Vampire in Geek's Clothing (Psy-Vamp Book 6) (4 page)

Isaiah had no idea what Nikki was doing in the tattoo
parlor, but some insane part of his brain told him to go drag her out of
there—especially when that asshole put his arms around her. Of course, he knew
how crazy that reaction was. He barely knew the woman, and he certainly didn’t
have any claim on her. There was also the fact that he’d heard enough of her
conversation earlier to know she wasn’t here to meet a boyfriend. The sign on
the door claimed he was with a client and would reopen in an hour, but that
didn’t make Isaiah feel any better.

There was a strong possibility it was a genetic flaw he
shared with the other men in his family that had him considering storming in
and carrying Nikki off. That had him wondering if they all possessed some
stalker/kidnapper gene. Whatever the cause, he tamped down the impulse,
figuring he’d attract way too much attention if he hopped on a BART train with
Nikki over his shoulder.

Over an hour later, Nikki slipped out of the tattoo parlor
with her hoodie pulled over her face. She didn’t look around nervously, but he
caught the way she checked out her surroundings, like she was looking for
someone.

Careful to remain in the shadows, he followed her back to
the BART station, and then all the way to the parking garage by the coffee
shop. Stalking her wasn’t easy; Nikki was pretty observant. There had been a
couple of times when he’d been sure she suspected someone was following her,
but she’d relaxed when he’d fallen back. Not until she was safely in her car
and on the way out of the parking garage, did he finally make his way to his
own car.

When his phone rang, he almost let it go to voicemail after
seeing it was Drew calling, but he figured that would make it more likely Drew
would harass him when he got home and wanted to focus on researching the guy at
the tattoo parlor. That guy had something to do with the trouble Nikki was in,
and Isaiah planned to find out his connection.

With a sigh, he answered his phone.

“What do you want?” he asked.

Drew chuckled. “Come on, cuz. Don’t be grumpy with me.”

“Grumpy?” Isaiah huffed. “I’m being pretty cheerful,
considering I’m on the phone with you.”

“You wound me,” Drew drawled.

“In every dream I have about you,” Isaiah muttered.

“I don’t blame you for dreaming about me,” Drew assured him.
“You can’t help dreaming about this perfection. Sorry to tell you this, but
even if we weren’t cousins, I’m not into guys.”

“Can we get on with the reason for this call?” Isaiah asked
impatiently.

“Just wanted to find out how the stalking went,” Drew
replied cheerfully. “Since you aren’t too busy banging the barista babe to
answer your phone, I guess it didn’t go very well.”

“That’s not why I was stalking her,” Isaiah argued, figuring
there was no point denying he was stalking the woman. There’s no other word for
it when you follow someone that far, keeping in the shadows. If his car had
been parked close to hers, he might have followed her home. He had every
intention of finding out where she lived, so he’d definitely crossed the line
between concerned and creepy. “Damn, I really am as bad as the rest of you.”

“Why were you following her?” Drew asked, sounding genuinely
concerned, which took Isaiah by surprise. Drew wasn’t known for thinking about
the well-being of others. His hesitation was not missed by Drew, who laughed.
“Yeah, I don’t usually care about anyone. Just humor me while I actually give a
fuck. I’m sure the moment will pass soon.”

“I think she might be in some kind of trouble,” Isaiah
explained, as he put the call on speaker and started up the car. The bridge
traffic was going to be a nightmare, which was really annoying when he was so
anxious to get home and start researching.

Drew remained quiet for a moment. “What kind of trouble?” he
asked.

Isaiah let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know. You heard
the call earlier. That guy just burst into the coffee shop insisting she go
with him. If I hadn’t intervened, he might have dragged her out of there.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t use compulsion to get him to
leave,” Drew mused. “You aren’t usually the hands on type.”

“I tried, but it didn’t work on him.” Drew was right about
his actions being out of character. Isaiah could count on one hand the number
of times he’d resorted to violence in his life. At nearly two-hundred years old,
that said a lot.

“Is it just me, or have we run into a lot of psychic humans
in the last few years?” Drew asked. “I remember how everyone got all excited
about Hannah being psychic. Now we’ve got psychic cousins, and even that
asshole cop. Where were they all hiding?” Drew clearly didn’t want an answer to
his question since he didn’t wait for a reply. “So, finish telling me about
stalking the barista babe. Hey! You don’t have a picture of her you could send
me, do you?”

“No, why?” Isaiah suspected he’d regret asking that question
as soon as the words left his mouth.

“All this talk about stalking is getting me kind of horny,
and I thought it might help with the fantasy if I had a visual. If you don’t
have a picture, that’s okay. Just describe her to me.”

