Dangerous Days

by C. L. Quinn

  She hadn’t moved her finger from his lips. Knowing full well he shouldn’t, Saul gently grabbed it and pulled it into his mouth. “What if I don’t want to get past it?”

  He didn’t.

  Eyes lingering on her finger as he nipped at it, Dani finally lifted her gaze to his. “Well, uh, it’s never a good idea to work and fuck together, so no, Saul. No. Uh…”

  Tugging her finger back, Dani pulled the driver’s side door wide. “Get some sleep, buddy.”

  “All right. If that is how you would like to leave this.”

  “It is.”

  “Goodnight, then. I hope you sleep well. I hope I don’t have that same dream about you that I did yesterday. Or do I?”

  “Dream?”

  “Yeah. I dreamed I came to you at Jack’s house. The sun was just dropping, but of course, in dreams vampires don’t immolate. Let’s just say that we got comfortable on your bed.”

  Surprised that Dani looked so stunned, Saul shook his head. “It’s okay, it faded before we did anything. Damn it. All right, Dani, we are nothing more than associates. If you ever want to discuss other possibilities, let me know. Good night. Sleep well.”

  He didn’t see Dani still standing in her open car door as he went back into The Northern Sun.

  So he remembered the dream too; he just didn’t realize that he really had dream-walked into her sleeping mind, and that what they’d done together, for any real purpose, had been true.

  Too much to deal with. Time to sleep.

  Four

  “It’s time to begin. All six are finally together. Four versus six. Appropriate odds.”

  Felix sighed. “God! Finally! Can we get finished with these hunters and get out of this fucking burp of a city?”

  Quattro leaned from his throne-like chair, his eyes moving slowly, deliberately, from Felix to Peele to Monsta, stopping at each for long seconds. His brothers-in-arms; the other three to his fourth as the leader of the Four Horsemen.

  “Fee, fee, fee,” he moaned as his eyes came back to his second in command. “Where’s the grace in that? We meet them on the battlefield at an appointed time. The universal powers will decide when and where, and they will be present to witness the battle of the ages. Have we ever had such worthy opponents? Warriors of equality to meet us on that ground? Two first bloods, to challenge the very core of our natures. Two women harnessing skills and powers they do not even understand, a human who carries within her magics bound to the earth and sky, who should not be capable. A newly made vampire that binds them all. No, Felix, we are not ready yet to leave.”

  “Well motherfuck me.”

  “You keep your gaze too far down the road, you miss the true journey, my friend.”

  Quattro stood and addressed the lounging horsemen.

  “It is a moment of glory to face those who can meet us without an assured loss. Does the cat not find greater joy in playing with his mouse than ending its life? Sport and glory, my friends, that is what we will reap when we defeat opponents who have the chance to win.”

  Rolling his head to look around the long-abandoned factory they’d holed up in for most of the past month, Peele coughed as he swallowed half a bottle of beer. “So does that at least mean we get to never see this ass-end of nowhere again? Can we at least get some decent lodgings, Quattro?”

  “That I cannot promise since we will be moving soon. As you know, I am tuned into the human with earth magics through my own. I still find it fascinating that we share that connection with the living planet. She is preparing to leave this area. On a hunter’s mission, I imagine. This shall begin our dance. Once I discover where they travel, there will be a fatalistic meet and greet to determine how this will unravel. I am beyond excited, my friends. Are you?”

  Felix had served as his centuries-long friend. Quattro had always been the natural leader in their travels and conquests. His loyalty and devotion had been tested and proved long ago. He owed nothing to Quattro and yet followed him without question. Still…

  Yet Felix nodded his agreement.

  “I’m with you, my brother, but I still don’t understand the boundless nature of this battle you feel determined must happen. I mean, yes, they are a threat, and we should eliminate them, but why we don’t just go in, one by one, and kill them, I cannot imagine. You realize that with their combined talents, if we give up the element of surprise, if we take them on at once, we have a much less chance of victory. Or survival. They’re killing vampires who don’t walk their narrow line of propriety. And Quattro, we don’t.”

