Demon's Doorway (23 page)

She handed it over, and Victoria dialed Bradley's number. He didn't answer. Victoria's fangs nearly slipped out in frustration. It was still the dead of night, and there was a good chance he was enjoying the streets—and blood—of Baltimore. But he would never ignore a call to his cell phone. Only those he trusted most even had the number.

"Damnit, Bradley," she said. "I'm gonna get dressed and go get him. Just watch our new friend here. I won't be long."

"Can I watch you get dressed?" the mercenary asked.

Victoria ignored him and went through her back door.

*****

Alex paced near the back deck. Cindy stood not far away, leaning against a nearby tree. Kevin was a few feet from the mercenary, simply watching him. He'd changed clothes and wore his coat. The mercenary acted as if he didn't have a care in the world, whistling, leering at Cindy. The looks he gave her infuriated Alex, and he wanted to choke the life out of the man who broke into their hotel room.

He wondered if it was a strategy of some kind. Ogle the women, make them uneasy and afraid, while angering the men. It was definitely working for Alex, but Cindy was a difficult woman to frighten.

"I can't believe this," the mercenary said. "I'm being held captive by the Scooby-Doo gang."

"Shut up," Alex said.

"Seriously, you're Fred. The other one over there is Shaggy. How old are you, Shaggy? Fifteen? And then we've got Daphne over there. Of course, Daphne's skin is a little different, but that doesn't matter."

"I said shut your mouth."

"Aww. Is Fred getting upset? Afraid I'm gonna take Daphne away from you?"

Kevin approached Alex and lowered his head to whisper. "He's just trying to piss you off."

"Yeah, well, it's working. How would you feel if your wedding night ended up with a bunch of guys trying to hurt you and your wife?"

Alex left the question unanswered as he walked over to Cindy. She managed to give him a small smile, which he took as a positive. She looked back to the mercenary, watching him intently.

"Some night," she said.

"I…I don't know how to apologize for all this."

She looked into his eyes and held his face tenderly. "Baby, you know I'm not mad at you. It's that piece of shit over there I want to kill."

Alex smiled. That was Cindy, completely accepting of him and the strangeness his life sometimes brought. Even in the middle of everything that was happening, she was supportive of him, standing by his side while a group of men tried to hurt them.

"Look at the love over there," the mercenary said. "Could I get a hug over here?"

Cindy tried to move around Alex, marching forward. "You ruined my wedding night, asshole!"

He smiled and braced himself for whatever Cindy would throw at him, but Alex caught up to her. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up, moving her away. He didn't even want Cindy near the man.

"Let me go!" she said.

"That's what he wants," Alex said. "Come on, Cindy. Calm down."

He set her down, and she walked away, running her hands through her hair. The mercenary watched her.

"I'm real sorry, sexy. Tell you what, you undo my hands here, and I'll make it all up to you. I'll give you a night you'll never forget. Make you forget all about the freak here."

Kevin led Alex just out of earshot. "What do we do?"

"Do you have any truth serum in that coat of yours?"

"I'm a witch, Alex, not the CIA."

"Well, I thought, with all the other crap you got—"

"Nah, no truth potion. Hmm…" Kevin put a hand to his chin. "Truth potion. Some Dial soap, dog hair, the stem from a rose." He smiled as more ingredients came to him, some of them slightly obscure. "At least no truth potion
yet
. Is that what you're thinking? Try to get some information out of this guy?"

"Yeah. I want to know why he attacked me and my wife."

"Can you show him one of your demons? Maybe scare him enough to start talking?"

Alex frowned. "I don't know. Maybe." He gestured to Cindy. "But she's seen enough craziness tonight. I think I'd rather keep the demons where they are."

"Okay, so, what's the plan?"

"We wait for Victoria to come back. She just said to watch him, anyway."

"Eh, whatever. Maybe we should let Cindy loose on him. I think she could probably kill him."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Can we at least gag him again?"

A set of headlights struck the front of the house, sending a bit of light to the back. The three traded looks as Cindy rejoined the group.

"That can't be Victoria," Cindy said. "She hasn't been gone that long."

Alex rubbed his head. "Whoever it is knows the code to the gate."

"Could it be Bradley?" Kevin asked.

They froze as they heard footsteps approaching, and a quiet, eerie whistle. They saw the silhouette, and recognized a male frame. Alex relaxed as the moonlight caught part of his face.

"Ah, it's only you."

Jack's lip curled. "Yup. It's only me."

Kevin took a step forward. "What are you doing here?"

"Victoria called me. She didn't tell me what was going on, only that I needed to get here as fast as I could." His eyes fell on the mercenary. "I thought Glinda just needed a babysitter, but I guess you've got a much more interesting story to tell."

Cindy pointed. "This dickhead tried to kill my husband. Him and five other people."

Alex wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "I'm not sure they were trying to kill me. They were using these."

He handed over the syringe. Jack studied it carefully, and eyed the mercenary.

"Oh, great," the mercenary said. "Another member of the Scooby gang."

"What have you gotten out of him? What's he told you?"

"Uh, well, nothing. Victoria just wants us to watch him."

He rolled his eyes.

"Hey, new guy." Jack looked at the mercenary. "You look a little more experienced than these idiots here. So, here's the deal. You let me go, and I promise I won't touch a hair on the guys' heads. Now, I can't say the same thing for her." He smiled at Cindy. "I have to be honest, I think I'm in love. Did they tell you? We broke in right when they were
breaking in
, if you get what I'm saying."

