42nd & Lex

by Hofland, Bria

  “What’s going on? Where are you going?”

  “We’re going to check on our dear friend Serge,” Zaid answers with an evil grin.

  “Abri, you and Sarah must stay here. Amelia is protected under her Sodali bond from anything Serge might try. Neither of you have that luxury. We need someone to run interference for us at the front desk; otherwise she would be staying here as well,” Lucan adds before I can finish forming the thought in my head.

  “Run interference? Mark lives there, it’s not like you’re going to have to sneak in or anything.”

  “It’s not that we’re sneaking in as much as what we’re sneaking out.” Zaid is barely able to contain his excitement at the mission. “Lucan and I will take him to the Enclave for holding.”

  Vampire jail? Well, I guess that makes sense.

  Suddenly it feels like a full-scale military operation in Lucan’s living room. Mark is filling Zaid in on the location of Serge’s apartment and his hotel suite while Lucan makes a beeline for the storage area one floor below. He returns almost instantly with a briefcase worthy of holding nuclear launch codes. I assume it holds whatever tools might be necessary to subdue and transport Serge against his will.

  Lucan, Mark, Zaid, and Amelia take their leave of us and head down to the garage. I look at my watch. It is only eight o’clock. Sarah looks to be somewhere between enthralled and bewildered. I am only few weeks into the world of vampires, and Sarah only a few hours by comparison, neither one of us knows exactly what to say to the other in this situation. It’s going to be a long night.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  “This is it,” Zaid’s wife said from the front seat. She rolled down the window of the incredibly jacked up Hummer with beyond illegal window tint and smiled at the valet man. In an instant, she had convinced him the other members of her party were running upstairs to get something and would back in a few minutes. No need to park, she’d just idle it out by the curb.

  Mark had made himself scarce since moving in here with Serge so the doorman simply nodded as he opened the door without stopping to make idle chitchat.

  The men made their way to Serge’s room without a word spoken between them. Mark was calm and his mind clear thanks to Sarah's blood. He wanted to ask his vampire companions how long that would last but there would be time enough for that later. He settled for eyeing the metallic briefcase Lucan carried in this left hand, wondering what it contained. When the elevator signaled their arrival on the 43rd floor Mark took a deep breath and rummaged in his pocket for the brass key that would unlock the apartment’s door.

  “Let us go in first, mate,” Zaid commanded. “If he is up and around he’s going to be pissed and there’s not much he can do to us.”

  Relieved, Mark handed Zaid the key and stepped back. “It’s at the end of the hall, on the left. 43D.”

  Lucan patted Mark on the back “You can hang back here if you want.”

  “I'm good. How are you going to get him into the car without a fight?”

  “Silver and garlic lined handcuffs. If that doesn’t work, there’s always the Holy Water mace,” Zaid replied with a smile as he unlocked the door. “What else do you think he’s got in that briefca—?”

  The metallic tang of blood hit them in face like a ton of bricks, stopping Zaid mid punch line. Mark was slightly embarrassed that his fangs ran out in response, but that feeling was quickly replaced by fear. What the hell had Serge done and how had he done it? When Mark left Serge last night, he was a crippled, blind mess. He’d hardly made it down the hall from the elevator. Lucan and Zaid crouched into a predatory stance and surveyed the room.

  “I thought you said he hadn’t had any blood recently?” Lucan said at barely a whisper.

  “He hadn’t, as far as I know. I took his cell before I left last night. I don’t know who or how he could have gotten someone up here.”

  Lucan and Zaid moved forward into the apartment. The serious lack of furniture made it easy to see no one was hiding, waiting to pop up and rip out their throats. The blood smell was coming from the bedroom he’d left Serge in. Maybe the guy had done them a favor and finished bleeding out. They couldn’t be that lucky.

  The scene in the bedroom was enough to turn even Zaid’s stomach. Blood covered the walls, the bed, and the floor. It looked like the aftermath of a Quentin Tarantino movie. No Serge. Mark began to panic. The room felt like it was closing in on him and he broke out into a cold sweat. He was so dead. Serge would find him and see to that. Or worse, that motherfucker knew where Lucan lived thanks to him, and Sarah was sitting in the man’s living room.

