Sunset Rising (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 5)

by Jaz Primo

  In retrospect, I liked Candace’s idea of being an author seeking writing inspiration. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be further from the truth, and the truth was far too strange, and potentially dangerous, for the average person to discover, much less understand.

  Bel brought me a fresh glass of cola and looked like she intended to continue our previous conversation.

  “Hey, Bel,” Jim called from the kitchen. “Company.”

  We both looked up to see a twenty-something bearded man wearing a faded denim jacket walk in through the entrance.

  “Hey, Bel,” he said. “Got a minute?”

  She appeared none too pleased to see him.

  “What? I told you not to bother me at work, Kevin,” she said.

  “Aww, get off me,” he said. “Can we talk outside?”

  “Only if you’re bringing the check that’s two weeks late,” she said, folding her arms before her.

  He scanned the dining room before looking at her. “Look, let’s take this outside.”

  I watched as the two of them went out through the front entrance and moved away from the doors. From my vantage point, I could see them talking at the far front corner of the building.

  After a few minutes of what appeared to be arguing, she pointed her finger in his face in accusatory fashion.

  He slapped her hand away from him and shoved her shoulder, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward. He walked away toward an older model Ford pickup parked nearby.

  A flood of bad childhood memories washed through me as I watched.

  Before I fully registered it, I had risen from my seat and purposefully walked outside, flinging the front door open as I went.

  “Who the—” the man started to say.

  I didn’t cease my momentum toward him and caught his forearm as he opened the driver’s side door to his truck. I swung him around into an arm bar while propelling him face first against the side of the vehicle with a heavy thud.

  “Asshole, what is your—”

  “Shut up!” I said. “So, you like to push women around, do ya?”

  “Mind your own damned business!”

  “Wrong answer,” I said, rotating his arm into a more painful position.

  “Hey, ow, OW!”

  “I don’t ever want to see or hear that you’ve laid a hand on Bel, you got me?” I demanded.

  “All right, all right already!”

  I used my free hand to slip his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and flipped it open.

  “Well, Kevin Truitt, now I know where you live,” I said. “And I don’t want to hear about you giving Bel any trouble, period. Got it?”

  “Yeah, yeah, got it,” he said.

  I released him from the arm bar and shoved him away as I stepped backward.

  “Oh, and one more thing,” I said, making sure that my hand gravitated toward my nearest concealed combat knife, just in case he did something stupid.

  He looked at me wide-eyed as he turned around, gingerly rotating one of his shoulders.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Pay your damned alimony and child support on time,” I said flatly.

  “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow,” he said. “I can get the money to her by tomorrow.”

  “Good,” I said. “Because I’ll be checking to make sure you do.”

  “Wha— Who the hell are you?” he asked. “You a cop?”

  “No, I’m much worse,” I said, anger welling inside me.

  I’m someone who remembers someone like you growing up; someone who knows what men like you can become. And I’m not about to endure people like you anymore.

  He must have read my features because he jumped inside the cab of this truck and had scarcely started the engine before he slipped his truck into reverse and backed out, momentarily burning rubber against the pavement.

  I watched him pull out onto the street and then turned to see Bel staring wide-eyed at me.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah, thanks. Who are you?”

  “I told you already,” I said. “My name’s Caleb.”

  “Oh, well yeah, but I meant—”

  “I’m just a guy who’s trying to escape his own problems on the open road,” I said. “Just trying to find a little peace, really.”

  She considered me for a moment. “A little peace.”

  “That was the idea, anyway,” I said.

  A gusty wind blew in from the north and I looked up at the darkening sky. It looked like a storm was moving in.

  When I looked back at her, she was staring at me.

  “It doesn’t matter much where you go, everyone has problems of some sort,” she said. “The difference isn’t whether you have problems; it’s how you choose to confront them.”

  I was struck by the stark logic in what she said.

  “You know, you’re pretty wise for someone living out in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Nah, that’s just something my dad has said since I was a little girl,” she said, rubbing her arms against the chill in the air. “I suppose it stuck over the years. That and I’ve learned over time that it’s actually true.”

  I considered what she had said as I politely guided her toward the diner’s entrance and held the door open for her.

  Everyone looked up at us as we entered, and even the cook, Jim, had stepped out into the dining room to see what had taken place.

  “You okay, Bel?” he asked.

  “Fine, thanks,” she said. “Kevin’s not usually so…physical…when we argue. Is it any wonder he’s my ex?”

  “Who could blame you?” I asked.

  “There’s a heavy storm moving in from the northwest,” Jim said. “Hey, you’re the guy with the moped, right?”

  “Jim, you know that he is,” Bel said. “And his name is Caleb.”

  Jim appeared slightly uncomfortable. “Well, just didn’t want to seem too familiar. Anyway, you better get going soon so you don’t get caught out in the really bad stuff before you get back to your cabin.”

  “Thanks, I’ll do that,” I said, pulling out a large bill from my wallet and handing it to Bel. “Here, this should cover it.”

