Three
For two days, the entire staff at HQ had been scanning vid feeds, doing surveillance, then, at night, on foot recons through the city where Barkley had first found the vampire cadre, to end up with no leads at all.
With little sleep, Jack headed home and crashed, rest so welcome, so needed, he hadn’t even showered or undressed. He’d just melted into his sheets and didn’t wake until close to dusk.
After a much-needed shower, he stood on his balcony, naked, watching the light change over the sea. He still faced all his challenges, still had to find that next group of murderous vamps, had to kill when necessary, and deal with whatever the fuck his little brother was into. But tonight, it seemed like it was manageable.
He hadn’t seen her in two days, but he still felt a weird sense of euphoria. What the hell was it? How could one night of sex with a woman, no matter how beautiful, transform a lifelong sense of hopelessness? While he didn’t begin to understand, he wasn’t going to question it. Like San said, take the win.
Now, though, reality beckoned. Time to go to work to make sure this part of the country was safe for people to go about their ordinary lives without any clue about the unknown threats that waited in the dark. While he’d never have a family, children, build an ordinary life, and in spite of her declaration, he didn’t think San would either, he had to be there to save the unsuspecting. It was ingrained in every hunter born to this life; the passion to protect, the training, the need, even, to fight the bad guys and win.
Sanquinetta was one of the best he’d ever worked with, and the vison of her making dinner for a husband and a kid, putting out kibble for a puppy, and then sitting down to watch vids before going to bed and getting up to do it all over again the next day…seemed impossible. More like she’d be stalking the supermarket with a sword watching for fangs. In spite of that, he hoped she made it out. Sanquinetta with a knitting needle instead of a dagger would be a world worth seeing.
The chirping of his fone interrupted his Zen moment. Glancing at the screen, he saw it was Stacey.
“Yeah?”
“Ready to ride? Barkley got a lead on the final five today. Plato’s back, too. They’re heading out on recon for intel. No expectation for interception tonight.”
“I’m on my way.”
Dressed, geared up, he made a conscious effort to leave his distraction with Ife behind.
“Shit, Plato, did you get even bigger while you were gone?”
Jack punched his buddy as he rolled into HQ’s situation room.
Plato, often described as “big as a house,” punched Jack back.
Jack feinted a fatal injury to his arm, smiling. Actually, it hurt like a motherfucker, but he wasn’t going to let the rest of the group know he couldn’t take a punch. Plato’s biceps were twice his, and that was saying a lot, since Jack knew his own were quite impressive.
Ben hopped onto a tabletop to rub Plato’s bald head.
“Here, kitty, kitty.”
Half again Ben’s height, Plato yanked him off the table like a toy, hanging him over his shoulder. “A pussycat, I ain’t. Just ask the vamps I just smoked in Vancouver.”
Clicking against the wood floor drew their attention to the door as Sanquinetta hurried in. “Plato, my love, great to see you. Now, would you put down my hunter and we can get to work?”
Plato’s smile went supernova. Everyone knew he had been passionately in love with the gorgeous half black, half Latina huntress since she’d joined their team three years ago.
While she noticed the brilliant smile, Sanquinetta gave him a kind, measured one. Late one night on a gig in South Carolina, she’d admitted to Jack that, while she found the massive Plato intriguing, sexy, his size scared the hell out of her.
“I just think he’d split a woman apart, you know?” she’d admitted, talkative that night, drunk off her ass as Jack was. “I mean, you can see the size of his hammer when he wears those snug sweats when we work out. My lady parts get both wet and freaked out at the same time. I think I’m gonna stay away. Besides, you know I don’t like fucking my own team members. It never goes well.”
Now, her eyes lingered over Plato’s form before she turned to face Barkley. “Ok, Barker. Bark. This is your collar, but I’m setting up initial surveillance of the remaining five. We can assume that they may have some clue what happened to their companions and if so, they’ll be pissed. We tread lightly. Now, where have you seen them to date?”
“Originally, just north of Florence. Since we smoked the first three, I’ve only seen them once, all together, and that was when they were moving away from me at vampspeed. They didn’t seem to care who saw them.”
“Bad news. So if they’re still in town, we gotta find them. Means that, if they do suspect hunters, they aren’t afraid of us. Means top level prep at all times. Watch your backs, watch your friend’s back, weapons easily accessible without delay. Okay. We know finding a lair isn’t easy, we know tracking them is a bitch, and we know we don’t have any choice.”
