Star, Starland Vamp Series, Book 1 (18 page)

I carefully removed my Glock from the back of my pants and took the safety off. It was fully loaded and ready to go.

Holding the weapon down, I headed for the house.

Although it was pitch black inside, I could see with complete clarity, even the tiniest details. Sometimes it’s nice having infrared vision. I held up my weapon and backed against the wall. I looked around the living room, on the ready, then on to the kitchen. Obviously, Rick was scanning the upstairs. My heart thumped and venom filled my mouth in anticipation of a kill. I looked around the bar in the kitchen, then into the garage. I looked around in the garage, weapon in hand, stepping around a jeep Rick must have bought earlier without telling me.

Nothing.

Then I hurried at vamp speed to the sliding glass doors where I picked up his trail.

Rick,
I thought loudly, knowing he could hear me.
Out here.

Within a second, Rick was silently beside me, his Kimber Solo 9mm in hand, as well.

He went out the back,
I thought, my eyes looking into his.
His trial goes out here.

Rick nodded, then said in a low voice. “You go check on Zac, Now! I’ll follow our visitor’s scent.”

Zac! My God, no!
I thought, when Rick grabbed my arm.

“He’s probably okay, Star,” he said gently, too quiet for human ears to hear. “Just go.”

I nodded, regaining control and darted at vamp speed out the front door, leaving my car in the driveway. I followed Zac’s scent down two streets, and over five until I came to his house, a pale yellow two-story house, surrounded with neat hedges. The house was secluded, sitting alone on approximately three acres of land with no neighbors close by.

Making sure no prying eyes were present, I quickly swept the area and didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary.
He’s okay,
I thought to myself, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I saw for myself. I walked around to the back, checking out the house. Along the second story, there were slide windows along the back and sides of the house. I looked up at the window all the way to the right, and it was cracked open to let fresh air into the house. But I could smell Zac’s sweet scent coming from the open window, sending a burn down my throat.

Quickly, I scaled the side of the house and looked into the window. I smiled to myself, as Zac was sleeping from one corner of the bed across to the other, his feet dangling off one side, laying face down. He hugged a fluffy pillow with a white pillowcase shoved under his head. The only thing covering him was a sheet around his middle section as he slept shirtless, and nothing but the sheet covered him. My heart pounded within my chest as I carefully slid open the window and easily swung my body inside, landing silently on the balls of my feet.

My eyes traced every curve of each muscle within his back and down his arms, then down to his very muscular legs. His skin held an even tan, glistening in the moonlight streaming in through the far window to the right. As the moonlight lightly caressed his gorgeous body, I smiled to myself. Because despite his beautiful body, what struck me the most was the expression on his face, as he smiled innocently with a boyish grin.

Suddenly, he turned over dragging the white sheet with him, now pale blue in the moonlight, as I darted into the shadows. But he didn’t wake. And at that moment, watching him sleep, I knew it was already too late. My heart was completely and irrevocably his.

I watched Zac for hours, until the sunlight streamed gently through the window. I loved watching him sleep, tossing and turning. His body glistened in the faint sunlight as it caressed his gorgeous body, warming my heart.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar bird call out the window. It was Rick, using the same signal he used during the Revolutionary War. I sighed as I pulled myself away from Zac, then slid agilely out the window, landing silently upon the ground.

“Hey,” I asked Rick seriously. “What did you find out?” I asked about our intruder. “Who was it?” Whoever it was got way too close for comfort.

“Don’t know,” Rick said, his eyebrows pulling together as he sighed. “It was a male, though, but I didn’t recognize his scent.”

“What do you think he was after?” I asked, trying to think about it rationally. I wasn’t worried about myself or Rick, we could handle ourselves. “You think they were after Zac?”

“Probably,” Rick replied, then continued. “Since he has a million dollar price tag on his head.”

“Do you think they picked up Zac’s scent?”

“Hard to say,” Rick said, shaking his head.