  “I’ll get your change,” she said.

  I walked past her to exit. “Nope, the rest is your tip. Take care, okay?”

  “Sure thing,” she said. “Thanks again, Caleb.”

  As I exited the building and walked toward my scooter the wind felt even colder and I heard thunder in the distance.

  “Caleb,” Bel said from behind me.

  I turned to see her leaning out through the front door.

  “Thank you,” she said. “That was very brave and kind of you.”

  “My pleasure,” I said.

  I pulled my skull cap helmet on, feeling a little awkward as I mounted what had to be the least masculine machine in the county.

  I waved to her as I pulled out onto the street.

  * * *

  I made it back to the cabin just as the lightning and thunder exploded in the darkened skies.

  After securing my scooter on the front porch, I went inside and laid my damp jacket over a nearby dining room chair.

  Then I went to the fireplace to arrange some chunks of wood for a fire, if only to cut the slight chill that I felt. As I squatted down to light the kindling, I reflected upon all that had transpired at the café.

  Then Bel’s voice replayed in my head.

  It doesn’t matter much where you go, everyone has problems of some sort…

  Had traveling across the country, eventually ending up in Tar Hollow, actually helped to solve any of the problems that I left behind in New Haven?

  Not really.

  The difference isn’t whether you have problems; it’s how you choose to confront them.

  Who would have thought that I would receive such sage advice in such a remote, one-horse town?

  I plugged my small set o
f external speakers into my iPod and turned it on.

  As evening set in, the flash of lightning momentarily lit the cabin’s windows and thunder sounded outside.

  I looked out the nearest window to see the rain beginning to fall, heavy droplets striking against the glass. Then another flash of lightning illuminated outdoors, revealing a semicircle of six individuals just inside the treeline outside the cabin.

  “Oh, shit,” I muttered.

  Chapter 14

  Caleb

  My first thought was that Bel’s ex, Kevin, had secured some muscle to work me over following our encounter at the diner. At least, he struck me as the sort of guy who might do something like that.

  Though their appearance outside startled me, I remained calm and carefully waited for another flash of lightning to permit further inspection. However, they had disappeared from view by that time.

  The sound of my heartbeat thrummed in my ears as I contemplated any number of other unsavory possibilities. Unfortunately, the prospect of one or more of them being vampires came to mind.

  Suddenly I wished that it might merely be Kevin and some thug acquaintances.

  I retrieved my jacket and extracted a combat knife and one of the flashlights with infrared bulbs from an inside pocket.

  Regardless of whether they were vampires or humans, the odds dictated one against six, and that certainly wasn’t a ratio that favored me.

  A knock at the door caused me to start.

  They’re knocking?

  I waited, half-surprised the door wasn’t already flying off its hinges and inward at me.

  Another knock sounded.

  I took a deep breath and, in that singular moment, I decided that I wasn’t going to make things easy on whoever was waiting outside for me. I’d make them work for it.

  I used the fingers on my flashlight-wielding hand to twist the knob as I steadied my knife for action. The door’s hinges creaked as a slight gap opened.

  My breath caught in my throat as I lightly thumbed the switch on my flashlight.

  My eyes narrowed as a flash of lightning lit up the porch area.

  “Hello, Caleb,” greeted a familiar voice.

  Katrina stood before me, her long leather trench coat swaying slightly in the wind as rain blew onto the porch. Her emerald eyes practically glowed.

  “Still alive, I see,” she said.

  How ironic was it that Skylar Grey’s “Back from the Dead” played over my iPod speakers?

  “So it would seem,” I said. “For now, anyway.”

  “May I come in?” she asked. She looked at my bike parked on the porch to her right. “Or are you planning on running us down on your Moped?”

  I curtailed a sour expression, though inwardly I was admittedly relieved that it was her and not Kevin or other enemy vampires. Never mind that she was likely angry with me.

  “Did you come here just to insult me?” I asked.

  She gave me a dark look. “Don’t even go there.”

  There were times when I knew better than to push topics with her. This was clearly one of those times.

  I opened the door and stood aside.

  As she slipped past me, I looked out at the group of five vampires standing in the rain, staring back at me with curious expressions.

  “What about them?” I asked. “Sort of a small army you have there.”

  “It took a small army to find you,” she said. “But they’re fine where they are for now.”

  She leaned past me and issued a rapid series of hand motions.

  The vampires stepped back into the treeline and practically melted into the night.

  I shut the door and turned to face her.

  She glanced down at my hands. “Are you planning on stabbing me, or merely giving me a dose of UV?”

  “What? Oh, sorry,” I said, practically dropping the knife and flashlight as I placed them on the nearby dining room table.

  She removed her wet leather coat and tossed it over the back of one of the wooden dining room chairs. Her boot heels made heavy thumps on the wood planking as she walked over to my iPod and switched it off.

  The ensuing silence felt palpable.