  Zaid snapped him back to reality with a quick shake of his shoulders. “We need to search around the flat. I can smell at least three distinct blood signatures here, at least one of them vampire, but it’s hard to tell with all the mixing going.”

  Lucan set down the briefcase and cracked it open. It was full of weapons and a very large syringe filled with a greenish substance. No garlic handcuffs. Mark was still thinking of what the syringe might hold when Lucan palmed him a Glock. “Can you shoot?” he asked.

  “I'm from Texas,” Mark replied with a smile he didn’t really feel. “Of course I can shoot.”

  “Good, at least I won’t have to worry about you shooting yourself in the foot or something. The bullets are laced with a tranquilizer that only works on vampires so careful not to shoot Zaid or me, or yourself for that matter. I'm not sure what effect it would have on you.”

  Mark nodded. He was somewhat surprised at how nice Lucan was to him considering he’d once stalked his girlfriend—and by once he meant a few weeks ago. Either the guy didn’t hold a grudge or he liked to keep his enemies closer and didn’t mind if they were armed.

  Mark gripped the gun in his hand, getting used to its weight. He had shot competitively in college and it felt good to trust himself with something so dangerous again. Well, other than whatever lethality his own body was capable of, not that he fully trusted that yet.

  Who knew all it would take was a little blood. He could kick himself for not trying that sooner. Of course, he’d have probably been too scared to take it from anyone other than Sarah. And God forbid, if he had, he might have fallen in with Serge’s brutality. A low growl emerged from his throat and he heard Zaid laugh in approval.

  Refocusing his clarity, Mark turned back to the task at hand. The three men fanned out to search the empty apartment. Mark headed for the living room with Zaid and then into the kitchenette alone. It was just as he’d left it, actually. Nothing outside of the bedroom was out of place. Of course there wasn’t that much in the apartment to get in the way of a physical struggle and as a vampire, even injured, Serge would be able to overpower a human without even breaking a sweat. There were no bodies, no evidence of how the blood came to be in the apartment. Lucan found a trail of blood droplets leading from the bedroom and followed them out to the terrace. The trail stopped on top of the waist-high wall that surrounded the balcony on three sides. Serge was gone.

  ***

  Sarah and I settle on watching some rom-com starring Jennifer Aniston to pass the time. My stomach is protesting the lack of dinner so we devour a few bags of microwave popcorn and a couple of king sized Hershey bars while Jen blathers on about her love life.

  “So is it always this dramatic being with a…” her voice trails off.

  “Vampire?” I finish. “Yes and no. Things were pretty calm and slow before Serge took a liking to me but since he showed up it’s been nonstop. I’m sure everything’s going to be fine. Zaid is a professional.” I blanch at how easily that comes out of my mouth, as if I have just recommended my accountant to her. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” Sarah replies shocked that I have a question she can answer.

  “Was it different last night…being together?” I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. “I mean…from the last time, from before?”

  “God, yes,” she breathes. “I’ve wanted to ask you about it, but I was af
raid you’d think I was making it up. It was still the same Mark, but different, better.”

  “Us too. I can’t describe what’s different about it but it’s so—” I am cut off by the sound of my phone ringing across the room. I dash over to retrieve it, relieved to see Lucan’s number on the screen. “Hey Lucan. That was fast.”

  “Lock the doors to the stairwell and pull the emergency stop on the elevator.” His voice is quick and efficient.

  “What! Why?”

  “He’s gone, Abri. There’s blood everywhere and he’s gone. It must have been a maintenance worker or a delivery person with the wrong apartment number. Someone came to the apartment and he slaughtered them. We are on our way back now. Don’t open the door for any reason. If you hear anything get in the bathroom and lock the door. There is a gun on the top shelf in the closet.”

