Jukes continued to curse in the most colorful language she’d heard in a while. He even managed to stake the vampire in the arm, distracting him long enough to shove him backwards and over the coffee table.
“I’m not your lunch or anyone else’s,” Jukes shouted viciously, then glanced at the stranger merely watching. “Mister, I know who you’re not! No way would John Brittain stand here and let this vampire attack without a damned good fight.”
Using vampiric speed, Jess stepped in front of Jukes before the vampire could attack again. Angry at his interrupted meal, he moved on her with amazing, blurring speed.
She threw herself backward to avoid his attack, but his nails grazed the side of her neck, leaving burning strips of bleeding flesh. Black, mirrored orbs focused on her with deadly intent. The strength he’d shown before was nothing compared to what he’d be able to do now in the heat of bloodlust. His strength would become equivalent to his need. And he looked needy.
His fangs were so close she could feel his icy breath on her skin, and his nails dug painfully into her collarbones. Losing Britt had really affected her ability to fight. She’d never felt so helpless in all her years of battling vampires. And she’d been in some pretty bad situations before this. “Don’t think you’re going to take me down easily,” she managed to get out between gasps.
Suddenly the voyeur moved. He grabbed the vampire off of Jess and threw him across the room so fast it surprised her.
Before he could get up again, the look-alike lifted the vampire over his head and threw him straight through the wall into the next room. Dust billowed into the room toward them and when it settled, the vampire was scrambling to pick himself off the floor on the other side of the hole.
“Who the hell are you?” the vampire roared, veins popping at his temples. Covered in dust and debris, he returned to a fighting stance and glared at them through the gaping hole in the wall.
Meanwhile, the Britt look-alike had moved next to Jess and Jukes, as if they were forming a battle line against the solitary foreign vampire.
With a vicious curse, the vampire turned and dove through the already broken balcony door and dropped out of sight. Jess dove for the door in time to see the vampire disappearing down the street.
“Jukes, get your ass back outside to protect Regent while I look for James and Terry and any other vampires still hiding. And this time, corporal, you’d better damned well follow my orders or your ass will be history.”
She turned to the man who looked like Britt. “You! What’s your name?”
“Britt.”
Her head dropped until her chin nearly touched her chest. She inhaled and exhaled several times, then lifted her head again. “You’re not, Britt. He’s dead.”
“He is?” He shrugged. “I don’t know who I am, then. I can’t remember anything but the name Britt and a phone number.”
“What phone number?”
He repeated Regent’s private number. Jess bit her lip. “You don’t really expect me to fall for that line of BS, do you?”
“I don’t care what you believe, lady. I’m telling the truth.”
“Sure you are,” she said caustically. For now I’ll call you Britt, but don’t be fooled. I know who you aren’t!” She slammed her hands onto her hips. “What do you want here, anyway?”
“I was told to help you.”
“By whom?”
He made a face and raked his teeth over his bottom lip in a trademark Britt motion. “A blond guy. Somehow he made my pain stop and he brought me here and told me I had to help you.”
She squeezed her hands into tight fists. He’d been well-trained in Britt’s mannerisms. And she knew exactly who the blond guy was. She’d met him at the cemetery, no doubt. “That so?”
“Yes.”
She could only swallow so many lies in one day, and she’d had enough of them today. Besides, she needed to find out if Terry or James were here in the house. To her irritation, the fake Britt followed her up the stairs.
Even though the bedrooms were trashed there were no bodies. No sign of anyone else, living or dead.
She turned her attention to the imposter. “Why are you following me? Do you know what I am?” He had to know—he’d seen her in action.
He stared at her and frowned, but didn’t answer. His deaf and dumb routine was getting stale. If he didn’t speak up soon, she’d let him know how reckless it was to irritate a vampire. Her VNA was already hyped up enough from the recent fighting.
“Who operated on your face? Who was your plastic surgeon?”
His facial features shifted for a second, but again he didn’t answer her. He looked confused and touched his face.