  I stood there, wondering what I should say first. There were suddenly so many thoughts and feelings running through my mind that it seemed impossible to sort them all at once.

  With more heavy thumps from her boots, she made her way back over to stand before me, towering above me, a look of disapproval evident on her face.

  “I’m very cross with you at the moment,” she said. “But at least you’re safe.”

  She reached out and tilted my head upward. Then she slowly bent down to briefly kiss my lips in a firm, almost possessive fashion.

  “I was worried sick about you,” she said.

  As she pulled away from me slightly, the flat of her palm slapped the side of my face, shocking me.

  The impact stung like hell.

  “Wha—”

  “That was for all the worry and fear I felt while desperately trying to find you,” she said.

  I was almost willing to admit that maybe I deserved that.

  Almost.

  “I left a note telling you not to worry about me,” I said. “And I sent periodic emails that I was safe.”

  She gave me a wan look as she drew her smartphone out of her vest pocket to make a call. I took the opportunity to rub at my still stinging skin.

  “I found him,” she said. “He’s safe…for the moment.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her, but she pointed her index finger at me in a warning fashion.

  “Don’t start with me,” she said, placing her phone in speaker mode and setting it upon the dining table.

  “You’re on speaker now,” she said.

  “Young man, it goes without saying that I’m extremely disappointed in you right now,” Alton began. “You gave us all quite a bit of a scare and caused no small amount of disruption both in the UK and the States. What the hell were you thinking?”

  He sounded reminiscent of a father scolding his teenager.

  “I wasn’t trying to scare or worry anyone,” I emphasized with a meaningful look at Kat. “I repeatedly checked in, in fact, just to make sure you understood that.”

  “Yes, well, despite all that I’d still probably strangle you right now if I was there,” he said.

  Kat’s free hand moved in a blur and her palm once more impacted the side of my face.

  Thankfully, it was the opposite side, though my jaw nevertheless ached from the impact.

  “Hey!” I snapped. “Enough with the slapping already!”

  “That was for Alton,” she said.

  “Fine, he’s pissed. You’re pissed. I get it,” I said. “But I’ve had more than enough of feeling everyone else’s pain for the moment.”

  Nobody said anything to that.

  In fact, the awkward silence built to an uncomfortable level.

  “Yes, well, I’ll let the two of you sort things out from here,” Alton said. “Caleb, you and I are going to have a long chat the next time we see each other. Understood?”

  “Yeah. Got it,” I said.

  “Goodbye for now,” Alton said.

  Kat pocketed her smartphone and stared at me.

  “Yes?” I asked, waiting for what I believed to be the beginnings of an argument.

  “You should’ve thought about the possible cause and effect before you just up and ran away,” she said. “I’ve tried to convey to you in the past that your actions have consequences.”

  “I didn’t run away,” I said. “I just had to clear my head; regain some perspective. I needed to think.”

  “About what?” she demanded. “What did you have to think about that you ran halfway across the country to consider? And why alone? Why from me?”

  How could I explain?

  “You probably wouldn’t understand right at the moment,” I said. “And besides, I didn’t exactly run from you. You were already halfway across the planet.”r />
  “How can I even begin to understand you when you won’t even talk to me about it?” she asked. “You shocked me when you just up and left. You didn’t even try to discuss things. You just abandoned us.”

  I looked into her eyes and saw both pain and anger directed at me.

  “Abandoned?” I asked.

  “Yes, abandoned,” she said. “You, running off like that. What you did hurt me.”

  Despite the aggravation I still felt, a pang of guilt surged through me.

  Admittedly, I probably could’ve handled things better, I supposed.

  “Well, I wasn’t trying to hurt you,” I said.

  She stared at me.

  I stood my ground, though just barely, and looked her in the eyes.

  “Or make you angry with me,” I added.

  She stepped closer to me, towering above me.

  “Did you honestly believe for one moment that striking out like that wouldn’t make me feel either angry or abandoned?” she demanded.

  At that moment, I didn’t know what to say.

  “Well?” she asked.

  “I–”

  “I’ve given you practically everything you could need or want, including my love,” she said. “Never mind what Alton’s done for you.”

  “I’m grateful for—”

  “And yet you abandoned it all at the drop of a hat,” she said.

  Roiling emotions inside me boiled over.

  “No, you don’t understand at all,” I insisted. “Sure, you and Alton have provided so much for me…a home, tuition, bodyguards, and what not. But you’ve also taken something very precious from me.”

  The words, however raw, tumbled from my mouth before I even realized I’d said them.

  A look of shock appeared on her face.

  She arched a single brow at me. “What have we taken from you, then?”

  “You,” I said. “I don’t care about big houses, or tuition, or new cars, or any of it. I only want you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I’ve already given myself to you, fully and wholly. I have given you my full commitment. I am your mate.”

  I shook my head. “But nowadays only in absentia.”

  “That’s not fair,” she said. “You know why I’ve been away, and it’s certainly not by choice.”