Authors: Lina Gardiner
"You know I've been trying to keep tabs on you in order to keep you safe,” he replied. “You were too good and I couldn't keep up. After you showed me Sampson's new creation, I decided it would be good in other ways too."
She stared at him. “Why didn't you just ask me to cooperate?"
"Would you have cooperated?"
Suddenly, she realized something else. She felt her blood running thick and cold because there was only one way he'd be able to implant that device while she slept. He had to have had help. Help from someone else she trusted implicitly.
John looked at Jess with guarded desire. She wore the silkiest of film that barely covered her voluptuous curves, and her hair caressed her milky white shoulders in thick, straight edges. Anyone who saw her now would never believe she was the city's best vampire hunter—and a vampire herself.
Right now she was all woman. All
angry
woman. He ran his teeth across his bottom lip and bit back the urge to kiss her again, to take her mind off his infraction. Maybe make her forgive him completely.
He held himself in check. If she had any idea how much he really wanted her, she'd be gone so fast, even the tracking device wouldn't find her.
Worse, now he'd told her that he'd violated her body and her privacy in her own bedroom while she was in stasis.
It was crucial to be able to find her if she blacked out. But, he had hoped to hell he'd never have to use the device. Too late to worry about the consequences now. Not as if he hadn't already agonized over it. He'd done it for the right reasons, whether she liked it or not.
"Jess, you know I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think it was necessary."
She planted her hands on her hips. “Where'd you put it?"
He reached out, pushed up his coat sleeve to expose her arm and ran two fingers across her skin just above her wrist. There wasn't even a scar.
"It's amazing how quickly you heal,” he said.
He thought she was going to go ballistic. If anyone had taken advantage of him in his sleep he'd have felt the same way. Instead, she turned away, but not before he caught a glimpse of her disappointed expression. Maybe he'd have preferred ballistic.
"Regent helped you, didn't he?"
For about two seconds he considered lying. Regent had agonized over the decision to do this, but he'd finally agreed it was necessary when Britt told him about Jess's blade being found beneath the murder victim in the park. They needed to keep tabs on her.
If Jess got upset with Regent...
Hell! Britt didn't want that to happen. The old man didn't deserve that, not after all the years he'd spent praying for her and protecting her in his own way.
Jess wouldn't mean to upset him. She adored him, but sometimes the vampire inside her got overheated. Well, in this case, who could blame her?
"Only under duress, Jess. I bullied him into it. Coaxed and bullied him until he agreed. He really didn't want to."
"I see.” She let out a long breath, and continued to look at the ground, staring at her bare feet which were covered with dirt from wandering the city streets and rooftops in an uncontrolled daze.
What the hell she was thinking, he wondered in frustration. This aloof exterior was not normal for Jess. She was hot blooded. Spirited. Even dangerous. But never calm like this.
"My car is a few blocks over,” he said.
"Let's go. I hate having dirty feet."
"Jess, I'm sorry I didn't catch up with you before you ended up in that precarious position on the bridge."
Her abrupt, self-recriminating laugh caught him off guard. “It's not like the fall would've hurt me.” She grimaced. “It wouldn't have been pleasant, though."
He froze. She couldn't die that way? He shook his head. There was still a lot about vampires he still didn't know.
She strode on ahead of him. For someone who looked like she had no energy reserves left, she outpaced him easily. He jogged for a minute, then ran full-out to narrow the gap between them.
By the time he caught up to her, he was out of breath. They found his vehicle askew on the side of the street with the driver door still hanging open, just the way he'd left it to chase after her.
Jess didn't comment. She just got in and waited for him to drive.
"Aren't you angry with me?” How long could this cool act last?
"No. I think you did the right thing. She stared out the passenger window as they drove along. “You never did tell me why you felt you had to track me."
"You had that fainting spell behind the Dragon's Lair,” he said, hoping that would appease her.
"That's it? There's no other reason?"
"Does there have to be?"
