9781936653027BorntobeWildArsuaga (4 page)

Chapter 3

The next morning, Alex
slept in late. She had driven back in a daze from the vamp club. If not with
the aid of the GPS, taking it slow and sure, she may have still been driving in
the unfamiliar city.

Right now, her memory was
fuzzy, remembering only a hot kiss with Stefan.
Ugh!
The thought made
her shiver. Randy told her the vamp was dangerous and be careful. Last night he
proved the fact out. While needing Stefan’s help, she still had to watch her
back. Rule Number Three applied here.
Damn, he sure can kiss though!

After driving for two days
and staying out late last night, her body needed more sleep than she expected.
A horrible headache now pounded like hell inside her head.

“Must
have been that concoction.
House Special, my granny’s eye. I think
Stefan set me up with that drink,” she said out loud.
“Warts
and scars, warts and scars.”
The sharp pain made her hold her head.
Ooww
! Damn migraine headache.

Stumbling into the
bathroom in search of medication, she stared at her reflection in the mirror
then stripped down to take a shower. The hot water felt refreshing and helped
relieve the pounding headache. Her thoughts drifted to Stefan and no matter how
hard she tried, the scent of his cologne lingered with her, imprinting on her brain.
The touch of his hand on hers, his lips, the sound of his heartbeat, they were
indelibly marked on her memory. It would take a stronger impression to rid her
of his influence.

Finishing her shower, she
toweled off, brushed teeth, blow dried hair, and dressed. Donning a favorite
pair of blue jeans with a white T-shirt, she sat down on the edge of the bed.
An old well-worn pair of cowboy boots tucked in under the jeans. A large buckle
belt completed the outfit. The belt
slimmed
her waist
and the heavy oval metal medallion buckle with a horse motif crafted in silver
made a good weapon.

The clock on the
nightstand read eleven-thirty, closer to lunch than breakfast. Hunger pangs
wrenched her insides, needing to eat. Although wretchedly nauseous from
drinking the concoction the night before as well as the slowly fading headache,
she decided to cruise down to the beach strip and check out any action. If no
leads popped up, at least she could grab a bite to eat on the way.

For a lovely early summer
day, cloudless, bright, and low-80’s, having the top down on the red Mustang,
letting the wind blow through her long dark auburn hair, and the sun shine on
her face was the perfect antidote to forgetting problems.
What a glorious day to be alive and on the hunt for a rogue vamp.
She cranked up the volume on the CD, played
Born
to be Wild
, her favorite song. What a wild and crazy job! Heartbeats
pounded all the way to the tip of her fingers. This would be the first hunt
without any of her family tagging along for the ride. After participating in
over two-hundred-fifty bounties with her two brothers, father, and her mother
occasionally, surely someone with her experience could handle one rogue vamp on
her own.

While cruising on Atlantic
Avenue, she spied a Denny’s Restaurant, and decided to have a quick bite and
troll for information among the staff.

The hostess greeted her
and showed her to a booth by a window facing the street; the perfect location
to watch the people and traffic. Perusing the menu, she decided on the Steak
and Eggs, a compromise between breakfast and lunch. A glass of orange juice,
water, and lots of coffee rounded out her order. The waitress stared at her
funny after placing the order, only smiled and didn’t question it.

“I know, I’m starving and
couldn’t decide on breakfast or lunch. I have a long day ahead of me,” Alex
told the young waitress. Feeling guilty and wanting to stick with something
healthy, quickly added, “Okay, add some fruit to the order. I’ll be good.”

“I don’t question anyone’s
tastes. You should be here when the crazies come out after dark. I hate to pull
the shift. Those combinations are inherently strange. Yours is tame in
comparison. Believe me.”

“Crazies you say.
Crazy in what way?”

“I don’t know. They’re
into the vampire, Goth, creepy blood stuff. They come here after they’ve been
out partying with the creatures. They come in here and act…crazy. That’s the
only way I can explain it. I always have to get my manager to escort me to my
car after my shift. I don’t know if they are lurking out in the parking lot and
might jump me. They are creepy.”

