Vampire's Shade Discounted Box Set

Chapter 12

Chapter 12I got a call from the workshop tellingme my bike was ready. I stopped by and picked it up. I wasn’t goingto spend more time without my bike, come what may.

I looked up at the sky. The sun waslow, touching the horizon. It was time I met Connor. Unease swirledin my stomach like nausea. What was I doing? I couldn’t keep doingthis. I had to go there and kill him. Get it over with.

Yes. That was what I would do.

I drove to Mulberry Street and sat inthe road, one finger stroking the stake absently while I turnedeverything over in my head. I was going to march in there and stabthe stake into his heart, breaking my promise, because that was whatI did. I broke things. Or maybe I was going to use my Smith &Wesson and blow his head off. Either way, I was going to do this.

I closed my eyes and breathed, ready towalk up to him and finish the job… but when I sent my feelers out,the house was empty. Connor wasn’t home.

Disappointment lodged in my chest anddragged me down like something made of lead. I wouldn’t get to seehim, then. I wasn’t sure why I was upset. Was it because I couldn’tsee him, or because I wouldn’t get the chance to kill him? We hadan appointment. Wasn’t I important enough?

I started the bike and flew down thestreet, embracing the roar of the engine and the hum of speed in myblood. Not tonight. I wouldn’t have to kill him tonight. But atsome point, I’d have to.

I swallowed hard. This was my mostdifficult job to date, and killing people was particularly easy, as arule.

The office was cold and dark when Iarrived just before midnight. I parked a block away so my bike’sengine wouldn’t announce my arrival. I wasn’t a girl who liked anentrance. I was wearing my leathers, and I felt comfortable and athome in my body again.

I climbed the stairs, trying to ignorethe pain every time I bent my leg. When I got to the second floor, Iwalked through Sonya’s deserted office and into Ruben’s.Apparently she did take a break now and then.

A dim lamp on Ruben’s desk was theonly source of light in the room. He was sitting at his desk lookingworn and haggard, like a lifetime had passed between this afternoon’smeeting and now. The faint smell of alcohol hung in the air.

“Don’t you just look like a ray ofsunshine,” I said to him.

He looked at me like he wasn’t fullyregistering my presence.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

My back was up immediately, and Iopened my senses. I’d been careless. The office had never been adanger zone. But now a thin trace of terror was hanging in the air.Ruben’s terror, although it seemed like something had him subdued.The alcohol smell was also a ruse. Something that was intended tothrow me off.

A dark shadow stepped out of a corner,and I jumped. The feeling intensified. The man was tall, wearing ablack duster like a cowboy in the movies and black wraparoundsunglasses. His skin and hair were pale, and he wasn’t a man atall. This was a vampire. No wonder Ruben looked like death warmedover. He didn’t usually come face-to-face with the underworld, notlike this.

Another shadow appeared behind me. Theonly reason I knew it was there was that I had smelled it before itmoved. I couldn’t see it, but I felt it coming closer.

“Stop right there,” I said in a lowvoice filled with warning.

The first vampire chuckled. “So, thisis your assassin? A woman? No wonder she hasn’t been able to getthe job done.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick with theinsults, if I were you,” I said. Ruben didn’t respond.

The thigh sheath and the guns on myside and at my back were all but burning against my skin. My fingerswere itching to use them, but I wasn’t going to rush things. Withtwo big vampires, me and a defenseless human in a small office, itwas better not to jump right into fighting if it wasn’t necessary.Bloodshed needed space… and preferably, the lack of a humanaudience.

“You want O’Neill dead,” I saidmatter-of-factly.

The vampire nodded. I was aware of hispartner moving around the office, probably listening and feeling forthe presence of people or other vampires.

“You’re not doing what we asked,”the vampire said. “We’re becoming impatient.”

“Why do you need me to do it?” Iasked. “You look like you have what it takes to do it yourself.”

The vampire gave a low, evil laugh thatdanced across my skin, and I broke out in shivers. This vampire waspowerful, more so than the ones I’d been hunting for so long. Morepowerful than my father had ever been. Where did the vampires likethis hang out? I realized I’d been dealing with the bottom of thefood chain.

