Black Market Blood (The Lazarus Hunter Series Book 2)

by Cas Martin

  Yet close enough to wreak havoc in the city then slip away before anyone realised.

  She dug deeper and discovered Jack was correct about the name. Lance Beeston was indeed the head of R&D for the small American office. No pictures of him, but that was no surprise. Scientists didn’t rank high on the media whore scale. According to the latest press release, Lance was working on an AIDS research project. Smart, Elizabeth thought. He would have legitimate access to play with all the blood samples he wanted. He would have the perfect cover story, all the right equipment. He would be able to create a virus from the comfort of his lab and no one would realise he was coming up with something to kill vampires.

  But how did he know about them?

  She sat back in the chair and tried to process what she understood so far. The connections the company had. The source of their funding.

  The fact that Lance Beeston had no record of his existence before he arrived in America.

  The simple error of her assumption that, to want to kill a vampire, you must be human.

  There were other people in the world who knew about Monica’s kind, even if it was still only a handful. Some her father had trained. Others had found out the hard way. Not everyone was as tolerant as she was. Some people just wanted them dead. She had been the same way once, so had Garth. It wasn’t unusual to start from a place of hostility.

  What she read now didn’t make sense.

  Lance Beeston was one of them. A member of the Sekhmet family, who had tried to make it in America nearly a century ago and failed. They were still strong in their home country, but they lived the old way, like the monster who had killed her father. Detached from human society and its progress.

  Until now, that was.

  She had a run in with the family when she was last here. They had tried to kill her, along with Garth and David. It was because of them she became indebted to Monica. A life saved was a life owed.

  As she read the scanned pages of her father’s notes, she could read between his unbiased lines. Despite his fair assessment, it was clear he had not trusted the family that would go on to try to kill his daughter. The Sekhmets favoured the old way of life. The lust for blood. The ritual of the kill. They had walked amongst Pharaohs and Queens untouched and held on to glory of the good old days. Their lack of integration explained their continual failure to make it in this new Promised Land.

  Elizabeth picked up her phone and scrolled through the numbers until she found the one she was looking for. She hit the dial button and waited. Just as she thought it was about to go through to the mailbox, a voice answered.

  ‘Garth?’

  ‘Hmmmm.’

  ‘Sorry, were you asleep?’

  ‘Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I had a bit of a late one, that’s all. What’s up?’

  ‘I’m not sure yet. You know the Sekhmets?’

  ‘I remember them well. Bastards.’

  ‘Do you know if they’re getting sick? I know you said other families were being affected as well.’

  ‘Let me check.’

  ‘Look for anything strange.’

  ‘Hold on,’ he said. In the background, Elizabeth could hear him rustling through pages. She held her breath. ‘Hmmm, that is odd.’

  ‘Go on.’ She felt a twinge of excitement.

  ‘Nothing. If any of them have got sick, I don’t know about it.’

  ‘Damn it.’

  ‘Could be a coincidence. They’re not a big family over here. Even though on paper they’d be my prime target, I try to stay away from them if I can. They’re trouble and they’re mean. I don’t feel the need to get caught up in one of their ancient blood sacrifices to the gods.’

  ‘Do they really still do all that?’ Elizabeth had put the story down as vicious gossip.

  ‘As far as anyone knows. It could be rumour. But it’s not like you could live to tell the tale and report back that it’s true.’

  ‘Good point. I need you to keep your eyes and ears open on this one. It could be significant. You hear of any Sekhmet coming down with this and I want to know. Likewise if you get the definite answer that none of them have.’

  ‘It doesn’t take a genius to work out that you think they’re involved in this somehow?’ He suppressed a yawn and Elizabeth checked her watch. It wasn’t that early.

  ‘I do. I’ll let you know if I get a solid lead.’

  ‘Sure, no problem. I’ll check them out this evening. It could be another late one though. Is that a problem?’

  ‘No, my phone is always on.’

  ‘Good. As soon as I have something I’ll let you know.’