  I want to ask how I will know the difference between Lucan letting himself in and Serge breaking in, but I can’t verbalize the thought so I just say okay and be careful. When I hang up the phone I can't hide the terror on my face. “They didn’t find him. He killed someone and he’s gone. We’ve got to lock the doors.”

  Suddenly the floor to ceiling windows and wide-open spaces of Lucan’s apartment look deadly rather than beautiful. I want to be back in my tiny apartment where the only ways in and out are the door and the fire escape. Sarah springs from the couch and follows me to the elevator. I pull the stop while she throws the locks on the stairwell door.

  “Is there any other place he can get in?” she asks.

  “No. I mean, at least I don’t think so.” Surely, Serge can’t climb up the side of the building and through the tiny window we have yet to replace.

  ***

  Mark, Lucan, and Zaid walked as nonchalantly as they could back to through the hotel lobby. Mark envied the people milling about, completely oblivious to the carnage that just occurred a couple of dozen floors above. They would go about their lives without knowing something of the sort was even possible, that vampires even existed. He was jealous of their ignorance.

  The temptation to ruminate on the unfairness in his life was cut short by the weight of the pistol tucked into the waistband of his slacks. He wasn’t ignorant and never would be again; and in this situation, knowing your enemy was probably better than ignorance. He’d spent countless hours with Serge in the last few months, surely that gave him an advantage. The guy was predictable in his unpredictability. He looked out for number one more than anyone Mark had ever met. Even the blood lust wouldn’t leave him making stupid decisions. He would know his physical limitations and avoid any situation where they could be exploited.

  “Wait,” Mark said as quietly as he could given their location. “What if he went back to my hotel room? I left work and picked up Sarah to come to your place, I haven’t been home since this morning.”

  “I'm on it,” Zaid said. “I’ll check it out and then head over to the park. I’d bet ten denari that’s where he’s at, looking for his next meal.” With a muttered curse, Zaid turned and headed back to the elevator bank.

  Lucan began explaining what they’d found to Amelia as soon as he opened the door to the Hummer without Zaid at his side.

  “He’s gone. Killed at least two people, drained them most likely, and fled. Zaid is checking Mark’s hotel suite and the park. Given his injuries, it wouldn’t be enough blood to fully heal him, just enough to make him mobile and dangerous. He’s going to be looking for another victim. We need to get back to my place fast.”

  The look of worry on her face made Mark sick to his stomach. He guessed Zaid was more than capable of handling Serge, or anything else that came his way, but he could understand the concern for the one you loved. He would die if anything happened to Sarah.

  “Will he be ok?” Mark asked to no one in particular.

  “Aye. Zaid is a tracker. He will find Serge and bring him in. He was tracking you after you came to visit Abri,” Lucan replied, matter-of-factly.

  Maybe he didn’t get over things so easily. “Sorry about that. Really.”

  “Just stating facts, my friend. No hard feelings, truly. Now let’s get back. We have no real idea how long he’s been out here.”

  With that, Amelia peeled out onto the main street and blew through a red light. “Careful,” Lucan reminded her. “This isn’t Rome. We’ll get pulled over here for driving like maniacs. I don’t want to explain the weapons to one of NYPD’s finest.”

  Mark let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and flopped back against the seat. Things had changed so much since he left the courtroom Monday morning: He had Sarah back. Serge was hopefully on his way to being dead. The people he’d thought would be his enemies were now his friends. And he’d figured out that he might be able to continue on a normal life path, so long as Sarah was willing to give him blood.

  Serge was still a piece of shit, but Mark could see hope on the horizon. Zaid and Lucan were doing all right with human women so it was at least possible. A smile, totally inappropriate given the circumstances, crept across Mark’s face.

  ***

  Serge was tired of hiding out. After his fortunate run in with the lost maintenance workers Serge had left the rented apartment headed to Mark’s suite. Mark wasn’t there and he could smell the scent of a human woman mixed with Mark’s stench. Maybe the idiot had finally figured out he could drink live blood instead of eating raw meat.

