Blood Lust (The Blood Sisters Book 1) (10 page)

She
listened to her cries and felt tears roll down her arm as they clung to each
other. Jessica had no tears. She had grief and she had major regret, but
Jessica had no tears to shed. She shed the last a long ago. Now she was only
resolute in her desire to protect her sister.

Kill
the enemy.

No
matter how many came, no matter how many tried to crush them, that’s what
Jessica was going to do, kill them all.

Parked
at a gas station pump, rain drizzled onto the windshield and echoed through the
chamber of the car. In the passenger
seat
Jessica munched on a convenience store
hotdog,
balancing a soda on her knee.
Bun
was
squishy soft, meat was hot, and the tang of the mustard was perfect.

She
wolfed down her dog and thought about leaving Duncan Jasper behind, before he
even realized what happened.

Jessica
caught sight of Duncan pumping gas and for a split
second
she wanted to slide behind the wheel and peel out of there.
The light snoring in the back seat reminded Jessica what was important; getting
out of there.

Duncan
was the one who knew where they were going. Talk of a safe house had her
interest piqued and for the night, Jessica was done, exhausted. Dead tired.
Ready to quit this cat and mouse game, move on to something new; something she
could win.

Sliding
the phone to her ear, Jessica kept an eye on the rearview mirror, the reflection
showing Duncan’s thighs in a tight pair of blue jeans. They were worn and
ripped in two spots. How good he looked in them, as he casually leaned against
her car waiting for the tank to fill, it sent a shiver up her skin.

Once,
they had a good thing. And to see him again…well, memories were a bitch.

Taking
a deep breath, Jessica closed her eyes as her aunt’s number rang and rang. When
the voicemail answered, she didn’t have the strength to leave another message.
She was pretty sure there was no way she could keep the seething anger out of
her voice.

She
slid her phone closed and tossed it
into the backseat, catching sight of a sleeping Amanda, curled up against the
window.

Jessica
couldn’t help a smile, but it faded when the driver’s side door was pulled open
and Duncan slid in. She ignored his spicy aftershave. The car started and he
flicked the headlights on.

Signaling
right, Duncan pulled onto the open road and it was only then that Jessica took
a breath, running her tongue along her teeth. His strong jaw was clenched as he
drove, his eyes alert. His cheekbones were high, covered in alight stubble,
just begging to be kissed. Jessica could almost feel that bristle against her
tender lips.

“You
shouldn’t go leaning on other people’s cars,” Jessica said, doing her best to
ignore all the racing feelings in her chest.

“Huh?”
Duncan’s eyes flashed to her for only a second.

“You
put your dirty jean ass all over my car. Without asking permission. I don’t
think you should do that.”

For
a brief
moment
his hands splayed on her
steering wheel. “Well, sorry to upset the emotional misses, but—”

Emotional?
Misses? Jessica’s eyes widened that he would even have the gall to say that.

“—don’t
I get any brownie points for saving you?”

“No,”
Jessica answered sharply. “But for saving Amanda? Yes. Yes, you do.” She let
her voice drift. Her emotions were drowned out by the sound of rain hitting the
road and the tires splashing through puddles on the road. It settled her;
rain
had a way of doing that. “Care to tell me
where we’re going?”

“Somewhere
safe,
” Duncan said.

“Don’t
you trust me? You can tell me?”

He
shook his head with a laugh. “Darling, I’m pretty sure if I told you, you’d
leave me stranded on the side of the road somewhere. Maybe even in a ditch.”

Jessica
smirked. “Not without food and water at least; I can be charitable.” After his
light laughter faded, Jessica asked a serious question. One she had wanted to
ask hours
ago
but didn’t dare while
Amanda was awake. Her sister was more tortured than was usual lately and
Jessica wouldn’t add fuel to the fire.

“Want
to tell me more about this bounty we have on our heads?”

