Crimson Rush A Vampire Romance (Crimson Book 1)

by Lorraine Kennedy

  The blood rushed to my face. “You still haven’t explained anything,” I said, directing my words to Charlie.

  “Rush is a drug created by vampires for vampires. It’s a little like combining Crystal Meth and LSD … if you’re a vampire,” Charlie explained.

  Well that explained what Rush was. I should have just asked Charlie to begin with.

  “Those are the words Max keeps saying,” I blurted out.

  “I told you!” Charlie glared at Luke.

  Luke shook his head. “That doesn’t mean that Marcus is involved, and as far as him singling out Star, well you know all vampires are attracted to enchanted blood.”

  I winced when Charlie slammed his bottle down on my coffee table. “Why are you protecting him? There’s no way one of the Five would be in a backwoods place like Cookson Springs … at least not without a damn good reason.”

  Luke glared at Charlie through narrowed eyes. “I’m not protecting him, but killing one of the Five is a suicide mission. You are risking them slaughtering this whole town, so you better bloody well know for sure.”

  “Okay that’s it! Both of you out!” I yelled. “I won’t have anything to do with the word killing, and unless you are going to start from the beginning and tell me everything … I’m going to have me a bologna sandwich and hot shower. And as far as I’m concerned, I’ll wake up tomorrow morning and pretend I never met either of you knuckleheads.”

  “You better drink that beer and get you another,” Charlie advised.

  After taking several swallows of my beer, I leveled my eyes on Charlie. “So talk.”

  Charlie sighed heavily. “I hoped you would never have to know any of this … that you would just have a normal life. I know that’s what your parents wanted.”

  When I didn’t respond, he continued.

  “Cookson Springs isn’t just some hick town full of rednecks, though it sure does seem like that on the surface. There are very few places in the world like it … and believe me, I’ve been all over. After the witch trials in Salem, a lot of the true witches fled Salem, and some of them ended up here. They were drawn here by … I don’t know … some kind of power. I’ve never really understood that part.”

  Charlie paused long enough to finish off his beer. “The Lavelle family came here from Salem, but their roots go back much further … back to the Old World. One of the main ingredients of Rush is the blood of a witch … and obviously there are many witch descendants in this area. That’s how I know what’s going on, and that Marcus is involved. Somehow the vampires found out about us,” he finished.

  Okay, so I was descended from witches. That was strange. Not as strange as vampires, but still pretty bizarre.

  “What happened to Max? Do you think they did something to him because he found out about them?” I asked.

  Charlie shrugged. “Possible. He could have been compelled to forget, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t have just killed him.”

  “Compelled? What does that mean?”

  “The thing with the eyes,” Charlie said, pointing to his eyes. “They can use their eyes to mess with your head. It’s a form of hypnotism.”

  That could explain my reaction to Marcus. I hoped it did anyway.

  “There is another possibility,” Luke pointed out. “He might have tried some Rush himself. Some people do tend to have a nasty reaction to it.”

  “How did you get involved with all of this?” I asked Charlie. “And why is a vampire hunter working with a vampire?”

  “I knew that one was coming.” Luke chuckled.

  “I wouldn’t really say I’m a vampire hunter … more of just a hunter. The organization I work for pays me to get rid of undesirables. Since I have certain gifts, it makes my job easier. That’s what I did after your father and I had our disagreement years ago.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “I’d just as soon not get into it,” he said, looking away.

  Charlie not wanting to talk about his problem with my dad made me a little nervous, but I was too tired to get into it, especially with so many other problems to deal with at the moment.

  “So you are here to kill Savoy and then you’ll be on your way?”

  Charlie nodded. “But obviously I can’t just walk in there and do it. Luke’s right about one thing … it would be suicide. Marcus is a very old and powerful vampire. That’s where you come in.”

  I shook my head. “I told you, I’m not going to have anything to do with killing.”

  Charlie frowned. “What do you care? He’s a monster … and don’t forget what happened to your friend.”