It said something about his life that what Drew said didn’t
shock him. “Do not jack off while you are on the phone with me.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” Drew assured him, before adding, “I
was going to wait until we got off the phone. Trust me. I’ll keep my hands off
my dick until we hang up.”

“If you can’t stop talking about your dick, I’m hanging up
now,” Isaiah warned.

“Fine,” Drew relented. “Finish telling me about the barista
babe’s problems. Let’s jump to what happened tonight.”

“I followed her to some tattoo parlor, and she did her best
to make sure no one recognized her when she walked there and back. I followed
her back to her car, but I couldn’t make it to my car in time to follow her
from there. I still don’t know what’s going on with her, but I know she’s in
some kind of trouble.”

“I’m surprised you couldn’t find out what’s going on with
her on your computer already.”

Isaiah released a frustrated breath. “I tried, but I can’t
find anything on her. The coffee shop is obviously paying her under the table,
and she’s never offered up her last name when we’ve talked.”

“The police could be after her,” Drew suggested. “You might
be able to get Ivy’s cop friend to look into her for you.”

“No,” Isaiah said automatically. For all he knew, she could
be a dangerous killer, but something told him that wasn’t the case. Even if she
was wanted by the police, he wasn’t inclined to help them find her.

“You wanna know what I think you should do?” Drew asked.

“Definitely not,” Isaiah replied with a bark of laughter.

“See? This is the kind of shit that wounds me,” Drew told
him.

Isaiah’s lips lifted in a hint of a smile. “Wounding you
always sounds like a good idea. If I let you tell me what you think I should
do, will you get off the phone so I can think?”

“Sure thing,” Drew agreed.

“Then tell me what you think I should do,” Isaiah relented.

“You should fuck her so good she’ll stay in your bed and
tell you all her secrets,” Drew advised, and that painted some very vivid
images of Nikki tied to his bed while he licked every inch of her body.

“I take it by your silence that you like my suggestion,”
Drew added smugly. “Should I go raid Justin and Caitlin’s room for some bondage
shit so you can keep her tied to your bed?”

“No one said anything about tying her to my bed,” Isaiah
insisted.

Drew chuckled. “Listen, cuz, you don’t have to lie to me.
You must have a kinky side in there somewhere. Maybe you should turn her over
your knee and spank her for worrying you like a bad girl. Does the barista babe
have a nice ass?” When Isaiah didn’t answer, Drew continued. “Bet she does, and
I’ll bet you’d like to see that sweet ass wiggling around while she’s draped
across your lap.”

“Fuck you,” Isaiah ground out before ending the call.

“Damn,” he muttered to no one. After the image Drew had painted
in his mind, Isaiah was painfully aroused. It’s not that he didn’t have any
experience with women, but he’d honestly never been all that kinky. He had no
idea who he was at the moment. He’d gone from the shy nerdy vampire who rarely
got laid, to a stalker who was getting off on thoughts of bondage and spanking.

After parking, Phoenix hurried up to her small apartment. It
was nothing like the large house she’d grown up in, but it was home, and she
mostly felt safe here. At least, she had until today. While it had been her
hope that Hayden would give up on finding her, she knew that had been a
ridiculous thing to hope for. She still couldn’t get over the fact that he’d
somehow recruited hunters to help him. By this point, she’d figured the hunters
weren’t going to come looking for her. If they’d really wanted to find her, she
would have already been discovered, spelled tattoo or not.

She’d struggled with her desire to call her parents the
entire drive home. It was probably stupid to call them since nothing good ever
came from any of their conversations. Neither had been happy about having to
leave their old lives behind, and her dad still doubted the need to do so. At
first, she’d stayed away from them to keep them safe in case the hunters came
looking for her. Now, she stayed away from them because she suspected they
would eventually tell Hayden where to find her. They’d never believed he was a
danger.

As much as she hated to admit it, her parents might be to
blame for Hayden’s presence in this area. It was always possible she’d let it
slip to them where she was hiding. Finally, giving in to temptation, she called
her parents.

“Hello,” her mom answered hesitantly.

“It’s me,” Phoenix said, feeling awkward. Talking to her
parents always felt awkward. They’d been pushing her to take her place as a
hunter her entire life. Admittedly, her mom had begun to accept her decision,
but her father still only spoke to her through her mom.

“Phoenix,” her mother breathed out. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she lied. “Things are good out here, and the
witch who helped me just did some more work on my tattoo. You don’t have to
worry about me.”

“Not worry,” her mother scoffed. “How am I supposed to do
that when you insist on staying away from us?”