  Mark had taken his card key so Serge was forced to find shelter somewhere else. No doubt that tracker would get wind of the blood bath he’d created and be on his trail. Eventually, someone would find the bodies stuff into the A/C duct as well but he didn’t give a shit about that.

  Serge headed for his apartment. He hadn’t been back there since Mark moved into the Essex. That tracker had been inside, but not recently. Of course the Enclave would give their hired muscle his address. Mark knew where he lived too but there was no way that guy would be looking for him after he found the mess in the apartment.

  The blood of two full-grown men had done wonders for him. His sight was better and his hand was on its way to reforming. This was cause for celebration. Serge showered and changed into clothes he usually reserved for club going. He was feeling invincible. Even if he had to wear an old pair of prescription sunglasses from when he was human to help him see and keep questions about his jacked up eyes to a minimum.

  Serge hiked the ten blocks to the garage where he stored his Mustang and then headed downtown to his favorite bar. The same bar he’d met Mark in. There was always a steady crowd of lonely drunks ready to strike up a conversation with a friendly stranger. Ready to take a spin in his suped up ride. Ready to die.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  “Abri, I'm really starting to freak out.” We’ve been pacing the floor of Lucan’s bathroom for the last twenty minutes waiting for the guys to return.

  “It will be all right, they should be back any minute. Serge certainly knows where Lucan lives but he’s never made an attempt to come here in the past. I think he’s afraid of Lucan.”

  “I feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn’t been such a bitch to Mark last summer, he wouldn’t have been in that bar and he’d never met Serge. He wouldn’t be a Halfling and your boyfriend wouldn’t be out trying to kill this guy to protect you.”

  “Unfortunately, I’d have still met Serge. He parked our car the first night I went out with Lucan. Even without Mark, our paths would have crossed. The fact that he made Mark and you hired me to be your divorce attorney is really just a sick coincidence.”

  My phone buzzes with a text from Lucan: “We’re on our way up.”

  Sarah and I venture out of the bathroom just as Lucan, Mark, and Amelia trudge up the stairs. We are going to need a little bit more security in this place if Zaid doesn’t find Serge tonight. Lucan’s flimsy bathroom door is not enough protection from a rabid, half-blind vampire.

  Amelia looks up from her phone. “Zaid says it didn’t look like he’d been to your room,
Mark. He’s checking out the park and Serge’s place again. He will check back in later.”

  “Good. Mark, you and Sarah should stay here tonight. I have a couple of guestrooms downstairs,” Lucan offers. “I would not be surprised if Serge comes looking for you. He’s bound to know the Enclave will be coming for him and you’re his only ally.”

  Mark and Sarah agree to the accommodations and Lucan shepherds them back down the stairwell to give them the tour. The guestrooms each have a queen-sized bed and a bathroom with a walk in shower but no giant tub. “Goodnight,” I call out. “Let us know if you need something.”

  Amelia is at the kitchen table obsessively checking her phone for news from Zaid. “I wish I had stayed home, but nooo, I wanted to visit New York,” she says to no one in particular.

  “He’ll be fine, Amelia.” I sit down across from her and fiddle with the edge of a placemat to occupy my nervous energy. “He’s done this hundreds of times, right?”

  “Yes, but every time is like the first time and I worry about him. He hasn’t taken an assignment in a few years. I know he accepted this one because it was Lucan asking.” She doesn’t say it to make me feel guilty but I do.

  “Just stay here tonight and if he calls we will take you back to the hotel. If you’re still here in the morning I’ll get up and make us a huge human breakfast.”

  Amelia gives me a tired smile. “Thanks, Abri. The hotel is just a few blocks away, I’ll be all right. Serge has no idea who I am so I should be safe.”

  With that, she pushes in her chair and heads for the stairwell. I silently thank God that it is not Lucan out there looking for that maniac. Although I’m not completely sure he won’t go out after his friend once he puts the humans to bed. “Text Lucan when you get to the hotel,” I call to her as the stairwell doors swings shut behind her.