Air of Darkness

by Rose O'Brien

  Alex headed for the interstate at high speed, looking for the panel van.

  Burdock’s voice crackled over the headset.

  “We’ve lost them, Commander. Returning to base.”

  “Roger that,” she said. “See you there.”

  Chapter 12

  “Well, that was a shit show,” Dumeril announced as they all filed into the office.

  Alex wouldn’t go that far in his assessment of the op. Upside: the team had come out relatively intact, aside from a few cuts and bruises. Downside: they hadn’t gotten any new information about the case, and the one guy they’d been able to connect to Medina’s operation was dead.

  “Someone set us up,” Lu said.

  “And whoever it was wants you alive, Commander,” Ellie added.

  As the team took up positions around the office, Alex leaned on one of the desks, his arms crossed over his chest, the sole of one combat boot resting against the side. His casual stance did not match the adrenaline-fueled turmoil that was rolling like thunder through his chest.

  He hated coming off a fight like this. Every nerve in his body was singing, alive, but the fading adrenaline was going to leave him with nausea and a headache. Never failed. Until then, though, he’d have to deal with jitters and poor judgment.

  “Hellraisers came from two different sources: from Dominic and from Dumeril’s black market contacts,” Alayna said.

  “Could Dominic have set us up?” Lu asked.

  “I don’t doubt it for a second,” Burdock said from where he leaned against the door to the rarely used conference room. “I never trusted that vamp as far as I could throw him.”

  Alayna paused where she was pacing near the window. She was fuming, nervous energy and anger bleeding off her in waves.

  “It doesn’t feel right,” she said. “He mentioned it as one possible lead we should check out. And besides, Dominic knows our capabilities and that crew of jokers was nowhere near a match for us. We need to consider that Dominic was fed the info by one of his sources.”

  Alayna was brushing that encounter at Hellraisers off, but it had felt pretty dicey to Alex. There were a few moments where he hadn’t been sure they were all going to make it out of that bar.

  “Dumeril, what about your black market contacts?”

  “Oh, they’re shady as fuck. I dropped serious cash for the info about James, but it’s possible Medina gave them more. He must know we’re on his trail and he’s trying to take us out.”

  They talked around the problem for a few more minutes before Alayna called a halt. They were all tired and could come back at the situation in the morning.

  Before he knew it, he was alone with Alayna. The darkness of night pushed at the windows and the overhead lights and the glow of computer monitors did little to keep it at bay. He gripped the edge of the desk, trying to still some of the energy skittering just beneath his skin.

  She moved up beside him, as silent as a specter, but he felt the heat of her as her electric scent wrapped itself around him. Could she sense the tension that was coiling in every one of his muscles? He didn’t look at her, couldn’t look at her.

  “How are you doing?”

  At the touch of her fingertips, he couldn’t help but look down at where her small, pale hand rested on his darkly tanned bicep. He didn’t want to tell her that he loved it when she touched him. He didn’t want to tell her that the excess adrenaline in his system made him want to push her up against the wall and taste her mouth.

  A tremor went through him as he fought the urge to put his hand over hers, trap her against his flesh. It would be so easy then, to turn and pull her against him, let her feel the erection that was straining against the heavy cloth of his fatigues.

  It was always like this after a fight. He needed to fuck something. That was the biggest reason he had ended up in Kelly’s bed back in Afghanistan. Coming off a firefight, she had been a convenient outlet for his adrenaline-fueled sexual needs. And he had done the same thing for her.

  The thought of what happened to Kelly threw a bucket of ice water on the fire burning in his pants. He needed to remind himself what happened when he got involved with team members in the middle of a combat operation, because that is where Alayna and her team her team were headed.

  All of the signs were telling them that bad things were ahead and tonight had cemented that.

  He gently took her hand from his arm, letting his fingers brush hers for just a second.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “A little jittery. I just need some food and some sleep.”

