Rylie Cruz 2 - How to Date a Vampire (14 page)

“Ms. Cruz. Out for an early morning
stroll?”

I paused. What was he getting at? This guy
didn’t just show up to make small talk. The only time you got a
visit from the pack police was if something was wrong. Very
wrong.

“You could say that, yes.” I kept
walking.

“But would you say that?” he asked.

Oh, he was so witty. Pin a gold star on his
butt.

“Is there something you needed, officer?” I
asked through gritted teeth. I didn’t have time for the enigma of
the pack police. Just get to the point, I wanted to yell. But I
didn’t want to end up behind bars waiting for my parents to bail me
out like a sad little puppy waiting to be adopted, so I
refrained.

“I know you and your family have had some
problems with the vampires lately.”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“The vampire leader has requested an inquiry
into the death of two male vampires. We heard the last time these
men were seen alive was at your apartment.”

Did he think I had something to do with
it?

“We just have to investigate all avenues,
that’s all,” he said when he noticed my expression. “Do you mind if
I walk with you and ask you some questions?”

“I guess not, but I’m kind of in a
hurry.”

This was where the real dilemma came into
play. Did I tell him about my missing boyfriend? That would make me
seem even more suspicious. No, I would keep it quiet and handle
this myself. They wouldn’t be of any help anyway.

“Do you have any idea where the vampires
were going once they left your apartment?”

“No. I have no idea. They just took off. I
guess they wanted to talk about the fight at my parents’ house. But
when I told them there was nothing to discuss, they left.”

Now see, that wasn’t a lie. I’d just left
out a little information, but it wasn’t a lie. We walked in silence
for several seconds. I suppose he was trying to think of what to
ask next. What else was there to say? I had no other information
for him. Well, no information that I was willing to share.

“So nothing else was said?”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “Nothing that I
remember.”

“No argument or exchange of heated
words?”

“Um, no. Not really.”

Okay maybe that was a little fib.

I hurried my pace. “I have to tell you I’m a
little upset by all of this.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean, they were fighting with my parents,
then they came to my home. Isn’t there something the pack police
can do to stop this harassment?”

“You can get a restraining order, but until
they actually carry out a crime, I’m not sure there’s anything that
can be done.”

“I doubt they would be afraid of a
restraining order, so that seems like a waste of my time. Listen, I
have no idea what could have happened to the vampires. It’s very
unfortunate,” I said.

And that wasn’t a lie, I had no idea what
had happened to them. It was a little unnerving, actually. To know
that they’d been at my house and an hour later they’d disappeared.
That was a short time frame. I wondered where they’d gone after
leaving my place.

“Do you have any idea what may have happened
to them?” I asked.

“No, not really. I know the vampires are
investigating. We’re trying to cooperate as much as possible.
Listen, I really appreciate you taking time out of your morning
walk to talk with me.”

Was he being facetious? “No problem,” I
said.

I was just glad he hadn’t caught me in the
graveyard. That wouldn’t have looked like a leisurely morning
stroll. “Again, it’s no problem and, like I said, if I think of any
other details, I’ll be sure to let you go.”

I was antsy for this conversation to be
finished. Did Jack’s disappearance have anything to do with the
disappearance of the vampires? Did the vampire leader think Jack
had something to do with the missing vampires? No, they’d wanted
him before that? And how could Jack have done anything to two
strong vampires? However, they had been terrified when they looked
at Jack. That had been a weird situation.

The officer cleared his throat, breaking me
from my thoughts. “Well, you’ll let me know if anything else comes
up?”

“I sure will,” I said as I ran up the steps
to my building. I barely glanced over my shoulder and acknowledged
him. That was the last I hoped I saw of him.

I had made it back to my building faster
than I’d run to the hotel last night. The sinking feeling in my
stomach seemed to carry me the few blocks back. The comfort I
usually felt when I saw my apartment was nonexistent.

