Star, Starland Vamp Series, Book 1 (20 page)

“Abigail,” Zac said, and a thrill ran through my body, hearing my name on his lips for the first time.   

“Zac, you can’t tell anyone,” I replied, hastily handing him his backpack. “And at school, you have to call me Lisa. That’s my cover.”

“So you’re trying to tell me you’re a vampire undercover agent? What? Are you going to tell me you work for the government next?” Zac said in disbelief. Obviously it was too much for him to absorb at once. “Yeah, right.” So out of everything he’d just heard, that I was an undercover agent is what he chose not to believe.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” I replied, slinging my backpack onto my shoulder. 

Zac turned abruptly on his heel, his eyes flaring as they looked directly into mine. “Listen, if you want to get rid of me, there’s better ways to do it.”

I stepped back as if he’d physically struck me. “I’m not trying to get rid of you, Zac!”

“The hell you aren’t!” he looked at me, shaking his head, then headed toward the door.

“Zac?” I asked, having the feeling I would never see him again.

“Yeah, later,” Zac said dejectedly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, then headed out the classroom door.

I knew I had to do something as I stood in stunned silence in the empty classroom. I couldn’t leave him alone unprotected, even for a minute. Maybe I should have just whisked him away and spilled everything, but he was really in shock. He needed time to absorb what he’d heard.

I grabbed my backpack and headed down the hall. Annie was waiting for me outside the computer class, but I didn’t stop, passing her by. Within a flash, she was by my side.

“What’s wrong?” Annie asked, gently touching my arm. She knew you didn’t grab a vamp unexpectedly. Even a friendly one. Then she said in a low voice, “Talk to me, Abigail.”

I just kept walking, until Annie grabbed me by the arm, stopping me in my tracks as my eyes flared. “Let go.”

“What’s going on?” Annie asked, her eyebrows pulling together in concern.

I took a deep breath, then started walking toward the gym as she followed. “There’s someone here. I can feel it.”

“Here?” Annie said in disbelief, knowing I was speaking about another vampire.

“Yes, and it wasn’t the first,” I replied, rounding a corner with Annie on my heels.

Annie went automatically into agent mode. “Did you catch a scent?”

“No,” I sighed, heading down a corridor as quickly as possible at human speed. “But there was someone in our house last night.”

“When you got home?” Annie asked, stopping, then caught up with me quickly since I walked purposefully on.

“He was already gone when we got there,” I replied, not looking at her, my words rushed. “It was a male, though, but we didn’t recognize the scent. Then at school today, I’ve been getting the feeling that something’s wrong.”

“But you didn’t catch a scent yet?” Annie asked in full agent mode.

“No,” I replied, stopping in the hallway to look directly into her eyes, then added, “and Zac knows.”

Annie’s eyes flared and narrowed. “About us?”

“Of course,” I replied, resuming my purposeful walk toward the gym.

Annie nodded, then replied, “I’ll check out the school and see what I find out.”

I nodded, then turned to face her with my hand on the gym door. “Annie, I can’t leave Zac alone, even for a second.”

Annie nodded, understanding, her eyebrows pulling together in stunned disbelief. “How did he take it?”

“Not well,” I responded, then headed into the gym, calling over my shoulder. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

Annie nodded, then turned and disappeared, going to check out the school as I entered the gym. The lights were out. Everyone was obviously still in the locker room, but I knew I didn’t have much time.

I darted into a corner at vamp speed, thinking of all my body prints. If I turned into Big Bird or Boy Blue, everyone would freak out. And if I turned into Steve, the burly bouncer from the Mirage, they would freak, too. But there was a well build young man that looked like a football player, with dark brown, short-cropped hair, that made a pass at me at a concert last year that wouldn’t take no for an answer. Let’s just say when I was through with him, he had a broken hand and a new respect for women.

Within a second my body shook, shimmering, as my muscles changed their shape, morphing into the tall, muscular brunette teenage male with short cropped hair, dressed in jeans and a white shirt. I grabbed my backpack then headed for the boy’s locker room. I took a deep breath with my hand on the locker room door. Well, they didn’t have anything I hadn’t already seen before. Quickly I darted in, hoping I could fool Zac.