She looked back up at Plato. “You, as usual, need to stay in the background.”
“Can’t miss that big white noggin,” Ben chided.
“Won’t be a problem. Plato, catch this.” Sanquinetta threw a brown bag to him, which he easily caught.
“What is it?”
“Take a look.”
Plato pulled the bag open to look inside and his eyes shot back to hers. “Really?”
“Really. Take it out and try it on.”
Slowly, with two fingers, as if the item was either distasteful or dangerous, Plato pulled something long and black from the bag.
The other hunters fought to keep their laughs under control.
Plato held it high, turning it around. “Dreads?”
“I think it’ll give you character. Picked it out myself, so put it on. While I was working with Bullet, we talked about our teams and he told me that he’d heard some vampires might know you by sight. This should help, at least a little, to get you some time before any might make you. Come, let’s see it.”
After a few seconds of hesitation, then even longer seconds figuring out how to do it, he fitted the wig over his large bare pate and looked up, his expression sheepish.
“How’s it look?”
Faces stoic, Jack, Ben, Barkley, and a newer young hunter who went by Jimbo, all waited for someone else to answer.
Abruptly, Jack coughed out, “Good. You look good.”
Sanquinetta moved in to give one of the braids a tug.
“He looks fine. Different. If we keep you seated, with this new look, people might not notice you. Vampires, I mean.”
Groaning, Plato headed to the lone mirror in the room and crouched down to see why his friends were speechless. He’d expected he’d look like a dope, but after considering his appearance, from side to side, with a full head of hair and long dreadlocks, he grinned.
“Yeah, I do look good. Thanks, San.” Glancing at Jack and the others, he nodded. “No kidding. I like it.”
Wanting to support him after their shocked stares, they all chimed in at once.
“Oh, sure, you’re rocking it.”
“Who doesn’t like hair?”
“Chick magnet.”
“We should all get one.”
Sanquinetta rolled her eyes. “You’re a bunch of ten-year-olds. Okay, strategy. Five is a lot. Five that likely know we’re coming for them? Much more dangerous than a lot. We’re going to break into teams of two to check out the haunts north of town. Blend in of course, relax, eat, drink, be merry but wary. Look, I know every one of you are hot dogs, so when I tell you not to engage, in any way, with these vamps without full team back-up, I am so not fucking around. You all know I have a touch of the supernatural myself, and I feel some real bad mojo from this group of fangs. So if you find them, contact me and we’ll converge. No one goes out on their own on this one, even for simple recon. I gotta hear the promise. Jack?”
“Yes, mistress of the dark.”
Sanquinetta appeared to approve of that. “Everyone else?”
Slowly, the promises came as weapons were chosen and dispensed.
Sidling next to Jack, Sanquinetta noticed he was smiling as he packed up extra clips.
“You look like you got properly laid since I saw you last.”
The smile widened and it almost took her breath away. She liked Jack, more than liked him, but she really did believe that you don’t shit where you eat. He was her type of man, from the top of that thick unruly hair to those heavily muscled legs that she felt certain would feel nice entangled with hers. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his next statement.
“And I have you to thank.”
“Ah, the ghost on the beach.”
“Yes, ma’am. Worth every awkward moment that I might not have had the courage to try without you urging me.”
“Huh. Well, she slept with you, so, no accounting for taste.”
“She slept with me, so I’m not going to question why. You should see her, San. I swear to heavens she could be an angel. Pure white hair softer than anything you’ve ever felt, eyes that can see into your soul, a body built to trap a man for eternity. She’s beyond beautiful. Honestly, I really don’t get what she saw in this hacked-up broke down penny-jar mercenary.”
“You’re always so hard on yourself. Did you make her come?”
Jack’s smile returned. “Mission accomplished, ma’am. More than once.”
“You’re all male, Jack. Hard, rugged, and you know how to do your job. She’s a lucky girl.”
Stepping back, Sanquinetta clapped her hands.
“Okay. Barkley, you and Plato. Jack, you and Ben. I’ll go with Jimbo. Here’s a list of the clubs they’re most likely to visit and the one you’ll each be assigned to. Remember, coms on, no one handles anything until I arrive on scene with the whole team. Bad vibes with us on this one. Go, and may the devil’s boots creak.”
Assigned to a club called B.B.’s Boozetown, Ben led his brother through the doorway into the darkened interior.
