Star, Starland Vamp Series, Book 1 (11 page)

I brought Excel up on the desktop and at vamp speed, read the directions on the board and completed the whole 20 minute lesson in 2 seconds, then minimized it at the bottom of the page in case Mr. Harwood decided to make his rounds. But we were sitting in the back of the room so no one was paying much attention.

I hit Internet Explorer and waited. School servers were always so slow. When the server was ready, I typed as quickly as my fingers would fly, accessing our private CIA accounts. We had a private Intranet designed only for the CIA. I entered my clearance code, then went through five different protocols until I reached our secured messaging center.  

I pulled up our private IM program, then expertly typed in Rick’s access code and set the controls for mute. Luckily, Rick was on. I wrote him briefly about the moronic vamp that I killed in the bathroom and everything the vamp told me, and that someone in New York wanted to kidnap Zac. I also told him about the Mirage vamp club in the city and Rick promised to check it out. I told him not to go there alone, and that we would all go there tonight.

All
?
  Rick messaged.

I ran into Annie today,
I answered back.

Annie?
Rick asked.

Acantha,
I answered.
She goes by Annie now.

Here?
Rick sounded amazed. He knew how rare it was to run into other good vamps while on assignment, too.
Have you talked to her yet?

Not yet, but I will.
I quickly typed
. I’m going to ask her if she wants to go tonight.

Are you sure that’s a good idea?

I think so,
I answered.
It seems like old times again.

I hope like the good old times, not the bad.

I hoped so, too, but didn’t tell Rick.
By the way, she asked about you,
I messaged, smiling to myself.
I think she still has a thing for you,
I teased.

I could just imagine Rick rolling his eyes.
Go away,
he typed.

Not likely,
I answered. 
What’s the matter, Rick? Still saving yourself for me?

LOL
! I couldn’t handle you!
He typed.

I had to suppress a laugh.
You’re right! You probably couldn’t,
I teased.

Annie leaned over and whispered, “Tell Rick I said hi.”

“You never quit, do you?” I whispered back, shaking my head.

“No, never,” Annie smiled wickedly and I had to laugh.

Annie says hi,
I typed to Rick, rubbing it in.

Here we go!
He typed.
Tell her I said hi, too,
he said politely.
 

“Rick says hi,” I whispered to Annie, smiling.

“Yes!” Annie said under her breath, pulling down a fist.

You just made her day,
I messaged Rick.
Anyway … what have you been up to today?

Checking things out
, Rick replied
. 

I was instantly on alert.
Like what?

Checking out the town, scoping the action,
he messaged. And I knew he was talking about any recent vamp visits to the area.

And?
I typed.

And they’ve been here,
Rick answered.

I took a deep breath.

I’ll tell you about it when you get home. So have you met Zachary yet?
Rick asked, changing the subject.

Yes.

From the brevity of my answer, he knew something was up.
So, are you in love yet?

I laughed out loud, breaking the silence. Mr. Harwood gave me a dirty look that told me to be quiet. I smiled sweetly. He rose from his seat.

Love? No time for love,
I hedged.
After 230 some years, what makes you think I’ll fall in love now? If it hasn’t happened yet, I don’t think it will.

You never know,
Rick typed.
There’s a first time for everything.

So they say,
I answered. I looked up and Mr. Harwood was on his way to my desk.
Have
to go. Teacher alert.

Okay, but you
will
tell me about it later, hint, hint
!

As I signed off and quickly erased the imprints of our conversation from the hard drive of the computer, I thought about what Rick had asked. Then azure eyes and blonde streaked hair appeared within my mind’s eye again, and I wondered if it could even be possible.

By the time Mr. Harwood reached my desk, Annie and I both had our Excel work on our computer screens, completed, acting like we were checking our work. Mr. Harwood walked behind us nonchalantly, but said nothing, and continued making his rounds.

Annie looked at me and smiled, then immediately pulled up the site she had been on before, minimizing her Excel work again. She glanced at me and smiled conspiratorially. 

I took a deep breath and sat back in my chair, still seeing Zac’s beautiful eyes and strong, broad shoulders that fell to sexy, narrow hips, and nice legs within my mind’s eye. But what I liked about him the most was his sincerity and caring personality. And as I thought about what Rick had asked, I definitely thought it could be possible, but time would tell.

The bell rang and Annie and I gathered our books, stuffing them into our back packs.

“Hey, Lisa,” Annie said with a smile. “It was good to see you again.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “You, too.”  I thought for a minute, then asked. “Annie, we’re going to the city tonight to scope things out. You want to go?”

Annie’s eyes literally twinkled with excitement. “Sure
!”

“But before you agree,” I interrupted her before she could break into a happy dance. “It’s not a pleasure trip.”

And she got my meaning. “Like old times?” Meaning war, espionage, CIA jobs …

I nodded as she smiled broadly.
             

“Then I’m definitely in!”
Annie said excitedly, smiling with a devilish gleam in her eye. “I haven’t had any fun for a while
!” Then she did do a happy dance, but abruptly stopped. “Will Rick be there?”

I laughed, nodding my head. I had really missed Annie. “Of course.”

Annie smiled mischievously, almost a leer, obviously contemplating possibilities.

“You never change, do you?” I said, smiling, throwing my backpack over my shoulder.

“Never,” Annie replied with a gleam in her eye. “Hey, you want to eat lunch with us?”

I shook my head. “No, I promised Zac, but you’re welcome to join us, if you like.”

