Bloodstorm (Heart of a Vampire) (15 page)

Niki slid into a booth, across from Shane.

The man seemed to feel the same lightness. He winked at her.

A waitress stopped at their table, a brow raised as she looked between Niki and Shane. “Well, howdy.” She smiled slowly. “Introduce me to your pretty lady, Sheriff.”

Niki stiffened. “I’m not his ‘pretty lady’.” Her tone made the waitress’ smile wobble.

Shane patted the woman’s hand. “Don’t worry, Rae. She’s in a bit of a mood tonight.” He winked at Niki again.

Niki could have leapt over the table and sank her teeth into the man at his response. Instead, she said with sarcasm, “Yes, Rae. I’m just in a mood.”

But if looks could kill, she would have fried Shane on the spot.

Rae, seeming to know which side of the team line she was on, snatched her hand from Shane and glared at him. She turned to Niki and gave her a friendly smile. “What would you like? It’s on me.”

“
A shot of whiskey would be great,” Niki replied.

The waitress strode to the bar without another look or word for Shane.

He blinked. “What did I do?”

“
Just acted like a typical male ass,” she replied to the maddening man.

His face flushed and he stared morosely at Rae. The waitress brought the shot, set it in front of Niki, gave Shane another glare, then stomped away.

“
Well, damn.”

As he scooted from the booth, Niki downed her shot and handed him a glass. “Get me another one while you’re up, dear.”

He glared at her and strode to the bar, but he took her shot glass.

When Shane returned, the bartender was with him. “This is Henry.”

“
We’ve met,” the disheveled man stated gruffly.

Niki plastered on a sweet smile. “And you were so helpful.”

The bartender grunted.

Shane took his seat and waved Henry to join them. The man grabbed a chair from a nearby table and slid it to the end of their booth.

“
Who’re you looking for this time?”

Shane raised a brow.

She sighed. “He’s going by Jeremy Oakdale now.”

“
I don’t do names. What’s he look like?”

Niki drew back, easily calling up a memory of Thomas. “About five-eight. Black hair. Pale.”

Shane added, “Vampire.”

“
Seen me a bunch of them lately.” Henry shook his head. “Sad state.”

Niki didn’t have much response to that. “He also has a scar on the right side of his face, by his temple.”

Henry rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. Been in here a few times.”

“
With anyone you know?” Shane asked.

“
I’ll have to think it over. Might be, though.”

The bartender unfolded his lanky frame from the chair and put it back. His step was a slow shuffle as he made his way back to the bar.

Shane shrugged. “He’s a deep thinker.”

“
Meaning it takes him a while?”

He nodded. “So you might as well enjoy the company.”

She met his gaze. A slow smile lifted the corners of his lips and enhanced the dimple on his cheek.

“
I’m not much for chatting about the weather, and I don’t follow politics.”

He laughed. It was infectious and Niki found herself grinning, regardless of how she tried not to.

“
How about telling me about you?” he said.

She shook her head. “I’ve already told you everything important.”

“
Maybe. I think I’d like to know more about the woman who used to do exactly what her daddy said.”

“
Times were different. I had a few friends who chaffed against arranged marriages, but my father was a good man. He made sure my intended was nice, with enough wealth and land to support us. It’s how things were done.”

He leaned over the table, tracing the edge of her pinky with his finger.

“
And would you do as told now?”

“
No.” She stared at his finger, slowly stroking her own. “But I’m not the same person I was.”

“
Have you ever gone back?”

“
Yes.” She met his gaze. “Long ago, I bought our old plantation. I have people keeping it up for me, farming the fields as well.”

“
When’s the last time you were there?”

The bartender interrupted them, having come up to their booth soundlessly. At least, that’s what she’d rather believe than she’d been so into Shane she hadn’t been paying attention.

A mistake like that could get one killed.

“
Closing time. Every few nights. Might be around tonight.” Henry left as quickly as he had come.

Niki drew back, slipping her hands from Shane’s mesmerizing touch and into her lap, rubbing them together.

“
It’s been awhile,” she said shortly.

***

Shane stared at her, confused at the yo-yo of her reactions to him. Of his own emotions lately. Why should it bother him she’d started to open up, then abruptly withdrew?

Fear shone from her emerald eyes. Understanding hit. She was afraid of him, of how he made her feel.

Considering he was pretty damn uncomfortable with it himself, he couldn’t blame her.

He took a deep breath, ready to brashly push through and talk to her about what was between them. Before he could speak, a large mug of beer was slammed onto the table between them. Shane glanced up, and stared into his older brother’s face.

“
Who’s your new whore?” Brian was a nasty drunk, which was why, once upon a time, he’d avoided alcohol.

But that was before the Fates cursed him.

“
Brian.” Shane wanted to embrace his brother, yet at the same time, his words to Niki made Shane burn, his impulse to hit him.

Niki’s eyes flared red. She slowly stood, staring Brian down though he had almost a foot on her height. “Excuse me? A whore?”

“
You’re with him, ain’t you?” Brian waved to Shane.

“
A woman sits at a booth with a man and all of a sudden she’s ‘with him’ and ‘a whore’?” She drew her fist back and punched Brian in the nose.

His brother stumbled back, sprawling over an empty table. Shane grabbed Niki and gave her a sharp look, pushing her behind him.

“
Brian, go home. Sleep it off.”

His brother staggered to his feet. “Or what? You gonna arrest me?”

