Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) (4 page)

Why couldn’t he have sucked my blood?

Wishing wouldn’t make it happen.

Jeremy threw his shoulder blades into the next wave of assaults. My head slammed back against the wall.

“Ow!” I cried.

This had to stop.

I tried to knee Jeremy in the groin, but access wasn’t ideal from the rear. My kneecap ended up bouncing off his butt.

This was ridiculous. I wasn’t letting some sleazy, murderous vampire make me miss my first day of college.

I screamed and yanked back the two ends of the cord. A definitive “snap” followed. Unfortunately it wasn’t Jeremy’s neck.

The cord broke in two.

Well, crap.

Jeremy gasped, taking in large gulps of air, his body pitching forward.

Boot camp had taught me to expect the unexpected. Always have a Plan B, C, and D.

It sounded good in theory.

At the moment I had a couple seconds before Jeremy regained his breath enough to come after me.

I still had two pieces of phone cord. Although considerably shorter—like, by half—either piece would still stretch across Jeremy’s neck. I dropped the shortest of the two halves. There was barely room to wrap the cord once around each of my palms. I’d just have to hope I had enough for Jeremy’s neck.

I slipped the cord around his neck when he doubled over, hacking. The coughing stopped and gagging resumed.

Killing a vampire was never easy and, unfortunately, didn’t get any easier with practice. I didn’t care how much the instructors made us run or how many obstacles and scenarios they put us through. Murder didn’t come naturally. At least not to me.

Jeremy didn’t fight back as hard the second round. There wasn’t enough cord left to cross wires. I held my fists together just behind his neck, not letting up for an instant.

This isn’t by choice. You’re the one killing guests. Couldn’t just suck their blood and send them home. You brought this on yourself.

I’d found myself having more and more conversations in my head since starting boot camp. Definitely time to get back out into the real world.

It took me a moment to notice that Jeremy had stopped struggling. In the next instant, he fell forward, me with him. I landed on his back with an “umph.”

Even as Jeremy lay on the floor motionless, I kept hold of the line just in case.

Sitting in silence until I couldn’t take the stress any longer, I released one end of the cord and checked Jeremy’s wrist for a pulse. Nothing.

Next I put my hand over his mouth to check for breath. If he bit me, it was his funeral.

Nothing there, either.

Death confirmed, I leapt to my feet. I scooped up the second phone line and the stilettos before bolting from the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I raced down the hall, down the stairs, and across the living room, not caring who I bumped along the way, until I reached the front door and threw it open.

Once I reached the porch, I walked the rest of the way barefoot to the SUV waiting across the street.

I yanked open the door and jumped inside.

“How was my time?” I asked.

“Twelve minutes, twenty-three seconds,” Hansen answered.

Gee, I could have grabbed a wine cooler on my way out.

The driver, Samuel, turned around and looked at me for the first time. His light brown crew cut and green eyes looked more Ken doll than GI Joe.

“Where’s the body?” he asked.

“Upstairs at the end of the hall, door on the left.”

Samuel got out of the car, leaving it running as he crossed the street with purposeful strides.

I wanted Sam’s job. Confirm the kill rather than perform it.

I dropped the two pieces of cord and stilettos on the floor beside my feet.

“Great, so I’m done now,” I remarked, relief washing over me.

“We’ll find out in a moment,” Hansen said.

Couldn’t just say “congratulations,” could he?

I wasn’t exactly in the mood for high-fives, anyway. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to see my mom and grandma again. I wanted to talk and laugh with Dante face-to-face. Because of Dante, I’d remained sane during the first few brutal weeks at camp. He texted me every day. He kept me laughing and my spirits high.

I’d never had a friend like him before; someone who loved me unconditionally.

My only concern was that he wanted more, and I wasn’t sure if I could give him that.

Dante was Dante. A great friend. My pal. My bud.

But his texts suggested otherwise. I still had our first exchange memorized.

Dante: Where are you?

Me: Classified.

Dante: How about a hint?

Me: Can’t.

Dante: You’re killing me, Sky.

Me: I’m the one at boot camp.

Dante: Try celibacy.

Me: Striking out with all the ladies?

Dante: Waiting for you.

Me: You think that’s going to help you score or something?

Dante: I’m counting on it.

