The Vampires' Last Lover (Dying of the Dark Vampires Book 1) (7 page)

Suddenly two quick clicks resounded from the window, and both Elaine and I directed our flashlights to the swaying curtain.

“What in the hell?” she whispered, moving over to the curtain and pulling it back.

Not only was the window shut, the latch was locked.

She muttered something to herself that I couldn’t quite hear and stared out the window and into the early morning darkness beyond. No vampires, good, bad, or ugly were in sight.

Lucky for me, she left, although in a huff. I couldn’t tell for sure if she was mad at me, or annoyed that she didn’t find anyone. At least when she turned the overhead light on, I could tell that Tyreen was okay, sleeping soundly. And I have no doubt that once Elaine returned to her room, she promptly went back to sleep.

If only it was that easy for me. Left to think about my recent conversation, I couldn’t go to sleep right away. One theme repeated in an endless loop, keeping my weary mind awake. Garvan and Armando. Were they truly good vampires? Or, were they more like the bad vamps they spoke about, just pretending to be good?

Time would surely tell.

hat a difference one day could make. Twenty-four hours after a brutal homicide rocked the campus, the morning hustle and bustle in getting ready for Thursday’s bevy of classes and other events was a somber affair. Not that everyone took things seriously. Peter and Johnny made serial killer jokes at breakfast. Enough to really upset Tyreen; her tears were the only reason her man quit making fun of what happened to Irma Goizane.

Peter soon followed suit, especially after a rumor spread like a wildfire through the cafeteria. Another victim had been found, and this one near Humes Hall.
On
campus.

The menace had stealthily moved from UT’s off-campus housing to the dormitories. I felt an icy shiver as I thought of Armando’s statement that the others, the more primitive vampires, were tracking my scent. Did it mean that when I passed Humes Hall, on the way to my morning classes the day before, I had left an invisible trail for them to follow?

I prayed this homicide was unrelated, even though the rumor included that the police suspected the killer, or killers, were the same. I gripped tightly to my fantasy of an alternate outcome.

After breakfast, Peter and I stepped into the morning’s sunshine. Everyone around us on the way to class smiled politely.

“It’s probably just a coincidence, and we don’t even know the details of this other killing,” I said, trying to reassure myself more than anything else.

“You’re right. Let’s not jump to conclusions until we hear the official report on the news.” Peter gave my shoulder a soft, but strong squeeze as he spoke. The unuttered message was clearly ‘I am here to protect you.’

We arrived at our biology lab, and I reluctantly pulled away from his reassuring warmth. His confidence and comfort made me think that things would work out somehow. I sat down across from him. His penetrating deep brown eyes and infectious smile warmed me as much as his body and light spiced cologne had moments before.

“I suppose you’re right. I hope so, anyway,” I agreed, arranging my notes while he lit the Bunsen burner for the day’s lab project. “I guess it’s best to sit tight until we know for sure.”

Of course, beneath the table I furiously searched the Internet on my phone for the latest information. Not that I was trying to be sneaky, as I intended to share whatever I found.

“Tonight when you come by, bring a change of clothes,” he said. “I’ve already got plans for dinner—something to make up for what happened the other night. Stephen will have already left for Nashville by the time you arrive. He’s getting an early start, since his parents are planning a huge bash tomorrow night for their anniversary.”

“So, you’ll have the entire townhouse to yourself?”

I gave him a flirtatious wink and felt my arousal surge. The feelings had been simmering since breakfast just under the surface. The sense of danger enhanced my need for assurance things would be okay, something I’d say every girl needs when life is uncertain. My life over the past forty-eight hours certainly qualified.

“Yes, I do,” he confirmed, straightening the collar on his blue polo shirt after he draped his jacket over the back of his chair. “This means
we
will have it to ourselves tonight!”

Those eyes again, boring into my soul while he casually flipped through the Biology 101 lab book to our assignment. Normally, two other students shared the table with us, but they had yet to arrive that morning and I already assumed they wouldn’t be coming. No one wanted the condescending lecture Nancy Truitt always gave to her tardy students. Better not to show up at all. Seriously.

I thought about Peter’s invitation. It would be really nice to get away from the dorm, especially after back-to-back vampire visitations. Peter and his roommate, Stephen Tolliver, both hailed from wealthy families residing just south of Nashville. Those families were also powerful alumni of the University, so their kids got to stay wherever they wanted, effectively being exempted from the usual first year requirement to live on campus.

Some of my friends assumed Peter was a snob due to his living accommodations and pedigree, not to mention his impeccable wardrobe. Even his designer jeans were dry clean only and always pressed. I love fashion, but what a person chooses to wear has never mattered to me one way or another. At least not in a snobbish way.

The townhouse he and Stephen rented was quite nice, with nearly every amenity money can buy. Sort of like a mini-resort with a hot tub and small theater room, and perfect for parties. The main thing I hoped for that night was for
all
vampires—good and evil—to respect our privacy and leave us the hell alone.