  I hadn’t forgotten about Max, but I couldn’t stand the thought of killing, no matter if it was a person, a vampire, or a slimy old toad.

  I shook my head. “Sorry. It’s just not going to happen.”

  “You don’t have to do any killing. All you have to do is help me get some information. I need proof that he is producing Rush. It’s forbidden, so if he is doing it … the killing part will be justified.”

  With a roll of my eyes, I asked, “And just how do you suppose I do that?”

  “Go to work at Club Crimson. Keep your ears open, and see what you can find out,” Charlie suggested.

  My mouth fell open and I could actually feel the blood drain from my face. “You are nuttier than a fruitcake. Not only do I already have a job, but this bad ass vampire your chasing, already insinuated that I was asking for trouble by hanging out with vampires. He also more or less said I should stay away from Luke. He sure seems to be giving out a lot of warnings for someone who wants my blood.”

  Charlie drew his brows together. “That is weird.”

  “You’re not sending her to work at that club, mate. All that will do is get her killed.” Luke got to his feet and started pacing the floor. “You need to come up with a better plan.”

  “Yeah maybe,” Charlie said. Letting out a loud sigh, he stood up. “Luke and I have some business to take care of in New Orleans. It seems there is a rogue vampire feeding from the prostitutes. I’ll be gone for a few days, but in the meantime, you keep a good watch over your shoulder. They’re here to harvest blood, and yours is exactly what they’re looking for.”

  He wasn’t telling me anything I hadn’t figured out on my own, but I decided to play along.

  “Sure,” I agreed. “But I’m still not going to work at that club.”

  Charlie leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “It was a pleasure to see you so beautiful and all grown up.”

  “Thanks.”

  Luke waved as he followed Charlie out the door.

  I’m not a rude person, and I’ve always tried to be hospitable, but I was glad to see them go. I needed time to think. I’d basically been in shock since they’d arrived, and my state of mind sure wasn’t getting any better.

  * * *

  It was still dark when I drove into the Westland Super Center parking lot. Calling it a super center was probably stretching the definition some. They did carry hardware and clothes, as well as food, but Westland’s was nothing like the super centers you’d find in the big cities.

  On Friday mornings I usually helped Jaycee open the store. I didn’t mind. It gave me some overtime, and that meant a few extra dollars on my paycheck. These days it seemed everyone needed a little extra come payday.

  Jaycee Harris was the weekend manager at Westland’s. She always came in at 3:00 am to start stocking shelves. Jacee didn’t mind coming in early either. That was probably on account of her being alone now that her son Derry had run off to Hollywood, hoping to get into the movies.

  Derry had never been much good to Jacee anyway. All he ever did when he was home was drink and get into trouble. I thought she was better off with him gone, but of course Jaycee didn’t see it that way, so I tried to be sympathetic.

  I parked as near to the building as I could, choosing a spot beneath one of the light poles. The phrase, as silent as the grave, came near to describing what Cookson Springs wa
s like at 5:00 am. There was no sound at all, except for the buzzing of insects that swarmed near the top of the light pole, and my own breathing. As I walked across the pavement, even my footsteps seemed loud in the utter stillness before dawn.

  The dark - the silence - the solitude, none of this had ever bothered me, but that was before I knew there were vampires living right here in my hometown. Now simply walking through a deserted parking lot seemed like a perilous act.

  Wasting no time, I made a beeline for the side door. Jaycee knew I was coming, so she’d likely unlocked it by now. I breathed a sigh of relief when I pulled on the door and it opened.

  Though it wasn’t as bright as it was when the store was open, there were enough lights on that it was easy to see.

  “Jaycee. I’m here,” I called out.

  There was no answer, so I figured she was in back pulling merchandise. I sat my purse on the shelf beneath my cash register and went to look for Jaycee. I liked to let her know when I came in. That way she’d get my hours down right.

