Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection

by Margo Bond Collins

  “Well, Sami, of course.”

  Damn it. Damn it all to Hell and back. Twice.

  What was she doing here?

  He tried to hide the desire to lunge at the vampire, as well as his surprise and anxiety of Sami even being in the same state as him.

  “I thought you two were lovers, so therefore, you’d be able to sense her closeness,” she said, shaking her head as if she were thoroughly confused. “I’m obviously wrong.”

  Although he bit his lip to try to keep himself from speaking out, it became an exercise in futility.

  “How do you know she’s in the area?” he asked, wondering if Tyson had told her. But then again, how would he recognize Sami from any other woman?

  “Well, she’s family, Connor. I feel it in my veins as a full-blooded vampire. I always know when a product of my loins is near, no matter how far removed they may be.”

  His thoughts spun out of control as she left the area.

  He lay back down and stared into the darkness.

  If he were to believe Selene, she’d just told him she was related to Sami.

  Sami had been the one to introduce him to the mythology of Selene and Ambrogio, the first vampires, according to the story.

  What did all that mean for him?

  Was this some sort of double-cross Sami had pulled on him? In his heart, he refused to believe it. There was no way he could be so blind to someone that he wouldn’t see their true intentions.

  But, what if that had been the case? He’d been dumbstruck by her actions before, which had led to him almost losing his life. Could this be the final betrayal, the last nail in his coffin?

  What would Sami gain?

  From the beginning of the investigation into the drug they called Ambrogio, they’d worked together. It wasn’t as if she’d proverbially led him down the path in the case. They’d discovered the twists and turns together, and also fought the danger side by side. If she’d wanted him dead, she would have stepped aside and let Pedro finish the job. Instead, she’d helped end the bastard with a knife to his back.

  Besides, it wasn’t like she’d sent him back to Seattle; he’d come on his own.

  No, if Sami had wanted him dead, she’d had more than ample opportunity to do so.

  So what was she doing here?

  Obviously, it must be to rescue him. Did she know he was being held by one of her relatives?

  He would have to guess not. It was the only way he could justify her actions, both in the past and in the present. Sami had come to rescue him, but she had no idea what stood in her way—a full-bred vampire, who also happened to be family.

  Of course, this put her in a horrible position. If it came down to it, would she choose to help him, or not? Was blood thicker than love?

  He muttered a curse and closed his eyes, hoping to get some more rest. When Sami arrived, he would need all the strength he could muster if they were to have a prayer of taking the psychopath vampire down.

  18

  The next morning, Sami broke down her tent, feeling refreshed and revived, despite her tossing and turning for most of the night, worrying about Connor. Once again, the sky was fairly clear, and she glanced around the area to see if she’d had any visitors. Relief flooded through her when she didn’t see any paw prints.

  Once she’d relieved herself and assembled her backpack so she could carry everything, she threw it over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she followed her tracks through the forest the way she’d come and quickly found the trail she’d abandoned yesterday afternoon.

  As she walked, she nibbled on a cranberry protein bar. The birds kept her company, their songs making for a beautiful morning harmony, a nice breeze keeping her skin cool.

  She stopped and listened, thinking she’d heard running water, but the sound seemed to go as fast as it had arrived. Perhaps it had been the wind?

  About a half-mile later, she came into a beautiful clearing, the views taking her breath away. She stood at the jagged face of the mountain that had seemed so ominous the day before, but again seemed to be beckoning her in. Now, she simply stared at the magnificent beauty of the waterfall flowing from the middle of it, a small lake forming at its base.

  Yes, the magnificence was all well and good, but she had no idea where to go from here. She pulled off her pack and sat down on a log to retrieve her map. As her butt met the wood, she gasped. Her eyes widened, and her heart thundered in her chest.

  She stilled as she concentrated on her body. Her second heartbeat continued, but stronger. Energy buzzed throughout her being, causing her limbs to tremble and sweat to break out on her brow, despite the cool morning.

  Suddenly, the two heartbeats merged into one and thrummed in unison, as if they’d somehow joined together.

  What in the world could this signify? Glancing around the area again, she wondered if perhaps Connor had been here?

  She laid her palm on the log. Despite the roughness of the wood, it almost felt as if she touched Connor, the little hairs on the back of his hand tickling her palm. Inhaling deeply, she thought she smelled him, but as she studied the area, he was nowhere to be found.

  Her gaze was drawn to the mountain once again. The pull it emanated almost had her getting to her feet. Last night, it had seemed like it wanted her to stay away, as if it had some sort of force field around it. Now, it beckoned her, and she couldn’t help but feel like a moth flying toward a flame. Certainly, she’d get burned.

  However, the two heartbeats within her, as well as the summons from the mountain, solidified in her mind that Connor was up there and that she needed to go find him.

  There seemed to be something more at work here, something she didn’t understand. The longer she sat on the log, the stronger the urge to scour every inch of the mountain became. It welled in her until she could no longer remain seated. She rose to her feet and picked up her backpack.

