Out of the Night (Harlequin Nocturne) (14 page)

Mindy gave him a swift kick in the ribs for good measure.

By then all the noise had brought other business owners out the backs of their shops. “Call 911,” Olivia yelled at Han, the guy who owned the Chinese place at the end of the block.

“Already did,” he said.

When the attacker tried to get to his feet, Mindy gave him another jab to the nose. He howled but stayed down.

Olivia lowered herself next to the woman who’d nearly been the city’s latest kidnapping victim and realized it was the granddaughter of the old lady who lived above the dry cleaner’s. She was dazed and her mouth was bleeding, but she was alive. When she spotted the guy on the ground, she started crying and turned her face into Olivia’s chest. Olivia wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her hand over the girl’s long hair. “It’s okay. It’s over. He can’t hurt you now.”

Sirens approached, and it didn’t take long for the alley to be filled with medical and police personnel.

“What happened?” a police officer asked.

“This bastard tried to kidnap this girl,” Mindy said, and kicked the guy in the side again.

The officer guided Mindy away from the guy before she could do more damage.

The girl in Olivia’s arms flinched when the paramedic tried to examine her. “It’s okay. They’re here to help you.”

Reluctantly, the girl let the paramedic help her stand and walk toward the ambulance at the end of the alley. She stopped in her tracks and looked back at Mindy and Olivia. “Thank you.”

Olivia smiled. “You’re welcome.”

For the next half hour, Mindy and Olivia answered the police officer’s questions and told him exactly what they’d done when they heard the screams.

“You should have called the police,” he said.

Olivia got the impression that he had to say it but that he was actually impressed with what they’d done. “If we’d waited, that girl would be on her way to a blood den now.”

He nodded.

“What was she doing out here?” Mindy asked. “Shouldn’t she be in school?”

The officer nodded to where the paramedics were headed up to the grandmother’s apartment. “She said her grandmother was sick last night and wouldn’t answer the phone this morning, so she skipped school to come check on her. She noticed the van following her about a block before she got here.”

“Her grandmother okay?” Olivia asked.

“Looks as if she has pneumonia, so they’re taking her to the hospital.”

Once the officer headed back to his car, Olivia and Mindy walked to the end of the alley to check on the girl and her grandmother. The older woman gripped Olivia’s hand in hers. “Thank you for saving my granddaughter.” Tears streamed from the woman’s eyes.

“We were happy to do it. Now you just concentrate on getting better.”

She nodded. “I will. And then Tracey and I will come down and have lunch at your diner.”

“Sounds like a good plan. Speaking of, we better get back to work.” She smiled at Tracey and her grandmother and turned to head back to the diner.

But when they turned, they found their way blocked by a gaggle of reporters with microphones and television cameras pointed their way. They answered a few questions before insisting they had to get back to work.

On the way back up the alley, Olivia flexed her hand. “You know what? That felt good.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, Mindy smiled at her. “It did, didn’t it? We make a pretty good ninja team.”

Olivia laughed as they stepped through the back door to find the diner full of curious customers.

“Looks as if we’ll be serving up a tale with lunch,” Mindy said.

“As it happens, we have one to tell.”

* * *

“Hey, Campbell,” Travis called from his spot in front of the TV. “You might want to see this.”

He was up for anything to get him away from his desk, so he wandered across the room. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. There on the TV screen were Olivia and Mindy.

“Two women are being hailed as heroes today after they thwarted the attempted kidnapping of a teenage girl,” the studio anchor said. “Olivia DaCosta and Mindy Kemp heard the girl screaming and raced to her aid. Our Sierra Carnes has more.”

Campbell was vaguely aware of the rest of the team filtering into the room as he watched the reporter interview Olivia and Mindy.

“We couldn’t just do nothing,” Olivia said. “We knew what might happen to her if the guy got her into the van.”

“Damn, I knew she was a fighter, but evidently the girl’s got skills, too,” Billy said.

“Both of them,” Colin said.

“Yeah, and they just painted huge bull’s-eyes on themselves,” Campbell said. He spun and stalked back to his desk and picked up the phone.

“Comfort Food Diner,” Olivia said when she answered. “How can I help you?”

“You can start by not taunting the Nefari on the news,” he said.

“Campbell?”

“Yes. What were you thinking?”

He heard a loud thump and wondered if she’d just slammed something down.

“I was thinking I was saving a girl’s life,” she said.

