Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (40 page)

Thomas said nothing, but the fear was visible in his eyes.
 
After all the times Victoria threatened to kill him, he was finally understanding, taking her seriously.

"I'd like to think I'm a nice, reasonable woman," she continued.
 
"Murder is never my first response to anything.
 
But, really, when it all comes down to it, you mean nothing to me.
 
I doubt anyone would miss you if you were gone."
 
She smiled, but there wasn't a hint of joy in it.
 
Jack would have been proud.
 
"Pleasant dreams."

His expression told her he wouldn't be getting much sleep.

It was fifteen minutes shy of midnight when Victoria turned into one of the many parking garages throughout Baltimore.
 
She called and had a car dropped off earlier for her, so she didn't have to drive through the city in a bloody Porsche.
 
After grabbing a ticket from the automated machine, she made her way to the empty top level.
 
Thomas was quiet in the passenger's seat, a minor miracle.
 
She sensed him admiring her every so often, but as long as he was silent about it, she could manage.
 
She'd changed clothes before they left, something more appropriate for what the night called for.
 
Her body was covered in all black, with the exception of her hair.
 
She'd never cover her hair.

"Why are we parking here?
 
We're four blocks away from Taylor Street."

"Then you'd better get moving."

"What are you going to do?"

"I already told you.
 
You don't need to worry about that."

She slid out of the car, Thomas a step behind.
 
She circled around to the passenger's side and grabbed her purse from the glove compartment, along with the smallest backpack she owned.
 
She transferred several items she always tried to keep with her.
 
Her phone, and a magical trinket or two.

"What the fuck?" Thomas said as he watched.
 
"You don't have a gun or anything?"

"Don't need one."

"Okay, seriously, what do you want me to do?" he asked.
 
"Am I supposed to keep him still?
 
Out in the open?
 
Are you going to pick his pocket?"

Silly questions, but she was glad he was asking them.
 
Thomas was thinking about the task at hand, and not how much damage he could cause with so much money coming to him.

"I just need to see the guy."

"Where will you be?"

"Not important.
 
Just forget all about me.
 
Have your meeting with him like you would if I wasn't involved."

"Do you really think this guy has something to do with us dropping into dust?"

"I have no idea.
 
But I'm not a big believer in coincidences."

"Shit, Victoria, what if he wants to
kill
me?
 
I was there when he was handing out his little drug or whatever.
 
Maybe he wants me dead."

"I doubt that.
 
I don't think he knows you're a vampire.
 
I'm thinking he's a pawn, but a pawn with answers."

"And who are you?
 
Some kind of detective?"

"He tried to give
everyone
a bag, mortals and vampires.
 
I don't think he could tell the difference."

"
I
can't tell the difference.
 
And I'm a vampire."

"Yeah, but not a very good one.
 
Anyway, it's just a hunch.
 
I think he's mortal."

"A hunch.
 
Great.
 
I feel so much better."

"You will feel better when I hand you a briefcase full of money."

That caught his attention, helped bring him back to the moment.
 
Victoria tried not to laugh in disgust as she slung her backpack over her shoulders.
 
Thomas wasn't helping her for the benefit of his own kind, or for the mortals caught in the middle.
 
He was in it to get paid.

"Get moving," she said again.
 
"You've only got ten minutes."

"Let me guess.
 
You couldn't park any closer."

She said nothing, only watched him leave through the stairwell.
 
After he was gone she prepared herself for a jump she'd performed countless times.
 
The top level of the parking garage was open, exposed to the night.
 
The neighboring building was an advertising company, only one floor higher than the garage.
 
With a running start, she leapt from the garage toward the building.
 
She didn't land directly on the roof, but on a windowsill one level below.
 
Her toes caught the edge while she braced herself in the window with her arms.
 
A vampire's strength went a long way.
 
One thing she forgot to do was check inside the place.
 
A man was working late in his office, his head resting on a desk.
 
Victoria's arrival outside his window startled him awake.
 
He looked up, but she'd already leapt once again, grabbing the ledge above her.
 
By the time the man managed to open his window Victoria was already jogging across the roof.

The rooftops of Baltimore were another home for her.
 
She'd watched the city evolve from above for decades.
 
There were even safe-zones scattered about, complete with shade and shelter, for times when she was out working and needed to hide from the sun.

The meeting location was a short distance away, with only one jump over an alley that provided not even the tiniest problem.
 
She took a short break once, to check on Thomas, and wasn't surprised to see that despite his head start she was ahead of him.

A string of take-out restaurants and a liquor store lined the block along Taylor Avenue.
 
Even with the late hour some were still open.
 
She crouched on the edge of the roof, looking over the intersection below.
 
There were still plenty of mortals moving about.
 
Couples, groups, the occasional homeless man.

Thomas made his way to the corner, leaning against a bench.
 
His eyes darted about nervously.
 
Whether he was looking for Victoria or the mystery man, she wasn't sure.

Victoria saw him before Thomas did.
 
The security footage from the Vermilion wasn't the best, but she recognized him all the same.

Finally seeing him with her own eyes, the information started pouring in.
 
He stood on the opposite side of the street, searching for Thomas as well.
 
He spotted him and waited for the traffic light to change.
 
