Blood Slave: A Realm Walker Novel (10 page)

Moisture pooled in Candy’s eyes. “Cheryl’s gone and she ain’t coming back. I like you Jenn. Don’t dig where you aren’t wanted. It was sad and no one here wants to remember it.” With that she got up and left the dressing room without changing into her uniform.

Juliana glanced around to make certain the room was empty before making sure her knives were still in place in her boots. While she did so, she mulled the conversation she’d just had over in her head. Candy’s reaction seemed odd. Juliana could understand not wanting to talk about your coworker being killed, but it was more like Candy was warning her away for her own safety. Maybe they were closer to this than she and Nathaniel thought.

When Juliana started working the floor, she didn’t have time to dwell on what had happened. As usual Lust was packed. She and Candy were splitting the floor. Everywhere she went, every drink she delivered, Juliana listened to conversations. Watched for anyone looking too intently at the other girls. As usual she heard little of interest, which in itself, she found odd. She thought several women being killed would be cause for discussion, but everyone seemed to avoid the topic.

Bobby stopped her with a hand on her arm as she scooted past his table. “You okay?” he asked, his dark eyes studying her. “You seem to be somewhere else tonight.”

She thought about it and then leaned forward to speak close to his ear. “I think something happened to the girl I replaced, but no one will tell me.”

Hands grasped her upper arms, holding her in place. “Who told you that?”

“No one told me anything. But when everyone reacts like this when I bring her up, it’s kind of easy to figure out.”

“Hands off, Bobby. You know better.” Cullen appeared behind Bobby’s chair and he released her, his face turning red in embarrassment at being corrected.

“You okay?” Cullen asked her.

“I’m fine. We were just talking.”

He snorted. “Talking does not require hands.”

“Duly noted.” She watched him return to his post by the door before turning back to Bobby. He sat still looking at her, but saying nothing. Knowing that silence was usually rewarded, she waited.

“Not here. Can I take you home after your shift?”

Riding home with a strange man when there was a killer on the loose probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do, but she was armed and well-trained. “Yeah. Sounds good.” She’d text Nathaniel and let him know what was going on so he could be ready to follow them.

A chill ran through her and she frowned as she looked toward the door. Peter, the vampire she’d encountered at Gluttony, stood against the wall. His brown eyes locked on her and he nodded a little greeting when he saw her watching.

“Did you tell him I worked here?” she asked Bobby, not liking the irritation in her voice.

“Who?” He turned to follow her gaze. “Shit,” he said under his breath. “No, I most certainly did not tell him you worked here. I didn’t even tell him your name. Now, I really am taking you home. Stay away from him, Jenn.”

She took her eyes off Peter just long enough to glance at Bobby. His brow was furrowed as he looked between the two of them. “Yeah. I’ll do my best,” she said and stepped away to talk to another table.

Chapter Ten

Peter settled himself at one of the tables in the shadows at the perimeter of the room that were usually occupied by business men that wanted to enjoy the show without being seen. It seemed to Juliana it would be easier to just avoid the strip club all together if you didn’t want to get caught but to each his own she guessed. Every time she turned away from waiting on a table her eyes swept across that dark corner, making sure he still sat there. And every time, she found him watching her instead of the girl on the stage.

Her refusal to go with him at Gluttony had piqued his attention but she had a feeling if the ward hadn’t zapped him, he would have forgotten about her and moved on. She fidgeted absently with the laces on her bracelet. If only he’d grabbed the other wrist, none of this would be an issue. Shortly before midnight a woman with spiked red hair walked through the door. Visible bites marked the skin on her neck and arms. Another blood slave. Juliana’s jaw tightened as she fought the urge to curl her lip in distaste. The girl looked around the room dismissing everyone until she found Peter. Raw hunger lit her features and she made a beeline for his table.

He barely glanced at her when she sat as if he wasn’t surprised to see her. And why should he be, Juliana reasoned. He’d probably asked her to meet him there. It wasn’t her idea of a great hookup spot but what right did she have to make judgments? She was the one working there, even if it was undercover.

A half hour later, Juliana glanced at the table again to find both of them gone. A brief sense of relief washed through her but was quickly vanquished by the realization they couldn’t have left without her seeing. The tables she’d been working gave her a clear view of the door. They would have had to walk right past her to leave. So where had they gone?

Juliana went over to the bar and sat her tray down. “I’m taking five,” she told the bartender and got a nod in response. She’d barely taken two steps toward the back hall when Candy stepped in front of her.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you tonight, but you better start focusing on your job and just your job. Your tips aren’t going to be worth shit if you don’t. And that guy you’ve been drooling over? He’s bad news okay. Forget about him.”