“And you had to talk to the reporters about it?”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference if we’d said no comment. They already knew who we were and what we’d done.”

He growled in frustration. “So you decided to just bask in your fifteen minutes of fame?”

“You know, last time I checked, you weren’t the boss of me. In fact, I got the distinct impression you didn’t even want to talk to me. So I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your opinions to yourself.” With that, she hung up on him.

He slammed his own phone down. Damn fool woman.

When he looked up, he noticed everyone had left the room. Good move.

He stared at the door that led to the street and cursed the fact he couldn’t go over to Olivia’s right now. As he paced the length of the room and slowly calmed down, he realized that it was a good thing he couldn’t go outside at the moment. Instead of racing to the diner to try to continue his tirade, the truth had time to soak through the crevices of his brain.

Olivia was right. He didn’t have the right to tell her what to do, even if he only wanted to make sure she stayed safe.

Chapter 13

A
s he normally did when he wanted to push something from his mind, Campbell focused his energies on work. It didn’t totally keep his argument with Olivia from his mind, but at least he had something to do besides pace the Bat Cave like a caged panther.

He and the rest of the team spent the night scouring nearly all of the six-block radius to which Travis had traced Rico’s phone call, both inside and out. Not surprisingly, no one seemed to have seen anything. Chances were one of the people standing in line for one of the trendy vampire clubs had seen Rico, but they knew what the Nefari did to vamps who were a little too loose with information. Rico was proof enough of that.

He spotted Kaja and Travis going into yet another club across the street and Billy keeping watch from a nearby rooftop, gun and stakes at the ready. Campbell and Colin stepped to the front of the line at Universal Donor.

“The names of these places get more stupid every time I come down here,” Campbell said as they approached the beefy bouncer.

“Hey, stop cutting!” someone yelled from somewhere back in the line that stretched to the end of the block.

“Pig!” Yeah, that one never got old.

The bouncer pointed behind Campbell and Colin. “Back of the line.”

Campbell wasn’t in the mood for attitude. He stepped into the guy’s personal space. “You want to try that again?”

Colin stepped up beside them. “Official V Force business.”

The guy didn’t look happy, but he nodded toward the inside of the club. When they stepped through the entrance, it was almost comical how many pairs of eyes looked in their direction, narrowed then went back to whatever had held their attention before. Campbell scanned the interior. As expected, there were lots of reds and blacks, and the walls were frosted glass lit from behind. Red liquid had been made to look as though blood ran in a constant stream behind the glass.

“You’d think one of these places would try something a little out of the box. You know, bright colors or something,” Colin said.

“At the moment, I don’t give a flying rat’s ass about the decor. I’m more in the mood to knock heads until someone talks about Rico, about the abductions, something.”

Colin nodded, linked his fingers and popped them. “I can do that.”

Movement at the back of the club caught Campbell’s attention. His gaze landed on a familiar face just before the guy darted into the crowd. Campbell smiled.

“I think we’re about to get some answers. That little weasel Charlie Benson doesn’t look as if he wants to talk to me.” Charlie was the type of vampire who would do anything for a buck, or a pint. He had expensive tastes, ones that a legal job wasn’t likely to fund. If bad crap was going down in the vampire community, chances were Charlie had at least heard about it.

Campbell ignored the yelps and objections as he pushed his way through the crowd. Charlie glanced back over his shoulder, saw Campbell and Colin in pursuit and made a run for it.

They caught him a few steps into the alley that separated the line of clubs from the row of buildings behind them. He stood staring up at where Billy was aiming a gun modified to shoot stakes.

“Good thing you stopped when you did,” Billy said with a crooked grin. “I’m pretty good with this.” He waved the barrel of the gun. “Lots of hours of video games as a kid.”

“Stopped in your tracks by a puppy,” Colin said to Charlie as he shook his head. “The shame of it all.”

Campbell slammed the pimped-out vampire against the wall of the opposing building.

“Where you going in such a hurry, Charlie? Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“No one’s ever glad to see you guys.”

“Now, that’s just rude,” Colin said from where he lounged against the club’s wall, one booted foot propped against it.

“I can’t be seen with you,” Charlie said.

“Why not? Are we hazardous to your health?” Campbell asked. “Like Rico, perhaps.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Campbell stepped closer to Charlie and spoke so close to his face that Charlie would have felt his breath if he’d had any. “Now, see, Charlie, I just don’t believe you. You wear lies like you do that slick suit. You’re going to tell me everything you know, and you’re going to tell me now.”

