Stakeout (Aurora Sky (2 page)

“How long have you been around?”

Gavin lifted his chin proudly. “Two hundred
and eight years.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Old man.”

“I’m immortal, not old.”

There was maybe fifteen inches between our
faces. I leaned forward. “But I mean, how old do you feel?”

“Eighteen.”

I puffed in disbelief.

Gavin smiled. The most I ever saw inside his
mouth was his two front teeth and their immediate companions. Not
far from those he had a set of sharpened teeth, which I’d
personally experienced buried inside my neck.

“When you look eighteen, people treat you
like you’re eighteen,” Gavin explained.

“Why don’t you have an accent?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Aren’t you originally from Europe?” He was
Caucasian and over 200 years old. Had to be European, right?

Gavin scowled. “I’m not European. I was born
in America.”

I looked up at the rust-colored ceiling. “Two
hundred and eight years ago?”

Gavin sat up straighter. “You better believe
it. Virginia native, just like George Washington.” He eyed me
dubiously. “You do know who George Washington was, don’t you?”

I leaned forward and smacked him on the
shoulder. “Of course I do!”

“Ouch.” Gavin rubbed his shoulder. “You’re
strong for such a shorty.”

“Alaska born and bred,” I said, lifting my
nose. “Like a bear cub.”

“Black bear,” Gavin said smiling. “Small, but
fierce.”

“That’s right.” I stretched and lay back on
the bed, staring at the ceiling. Gavin followed my lead, breathing
steadily beside me.

“Why the blood lust?” I asked even though I
knew the answer from training. In addition to their nocturnal
habits, vampires were afflicted with a rare genetic disorder that
broke down the production of hemoglobin, the red pigment found in
blood. The desire to drink blood wasn’t driven by lust so much as
instinct. Vampires were simultaneously diseased and yet untouchable
in terms of sickness and age.

The irony of being a vampire.

“I feel better after drinking blood,” Gavin
admitted.

“Why not just drink from a bag?”

Gavin turned on his side, propping his head
on his hand. “I don’t have access to that kind of supply for
starters. Secondly, it’s not fresh.”

I turned my head. “You can taste a
difference?”

“Of course.”

“Fresh squeezed,” I said and snorted.

Gavin grinned. “And then there’s the intimate
experience of drawing blood directly from the source.”

I grinned mischievously at him. “You like
that, do you?”

“You tell me.”

I turned toward the ceiling, closing my eyes
as Gavin leaned in. He inhaled through his nose before sinking his
teeth inside my neck. Pleasure and pain shot through me. I cried
out softly when his teeth broke through my skin.

His lips pulled gently at my neck as he
coaxed blood from my vein to his tongue.

A feeling of warmth and connection rushed
through me. It wasn’t like this usually. Usually it was like
bracing myself for a shot and waiting for the needle to come back
out. But Gavin, oh Gavin, why did I suddenly feel lightheaded in
the most welcome way?

“How do I taste?” I asked breathlessly.

He lay back beside me. I glanced at his lips
feeling a rush of attraction.

“You taste... different.”

I looked quickly from his mouth to his eyes.
“Different how?”

“I don’t know. Your blood has a unique
flavor.”

I relaxed my head back into the blanket and
smiled. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“No, there’s something odd about your
taste.”

An involuntary shiver traveled up my spine.
What if information ever leaked that informants had a particular
flavor or vampires figured it out for themselves? It would make it
pretty hard to fly under the radar if they had only to taste the
truth.

“And you just noticed this now?” I asked.

“I noticed the first time I bit you. I asked
Henry about it, and he noticed the same thing. We’ve never tasted
another human with blood like yours.”

One of the candle flames in the corner
started spazzing out as it reached the end of the wick. Goosebumps
rose over my arms. At least they didn’t have another informant to
compare me with.

“What blood type are you?” Gavin asked.

“AB positive,” I answered truthfully.

Gavin reached a hand in the air as though
attempting to touch the ceiling. “Me, too.”

I tried to listen to music on the drive home, but
the lyrics kept competing with my thoughts so I switched the tunes
off.

I should have been pondering blood type and
taste, but I kept snapping back to the moment Gavin ran his tongue
over my arm. Why had he done that? Seemed like he wanted something
more from me.

Sex with a vampire.

I’d always figured it was only a matter of
time before Melcher ordered it. What if a vampire chose me?
Sleeping with Gavin was practically a job requirement if he
initiated it. And if I happened to encourage it, it was solely in
the name of duty.

I snorted aloud. “Liar.”

I passed my apartment building, pulling into
a curbside spot a block down the street. Each unit had only one
spot under the carport and my roommate Michelle called it since her
name was on the lease.

