Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 2) (17 page)

I smiled and typed,
Sweet dreams, Dante.

Tease.

If anyone was a tease, it was Dante and Fane. Taunting me, teasing—tormenting. Boys with their wicked words and suggestions. They knew how to get under a girl’s skin, make her body respond without so much as a touch.

I hadn’t been in the mood before
, but now I wouldn’t mind kicking some vampire butt.

I
turned on the TV and drank more wine. Valerie returned an hour later. “So, you cut him loose, didn’t you?”

I didn’t bother looking away from the TV or answering. Valerie walked in front of the screen to her side of the room then crossed again and closed herself in the bathroom. A
minute later the shower came on, followed by the hair dryer a good fifteen minutes later.

She
strutted out of the bathroom in a matching bra and panty set—black lace. Her hair flared over her smooth shoulders. Locker room flashback.

I guess she didn’t care that our curtains were open.
She rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a dagger. Not like I wanted to watch her strut around in her panties, but it was pretty damn distracting when I was trying to watch television, especially when she began posing in the window’s reflection with her dagger in hand. She probably saw herself as some kind of Xena, Warrior Princess.

I grabbed the TV remote and turned the volume up
, even though Valerie wasn’t speaking. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her make a show of laying out her clothes before actually putting them on. Once assembled, she slid her dagger inside her right boot.

I turned off the TV
, tossed the remote on the bedspread, and got to my feet.

I had a new belt sheath I attached around my waist before slipping my hunting knife in back and pulling my shirt over it. I liked it a lot better than having to pull up my pant leg to get to my weapon.

Valerie reached into her bag and pulled out a revolver. Once again, she stilled in front of the window with the weapon in her hand.

I tensed. Guns made me nervous. Probably because I’d never fired one before. It actually put me at ease that Melcher stressed combat training and knives.

“What’s that for?” I asked, trying to sound calm.

Valerie turned, facing me. “It’s called backup.”

I watched in silence as she took a small box out of her suitcase. She shook five bullets onto the bedspread. They clinked together. She opened the revolver’s cylinder and loaded the bullets one at a time. When she was done, she snapped the cylinder back in place and returned the box to her suitcase. I saw her slip the gun into her coat pocket.

Before heading out, I
put the bear claw over my head, hoping very much it was as lucky as Dante claimed.

12

At exactly eleven, we knocked on Jared’s door. It opened and Jared filled the frame in a pair of jeans and a dark cotton tee that formed against his solid muscles. He gave us each a menacing stare. “Well, don’t just stand there, come in.”

Jared had the curtains closed and the lights dim
med. I settled into one of the armchairs and Valerie did the same. I suspected she didn’t want to sit on Jared’s bed any more than I did.

Jared cracked his knuckles, sending each of us a sneering glance. “W
hile you two were taking it easy, I gained access to the house.”

“
You mean you broke in?” Valerie asked.

“I did more than that.”
He reached into his pocket then dangled a gold cross from its chain in front of us. “I found this inside a wood box in the bedroom.”

Valerie squinted. “What’s that?”

“It’s Crist’s cross.”

Try saying that five times real fast.

“How do you know?” Valerie asked.

“Shouldn’t it be silver?” I added.

I knew the whole silver warding off vampires thing was a myth, but Crist always struck me as a traditionalist.

Jared huffed in disgust. “Rookies,” he said
, rolling his eyes. “Crist wore this cross all the time.”

It looked pretty generic to me
, and I didn’t remember ever seeing any jewelry on Crist, but maybe she slipped it under her shirt. Melcher and Jared knew her better than I ever did.

“What about Mike?” I asked.

Jared squinted at me. “Mike?”

Really? I waited for the name to settle in, but Jared kept with his blank
gaze. “The boy who was killed! Did you find his class ring?” I demanded.

“It’s probably in
side the wood box. I wasn’t looking for a ring.”

Wow, great detective work.

“What’s the plan?” Valerie asked, sitting up in her chair.

Jared began pacing. “We
sneak in when they’re sleeping, secure the house, split up, and take them all out simultaneously. They won’t see it coming.”

This didn’t sound good. “What do you mean
them
?” I asked.

“Andre,
Henriette, and the two teenagers,” Jared answered without blinking.

“They have kids
?!”

“A lot of vamp teams pose as families. It’s not uncommon,”
he said.

“But
…”

Valerie huffed and added her two cents.
“They can’t have kids, you idiot. They’re vampires. Do you need me to explain the ABCs of vampire sex and reproduction? They’re dead. Sterile. It’s not possible. End of story.”

I looked from Valerie to Jared. Trying to reason with either of them
was like trying to wrestle a pair of wolverines. Those things were nastier than grizzlies. At least with a grizzly you could play dead or make a lot of noise and in most cases scare it off.

