IM02 - Hunters & Prey (9 page)

She leaned out of the driver side window and yelled, “Put her down,” then revved the car’s engine. Fallon looked like she was ready to run us both down with the car. Guess she had been paying attention when I said it was only fire and dismemberment that killed us. I took a deep breath and braced for impact, wondering how much it was going to hurt.

Santino growled loudly, a sound of frustration, and shook me from my thoughts. “Perhaps today is not your day to die. We’ll see each other soon.”

The pressure at my neck was gone as if it had never been there. I fell to the ground in a heap.

Not chancing another look at Santino—not giving him another opportunity to destroy me—I took off at top speed, heading straight for the car. Fallon flung the passenger door open for me to climb in.

“Great job! Let’s get out of here quick.” I threw myself in and slammed the door shut.

My hands went to my throat, massaging the area where Santino had held me. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the pounding of my own heart.

With a loud squeal of rubber against pavement, Fallon took off, out of the alley. She barreled down Maryland, and then took Flamingo, all the way to the Strip.

“Geeze girl, remember you’re not the immortal one here. Slow down before you get yourself killed,” I yelled.

Fallon had a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. “What about that guy following you?”

“He’s on foot. No way he is going to keep up with us.”
Why did he let me go?

“Was he the—“

“Yeah, he was the big bad-ass himself. Thanks for saving me back there.”

A strange realization hit me. I shouldn’t have been able to get away from him so easily. Santino never failed in his missions.
Why did he care that Fallon was around? He would know that she knew about us.
Something is up. He’s been near me twice. Near my home. He knew I was close to home when I was hunting. Why have I been able to get away from him so many times?

“How are you going to hide from him?” Fallon’s words shook me from my thoughts.

It took a moment for me to answer. “Take me to a casino. It’s a perfect place to hide in plain sight. No natural light and an abundance of mortals… er… people.”

Fallon turned the car on to the Strip. Traffic was slower here, as usual, so she was forced to drive at a more normal pace. “Okay, so which one?”

I looked out of the window. We were surrounded by the towering hotels of the Strip. Flashing lights, neon signs, and an endless sea of pedestrians crowded around us. “I don’t care which one you pick. They’re all going to have lots of people around.”

A loud cannon blast accompanied a musical number as a fountain show started to my right. Large plumes of water shot up into the sky, and color-changing lights helped to set the mood. I watched the pedestrians swarming around the dancing water, trying to find the best vantage point to watch the show.

With so many people around, I should be safe from Santino. He wouldn’t attempt to hunt me down in a casino, would he?
Was he really hunting? Why did he just let me go? Something‘s definitely not right and, I need to figure out what he’s up to.

CHAPTER 6

*****

I
called Lysander as soon as we walked into the casino. He didn’t sound particularly happy that Fallon was still with me, but told me to get a room and to keep her close until he and Nicholas showed up.

After wandering through the late-night crowd for half an hour, checking to see if we’d been followed, Fallon and I got a room as Lysander had instructed. I thought it odd that he wanted us away from the crowd, hidden in a hotel room. It was after all, the reason we chose a casino. Being surrounded by people would keep the Acta Sanctorum, and Santino in particular, at bay, but I was sure Lysander had his reasons, and I too was eager to have a little peace and quiet.

Fallon stretched her arms wide as we reached the room and let out a roaring yawn.

“I saw that,” I teased. Her eyes looked tired and heavy. In the dim light of the hallway, the dark circles around them appeared like sagging bruises. “Why don’t you try to get a little rest. You look exhausted.”

I opened the door and flicked on the light. The room came alive. Standard for most hotels on the Strip, it had two queen beds, a TV armoire, a dresser, and a small table with chairs. Peaceful pictures of trees and streams hung on walls that had been painted in warm, earthy tones of brown and sage. It felt comfy and inviting. If I had been in a better mood, I might have given in to the urge to bounce on the beds and test out the fluffiness of the pillows.

Fallon cupped her mouth to stifle another loud yawn. “I’m not a night owl like you.”

“You used to be. What happened?”

She shot me a cold glance and flopped down on the bed. “Try a couple months of worrying yourself sick about a friend. You know the cops weren’t any help. I called them after I went to your apartment.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a crumpled photograph. I knew it before she unfolded it. It was the one of us on the beach. The one I’d left her to find in my apartment. “When I saw this, I knew you were gone.”

Her words cut me like a knife. Tears welled in the corners of my eyes. I hated that I’d made her worry so much. I turned to look out of the window. We had a beautiful view of the Strip below. It was a sea of rainbow-colored neon and people, moving all around as far as my eyes could see. Humans, completely unaware of the secret world that I lived in. “You understand now why I had to leave everything behind, right?”

“Yeah. I get it now. But then, I was a mess. The cops let me put in a missing persons report, but they never looked for you. I checked back with them every week, hoping to hear something. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time.”

“I’m so sorry, Fallon,” I said, drawing the curtains closed, using it as an excuse to not have to look at her and see the sadness on her face. “Just crash here for a bit. Lysander should be here soon.” I admired the weight of the curtains, running my hands over the material, thankful that the hotel used very thick black-out curtains on their windows. That would come in handy once the sun rose.

“He’s nice, right?” Fallon asked sleepily. “This Lysander guy?”

“Yeah. No worries about him. Trust me.” I turned and smiled innocently. I knew Lysander would be upset that I had broken the rules. “He won’t hurt you. It’s my head he’s going to bite off
.”
I was more worried about his anger towards me than his reaction to Fallon. “But yeah, he’s a good guy.”