“Damn, what did we do to piss off our warrior queen? This place makes dive shitholes look good.”
“I’d say she thinks this is one of the most likely for them to show up.”
“Ah, so she sent her best here.”
“Just a guess.”
Jack grabbed a table in the corner with a good view of the dingy room. “Take a seat. I’ll go get us some drinks. Local flavor or national?”
“Local. Dark beer. Get me a pitcher.”
“Ben…”
“Jack.” Ben stopped his brother with a hard stare. “Get me the beer. I’m not going to overdo it.”
“A pitcher’s too much.”
“It’s set dressing, asshole. Forget it. You hold the table, I’ll go.”
Ben was up and gone before Jack could refuse. His eyes on his brother’s rigid back, Jack admitted he had pushed it. Ben was his brother, and while he would always feel responsible for him, Ben was twenty nine this year. Even his eight years on Ben didn’t give Jack the right to try to control his life.
Ten minutes passed while Ben waited to get his pitcher of beer and a lame-ass bourbon for Jack. He searched the room carefully, as if he was scoping for a woman, but actually searched for their targets. No one that fit the descriptions Barkley supplied. When his eyes landed on his brother, he stayed there.
Bro, he thought, you’d better stay off me or we’re gonna have a bad moment.
He wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about his life right now. It was his fucking life; Elias and Jack weren’t a part of this. Yeah, yeah, while he knew that Jack wanted to protect him, they both knew that sometimes, it’s not possible.
He guessed there needed to be an apology. Carrying two empty mugs and a full glass of whisky, Ben lowered them to the table, glancing up to catch Jack’s expression.
“They’re bringing the pitcher. Jack, sorry I’ve been so closed up lately. You’re just playing big brother, I know that, but you gotta let me figure shit out for myself. For fuck’s sake, I’m nearly thirty! You gotta trust me.”
Nodding, Jack reached for the glass of whisky.
“You’re right. You’re right, I’ve been a dick. I do trust you, bro, I do. Dad pounded into me my responsibility to take care of you. It’s part of me, to look out for you. I haven’t managed it too well lately. So, okay, truce, I’ll stay off your back as long as you promise me that if you need me, if you get into trouble, you’ll tell me.”
“That I can promise.” The beer arrived and Ben poured both mugs full.
Jack held up his whisky to toast Ben’s mug of beer.
“To set dressing.”
“To set dressing. No fangs to impress, though, as far as I can see.”
Reaching for the untouched mug of beer, Jack downed a healthy gulp. “Not bad.”
“Local beers are one of my favorite parts of traveling. I especially like those that don’t use any of the new lab-generated flavor capsules.”
“Old-time naturals, eh?”
“The diversity in flavor is remarkable. Remember when Dad and I went to Hazard, Kentucky a few years ago? Man, Kentucky is the mecca for moonshine and beer breweries. Neither one of us stayed completely sober a lot of the time, and when we finished, when we got the fangs, did I tell you? We spent the next three days bombed.” Taking another sip of his beer, Ben paused. “That’s the closest we’ve ever been. Nothing like that since either.”
“Dad does life and fighting in his own unique way. Don’t try to figure him out, you’ll just fry your brain.”
Jack paused before he caught his brother’s attention again. “Your business is your business, Ben, but don’t ever cut me out. We’re blood, and blood is forever.”
“I agree. I’ll always be grateful that Dad stole me and brought me home.”
“Even though it made you a vampire hunter?”
“Especially though. Also…” Ben rolled his eyes. “I got an awesome brother out of it.”
“Ditto, dude.” Jack lifted his eyes from the table and Ben, shared feelings heartfelt but uncomfortable. Just entering the bar, two men turned sharply and headed to the rear of the room.
Keeping his head averted, tilted down, he lifted his gaze to watch them. They stopped at a table where three seated men suddenly rose, leaving their drinks behind.
Jack didn’t even need to see the faces of the new arrivals. Three men would not silently abandon their table at what was probably their regular haunt. Not without being compelled.
As he killed another sip of the beer, Jack casually smiled at Ben. “I think we’ve got vamps. In the corner, don’t look, they’re scanning the room. I just witnessed a classic compulsion.”
Ben threw his head back as if laughing at something Jack said. Minutes later, after Jack nodded an okay, using his mug to hide his gaze, he glanced toward the corner Jack indicated.
“Yup. They meet the descriptions. Plus, that bearded guy is the biggest fucking vampire I’ve ever seen.”