Duncan
shrugged after he threw her a quick glance. “I was in St Louis, working a case.
Demons were everywhere. Their base of operations had a parchment decree, with a
wax seal straight from Lourdes herself. The underworld is emptying and they’re
running straight for you.” He raised his eyebrows. “They want Amanda and want
her badly. You, well, you’re just in the way.”

As
usual, Jessica huffed a deep exhale from her nose. “And you what? Left them to
find us?”

“Not
before I was captured by a demon gang.” Duncan took a deep breath and Jessica
wondered what they’d done to him. From the crinkles creases around his eyes, it
must’ve been bad. “Guess our history precedes us.” His caustic grin was
lopsided and charming.

Jessica
could only hide her amusement by tossing her head to the side with an
exaggerated eye roll. “So you’re in danger too, because you know us. Great. And
sorry.” She mumbled, apologizing wasn’t one of her strengths.

“I
caught wind of the trouble that was following you and—”

“You
ran straight toward the fire?” Jessica shook her head. “What are you really
after? The bounty for yourself?”

Duncan
threw her a deep scowl, his hands gripping the wheel in a way that said she
offended him with her question. Well good, it was designed to throw him off
balance. Jessica needed to know what his game was before Amanda woke.

“You
think I came to save you—”

“So
you could collect the money yourself? Maybe. It’s not like I’ve seen you in a
year.”

Duncan
jerked the car over to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. Jessica
wasn’t prepared, the
seatbelt
tightening
around her waist and her body lurching toward the dashboard.

Her
head whipped forward and back like she was a rag doll. Eyes wide, Jessica
grabbed the lap belt she wore as it constricted around her abdomen. “What the—”

He
turned in his seat and waved his finger at her, his jaw tense, blue eyes seething
with anger. After
all
this time, it was
still hard to see
anger
in Duncan’s eyes
directed at her.

For
a brief
moment,
Jessica looked
down,
she couldn’t stand to be in the pathway
of that rage.

“You
think I’d do that to you? To her? For cash? There’s always more cash, Jessica
Blood. Ways to get it that don’t make us what they are. Monsters.”

The
anger was so deep in his eyes; Jessica thought he might throw her right out of
the car. Duncan wasn’t the type to get violent with a woman, but his hands were
shaking as he attempted to control his anger. He should’ve lashed out at her.
Maybe Jessica even deserved it.

“Okay,”
Jessica’s voice shuddered and shook in ways it hadn’t in a long time. She was
stripped of all pretenses, as his eyes bored right
into
her soul. In the backseat, Amanda stirred; Jessica didn’t want
either of them to see how vulnerable she felt right now. “All right.”

She
shouldn’t have pushed it. Shouldn’t have said it, but Jessica had to know. Were
they on the same side? Did he still feel what still burned inside her?

But
Duncan wasn’t done with the subject yet. “If you think that little of me, I’ll
get out right here and walk. Find my bike and get the hell out of your way. Do
what you want, if that’s how you really feel.”

The
moments ticked by and all Jessica could hear was Amanda shifting on the leather
bench seat behind them. Jessica swallowed hard, the sound deafening. What she
had to say was one of the hardest things she had done in a long time. “I’d like
you to…just keep driving.”

I want you to stay.
That’s
what Jessica meant to say, but she couldn’t eke out the words.

Would
Duncan be satisfied? Jessica couldn’t rip her eyes off of him even as he turned
forward and slammed his hand on the wheel so hard, it made her jump right out
of her skin.

“Then
why ask in the first place, huh? Why?”

The
hurt in his words was almost too much.

Her
mouth opened to speak, to tell him she needed to know who he was loyal to. Why
he came back for her, when she hadn’t seen him in over a year, but Jessica just
shut her mouth and gazed out her window. She fought back a fresh sting of
tears, she didn’t want to face why she was so upset.

Put
up the wall. Don’t let him back in.

