Vampire's Shade Discounted Box Set

Chapter 10

Chapter 10“Nice to you see you’re back,” Isaid to Sonya, who was sitting behind her desk again. “Two morenights until the weekend.”

Her eyes were a little swollen, and hernose was red. She looked at me with a dull stare. Even sick Sonyawasn’t much of a party. If anything, it annoyed her more when Ididn’t act like I wanted to kill her.

“No papers tonight?” I asked whenshe didn’t hand me a stack of papers like she usually did.

“No, tonight you get to be humane,”she said in an icy voice.

It was nice to know she had someemotions, albeit negative ones. I’d long ago gotten over beingupset when people didn’t think I was lovable. You had to be able todo “cute and cuddly” for that. I didn’t do cute and cuddly.

I walked through to Ruben’s officeand opened the closed door without knocking.

“You’re late,” he said.

“I’m here,” I countered. “Andyou don’t have work for me anyway, it seems. I don’t know whatyou’re upset about.”

Ruben leaned back in his chair andstretched up his arms. His shirt had ketchup stains down the front.“You’re not prioritizing my clients, like I asked,” he said.

I rolled my eyes and sat down on thechair opposite him.

“Don’t get comfortable. You’rehitting the streets in less than a minute.”

“What am I supposed to do if I can’tfind him?” I asked.

“You’re going to make sure you do.I’m not giving you any other cases tonight, so you get to take allthe time you need to locate your mark. Don’t say I don’t ever doanything for you.”

“I can’t go to my contact,” Isaid.

Ruben frowned at me. That was my cue toexplain.

“He’s having… technical trouble.”It was close enough to the truth. Having your monitors kicked in waspretty technical.

“Well, you’re resourceful. I’msure you’ll find a way.”

I got up and turned toward the doorwithout saying anything.

“I want this guy before the weekend,Adele,” Ruben said, and there was a warning in his voice.

“I can’t do more than I can do,Ruben. You know better than to make me promise.”

“I’m not making you promise. I’mpromising. This one hasconsequences.”

I walked out, because it sounded toomuch like a threat. I didn’t respond well to threats – I tendedto turn on them and be the one who was threatening. And when Ithreatened, I didn’t let it hang. I finished the job.

Outside, I looked up and down the road.It was empty, the halogen lamps casting circles of light onto theotherwise dark street. No one was around. It was just common sensenot to be out on the street in Westham’s downtown at night.

I tried to decide where I was going togo. I couldn’t go to Joel, for obvious reasons. Aspen was out ofthe question, because I was supposed to be on duty and she didn’thave a nocturnal cycle like I did. And the sad fact was, that was thesum total of people I knew. Besides my dad, whom I’d already seenand hoped not to see again if I could help it, and Connor, whom I wasseeing way too much of.

I sighed.

My life was complicated as hell, evenwhen nothing was happening.

The only thing left was to try to tracethe person who had attacked me. She’d had a reason. Maybe it wassomething we could talk out. And by talking it out, I meant with thebusiness end of my gun staring her in the face. But how was I goingto do that? All I knew about her was that she couldn’t be human,and she had it in for me. It wasn’t much to go on.

I got on my bike and drove up toWestham Hill. I’d seen her there last. I doubted she’d beenfollowing me, or else I would have seen her in other places. Unlessshe’d meant to stay away, which was just as possible. But I waspretty sure I’d run into her by accident. She knew who I was andwhat I did, but she hadn’t meant to go after me. If that was thecase, maybe she’d been monitoring the house on Caldwell Street, thesame as I had.

So that was where I was going to start.What did I have to lose? Only my life. No biggie.

I scolded myself. I might be runningafter a dead end.

Someone suddenly popped up in the beamof my headlights, and I pulled both brakes and stepped down hard. Mybike squealed, and flipped to the side, and skidded forward. Ishrieked, the sound of my panic filling my helmet.

I slid on the asphalt, the rough roadtearing and ripping into my leather pants. The sickening sound of theskid filled the night.

When I finally came to a stop, I jumpedup and looked around, but saw no sign of whoever that had been. Wherehad they gone?

My leather pants were torn all the waydown the outside of my left leg. Dammit. Leathers weren’t cheap. Atleast it was better than being ripped raw myself. I was grazed alittle, and I could feel the fresh wound running down my leg, but itwouldn’t be deep. Only skin, no flesh. That was partly why I woreleathers – they were thick enough to protect me from a scrape.