Still grinning like he didn’t have a care in the world, Jack engaged his coms.
“Jack.”
“San. We got two. Male.”
“Descriptions?”
“Yeah, they match, but it’s more than that. I’m pretty sure I witnessed them use compulsion to make three men walk away from their table and drinks.”
“Ha. Well, I trust your judgment. That makes one male and two females likely on the move. Keep an eye on them. Let me know if the others show up. I mean it, Jack, you two, surveillance only. Otherwise, stand down.”
“Yes, mistress.”
With an amused chuckle, Sanquinetta rang off.
“They might just be out of a lovely pint. Like us.”
Ben’s expression brought a genuine laugh from Jack.
“Yes, and a little bite to eat.”
“And therein lies the problem.”
“Touché.”
Conversation stopped as Jack watched the waitress approach the table with the suspected vampires. One wore a full beard, unusual for vamps, and appeared to be the more aggressive of the two. When the other vamp grabbed the waitress, a slight middle-aged woman who looked beat and his hands curled around her ass, it surprised him that the bearded vampire forced him to let her go. Still, it took everything Jack had not to surge up and over there, kill the motherfuckers, and haul their carcasses out.
Just the fact that they were likely the vamps they sought meant they were extremely dangerous.
That’s the thing, he thought as he watched the asshole’s actions. Vampires were killers. Period. It was how so many small hunting teams had formed over the past century all over the country. It had happened organically when someone discovered the existence of these predators and knew that someone had to do something.
Everything the hunters knew about the vampires, and the intel had grown to quite a lot, had been learned the hard way following the initial discovery that blood-altered humans became blood-sucking animals who either killed or changed a victim into one of them. Terrifying monsters from ancient lore really existed, and only the very few who knew it stayed hidden, like the vampires themselves, and tried to protect the innocents.
Over the decades, in different parts of the country, hunters had tried to bring in law enforcement, but it was almost always a failure. The vamps often got to them, killed them, or used compulsion to wipe their memories and force suspicion for murders back on hunters.
So many hunters had been killed that they dropped back into the shadows to wage their war.
Now, it was a tradition to keep vampire existence within the ranks of believers, to leave those unaware of these monsters blissfully unaware, to find the bloody beasts whenever they could and send them back to the hell from whence they came.
Elias had told his sons that what they did was noble.
“You’re soldiers, boys, on the side of good in the never-ending battle of good versus evil. We’ll win, we have to, because we have right on our side. Because I will never allow blood-drinkers to walk this earth as long as I live to stop them.”
All these years later, both Remington sons accepted their birthright, a legacy of sacrifice, their lives dedicated to the cause. On his chest over the left bicep, Jack wore a tattoo he’d had inked when he turned twenty. The image of a simple vertical dagger with a silvered hilt showed it puncture a black heart. Three red blood drops dripped beneath it. It was a promise to himself that he would remain faithful to his heritage.
Watching Ben so perfectly play the part of a clueless drunk, Jack hoped that Ben was okay with the family mission too. If he wasn’t, God, he hoped his brother had the courage to leave the life.
Ben’s head tipping along with the pitcher as he poured another mug full gave him another unnoticed view of the suspects. Both were drinking unusually healthy amounts of alcohol and eating handfuls off two big trays filled with this establishments less than healthy appetizers.
“Too much booze, too much food. Vampires for sure.”
At that moment, one of the suspects, the one with the beard, stood, hands on his hips and closely watched everyone in the bar. His eyes moved from person to person slowly. Jack and Ben knew what they were searching for and kept their faces averted, showing interest in their drinks and their conversation.
Well aware that a vampire could often hear a specific voice across a room if they focused on it, they played their parts.
Ben belched. “So I told Lucille that if she didn’t want my dick in her pussy, screw you. What a bitch.”
“Yah, Bobby, I told you when you picked her up that she thought her shit didn’t stink. You need to look around and find someone who ain’t no skank.”
“You are so right, Tank.”
Jack’s eyes smiled as he mouthed, “Tank?”
“Bobby” shrugged.
A sideways glance showed Jack that the target’s scan had passed over them and moved on to the next few tables.
“They’re searching for hunters,” Ben whispered.
“It’s pretty clear.”
They would wait them out, see what the vampires did, if they chose a victim. If they took someone, then Jack and Ben would have to act.
