Tall, Dark, and Vampire ditc-1

by Sara Humphreys

  “It’s the night security guard,” she whispered, stepping from his embrace abruptly. “We have to go.”

  Doug followed Olivia as she whipped around the corner and made swift work of opening one of the ornately carved doors. Moments later, they were standing in the outdoor garden overlooking the Hudson River.

  “What if they see us?” Doug glanced over his shoulder, but the guard was nowhere to be seen. “How exactly do we explain our presence?”

  “Mel is the guard on duty tonight, and if we had to, we could glamour him. Believe me, it wouldn’t be the first time.” Olivia watched as confusion washed over his handsome face. “Vampires can erase or create memories, like hypnosis. Anyway, I’d rather not. I don’t enjoy glamouring humans unless necessary.”

  Olivia walked through the gardens and hopped onto a wooden bench beneath the wisteria-covered arbor. She sucked in a deep breath and reveled in the multitude of scents in the night that filled her head and made her smile. There was great beauty in the world and having amped-up senses could be a perk, highlighting the smallest of luxuries in nature.

  “Why not?” Doug jumped on the bench next to her and looked out over the river with the glittering city lights reflected on the surface. He turned to face her, his eyes sparkling. His voice dropped low, to just above a whisper, as his eyes locked with hers. “Tell me. Why don’t you like glamouring humans?”

  “Because it’s too personal and intimate.” Olivia’s voice wavered, but she cleared her throat, hoping to steel her resolve. “I don’t like invading the mind of another being without permission. It feels like I’m violating them somehow, and it’s bad manners.”

  “You speak with your mind,” he said with a lopsided grin. “I have to admit, the first time I heard you, I thought I was going insane. But it also turned me on.” Doug linked one strong arm around her waist and yanked her against him. “So why is it okay for you to touch my mind? I mean, I know you’re not changing my memories, but you’re still… slipping inside of me.”

  Olivia’s stomach fluttered as he leaned closer and nuzzled her neck, trailing kisses down her neck. Why is it just me? She shut her eyes and arched back, allowing him better access, and his clean, fresh scent filled her head, making her dizzy with desire. Why can our minds whisper to each other? Olivia clung to him and moaned as he kissed his way up to her ear, nibbling her lobe seductively. Why can’t I think of anything but you? Lust fogged her, threatening to consume her.

  “I would love nothing more than to take this further,” she said breathlessly. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to touch his mind, fearing it would break her last ounce of self-control. “But we are running short on time.”

  Doug silenced her with a kiss. A knee-buckling, head-spinning kiss that would have stolen her breath, if she had any. He dipped her, so she was perched beneath the fragrant arbor. Olivia tangled her arms around his neck and sank into the kiss, allowing him to take control and take as much of her as he wanted.

  It was liberating.

  Doug broke the kiss and whipped her to a standing position as his hands settled on her hips. “After sunrise,” he said firmly, “you are going to answer my questions… among other things.”

  He released her from his grasp and looked out over the city. “Where do we go first?”

  Olivia smoothed back the stray hairs that came loose during their kiss and adjusted the gun at her hip. She tried desperately to seem unaffected by his sudden display of affection but failed miserably. Doug gave her a sidelong grin and folded his arms over his chest, which was puffed up like a rooster.

  “We’re going to the medical examiner’s office first to see if any other bodies have turned up.” She stepped onto the stone wall. “Then we go back to the area around the club and the park because that’s where they’ve been hunting. Chances are that’s where they’re nesting. They’ll stay in a pack out of instinct.”

  “I’m supposed to be dead, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if someone sees me?”

  “You’ll be moving so fast that even if they do catch a glimpse, they’ll think they saw a ghost.” Her lips curved into a smile. “Time to fly.”

  “Fly?” he asked skeptically.

  “Like a bird.” Olivia arched one eyebrow and leaped like a bullet into the night sky. “Or a bat.” She dropped down and hovered in midair, staying there for a moment, while Doug gaped. “What’s the matter, detective? Chicken?”