A little patch of concrete in front of the
office was the only space I had for flowers. Normally I’d stop and
smell the roses. I displayed a few planters with rosebushes, so
every time I walked in my building, I’d stop. That was unless
bloodsucking vampires or crazy werewolves were hot on my trail. It
wasn’t much, but it gave me a few seconds of pleasure and
relaxation each day. Just a little whiff was all it took… normally;
they’d lifted my spirits when I needed it most in the past. My
philosophy was that one should never be without flowers. Despite my
spirits needing a boost, there was no time to stop this morning.
The flowers wouldn’t have helped this time anyway.

I hurried up the stairs and immediately went
to Jack’s door. It was locked. I knocked on the door, but there was
no answer. I hadn’t expected one.

Jennifer peeked her head out of our door.
“Oh my God, Rylie. There were vampires next door looking for Jack.
They came by here, but surprisingly, they didn’t come inside
uninvited. I guess they only do that for you.”

Oh, lucky me.

I couldn’t believe Jack was gone. The
vampires liked to slip around under the cover of night taking
things that didn’t belong to them. Apparently, Sophie had waited
until just before sunrise to steal Jack away from me. What a dirty
little trick.

“Jack’s gone,” I said breathlessly.

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Her eyes grew
wide.

“I mean he’s gone. Disappeared. Last night
vampires came for him, so we took off and stayed at the hotel. This
morning, Jack was gone. I know the vampires took him.”

“How do you know?” she asked as I stepped
through the door.

“I asked the man at the hotel front desk and
he said he saw Jack leave with a woman. The woman’s description fit
Sophie. She’s the vampire from my parents’ house and she was
looking for Jack yesterday. I guess she found him. I can’t believe
they didn’t shoot me with a silver bullet in my sleep. I saw blood
on the floor in the hotel room.”

“What are you doing to do?”

“I’m going to find him. What else?”

Chapter Twenty

How to Date a Vampire, Rule #20:

Keep at least one bag of chilled blood in
the fridge in case of an emergency.

I hugged Jennifer. “If vampires come looking
for me, tell them I moved. Wait. On second thought, maybe you
shouldn’t stay here for a few days until all of this is
settled.”

She didn’t look at me. I followed her gaze
to the suitcases by the door. “Were you going to tell me you were
moving out?”

“I’m not moving out.” She finally looked at
me. “It wasn’t going to be permanent. I was just going to stay with
Stephen for a few days. He insisted.”

I bet he did. But I couldn’t be mad at her.
I wanted what was best for her. And what was best was being as far
away from me as possible.

“You’ll keep in touch, right? You’ll call
me? I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you and I love, Rylie, but it’ll
just be for a few days. Never would I not call you. I’m worried
about you.”

“I love you too, and I’ll be fine. I
promise. I’ll find Jack and we’ll get this settled.”

“I’ll come back as soon as it is.” Jennifer
gave a half-hearted smile.

Would she? I wouldn’t blame her if she
didn’t.

Jennifer gestured to one of her bags. “I’m
just going to take this to the car. Stephen’s here.” She pointed
down the hall at her bedroom.

I looked over my shoulder. “Oh, okay. I’ll
call you as soon as I find out anything.”

“I’ll be waiting.” She nodded.

I watched as Jennifer made her way out the
door and down the stairs. When she was halfway down, my phone rang
and she paused.

Jennifer turned to me. “Maybe it’s
Jack.”

“I hope so, oh, how I hope so.”

If it was Mama calling one more time to tell
me to have a drink… then again, now that I was paranoid about
vampires popping out of every shadow, maybe a drink was a good
idea. Did I really want to live my life in fear? Was that any way
to live? I needed to suck it up, I was a werewolf, for Pete’s
sake.

“Hello?” I picked up. “Ms. Cruz. This is
Isabella Blackthorne again.”

“Yes, Ms. Blackthorne.” I couldn’t keep the
disdain out of my voice. Plus, I hadn’t expected her to call again
so soon. Then again, was it all that surprising? This whole
scenario kept getting weirder and weirder. At least with the
werewolves I knew what I was getting, but the vamps had to be
so
mysterious. ‘Oh, look at me. I'm dark and dangerous.’ Did
she know where Jack was? Had she taken him? No, the man said Jack
left with a blonde-haired woman. That wouldn’t be Isabella. Should
I tell her Jack was missing? Was Jack missing? Maybe he’d gone with
Sophie of his own free will.