  She nodded, but her eyes didn’t leave his face and she still looked concerned.

  “This isn’t my first rodeo, Commander. I know how to handle myself in a fight, and I know what to do with myself after a fight.”

  “I wasn’t questioning that. You did really great tonight. I just needed to make sure...” she paused, searching for something. “Never mind. Get some sleep.”

  He stepped in close to her, resisting the urge to touch her. It was dangerous enough, being this close. He leaned down and spoke in her ear, his voice softer.

  “If you want to know the truth, I haven’t felt this alive in years,” he said.

  Straightening, he gathered all of his resolve, turned and walked out the door.

  “Sweet dreams, Commander,” he called as he headed down the stairs to the warehouse floor.

  ***

  Half an hour later, Alex was tossing down his equipment bag as he locked the door to his condo behind him. His keys landed on the table beside the door and a stack of mail that had been piling up in his mailbox went beside them.

  He just wasn’t spending much time here these days. Even so, he didn’t bother to turn on any lights as he headed straight to his bedroom. He’d grab a quick shower and then sleep for about twelve hours. The earlier adrenaline rush had abandoned him, leaving him shaky and exhausted.

  He looked out the window. Still a couple hours until dawn.

  As he moved through the bedroom to the master bathroom, he grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and began to pull it over his head, wincing slightly at some soreness in his right shoulder. He wasn’t sure when that had happened, but it didn’t much matter.

  Before the black material could clear his face, something hit him in the back of the head. Hard.

  Colored lights flashed in his vision, and he felt his knees hit the floor. Another blow hit at the base of his skull. He clung to consciousness, but he crumpled bonelessly to the floor, the T-shirt still over his head, and listened. The cool tile of the bathroom floor pressed against his face through the shirt.

  There were two voices, speaking barely above a whisper.

  “Boss wants him alive. Tie his hands and drink him ‘til he’s too weak to move.”

  Adrenaline hit Alex like a sledgehammer at those words, and fear twisted in his gut. Vampires. And he was completely outnumbered and on his own.

  The first voice was about two feet behind him on his left. A second voice grunted in acknowledgment about three feet behind him and to his right. He could hear their heavy steps on the carpet just outside the bathroom.

  Alex tried to remain as still as possible. He was lying on his left side, more or less, with his legs tucked up. His ankles were near the bathroom doorway.

  As he felt fingers touch his leg, he lashed out with one combat boot-clad foot and connected with something solid. By the crunching sound and the grunt, he’d guess it was a jaw. That attacker fell back against the door frame, and Alex lashed out toward where he thought a throat might be. He was rewarded with a horrible crunch and gurgling noise.

  Just as Alex managed to flip onto his back, the other attacker was on him, and he was incredibly strong. One hand clamped around Alex’s neck and the other connected with his ribs once, twice.

  The air left Alex’s lungs in a rush. He struggled to pull the T-shirt the rest of the way off his face, but the attacker’s hand had trapped it against his throat. His airway wasn’t cut off comple
tely by the attacker’s grip, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before he lost consciousness from lack of oxygen, especially if he kept using it up fighting like this.

  He managed to get a hand and an arm free from the T-shirt and reached for his attacker. His fingers touched a face. Alex made a fist, hauled back and connected with that face. He put his hand out again and pressed it flat against his attacker’s jaw, pushing up and away, hoping to get some breathing room.

  After struggling for a few seconds, Alex noticed that his attacker was getting weaker, the grip on his throat less vice-like.

  Several blows landed on his stomach and chest, but they were less focused and carried far less force. Alex managed to maneuver his other hand free and push the material of his shirt back down enough to see.

  As his eyes focused in the darkness, he saw a large, muscle-bound guy, shaved head, pale skin. Probably a vamp, but no fangs in evidence. Alex reached for the 1911 on his right hip, but it was gone. He’d stored it in his equipment bag for the walk up to the condo. It wasn’t nice to freak out the neighbors by walking around in tactical gear with a gun on your hip. It might be Texas, but most people still weren’t comfortable with guns out in the open.

