by Janice Jones
Because Jesse Cooper was the current lead agent for Strategic Asset Management’s covert group, the Trackers, his team would have been first on the scene. Jason knew he’d be calling after last night.
“I’m not worried,” Coop replied. “But you sound a little on edge. Why don’t we drop by, say in fifteen, and you can run down the game plan for us.”
“Coop, I’ve got a full schedule today,” Jason sighed. “Why don’t we meet later for dinner and drinks, my treat?”
“Sounds good,” Coop chuckled. “I know the perfect place, off the Strip, just to be safe.”
“You don’t trust me Coop, after all we’ve been through?” Jason teased. “I’m hurt.”
“Yea, right,” Coop laughed. “See you around eight? You remember my favorite place right?”
“Unfortunately,” Jason replied. “See you then.”
_______________
“You’re just gonna let him have time to circle the wagons,” the young man asked as he passed the plate of bacon to his left.
“He can’t circle shit without telling the Council first,” Coop stated, taking the plate. “Jason might be hot stuff in our world right now, but he’s still just a turned human in their eyes. He needs us to prove this didn’t have anything to do with them. And we need their resources to find the box.”
Jumping from Vegas to L.A and back was a bitch! Everybody was pretty much running on fumes even with their secret weapon in a bottle. The last thing he wanted to do was play games with Jason Stavros. But last night they came up short again on any solid evidence, so they had no other choice.
His Team Leader, Xavier Ramos, looked beat. His usually perfectly coifed mane was messy and needed to be washed. He stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth as he looked over last week’s autopsy report.
The twins, Kai and David Yun were arguing over who got the last piece of bacon. They argued over a lot of mundane things like that it seemed. Maybe it’s a twin thing, Coop thought.
The two female members of the team, Erin Sinclair and Amy Proctor, sat quietly going over the scene from last night. The computer hacker and the teenage witch made this team Strategic Asset Management’s crown jewel.
Then there was Sebastian Rayne.
Sebastian was the newest member of this team. He joined only a year ago, but, to Coop, it felt like he had always been here. He fit in perfectly and no one, on the team at least, minded that he was a newly turned vampire. They really didn’t get a choice in the matter, but since he’d proven himself in the field time and time again, he was here to stay.
“Can we trust anything he gives us?” Amy asked. “I mean, turned or born, he’s still a vampire, right? Doesn’t that automatically mean he can’t be trusted? No offense, Sebastian.”
He just grinned as he picked up his cup again.
The others went back to their work. As Sebastian put down his coffee laced in human blood, he noticed Coop’s eyes on him. “Something on your mind, boss?”
“I want you to go with us to Texas,” Coop replied.
“Why?” Sebastian asked, trying to contain his excitement. “I mean, you said it would just piss her off. What changed your mind?”
“I think I want her pissed off.”
Every eye was on him as he put the cup to his lips. Peering over the edge, he grinned.
“You said that could get messy,” Xavier answered.
“Maybe a little mess is what we need,” Coop replied.
They all went back to what they were doing as Coop contemplated what he was about to do. If she was going to be pissed and start killing, maybe she’d let him live to tell the tale.
Chapter 2
The entire floor had grown increasingly quiet as quitting time finally arrived. Bite, Inc. had just landed on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list last month. Over the last ten years, Alex’s little underwear company had gone from small Texas startup to international darling, much to everyone’s surprise—especially hers. All she wanted was a way to escape her past and reinvent herself after all the years of being known only as a hunter of bad guys. Now, the only thing she’s killing is the competition.
Various conversations reached her ears as her employees filed out of the office for the evening. Some making plans for drinks at the local, others making plans to pick up children from practice or dance class. Everyone seemed excited about the summer launch meeting though. Weeks of hard work, schedule changes, vendor meetings and party planning had finally come together. The launch would be on time and Alex had promised a bash to end all bashes if they met the deadline.
Switching off the evening news, she ran her fingers through her dark hair and sighed. Out of her high heels, her toes curled and popped while her arms stretched high overhead as she yawned. A feeling of pride swept through her. Everyone was talking about her company and everyone was wearing her underwear. It seemed like every young hot celebrity was wearing the comfy cotton t-shirts with the small vampire silhouette on the right sleeve these days. And she just laid claim to the hottest football player in the game as one of her models for the men’s line. Nothing was going to stop her now.
She barely looked at the faces on her computer screen as she tapped her water glass with an uneven nail. With the mouse nestled in her hand, she stared at the imperfect faces made perfect by technology. You’d think she’d had her fill of perfect people. People that aged by centuries, not by every heartbeat. As she thought of those creatures, some perfect and all practically forever, Alex rubbed her burning eyes and stood.
Tapping the mouse, the screen went dark as she made her way to the floor to ceiling windows. It felt as though she were suspended in midair when she stood before the wall of glass. From here, the entire city stretched out before her eyes.
