Skye's Trail (5 page)

“Haley, do you think he had something to do with Jen’s disappearance?”

The woman visibly startled. “Oh no. No.” Her voice was firm, confident. “It’s not that. He’s just very protective. That’s all. He doesn’t want me to get hurt.”

Skye stared at the woman. Haley met the stare—a little timidly, but she met it and held it, and for a few seconds fell into the blue pools of Skye’s hypnotic eyes. “You’re sure he didn’t have anything to do with your sister’s disappearance?” Skye’s voice was whisper-soft, like a warm breeze moving through the other woman’s mind.

“Yes, I’m positive,” Haley answered. And Skye knew she was telling the truth—or at least what she believed to be the truth.

A blink and Haley was free. She looked at Skye and searched her memory for what they’d been talking about. “I’ll get you a photo.”

“Okay. I’ll swing by the club tonight.”

Haley nodded and walked over to the door. “Thanks. I forgot to thank you earlier.”

Skye thought about the men in the blue Yukon and took the moment to trap Haley once again. “Have you seen the men who attacked you before?”

Haley’s brows pulled together in guileless concentration. Her answer was the same under hypnosis as it had been at the bus stop. She didn’t know who her attackers were.

Skye released her and asked, “Do you need a lift somewhere?”

“No. No thanks.”

“I’ll walk you back to the bus stop then.”

Haley’s voice was barely a whisper. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

* * * * *

The phone rang and woke Skye. She started to get out of bed to answer it then heard Detective Caldwell’s chilly, efficient voice as the machine picked up.

She tuned the voice out and snuggled under the covers, letting her mind drift, shuffling and replaying the events of the last twenty-four hours.

Without a picture there wasn’t much she could do to help Haley find her sister. Names were meaningless in the club scene. Easy to change. Easy to forget.

Skye had her doubts about being able to locate Jen Warren in the first place. Especially if the boyfriend had been looking for the last two months. That was still a big “if” in her mind. Any number of possibilities flitted through her thoughts. The boyfriend might know where the sister went, or what happened to her. If he was spooked by the interest in the occult, and money was no problem, he may have just paid the sister to disappear from Haley’s life.

The simplest thing to do would be to take the answer out of his mind. Skye wondered how easily that could be accomplished. Despite the police rumors, not every one was susceptible to hypnosis, and Skye rarely took a person so deep that they blurted out everything they knew, much less did anything she asked.

About the only lead Skye could follow up on was to find out where the other girl, Amy Weldon, was and go see her. Too bad Haley didn’t know where Amy was staying or even if she was still in Vegas.

Caldwell’s voice stopped. The answering machine clicked a few times to indicate it was finished recording and was now prepared for the next call. Skye got out of bed, dug around in the dresser and selected black jeans and a pale blue tank top then wandered over to the phone.

It was a long shot, but worth a try. She looked through the government pages and found a listing for the U.S. Senate. A call later and she knew there were two Senator Weldons. One from Florida, one from New York.

Haley and Jen were from Florida. Skye called that senator first and left a message explaining that she was trying to locate Amy in connection with a missing person’s case. Then she redialed and left a message for the other senator.

That done, she retrieved her switchblade and slipped it into her pocket along with the picture of Brittany Armstrong, then laced on black boots and snagged her Harley jacket. She would just as soon eat at Fangs than linger at home and risk Detective Caldwell getting impatient and doing a drive-by.

It was three flights of steps down to the parking garage. The Harley waiting for her was the only thing Skye had ever splurged on. Its black paint and silver chrome shone in the dimness. Its engine surged to life at a touch, promising freedom and power, reminding Skye of how it felt to run unchallenged in remote woods and across open desert.

Fangs was on the outskirts of town in an almost isolated area. The parking lot was full and a long line of people waited to get into the club.

Skye wandered over to join the crowd. Most of them seemed young, female, and covered with body piercings and perfume. The smell of pot and booze and Ecstasy permeated the air around them.

She slipped her Harley jacket off. The evening air was warm and relaxing. Skye let it fill her, soak into her, refresh her.

As the last of the sun disappeared, the door to the nightclub opened. A man stepped out. Like the crowd waiting to get in, he wore black. A ripple of excitement moved down the line as the bouncer began checking IDs and letting people inside.

Skye studied the crowd around her and was amused by how many sported hickeys. Not just one, but multiple bite marks, as though they’d been the main course at a ten-person meal.

A thin kid with a bad case of acne sidled up to her. Made bold by alcohol and a sense of being in his element, he flashed a fanged smile and asked, “You alone?”

Skye blinked in surprise. The boy’s smile widened to show her his filed, pointed teeth. “Meeting somebody,” she told him.

He looked back to the end of the line where a couple of girls his age were standing and watching him. “Okay if I hang here?”

She studied him. He was just barely twenty-one, physically, younger emotionally and intellectually—a world apart from her in experience. “Sure. It’s a free country.”

