Sara Humphreys - Tall, Dark, and Vampire

His weary brown eyes looked at her with pure terror, and he shook his head. “You don’t understand,” he whispered. “The Maker can do what he pleases. I hear yesterday you kill many of his coven, but he will make more.”

“I know,” she said firmly. “The Maker? Is that what they’re calling him?”

“That’s what he call himself.” Jerry handed a cup to Olivia and then to Doug before waving his hands at them and shaking his head. He went over and sat at his vanity and began to admire himself in the mirror. “That all I know. Now take this big gorilla, and get out my apartment.”

Doug chugged the blood and noted that unlike Olivia’s blood, it provided sustenance for his body, but didn’t do a thing for his soul. He placed the empty glass on the counter and glanced at Olivia. Everything paled in comparison to her. He studied her as she drank and sensed the frustration she was feeling. This guy was stonewalling her.

“I think you should start talking.” Doug’s voice, low and insistent, filled the room. “From what Olivia’s told me, you’ve been helpful before, but she needs your help now more than ever.”

Jerry avoided his gaze as he grabbed a tissue from the box and wiped his hands. “I not telling you anything.”

Doug let out a loud sigh. “I don’t have the patience or the inclination to dick around with you, Jerry .”

“Is that so, big man?” Jerry slammed his hand onto the table and glared at Doug in the mirror. “I’m hundred and fifty years old, youngling. Not only that, but Emperor Zhao is part of my family. If I want to, I could crush you like bug. I could—”

Quicker than a snake, Doug grabbed Jerry with one hand, yanked him out of the chair by his neck, and held him in midair. Jerry’s eyes bugged out of his head in shock as he clutched at Doug’s hand and flailed his small feet helplessly.

He hissed and bared his fangs, but it did little good to loosen Doug’s grip or weaken his resolve. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Olivia gaping, but he kept all of his focus on Jerry.

“I don’t give a crap who you’re related to, and based on your current position, I’d say the bug in our little situation is you.” He increased the pressure on Jerry’s neck ever so slightly. “Now, I may be a new vampire, but I’m an old cop. I know bullshit when I smell it.”

Doug tossed Jerry across the room onto the bed.

“I don’t know what you’re afraid of, but I can promise you one thing,” he said, drawing his gun and pointing it at Jerry’s head. “You should be more afraid of me and of what I’m going to do if you don’t share what you know.”

Jerry scrambled back on the bed into the pile of pillows and looked to Olivia for help.

“Eyes on me, little man.” He flipped the safety on the gun, and Jerry looked back to him. “That’s better. Now. What do you know about the rogues and this guy, The Maker?”

“Washington Square Hotel.” Jerry ran a hand over his bald head. “I hear they go there yesterday.” He flashed a furious look to Doug. “That all I tell you. Now get out before I tell Emperor Zhao how bad you treat his favorite cousin.”

“Washington Square Hotel?” Doug put the safety back on and holstered his weapon. “It’s right by where both of the victims were found.” He turned to Olivia, who now stood beside him. “It’s a central location. Not only that, Moriarty stays there with his crew from time to time.”

Olivia nodded. “Holing up at a ritzy hotel during the day would be a lot better than an abandoned subway station.” She smirked and lifted one shoulder playfully. “Not that I minded.”

Doug winked and then shifted his attention back to Jerry. “If you hear anything else, you go to the Presidium and fill them in. Right now, our only advantage is that we’ve got the element of surprise. They don’t know we’ve figured out where they’re holing up, but let me promise you something, Jerry.” He leaned both hands on the footboard of the bed and leveled a deadly glare at the diminutive man. “If they get wind of the fact that we’re onto them, and if one single hair on Olivia’s head is harmed, I’m taking it out on your ass.”

He and Olivia let themselves out and hit the city streets once again, heading toward the park. As they walked in silence, Doug took a mental count of the ammunition he had left, and it wasn’t a good number.

“We’re low on ammo.”

“Got it covered, detective.” Olivia gestured to the dark alley on the left. “Let’s duck in here for a second.”

Memories of their kiss in the alley came roaring back, and his cock stirred to life as he walked beside her. There wasn’t time for fooling around—but later, all bets were off.

Olivia stopped in the cover of darkness and grinned, her white fangs flashing brightly.

“Let’s fly, lover.”

She shot into the sky like a bullet, and he could hear the beautiful sound of her laughter as she zipped through the night. Wasting no time, he flew up into the night to join his lover as she sped through the city sky. Doug didn’t know who this Maker guy was, and he had no idea what kind of shit-show they were getting into, but there were a few things he was sure of.

He’d been reincarnated. He was a vampire. He was in love with Olivia. And even though there was a solid chance he was going to die, he was having the time of his life… of any life.

Olivia and Doug landed silently in a dark corner of Washington Square Park. It was close to midnight, and this part of the park was deserted, so there was little danger of humans seeing them. They made their way swiftly down the steps of the West Fourth Street subway station, and not surprisingly, found it empty.

They hopped the turnstile and walked to the end of the platform. Olivia took a quick look around, and satisfied there were no humans in the vicinity, she pushed the black tiles in the wall that read W Fourth Street. Moments later, a large section of the wall swung inward.

“Unbelievable,” Doug murmured as he followed Olivia into the emergency armory storage facility.

The lights flickered on as the door sealed shut behind them, and Doug swore under his breath as he looked at the arsenal that surrounded them. Olivia smiled and took a brief moment to enjoy his wonder and awe at this latest discovery.

“I love seeing our world through your eyes. I’ve been doing this for so long, I forget what a shock certain things will be for you.”

“Are there armories like this in other places?”

“Yes.” Olivia snagged a new gun and a few rounds of ammunition and handed them to Doug. “We have several for the sentries, and they are the only ones who know where they are. I have my own weapons closet at my apartment, but I didn’t want to risk taking the fight there. I figure the rogues are looking for us too.”

“You heard from the girls?” he asked tentatively. “Or is your telepathy still limited to me?”

She adjusted the gun at her hip and checked the safety. “When we flew over here I tried to contact Trixie. She’s my rebel, you know, so I thought maybe… but nothing.”

“When did you turn her?”

Olivia stilled for a moment before looking up at him. She was worried she might see contempt or scorn, yet all she saw was curiosity.

“In 1980. I found her dying of a heroin overdose in the subway tunnels. She was heavily involved in the punk-music and drug scene here in the city, but her dreams of making it in the Big Apple didn’t quite pan out.”

“What about Sadie? You two seem closer than the others.” His inspecting gaze wandered over her. “She seems like more of an equal to you than the other girls.”

“Sadie’s been with me since the night I split with Vincent and just before I became a sentry. Her family lived in a remote cabin in what was then considered the frontier, and they fell victim to an Indian attack. Vincent and I smelled the blood and went to check it out. Sadie was barely alive, but her parents and five siblings were dead.” Olivia’s mind filled with the memories of that night, and she grimaced. “She looked so innocent and alone. I couldn’t leave her there.”