Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) (18 page)

“Hey,” Amp greeted her friend. “We’re on the way home.”

“What happened, Amp? I got this testosterone spike or
something from Rio’s bond, and it about blew my brain out of the top of my
head. Way intense.”

“They were trying to extort 100 grand from me, said if I
didn’t pay they would tell Wilson what I planned to do.”

“What happened? Do we need to meet you over there and
take care of it?”

“No, that was just the first part. I figured we’d come
back tomorrow and take care of the problem, but then, when I walked out, they
decided they wanted to have a bit of fun…at my expense. The good looking one,
Will, followed me into the yard, said he was
gonna
take it from me, was
gonna
rape me. The others came
out to watch the show, and then the shit hit the fan.”

“You fought all five of them?”

“Rio and I did. I killed three, and he killed two. It’s
over, they’re blowing in the wind, and we’re heading home at an incredibly high
rate of speed.”

“Rio killed two vampires?” she asked, shocked. “My god,
that’s unbelievable. Come home, honey, we’ll talk about it when you get here.
You guys be careful…please be careful, Amp.”

After hanging up, and sticking her phone in her pocket, Amp
chuckled, looking out into the darkness. “I guess that’s not an urban legend,
huh?” she asked.

“What’s that?”

“The blood thing…the bond.
When Nikka told me she was doing that with you, neither one of us knew how it
worked, or if it really did. Apparently, it works like a charm. Whether you
like it or not, you are truly tied to the girl. That’s incredible.”

“Yes. Yes it is,” he answered, smiling to himself.

“Thank you, Rio. I didn’t expect you to jump in like
that. I’m not sure I could have taken all five of them alone. You saved me.”

“Amp, you could have taken them down by yourself without
blinking. My adrenaline kicked in and I wanted to be part of it. I didn’t save
you, I just…I don’t know…just did what I do. I fight, and that was a fight.”

“Yeah…anyway, you can go into battle with me anytime you
want. It felt good with you next to me. Thank you.”

“You are welcome.
Ditto.”

The hour drive home took Rio less than 40 minutes, the
man wanting nothing more than to be as far away from Mount Vernon as possible. When
they pulled into the lane leading up to their house, Nikka and Robert were
waiting on the porch, the two meeting them at the car before they could get the
doors open.

“Never again, not until this entire thing is over with,
do any of us go anywhere alone,” Nikka ordered, checking Amp over carefully,
the younger girl smiling at the attention.

“It’s all right,” Amp assured her. “For your information,
I wasn’t alone. Rio is extremely capable of watching my back.”

“About that, Mr. Bad Ass Ranger,” turning on Rio, her
face inches from his. “What the hell are you doing fighting vampires? You could
have been killed in a millisecond.”

“Hey, it’s what I do…I fight. Tell her, Bob. Anyway, Amp
had it covered; I just took care of the light work. It really wasn’t much of a
fight. Having your blood was awesome. I was faster, stronger, and a hell of a
lot more effective.”

“Damn it, Rio…”

She was hugging him, her face in his chest, Robert
winking at Amp who was looking at her friend, astonished at the show of
emotion. It had been a night that could very well have ended up tragic, and she
could understand the angst that Nikka was experiencing.

“Agreed,” Amp said in support of Nikka. “We
gotta
be a bit more careful. Bottom line, we erased a major
problem tonight. For anyone who is interested, Rio is one badass dude.”

“Silly girls…it’s a Ranger thing,” Robert laughed, the
mood lightening. “We’re all badass dudes. Now let’s get inside; we got a few
things to talk about. Then we’re going to war.”

------

They turned Amp’s rental SUV in, needing only Rio’s
vehicle for the trip. They loaded all the equipment, uniforms, weapons, and
ammunition that they would be taking along. Rio drove the truck onto the M/V
Taku
at Bellingham, Washington in the early morning hours,
the four safely inside their two staterooms when the ship left for the two day journey
to Wrangell.

The plan up to this point was simple. Robert would spend
as much time in Petersburg as he thought necessary, return to Wrangell, and the
four of them would plan the attack according to any information he discovered.

Amp and Nikka were sitting on one of the beds in the
girl’s stateroom, Robert and Rio sprawled on the floor, their backs against the
bulkheads. “What about the money?” Robert asked out of the blue, the tone of
his question suddenly somber.
“The guy’s businesses?
Are we equipped to deal with any of that?”

For the past several weeks, all of their focus had been
on training for battle, and very few thoughts had been on the future.

“No…no, I don’t think any of us are equipped for that,
now that you mention it,” Amp said. “You got an idea?”

“Yeah, I think I do. I’m not sure how much you’re going
to like it, but I think it’s the smart thing to do, if we can pull it off. The
first part of it has to do with your friends in L.A. From the way you describe
it, this Morgan has an incredible network, and a highly successful business.
What I think we should do, once we are finished with Wilson, is contact your
friend, and make a business proposition. He sends some experts up to Alaska to
dissect Wilson’s holdings, get rid of the garbage, and he takes over the
legitimate parts of it, with a profit split that you both agree to.”

“Hey, that’s a great idea,” Nikka cried, proud of
Robert’s initiative. “What do you think, Amp? Will Morgan go for it?”

“I don’t know,” she answered.
“Maybe.
It seems like a great deal for him…and for us. If Morgan could operate the businesses
that would be a huge load off of our minds. I
gotta
be honest; being tied-down to a business is not my idea of fun. I love the part
about having the income, and it’s a butt load of money. Making the business
operate and taking on those responsibilities doesn’t appeal to me; hiring
people, firing them, paying them, paying taxes. I think I just vomited in my
mouth thinking about it.”

