Day Dreamer (Undeadly Secrets Book 2)

by Aaron L Speer

  “Have to be quicker than—”

  But he was, uppercutting her to the ground.

  “Have to be smarter than—”

  Finally, Dante saw his chance, and thrust his hands around Luca’s throat, lifting him high into the air.

  “You don’t have to die. Just tell us what we want to know.”

  “Just kill him!” Melina spat out blood, advancing.

  “Ok! Ok!” Luca tapped Dante’s hand. “My stash is inside, it’s all I have got.”

  “Who told you to sell to humans? After you take your cut, where does the rest go?” Dante said.

  “Like I’m going to tell you…”

  Dante struck an elbow to his head, splitting the flesh open just under his left eye. Melina smiled. Dante ignored her eagerness.

  “Try again?”

  Luca did not answer him, just struggling for release.

  “Oh my god, you suck at this!” Melina marched over. “Move,” she said, standing next to Dante and gripped Luca’s groin with the ferocity of an eagle with a fox in its talons. Within seconds, the tips of her fingers moistened with blood.

  Luca screamed in agony and croaked, “Julian.”

  “No fucking way…” Melina released her grip.

  “I sell where Vincent tells me. He tops me up every few weeks. At first I started dealing through Coffinail, but then there were rumours going around that a vamp tried it out with his human. Word spread. Soon I found out people were buying off me and then selling it to humans because they have much better and quicker access to cash. The humans think this is just the latest drug craze. It started out as a simple cash cow, but it’s getting out of control. I only have a small network but every dealer I know seems to have it. Money is changing hands so fast no one can keep up.”

  Melina closed her eyes. “Of course, how could I have been so stupid?”

  Dante dropped Luca in a heap. “Talk to me…”

  “It all makes sense. The drugs and the money. Vincent has been losing money for years. It was obvious to me, but he was too proud to admit it and Julian would never hear anything against himself or his father. They must’ve came up with this together. Julian always made it seem like he and Vincent were an on seller, a distributor just like this piece of shit.” Melina waved a hand at Luca. “It seemed like they were supplying for the mansion only. They aren’t just a link in the chain, they are the reason this shit exists. Everything comes back to them.”

  Dante pressed a fist to his mouth. Staring at the ground, he asked, “When did you first hear about Dream State? When Alex, Michelle and I were at the mansion to be sentenced?”

  Melina nodded. “About then, roughly. Why?”

  “That’s around the time I found the sample of werewolf blood.”

  “Yes! I asked Julian about the wolves and Dream State, but the limp-dicked bastard brushed me off. I thought they were here because they wanted a piece of it.”

  “I asked Vincent about them. He told me they never arrived.”

  “It’s bullshit. I heard that baby vamp with the big tits found a group of humans that were looking for their wolf comrades. They had your blonde’s ex with them.”

  “So there is a wolf contingent and a human one, sent as a back-up or rescue. Vincent lied. Not that I am surprised. He must’ve captured the wolves when they were to meet with him.”

  “He’s got them in the mansion…” Melina clicked her fingers, realisation dawning on her face. “Behind that ugly door. That’s what I was hearing! That’s what woke me up. I was hearing them behind the walls.”

  “That could be where he is making it. He must be using werewolf blood in its manufacture. Perhaps that’s what he needs to spark a vampire brain.”

  Melina licked her fingers. “Makes sense. Vincent hates wolves and humans. He wouldn’t care how many dogs he has to use and put down to solidify his power. As for humans, he is now rolling in money because of their stupid deadly addiction. Vampires are immune. It’s a win-win.”

  “He will pay for this.”

  “He will pay?” Luca groaned. “He will? You are delusional. It doesn’t matter that you stopped me. Someone else will take my place. Dream State is out and the humans will buy it even if it is known what it does to people. That’s how stupid they are. Face it, Hansel and Gretel. The witch will win.”

  With a roar, Dante smashed his entire body into Luca and both men landed on the ground, Dante was on top of Luca, teeth deep in his neck, clasping his scalp viciously and sucking hard.

  He sat up. “You want some?”

  Melina grabbed his shirt and pulled him up to her lips. She kissed and licked his mouth, smacking her lips and pushing him down to his arse when she was done. “Not bad. But I’ve got an idea…”

  Melina skipped her way to the buildings entrance, ripped the front door off its hinges and returned to Dante, bringing it down onto Luca’s neck. His head popped off like a pellet with a single strike.

  “And that is how it’s done, kids.”

  Dante took off inside the building. Within a minute he had found the stash of Dream State, in the oven of all places, in the upstairs kitchen. Maybe there was more, but it wouldn’t matter. He ripped the main gas line from its socket, releasing it into the room. He picked up a bottle of canola oil spray and placed it inside the microwave. He punched in three minutes on the timer, set it to high. Not taking any chances, he leapt from the window, straight down next to Melina. “Let’s not linger.”

  Melina heard him and bolted to the car, thankfully not questioning him. They raced along the highway, past the airport, when the first of several rapid explosions cannoned into the night, leaving a brief mushroom cloud of fire in the Maserati’s wake.

  Dante himself looked back in the rear view mirror. “That’s how it’s done, kids.”

