Release, book 3 of The Angler series (6 page)

Kam tossed some bills on the table then handed me a roll. “Pay for the room in a
dvance. If they ask for ID, tell them your purse was stolen. Wait for me outside the hotel in two hours. I don’t know what state Rurik will be in so we might need to secret him inside. Do you still have the stake I gave you?”

“It’s poking me in the back as we speak.”

We left the bistro, and I waved as Kam left in a cab.

Alone in a strange city where I couldn’t speak the language. Again. I needed to break this bad habit. First Budapest, then Rio, now Rome.

I rented a room at the hotel without much of a hassle. Apparently, I appeared like I’d been mugged. They even had a well-stocked gift shop where I purchased some clothes, a pair of flip-flops, and a box of hair dye. Nobody would recognize me in these regular clothes with a hair color change. The bruised, swollen face helped as well.

After
a quick nap and a long shower, I dressed. Night had fallen, and it was time to meet Kam. I would dye my hair when we returned. I grabbed my stake and hurried outside. Across the street, I spotted a shirtless Rurik on his hands and knees, as if he was smelling the sidewalk concrete.

“Rurik?” I called to him.

His head jerked and he grinned. Even from this distance I could see his fangs. Was he trying to attract every slayer in the city? He ran through the traffic to reach me with an unnatural grace, dodging cars without a care. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Where’s Kam?” I peered around
him for the shifter.

“I don’t know.” Rurik drew me into
his arms. “Connie, I’m so hungry.”

My heart drummed. Trapped in Rurik
’s arms, I couldn’t escape. I’d done it again. God, I was so lame. Kam was right. Love blinded me and I would pay for my misguided trust with my life. “I know you’re hungry, but you’ve fed from me twice in the last twenty-four hours.” I pressed my hands to his chest and gently pushed, hoping not to trigger a predatory reflex. “We’ll find you someone else.” I forced my voice to remain calm and controlled.

Slowly, he relinquished his hold on me. “Not Kam. I don’t like shifters.” His eyes were wide as his gaze darted around us. Dark circles had formed under them, giving him a haunted look.

I followed the direction of his erratic gaze. It was targeting a group of humans across the street. They were dressed nice as if going out for dinner. “Kam would be safest.” I took his hand, trying to draw him into the hotel. “Remember, the Nosferatu are hunting you. We should stay out of sight.”

“No, I feed first.”
He yanked his hand from mine. “One of these will be easy to catch.” He nodded toward a group of elderly tourists debarking from a tour bus. The same one I’d seen earlier today?

My racing heart sank to the depth of my toes. Would I ever get my Rurik back? This wasn’t the vampire I had risked my life for and given my broken heart to.

“We don’t hunt the general population, remember?” I stood between him and his intended prey, attracting his attention.

His focus went straight to the bruised bite marks on my neck. He touched the spot. “I did this?”

“Yes.” Rurik’s question was destroying my calm. “You don’t recall?” Fuck a duck, what should I do? Tane could be close, and Kam…what had happened to him? I eyed Rurik closer and noted blood on his knuckles. “Are you sure you haven’t seen Kam? He went to the orphanage to free you.”

“I free
d myself. Why do you doubt me, little rabbit?” His Hungarian accent grew thicker the longer we spoke. It sent shivers down my spine—not the good kind, either. He approached me and inhaled. “You smell divine. I’d rather eat you.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the tourists. They hadn’t done anything to deserve death by Rurik. I’d brought him to this city
, knowing something ate at him. The vampire I loved might still be inside this emerging monster and I wouldn’t let him do something I knew he’d regret. I faced him once again.

Scanning the surrounding area, I tried to visualize escape routes.
“Let’s play a game.” As soon as my offer slipped passed lips my stomach rolled. I fought to keep my steak dinner down.

He stepped closer, his expression intense with concentration.

“We’ll play catch like we used to.” Oh shit, oh shit. I never won this game but this time I had major motivation, like my life.

His fangs peeked out as he lunged for me.