Early that morning, as Amp was lying in her bunk drifting
off to sleep, she thought about the wisdom of inviting Morgan into the business
if and when they defeated Wilson. It would be worth a visit to the L.A.
compound to present the idea to him. If nothing came of the deal, at least she
could strengthen her friendship with the California coven. She was still
disappointed that they wouldn’t support her efforts in the fight against
Wilson, but she also understood their thinking.

She
was wanting
to see Silas,
she admitted to herself. Being away from her teacher was more painful than she
could have imagined. He was like a brother, only better, and if she ever decided
to try things a different way, Silas would be the man she would do it with.

Right before drifting into a deep slumber, she remembered
that Silas had asked her to call him before she went to battle. She would do that
sometime in the next week. It would be good to talk to her friend. She wished
he were here now, wished he was going with her. The thought made her smile as
she closed her eyes, and finally slept.

------

The ferry docked at Wrangell late in the evening. It was still
light due to the long days of Alaska, but the sun wasn’t shining and there was an
overcast, gray sky. Rio drove the truck off the huge ship, his tinted windows
more than enough protection to ward off the light for his three companions.

The town was small and quaint, maybe 2,500 residents, the
downtown something from the last century. Rio drove through town, following the
home owner’s directions. A mile out, they turned east on a dirt road, drove
several hundred yards and found their temporary base, just as the owner had
described it. It was a one story wood and rock cabin, no more than 800 square
feet with wood floors, pine walls and, best of all, no neighbors on a dead-end
drive.

The plan was for the crew to move in, get to town, and
purchase any incidentals that they might need, and get familiar with their
environment. Rio was planning on boarding the next ferry in the morning to make
the short trip to Petersburg.

He was going without his truck; a large canvas bag of
clothes and weapons all that he was taking. Once in Petersburg, he would check
in at the Tide’s Inn motel, located close to downtown. It was an inexpensive
home to many of the transient workers of Petersburg, as well as summer
tourists.
 

Rio and Nikka had been exchanging blood daily in order to
strengthen their bond. She wanted him to be as prepared as possible, and the
strength he was gaining from the blood was invaluable. What else they did Amp
wasn’t sure, nor did she care, but it was hard to ignore the close relationship
the two had developed over the past month. They were attuned to each other like
nothing Amp had ever seen. They didn’t know how important this was going to be
during their mission, but everyone agreed it couldn’t hurt. It certainly kept
the two of them happy.

The next morning, when Rio walked out the door to catch
the ferry, hugging Nikka, fist bumping Robert, Amp realized that the mission had
officially begun. She drove him to the ferry dock in his truck, and watched as
he boarded the ship, Rio giving a slight nod from the deck before he
disappeared from sight.

Amp pulled over on the main street, the sun yet to
rise
, the dark windows of Rio’s truck giving her ample
protection from the light. Pulling her cell phone from her bag, she found Silas’
number on her directory, pushed the call button, and listened to the ring. She
thought she might have called during his sleep, but knew her teacher kept odd
hours while dealing with all of Morgan’s security issues. She started to hang
up the call when she heard his voice.

“Silas.”

“Hey, teacher, it’s Amp. How are you?”

“Amp, I thought you had forgotten us. I’m great. The
important question
is,
how are you?”

“I’m great…just missing you. Wish I could see you soon.
Maybe if things work out I can get down there for a visit. I am in desperate
need of a few days working out.”

There was a slight pause on the other end of the phone.
“If what things work out, Amp? You’re not still carrying a revenge dream for the
Alaskan guy, are you? Please tell me you’ve moved on.”

“It’s almost over, Silas. In the next couple of days it
will all be behind me. I promised you I’d call before I go in, so that’s what
I’m doing. You are one of the best friends I have in the world, and I needed to
hear your voice.”

“Please, Amp, reassess this. You don’t need to seek any
kind of vengeance. That’s in the past. Please, honey, just live your life to
its fullest. Don’t take a chance of dying because of some blood promise you
made while you were stressed.”

“It was more than that, Silas. Danner and Riley were more
than that. I owe it to them to take this guy out, and that’s what I’m going to
do.”

“By yourself?”

“No, I’ve got a crew, and they are as tough as they come.
One is on his way there now to do some early recognizance. When he gets the lay
of the estate, then we’ll finalize, and go in. I’ll be okay; don’t worry. I
just needed to talk to you for a second, just to hear you. Look for me in a
couple weeks, Silas, we’ll rock L.A. I
gotta
get back
now. Love you.”

The phone went dead in Silas’ ear, and he slowly lowered
it down, and stuck it in his pocket.

Shit, Amp, you stupid, stupid girl, he thought. Why
couldn’t you have just grieved and moved on?
 

Starting to put her phone away, Amp changed her mind, and
punched in another number. Waiting for Amylee to answer, she wondered if she
would live long enough to see her L.A. friends again.

“This is Amy,” the girl answered.

“Hey stranger, it’s Amp.”

“Amp, it’s so good to hear from you. Where are you…in
L.A?”

“Nope, not California.
Hey, this has to be quick, I just called to tell you how much you mean to me,
how your friendship saved my sanity. If…if I don’t see you again, know that
I…and Danner, we love you, Amy. Thanks for all you did for me.”

“Amp, what’s going on,
you’re
scaring me. Are you in some kind of trouble? Talk to me, girl, what can I do?”

“No trouble, Amy,
just finishing
up my business. Hope to see you guys soon. I just…you know, I had to tell you
how I felt. I
gotta
run, tell Morgan I said hi, and
thank him for me. Love you, bye.”

She hung up, the sadness taking over. No more calls, she
thought. I’ve said my goodbyes. Now all that’s left is war.