Crimson Rush A Vampire Romance (Crimson Book 1) (12 page)

I had to help Max, but the question was how?

How could I help him without coming right out and asking Mrs. Parker if her son was human, or something else. That just didn’t seem like a good idea at the moment.

I could not help but ponder how that conversation might go.

First she’d probably be shocked I was even asking such a thing; then she might go into hysterics. If I were lucky, security would throw me out without going through the trouble of having me arrested for harassing a grieving mother.

I believed the only way to help Max was to go to the source. If anyone would know about Rush, it would probably be those who produced it.

But who was that?

Since vampires were the intended consumer, it seemed only logical that vampires would know where to get it.

Getting this information from Luke wasn’t an option. Even if he knew where to find these people, it was doubtful he’d tell me. The same was true for Marcus and Grace. I had a feeling if Marcus knew who was behind the Rush market, he’d take care of the problem himself.

That is what he’d told me anyway.

The only other vampire I’d met was Jonas, and he practically reeked of danger. I was aware of the risks, but at the same time, I was convinced he’d be someone who might know something about the Rush trade.

Although I had no clue where to find Jonas, Aaron might know. Talking with Aaron about this was best done during the day, when Grace and Marcus would have taken to their coffins, or whatever it was they slept in.

It was barely nine in the morning, so I figured it was still too early to pay Aaron a visit. On the bright side, it would give me some time to go home and get cleaned up. Not to mention, I still had two funerals to attend.

I sure did hate dealing with funerals. Of course no one liked them, but in Cookson Springs you didn’t miss someone’s funeral, even if they were just a passing acquaintance. You might not be invited to anything for a decade or more if you didn’t at least pay your respects to the deceased, in one fashion or another.

The threat of becoming an outcast wasn’t the reason I was going. I liked both Johnny and Jaycee, but dealing with a gloomy funeral was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment, especially with Max being so close to death.

* * *

I found the door to Club Crimson locked, but I let myself in with the key Aaron had given me. The interior of the club was dark, even a little creepy. All the chairs were turned upside down and placed on top of the tables. The only light in the room came from the emergency backup lighting, and that wasn’t much.

It was difficult to believe that a place that felt so empty and abandoned, would be completely transformed in just a few hours. Once the crowds started pouring in, there would be lots of loud music and strippers would take to the stage to heat the clientele. If they could get the crowd buzzing, that meant selling more drinks, and bigger tips.

Marcus knew how to run this type of business for sure.

Club Crimson was certainly not the type of establishment that should be popular in this part of the country, but they seemed to be doing very well.

“Aaron … where are you?” I called out, but not too loudly.

“Back here.”

His voice seemed to be coming from the room where he kept his game system. Sure enough, I found him sitting crossed legged on the floor in front of the TV.  He barely gave me a glance.

Apparently, looking away from the screen was too risky when one was driving at well over a hundred miles an hour.

“Hey. How’s it going?” I asked.

“Same old thing. Marcus won’t be around for a while,” he informed me.

“Yeah I know, but I didn’t come here to see Marcus. Truth is, I wanted to talk to you.”

That seemed to catch his attention, spurring him to look away from his game briefly. “Oh yeah? What about?”

“Where can I find Jonas?” I asked, fully expecting the reaction I received.

Aaron laid the game paddle down and looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Well that was random. Why would you want to find him? He’s trouble, even worse than Marcus. Jonas won’t respect that you belong to someone else, and he isn’t known for being gentle … if you know what I mean,” he added.

“No, I get that,” I replied with a smile. “That’s not what I want him for. I wanted to talk to him about something.”

“Jonas isn’t the talking type,” Aaron snorted.

It didn’t appear as if I would be getting a lot of cooperation out of Aaron, unless I gave him more information. I told him what I knew about the Rush, hoping he would be on my side.

“Well you could be onto something with Jonas,” he told me. “I’ve always suspected he might be pushing.”

“And if he is … he has to know who is manufacturing the Rush.”

“That’s a good bet, but you won’t get anything out of him. But you can be sure he’ll be taking what he wants from you,” he warned.

“I have to try,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe you can help me? Where does he sleep?”

“There’s a safe house in Stilwell. I heard that’s where he spends his days. You don’t want to go there though. A lot of those bloodsuckers might be Rush addicts, and they’re nesters. Those type are a little rough around the edges … and dangerous,” he warned.

“You could go with me,” I suggested. “Grace won’t miss you, if you’re only gone for a spell.”

Giving me a sideward glance, he shook his head. “I have to get ready to open tonight.”

“Oh come on! Doesn’t anyone else work here?”

“Well yeah, but they don’t know what to do to prepare for Marcus and Grace’s waking. They’ll be grouchy if they don’t have something to feed on.”

Putting my hands on my hips, I stared him down. “Don’t be such a wimp Aaron. You need to assert your independence. It is no wonder Grace treats you like a blood bag. I’m sure a couple of very old vampires like Marcus and Grace, can manage a blood bag and the microwave.”

He still looked unsure, which told me I needed to do some more talking. “Come on. We’ll get there before dark, talk to him, and get right back here.”

Sighing, he got to his feet. “You know this is a really stupid idea, don’t you?”

“More than likely, but I wasn’t exactly a straight A student in school … so I have an excuse for messing up here and there.”

He grumbled something I couldn’t understand, though he was making his way around the couch.

“Well you have a bit of fire in you yet.” I smiled.

He gave me an ornery scowl. “I’m guessing we are taking your car?”

* * *

When I saw the so-called safe house, I couldn’t help but wonder just how safe it was, at least for humans. There were definitely some doubts running through my head, but I’d come prepared.

