BloodlustandMetal (14 page)

His eyes were now filled with bloodlust. He came at me
again, un-dissuaded. This time when I pounced, I pinned him down and clamped my
teeth on his neck. The blood flew out and he appeared to be dead. But he was a
motherfucking vampire. Immortal. Ripping his throat open was only a temporary
diversion to someone like him.

As if reading my thoughts, Layla appeared over Stefano with
the sword I’d used on the guards.

“I’m sorry it had to come to this, Stefano.” She plunged the
sword into Stefano’s heart. His eyes closed and blood spurted from his mouth.
Layla watched him for a few seconds before she pulled out the sword.

His closed eyes and non-moving body gave him the appearance
that he was dead, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

“The head, Layla.”

She took a deep breath as if steeling herself before raising
the sword over her head. It appeared as if it would weigh down her tiny body.
But she brought the sword down with such strength, it severed his head from his
body in one blow.

Dropping the sword to the ground, Layla appeared as if she’d
collapse. “God help me,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

I opened my arms to her and she rushed into them. Pulling
her close to my naked body, I said, “It’s over.”

“Not quite,” I heard a woman’s voice say.

What the fuck?

A woman who appeared to be in her forties with dark hair
pulled back on the top of her head walked into the room with a man with
sandy-brown hair, maybe ten years younger.

More bloody vampires.

“Gayle, Jon.” She stuttered and then said, “I’m so sorry.
They tried to kill us.”

“Layla, Layla, Layla,” Gayle said. “So young and oh so—” She
turned to the vampire I assumed was Jon. “What’s the word I’m thinking of?”

“Daft.”

She laughed. “I was going more for something like
inexperienced
,
but that’s fine. We’ll go with daft.”

“What are you talking about?” Layla asked. “What’s going
on?”

“Shifter,” Gayle said, turning her attention to me and
looking at me as if I was vomit. “You’ve done enough damage. You’ve been paid.
Now leave.”

“Not until I know what’s going on,” I said. “None of this
has gone according to the job. I’m not leaving until I know Layla is safe.”

“What do you care about a young vampire?” she said. “Your
kind and my kind don’t mix. Unless we need to interact, like to bring back our
little friend here.” She focused on Layla, wrinkling her nose. “Embracing a
shifter—an animal?” She shook her shoulders as if shuddering. “Eww.”

“What are you planning on doing with Layla?” I asked.

“That’s not your concern,” Jon said.

“Shifter, just follow the trail of bodies you’ve left to
find your way out.”

I walked slowly to the way we came in, keeping an eye on
Layla the entire way. She watched me, the look in her eyes showing her
disappointment that I’d leave her alone with them. When they weren’t looking at
me, I put my fingers to my lips to indicate she should be quiet. I didn’t know
what I was going to do, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to leave her alone with
these two vampires.

Gayle moved into the hallway to make sure I walked out. I
opened the door, but held the bolt down. When on the other side of the door, I
slid in a business card from my pocket so the lock wouldn’t catch. I hoped she
believed I was taking the money and leaving while I ran to my car to get some
weapons from the boot. No guards to confiscate them this time.

Sneaking back into the house and down the hall, I heard
Gayle say, “Bravo, Layla. Bra-vo.”

“Why did you say that?” she asked.

“Because you took care of some of the messy work for us, you
silly twit.”

“What do you mean?”

“You got rid of the guards. And, by the gods—you got rid of
Stefano. We couldn’t have planned that better, could we, Jon?”

“No, darling. It’s working out better than expected.”

I watched them through the crack in the door.

“Why would you want Stefano dead?” Layla asked. “You’ve been
with him for—like forever.”

“A century,” Gayle said, looking up at the ceiling. “Imagine
how bored you get with someone after all those decades.”

“And you two plotted this together?” she asked, pointing at
them both.

“We recruited Lee and Garrett as well. They were easy; just
promised them a chunk of change.” She laughed upon realizing something. “We
don’t even have to deal with that issue now, do we, Jon?”

“No we don’t.”

“How could you do this to Stefano?” Layla asked.

Why was she concerned with him after all that had happened?

“You should be more concerned about yourself rather than a
dead vampire who wanted to kill you.”

“He only wanted me dead because he thought I’d stolen from
him. But it was you. And you had the guards convince me to run, to make me look
guilty.”

“You’re finally catching up,” Gayle said. “You dumb little
twit.”