“Do you know where they go
and party with these creatures, the vampires? Do you overhear them talking?”

“No, not
really.
But I know who does. Gwen works the night shift more than I do.
I can ask her if she knows anything.
You a cop or something?”

“Private
investigator.
I’m searching for a runaway. Her family thinks some
vampire groupies might have gotten a hold of her. I’m trying to track her
down.” Alex liked using that little white lie to get information. Nine times
out of ten it was effective.

“Well, if you come back
tonight, I’ll let her know and you can ask her then.”

“Great, thanks. I’ll do
that.” Alex peered at the waitress’s name badge. “Thanks Joanie, you’ve been a
great help.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll get
your order in right away.”

Alex ate her meal like it
was her last, eating every morsel on the plate. Her stomach ached before and
now was sated. The coffee wasn’t bad either. She drank the entire carafe and
its effects would keep her up the entire night. The caffeine was vital to stay
awake to search for a rogue who didn’t come out to play until night. She’d
tried those energy boost drinks, but preferred the good old-fashioned caffeine,
with cream and sugar of course.

“Thanks for your help,
Joanie,” Alex said leaving.

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll be back this evening
to speak with Gwen.”

Hopping into the car, she
buckled up.
Where to now?
The console
clock indicated almost two o’clock and there were too many hours to wait around
at the hotel until sunset.
Maybe go shopping and find a new outfit more
appropriate for
The Black Rose
tonight.
Compared to the rest of the clientele
, she felt overdressed.
Heading back toward the hotel, she remembered passing a shopping mall on the
way to Denny’s. Picking up a few things would kill some time.

Alex hated crowded
shopping centers and this arcade of maniacs was no exception. The mall swarmed
with people wandering aimlessly from store to store rummaging through the
merchandise sold at discounted prices. Every store seemed to have some type of
promotion to entice the shoppers to purchase their particular wares. The hordes
were pawing through the shelves and racks, handling every item and putting
their germs and lord knows what else on them. The smells, the touching, and the
noise, grated on her nerves. As her least favorite activity in the world to do,
except sucking blood perhaps, most of her shopping transpired on-line. It’s less
messy, more impersonal, and no crowds—a perfect combination, suiting both her
temperament and lifestyle.

A few cute outfits displayed
in the showcase windows of a small boutique caught her eye and she entered. She
asked the salesgirl for permission to take the outfits in her size to a
changing room. Alex told her a ten or twelve would be ideal, whatever was
available.

“Are you sure? You look
more like a fourteen. I’ll pull one just in case.” The young girl could be no
more than twenty, five foot two, blonde and probably a size zero, Alex
observed.
What a snobby little twit! Fourteen, my granny’s eye!

The sales clerk returned
with a large selection of varied sizes and styles for Alex to try on. First,
she tried the low-rise black dress slacks. They fit well and weren’t too low on
her hips. They showed just a bit of taut, bronzed tummy. The new workout
regimen shaved three inches from around her abdomen. A hundred sit-ups a day
were paying off. Her navel barely showed above the waistband of the pants, just
enough for the pierced ring to show. She needed to purchase a nice new piece to
go with the outfit, something with a hint of bling.

The perfect top became the
next problem. She needed sexy, but not too revealing. The top displayed with
the trousers in the showcase didn’t work for Alex. It had to be something
different. Stefan probably wouldn’t like it.
Stefan wouldn’t like it?
Why the hell do I care if Stefan doesn’t
like it?
I dress to please myself,
not some man, and especially not a vamp.

Her only thoughts while
combing through the blouse and top selection racks were of Stefan. What he
would or would not like. Thinking about him drove her crazy, by consuming her
every thought and had to stop. Even if Stefan were human, he wouldn’t be
interested in a woman like her. Cute, maybe even pretty, Alex definitely didn’t
cross into the category of a beautiful woman. The weight was a problem, and she
worked diligently to remedy the situation. The pounds steadily melted off her
small frame, but it would take more time to achieve her desired figure. As a
vamp, any attention shown toward her was only because he wanted one thing—her
blood.