  “Not on your life.” Doug’s blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he looked at her mischievously. “How about a little coaching for a newbie?”

  “Remember when you were in the tunnels tonight and you ran like the wind?”

  “Yeah?” He peered over the edge at the steep drop but leaned back quickly.

  “Did you think about it, or did you just do it?”

  “Shit.” A grin cracked his handsome face, and he rubbed his head, reminding her of a little boy. “You’re right, but this is a little different, don’t you think? I mean, running is one thing, I’ve been doing that my whole life, but flying is another.”

  “Use your mind as much as your body.” She winked. “From what I’ve seen so far, you’re good with both.”

  Doug gave her a cocky grin, meeting her challenge, and in one giant leap, he shot into the air. Olivia watched as he swooped through the sky like a stealth bomber, until he finally stopped and hovered next to her. His eyes were alight with excitement, and his body hummed with power. Now she was the one gaping like a stunned sheep.

  “What’s the matter, Olivia?” he murmured wickedly as he drifted closer and his foot tapped hers. “You act like you’ve never seen a guy fly.”

  “I guess I didn’t expect you to do it like you’ve been doing it all your life.” She shook her head in wonder. “You were born to be a vampire.”

  His features darkened. “I was born to be a cop.” His jaw clenched, and he drifted back, increasing the distance between them. “Let’s go.”

  He flew ahead through the inky night towards the Village. As they sped through the city night together, she prayed he would eventually forgive her.

  They landed on the roof of the medical examiner’s building, and Olivia once again marveled at how easily Doug stepped into his new life—into her life. He had been quiet since they took flight, but she sensed the tension in him as he absorbed the sounds and sights of the city in an entirely new way. His brilliant blue eyes scanned the roof as they walked to the door, but Olivia stopped him before they went in.

  “Hang on.” She placed her hand on his chest as her other hand rested on the doorknob. His muscles flexed beneath her fingers, and much to her relief, he didn’t flinch or shrink away, but held her gaze, meeting her challenge. “Stay behind me, and follow my lead.”

  “I’ve been in the medical examiner’s office more times than I care to count, and I know my way around. I may not have been supernatural, but I managed just fine.”

  “I know that.” Olivia dropped her hand and cursed herself for not saying the right thing. She turned her back on him as she opened the door. “I just think it would be wise to avoid contact with the humans. Your ex-girlfriend might freak the fuck out if her presumed-dead ex walked into her autopsy room in the middle of the night.” She tried to keep the hurt and jealousy out of her voice but failed miserably. “Let’s make it quick, and then we’re heading back down to the Village.”

  “How did you know about Miranda?” Doug’s fingers curled around her bicep, and Olivia fought the rush of lust that followed as his hand pressed into her arm. He furrowed his brow as he loomed over her, his mouth temptingly close. “You seem to know a lot more about me than you’ve let on. Why is that?”

  “We don’t have time for this.” She tugged her arm free and yanked the door open. “Stay close and follow me.”

  “Whatever you say,” Doug bit out. “But this conversation isn’t over by a long shot.”

  Olivia flew down the empty stairwell to the bottom floor with Dou
g hot on her heels. As soon as she opened the door, the distinct scent of Rogue One slammed into them violently, knocking every other thought out of her head.

  Her fangs erupted, and Doug growled in her ear before he pushed past her and raced to the double doors of the autopsy room with his gun drawn. Olivia swore under her breath and flew down the hallway after him.

  She blew through the double doors and found Doug on the floor cradling the lifeless, bloodied body of Dr. Miranda Kelly. Sadness tore at her for the loss that Doug was suffering, but the scent of the rogue lingered, not allowing any time for mourning. Gun drawn, she surveyed the surroundings.

  “They fucking slaughtered her,” he growled. “Why? Why did they come here and kill her? What possible motivation could they have had to hurt Miranda?”

  Olivia watched through sympathetic eyes as Doug placed a kiss on her hair and gently laid her broken body on the floor—anger carved deep into his features as he rose to his feet slowly.

