A Vampire for Christmas

by Laurie London

  Eagan was nowhere in sight, a good thing. Harry was still looking pretty proud of himself, but Lupe clearly wasn’t happy. Too bad. It was just a kiss. Well, not just, but it wasn’t as if it was going to happen again.

  At best she suspected Eagan might be up for a brief fling, but she wouldn’t risk her heart on a man who wouldn’t stick around. She was looking for a man who would build a life and a family with her. Since her mother’s death ten years ago, Della had been alone. Her friends here at the diner helped fill in the gap, but it wasn’t the same as having a man who loved her and would give her children. Unfortunately, Eagan wore his solitude like a second skin.

  Not even all of her favorite Christmas decorations could make that thought any cheerier. Rather than dwell on it, she started handing out the eggnog.

  EAGAN SKIPPED THE EGGNOG, preferring to use the time to check out the human hanging out in Della’s kitchen. He’d heard pots banging around and the sound of running water. It wasn’t much of a leap to realize the kid was her dishwasher.

  Eagan shifted the ladder to his other side as an excuse to pause in the doorway. The teenager appeared to be about sixteen, seventeen tops. Odd that he was wearing his sweatshirt zipped up and the hood cinched down close to his face.

  He wasn’t cold, not with the way he just swiped a rivulet of sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. He was hiding something under that fleece, and Eagan had a good suspicion about what it might be. He’d bet anything the kid was sporting fang marks either on his neck or his wrists or both.

  The kid didn’t reek of leftover fear, which meant he’d been a willing donor. Maybe that was a plus, but Eagan couldn’t see how. The question was why? Money, if Eagan were to hazard a guess, but that didn’t exonerate the vampire feeding off someone Daniel’s age. Cautious vampires survived by moving in the shadows and making sure their blood sources didn’t remember being bitten. They also didn’t leave marks behind. The chemistry of their saliva should ensure puncture wounds faded within minutes.

  Only the very young and the stupid left obvious evidence behind. The young might be forgiven and taken under an older vampire’s wing until they mastered both their hunger and their survival skills. The stupid were ruthlessly culled from the herd for the benefit of everyone. Now that Eagan knew this boy had been used as a traveling buffet line, he’d hunt down those two vamps and see whether they warranted a tutor or an executioner.

  The kid finally noticed him standing there. Lots of resentment in that gaze and then a flare of awareness. Shit, had he been made? Eagan set the ladder down, ready to shut the kid up by fair means or foul if he tried to sound the alarm.

  But instead of screaming, the kid shoved his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt and glared at Eagan. “What are you staring at?”

  Not much. Eagan forced a small smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’ve got a bum leg, and climbing up and down to hang lights for Della has the muscle cramping. I was giving it a rest before carrying the ladder back down to the basement.”

  That much was true, not that he would’ve admitted as much in front of Della. “My name’s Eagan.”

  The kid actually grinned. “I’m Daniel, and better you than me with the whole light thing. I figured I’d end up doing that for her.”

  Okay, maybe he wasn’t such a pain in the ass. “Yeah, well, it was me or Harry.”

  Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? I don’t believe Della was going to let him.”

  “No, she wasn’t. That’s why she asked me.”

  He shouldered the ladder again. “Nice meeting you. I’d better get back to work. She promised me pie if I did a good job.”

  Daniel wiped down the counter and tossed the towel in a bin in the far corner. “Her blueberry is my favorite, but they’re all good.”

  He headed out of the kitchen. “See you around.”

  Eagan waited until he was out of sight to take several deep breaths to draw Daniel’s scent deep into his lungs. With luck, he’d be able to track the boy’s trail back to the place the vampires were using as a feedlot. Once he located it, he’d call the lieutenant and request some backup to keep an eye on the place.

  For now, he’d haul the ladder back to the basement. After that, he’d claim his reward. Too bad it wouldn’t be another kiss. As good as Della’s pie was reputed to be, he seriously doubted it could possibly taste as sweet as Della herself did.

