Crimson Vengeance (7 page)

“Look.” He hurried to explain. “What I’m going to tell you will sound crazy.”

“Too late, you’re already in crazy land in my book.”

He nodded. It wouldn’t be the first time. “Fair enough. I had that coming. Just give me ten minutes, and if I haven’t convinced you, send me down the road.”

“More like the loony bin,” she muttered, though her hand moved away from the pocket. Her shoulders still looked stiff, and her eyes were narrow and appraising.

Inwardly he sighed. Outwardly, he hurried on before he lost her. “I know who killed this man.”

Her head jerked up and she seemed to study him more intently.

“You should be telling this to the police, not me. I’m simply the coroner.”

“No.” The police were the last ones he wanted to talk to. They weren’t exactly open to the idea of the undead. At least most of them weren’t.

“No?”

“The thing that did this to your husband—”

“Ex, and how do you know Jorge was my husband?”

Colin shrugged. “I heard the officers talking when you were over at the body.”

She shook her head and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. With a long sigh, she said, “Okay. Go on.”

“Again, the thing that killed your ex-husband isn’t a person.”

“And what exactly do you think it is?”

“A vampire.”

He waited for her outburst of disbelief. Through the years he’d been called everything from a wacko to delusional to just plain heartless and mean. People didn’t like to be told that something from their darkest nightmares might actually be real.

“Get in the car,” she ordered, as if he was one of her staff.

Her reaction would’ve surprised him if not for the scene yesterday. Last night the three women knew what they had on the table, and now Ivy Hernandez confirmed what he’d already figured out. He wasn’t the only one in the cemetery this morning who knew a vampire was the leading murder suspect.

“You know,” he said as he slid into the passenger seat.

“Yes.” The single word was soft.

She turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.

She began to drive toward town where her morgue and office were located, but surprised Colin when she took a left at the main drag.

Instead of going back to her office, they headed toward I-90. Once more she surprised him when, rather than pull on the freeway, she hung another right and drove into the parking lot of a large truck stop just north of the freeway.

“Come on,” she said. “I need a really big cup of coffee.”

Inside the bustling restaurant, she slid into a booth at the rear and he took the seat across from her. He waited until a cheerful waitress deposited two mugs and a carafe of coffee before he spoke.

“How do you know about the vampire?” Colin decided taking the offensive was the quickest way to the truth. Besides, he wasn’t in the mood for social niceties.

As she sipped the hot coffee with her eyes closed, he studied her. After a moment, her whole body seemed to relax, though when she opened her eyes and looked at him, her face was still tense. He wanted to touch her cheek, smooth away the care. He didn’t. He kept his hand wrapped around his own hot mug.

“I’ve known about the existence of vampires for a little over a decade.”

“No shit?”

“No shit,” she echoed, and pushed the hair off her face. “Jorge is my third vampire victim in as many weeks.”

That much he knew. The first victim was what set him on a path for this part of the country. Victim number two was killed just hours before he rolled into town. And number three, and a very interesting number three, had him sitting in a truck stop with the beautiful county coroner.

“How did you find out about our evil dark predators?”

“They’re not all evil or predators.” Fire danced in her eyes again, and though he didn’t understand why, he liked the fact that it wiped the despair from her face.

“I would respectfully disagree.” He’d followed enough bodies over the years to know what he spoke of. Regardless of what Ivy thought, vampires were an abhorrence of nature. No, not of nature—

of something far darker and more evil.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She started to push up and away from the table. Her voice had risen, catching the attention of a few nearby diners.

Colin put his hand on hers. Very quietly he said, “I’ll tell you why I think of vampires the way I do, and you can tell me why you disagree. Deal?”

She paused and seemed to mull his proposition over. Then, she nodded and slid back into the booth. “You first.”

