21 Shades of Night, page 228
Sutton didn’t believe for an instant that the man didn’t know who the vampire was nor would the vampire have paid him to do a job. “What’s her address?”
He muttered, “He’ll kill me. Hell. 212 Hidden Valley Road.”
“If you lied, I’ll be back for you.”
The blood bond nodded vigorously. “You… you won’t let him know I sent you, will you?”
“If I were you, I’d make myself real scarce.” Sutton sent a message telepathically to his maid, “Mona, bring the car to 212 Hidden Valley Road. I’ll meet you there.”
He hoped like hell he wasn’t already too late… just like before.
* * *
ALENA ARRIVED AT the apartment complex where she shared a third floor apartment with her huntress friend, Misty, and sensed something wasn’t right even as she parked in the lot underneath a large oak. A light should have flickered from the television in the living room, or the illumination of the lamp in Misty’s bedroom should have filtered through the mini-blinds. Instead, the place appeared black as a moonless night.
Alena’s heartbeat picked up its pace and chill bumps dotted her arms.
Misty hadn’t any previous engagement. She was dying to know what kind of a job Alena had scored tonight since David had been the one to bring her the assignment. Misty had vowed to wait at home to hear the news. Still, maybe something had come up and Misty had to run out for a little while.
Grabbing her sword, Alena tamped down the disquiet she felt and climbed out of her Mustang. Despite having the car heater on high, her dress was still drenched. The rain dribbled down her face and pattered on the pavement in a repetitive, lulling sound. She breathed in the clean, fresh air, smelling like it had received a cleansing shower. The images of Sutton and her making love still flashed through her mind as if she’d been watching a movie and some of the ultra-vivid, erotic scenes had become etched in her memory that she couldn’t shake loose of. Didn’t want to shake loose of, rather.
She chided herself for thinking anything more about it when something might be horribly wrong here. After belting the sword at her waist, she ran up the wrought iron stairs to the third floor, her high-heeled sandals squishing on every step. Standing with her ear to the door, she listened for any sounds. None, except for a baby crying in the apartment across the hall.
She pulled the sword from its leather sheath. Passed down to Alena at the age of twelve when her mother had died in a freak car accident, the ancient weapon was guaranteed to end a vampire’s life if it even so much as nicked its heart. And she’d used it, too, countless times in eliminating rogues who had turned to murdering innocents.
Alena twisted the doorknob. With a soft groan, the door opened without resistance. Her heart shifted into higher gear. Misty wouldn’t have left the door unlocked.
Torn between leaving and calling for backup, Alena made the split-second decision and rushed into her apartment to learn if Misty was injured and in need of care.
Alena snapped her free fingers to turn on the sound-activated lamp in the living room. To her alarm, the apartment remained shrouded in a cape of black.
“Misty,” she cried out, fumbling with the cell phone at her waist.
No one responded.
The blood rushed in her ears as she listened for any sounds in the deathly quiet apartment. At the same time, she punched in David’s number. Static met her ear. She stalked out of the apartment and tried again. Some vampires had the ability to send out an electro-magnetic pulse to disturb communication devices… like cell phones. Was that it? Or interference from the storm?
She returned to the apartment and inhaled a deep breath, trying to smell anything out of the ordinary. No scent of blood in the room. Or of anyone else but Misty’s sweet lilac perfume and Alena’s honeysuckle fragrance.
Dashing back down the stairs, she stood in the landing, the overhang shielding her from the rain. She tried her cell phone again. This time, the phone rang through.
“Hello?” David responded. “You have reached David MacLeod’s residence, but I can’t answer the phone at the moment. If you’ll leave your name and number, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
Damn. Was she being paranoid? Maybe the storm had caused an electrical outage. She walked into the rain and looked up at the windows. No. Other apartments in her complex had lights.
Lightning unfurled across the night like a rippling blanket of white, illuminating a dark figure at her kitchen window.