“How is Dad?” Phoenix asked to avoid further discussion on
whether she’d be safer with her parents. Bringing up her father might even
remind her mom why she was safer on her own.

“He’s doing fine with his new job,” her mom replied in a
more strained voice. “Things have been rough for him lately. He wants to check
on the rest of the family.”

The rest of the family consisted of her aunt, uncle, and two
cousins.

“Don’t let him call them, Mom.” There was no hiding the
tremor in her voice.

Silence greeted her.

“Mom,” she whispered. “Please, tell me he didn’t call them.”

“Shayla’s run off, and her parents have no idea where she
is,” her mom continued. “Your father said Hayden is beside himself with worry.
She’s been gone as long as we have. Do you think she ran away because you did?
I know you girls were spending a lot of time together.”

Phoenix felt the rising panic. Ignoring her mom’s question
about Shayla, she pushed for more information. “Did he tell Hayden where you’re
staying?”

“Of course not,” her mom assured her, sounding annoyed that
she’d asked. “He simply told Hayden we’re safe and tucked away in a small town
in the Midwest, while you’d gone to hide where there are more witches.”

Phoenix knew she should be happy that her father hadn’t
revealed exact locations, but he’d given Hayden enough to start with. At that
moment, she was even more thankful her father didn’t know where she was.

“When did he talk to Hayden?” she demanded.

“Don’t get all dramatic about this,” her mom scolded.
“Hayden is family, and he’s worried about you. I understand you had your issues
with him when you were kids, but those childish spats shouldn’t still be
bothering you at this age.”

Phoenix wanted to scream at her mother, but she fought the
urge because she’d learned long ago it did no good to try to make her mom see
the truth when it came to Hayden. She’d screamed, cried, and begged her parents
to keep Hayden away from her while growing up, but they’d refused to believe a
word she’d said against him. Even when she’d been fourteen and Hayden had wrestled
her to the ground and groped her breasts, her parents had insisted he just had
trouble remembering she was a young lady and their childhood play was no longer
appropriate. It had never been play. Hayden hated her for having a hunter’s
mark when he didn’t. That hate had somehow manifested itself into a sick
obsession.

“Phoenix?”

“I’m still here,” she told her mom. “You need to move.”

“Hayden promised he wouldn’t tell anyone where we are,” her
mom assured her, which meant her dad had likely revealed more than her mom was
letting on. “What do you think happened to Shayla? I hope she’s okay.”

The day Shayla had come to Phoenix with bruises from Hayden
trying to strangle her, Phoenix had known how truly unstable he was. Shayla had
been lucky to get away with her life, and that’s when Phoenix had realized they
needed to run before Hayden found out about her biggest secret. Her parents had
never heard the full story, though she’d been tempted to tell them many times.
Instead, she’d chosen to leave Shayla out of the story, and let them think
Phoenix’s mistakes were the only reason they’d had to run. Honestly, they were
used to blaming her, so it was easier that way.

“Hayden’s phone calls might be monitored since he’s family,”
she lied.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” her mom admitted. “Still, I’m
sure the hunters have no interest in finding us. You’re the one they’re looking
for.”

“Please, Mom, just move.”

“I’ll talk to your father,” her mom relented, but Phoenix
already knew that meant they weren’t moving. Phoenix wasn’t even surprised that
her father had called his family. What she actually had trouble believing was
that it had taken him this long to do it.

“I need to go, Mom,” Phoenix told her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetie,” her mom replied. “Maybe we can
all move somewhere together and be a real family again.”

It was a struggle not to laugh. They’d never been a real
family.

“I’ll call you soon,” was all Phoenix said, ending the call
to avoid arguing about where she should stay.

Hearing that her dad had talked to Hayden meant she needed
to make one other call.

“What do you need?” Shayla asked, sounding almost angry.

“My dad talked to Hayden,” Phoenix replied, bypassing the
niceties and small talk. They didn’t have that kind of relationship anymore.

“Shit!” Shayla shouted.

It was hard to make out her cousin’s voice with the
background noise.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“Shooting range,” Shayla explained.

“You bought a gun?” Phoenix gasped. Her cousin had been
afraid of her own shadow for years.

“Yep,” Shayla replied, and Phoenix could picture her
cousin’s lips twisted into a condescending smirk. “Fucker comes anywhere near
me, and I will blow his balls off.”

“What if you don’t have the gun with you?” It’s not that she
didn’t want her cousin to feel confident in her ability to defend herself. She
just didn’t like the idea of her relying on a gun to do it.

“That’s what the Karate classes are for,” Shayla replied. “I
guess Hayden was right about one thing.”

“What’s that?” Phoenix asked.