Valerie crossed then uncrossed her legs and leaned forward in her chair. “Look, if these vamps are all hanging out together
, they can’t be up to any good.”

“So that’s it then? Guilt by association?”

“Pretty much,” Jared said in his arrogant, brutish way I’d come to loathe a thousand times more than Melcher’s cool condescension.

“Are they asleep now?” Valerie asked.

Eager beaver. Either that or she wanted to get it over with.

“Maybe. We’ll check it out after I go over the game plan.”
He slid the gold cross on top of the desk. It made a scraping sound. “I’ll see to Andre and Henriette. You two will take care of the boy and girl.”

“I’ll take the boy,” Valerie said.
Of course she would.

“What are their names?”
I asked.

“What does it matter?” Valerie retorted.

Jared surprised me by answering, “Etienne and Giselle.”

Now that our targets were no longer nameless vampires
, Valerie frowned. “And how exactly do you want us to
take care
of them?”

Jared looked between us with a slight smile then headed to the far corner of his room. He bent down. I couldn’t see what he was doing with his bed blocking my view. Jared returned with two small brown bottles and two rags. “Chloroform,” he said, setting the bottles and one of the rags on the desk. He moved around Valerie’s chair. “You wet the cloth and then hold it over their mouth and nose.” As Jared said this
, he swooped in, affixing the rag over Valerie’s mouth.

The cloth muffled her scream.

Valerie’s eyes widened. She
began clawing at Jared’s arms, but he held firm.

I was on my feet in an instant. “What are you doing?”

A glint appeared in Jared’s eyes. His smile looked more like a snarl. Although I’d stood up, I suddenly felt unsteady.

As I regained my footing,
Jared released Valerie, straightened up, and took a step back. “That’s how it’s done.”

“I think we get the gist,” I said angrily. “No need for a demon
stration.” God, for a second I thought he really intended on knocking her out. It might be Valerie, but I didn’t want to be left alone with el creepo.

I looked at Valerie
. It surprised me that she hadn’t reacted yet. She had something of a shell-shocked look on her face. The expression changed in a flash to one I recognized—Valerie in a fit of rage. She got up from her chair and turned to Jared. Without warning, she threw a fist at him, but Jared was ready for her. He took her arm as it extended and twisted her around so that her back was against his chest. Valerie cried out. His grip on her arm looked painful. I knew how it felt.

“Nice try, Red, but
no amount of advanced training will prepare you to take me on.”

“Hey! We’re all on the same team,” I said. The way Jared exerted his authority was really starting to creep me out.

“Then start respecting your leader,” he said right before releasing Valerie and giving her a shove backwards.

She
regained her footing, rubbed her arm, and glared daggers at Jared, but she didn’t go after him again. She didn’t call him a dick either, but I knew she was thinking it.

“
Both of you take a rag and a bottle. While I deal with Andre, see that Etienne and Giselle remain unconscious.”

“And then?” I hated to ask, but it would come up at some point.

“I’ll take care of them.”

Why didn’t that relieve me? If Jared took care of them
, it meant I wouldn’t have to. He’d even provided chloroform and rags, which meant I didn’t have to blemish my precious neck.

But something about the whole thing made me sick. It wasn’t very sportsmanly to knock the kids out without giving them a fighting chance. There
, I said it. It didn’t feel right.

“Ready?” Jared asked.

I looked at Valerie. She had her eyes on Jared, and I swear she was thinking of pulling the gun on him. I hadn’t known Jared long, but I was willing to bet he’d break her arm if she went after him a second time.

I grabbed the bottles off the desk quickly and thrust one in Valerie’s hand. “Here, let’s get this over with.”

She stared at the bottle. “I need a rag.”

I handed Valerie the one I’d gotten off the desk then bent down and picked up the demonstration rag that had fallen on the floor.

“Coming?” Jared asked from the doorway.

We followed silently behind him. At the car, Jared swung around when Valerie reached for the door handle behind
the driver’s side. “You, next to me.”

Maybe he was afraid
she would try and chloroform him from behind while he drove.

Valerie walked around the car without comment and plopped into the passenger’s seat. I took the seat behind her.

Jared seemed to be in no hurry as he drove down the dark, deserted roads. I looked out my window, but at times like these my eyes didn’t connect to my brain. I squeezed my fingers around the claw, careful not to let the tip prick my skin. Too bad I couldn’t brain-text Dante. I’d tell him Jared was nuts.

Gravity pulled me back in my seat as we curved our way up a hill.
Small rocks crunched under the tires and pinged against the bottom of the car when the road turned to gravel.