“I’m Mike,” he said, flashing his fangs.

“I’m Skye.”

“I haven’t seen you here before.”

“First time.” She smiled at him. He fell into her eyes without urging. Skye blinked and turned her head slightly, releasing him, surprised at how susceptible he was to hypnosis. She hadn’t accidentally trapped someone since she was a child learning how to deal with her strange ability. “You look like you’re a regular here,” she said.

“I come here pretty much every night.”

“Are most of these people regulars?”

“Yeah. A lot of them are.”

A groan went up among the people standing in line as forward movement stopped. The bouncer disappeared into the club for a second then stepped back out, closing the door behind him.

Mike sighed. “I thought for sure they wouldn’t cut it off until you got in. The vamps like women with long hair.”

Skye examined his face. She didn’t need to hypnotize him to know that he was serious. “Vamps?”

He was startled by her question, momentarily unsure of himself. “Uh, sure. Isn’t that why you’re here, to uh, to be with a vamp?” He flashed his fangs again, but with less confidence.

Skye wanted to laugh. She wondered if maybe she’d been staring at herself in the mirror and had somehow fallen into a weird subconscious reality. “I’m just getting into this whole Goth scene,” she said, remembering Haley’s term.

Mike straightened. “Oh, so, like, you don’t have any experience with vampires yet.”

She studied him and knew from years of experience that he wasn’t jiving her, he was serious about this. “No.”

He looked up as the girls from the end of the line joined them. “Guess we’re not going to get in,” one of them said. Her voice was heavy with disappointment.

The other girl slipped her arm through Mike’s. Her eyes flashed with jealousy. The boy looked uncomfortable. He muttered, “That’s my sister Candy and this is Dawn.”

Dawn glared. “I’m his girlfriend.”

Candy offered a shy smile. “We were hoping they’d let us in with you. The vamps
always
go for people that look like you.”

It amused Skye that they’d thought to use her as their ticket into Fangs. She didn’t bother to contain her laugh. It was soft, unconsciously seductive, as warm as the night breeze.

Candy’s eyes widened and she clutched her brother’s arm, jumped in place a few times. “He’s coming this way. Oh my god, he’s coming this way.”

The bouncer was moving along the line of people. As he passed, some of the women flirted outrageously with him. He stopped briefly, sent several up to wait for him at the entrance then continued on.

Skye followed him with her eyes. Felt the excitement of the three people next to her as the dark-haired man stopped in front of them. His gaze met hers boldly before moving to encompass the other three then returning to Skye. “They’re with you?”

“Yes.”

The bouncer gave a small nod of acknowledgment. “You’re in,” he said before turning around and going back to the club door.

Candy and Dawn both squealed. Mike flashed his fangs at Skye.

“Let’s go before he changes his mind!” Candy grabbed her brother and Dawn. The three of them hustled after the bouncer.

Skye followed her new companions, amusing herself with the thought that they might ditch her once they got inside. But they didn’t.

The club was packed but they found a table against the wall furthest from the dance floor. “We’re in,” Mike breathed as he sank into a chair. “This is SO RAD.”

“Don’t you come here every night?” Skye asked.

He flushed. “Uh, sure, but we don’t get in that often.”

“So you just hang out all night in line?”

Candy giggled. “It’s not so bad. The waiters come out and take drink orders. We’ve made friends with some of them. When they’re working they can usually get us inside once it gets late.”

“And you come here because you want to meet a vampire?” Skye couldn’t keep the hint of disbelief out of her voice.

“Well sure.” Dawn gave Skye a strange look. “I mean, this is where you come if you want to, like, meet a vampire. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

Mike broke into the conversation, “She’s just getting into the Goth scene.”

Dawn and Candy both nodded, like that explained everything. Dawn said, “So you’re a vampire virgin.”

Skye laughed. Despite the black clothes, pierced noses and lips, these kids were so much simpler than most of the runaways she hunted. She was enjoying them. “Maybe you guys could clue me in.”

Candy almost bounded out of her seat in excitement. “Sure. Oh yeah. I mean, it’s the least we can do. We’ve never gotten into the club this early before.”

“I’ll go get us some beers,” Mike volunteered.

Skye reached into a pocket and handed him some bills. “Whatever’s on tap is fine. First round’s on me.”

“Hey, thanks.” He pocketed the money and hurried toward the bar. Skye was surprised that Dawn hadn’t gone with him so she could guard her territory. But the girl had a bigger plan. She leaned over and said, “The whole thing about being with a vampire is the sex. It’s incredible. I mean, mind-blowing. It’s because they take your blood while they’re doing it, not that you remember that part, but you just
know
it was one of the things that made the sex so great. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Mike is great and all, but not like a vampire. Somebody who looks like you doesn’t have to settle for a vampire wannabe.”