Jessica
crossed her arms and her eyes fell on Amanda’s reflection in the windshield. Amanda
was staring back at her, a perplexed look on her face. The worst part was the
anxiety in her eyes. Sighing, Jessica looked away, she was sorry Amanda had to
witness that, feel all that intense, negative emotion.

“Two,
” Duncan said suddenly,
with a quiet rumble of anger.

“Huh?”
Jessica said, without looking over at him.

“It
hasn’t been one year since we’ve seen each other. It’s been two.”

Jessica
didn’t know why he felt the need to clarify that. She knew the exact moment he
left, walked out on her and Amanda like they meant nothing to him. Turned his
back and just never came back. Jessica knew she was trouble, of the worst
kind
, but he’d said he loved her. She never
thought he’d leave and that was her problem.

Jessica
never thought they’d leave and they always did. Foster parents, family,
boyfriends.

But
the demons never left, did they? They were always right there, sniffing at
their tails.

Duncan
didn’t speak for the remainder of the journey and neither did Jessica. Every unasked
question hanging between them; it made the silence just that much harder to
bear.

****

It
turned out that the safe house was a rundown old barn, long ago converted into
a family homestead. Long abandoned, it was given to Duncan in a trade. He explained
it as he fished the key out of his pocket. “Won it at a high stakes poker
match. Well, when I say won…”

“You
cheated,” Jessica said plainly, her voice free of judgment. She wasn’t ready
for another fight after what happened in the car.

Duncan
grimaced. “That couldn’t be proven. Mostly I wanted it because it’s
warded
from demon vision. They can’t see this
place. To
them,
it’s simply not here and
as long as everything inside is in order, we should be safe and sound.”

Sounded
good to Jessica. Her arm her sister, they both stood on the old rickety porch
as Duncan slid the key into the door knob. With a twist, the door swung open
and a gust of dusty air rushed out to greet them. Amanda gasped and Jessica
watched for a sign that something was wrong. Amanda’s eyes widened but she
didn’t say anything as she took a ginger step forward to stand just inside the
entryway. “Oh wow,” she said in a hushed voice.

Her
acceptance of the place was good enough for Jessica. She stepped inside and
gazed around. It was dark, but the walls were pine and the open concept space
had high vaulted ceilings, with thick old beams holding the place up. The
furniture was rustic, but classy and far back along the wall was an old brick
fireplace
.

Jessica
couldn’t remember the last time she stepped inside something so nice. Something
she could call home for even just a night or two.

“I
can get a fire going if you’re cold.”

“Just
show us to our room.
We’re beat
,” Jessica
said. It was the longest of days, longest of weekends. A time Jessica would
just like to forget.

Duncan’s
face didn’t reveal what he was feeling. He just pointed upstairs, but the skin
around his eyes crinkled in a way that was just about perfect. “To the right is
a room with a king bed. You should both be comfortable there. I’ll secure the
place; get the generator going.”

Jessica
nodded and led Amanda by the hand up the first few steps. “There’s a suitcase
in the car. Has a change of clothes. Our things.”

“I’ll
grab it. No peeking,” Duncan’s voice had a playful quality to it and Jessica
thought it might be his way of smoothing things out with her. She wasn’t sure
she was willing to forget just
yet,
but
after a good night’s sleep…

Maybe.

Up
the stairs, they found several rooms, but only one had a king sized bed. It was
covered in a blue, regal looking comforter. The wood floors were shinny and
large stained glass windows stretched up to the ceiling, letting moonlight in.
It hit the windows just right, casting a pattern of blue, gold and pink onto
the floor, like a kaleidoscope.

This
place was special all right. Jessica couldn’t guess who built it, but
everything about it was designed to ward off evil. Demons. She breathed a sigh
of relief as Amanda hurried into the room.

“Oh
wow!” Amanda repeated, throwing herself down on the bed. Despite herself, she
giggled, stretching out her arms. Her cheeks were shiny, like a little girl’s,
as she glanced around, biting her lip.