Dead Man Running: Book Two - Supernatural Bounty Hunter Romance Novellas (10 page)

She was actually a little surprised at his reaction.  At his insistence, she’d been out on dates with numerous men over the last four years, and he always kept himself in check. 
Perhaps the situation with Julian was pushing him closer to the edge than she realized.

Alma turned to her mate and was pleased to note he was looking a little sheepish.  “I’m guessing you had a relationship…”

“I wouldn’t call it a relationship,” he said quickly.

“Ah, so you were just having casual sex.”

Viktor spluttered as his temper deflated.

Alma tried to hold back her sly grin.  “Is that why you’ve been quivering like custard all day, because you were worried about me meeting one of your ex-girlfriends?”

“She wasn’t exactly an ex-girlfriend, we just…

“Fucked?” suggested Alma, dryly.

Viktor winced although the word was accurate.  Viktor met Lavender six years ago.  Lavender was a highly sexual hyena shifter; she eagerly pursued Viktor, keen to take a vampire to bed.  Viktor hadn’t played hard to get,
he never had in all the centuries he’d been alive
.  Another reason he didn’t want to disclose the details of his sexual past to his mate, he could hardly remember all his conquests.

“Yes… I’m sorry; I didn’t want you to know.  I didn’t want to rub your nose in my previous romances.”  Again he winced;
romances was a very generous word
.  Sure he’d a few special relationships.  Well, three in fact. 
Not counting his sire, never counting his sire…

Alma squeezed his thigh.  “Why would you think that would bother me?  I would have been very surprised if you had been a virgin when I met you.  So you’ve been with other women, who cares?  You’re mine, now.”

She leaned over and pulled him in for a searing kiss, hot arousal shot through his cold veins.  “Come on, Magnum, let’s get this show on the road.”

Chapter Fourteen

As he drove, Viktor explained why he had been so keen to leave Tender Blossoms,
other than his jealousy of Lilac.

Viktor knew why Lilac couldn’t remember who hired the girls; he’d seen the look on her face, as she strained to grasp at the memory, over a hundred times before. 
She’d been mesmerized.

As vampires grow older, some develop certain skills.  It took centuries, but some vampires were able to read minds, others like Julian could hide their scent and a few could even start fires with their minds.  There was no rhyme or reason as to who developed these skills, some never did, but then others may develop a numbers of different abilities.  There were also vampires who could mesmerize people; they could take control of
people’s free will and force them to do whatever they wanted, up to and including forcing them to forget things.

A vampire told Lilac to forget who hired Daffodil and Tulip to visit Julian. 
Presumably, the same vampire who actually killed the girls.

Alma mulled that over.  “So, this vampire turned up at the Tender Blossoms office, hired the girls and paid for them. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a booking, and Lilac wouldn't have been hypnotized into forgetting who he, or she, was.”

Viktor let out a long unnecessary breath.  “It appears that way, yes.”

“Then there will at least be some record of the financial transaction, the vampire couldn’t have erased that.”  Alma tapped her blue nails against the dashboard.  “With any luck, whoever it was, paid using a credit card, and if they did, we could find out who they are.”

Viktor hope blew up like a balloon, but soon deflated.  “What if they paid cash?”

“I bet they didn’t.  Nobody pays cash anymore, and I saw those prices, those girls were damn expensive.  And if this were a vampire, he or she would have been far too arrogant to think anyone would even get this far.  They probably didn’t even think they had to bother to
not
use their credit card.”

Viktor glanced at her, an amused smile playing on his lips.  “You think vampires are arrogant?”

She smiled sweetly.  “Oh, Viktor, of course, I think that!  Vampires are the strongest and toughest creatures around; most of you have your heads up your asses, going around telling everyone you’re the ‘master race.’”

Viktor bridled.  “We’re not all like that; I’m not like that!”

Alma tapped her chin thoughtfully.  “Well, sometimes you are, you’re just lucky you have me to keep your ego in check.”

“Gee, thanks,” he muttered sarcastically.

“My pleasure, now hush up, I have to make a phone call.”

Alma fiddled with her phone and a few seconds late
r Mia’s happy, laughing voice answered.  “Hello.”

“It’s Alma.”

“Oh hey Alma, are you feeling better?”

“What?” 
Oh right, yeah, she was supposed to be sick
.  Alma coughed a couple of times and in a pathetic voice said, “A little.”

Viktor pursed his lips disapprovingly; he could hear every word.  Alma ignored him and turned her back to him, so she was looking out the window.

Down the phone Alma heard a deep, rumbling, yet muffled voice in the background. 
It kind of sounded familiar, but she couldn’t be sure…

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No!” yelped Mia quickly and then tried to make shushing noises.  “I was just… watching TV, what can I do for you?”

Alma took a deep breath.  “I need you to do me a favor, but it’s not strictly legal.”