“I know you haven't had time to mate me yet.
You're good, but not that good. What I'm calling about is I think I
can help you.”

So she did know where Jack was. There was no
way I trusted her. But I'd go along with her little game to see
what she had to say.

“You can help me with what?” I asked.

“Your little boyfriend problem. I can get
him the help he needs, and the vampire leader doesn't even have to
know about it. Jack can just ignore him. I had some time to think
about it, and I figure he shouldn't get involved with this vampire
bureaucratic crap. The more he can stay on the outskirts of the
paranormal world, the better off he'll be.”

She was telling me? That was what I'd been
saying all along. But there was more to it than that. Besides, it
was too late now. They had him. Whether he went on his own or they
took him.

“No offense, but what do you care? Why not
just let us deal with this? Why do you want to get involved?”

“What can I say? I’m Isabella the softie. I
stick my fangs, er, nose in a lot of situations they shouldn't be.
I can't help myself. I guess I just like to help people. I'm
kind-hearted that way. Just like you like to help people find their
soulmate.”

Hm. Well, I couldn’t argue with that,
although I didn't believe her. Not one bit. “I guess this is why
you dropped in for a little visit with him then, right?”

She paused. “Um, yeah, right.”

She wasn’t very convincing. “So, tell me
what you want to do?”

“I can take you to someone who can answer
all your questions. Shall I come by tonight and pick up both of
you? I can take you there and within a matter of an hour, this can
all be settled.”

Why hadn’t she offered this earlier? Pick up
both of us? Did she honestly not know that Jack was missing? I
decided not to mention his status. I’d go along with her and see
just how much she knew. Maybe with any luck, she’d lead me to
Jack.

“All that can be settled is that Jack's a
vampire now.” I leaned against the wall. The hopelessness had taken
a strong hold on me.

“Well, yeah, I can't change that. I don't
have a magic wand or anything. What did you expect?”

Um. I expected people not to be smart asses,
but I guessed that was too much to ask.

“Okay. Be here at seven. Is that okay?”

More than likely, I couldn’t keep this
appointment. I’d be looking for Jack. I wasn’t about to give up the
search until I found him. I wouldn’t tell Isabella about my search
plans, just in case I decided to meet her and find out what she had
up her sleeve. If I hadn’t found Jack by seven, I’d suffer through
a meeting with her.

“Look at you telling me when to be there. I
go by my time. I'll be there at seven-fifteen.”

Sometimes I just wanted to pull my hair out.
And considering how much unruly hair I had, that was pretty bad.
“Okay, fine.” I let out a deep breath. “Seven-fifteen it is.”

When I hung up the phone, Jennifer asked.
“Is everything all right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, another customer in a
hurry.”

She frowned. “Oh, okay…” Jennifer let out a
soft sigh.
“Do you have a plan for trying to find
Jack?”

“A plan? Don’t I always have a plan?” I
smiled. Okay, I didn’t always have a plan. And when I did have a
plan it didn’t usually turn out according to said plan, but at
least I tried. No one could fault me for that.

She moved up a couple steps closer to me.
“No, you don’t always have a plan.”

“Okay, I don’t have a plan per se, but I
have some idea. They wanted him at the French Market, so maybe I’ll
go there with the map and see if I can find him.”

“You do realize how big the French Market
is? There’s a lot of ground to travel.”

“It’s not that much. I enjoy walking.”

Jennifer arched her brow.
“Uh-huh. You complain about walking at the mall.”

“That’s just because you shop too long,” I
said.

“Just make sure to wear comfortable
shoes.”

“Yes, ma’am,”
I
said. I let the sarcasm ooze.
Jennifer was worse
than my mother.

“It’s just because I love you, that’s all,
and I worry.”

“Now you really sound like my mother. I’ll
be fine. I promise.” I crossed my heart with my index finger.

“Why do you think they
want Jack at the French Market?”
Jennifer bit on her lower
lip.

“I’ve thought about that several times and,
to be honest, I have no idea.”