  Just the thought of how well she’d fit in his arms, how right she’d felt there, had him rock hard and hungry. No human woman had ever had such a powerful effect on him. In fact, no woman ever. He didn’t like it, not one bit. She was human, and an innocent. His job was to protect people like Della, not to seduce her and risk drawing her into the darkness of his world.

  Damn it, he wanted to heave the stupid ladder down the steps, grab his coat and get the hell out of the diner. He was there to investigate a case and find the rogue vampires who were threatening the secret existence of all supernaturals, not to hang Christmas lights and mistletoe.

  If these guys weren’t stopped, and soon, more teenagers would disappear or die, and the merely human would learn that their worst nightmares lived right next door. He needed to get his head back in the game. His first solid lead had just walked out the front door, and instead of tracking Daniel, all Eagan could think about was kissing Della again. His senses were overloaded with the memory of how she looked, her scent and how she tasted.

  His imagination shifted into hyperdrive. He suspected her blood would leave him both sated and jazzed for days. The only way to find out for sure would be to strip them both down and get skin-to-skin in a tangle of arms and legs in that brass bed right upstairs from where he now stood. Whoa, boy, that painted one hell of an image. One he couldn’t afford to hold on to right now. In fact, not ever. He needed to leave before he lost it altogether. He jumped the length of the steps, wincing only slightly when his leg reminded him that it still wasn’t happy with him. Ignoring the twinge, he hung the ladder up on the wall and headed back upstairs.

  He really hated the thought of missing out on that pie. Besides, it would hurt Della’s feelings if he refused payment for services rendered. Rather than think about why that bothered him so much, he walked out into the diner, pretending to be on his phone. He hung up as soon as Della spotted him.

  “Sorry, I got another call and have to leave. Any chance I could get that pie to go?”

  She nodded. “Will you be able to come for dinner tomorrow night?”

  Lies upon lies. “I’m not sure, but I’ll try.”

  As he yanked his coat back on, he cursed himself for a fool. Why had he said that? Stupid question when he already knew the answer. It was because he’d kissed her. She wasn’t the kind of woman who gave herself up to a moment like that easily or often. He knew next to nothing about her, but he knew that much.

  He’d kissed Della as if it meant something. If he simply disappeared now, it would hurt her. What had started off as a joke had turned into something far more serious and not just for her. Yet another reason to exit from Della’s life with as much grace as he could muster.

  “Here’s the pie. It’s blueberry.”

  “Thank you.” He stared down at the container. “Your employee Daniel said it was his favorite.”

  “If you come back tomorrow, you can try the chocolate so you have something to compare it to.” Her eyes twinkled when she added, “Of course, then there’s also peach and the banana cream, not to mention I also make a mean Dutch apple pie. Gee, Eagan, think how much you’ve been missing out on all this time.”

  “That’s just mean, woman.” He opened the door, still oddly reluctantly to step out into the darkness.

  Della surprised him by raising up to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “Not mean, just truthful. Now go. My electric bill is bad enough without trying to heat the streets of Seattle, too.”

  He did as she said, walking away without looking back. Her kiss was meant as a small gesture between friends but still
somehow packed a powerful punch. All he knew was that if it was really cold outside, he didn’t notice.

  Two hours later the pie was gone and the kiss-induced warmth had dissipated, leaving Eagan cold and empty. Hungry, too, but not for pie. He wanted blood, warm and straight from the source. Della’s vein, to be specific.

  Most often he fed from blood packs at the precinct. They kept a steady supply on hand for the nights the vampires on the force didn’t have time to hunt for themselves. A hungry vampire was more likely to lose control in the midst of a crisis. No one wanted that. It had happened before, and it wasn’t a pretty picture.

  Just for grins, Eagan swung by the diner one last time. The lights were out, upstairs and down. He stopped briefly before moving on. He’d followed Daniel’s scent all the way to an apartment a few blocks away. After watching to make sure the kid stayed in for the night, he’d circled the area looking for the two young vamps. He hadn’t really expected to find them. If they’d fed from Daniel, they were probably done hunting for the night.