Mia paused for a few seconds.  ‘What is it?”

At least she hadn’t said no.
  “I need you to hack into the records for a business called Tender Blossoms, it’s an escort agency.  I need to know who paid for two escorts to go to Hotel Jinx four nights ago.”

Alma imagined the small rabbit shifter scrunching her nose, the way she always did when she was thinking.  “Wasn’t that the night…”

“Yes it was,” admitted Alma shortly.  She had kind of hoped that Mia wouldn’t realize, but the rabbit was a smart little cookie.

Mia thought about it.  Technically it would be illegal, yet the likelihood of getting caught was slim to none.  It briefly occurred to her what she could ask Alma to do in return. 
Now and then the influence of her father, a ruthless boa constrictor shifter, shone through.
  Brief thoughts of a raise, a promotion and a more comfortable desk chair flittered through her mind.  But no, she was happy as she was,
but there was something Mia was dying to know…

“I’ll do it
, but… I want you to do something for me.”  Mia forced her voice not to tremble; she wasn’t used to being pushy,
that was actually more Alma’s style.

“Like what?” demanded the witch,
savagely.

Mia took a deep gulp of breath.  “I want to ask you two questions, and I want you to answer them honestly.”

“What sort of questions?”

“Nope, you have to agree to it before I tell you the questions.”  Mia thanked god they were doing this over the phone, in person the timid little rabbit would easily have caved in to the formidable witch.

“If it is something secret…”

“I won’t tell a soul.”

Alma groaned.  “Fine, go ahead, but you don’t say a word to anyone about what I’ve asked you to do.”

“Deal.  Okay, first question, are you and Viktor in a relationship?  And
secondly, are you trying to investigate the deaths of those two girls?”  Mia held her breath, waiting for the witch to shout at her, and tell her it was none of her business.

Nothing happened. 

After what felt like an age, Alma’s sultry voice answered both questions, “Yes and yes.”

Mia almost jumped up and down.  She knew it.  Alma could be downright vicious when she wanted, but there was something about her behavior toward the vampire that didn’t ring true for Mia, she sensed there was an attraction between the two. 
God, she was good!

“Remember your promise…” started Alma.

“Of course!  Now, can you give me a few more details about Tender Blossoms?”

*

Alma ended the phone call to Mia and turned back to her mate.  “So Jessica Fletcher…”

Viktor snorted a laugh.  “Oh, have you run out of male detectives already?

“Nope, just run out of the serious ones.”

Viktor bristled.  “I’ll have you know Jessica Fletcher was a fine detective.”

“Ugh, figures you’d watch that.” 
He was such an old man.

“Hey, when you can’t go out in the sun you become hooked on daytime TV.”

“Yes, it’s one of the many things I’m looking forward to when I become a vampire,” she said dryly.

He grinned, flashing his fangs at her.  “Oh, I’m sure we can find something much more entertaining to do.”

Alma felt a shiver of arousal shoot straight to her sex; it always did when those fangs came out to play. 
Damn she was twisted, sometimes she wondered if she actually liked getting bitten more than he liked biting.

She shook away her desire.  “Anyway, I found out who hired the girls.  Turns out the cocky
dumbass did pay with a credit card.”

“And do we have a name?”

“We do indeed,” she told him smugly.  “Turns out it was paid for by a company card belonging to something called Heavenly Bodies.”

Viktor veered off the road and slammed on the brakes; they were followed by the honking of horns, and the yells of other irate drivers.

“What the hell, Viktor?!”

Viktor stared ahead, gripping the steering wheel until it started cracking under the pressure.  “Heavenly Bodies is a club near the harbor.  I know who runs it.”

Alma’s brow creased.  “That’s good news isn’t it?  It means we’re one step closer.”

His jaw ticked.  “It’s a vampire called James Marlowe.  He’s my brother.”

Chapter Fifteen

Viktor could still remember the day he was changed.  At first he thought it was a curse, but over time he realized that, as a vampire, he had a better life than he ever did as a human. 
Meeting Alma was also a tremendous bonus.

He wasted his human life.  He was the third son of a farmer.  His family was by no means rich, but they were comfortable.  His older brothers were honest and hard working. 
He… wasn’t.

He spent his time drinking and chasing women.  He was a handsome man and damned charming when he wanted to be.

His sire found him stumbling home one night after an evening of drinking. 
Her name was Celine.
  She appeared out of nowhere wearing a flowing, white nightgown.  She asked him to follow her, and he did, without hesitation.  Even if he weren’t drunk he probably still would have.  She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on; with golden blonde hair, pale luminous skin and shining silver eyes, he thought she was an angel. 
How wrong he was.

