"Oh." I quickly wrote down the steak order. "I get it."
"Yes."
Blushing, I turned around and walked back towards the kitchen, darting in as quickly as possible. Of course, I found Maggie, our forty-something year old head cook peering through the window, the other workers at her side.
"What are you lookin' at?" I snapped, even though I had a pretty good idea of exactly what-or who, really-they were staring at.
"You are one lucky, lucky girl," Maggie declared, not even glancing at me as she spoke. "That's a fine young man."
"Yeah, well," I mumbled, shifting from one foot to the other. "He's a jerk, to put it plain and simple. Not worth anyone's time."
"Not worth your time," Molly, another cook murmured. She was closer to my age, around twenty. "But he's certainly worth mine."
"Shouldn't you ladies be working?" I asked impatiently. I didn't want any of my coworkers ending up with bite marks in their necks. "He wants a steak, rare."
"A steak, huh?" Maggie grinned as she and the other reluctantly peeled their faces from the window. "I always like my men with a hearty appetite."
Oh, you have no idea how hearty his appetite really is... "No offenses, Mags, but he has to be at least twenty years younger than you." Not really.
"I'm not denying that. Some women date younger men, and it works out fine!"
"And sometimes that crash and burn. Crash and burn."
She gave a heavy sigh. "Here's that one lady's chicken tender platter."
I took the dish and began to walk out the door, when I saw something that made me freeze. Sarah, another waitress, was standing by Zane's table, recklessly flirting and flipping her hair around-inadvertently exposing her neck. There was a gleam in his eyes as he smiled at her.
"Hey, Sarah!" I said, raising my voice as I walked up to them. "Get back to work!" As she walked off, pouting, Zane raised his eyebrows.
"I wasn't going to do anything, Alex. Do you think I'm that stupid?"
"I barely know you."
"Right now."
Frowning, I walked back to serve the lady, who gave me a critical look. Apparently, I wasn't able to protect my fellow human beings. As I was walking away, I heard Zane call me over again.
"Excuse me, Alex," he said as I reached his table. "Sorry to bother you again-" oh, yeah, sure he was "-but I need to order something else."
Sighing, I took out my notepad. "Which would be...?"
"A a Caesar Salad."
"OK," I said, bending down towards him. "I get that you can eat steak, Zane. But salad? Really? Come on."
"It's not for me," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "I have somebody coming here to meet me, and I want to make a good impression."
"So you're kissing up?"
"No." He winked at me. "I'm practicing the vampire charm. Of course, I doubt it will work on this person, but hey, I can try."
Grumbling to myself, I went back to the kitchen and relayed the order to the cooks. They all seemed incredibly disappointed that the "fine young man" was waiting for someone. Personally, I thought that the someone was his next snack bar.
Soon, I brought out Zane's orders, laying the salad at the other end of the table. As I gave other people their food, I couldn't help but watch him. There was distaste in his eyes as he ate the steak, but the blood seemed to entice him... It was kind of weird to watch. But it wasn't that he was a messy eater. It was just the fact that I was watching a vampire eat...
The doors jingled a little bit as a person walked in, and I looked up from where I was serving a family. It was a woman, about twenty-five, I'd guess. She was tall and thin, in a slate gray business suit that hugged her curves. Her skin was tan, and she had chocolate brown hair gathered into an efficient knot at the back of her head, and she wore stylish sunglasses. The shoes she was wearing: heels, of course. Did I mention that she was very pretty?
I hate people like that sometimes.
Calmly, briefcase in hand, the woman strutted over to Zane's table, sitting down. She raised her eyebrows at the salad. "Excuse me?"
"Sometimes I can be polite, you know," Zane said in a low voice. Annoyance was clear in his tone, and that seemed to be mutual. The same emotion was written across the woman's face. They didn't shake hands or even exchange a proper greeting.
"Look, Zane, we've researched everything we can, and your theory is clearly incorrect," I heard the woman say. Slowly, I walked back to the kitchen, waiting at the door for the next order to be ready as other waitresses carried out their jobs. Still, I listened.
