The Vampire Hunter's Daughter The Complete Collection (36 page)

We arrived at the Talon Building with an
entire entourage of hunters surrounding Alice as if she were the
President of the United States. The building stood tallest among
the other buildings on the street. Unlike Trevor’s windowless
house, this building was made purely of tinted glass, which
reflected the lights of the busy city.

Our group, prepared for anything, entered
through the large double doors of the building. From the outside,
we looked like an ordinary group of people, but we wore weapons
strapped onto every available spot on our bodies underneath our
clothes. We were trained killers… well, most of us.

Of course Gavin wasn’t with us because he was
still at home, but oddly enough, Christina came. It was probably
because her father was on this mission. Other than that, the rest
of the group were seasoned hunters. Drew, Luke, Sara Jane—who was
the second grade teacher at school—Joe, and a couple others I
didn’t know well made up our group.

As we strode across the grey marble floors of
the lobby, toward the elevators, I felt like we should have had a
soundtrack. It was right out of the movies. No one even looked our
way. It was nighttime, but the lobby was bursting with activity
like it was midday lunch hour at the mall.

We stopped in front of a bank of elevators,
and Luke stepped up to the directory list beside the buttons and
ran his finger down it.

“Here it is, Maxwell and Associates.” He
pushed the up button for the elevator.

The rest of the names on the list made me
want to laugh. Luke was right when he said every business a vampire
would need was in this building. Aside from lawyers, there was also
a psychiatrist's office, a bank, a real estate agency called
Everlasting Realty, and a dental office called Deadly Smiles.

While we waited for the elevator, I turned to
check out the people in the lobby. Most were dressed in business
suits. Few wore any kind of casual wear like we did. Nearly every
one of them had the pale white skin of vampires.

Oh, my god. Suddenly, the gravity of where we
were—of the situation— hit me like a ton of bricks.

I glanced around to see how the rest of the
group was dealing with this. Most of them had their backs to the
elevator doors so that they could see the lobby.

I nudged Drew. “I still don’t understand how
this is possible.”

He shook his head. “How do you think vampires
have lived among us for so long? It’s because they look like
people, but are far more powerful.”

The elevator doors whooshed open, and Drew
shoved me forward so we could all smash into the small space. That
was insane. I just couldn’t stomach the feeling. I couldn’t wrap my
mind around how could we just waltz in there and feel safe doing
it. Alice had better be feeling damned lucky she had us.

I felt bad after thinking that last bit. We
were making her come here. She had said before that she didn’t want
anything from Trevor.

I elbowed her and asked, “You okay?”

She met my eyes and nodded, but I could tell
she was scared. She had lived around vampires for a long time, but
she was protected because she was in Trevor’s home. This was
definitely a different experience for her.

The elevator doors opened, and we all moved
into a busy office with a cubicle farm taking up the floor
space.

A pale, dark-haired woman sat behind a tall
counter to our left. She smiled, her crimson red lips turning up at
the corners.

“Hello, how may I help you this evening?” she
asked while she cradled her telephone.

Luke stepped forward. “We have a meeting with
Abraham Maxwell.”

“Oh, perfect. He is expecting you. Please
follow me.” She stepped down from the platform and led us down a
long hallway alongside the cubicles until we arrived at an office
with glass walls sectioning it off from the rest of the space. She
rapped on the door and peeked through the window.

I could see a man who looked about
twenty-five sitting behind a large mahogany desk on the other side
of the glass. He turned away from a computer screen, saw our large
group outside his windows, and beckoned us in with a smile.

Miss Crimson Lips opened the door and held it
for us.

Abraham Maxwell stood and gestured to the
couches while we filed into his office. “Please, have a seat.”

I glared at him as I passed, but Luke smiled
and nodded, extending his hand. “Thank you for having all of
us.”

I really hoped this was going to be over
soon. I didn’t feel comfortable being in an entire building full of
vampires. With not much room to sit, I managed to squeeze onto a
couch beside Alice and Sarah Jane. Drew remained standing beside
the door.

