Chapter Thirty-One
Tessa pulled into her parking place and switched off the engine. She sat there a minute, listening to the rain pounding on the roof, and wished she had an umbrella.
After her earlier conversation with Jilly, she decided she needed to have a serious talk with Andrei. Until today, she had just assumed that vampires made love like everyone else on the planet, but maybe they didn’t. How would she know? They hadn’t been sexually intimate but as far as she could tell, he had all the right equipment in all the right places. She couldn’t decide if discussing the subject with Andrei would be the silliest conversation she’d ever had, or the most embarrassing.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her handbag, stepped out of the car, and dashed up the stairs.
Tessa was fumbling with her key when an arm curled around her throat, cutting off her breath. She dropped her handbag, her fingernails digging into the arm around her neck, but to no avail. Her attacker had a grip like iron.
Her chest burned as she fought to draw air into her lungs.
Black spots danced before her eyes as her vision narrowed.
Darkness closed in around her.
And then swallowed her whole.
* * *
Bailey checked the clock on the stove. She had a meat loaf in the oven and she turned the heat down, covered the corn, and turned off the gas. She glanced at the clock again. Where was Tessa? She was usually home by now.
Going into the living room, she peered out the window. Seeing Tessa’s car in the lot, she opened the door, expecting to see Tessa on the landing or coming up the stairs.
But she wasn’t there.
Frowning, Bailey was about to go back inside when she saw Tessa’s handbag near the railing. Fear sent an icy tingle down Bailey’s spine as she grabbed the purse, quickly ducked inside, and bolted the door.
Tossing the bag on the sofa, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and punched in Andrei’s number.
He was at the door before she had time to say more than Tessa’s name.
Bailey took a wary step backward when she saw his face. He stood on the landing, his face a mask of fury, but there was fear in his eyes as his gaze swept the area.
Bailey wanted to ask if he could tell what had happened, but she was afraid to speak. Power rolled off him in waves, making the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand at attention.
“Have you talked to her?” he asked curtly.
“No. Can you tell . . . do you know . . . ?”
“A vampire’s taken her.”
“Is she . . . ?”
“I don’t know.” His hands curled over the banister, his fingers digging into the wood. He had no sense of her, which meant she was unconscious. Or . . . He slammed his fist on the rail, so hard it shattered. Bits of wood and dust drifted down to the parking lot. Dammit! He should have been there when she got off work, but he had gone hunting farther afield than usual and gotten tangled up with a hunter.
“What now?” Bailey asked, careful to keep out of his reach.
“I’m going after her.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No. Hold out your arm.”
“What?”
“I’m going to drink a little of your blood and then you’re going to drink a little of mine.”
She stared at him, eyes wide. “Why?”
“It will forge a link between us so we can communicate mentally.”
“Oh.” Bailey held out her hand, palm up, pressed her lips together as he bit into her wrist. She was surprised when it didn’t hurt. A moment later, he licked the wound. She watched, fascinated, as the shallow cut healed itself.
When he was done, he bit into his own wrist and held it out to her.
Bailey stared at the dark red blood. She had never tasted vampire blood. What if she developed a taste for it? Heaving a sigh, she licked the crimson drops from his arm.
“Stay here,” he said. “I don’t have to tell you to keep the door locked. Oh. You might want to call Luke and let him know there’s another vampire in town, maybe more than one.”
Bailey nodded. After locking the door, she went to the window. Lightning split the skies. In the bright flash of light, she saw that he was already gone.
* * *
Andrei cursed as the vampire’s trail grew faint and then disappeared. He had expected as much, knowing that sooner or later, the vampire would will himself to his destination, leaving no trace behind.
But he had the culprit’s scent. He would recognize it if he came upon it again.
Hands clenched, eyes narrowed, he stood in the rain, his senses reaching out for any indication that Tessa was still alive.
His mind sought hers but found no connection.
And still he stood there, heedless of the wind and the rain, waiting.
* * *
“Slow down,” Luke said. “What did Dinescu tell you?”
Bailey paced the floor, too agitated to sit still. “All he told me is that a vampire has taken Tessa.”
“Taken her where? Is she all right?”
“He doesn’t know. He can’t track her.”
Luke muttered an oath.
“He wanted me to warn you that there might be more than one.”