  Walking to her right, she went off the path and into the brush. It became so thick, she needed to pull out her knife to try to carve a trail, but even then, it seemed to be useless, yet she continued on, more determined than ever to find a way into that mountain.

  Twenty minutes later, she breathed heavily, sweat dripped from her forehead, she was covered in scratches and terribly frustrated. She glanced over her shoulder to see how far she’d come, and figured not even a quarter of a mile.

  Maybe it would be best to go back to the waterfall, and try going around the small lake and to the left.

  On the other hand, maybe it would be best to consult her map, which was exactly what she should have done in the beginning.

  “Don’t be stupid,” she mumbled as she made her way back. “You can’t act with your emotions or you’ll never find him. You need to think things through and not be so irrational.”

  When she’d returned to the clearing, she sat down on the log again, then slung her backpack to the side. Her little excursion had exhausted her, and she greedily drank some water, then pulled out another MRE, this time not a meal, but a snack. She’d been determined to save as much as she could for Connor, but if she didn’t have the energy to find him, they’d both be in trouble.

  As she ate her nuts and raisin mix, she looked over the area again. From her point of view, it would seem that if she walked around the lake, it looked like there would be a trail that would take her around the side of the mountain.

  She was out of water, so she took her portable filtration system and walked over to the waterfall. She filled up her cup in an area where she wouldn’t get soaked, then waited for the water to move through the tube. When completed, she drank it down.

  “I hope that thing works,” she said, thinking that having the runs out in the middle of the forest would be less than ideal.

  She filled the contraption up once more, then moved back to her log. She drank more water, and just as she was about to move forward with her idea of heading around the lake, a man emerged from what she thought was the trail, exactly where she’d planned on going.<
br />
  He stopped walking and stared at her for a moment, his arms at his sides. He didn’t carry any sort of gear, as she’d seen everyone else do, and frankly, he gave her the creeps. Why was he just standing there, looking at her? She recalled Joe at the outdoor store telling her that people had gone missing from this area, and she briefly wondered if she was gazing at the perpetrator responsible for it.

  Did he have something to do with what had happened to Connor?

  As he continued his trek, she sighed in relief until she realized he followed the path around the lake, directly toward her.

  She wanted to flee the area, but also knew that if he had bad intentions, he’d catch up to her in no time. The extra weight of the backpack made it difficult for her to run. Besides, she wouldn’t give up her search for Connor because of one creepy man who may or may not want to hurt her.

  When he was about a hundred yards away from her, she stood, the knife in her hand. She didn’t bother to try and hide it—she wanted him to understand that she meant business.

  “I suggest you stop right there,” she yelled, surprised by the strength in her voice.

  He did as she asked, which shocked her.

  “My name’s Tyson,” he called.

  Her brow furrowed in confusion. Wasn’t that the name of the guy Connor said he was going hiking with?

  “I’ve come to take you to Connor.”

  “Where is he?” she asked, excitement and panic roiling through her. Her stomach clenched, and she didn’t know if it was from the emotions, or if she hadn’t properly filtered her water. “Is he hurt?”

  “I’ve come to take you to Connor.”

  What if he really wasn’t Tyson? What if this man was the one responsible for the missing people and just used Connor’s name to lure her into whatever trap he had set?

  But, she’d never know if she didn’t follow him.

  She picked up her pack and slung it over her shoulder, all the while keeping her knife in her hand. Before approaching the man, she wiped her hands on her jeans. If she needed to stab him, she certainly didn’t need the knife slipping due to sweaty palms caused by nerves.

  Being part vampire, her strength surpassed the average woman. As she studied Tyson, she noted how thin he looked, how his jeans and T-shirt seemed to hang off of his thin frame. With the hand-to-hand fighting skills her father had taught her, she could probably take him.

  “I asked you where he was,” she called as she approached him.

  Tyson turned and began walking the way he’d come. When a breeze blew, she caught the stench of body odor, and noticed how dirty his clothes looked.

  As she followed at a distance, her anxiety rose, causing her to sweat more and her throat to constrict. There was something wrong with Tyson.

  Maybe she was just being paranoid. If the man really was Tyson, maybe he’d been taking care of Connor. Maybe the two of them had been lost out here for all this time, and Connor had been injured.

  Her next thought stopped her in her tracks.

  How did he know she was here looking for Connor?

  She glanced up at him as he continued up the trail that had now grown into a fairly steep incline.

  Her instincts told her to run far, far away. Something was not right with this man, and none of it made any sense. They had never met, so there was no way he should know she was here for Connor.

  She tried to look beyond him to where he led her, but the narrow trail was sandwiched in between the side of the mountain and a wall of pine trees.

  Perhaps the two men had found a perch above the forest, and Connor had seen her sitting by the lake? If that had been the case, wouldn’t he have called for her, or come and get her?

  Not if he were too badly injured.

  Whatever the case, she didn’t see any other option but to follow Tyson. Yes, she could incapacitate him, or even kill him, but what good would that do? She’d be back at square one, knowing that Connor was somewhere close because she felt it in her soul, but not having an exact location.

  For right now, she needed to trail Tyson and see where he led her.