My Internet search turned up only vague headlines like ‘Second victim found in Knoxville’ and ‘Security tightened after double murders at the University of Tennessee.’ Neither story gave much information. Nothing as far as details, with ‘the police are still investigating the crime scene’ and ‘the female victim’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin’ as the only advisements given.

So, we had another dead female and not much else to go on. Yet, I knew in my heart that by the day’s end, the crimes would be officially connected. Armando’s warning that ‘each victim will be taken closer to here’ rang true to me.

After our three-hour lab session, we met up with Johnny and Tyreen again, this time at the Krystal’s near campus. An early lunch with a couple of tiny burgers sounded like a good idea. Something light, since Peter slipped and told me that we were having filet mignon that night. If only Johnny hadn’t felt the need to fill us in with some gory details, courtesy of his campus security friend.

“Dude, this is way worse than the last one! The chick’s head was almost torn off, and her legs and an arm are missing!”

He almost spilled his Coke onto his fries with his exaggerated hand gestures, the large cross on a gold chain he always wore swung wildly for a moment.

“Do you really need to gloat about this shit?” Tyreen was especially irritated with his exuberance, as if he was happy the killer kept the party going.

“What if it had been Txema this time?” she asked.

Chilled by her words, I thought again of my midnight conversation with Garvan and Armando. Their comments about the others taking body parts with them for later snacks reverberated through my tired mind. I pictured my left arm, severed, still wearing the silver bracelet given to me by my grandmother last Christmas attached to the wrist. A chupacabra’s fangs worked around the bracelet, carefully avoiding the silver to get to the meat in my hand and forearm. Some clinical part of my mind also remembered that I still needed to get that clasp fixed.

“What? Damn it, Tyreen, just ‘cause the dead chicks look like Txema doesn’t mean this crazy asshole will be coming after her next,” he replied, indignantly.

He pulled on the sleeves of his Bengals sweatshirt, as if that would give him strength against his girl’s simmering anger. “It’s anyone with dark hair and green or hazel eyes—and that’s like a quarter of the girls attending school here!”

“Well, dumb ass, don’t you think it implies that it’s even
more
important we make sure she’s
not
next?”

Tyreen was thoroughly pissed off, and there was no one to rescue Johnny from the pile of crap he just stepped in. Even Peter slid closer to me and popped a fry in his mouth to make sure he couldn’t say a word. I damned sure wasn’t coming to Johnny’s defense.

“Yes, it
is
important to make sure Txema is safe,” he said quietly, glancing sullenly at a nearby table where an older man and woman looked on. They politely nodded and then looked away. “I’m sorry, babe. Sorry to you, too, Txema.”

“It’s okay,” I assured him, shooting a look to my roommate that pled for mercy, Tyreen whirled around to face me. “Let’s just enjoy our lunch and make plans for the afternoon. I say we skip school and go see a movie.”

Normally, this would make Peter bristle, since he wasn’t willing to take any chances on a less than perfect GPA. He had plans to become a surgeon, and the best medical schools were hard as hell to get into—something money alone couldn’t buy. Even Tyreen was a stickler for excellent grades. Her goal of being an attorney someday depended on her keeping her grants and scholarships. She would also need additional fellowship funds when her undergraduate education was completed, and many of those were determined by her academic performance.

But, they both said they were game for a movie, until Johnny waved them off.

“Man, she can’t go anywhere—
we
can’t go anywhere!” he said, his expression a long way from the smug look he had just minutes earlier. “I heard it on the news, man, on the way here to meet y’all. Everybody living on campus is supposed to stay on campus, and if you live off campus like Peter here, you’ll have to show I.D. to go back and forth. They’re supposed to be setting up police roadblocks at every intersection to make sure anybody who doesn’t belong near here doesn’t get through. By the time we get to the theater, it’ll probably be too late. I’ll bet the place is closed anyway.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you heard it all wrong,” said Tyreen, reaching for her Blackberry.

He pointed at her phone and scowled. “Go ahead and check. You’ll probably find it on Channel 4’s website—”

“He’s right,” Peter interrupted, holding out his phone for Tyreen to see. The murder news story and curfew sidebar were prominently displayed on the screen. “So, that nixes the movie idea. But do we
have
to go to class?”

This time my head whirled around. His offer to play hooky without any real reason to do so surprised me. Impish excitement danced in his eyes, and my heart skipped a beat. This was a side of him that I hadn’t seen. Now, we just had to find something fitting for the four of us to do, and kill time until tonight.

“So, what do you have in mind?” Tyreen’s tenseness lessened at the prospect of something to take her mind off of all that transpired over the past two days.

“Well, there’s the theater room in my townhouse. Y’all really haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, and we’ve got a shitload of Blu-rays,” Peter suggested. He shrugged his shoulders with raised eyebrows when she didn’t respond right away. “We can all climb in the hot tub for a while. Plus, there’s plenty of booze in the fridge!”