“Let’s just say it’s in our bestinterest not to be tied to the murder.”

“She’s on the case. I told you.”Ruben spoke for the first time. His voice was dull, withoutinflection or emotion.

The vampire ignored him. “He wasn’tsupposed to live through the change, but he did. Now you need to getrid of him.”

So they were the ones who had dumpedConnor in the alley.

“He’s getting away from you, isn’the?” I asked. My tone was mocking, and I smiled although none ofthis was friendly. “You can’t find him, and it’s ticking youoff that you have to ask for help.”

The vampire in front of me scowled andthe air turned ice cold around us. Frost formed on the inside of thewindow and crawled up the lamp stand. I shivered. Vampires thisstrong could only be masters. They were old, very old, and they hadfar more control than the everyday newbies I dealt with.

“You should know better than to mockme,” the vampire said in a hiss, his voice spitting. I could almostfeel it on my skin.

“It looks like she needs somemotivation,” the other vampire said in a gravelly voice that sent abolt of fear through my body.

His eyes slid to Ruben, and I readiedmyself to grab my gun the moment something happened. Instead, thefirst vampire laughed again, like I was a child who was trying toplay grownup games.

“You’ve met Celia,” the vampiresaid, and that icy finger traced the outlines of my body when hementioned her name. I nodded slowly. He wasn’t talking about thereporter she’d come disguised as. He was referring to the woman whohad been playing games with me. The cat.

“I can’t say it was a pleasure. Sheneeds to be put on a leash.”

“She’s perfectly in control. Sheonly does what we tell her to. She’s more like… a pet.”

“A pet that needs to be put down,”I spat.

I glanced at Ruben. He was hanging onto his desk, staring at nothing. I could smell his fear, but his facewas calm. They had him under some sort of spell that kept him almostdrugged. If he’d been left to his own devices, he would probablyhave panicked or tried to escape. Or worse. People turn crazy whenfear takes over.

The other vampire, the one who wasn’tthe obvious leader, pointed a gun at Ruben. So they had guns too. Andthey were faster than I was. I wondered if I jumped at them, if Iwould be faster than a bullet in getting to Ruben.

“You have a lot of anger in you,”the leader said. Apparently, he could smell my emotions better than Icould smell his. He waved at his friend, and the other vampirelowered his gun. I felt like I could breathe again. ThreateningRuben’s life was foul play. “I don’t know if that will beenough.”

“Enough for what?” I asked. Myvoice was hard, and I imagined grabbing my S&W and blowing hishead off.

“Enough to save her.”

Fear rippled through my body, andsuddenly every thought of violence was gone, replaced by an image ofmy sister’s face. The smell of fear permeated the room, sour andvile, and the vampires both laughed.

“Yes, that’s the one. Your sister,I believe. You’ve worked hard to cover her up, but we found outanyway.”

“Don’t you dare!” I shouted. Allmy control was gone now. I was crazy with fear.

I pulled out my gun and pointed it atthe vampire in front of me. They were both strong enough to overpowerme. They could have beaten me to a pulp right there, and no trainingin the world would have prepared me. They could have killed me in aninstant. But neither of them moved. The vampire I was aiming at wassurprisingly calm looking down the barrel of a gun that could finishhim, but that was because he knew as well as I that shooting himwasn’t going save Aspen. And if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it.

“Finish the job, and we’ll leaveyou alone,” the second vampire said. “It’s not difficult. Alife for a life. Take Connor’s, we’ll spare hers, or you can haveit the other way around. You let us know which you prefer.”

They both dematerialized with a whooshthat blew Ruben’s papers off his desk. The small office, filledwith their presence until now, was suddenly cold and empty.

Ruben’s eyes lost their glazedquality, and he looked up at me. “God, I hate it when they do thatto me.”

“I gather that wasn’t the firsttime,” I said.

Ruben shook his head. “I told youthey were dangerous. Just finish the job, Adele. Dammit.” He pushedhimself upright in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Then he dragged hishands down over his cheeks, distorting his face for a second.

