Vampire in Geek's Clothing (Psy-Vamp Book 6)
Read Vampire in Geek's Clothing (Psy-Vamp Book 6) Online
Authors: Cassandra Lawson
Vampire
in Geek’s
Clothing
~~~
Cassandra Lawson
Copyright ©2016 Cassandra Lawson
All Rights Reserved
Cover Image © Big Stock Photo Inc./Wrangel
Proofreading by Kendra’s Editing and Book Services
This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events
are creations of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people or
events is purely coincidental.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a
copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by
federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to five years in
prison and a fine of $250,000.
Moon Virus Series
Psy-Vamp Series
Safe Hex With a
Vampire (Book 2)
Vampires Prefer
Blondes (Book 3)
The Vampire Will See
You Now (Book 4)
Spells That Bind Series
With each book, I am overwhelmed with the support I receive.
I want to say a special thanks to my fabulous beta readers, Kari, Levenia, and
Ria. Words cannot describe how awesome you ladies are. I am also grateful for
the many bloggers who help get the word out about my books and take the time to
review each new book. Thank you to everyone who takes time to review my books. It
has been a crazy three years since I published my first book, and I truly value
all of my readers, old and new. Thank you for taking a chance on me.
Turning ten is a big deal for all kids, and Phoenix would
probably be excited about reaching double digits if she weren’t a hunter. Being
a hunter meant she had to start training with one of her family
members—training to hunt and kill creatures that posed a major threat to
humankind, or so she’d been told. The arrow-shaped mark on her hip meant she
was a hunter, and her future had been decided on the day of her birth. Sure,
she could have a career someday, but it would be secondary to being a hunter.
“I don’t want to kill people,” she whispered, clutching her
teddy bear close. The bear had been with her as long as she could remember, and
he was falling apart at this point. A hole under his arm revealed bits of
escaping stuffing, and one of his eyes was missing. Still, she refused to get
rid of him. Mostly, the bear sat on the shelf above her bed, but today, she
needed to cling to her childhood, likely because it was being stolen from her.
Just the thought brought the familiar tightness to her chest, and Phoenix had
to remind herself to breathe deeply and remain calm. Her anxiety had gotten
worse in the last few months.
Phoenix chose to ignore the knock on her bedroom door,
knowing who it was. She’d heard her uncle’s car pull into the driveway a few
minutes ago, right on time to begin her training.
“Phoenix?” he called out through the door, but she ignored
him, instead staring out the window and wondering if she should run away. Of
course, she had no place to go, and the other hunters would easily find her.
“Come on, Phoenix,” he cajoled from the other side of her
door. “I get that you’re nervous, but this is going to be fun. It’s what you
were born for, and you’re going to love it. Just give it a chance.”
“I am not a killer!” she screamed at the top of her lungs,
which turned out to be a big mistake. Now, her chest felt even tighter, and her
muscles ached from the effort it took to control the shaking.
This time, her uncle just entered the room, dressed in
workout clothes with his long black hair pulled back from his pale, angular
face. Like all hunters, he remained fit, in full fighting form, despite the
fact that they weren’t supposed to kill vampires unless provoked. There hadn’t
been any issues with vampires in a very long time. Phoenix didn’t understand
why they still trained. Her uncle’s nearly black eyes softened when he saw her,
and he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. A hunter wasn’t raised
to be nurturing or loving—a fact Phoenix knew all too well. While her parents
had never mistreated her, they didn’t offer her much in the way of affection.
They’d never stood up for her when her cousin, Hayden, had picked on her, or
when he’d touched her in places she knew he shouldn’t. They’d simply told her
that a hunter had to defend herself, which might have been good advice if
Phoenix weren’t a broken hunter. That was the only explanation for the fact
that she struggled to breathe whenever she dealt with any type of
confrontation.
“Phoenix,” her uncle began in a gentle voice, “I was also
nervous when I started my training, but it’s going to be fine.”
“Please don’t make me do this,” she breathed out softly. “I
don’t want to learn to hate vampires.”
“We don’t hate vampires,” her uncle assured her, placing one
of his much larger hands on her arm. She couldn’t help noticing the many
differences between her and her uncle. Her skin was a soft shade of brown,
thanks to her mixed heritage. She had inherited her mother’s small frame and
green eyes, while her hair was a silky brown like her father’s. Her hair was
cut extremely short at the moment, not by choice. Her cousin, Hayden, had cut a
huge chunk of it out with a knife.
“If we don’t hate them, why learn to kill them?” she asked,
glad the tightness in her chest had finally eased some.
“They’re dangerous,” he explained. “We’re the only defense
humans have against vampires should the vampires go on a killing spree.”
“Has that ever happened?” Phoenix asked. “Not before our
truce with the vampires, but since then?”
“On occasion,” he replied with a shrug. “In all honesty, the
fact that they have the ability to drain energy from humans and control their
minds makes vampires too dangerous. While other territories feel we need to
live in peace, we don’t agree with that here. It would be best if we put an end
to their species before they can do too much damage. The smart thing to do
would be to kill every male so they can’t produce more of their kind.”
Phoenix’s anger suddenly outweighed her nerves. “
We’re
dangerous to the vampires. Do you think that gives them the right to hunt us
down and kill us? Or, do you just think it gives them the right to hunt down
all the breeders so our line will die out?”
Her uncle chuckled at her outburst. “Don’t say that around
the other hunters in the area or you might find yourself in serious trouble.
Listen, I realize that you’ve been hoping to get out of training, but you
can’t. You were born for this, and it’s time to accept that.”