Fallon seemed to be past any real caring. She flopped backward on the bed and curled up with the pillows and blankets. She was snoring in moments. I took the opportunity to relax a little myself. I settled into one of the chairs and grabbed the TV remote to flip through channels, hoping for a little distraction. Again, I wondered why it had been so easy to escape from Santino. It was strange. It wasn’t like a great warrior of his stature to leave survivors, let alone allow a young vampire like me, to get away.
Fallon’s presence wouldn’t have been enough to stop him from trying to kill me. Why did he let me go?

The news report caught my interest. It was a replay from an earlier broadcast. The anchor, a handsome, well-dressed man in his early thirties, spoke about gang-related violence in North Town. A woman had been brutally killed and her dismembered body left in pieces all over the street. Witnesses clamored around the reporter to get their five minutes of fame and give their report. People of all kinds smiled and waved to the camera from behind the news reporter as he interviewed an eyewitness.

“He was on something,” a middle-aged woman commented. “All messed up. On drugs. And he had bloodshot eyes. He was swearing and cursing and falling all over himself. When he saw that woman he just lost it.” The lady on the television put her hand over her mouth. “He ran after her.” The woman’s voice rose sharply, giving away the true extent of the horror she’d witnessed.

A tall, emaciated woman with stringy hair spoke up, pushing the first woman out of the camera view. “He chased that poor girl.” Her arms waved wildly as she tried to describe the scene. “Damn near ripped her hair out trying to catch her. As soon as I saw that, I was on the phone dialing 9-1-1-”

The reporter came back on screen, continuing to describe the scene as paramedics wheeled the dead body—or what was left of it—zippered in a black body bag, into the back of an ambulance.

A flash of anger burned through me.
Santino chases us down and calls us monsters. Humans are monsters too. Look at what they’re reporting on the news. A vampire wouldn’t have done that. Who’s the real monster?

***

I was beginning to worry, wondering if Santino had found Lysander or the others. Time was again mocking me. Anticipation knotted my stomach. I found myself constantly checking the time on Fallon’s phone.

An eerie feeling crawled up the back of my neck, and my hair stood on end. A vampire was close. I flinched when I heard a knock at the door, and then a warm soothing feeling washed through me, erasing my fear.

I knew without a doubt that Lysander was here. We were bonded not only as master and fledgling, but also as lovers. I felt his strength and presence like a beacon even before I heard his voice on the other side of the door. “Open the door ,Alyssa.”

I ran to it and almost tore it off the hinges in my haste to see him. Lysander’s face gave away his anger before he had the chance to speak to me. There was an unusual and cruel slash to his mouth. As he entered the room, his sharp eyes moved from me to Fallon’s sleeping body and back, but he didn’t say a word.

Wanting to diffuse his anger, I threw my arms around his neck. “I’m so glad to see you. I’ve been so worried.” I planted a small kiss on his cheek before pulling back to look into his eyes. They were narrow and cold as he returned my gaze. His jaw looked tight, as if he were clenching his teeth to avoid speaking.

I sighed and resigned myself to getting an earful about how foolishly I’d acted. At least he was here and safe. That was all that mattered for the moment.

Nicholas strolled into the room, a smug smile plastered across his face. He chuckled as he caught my forlorn expression. “Trouble loves you, doesn’t it?”

I shrugged. “I guess it does.”

Fallon stirred under the covers.

I shot Nicholas a cold look, putting my finger to my lips. “Keep it down, she’s really burned out.”

Lysander finally spoke, his voice low and monotone. “You knew better, Alyssa.”

“I had no choice. Santino was following me. I needed to go somewhere populated. It was the only place I could think of.” The words came out in a single breath. I felt anger radiating in waves from Lysander’s silent stare.

Nicholas strutted over to the bed and hovered above Fallon. “You live in a tourist town and some silly little hole-in-the-wall café is the only place you could think of with people?”

Heat rose to my face, flushing my cheeks. “Look, it was a snap decision. Would you rather I had just let him kill me?” I stepped closer to the bed, hoping to put myself between Fallon and Nicholas. I didn’t like him being so close to her.

“You need to be more careful in your choices,” Lysander said, his voice still eerily monotone. “There are repercussions when you bring mortals into our world.”

I jerked my head in Lysander’s direction. My heart skipped a beat. I knew he was mad. I was prepared for yelling and screaming, but his unnatural calm and talk of repercussions had me worried. What if I was wrong in thinking Fallon was safe with us? “Wait, what do you mean ‘repercussions’?”

Fallon woke with a start and shot bolt upright in bed. She recoiled at the sight of Nicholas next to her and tried to pull the sheet over her head. She squealed, “What’s going on? Who are they?”

I held my hands up hoping to stop her from bolting from the bed. “It’s okay. Don’t worry, Fallon. This is Lysander and Nicholas.”

Fallon inched herself away from Nicholas. She fell off the bed, hitting the floor with a
thud
, and then quickly scrambled to her feet and backed against the wall.

I turned to Lysander. “You never said anything about repercussions. What do you mean?”

“Is something else wrong now?” Fallon asked, her voice shaking.

“I’m sorry, Alyssa, but you brought this upon yourself and your friend,” Lysander’s tone was somber. He raked a hand through his dark hair and exhaled a deep sigh. “She knows too much, and I cannot allow her to leave us.”

“What do you mean?” I slowly came to a terrifying realization. My hands clenched into tight fists at my side. “No. Lysander, she’s my friend. You can’t do this.”

Fallon took another half-step backward, plastering herself against the wall; her already large brown eyes widened more as she listened to our conversation. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her body shook with fear. I guessed she had come to the same realization I had.

“I’ll take care of this. You’ll be fine.” I needed to calm her down, but inside I wasn’t sure I could. Lysander and Nicholas meant business. The serious and deadly looks on their faces were hard to ignore.