The Mississippi River Bridge looms in the distance, white lights dotting its three metal arches. A small tugboat pushes a massive barge out on the water. Only muffled beams of light and large ripples signal its presence. The further we go toward the trees and bushes surrounding the small pavilions that dot the path, the darker it becomes.
We’re completely alone, and we both stop to listen. Stuart’s ears perk forward. He might not like Star, but he won’t let her be vampire food any more than I will. For moments that stretch out like hours we hear nothing. Then Stuart’s ears twitch. He detects something, and with a slight lowering of his massive head, I know it’s time to move.
My heavy boots make a dull thud against the pavement as we jog quickly to the hedge surrounding the smaller pavilion. Palms mix with holly bushes to form a thick, natural barrier. It’s good—it will cover our scent.
Adrenaline races in my veins. I open my mouth to quiet my breathing. I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. I’m relying strictly on Stuart’s lead. The gun loaded with silver bullets is in my left boot, and a stake is strapped inside my coat. If he’s latched onto her, it won’t take long to finish him. I can only hope her potion is as powerful as she believes.
I pull up short when at last I hear voices, and we recede into the shadows. A quick scan of our surroundings confirms we’re alone. They’re in the smaller pavilion, the one away from the river, and their voices echo off the tin roof clear as a bell to where we’re hiding.
“…just taking a walk.” Star’s voice is high and a little giggly. She’s going for tipsy, vulnerable. It’s good.
The voice that answers puts ice in my veins. “You’re overdressed for a walk on a night like this.”
His speaking voice is different from his voice in my head. It’s smooth and polished with a low vibration of glamour. But in addition to that, in addition to the overt threat, something else gives me pause. I can almost place it…
“Oh, I was at a party,” she sighs, and we see her in the shadows, leaning on the pavilion railing. “I just got so bored. Do you ever get so bored of people you want to scream?”
“All the time.” His smile is hungry. “What bored you tonight?”
“Nothing.” She turns and faces him. “I mean, the prospect of nothing. Another night. Nothing changes.”
“Ah.” He nods, sitting on the opposite railing facing her, watching her.
From our vantage point behind the foliage, we can see and hear them. If Star gets in trouble, we’ll have a slight delay reaching her, still, if we get too close, we risk detection—especially with Stuart in his shifter form.
Pushing off the rail, she walks straight to him. “You say I’m overdressed. What’s with the tux?”
She slides her hands under the lapels of his black dinner jacket. I’ve got to hand it to her, she’s brave to get so close.
“I’m going to dine.”
“Dinner? You’re going to dinner, you mean?”
“No.” He reaches out and catches her wrists, lifting one to his mouth. “I said what I meant.”
My muscles tighten. I’m not sure if he’ll bite her… He seems only to inhale her skin.
Everything stops.
His expression hardens, and he throws her arm down abruptly.
“How often does this work for you?”
“What?” She’s still grinning, stepping to him again.
Faster than the human eye, he spins her around, pinning her arms and holding her back against his chest. A little shriek comes from her as he restrains her. Her breasts rise and fall rapidly with her breathing.
“You thought you would trick me?” The smooth vibration is gone, and he’s speaking in the sinister hiss I recognize. “You think I can’t smell the poison in your veins?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Her voice trembles. “You can smell my veins?”
I can’t tell if this is more of her act of if she’s truly asking. It seems the vampire isn’t sure either. He releases one of her wrists in favor of grasping the front of her throat with his long fingers.
“You’ve drunk verbena root… and it smells like mountain rose.”
“M-my perfume is rose.” Her lips are quivering, and I can see tears in her eyes. Stuart and I start to move until… “What is verbena root?”
We stop again, waiting. She knows exactly what verbena root is. Is she working an angle?
The vampire pauses as well, but his slim fingers clutch the front of her neck as if he’ll rip it away. For a moment, the only noise is Star’s whimpering. Her rapid breathing shifts the deep V of her dress, revealing the crease under her cleavage. It’s a succulent sight for a vampire, but ours isn’t biting.
“I didn’t get this far being stupid.” His gaze lifts, and he looks around the area. “You’re a trap.”
His grip tightens, and the sound of choking fills the air. His fingers are strong enough to break her skin and throw her windpipe across the levee. I’m not convinced he won’t do it.
“Is this clever, little witch?” He hisses in her ear, and Star lets out a strangled cry. He jerks her around to the side, and the muffled lamplight falls across her face. I see her cheeks are slick with tears. Her nose is running.
“I don’t… know… what—”
“LIAR!” He snarls, but just as he starts to tear her throat out, my partner dives through the opening, knocking him back. Star instantly falls in a heap as a loud yelp screeches from my partner.
The vampire has both hands on his body, and I see his pale head in my partner’s throat, shaking side to side. More heart-chilling screeches come from Stuart.
“STUART!” I yell, pushing my arms against holly, fighting to get through the fucking hedge.
I’m finally out and running, grabbing inside my jacket for the stake.
The monster throws my partner to the ground, a limp, black heap of fur. His whimpers meet my ears, but he doesn’t get up. He appears to be paralyzed. Or injured so badly, he can’t stand.
I’m inside the small shelter facing the vampire. The blur that once clouded his features is gone, and I see he’s taken a huge bite out of my partner’s neck. But even with the blood covering his mouth and chin, I recognize him, and the shock hits me like a tidal wave.
“Sloan?” I can barely say his name. I take a staggering step back. “You did this?”
He sneers. “I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
At the sound of his cruel, vampire voice, any compassion I might have had is erased. Star’s life, Stuart’s life… Alison’s life. Melissa.
All the rage in me races back. “So have I.”
Just that fast, his demeanor switches. He straightens, takes a cloth handkerchief from his pocket, and wipes his chin clean as if dining in a fine New Orleans restaurant. “Always the good little boy scout aren’t you. Or should I say the good little soldier?”
At those words, understanding floods my mind. He’s prepared for me. He saw me in the street and blinded my vision. He saw me today when he was tracking Melissa and did it again. He knows about my immunity. He knows all my methods as a hunter. He taught me how to hunt his kind.
Now I’m alone, facing him. My partner is bleeding out. The vampire saliva will work against his shifter powers, and if the wound is severe enough, he’ll die.
Star hasn’t recovered from her injuries or else she’s staying down. I don’t have time to lose if I’m going to finish what’s left of my former mentor and save them.
I start with the charges, each one of them fueling my determination to beat him. “You raped Melissa. You forced her to drink your blood against her will—”
His eyebrows shoot up, and he starts to laugh. “Really? That’s what you’re charging me with?” His laugh is a grating, animal noise, and I can’t help noticing again how much he’s changed since I knew him.