“Okay, thanks, kid. I’m going out to scout around. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”
* * *
Loaded for bear, Luke drove to the outskirts of town. Huddled inside his jacket with the hood pulled low against the rain, he searched the most likely vampire hidey-holes—a burned-out building, a deserted warehouse, an abandoned motor home. All were empty, with no indication that anyone or anything had inhabited them recently.
In his car again, he drove to a club that Andrei had once pointed out as a vampire hangout. Armed with a couple of stakes and a sawed-off shotgun, he entered the tavern.
There were perhaps a dozen men and women in the place, most in goth attire. They all watched him as he made his way toward the bar and ordered a glass of beer.
While waiting, he noticed a stack of papers on the end of the bar. Thinking it was advertising a concert in the area, he picked one up. Read it. And read it again. Holy hell! A million-dollar reward. For Tessa.
Luke glanced around and when he was certain no one was looking, he grabbed the flyers and shoved them inside his jacket.
Anxious to get in touch with Andrei, he quickly scanned the patrons. He had tried to explain to Jilly how he recognized vampires, but he just couldn’t put it into words. It was just an indefinable feeling that had crawled down his spine the first time he had destroyed a vampire. It had taken him a while to realize what it was. What it meant.
But he knew now. It meant he was born to be a hunter.
* * *
Tessa woke with a groan. Her throat was sore. It hurt to swallow. When she tried to touch her neck, she discovered her hands were bound behind her back.
Fear threaded its way through her as she glanced around. She was on a bed in a shabby motel room. Rain pounded on the tin roof. Lightning flashed behind the worn curtains.
Struggling to sit up, she realized her ankles were also bound.
Andrei!
Tessa! I’m coming.
Relief washed through her, only to be swept away when the door opened and a burly man lumbered into the room. A wide smile played over his lips when he looked at her.
“You’ll die if you bite me!” she warned, scooting as far away from him as she could.
He snorted. “I don’t want to bite you. I’m going to . . .” His eyes widened as he realized someone was behind him.
Tessa gagged as a stake suddenly burst through his chest.
The cavalry had arrived.
In moments, her hands and feet were free and she was in Andrei’s arms.
He held her close a moment, his gaze scanning the room.
“He didn’t want to bite me,” she said, her whole body trembling. “Why did he bring me here?”
“I don’t know.” Andrei guided her to the bed and urged her to sit down. Kneeling beside the dead man, he searched the vampire’s pockets, sat back on his heels when he found a folded sheet of paper tucked inside his jacket. After unfolding it, he read it quickly.
“What is it?” Tessa said, worried by the scowl on his face. “What does it say?”
“It’s a wanted poster.”
Tessa frowned. “You mean like, wanted dead or alive?”
He nodded curtly.
“Who’s it for?” she asked, although she had a terrible premonition that she already knew the answer.
“Katerina has offered a sizable reward for your capture.”
“Oh,” she said weakly. “How much am I worth?”
“A cool million.” Andrei cursed softly. When word of this got out, Cutter’s Corner would be swarming with vampires and bounty hunters of every stripe. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Lifting her in his arms, he transported them to his lair. He had just removed Tessa’s shoes and tucked her into his bed when his cell phone rang.
He stepped out of the room to answer it.
“Andrei? It’s Luke. You’re not going to believe what I found in that goth hangout on Chatham Road.”
“A wanted poster?”
“How’d you know?”
“I just took one off the vampire who had Tessa.”
“Is she all right?”
“Yes. A little shaken up. We’re at my place.”
“She doesn’t really have anything to worry about anymore, does she? I mean, if a vampire bites her, he’ll die. Shoot,” Luke said, laughing. “She’s the ultimate weapon.”
Andrei grunted softly. Luke was joking, but it suddenly occurred to him that Luke was right. It had taken only a few sips of Tessa’s blood to destroy the vampires he’d held captive. Yet her blood had protected him from Katerina’s bite. A bite that should have been fatal.
“Anything I can do on this end?” Luke asked.
“Just be careful. And check in on Bailey, will you? Make sure she’s okay.”
“I’ll head over there now.” Luke whistled softly. “A million bucks! Damn. I don’t know who’s handing out those flyers for Katerina, but you know when word spreads, this town will be crawling with bounty hunters and vampires.”
Andrei’s hand tightened on the phone. “Yeah.”
There was only one way to put an end to this, he thought as he disconnected the call.
And that was to put an end to Katerina.