“I’d listen to him, dude,” Colin said.

“I don’t know what you think I’m supposed to tell you. I’m not a mind reader.”

“How about you start with who killed Rico and why.”

“How the hell am I supposed to know?”

Campbell growled low in his throat. “Don’t mess with me. I am not in the mood. I doubt there’s anything going on around here that you don’t know about. You like to keep your fingers in a lot of lucrative pies.”

Charlie tried to squirm loose with no luck. When he couldn’t break free, his attitude changed from innocent and clueless to defiant.

“I’m not telling you anything,” the slimy bastard spit back at Campbell. “They’ll kill me.”

Campbell knew who “
they”
were—the Nefari, kings of the black market in blood slaves and every other nasty business in Manhattan.

“I will kill you if you don’t.”

The guy’s mouth stretched in a taunting smile. “You can’t do that, break your own laws.”

Campbell leaned in even closer to the guy’s face and tightened his fingers around his throat. “Then I’ll make you wish you could die.”

The harder he squeezed, the purpler the scumbag’s face grew, the wider his eyes. He’d fed recently to have any color. And though he didn’t have to breathe, having his throat crushed wasn’t pleasant. Instincts held over from his human existence told him that throat crushing meant death.

“Okay, okay,” he managed to squeak out through his constricted windpipe.

Campbell slammed him against the wall again just for good measure, causing mortar between the bricks to break loose and hit the pavement at their feet.

“What did Rico know?”

“I knew that guy was a rat.”

Campbell reached for the guy’s throat again, and Charlie held up his hands, palms out. “Wait. Give me a minute.”

“You’ve got five seconds.”

“And that’s generous,” Colin added.

Charlie looked up and down the alley, nervousness making him twitchy. “I might have heard that he had stumbled upon some information that the Nefari didn’t want shared.”

“What kind of information?”

“About some new project.”

Questioning Charlie was like pulling fangs. He decided to get more specific.

“Is it true the Nefari is employing humans to do their dirty work during the day?”

Charlie winced that he was stuck with telling the truth if he wanted to get out of this alley in one piece. “Yes.”

“Who are these humans?”

“I don’t know.”

“Charlie, I’m at the end of my very limited patience.”

“I swear! All I know is they are all O-positives, so it won’t matter as much if they get killed.”

Damn it, the guy appeared to be telling the truth. “What are they doing? Looking for?”

“I think you know that already.” The guy swallowed and rubbed his neck. “Blood slaves, sex slaves.”

Anger surged through Campbell. “Sex slaves? They’re pimping the humans out?”

“Yes. Certain vampires have a thing about wanting to keep a warm body around, always at the ready.”

Campbell’s stomach knotted. He understood wanting a warm body, Olivia’s, to be exact, but he couldn’t imagine keeping a human slave for his amusement and satisfaction. He’d never force Olivia or keep her against her will.

Unless he let the bloodlust take over again.

“Do you know how many people they’re targeting?” He needed to know if there were other lists of names, if he needed to call in more V Force teams for protection detail.

“I don’t know,” Charlie said.

Campbell’s eyes narrowed. “You’re holding out, weasel. Be very careful that the next words that come out of your mouth are the truth and useful to me.” Campbell’s fangs descended to emphasize his threat. In that moment, he was more vampire than man.

Charlie swallowed hard. “I might have heard they wanted to get back at that chick who messed up things for them earlier today.”

Olivia. Dread settled in Campbell’s stomach.

“When? What’s their plan?”

“That I don’t know. But they were talking about it inside the club only an hour ago.”

Cold washed over Campbell, and it had nothing to do with the brutal November wind whipping through New York’s concrete canyons. He backed away, and if he had a heartbeat, it would’ve been going crazy. He started to turn down the alley, but Colin clamped down on his arm.

“We don’t have time.” He nodded to the east, at the approaching sunrise.

“I have to make sure she’s safe.” He jerked away from Colin and left him behind, engaging his top speed. He didn’t know if God answered or even heard the prayers of vampires, but he prayed nonetheless that Olivia was safe.

If anyone tried to hurt Olivia, he’d kill him. And he wouldn’t feel even an ounce of remorse. He’d take them out for good then face the punishment. He might cease to exist, but Olivia would be safe. That was all that was important.