Maxwell lowered himself back into his chair.
“Won’t you sit?”

Drew shook his head. “I prefer to stand, if
you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Maxwell turned his attention
back to Luke. “All right, I have summoned you here to commence the
reading of Trevor Krasimir’s last will and testament. I have asked
you here a bit early because I wish to explain to you that everyone
who is listed in the will must be present for the reading.” He
raised his eyebrows. “Therefore, we will be joined by others
shortly.”

Oh, great. I could tell by the look on this
guy’s face that I wasn’t going to like this at all. I peeked over
at Drew. Boy, he looked mighty irritated at the whole
situation.

The lawyer sat back in his chair and eyed
Drew as well. “Being as you are here on vampire business matters,
nothing more, I trust there will not be any problems from your
hunters.”

The whole group stiffened and shifted
simultaneously. These people had a gene in their blood that made
them want to kill vampires; they couldn’t help it. I could see
already how hard it was for them to sit here in an office across a
desk from one and not put a bullet in his heart.

Luke said, “No problem from us as long as a
truce remains with yours.”

Maxwell stood and stuck out his hand. “It’s a
deal.”

Luke took the vampire’s cold hand. I could
almost feel him cringe inside. “Deal.”

Deal, my ass! Ugh!

Just then, Miss Crimson Lips rapped on the
window again.

“Come,” Maxwell called out.

The door opened and the one person I could
have gone the rest of my life without seeing again entered.

"Vanessa," I mumbled.

She wore a floor-length, white fur coat, and
her chocolate hair was piled up on top of her head in a huge mass
of curls. I couldn’t see the expression in her eyes, because they
were hidden behind a pair of large, black sunglasses that
contrasted with her pale skin, making it seem even whiter than it
was.

Freakin’ wonderful.

Maxwell stood up to greet her. “Nice to see
you, Vanessa. Would you like a seat?”

I chuckled to myself while I watched Vanessa
scan the room. We were taking up all the couches and chairs, so
there was nowhere else to sit.

Ha! Take that, freaky psycho vamp.

My victory was short-lived. Miss Crimson Lips
produced a chair from the other room and sat it off to the side of
Maxwell’s desk, as far from us as she possibly could.

“There you are.” She offered the chair to
Vanessa.

I was surprised Christina had kept her mouth
shut the entire time. It probably had something to do with her
father being there. Funny how people were totally different around
their parents.

Maxwell shuffled a few papers on his desk.
“We await one more, and then we can begin.”

One more… who else was coming?

Vanessa removed her sunglasses and peered at
me with a smug look. “It’s so nice to see you, Chloe. May I inquire
as to why you are here?”

Oh, the nerve. “Trevor was my father,” I
responded. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

She waved her perfectly manicured fingers
through the air. “Oh, I don’t know, Trevor not really giving a damn
about you wouldn’t have anything to do with it, now, would it?”

“Enough!” Maxwell snapped at Vanessa. “We are
here to discuss the last will and testament, and that is all. Any
other issues can be addressed elsewhere.”

Yay, Maxwell.

Once again, there was a rap on the door.
After it opened, I was surprised to see Dahlia there. She was as
beautiful as ever, her porcelain skin and pale hair making her look
like a goddess of some kind. Only today, instead of interest, I saw
anger when she laid eyes on me.

She quickly capped it and removed black
leather gloves from her hands.

“Hello, Abraham. It is so nice to see
you.”

It occurred to me this was the first time I
had ever heard her speak. Her voice was delicate and beautiful,
like the rest of her.

He took her hand and kissed the back of it,
then led her to another chair that had been set beside Vanessa’s.
“And it is even more so to have you here, Dahlia.”

She glanced at where Alice and I sat smashed
together and gave us a nod.

I wanted this to be over. At least we were
able to get on with the reading.

“Very well. Now that we are all here, we can
commence the reading.” Maxwell sat in his chair and pushed a button
on his phone. “Margaret, would you please bring the
television?”