  “Remember,” Melina pointed a forefinger covered in glistening blood at his face. “This doesn’t mean I like you.”

  Chapter 32

  Please Forgive Me

  As night descended on Sydney, T was just coming alive with the build-up for the St. Andrew’s – Westmead Ball. This year, the ball had become more significant to everyone involved.

  Later, the staff of T would hold a private memorial for Will Hefley and Amanda Riles, the two that had lost their lives earlier in the week due to overdosing. The sudden loss of two cherished friends hit the club hard, and Dante had closed the club temporarily for the first time in its history. Regulars had still come now and then, waiting outside the club just in case there was a change, but it was not to be. The ball would be the much debated reopening.

  Dante was caught in a difficult situation, a clear rock and a hard place. Was it too soon to open? Some of his staff thought so and told him to his face. On the other hand, what more could be done for the dead now, except wallow in questions that will never be answered, lives that would never be lived and the unfairness of it all.

  A gigantic welcome banner was erected over the entrance to T, which Dante had signed and added the phrase “Honouring The Fallen”. He wanted the night to become not only a celebration but a commemoration. A vow that hope and strength would always rule over tragedy and fear.

  Death was a part of life, and he should know. But when it was senseless…meaningless…for an immortal creature that cared for humans, it was a bitter pill to swallow. He had debated cancelling the ball, wasting months of hard work the students had put into preparation, as well as costing thousands of dollars in public relations for both the Westmead Hospital and St. Andrew’s in the process. People wanted the club to re-open, they wanted the ball to take place. So in the end, he decided to use the opportunity to remember Amanda and Will.

  Dante viewed the staff and students of St. Andrews through the two-way mirror of his office, high above T. He would’ve liked to have gone down and greeted them, but the ubiquitous camera phones kept him at bay. The last thing he needed was photos and selfies appearing on social media with him supposed to be in them, yet always mysteriously missing w
hat with that whole vampires-being-unable-to-be-seen-by-manmade-surveillance-devices thing.

  T was the biggest target of the new “blame game” in what the papers called The Sleeping Plague, victims old and young dying in their sleep. The connection between working for a nightclub and a drug overdose was hard to ignore and rumours abounded that perhaps the increasingly popular T had a lot to do with the new drug craze gaining momentum. Will and Amanda were the latest additions to the growing list of alarming deaths. Newspapers called up T staff members at odd hours of the day, offering money for interviews. Photographers followed them too. This was the first scandal the club had faced in its short existence and everyone was anxious or at least curious to see how adaptable Dante Delavega was.

  By seven-thirty that evening, as the students and staff began to arrive in droves, the change in atmosphere outside the club had been substantial. Tense and sombre had become jovial and light-hearted. Some of the press had remained, but most had left. People had gathered on the opposite side of the street with cameras to catch some of the action. Staff of the school and hospital had gotten into the mood of the night. Giant hats, wigs, and ties were spotted, but the real sight was the younger brigade. They turned up as movie and TV show characters, fairies, leprechauns, angels and demons, pirates, and so on.

  “Come in,” he answered to a knock at the office door.

  Though he kept his face straight, it was the twitch of his nose that made him turn, raising him out of his stupor. Gooseberry. “Alexandra…”

  Dante closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, closing the door for her. She stood in front of him with a bunch of flowers, the cellophane glinting under the dim light.

  “I read about your staff members in the paper. I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you. You didn’t have to bring these all the way up to me, though. There was a collection booth in the front.”

  “I know, I saw. These are for you.”

  “For me?”

  “Yeah,” Alex scratched the back of her head as if distracted. “Hope you don’t think it’s weird getting flowers from a girl?”

  “It’s not weird at all. They’re beautiful.”

  Alex gave a brief smile as Dante took them. “I can’t say anything to fix it, but I just wanted you to know how sorry I am, and that I’m here if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Alexandra.”

  “And,” she started, before pausing as if thinking of the right way to continue. “That’s not all I’m sorry for. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. About us, and what happened that last time we spoke…”

  “Alexandra, you don’t have to—”

  Alex put her hand up and moved closer. “Please don’t. I need to do this. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never acted like that. And I don’t want you to think less of me because of it.”

  “I don’t. You have thoughts, feelings and desires that were not being met. It’s only natural.”

  “It’s not just that. I had expectations. Based on what I knew about your time with Michelle. I thought that sex was what always happens between a vampire and their donor. I was worried that I would need to, just so the bite wouldn’t be so painful. I was nervous about being so intimate with you, being naked with you. And then you put me at ease. The bite wasn’t really that bad. In a weird way…I like it. You were just as naked as me, and you being calm, helped me. So after everything else being settled and very enjoyable, that just left the sex. I found myself curious as to why it wasn’t happening. Then I wanted it, especially after the dreams. All these pent up feelings and emotions, just got the better of me. I thought maybe there was something wrong. I know better now.”

  “You do? But…you said before that you wanted me. Has that changed?”

