Grave Expectations - Jess Vandermire 4

by Lina Gardiner

  Jane let out a slow breath. “Why is this place open at night?” she asked.

  “Because they cater to vampires.”

  Jess handed Jane the key to her new place and squeezed it into the palm of her hand. “I’ll stay in touch. And, Jane …”

  The scrawny woman tipped her head at Jess. “Yeah?”

  “There’s something else. Someone I want you to meet.”

  “Who?”

  Britt stepped around the corner and, for a second, Jess couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her. He nodded to her and smiled, then turned his attention to Jane.

  Jane shifted on her feet, prepared to run, but Jess touched her shoulder to soothe her.

  “Hi, I’m John Brittain. My friends call me Britt.”

  “Mister Brittain,” Jane said.

  “Call me Britt.”

  Jane glanced nervously between Jess and Britt.

  “We’re going to be working together on the inside. Jess and I thought it best that we meet before we run into each other in there.”

  “Why are you going inside?” Jane asked. “You’re not a vampire.”

  “He’s not, Jane,” Jess said. “He’s my top man on the force. He’s already on the ins with Malcolm Fisk. What I need you to do is find out what’s going on with the street vampires that are lining up inside. But you’ll have to be careful. We don’t know what they’re doing in there, and we don’t want to send you inside to get hurt.”

  Jane nodded. “I appreciate that, Jess, but I know how to watch my back.”

  “Yeah, I’m guessing you do. Or you wouldn’t have made it this long.” Jess stepped back from the edge of the curb and looked down the length of dark sidewalk. No one had followed them. “You going inside now, Jane?”

  “No. I’m going into the Lumination Building. Might as well get started tonight.”

  In fact, Jane sounded excited by the prospect. “I haven’t had anything to live for in decades,” she said. “I’d just about given up this last week. I was ready to throw in the towel and walk out into the sunshine.”

  “Don’t do that, Jane. There aren’t many vampires out there like you,” Britt said. His hand touched the small vampire’s arm, and for a second, Jess thought Jane might shrug it off and run for the hills. She probably wasn’t used to anyone being nice to her.

  “I’m not what you think I am,” Jane said. “I’m the lowest of the low.”

  That made Jess think about the way she probably got her sustenance. She likely used rats when she couldn’t find anything else. While repulsive, it showed what kind of vampire Jane was. She had even maintained some tiny bit of herself without prayers. Jess marveled at that fact. Maybe before this was over, she’d tell Jane just how special she really was. She’d done it all by herself.

  “You are a member of our team,” Britt said. “Contact Jess when you have information and we can meet at your apartment before sunrise. Sound good?”

  She nodded.

  “We’re all set then,” Jess said. She looked at Jane and wondered how many others there were like her. Maybe Britt was right. Some vampires might actually be worth saving.

  Chapter Nine

  JESS FOLLOWED Britt away from the building. It felt wrong to leave Jane alone, but she’d been alone for decades. She didn’t need a vampire sitter. “Why didn’t you go into Fisk Towers tonight?” Jess asked, making quotation marks with her fingers at the new name she’d given the Lumination Building.

  “I didn’t want Fisk to be able to make any connection between Jane and me. She’ll have a better chance at infiltrating the ranks without me around.”

  “Yeah, I suppose so.”

  He nodded and reached out and took her hand, threading his fingers through hers. They strode down the sidewalk like teenagers in love. If only her life could be so idyllic. If only Britt wasn’t trying to distract her right now. She chewed on her lip. What was he up to?

  “Jess?” he said finally.

  “Yes?” She was about to burst if he didn’t spill it soon. And anxiety didn’t exactly bring out the best in her.

  “I think we need to focus on work for a while. Maybe we should take a break from our relationship until we can figure things out.”

  She ripped her hand from his, even though he tried to hang on. “What!”

  He held up his hands in surrender.

  She turned away from him and fought the demon inside her. She bit her lip and tasted blood. How could he do this to her?