"I guess not, but I have the feeling I've done something I shouldn't have. Ever since that nightmare I haven't been able to shake that fear."
"Not as far as I know, Jess.” That was the God's honest truth. He didn't know.
"Britt, there's something I didn't tell you.” She kept her face averted. Even though she wouldn't look at him, he'd already noticed how distressed she was tonight. “I lost my blade.” She turned to him with an imploring look. “Did you find it in your apartment?"
Britt considered his response. Should he tell her the truth or pretend she'd simply left her blade at his place? Damn it, he didn't want to tell her it was found at the crime scene. She'd believe the worst about herself, and she was having a hard enough time right now.
"Stop the car!” she shouted before he had time to formulate what to say.
Reacting quickly he pulled the car to the curb and jammed on the brakes. Jess jumped out and took off down the street.
Before he could get out of the vehicle, she had disappeared into the maw of a dark alley. Not again! He'd never be able to keep up with her on foot.
As the vampire ducked down another alley, Jess took off after him. Running at full speed after a vampire felt real to her. This was her world. A world where she knew the ground rules and was ready to break them. She was in her element. Only one thing she'd change—not to wear filmy lingerie again until she figured out what was causing her somnambulism. Worse, Britt's coat had come undone with her accelerated speed and was flapping in the wind behind her.
Now she was running through the city dressed like one of the female vampires in a 1950's Hammer film. That didn't appeal to her liberated feminism at all.
Even though she couldn't see much more than the vampire's back as he raced away from her, there was something familiar about him. Her mind stretched out and tried to touch his.
Nothing. He'd shut her out. He was very powerful. Usually vampires could at least sense each other's presence. With this vampire she felt nothing.
He was on a dead run. For a vampire, that was fast enough to create a blurred image to humans.
Even with bare feet she managed to keep up, but it would've been a hell of a lot more comfortable in her leathers than in a nightgown and a flapping, oversized trench coat.
By the time she'd nearly caught up to the vampire, they had scaled several buildings, each one taller than the last. As he neared the edge of the final building, no other structures were close enough to jump to. She had him!
He slowed long enough to look back at her, and she froze.
Those eyes!
She'd seen those eyes before. Although she couldn't remember where or when, just the sight of them nearly incapacitated her.
She hesitated too long. He turned and sailed off the top of the building. Before she got the edge, she had no idea which way he'd gone. He'd disappeared into the dark below.
As before, there was nothing to tip her off. No residual energy, very little scent.
Nada. He'd gotten away.
Now, standing at the precipice of the building with her chest heaving from exertion, Jess stared down into the blackness of the alley below. The vampire had been faster than any she'd ever seen. And he was like a ghost. He left no trail. Why?
She closed her eyes to rid herself of the image of his evil gaze. It burned in her brain like a vicious scar.
Not much frightened her anymore. But those eyes terrified her more than anything she could remember. Even more than becoming the monster she fought against every day. She hoped she never saw him again.
When the sound of an evil laugh carried to her on the wind—her skin broke out in Goosebumps.
Left in the vampire's proverbial dust, Jess opened the doorway and descended two levels of stairs before deciding to take the elevator the rest of the way down.
She'd let him get away and she had no freaking idea how he'd been able to do that—unless her episode on the bridge had hampered her abilities. The fact that he could actually frighten her left a bad taste in her mouth. She wasn't a timid vampire. She'd fought evil for fifty years. This dark demon could do nothing to her that hadn't already been done.
She heaved a sigh, exited the elevator on the bottom floor and walked through the lobby to the sidewalk. Being barefoot caused enough stares, and she was thankful for Britt's trench coat. She buttoned it up again and pulled the belt tight.
If she had her vampiric speed, she could cover more ground and get back to Britt quickly, but she was actually experiencing something else right now. Overwhelming fatigue. Another new experience.
She blew out a breath and looked up at the buildings around her. Was the vampire back up there watching her? Laughing at her?
Had he been the one she'd sensed in the park?