Her view through the glass was as spotless and clear as the sky itself. It was going to be another warm, fall night in Texas. All around her was noise she could ignore. Ventilation system, electricity—those sounds that took the place of absolute silence. A polished chrome desk lamp blazed behind her, casting a bright beam on the random objects beneath it. Alex closed her eyes to see last night’s dream begin to play, the one where they torched that vampire inside a dusty old church. Then his voice echoed around the room as if he were right there.
“Hellclaw,” someone whispered in her ear.
She pressed her back to the cool glass and opened her eyes wide. When she turned to face the glass again, all she saw was the night. No one stood in the sky. No one was perched on the ledge with fangs bared, ready to claim her as his next victim.
But the quick pops to the window surprised her. In the glass were two spider web-like cracks: one to the heart and one to the head. The lines radiated out from the center of each impact point like tiny claws. The ammo was heavy duty and special issue. She’d used it a long time ago to stop some of the toughest vampires in existence, thousands of years old. Why would someone use that kind of firepower on a human? If the glass hadn’t stopped them, those bullets would have sent her heart through her chest and her brain would have ended up on the other side of the room.
“Bulletproof, asshole,” she said as she backed away. Just the thought of what might have happened sent Alex into flight mode. Her brain screamed warnings as she fled from the building.
She grabbed the beat up leather briefcase on her way out. At the bottom floor, the guard lay across his neat desk, his brains sprayed over the small monitor. Monday Night Football was just getting underway as she ran across the polished marble floors to the exit.
Littered around the outside of her building were bodies—bloody and lifeless. Some of the faces were familiar, some not. Ivy’s body was propped against her car door, eyes wide and dead. Her throat had been ripped out. The bright yellow dress she wore was stained with red. As Alex side-stepped bodies and blood puddles, there was silence. Sinking to her knees, a warm breeze pushed the scent
of fresh blood and Ivy’s perfume into her face.
Everywhere she looked was death. The bloody mess that used to be her best friend’s neck was warm and sticky to the touch. The coppery smell burned her nose as Alex swallowed her anger and pain. As she reached up to close Ivy’s eyes, a hand snatched her wrist with an iron grip. There was no sound when her mouth opened to scream.
Alex bolted upright on the couch. Her office was quiet and warm. She’d fallen asleep again; photos clicking by silently on the laptop sitting on the table in front of her. Stupid dreams keep coming back, she thought as she stood up. A cold sweat covered her face and her hands trembled as she swung her pack over her shoulder and picked up her keys. Inside the elevator, she coaxed her heart to go back to a regular pace so that the tremors would go away. The night watchman was fine—still glued to the monitor with a wave over his shoulder at her as she made her way across the polished marble floors.
Once inside her car, the Vanquish purred like a kitten. The tires smoked out of the lot and onto the almost empty street, as Alex blew past almost every car in sight.
Her mobile interrupted the music so she tapped the speaker function on the steering wheel without looking and answered, “Alex Stone.”
“Yea, I know.”
Alex had swerved into an empty parking lot and slammed the brakes before she knew it. The hairs on her arms stood up at the sound of his voice. The deal was no one contacted her, ever again. No matter what, they kept their distance and she kept her mouth shut. He had just broken the pact, the contract they’d made years ago. It didn’t really matter why, just that it was now broken and she was pissed.
She cleared her throat and her hand trembled as she reached for the phone. “You have the wrong number.”
Jesse Cooper’s laugh scratched at her skull. It was exactly the same in every way. His voice made her stomach turn over. He was the last person she thought she would hear from after all this time. “You wish,” he laughed. “You didn’t answer my email, so I thought I’d get more personal. It was pretty easy . . . getting your number, I mean. You’ve lost your touch.”
“What do you want Coop?” Alex asked as she prayed the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach would go away. A sour taste kept returning with each swallow. The bottle of water in the holder had been there for a couple days, at least. She chugged it without a second thought and it did the job of washing away the lump that formed in her dry throat at the sound of his voice.
“You,” Coop chuckled. “Did you happen to hear about the body in Vegas last night?”
“Yea, so?”
“So, it’s a problem for us.” Coop said with another chuckle.
“Sucks to be you.”
Alex could hear voices in the background and glasses as they tapped together.
“Exactly,” Coop replied.
“Bullshit,” Alex hissed.
“Why would I lie about that?” Coop chuckled again. “Do you know how much paperwork I’m gonna be buried in, if it’s true?”
Her phone beeped twice meaning she had a text message. An address and a time appeared on the touchscreen. “Forget it,” she countered. “Go find Ben.”
“I’m trying, but he’s not answering.”
“Not my problem.”
“I could send the local PD after you at your office,” Coop said. “Won’t that look nice on every news outlet in the country?”
“You won’t do that,” Alex laughed. “The old man would have your ass for bringing that kind of attention to the program and you know it. You forget how short your leash is again?”
She heard him take a deep breath and cough long and hard. At first it seemed strange that he’d be sick. They never got sick as long as they were on the pills, but maybe he was off them now. Rumor was his team was pretty close to being the best, so there really wasn’t much for him to do but bask in the glory—just like him to take credit for someone else’s work.
“I don’t have a leash anymore, little girl,” Coop boasted. “Sounds like somebody’s still a little pissed she got replaced.”