  Time to head back to the office and report in. He hoped Lt. Hughes would assign someone to keep an eye on Daniel whenever Eagan couldn’t. After that, he’d chug down a couple of packs of blood and seek out his own bed.

  For the first time since starting this case, it felt like he’d made progress. Not enough, but at least now they had the identity of one of the teenagers involved. With luck, Daniel was the first link in the chain that would lead them right to those behind the attacks.

  EAGAN HAD SPENT the past twenty-four hours trying without success to find another lead in the case, one that would allow him to put some distance between him and Della. There were so many reasons he needed to stay away from her, but he was still tempted to accept her dinner invitation.

  He remained convinced that blowing her off, even knowing it would hurt her feelings, was the right thing to do for both of them.

  Soon, maybe in just a few days, he’d be but a faint memory. Someone she might think of briefly when she took down the Christmas lights and mistletoe.

  He hated knowing that.

  Now that they knew that Daniel was involved, he’d convinced his lieutenant that Eagan no longer needed to use the diner for cover. Since they knew where the kid lived, they could keep an eye on Daniel whenever he wasn’t in school or working. He suspected his boss knew he wasn’t being completely forthcoming on why, but Hughes had let it slide. Eagan had walked out of his office determined to spend the night alone, once again an outsider looking in.

  Instead, here he was standing in the alley across the street again, his feet leaden and reluctant to move. In or out? Which was it going to be?

  Out.

  He caught himself rubbing his chest as if his heart hurt. How stupid was that? It didn’t help that twice he’d seen Della standing at the door and peering up and down the street. Was she looking for him or someone else? No way to know and the answer didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change anything.

  Restless and edgy, he headed back down the alley to the next block. With luck he’d eventually cross paths with someone he could take out his bad mood on.

  Fangs down and predatory senses running hot, he was ready to hunt.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THE PAST THREE DAYS had been long, hard and hurtful. Even decorating the small tree she’d bought for the front window hadn’t improved Della’s mood. Normally, unwrapping the ornaments she’d collected over the years had her smiling as she sang along with the Christmas music playing on the radio. Right now it felt like just one more thing on her long to-do list before turning in for the night.

  It was bad enough that Eagan had been a no-show for the past three nights, but then she’d gotten in an argument over him with Lupe. Yeah, maybe she overreacted when her friend noticed that Della had kept the front table available all evening just in case he came. Lupe looked thoroughly disgusted and said flat out that it would be best for all concerned if Eagan never stepped through the front door again.

  Yeah, her emotions were a tangled mess right now. The whole thought of never seeing him again hurt a lot more than was justified by their brief acquaintance. If only Lupe would simply say what she had against the man, but she refused. After a brief exchange of words, Della had announced to any and all who were listening that regardless of Eagan’s reasons for not returning, he was still welcome anytime.

  To make matters worse, right after Lupe left, Della had a run-in with Daniel over something equally stupid—his sweatshirt. The kitchen had been steaming hot, but he’d kept it on even though he’d been sweating like crazy. When she’d asked him about it, he’d exploded. Even though she’d tried to apologize, he’d continued to slam pots and pans around loudly enough to bother her customers.

  In the end, she’d sent him home. Her only worry was that when he’d walked out of the door, he’d headed in the opposite direction of his family’s apartment. At least he’d called her an hour later to apologize. She’d heard his brothers playing in the background, so he’d been calling from home. A few of the knots in her stomach had loosened, but not all of them. There was something going on with her young friend. All she could do was cross her fingers that he got it figured out and soon.

  She pulled out the next ornament and smiled. It was a small gargoyle, a funny mix of ugly and cute. Her mother had collected gargoyles for years, and Della had bought her a new one every Christmas. This little guy was the one she’d given her mother their last Christmas together. Every year since he had held a position of honor on her tree, right out front where everyone could see him because nothing screamed Christmas like a guy with an impish smile and fangs. The thought made her giggle.