She was a cop. A vampire hunter who was detested by every vampire in New York. If she lost her abilities completely, she'd be at the mercy of every vampire in the city.
Several cars passed while she walked along the sidewalk. One man stopped and tried to pick her up. She allowed herself to transition enough to scare the wits out of him. Maybe he'd stay at home from now on.
Another car pulled up next to her. She stopped and tightened the belt again so her chest wouldn't be exposed. The passenger door flew open.
"Get in."
"Britt. How'd you find me?” The GPS monitor sat on the dash pinging loudly. “Oh, right,” she said, her spirits deflating even more.
Britt reached over and shut it off, his mouth set in a grim line. “Why'd you take off down that alley?".
"Didn't you see the vampire? He was following us, and I wanted to find out what he wanted."
She watched the muscles in Britt's arms knot. His fingers circled the steering wheel tightly. “No. I didn't see anyone."
"Really?” She frowned. “How could you have missed him?"
"Maybe because my attention was on you, not the sidewalk."
How was that possible? Britt was a trained observer. If she saw the vampire on the sidewalk, he should have too.
"Take me home. I'm tired."
"On our way, Jess. We'll be there in a minute.” He accelerated the vehicle and sailed through the next three green lights. She could have kissed him for not drilling her with questions right now. It had been a long night.
He obviously hadn't seen the vamp she'd chased halfway across the city. Why not? Had the vampire actually been there or was he another figment of her imagination? Britt had to be wondering the same thing.
She looked at the spot on her arm where the tracking device had been implanted. Maybe it would be a good thing after all. Especially since she had no recollection of leaving the Rectory tonight and going to the bridge. Wandering outside without knowing what she was doing was the least of her worries. Without proper preparatory prayers, not getting home before dawn meant she'd die like any other vampire caught outside at sunrise.
Britt had barely reached the next light when they lurched violently forward, the vehicle instantly forced to a stop. The sound of shrieking metal filled the night.
"What the hell? Jess are you okay?” Britt reached for his seatbelt and unlatched it. His head had hit the window and he had a cut above his left eyebrow. She unwillingly inhaled his rich scent.
"You should be more concerned about the fragile state of your own body, Britt. Not mine."
She glanced at him, made sure he was intact, then stared out through the shattered windshield.
The hood of their vehicle had a deep dent in it. The engine had been crushed. But how?
"Something must have dropped onto the hood from one of the buildings.” Britt rolled down his window and leaned out for a better look. “There's nothing out there. No debris. Only one thing could have caused that much damage and disappeared,” he said.
"A vampire,” she agreed. She sensed the vampire now. Why hadn't she sensed him before this? Because he didn't want her to?
"He must've been damned fast if you didn't see him, Jess."
She nodded and felt a surge of relief running through her like adrenalin. At least the vampire existed in the flesh—he wasn't a delusion. He'd jumped on their vehicle and crushed it, though. He was very strong. “Most likely the same one I chased down the alley."
Was she crazy or did Britt suddenly look relieved too?
"What the hell does he want?"
Jess was able to laugh at that question and it felt good. “I'm guessing he wants me dead, just like the others we've encountered."
"Like that's going to happen.” Britt reached for the stake he carried in a shoulder holster.
Jess frowned. “I don't like this. I don't have a blade with me. Another thing I'm going to have to wear to bed if I keep sleepwalking."
Britt stared at her, a haunted expression of his face. “Open the glove box. Your blade's in there."
"What? Why didn't you tell me I left it at your place when I asked?"
Britt started to open his car door. “This isn't the right time to discuss it, Jess. We need to focus on killing this bastard, and getting you home before the sun rises."
Goosebumps rose on her already dead-cold flesh. “Yeah, that's a very good idea.” She had no desire to burn up in the sunlight. “But when we get back to the Rectory, I want a full report on how you got my dagger."
"Ten-four,” he said and dove out of the vehicle, checking the roof on his way.