Unseen (7 page)

“Uh-huh,” she said slowly, still eyeing him suspiciously. “That doesn’t explain why you led me here.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again. He wasn’t going to argue. He needed her on his side. “You’re right.” He took a step forward, and she took one back, careful not to step on the neat mound of ash spread out among the clothes. “I led you to him so you could see just how serious this situation is. I need your help.”

She shook her head, her long hair swaying with the move.

“Come on, I can find him and you can . . . do what you do.”

“That sounds like a partnership, and I work alone. Besides, how did you know I could handle a vampire? And tell me the truth, or you’ll be getting real close and personal with the spiked end of my stake.”

Shit, how best to explain his way out of this one? “I didn’t, and now I do.” He grabbed the end of her bloody jacket. “Blood’s really hard to get out in the wash, you know?”

“Thanks for the tip.” She stood rigidly in front of him, and he kept his hand on her jacket.

“So, what do you think?” he asked, after a lengthy pause.

“You want me to team up with you so we can face the big, scary, old dude together?”

He nodded.

“I’m sorry, I don’t do teams.”

“Maybe this one time you’d consider working with someone? I can be very pleasant, you know?” Doug smiled, flashing his pearly whites. Then he sobered and said, “Seriously, Trina, this vampire is demented and needs to be stopped. He’s very old and powerful. He won’t stop killing, either.”

Trina was quiet for a moment, as if she were seriously considering his suggestion. She sighed. “I’ve got to work tomorrow and the next day, so I won’t be able to meet you.”

“That’s fine, and it gives me two nights to get a fix on his location. I’m not busy on Saturday night, so we’ll make it a date?”

She looked a little uncomfortable at the suggestion but finally nodded. “Okay, okay, fine! We’ll meet here on Saturday night.”

Getting her to agree had been quite a battle, so he wasn’t going to push her any farther. He let go of her jacket. “Sure, right here at, say, eleven?”

Trina nodded. “Now leave me alone before I change my mind.” She looked down at the ash and clothing between their feet. “I need to ditch these clothes.”

Doug couldn’t help an inner cheer.
Success!

He pushed off his feet and leapt back onto the roof he’d been hiding on before. He crouched enough to be concealed by the shadows and could still look over the side.

“Oh, and by the way, I hope you’re enjoying those earphones,” Trina said, looking over her shoulder. “What the hell? Where did he go?” She tilted her head and peered around the alley, even up at the roof where he hid. When she didn’t see him, she shrugged and dropped to her knees.

Doug watched as she pulled out a small canister from her jacket pocket. She used her fingers to jam the ash inside before capping it.

So she actually takes the ash. Why?

Was it something as simple as being a collector? Is that why she collected their ash? He could certainly imagine a woman like her having a bookshelf full of these canisters, as if they were pinned butterflies on a wooden board, or faerie dust.

Even when she finally left the alley, Doug didn’t move from his hiding spot. Instead, he walked along the roof, slowly making his way across to the other side so he could watch her jog across the road as if she hadn’t just killed a vampire, collected his ash, and made a deal with a stranger to search and murder another one. She was a very peculiar creature, and he couldn’t wait to see her again.

Doug hoped it was the side of him who wanted Luis gone once and for all thinking that thought, and not the vampire side of him that wanted to touch her so badly it hurt. After his insane act of almost giving himself away, he couldn’t be sure.

Either way, they were now partners of sorts, and, with luck, that meant Luis the rogue vampire was toast.

Chapter Seven

“Thanks,” the third customer Trina had checked out during her Thursday night shift said. He grabbed the small plastic bag she’d set on the counter and left the store.

“Yeah, um, bye,” Trina murmured. She couldn’t think straight tonight. Her head was in the clouds. Well, it was actually still stuck in that dark, back alley where she’d struck up a deal with a complete stranger. With a vigilante who seemed to know all about vampires and claimed to need her help to finish off the ancient dude who’d gotten away.

Recalling the meeting made the situation seem even more bizarre. Had she dreamt it? No, all the details were as clear in her mind as they’d been while she scrubbed and soaked her denim jacket in the laundry room. The incident in the alley was the first and only thing on her mind all day as she’d moved around her apartment, mechanically getting ready for tonight’s shift.

The guy’s blue eyes, T-shirt, jeans, and jacket were vivid inside her head, even if their colors were dull. The look of amusement he seemed to have on his face every time he looked at her made her shiver a little. As much as she’d disliked him making a move, she couldn’t help fantasizing about what would’ve happened if she’d let him kiss her.

I think you’ve been alone for too long.

That was true, and probably also why the weight of his hand on her jacket kept swamping her mind. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t enjoyed knowing he’d wanted to get close to her.

She still wasn’t sure why she hadn’t just shoved him away, though. Would she push him away if he tried to make a move the next time they saw each other?
Maybe.
Or maybe, she would throw caution to the wind and let things take their natural course. Generally, she only let a vampire get that intimate to make it easier to stake his vampiric heart.

But this guy wasn’t a vampire. She’d checked him out as soon as he’d surprised her by appearing out of nowhere. That didn’t mean he was safe. For all she knew, he could be something else entirely.

Either way, we have a date on Saturday night.
How romantic! It was just like her to line up a date with a cute vigilante in order to hunt down a vampire. If she could get him out of her head for just a few moments, maybe she would keep her cool.

“Hi, Trina, how are you tonight?”