  ‘Thanks Garth.’

  Elizabeth hung up and went back to her computer. For such a small family, the Sekhmets were always at the centre of whatever trouble was going on. She knew she should tell Monica of her suspicions, but she couldn’t risk the response. She needed concrete information first.

  She also knew the longer she left it, the greater the chance things would get much, much worse.

  29

  Jet liked Thursday nights most. The man who had warned her to stay away from The Gold Bar never came here on Thursdays. Since that night, she’d kept silent on the subject of blood. She’d not made any offers, but taken a grim satisfaction from the fact she’d heard others discussing it instead. Hushed voices, filled with fear.

  She’d not seen anyone from her family there this week. The strict edict that they were to abstain from fresh blood remained in place. Most were avoiding the temptation. They were fully provided for by the family if they controlled themselves. Rumours had begun to swirl about a vampire plague, one that could wipe them all out. She’d felt the shudder of fear that day. Felt it and added an extra bag to her smuggled supply she kept at home.

  The music in the bar was the same as always, but an undercurrent of tension ran through everyone there. Vampires who wanted to feed but were unable to do so were strange company. Jet had seen it before back in her homeland. When a disease ravaged the humans, they had been forced to only consume the bare minimum required for survival. Some could control themselves well. Others went mad from controlling themselves too well, unable to get enough of what they needed to survive. Some held themselves in check until they finally snapped and had to be restrained before the madness of the blood lust took over and they began a killing spree.

  She’d watched her best friend feeding on the dead corpse of a man fallen to the disease. She had been pulling at the skin, but he would no longer provide fresh pumping blood to the world. They’d killed her in the end. For her own sake. It was at that moment that Jet had decided it was time to beg permission to come to the new world.

  ‘Hi.’ A woman sat down opposite her and gave a friendly smile. It didn’t reach her eyes. ‘Mind if I sit here?’

  ‘Go ahead.’ Jet tried to relax as she looked the woman up and down. Vampire. Dressed for an evening of casual cocktails. Attractive to some humans, she was sure of that. They would be drawn to the confidence that she exuded, but Jet could see her hands had a slight tremble. She took a sip of her drink and waited for the woman to make her move.

  ‘People in here talk.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Someone said you were able to get your hands on things. Things that might be useful right now.’

  ‘That depends what you’re talking about. What have you been told?’

  ‘I was with a guy last night who told me he’d met a girl in here. Pink hair. Middle Eastern appearance. That seems like you.’

  ‘It seems to be.’

  ‘He said you could get your hands on guaranteed disease-free blood.’

  ‘Did he?’ Jet kept her tone mild. That hadn’t been her choice of words, but it didn’t matter. She’d spoken of quality back then. As it turned out, blood without the plague in each cell was about the highest quality you could get.

  ‘Hey, we’re both women here. Businesswomen. Why don’t we cut each other a break?’

  ‘That depends on what you want fro
m me.’

  ‘Just a couple of bags. By next week this thing will have blown itself out. I can go easy on them. I haven’t fed properly for days. Not since everyone started talking.’

  ‘What makes you think I can get that many? Everyone knows the supplies are running low.’ Jet wasn’t sure that was the truth. Not yet, at least. Sowing the seeds of doubt would stack the odds more in her favour. Supply and demand. Welcome to America.

  ‘They are? Shit. Look, I’ve got money. I’ll take whatever you can give me. I don’t know what other people are willing to pay you, but whatever it is, I’ll top it.’

  ‘I see.’ Jet took her time to consider the offer. A slow sip of her drink bought her a valuable few seconds to assess the woman. She seemed genuine. And desperate. ‘What have you seen?’

  ‘A friend. He was young. Younger than me. Sure, he was reckless sometimes, but who hasn’t been, am I right?’

  ‘Reckless?’

  ‘He hung out with some women that weren’t exactly known for their good upbringing. But we all know how hard it can be to convince someone, right? Drunk women are easy women.’ She said it with a casual shrug that set Jet’s teeth on edge.