  “We’ll still work together. We just can’t keep torturing each other. Not until I figure out what I’m capable of doing without knowing it,” he said.

  He might as well have staked her right there. She held her tongue and wished she could cry. “If that’s what you want.”

  Now it was his turn to look hurt. He’d hoped for her to beg? Not her style. It was a relief when her cell phone reverberated on her hip. It was always in silent mode in case they were stalking prey. The undercover team had a special network and phone codes. They sent messages when they found vampires that might pose a problem to citizens of New York.

  She grabbed her phone and read the text. A civilian had reported an incident that could only be vampire related. She might be on vacation, but she could use a diversion right now.

  Britt was reading the text on his cell phone, too.

  He nodded to her. “It’s not something we can ignore, is it?”

  “No. We’re not that far away.” Besides, she needed this. The last vampires she’d fought had sliced her open because she’d wanted to prove something to Britt. It had been dumb. She needed to prove herself again. Not to Britt or anyone else, but to herself this time.

  “See you there, Britt,” she said, jumping up the side of the brick building. She’d take the rooftops to get there faster. It gave her a little satisfaction that he couldn’t follow. She needed a few minutes alone.

  She raced across the top of the buildings. It felt fantastic to feel the night air against her face. The excitement of a fight loomed on the distant cityscape, where a few blocks away, she heard the echoes of a struggle.

  She jumped off the roof like it was a diving board and landed firmly on the ground. It was one of the more impressive aspects of being a vampire. Two of her team members were cornered by a couple of extra-large brutes baring their obnoxious fangs at the men. Without a doubt, her human team members were out of their element with these badasses.

  One of the vampires, the one with gold jewelry on his fangs, twisted his head and shouted, “What took you so long, hunter?” He reached out and grabbed Officer Collins and held him off the ground by his neck. Collins’s feet started kicking and his eyes bulged.

  “We were getting tired of playing with your puny mice.”

  Britt reached the end of the alley and raced up next to her. He wasn’t even out of breath, even though he’d just run several blocks. She tucked that fact away and focused on the vampire choking the life from Collins.

  “Toss that little one back,” she said. “You wanted me, didn’t you?”

  The vampire smirked and dropped his human play toy, still gasping for breath. Collins crawled out of his reach because his leg had obviously been broken. Brody, the other man on her team, was out cold or already dead.

  That bitter speck of damnation, that evil core that defined her, lurched to the fore. With fangs at the ready, she wanted nothing more than to kill these bastards who dared to invade her territory and hurt her people.

  The vampires attacked in unison. Both dove at her, but Britt jumped in and diverted the second one. They didn’t usually hunt like this. Once again, Jess couldn’t help thinking that something about this attack felt off.

  She’d recently convinced Sampson to turn her heel blade into a toe blade, since it made it easier to kick out and destroy her prey. She tapped her heel, the blade extended, and she jumped up and kicked out. The vampire dove to the side, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed.

&n
bsp; She landed on her feet and spun quickly around to face him. His black eyes watched her intently. Too intently. And, too intelligently. What was going on? Most vampires fought for two things—sustenance and life. Nothing else. That was their agenda. Was this Fisk’s doing? Had his services allowed vampires to work together? To fight without a master vampire pulling their strings? Not good.

  She dove at him again, stake in hand, toe blade ready and fangs pronounced—everything in her arsenal available. He jumped and landed behind her. She spun around, confused. She almost always had the upper hand, but this vampire was making a mockery of her speed.

  “Who are you?” she shouted.

  He laughed. Actually laughed. It wasn’t something most vampires even remembered how to do. “I imagine by now you’re realizing I’m not your run-of-the-mill street vamp.” He motioned for her to come after him again.

  She wouldn’t play his game. She’d do the beckoning, not the other way around. Somewhere in the pit of her gut, she had the feeling her world was changing. Everything normal had been turned upside down. First, there was what had happened to Britt and Regent. And now, regular street vampires were thinking and fighting like her. Shit!