I picked up my bike and tried to startit. Luckily it hadn’t flooded, but the paint job was a mess. Thathurt me more than my leg would tomorrow. My bike was one of the fewthings I got sentimental about. I usually distanced myselfemotionally to spare myself. But a bike I could trust.

All of this is going to catch upwith you.

A voice swirled around me like a warmbreeze. It was everywhere around me, and in my head, all at once. Iwas pretty sure it was hers.

I’m watching you. You can run,princess, but you can’t hide.

It was sickening. I had my knife out,even though there was nothing I could stab. A cackling laughterenveloped me, and it made me feel useless and naïve.

I was furious. Humiliated that I’dfallen, angry that my paint job was messed up, horrified that I couldbe haunted by someone who was still alive.

“Come out and face me, coward!” Ishouted into the night.

My voice broke around the edges of mywords like cracked glass. She had to be here somewhere, to mess withmy mind like that. Supernatural creatures had all sorts of powers,but they also had ranges. She couldn’t find me if I was too faraway, unless she had my blood. And I knew for a fact she didn’t. Ihad enough vampire in me to know my blood and what it felt like whensomeone else had some of it.

The laughter danced around me again,mocking me, and then it faded like a lost echo.

Suddenly, she was in front of me. Herhair was ice-white in the moonlight, and this time her face wasn’thidden in the shadows. She had sharp, cat-like features, and her eyesglowed green in the dark. Not pools of black, like before. I wouldbet everything I had that she had feline characteristics and powers.She was wearing a leather outfit that was a lot sexier than mine, Ihad to admit. I wondered if I should do something about my ownclothes, but then I told myself I was a killer, not a temptress.

A smile lit up her eyes even more, andI realized she was still toying with my mind, creating jealousy,self-doubt, materialistic values. I’d heard of something like herbefore. There were creatures out there that could mess with yourmind, bring up all sorts of thoughts and emotions, enough to destroyyou without their doing much at all.

“You take a while to catch on,” shesaid in a syrupy voice that I didn’t trust at all.

“I don’t have all night.”Actually, I did. But I wasn’t going to let her last that long.

She was quicker than I’d thought.With a blast of cold air she was right in front of me, our faces soclose they almost touched. A sharp pain shot into my cheek, and I sawher nails colored red by my blood. The b***h had scratched me, andshe’d done it so fast I hadn’t seen it coming.

I touched my cheek gingerly, and myfingers came away slick with blood. I swore. I was starting to wonderif I was outmatched.

“You swear like a man,” she said.

“You fight like a girl.” It wasn’tmy most creative comeback, but I had to say something before Ilaunched at her because she kept putting me on my ass so fast Icouldn’t keep up. I had to win this one. I wasn’t the type thatwas accustomed to losing.

She let out a feline scream when Ijumped on her, and we tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Itried to grab a handful of her hair, but it was plaited in acomplicated twirl that didn’t give me much of a grip.

“You need to up your beauty skills,”she said, drawing my mind to my own hair. It was in a ponytail,streaming down my back. As she redirected my mind, she grabbed ahandful and yanked. Her hand came away with strands of hair streamingbetween her fingers.

I balled my fist and hit her square inthe mouth. It bloomed red the moment my hand left her face, and shespat on the ground. I was being slapped around like a child, and Ihad to make my mark quick if I wanted this fight to be equal.

“You’re going to regret doingthat,” she said, her voice still as charming as ever.

I reached for my knife. The silver haddone the trick last time. I held it up, poising the blade to sink itinto her chest. But her green eyes suddenly caught mine, and herpupils expanded until there was nothing left of her irises. Onlyblack holes, a void of nothing. It was welcoming, beckoning me into aworld of oblivion. Of bliss. I could leave all this behind and escapeto a place where my life didn’t exist. Where I didn’t exist.

No, I had to fight it. My thoughts werealmost like a fading echo in my mind, but I focused on them. Icouldn’t let her steal me away from myself. I blinked and tried tolook away, but something held my gaze. Something powerful. Somethinginvisible.

“It’s a pity I’m not allowed tokill you,” she whispered, her voice rolling around in my mind inwaves. “It would have been so much fun to watch you bleed out. Butmy masters have a bone to pick with you. So I only get to play.”

She ran a finger down my other cheek,and it left a trail of fire behind. I wanted to fight back, but mybody was numb and I couldn’t move my limbs. All I could feel wasthe emptiness beckoning to me. All I could see were those bottomlesspits and the whites of her eyes… which were now glowing fluorescentgreen.