  “Jaycee!” I called again, this time louder.

  Making my way to the back of the store, I glanced down each aisle as I walked by, but there was no sign of her. I could hear nothing but silence, and the sound of my own breathing.

  She should have heard me by now, or at least come looking for me. It was already ten minutes past five.

  The closer I got to the back of the store, the more I felt that burning - searing pain in my head. Whenever I got these strange headaches, it always meant something was wrong.

  It started at the top of my head and worked its way back to my neck. By the time it reached my spine, the sensation turned into ice-cold chills. Running away was the smartest thing to do, but that wasn’t me. If there was a possibility someone was in trouble, I couldn’t just run off.

  The double doors to the warehouse were closed, but streams of thick - dark red blood seeped from beneath them, spreading across the white tile floor.

  My breath caught in my throat. I was torn between grabbing the phone and calling the police, or going back there to see if I could help Jaycee.

  She might still be alive.

  The little miss do-good part of me propelled me.

  With extreme caution, I pushed the doors open, doing my best to sidestep the blood. There was a lot of it, so that wasn’t an easy task.

  The warehouse was much darker than the front of the store. My eyes scanned the floor and the neatly stacked boxes, but there was no sign of her. Before continuing, I pulled a broom from the rack where it hung on the wall. It wasn’t a great weapon, but better than nothing.

  As quietly as possible, I followed the trail of blood down the box-lined aisle and rounded the corner.

  I heard the low growling - grunting sound before I actually saw it. As soon as I turned the corner, I froze.

  When in the grip of true terror, to say you are scared stiff doesn’t really cut it. In that moment, I was so horrified that I couldn’t even scream.

  Johnny Brownson, the part time stocker, was lying on the ground with his gut torn open. Jaycee, or something that slightly resembled Jaycee, was stuffing his entrails in her mouth.

  The Jaycee thing looked up at me with pale glazed eyes and growled. Still I couldn’t move. It wasn’t until it started moving toward me that the paralysis broke. My screams shattered the overlying silence.

  By the time I thought to run, it was already within a few feet of me. I swung at it with the broom, successfully knocking it off balance, but not much else.

  I put so much focus into running, that I didn’t pay enough attention to where I was stepping and managed to slip on a pool of blood, just before reaching the warehouse doors.

  Too panicked to pray, and too scared to look back, I scrambled to my feet and burst through the doors. I practically flew through the front of the store, not even daring to stop long enough to catch my breath, at least not until I got to my car. Too late I realized I hadn’t grabbed my purse on the way out, and didn’t have any keys.

  My heart was pounding so hard, I was sure it would burst right through my chest. Resting my back against the car, I tried to pull in enough oxygen to keep from fainting. That’s when I felt the hard plastic of the phone in my back pocket.

  “Thank God!” I gasped.

  It was a struggle to get my trembling fingers on the right numbers, but I managed. The sound of the 911 operator on the other end, was like hearing angels sing while trying to climb out of the pits of hell.

  Chapter Three

  They didn’t find any sign of Jaycee. I don’t think old Jud believed me when I told him Jaycee was the one who killed Johnny. He was convinced I was in shock and my eyes had played tricks on me, so he’d simply listed Jaycee as missing.

  Not exactly professional police work, but that was old Jud for you. His gray hair and tired blue eyes spoke of the countless years he’d served as sheriff in Cookson Springs. He had his own way of doing things, and up until now, it had worked.

  I spent half the morning in Westland’s parking lot answering questions for the police, while trying to ignore the ghouls gathered outside the yellow police tape.

  Not that I was surprised. This was probably the biggest thing to happen in Cookson Springs since the tornado of 1976.

  My hands were still shaking when I got in my car and left, but I was a lot calmer than I’d been earlier. Now I wished Charlie was still around. I wondered what he would have to say about this new development.

  I was fairly sure that what I’d seen wasn’t a vampire. The Jaycee thing very closely resembled the zombies I’d seen on TV.