  ‘And have you done the same?’

  ‘Me? Good lord no. But it can’t hurt to be cautious. I’m not taking any chances. I’ve got too much to live for.’

  ‘Haven’t we all?’ murmured Jet. The conversation confirmed her suspicions but despite the promise of unlimited money, she had no desire to help the woman out. Personal ethics threatened to derail her plan and during all her late night scheming, Jet had never considered that to be a risk. ‘Who else is talking about me?’

  ‘Don’t worry, I can keep my mouth shut.’

  ‘That wasn’t what I asked.’

  ‘Oh, right. Sorry. A few of us. Not many, I promise. Nothing for you to worry about. Not enough people to cause a problem for you.’

  ‘Okay.’ Jet saw when she was being lied to. The woman was telling her what she thought she wanted to hear. That wouldn’t help either of them.

  ‘Fine. Tomorrow night. Here. Same time.’ Jet made her decision. When she’d concocted this little scheme, she had understood the danger. The first time would be a test run. If it all went to hell, then she would take this woman with her instead of someone else.

  ‘Thank you.’ The woman looked relieved before putting the mask back on. ‘How much?’

  ‘For you? One hundred dollars a bag.’ Ten times the normal cost, but the woman had said she would pay anything.

  ‘How many bags?’

  ‘Five. That’s all I can get you this time. Limited supply. That’s why you’re here.’

  ‘Five bags tomorrow night. I’ll bring you five hundred dollars. And this stuff is guaranteed right? No diseases.’

  ‘Guaranteed.’ Jet noted the woman hadn’t baulked at the stupidly high cost. Next time, she would be able to charge more. This was a strange market she found herself in.

  ‘Good. Because if I find out you’re lying I’ll come after you, whether I’m dying or not.’

  ‘First rule of business is not to kill your customers. It’s the good stuff. You can always change your mind and take your chances somewhere else if you’re not sure.’ Jet shrugged.

  ‘No, I’ll trust you. For now. But if things get much worse, remember that I was one of the first people to come to you. That loyalty will work very well for both of us.’

  ‘I’m sure it will. A pleasure doing business with you.’ Jet extended her hand across the table and they shook to seal the deal.

  As the woman walked away, Jet looked up to see if anyone else was watching them. She hadn’t sensed an interest while they were talking, but that didn’t mean there was none. Everyone was still caught up in their own business.

  Even so, she wouldn’t take any chances. She had dropped the bait and snagged her first catch. There was no need for more, not this first time. One was enough to manage. Five bags were enough to carry tomorrow night.

  Five bags was a small enough number to be meaningless if she got caught. It could be for her own personal use. No one would be able to do much about that. Until she was certain she could pull this thing off, she would play it safe.

  She walked out of the bar, a lightness in her step. This was the American dream she had heard so much about. The land where one made their own chances. She wasn’t going to stay in a warehouse stacking blood for the rest of her life.

  Jet was a woman going places, whether her family approved or not.

  30

  Elizabeth took a deep breath as she stepped out of the private elevator that led to Monica’s penthouse. She ignored the vampire guard and knocked on the door. She jumped when it opened under her knuckles.

  ‘Thanks for coming over,’ Monica smiled as Elizabeth walked inside. ‘Have you eaten yet?’

  ‘No. I can grab something on the way back to the hotel.’

  ‘That could be hours. How about I get takeout? Chinese?’

  ‘Sounds good to me.’

  ‘Wine?’

  ‘Sounds even better,’ Elizabeth eyes coasted the room. ‘Your place looks different.’

  ‘I had it redecorated since you were here last. Please, take a seat.’

  Elizabeth sat down on the plush leather sofa and looked around as Monica poured them both a large glass of wine. The last time she had sat in this room, she had been grateful to be alive.

  ‘What shall I order?’ Monica handed over a glass.

  ‘You can decide. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Chinese dish I didn’t like.’