No way would she give him the satisfaction of looking into his eyes to verify if they were Britt’s eyes. No way would she let this imposter shake her up any more than he already had.
She wanted to remember Britt’s eyes, not some watered down wannabe’s. Even though there was no way this guy could possibly have Britt’s eyes, his window to his soul, she still couldn’t chance a peek.
Suddenly, he reached out, touched her shredded neck, and then compressed a hand over the wound to stop the bleeding before she made a move to stop him.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she said, inadvertently touching his fingers for a moment before she shoved his hand away.
He looked at his fingers as if she’d burned him, as if he’d never seen blood before.
“Could’ve been worse,” she admitted to the man whose appearance had the ability to physically cripple her. “That vampire could’ve ripped out my throat if I hadn’t been able to dodge him.” Her wound was already healing. There would barely be a scar before long.
“Okay, now you’ve played me long enough. If you don’t want me to kick your ass, I’d suggest you make tracks out of here. You only got this break because you helped outside.”
Turning her back on him, she sprinted down the stairs and out the front door to check on her brother. As she approached the vehicle, Regent jumped out of it while Jukes stayed close enough to him that Regent looked irritated.
“Sorry, Captain, Father Vandermire wouldn’t leave.”
“Don’t fire him, Jess. It’s true. I refused to leave you,” Regent said, that familiar fire flaring in his eyes. He might be old, but he’d been a vampire hunter for years. It must be difficult to need protection because his body was failing while hers remained young and agile. “And I made him go inside to help you earlier.” His eyes grew worried. Where are they, Jess? James, Terry and Sephina? Are they all right?”
Jess inhaled slowly and closed her lips over her long canines. “I don’t know. There’s no sign of any of them.”
Regent crossed himself. He started saying a silent prayer, his lips moving reverently. At least until he looked past her And his faded blue eyes widened. “Who is that man?”
“I can tell you who he isn’t!”
She felt Regent’s back straighten before he pulled his arms out of her grasp. He walked toward the man who looked like Britt, circled him, and stared at him like a predatory bird. “Eyes are the mirror to one’s soul, Jess. Look into his eyes and tell me this isn’t Britt. You would know better than anyone else.”
“It’s not Britt, Regent. He’s gone.” Her voice caught and she bit her lip hard. She was a tough vampire. So why was she so irritated by her brother’s request? “Oh, what the hell,” she said, slapping her hands on her hips. She strode up to him and lifted her gaze to his. “Damn it!” Her legs went to mush. Those were the eyes of the man she loved. They were Britt’s eyes, but how could that be true?
“Jess?” the stranger asked, as if using her name for the first time. He didn’t quite sound like Britt, his voice sounded gravelly. Unused.
“That voice,” Regent gasped. “You’re the man who phoned me.”
Britt raised an eyebrow. “And you hung up on me. Why?”
Regent closed his eyes momentarily and cast a sideways glance at Jess. No doubt h
e suspected she’d be frowning at him for not telling her about the call. Didn’t matter. He could always make her forgive him, no matter what he did. He was her baby brother, after all.
“I thought you were dead. When you phoned me, I assumed it was nothing but a sick prank.”
“If you are Britt, where have you been?” Jess asked, regaining her legs and her spirit.
But not only did he have Britt’s eyes, he had the same half moon scar that Britt had received in battle with Prometheus at an abandoned shoe factory last year. Prometheus had been a drug-dealing vampire kingpin who’d created a drug he called sunshine in order to build his army. The vampires became addicted, and he had complete control over them. During that battle Britt had killed his own wife who’d become a bloodthirsty vampire and had turned a baby girl into a vampire as well. She reached out and grabbed the imposter’s arm. Pressed her fingers against his skin—his veins. His arm felt warm and he had a pulse. At least he wasn’t a vampire.