I darted into the dingy men’s locker room, carrying my backpack. Inside, young men were walking around in various stages of undress, preparing for gym class. Knowing Zac would recognize my backpack, I stashed it into the nearest locker, and I lucked out. There was a gym uniform lying at the bottom. I looked around and didn’t see Zac. Quickly, I pulled the navy shorts and gray T-shirt over my muscular frame. The clothes were a bit tight, but would do for now.

I looked over my shoulder to the right, still looking for Zac, when a big burly guy with blonde hair stepped out of the way, and there he was. Noticing the burly guy—dressed only in a towel—I realized that morphing into Steve probably wouldn’t have been such a stretch.

My heart fluttered as I eyed Zac sitting on the end of the bench with his bare, tanned chest. He was dressing, but his eyebrows were pulled together with a forlorn look in his eyes. He was in his underwear and stood to pull up his shorts, when he spotted me looking his way.

I quickly averted my eyes. Great. Now he’ll probably think I’m a perv.

I held my breath as he walked casually toward me across the locker room. Young men ran from the room, fully dressed, up the stairs to the gym, while others were in their underwear, or less, finding their clothes and dressing for class.

I stood and propped my foot up on the heavy wooden bench to tie my tennis shoes—appearing to be a brunette, muscular teenage boy—when a hand appeared before my face.

“Hey, man,” Zac said in his beautiful, melodic voice. I looked up and he was holding out his hand in greeting. “Hi, my name’s Zac Davis. Nice to meet you.”

I took his hand and shook it heftily. “Brock Connors,” I replied in a smooth baritone voice.

“You new around here?” Zac asked, his eyebrows pulling together. It was amazing. Even though he had just received a bomb shell, he was still willing to help someone else, putting his own worries aside.

“Yeah,” I nodded, trying not to say much. I mainly wanted to lay low and watch out for Zac without attracting attention, unless it was necessary. “I just moved here today.”

I started to walk off, but he grabbed my arm for the second time today. “Where’re you from?”

I thought for a moment, then replied, “Florida.”

Zac’s eyebrows pulled together for a bit, then he smiled and asked, “What part?”

I just couldn’t resist. “West Palm Beach.”

“No way,” Zac said incredulously. “That’s where a friend of mine is from.”

A friend. Oh, so I was just a friend. But I quickly shook it off. “You from here?” I asked, making small talk while I tied my other shoe.

“No, I’m from D.C.” Zac replied, then added. “But I’ve been here for a while.”

I nodded while Zac pulled on his T-shirt and sat down to tie his shoes.

I turned my attention to my shoes, fiddling with them to waste time until Zac was ready to leave.

“My man, Zac! What’s going on?” a well-built teenager with smooth mahogany skin and no shirt asked Zac, laughing. A few of his friends were standing nearby with their arms crossed, smirking. Zac nodded, but said nothing, not even looking up from his shoes. The guy didn’t take the hint. My arms clenched.

“Have you been hittin’ that?” the well-built guy asked Zac.

Zac froze, then slowly stood to his full height, looking the guy in the eye. “What are you talking about, Ray?” He clenched his arms, his muscles flexing. Zac wasn’t laughing.

“
You
know, man!” Ray said, pushing Zac’s arm, laughing. “That new chic! The brunette? Are you hittin’ that?”

Zac’s jaw clenched and his arms tensed. “What are you talking about?”

“Man, don’t play dumb with me,” Ray continued, not knowing when to quit. “I saw you leave with her in History class today! Come on, man! You can tell me.” Then his voice grew low and conspiratorial. “Did you find an empty classroom for a little tae-ta-tae, or did you just do it in the car?”

Zac turned for a minute to look at me, then clenched his fist and hit Ray in the face so hard that blood splattered on the mirror over the sinks.

I was impressed.