I looked at Ruben, and suddenly Icouldn’t breathe. It was like I’d turned to lead. I doubled over,clamping my arms over my stomach, trying to stop the terrible painthat sliced through me. My head spun, and I felt like I was going tothrow up.

“They’re going to kill her,” Igasped, dry heaving. There were no tears, only the fear making myblood thick in my veins and forcing my body into the kind ofsubmission I’d only felt once before, when my sister had nearlydied the first time.

“Come on, Adele,” Ruben said,tugging at my arm, trying to pull me back to reality. “Keep ittogether.” He sounded panicked. That made two of us. “Just killhim, and then it will all be over.”

He was right. The panic left my body asquickly as it had come, and I unfolded myself, peeling myself off thefloor. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, finding all my piecesand forcing them back together.

“I need to go,” I said, soundingcontrolled again.

“You know, this is the first timeI’ve ever seen you lose it,” he said.

“We all have our demons, Ruben. I’msure you have things in your life that reduce you to a puddle offear.”

Ruben nodded. “After this, vampires,”he said.

I walked out into the night, the airfilling my lungs as if I had never breathed before. The open skyabove me was freedom after the jail the little office had become. Ilooked at the time. It was one o’clock, but I took a chance anddialed anyway. Aspen’s sleepy voice answered just before the phonewould have rolled over to voicemail.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she said, and yawned.

Relief flooded my body, and I felt likemy knees would buckle under my weight.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Nothing, angel. Go back to bed.”

“You’ve only ever called me thatwhen something was really wrong.”

“I’m taking care of it,” I said,and hung up.

Because I was. I was going to save mysister. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind about whom I would choosewhen it came down to it. Aspen would win out every single time, nomatter how much Connor amused me. No matter how human I felt aroundhim. Because at the end of the day, if Aspen died, I would die. Lifewithout her was no life at all. For Aspen to live, for me to live,Connor had to die. He was just a vampire, anyway.

I found my bike and got on, then kickedthe engine to life. I rolled out, determined to finish what I’dstarted.

It wasn’t far to Mulberry Street, andwhen I reached the top of the street, most of the homes were filledwith sleeping bodies. Their resting states reached out to me withlong fingers that reminded me how tired I was. It wasn’t the kindof tired that I could fix with sleep. This was the kind of tired thathad built up over a lifetime of doing things that never brought mepeace.

When I reached number 13, it was quietand dark. The jasmine in the air pinched my nose and I was annoyedwith it, wishing it would go away. I killed the motor and popped outthe kickstand, then left the bike in the driveway.

I made my way into the house. It wasstill empty; I’d felt that the moment I set foot in the yard. Thathad been a saving grace for me earlier tonight, but now the tableswere turned and he was lucky – if he was here, he’d be dead inthree seconds. But he’d come back eventually, and until he did Iwasn’t leaving.

Clyde was in the kitchen again when Iwalked in, and he mewed. I hopped up onto the counter and settled inthe corner where a tall cabinet rose up. The cat rubbed up against myarm, purring.

“Two-face,” I said softly, but Iscratched the cat behind his ears. It was nice to have a living beingclose to me. The warmth was comforting, and I felt safer than I hadall night.

I leaned against the tall cabinet, myhead resting against the wood. My head felt heavy, suddenly, and Iclosed my eyes.

I was jolted awake by the grating soundof shutters rolling into place. The house was locking down inanticipation of dawn. I panicked. I’d fallen asleep, and I hadn’theard a thing. Clyde was on my lap, head lolling off the side, fastasleep.

I strained my ears, trying to hear pastthe grating sound whether someone was home, but I heard and feltnothing. The shutters were probably time-controlled. I looked at myphone. The battery was low. The time told me it would be dawn inabout ten minutes.

“Are you ready to tango?” I askedClyde, and scratched his neck softly. The cat started purring softlyagain, and I wondered if he would still like me after I killed hismaster.

