Immortal Revenge (30 page)

“What the fuck?” Brandon moaned. “What the fuck?” The second time he yelled.

Steven patted her jacket and dug inside the pockets. He found her phone and a wad of cash.

“Are her knives on her?” Steven asked.

“This doesn’t make sense,” loverboy groaned.

“Are her knives on her?” Steven asked louder.

Brandon crawled closer to her, then patted her calves. He moved his hands up her legs, then lifted her arms. “No, they’re not here.”

Steven took the cash, then tossed the jacket to her lap. “Come on.” He withdrew a lighter from his back pocket.

“What…” Brandon saw the silver Zippo. “What are you doing?”

“Destroying evidence.” He flicked the cap up and it made a soft clink.

Brandon rose as Steven bent. A flame flew up from the lighter with one click. Steven held it to close to her boot until the fire took hold and spread. He stepped around, then lit the shirt. Lastly, he set the head ablaze.

He strode away to find Brandon staring at the fire, his hands on top of his head. “I’m going to rip apart the person who did this. They have no idea who they fucked with.”

Side by side, they stood and marveled at the flames as they grew and devoured the corpse. Steven considered two possibilities at play. Either Katie was a vampire, or there was another one in town. Only a vampire could’ve chopped off Debbie’s head, and only a vampire would’ve known the sure way to destroy one. Katie might know, but her human strength wouldn’t allow her to do it. If another vampire was in town, then another problem bothered Steven. Why did this person leave the body? All vampires knew to clean up traces of their existence.

“Who would’ve done this?” Brandon lowered his hands.

“I don’t know. Her clothes were soiled and the weapons she had are gone. But someone left her money.” He handed the wad of cash to Brandon.

“Do you think Kyle’s girlfriend is a vampire?”

“It’s a possibility, but Debbie was a good fighter. Most men couldn’t beat her.”

Brandon snickered. “Yeah, you don’t need to remind me.”

“An eye for an eye would seem fitting, but Katie had no way of knowing Debbie was your girlfriend, let alone anything about us. The police report said she was distraught. It went so far as to mention she vomited. My gut tells me she’s human.”

“Then who did this?” He extended a hand toward the flames.

Steven withdrew his phone. “I’m not sure, but a vampire wouldn’t have left the body for anyone to find.”

“This isn’t making any fucking sense.”

Steven pressed the phone to his ear. “I agree. We need to find the answers fast.”

The phone rang while they walked around the house, heading back to the van.

“What can I do for you?” Chaz answered.

“Can you put a trace on the number with the area code 574?”

“Sure thing. Did you check on Debbie’s number?”

“Yes, and it appears she is no longer with us.”

“Are you fucking shitting me?”

“I shit you not.”

“Who would’ve done that? Didn’t she know some fancy Tae Kwon Doe or karate shit?”

“She knew how to fight well. I don’t know who could’ve beat her, but Brandon is eager to find out.”

Chaz chuckled. “I’m sure he is. All right, I’ll call you back in ten with the coordinates.”

“Thanks, man.”

Steven lowered the phone, then returned it to his pocket. “We’ll go back to the orchard. Assuming there is a vampire with her, we may be better off waiting for her and her friend to come to us. Keeping our actions secret in a hotel may be difficult.”

“Then we need to prepare, because I’m going to rip this fucker to shreds for destroying Debbie.”

For once, Steven agreed with Brandon. They needed to prepare for one vampire and two humans. They could beat this stranger and the humans just as easily as they took care of Kyle. Another question irritated him that he couldn’t comprehend. Why would a vampire hang around with Katie, a mere human among plenty? He’d ask the question right before Brandon would sever the vampire’s head.

20

Katie sat across the table from Jules. Her best friend held a fry between her fingers and nibbled on it while she stared blindly at the television screen. Jules’s state of emotional unrest didn’t surprise Katie. One minute she had accepted and planned on Joe being dead. The next, she knew he was alive, suffering and on the road to meet death. What a change of events.

She picked up a fry and chomped on it. The mushy potato tasted bland, yet she pushed the rest of it in her mouth. She hadn’t eaten much all day and neither had Jules. While Katie had Kyle’s blood still active in her system to keep her energized, Jules didn’t have anything of the sort. If she didn’t get some food in her, she wouldn’t have much physical or emotional strength left.

“How are you feeling?” Riker asked.

He sat at the end of the sofa, farthest from them. The suite they had was much nicer from the last hotel room, but this was the Marriott. Near the sofa, a door led to a large room with two queen size beds and a spacious bathroom. On the opposite side, facing him, a door led to his suite. He had yet to venture to his side of their cozy sleeping arrangements.

“I’m fine.”

“You exerted a great deal of energy in the last twenty-four hours.”

“I’m good. Maybe a little tired, but no aches or pains yet.”

“You should try to rest. It will help sustain your energy.”

Rest would help, but she had too much to do. They needed a plan to handle two vampires and save as many lives as possible. Then, Jules and Katie each needed a shower. The longer she wore a damp bra and underwear, the longer she’d feel uncomfortable and ready to rip her clothes free from her body. Once those two necessities were out of the way, she had to prepare for battle and strap as many knives to her body as she possibly could.

Katie wiped her fingers on one of the napkins. “We need to work on a plan, and I think I have one.” Knowing Riker didn’t want to meet the vamps at the orchard, Katie had considered her options during the drive to McDonald’s where they’d picked up their dinner. Although she liked what she formulated, she doubted he would. Still, she wanted to discuss her idea.