“
If I have to.”

Brian sent him a furious glare before weaving out the door. Shane sighed, but there was no use trying to talk to his brother in this state.

“
Who was that?” Niki asked.

“
My older brother,” he replied wearily. “I’m sorry for his behavior.”

She sat back down. “Why would you be sorry? Did you make him do it?”

“
Yeah. In a way, I did.” He slid into the booth.

She searched his face. “So, how did you make your brother be an ass?”

“
He’s the eldest in the family.”

“
So?”

“
Our family descends from a long line of Apache shamans. The power, the magic, comes from the Fates. When the oldest child reaches a certain age, it’s transferred from father to child.”

“
So your brother should be inheriting?”

“
Yes.”

She added it up. “But he’s not. You are.”

“
Exactly.”

She rested her arms on the table, not seeming to notice she’d drawn his hand between hers.

“
We found out a few years ago that the Fates passed him by. I don’t know why they chose me, but Brian’s had a hard time of it.”

“
Sounds like he’s being childish.”

Anger flared to life at her words, mostly because he couldn’t deny it. He wanted to defend his brother. Hell, it was hard to grow up expecting something only to have it yanked out beneath your feet, and all without knowing why.

“
So he blames you?”

“
I’m the one who inherited.”

The door opened and Niki glanced over. Her face drained of the little color she had, turning ghostly pale. Her eyes flashed red and her fangs extended.

She hissed.

Shane looked over at the man reaching the bar. Nothing about him stood out, from his pale skin to dark hair. He was average height, average looks. Yet across the booth from him, Niki was practically vibrating. Shane grabbed her before she could jump from the booth.

“
Wait.”

***

Thomas was here. In her sights at last.

Her fury roiled. She would rip him to shreds. Cut off his head. Afterwards, she’d burn his body until it was nothing but ash. Then she’d take those cursed ashes and burn them again.

Shane gripped her tightly. She jerked back, trying to get free.

“
Wait,” he whispered again. “We do this right, so he doesn’t get away.”

Get away. No. Thomas wouldn’t get away.

The world was awash in red--everything tinged with her anger. Except Shane. His golden eyes held some soft emotion that helped her calm.

He was right, a part of her knew.

But the need to reach Thomas now, and destroy him...

A shock raced up her arm. Shane’s mouth was turned down in a grim line, his eyes almost blurred. Power rushed through their hands, up her arm and deep inside her.

Slowly, he helped her push back the fury and think at least semi-rationally. She growled, “I want his blood.”

Shane nodded. “I know.”

“
Now.”

“
Wait.”

She took a deep breath, forcing herself not to look at Thomas again. “Not for long.”

“
No. But until we make sure he won’t escape.” He pulled out his radio and called the station. “Tell Campton it’s time. Henry’s Bar.”

The radio crackled and a woman replied, “They’re already almost to the bar.”

Shane slid his radio back on his belt. “He’s as impatient as you.”

Niki shrugged. “I didn’t know you were planning on backup.”

“
It’s my job.”

She looked him over. Sometimes it was easy, maybe too easy, to forget.

The air in the bar exploded with power. It washed over Niki and she cried out in pain. Her gaze met Thomas’ across the bar.

He’d sensed her, or seen her. It didn’t matter how he knew she was there.

Niki ripped her hand from Shane’s grip and sprung from the booth, racing for Thomas. His eyes, full of hate, were so cold, as was his power. Her sire’s magic caught her, slowing her movements.

But her loathing and anger were far greater than his limited control. She pushed through his spell, leaping over a table and landing directly in front of him.

Niki hissed. A blade was in her hand. She swung it at Thomas, slicing through his shirt and skin.

He roared, but there was no pain in the sound. He reached out, almost faster than even she could follow. Pain cut over her throat and warm liquid bubbled down her neck.

She slashed at him again, but he was already gone.

The people in the bar erupted, screaming and running, getting in her damn way. She pushed through them--easily when they caught sight of her blood soaked shirt--and crashed through the door.

Her sire was gone.

But she smelled his reeking stench. She could follow him by that alone.

A heavy hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, slamming her against the wall. She snapped her teeth, reaching to claw at the arms holding her tight.

“
Niki. Stop!” Shane yelled, trying to protect himself while keeping her against the wall.

The scent of his blood from three long scratches she scored down his cheek yanked her back.

His eyes were wary, but he didn’t flinch.

“
Shane?” She relaxed, waited for him to let her arms go. When he did, she reached up and touched his chin, staring at the gouges she’d made on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He pushed her hand away, glaring at her throat. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

She reached up and touched the cuts on her throat, still hardly feeling any pain. The fresh wetness on her fingertips told her she was still bleeding.

“
I’ll be fine,” she whispered. She had to be. Thomas was out there and she needed to track him while his scent lasted.

Shane grabbed her arm and marched her to the bed of his truck. He yanked down the tailgate, lifted her by the waist, and set her on it.

“
I’m fine. We have to follow--”

He snarled. “You will sit here until I’ve tended your wounds.” His eyes blazed with an unrelenting fury.

“
Why are you mad at me? I apologized--”

“
Shut up. Just shut up, you stubborn, thick-headed woman. I’m not mad at you.” He took a deep breath, then punched his truck. “He could have killed you.”

He was worried about her. Her chest burned at the thought. She hopped off the truck. Taking Shane’s hand, she uncurled his fist and looked at his bruised, bleeding knuckles.