Quietly, while reaching for his still full glass of bourbon with a goofy grin, Jack spoke into his coms. “San, we’re certain they’re ducks. Watching for intentions.”
Ducks, code word for vampires, as in dead ducks, if someone might be near enough to hear.
“No show on the other locales. Odd the other three aren’t with them. Hunter trap?”
“Yep.”
“We’re coming. Don’t either of you freaking move.”
“Aw, honey, I thought you liked the way I move.”
“I like the way you follow my orders.”
“Brute.”
“Good. Remember that. We’re on our way.”
Ben had been watching. “Mama Bear on her way?”
“Let the games begin.”
A hand signal to the waitress, and a wink he’d normally never do, Ben caught another look to his left to see one of the now-established vampires stand, his attention on the entrance. He moved his eyes to see two young women who’d just entered, letting their eyes adapt.
“Oh, no.”
Jack’s gaze shifted to the corner as both vampires moved toward the women. “Oh, yeah, game on.”
Waiting to see what happened next, and sadly certain that they knew, the brothers kept their seats until the vampires caught the women’s eyes, briefly spoke to them, then walked out, both women on their heels.
Rising, Jack barked into his coms.
“San, they’re leaving with two young female vics. We don’t have a choice. Keep your coms on, I’ll keep a running commentary.”
“Boys…”
“You know we have to go. You know how quickly those girls will be gone if we don’t.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.”
As the door closed behind them, both men searched the area, Jack to the right, Ben to the left.
“There,” Ben said, without pointing. They would still try to maintain cover, but just the fact that they’d followed had probably blown it. It didn’t matter much now anyway, only those girls did.
Going into a wooded area next to the bar, Jack groaned. “Fuck, it figures. Great place to ambush two hunters.”
“They’re murderers, not dumb.”
“Why can’t they be both? Can’t we get a break?”
“Look.”
In the distance, the light now too low to discern them well, they could see four forms moving through the trees.
“We don’t split up,” Jack spat, as he took the lead, gun drawn, dagger near his right hand, a streaming low-level light at his waist for when they might need it. Ben followed keeping just to his left, gun also presented, ready to fire at any opportunity.
It became apparent quickly that the stand of trees was narrow as they opened into another parking lot. Standing under a streetlamp, the two young women in front of them, knives at their throats, the vampires were obviously waiting for them.
“Come closer, hunters,” the enormous vampire with the beard yelled.
“Release the girls, and sure, we’ll come for the meet and greet.”
“Uh, uh. You want these fine pieces of ass, you have to come and get them. After all, you have three of ours.”
Like hell we do, Jack thought, the memory of watching those vamps cook still clear.
“If you let them free, let them come over here, we’ll talk about your friends.”
Bearded guy snorted as he laughed. “You’re as bad a liar as you are a hunter. We could smell your stench from a mile away. Come near, or I slit this one’s throat right now and take a nice warm drink as she dies. Her name is Amanda, and she thinks she’s going to college in the fall.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Jack turned to Ben. “Stay here, I’m going to…”
“No. Both of you or no deal.”
Low, barely loud enough to hear himself, Jack gave Ben his orders.
“Ben, stay here. I’m going closer and try to take him out before he can cut her.”
“Oh, come on!” the vampire yelled. “I can hear you.”
Jack knew he could. He fired from right where he was, his skill excellent, his aim true, and he would have gotten the vamp except that he used his ability to move faster than humanly possible to be somewhere else when the bullet arrived. But he’d thrown the girl to the ground.
The second vampire, less sure of himself, threw his victim to the pavement and followed the first one.
“New hire?” Jack taunted.
“Yeah, still learning. You’re lucky he’s not older or I’d have you both. Doesn’t matter, I have what I wanted anyway. I know who you are. My companion has recorded your faces on vids, so here’s my gift to you. Don’t even try to pretend the other members of my family are alive, I know better. Now, though, we’re coming for you. We know what you look like, so we’ll be hunting you. You won’t know when or where we’re coming, so enjoy the small moments of life you have left.”
They were gone instantly, the newby on the heels of the other, probably aided by him.
This could have gone worse, a whole lot worse, but Jack had a strong sense of dread. Vampires knew their faces, and if they could find them, they could get the others as well. He and Ben would have to be extraordinarily careful not to lead them back to their headquarters or friends.
“Let’s check on the vics,” he commanded, his voice quiet.
Ben nodded, well aware that things had gotten much more dangerous tonight.