  He cursed that decision for a second, before remembering his back up. He reached down and pulled his Ka-bar from the sheath on his right calf. It took a second to get it clear of the hem of his pants. When he felt the grip solidly against his palm, he drove it across and up, right into the throat of his attacker.

  His attacker’s scream turned into a gargling hiss, and Alex felt the body fall backwards and off his knife. Finally, he managed to push the T-shirt off his face, leaving him shirtless. That was when a boot connected solidly with his right side. He was guessing the first attacker that he’d kicked had healed and was on his feet. It was dark in the bathroom, but he could see a shadowy outline to his right.

  Alex flipped the knife in his right hand and stabbed downward into the attacker’s thigh. He was rewarded with another scream. Fingers clamped around his hand, crushing his bones against the grip of the knife. That was fine with Alex. He put all his weight on the knife and used it to pull himself upright.

  Alex felt the knife’s blade slide through muscle and scrape along the femur. His attacker grunted with pain and hit Alex across the jaw. With only one of the attacker’s hands on the knife, Alex was able to pull it free just as he levered himself into a crouch.

  The knife wasn’t silver, and vampires could heal quickly. They might be a little weaker from having come in contact with his skin, but it wouldn’t last for long. He needed firepower.

  He scrambled out of the bathroom and through the bedroom, catching the door frame in his left hand to spin him into the hallway without breaking a stride. He could hear both attackers getting to their feet in the bathroom.

  He just had to get to his bag. Luckily, he hadn’t zipped it shut. The knife was transferred to his left hand while his right dove into the bag. The grip of the 1911 slid into his palm, and he brought it to bear in one smooth motion. Time seemed to slow down.

  His attacker—this one had dark hair and a face that looked like it had been hit by a truck—was just three steps behind him. His fangs were out, and his eyes were so red they nearly glowed.

  Alex fired without hesitation, hitting the vamp square in the forehead. The .45 caliber silver-coated bullet didn’t leave much behind. The vamp stumbled one step and crumpled, his body slamming heavily to the floor inches from where Alex crouched. The second vamp slowed and put his hands up. The vamp glanced behind him, and in a split second he disappeared back into the bedroom. Alex didn’t have a chance to fire. He just crouched there breathing heavily.

  After a moment, he rose to his feet to follow the vamp, his weapon out and at the ready. He put his back to the door frame, spun and scanned the room. His FBI academy teachers and drill instructors would be proud.

  He noticed then that the door to his balcony, the one off his bedroom, was open. The vertical blinds drifted in a gentle breeze. He moved slowly to the small balcony, but no one was there. He looked over the edge to the street sixteen stories down. It was empty.

  ***

  The elevator was moving entirely too slow for Alayna. She bounced on the balls of her feet as it ascended to the sixteenth floor of Alex’s condo building. She’d been getting ready for bed when Alex had called, and she stood in the elevator in over-washed yoga pants and a hoodie.

  His voice had sounded eerily calm as he told about the attack and the dead vamp. She may have broken land speed records getting from her place to his condo downtown. She’d left her bike parked on the sidewalk in an effort to save time.

  Nausea rolled through her stomach. They’d come after him. How on Earth had they found him? How did they know who he was, much less where he lived?

  She’d told herself that she could protect him and she’d failed. Guilt tightened her throat and her eyes stung for a moment. If something had happened to him...

  Couldn’t let herself think that way. He was alive. They’d figure out where the leak occurred and then she’d hunt down everyone responsible. Her hands balled into fists at the thought.

  After what seemed like half a century, the elevator chimed softly and the doors opened. She bolted down the hall, counting off numbers until she reached Alex’s unit. She knocked impatiently and the door opened a few seconds later.