  “Yeah, boss, if there are two first bloods like you guys in the group, what makes you think we’ll win?”

  Shaking his head, Quattro caught each vampire’s gaze. “Boys, boys. The game is worth the price. How dull would our lives be if we only went for the kill, the easy way, the coward’s way. Better to face a worthwhile opponent and test your mettle than lie on our easily gained laurels, eh? Peele, yes, there are two first bloods with the hunters, but that is what makes this a challenge. We live many lives in the centuries we are granted. There must be adventures and skirmishes to fire the blood and fill the soul. This, my friends, is providence. We are meant to meet head to head, fist to fist, steel to steel, face to face.”

  Quattro lifted his arms straight out to his side, raising his eyebrows up and down with a wide grin. “It’s going to be fun, huh?”

  He laughed then, and searched each of the three men around him to assess if they were up to the task. Of that he wasn’t sure, but that the fight would happen was ordained.

  Quattro couldn’t wait.

  “I’m with you all the way.” Monsta stood, his arms out just as Quattro’s were. “Let me at ‘em.”

  “That will happen, but first, we meet on neutral ground and watch our opponents in their native habitats.”

  Felix snagged a full bottle of Japanese whisky bottled at the last turn of the century. “Well, then, I guess when we rise, we fly.”

  As he turned away, Quattro’s hand slid down to press against the fullness of his pants. At just the thought of meeting the little earth warrior face to face, he was already rising.

  In a small town outside Los Angeles

  “Oh, Jack, couldn’t you have found more obnoxious rooms?”

  “Hey, I tried. There isn’t anything nicer here in Bugsville. The only windowless dwellings were this or downtown L.A., which is an ungodly busy city.”

  Kwano weighed in. “The hunters work out of this little city, and that’s our job, so let’s suck it up, and do the work. Besides, this isn’t that bad. I lived in a place a lot like this the first time I came to the U.S. about a hundred years ago.”

  “Okay, but this is rattier than where my brother and I lived when we grew up in Louisiana, and we were dirt poor.”

  “You did all right for yourself.”

  “Thanks to the fact that we were both brilliant and blessed with supernatural skills.”

  “And we’re thrilled with that, because it all brought you to us. Which is exactly where you should be.”

  “Aw, Jack, you say the sweetest things.”

  “Yeah, that will come back and bite you in the ass sometime soon, Dan.”

  Sanquinetta had just come back from scoping the area and plopped a box of beer and six large bags of processed chips onto an old wood table with scarred paint that she assessed was at least 50 years old. “Here’s second meal. They don’t have a food printer in this lovely backwater hotel, and the nearest restaurant is ten miles from here. How about we have these chips and beer and then when we wake tonight, we’ll go to a bar I saw and get some good old-fashioned junk food?”

  Everyone was tired enough to agree. They’d arrived with six hours of darkness left, so after they checked into the hotel, stashed their items safely (Kwano had spelled their rooms so they were invisible to anyone other than first bloods), had scouted the hunter’s headquarters, cementing their plans, and returned to the safety of their three interior rooms for shelter and rest.
/>
  Evaleigh was already on her bed, a light blanket pulled up. She hadn’t joined the crew on their recon of the area since she stayed behind to set up her computer system to provide support for the mission.

  She lifted her head. “Chips and beer? Bring me some, please. I’ve got all my work done for the night. All the profiles are cataloged; I just need your onsite interviews and updates. I did find someone we’d missed. It appears that Raoul had a two year affair with a woman who runs a medical dispensary downtown L.A. She isn’t a physician, but manages the day to day operation. It is very likely he’s told her about his work.”

  “Good job, Eva. Send the specs to my tablet and I’ll check her out.” Kwano loved wandering through the outrageously busy streets of Los Angeles. Now that he had spent so much time in the U.S., the dynamic nature of people here captivated him. In Zambia, in their village, they saw the same people every day, and while he loved his family and friends with all his heart, everything here seemed brighter, more intriguing, deeply visceral to the core of his human nature. He immersed himself in people, his nose in their business, his ears perked up to listen to those wonderful snippets of other people’s lives as he passed them on the streets.