She punched in David’s number again. After the beep following the recorded message, she said, “David, it’s Alena. I came home to find—”
Static followed.
Dripping wet and freezing to death on the outside, Alena’s blood boiled inside. She pocketed her cell phone and dashed up the stairs, intending to take care of matters on her own.
As soon as she stalked into her apartment, she tripped over something hard, but caught the arm of the couch before she fell. She cursed inwardly. Take it easy, and keep your head. Reaching down to feel what the object was, she fought the black worry concerning Misty. Her fingers touched cold metal. She breathed a hesitant sigh of relief. It was only the brass floor lamp. She stood it right side up, then tried to activate it, but when it wouldn’t turn on, she assumed it was unplugged from the wall.
She inched her way into the dark living room, trying to reach the lamp on the other side of the sofa.
The air whooshed near her, like the suspicious flapping of a vampire’s cape.
Her heart pounded wildly. The sound of her blood whooshing through her veins like a raging river during a spring storm would entice the renegade to want to take his fill. She whirled around and slashed her sword toward the turbulence. Her weapon touched nothing but air. A hiss sounded behind her.
Heart stuttering, she swung around, slashing at the air again. Nothing. She hated vampire games. Normally, a vampire wouldn’t have targeted her unless he was the rogue she was in pursuit of. Was the vampire in question Sutton Bastrop? Did he realize how dangerous she was to him? That the League knew he was on a termination list? Her termination list? And he wanted to eliminate her first? That she could understand as she tried to regather her huntress composure.
“Show yourself, you demon!” So much for learning his secret mission. The only thing she could do now was stay alive.
Adrenaline coursed through her blood, preparing her to fight the imminent threat.
Calm and collected... that’s how she accomplished her jobs. But this wasn’t a job. This was something else. Somehow the vampire had gotten into her apartment, and Misty could be dead because of it.
A strong hand grabbed her throat, while the other seized her sword hand. Gasping, she released the blade attached to her free wrist and jabbed at the creature attempting to crush her windpipe.
She hoped her frantic attempts at stabbing at him with the dagger would penetrate his heart quickly before she lost consciousness and her life. “Die, you bastard!”
The vampire hissed and tightened his grip on her throat. Her thoughts faded fast.
Sutton’s deep, hurried voice penetrated the gloom. “Invite me in!”
She couldn’t think clearly. He stood inside her apartment already, didn’t he? Crushing her throat.
“Elizabeth!” A short pause followed. “Bloody hell! Woman! Invite me in!”
Her mind fuzzed with confusion as the oxygen was being cut off from her brain. Darkness drew over her while rainwater still trickled down her face. He was already inside her apartment, damn him, killing her slowly.
“Red!”
She gritted her teeth, clawing the vampire at her throat, hating Sutton for calling her Red.
Red, red like a rooster’s head, mean-hearted hunter kids taunted her when she was little, but she’d showed them what a fiery tempered huntress could do—not through angry words or bullying, but by being the best damned huntress she could be.
Still, she hated being called Red.
“Damn it, Sutton,” she choked out, “don’t... call me... Red.”
“Invite me in!” he shouted at her, both exasperated and desperate at the same time.
His voice sounded distant, not close like it should be as the vampire gripped her throat, only easing up on it slightly, distracted.
So if Sutton wasn’t the bastard trying to kill her, if she invited him in, she’d have two to deal with.
She wasn’t sure who the deadlier of the two was as she choked out, “Come in, Sutton!”
* * *
AS SOON AS the huntress invited him in, reluctantly and with a strained voice as the vampire attempted to strangle her, Sutton rushed into Red’s apartment intent on killing the rogue.
Facing the more immediate threat, the rogue bloodsucker released Red. She collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
Before the rogue could react with his vampiric speed, Sutton grabbed him by the throat and with a flying leap, pinned him against the wall. “Why are you here? Who let you in?”