Aaron brought along some vervain water he kept stashed in one of the back rooms at Crimson. It was meant to control any problem vamps. Useful if Marcus and Grace happened to be absent. 

Like happens every now and again, I had a good idea. I figured we could make better use of the vervain water if we loaded it into some squirt guns, and I just happened to have a few of those hanging around the house.

Of course we also brought along some wooden stakes as backup, as well as a gun that shot real bullets. It was always possible those behind the local Rush trade were actually human, but I had my doubts. Humans having that much control over the vampire population just didn’t seem to fit.

The safe-house was the only structure in sight. I estimated the nearest neighbor was about a mile down the road. They certainly had a great deal of privacy, which pointed to illicit activity, in this case anyway.

The house itself wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was big. Looking at it, the house wouldn’t strike you as all that strange, except for the fact that all the windows were blocked out with tinfoil. It was funny how it became easier to spot the places where vampires might be hanging out, once you became aware of their reality. 

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Aaron said, as he was reaching into the backseat to grab the plastic Westland’s grocery bag we’d used to stash the water guns and stakes in.

“Keep a couple of these in the waistband of your pants … and make sure your shirt covers them. I’ll keep the stakes and the gun with me.”

“Oh no! I don’t think so. That’s my dad’s gun. I don’t want you getting trigger happy and shooting someone needlessly, especially since I’ll kind of be responsible.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Whatever! Just make sure you can get to it fast if you need to.”

The sun was still up, but had turned into a fiery ball of red - orange fire as it began its descent into the western sky.

Aaron followed my gaze. “If we can get in and talk with Jonas before the sun goes down, there is less of a chance we’ll have problems with any of the other vamps.”

“Well let’s go then,” I told him, getting out of the car. Before starting toward the house, I stuck two water guns in the front waistband of my jeans, and the 38 in the back. I just hoped it didn’t accidentally go off or there wouldn’t be much left of my rear end. 

Leaving the car off the side of the highway, we crossed the street to the long dirt driveway in front of the house. The air grew still, almost as if the very atmosphere was being sucked away by some invisible force.

My heart skipped a beat, and I froze in mid-stride, when a straggly looking dog appeared from behind a clump of trees. It looked a little like a Husky, but might have had some Golden Lab in it too. The dog gave us a casual once over before disappearing again. Whatever type of dog it was, he didn’t appear to have too much interest in us. So much for being a watchdog, if that’s what he was.

Once we’d reached the house, I stared up at the covered porch with slightly less determination than I’d had a few moments before. The house was eerily quiet. There were none of the sounds one would expect to hear at this time of day. I could hear no conversation or movement from the living room, nor the murmuring of voices drifting from a TV. I thought everyone watched TV after dinner, except for myself. Sitting in front of the TV wasn’t one of my favorite pastimes.

Holding my breath, I listened, but there was absolutely nothing that would point to the house being occupied, though I knew it was. The Immortals were asleep, caught between the world of the dead and that of the living.

Soon they would wake, and go on the hunt for the blood that made it possible for them to continue their unnatural state of living death. I wanted to get our business done and be gone before too many vamps were out and about.

Becoming impatient with my hesitancy to move forward, Aaron climbed the stairs. I winced as the old wood groaned loudly beneath his weight. I had to give it to him; he was proving to be far more daring than I’d given him credit for.

Sighing, I followed him up the stairs. By the time I reached the top, he was already knocking. Flecks of peeling white paint fell as his fist made contact with the door.

It took three rounds of knocks before I heard the door creak open. Aaron was blocking my view of the doorway, making it necessary for me to push up on my tiptoes to get a better look. What I saw sickened me.

The girl couldn’t have been more than eighteen. She was so slight and pale, the white dress she was wearing fit like a tent. Her yellow-blond hair was limp and lifeless, much like her features. I was sure she was probably very pretty, but you’d never tell that by the way she looked now.

“Hi  … hi there,” Aaron stammered, obviously as shocked by the girl’s appearance as I was.

There was no response. The girl’s pale blue eyes stared listlessly at him.

“Could you tell me if Jonas is here?” Aaron asked her. “It’s important that we speak with him … now,” he added.

At first the girl seemed confused, as if she wasn’t sure how to react, or what she should say, but then she shook her head. “He’s unavailable right now. Can I take a message?”

“No, we really need to see him,” Aaron told her.

Still she seemed uncertain.

“It’s okay. I’ll take the blame if he gets mad.” Aaron tried to reassure her.

“Okay,” she replied in a low voice. “Follow me.”

The girl stepped outside, and instantly seemed to be blinded by the fading light. It was apparent she didn’t spend too much time outdoors, at least not during the day. I assumed that changing one’s life to exist primarily at night was part of the bargain when you became a vampire’s feeder.

The girl was wearing no shoes, but as she walked around the outside of the house, the hard ground didn’t seem to bother her at all.

“What’s your name?” Aaron asked her.

She stole a peek at him over her shoulder. “Trinity,” she answered, without elaborating, or offering additional information. 

Her answer seemed to satisfy Aaron for the time being. He grew silent as we followed her through the tall grass, toward the back of the house. I was letting Aaron handle things, on account of him having so much more experience with vampires than myself. I just hoped he knew what he was doing.

At the back of the house there was a barn and a few outbuildings that I thought were probably sheds. She kept walking past the outbuildings, and didn’t stop until we’d reached an area behind the barn. The trees and foliage was so thick, I began to wonder if she weren’t up to something, like maybe leading us into an ambush.