She blinked and looked up to find Zeke leaning over the counter, smiling at her.

“I’m okay,” she said. “How about you?” she asked in return, although she didn’t really care. Pretending to live a normal, human life was a lot more challenging than she’d expected.

Some people just didn’t get a break from the scary, life-threatening monsters. Not when they were in the business of staking out the trash, like she was.

“I’m good.” Zeke’s smile widened. “Are you doing anything tonight?”

“No,” she whispered, staring at his sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Zeke really was a nice-looking guy, and maybe in another time or place, she might have been interested in pursuing something with him. Not that she thought it’s what he wanted from her. He was just being nice by helping the new kid get acquainted with the job. He wanted to make her feel like she belonged. He was pretty good at that.

Yeah, and you’ve been away from guys for too long if anyone who comes along looks good enough to get involved with.

“That’s great. Would you like to go get a drink with Millie and me after work?” Zeke stood a little stiffly, as if he were holding his breath while waiting for her response. But she couldn’t be reading that right.

“Uh . . .” Just then, a customer saved her from answering. Instead of leaving, Zeke flashed the customer a smile and stood back, waiting. It only took a few minutes to complete the transaction, even though she scanned the bagful of items as slowly as she could.

What was she going to say to him? If Millie and Zeke were going out for a drink after work and Trina tagged along, how would Millie react? Anyone with half a brain could tell she was interested in him.

The customer left the store, giving Zeke the opportunity to step forward again. “Well, how about it? It’ll be fun. We’re popping into the local pub down the road. Then we can all split a cab home.”

She wasn’t sure if she liked the idea of either Zeke or Millie knowing where she lived. Of course, Zeke was a night manager, so he could look it up at any time if he really wanted to know.

“I’m not sure. Can I let you know a little later?”
When I’ve had enough time to come up with a good excuse to say no?

“Of course!”
He tapped the counter with his palms, grinned, and walked away. Zeke glanced over his shoulder at her as he strolled past the display stacked with computers and laptops.

Trina smiled back, but it faded when she spotted someone she hadn’t expected to see in here. Her heart stopped for just a second. The evil, old vamp she’d faced last night, the one who’d created another vampire right in front of her, stood staring at her. The same one she’d agreed to search for with . . . What the hell was the guy’s name? The fact he knew who she was and she didn’t even know his name bothered her. For now, she’d just call him Vigilante.

As the cocky vampire approached Zeke with a smirk cutting across his severe, thin mouth, she narrowed her eyes. Under the fluorescent lights he looked even older and more hideous. His pale skin appeared haggard, with a tinge that made him resemble a homeless man. He wore faded jeans, which hugged his long, skinny legs, and a big olive-colored coat with the German flag stitched onto one of the sleeves.

Shit! What’s he doing here?
It was bad enough that she’d had to deal with a vampire this asshole made and threw on her the other night. And that another irritating vamp had attacked a coworker in the docking area and she’d had to eliminate him. She hoped this wasn’t going to become a trend, because if it did, she’d definitely have to abandon any hope of keeping a mundane, human job.

As she started to leave the checkout counter, the vamp approached Zeke, his wicked smirk never fading. For a moment, she thought she’d be forced to go into the back again to polish off another asshole vamp, but he seemed to be asking Zeke a question about the rack of CDs in front of them. Zeke was talking animatedly, pointing to one stack and then another.

Every time Zeke looked away to grab something else off the shelf, the vampire made eye contact with Trina and licked his lips or nodded towards Zeke, as if he were trying to tell her something. And she knew exactly what that something was.

This vamp had tracked her down by either scent or the Allure, and he was now teasing her by toying with the humans around her. She really had to abandon this brilliant idea of having a day job. Playing human obviously wasn’t working out. She should’ve listened to Father Constantine and Tomas when they warned her about the complications of taking a job, but she could barely live off the pittance the Church paid her to patrol Riverbank and its surrounding suburbs.

It was infuriating that, once again, a fucking vamp was what it took to make her see the light. She just couldn’t ignore her
other
pathetic and very time-consuming duties.

When she looked up again, Zeke was walking toward the back of the store, and the vampire had disappeared. She scanned the store, trying to spot him, when someone appeared on the other side of the counter.

Trina knew who it was before she locked her gaze with his. The power radiating off him was warm and prickled her skin. She hadn’t been wrong about this one—he was
old
. Her fingers itched for the stake that was, unfortunately, locked inside her locker. She wanted to stake him so badly it made her muscles tense.

“Hey, little girl,” he said in a croaking male voice, making her skin crawl.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“Just browsing the menu, that’s all.” His crooked teeth were yellowed and a little too long for his small mouth. “There are a few snacks in here that I’d like to have before making you the main course.”

Trina pressed her hands against the counter and leaned forward. “Look, asshole. If you have a problem with me—and I certainly have one with you—
we’ll
deal with it. Leave these humans alone, and don’t ever come back in here again.”

He laughed. “But don’t you get it?” He lowered his voice and took a step forward. “
All
humans are food, but you—you’re something else altogether, aren’t you? I’ve heard ancient stories about you, but until now, I never believed you were real. I can smell and feel you crawling around inside my blood. You’re calling out to me, and you don’t even know how it makes me feel.” He made a show of sniffing the air in front of him. “You’re intoxicating. It’s like feeling drunk or high, and it’s something I can’t ignore. Not now that I’ve experienced it.” He licked his lips and his fangs protruded. “I want you.”