“That mark on your body doesn’t mean that much. I can defend
myself now, but I’ll bet that even though you’re in danger, you still haven’t
learned how.” There was no missing the anger in her cousin’s voice.

When Phoenix didn’t respond to Shayla’s snarky comment,
Shayla let out a sigh. “Sorry about being a bitch. I’m just worried about my
parents.”

“Why? Did they say something when you talked to them?” Much
to her dismay, Shayla still called her parents on occasion.

“I’ve tried calling them twice in the last few days and they
haven’t answered,” Shayla explained. From the sound of it, Shayla had just
climbed into her car. “I know you’re probably going to tell me they could be
busy, or Hayden could have been around when I called.”

“Both are possible,” Phoenix said.

“The last time I talked to them, my mom said Hayden was
looking for you,” Shayla told her.

“We already knew that,” Phoenix reminded her.

“This is worse,” Shayla continued. “According to them, he’s
calling you a whore, and he’s even gone to the local hunters to try to convince
them you need to be found immediately.”

While Phoenix had no idea why Hayden had suddenly become so
determined to find her after all this time, it helped explain why he was here.
It seemed he’d gotten the help he wanted from the hunters.

“Hayden is here,” Phoenix admitted. “There are hunters with
him, and they’ve been questioning the local witches.”

“My parents would have answered the phone when I called so
they could warn me that Hayden had left the area,” Shayla insisted.

Normal parents would do that, but Shayla’s parents weren’t
normal. Despite what Shayla wanted to believe, Phoenix wasn’t convinced
Shayla’s parents wouldn’t tell Hayden where to find both of them if they knew.
Monsters weren’t simply born. Hayden had been a strange child whose parents had
enabled him to be violent and cruel by making excuses for his behavior and
covering up anything that looked suspicious, like mutilated pets. It was
impossible to predict what her aunt and uncle would do.

“They might be afraid you’d warn me,” Phoenix told her.

There was a pause before Shayla answered. “You’re right,”
she admitted. “I still need to get someone to check on them.”

Phoenix let out a frustrated sigh, knowing there was no way
to talk her cousin out of this.

“After I call, I’ll ditch this phone and grab a new one
before I leave town. I’ll let you know what I find out about my parents,”
Shayla told her before ending the call.

Phoenix wanted to cry. She was tired of running and tired of
lying. There hadn’t been anything truly good in her life for so long; she
wasn’t sure if she’d recognize good. Then her mind drifted to Isaiah and the
shy smiles he gave her every day. Isaiah was the one good thing in her life,
and she couldn’t keep him.

Phoenix was beyond exhausted when she made her way into the
bedroom. She barely managed to slip out of her clothes and into a sleep shirt
before collapsing onto the bed, in desperate need of a good eight hours of
sleep. Not that she’d get eight hours before she needed to head into work
again, but she’d take what she could get.

She had no idea how long she’d slept before her phone rang,
but it hadn’t been long enough. Reaching over to the bedside table, she
remembered her phone was still in the living room. Sadly, she no longer lived a
life where she could ignore her phone in favor of sleep.

Dragging herself out of bed, she padded into the living
room, barely missing the call. It was Shayla, so she called her cousin right
back, but the call went to voicemail. Deciding against leaving a message, she
waited a few minutes in case her cousin tried calling her again.

The voicemail indicator popped up on her phone, and Phoenix
felt her gut tighten. They didn’t leave voicemails because they worried the
wrong person would listen to the messages.

“Hey. I called one of my mom’s friends to check on my
parents.” There was a long pause, and Phoenix heard Shayla’s shuddering breath
in the message. “They’re gone. There was a fire, and the whole house burned to
the ground. There were matches all over in the house, and my parents were tied
to chairs. The police suspect it was a burglary gone wrong, but we both know
Hayden killed them. According to their neighbor, who’s also a breeder, Hayden
is claiming that you murdered them to hide some big secret. I’m getting rid of
this phone, so don’t try calling me back. Get out of that area before it’s too
late. If he’d kill my parents, he’ll definitely kill you.”

The message ended, and Phoenix was left staring at her
phone, trying to decide what to do next. A big part of her really wanted to believe
it had been a burglary gone wrong, but she had no doubt Shayla’s suspicions
were correct.

After a brief conversation to tell her mom what had
happened, Phoenix laid awake wondering if her parents would finally believe
they might be in danger. She also felt even more alone than normal tonight.
Brian would be gone soon, and that left her with no friends. Then her mind
drifted to Isaiah again, wishing there could be a happy ending for her story,
one that involved Isaiah.

Hours later, she finally drifted off to sleep, grateful that
instead of dreams of death and fear, she dreamt of a sexy college student.