Taste the Dark (Elwood Legacy Book 1)

by Nicola Rose

  “Nothing really. You were there, it was just a factory fire,” he said.

  “And that missing girl,” I pushed. “When I’d just started. What happened with her?”

  “What are you talking about, Jess?” He shifted his weight to try and move my face.

  I almost didn’t want to ask the final question, but I forged ahead seeing as I’d started it. “And the fire at the Requiem bar?”

  “What about it?”

  “Nothing,” I sighed. “Sorry. Guess my brain is on overdrive this morning.”

  Fucking mind-bending vampire bastards.

  He twisted me around, bringing my chin up with his thumb. “Jess, if you need me to get you more counselling sessions, I can? I know—”

  “No. No, thank you. I’m fine. But… us? I mean… I don’t know how this can work. I’m not…” I took to my feet and grabbed a shirt, suddenly paranoid about the scar on my back, even though he’d seen it before.

  “I told you, it’s OK. This is what we do, right? You fuck me and then pretend it never happened?”

  I winced and thought I might hurl again.

  “Honestly, it’s fine. I allowed you to use me in the hope of drawing you away from him. And if that fails, I still got a damn good fuck out of it, right?”

  “Pig!” I snorted, slapping his chest.

  “I’m your Chief,” he said, not returning my smile. “You can’t have a relationship with me, right? That’s what I’ll remind myself when I’m in my empty bed tonight, and you’re already back in his.”

  Those final words filled me with more fire, more drive, than he could have ever hoped for. Or maybe that’s precisely what Danny had hoped for, and intended, when he squashed me under the guilt of my weakness.

  Sex. Lust. Adrenalin. Was that really all that ruled me? Could I not overcome that and become something more?

  As soon as Danny left I called the real estate agents and arranged viewings on several apartments. By the time evening descended with its glowing purple sky I had chosen the one I wanted. I would move in within a week.

  Then I walked myself calmly into the police station and told them I needed to give a statement about Alex Elwood. Zac’s name so nearly fell from my lips at the same time, but remained caught in my throat. The man at the desk gave me an irritated sigh, before making me take a seat and wait an eternity to be seen.

  In the interview room they went through the motions with the recorder, the introductions, then sat with bland faces as I told them about seeing Alex inside the bar on the night it burned, and about the missing girl who’d repeated his name over and over in her garbled state.

  The officers didn’t ask me a single question. Just waited, bored, for me to finish speaking and leave. I had no idea why I was there. I knew it was ridiculous. But I had to do something.

  Just before I stood to go I figured I may as well throw in my stolen motorbike, too.

  “Do you have a personal vendetta against Mr. Elwood, Miss. Layton?” It was the only question they’d bothered to ask.

  Are you going to cause me trouble, darlin’… Alex had asked me

  “No. Of course not,” I replied tightly, and made my way back to the grotty motel to daydream about the shiny new apartment that would soon be mine.

  It was a moderate size, fresh and airy, a dream compared to the motel. Located right in the centre of Port Isabel. Safety in numbers. It felt busy enough that I could relax there. Fuck South Padre island. Fuck Zac on his North and Alex on his South. I might work on that island, but there was no damn way I was going to live there any longer.

  I allowed myself the satisfaction of imagining Zac’s rage at me living off the island, away from his protection. But then the image of him with that bitch popped back and blurred all my intentions, thwarted my positivity. Perhaps he wouldn’t even care that I’d left, given the way he’d treated me.

  Maybe he would even be glad of it. Glad to have distance from my scent, from the weight of me around his neck, clinging on like a desperate love-struck idiot.

  How had I even had the nerve to feel offended by his disinterest? Why did I even care? What business was it of mine? He was a vampire. An immortal being, borne of hatred and selfishness. The things that he must have done…

  I shuddered, sitting on the motel bed, and drew my leather jacket around myself. Soon, this room, and everything that happened in it, would be nothing more than a bad memory.