  She froze for a beat. He was dressed in soft grey cotton pants and a black T-shirt stretched over the muscles in his chest and shoulders. His face was blank, but his eyes were wary and haunted, like a cornered predator. There was a tension in his body that he was trying hard not to show. Most of all, he just looked tired.

  There were red splotches on his face and neck that showed under his tan skin. Those would be nasty bruises in the morning. Cuts and scrapes marked his hands, the scabs just starting to form.

  Without thinking, she reached for him, her hands going to either side of his face. A slight stubble prickled against her palms. The warmth of his skin was a reassurance. He was alive. He was intact.

  His eyes met hers as she moved her hands down his neck, over his shoulders and down his arms. Even beat to hell, he felt delicious under her hands, all wonderfully corded muscle and heat.

  He hissed when she reached his wrist, and he grabbed her hands to stop her tactile inspection.

  “Alayna, I’m fine,” he said, his voice gentle.

  “I just needed to make sure.”

  She slipped her arms under his and pulled him close, her face pressed to his shoulder. Every muscle in him tensed for a moment in surprise, his arms slightly raised for a second until he brought them around her.

  “I’m so sorry, Alex. I never meant for you to get hurt.”

  “I’m a big boy, Alayna. I knew what I was signing up for. Thanks to you, I had a fighting chance against these guys.”

  She looked up at him.

  “If I hadn’t dragged you into this they never would have known about you.”

  “If I’d kept digging into this case on my own, they would have found me eventually. I wouldn’t have stood a snowball’s chance in hell then.”

  She nodded, her thoughts spinning with a thousand what ifs. He caught a knuckle under her chin and brought her gaze to his, causing her stomach to do a little flip and all the thoughts to come to a screeching halt.

  “Whatever happens, I’m better off with you, Alayna. I’d rather go down fighting than living in the dark.”

  She turned to the corpse just a few feet from the front door. Alex had covered it with an old tan bed sheet. Dark blood had soaked through it and was pooled on the polished concrete floor of the hallway.

  Alayna lifted the sheet and peered underneath.

  “Nice shot,” she said simply.

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m really impressed. There’s not many people that could fight off two vampires and live to tell about it, much less take one down.”

  “Anyone you recognize?”

&
nbsp; She flipped the corpse on its back and started going through the pockets. No ID. A pair of plastic zip ties in the back pocket of the jeans. Nothing else.

  “This guy was the muscle. I’m guessing the guy who split was your entry man.”

  She rose and examined the front door. No scratches around the lock, so it wasn’t picked, and it hadn’t been forced.

  She nodded toward the bedroom. “May I?”

  Alex nodded and followed her. It felt weird to be in his home. The place wasn’t big, just a kitchen and living room combination to the right of the entrance and a hallway to the left that led to his bedroom. The place looked like a picture from a modern furniture catalog, all right angles, glass, chrome and earth tone fabrics.

  The bed was neatly made and for a moment, she imagined him in it. Naked. She knew what the muscles under his shirt looked like and she’d bet the rest of him looked just as good.

  “I haven’t moved anything,” he told her, breaking into her reverie.

  She crossed to the still open balcony door. The balcony itself was tiny, maybe five feet by seven feet. It was just a blank square of concrete with bars and a railing in powder coated steel. He hadn’t even bothered to put a plant out here.

  She examined the door. No signs that it had been tampered with.

  “None of the windows were open or broken?”

  “They’re sealed. They don’t open.”

  He paused a moment and said, “I think they came through the sliding door.”

  “What makes you think that? The lock is intact.”

  “Because I don’t usually lock that door,” he said, a little sheepishly.

  “Seriously?”

  “I live on the sixteenth floor,” he said defensively. “I had no idea vampires could fly. Besides, I never thought anyone would come after me. I still don’t know how they found my address, much less identified me.”

  “First of all, they don’t fly. But they can climb very well, and they can jump further than you’d think,” she said. “In fact, I’m guessing your second attacker jumped from here to that building across the street.”