Laurann Dohner - Something Wicked This Way Comes, Volume 2

He’s back. Matty leaned closer to the window, glanced at the clock across her bedroom and realized he’d barely beaten the sun rising. Her focus returned to the house across the street as the man climbed out of the back of the limousine, his near-white braid trailing down his back to his waist, seeming to glow from the street lamp.

He turned, bent down, talking to someone inside the black vehicle. She could hear his deep chuckle with her window open. His muscular arm braced on the roof of the car, thick biceps displayed in the black tank top he’d chosen, and it stretched across a broad chest.

“Have a good one,” he told his ride home, the brogue as clear as the deep baritone of his voice.

It gave her chills every time she heard it. He pushed the car door closed and glanced at the sky, before striding briskly toward his home.

Matty grinned at seeing the blue plaid kilt he wore. She never thought she’d find a guy wearing a skirt hot but that was before she’d glimpsed “Kilt”. She’d dubbed him that since she didn’t know his real name. She’d raided his mailbox a few times but the only name on the ads had been the old homeowner.

Kilt had moved in three months before and it had become a habit of hers to watch him whenever possible. She hated it when he unlocked his door to disappear inside.

Lights turned on and off as he moved through the house. She knew where he’d go, it was always the same routine. The first two floors of the house went dark. She looked up and sure enough, the vented attic glowed slightly, barely noticeable unless someone was looking for it. He slept there during the day.

I have it bad for a guy who I’m pretty sure is a vampire . The thought made her back away from the window. She normally wouldn’t believe in such things but it made sense. She’d never seen him during the daytime. He didn’t answer his door, only seemed awake at night, and he always made it home before the sun rose. It would account for his weird visitors. Most of them were reject dressers from various time periods.

He could be allergic, one of those rare people sickened by the sun, but she’d noticed the white van making deliveries every Monday and Friday. She’d called in a favor with her friend at the police department to run the plates and it had been registered to a blood bank. It all fit and the facts seemed clear.

She remained seated in her chair, waiting for the sun to rise, and knew she’d go to bed soon. Matty had her own reasons for keeping the hours she did. She’d let her guard down once during the night and now the darkness frightened her. Dawn broke and the sky pinkened with streaks as she watched. She stood, stretched her arms high and twisted her hips a little to alleviate the stiffness from sitting too long.

A black van pulled up to the curb across the street and she frowned. It wasn’t one she’d seen before, could only be visiting her house or Kilt’s, and that wasn’t feasible. No one ever came to see her and anyone who knew him wouldn’t arrive after the sun rose. She stepped back into the shadows, watching as a man climbed from the driver’s side. He opened the slide door and leaned in.

She grabbed her binoculars and could make out the interior of his van. The guy had crosses, two long wooden stakes, and what appeared to be a squirt gun of the gallon-sized variety that kids loved to play with during the summer.

Oh shit. Kilt seemed to have been discovered by someone who obviously intended to do him harm. She bit her lip as the guy wedged the stakes and crosses between his pants and belt, then hoisted up the plastic weapon she suspected held holy water. The van door slammed closed, the stranger studied Kilt’s house and crept toward the side gate.

Matty bit her lip. She shouldn’t interfere but she liked to watch her neighbor. He hadn’t ever bothered her, no one on the block had disappeared, and he wouldn’t have blood delivered if he were a killer. He’d be getting it for free by attacking people.

“Damn,” she muttered, rushing for her nightstand.

She grabbed the gun and the stun gun, not wanting to kill the stranger but ready to if it came down to him or her. The small screwdriver she kept to change the batteries on her remote came with her. She jogged out of her room, down the stairs, and exited the front door. Her bare feet flew across her grass, barely slowed on the pavement, and she reached Kilt’s front door.

The locks were flimsy and he didn’t have an alarm pad. She grimaced. It was stupid not to use technology but maybe he didn’t want responders coming to his home if it were ever triggered. She used the screwdriver to stab into the deadbolt lock and it turned the bolt. She wiggled the tip between the door handle and the wall, closed her eyes, and smiled when it popped open. Simple as pie. Her hand pushed open the front door.

Yeah, I’m definitely going to have a talk with my neighbor about his cheap taste in hardware. She glanced around, closed the door behind her and sprinted for the stairs. The intruder was probably still trying to work his way into the house. He’d have to figure out how to wiggle the back slider until the lock popped or get through a window. She doubted he’d be brave enough to smash glass for fear of drawing attention of other homeowners to his trespassing.

She avoided the bedrooms, sure Kilt wouldn’t be there, and headed for the door at the end of the hallway. She hesitated when her fingers touched the handle. Every vampire movie she’d ever seen flashed through her memory and she drew back. No way would she enter the attic. Her neighbor could attack her. She spun instead, stepped into the laundry area and waited.

The bedrooms all had thick curtains, the doors open, but hardly any light filtered into the second floor. Her ears strained and she heard someone coming up the stairs. The stranger had a heavy tread, breathed loudly as if he’d done something to get a workout, and her hand reached for the gun she’d shoved inside her robe pocket. Fingers curved around metal. The weight comforted her as she slid her other hand into the matching pocket, grabbing the stun gun.

A light clicked on near the stairs, illuminating the hallway. She hesitated before inching forward. She peeked around the wall to watch the stranger disappear into the room and she tiptoed down the hallway. She pressed against the wall next to the room he searched and waited.

The closet jerked open inside the bedroom, the guy obviously looking for Kilt, and he softly cursed. Matty’s hand tightened on the button of the stun gun, her other hand ready to jerk out the gun if needed. The shadow moved on the floor as he stalked closer.

Her heart pounded but she had surprise on her side. She lunged as the shadow grew larger. The guy startled when he faced Matty. His brown eyes widened as he stared at her face, another advantage she had, and her hand shot out. The metal bars touched the guy just as she pushed the button.

The clicking noise seemed to create a beat for the stranger to dance to as his body began to shake, twitch, and she watched him pale. His arm shot out while he jerked around, struck her face, but it didn’t hurt. She pulled away quickly. She didn’t ease up on shocking him until his eyes rolled up and the guy collapsed on the floor unconscious.

She stepped over his body into the bedroom. Her gaze swept the room and landed on the drape ties hanging uselessly from the wall. She retrieved them, returned to the intruder, and used her foot to roll him over. His limp body flopped onto his belly. She braced her knee on his ass and quickly tied his wrists behind his back. She returned to the wall to remove a second set of drape ties. She pulled up each of his ankles, hogtied him tightly, and began disarming him.