Sutton didn’t recognize the man, six-three in height, taller than most vampires, with gigantic hands and a long narrow face. His black hair was pulled back in a ponytail like Sutton’s, but in the ensuing struggle, half of it hung loose.
“Speak!” Sutton demanded, losing his cool.
“Get him...,” Red choked out, then coughed, “...to tell...where Misty is.”
“Where’s the other huntress?” Sutton commanded, assuming the woman must have been Red’s companion.
The vampire bared his extended canines at him. Sutton fought ripping the vampire’s throat out, not wanting to show his anger in front of the huntress.
“Bring me your sword!” he commanded Red.
The vampire struggled to get away from Sutton. But despite his taller stature, the villain was no match for him, as many years as Sutton had been a vampire.
Red hadn’t moved from where she sat, gasping for air. She was pale and hoarse, and he wanted to kill the vampire slowly for threatening his bonny lass. “Woman! Bring me your sword!” he ordered, briefly glancing at her, attempting to force her compliance.
When she hesitated, Sutton wasn’t sure if the rogue had so shaken her emotionally and physically incapacitated her to make her fail to respond, or if she feared handing her weapon over to her savior.
Using the couch, she pushed herself up. Still holding her throat with one hand, she made her way to a lamp on the other side of the couch and twisted the switch, turning it on to illuminate her way—which reminded him she couldn’t see in the dark like he could. Then she approached Sutton with the sword.
He stretched his hand out to her, but she didn’t offer him the hilt of the weapon. His face heated with annoyance. “Red, give me your sword!”
He wasn’t used to commanding huntresses about and certainly, he hadn’t expected her noncompliance when he’d already demonstrated his intent to protect her. Humans acted so much more obediently.
“Move your body away from his so I can reach his heart,” she ordered.
His muscles tensed even further, but despite being irritated with her, Sutton obliged.
She poked the sword against the renegade’s chest. “Tell me where Misty is!”
The rogue grinned at her, a sickly dare-me-if-you-will look plastered across his face. If he wanted mercy, it wasn’t the way to get it.
Red’s eyes narrowed and her mouth turned down even further. “How did you get in?” she growled.
His beady eyes switched to Sutton, then back to her. The “how” flickered across the vampire’s mind, and Sutton read his thoughts and was irritated the huntresses were staying in a human-run complex. A hunter should have been managing the apartments where hunters lived so that a vampire couldn’t control him and gain access.
“Your apartment manager let him in,” Sutton relayed, sounding annoyed.
She was still holding her throat, still having a hard time catching her breath, her eyes narrowed in contempt at the vampire Sutton had pinned against the wall, her sword pressing hard against the vampire’s chest.
“And Misty?” she growled hoarsely.
Sutton shook his head. “He’s hiding his thoughts concerning her.”
Without another second’s hesitation, she jammed the sword into the being’s chest, skewering his heart. Instantly, he shriveled up like an old potato, wizened and dehydrated—a renegade ancient, but undoubtedly not as old as Sutton or he would have had more of a fight.
Sutton released the vampire and the remnants of bone and baggy clothing collapsed to the floor. Sutton felt deep satisfaction that the huntress—his huntress—had killed the rebel.
Immediately, she leveled her sword at Sutton’s heart. “What are you doing here?” Her voice was still little more than a whispered croak. Before he could take offense or respond, she waved her sword at the vampire’s remains. “Who was he?”
“A rogue by all actions.”
“I know that. I want to know who he was.”
Sutton raised his brows at her demanding tone. “I don’t associate with that type and have no idea who he was.” But he had every intention of finding out.
Alena’s phone rang in the kitchen, jarring her already jangled nerves. She hesitated to answer it. Pointing her sword at Sutton’s chest again, she warned, “Don’t you go anywhere.”
“I hadn’t intended to, lass.” His deep, dark words were spoken mockingly, but the Scottish burr to his voice stirred the same deep need to learn more about him. Not for the League of Hunters though. For her own sanity.