"For some reason, I'm not so sure that your people are really going to search down deep," Zane replied dryly. "My kind, as you so call us... we have more resources."
The still nameless guest pursed her lips. She still had her sunglasses on, as if she purposefully wanted to be rude. "I did some of the searching myself. Besides, I really don't think that you or any of your associates would want to be actually convicted of something criminal this time."
"Nothing criminal, Roxanne," Zane smirked, finally naming the woman. "Unless, of course, you make another law up that makes it so..."
"I do not make the laws," Roxanne said coldly. "The whole group does."
I was starting to get the feeling that Roxanne was a Hunter, and a high-ranking one at that. This wasn't a good sign at all... Even from where I was standing, I could feel the animosity coming from them.
"Sure, let's go with that," Zane snapped, his eyes darkening. "Look, I can understand how embarrassing this will be for you if I'm right, but can you at least investigate?"
"I told you, we've already done that!" Roxanne spat, still keeping her voice low. "Perhaps you're the one who's hiding from embarrassment... or the law?"
"Please," Zane scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You won't find any trace of me on any corpses, and you know it. That is, if the killer hasn't stashed the bodies well enough... which is doubtful. Convenient, isn't it? Vampires turn to ashes once they're killed, and if someone was skilled enough, no one would find the donor's bodies..." He arched one eyebrow. "What happens when newly bitten werewolves die? Of course, that doesn't happen as much as it does with vampires, but still."
"What my people do is none of your business," Roxanne whispered. I wished I could see her eyes behind the sunglasses. "Keep your nose out of matters that don't concern you." She kept on darting her eyes around at the people of the diner. Luckily, no one was paying attention, and she and Zane were staying very quiet. "Good day, Zane." Standing, she walked out of the diner. Her salad was untouched.
Slowly, I walked up to Zane. "Tell me if it's not any of my business, but... who was that?"
He gave a slow smile. "Your Hunter friend's boss."
Chapter 5
"Ty's boss?" I hissed, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. I'd thought she was just... Well, not that high-ranking.
"Pretty much," Zane nodded. "Roxanne Shire, Head of the SCA. And at only twenty-five." So I'd guessed her age correctly. "She's been the postergirl for the Hunters since she first became one of them at sixteen. Her record for killings is quite impressive, and she is seemingly diplomatic... However, I've never been very fond of her myself."
"I can see why," I blurted out. "She treated you terribly!"
"As did your friend Ty. It's a Hunter trait." Zane stood, taking out his wallet. "What's the bill?"
Quickly remembering what Maggie had told me, I gave him the answer. Nodding, he walked up to the cash register, paying a flustered Tammy and then walking back to me. His face was serious as he looked straight at me.
"Come with me, Alex. We need to talk."
"Um, I'm on the job," I said firmly, placing my hands on my hips and avoiding his eyes.
"So? Tell your boss that I asked you out, or something." He paused, indecisive for a moment. "I need to talk to you about what we spoke about last week in Ty's apartment."
"Talk about it with Ty," I muttered, turning around and beginning to walk back to the kitchen. Zane easily matched my quick pace
s, falling into step with me perfectly.
"Ty won't listen to me," Zane replied. "He's been raised to listen to Roxanne at all costs. However, if you reason with him..."
I bit my lip. As much as I hated to even think it, Zane's theory was a possibility. And now that I was roped into this Supernatural-Hunter thing, I might as well be of some help... "OK, if Tammy let's me off, I'll go... but where?"
Zane thought about that for a moment. "You'll see."
Sighing, I decided on the spot to trust him. In my eyes, I didn't have much of a choice. It was either trust Zane, or not do anything and possibly let more murders go on. Doing nothing... it just wasn't right.
"I'm trusting you on this," I told him, keeping my voice level. "Please don't prove me wrong."
"I'm giving you my word that I'll keep you safe." This time, as he spoke, I met Zane's eyes. And strangely, I found complete honesty in them.
"Um, OK," I said quietly, turning around to talk to Tammy. She'd clearly been watching our exchange, though she couldn't have heard it. Still, she held out her hand for my apron.
"He asked you out, didn't he?" she guessed, a small smile on her face.