“What do you think they were after at our house?” I asked, trying to piece the little bits together.

“They probably came into town and caught our scent,” Rick said, then sighed. “They were probably curious about us. Who knows?”

“Well, curiosity killed the cat,” I replied, my green eyes flaring. I thought for a moment, then asked. “What do you think that guy from the Mirage wants with Zac? To get to Abbott?”

Rick’s eyebrows pulled together, thinking. “I’m not sure. Probably. I really can’t think of any other reason. Zac
is
the son of a CIA head. That would seem logical.”

I shook my head, taking a heavy sigh deep into my lungs. “But what would they want with Abbott? Why would whoever it is want to risk attracting the attention of the humans? I mean, to offer a million dollar bounty on a human? Ridiculous!”

“If they’re after Zac to get Abbott,” Rick added, looking up at the window again. “I’m wondering what they want Abbott for and how they even found out about him.”

“It just doesn’t make sense,” I said, trying desperately to put the pieces together. “We need to touch base with Abbott to let him know what we found out.” Then my eyebrows pulled together and my eyes flared. “And we need to have a serious talk with him and find out what he knows.”

“And what he’s been up to,” Rick added.

“Exactly,” I replied. “Think I might go pay “V” a visit at the Mirage, too. It appears he knows a lot more than a typical bartender would.”

“Sounds good,” Rick said, then added. “But I’m coming with you.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s a given. We’ll take Annie with us, too.”

Rick rolled his eyes as I laughed. If he only knew.

“Well, I’ll take it from here, Abigail,” Rick said, glancing up at Zac’s window. “It’s almost daylight. Go home, take a shower, and get ready for school.”

“Are you trying to tell me I stink?” I asked, smiling, lightening the mood.

One side of Rick’s lips curled mischievously. “Well, if the shoe fits.”

“Hey!” I said, hitting him lightly on the arm.

“Watch it!” Rick joked, rubbing his arm. I wasn’t fooled. He was much tougher than he looked. “Go on home, Abigail. Get ready to meet Zac at school.” Rick’s eyes were gentle, remembering what it was like to be in love.

“Well,” I began, smiling. “Since you put it that way …” I laughed quietly, then added. “Thanks, Rick. You’re the best.”

Rick gave me a half smile, his eyes dancing. “Did you just say
I
was the best?”

“Now wait a minute,” I replied, backing away. “I didn’t mean it that way! I said it figuratively.”

“Go ahead and admit it, Star! I’m the best agent, the best vamp, the best friend … admit it!” Rick joked, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

“I never said that!” I said, heading for the forest. “Thanks, Rick!” I called over my shoulder, waving.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rick said, not more than a whisper, but I could hear him perfectly, as I turned my head and stuck out my tongue playfully. As I darted into the woods, I heard him laugh mischievously behind me.

I ran into the shadows, just as day was dawning. The sunlight was making its way to earth peeking through the clouds. Not many humans were up yet, so there wasn’t a danger of being seen. What in the world could anyone want with Abbott? And how did they find out about Abbott in the first place? There were too many questions and not enough answers. But I knew one thing was certain: we needed to speak with Abbott and we needed to speak with him now. I had a feeling he knew much more than he was sharing.

I looked up at the sun to see how much time I had. There was time and I needed to hunt. The burn was manageable, but I wanted to power up before I engaged whatever was coming, and I didn’t want to take a chance around Zac. So I quickly ran into the forest as birch and maple passed by at vamp speed. The wind blew through my face and hair. It really felt good to be free.

Within minutes, I found a lone black bear with its body stretched out its whole length against a tree, trying to push over a small sapling, probably after some berries. As soon as it saw me, it reared up on its hind legs, bared its teeth, and growled fiercely. It was around eight feet tall standing upright. It stepped toward me and attacked me with one swipe of its paw, as a guttural growl rose from deep within its chest. It caught my scent, then backed away, dropping down on all fours, poised to run.

But I was faster.