  Zac was a fucking prick. And a dangerous one at that. Complicated.

  I needed easy, no ties, no stress, nothing deep. There was no way he would ever give me that. He was more, so much more. A whole package of deep shit, dressed up as a delicious thrill.

  Stay away. Walk away. Step away from the fuckable freakshow. One foot in front of the other. Ever onwards.

  I’d look for another job, somewhere else, where I wouldn’t have to see him. In the meantime, I would carry on with my head held high. I’d play him at his own game.

  He didn’t exist.

  29

  Zac

  “Help me! Please!” the boy yelled at me as Luna dragged him through my hallway and into the sitting room. His neck was already a mess of bloody, ripped flesh. Eyes wild. Skin pallid from the amount of blood she’d already drained.

  Leon gritted his teeth when one of Luna’s Cell barged past him, dragging a toy of his own to play with. There was only four of them here, but it felt like more.

  I couldn’t let it continue much longer. They’d invaded my home like a plague of fucking locusts, constantly buzzing in my ears and devouring anything and everything that came close. I was losing count of how many college kids they’d slaughtered. The clean-up process was going to be a bitch.

  And of course my own Cell were starting to lose patience, not only with Luna, but also with me. Because I was allowing it to happen.

  I had no choice. Luna had sensed that Jess was different and I couldn’t let her get another sniff. Or show any indication that I cared in any way.

  So I sat back and let them enjoy their little vacation on my island. Then they can go ahead and report back to Emory that there’s nothing of interest going on with the Elwoods. Alexander told Luna that he’d killed the hunter and she seemed happy enough with his story. Thankfully he had neglected to tell her that the hunter wasn’t alone and there was still someone out there – because he enjoyed Luna’s invasion on the island about as much as I did. Having the Bael arrive to clean up our hunter shit would be a massive kick to his ego. So, at least I could rely on him to play along. It’s a rare thing to be able to trust him on anything.

  “How long is this going to go on for?” Leon ushered me back down the hallway and into the unused kitchen.

  Normally unused. It appeared that now we had a severed head in the sink, unblinking eyes staring up at us.

  “For fuck’s sake!” Leon hissed, grabbing a handful of blonde curls and throwing it out the side door.

  “They’ll leave soon. Just let them have their fun and they’ll be gone.”

  “You realise Jess has left the island?”

  My fists clenched. “Yes, Leon, I am more than aware of her every movement, being that her presence is so firmly etched into my fucking soul that I can’t think about anything else!” I lowered my tone at the end, realising the error of speaking out loud.

  I switched to speaking directly into his head. “Have her watched at all times. I can’t leave here and lead them to her. I want eyes on her every second, got it?”

  He nodded once and left.

  I turned on the faucet and watched blood swirl down the plughole. Leon was right. I needed to get rid of Luna sooner rather than later. But every time I thought I might have got myself under enough control to deal with her gentle eviction with minimal fuss, the anger would rise again.

  Jess left the damned island! After everything I’ve told her, over and over, about how unsafe she is. She sees me with other, dangerous vampires, and what does she do? She fucking leaves my protection. Is she purposefu
lly trying to destroy me?

  “It’s a good thing,” Eva appeared, speaking into my mind. This was the only way we could communicate safely with the Bael scouts around.

  “What is?” I snapped.

  “That she’s gone. For once she’s safer away from you. At least Luna won’t bump into her.”

  I pushed away from the sink and left the house, getting on my bike. Eva meant well, but I couldn’t deal with any of them right then.

  There was only one thing that might help to calm the boiling rage inside. One thing that needed to be done.

  Danny sullied your sanguine mate. He fucked her, and you haven’t. He has rammed his cock into her sweet—

  I gunned the engine, silencing the Beast. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t listening to him this time.

  No. I heard him loud and clear.

  Danny had to pay.

  I watched him for days.