“You’re breaking the rules,” I shouted and swung my hands between us. “I get a ten-minute head start.” The way he acted, I’d be lucky if he gave me two minutes. I kicked off my flip flops and left at a wobbly trot, heading away from the populated area. My blood loss made it hard to focus and move.

I opened my link to Tane
but couldn’t sense him.
“We’re in Rome. Please be close. You have minutes to save my ass before Rurik eats me. Also I think he might have killed Kam.”
Who knew if he heard me? I didn’t have time to sense if Tane’s mental shields kept my message out. I just projected it outward to anyone willing to listen.

Narrow alleys lined the street between the buildings. I knew very little of Rome’s layout
, but people didn’t tend to gather in dark places. I turned down the first one. The adrenaline kicked in and I set my speed at scared-shitless. It didn’t take long to find my pace and streak through the night. My lungs bellowed and my chest grew heavy. I never won when we played this game but when I’d lost, I had been rewarded with carnal pleasure of a happy vampire lover. This time I doubted I’d enjoy my capture.

Sweat drenched my shirt and my pulse became irregular. I couldn’t catch my breath and had to slow to a halt. Leaning against the stone building, I
tried to shake the dizzy spell then searched the dark for a place to hide. Somehow I’d made my way in front of a parking garage. I trotted from car to car by leaning on the metal monsters until I managed to get further inside. My knees turned watery and I slumped to the ground.

Something sharp poked my behind. I started yet managed not to make a noise. Patting my back pocket, I pulled out the wooden stake Kam had given me.

Kam…

He’d
been such a great bodyguard and reluctant friend. I hoped he managed to escape Rurik, but the blood on Rurik’s hand didn’t bode well for my shifter buddy.

I ran my hands along the length of the stake until the sharp point poked my fingertip. Could I do it? Could I stake Rurik? I leaned back against the car and rested my dizzy head.

Would I wake only to discover this had been a horrid nightmare? I wished. The ache in my chest grew as my heart shattered. Did I even want to live without Rurik?

Footsteps echoed in the garage. I tightened my grip on the stake a
nd held my breath. My energy gauge read empty. Hiding would be the only way I’d escape this alive. The sound echoed within the dark building, making it difficult to pinpoint Rurik’s location. For all I knew, he stood on the other side of this car. I quietly moved onto my stomach for a better view. Maybe I’d see his feet approaching.

My gaze met another set of eyes watching me. I scream
ed so loud my tonsils touched and the stake clattered to the cement floor. With a clack of teeth, I shut my jaw and jumped to my feet.

It was too late.
Rurik had me. My vision tunneled and I ran blindly. Not four steps into my flight I hit something solid enough to knock the wind out of me. Stumbling back, I blinked at the shadowed outline of my assailant.

He held a flashlight to my face while someone else grabbed my arms. They conversed in what must be Italian. The one with the flashlight pushed my upper lip away from my teeth and inspected my mouth.
He said something to me.

I shook his hold off. “English.” If I’d known we’d end up in Rome, I would have studied a few phrases in Italian.
Since I hadn’t, I didn’t even know the simplest of things to say, like
no speak Italian
.

He aimed the flashlight away from my face. “You are not a vampire.” He
spoke understandable English with a thick accent. “Let her go.”

His companion released me
, and I finally noticed others scattered in the parking garage, searching the dark corners armed with familiar weapons. Light grenades hung from their belts next to wooden stacks. The guns wouldn’t kill a vampire but slow them down enough to kill them with the other things.

Slayers.

The rescuer next to me handed the flashlight-man my stake. They watched me with more respect in their gazes.

Flashlight-
man tilted my chin to the side and assessed my neck wound. “That’s at least a day old. How long has the vampire kept you captive?”

I stared at him, not sure how to answer. The last thing I’d expected was a slayer rescue. If they knew who I was, I doubted they
’d be so kind.

