Vampire for Hire (3 page)

 
      
 
Chapter Three

 
      
 
I knew the story of the American Vampire, of course.

 
      
 
In essence, a young man with two extraordinarily long canine teeth had sucked his girlfriend dry. His trial had been as sensational as they get, and who could forget the images of the young man opening his mouth and exposing those two insanely long canines for all the world to see.

 
      
 
And here he was. In the flesh. Sitting across from me. A young man who had been tried and convicted of murder. A young man who had been deemed criminally insane. And there were very few who would argue that point.

 
      
 
And he’s Fang,
I thought.
This is crazy.

 
      
 
If I looked hard enough I could see the similarities, but the truth was, he looked nothing like the tormented young man whose image had been broadcast across the airwaves and newsrooms and the early Internet. Now his thick beard would make him nearly impossible to place, and I was almost certain he had had some nose work done. And as I looked again, I could see he was wearing brown contact lenses. Almost certainly his eyes had been blue originally. But the biggest difference was his great height. He had not been quite this tall when he was eighteen years old. Then again, it was hard to know for sure, since he had often sat petulantly next to his attorneys. Still, I would guess he had grown another five inches...perhaps enough to completely throw authorities off his trail.

 
      
 
He was, after all, an escaped convict—and allegedly responsible for two more deaths. A guard at the criminally insane prison and the owner of a creepy museum in Hollywood who had purchased Aaron’s teeth for a morally questionable display.

 
      
 
A sick display. There had been an outrage, of course.

 
      
 
But the outrage turned moot when the owner had been found dead some months later, and the teeth had been stolen.

 
      
 
The same teeth that now dangled from Fang’s neck.

 
      
 
The same fangs.

 
      
 
“You are a killer,” I said.

 
      
 
“As are you, Samantha,” he said, sitting back and sipping casually on a drink that smelled strong enough to preserve a warthog. “We are both victims of circumstance. Never forget that.”

 
      
 
His faux brown eyes continued scanning my face. I could see the wonder in them; I could sense his awe. His thoughts were alive to me, nearly registering in my mind as my own. After all, I had a deep connection to Fang, deeper than I had ever thought possible with another human being, and although the man in front of me was largely a stranger, now that we’ve met in the flesh, our connection seemed only to intensify.

 
      
 
He closed his eyes and took in some air. “I can feel you, Moon Dance.”

 
      
 
I blinked. “Feel me how?”

 
      
 
“In my head. You’re there. In my thoughts. Just off to the side. Listening. Picking up words here and there.”

 
      
 
He cocked his head slightly to one side, like a dog listening to something on the wind. Now it was my turn to study his face. The man was gorgeous. Of that, there was no doubt. After all, there was a reason why my sister turned into a gibbering idiot every time he served us a drink. His brown hair was jauntily disheveled, or perhaps messily windblown. Mostly, it was his lips that commanded my attention. So full, especially the lower one. There was a spot of liquid on the bottom one and all I could think of doing was tasting that spot. Just that one, sexy spot.

 
      
 
His eyelids quivered, where I saw a brief flash of white, and realized his eyes had rolled up into his head. “Yes, there you are, Moon Dance.”

 
      
 
I said nothing. Music continued pumping through the bar. A very old drunk man got up from his stool and started slow dancing with himself. He spun himself once, twice, and I thought he might even dip himself, but luckily he bumped into the bar and grabbed hold of it. No one seemed to notice him but me.

 
      
 
And seemingly inside my skull, I heard a very faint, yet very distinct whisper:
Hello, Moon Dance.

 
      
 
Fang opened his eyes and smiled at me.

 
      
 
“Okay,” I said. “
That’s
never happened before.”

 
      
 
Chapter Four

 
      
 
“It is common knowledge that vampires can control others with their minds,” said Fang.

 
      
 
“But I’m not trying to control you,” I said.

 
      
 
“Yet,” he said. “But if I find myself suddenly giving you a pedicure, I might suspect otherwise.” He winked.

 
      
 
I lifted my hand. “Trust me, there isn’t a file strong enough for these nails.”

 
      
 
“Let me see your nails, Moon Dance.”

 
      
 
“No.”

 
      
 
“Please.”

 
      
 
I sighed and held out my hands. He took them gently and did not flinch at the extreme cold of my flesh like most do. Indeed, shivering and smiling, he seemed to revel in the iciness. He next tapped the tip of my index finger. I felt like a horse being sold at auction. “You could disembowel a rhino with these things.”

 
      
 
“Or a bartender who lets my secret out.”

 
      
 
He grinned again. “I didn’t realize how feisty you were, Moon Dance.”

 
      
 
“We never had this much at stake, Fang.”

 
      
 
“We both hold equally damaging secrets. I, too, am trusting you to keep my secret safe.”

 
      
 
“You’re a convicted murder and an escaped prisoner.”

 
      
 
“And you’re a blood-sucking fiend.”

 
      
 
I studied him. The corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile, along with some of his beard. “Fair enough,” I said, sitting back. “So what’s this mind control business you’re talking about?”

 
      
 
He finished his drink and waved the waitress over. I had barely touched my own wine. When she was gone, he sat forward, resting his weight on his sharp elbows. “You have already mentioned your sixth sense, Moon Dance. You have even mentioned that you felt it is getting stronger.”

 
      
 
I nodded; it was.

 
      
 
He went on, “Well, your sixth sense is a little more far-reaching than you have thought; at least, that is my understanding.”

 
      
 
“How far-reaching?”

 
      
 
“Telepathy. Hypnosis.
Mediumship
.”

 
      
 
“One at a time,” I said. “Hypnosis?”

 
      
 
“You’ve seen
Dracula
, right?”

 
      
 
“Maybe.”

 
      
 
“Did you read the book?”

 
      
 
“No.”

 
      
 
“A vampire whose never read
Dracula
?”

 
      
 
“I’ve been busy raising kids and trying to keep a husband happy. At least I’m batting .500.”

 
      
 
He smiled sadly. “I’m sorry he hurt you, Moon Dance.”

 
      
 
“So am I.”

 
      
 
“Want to change the subject?”

 
      
 
I nodded.

 
      
 
“Back to mind control. Dracula, you see, has the ability to induce hypnosis with just his gaze. You might want to look into it.”

 
      
 
I shook my head at his silly pun. “Fine. What about
mediumship
?”

 
      
 
“That’s speaking to the dead, either to those who have passed on or still linger.”

 
      
 
“Linger?”

 
      
 
“Ghosts, Moon Dance. You should be able to see ghosts.”

 
      
 
I scanned our surroundings. The electrified air, usually so alive with light filaments, seemed particularly erratic in here. To my eyes, the streaking lights zigzagged even more crazily, sometimes coalescing into bigger shapes. As I scanned the air around us, Fang continued speaking.

 
      
 
“You are a supernatural being, Moon Dance. A supernatural being in the world of mortals. You should be seeing things I could never, ever imagine.”