  “No. I still want you. I think I always will. And I’m not of the opinion that if I grow old without being married with kids it’s a wasted life. I might want that one day, I might not. But I do understand that you are trying to clear the path for me just in case. Maybe I’m not ready to sleep with you and vice versa. All I’m hoping, is that if the time comes when we are both ready, that you respect me enough to allow me to make my own choices, and not choose for me. You’re right, what we have is special. It’s also confusing and complicated. In the meantime…”

  Alex took him by the hand and led him towards the red leather couch in the middle of the room, where, on more than one occasion, Dante had listened to her, massaged her feet and put her at ease when she’d been distressed.

  She gave a gentle push so he sat and sunk into the softness. Alex took his hand and kissed his palm, before letting it go. She removed her top and bra, flinging it to the desk, kicking off her shoes and stepping out of her jeans and panties. There was no tension from her, no tears like last time. Dante sensed a need to be close. A loneliness. A longing to be touched. All things he knew quite well, as he wanted them too. Standing in front of him, she pulled her hair free from her pony tail and said. “I made a promise to you and I haven’t kept it. You look awful. And I…”

  “Go on.”

  For the first time, Dante heard a thickness in her voice. “I miss you.”

  “And I you.”

  Alex raised one knee and placed it by his side, then the other. She sat on his thighs and waited. She placed her fingers through his hair, scrunching them. “You’ve always taken care of me. Let me do the same for you. I want you to touch me. I want you to drink…”

  Dante inhaled the gooseberry scent in deep, running his fingers over the milky white of her skin. She leaned in close, planting soft pecks along his forehead, bringing her taught nipples in front of his eyes and the sound of her pulse even closer. The blood in her veins was calling to him as it pumped life and warmth through her young, supple body.

  Dante closed his eyes and ran his nose and lips across the face of one breast to the other, gripping her hips, breathing out over them, kissing them lightly. His fangs dropped without a sound, yet Alex seemed to sense he was ready, and positioned herself lower. Dante held her, one hand cradling her jaw, the other caressing and gripping her rear, finding her relaxed and at ease, though she shuddered and groaned as he bit into her neck. The warm, delicious stickiness pooled and then flowed into his mouth. He rocked her backwards and drank deep, letting her moans guide him as to when she had enough. Though that wouldn’t be for a few minutes yet.

  Chapter 33

  Tonight’s The Night

  “Cheers.” Nick chinked his glass with Nicole’s and they both sipped. Nick leaned back into her sofa, looking at her side on. She wore a cotton skirt and jumper that covered only one shoulder, leaving the other bare and gleaming. Shadows of the flames danced over her olive skin as she peered over her glass at him, smiling and at complete ease. “Thank you for coming and for this.”

  She swapped the glass at her mouth for the red rose Nick had brought along, carefully inhaling it.

  “You’re very welcome. I hope it isn’t too much.”

  “Of course not, why would it be? It’s beautiful. But don’t think buttering me up will stop me from asking the hard questions, mister.”

  Nick gave a huge calming breath. “Ask away.”

  “For starters, something easy. How did you get a bottle of wine when you’re not eighteen?”

  Nick held his hands up. “I’m innocent on this. This was all Aunt Margaret. She asked me what I was bringing and I said nothing. She put her hands on her hips and informed me that ‘anyone who shows up to a woman’s house without wine is not a real man.’ So there you have it.”

  “God love her. But tell her she has great taste. This shiraz is delicious.” Nicole took a big sip.

  And you, my dear are simply resplendent.

  Fuck off! Do not ruin this! She’s finally relaxing around me! I really like her, and I will not be your puppet.

  No Nicholas, you are no one’s puppet anymore except yourself. I cannot make you do things. I can tell you are becoming a man. You are where you s
hould be; alone with her. Why would I ruin a perfect moment?

  “And how are you doing with…the school and everything?”

  “I’m doing ok,” Nicole nodded. “Really. Sure I was pissed when I was told that I should forget what Miller had done, again. The inappropriate touching. Which I absolutely refused to do. If I’m being honest, it felt great belting him. That Raven Apartments bitch really got under my skin too. It took a lot of restraint for me not to throttle her. And I’m not even a violent person. I was worried she would cause me trouble, and even when it did, I had a little why me moment, but I got over that. Everything that happened was my choice, and I’d do it again. I tend to over think things, but I’m glad I went on my instinct. I’ll see whatever avenues are available to me and go from there.”

  “Zach is lucky to have someone watching over him. That poor kid is clearly having a hard life, and it seems like his father isn’t really around to help him.”

  “I wish I could do more for Zach, but now I can’t see him. I know something is going on over there.”

  “If you need me to help, just ask.”

  Nicole patted his hand and shook her head. “Nothing you can do right now for Zach. Thank you for the offer, and if circumstances there change, well… I’ll let you know.” She shrugged, then drained her glass and reached for the wine bottle to refill it. “Now comes what I want to ask. I want you to be as honest with me as possible. About this werewolf thing.”

  Nick gulped. “Ok…shoot.”

  “Do you mean, an actual werewolf? Teeth, claws and all that?”

  Be honest Nicholas. A leap of faith to someone that means you no harm. Nick took a second. “Yes. I mean in the literal sense.”

  Nicole kept her glass close to her chin. Her expression was calm, her following question was quiet. “Why did your father get killed?”