Grave Expectations - Jess Vandermire 4

by Lina Gardiner

  A sad state of affairs. If only the regular citizens knew what they battled in this city. The church might be their only safety from vampirism. Jess had often wondered why. Why did the church have that kind of power over the disease that racked her body?

  She felt guilty. Had she become one of the faithless? Regent would be disappointed in her if she had.

  She pushed off the cement and stood when she heard her brother’s familiar footsteps approaching the door. He always left via the front, in case a parishioner wanted to speak to him.

  “Regent,” she whispered.

  “Wha …”

  “Over here. It’s me, Jess.”

  He inhaled sharply and looked around before diving into the shadowy corner where she waited.

  “Jess, you shouldn’t have come.” He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

  “You told me not to come to the rectory—you didn’t say anything about the church.”

  He chuckled. “I guess you’re right. I should have made myself clearer.”

  “How are things going? Are you all right?” He looked pale and tired, even for a man supposedly in his forties. It seemed this whole thing had either taken a toll on his health, or inside, he was still in his seventies.

  “I’m not sure, dear,” he whispered, and looked around again. “A man from Rome, named Vasilli, brought a vampire for me to heal. I don’t think I can help him. Not even a little.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I knew you wouldn’t mind that I asked Sampson for help. Maybe he’ll find something.”

  Jess eyed her brother. They’d made him years younger, but they couldn’t help the person they wanted Regent to heal? How could they expect Regent to do what they couldn’t?

  “Don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from me, Jess. If I can convince them, I’m thinking I might need your help with this vampire. Maybe you can get him to listen to you; he certainly isn’t reachable with my unending prayers. He’s insatiable, and that makes it very hard for me to get through to him.”

  “Who is he?” she asked, knowing full well Regent wouldn’t tell her, even if he knew.

  “Honestly, dear, I have no idea. They had him masked when they brought him in and as far as I can tell, he’s in vampire form all the time.”

  “Disturbing.”

  “Whoever he is, they want to make very sure no one figures out his identity.”

  “Are you in any danger?” she asked.

  “I could be, if I had to enter your room in the basement. That’s where they’re keeping him. So far, they won’t let me down there. Only Vasilli goes inside, and he looks definitely worse for wear when he comes back again.”

  “Geez, not even Prometheus, the worst vampire we’ve ever faced, was inconsolable. We could get through to him, on occasion.”

  “True. I don’t know why they think I can help this vampire. I explained that I could only help you because I love you. I have never even spoken a word to the vampire they brought to the rectory.”

  “If you need me, I’ll be there for you.” She touched his hand and he squeezed hers in response. “And Britt could eliminate your problem completely, if worse comes to worst.”

  “Gosh, I hope not. I have the feeling this person is too important to eliminate.”

  They heard footsteps coming from the rectory. “I’ve got to go. They’ll come looking for me if I don’t hurry back. I’m on a tight leash.”

  “I don’t like that one bit, Regent. I want you safe.”

  “If I need you, I’ll call.” He looked over his shoulder. “Now, you’d better go before they find you here. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

  He hugged her again and she hugged him back. She slipped away quickly, before his keepers found her with him.

  “Father Vandermire? Where are you?” she heard a man say with an Italian accent.

  Regent stepped out and descended the stairs. “I’m here. It took me a few minutes to clear up and shut the doors,” he said.

  Jess cringed. She knew how much her brother hated to lie. And that had been a straight-out lie, if she’d ever heard one.

  “Come this way,” the man said. She heard Regent walk toward the man’s voice.

  Jess’s hackles rose. Her brother was a virtual prisoner and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit.

  Chapter Twelve

  BRITT’S INSIDES FELT odd this close to Jane. It was as if she’d been primed to draw on the damned blue light that sometimes emanated from him without warning. Occasionally, at night, he’d wake from a fitful sleep and the blue ball would be hovering over his torso, partially illuminating the room.