  19

  They had hiked for over an hour on a steep incline. Sweat now poured down her face almost as if she’d been caught in the rain. Some of her hair had come loose from her braid and stuck to her neck, causing her to swat at it because it felt as if bugs crawled over her skin. Her breath sawed in and out of lungs, which had also began to burn almost as bad as her thighs.

  She’d asked twice now if they could stop and take a break, but Tyson hadn’t even acknowledged she’d spoken. If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear he had been put under a vampire trance, but no vampire in their right mind would be out in nature like this. The risks were too great of being caught in the sun, and besides, every vampire she knew hated the idea of spending the night out in nature. Most preferred the finer things in life, like a soft bed, sheets, and running water.

  Perhaps Tyson had some mental deficiency that Connor hadn’t mentioned. However, how would he be in the military, then? From what she understood, in order to be accepted, one had to be in top shape both mentally and physically.

  None of it made any sense, but what other choice did she have but to follow him? He’d said he’d take her to Connor. Could she find him on her own? Possibly. His blood pumped through her heart, acting as a beacon to draw her near to him, but right now, this uphill climb had her heart thundering so loudly in her ears, she couldn’t concentrate on the second one, the one she’d come to describe as Connor’s.

  She came to a halt and put her hands on her knees.

  “Tyson!” she yelled. She had to admit the guy was in great physical shape, even if he did look a little thin.

  He glanced over his shoulder at her.

  “I have to stop. I feel like I may pass out.”

  He stared at her a moment, then nodded.

  She slipped off her backpack and found a rock to sit on. Tyson now faced the pathway again.

  “Are you going to sit with me?” she asked.

  He shook his head, but didn’t offer anything more.

  With a sigh, she laid her forehead in her palms, wishing he’d take a load off so she didn’t feel weak and like she was holding him back.

  However, he looked as if he needed a rest, as well. His shirt held a large V down the front and across the back of his shoulders from sweat. Why wouldn’t he relax just for a moment? Was Connor in that bad of shape? And if so, why wouldn’t he give her the details?

  What she wouldn’t give for some water. After filling it up earlier, she’d drank it all trying to keep up with Tyson.

  It hadn’t been even five minutes when he announced they had to keep moving. She’d barely got her breath back.

  “I have to sit longer.”

  “No, we move.”

  He began the trek up the hill again, and she realized if she didn’t follow, he’d leave her behind.

  Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

  But then again, if he knew where to find Connor, she’d better follow.

  She got to her feet, slung her pack on her back thinking that she’d need a few visits to the chiropractor after this, and headed up the hill behind Tyson.

  “She’s getting closer, Connor,” Selene said.

  Connor opened his eyes to find her standing over him.

  He sat up, then got to his feet, hoping it didn’t seem like that big of a struggle. To him, Selene resembled a rabid, wild animal—she preyed on the weak and seemed to be half out of her mind. He couldn’t show her he was frail in any way.

  She stepped away from him, just out of his reach. He assumed she could overpower him fairly easily being a full-blooded vampire, but she still had reservations about him or she wouldn’t have moved.

  “For now, I’m going let you take a load off your feet,” she murmured with a grin.

  If she hung him high, he’d be completely incapacitated and unable to help Sami when she arrived.

  “You don’t
have to do that,” he said. “I can barely move with these chains on me.”

  Selene chuckled. “You must think of me as stupid. I know you’re a very formidable human, Connor. You’ll hang, and it will put my mind at ease for when I meet my great-granddaughter. She and I will do great things together.”

  He bit his tongue to keep from telling her that Sami was nothing like her, and never could be, in his opinion.

  “Up you go!” she said in a sing-song voice, as if she talked to a small child.

  She disappeared into the darkness where Tyson always went to bring him up or down.

  A moment later, he felt pressure on his ankles. He sank to his knees, then laid down on the cool rock so he wasn’t swept off his feet to land on his back.

  As the cuffs dug into his skin, he hissed, and tears formed in his eyes. He tried to hide the grimace, but failed. Hopefully, Selene didn’t pay any attention to him.

  He pulled at the shackles on his wrists, knowing it was an exercise in futility. He was literally a strung up animal, waiting for the slaughter, and his only hope of being saved from this situation was Sami.

  20

  Sami and Tyson arrived at a small entrance to a cave just above where the waterfall began. She estimated it about three feet high and three feet wide and realized she’d never fit through if she didn’t lose her backpack.

  She tried to see into the darkness, but couldn’t. Images of all the scary things that liked the dark played in her mind: spiders, bats, centipedes, roaches … a chill ran down her spine at the thought.

  Then there was the fact she hated small, tight spaces. She recalled one time as a little girl when she’d locked herself in a narrow hallway closet. The darkness, had scared her, but the fact that she could reach her arms to her sides and feel the walls had terrified her. It had seemed like they would close in on her at any moment. In her mind, the air had grown thin, and she hadn’t been able to breathe. She’d screamed at the top of her lungs and thrown her tiny fists against the door, absolutely certain she would die at any moment. Thankfully, her parents had rushed to her aid quickly and released her from her torture.