  She glanced at Britt. He was battling hard, and didn’t seem to be making any headway, either. He could if he really wanted to, but he’d be afraid he might hurt her in the process.

  She clenched her teeth. She and Britt used to work so well together, and now she just seemed to get in his way.

  She crossed her arms and waited for the vampire to make his move. “If you want me, come and get me.”

  “I was going to say the same thing,” the vampire said.

  “Fine. We just won’t fight,” she said, balking against every urge inside her to stake him.

  His eyebrow twitched. Ah-ha, this vampire had a tell. He was itching for the fight. But if he wanted to get it on, he’d have to take the initiative and come at her first.

  “Whatever,” he said. Then he walked past her and left the alley. She stood there in shock. Had he really just walked away? What had this whole thing been about?

  She turned toward Britt, who’d pinned his vampire to the ground. The vampire shouted at him, snarled … then started to wail. “Shit, that hurts. Don’t stake me. Don’t stake me, please.”

  She inhaled sharply through her teeth. Vampires didn’t beg to stay alive.

  Britt glanced up at her with a “what-the-hell-do-I-do-next?” expression on his bewildered face.

  “Let him go,” she said.

  Britt shoved him one more time, and the vampire whimpered. Britt arched back onto the balls of his feet and stood.

  The vampire crawled backward, then took off up the side of the building.

  Britt turned to Jess. “Did that really just happen?”

  “It did,” she said. “But what was it? Why did they instigate a clash, then back down?” Jess said, more to herself than to him.

  “Maybe it’s a test to see if we’d kill them anyway. To see if we’d show any remorse.”

  She glanced at Collins and Brody, then grabbed her cell and called for backup and an ambulance. Brody had come around. He looked dazed, but he’d make it. Collins would be off work in a cast for a few weeks.

  Britt helped him to a comfortable position after splinting his leg with a doubled piece of cardboard and a rag from the dumpster.

  Jess continued to search the rooftops in case the vamps had circled back. But she sensed no one else in their vicinity.

  Britt came to her after he’d helped the men. They could hear the sirens in the distance. “I think I saw one of those vamps in the Lumination Building earlier. Do you think they’ve been enlightened by Fisk?” Britt asked.

  “I sure hope not.” She held her breath and thought about it. “If that’s what he’s doing for them, they’re going to be a lot harder to fight from now on,” she said.

  “Maybe that’s why the monks think he’s going against what’s good for mankind. After what we’ve seen tonight, I have a tendency to agree with their line of thinking.”

  The team’s ambulance arrived and the injured men were transported to a small hospital run by the department. Their men and women were always treated there.

  Once they were on their way, Britt asked, “What now?”

  “Let’s go to the pier. Maybe we can find more vampires that need to be depopulated.”

  “You know, Jess, that sounds like the most sane thing I’ve heard all night. A little bit of reality after this bizarre encounter might be a good thing.” He grinned at her.

  With a nod of agreement, she started walking and Britt followed her. Maybe she should just go home again and lock herself in her room—she glanced at Britt—unless she could convince him to join her for a romp in the sack.

  She sighed. Yeah, like that’d happen.

  REGENT HEARD THE doorbell, and two soldiers rushed down the hall ahead of him so he couldn’t answer the door. Regent knew who’d arrived. Sampson was always punctual and he’d been invited, so surely they wouldn’t turn him away.

  He hedged his way between the soldiers when the door opened.

  Sampson’s brows went up when he saw the military men flanking Regent.

  “Please, let him in. Vasilli has approved his entrance,” Regent said, hoping the soldiers understood English.

  They stood back.

  Moments later, Vasilli rushed down the hall. “Dr. Case, before you and Father Vandermire talk, I must ask you to follow me. I have a few questions to ask you before we can proceed.”

  Sampson’s bald head glistened in the evening lighting of the rectory. He nodded twice, barely glanced sideways at Regent, then followed Vasilli to the kitchen.

