“Hassan’s baby vamps are down for the day. We have eyes on Jacques and Demetri.” Roman reminds Christien. “Not to mention, she has me as a bodyguard.”
I grin at Roman as I pull up to the curb in front of my house.
“Kayle and I will take a look around. Take Christien inside. We’ll be there in a few minutes.” Roman commands as he climbs out the passenger’s seat.
Before I can touch the driver side door, Christien has it open, offering me his hand with a smirk on his face.
Rolling my eyes, I take his hand and let him guide me to my door. I stand off to the side, as I normally do, and listen for any intruders. Christien watches me in amusement as I unlock my door. I open the door, listening for intruders and turn off my alarm when I decide we are alone. Christien is standing in front of my door, watching me.
Realizing he needs my invitation to enter, I give him a big smile. “Something wrong?”
His amused smirk turns into a scowl. “You do not intend to make me stand outside because I was curious if you needed an invitation to enter my home, do you?”
“What goes around comes around. Remember that next time you decide to satisfy your curiosity.” I state firmly with my hands on my hips.
He nods.
Christien, you may come in. Kayle, you may come in.
I think silently.
Apparently, Christien feels the barrier around my home disappear because he steps inside, shutting the door behind him. He looks around the room curiously before coming up behind me. His arms circle my waist and I lean up against him, allowing my arms to fall to my sides.
“Thank you for inviting me in Jessica.” He whispers in my ear before placing a kiss just below my ear lobe.
I shudder and rub my backside against his crotch.
He growls and releases me, taking several steps away from me. His eyes hold silver streaks, revealing his arousal. “As much as I would enjoy completing your thought, it is not safe for us to remain here long. We should get the blood and return home.”
“Okay.” I sigh. “When the guys get here, we’ll get what we need. Understand one thing. Whatever you and Kayle learn, I expect you not to tell anyone or use it against me. I would be a bad enemy to have.”
“Set the alarm Jess. I want advanced warning in case someone tries to break in while we are here.” Roman demands, stepping away from the door.
I set the alarm and look at the three men. Resolved that I can no longer delay the inevitable, I lead them to the false wall I made inside the kitchen that leads to my basement vault.
Sliding the curio cabinet to the side, I reveal the hidden door.
Roman’s eyes widen. “Impressive. I wouldn’t have suspected there was a door here.” He moves to the side of the doorway. He gives the wall a few experimental taps before moving away. “It seems solid enough.” He muses aloud. “The living room is on the other side of this wall and there isn’t enough space between the two to contain a room.”
“If you think that’s impressive, you are going to love this.” I smile mischievously as I touch the barely visible button on the wall.
The door locks click and the door swings inward, revealing a staircase. The moment the door begins to swing open, tiny L.E.D. lights on each step turn on, responding to the motion sensor I have pointed at the door, illuminating our way down the stairs.
I place my hand in the security device in the shape of a hand embedded into the wall next to the door. It scans my palm and takes a needle prick sample of my blood. The small speaker above the security device comes on. The voice recognition software, found on the computer inside, asks for my security pass phrase.
I reply without inflection. “An angel among vampires.” The software hesitates for a moment to confirm my pass phrase then the thick silver door slides open, disappearing into the wall.
We walk inside and I hear a gasp from Christien and a whistle from Roman.
The basement area is around 1500 square feet in total. Since its construction when I moved in, I have made some additions since I began storing my blood down here. The wall on the right now contains ten-foot shelving units that expand the length of the continuous wall until it reaches the bathroom wall on the same side. The shelves contain books, medical supplies and filing cabinets containing the medical reports I had private labs run on my blood over the years.
The wall on the left side still has my Plexiglas wall unit with Plexiglas drawers.
Another recent addition to the room is the ten-foot stand-alone metal shelves dominating the middle of the room in long rows. Small and large, plastic interlocking totes are stacked neatly on the shelves. I labeled the blood inside each tote with the dates the blood was drawn. Outside each tote lists the quantity of pints of blood contained inside.
Christien’s eyes widen in horror. His eyes flick to me, and he stares at me as if I am insane.
Ignoring his shock, I walk to the computer in the front of the room. The large 36” monitor is touch screen. It controls all of the environmental controls and security of the basement. I use this stand-alone computer to keep track of all of the digital medical records I have and the blood I have stored, after including any additional details I felt I needed to add.
“How much do you think we need?” I ask confidently, as I pull up the program I use to inventory my blood.
Christien is speechless, so Kayle answers me without hesitating. “Two bags per vampire should be enough. An additional 10 bags for the younger vampires would be ideal, but not necessary.”
Christien has Kayle by his neck the next instant, raising him off the ground with one hand.
“Stop Christien!” I demand.
“I will not have my vampires taste your blood. I would not be able to trust them around you. We will find another way.” Christien says between his clenched teeth.
“Put Kayle down Christien!” I force the words out in a commanding tone.
Christien drops Kayle. Kayle falls to the floor in a heap in front of Christien.
“Why do you protect him?” Christien points at Kayle. “What has he done to earn your protection? He is my vampire. Mine to control. Mine to discipline!”
Kayle gets back to his feet, but the look on his face is more of disbelief as he stares at Christien.
