Sara Humphreys: Vampire Trouble

There was still no word from Shane.

Grumbling, Maya kicked her blankets off and made her way out to the living room. Maybe some mindless television would help her get her mind off everything. She snagged the clicker off the couch and flopped onto the pink and white fabric. Shane’s comment about not decorating their place in shades of bubble gum came roaring back. Fresh tears stung her eyes when she realized that would never happen. There would be no apartment with him…no life with him.

The ring of the telephone interrupted her thoughts and made her yelp in surprise. It was probably Olivia or one of her sisters calling to check up on her. Again. Tossing the remote on the table, she padded quietly across the hardwood floor to the kitchen and picked up the cordless phone.

It wasn’t her sisters or Olivia. It was Rat.

“Is this my absentee employee?” he asked playfully.

“Rat?” Maya went back to the couch and sat down. She pulled her bare feet up under her. “Is this about work? Actually, I was going to come see you tomorrow night and let you know that I won’t be working for you anymore. Since I didn’t show up for the past week, I’m probably fired anyway.”

“You’re not fired,” he simpered. “But I can’t say I’m surprised that you quit. I heard you were back in town, and I just wanted to let you know that I have your money from the night you worked. In addition to your pay, you get a cut of the dancers’ tips. I’d come by the club and give it to you, but Olivia is still sore with me for having the wolves at my place. I was only trying to be a good host but I can’t win for losing, I guess.” He let out a beleaguered sigh. “So when can you come by?”

“How about tonight?” Maya asked wearily. “I can’t sleep anyway, and staring at the walls isn’t helping.”

“Yeah, sure. I’m here all night, but do me a favor and leave the boyfriend at home,” Rat griped. “Quesada is a fuckin’ killjoy and he makes my customers nervous.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Rat,” Maya snapped. “I’ll be there in a little while.”

She hung up the phone then quickly dialed Sadie’s cell phone. The old Maya would have run off on her own without thinking about the consequences, but not anymore. She knew it would piss off everyone if she went out tonight by herself, so she decided to ask Sadie to come along.

“This really couldn’t wait until tomorrow night?” Sadie asked as they strode across the street, dodging cars along the way. “You don’t need the money that badly, do you?”

“No.” Maya laughed and linked her arm through Sadie’s before stepping onto the cracked sidewalk in front of The Dollhouse. “I couldn’t sleep so why not do something productive, right?”

“I guess,” Sadie said doubtfully. She grimaced when they approached the strip club’s door. “These places gross me out. A bunch of slobbering, horny guys stuffing money in a half-naked woman’s pants? No thanks.”

“Don’t be such a prude,” Maya teased.

“I am not a prude,” Sadie protested. “I love sex and I’ve had lots of it, but this whole setup feels icky.”

“TJ, the bouncer, isn’t out here,” Maya murmured. She looked around, her senses suddenly on high alert. “That’s strange.”

“What?” Sadie unlinked her arm from Maya and scanned the area with her sister. “Maybe we shouldn’t go in.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Maya said, tugging the door open. “We’ll make it quick.”

Stepping into the dark club, Maya was surprised to see that the entire club was empty. The lights were on and music was blaring, but there wasn’t a customer or an employee in sight. There was, however, the pungent aroma of blood, which made Maya’s fangs break free and sent her hunting instincts into overdrive.

“Do you smell that?” Sadie whispered.

Maya nodded, glanced to the left, and moved toward the bar, where the smell was strongest. There was a pile of dead bodies and the unmistakable residue of vampires who had been dusted. Something glinted in a pile of dust, and Maya squatted down to pick it up. It was a gold tooth.

“Oh my God,” Maya murmured. She showed the tooth to Sadie and rose to her feet. “Rat.”

Stepping away from the carnage, Maya felt a familiar, aching bloom in her gut, and her body shook uncontrollably. She turned her wide, frightened eyes to Sadie and whispered, “Werewolves. Run.”

“Come on,” Sadie whispered harshly and grabbed Maya’s hand.

When the two women turned around, a delicate but deadly net of sterling silver drifted over them in a deceptively gentle manner. They screamed when the silver seared their exposed skin, and both women fell to the ground in a writhing heap. Maya’s vision blurred from the pain, and the last image she saw before she passed out was Horace’s smiling face.

Shane sat on top of the George Washington Bridge and watched the lights of the cars below while the humans made their way from one end to the other. The wolves were at the airport waiting for their plane back to Alaska and a war had been averted. The summit had gone remarkably well, and the Emperor had put the supernatural leaders’ minds at ease regarding the changes in the vampire community.

All was right in the world.

Unless your name was Shane Quesada.

In that case, the world was turned completely on its ear and nothing made sense anymore.

After an hour of back and forth, he had finally convinced Olivia and Doug to have him transferred to Europe. Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed the new sentry when he landed next to Shane on the bridge.

“You are supposed to be patrolling Brooklyn,” Shane said without looking at the younger vampire. “This is not Brooklyn.”

“No shit.” Dakota sat down next to Shane. “I know you’re supposed to be a badass, but all you look like to me is pussy whipped.”

“What I look like is none of your concern.” Shane stilled and turned his head slowly before locking eyes with the underling. “Leave.”

“Damn,” Dakota said through a laugh. He took a lollipop out of his coat pocket, unwrapped it, and stuck it in his mouth. “Pete told me you were uptight.”

“Human candy?” Shane looked at him like he was crazy.

“What?” Dakota shrugged. “I still like how the cinnamon ones taste.”

“Do you have any reason for being here other than to irritate me?” Shane asked dryly.

“Not really,” Dakota said with a shrug. “I did a pass of Brooklyn and got bored. So I came to see where you wanted me to go next. Pete is back on paternity leave now that the wolves are headed out of town, so you are my go-to guy. So, where do I go? The sun is gonna be up in a little while.”

Before Shane could tell him to go to hell, the phone in his pocket buzzed. It was Doug’s number.

“Yes?”

“We have a problem,” Doug bit out. “Horace gave his father the slip at the airport. He told him he was going to use the can, but he never came back. Killian insisted his father go home with the others, but he’s staying behind to deal with his little brother. Looks like he doesn’t want the old man to have any blood on his hands.”

“When?” Tension radiated up Shane’s back along with an impending sense of doom.

The line was silent for a beat or two before Doug said, “Over an hour ago.” Shane swore loudly, but Doug shouted over him. “Killian just called me, man. He tried to find him on his own first but the trail went cold. He’s embarrassed, and I can’t say that I blame him.”

“Where is Maya?” Shane asked, leaping to his feet. Panic and fear filled him, recalling the look of outright fury on Horace’s face at the bridge. He was outraged when he realized that he’d been duped and Maya wasn’t coming to meet him. “Is she safe?”