Riker pursed his lips. “Let’s hear it.” His voice lacked any hint of enthusiasm.

Jules leaned back in her chair and continued taking child-sized portions of her food.

“Jules and I show up at the police station and notify them of a hostage situation at the Jennings orchard.”

Jules’s eyes enlarged and she stopped chewing.

“Are you out of your mind?” Riker asked.

She raised her palm up to him. “Hear me out.”

Shaking his head, he waved her on.

“Jules and I tell them we were together roller skating this evening, then we returned to her house and found two of Joe’s fingers in the kitchen and a dead dog in her bathroom. We didn’t report it right away because we didn’t know what to do. We were in shock. Then the kidnappers call us and demand a meeting. The police will undoubtedly want to check out our story first. They’ll find the proof we mentioned at her house and that will suffice.”

Jules dropped her cheeseburger on the plastic bag. “I can’t eat with the image of those fingers and my neighbor’s dog in my head.”

“Sorry.”

“Go on.” She lifted her drink and sipped through the straw.

“Why would you want to inform the police of a hostage situation?” Riker asked.

“Because they have the manpower to show up there and surprise them. Plus, they might be able to save Joe and the Jennings, assuming they’re still alive.”

“You would do more than surprise them. I’m sure it would royally piss them off.”

Katie lifted a shoulder. “So they get mad. What’s new?”

“A trip to the jail will not detain them for long.”

“I know this, but with the entire police station aware of a hostage situation, they’ll have to take time to manipulate each and every person’s mind.”

Riker’s silence indicated to Katie she’d come up with a workable plan.

“What about us?” Jules set her drink on the table. “We can’t wait at the station if the cops are hauling the vamps to the jail.”

“We wait at the Devil and listen to everything on Andy’s scanner.”

Riker rose and stepped toward them. “Why delay meeting them? Why not show up on their front door step like they want?”

“I’ve been thinking… I don’t know anything about them or what kind of weapons they have. The Asian chick had daggers, so I have to assume Brandon and his friend do too. Right now, they’re preparing. I can fight and beat them, but only
one
at a time, which means you and Jules will have to fight. We both know Jules and Joe are weak. They could distract you, or at the very least, me. Therefore, I believe it would be in everyone’s best interest to take any humans out of the line of danger.”

Katie wanted a quick resolution, sever the vampire’s heads and then call it a day. But too many lives were at risk and she had no idea how much time Joe or the Jennings had left. If she sent troops and ambulances to the house, they could storm in and save lives.

“I could take the gun with those acid bullets,” Jules said.

“It might delay them long enough for you to get away, but with Joe… You two wouldn’t make it far.”

Jules lowered her head and nodded.

Katie covered Jules’s hand with her own. “We also have to consider the Jennings might be in the same condition as Joe. They will need help escaping, too. If Riker and I are fighting, you can’t possibly save everyone.”

“What happens after they mind sweep everyone at the station?” Riker asked, crossing his arms.

“I suspect they will return to the Jennings orchard. I believe they have been hiding there this entire time. Since they’ll have the police under their control, they will instruct them to stay away. At least, this is what I suspect they will do.”

“Makes sense,” Jules said, adding her support.

Riker paced in the suite. His lowered gaze indicated he was considering Katie’s plan. His silence lasted maybe two minutes, then he stopped and met Katie’s eyes.

“What motivation will the kidnappers have? Why target you or Jules?”

“Drugs.”

“What?” Slipped out of Jules’s mouth.

“We tell them Jules pissed a couple of guys off at the bar one night. They were talking about selling drugs in Mishawaka and she tried to talk them out of it. Since she saw the two vamps at the bar, she can provide descriptions.”

“It still leaves a few questions. For one, your involvement. And why kidnap Joe instead of Jules?”

“She wasn’t home. Joe was, so they took him. I’m helping her because she’s too distraught over Joe.”

He tilted his head while holding a steady gaze at her.

“The evidence is at her house and Joe’s number is on her phone in the call log. They have no reason to suspect I’m involved other than to support Jules.”

“Am I going to have to tell the story to the police?” Jules asked with reluctance.

“No, I can speak for you, but you’ll need to give descriptions and show how upset you are.”

“That’s easy.”

Katie smiled, then turned to find Riker pacing again. The vampire acted much like a detective would, scrutinizing all the details. Of course, he’d want all the details covered, but at this point, if they had ninety-five percent, they had enough. The evidence should speak volumes to the police.

He stopped and met Katie’s gaze. “What happens during the day?”

“I show up and cut off their heads.”

“If they’re hiding in a basement, they’ll be able to move about and fight. It won’t be as simple as you think.”

As much as Katie disliked admitting it, Riker was right. She couldn’t fight them both on her own. He couldn’t come with her since he couldn’t venture out in the daylight. If Jules showed up, her life would be at risk. The acid bullets allowed for enough time to escape, not enough for Katie to chop off a head, at least she didn’t think so and didn’t want to chance it. While fire was another option to ensure a vampire’s demise, the idea of burning down the Jennings farmhouse didn’t appeal to her. Arson was a crime she didn’t want to add to her police record. And quite honestly, how could she be truly sure she’d destroyed them if she couldn’t see proof?