“You didn’t replace me,” Alex sniffed. “I went out on med leave.”
“As I remember it, you went out on crazy leave,” Coop said. “What was it like to live in a padded room?”
“Go to hell, Coop!”
“Just for grins,” he chuckled, “I framed the hole you made in the wall of the base bar with your head.”
The line went dead before she could rip into him. How effective would that be over the phone though? Not very, and not very smart either. He took a big risk when he called, she reminded herself. Something big had happened. Something that superseded the agreement she had with them. An icy coldness crawled up her spine. Her brow became speckled with sweat and her skin immediately felt clammy. She opened the car door just in time for her liquid lunch to land on the pavement instead of her nice leather interior.
Jesse Cooper was called up from some B-team when Matt had to return home after his father fell ill. He was too cocky for Alex’s taste, but she had to work with him anyway. Her father insisted he would step up to the challenge of Sandbox, but Alex had doubted it.
“He’s ready, Alex,” he said over the rare coffee chat he invited her to in those days.
“No, he’s not,” she replied sipping tea instead of coffee. “He’s an immature jack-ass and he’s gonna get someone killed.”
Dr. Carlisle shook his head as he reviewed the report on Jesse Cooper casually. Alex had seen the report a thousand times and wasn’t impressed. Who cares if he was Navy Seal trained; on the fast track to being one of the first black officers in that outfit. This wasn’t the Seals and they weren’t going to tracking vampires underwater. The feeling she had grew stronger the closer they got to the time for action.
“No one else has a problem with him,” he continued. “He’s doing well on the supplements and his field work is satisfactory. He stays.”
As she shook loose from that memory, she swished the water around her mouth then spit out the awful taste her expelled lunch left behind. She popped a breath mint and eased her car back into traffic. An uneasiness filled her gut, she had other things to worry about right now. Things that didn’t involve Coop and his vampire problem.
Chapter 3
“I thought you forgot,” the young woman smiled. She backed away from the door to let Alex inside. “I was just about to call you.”
“I got hung up, sorry,” Alex replied, returning the smile. “How are you feeling tonight?”
The main living area was littered with boxes; some open and empty, others still sealed with packing tape. Styrofoam peanuts covering the wood floor like snowdrifts. She cleared a spot on the low couch, sat down on a stack of newspapers and waited for Alex to sit too.
“Better. Can I get you something to drink?” she asked in a small voice, almost like a whisper. Alex was slightly irritated by her meek demeanor, but this wouldn’t take long.
“I can’t stay long. I have another meeting, so I’ll just wrap this up and get out of your way.”
“You’re never in the way, Alex,” she replied. She took a quick glance at Alex then flushed red when she realized she’d been caught looking. “You look nice.”
“Just left the office.”
When Alex placed the ziplock bag on the coffee table the girl straightened her posture, nervous energy causing her to tremble. Alex could see it even if the girl didn’t notice.
“What’s . . . I usually drink . . .?”
“I know, but it’s the last dose and I need to give it to you myself, just to be sure.”
Slowly, she stood, crossed to the only window in the entire apartment and opened the blinds. Her shoulders slumped as she stared out into the night. Alex just wanted to do this quick and go. This one had gone on too long. The girl had become too attached. They always wanted more than Alex could give. She stoo
d behind her and waited patiently for her to speak.
“So will I see you again?” she sighed.
Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to keep up the game. This girl was just a girl, nothing more. Nothing like Alex at all.
The young woman took her hand as if it would disappear. Her grip was light and cold. Alex gave hers a squeeze just to be nice. What would it hurt to be nice? It was almost over anyway.
“You’ll see me around, I’m sure.”
“But not here, not anymore after tonight.”
“No.”
She faced Alex as if to challenge the decision, but all she did was wrap her arms around herself, bite her lower lip, and stare at her own feet. Alex could see the slightest hint of anger flare in her brown eyes. Then, just as quickly as it came, it went. She tucked her thick curls behind her ears and suddenly she was that worn down little junkie Alex had found in Tucson a couple of months ago.
Making a piss poor effort to hold back tears, they sprang to her eyes anyway, sliding down her shiny cheeks like a sudden rain shower. “I thought . . .”
“I know what you thought, but you can take it from here.”
“But what if I can’t do this on my own?”
“Then you’re screwed,” Alex answered as the young woman pushed past and dropped down on the couch again. “Because the job is done and your life is yours to do with what you want.”
“Can we keep in touch at least?” she sniffed as she wiped her nose on the dishcloth from the floor.
“If there’s something you want to say, now’s the time.”
“Jesus! I just . . . like you and I was hoping we could be . . .”
Alex took a seat next to her on the hard cushion. She could still see the slight tremble in her body. She couldn’t tell if it was from fear, hunger, or something else entirely.
“I’m not your mother or your girlfriend or whoever else you want me to be. I was hired to do a job and I did it. Start over, don’t start over, I don’t care. Just don’t use me as the reason you don’t even try. You have a second chance; take it. Be grateful that I let you live. I won’t make that mistake again.”