  It was impossible. Those things just didn’t happen, but then again, vampires didn’t exist either.

  Jud was right about one thing; I was in shock. Who wouldn’t be if they’d just found one coworker eating another?

  I probably wasn’t quite as shocked as some people might have been. Growing up with stories of Indian curses and Big Foot, had a way of taking the edge off of weird, at least a little.

  Zombies!

  Vampires!

  What else was out there?

  I needed someone to talk to. My go to person for weird things was my Uncle Basile. Since I wouldn’t be going into work, I decided to call on him.

  Uncle Basile wasn’t really my uncle. He was actually my mother’s uncle. I’d always had a close relationship with Basile, but we’d grown even closer since my parents died.

  As long as Uncle Basile was around, I’d never be completely alone in the world.

  Of course there was also my cousin Dusty. Although I didn’t have a real tight relationship with Dusty, we looked out for each other. He’d always been there when I needed him. My cousin might have seemed a bit shallow to others, but I knew better. He wasn’t Einstein, but he had a big heart.

  The drive to Uncle Basile’s house didn’t take long. He lived in an old trailer outside his auto repair shop, which wasn’t too far from town.

  The garage doors to his shop were closed, so instead of trying the door, I just went around back to his single wide mobile home. It was an old model from the sixties, but he kept it clean and comfortable.

  Uncle Basile knew about a lot of weird stuff, but I wasn’t sure how he was going to take to the idea of vampires.

  After knocking on the door, I let myself in without waiting for an invitation. Basile wouldn’t mind. He insisted that his home, was my home.

  Like I suspected, Basile was sitting in front of the TV, watching an old black and white program. There was a can of RC cola, and a bowl of fried pork rinds sitting on the little table he kept next to his recliner.

  A black cap covered his head, which was mostly bald, this being the reason why he always wore his hat. At one time his hair had been as dark as his eyes, on account of his mother being African American, and his father Cajun. Basile was real proud of his heritage, and never failed to remind us that we should be too.

  “Those things are going to kill you,” I told him, pointing to the bowl
of rinds.

  “I reckon I’m not so lucky,” he said with a hardy chuckle. “On Judgment Day, I’ll still be here checking folk’s oil and patching their bald ass tires.”

  Leaning down, I gave Uncle Basile a quick hug before sitting in the small love seat. It was the only other furniture in his living room, aside from the end table, TV, and recliner.

  “I heard you had a time of it this morning. What you doing out and about?” he asked before popping a pork rind into his mouth.

  News sure did travel fast in Cookson Springs.

  “I found Johnny’s body this morning when I went to work. It was horrible! I’ll be seeing that picture in my head for the rest of my life,” I told him, closing my eyes in an effort to block out the nightmarish image racing to the front of my mind.

  “Sure be a pity about Johnny … and that Miss Jaycee going missing.”

  I nodded.

  I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. The last thing I wanted was for him to get all hocus pocus on me. He had a habit of doing that, probably because he was from voodoo country. Both he and my grandmother were born in Louisiana. As far as I knew, Grandma Maria still lived there. I’d never met my Grandma Maria, due to her and Mom having a falling out.

  When my mom was just sixteen, she left home and came to Oklahoma to live with her Uncle Basile. She never went back, and never spoke to her mother again.

  No one ever talked about why Mom left home, and my family avoided the subject like the plague. Even now that Mom was gone, Basile refused to talk about it.

  “You know how I have a gift?” I asked.

  That’s what he’d always called it, a gift. Now I wouldn’t exactly call it that, on account of it being such a royal pain in the ass, not to mention downright scary sometimes.

  There was nothing quite as unnerving as using a public restroom, and having some dead girl peek under the stall to ask where her mama was.

  Of course it could also be heartbreaking, which isn’t pleasant either.

  “Put on your ears girl! You even listening to me?”

  Basile’s scolding snapped me back to the present. “Sorry. I guess I’m a little tired.”