“You are the one that said I could trust him. Are you saying that he is untrustworthy?” I ask, taking a few steps closer to the wall holding my weapons and farther away from Kayle.
I shake my head, returning to my computer. I mentally estimate that 150 bags should cover everyone. With 50 bags of blood in each the smaller totes, three totes should be enough.
“Alright, let’s get what we need and get out of here. We have vampire hunting to do.” My mood lighter, I look over at Roman. “According to my calculations, three of the smaller totes should do it.”
Christien tosses a look over at Kayle. Kayle gets to his feet and follows Roman to the rows of blood.
Roman reaches the isle first and looks at the racks of totes. “Does it matter which tote we choose?”
“No. My blood never changes properties outside my body, regardless of when it was drawn. You can choose a recent date or an older date. It doesn’t matter. My blood doesn’t cool or spoil. If spilled, the only way I have found to get rid of the smell or small blood splatters is to use bleach. Before you get any ideas, let me inform you that you have to use a high bleach to blood ratio to get rid of it so it is only effective for drops of blood. The bleach required for a pint of blood would be outrageous.” I inform them as I scan the totes they are now holding with a handheld scanner. I delete the totes from my computer system, leaving the scanner in its charger.
I walk over to my weapons wall with a smile. Recalling the attack last night, I choose a Kensei sword with its sheath that allows me to carry it on my back. I grab the dual shoulder holster for my baby eagles off the wall, sliding it on as I walk to the pistol area where my two baby eagles sleep. Pulling four extra clips, two for each gun, out of the Plexiglas drawer makes me feel even more secure. I check the clips in each gun, verifying the safety is secure before fitting the baby eagles in the dual shoulder holster and threading a belt through the holster to hold it in place. Opening a bottom drawer on the shelf reveals a black duffle bag that can collapse into a backpack, if needed. I load the extra clips in it. Browsing the shelf, I decide to bring along a short sword of my design that lies flat along my spine from neck to waist in its sheath, for extra protection. For now, the short sword joins the extra clips in the bag. After a final glance at the wall, I grab the sawed-off shotgun and several boxes of silver buckshot to throw in the bag before zipping it up. I sling the bag and sword over my shoulder and turn around to see the men with mixed expressions on their faces.
Roman recovers. “Well, if you are offering?” His eyes never leave the wall as he pushes the two containers he is carrying into Christien’s chest for him to take.
Christien accepts them without thought while Roman walks towards the wall.
Several minutes later, Roman finally decides on a pair of Mac 11 mini Uzis with two additional clips for each. I show him where I keep the holsters for them. After a quick adjustment to the straps for his broad upper body, we are ready to go.
Chapter 39
We return to Christien’s place with no problems. We reiterate our agreement in the car that no one will know where the blood comes from except Kayle and Christien. They will tell the vampires what to expect and to keep that information hidden from all other vampires outside of Christien’s get.
Each of Christien’s vampires receives two bags of my blood to drink. As an extra precaution, the vampires have to drink directly from the bag in a secure room to minimize exposure. Once all the vampires have consumed their allotted share of my blood, we prepare to leave.
I keep on my usual weapons and strap the sword over my dual shoulder holster with matching baby eagles.
Deciding to take multiple vehicles in different directions to the target area near the building makes sense so we can maintain the element of surprise. With almost all of Hassan’s vampires still in their coma-like sleep, the raid on his compound should be quick and easy with as many people and firepower we have.
We arrive at their lair close to 4:00pm. We take our positions all over and around the building. Weres and vampires cover every exit and rooftop.
Christien, Kayle, Roman and I all gather against the wall on both sides of the main door. We can smell blood in the air. It is faint so we all agree that it must be from a previous feeding. In a coordinated breach, everyone enters simultaneously.
When our door opens, the smell of bile, waste, and blood penetrates my nose. Blood, guts, and body waste is everywhere. It is like a feeding frenzy from vampires lost in bloodlust. Multiple body parts litter the room. When we finally step inside, I almost lose my breakfast. I cover my mouth to stop the scream building in my throat. The smell is horrendous. What is worse is when I walk into the room; I cannot step anywhere without stepping in blood, waste or body parts. With a thorough sweep, the vampires we have with us reports they do not see any of Hassan’s vampires in the room. We check all the rooms on the first floor of the warehouse, but there aren’t any vampires there either. Cautiously, we proceed to the second floor. Using all my senses, I stay on alert for any sounds or movement.
Only finding a couple of rats nibbling on more body parts upstairs, we clear the inside of the building with no sign of any vampires. We check with the team waiting outside to see if they are trying to escape. They report that everything is quiet and there has been no sign of any vampires.
We go back to the first floor to regroup when Kayle informs Christien that they have found a hidden door leading underground.
I spare each of them a look, hoping that I am the only one unaware of the basement. Based off the looks on their faces, they were not aware of the lower level either.
Everyone stays on alert and we head downstairs. The stairway into the basement area is narrow, requiring us to go down single file. The stairs look made out of cement blocks. The walls are made of cement with bits and pieces of rock. Compressed dirt makes up the floor at the bottom of the stairs. The only light for the stairway comes from small torches along the walls in the small room below. We get downstairs to find a long corridor that likely runs to the adjacent building.