  When Fisk had interacted with the vampires in the auditorium earlier, it was all Britt could do to stop himself from running down there and sharing in the power exchange.

  He glanced over at Jane. She looked much better than she had the last time he’d seen her. Her hair was clean and combed neatly. She’d cleaned up, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she’d put on a little makeup. Her fingernails were trimmed and her skin looked a little less gray.

  She’d barely spoken to him since they drove toward her home. He shifted his position in the car seat and drummed his fake, weird-looking fingernails on the steering wheel.

  Where was Jess? She should be here for the discussion. He yanked out his cell phone and quickly checked to see if she’d left a message. Nothing.

  As soon as he parked the vehicle, he sent Jess a text to meet him at Jane’s place. If he’d expected an instant reply, he was disappointed. She’d been secretive about what she was doing tonight. He didn’t like that. They used to share everything.

  He followed Jane inside. She went straight into the furnished living room and motioned for him to sit. He chose a wooden chair in the corner. It was evident she had no intention of sitting. She looked hungry and probably needed blood.

  “Go ahead, Jane. Get your sustenance. I’ll wait here.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “How did you know?”

  “I’m Jess’s partner, remember?” He wouldn’t tell Jane he was much more than that. They didn’t need news of his relationship with Jess to get around. It would be a liability in their line of work.

  She nodded. “I’ll be right back,” she said. While she made her way to the kitchen, Britt inhaled and focused on calming the jittery energy inside him. Last thing he wanted was for Jane to know he was like Fisk.

  When she returned, fully sated, she glanced toward the front door before sliding back the curtain and looking out.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” she said. “Well, that’s not quite true. I’m glad you’re here tonight because I have some information. Something that’s going to blow you away. It did me.”

  Britt gritted his teeth. Did she think whatever would blow a vampire away would necessarily be good news to him?

  She slid the curtain back for another quick look.

  If Jane was trying to pull off a double cross, he’d hate to have to show her what he could do. Not to mention, Jess would never forgive him if he hurt her.

  When the front door creaked open, Britt jumped to his feet. His hands felt the hum of energy tingling under his flesh.

  A lanky man stepped inside and looked furtively around. He shut the door carefully and approached the living room.

  “Jane, I’m here,” he said. “You promised me a drink?”

  Jane stepped forward and took the man’s hand. “It’s in the kitchen.” She flicked a glance at Britt. “Don’t forget—after you get your drink, you promised to tell my friend, Mr. Brittain, what you told me.”

  He was a tall, thin vampire who looked like a movie version of a gothic undertaker. His eyes reflected the light in the room, the way a cat’s did. Not a common trait in most of the vampires Britt had seen.

  Britt stood, but kept his body loose. He didn’t want to scare the man off since he seemed nervous. Another unusual trait for a vampire.

  �
�I’ll be back in a minute,” Jane said, and left the room to get her guest something to drink.

  Britt considered sneaking up on them and listening, but decided against it. He pulled out his cell phone and checked for any messages. Most notably, from Jess. There were none.

  The doorbell rang. He went to the door, noting that Jane had stepped into the kitchen doorway to keep watch. She probably didn’t want to leave the vamp alone with her full supply of blood.

  He opened the door and his heart swelled. Jess stood there.

  She frowned at him. “What are you doing here, Britt?”

  “I might ask you the same thing. I just checked my cell phone, but there were no messages responding to my earlier text.”

  She glanced down at her own phone, in a case on her hip. Of course, she hadn’t even checked.

  “Yeah, I left a message, asking you to meet me here,” he said.

  “Sorry, I didn’t see it.” She slipped past him and approached Jane.

  He shut the door with a heavy sigh. Jess was really tormenting him today. First the naked walk-through, and now she was virtually ignoring him. Damn it. He hated this. He wanted his old Jess back. His old life back.

  Something niggled at the back of his brain. Maybe not his old life, per se.