An hour later at HQ
“Jack, you’re bleeding.”
“The girl freaked out when I tried to pick her up off the ground. Her fingernails were like tiny daggers.”
“Yeah, I guess they would be. Let me dab those.”
“San, forget the stabs, they’re nothing. I’m just worried about the setup tonight. Ben and I have been made. If we don’t get those pricks before they get out faces out there, we won’t be able to safely hunt again. Hell, we won’t have to worry about that, we’ll be dead.”
“We’ll fix it. You dad is already on camera feeds, looking for where they might have gone.”
“They’re too clever, he won’t find them. At least, that big one. What the fuck is a vamp doing with a beard anyway?”
“He’s got a style, I guess. It makes it easier to track him on vids.”
“I guess.” Sighing, Jack pulled his shirt back over his head. He’d been assessing the stinging scratches and punctures his victim had given her rescuer. “I’m heading home. Will you make sure Ben gets home safely? He’ll have a fit, but have someone escort him.”
“Sure. How about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m invincible. No, I’m taking a ride and then heading home to catch up on that lost sleep.”
Sanquinetta folded her arms. “A ride, eh? Along the shore? Stopping somewhere?”
“No. Going right home after some fresh air.”
“Oh, that’s what the kids are calling it these days?”
“I just need to deal with this and the repercussion of what happened tonight.”
“Alright, my friend, go deal. Sometime, if you keep seeing this woman, I’d like to meet her.”
His keys rattling in his hands, Jack shook his head.
“I won’t. She really is too delicate for this old dog. I’m lucky she let me touch her.”
“Gods, Jack. You really don’t get what a good man you are. Get out of here and get some sleep. Set your alarms.”
“The house is too old. It doesn’t have alarms.”
“Shit. Just be careful. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Out in the cool air, which he really did need right now, Jack started his bike and took off at breakneck speed down the lane from the HQ, turned onto the lonely two-lane highway, and yes, he was going to pass the house where Ife stayed.
He had no intention of stopping to see her. Maybe the lookout to see if she was down there, but that was it. If she was there, maybe, maybe, he’d go down and say hi. Then he’d head home and get the sleep that might give him a better view of how to manage this situation.
This might be the last night he could move around freely without worrying that he might lead death to the doorways of his family or friends. Once the vampires got his and Ben’s images out, things were going to heat up fast. There would be hunting, only he and his brother were going to be the prey now.
Pulling into the lookout, he walked to the wall and looked at the beach. No one was there. Good. Fine. He’d just get back on the bike and go.
Somehow, his legs refused to take him away from the path that led to the wet sand below.
“She isn’t there tonight, asshole,” he said, and started down the steps.
On the beach, the roar loud tonight, he looked up the coastline toward the house she borrowed from someone she called Donovan. It was much darker tonight, the moon and stars lost behind a solid deck of clouds.
He could barely see a light on, casting onto what he knew was the deck off the back of the house.
Time to go home. Leave her be. It was rude to show up unannounced anyway.
Jack started down the beach toward the lone house.
He shouldn’t go to her. Tonight his life had become too complicated and his presence would be dangerous. Leave the lovely woman to enjoy a safe, relaxing vacation before she returned to her life. It wasn’t as if they had a chance at anything beyond a few moments of sex.
Still, his footsteps brought him closer and closer until, shadowed completely by the rock cliff where he stood, Jack watched her set a food tray on the table near the balcony. She stopped afterward and walked to the railing to look out toward where he stood, uncertain what he would do.
Did she have a guest?
He lowered himself to squat on the sand, fully aware that watching her like this officially made him a stalker, but he had to know. Was she entertaining another man? She had every right to do so. He didn’t have any claim; he’d just been a one-night stand. And yet…
She disappeared back into the house and he saw no further movement until the back door opened and she came down the steps toward where he sat.
Standing, he considered leaving fast, but her laugh travelled to him across the distance.
“Don’t.”
He was surprised he could hear her so clearly, she was still quite far from him, but he had and wondered if she could possibly have been speaking to him.
Jack waited, her image sharper as she closed in on him and held out a V-shaped glass.
“Here.”
His hand closed around the glass, he hesitated, then took a sip of what she’d called MoonShine, a wine her own people had apparently produced.
In the limited light of a cloud covered night sky, he could see her bright hair as she shook her head.
“You weren’t going to leave without coming up, were you?”
God, he loved her voice!