Within a flash, I grabbed the massive bear by the throat as its paws raked across my arms, sending trickles of blood beading upon my arms. I quickly bared my teeth and sank them fiercely into the thick folds of the great beast’s neck.

I love it when breakfast gets feisty.

Within seconds, rich, gamey blood rushed down my throat, promising to quench my unending thirst, giving me life. The delicious substance quenched my thirst nicely, as the great beast thrashed its paws futilely into the air. Then its life force began to slip away as it slowly lost consciousness with one last whimper. Once it was drained and its eyes fixed, I laid it gently upon the ground. Too bad I couldn’t take the carcass home and donate the meat to a homeless shelter. But, then again, someone might question it if I appeared in town, carrying the eight-foot carcass of a giant black bear singlehandedly.

The burn felt much better, so I headed home as rays of sunlight streamed brightly through the thick canapé above. Within minutes, I was in the house, darted upstairs, and jumped into the shower. The hot water washed over my cool skin, washing away the blood from the wounds now healed upon my arms. Within minutes, I was wrapped in a thick blue towel, searching my closet for something to wear, settling on a black mini skirt and white uniform shirt, wishing for the days without school uniforms. I also threw a set a work clothes into my backpack, just in case.

Looking in the full-length mirror, I tucked in my shirt and unbuttoned another button on my shirt, thinking of Zac, then donned black high heels. I was going to put my hair up, but instead let it fall into loose waves down my back, then slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed downstairs.

When I opened the door, Zac was waiting in the driveway in his candy apple red Shelby Mustang convertible GT500. It was a thing of beauty, but paled next to its owner. Zac was holding the car door open for me, as a pale lock of sun-streaked hair fell loosely over one eye. The muscles in his arms flexed as he held open the door. He wore a white shirt cut to perfection over his frame, and khaki pants that clung just right to his tush.

Thank goodness for school uniforms.

“Good morning,” Zac greeted me with a smile. His face lit up as I walked purposefully toward him.

“Good morning,” I replied seductively, as he reached down and softly kissed my lips, sending shock waves throughout my body. “Did you sleep well? I asked, as I slid into the car.

“Yeah,” he said with a slight laugh, then gently shut my car door. He was still grinning as he slid agilely into the driver’s seat.

“What?” I asked, feigning innocence. Don’t tell me he saw me in his room last night. I studied his face for a clue, but saw nothing but amusement.

“Nothing,” Zac said, shaking his head as he threw the car expertly into reverse and backed out the driveway.

“There’s no ‘nothing’ now,” I said, holding my breath nervously. Wow. He was the only one I’d ever met who could do that to me. Knock me off my feet with just a smile.

“Nothing,” Zac said, catching a glimpse of me from the corner of his eye. “I was just dreaming of a beautiful girl all night.” Then he looked at me and winked.

I laughed, and the sound reverberated off the walls, sounding like bells. “Oh, yeah?” I teased. “Anyone I know?”

“No,” Zac teased as I laughed. “How about you? Did you sleep well?”

“Pretty much,” I answered, laughing, imagining his face if I told him I spent the night impersonating the bouncer of a vamp bar, and killed two vamps. Or, at least, one of two. Then spent the remainder of the night watching him sleep in his room. Some things were better left unsaid.

“Now what’s that supposed to mean?” Zac asked, laughing, having caught something in my expression I didn’t want him to see. He was much more astute than I imagined.

“Nothing.” It was my turn to hedge. Then I watched him as he drove expertly to the school, wishing the ride wasn’t so short. I wanted to go somewhere, just the two of us, and spend the day together. I sighed. Well, maybe someday.

“What?” Zac asked, taking his eyes off the road to look at me.

“Nothing,” I hedged, motioning toward the road, then remembered something. Annie’s place tonight. It might be fun, and if Zac was there, it would be. Besides, Annie would be disappointed if we didn’t show. “You want to go with me to Annie’s house for dinner tonight?”