He finally took a drink of the coffee, not that he was thirsty; he just needed a minute to organize his thoughts. “All right, here it is, down and dirty. I’m a vampire hunter with the requisite tools of the trade. I work for the church and began to train when I was fourteen years old. I’ve been an active hunter since I was eighteen. As you can tell, I’m a little older now, so suffice it to say, I’ve been at this a long time. I’ve destroyed so many of these creatures I lost count a long time ago. Not one, and I do mean not one, has been anything but a blood-sucking monster. There are two left we’re aware of.

One, right here in your little burg. The other, I’m not sure. We lost her trail some thirty-odd years ago. We don’t know if she’s still alive but we believe she is. Once I’ve destroyed the killer in your midst, I’ll find the last one and take her down.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Your turn.”

“You’re certain the one who killed Jorge is a woman?”

He nodded. “I’m very sure.”

She shook her head and sighed. “Stupid son of a bitch. If just this once he hadn’t been thinking with his dick, he might still be alive.”

What on earth is going on?” Riah muttered as she stared down at the phone in her hand. Ivy had called with the stunning message that Jorge was dead, and not just dead, but toast, as in their latest blood-letting victim. Now, instead of Ivy picking up the call, the phone went to voice mail. It didn’t make sense. Ivy should answer. She always carried her cell phone.

Riah glanced up at the clock and sighed. More than anything, she’d love to jump in her car and drive the hundred-odd miles to Moses Lake. She couldn’t. Despite her immortality and tolerance to daylight, she still needed rest. Right now, she was running on fumes, and that wouldn’t help anyone.

Inside the darkened interior of her house, she moved comfortably. Outside in the daylight, she’d wear down quickly. Too much sunshine and she’d be a literal wreck. It’d take days to recover if she allowed that to happen. The best choice was to stay here, rest and recharge so she’d be a hundred percent come sundown. Ivy would need her at full strength.

She jumped when the phone in her hand rang.
Had to be Ivy.

She flipped it open without looking at the display.

“Yes,” she barked into it.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

She was surprised, and pleased, to hear Adriana’s voice. “Hey to you too.”

“I can’t believe you left without waking me.” There was a hint of reproach in Adriana’s voice.

Riah smiled as she recalled how beautiful Adriana looked as she slept, her hair curling around her face, her body smooth and naked. Her own body flushed with excitement.

“You needed your beauty sleep.”

Adriana’s laugh was light. “I can sleep any time. I’d have much rather kissed your body all over one more time before you ran off in the night, naughty girl.”

“It was morning when I left.”

“Dawn.”

“Semantics.”

Adriana laughed again. “Will I see you tonight?”

Riah grew serious. “I don’t know.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Riah hurried to explain. “I got another call from Ivy.”

“Oh, no.” The dread in Adriana’s voice echoed what Riah felt.

“Oh, yes. I’m waiting to hear back, but from the sound of her message, it’s bad.”

“Well, then, you’ll need to see me tonight. I’m just sorry it won’t be for more fun and games. I’ll meet you at your office as soon as it gets dark.” Adriana’s tone had gone from teasing to serious.

Riah was sorry too. A taste of Adriana was all it took to make her want more. It also made her wonder why she’d resisted for so long. None of that mattered at the moment. Tonight, it would have to be all business. “Perfect.”

“Riah?”

“Yes…” Riah was already mulling over what would happen later when Ivy arrived with the body of her ex-husband.

“I love you.”

The three words snapped her attention away from thoughts of the murder and back to the woman on the other end of the line.

Except Riah didn’t have the chance to respond. Adriana had already hung up.

She replaced the phone in the charger and glanced up again at the portrait over the fireplace. She could almost swear that the eyes staring back at her were disapproving.

Ivy rubbed her face with both hands. It was a good thing she didn’t wear much makeup or she’d be an ungodly mess. As it was, she felt like crap and was pretty damn sure she looked it too. Oh, well, some things couldn’t be helped, and why it would even occur to her after everything this morning was a complete mystery.

Except she found something about the man who sat across from her unsettling. And not in a bad way. Oh, no, it was more in the does-my-hair-look-good way. Fucking insane.

The air was warm and filled with the smell of hash browns, brewed coffee, and maple syrup. In an odd way, the familiar scents comforted her. Something normal in a world that was far from it.