  “I can still smell that piece of shit, and when I find him, he’s going to pray for sunrise and a quick death. I’m going to dissect his ass like a frog in a high school biology class.”

  “The blood doesn’t bother you?” Olivia watched him carefully and noted that he seemed immune to the overwhelming scent of blood, which was unheard of for newly turned vampires. By all accounts, it should have triggered his bloodlust and hunger, driving him mad with thirst, but the only emotion he experienced was rage.

  “No,” he rasped. Doug looked around the room with his usual inspecting, intent gaze. “The place is destroyed. Maybe they were looking for something. What could she possibly have had that they would’ve killed her for?”

  The computer was smashed, her files were strewn around the room, and blood spattered much of the floor. She glanced to the camera in the corner. It was torn from the wall, so whoever was in here knew enough to take out the camera. Olivia glanced at the autopsy table.

  “The blood in these drains is fresh.” Olivia leaned closer to get a clean scent. “It’s not Miranda’s blood. Maybe Rogue One let one of the rogues get picked up by accident?”

  “What do you mean?” Doug squatted next to Miranda.

  “The healing doesn’t usually start for almost twenty-four hours. If Rogue One has been busy making new vamps, or his rogues have, then maybe they got sloppy, and a vampire that was in the middle of the change got picked up and mistaken by the humans for dead.”

  “Maybe.” He stood, his face stamped with anger. “Or maybe it woke up on the table and killed her?”

  Doug went to Miranda’s desk and picked up the open file.

  “Son of a bitch,” he whispered before turning to face her. “Moriarty. He was the guy she was working on.”

  Olivia nodded, but before she could say anything, the subtle sound of wind whistling down a tunnel captured her attention as she swung her gun in the direction of the refrigerator compartments. Doug drew his gun right along with her, and they moved toward the noise.

  One of the square stainless steel doors was open a crack. Olivia knew it led to the network of tunnels beneath the city. She pressed one finger to her lips and motioned to the partially opened door before yanking on it. It was empty, and the trap door that led into the tunnels was wide open.

  “Sloppy and frantic,” she whispered. “They killed her and escaped through there. Come on. We’ll track them.”

  Doug didn’t move. He was looking at Miranda’s lifeless body, and Olivia knew he hated the idea of leaving her. She couldn’t blame him, but they didn’t have the luxury of taking her with them.

  “We have to go, Doug.” Olivia laid a hand over his. “The only thing you can do to help her now is find the vamps that murdered her and put them down.”

  His intense blue eyes filled with fury and flicked to hers briefly before he dived into the open drawer and slipped into the tunnel below. Olivia slid in behind him and closed the trap door, shutting it securely. The last disruption they needed was a human to stumble upon their network.

  He crouched low and moved silently down the tunnel in front of her. They followed the scent for what felt like forever, but Doug stopped when they came to an intersection with five passages. She scanned the area not only with the enhanced night vision of a vampire, but also with the sonar vision that allowed her to sense far beyond where she could actually see.

  Doug closed his eyes and held his gun out as he absorbed the subtle sounds around them. Olivia squatted down on her heels and watched him with genuine awe because he figured it out himself.

  She didn’t have to tell him about reading sound waves, and she didn’t want to overwhelm him with information. Doug Paxton was full of surprises, and the most natural vampire she had ever met.

  They’re down there. His voice touched hers on a whisper. His eyes flicked open, and he pointed to the corridor to the right. I sense movement, and it feels like something big. Not rats. I think there are two or three.

  Once a cop, always a cop. Olivia looked at him with pride, and a smile played at her lips. It makes sense. This tunnel will take us to the Village, and there’s an entrance to the street by Washington Square Park. Stay sharp. Chances are their nest is somewhere around here.

  Doug nodded, and as they moved toward the inevitable battle, Olivia prayed he would be as deft at kicking ass as he had been at everything else.

  Chapter 12

  The need to kill pulled at him and hung around his neck like a fucking albatross. The image of Miranda’s mutilated body flashed through his mind as he and Olivia made their way through the network of tunnels. He used his rage to drive him forward as they followed the stink of the rogues—the monsters that killed two of the only people he cared about.