“Constantine killed Britt. I saw it with my own eyes. The only way Britt could possibly be standing here now is as a vampire.” God, how she missed the man she’d grown to love beyond her wildest dreams—even to the point of considering acceptance of this imposter without analyzing the reasons he’d shown up just because he looked like Britt. He could never be the real Britt. No one could. “You’re obviously not a vampire.”
Britt shook his head and pursed his lips. “I certainly hope not! And to be honest, I can’t answer your questions. I don’t remember.”
She saw the way he looked at her, the way his gaze rarely left her. As if he remembered something about her but wasn’t sure about it.
“Were you in a hospital?” Regent asked gently, obviously trying to help Britt remember.
“I don’t think so. It looked more like a monastery. I was in pain. Excruciating pain. I couldn’t walk. Could barely move. I don’t know for how long. It seemed to last forever.”
“Really?” Regent touched Britt on the shoulder, almost as if he had to feel him to make sure he was real. “What was the name of the facility?”
Britt frowned. “I don’t know. I was taken out a back door into an alley. A man drove me to this street and told me to help.”
“What do you think, Jess? It can’t really be him, can it?” Jukes asked, looking more than a little disconcerted.
“Of course not. He’s a good double, though.”
“Is he a …”
“Vampire?” she finished for him. “If he is, he’s a new breed with warm blood and a pulse.”
“But doesn’t his pain sound like the reawaking of a vampire?” Regent asked.
“It does. But we can’t believe anything he says.”
Regent continued to stare at Britt, scrutinizing the man up close.
“Regent, you can’t tell if he’s the real deal by looking at him. If I can’t tell, you certainly can’t tell.”
Regent turned and flashed a brilliant smile. Happiness shone from behind his irises. “If you can’t tell that it’s not him, then it has to be him! And he hasn’t had plastic surgery either.”
“Don’t delude yourself because you want it to be Britt, Regent. He’s an imposter. He has to be.” Even though she wouldn’t admit it, those eyes could only belong to the man she loved. But how in hell was that possible?
“Think about it, we lost his body, so he may not have been dead,” Regent said.
“Sampson, of all people, knows when a person is truly dead. Britt was dead. That only leaves one possibility.”
Regent crossed his arms, then propped a hand under his chin and turned to Britt. “Do you have a craving for blood, Britt?”
Britt stared at the old priest and thought about his question. He’d had nothing but liquids as long as he could remember, but the liquids had been tasteless—and colorless, come to think of it. Maybe the excruciating pain had dulled his other senses. “I don’t think so. Sounds rather abhorrent.”
“But this man has the strength of a vampire,” Jess said. “We saw it inside James’s place. He threw one vampire straight through a wall. Britt could never have done that.”
“May I see your teeth?” Regent asked.
Britt bit down hard enough for his jaws to visibly clench but he pushed back his lips to show his teeth.
“No vamp eyeteeth.”
“That proves nothing.” Jess showed her own. They also were normal right now.
“There’s a way we can figure this out. Sampson will be able to tell us what he is.” She yanked out her cell phone, dialed and waited. “Sampson, get your blood testing gear ready for some work. We’re coming straight over to the lab.”
She hung up and looked at the Britt look-alike. “I’m assuming you’re willing to come with us and find out once and for all if you’re who you say you are?” She raised one eyebrow and pushed her shoulder-length sable hair off her shoulders.
His gaze followed her hand before he nodded. “I’m not saying I’m anyone. Whether you believe me or not, I don’t remember who I am. I remember the name Britt, that’s all. There’s nothing criminal in that, surely?”
“Maybe Britt has a twin?” Jukes suggested.
Jess’s mouth tightened perceptibly. “Not as far as I know.”
He frowned. “Look, I’ll go along with this thing because I need some answers. But I’m not signing up to be a lab rat. If I don’t like how this thing goes down, I’m out of there.”
“Hah! Mistake number one, buddy. The real John Brittain would know he could trust me.”