“And we can pin everything on you,” Jon said. “If anyone
bothers to come look. But who would? We’re under the radar, living in the
shadows. We’re
so glad
you came into our lives, little Layla.”

Gayle pointed a finger at Layla menacingly as she moved
closer. “And then clean up your mess.”

My hair bristled all over my body as I anticipated what
would happen next. Seeing Layla in danger spurred me into action again. I
grabbed my silver knife from my bag and barreled into the room, taking Gayle by
surprise. I aimed the knife at her neck while I reached around from behind to
grab her.

“Make one move and she’ll be another pile of ashes!” I told
Jon. Then I yelled to Layla. “Run. Get out.”

“What about you?”

The surprised look in her eyes changed to one of concern.

“I’ll catch up to you.”

“Shifter,” Gayle said, baring her fangs. “Stay out of our
affairs.”

“Go back to the rest of the
animals
,” Jon added.

“Devon! Be careful,” Layla said.

Gayle said, “A vampire and a shifter. Layla, I expected more
from you than to stoop for one of
their
kind. How pathetic. Even a human
would be better than an animal. You’ll tear each other apart soon enough.”

“You do realize that I can end your life in a nanosecond,” I
said.

Jon moved forward in an offensive stance, hissing as he
extended his fangs.

“We’ve taken out three vampires so far, including a very old
and very powerful one.” I motioned to Stefano’s ashes. “I’ve taken on much more
than you could ever imagine.
You
will not be much of a challenge.” I
stared Jon down. “Let us go in peace. Or we’ll add your decaying carcasses to
this carnage.”

“Leave them.” Gayle called Jon off. I’m sure this had
something to do with the knife at her throat and knowing she’d be the first to
go.

“Run!” I commanded Layla. She complied.

Holding Gayle in front of me, I backed down the hall,
keeping my eyes on them for any signs of movement. I kept the knife pointed at
her throat, prepared to strike at any provocation.

Layla had left the front door open so I led us out into the
cool night and closed the door, knowing full well that Jon would be watching. I
looked around for Layla and saw her down the road, waiting for me.

“Go on,” I shouted.

Then I pulled the rope with the silver entwined in it and
used it to tie Gayle’s wrists behind her back.

“You will regret this,” Gayle said. “We’ll find you both.
You won’t survive the night.”

At the moment Jon opened the front door, I pushed Gayle at
him. Unable to keep her balance, she knocked them both down. I ran to my car,
hearing Jon curse as he struggled to get to his feet. I jumped in and took off,
hoping they wouldn’t catch the license plate, but knowing that was probably the
first thing they’d look for. Luckily I think ahead for situations like this and
have my property registered under a business name, which makes it harder to figure
out who I am and where I live.

Then I drove quickly, looking for Layla. Where the heck was
she? I couldn’t drive around here naked looking for her all night.

After a couple of minutes, I grew impatient. I found a
secluded spot off the main road so my car wouldn’t be seen. Making sure nobody
was in eyesight, I climbed out the car, shifted into a hawk and flew into the
night.

Using my enhanced night vision, I searched for Layla on the
streets below. When I caught sight of her, I flew down and she shrieked when
she saw me approach. Quickly I changed back into a human form.

“Devon!” she said. “It’s you!”

She threw her arms around me and I held her close, smelling
her floral-scented hair. As the moments passed, I grew more excited holding her
in my arms. She must have felt me growing hard against her belly as she pulled
back.

Her eyes raked down my chest to my erection. The excited
look in her eyes, fueled by adrenaline, now subsided as she realized we’d made
it out of Stefano’s place alive and it was replaced by a much more suggestive
glimmer.

“It’s me,” I said. “I’d never thought you’d be so pleased to
see me.”

“You saved my life.” Her eyes were still focused on my body.
When she looked up and caught my eye, her face turned red.

“I didn’t know vampires could blush,” I teased.

“Shut up, that’s natural. I’m standing all alone in front of
a naked man.”

“Do you like what you see?” I stroked her on the chin.

She pulled away and ignored my comment. “Why did you do all
that back there? Save me?”

“I don’t know.”

“You
risked your life
to save me.”

I shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do at the
time.” I looked back in the direction of the house. “We’re not out of the woods
yet. Once Jon figures out how to get the rope off Gayle without hurting
himself, they’ll be after us.”

“Then let’s get out of here. And get you some clothes.”

“The way I saw you looking at me, I thought you’d prefer me
like this.”

She laughed. “I preferred it when you were an animal. At
least then you couldn’t taunt me.”