* * *

Mindy had been right. Olivia had lost her mind. Desiring a vampire was the height of insanity. Especially when he refused to admit he wanted her just as much. She’d suspected it after the kiss. But his anger and concern over her appearance on the news confirmed it. Despite that knowledge, she wasn’t about to beg him to come back. The next move was his. And if he didn’t make one, well, she’d find a way to get over him.

Unable to get anything resembling restful sleep, she got up before sunrise. Maybe today she’d figure out how to get on with her life without thinking of him nearly every moment. As she descended the stairs from her apartment to the restaurant, her mind went back over the dreams she’d had when she had managed to sleep last night. They alternated between Campbell ripping her neck open with a frightening savagery and his making love to her with a strength and skill that had her panting and crying out his name.

When she flipped on the kitchen’s overhead lights, she gasped. Two men stood across the room. They weren’t vampires, but the term
unsavory
fit perfectly. All of Campbell’s warnings came back to her, and she cursed herself for leaving her gun upstairs, loaded beside her bed. Which was where she’d thought she might need it during the night.

As sleep receded more, she realized who they were—the two customers who had made her so uncomfortable that day she’d called Campbell.

“We hear we can get a free meal here,” the taller one said.

She wasn’t fooled. These weren’t the kinds of lost and forgotten faces she fed each day. And did they honestly think she didn’t remember that they’d already been here once as paying customers? “How did you get in here?” She wondered if she could make it up the stairs before they caught her.

She didn’t get the chance. The man nearest her was across the room before she could make the first step. Bastard moved fast for a big guy. He pulled her arms behind her, and she winced. She struggled, determined to free herself, to get upstairs to that gun. She’d never seriously considered killing anyone before. But if it came down to it, she would shoot them before she let them drag her away to some fate worse than death.

Olivia kicked and bucked, but she couldn’t connect with her captor’s legs. The other guy moved close and ran his awful fingers down her cheek, over her neck, coming to rest just above her breasts. Her skin crawled in an attempt to get away from his touch.

“You are a pretty thing. I’d love to have you myself, but I wouldn’t live long after that. Still,” he said as he licked his lips, “it’d almost be worth it.”

She didn’t know where she got the strength, but she spit in his face.

His expression transformed to a portrait of anger just before he slapped her.

“Olivia!”

She blinked away the stars, would swear she’d heard Campbell’s voice.

“Olivia, let me in!”

She looked toward the front of the restaurant, and there he was standing on the sidewalk, his hands pressed against the glass of the front door. He looked desperate to get to her, to help, but he couldn’t pass that barrier without her inviting him in. Could she do it? Give a vampire free access to the only place she was truly safe from his kind? These creeps holding her were human, like her, so she had a chance of getting free. But if she invited Campbell in, she’d either have to move or live knowing that when he got hungry, he might come for her.

Campbell’s gaze caught hers, and his eyes blazed a brighter blue than she’d ever seen. Some instinct told her it had nothing to do with bloodlust.

Before she could utter a word, the man behind her clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled again, but she couldn’t move her mouth enough to bite his hand.

The tall man cupped one of her breasts and looked straight at Campbell. “It must really eat you that you can’t help her, that you have to watch. Maybe I’ll just have my way with her and take my chances.”

Campbell’s face hardened and his eyes narrowed. He was the epitome of dangerous, and knowing that it was out of some protective instinct toward her made Olivia’s heart warm.

“I will kill you,” Campbell said very slowly, deliberately.

“Not if the sun kills you first.”

Oh, God! The sun. Olivia looked beyond Campbell and saw a hint of daylight working its way toward him. She widened her eyes, trying to tell him to go, to save himself. But even though he met her gaze, he didn’t move. As she watched in horror, smoke began to drift up from his back. Still, he didn’t move, not even when the increasing daylight became painful. She saw it on his face even though he tried to hide it. She closed her eyes, unable to watch him burst into flames.

Struggling did no good, but what if...? She went limp, and her captor lost his grip on her mouth just long enough.

“Campbell, come in!”

He moved so fast, she hadn’t even taken a breath before he had both of the men by the throats and was shoving them out the back door. She didn’t want to know what he did to them. All her worry was for the vampire who was risking his own existence to protect her. Campbell Raines knocked a hole in everything she’d ever believed about vampires. Good and evil, they weren’t so black-and-white as she’d always thought.