Vampire Beach Hunted (19 page)
Read Vampire Beach Hunted Online
Authors: Alex Duval
‘So it’s over?’ Jason asked. ‘We don’t have to worry about them anymore?’
‘Believe me, we’ll litigate Medi-Life into nonexistence,’ Zach said. ‘That’s the kind of thing the Vampire High Council does best.’
‘I appreciate it,’ Jason told him. ‘I’m glad I’ll have something to tell my mom.’
Zach nodded. ‘Christopher’s heading back to New York in the morning. He’s going to tell the Vampire Council there how Bianca really died – with honor. It will go a long way toward restoring her legacy.’
Jason had got a glimpse of Christopher earlier. He’d come down to the party for a half hour or so before heading back upstairs to bed.
‘Christopher’s really OK, huh? He looked good when I saw him before.’ Jason smiled. ‘Only four days of healing – pretty impressive.’
‘Well, he
is
a vampire,’ Zach said.
Jason raised an eyebrow at the haughty tone in Zach’s voice, but then he noticed the smile playing around his friend’s mouth.
‘How could I forget?’ Jason murmured with a grin, as Zach walked away.
When Jason returned to Sienna and Adam, he found his best friend complaining loudly over the booming of the fireworks. ‘I’m doomed. Just doomed to be single forever. How can I ever trust a girl again?’ he was saying. ‘The way Brianna set me up . . . She was like Kathleen Turner in
Body Heat
.’
‘Wow, really? Your girlfriend asked you to kill her husband for her? That’s hardcore!’ a girl standing nearby exclaimed.
Adam whirled around to look at her. She was short and cute, with a dark-red pixie haircut and a T-shirt with a picture of Snoopy on it.
‘You don’t go to DeVere High,’ Adam said.
‘Nope,’ she replied.
‘You’ve actually seen
Body Heat
,’ he went on.
‘Sure. It’s an incredible movie,’ she replied.
‘Who directed it?’ Adam asked.
‘What is this, a quiz?’ the girl demanded.
‘Yes.’ Adam tried to look stern, and Jason had to turn away to hide his smile. Sienna pressed her head against his shoulder to muffle her giggles.
‘Lawrence Kasdan,’ the girl said. ‘Duh.’
‘I think I love you,’ Adam replied. ‘Want to go inside and get a drink?’
As they headed for the swanky bar set up in Zach’s kitchen, Jason and Sienna burst out laughing. ‘So much for Adam being doomed to singlehood,’ she said.
The fireworks had ended, and everybody was drifting back to the party. But Jason found himself wanting to stay out here, with the roar of the surf in his ears, and Sienna in his arms.
Maggie and Van Dyke stood nearby, gazing out at the ocean. And Brad, Erin and Belle had perched themselves on the stone wall surrounding the balcony. It seemed that nobody else wanted to leave, either. Jason smiled. Here he was, hanging out with a bunch of vampires.
How was he ever going to go back to having a normal social life after this?
Zach appeared from inside, a bottle of champagne in his hand. He looked around at the group and raised the bottle. ‘A toast to surviving our senior year,’ he said. He grinned at Jason. ‘With a little help from our friends.’
The vampires all applauded. Zach handed the bottle to Jason, and Jason held it up. ‘And one more toast . . . to friendship.’
‘That was a great party,’ Sienna said a few hours later, resting her head against the back of the VW’s passenger seat.
‘As always,’ Jason agreed.
‘I think it was better than usual,’ Sienna said. ‘Maybe because it was the last one.’
The VW gave a loud groan and sputtered to a stop in the middle of the road. ‘What the hell?’ Jason said. He turned the key – nothing. The car was totally dead.
Sienna burst out laughing. ‘Now you know what it’s like! You’ll never be able to make fun of my car again!’
‘I will too,’ Jason muttered.
He tried the car two more times, but it was no good.
‘We can just walk home from here. It’s less than a mile,’ Sienna pointed out.
‘I can’t leave the car in the middle of the street.’
‘We’ll push it to the side,’ Sienna said. ‘I do have super-strength, you know. I could push this thing one-handed.’
‘You trying to intimidate me?’ Jason teased, as they got out and pushed the car to the curb.
‘Is it working?’ Sienna teased back. ‘Some guys like a girl who’s a little intimidating.’
Jason put on his best ‘hick from Michigan’ expression. ‘Well, I don’t know how you Malibu girls flirt, but us boys from the flyovers like to say what they mean.’
‘And what
do
you mean?’ Sienna asked, stepping closer to him.
Jason breathed in the incredible scent of her. ‘I mean I love you, super-strength and all,’ he murmured.
‘And I love you.’ Sienna brushed her lips against his. ‘You know, my parents are off visiting Paige this weekend. The house is empty.’
‘An empty house,’ Jason mused. ‘And no vampire crisis happening to distract us. I wasn’t sure that would ever happen.’
‘Some things are worth waiting for,’ Sienna told him.
And Sienna is one of them
, Jason thought, watching her walk on down the dark street, her long hair gleaming in the starlight.
‘Are you coming?’ she called.
‘Oh, yeah,’ he said, jogging after her. ‘Wherever you’re going, Sienna Devereux, I’m going too.’
About the Author
Alex Duval was born and raised in Paris, before moving to California to pursue a career in fashion photography. Alex loves all sports, especially surfing. When not writing books, Alex loves watching movies, especially
The Lost Boys
, and visiting art galleries around the world. Alex has homes in both Paris and LA.
Also by Alex Duval
Bloodlust
Initiation
Ritual
Legacy
High Stakes
Hunted
VAMPIRE BEACH: HUNTED
AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 9781446498927
Published in Great Britain by RHCB Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
A Random House Group Company
This ebook edition published 2011
Copyright © Working Partners, 2008
First published in Great Britain by Red Fox, 2008
The right of Alex Duval to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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