The day weighs on her. Her morning began early and the events that followed have sapped her strength despite her heightened stamina. They’re waiting for sunset, so the vampire contingent will be at their strongest in order to face whatever nasty surprise Jeremy has waiting for them.
Outside the sun is sinking. The effect is most pronounced in Dax. As the sun slides down the horizon he appears to grow more animated. He’s had more blood, that’s probably helped. His skin has lost its redness and he looks more like himself. While he’s talking to Rodriguez, she studies him in case it’s her last chance. Above all else she wishes they had more time together. Some time to explore what might have been between them. It’s unfair that this night could be their last.
The sun slips below the horizon. As one the vampire officers raise their heads. Even Xandra glances towards the sky. She straightens and everyone waits for her command. She tears her gaze from the away from the window, looks once at her partner and then back at the officers waiting for her command.
“Let’s go get this bastard once and for all.”
They pile into several dangerous-looking vehicles. Myah doesn’t catch the make, but they look like a cross between army vehicles and upscale SUVs. Both are painted matte black. Huge bumpers are attached to the front and back. The large vertical bars on the grills make the vehicles look like moving jails. Myah shudders at the image, but she climbs in anyway.
Rodriguez is driving with Xandra riding shotgun and handling navigation. Myah sits behind them so she can alert them when any of the scenery looks familiar. They’ve allowed Dax to sit beside her, but the backseat is filled with police officers. Still more operatives pile into the vehicles behind them. This huge show of law enforcement should make her feel safer. It doesn’t.
The vehicles roll out in a dark convoy. Myah can’t help wondering what anyone looking out their windows in this suburban neighborhood would make of the sight. Do they know what lurks among them?
More factories and warehouse spaces appear as they head toward the city’s fringes. She can see how this area might appeal to Jeremy. Most of the activity probably happens in the day, except for perhaps the odd nighttime delivery. By sundown the area is mostly deserted.
Dark memories linger just below the surface of her consciousness. She remembers a drive something like this. Late at night. The sensation of panic barely kept in check. She stares out the window trying to force a sliver of recognition, but the buildings all look the same. Squat two and three story factories are connected by a maze of roughly surfaced streets and old rail lines. She’s looking for one with high walls, but all she sees are old roads and empty parking lots. And yet, something about the area tugs at her memory. An old building, a couple of floors higher than the others. The way the last rays of the recent sunset illuminate its sides is familiar.
She points to the right. “That way.”
The vehicle rounds the corner, the others trailing after it.
And sure enough, just as she remembers it, sits a low building ringed by high walls. Old buried memories leap to the fore. Myah forces them back. She can’t allow herself to remember any of this now. It will only steal her attention from what’s most important, putting Jeremy away forever.
Xandra and Rodriguez get out of the vehicle. Rodriguez ducks his head back in. “Stay here. We’re going to have a look around.
Everyone except a couple of officers bail out into the night. They move like black shadows against the darkness. Complete silence. Not even a door slams. They seem to flow over the open ground. The walls are no match for the specially-trained vampires. They scale them with ease. Myah starts to wonder if some of the vampires under Rodriguez’s command might not have come from Jeremy’s experiments. She doesn’t ask. She glances at Dax in the darkness. He reaches out a hand to capture hers.
She wishes she could see what’s happening beyond the walls. She’s sure her heart is beating hard and loud enough for Dax to hear it. His fingers tighten around hers.
An instant later, Xandra’s head pops up against the window. Myah stifles a scream.
Xandra opens the car door quietly and climbs back inside. She inclines her head in the direction of the building. “Empty. All of it.”
Myah wants to cry. In one day she’s watched her whole world crumple. Her hopes for justice have been dashed and raised, only to be dashed again.
“Is there nothing inside that can help you?” Dax asks quietly.
“We haven’t had a chance to go over it all yet. Possibly there’s some evidence inside that might help us in some small way. But the longer Jeremy stays loose, the harder it’s going to be to catch him. We know he was at the store this morning. So he’s been in the area. If we can act quickly enough, we might find him.”
The beginnings of a plan begin form in Myah’s mind. An impossible plan, one that would involve doing the one thing she fears most. No, she corrects herself. The one thing she fears most is carrying on like this, trying to live her life wondering when it will call come crashing down around her again.
Before she can stop herself, she blurts, “I have an idea.”
Xandra centers her in her gaze. “I’m listening.”
“It’s me that he wants. If he is in the area, he’s probably watching this place, knowing I’ll lead you back here.”
Dax squeezes her hand lightly, drawing her attention back to him. He’s guessed where she’s going with this and he doesn’t like it. “No, Myah.”
She squeezes his hand in return, but ignores his protests, knowing there’s only one way to get the results they need.
“I’ll offer myself as bait.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“NO,” DAX SAYS AGAIN. “It’s too dangerous, Myah. The last thing you want is to be back in that madman’s clutches.”
Xandra glances from Dax back to Myah. “As much as I want Jeremy back in custody, I don’t like it, either.”
