Beyond the Grave (22 page)

But, she couldn't go back to being a frail human. She'd done too many dark things. She also believed she'd been given a gift, a partial reprieve from total darkness. What if it wasn't a mistake that she'd been allowed to become the hunter who could fight her own kind? Giving that up, might be a worse offense against her gift.

It wasn't like her to do something without considering the repercussions first. Namely, how Britt would feel about her self-doubts. She didn't want to hurt him. She wanted to experience every moment of her dark life over again—with him by her side. He made everything clear. Gave her an even stronger reason to do what she did. For love.

One thing about John, he might want her physically, but he'd probably been repulsed by her statement. Maybe that was a good thing, because now that she'd experienced being loved, it would be very difficult to give it up.

Drago slammed into his office and picked up his phone. “Get Mannie in here. Pronto!"

The voice at the other end of the line began stuttering in panic.

"Spit it out. Where the hell is Mannie?"

"He left a half hour ago, sir. Said he was taking a break."

"A break? Mannie doesn't take breaks.” Drago leaned forward and scowled at the phone like it had become a piece of slime in his hand.

"I'll try to find him, sir."

"Do that! And hurry!"

The idiot was so unnerved he didn't even bother to hang up the phone. He just dropped it and ran off; the crash nearly broke Drago's eardrum. He cursed violently, and slammed the phone down.

Fuming by the time the knock came on his door, he yelled, “Get your ass in here, Mannie."

Mannie stepped inside the office, not a whisper of regret on his face.

Drago, had never noticed that about Mannie before. All the rest of his employees were afraid of him. Why the hell wasn't Mannie? Maybe he'd never been afraid.

"Where have you been?"

"Took a break. Needed some air,” Mannie said, lounging against the padded leather wall, his muscled arms crossed casually in front of him.

None of his employees spoke to him like that. But then, none of his employees were aware of his darkest secrets either. Mannie, on the other hand, knew too much and that gave him leverage. Up to now, Mannie had never used any of his knowledge against Drago. That thought suddenly made Drago suspicious and a little worried. After all, he hadn't gotten this far by being stupid. He narrowed his eyes and studied Mannie's body language. Yeah, something had changed. He'd better watch his step. Mannie knew where the bodies were buried—literally as well as figuratively.

"Mannie. I have a very important job for you."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"I need you to take care of a big problem. I have a contract on Captain Jess Vandermire, and I can't get her here alone. She's always with someone else. Lately it's been John Brittain. I need him to be taken out of the picture—permanently."

Mannie straightened to his full height, which was an impressive six foot four of lean, mean thug. He'd had a tough life, and looked more like a muscled pirate complete with tattoos on his arms, head, neck and torso. His arms were as thick as most men's legs and he rarely flinched when he was asked to kill.

Tonight he blinked. He actually blinked! Drago sucked in a breath. What in blazes did that mean?

"John Brittain? Cop? How much are you paying for this job?"

Drago let out a long breath. He needed to think long and hard about the impact of his answer. Mannie knew his frailties. Knew this contract for Jess was the biggest he'd ever weaseled out of anyone. Ten million dollars. Drago practically slavered just thinking about it.

Mannie wouldn't do this job for a song, especially knowing Drago would get the lion's share of the profits. And, after all, Mannie did the dirty work. Maybe it was time he stopped taking Mannie for granted and let him in on a little more of the profit. Maybe even tell him how he managed to control people's minds. Maybe.

Drago looked into Mannie's eyes. The eyes of a killer. “I think it's time you and I sat down and talked. It's time you earn a bigger piece of the pie and more status in the business."

Mannie's expression didn't change. Had he really expected it to?

When Mannie didn't speak, Drago said, “First thing I want to tell you is that Jess Vandermire is a vampire. I've never successfully indoctrinated a vampire for a full forty-eight hours. If I can do it, she's worth a veritable fortune."

"That's why you want Brittain out of the picture?"

Why wasn't Mannie surprised by the news that Jess was a vampire? On the other hand, Mannie had been handling his problems with vampires for many years. He could probably spot them better than Drago could himself.