Ray immediately held his hand to his mouth, and dug out a loose tooth. “Man, you just knocked out my tooth! What the hell?”

I stood by Zac’s side, ready. Ray’s friends immediately tensed for a fight, but, eyeing me by his side—seeing my heavy muscles and burly frame—decided not to act.

“Don’t you ever talk about Lisa like that again!” Zac yelled, getting into Ray’s face. “She’s not like that! She’s a lady and you
will
treat her like one! And don’t ever say anything like that to me again!” And with that, he turned to me and said, “Sorry, man.”

“Hey, don’t apologize to me,” I said in the baritone voice, holding up my hands in surrender. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

I held out a hand, then he slid his into mine and pulled away in an informal handshake, as guys do. “Come on,” Zac said with a smile, then headed for the gym, leaving Ray in the care of his boys.

I was impressed. Zac was fearless, even though there were three of them and two of us. And he didn’t know if I had his back, for that matter. It also warmed my heart that he took up for me.

“Who’s Lisa, anyway?” I asked, deciding to test the waters, as we both stood at the ready for basketball.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Zac replied, his eyebrows pulling together. “Or at least I think she is.”

“Hey, don’t worry man,” I said, slapping him on the back. “I’m sure whatever it is, it’ll work out.”

“Yeah,” Zac said, still worried. “We’ll see.” Then he changed the subject. “You up for some b-ball?”

“Of course!” I said, excited, as my lips curled into a half smile. “Always.”

Zac’s eyebrows pulled together, giving me a weird look, then brushed it off.

I was saved a moment later when Coach Sullivan divided us all up into teams. Fortunately, Zac and I were on the same team. Ray had finally drug himself up from the locker room, arriving late to class.

“What happened to you?” Coach Sullivan asked Ray and his buds as they took the court on the other side.

Then Ray looked at Zac and replied, “Nothing. I ran into a wall.”

Coach Sullivan’s eyebrows pulled together for a moment, then replied, “Well, don’t be so clumsy next time! And be on time for class! That goes for the rest of you, too!” He was looking at Ray’s cronies.

The game started with Zac and Ray lining up on the line, center court. Ray got the tip off, but I got the ball and quickly passed it to Zac, who swiftly took it down the court, running all out, then made a layup for a basket. Ray got the rebound and took it to the other side. His team passed it around for a bit, then passed it back to Ray for a layup, making the shot.

Zac got the rebound and then quickly passed it to me and plowed the way for a basket. I passed it to a skinny kid on our team, then plowed the way for him, and he made a basket. Zac grinned and slapped the kid on the back in congratulations. The kid smiled, and played all out for the rest of the game.

The three of us, along with two other guys, worked together like we’d been playing together for years and we ended up winning the game, 43 to 30. Hey, we couldn’t let Ray feel too bad. We let him score, at least, in one way. It was probably the only score he’d get.

“Hey, great game!” Zac said, giving me a high five as we darted off to the showers. “Where did you learn how to play like that?”

“I’ve been playing for years,” I answered, but didn’t tell him just how many. I didn’t tell him that I once infiltrated the Indiana Pacers as Larry Byrd for a weekend due to threats on his life from a stalker. We got the guy. “Where’d you learn how to play like that?”

“I’ve been playing for years, too,” Zac answered, a bit winded, but feeling good. I could tell he needed the release from all the stress.

Once in the locker room, guys started undressing and hit the showers as Zac stripped off his shirt. And as much as I would have liked to stay, I knew it was my cue to leave.

“Hey, man,” I said to Zac. “It was great meeting you. I’ll catch you later.” Then I slapped his hand and pulled away, as guys do.

“Where’re you going?” Zac asked, his eyebrows pulling together. “Don’t you need a shower?”

“I’m going home soon,” I replied, shrugging, then decided to add. “I need to meet a girl.”

“Like
that
?” Zac teased, smiling and shaking his head. “Well, I hope she knows how to hold her breath!”  I started to leave, but Zac caught my arm. “Hey, we need someone for the football team. Come to practice if you’re interested.”