  “That’s settled.” Sanquinetta caught everyone’s attention again. “The bags are all different flavors so I’m going to place them all in the center of this table and you just choose whatever you want. Then we’ll retire to our rooms. Kwano, did you spell all three?”

  “Of course. Let me know when you’re ready to return to yours.”

  Once spelled, only first blood or someone with a special amulet could find the rooms, so Kwano, and now Saul, would be able to guide them inside their spelled rooms.

  Dani glanced at Saul, who she had greeted with a smile before they left tonight and had not looked at since, until now. Straddling a cheap wooden chair, Saul looked like a much better meal to her than the limited buffet San was setting out. His position exposed the thick muscles on his arms, leaning over the back of the chair facing everyone, his big legs spread wide to span the chairs seat. It took every ounce of willpower not to let her gaze drop between them. When he looked at her and caught her staring, Dani abruptly shifted her eyes toward Sanquinetta.

  “All right, my friends, here’s dinner!”

  Before anyone else got to the table, she’d already filled a plate with some of each of the different chips and grabbed a bottle of cold beer. “Somehow I knew I’d still be eating like a kid when I was all grown up.”

  Dani kept her attention on the table. “My brother and I used to say the same thing. We would dream of the day when we’d crawl into our beds with packages of cookies, cakes, and candy, and no one would stop us.”

  “The great dream of all children. And here we are.”

  Saul watched this unlikely mix of humans and vampires prepare to change the lives of humans who hunted vampires. As bizarre as it seemed, he’d blended so perfectly when he was here earlier this year, a place where he’d found family for the first time in his considerably long life. Having been away for four months, now, it felt a little like he was starting anew. Their experiences were vastly different than his had been. Even the close relationship he had been developing with Jack and Sanquinetta felt strained. Kwano had joined them just before he left so he and the African first blood had never had a chance to bond. Dani hadn’t been part of the team at that time. He hated feeling like an interloper.

  Fingers curled over his arm, and Saul looked up. Jack stood near, his touch comforting, not only because he was a good friend, but because the sire connection was strong and he sensed Saul’s unease.

  “Saul, it’ll come around. Give our new dynamic time.”

  Jack’s gaze followed Saul’s to Dani, now filling her own plate with San’s offering of chips. “Her too. She’s an incredible hunter. You’ll come to enjoy her charm and sense of humor.”

  That’s the problem, Saul thought. I already do. If Jack had any idea…

  “I can see that. Thanks, buddy. Hey, can you bring me a plate when you grab one?”

  Nodding, Jack headed toward the table. Saul couldn’t help himself, he kept watching Dani as she laughed at something Eva said. It was up to him to control this situation and make it comfortable for her, which meant keeping it cool and casual. Which was a problem his cock continued to struggle with.

  After rising at sunset, Kwano bid everyone goodbye and good luck as he prepared to take the local tube to the business district downtown L.A.

  Eva stopped him before he left them.

  “Her name is Sophi Martin. Well, you’ve all the details on her profile. If she’s left the clinic by the time you get there, her home address is listed. Jack will ask Raoul about their relationship to concur with my assessment, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. We may as well be prepared. Even if he didn’t reveal anything purposefully, you know how hard it is to keep this from someone you’re with. Since they had a two year relationship, we need to vet her anyway and design the memory.”

  Eva tilted her head. “I truly hadn’t realized until I said that. We do play God with people.”

  “We use our abilities and power responsibly to help people, Evaleigh. That’s not the same thing.”

  “It’s close, Kwano. It’s close.”

  “I’d better go. Keep in contact.”

  With Kwano gone, the rest of the crew piled into Sanquinetta’s new lift-car, provided by Xavier for the team, and they headed south toward Raoul’s hunting group.