Phoenix wanted to cry again, but she fought her tears
because it would do her no good. While her uncle might pretend to care about
her, she knew it was just an act. No one in her life cared about anything other
than the stupid mark on her hip. “I wish my mark was on my arm,” she muttered.
“Why is that?” her uncle asked, sounding only vaguely
curious.
“Then I could cut my arm off and be free of you all,” she
told him, aiming an angry glare his way.
Her uncle sighed. “Let’s go start your training. I was going
to start here, but now I’m thinking it would be best if we went back to my
place. I’ve got a studio we can use.”
Phoenix stood on wobbly legs. Looking down, she saw her
teddy bear, still grasped tightly in her left hand. With one last shaky breath,
she released the bear and let him fall to the ground, before following her
uncle out of the room without another word.
Two hours later, her uncle finally gave up on teaching her
to fight. At first, he’d looked angry and frustrated. Now, as she studied him
from the passenger seat of his car, he looked tired. They hadn’t spoken in more
than ten minutes. For her part, she was still recovering from the crushing
pressure in her chest that had nearly caused her to black out.
“How long have you been having the panic attacks?” he
finally asked.
She shrugged, still refusing to look at him because she
didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes. “As long as I can remember,
I’ve felt like it was hard to breathe when I’m really upset or excited. Now,
it’s getting worse, and it happens for no reason at all sometimes.”
“We need to get you out of the area,” he stated after a long
pause.
Phoenix sat up in her seat and just stared at her uncle.
His lips curled up into a hint of a smile. “Did you think
I’d throw you to the other hunters like some sacrificial lamb?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I’ve always been told that I have to
become a hunter.”
“If our bodies could handle the medication they give humans
for anxiety, I’d say the same,” he began, sounding frustrated and sad.
“Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do. I’m going to work with you on some
breathing exercises. While I’m doing that, we’ll pretend you’re training, and
I’ll arrange a safe place for you and your parents.”
“Won’t the other hunters find me?” she asked in a small
voice.
“I can get a witch to put a spelled tattoo over your mark,”
he assured her.
“A spelled tattoo?” she asked. “I’ve never heard of anything
like that.”
“We use it for retired hunters,” he explained. “It’s not
something your parents would know about.”
Phoenix felt hope blossom for the first time in many months.
Her uncle was going to help, something she’d never have expected. She should
have known at the time what a mistake it was to believe there was an easy
escape from her life. When a hit-and-run driver ended her uncle’s life two
weeks later, Phoenix lost her only ally.
Twelve Years Later
Things had been much messier than he’d anticipated, but
overall, Hayden was proud of how his first vampire kill had gone. While he’d
made a few mistakes, that was to be expected. It’s not like he’d been offered
the same training as others in his family. Since he hadn’t been born with the
right mark on his body, he’d never been given the opportunity to learn to kill.
Only one child in each family had the mark of a hunter—a fact Hayden had
resented since early childhood. Those antiquated rules were the reason his
older brother was dead. Hayden had never been able to get past his resentment
of his brother—the golden child destined to be a hunter. His older brother had
technically been his first kill, but he didn’t consider it a real kill since
he’d used poison. No one had ever suspected his brother had been murdered.
He’d just made it back to his family’s home and tossed his
bloody clothing into the incinerator, a useful thing to have in a family with a
hunter. After years of being angry about his lack of hunter’s mark, Hayden had
decided to say fuck fate. That bitch could suck his dick.
Walking past his parents’ bedroom, he experienced a moment
of regret. Even though they were assholes who’d refused to see him as more than
a breeder, he almost regretted what he had to do. Standing naked just outside
their bedroom, he watched them struggle to free themselves. In the immaculate
bedroom, with its pristine white carpets, and hideous flowery bedspread, his
parents sat waiting for him, both tied to chairs. The smell made him wrinkle
his nose. At least one of them had pissed themselves in the time he’d been
gone.
“Just give me a minute to grab a knife,” he told them with a
smirk.
His mother whimpered behind her gag, probably having realized
these were the last moments of her life. Walking back to his bedroom, he began
to feel a little creepy about killing his own parents while naked, especially
if he ended up getting as hard as he had when he’d killed the vampire. Who
would have guessed that killing could be such a big turn on? With the
information he’d gotten from the vampire’s home, he now had more than one kill
to look forward to. He’d wipe out the vampire’s entire family, but that would
have to wait a little longer. His parents’ deaths would help him gain the
support of the hunters in tracking down his whore cousin.
Slipping on a pair of jeans, he found himself wondering what
kind of asshole would get hard killing his own mom. That shit seemed almost as
fucked up as what his whore cousin had done. As much as it pained him, he
wouldn’t be able to enjoy this kill. After dressing, he gathered up what he’d
need. He’d have to leave most of his belongings behind to make his story look
convincing to the hunters. On the way to the back door, he dropped several lit
matches. Sadly, he didn’t have any gasoline to splatter around. There was a
small chance the fire would be put out before his parents died. Still, the
estate sat far enough from the road that no one would see the flames until it
was too late, so the matches should do the job. He’d already taken time to
disable the security system that would alert someone from the fire department.
As he climbed into his car, the flames were just starting to
take, and Hayden could see the smoke through the windows. Even though he really
wanted to see the house engulfed in flames, he couldn’t stay to watch. Pulling
his checklist from his pocket, he grabbed a pen from the console. He believed
in being organized. Frowning, he noticed that he hadn’t put his parents on the
list, an annoying oversight because he couldn’t check them off now. With a
sigh, he crossed out the first name.
“Andrei Draksel—check.” Next on his list he’d written
The
Whore
. Once he found her, he’d spend weeks making her beg for death.
