Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (33 page)

The vampire, whom she'd been having sex with seconds before, died.

There was no sunlight or fire, but the end result was the same.
 
Olivia's partner was curled up in pain one moment, the next he was dust across the sheets.
 
He was facing toward the headboard camera.
 
Victoria saw the terror and agony on his face mere moments before he ceased to exist.

The three women were animated in the hallway.
 
Olivia pushed her way to the doors, and that's when the female vampire doubled over in pain.
 
Her human partner went to check on her, and the vampire tried to grab her with a claw.
 
She pulled free and followed Olivia out the main doors in the lobby.

Ten seconds later, the second vampire died, turning into a pile of dust on the carpet.
 
Frank had nearly made it to her when she passed on.
 
Kate pushed the doors open to see Frank, and cried as he tried to console her.

Jack laughed quietly as Victoria paused the footage.

"Holy shit," he said.
 
"They vacuumed the two of them up like they were dust-bunnies."

"Jack, this is serious," Victoria said.
 
"Did you
see
that?
 
I've never seen anything like that."

"Me neither."

She sped through the rest of the evening, but nothing else grabbed her attention.
 
Frank spoke to the man she saw with the police outside, either the owner or a manager.
 
He also sent Kate home, and Michael joined him to begin the cleanup.
 
They scrubbed the floors as best they could and replaced the mattress.

Victoria rewound the footage to watch them die again.

"Shit, what the hell happened?" she asked.
 
"Did they touch each other in the lobby?"

"No," Jack said.
 
"They all talked, that was it.
 
But the very nature of this place…they probably share mortals like needles.
 
Maybe they're passing something to each other."

"But what?
 
A disease, maybe?
 
A virus?"

"There hasn't been a virus yet that's made a dent in vampires.
 
You bloodsuckers can drink from an AIDS patient without a problem."

"So what, then?"

"I don't know, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
 
It could be the lighting in this place, for all we know."

Jack had a point, and Victoria squirmed in discomfort as she stared up at the lights.
 
Never before in her long life did she see one of her kind simply die spontaneously.
 
Underground mortal science labs had worked for decades trying to find a new way to kill them, but never succeeded.
 
Was there now something out there she needed to be afraid of?

She had the sudden urge to go home, her safe haven.
 
Her body was starting to feel the effects of staying up nearly all night.
 
She needed rest, to clear her head.

Frank poked his head into the office.

"Is everything okay in here?" he asked.
 
"The club's emptying out upstairs.
 
We'll have to close up soon."

Victoria regained her composure and rose to her feet.

"Yeah, we're good.
 
Frank, I'm going to need unrestricted access to this place, and all of your records.
 
You do keep track of who comes and goes, who gets paired up with who?"

Jack chuckled quietly next to her.

"Who comes and goes," he said.
 
"How accurate."

"We do," Frank said.
 
"We don't keep track of addresses.
 
Quite frankly, we don't care where people live.
 
But some do pay by check.
 
We don't take charge cards, obviously."

"Names will do.
 
I need to see who's been in and out, mortal and vampire.
 
And, I hate to say it, but this place is going to have to close its doors for a while."

Frank took the news as she expected.
 
He frowned and cursed as he placed a hand on the wall.

"Are you serious?
 
You think something
here
is responsible?
 
It could have been something upstairs in the club, or out in the parking lot.
 
Hell, what do I know?
 
Maybe vampires just get sick sometimes.
 
You don't know anything."

He had a point.
 
They could be looking at an isolated incident, with no rhyme or reason, that would never happen again.

Or they could be looking at the end of vampires.

"Exactly, I don't.
 
And until I do, this place stays closed."

"Fuck."

He rested his hands on his knees, staring at the floor.
 
Victoria felt bad for him, sympathized.
 
Frank had his faults, but he was simply a businessman trying to make a living.

"You're right," he said.
 
"I know you're right, but still…fuck!"

"Don't worry there, mortal," Jack said.
 
"This place is solid, and I want in.
 
Some good money to be made.
 
When Victoria solves all this shit, you'll be getting a call from me.
 
You'd be smart to answer the phone."

Only Jack could turn a scene of death into a business opportunity.

Victoria stood up.
 
She knew she'd be back, but still had an image to maintain.
 
Dawn wasn't too far away.
 
Frank expected her to return to shelter, and that's what she would do.

"I'll be in touch," Victoria said.
 
"We've got some work to do."

Frank nodded.
 
"I'll help however I can."

Victoria didn't say a word as they drove away from the club.
 
She was lost in her own thoughts, trying to absorb what they'd seen.
 
Truth be told, she was unnerved, even a little afraid.
 
For four centuries, she lived her life knowing that only fire and the sun could kill their kind.
 
Apparently that was no longer the case.

For his part, Jack was quiet.
 
No needling, no sarcasm.
 
The pair knew each other too well.
 
He could see Victoria was worried.
 
Despite the fact he said nothing, she knew he was concerned for her, and appreciated him for it.

It wasn't until she turned onto her street that he finally spoke.

"So," he said.
 
"What's the plan?"

She laughed quietly.
 
A very simple question with a complicated answer.

"A lot of phone calls.
 
And a lot of research.
 