The irony that Candy thought Juliana was lusting after Peter was not lost on her. Of course, what other explanation could she give for her intense interest in the man? But the waitress sounded like she spoke from experience. “Something you want to tell me about him?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Not particularly, no. Just stay away.”

“Let me rephrase that then. Is there something you
need
to tell me about him?”

Candy stepped aside. “You really have no sense of self preservation, do you? You know what, go ahead. Do whatever you want. I’m done trying to help. He’s back by the office if you’re looking for him, but you might not like what you find. Consider that before you go looking.”

Juliana thought about denying she cared and say she was heading for the bathroom, but what was the point. It would just be another lie and she didn’t give a shit what the woman thought of her anyway. Instead, she pushed past Candy and made her way to the back hall. The restrooms sat to either side halfway down was a door that kept the private areas concealed from public view. The door was hardly ever shut, but it was now. Her hand closed around the knob Times like this were when she missed her gun and her badge. Especially the badge.

She eased the door open and found Peter and the redhead, as she’d expected. What she hadn’t been prepared for was the intimacy of their embrace. Peter’s face was buried in the girl’s neck, as he drank her blood. She had one leg wrapped around the vampire, her back arched as she moaned.

Juliana stepped out, leaving the door open as she pondered what to do. They were in a private area of the club; she could have Cullen escort them out for that alone. On the other hand, while she may not approve of the way things were done here, it wasn’t her place to put her moral code on everyone else. Then she heard a sound that froze the blood in her veins.

She listened, wanting to be certain before she acted. The redhead no longer moaned in pleasure, she was groaning in pain. “Stop,” the girl said. Juliana slid one of her blades from the top of her boot and moved closer to them. The girl pushed against the vamp’s shoulder but he still had his head buried in her neck.

Juliana kept the blade by her leg, not wanting to show it unless she had no other choice. “I believe she asked you to stop.”

Peter grunted but kept drinking. The girl’s eyelids fluttered as she started to lose consciousness. Juliana stepped up behind him and pressed the point of her knife against his upper thigh, just a breath away from his groin as she gripped the back of his neck with her other hand. “Keep drinking if you don’t mind losing your favorite appendage.”

His hands went up in a gesture of surrender and a low chuckle rumbled through him as he lifted his head. Blood trickled down the girl’s throat over a line of small star tattoos as she slumped against the wall. When she just continued to stand there looking dazed, Juliana said, “This is the part where you leave.” She still didn’t move. “Get out,” Juliana ordered.

The girl fled and Juliana was left contemplating how to get out of this situation without getting herself hurt in the process. She doubted the vampire would take kindly to her threatening his manhood and he was stronger than her, faster. She didn’t like the odds.

“If you wanted me to yourself, all you had to do was ask,” Peter said. With his hands still raised, he turned slowly so he faced her. She took a step back, but kept the knife between them.

“You often take more than a woman wants to give?” she asked instead of responding to his comment. “That turn you on?” Provoking him was stupid but she felt like she needed to push. Something about him didn’t sit well with her, and after Taft she needed to know if her instincts were still working.

He leaned against the wall behind him, lazy as if he didn’t have a care in the world. When he smiled, white fangs flashed behind blood stained lips. “And if it does? What does that do for you, lovely?” Straightening suddenly, he took a step toward her. “Do you have images of me sucking you, feeding from you? Your core pulsing in time with every drink?” He took another step forward and tilted his head to look her over. “You don’t fool me. You may not wear the marks but you want it. You’ve been there and you want to go back, don’t you?”

Shame and revulsion flooded her as images of Raoul and his goons flashed through her brain. They’d raped her, fed from her, and left her for dead. And she had no doubt that the vampire standing in front of her had done the same to someone else. That’s what she recognized in him, what had captured her fear and made her follow him to this back hallway. He was a scourge of the worst sort and she recognized him because she’d survived one just like him. No matter what assertions he made, it wasn’t something she cared to ever experience again.

“Jennifer? You back here?” Cullen’s voice drifted down the hall, offering a welcome interruption to her gruesome thoughts.

“Yeah. I’m here.” She kept her eyes locked on Blake and lifted her leg to slip the knife back into her boot.

Peter smiled and stepped away from her just as Cullen came into view. He looked between the two of them. “Brent sent me to find you. Said you’d been gone a while.”

“Sorry. I got distracted.”

A muscle twitched in Cullen’s jaw. “I see that. Mr. Blake, you know you’re not allowed in this part of the hall without Mr. Morgan.”

Peter held his hands out to the sides, fingers spread in a gesture of innocence. “I’m sure Charlie won’t mind, I was just talking to the lady. Wasn’t I, Jennifer?”