“I thought you might have a visitor.”
“I was expecting you.”
Why she was didn’t make sense, but he’d learned not to question anything when it came to her. He’d already surmised that this woman had some sort of preternatural talents.
“I shouldn’t have come tonight.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to. Obviously. Ife, I’m not free to even have a casual relationship with you. You deserve a lot better than me anyway.”
“Not free? Are you with someone else?”
“No, that isn’t what I mean. Some things are happening that make it dangerous to be near me right now. I can’t risk you getting caught up in the crossfire of my life.”
“What if I absolve you of all concern or guilt and you come in and tell me about it?”
He wanted to. He wanted to crawl inside her for solace and bury himself until he caught fire.
“Come with me. I have food and drink. You can tell me anything. Perhaps I can help.”
Handing the glass to Ife, Jack slid a hand up each of her cheeks and kissed her gently on the lips, his fingers moving into that satin hair one last time. The kiss deepened, became hungry, needy, loving, and Ife returned his passion.
With a startling abruptness, he pulled away and he heard Ife sigh.
“Come make love to me, Jack.”
“I can’t. It wouldn’t be right, although at this moment there isn’t anything I want more. Unless it’s to be free to be with you. But that won’t ever happen.”
He noticed the drink placed safely in the sand and wondered how she’d done that, then looked at her.
“Thank you for giving me a glimpse of heaven. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and have a safe journey home. I won’t bother you again.”
“Jack.”
Ife grabbed his hand, and he tried to pull it free, but her grip was too strong. Too strong for him to pull away?
“Please, please, bother me.”
“If I didn’t have nobility beat into me, I might. It isn’t fair to you. Ife, you’ve been an unexpected joy.”
He tugged at his hand again, surprised at her resistance, then saw her face as she let go.
“I’ll find you, you know. We’ll be together again.”
“I wish we could, but my life isn’t my own. Goodbye, beautiful naked lady. You’re one of the brightest spots in my life.”
While he didn’t break into an all-out run, Jack hurried as he made his way up the beach because each step took him away from her, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d turn around and race back to lay her on the sand and fuck her hard until they both saw the stars.
Left behind, Ife nearly gave in to her desires and brought Jack back to her. If she’d pushed, she knew he couldn’t have said no. He wanted to be with her as much as she wanted him to be.
It was clear something was happening in his life that he felt was out of his control. He felt endangered? And that anyone near him would be in trouble too? His pain was powerful and reached out to her, where she absorbed the sharp edges that kept them apart.
She needed to convince him to confide in her. First blood talents, especially hers as one of the chosen, could do a great deal to help him, whatever the problem was.
Daylight would arrive soon, so for now, Jack was on his own.
“May the universe guide and protect you,” Ife whispered before she used air-displacement to hurry home.
Tomorrow night she would go into town and see if she could find him. Her need for a blood meal had grown great, but the idea of drinking from a stranger didn’t appeal at all. She had decided to introduce Jack to her nature under compulsion. Her entire body quivered at the thought of feeding while he was buried in her.
“When the day burns away, Jack, I will come for you.”
IN AN OLD BARN OUTSIDE OF TOWN
Saul looked around their temporary dwelling. A shithole to be sure, but it was isolated and safe. It would only be for a few more days anyway, just long enough to finish his dastardly plan.
He grinned and reached for another big hunk of meat. He’d already had his blood meal, and Billie had brought a banquet from the closest restaurant. It was imperative to his plans that she remain unseen. Two days from now, he’d push through his clever revenge scenario and take the four members of his family that remained home to the mountains.
Hunters. Fucking assholes who knew nothing about vampires and thought they knew everything.
“Today beginneth lesson the first.”
Lifting a pitcher of a local ale he liked, he downed it in one long gulp.
Billie watched, amazed. “Even with my vampire skills, I can’t do that.”
“You’re still new. Abilities develop with time, my love. Bring me some more of that steak. I seem to be insatiable tonight.”
“It’s cause you nearly got those hunters. Fuck, Saul, I still can’t believe they killed Jonah, Chloe, and Loren. I wish you’d gutted them.”
“Ah, my plan is so much richer. Life is dirty and hard, you’ll get that by your fifth decade, but there are moments…” Saul ran his fingertips through his beard. “…of pure genius. You see, I learned something tonight about those hunters, something that will make my revenge for the death of our family so sweet, it will ache. Now, that steak please?”