  Something about his new life, no matter how strange it was, felt right to him.

  “Jess, don’t come in the kitchen right now,” Jane said.

  Jess stopped and flipped a quizzical look back at Britt.

  “I’m sorry. I know this is your house, but I invited a friend over for a meal. He’ll be done in a minute, and then he’s going to share some information with us,” she said in a way that told her friend he’d be sharing, or else.

  “Okay,” Jess said. She turned back toward Britt and followed him into the living room. “Any idea what the hell’s going on?”

  Britt shrugged. “Not sure, yet. Hey, if you didn’t get my message, what brought you here?”

  “I check on Jane every night.”

  He nodded, but his gut twisted. That was something else she hadn’t bothered to tell him. They used to work together. But now that he’d turned into a vampire-killing unit, she didn’t completely trust him.

  A couple of minutes later, Jane and the nervous-looking crypt keeper entered the living room. He sat in a chair nearest the exit door and Jane took a seat beside him.

  “Tell them what you told me, Roland,” she said.

  He inhaled and hunched forward in his chair. “It’s about Fisk,” he said. “He is making it possible for vampires to return to a nearly normal life. Vampires in the city are flocking to him. But he has control over their ability to speak freely to each other about their treatments. They can’t warn each other.”

  “How is it that you can speak freely?” Jess said suspiciously.

  “I dunno. Something’s different about me,” he said.

  Britt considered the vampire’s reflective irises, and wondered if they might be the reason Fisk’s blue light didn’t work on Roland. Or, at least, didn’t hold Roland’s mind captive.

  “And?” Jess asked, impatiently.

  “Tell her,” Jane said.

  Roland looked hesitant. Jane’s expression darkened. “I gave you blood. You promised.”

  “If I tell too many people, Fisk will find out. He’ll have me killed because I can tell others what he’s doing. I’ll be a huge problem for him.”

  “We’re not about to share anything with Fisk,” Britt said.

  Roland glared at him. “But you’ve been visiting Fisk, even in his office. No one gets in there, except people on his payroll or high-paying customers.”

  “Well, I’m neither. And I will not tell Fisk whatever you feel is important enough to share with Jess and me.”

  Jane’s fingers tightened on the arms of her chair. “You won’t have to worry about Fisk being the one to kill you if you don’t talk, Roland. I trusted you. And I don’t trust very often.”

  Britt glanced at Jess, who had remained silent through their interaction.

  She’d also quickly and silently reverted to her vampire self. Her teeth had elongated, her eyes had turned black, and her nails had lengthened. Currently, her gaze was focused on Roland while she stood and paced around the room, ending up next to him.

  He jumped out of his chair.

  “I can’t believe you’re threatening me. I thought you were different, Jane.”

  Jess leaned close to Roland. Lucky bastard. Britt could hardly stop the drool at the sight of her magnificent bod on hyper-drive.

  Only, Roland shouldn’t feel lucky at this moment. Jess was angry and she was a vampire with skills most didn’t have. She touched the base of his neck with her fingernail. “You’ve promised my friend Jane information. I suggest you share it. She paid you in blood. Now you owe her.”

  “But Fisk will kill me,” he practically blubbered. “You don’t understand. I promised her because I was starving. I haven’t been able to get food. I’m not capable of hunting anymore. Fisk’s treatment backfired on me.”

  “What exactly is Fisk’s treatment?” Jess asked, in a slow, deadly voice.

  Roland dropped back into the chair. “Okay, I’ll have to trust you.” He glared at Jane. “But, if you give me away, he’ll kill me. My death will be on your head.”

  “If you don’t tell, I’ll kill you,” Jess said matter-of-factly.

  He dropped his face into his thin hands and his muffled voice came through. “Fisk is healing vampires and giving them a near-normal life again. They can even eat food again and their hunger for blood diminishes … .”

