Immortal Revenge (8 page)

“You show me yours first.” The slight curl of his lip annoyed her more than humored her.

She untied the black string and twisted the cloth until it opened in her hands. Hidden within were four small daggers, the silver handles sticking out.

“Nice.” He reached for one. Katie held them securely in her grasp as he lifted the tiny band holding one of the daggers in place. He slid the weapon out and examined it. “It’s light and not too big. Perfect to hide on your thigh or calf, assuming you have a sheath for it.”

He tucked the pouch in his hand under his arm and returned the small dagger to its home spot.

“We went through a lot of daggers when we fought. I guess he was replacing them.”

He lifted his eyes. “You fought with daggers?”

“Play fight. He taught me how to beat someone of your caliber.”

“You bested him? Right.” His cockiness irked her.

“Actually I did. Last year.” She grinned and stared pointedly into his eyes.

The smirk on his face drained away. “Kyle loved you. He probably let you beat him.”

Katie closed the cloth with the daggers and twisted away from him as her head suddenly felt ready to explode. “He trained me for years. I beat him in a fair fight. But don’t take the word of a human female.”
And don’t turn your back on me. I might decide to take your head off during the day when you’re sleeping.

“My, my. I’m starting to realize why he liked you, aside from your exceptionally large breasts.”

Katie stiffened with the second pouch in her hands. “You have some nerve, vampire.” The urge to punch him continued to prick at her. She wanted to fight him to prove she had the skills to take his kind down. But she couldn’t do it without a little help, and she wouldn’t waste a drop of Kyle’s blood on such an asshole.

He held up a sheathed dagger. “I’m taking this one.” He glanced down at her hands. “Let’s see what you have.”

Katie pushed her devilish thoughts aside and loosened the other black cloth in her hand. Inside, she found four rings with knives attached to each and a ruby in the center of the ring. “Impressive. Do you know how to use them?”

“I broke the others, so yes.”

Katie quickly folded the cloth back together. She disliked looking at the lethal rings. Kyle had forced her to wear them on occasion when they fought. The first time she’d wore them, she’d thrown a punch and the sharp blade, though small, sliced his flesh wide open. He winced in pain, but continued his assault. He wanted her to learn the cuts meant nothing and the enemy would still come after her. She fought back, swinging more hard punches. The knives tore through him. By the time their quarrel ended hours later, they were both covered in blood and weak. The memory made her stomach churn.

“Is this it?” The question sounded as if her weapons weren’t good enough for him.

“I’ll check the cellar tomorrow.”

She tucked the pouch with the rings into her purse. The lethal rings were coming with her everywhere where they were within quick reach if she ever needed them.

“This will do until then,” he said as he tucked the black cloth back inside the inner part of the spare tire.

“Does this mean you’ll help me?”

“It’s late. We need to go.” He closed the trunk lid with a low thump, then headed for the driver’s side without another word.

Katie sighed as she walked around the car to the passenger side. Why couldn’t he answer her simple question? If he wasn’t going to assist her, then there was no point of him hanging around.

Minutes after she returned to her seat, they were on a road, heading for the Interstate.

Katie quickly read the signs. “You’ll want to take the–”

“I know the way,” he said, then glanced at her. “I studied maps while I was waiting for you.”

Katie twisted to face him and crossed her arms. His cold arrogance was a quality she detested, but the vamp had brains and brawn. Those two traits she needed to help her achieve her goal.

“You never answered my question,” she said, staring at his angular nose from the side. His forehead seemed rather big too, but his long hair could’ve made it appear that way.

“I made a promise to Kyle.” He kept his gaze at the front window.

“Which is?”

“To protect you.”

“I don’t need protection. I can take care of myself.”

The corner of his mouth twitched.

“What?”

He glanced at her. “He said you’d say that.”

Prick.

She turned away from him as questions surfaced in her mind. Why did Kyle ask him to protect her? Why did Riker agree? Did Kyle force him? All were on the tip of her tongue to ask, but first she wanted his agreement to assist her.

“Look, I’m asking nicely… Will you help me catch the vamp who destroyed Kyle?”

He stared out the front window, not blinking or moving the slightest inch. Katie waited for him to say something. When he didn’t she added, “If you refuse, that’s fine. I’ll go after the creep myself. I figure I have a few days before he leaves.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Katie’s hope of gaining his assistance dwindled.

“I see two problems with your request,” he said.

Her mood perked up. He had listened and considered her appeal. She faced him with a curious gaze. “What problems?”

“First and foremost, you’re human and your revenge will get you killed.”

“My problem, not yours,” she said flatly.

“It is
my
problem since I made a promise to Kyle.”

His loud and deep tone grabbed her attention. She adjusted her attitude to a more polite and kind one.

“He’s not here anymore.” She lowered her eyes. If his vow to Kyle prevented him from helping her, then she could possibly end up six feet in the ground. “What is the second issue you have?”

“The vampire who extinguished him is probably looking for you.”

“I don’t see how. Everything was under Kyle’s name.”