  I watched him go to work, go to the store, go to his shitty bar.

  He became my new obsession. If I couldn’t stalk Jess without putting her in further danger, then I would follow him and fill up on the thrill of what was to come. I don’t know where the patience came from, but for some reason I gained some sick pleasure in letting him live a little longer – watching him go about his business, unaware of the shit that was about to unfold. At least it got me away from the house and the carnage that Luna was causing.

  But today was the day. I couldn’t wait any longer. Today I was going to drag his sorry ass down to my basement where I could feed from him every day. And once all this shit had passed with Luna, I was going to get Jess back and kiss her, right after feeding on her Danny-boy.

  It felt like a suitable punishment for both of them. Danny would get a long, drawn-out death, and Jess? Well, she wouldn’t know she was being punished, but I would. I’d get the satisfaction of knowing who was in my basement whilst she was pawing over me in the room above. She would be up there, begging me to fuck her, oblivious to Danny getting beaten to shit and drained every day on repeat.

  You know what would be a better punishment? Get Jess down in that fucking basement too…

  I watched as he emerged from the firehouse, looking as smug and confident as usual. I clearly needed to re-think the way that I dealt with people around here. Pussy-footing around and refusing to use my power has been weakness. It was high time they all got a reminder about who ran this fucking place.

  The fact that Danny had the balls to fuck her, to take what clearly belonged to me, was unacceptable. Perhaps it was the dent to my ego, perhaps it was Luna messing with my balance, whatever it was, the darkness was creeping out and I didn’t feel like pushing it back.

  Danny got in his truck. I would follow him home and then I’d take him.

  “Zac! My main man! The big E! Mr. Elwood himself!” Nyle, one of Luna’s men, grabbed my shoulders and gave me a shake.

  My answering snarl brought a smile to his face as I shook him off. Danny pulled on his seatbelt and I swung onto my bike.

  “Where you going, golden boy?” Nyle pressed. “What the hell does Emory love you so much for, huh?” He moved to block my bike and I watched as Danny reversed out of his parking space. I revved then engine.

  “Oh, wait, I get it… you’re going to do that bonding shit one day, and then you’ll be all mighty and feisty, right?”

  I inched the bike forward, into Nyle’s legs, pushing him back.

  “I’m sorry, am I keeping you from something?” he asked. “I didn’t realise your date with Danny was so important. But then, I suppose fucking your girlfriend has gotta smart, right?”

  Fog blurred my vision as Danny drove away down the highway.

  “Yeah, we’ve been busy learning all about your antics, Zac! Did you really think that we’ve just been hanging around here to take your skanky college kids for fun? Hell, they taste like shit! But, they do talk. Boy, do they fucking talk when you press the right buttons! That’s why Luna is on her way back to Emory right now with all the information about your delicious love interest. Oh, and talking of her, I might have sent someone over to Isabel to find—”

  Before another second could pass I had leapt from my bike and pulled Nyle’s head clean off his shoulders. I dropped it to the ground as Leon came tearing over to us.

  “Kill them all,” I yelled. “Kill every fucking member of Luna’s Cell.”

  There was only Luna and two others from her Cell that had come to the island. Well, three others if you counted Nyle, but now he was dead.

  I sent Leon and Eva to Port Isabel to find the one who’d gone there for Jess and ordered the rest of my men to take out the other guy. I wanted to go and get Jess myself. The last couple of weeks had been living hell. Not being able to explain to her, knowing that she was hurting. I could hear her thoughts sometimes. Every part of her called out to me and it was physical agony staying away.

  Just a little longer. We’d be back together soon. First I had to track down Luna before she reached Emory. I needed to deal with her personally.

  Racing along the highway, I pushed faster and faster. I could sense that I was gaining on her, but it felt like I’d never get there. Then I rode straight past her. She’d stopped.

  I swung back round and found her waiting for me down a deserted road.