Frustrated with the
choices available in her size, she decided to pick the next emerald green shirt
on the rack, right or wrong, and be done with it. After selecting accessories,
she paid for the selections and left the store, pleased with the new purchases.

Sunset drew near and Alex
readied for the evening’s events. A hunt for a bad boy—a rogue vamp bent on
harming humans and others of his kind was her main objective. The entire
afternoon her thoughts wandered to Stefan. This was not part of the Virginia
Beach job. In her book, she was a hunter, he a vampire and never shall the two
have anything in common. Randy had Stefan pegged. The blood family enforcer was
an attractive vamp to say the least. An attribute he used to trap his prey,
whether through an illusion or reality. He charmed the women right out of their
pants, sucked their blood, and tossed them out with the trash when he finished
with them, just like every vamp she’d encountered. A real nice set up vamps
had—sex in exchange for blood.
But not her.
Get over it and take care of business
girl—bounty hunting.
Two hundred
grand is on the line, don’t mess it up over a kiss with a vamp.
There
should be a rule written somewhere about not succumbing to the hypnotic kiss of
a vamp and if not, maybe she would add one.

Alex stripped off her
jeans, shirt, and boots and hopped in the shower. Standing under the water a
long time, her head slowly cleared. Absolute focus had to be the highest
priority tonight. Making a connection with the crazies, as Joanie at the
Denny’s called them, would hopefully gain her access into the back rooms beyond
the bar area at
The Black Rose
. A clear head for the entire night
prevented vamp mind touches, a skill she was a bit weak on. Despite extensive
practice, control of the images in her head to prevent vamp thoughts
penetrating her barriers left room for improvement.
So, no strange concoctions and no sweet talking vamps whispering in my
ear, Rule Number Seven, for tonight.

The new outfit was neatly
placed on the bed. The ensemble went well together.
Pretty good for a non-Fashionista.
After applying make-up, she tied her hair back in a ponytail and dressed. Next
came packing the handbag, an elongated clutch accommodating the essentials—holy
water and one small wooden stake. A backpack with extra equipment stayed in the
car. With a last minute check in the mirror, and a spray of perfume, she ran
out the door.

First stop of the night
was Denny’s Restaurant. Ordering a small salad and diet Cherry Coke, a
scintilla of something on her stomach, would suppress the hunger and keep it
light. She really wanted a thick juicy steak and a baked potato with butter and
sour cream to go with the salad, but she’d be good and not eat too much.

While waiting for Gwen to
show for her shift, a group of vamp groupies walked in. They were loud,
obnoxious, and gave a family at an adjacent table a hard time, making faces and
rude comments to the children and mother. After about ten minutes of the
bullying, Alex couldn’t take the rude behavior anymore and approached the groupies’
table with intent in her eye.

Alex slid in next to the
tall male with blonde spike-haired. He wore body piercings in his nose, brow,
ears, and lip and probably other body parts, Alex suspected. The male sported
tattoos on his arms depicting vampires and Gothic symbols. Rubbing her hand on
his thigh in a long, languid stroke up and down his well-muscled leg, she felt
him twitch from the action. The squeak that escaped from his mouth told her he
didn’t expect the aggressive tactic.
Good,
I’ll teach him manners.

“Hey, I’m passing through
and searching for some action, if you know what I mean. You guys seem like you
know where to find it, mind taking me along?” she asked demurely and rubbed on
Spike’s
thigh. Spike was the name she
associated with him.

“I can tell you are a
classy lady, maybe the VIP residence across town would be more to your liking.
But you can’t get in there, doll. It’s private invite only. We’re going down
the street after here, we’ll take you there. It’s more casual and has pretty
good action in the back rooms. You should find what you’re searching for. They
have anything you would want.”