Riker slid his eyes from the road to her. “Do you really think your existence is hidden?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know what this vampire is doing right now?”

“Cleaning up the mess.”

“He’s making sure Kyle didn’t exist. He will wipe the memory of Kyle from anyone who had contact with him.”

“Not many people did. He stayed on the farm, and I ran errands for him when he needed things.”

They’d ventured out together a few times, but ninety-eight percent of those trips were ones out of town. He took her to big cities, museums and historical places. The police station was the one place he’d visited in Mishawaka and that was only to resolve her speeding tickets. She’d received plenty, but to date, she only had a warning on file. Sometimes mind manipulation came in handy.

“You said the police questioned you.”

“There was a headless body burning in the yard.”

He clamped his jaw. “My point is, the police knew about the event. Therefore, the vampire will pay a visit to the station and erase it from their minds. He’ll make sure Kyle never existed. In doing so–”

“Fuck.” A tsunami of gloom lowered her spirit. Riker didn’t need to explain any more. Ben and Charles were one of the few who did know about her relationship with Kyle. All the vamp had to do was slip into their minds to learn Kyle had a girlfriend. Shit!

“What?”

“I went to college with Ben. He knew about Kyle and me.” She reached in her purse and withdrew her phone. Here was the perfect opportunity to see if Riker was right. Was the vampire who destroyed Kyle looking for her? And if he was, would he kill Ben?

“Is this Ben an officer you spoke with?”

“Yes,” she replied while she dialed the number for the police station. Once the call went through, she pressed the phone to her ear and stared at Riker. “I hope you’re wrong.”

“I rarely am.”

“Mishawaka police, how may I help you?” asked a female on the other end of the line.

“I’d like to speak with Officer Ben Hildebrand please.”

“One moment.”

The hum of the engine grew louder. Riker cut off the lights.

“What are you doing?” Katie asked.

“Driving. Don’t worry, I can see just fine.”

Katie considered complaining, but it wouldn’t do any good. He had control of her car. Fortunately, there weren’t many vehicles on the road, which meant less chance of an accident. And if by chance a trooper pulled them over, Riker could easily wipe the memory from the officer’s mind.

“Hello, this is Ben Hildebrand.”

“Ben, it’s Katie.”

“Hi, Katie. How are you?”

He sounded fine. She didn’t detect anything unusual about his tone.

“How’s the investigation going?”

“Which one?”

“The one with Kyle’s death.”

“Who?”

The prickly feeling on the back of her neck spread down the rest of her body. She stared at Riker. Her heart pounded within her chest.

“You know, Kyle Brown. You saw his body burning–”

“Hang up,” Riker snapped.

“A body burning? Katie, are you all right?”

She lowered the phone and ended the call. Dread swept through her and made the dinner in her stomach sour. The vamp had tampered with Ben’s mind.

“So much for keeping your existence hidden.”

“I’ll pay a visit to him during the day and see what’s going on.” She slid the phone back into her purse.

“I recommend you stay away from him.”

She hated to take Riker’s advice, but it seemed appropriate. If the vamp had wiped Ben’s mind of Kyle, then Ben would ask her questions and might think she’d fallen out of a rocker. She didn’t want to cause any trouble, nor put his life at risk.

“I guess this means you were right. The vamp is after me now.”

Katie lifted her head. Maybe having the assassin looking for her was a good thing. Instead of her trying to find him, he could find her. Then, she could torture him and chop off his head. Her mood improved with the pleasant thought of acquiring her revenge. Kyle would be proud.

“I told you, I’m rarely wrong.”

Asshole.

“Did you talk to anyone else after you left the police station?”

“No.” The word shot out of Katie’s mouth. She didn’t want him to know about Jules or Joe, or her visit to the Devil. Jules was her best friend and she’d do anything to protect her, even if it meant fighting the vamp sitting behind her steering wheel.

Riker’s brows tightened as he eyed her. “Where did you stay the night?”

“I parked behind a building and slept. Then I went shopping for clothes during the day. You saw my bag in the trunk.”

“You’re certain no one else knows what happened to Kyle?”

“Well…” She lifted a shoulder. “If someone had a police scanner, they could’ve heard about it.” It was a true statement, proven by Andy.

“Yes, that is possible.”

Katie sat silently, staring out at the dark highway. She hated lying, but felt it was her best option to protect her close friends. Daylight was a few hours away. As soon as the sun rose, she’d find Jules and warn her. Then, she’d take money from her account and send her and Joe on vacation in Indianapolis for a week. Neither the vamp after her nor Riker would ever know others had knowledge of Kyle. But she’d have to act fast.

“So…what now?” Katie asked.

“I have to make sure Kyle’s existence is erased.”

“What? Why? Isn’t the assassin taking care of that?”

“I assume he is, but I need to make sure.”

“But Kyle was your friend? Why would you–”

Riker shot an arctic glare at her. “Because we do, even for our comrades. Many of us want peace and not to be looked down upon as evil creatures. There’s enough terror and horror in the world. If humans found out about us, it would only intensify their fear and cause them to hate us.”