Myah draws gently away from Dax. “Look, it’s me he wants. I don’t know why, but if he was willing to attack me in broad daylight, he wants me desperately. And if that’s true, then he won’t be able to resist.”
Xandra studies the building’s dark form. Operatives are starting to make their way back to the vehicles empty handed. “Still not liking it.”
Dax crosses his arms. “I’m definitely not in favor of the idea.”
Myah mirrors his posture defiantly. “Got a better one?”
His shoulders slump. “I wish I did.”
“And while we’re discussing this, Jeremy is getting away. Maybe forever. This might be our last best chance to stop him.”
Still shaking her head, Xandra gets out of the vehicle and walks over to Rodriguez. “Change of plans.”
The vampire’s amber gaze snaps to Myah, then lingers on Dax for a moment before giving his attention back to Xandra. Finally, he gets back into the vehicle.
“I have my doubts about this. I think it’s highly likely someone will get hurt.”
By someone she knows he means her.
“If she’s going in there, I’m going too,” Dax insists.
This time Rodriguez doesn’t try to talk him out of it.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Since you insist, we’re going to send you in there.” He glances at Dax. “With backup. And we’re going to move back out of sight. We’ll stay close by and we’ll send a couple of our operatives out to keep an eye on what’s going on.” He holds up a hand for emphasis. “Other than that, you two will truly be on your own. Are you comfortable with that?”
Hell no, Myah wants to say. “Yes.”
“Perhaps comfortable isn’t quiet the right word,” Dax adds.
Rodriguez gives him a wry smile. “There are other ways to do this. Just because we didn’t get Jeremy tonight doesn’t mean our team won’t find him eventually.”
She desperately wants to believe this. It would be so easy to go back to the safe house with Dax, to have some time alone knowing there are others around them trying to
protect them. But that kind of life wouldn’t be much better than being incarcerated. What she wants is freedom, total freedom from fear and the ability to do what she wants. “In the meantime none of us are going to be safe. I’m tired of living my life looking over my shoulder.”
“Understood.” By the way Rodriguez says that, she gets the feeling he means it. He glances at the sky as if he can sense the impending dawn.
She studies the building. “What do I do? Just walk in there?”
“That would be too obvious. We’re going to drive off and take you with us. Once we’re out of sight we’ll give it a few minutes, so he thinks we’ve all left together. Then you can approach the building again. Dax can follow you a bit later.”
Dax shakes his head. “I want to go with her right away.”
“You can’t.” Myah reaches for his hand. “He needs to think I’ve come here on my own.”
“Like that would happen.”
“Honestly, I can see trying to confront him at some point. How else would I get the answers I need to go on with my life?”
Rodriguez gives Dax a hard stare. “If you don’t think you can do this, we can send another officer with her. But the plan is the same.”
Dax’s face darkens with outrage. For an instant Myah catches a glimpse of the true predator within. It makes her want to shrink back against the seat, but Rodriguez looks completely unmoved. As quickly as it comes, the expression vanishes. “No, it should be me,” Dax says. “It makes more sense that if she’d taken it upon herself to go after this guy I’d come after her.”
Xandra joins them. “As you say, it does make a twisted kind of sense.
Myah draws in a deep breath. “So let’s get on with it.”
Rodriguez steps away from the vehicle and gives a signal. He’s clearly not trying to hide their presence anymore. He wants to make sure Jeremy knows they’re retreating. The rest of the officers climb back into the vehicles and they begin to drive off.
DAX STARES AT THE SQUAT building before them. The last thing in the whole world he wants to do is to let her walk in there. But Myah’s right. He can’t think of another plan. And the thought of ending this battle tonight is seductive.
“I suppose I don’t have to remind you to be careful.”
She smiles up at him and before he realizes he’s moving, his arms are around her and their lips brush. Gently at first and then with more urgency.
This might be their last kiss. The thought echoes in his mind. There are so many things he wants to explore with her. The image of her lying across his bed as dawn lightens the sky is so alluring it’s almost painful. He decides this is the picture of her he will hold in his mind. A promising taste of the future.
Myah pulls away from him. She takes a look at the sky. It’s still full dark, but dawn is an inevitability. “I should go.” She pushes him gently in the direction of Rodriguez’s vehicle.
He walks a step back and puts his head down close to hers. “I’ll be right behind you.” He can smell the blood coursing through her veins and hear her heart pounding. Evidence of her fear. Fear is good, he thinks. Over-confidence would be a mistake.
She gives him one last nod and without looking back, she begins walking toward the building. Dax walks back to where Xandra and Rodriguez are waiting for him and climbs into the vehicle. The SUV rolls out, following the others.
As it turns the corner, Dax can see how far ahead the others are. Every instinct he possesses screams at him return to the factory, to protect Myah. But she’s insisted on this foolish plan and he’s her first line of defense, so he clenches his jaw together and tries to remain calm.
Rodriguez points to a spot up ahead in the shadow of another building. “We’re going to pull over up here.”
Dax has to agree it will be hard to spot the dark car there.
Rodriguez turns in the seat and gives Dax an unreadable look. It could be admiration, it could be pity. “Give it a minute and then follow her.”