She dragged him into the woods and kissed him passionately.  He was excited beyond belief, but this soon turned to horror.  Viktor recalled her teeth on his neck and the sharp twinge of pain, before he was overtaken by a rush of ecstasy invoked by the feeding.    He was amazed that he
orgasmed right then and there, but as he came down from his high he panicked.  She continued mercilessly taking his blood; his body was in agony as she drained him, and he weakened.  He faintly tried to beg for his life as he felt it slipping away, but she did not stop.  He blacked out.

The next night he awoke in agony.  His heightened senses distorted the world around him.  Celine was there to welcome him.  She brought him the gift of a young peasant girl, one he had been trying to seduce.  The girl was terrified, but Viktor, so unused to his new hunger, could not hear her pleas.  He killed her, taking every drop of her blood.

Celine was delighted with her new conquest. 
Her last one, less so.
  Celine had turned James Marlowe a hundred years before.  They had been travelling together as lovers when she spied Viktor and decided she wanted him too.

There was jealousy between the two men for Celine’s affection, and she delighted in playing them against each other.

Over the years, they travelled all over the world.  At first Viktor thought it was freedom, to go anywhere and do anything. 
But it wasn’t like that
.  Celine was controlling; as their sire, she did hold a certain amount of sway over their actions and used it to keep them in line.

Viktor stayed with them for two hundred years, putting up with Celine’s temper tantrums and her cruelty.  At first Viktor didn’t think twice about killing humans and drinking their blood, but over time his bloodlust settled, and the remorse he felt for his actions was astronomical. 
Celine never felt any remorse
.  He recalled she had once killed an entire village of people after a young woman there had shown interest in Viktor. 
That was the last straw for him.

It hadn’t been easy, but Viktor pulled away from her and left, never once looking back.  It was a lonely existence, but one infinitely preferable to living with Celine.  He had a few short-lived relationships, but he never really came alive until he met Alma.

Until he met her, he moved around, but after, he stayed in Playa Lunar to be as close to her as possible.

James arrived in Playa Lunar five years ago.  Viktor was surprised to find the other vampire had left Celine; he had thought James to be devoted to her.  James asked if Viktor minded him living in Playa Lunar.  Viktor reluctantly told the other vampire he didn’t have a problem with it.  At the time Viktor split his time between Paris, London, Moscow, New York and Playa Lunar. 
He was rarely at his condo anyway.

The old rivalry between the two vampires lingered, but as neither one of them was under Celine’s thumb anymore, it seemed irrelevant.  Viktor heard James had opened a club, but he hadn’t been there. 
The two vampires avoided each other at all costs.

“Hello!  Earth to Viktor!” 

Viktor blinked as she slapped his cheek, and looked at his worried mate.

“Are you okay?  You zoned out for about ten minutes.”

Viktor nodded; his face was grim.

“So, he’s your brother?  Why didn’t you tell me you had a brother?”  Her voice held a hint of reproach.

He shook his head.  “He’s not my real brother.”

Viktor had told her the broad strokes of his early years, omitting the more horrific details.  He had, however, neglected to mention James.  She might not approve of the ménage situation that had gon
e on between the three vampires; although there was nothing sexual between the two males, they had shared their sire on more than one occasion.

“We were sired by the same maker, so technically he’s my vampire brother.” 
It wasn’t something humans generally understood; it was a tentative bond because they were both revived by the same blood.

“And he’s living in the city?  Why didn’t you ever mention him?” 
Her mate was just full of surprises she thought crabbily.

Viktor spun and gripped her arms fiercely.  His face was stormy, and his eyes had dilated black.  “I didn’t want you to have anything to do with him.  He’s a dangerous vampire; he might have hurt you.  I know you think I’m overprotective, but I love you, and I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

James was dangerous.  If he sensed Viktor had any interest in Alma he might hurt her out of spite. 
Not to mention, the fact that James could mesmerize people…

Alma stroked his cheek and made soothing sounds.  “I love you too, vampy.”

Alma spent another ten minutes calming her mate, who was worked up merely at the mention of his vampire brother.  He apparently reminded Viktor of things he wished could stay forgotten.  She knew a few details of his early years, but he had hinted at darker deeds and refused to talk about them. 

She eased him out of the driver’s seat and took him back to her apartment.  By which time he had fully recovered enough to climb in through the fire escape.

She laid him down on her bed and curled herself against his hard body.  Instinctively he drew her close to him.  She was surprised when he shut his eyes and actually seemed to be sleeping, it was a little hard to tell,
with the lack of breathing and all…
  In the all the years they’d known each other, she’d never seen him sleep. 
It was eerily beautiful.

Alma closed her eyes and soon relaxed.  She hoped Viktor calmed a little by sunset tomorrow.  All fingers seemed to be pointing at James, Viktor’s erstwhile brother.  Whether Viktor liked it or not
, tomorrow night, they were going to Heavenly Bodies.