She quashed the exasperation rising in her blood and backed toward the kitchen. With him still in her sights, she grabbed the ringing phone. “Hello?” she said abruptly, her voice still strained.
“Alena, are you all right?”
Thank God, Misty. Warm relief washed over Alena to know she was unharmed. Alena continued to eye Sutton with suspicion though, her sword at the ready. “Misty, where the hell are you?”
Her thoughts remained focused on Sutton. How had he known where she lived? Was it a mere coincidence that he dropped into her neighborhood to save her from the renegade vampire? Or had he planned it, to earn her trust? Then what? Toy with her a while before he terminated her?
She’d bet her sword he had followed her here. For what purpose? Because she was a redhead? His fascination for her ran deeper, she was certain.
“I scribbled a message on the kitchen counter in case your cousin dropped by,” Misty explained. “The hospital called, said you’d been in a car accident. But when I arrived, they didn’t know what I was talking about.”
Alena glanced at the counter and noticed the scrawled note. Why the elaborate ruse to get her friend out of the apartment? “A bloodsucker just tried to kill me here.”
“What?” Misty’s word was shrill and full of disbelief.
“He’s dead.”
“Oh, God. Have you called your father?”
“No, Misty, I haven’t called my father yet. I have other company at the moment.” Alena studied Sutton, his dark eyes gazing at her like they did in the photo. She looked down at the floor, not comprehending why she found him so attractive. Even now her nipples tightened, and her cheeks heated. She’d just killed a vampire who’d nearly finished her off, for heaven’s sakes. How could she possibly lust after the vampire who’d saved her life? The one she was contracted to terminate? The one she... envisioned had made love to her under some rather bizarre sets of circumstances.
Silence ensued then, Misty asked, “Who’s there with you?”
Alena swallowed hard, her throat still sore from the vampire’s strong grip on it. “He says he’s not a rogue.”
“Oh, God, Alena. I’m calling David.”
Alena tapped her foot on the floor, aggravated when the one time she could have used his help, he wasn’t here for her. “I couldn’t reach him.”
Again there was a pause. “Alena, can you kill him?”
“I can’t if he’s not a rogue.”
Sutton’s eyes widened, but his lips curved up slightly. Apparently he’d gotten the drift of their conversation. At least for the moment he thought she didn’t believe he was a maniacal killer.
“How’d he get in the house if he’s not a rogue?” Misty asked.
Alena glanced at the door, still resting against the wall where Sutton had slammed it. “I invited him in.”
“Oh, God, Alena.” Misty’s words grated on her nerves.
“You stay with your parents tonight, Misty. We’ll have to find another apartment.”
“What about you?”
Alena eyed Sutton. His mouth lifted slowly and the memory of him smiling in the same manner, the dimples denting his cheeks and the sparkle in his warm brown eyes, all came back to her in a flash along with the sweet smell of peat and heather. She broke eye contact with him and returned her gaze to the floor before he muddled her thoughts any further. Vampires could not control a hunter’s thoughts, she reminded herself. They couldn’t project images or notions into a hunter’s mind. So what the hell was wrong with her where Sutton was concerned?
“I’m going to very nicely ask the vampire to leave the house. But I can’t say what else I’m going to do until he’s gone.”
Misty whispered, “He can pop in anytime he wants. You can close the door on his exodus, and he can appear in your bedroom. You have to kill him.”
“I’ll let him know that.” Alena wondered how Sutton might take the news.
Of course everything Misty said was true. But the code of the League stated a hunter could not kill a vampire, unless deemed a rogue. And in this case, though the League had said Sutton was, she had to do some undercover work concerning him first. Unless of course he threatened her. Then... it was her call.
“Listen, tell my father what’s happened here. Call me on my cell phone in an hour. All right, Misty?”
“Yes... yes. All right.”
Alena ended the call and glared at Sutton. “What are you doing here?
“You know, lass, you have the uncanny resemblance to a woman I once knew.”