“Looks like the vamp rolled her
, Anthony.” The one next to me inspected my eyes. “Her pupils are reactive to the light though, so I’m not sure.” He spoke about a vampire’s power to mesmerize humans. I’d been resistant to weak vampires since Colby had trained me as bait and had grown in strength since Tane’s bond. Let them think I’d been compromised. It gave me time to gather my exhausted wits.

“Did you get him?”
I didn’t have to act afraid. The shake in my voice came out naturally. I had really thought that was my last moment on Earth.

Anthony pressed something by his ear and spoke into a small
mic. “They lost him.”

I did my best to hide my sigh
of relief. “How did you find me?” That wasn’t too difficult to guess by the way Rurik had showed up at my hotel, half naked, flashing fang at everyone.

“Someone spotted him along the Thames and called us in. We barely caught sight of you running. You’re very lucky.”

Tell me about it.

Anthony slipped his arm around my waist for support. “You look terrible. We’ll get you some help.”

Sweat beaded on my skin yet I shivered. “No hospitals.” I sounded distant, as if I spoke from a long corridor. Whatever had kept me going until now vanished, and I slumped against Anthony.

He pressed
me against him, juggling an automatic rifle and my limbs. Not the safest trick to attempt. Swearing under his breath, he handed over his weapon to his companion and scooped my body in his muscled arms.

At this height I might suffe
r altitude sickness. I chuckled. This night couldn’t get weirder. I could only pray Rurik would only feed from someone without killing the person or getting his face plastered all over
YouTube
. I let Anthony carry me past his staring comrades.

“Let’s get you patched up, little slayer.” He climbed into the back of
a SUV and set me on a bench. Gently, he pried my numb fingers open and set the wooden stake back in my palm. “Keep this close.” From under the bench, he pulled out a jacket and spread it over me. “Rest. We’ll be home soon.”

My eyelids drooped and I snuggled under the warm coat. Sleep
crept upon me.

Tane’s voice whispered in my head,
“Connie?”

Exhaustion crashed over my consciousness and I sunk so deep not even Tane could find me.

*                             *                            *

A jolt woke me from my deep slumber. I jerked awake and glared at the strange man poking my finger.

He squeezed my hand so tight I couldn’t escape his grasp. “
Easy. I’m checking your blood levels.” Pressing a thin glass tube to my fingertip, he filled the miniature vial with drops of my blood then let me go.

I s
tuck the tip in my mouth reflexively.

He made a grossed-out face and pulled my finger out. “That’s not sanitary.” He wiped it wi
th a cleaning pad and placed a Band-Aid over the spot.

“Who are you?”

“Jonah.”

“Where am I?” I sat up straighter but the room spun. Oh yeah, I recalled the slayers and feeling like crap. I lay back down before I passed out again.

“In a safe place.” He twisted around and shouted out the door. “Anthony, the little slayer is awake.” He set the glass tube in a spinner and set a timer.

“That’s all you need?”
I peered at the ancient machine.

“Yes.”
Anthony answered as he entered the room. Short black hair framed his face and a lock of his bangs fell across his eyes. A five o’clock shadow covered his strong, wide jaw but it was his sharp green eyes that hooked my attention. They reminded me of another certain slayer with that exact same killer stare. “With this, he can test your hematocrit and how many bags of blood you will need transfused.” He pointed to a spot on my arm where I wore another Band-Aid. “They are already matching your blood type. Shouldn’t be long.”

I sank deeper in my bed.  Colby’s slayer group ran transfusions as well. It was an occupational hazard, but I’d never been on the receiving end. “Okay.”

He set a paper bag on my bed. “Food.” After pulling a stool by my bedside, he settled next to me and rummaged through the bag, naming the things as he placed them on my lap. “Sandwich, apple, soda.”

“Thanks.” Was food every man’s cure? I placed them next to me for later when my stomach didn’t feel so fragile. “Did you catch the vampire?” Mentally I crossed my fingers.

“Not yet. We lost his trail. Don’t worry, we’ll find it again.” He leaned forward. “Vampires are rare in Rome. We guard this city against them as best we can. Most are smart enough to stay away.” 

Not if the
ir crazy girlfriends convinced them otherwise.