I’d written it off as typical Dante, cheering me up during my first week of camp. I fully expected him to move on and find a more willing, not to mention available, woman to hit on.

But the texts kept coming. And he kept mentioning waiting for me. No pressure or anything.

I glanced at the digital clock on the dash. Samuel had been gone a full ten minutes. Not that he had a deadline, like that was fair.

Funny how the time had flown by during the kill and now wobbled along, like me in heels, as we waited in the car.

I sighed. “What’s taking him so long? It’s not like he has to kill a vampire.”

Hansen, in an upright “I never relax” position, gave me a quick look.

“Samuel is removing any evidence from the room.”

“I already did that for him,” I said, pointing my nose at the cord and shoes at my feet.

Hansen raised an unimpressed brow. “None of your skin got under his nails? You didn’t shed a single hair?”

Oops. He had to have removed several strands when he grabbed a fistful. Maybe I wasn’t as thorough as I thought. I suppose Samuel had to earn his keep somehow.

Samuel returned several minutes later. “Target dead by strangulation.”

Like I couldn’t have told them that.

“Room clear.”

With that, he buckled up and put the car into drive.

Hansen turned to me and smiled. “Congratulations, Agent Sky. You’re going home.”

My first act as a free citizen was to ditch the army greens in favor of a sundress. For the first time in my life I had a killer tan and it would be a crime not to show it off.

I didn’t have any cash to purchase snacks at the airport. As soon as the flight attendant handed me a plastic cup filled with cranberry juice, I attacked the bag of pretzels that accompanied the beverage. I spent the flight reading over texts, starting with the oldest. One of the first texts I’d received after leaving for boot camp came from Noel.

Noel: Aurora, please answer my text. You have to let me explain.

Me: There’s nothing to explain.

Noel: We have to talk.

Me: Don’t text me again.

And the little bitch hadn’t, which told me what I’d known all along. There was nothing to explain. I’d seen her and Fane with my own eyes. He’d bit her, sucked her blood, and run his tongue over her pale skin. Maybe it had been a onetime thing. Maybe Melcher had told her to go after him. I didn’t care.

And Fane? What did I expect from a vampire?

I killed vampires. Fane was dead in my eyes. Not just undead, but ancient history. Nonexistent.

At least the thought of them together drove me extra hard at camp. I had all the fuel I needed to kick complete and total ass.

I’d heard from Valerie, as well.

Me: Are we on target?

Valerie: I’m back in Melcher’s good graces.

Me: How’d you pull that off?

Valerie: By getting an interview as one of Diederick’s wine girls.

Me: Great. Don’t drink too much.

Valerie: If I were you, I’d worry more about getting your ass in shape. We have a vampire to kill when you return.

Me: How could I forget?

Jared. That bastard motivated me to do well at camp even more than Noel and Fane. Every move he made served his own personal agenda. It wasn’t enough that he’d taken away my entire life. He’d attempted to end it permanently in Sitka. I truly believed that. He’d terrorized Valerie and me, but we’d gotten away.

No doubt he’d come after us again unless we got to him first.

On this, Valerie and I were in perfect agreement. Neither of us would rest easy until he died. As much as Jared troubled me, it was nice not to be in this alone. With boot camp behind me, I felt more prepared than ever to take care of unfinished business.

Meanwhile, my mom had moved in with grandma and become an active member of society. She never once mentioned Dad.

Then there was Dante.

I reread our last set of texts.

Dante: You up?

Me: Yes.

Dante: I could really use a hand with something.

Me: You’re sick.

Dante: Trouble sleeping?

Me: Obviously.

Dante: Thinking about me?

Me: Goodnight, Dante.

Dante: Wait.

Me: What?

Dante: I miss you.

Me: Well, I’m down to the last week.

Dante: Can’t wait to see your new moves.

Me: Try anything funny, and I guarantee you will.

Dante: Is that a promise?

Me: Signing off!

Dante: Sign off while you can. You’re coming home in another week. See you soon, Sky… real soon.

The phone suddenly felt like it could slip out my sweaty palm and into the aisle. It was one thing to joke around from afar, but with every passing minute, I got closer to home and seeing Dante face-to-face. He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’d wait six months for a woman and not expect something in return.