  One soldier put out an arm and stopped Regent from going after them. “Return to your office, Father,” he said.

  Regent chewed on his lip, but followed orders. Not like he had much choice. What were they doing to Sampson? Why did they have to get him alone?

  Regent waited for more than thirty minutes before he heard Sampson’s footsteps coming toward his office. His friend paused for a moment outside the door, then pushed it open and entered.

  “What was that about?” Regent asked.

  “What?” Sampson said.

  “Whatever you were doing in the kitchen with Vasilli.”

  Sampson frowned, then looked down at his shoes. “I’m not sure, Regent. I don’t remember being in the kitchen.” He moved to one of the leather chairs and sat down. “What’s going on? Why are all these soldiers in your home?”

  “Technically, it’s not my home. This place belongs to the church. But, the reason they’re here is sketchy for me, too. One thing I do know, though, is that there’s a very large vampire in the basement with a powerful thirst. He’s the reason I need your help.”

  “A vampire from Rome?” Sampson frowned.

  “They think I saved James, Terry, and Sephina from vampirism,” Regent said. “They know about Jess, and they think I can pray for this vampire and turn him back into a human being. I’ve tried to tell them Jess is still a vampire …”

  “What can I do?” Sampson asked.

  “I need you to do some blood work. Lab work. I don’t know … anything. I need something to help me figure out how to help this vampire.” He leaned forward. “Might there be something in the ancient vampire scrolls that could help?”

  Sampson held up a hand. “Please, Regent. Given the security in this place, I’d bet money that the room is bugged.”

  “You’re right. I’m beyond understanding what I’m supposed to do. I need answers and I need help.” Regent’s mouth quirked at the edges. He hoped they heard the next bit. “I imagine they’ll be ticked when they realize they made me young again for nothing. What’ll they do when they find out it wasn’t me who saved James and his family? Not to mention, I have no special abilities when it comes to that vampire in the basement. I’m certainly not strong enough to help him—young or old.”

  Sampson stare
d at Regent for the longest time. “If Jess hadn’t told me about you, I’d never have believed it,” he said, at last. “You don’t look like your old self, though I suppose there are a few similarities. Your mannerisms are right. And, what you just said pretty much proves that you are my dear friend.”

  They both managed a chuckle before the vampire in the basement roared and rudely reminded them of their problem.

  “We’ll start with the blood and take it from there,” Sampson said. “Maybe I can find something in his VNA that might help.” He leaned forward. “Maybe I can work on you, after that. Find out what the heck they did to you.”

  “I pray to God you can help me with the vampire. That’s the most important thing right now. I don’t know what they’ll do if we don’t help them. This vampire is massive and according to what I’ve heard, voracious. He’s got gallons of blood down there in the basement and there’s more on order. I fear he’s a risk to the people of the city if we can’t help him.”

  “Take me to him,” Sampson said slowly, even though he looked more than a little nervous about the prospect.

  “I can’t. Vasilli is the only one able to draw the blood. He’ll give it to you. You’re not allowed to speak to the vampire or see him.”

  “That won’t make my job very easy.”

  “I know, but I have the feeling you’d be taking your life in your hands if you went down there,” Regent said.

  Vasilli strode into the office, confirming Regent’s assumption that the room had been bugged. “Are you ready for the sample, doctor?” he asked Sampson.

  “I am.”

  Vasilli inhaled deeply. If Regent had to guess, he’d bet even Vasilli was worried about getting close enough to draw blood from that deadly vampire downstairs. But he still left them and went to do what was necessary.

  Fifteen minutes later, he returned, holding two vials in one hand. His opposite wrist looked bruised and swollen. Severely swollen.

  “Are you okay?” Sampson asked. “Can I look at that for you?”

  Vasilli shook his head. “It’ll be fine, thank you, Dr. Case.”

  Sampson took the two vials of the darkest blood he’d ever seen, even for a vampire.