"Yeah, Brittain is a pain in the ass, and he's way too suspicious. Even if Vandermire is playing me, once I get her alone, I can make her forget everything."

Mannie stared at Drago with eyes slightly narrowed, and his lips pursed. “Do you think you can work your magic on Capt. Vandermire?"

Drago hesitated. “I'm not sure how long it'll last, but I sure as hell intend to do everything in my power to make that happen. My client is very anxious that we pull this off."

"I'll take care of Brittain.” Mannie turned and left the office without a backward glance. Drago shook his head, satisfied that he'd finally be able to make his next attempt at Jess. He'd been able to touch her hand several times tonight. The compound would be working its way into her system soon, and he'd be able to make a connection with her mind. The last time, he'd lost control and she'd ended up nearly jumping off a bridge. That was bad. He wanted her body in very good shape for his client.

He'd have to get closer to her this time, make sure his connection was stronger.

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Britt entered his building with coffee and a croissant in hand. He was starving. He climbed the stairs to his apartment, barely paying attention to his surroundings.

Besides experiencing the best sex he'd ever had, and wanting to experience it again soon, he had to think about Jess's perspective. What if she was right? What if he could help revive her human self? If prayers could affect her, why couldn't love? But having sex with him without telling him what it might do to her, and how it might affect her? That was unfair. He cared too much about her to be responsible for something she didn't want.

He sighed when he reached his landing. It was shabby, and when he entered his apartment, he realized it was dim and dismal. Now that he was making more money, he could move to a better neighborhood. Get a nicer place.

Problem was he liked his neighbors. They were good people. And they put up with his strange hours and visitors in the night who, more often than not, entered his apartment via his third floor balcony.

If any of them saw shadowy forms entering his place through the patio door, no one ever said a word. He smiled.

An empty feeling filled his chest. He couldn't imagine existing without the knowledge that vampires existed. That Jess Vandermire existed. He looked at his watch. Even though the sun wouldn't be up for another couple of hours, Jess had left. When he looked at the rumpled bed sheets he couldn't stop thinking about her.

In an attempt to take his mind off his predicament, he flipped on the television, keeping the sound low. The neighbor below had twins. If he woke them up, there'd be hell to pay. He grinned. The two little red-headed boys were as cute as buttons, but they could wear their poor mom down. She definitely needed her sleep.

Before he had a chance to extricate his early breakfast from the bag, the lights flickered and went out. It wasn't normal to lose power unless a rainstorm blew in and the underground wires shorted out, so he got up and made his way to the patio door. The only building without power was his. His cop instincts kicked instantly into high gear.

Something rustled above his balcony and Britt grabbed for his stake.

The next thing he heard was a thud, followed by the groaning of metal as his balcony stressed under the weight of the tall figure that'd landed there. Shadowy, and impossible to make out, Britt's muscles tightened. If the silhouette on the balcony was a vampire, things were going from bad to worse. This definitely wasn't a friendly visit from anyone he knew.

"May I help you?” he said to the unknown vampire, trying to throw him off by speaking to him through the glass.

"Yes. Die!"

The leviathan smashed through Britt's patio doors with such force the glass flew at Britt causing tiny cuts on his arms and face. Cheap landlord didn't buy safety glass, Britt thought in the millisecond he had before his patio door exploded.

Inside now, the monster inhaled the scent of Britt's blood. Even in shadow, Britt saw a smile on the bastard's face. Long teeth bared into a sneer as a low growl permeated the room. Felt like it rattled his bones. For a minute Britt was stunned by the momentum of this guy's resonating voice.

The vampire stood a foot taller than Britt and he was massive in muscle structure as well as bone structure. He wore leather pants, and vest, leaving his brutish arms bare and littered with tattoos.

As ominous as his body structure was, his face struck dread in Britt's mid-section. High arching brows over burning black irises that should have belonged to the hounds of hell, glared at him with the vilest of intent.