“Zac, huh? You don’t mean Thee Zachary Davis the jock, do you?” Annie said with a half smile, her eyes dancing.

I sighed and smiled. “The one and only,” I replied as we walked toward the door.

“He’s a major babe!” Annie said, “You go, girl!”

“Annie …”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with having a little boy toy …”

“Annie!”

“Hey, I’m just saying …” Annie said, feigning innocence.

“Well, don’t say anything, okay?” I replied. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Your wish, my command,” Annie replied, then mimed locking her lips and throwing the key away.

“You never change,” I replied, hoping she never would. This was the old Annie that I remembered. Not the rogue Annie that opened her eyes as a vamp for the first time.

“Nope!” She said, smiling, then followed me into the hall.

“Hey, Lisa,” a familiar voice called to me, taking me by surprise in the hall, causing my heart to jump.

“Zack!” I said, almost bumping into him. “You surprised me.” Off to the side, Annie waited expectantly, smiling like the Cheshire Cat, but not looking anything like Alice in Wonderland. I gave her a warning look to behave. “Zac, do you know Annie?”

“Hi,” Zac said warmly, extending his hand. “No, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Zac. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Then Annie placed her hand daintily into his, palm down, and Zac smiled then raised her hand to his lips, playing along. Wow! Just like the good old days when chivalry was still in vogue. “The pleasure is all mine,” Annie replied, smiling, clearly impressed. “Any friend of Lisa’s is a friend of mine.”

And even though he was playing along, he was not quite sure how to take Annie.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Annie’s a good friend of mine. We go way back.” But I didn’t tell him just how far ‘way back’ was.

Zac smiled, dazzling me as always, then relaxed as I caught my breath.

“I have to run,” Annie added, taking her cue, leering at me when he couldn’t see, as if to say we were going to talk later. “I’m meeting friends, but you two can join us if you wish,” Annie said, actually starting to behave now.

“No, thanks,” I interjected. “Zac promised to introduce me to his friends, but I’ll see you later, Annie.”

“Of course
!” Annie replied, then headed down the hall, but called over her shoulder. “It was nice to meet you Zac. See you later, Lisa!”

“Likewise,” Zac answered, still not quite sure how to take Annie, as I waved. “She’s a trip, isn’t she?”

“She’s a character!” I replied, laughing, thinking of all the good times Annie and I had shared, as Zac and I headed toward the cafeteria. “Don’t mind her, Zac,” I said with a smile, as he still wore a confused look on his face. “She’s harmless.” At least, in the figurative sense. But you don’t want to cross her. She could be just as ruthless as I. “That’s her way of playing.”

Zac nodded, his azure eyes boring into mine, causing my heart to stop. “So, where in Florida do you come from?” Zac asked, making small talk, but he appeared to be really interested.

“West Palm Beach,” I replied, thinking of the warm sunshine and nice beaches.

“Oh! Where the rich people live!” Zac teased as the corner of his lips curled into his dazzling half smile.

“
West
Palm Beach,” I corrected. “Not Palm Beach.
That’s
where all the rich people live.” But I didn’t tell him that I had more money than almost all of the rich in Palm Beach. In fact, I knew many of them well.

Zac laughed, dazzling me again with his smile, as he placed his hand in the small of my back, guiding me protectively as we walked. Many students we passed in the hall pocked each other and pointed. We would be the talk of the school for the rest of the day, at least, if not for the week.

So much for keeping a low profile.

“What does your father do?” Zac asked, as we neared the cafeteria.

“My father’s in law enforcement,” I answered, thinking of Rick, which was an understatement.

Zac nodded. “Noble. So he’s a police officer?”

“Something like that,” I hedged, then added, changing the subject. “Hey, we’re here!”

Standing in the cafeteria line, I reached for a tray, but Zac stopped me. “Here, allow me,” he said, taking the tray. “Take anything you want,” he added. 

But what I really wanted was to take him and get out of here to some place private. He wouldn’t want to know what I really wanted for lunch. “Thanks,” I said.
Don’t mind if I do,
I thought to myself, smiling, thinking of his luscious neck, then pushed those thoughts aside. A vamp could share blood with a human, which is a very sensual experience, so I’m told. But if I bit him, he would become one of us. Again, I pushed the thought aside, smiling, not wanting to wish that on anyone.

“What’s so funny?” Zac said, his azure eyes dancing. I sighed, melting under his gaze, then turned my attention back to the food. Cafeteria food, that is.

“Nothing,” I said, smiling and almost laughed, then thought of something. “Hey, do they have any Mountain Dew?”

Zac laughed, then replied. “In the soda machines in the back. We’ll get some in a minute. You like Mountain Dew, huh?”

“You have no idea,” I said, widening my eyes. “It’s a weakness.”

Zac laughed, pulling a clear plastic salad container onto the tray for himself. I did the same. Then he slid the tray to the register and pulled out his wallet.

“That’s okay. I’ll get mine,” I said, stopping him.

“I insist,” Zac said, dazzling me with a smile. Then he said in an aside, “Actually, I’m getting off easy. This isn’t the Ritz, you know.” He gestured around us in the cafeteria.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Speaking of which,” Zac added, a bit nervous. “Let me take you out to a real dinner. And maybe a movie, too? Say, Friday night?”

I thought about it for a minute, smiling. I needed to stay close to him for protection anyway, I told myself. But deep down, my heart fluttered, eager for the date. What could it hurt? “Sure,” I said, smiling. “I’d love to.”