  He didn’t love Miranda, but she was a good woman and didn’t deserve to die. But then again, neither did Tom, Brittany, or Ronald Davis. He vowed that if it was the last thing he did, he would eviscerate the motherfuckers who were responsible.

  Lost in his thoughts and focused on the path in front of them, he didn’t hear the sounds at first, but Olivia did. Her delicate hand grabbed his, and they came to a halt, crouching in the tunnel back-to-back with guns drawn, both of them struggling to discern which direction the footsteps were coming from.

  “They’re coming from both directions.” He squeezed her hand and took solace in the weight of her body leaning against his.

  “Damn it,” she whispered. “They’re herding us like fucking cattle.”

  “And it sounds like a lot more than two or three.”

  “Go,” she shouted. “There’s an abandoned subway tunnel about twenty feet ahead on the right. Shoot anything that moves.”

  Doug kept her hand wrapped in his and started flying down the tunnel, but as he rounded the corner and went through the opening to the abandoned subway, something slammed into him, cutting him across the face or biting him. Doug squeezed off several rounds as he flipped through the air before landing on both feet. He watched two vampires explode with bloodcurdling shrieks.

  She landed at his side, and they quickly realized they were outnumbered—badly. She shifted her position so they were back-to-back, and as they drew their other guns, Doug and Olivia took in the horrifying scene that surrounded them. Standing on the abandoned, broken tracks, they were surrounded by at least twenty vampires. Snarling, drooling, and wild with hunger, they began to close the circle.

  “Sweet Jesus,” he whispered.

  “I doubt he’ll hear you,” she said as her body tensed against his.

  They started firing, and all hell broke loose. Doug hit several with the UV rounds, and they burst into flames in shrieks of agony. As he reloaded, two rogues leaped on him and started biting his neck. One tried to bite his arm, but the two layers of leather he wore afforded him some protection.

  Doug roared in fury as he grabbed a small wild-eyed woman and threw her into the wall just before putting a bullet in her head. He tugged the other one off his back and ripped his head off in one swoop. Strength and
pure power flowed through him as he fired his weapons and killed one creature after another. Rapid gunfire, bursts of flames, shrill death cries, and clouds of dust filled the air, stinging his eyes and coating his mouth with dusted vampire.

  Olivia moved faster than he thought possible and killed several more with the sure shot of a sniper. He ducked as she threw silver stars past his head that sliced through two vamps like butter. He reloaded and shot several more, turning them to ash, but when he swung around to check on Olivia she pointed her gun and screamed, “Get down.”

  Doug ducked as she discharged her weapon and turned a charging vampire into a cloud of ash. The cavernous space fell silent as the two of them, covered in blood and dust, looked around to be sure they got them all.

  “What the fuck was that?” Doug asked in a low voice as he scanned the room. “So much for two or three. There had to be at least twenty of those things. Who the hell is making all of them?”

  “I don’t know,” Olivia said. “Whoever did this started making these vamps awhile ago, and at the rate they’re growing, the city will be overrun in a matter of weeks. Rogue One wasn’t here, and I don’t remember seeing Moriarty in the melee.”

  “Nope.” Doug shook his head. “Me either.”

  “This isn’t the nest either,” she said as she inspected the area. “It’s too exposed. Too many tunnels in and out. Damn it. We need another night to find the nest. It’s almost sunrise.”

  Doug wiped the blood away wearily as two more vamps flew down from an arch in the ceiling and right at them. Olivia unexpectedly pushed him out of the way, but he recovered, jumping back onto his feet just as one of the rogues tackled her. She fired, and the one on top of her exploded just before Doug shot the other as it swooped around. As the last one exploded in a cloud of fire and its shrieks echoed around them, everything fell silent.

  Muscles straining, his entire body vibrated, and his senses remained alert as he kept his gun pointed at the cloud of dust. He waited for more, but none followed. It took a moment for him to realize that Olivia was still on the ground and quiet.