She was far from normal. Her ex-husband was downtown, locked away in her cooler, and here she sat drinking coffee with a guy she should probably run in the opposite direction of. Instead, she was fascinated. Hard not to be—even if he might be certifiable.

The man was a looker. Six feet three, if he was an inch, with sandy hair and the greenest eyes she’d ever seen. And his ass? It made her hands itch. Oh, yeah, he was hot all right…smoking hot.

“Ivy?” He interrupted her thoughts.

“Sorry,” she murmured, and blinked hard.
Get it together, chica.

He squeezed her hand lightly, the same hand he’d now been holding for too long to qualify as a comforting gesture from a complete stranger. She didn’t pull away.

“Tell me how you know about the vampire.”

It wouldn’t do her any good to try to sidestep the issue. He might be volcano hot, but he was also more than a pretty face. A mind like a steel trap, as her mother was so fond of saying. He’d shared with her, now it was her turn to spill. His eyes were steady on her face as he waited. She sensed he’d wait for hours if that’s what it would take to get her to talk.

No time like the present. Ivy took a deep breath and plunged in. “I trained under a very skilled and knowledgeable medical examiner. She had an uncanny gift for the field and always a huge list of students waiting for her to pick them as an intern.” Ivy looked directly into his beautiful green eyes. “She always taught at night.”

His fingers tightened their grip and he nodded slightly. “She was a vampire.”

“She
is
a vampire,” Ivy said.

He cocked his head and studied her face. “The ME in Spokane?”

“Yes.”

His green eyes darkened and his grip on her hand was almost painful. “What’s her name?”

“She’s not one of your monsters.” She tugged at his painful grip, and although his fingers loosened a little, they still clung tight to her hand.

“What’s her name?” Colin’s voice was very low and the green of his eyes seemed to grow dark as forest moss.

Ivy managed to pull her hand away and began to rub her fingers.

She’d have to add “strong” to his list of attributes. “Riah Preston.

Doctor Riah Preston.”

His brow wrinkled and he cocked his head. “That can’t be.”

“Of course it can. I’m telling you, I’ve known her for at least fifteen years, and her name is Riah Preston.” So what was his deal?

Was he calling her a liar?

He seemed to read her expression. “I’m not saying you’re making it up or telling me a lie. It’s just that if her name really is Riah Preston, then she’s managed to keep off the radar and, more important, it means three vampires are left instead of two.”

“You’re not going to hurt her.” Ivy already regretted telling him. It was a terrible mistake. She was usually a much better judge of character.

As if he sensed her alarm, the expression on his face softened.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s a bit of a shock. You have to understand, my entire life has been focused on stopping these creatures. I’ve always known what my path in this world was to be and, through much training and education, was armed with the information and tools necessary to do my job. To suddenly discover the playing field has changed is a little difficult to absorb.”

“Your playing field hasn’t changed an iota. The fact Riah is a vampire doesn’t change the fact that she’s one of the good guys.

Make no mistake, Colin, she’s on our side. This isn’t a gray area for me, it’s very black-and-white.”

“You don’t really know what these things can do,” he stated.

She narrowed her eyes as the flush of temper rose in her cheeks.

“You’re so full of shit.”

He had the good grace to look shocked. “Excuse me?”

She stared at him, hating the way her lips trembled. “I now have three bodies…three fucking bodies, in my morgue, all victims of a vampire, and you have the nerve to sit there and tell me I don’t know what they can do?”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, stuff it, mister vampire hunter. I’m not the one who doesn’t know. You’re the one so narrow-minded you can’t see the truth.” The cell phone in her pocket began to ring and she ignored it. Whoever it was could just call back. She wasn’t ready to let go of her rage just yet.

“And that is?” His voice was quiet and calm.

She didn’t try for either. She gave her fury full rein. “That you elected yourself judge, jury, and executioner. I don’t doubt you have the best of intentions for saving the world from the big, bad vampires, but maybe before you run off half-cocked, you should have all your facts.”

“I have all the facts I need.”