I can't let this go.
 
This is something I have to figure out."

"I know."

"Can I count on you?"

"Whatever you need.
 
But you have to let me be a father for a while, too."
 
Jack leaned out the window to admire the scenery as the day began to slowly push away the night.
 
"I have a daughter at home that I happen to miss.
 
I won't be dropping her off at school today, and I hate that."

"Sorry everything ran so long.
 
We do have a witch, you know.
 
Just use a portal."

"I just might."

She didn't bother parking in the garage.
 
She parked in front of the house, behind Jack's truck.
 
Her shirt was nearly half off before they even walked in the door.
 
Jack reached out and grabbed her hand before she could strip.

"Whoa, you want to take it easy there?"

"I need to sleep," she said.
 
"I'm exhausted.
 
Some of us still need to sleep, ya know."

"Well, wait until I'm gone.
 
Then you can pull all the clothes off you want."

"Such a prude."

Victoria stayed her hand when her eyes fell on the basement door.
 
There was one thing she needed to take care of before she fell unconscious in her bed.

"I'll be right back," she said.
 
"I'm going to check on Zoey."

Jogging down the basement stairs, she expected to see a lump of teenager in the king-sized bed.
 
Confusion set in when there was nothing.
 
The bed was only a collection of bundled-up sheets.

She steered toward the bathroom, reaching out with her senses.
 
No water ran.
 
There was no familiar scent of the young girl she'd spent so much time with.
 
The hot tub was also empty and silent.

"Zoey?" she called, hoping she'd somehow get a response.
 
Only silence answered her.

Worry began to settle in.
 
Victoria opened the bathroom door anyway, although she knew Zoey wasn't there.
 
She wanted to believe her nose and ears were lying to her, and her eyes would save the day.

Victoria had a big house.
 
Zoey was in another room.
 
That was the only explanation that made sense.
 
But that didn't help soothe her.
 
The mansion wasn't designed to keep out the sun.
 
That's what the basement was for.

She was calling Jack's name as she went back upstairs.
 
It was terribly difficult to resist the temptation to run, but she somehow managed.

"Jack!
 
Jack!"

He leaned out the kitchen, watching for her as she left the basement.

"What?
 
What's the problem?"

"Is Zoey up here?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, would you look for her?"

"No."

He wasn't joking.
 
Jack disappeared back into the kitchen to enjoy a glass of water at the table.
 
Victoria paid him no mind.
 
She made her way to the side door to the garage and threw it open.

The Jeep was missing.

Zoey had never come back after leaving with Olivia.

Her mind went blank.
 
She didn't bother to shut the door.
 
She wasn't even aware she was walking back to the kitchen until she was nearly there.
 
Slowly, the questions and thoughts trickled in.

Where did Zoey go?
 
Was she hurt?
 
Did she drop off Olivia off at the hospital?
 
Did she go to visit Alex?
 
Why would she leave?
 
What was going on?

As she turned into the kitchen, the questions changed, moving in a darker direction.

Was Zoey dead?
 
Did the sunlight get her?
 
Maybe Olivia was responsible for the deaths at the Vermilion, and Zoey tried to feed from her.

Jack knew something was wrong immediately.
 
He was at her side in a second, nearly knocking over a dining chair.
 
He grabbed her hand and guided her toward the counter.
 
Victoria nearly lost her balance and fell.

"Victoria?" he said, his eyes never leaving hers.
 
"What's wrong?"

"Zoey…she's gone."

The concern left his face instantly, a scowl taking its place.

"Is that all?"

"What if she's dead?
 
What if she's hurt?
 
We got in a fight.
 
Maybe she ran away."

"No big deal if she did."

She wasn't listening, and paced without realizing.

"No, she wouldn't do that.
 
She wouldn't run away.
 
It wasn't that bad of a fight.
 
I was going to fix it.
 
Goddamnit, Kevin, why couldn't you just be quiet?"

Jack grabbed her by the shoulders and slapped her across the face.
 
It didn't hurt at all, but got her attention.
 
She clutched his arms in return, steadying herself.

"Are you done panicking?" he asked.

"I…don't think so.
 
Not yet."

"Well, stop, and follow me."

He led the way back to the basement.
 
She took the phone from her purse as they left the kitchen.

"Voicemail," she said, staring at the phone in disbelief.
 
"It's not even ringing."

Jack said nothing.
 
He went down the stairs and straight for the refrigerator, opening the door.
 
There was more blood missing than normal.

"A planned trip."

"She took bottles with her," Victoria said, noticing the bare racks for the first time.
 
"And her clothes.
 
But why?
 
If she hated it here, I would have put her on a plane back to Florida."

It dawned on her there was the good possibility Zoey took more than blood.

She left the basement once again, all the way up to the second floor.
 
Jack had difficulty keeping up, even with his ability not to tire.
 
Victoria simply moved too fast.

She only stopped in the middle of the hallway when she noticed her bedroom door, which was always locked, wide open.

Her suspicions were confirmed.

Zoey had forced the door open easily, breaking the wood around the lock.
 
Victoria had never reinforced it for vampires, only mortals.
 
She searched through her dresser drawers.

"Some of my credit cards are missing."