  “You following me, Zac? I’m sorry I left without a goodbye kiss, I didn’t realise you cared so much—”

  I cut her off with a hand around her throat. “You made a massive mistake coming here. Do not mistake my way of life for weakness. You and your people can insult me all you like, but when you set foot on my island and you mess with what’s mine, don’t expect to find the pussycat waiting for you.” My grip tightened until the smile dropped from her face.

  I should have ripped her head off right then. Or drunk her filthy blood and drained her on the spot. But instead I got distracted listening to the voice in my head – telling me to draw out her suffering, just like with Danny.

  My hesitation gave her time to gather her strength and dig her pointed fingernails into my eyeballs until I let her go.

  Everything went dark. I could feel the blood leaking down my face. I scrambled around, trying to get my bearings, but I couldn’t see shit. I heard her car, though, and was forced to listen helplessly to the sound of it speeding away. Fuck!

  Stumbling over to my bike, I sank to the ground, clutching my face.

  “Come on, fucking heal!” I yelled at myself, willing my vision to return faster. Every passing second felt like an hour. The bitch had done a good job. It took far longer than I’d hoped before I could see again, by which time Luna was long gone.

  She should have killed me while she had the chance. Emory would have sentenced her to death of course; no one gets to kill an Elwood except him. But death at his hands would be better than what she was going to receive at mine. She better keep running. Fast.

  30

  Jess

  It was three weeks since I’d moved to Port Isabel. I surveyed the unpacked boxes lining one wall of my sparkly new apartment. They were already gathering dust from sitting there untouched.

  So few possessions. How had I reached this age with so little to show for it?

  The gleaming kitchen taunted me with its appliances, my gaunt face reflecting back at me from various angles, and the cooker spotless due to my inability to eat. No matter what I tried, it was all cardboard in my mouth.

  I spent the weeks trudging from one task to the next, without any memory of what happened in between. Swathes of time lost to an empty, aching spiral.

  He was nowhere. Not in the bars, not waiting for me outside my door, not watching from afar. Not trying to call me. No messages pleading for the chance to explain. He was simply gone.

  And yet he was everywhere, invading my mind and heart as if he owned them for himself. Occupying my dreams and nightmares. Permeating every thought I had throughout the day.

  I’d become so accustomed to him following me, always being there. Even when
I couldn’t see him, I could feel him, and it was strangely comforting. But he wasn’t there now, and I was empty.

  I forged on, ignoring it all. I would rise above it. Stick to the plan.

  The bars on Port Isabel were boring. I thought I’d been sick of the spring break frenzy, but it slowly dawned on me over these weeks that I missed it. The air charged with sex, dreams, youthful hedonism. Skin slick with desire and smeared with lust. I missed the sea of sweaty, writhing bodies.

  Mostly I missed the way his gaze would track me through those crowds. No matter how many people stood between us, his presence was always like a beacon, calling out to me. He could find me no matter where I was with those swirling, honeyed eyes.

  The island would buzz and thrum around us, and he would freeze it. The buzzing in my ears and the frantic racing of my heart would bring me to the point of explosion, then he’d kiss me… and it would become still, silent. There was nothing but him. No need greater than that of him.

  I splashed my face with cold water and stared at myself in the restroom mirror. After searching for a while and not really coming up with any answers, just the usual circling of useless thoughts — Who are you? What are you doing here? You should be on the island… you should never go back to the island… you need him… you are stronger, you stand alone — I sighed and made my way back out.

  Rounding the corner and lost in my own tormenting inner dialogue, I bumped into someone.

  “Excuse me,” I mumbled, expecting them to move aside. When they didn’t I looked up to find Alex in my way.

  “Howdy, darlin’,” he drawled, arms folded across his broad chest, leaning lazily against the door frame, filling the space.

  “What do you want? Come to gloat again about stealing my bike? Or maybe to boast about the people you get away with killing? Are you going to wipe my mind, too?” I hissed.