  As the car touched down, it didn’t surprise Jack when they were met by an armed group outside the main entrance of the HQ. Headquarters for hunting groups were usually isolated and secret, so unexpected arrivals were rare and automatically met with suspicion and weapons.

  Raoul moved in front of his armed guards when he saw Jack. “What the fuck blew you into town?”

  The coarse greeting delivered with a wide toothy grin was followed by a quick hug.

  Jack hugged back, aware that this was the final time he’d greet his old friend in full awareness of their years together hunting.

  “Just had an urge to shoot the shit with another asshole like me. You got a moment?”

  “Sure. Stand down, crew. Go back to work.”

  Raoul led Jack into the underground chambers cut into the side of a hill, completely hidden from above and nearly impossible to see even from ground level. The entire way he kept scanning his old friend.

  “Holy fuck, buddy. Look at you! You’ve been pumping enough iron to hold up the state of Oregon. Shit, I’d almost mistake you for a vampire.”

  Jack was careful to control his strength when he lowered a hand onto Raoul’s shoulder. Raoul was no fool. Even as close as he had been with Jack, there was a tinge of suspicion in his eyes. Jack didn’t think he’d really believe that his old hunting buddy was a vampire. Most hunters believed vampires were little better than rabid dogs. Hell, he and his family had believed that and hunted with that same belief for a century.

  Still…caution was a good idea until they could begin compulsion.

  “You got it, my friend. They’re big, so I’ve been trying to even the playing field by getting as strong as I could. It’s been working.”

  “I’ll say. So, who do we have here?”

  Raoul had already lost interest in Jack as his eyes moved over the pale-skinned Evaleigh and darker-toned Sanquinetta behind him.

  “Aw, chiaroscuro. Dark and light. My favorite kind of art. Hello, ladies.”

  Shoving Raoul back, Jack held up his hand.

  “Off-limits, dude. You go through women like you do Scotch. These are professionals, and friends.”

  “Of course, of course. I’m just saying that they are a lovely addition to this hole in the ground. I’m Raoul.”

  Sanquinetta moved forward to shake his outstretched hand, using power to convey strength and crushed his fingers. “Sanquinetta. Glad to meet you. And yes, I’m hot, but I’m also lethal.”

  Massaging his crushed fingers,
Raoul nodded.

  “Yeah, got that.” His eyes moved to Evaleigh, smiling. She hadn’t moved up to greet him. “And you, pale perfection. You feel the need to emasculate me too?”

  “No need. I can see all I need to see. You keep it on display. I’m Eva.”

  Reluctantly leaving Evaleigh, Raoul looked at Saul.

  “Another giant. What the fuck are you guys eating up in Oregon?”

  Jack smacked Raoul on the back. “Iron and bullets. Raoul, can we talk?”

  “Sure. My team is busy setting up a stakeout. We heard a group of four male vampires may have come directly into our town last night, so we’re arranging surveillance.”

  “Vampires? Here in Durrey? Pretty small interest for vampires.”

  “That’s why I’m concerned, but my source is reliable. We’re on it. So, what really brings you here?”

  Jack lifted his eyes to Saul. Saul nodded, indicating he thought they should continue. If a group of vampires were here in this small town, it likely meant trouble. While they were here to dismantle this hunting group, they would have to investigate this possible cadre as well.

  “Yeah, Raoul. Look at me for a second.”

  Once Raoul lifted his eyes, humor and trust in them, Jack smiled, a little sick at his stomach, as he spoke.

  “Raoul, you will do all I tell you to do. Sit down.”

  His focus now a little fuzzy, Raoul did as commanded and dropped into a nearby chair.

  Jack pulled one up next to him and straddled it.

  “My friend, how many of your hunters are in this building right now?”

  “Eight. Three working on weapons for the group as they get ready to go out.”

  “Good. Where are they?”

  “Down the hall to the right. The weapons vault is to the left off this corridor and around the corner.”

  “Good. Stay here. You will obey everything any member of my team tells you to do and answer any questions they ask.”