All Dax cares about is getting Myah back in his sights.
“Good luck.” Xandra’s words follow him as he gets quietly out of the car.
THE INSIDE OF THE FACTORY is silent, except for an ever-present dripping that’s just irregular enough to grate on her nerves. She’s losing her resolve with every forward step she takes. Myah studies the high rafters and tries to stop the memories from crushing her.
Vampires leaping from the rafters without warning. The pressure-pain of their ice-cold teeth ripping into her flesh is a terrifyingly vivid memory. It was the shock that got to her, even more than the fear and the pain. Never being able to relax—was what had truly threatened her sanity.
The building appears to be empty now. It’s possible she’s read this entirely wrong. Maybe Jeremy won’t appear after all. Still, he hunted her down at the store, so he must want her for some nefarious reason known only to him. The thought of living another day knowing he’s out there waiting for her is unbearable. It ends here, she promises herself.
Somewhere out in the darkness, Dax is watching over her. Xandra and Rodriguez are also waiting not far down the road. She holds that knowledge close. She isn’t alone.
Myah moves into the center of the cavernous building and waits. Minutes drag by while her heart pounds. She takes a couple of deep, calming breaths and tries to slow her heartbeat, to remain alert rather than panicked.
Nothing moves on the old factory floor. No shadows flow among the rafters.
“I know you’re here, Jeremy. You wanted me. Here I am.” Her voice sounds small and lost in the large, empty room.
No answer. Could she have misread the situation so badly? She tries again.
“I’ve come alone. Whatever you want from me, you can tell me now.”
No answer. No movement. Seconds stretch into minutes and still there is only silence.
Memories crowd every corner and hang in the air. She was so sure Jeremy would come. Of all the places he’d guess she might come, this was the most likely one. And yet...nothing.
Myah moves to the center of the room and raises her arms toward the high ceiling. “Here I am you sonofabitch. You wanted me so badly you had to go and destroy the only real life I’ve ever had. Damn it, you come talk to me now!”
The walls echo her words back to her.
She’s angry now. More than angry. A white fury burns in her veins. “Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?” The words burst from her core in a hoarse shriek. She’s so appalled at how unhinged she sounds, she clamps her lips shut. If Jeremy doesn’t have the nerve to show his face, she’s damned if she’ll give him any more of her soul.
Because she truly does believe he’s up there somewhere watching, listening. Taking it all in. Enjoying her pain. Reveling in it.
She kicks at something on the floor, recognizing it only as her foot makes contact. A piece of a metal restraint.
Memories pierce her mind. Her traitorous imagination conjures the ice-cold pressure of those cold restraints around her arms and legs, followed by the terror of the vampire approaching. Its cold mouth seizes her neck before the pain blocks out all other thought.
She’s shuts her eyes tight, smothering the memories. She can’t stay here another moment. Even if Jeremy is watching, she can’t stay. It’s clear he has nothing to say to her. He just wants to be a voyeur to her pain.
This time Myah won’t give him the satisfaction. She turns and heads out of the building. She won’t be going back, no matter what happens. She’s made her decision. She wants out of his charade, even if she has to live the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. Right now all she wants is to be as far away from Jeremy as she can get. An island in the south pacific...anywhere as long as it’s not here.
The factory door beckons and she’s through it in an instant and running along the road. She doesn’t know where Dax is, but she’s certain he’s out there in the shadows following. In the eastern sky she sees the gray streak of the coming dawn. She refuses to be bait for Jeremy Landis an
d longer. All she wants is a few private moments with Dax. She doesn’t care if there are police officers all around them, watching, listening.
Finally, she slows her pace. Cool morning air swirls around her, reviving her. The factory is behind her now. The terrifying memories are locked once again in the back of her mind.
She continues walking back toward where Xandra and Rodriguez are waiting for her, knowing Dax will follow.
Filled with relief, Myah almost doesn’t hear the small sound on the road behind her. She turns, too late.
Hit from behind, she sprawls on the gravel road. Her breath is squeezed from her lungs. Sharp stone digs into her back.
But it’s the face above her that makes her gasp for air.
Jeremy.
CHAPTER EIGHT
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF the element of surprise, Jeremy pins her arms back against the road. Gravel bites into her back.
“Little Myah.” He leers down at her with contempt. Time falls away and she’s back in that room, helplessly strapped to the table. “Do you remember telling me that all you wanted was a normal life? To be a normal little girl. Well, let me tell you, little Myah, you’re never going to be a normal girl. All you’ll ever be is a monster. My monster.”
It’s the little Myah bit that really gets to her. Her brain kicks in all at once and with it so do her enhanced reflexes. She flips him over, switching their positions, gaining the upper hand.
“You’ve made a huge mistake, Jeremy. I’m not Little Myah anymore. I’m all grown up now. And I’m going to make you pay for everything you did to me.”
Time hasn’t been kind to Jeremy. His face looks weathered, haunted. His eyes are still the same. Something lingers behind those eyes, something feral, inhuman.
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