Layla

Away from London, it wasn’t as easy to find a department
store open at night. When we finally found one, Devon parked in the back of the
lot and I ran inside. Although he said he preferred black, I reminded him how
we didn’t have time for a fashion show and he’d have to agree to wear whatever
I got him. I grabbed black jeans and a pair of black boxer-briefs I thought
he’d look sexy in. Hey, I had enough time to pick those over the tighty-whitey
briefs next to them.

When I saw a white T-shirt reading “Nerd” with an anime character
on it, I laughed, picturing the face he’d make when he saw it. Then I grabbed a
black fleece pullover because it was breezy out and I had no idea where we were
going from here. I found socks and a pair of Nike sneakers in his size as well.
After paying for them, I went back to Devon in the parking lot, or car park as
they are called here. We parked in a back section that wasn’t as well lit to
avoid bringing attention to a naked man. When I reached the car and climbed
into the passenger side, I saw he was now covered in a ratty old dark-green
blanket.

“Are you trying to make yourself look less naked?”

“I was thinking less conspicuous. I found this blanket
stashed under my car seat. I took it out with me one day and somehow it ended
up living in my car.”

“It looks like it may have lived there for a long time.”

“Handy for moments like these, don’t you think?”

He moved the front seat all the way back so he had more room
to change. I looked away to give him some privacy, but then couldn’t help
sneaking a peak. Even though I’d seen him naked many times now, the more I saw,
the more I wanted to look. And with a body like that, I dared any woman to try
not to look.

“So I was thinking,” he said after he wrestled the jeans on
in the narrow space. “Gayle and Jon are most likely not going to let us slip
away. They will be looking for us so we shouldn’t go to my flat in London. And
we need to get you shelter before daylight. I have a little cottage near where
my family lives in the Forest of Dean. It’s only about ninety minutes from
here, which will give us some distance and also plenty of time before the sun
comes up. Unless you have another plan.”

I shook my head. “My plan since I became a vampire has
essentially been winging it. So your idea fits my philosophy just fine.”

Devon finished getting dressed, looked around as if
assessing any signs of danger, then drove onto the main road.

“If they know who you are, won’t they figure out where you
have property?” I said.

“We don’t know how much they know about me. I don’t have a
website or anything advertising who I am and where I live, my clients generally
come through word of mouth. We don’t know how much Stefano told either of them,
especially Gayle. But they might have seen my license plate. It’s registered to
a business name so it won’t be easy for them to find me. But if they had my
skills, it’s possible.”

“Maybe they’ll hire someone like you,” I suggested.

“There is no one like me, Layla.”

“Cocky much?”

“No. Just telling the truth. How many shapeshifting bounty
hunters with military training, animalistic abilities and computer skills do
you know?”

“Come to think of it, one too many.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a wiseass?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. But don’t ask how many. I’ve lost
count.”

“Ha! I’d believe that. That’s why I love you.”

When I looked at him, he blushed, something I’d never seen
him do before. “It’s an expression. Not a declaration,” he clarified. When he
gripped the steering wheel, he gritted his teeth. The mention of the word love
clearly rattled him.

We drove in silence for several minutes after that awkward
exchange. It was still peculiar to have Devon on my team now, rather than my
nemesis. With Stefano dead, so was any chance of him extracting more money from
him. What was in this for him? I couldn’t think of anything.

Trying to break the silence, I said, “Military training—you
were in the army?”

“Royal Marines.”

“For how long?”

“Not long.”

Okay, that took a total of ten seconds before the
awkwardness returned. “Mind if I put some music on?” I asked.

He handed me his phone. “Just plug in my Droid. But I don’t
know if I’ll have anything on it that you’d like.”

“I listen to more than hard rock and heavy metal, Devon. I’m
very open when it comes to music. I’d show you on my phone, but
somebody
chucked
in into the Atlantic Ocean when we were in the US.”

“Sorry about that. I’ll get you a new phone. And one better
than that crappy one you had.”

“We don’t all need the latest technology,” I said.

“Must you find it a point to present an opposing view on
everything I say?” He put on an expression of mock protest and then grinned.
“Fine, I’ll get you another crappy phone.”

“No, I’ll take a better phone,” I said. “Thank you, Devon.
You’re so kind, sweet, generous.”

Devon had the Rolling Stones
Hot Rocks
albums on his
phone. I could live with that. After listening to
Time is on My Side
,I said, “Damn. I should have picked up a few things for myself at the
store.”