He heaved a disgruntled sigh. “Look, as I just said, I’m not professing to be anybody. I’m sure any resemblance between me and your dead friend is coincidental.” He shoved his hands into his leather pants pockets and scrunched up his large shoulders. “I have no idea who I am or where I live. So yes, given that fact, I’ll take your offer to find out who I am. I need to know in order to move on, but that’s all I want from you.”
No matter how much he protested, Britt had been experiencing vague snatches of memories of these people. Given the spottiness of his recollections though, he had no intention of telling any of them. They didn’t trust him, and he didn’t even know if the memories were real.
And vampires? Until he’d seen them inside that building, he couldn’t believe they existed. Another vague memory tugged at him but wouldn’t become clear.
Yet, when he looked into the eyes of the female vampire standing next to the priest on the street, his gut twisted painfully. Just looking at her made his knees weak and his heart ache in a way that seemed rather perverse given her undead condition. How could he possibly have the hots for a vampire?
“How were you and John Brittain connected?” he asked. Truth was he couldn’t imagine being friends with a bloodsucking killer, but he felt a pull between them that required explanation.
He didn’t expect her to answer but her expression projected the pain his question had caused.
“Are you sure that’s not just a name that’s been planted in your memory?” Jess asked.
He frowned because he’d been having similar thoughts. “I guess it’s possible but why would someone do that?”
“To create a diversion maybe. Put me at a disadvantage.” She sighed. “All I know is Britt died. He can’t come back.” Something dark flitted behind her irises.
“I’m sorry about your friend. If it helps, I have no intention of taking his place.”
“You son of a …”
“Jess.” Regent squeezed her elbow. “Don’t forget this poor man has been through the grist mill and has amnesia.”
“I’m afraid I’m not that gullible,” Jess reminded. She shot an angry glance at Britt and he took in her confused expression. “He might just be an award-winning actor, for all we know.”
“But he told us that he’s been in excruciating pain, and now he’s been thrown onto the street and told to help you without being told why. It’s got to be very upsetting and disconcerting. He needs time to assimilate everythin
g all over again. If it’s Britt, I mean.”
“Regent, it’s all a lie.”
Regent raised his arms in an expression of utter regret. “He looked dead. What if we were wrong?”
Britt watched Jess stamp her foot and clench her fists. She acted as if she couldn’t ever contemplate that possibility. “Sampson doesn’t make mistakes like that, and you know it.” She held up her hands to stop all discussion. “Doesn’t matter. We’ll have this all cleared up as soon as we have Sampson check him over.”
“Who’s Sampson?”
“He’s my … forensic vampirologist,” she blurted. Not in the least concerned that he might be disturbed by that bit of news. And he was! He flipped out, saying, “I thought you wanted me to see a doctor, not a freaking vampire specialist. What are you people up to?” He scowled and started to walk away. “I can figure this out on my own.”
Jess took two steps toward him. “Britt!”
He stopped in his tracks and looked at her. “What do you want from me? I’m not your friend, and you’re not going to turn me into a vampire!”
“Pardon?”
“I saw those creatures inside. While it’s hard to believe they exist, I’ve seen that they do. What you do. And now you want me to see your vampirologist? Forget it. I’m not going to be one of his patients. I can just imagine how that scenario would play out. I’d end up with fangs and a craving for blood.”
It surprised him when Jess laughed. “He doesn’t turn people into vampires. He’s a human doctor who specializes in vampire physiology and research.”
“As I said, I’m not a vampire.”
“Look, we can’t take you to a regular hospital to solve this. We have to see Sampson. He has Britt’s genes on record. We need to compare yours to his. I promise that no harm will come to you. For heaven’s sake, look at my brother. He’s a priest.” She pointed at Regent. “Do you think he’d allow us to turn people into vampires?”
“Son,” Regent said, moving in closer. “Let’s let Dr. Case prove once and for all who you are or are not, okay?”
Britt watched Father Vandermire smile and motion for him to get into the priest’s vehicle. Apparently the female vampire was going to drive. The Priest got in the back, leaving the passenger seat for him, as if it was his usual seat.
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