I checked our mailbox as I came through the
front entrance. Among the catalogs and magazines was a red, padded
envelope addressed to me. There was no return address. I squeezed
the stack of mail under my arm and unlocked the door to the lower
entrance, quickly passing the laundry room. Our apartment was a
third story, corner unit on the far side of the building. Wind had
blown snow into the open hallway. The particles were as dry as dust
and had collected into piles along the wall like sand from an
hourglass.

The hollow echo of my footsteps followed me
to the front door. I pulled out my skull and crossbones keychain
and unlocked the door. Light from the TV flashed across the living
room’s far wall. I set the magazines on the kitchen counter.

My second roommate, Trudy, stood in the
living room flicking her wrists at her boyfriend, Alex, who missed
the gesture completely as he played a war game on Xbox.

“All you ever do is stare at that damn
screen. We never talk or do anything interesting anymore,” Trudy
said.

Alex tilted sideways with his controller,
eyes on the TV as he responded. “Then why do you want to go to the
movies? I’ll be staring at a screen, and we won’t be talking. I can
do that here without having to pay twenty bucks.”

I muttered a quick “hi” before ducking inside
my bedroom and closing the door. Trudy and Alex reminded me of an
old married couple. I’d forgotten how boring guys who didn’t bite
could be.

Once I was seated cross-legged on the floor,
I tore into the envelope.

Out spilled candy, a pendant, and another red
envelope. I tore it open and pulled out an invitation.

LOVE BITES

COCKTAIL PARTY

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH

DUSK

AT THE PALACE

HOSTED BY MARCUS

WEAR RED OR BLACK

I took a closer look at the pendant that had fallen
out: a silver heart with the words “Bite Me” engraved in the
middle. I unclasped the chain and put it around my neck.

Trudy’s voice carried through the walls. “You
think I want to spend my night off watching you play video
games?”

I fished my iPod out of my backpack. Once my
ear buds were inserted, I turned up the volume and began undressing
for bed. Pajama pants and tank tops were my personal sleep
favorites. I stripped off my lace gloves. Before replacing them
with soft arm warmers, I held my palm up to my face, feeling a
slight tremor run down my torso. I couldn’t remember the last time
a guy had made my heart rate quicken. Even Mr. Griffin, my Psych
teacher at Denali High, had been mere eye candy in comparison.

I selected “Love Song for a Vampire” by Annie
Lennox from my playlist. The music played through my ear buds as I
opened my bedroom door and moved down the hall to the bathroom.

Usually I could hear Trudy through the music
from this location, but no angry girl voice screamed through the
tune. I popped my head around the corner. The living room and
kitchen were submerged in darkness. Alex wasn’t in front of the
TV.

That was weird. Maybe Trudy had finally
browbeat him into taking her on an actual date, or maybe he’d gone
home to gun down animated characters on his own TV. I saw a slight
movement in front of the kitchen window. I hit the pause button on
my iPod and pulled my ear buds out.

Trudy and Alex had their backs to me, staring
at something outside.

“What’s going on?” I asked, walking toward
the kitchen.

“Some guy’s been out there sitting in his car
all night,” Trudy said without turning around.

“All night?” I asked.

“I first saw him when I grabbed us beers,”
Trudy said, turning to Alex. “How long ago was that?”

Alex stood straight, arms flexed. “At least
three hours ago.”

“Maybe he’s picking someone up,” I said.

Trudy leaned away from the windowpane. “Or he
could be a psycho waiting for someone to come home so he can kill
her.”

I shuddered, despite the unlikelihood of
Trudy’s musings. Unfortunately, sick things happened. I’d seen
actual corpses in my line of work. Well, if it wasn’t a vampire, it
wasn’t my problem. That didn’t mean I wasn’t curious to take a look
at our neighbor’s potential stalker.

“Let me see.”

Trudy moved aside enough to free up a spot at
the window. Alex was rooted in place, unable to keep his eyes off
the mystery vehicle. “I’m going down there,” he said before I had a
chance to locate the car.

“No, Alex. Don’t!” Trudy’s face stretched in
panic.

“I’m just going to ask what he’s doing,” Alex
said, backing away from the window and moving toward the door.

Trudy abandoned her post to chase after him.
“Alex, I’m begging you. Do not go out there. Let’s call the
police... or ignore him. He’s not our problem.”

Now that I had the window to myself, I looked
down at the cars below the low ceiling of the carport. None of them
were idling. Then I saw it, exhaust pouring steadily from a red and
silver Bronco alongside the neighboring warehouse. My heart shot
straight into my throat. I wavered as though the ground below me
were rolling under a quake.

I was too high up to see the driver, but I
knew who he was. Trudy hadn’t been far off with the psycho
part.

The last person I ever wanted to see again
was only a stone’s throw away. My father had found me.

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