel had introduced him in the kitchen.
How had Ricky been able to mask his true intentions from his friends and colleagues for so long? Did it have something to do with Ricky’s special gift that Gabriel had mentioned? That he could dispel people’s doubts. He’d confessed that he’d done it with hers. She remembered now that her skin had prickled uncomfortably that night she’d met him in the kitchen, but she’d written it off to the approaching fever. Now she knew he’d used his skill on her then.
Even Gabriel had trusted him, enough to send him to talk to Barbara and Paulette. And she’d unwittingly handed her two friends to him on a platter. All he’d had to do was kill them. Maya’s stomach lurched at the thought. No, she couldn’t allow herself to think this way now. She had to remain strong. Ricky was evil, and he would have found them either way, even without her help. And he would have made sure nobody would be able to find a trace of what he’d done.
Maya stopped at the sound behind her. She held her breath and kept still, afraid of making a move and giving her position away. There, another twig snapped. Somebody was walking in her direction. Her heart beat in her throat and perspiration built on her palms and her neck. She felt the moisture run in tiny rivulets down her back and chest. Had he found her already?
The large tree she had hidden behind blocked her view. But she knew he was there. She heard the rustle of the leaves and the sound of his boots on the ground. Searching the ground beneath her feet for anything she could use as a weapon, she discovered a short wooden stick. Without making a sound, she bent down and palmed it. She hoped it would make a good stake.