  Jess hovered over Roland, a constant threat to keep him talking. And a constant temptation to Britt, who could barely keep his eyes off her. “We already know that,” she said.

  “Go on,” Jane said.

  “The healings only last a week or more. After that, the vampires revert back to their normal selves, only worse than before. If they want to maintain their healing, they have to keep going back to Fisk.”

  “And …” Jess moved even closer to him in her skin-tight leather. Her hands were clenched at her sides.

  “And they either have to pay him and pay him well, or they have to work for him. The thing is, his healing is addictive. It’s worse than blood lust. Vampires thriving on Fisk’s blue light need it on a regular basis.”

  Jess looked at Britt, her gaze angrier than he’d seen for a while. “Bastard.”

  “Do you see now why it’s so risky for me to be here? Information like that is dangerous—he’d kill me in a second to stop me from telling the others. He needs them to be oblivious when they come to him.”

  “You might be right, Roland. You shouldn’t tell anyone else about this. It might be better if you leave the city. We can take it from here,” Britt said.

  Roland practically sniveled. “I knew it. I knew I’d pay for being different.”

  Jane grimaced. “You’re lucky you’re not one of the people who’ve been given your world back and then made to pay for it weekly.”

  Britt noted how Jess switched her attention back to Jane. Damn. He should have noticed the rosier glow in Jane’s cheeks. The flesh that looked softer and more palpable.

  “I’m sorry, Jane,” Jess said. “I didn’t realize that you’d be put in a position like that.” No wonder Jane got Roland to tell them—she was incapable of doing it herself.

  Jane nodded. “I’ll show you out,” she said to Roland. After she shut the door on him, she returned.

  Jess glanced at Britt, determination in her eyes. He could see she was sickened by what she’d just heard. Vampire or not, she had a heart as big as the Big Apple.

  She pulled papers from her back pocket and handed them to Jane. “This house is yours, Jane. Yours to keep.”

  “What? No. You can’t.”

  “I can. I’m also going to contact my forensic vampirologist, Sampson Case. He’ll help you get through this thing. Please don’t go back to Fisk. I
know it’ll be hard for you to turn that kind of gift down, but …”

  A real tear worked its way down Jane’s cheek.

  “I think what he’s doing is heinous,” Jess continued. “It’s bad enough that we’ve become killers thriving on the blood of living things. But to profit from our agony! To give us a little taste of what we used to be, and then make us pay for more. It’s just wrong. And it’s going to stop.”

  Jess squeezed Jane’s arm and handed her Sampson’s business card.” My friend Sampson will help you get through the need that Fisk has instilled in you. If anyone can help, he can. Go to this address.”

  Jane swallowed hard. “Jess, thank you for …” She spread her arms out to encompass the home. “For everything. You don’t have to.”

  “I want to, dear Jane,” Jess said. “I’m just sorry I didn’t help you sooner.”

  Britt’s expression irritated her. Had he never seen her take a liking to a street vampire? Then she thought about it. No, he hadn’t.

  Most of the time, it didn’t pay to appear soft. But just this once, she’d forgo the hit to her ego in order to help Jane.

  It would have been better if Britt wasn’t giving her that soft, gooey, I love you for being this kind of woman look. Hell and damnation. She was a vampire. Not a Stepford wife.

  Maybe he needed another naked walkabout to prove it to him. That would have him running in the opposite direction.

  She handed the paperwork to Jane, knowing full well the house and the supply of blood would only help her for so long. Jess hoped Sampson could get her through the rest of her addiction to the blue light.

  “We’d better go, Britt,” Jess said, walking toward the front door. “Jane, you make sure you meet Sampson tonight, okay?”

  “I will. And thank you.”

  Jess nodded, and Britt fell into step beside her.

  “Did you see her skin?” he asked, as soon as they got out of hearing range.

  “I did.”

  “I saw Fisk send light into her.” He paused. “Truth is, rather than want to stop him, I wanted to join him.”