Cindy charged forward, narrowly missing Alex's grip. She kicked the mercenary in the face, sending him sprawling on the ground. She tried to kick him again, but Alex grabbed her and pulled her away. The mercenary only laughed and pulled himself into a sitting position again, spitting on the ground.

Jack smiled at Cindy and gave her a look of approval. "I'm impressed."

"Oh, wow, so that's what you like," the mercenary said. "That's my kind of woman. I love the rough stuff. Just wait until I get my hands on you. A little pain, a little blood. Oooh, my dick's jumping just thinking about it."

Cindy finally shivered at his words, and Alex squeezed her tight. He was subdued, but the mercenary was very dangerous.

Jack knelt in front of him, his face just inches away.

"So, you like pain? You like blood?"

The mercenary leaned back and thrust his forehead into Jack's nose. Jack stumbled back, losing his balance for a moment. Kevin nearly rushed forward to help, but saw the sick smile on Jack's face, and it froze him in place.

"Get away from me," the mercenary said. "If anyone's getting close to me, it's that doll over there."

Jack laughed, and glared at the mercenary. His demeanor, his calm, set everyone on edge.

"I'm afraid that's where you're quite wrong. Me and you, we'll be getting to know each other very well."

"Uh, Jack?" Alex said, not liking the tone in Jack's voice. "What are you gonna do?"

"You kids might want to go back in the house. Maybe make a cup of nice hot cocoa."

"Victoria just told us to watch him," Kevin repeated. "She's gonna go pick up Bradley, and they'll be back soon. So, you should just—"

"I thought this would be obvious, but I guess I forgot who I was dealing with." Jack looked at each of them. "Just to be clear, I don't answer to you. I don't answer to Victoria. Do you understand?"

The three were silent, suddenly more afraid of Jack than the mercenary.

He looked at the syringe. "This will do nicely."

"Oh, come on," the mercenary said. "Is this the game you're playing? You're gonna try to scare me into talking?"

Jack's eyes fell on the woods behind Victoria's house. "I'll be back soon."

He grabbed the mercenary by the back of the shirt and dragged him across the ground. The mercenary rolled his eyes, laughed, and blew kisses at Cindy before they disappeared into the woods.

The three traded looks as Cindy gazed at the darkness and pointed.

"Who is that guy?"

CHAPTER 12

Victoria tried to call Bradley one more time after hanging up with Jack. Again, Bradley didn't answer, and she found herself more irritated than afraid. What was Bradley doing? He was more than capable of dealing with a small team of mercenaries, just like Alex. She didn't imagine him in any kind of danger. What she could imagine was him cutting loose, engaging in a little irresponsibility. Bradley was normally very in control, but he had his weaknesses, namely of the female variety.

A vampire could easily feed and go, but not Bradley. As much as he poked fun at American movies, he'd watched too many of them. He'd envisioned himself as some kind of vampire James Bond, a real ladies' man. He loved the hunt, the seduction. He would spend hours at a club, sometimes barely fighting off the thirst, all in the name of catching a woman's eye.

Baltimore certainly had its share of attractive women. There was even a subculture of mortals that knew of the existence of vampires, and offered themselves freely. Bradley was either out on a hunt, or in his hotel room with as many women as he could find.

Despite the late hour, there was still life in Baltimore. Cars were on the streets, and even more people walking the sidewalk. She could hear police cars and firetrucks in the distance, a constant city staple.

She was stuck at a red light when the bystanders around her started to funnel in one direction. She heard parts of their conversations, agitated and energetic. The wind touched her nose, and carried the familiar scent of smoke.

Two words stuck with her as people jogged and pointed up ahead. Hotel. Fire.

A sinking feeling spread throughout her stomach as she parked on the side of the road. She didn't bother fighting traffic, simply grabbing the first free spot she saw. She ran with the mortals, careful not to draw attention with her speed, and turned the corner at one of the many intersections ahead.

Two firetrucks and several police cars were outside the Hilton. A single hotel room on the top floor was ablaze, although it looked ready to spread at any moment. A crowd was gathering as employees and guests left the hotel, the guests still in their sleepwear.

Victoria didn't need to be told, but staring at the room confirmed her worst fears. She could see the windows were sealed from the inside with paneling, the modifications Bradley spoke of.

She sprinted toward the entrance. One of the firetrucks began to extend its ladder as a police officer tried to intercept her.

"Lady, stop! You can't—"

She shoved him aside into another officer, before he could finish telling her what she couldn't do. Racing inside the empty lobby, she searched the signs for the stairwell. She used her speed liberally, now that no eyes were on her. She threw the door to the stairwell open and took the steps two at a time. Footsteps struck her ears as she made it to the sixth floor, and an out-of-town couple nearly collided with her, holding hands as they rounded the corner.

"There's a fire!" they said. "On the top floor!"

Victoria nodded, as if the screeching alarm assaulting her ears didn't already tell her that. Still, she appreciated the warning.

"There's help outside. The stairs are clear, just go calm and steady."

She moved past them, and the couple hesitated. "Where are you going?"

She ignored them as she continued up the stairs.

The top floor was completely empty. The scent of smoke was thick in the air, but there was no visible fire. Victoria followed her nose, jogging down corridors and turning corners, until she saw smoke pouring from under a door.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself as she stood across from the room. Because of Kevin's magical gift she was immune to the danger of the sun. Fire was her only real enemy now. A stake through the heart would put her in a coma, but fire would kill her. It stopped any kind of accelerated healing she enjoyed.

But her oldest friend was on the other side. She stopped her hurried thoughts as Bradley came to mind. His fate was unknown, and she wouldn't speculate.