"Sorry," I apologized, untying my apron strings. "Does this mean I'm fired?"
"No, of course not," she assured me. "I'd do the same thing."
"But he didn't really ask me out," I added quickly, blushing and giving Zane a quick glance over my shoulder. "We just need to... talk."
"M-hmm," Tammy said, nodding as she sat down at a chair. "Sure."
"I'm serious!"
"Whatever you say. Have fun!" There was too much emphasis on fun. I shot her a disparaging glance, then walked back over to Zane.
"Come on," he said, turning around. He walked so quickly, I had to pick up my pace to keep up with him.
"So, there's no possibility of you telling me where we're going?" I asked hopefully as we reached his car.
"None," he confirmed, opening the door for me. OK, that was admittedly... nice. But no way was I going to let that distract me.
"Why?" I slid into the front passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt. "It's a little late for me to go and blab, don't you think?"
"I just don't want you to get freaked out," he replied calmly, starting the car.
"Oh." Now I could feel my own heart speeding up, and I clenched and unclenched my hands into fists. "Should I worry about that?"
"Absolutely not." Zane gave me a long glance. "Like I said before, you're not in any danger as long as you're around me. I just wanted to go somewhere your Hunter friend wouldn't know of—somewhere no Hunters know of, so far."
"And you think that's supposed to help me?" I snapped, fear rising in my heart. "Being somewhere where you can-" I broke off.
"Bite you?" Zane finished, giving a humorless laugh. "I'm not thirsty. In fact, I had a drink last night, just so that you'd be safe. And yes, I have been planning to talk to you for a while, so don't bother to even ask."
There was a long pause I thought of what to say next. "Should I have been dressed up for this place?" My voice was dry.
Zane laughed again, this time with actual humor. "No, definitely not." He cast a glance at my ensemble-a black tank-top and jeans-and he shook his head. "Or maybe you should have been wearing a little more... Like a turtleneck, or something."
I raised my eyebrows. "A turtleneck? In this hea-" Then it dawned on me. "Oh. I'm showing too much throat?" I cast a glance down at my top. It didn't show off too much, but it was v-neck.
"Yes. Way too much." He briefly brushed his hand across my neck.
"Keep your hands on the road," I mumbled, looking down at my lap. "So... I'm guessing that wherever we're going has vampires?"
"Perhaps you're right."
Soon we were silently driving through one of the seedier parts of town, and I was biting my lip. This was beginning to look more dangerous by the moment. We came upon what looked like a large, old house that seemed to be in disrepair.
"Vampires tend to hang around here for fun," Zane explained in a low voice. "Hunters don't know about it... We take our Sirelings here for training, and such... and get a drink every now and then." I could feel him studying me.
"OK," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt. "I'll go-"
"Hold on." His arm was blocking me. "I'm going to check around the place before you can come out. Got it?"
No. He'd been controlling me way too much, and I was getting sick of it. But he'd never leave me alone unless I complied... "Got it."
Like a tiger, Zane got out of the car and shot off into the shadows. I waited for a moment, and then took in a deep breath. If he smelled me, he'd be so mad...
Still.
Opening the car door, I sprinted up to the door, the thrill of defiance shooting through my veins. To my surprise, the door was unlocked, and I walked inside.
I found myself in a place full of dust and crumbling furniture, like something you'd see in a historic site before they restored it. I'd guess the place to be from the 1920s, at the earliest.
Before I could stop myself, I was coughing from the dust that had filled my lungs. Man, this place needed some work.
"Look at her, Samuel... Nice-looking, enough, I suppose..."
Glancing up, I stopped coughing. Two guys stood only a few feet away from me—and trust me, they hadn't been there before. That, along with a pallor like Zane's, clued me in to the fact that they were probably vampires. And they probably were hearing my heart speed up.
One was thing and extremely tall, while the other was shorter and stockier. Though they were both handsome, neither were as incredibly beautiful as Zane. Their eyes-the tall one's were hazel, the stocky one's blue-were both darkened with what I knew was thirst.