  Monica returned to the kitchen to phone the order through as Elizabeth took a sip of her wine and debated how to begin their conversation. Garth hadn’t called yet but she had already convinced herself that her theory was correct.

  ‘So how are you doing?’ she asked as Monica sat down next to her.

  ‘I’ve had better days,’ Monica admitted. ‘I’m taking two weeks away from MaxiData for personal leave. Dennis will keep me in the loop about anything urgent. I need clear space to dedicate myself to the family.’

  ‘How did they take it?’

  ‘Not great. I was too vague about why I needed the time away, but I didn’t want to lie to them. I’m juggling enough without having to remember what I’ve said to whom.’

  ‘So why don’t you look any better for losing one half of your workload?’ There was no point pretending. Up close, Monica looked exhausted. She had done an amazing job with her makeup, but it was clear she hadn’t slept well. In fact, if she didn’t know better, Elizabeth would have sworn she’d been crying.

  ‘I look that bad huh?’

  ‘I’ve seen you looking better, that’s for sure.’

  ‘I didn’t have the best night last night at the Council.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘They like to panic. They didn’t want me to calm them down. They wanted a final solution and I can’t pull miracles out of thin air for them. Harlan is doing everything he can, but there are only so many hours in the day.’ Monica paused to take another sip of her wine. ‘So what about you? Do you have anything interesting to report?’

  ‘Maybe.’ Elizabeth decided now was not the right time. ‘I’m expecting a call from Garth later. I might know more then.’

  ‘In that case, I’ll go first. Harlan seems to be under the impression that this isn’t an accident. That the virus is man-made.’

  ‘Ah,’ Elizabeth took a deep breath. This could be easier or harder than she thought.

  ‘Does that mean you think the same thing?’ Monica stiffened next to her.

  ‘Put it this way, I had a tip off. I can’t tell you who, so please don’t ask.’

  ‘I can respect your right to privacy with your sources. So what did this tip say?’

  ‘It was a name and address of a company that deals in biological agents. It seems a plausible connection. If Garth comes back with something solid then it’s a good lead.’

  ‘So someone has found out about us,’
said Monica at last. ‘Enough to want us dead. Tell me one thing, is it the government? I can take on vigilante private citizens, but I can’t take on the country. It’s too big and I have no access. If that’s the case, we may have to move.’

  ‘Move?’

  ‘Every family has an evacuation plan. In the event we finally get discovered. None have been used in living memory. The last known event was when a family slaughtered an entire village to protect themselves. Sixteenth century. Bulgaria, I think. Your father would have notes about it. It was horrific. The basic plan is to disappear and disperse.’

  ‘I don’t think it’s anything to do with the government. This is something a bit more personal.’

  ‘Personal? Like revenge?’

  ‘Kind of.’

  ‘Look, it’s okay, you don’t have to defend them. I know there have been a lot of lives lost at our hands. There are still plenty of vampires who do it for the thrill of the kill. I abhor it, but I can’t stop it. Not outside my own territory. But I will do anything I can to protect my family.’

  ‘If I tell you what I know, I want you to promise me two things, okay?’

  ‘What two things?’ Monica put down her wine glass as if she didn’t trust her own hands.

  ‘I want you to promise that you won’t first, do anything about it and second, tell anyone else for the next twenty-four hours.’

  ‘Why twenty-four hours?’

  ‘Because by then I’ll have talked you out of doing anything stupid that will make the situation worse.’ Elizabeth smiled her most winning smile and Monica laughed despite her best efforts.

  ‘Give me some credit. I’m the most level-headed leader of all the families. I don’t have that ruthless murderous instinct the others do.’

  ‘You might discover it once I tell you this. Which I am not going to do until you give me your word.’

  ‘I promise.’ Monica waved her hand dismissively.

  ‘I mean it.’

  ‘I give you my word. What more do you want? Blood?’

  ‘I think you’re confusing me with, um, you.’

  ‘Everyone’s a comedian. Come on, tell me. I need to know.’