His fangs, long and curved, hyperextended into the foulest, most evil grin Britt had ever experienced. It made him cold. It made him truly afraid for a second. Then the will to survive kicked in.

With stake in hand, Britt hit the button to extend its length. The apartment wasn't in total darkness since lights from the building across the street caused pockets of illumination and shadows. Britt blessed some of the shadow. He had the feeling if he truly saw this vampire in the light, he might be undone.

"You don't really think you'll get a chance to use that against me, do you?” The voice vibrated through him again. Almost like Jess could do, but with much more force and animosity.

"Why not, you wouldn't be the first vampire I've taken out."

The vampire laughed. His voice as dank and soulless as any Britt had ever heard. “I'd be the first Vampire you've met who has my abilities. Do you have any idea how many humans I've killed just for fun?” He made a fist and twisted it quickly sideways. “Human's necks are very weak, they snap like brittle chalk. Hardly a challenge at all."

Britt cringed involuntarily. Damn, he didn't have the strength to fight this massive vampire. No sense even trying to delude himself. He was screwed. Still, just in case the guy was lying about his prowess he couldn't let him psyche him out either.

"There's always a first time,” Britt forced confidence into his voice.

"Not likely."

"I didn't invite you in,” Britt said randomly.

"The vampire laughed as a slice of illumination from outside flashed across his ugly face. “This isn't a movie. This is reality, human."

Britt shrugged, continuing to back up. The vampire's eye teeth reminded him of a croc he'd seen at a zoo once. Big and scary.

"Why do you want to kill me?"

"You're inquisitive for someone who's about to die a very painful death.” The vampire's voice changed. The air between them thickened, and Britt felt the floor turn to jelly underneath him.

He shook his head to stave off whatever this vampire was doing to him. Bracing one hand against the wall for support, he twisted the stake in the air to catch a shaft of light. Silver glinted and reflected toward the monster.

The vampire hissed and turned his face away from the light, but only for a second. When he turned back, he let the sliver of light burn a scar up the side of his face while he laughed. “Your little parlor tricks bore me, human. Surely you don't think a little burn from silver shining off a beam of light could slow me down for even a second?"

But it had. That thought gave Britt hope. This beast wasn't as unconquerable as he wanted Britt to believe. But he was very tall, and therefore very strong, Britt had no intention of underestimating him.

He'd go in low and punch up high to stake the vamp in the heart. It would be more of a challenge to counter some of the vampire's moves, though. He was big. Much bigger than any vampire Britt had come across.

"You've picked the wrong human this time. I'm not afraid of you. You might even be surprised by my abilities."

Britt rubbed the sleeve of his shirt across the perspiration on his forehead. Damn, he felt odd. The room went wobbly for a moment and his brain felt fuzzy. Out of the blue he remembered that first time Jess showed him how she could fog a human's mind. She'd allowed him to maintain consciousness to comprehend what she'd done. It had been a terrifying experience to lose control and know it was happening. Imagine losing control with no memory of it. His hackles rose.

No way in hell would he go down without a fight because the thought of complete subjugation to this mean-ass vamp didn't appeal one bit. But how could he fight the waves of lethal mind control invading his skull at the moment? One thing he knew for sure. If he survived this attack, he'd sure as hell have to learn how to fight off this type of onslaught.

As a last resort he dug under his shirt and pulled out the cross Jess had given him. He rubbed it between his thumb and index finger for luck.

"What have we got here?” The vampire reached out and ripped the cross from Britt's neck. The chain snapped, but not before it burned a searing channel through his skin.

Damn it. He was going to lose. There was nothing he could do. And really, what harm could that little cross do in that vampire's huge hand?

He was toast.

It surprised him when the cross started to burn in the vampire's palm. Smoke billowed up, and he threw it at the wall screaming.

Damn it all, the idiot had woken the twins. Britt could hear them crying in the apartment below. Now that was the final straw!

The dizziness that had swamped him began to ebb away. Amazing how that little cross could distract the vampire. And lucky for him, the distraction broke the mind numbing intrusion that had threatened Britt's freewill.