The front door clicked, and I feltConnor come home before I saw him. His aura was like a sweet mist atdawn, before the sun drove it away. Fresh, unscathed, unpolluted. Iwrapped my fingers around the stake at my side and crouched, ready tolunge for him when he walked through the door.

He walked in without switching on thelight, which made it easier for me to stay concealed until the lastmoment. He heard me before I moved, but I was quick enough, and I hadthe element of surprise on my side. I had him up against the wall, myarm against his throat again, just like before. The pointed end of mystake was pressed to his chest, dimpling into it. I should havestabbed him right away, but something had stopped me again.

“You promised not to bring thestake,” he said softly.

“You were supposed to meet me atsunset,” I countered.

“I had to take care of something, andI didn’t know how to contact you.”

“Well, that’s too bad.” I pressedmy arm harder against his throat. He gasped for air, and hisbreathing was raspy. I could feel it against my arm.

“Does it deserve you trying to killme?” he asked. He still wasn’t scared.

Tears suddenly sprang to my eyes, and Isnarled at him through clenched teeth because he’d managed to makeme cry. I never cried.

“I can’t lose her, okay? If I letyou live, she dies.”

The tears were streaming down my cheeksnow, and I felt ashamed. I pressed the stake harder against the softflesh between his ribs.

He looked me in the eye, and his darkocean-colored eyes bored right into my soul. Why the hell wasn’t heafraid of me? Didn’t he believe I was going to kill him?

Didn’t I?

“I’ll do it!” I cried out,threatening, pushing against his chest hard enough to leave a bruise.My whole body was tense, muscles aching with the strain of keepingmyself together.

Connor didn’t say anything. He didn’ttry to fight. His eyes were on me, and they were so soft I felt likeI was going to break open and everything that was trapped inside wasgoing to fall out. The atmosphere around us changed, became thickagain. Thick and warm and… safe. I hadn’t felt like this since Iwas a little girl.

“Don’t do this,” Connor saidsoftly.

The atmosphere wrapped us in a cocoon,and I was suddenly aware how close our bodies were together, howgentle his eyes were.

I opened my hand, and the stakeclattered to the floor. Slowly I eased off with my arm, then buriedmy face in my hands. Connor didn’t move away from me; his warmthstayed exactly where it was. He lifted his hands and cupped mycheeks. He moved slowly, like I was a scared animal that he didn’twant to startle. His face inched closer to mine, and the next thing Iknew, his lips were coming down on mine, and he kissed me.

Electricity shot through my body. Myskin tingled with the sensation. The tips of his fangs were on mybottom lip, his mouth had covered mine, and he had reduced me to amelting mess. I wasn’t a vampire hunter who wore leather andcarried guns and killed for a living. I was a damsel in distress whohad been running from my own personal hell all my life, and inwardlyI was begging Connor to save me.

His kissing became urgent, his armwrapping around my body. The gun at my back bit into my flesh, andthe one under my jacket pushed against my ribs. I stopped Connor andpulled them both out, then laid them on the counter.

He raised his eyebrows. “I see youbrought backup. In case the stake didn’t work?”

“Standard issue vampire-hunter kit,”I said.

He didn’t let me keep talking. Hepulled me harshly against his body and kissed me hard. We tumbledthrough the house, knocking things off shelves and tabletops andbanging doors until we finally made it to his bedroom. We collapsedonto the bed, his body on top of mine, and I could feel his musclesripple underneath his skin. His body was hard and capable, eventhough he had never used it against me to save himself. He was onlyusing it now to save me.

He undressed me until I was naked. Inthe almost-black room I could feel his gaze on me, tracing every inchof my body. I knew he had night vision that was better than mine andthat he could see me perfectly. I could smell his arousal, his lustfor me, in the room around us. It wrapped around me like a cloak, andmy body responded to him.

He lowered himself onto me, andeverything else was forgotten. He managed to clear my mind and workmy body into a state of ecstasy, making me forget where my body endedand his began.

And afterward, when everything was overand I lay in the crook of his arm, listening to the drumbeat of hisheart, running my forefinger over the tips of his fangs, I fellasleep.

For the first time in sixteen years, Ididn’t have a gun under my pillow.