“Right away, Mr. Maxwell,” she piped back
through the intercom.

Not a minute later, there she was, rolling in
a flat screen on a cart. She parked it off to the side where
everyone would be able to see it.

“Trevor left us a video will. In support of
the video, there is paperwork to accompany it.”

He stood and inserted a DVD into the disc
drive underneath the television, then took his chair while Margaret
dimmed the lights.

Suddenly, a face I never wanted to see again
appeared before us. I shifted uncomfortably and gave Alice’s leg a
squeeze before I stood. I couldn’t handle sitting and staring at
his face, especially with Vanessa and Dahlia in the room.

While Trevor spoke, I moved to stand beside
Drew. He silently moved behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I
knew it was hard for him to make himself vulnerable by not having
quick access to his guns.

I snuck a glance at Christina and saw her
staring at us. Our eyes met, but she quickly looked away. I could
see jealousy there, still. Somehow, I didn’t think she and I were
ever going be friends.

“If you are watching this, then I no longer
exist,” Trevor stated. His dark hair and eyes focused on the
camera. “If you are sitting in this room, it means you were
important to me in one way or another, and I have given you
something of importance that I possessed during my existence.”

His face, his voice, everything about him
made me shake. I hated him. Even though he was gone, I still hated
him.

“Let’s begin with my estates. All of my
homes, including the one in Greece, and everything in them, I
bestow to Alice Matthews. Alice, you may do whatever you wish with
the homes. I know I haven’t said in clear enough words what you
meant to me. So maybe the wealth and importance of such a gift will
show you just how much you meant to me. If I could have come close
to loving anyone else but Felicia again, it would have been
you.”

Alice burst into tears. I had thought we were
past this, but I could understand how being able to see his face
would be hard on her. Christina, of all people, got up from her
space on the other couch and grabbed the box of tissues from
Maxwell’s desk. She handed them to Alice with a slight nod and then
went back to her spot.

I was proud of Christina then.

“Next, the three clubs I own will cede to
Vanessa Darling.” Trevor smiled into the camera. “Vanessa, I expect
these clubs to be run in the same fashion I have managed them in
the past. If you have any problems with the clubs on your own,
contact Abraham Maxwell to see about finding a prospective
buyer.”

Vanessa sniffled, as though she were actually
upset he was gone and she had three of his clubs.

“Now, I have several items in a safe. They
are very old, and I would like them to return from whence they
came. Dahlia, the jewels inside my safe are those that were stolen
from your crown several hundred years ago. I have no more use for
them. I apologize for our past conflict. I took the jewels to make
your people hate you. It was that or kill you… and I couldn’t bring
myself to kill you… not you… I regret our troubles in the past, but
I am honored to have known you.

“Finally, there is a matter of my bank
accounts. I have an account for each of the clubs that will be
turned over to Vanessa, but my personal accounts shall be payable
to Alice Matthews. This shall be an easy transition to Alice and…
Alice, you will never go back to where I found you. Make something
great of yourself.”

Oh, holy hell! He pretty much gave her
everything. I looked over at her and saw her clutching her hands
together. Sarah Jane had her arms around her, trying to provide
some sort of comfort.

Trevor had one last message for us.

“I have no regrets for the life I lived, for
the things I did during my existence, and I hope that every single
one of you treat your lives in the same way.

"One last note: Chloe, if you have survived
me and are in attendance to see this, remember that you are my
daughter, my blood flows through you. If you have survived, then I
am still immortal, in a sense… make yourself extraordinary.”

What a load of crap! Ugh.

Trevor faded away and the lights came back
on. There was silence in the room except for Alice’s sobs.

Reluctantly, I pulled out of Drew’s arms and
looked up at him.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He nodded and went back into door guard
mode.

“Well,” Maxwell said, drawing the word out.
He shuffled some paperwork. “There is a lot of paperwork that needs
to be filled out. Alice, we need identification and signatures from
you for the bank and title transfers. There are three homes in the
United States and one in Greece.”