  Earlier, she’d wrapped a few packages to put under the tree for her favorite customers. Over the summer, she had knitted a cap and scarf for Harry and tucked a handmade gift certificate for five dinners inside. She’d bought a small wolf ornament for Lupe, who collected them much as Della did gargoyles. For Daniel, she’d gotten a gift card to one of his favorite clothing stores. The rest of her staff got similar presents. She arranged them around the bottom of the tree and stood back to admire her work.

  It looked good. Christmas was only three days away now. She always stayed open on the twenty-fourth for the last-minute shoppers. Christmas Day, too, could also be a lonely day without someone to share it with. She should know. Lacking any family of her own, she’d built one.

  Each year more and more people came by. A few stayed the whole time. Others popped in for a few minutes before heading on to their next stop. She kept the menu simple: soup, homemade bread, mulled cider and Christmas cookies. That left her free to play board games and watch favorite holiday movies with her friends. Everyone pitched in to help with the cleanup.

  She hung the last few ornaments and lugged the empty boxes back down to the basement. Despite the late hour, she was too restless to go to bed. Maybe she’d bake that last batch of cookies now instead of in the morning. Tomorrow she’d box them up with a bow to hand out as gifts.

  Eagan popped into her mind. Despite his continued absence, she wanted him to have something under the tree with his name on it. Just in case.

  She crossed the dining room to look outside. For the past few days she’d had the strangest feeling she was being watched. Normally that would creep her out, but this was different. Maybe she was playing mind games with herself, but she had the strangest sense that someone was watching over her.

  Feeling foolish, she turned off the lights and headed for the kitchen. Those cookies wouldn’t bake themselves. She tied on her apron and turned on the ovens to heat. While they did their thing, she went into the storeroom and half dragged, half carried a new fifty-pound bag of flour out into the kitchen and heaved it up on the counter.

  Then she went back to get a package of baker’s chocolate. After unwrapping it, she used her chef’s knife to chop the dark chocolate into small pieces before dropping them into the top of her double boiler. She added the first batch to the pan and then went back
to cutting as she did her best to ignore her aching back and tired feet.

  As late as it was, she probably should’ve waited until tomorrow to start this, but baking always relaxed her. She kept rocking the knife, whittling away at the chocolate. When she had another pile ready, she scooped it up with the back edge of her knife blade.

  That’s when the trouble started. Her foot slipped causing her to bump the counter with her hip hard enough to send the bag of flour toppling over to collide with her arm. The chocolate flew everywhere while the razor-sharp blade sliced her hand wide-open.

  A flood of crimson pooled in the palm of her hand and poured onto the floor. She grabbed a clean towel and stepped over the pile of flour on her way to the dining room. She’d call for help from the phone by the register and unlock the front door so the medics could get in.

  She dripped a trail of blood on the floor all the way into the other room. Her head was already woozy as she fumbled with the lock. She needed to sit down. Now. Maybe lying down would be even smarter, but not until she called 911. She’d been using her good hand to hold pressure on the cut. When she let go to dial the phone the blood started gushing again.

  Stars and spots danced in her eyes, and the floor came rushing up. Or at least she thought it was, but somehow she never hit bottom. Something had stopped her fall. No, someone. As her world spun, she closed her eyes and whispered a one-word question.

  “Who?”

  “Della, it’s me.”

  She knew that deep voice. That, combined with the smell of fine leather, put a name to the man who had swooped her up in his arms and then settled her in a chair near the kitchen. How odd that he’d kneel at her feet.

  Her eyes stubbornly refused to cooperate enough for her to see her rescuer clearly. “Eagan, is that you?”

  “Yes, damn it, it is. Now relax and let me see your hand. I’m going to lift the towel away to see how badly you’re hurt.”

  She tried to comply but couldn’t quit shivering. Eagan muttered a curse and then wrapped her in his coat. As grateful as she was for its warmth, she was worried about ruining it. When she tried to shrug it off her shoulders, he tugged it right back up in place.