“Get back to the floor, Jenn,” Cullen said before she could answer. She hesitated only a moment before slipping past him and back to work.

***

Cullen had just pushed the last customer out the door when a cool hand touched Juliana’s arm, making her jump. She spun to find Morgan behind her. Damn that vampire. How did he keep sneaking up on her? He needed a bell to wear around his neck or something. She hadn’t seen him all night and didn’t even know he was there until that instant.

“Office. Now.” He turned and walked with a quick step toward the back hall.

After a moment of wondering what she’d done this time, she hurried off after him. He was already sitting at his desk when she walked in the room.

“Door.”

She closed it behind her and took a seat in one of the empty chairs without waiting for an invitation.

“What are you thinking?”

“It’s evident I’ve done something wrong, but if you could narrow the scope down a bit that would be fantastic. I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“Peter Blake. I get that you have a fetish for dangerous vamps but pick another one. He’s the wrong kind of dangerous.”

Juliana’s internal warning system was screaming at high alert. Did Charles Morgan know who she was? Was he talking about Thomas? If that was the case, why didn’t he just say something? “What do you mean I have a fetish for dangerous vamps? What are you talking about?”

He shrugged as if it wasn’t important. “You must if you’re chasing Blake. Cullen said you were getting along pretty well with Bobby Reeves too.”

“Bobby is a sweetheart.”

“Keep telling yourself that if you must, but quit trying to change the subject. We’re talking about Blake and your idiotic fascination with him.”

“I am not fascinated by Peter Blake. I am not interested in him and would, in fact, be thrilled if he left me the hell alone.”

Morgan scowled. “I think you better start at the beginning and fill me in. Don’t leave anything out.”

So she started with the trip to Gluttony and ended with the scene in the back hall. When she finished, Morgan just sat there, his hands steepled in front of his lips.

“You threatened to cut Peter Blake’s balls off and he laughed?”

“That’s about the gist of it.”

“This is so much worse than you having a thing for him.” He leaned back in his chair. “Peter Blake is not a good man. He’s dangerous and you really don’t want to catch his attention.”

“I think it’s too late for that.”

“So it seems. Listen, I’ll talk to Blake. In the meantime, don’t go anywhere alone. And don’t go back to Gluttony. He’ll take it as an invitation.” He stood and so did she. “Do you need a ride home?”

“No, I’ve got one.”

“Your roommate?”

“Bobby’s waiting outside for me.”

Morgan tilted his head to the side. “You be careful with that one, too. He’s not Blake but he’s not what you’d call safe either.”

“He’s a vampire, Charles. That’s kind of a given.” His laughter followed her down the hall.

***

When she stepped out the door, Cullen came with her. Bobby sat in a black sedan idling at the curb. She opened the passenger door and gave Cullen a little wave. He nodded and stepped back into the building.

“Sorry, I had to talk to the boss,” she said as she buckled her seatbelt.

“Not a problem.” He fiddled with the vents. “Warm enough?”

“It’s great, thanks.”

“Man, is he pissed you’re in the car with me.”

She looked over in confusion. “What?”

He gestured across the street with a toss of his head. She followed the movement and found Blake leaning against the side of a building sucking down a cigarette. “Fantastic,” she said. “Just what I need. Creepy vampire stalkers are really not my favorite thing.”

“Had one of those before have you?” he asked as he put the car in gear.

She thought of Raoul. “In a manner of speaking.” She gave him the address and then let him drive for a bit before she spoke up. “So tell me. What happened to Cheryl?”

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Well, you know her name at least. That’s something.” He paused and she let the silence fill the car. “Cheryl worked for Morgan for the last five years. She started at Greed, the casino, and moved to Lust last year. She liked working for him. He takes care of his girls.”

“You sound like you knew her well.”

He huffed a laugh. “You could say that. We’d been seeing each other for the last two years.”

Juliana did her best to hide her surprise but was sure she failed miserably. Like all the victims, Cheryl has possessed visible bite marks from multiple vampires. Juliana couldn’t think of a way to ask about the bites without letting on that she knew more than she pretended to.  “So what happened to her?” she asked instead.

When he didn’t immediately answer she glanced at him. His jaw was tight. “You’ve noticed them, right? The blood slaves?”

“They’re kind of hard to miss.”

“Morgan not only doesn’t regulate feeding in his territory, he encourages open feeding and blood slaves. He thinks it’s good to remind the humans that we are not like them, that we are other. But you know, the bite can be addictive if the vampire wants it to be. It was a survival tool, a way to keep our food coming back for more.”

“So Cheryl was…” She let her voice trail off, unable to think of a delicate way to ask the question.