The way he stood, the way he moved, there was no question he was mortal.
 
He looked like he might have been impaired in some way, with alcohol or drugs.

The light changed, and he slowly walked across the street.
 
Thomas waited patiently, still looking about nervously.

Despite Thomas being a vampire, only Victoria heard the gunshot.

She'd heard enough silenced rifles in her life to know exactly what it was.
 
Blood sprayed from the man's head and he collapsed in the middle of the intersection.
 
A red pool spread out from his skull.
 
Cars trying to turn onto Fifth Avenue stopped, and several horns sounded at once.
 
It was only when three drivers left their cars and inspected closer did the startled screams and shouts begin.

Thomas was long gone before then.
 
He took two steps toward the dead man in the crosswalk, then ran.
 
Victoria didn't blame him.

She kept her composure as she dropped lower on the roof, nearly cat-like in posture.
 
Her eyes went to the other rooftops nearby.
 
The shooter had fired a single shot, accurately hitting her target in the head.
 
Victoria knew the shooter wasn't another drug dealer settling a score, but a professional.
 
A professional would take the shot from an elevated position.

With her night vision, it didn't take long to find him.
 
A figure, built like a man, had retreated to the center of a rooftop across the street.
 
Like Victoria, he was dressed in all black.
 
He was in the middle of disassembling his weapon, storing it carefully in a case.

Victoria didn't hesitate.
 
She stepped off the building, falling to the ground below.
 
A drop that would have broken a mortal's legs only slowed her for a second.
 
She sprinted across the street, drawing confused expressions from the others nearby.
 
She didn't exactly move like a blur, but the mortal mind had trouble keeping up with a vampire running at full speed.

A car stopped in front of her, blocking her path.
 
She slid across the hood and launched forward.
 
Landing on the cab of a truck, she jumped again, this time onto the roof of her destination.
 
She didn't climb up immediately, choosing instead to pull herself up with one arm, just enough to peek over the edge.

The assassin walked away from her, toward the back alleys behind Fifth Avenue.
 
He didn't have a care in the world, unaware that one woman had spotted him.

Victoria waited until he was winding his way down a fire escape before completing her pull-up and rolling onto the roof.
 
She moved on the tips of her toes.
 
Not full speed, but still faster than the average mortal.
 
She didn't make a sound, but could hear him ahead.
 
His steady, calm breathing.
 
The rattling of the fire escape.
 
There was also the sound of a car below, its engine running.

Reaching the edge of the roof, she peered down.
 
She glanced ahead of her to study the layouts of the nearby rooftops, in case she had to pursue the car on foot.
 
It turned out that wasn't necessary.
 
The assassin handed the case to someone in the car, and it drove down the alley, leaving him behind.
 
She watched as he casually walked in the opposite direction, his hands in his pockets.

She kept to the rooftops, shadowing his every move.
 
He walked the streets of Baltimore for nearly a half hour, even stopping at a late-night deli for a sandwich.
 
She locked away every detail about him that she could.
 
Medium build and height, dark hair, fair complexion.
 
Certainly mortal.
 
She wanted to get close enough to investigate his scent.
 
With his scent, she'd be able to sense his presence in a crowded room, but she didn't dare take the risk.

He eventually took a path away from the busy city streets, and she had to leave the rooftops to follow him.
 
She kept a respectable distance, staying in the shadows, a comfortable place for her.
 
He left the city behind and made his way to a trucking company.
 
Trucks and trailers were lined up in a parking lot, but there wasn't a worker in sight.
 
Victoria hid in a nearby tree as she watched him enter the yard and approach the empty dock.
 
He knocked on the large door, and a moment later two men inside lifted it open.

Before moving forward, she studied everything she could see, hear, and smell.
 
She looked for cameras, listened for watchdogs or patrolling security.
 
The place smelled like a trucking company should.
 
Gas, oil, dirt.

She jumped over the fence, not bothering at all with the gate.
 
Halfway across the yard, another dock door opened.
 
Light spilled out from the inside, nearly illuminating her for all to see.
 
She jumped once again, this time onto the top of a big-rig truck next to her.
 
Then she scurried onto the trailer, moving on her hands and feet with speed and grace.

Truck after truck left the yard.
 
Moving vans and pickup trucks.
 
Each vehicle had at least two people.
 
Whatever was going on, of which Victoria still had no clue, involved a lot of manpower.

The last truck to leave paused on the way out.
 
The driver went back inside to close the dock door, and then left through a smaller office door.
 
Victoria waited several minutes, lying still on top of the trailer, before stepping off the side.
 
She could hear insects, leaves rustling, trees swaying in the wind, a helicopter overhead.
 
But nothing inside the trucking company.

She gripped the bottom of the dock door and lifted.
 
It didn't budge, as it was locked from the inside.
 
Victoria readjusted her grip, took a deep breath, and lifted again.
 
She gritted her teeth as her muscles strained.
 
The sound of metal straining against metal touched her ears.
 
She wasn't sure if it was a padlock, or a chain through a hook in the floor.
 
Ultimately, it didn't matter.
 
She didn't have the ability to walk through walls, like Alex.
 
Nor could she create portals, like a witch.
 
But there was something to be said for old-fashioned, raw strength.