"Oh, uh, hey!" I said, my voice overly bright. "Sorry about the whole coughing thing... This place is kinda dusty." Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me...
"Sure is." The lean one flashed his own long fangs. "I'm Thomas, sweetheart." He layered seduction onto his voice. "Why don't you come over here..."
"Um, no thanks." I took a step backwards towards the door. "I really should be going..."
"You're not going anywhere." The stocky one was suddenly at my side, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Did I mention that my name is Samuel? I think you heard us before..." He stroked my face, and I shivered.
"Look." I struggled at his strength, trying to get away. "Just let me go. I know what you are."
"Then we'll just have to share you, won't we?" Thomas leered, then grabbed his friend's shoulder. "I caught her scent first, Samuel. I should get the first taste."
"Actually, neither of you will get the first taste."
The voice seemed to come from overhead, and we all looked up. Zane was standing in the rafters, a casual look on his face. Gracefully, he jumped down, landing on his feet. Abruptly, his expression changed from civility to malice as he strode over to us. He grabbed Samuel's shoulders and pushed him against the wall before coming to stand in front of me.
"She's mine." The words were a possessive hiss, and his fangs slid out to their full length. His eyes were nearly black. "Get away."
"She's yours, Zane?" Thomas sneered, though there was caution in his eyes now. "Interesting. Pray tell, what happened to Claudia?"
Claudia? I glanced at Zane's face. The only sign of reaction was a flickering in his eyes. He knew Claudia. And from what I understood, she was 'his'. How, was the question. As Samuel took another step towards me, I found myself clutching Zane's arm. The muscle under his skin was tight and perfect—if my life wasn't in danger, I'd probably want to check him out a little bit more.
"Claudia and I are still on good terms," Zane replied calmly, smoothly.
"Nah." Samuel shook his head. "I doubt you could really give your human up for another. Or maybe you have both at once... Though that doesn't seem to be quite your style. What if we don't believe you?"
A smirk flashed across Zane's face. "I guess I'll have to fight you, then."
This seemed to stop Thomas and Samuel short. Thomas looked hesitant, while Samuel's face twisted in a snarl. He took a step forward, but his friend stopped him.
"Don't bother him. We can find another snack somewhere else." Still, neither of the moved for a moment. Still, Zane relaxed, straightening and slipping an arm around my waist.
"I'd prefer that you leave." His voice was pleasant now. "It would be the smartest thing to do, and you know it."
The two vampires exchanged a glance, and then they were gone, shooting off as only vampires do.
Shooting a look at Zane, I let go of his arm. He gave a wry half smile. "So, do you see what happens when you don't listen to me?"
I tilted my chin up. "I could have taken care of myself."
"And you could have suddenly decided to kiss one of them. Some things can happen, but they obviously won't." Shaking his head in amusement, he began to walk down the hall, gesturing for me to follow. "Tell me, what was your plan?"
"Um..." I had to think about that. All my thoughts had been a blur when faced by the two vamp thugs. "Run?"
"Oh, I see, run from two undead beings who thirst for your blood and have speed that surpasses that of... Well, anything natural." Zane's voice was oozing with sarcasm. "If that's one of the brilliant plans of Alex Blue, then I'm worried." There was a pause. "What's 'Alex' short for, anyway? You never gave me an answer on that."
"Alexandra," I muttered in reply, folding my arms over my chest and expected some convoluted insult for my name.
To my surprise, neither of those things happened. Instead, a small smile played on Zane's lips. "Alexandra. Dignified, simple. I like it."
"I'm glad you approve my name," I replied dryly. We had now reached a twisting staircase. It didn't look safe enough for a kitten, let alone a vampire and a human. "OK. No way am I walking up that thing. It'll probably collapse if I put one foot on it."
Zane gave an exasperated sigh. "Do you realize how frustrating you can be?"
"Yep, and I'm proud of it."
"Look," Zane said after a moment. "I'm going to make sure that you don't fall. We who visit this place have all gone up these stairs a million times, and they haven't collapsed yet. In fact, you saw me on the rafters, which are even more unsteady."
Meeting: Vampire Hunter Saga Book 1 Page 7