Rylie Cruz 2 - How to Date a Vampire (24 page)

Okay, so it was no time for lame jokes, but
if I didn’t keep my humor, I’d for sure weep a bucket of tears. I’d
be a blubbering mess. How was I going to deal with Uncle Ernie and
find Jack at the same time? This was too much. My head might
explode from the stress.

“You’re right. It’s a lot of money, but I
can pay it back. I’ll have the money for them in a few days.”

“I don’t think they’re willing to give you a
few days.”

“They mostly want the other item,” he
mumbled.

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no
one had discovered us yet. “I heard about the other item, too,” I
whispered. “But we need to get you out of here before they kill
you.”

Despite my shaking hands, I pulled on the
ropes fastened around his wrists until I finally got them loosened.
“So what is this item you have of theirs? Apparently it’s pretty
darn important.”

“It’s a sculpture. A small one.” He moved
his wrist, shaking it while I untied the other hand.

“As if it being small made it any less bad
that you took it? Why are you stealing from vampires? Wait. Why are
you stealing from anyone, period?”

“The gambling debt they claimed I owed
wasn’t true, so I figured they owed me.”

“How could they owe you when you haven’t
paid them anything yet?”

“It was a preemptive measure. I took it when
I had the chance because I knew I’d have to pay them the money even
though I didn’t really owe it.”

Ernie had a convoluted way of looking at
things. As if stealing from vampires would make matters any
better.

“You shouldn’t be gambling with these guys.
Look what kind of trouble you’ve gotten us all in. I don’t even
want to know how you’re getting the twenty thousand to repay them
in a couple of days like you claim. I have too bad of a headache to
even listen to that little story right now.”

“So how did you know to find me here? I
should have known I could count on my little Rylie to save me.”

“Save the sweet talk, Uncle Ernie. I’m glad
I found you, but I didn’t come here for you.”

“Then why are you here?” he asked.

“The other day when the vampires came to my
parents’ house looking for you, my boyfriend was bitten by a
vampire and half-turned. Ever since, they’ve wanted him and now
they have him. I followed them here and I intend on getting him
back.”

“How do you know he’s here?”

“I don’t for sure, but if they have you
here, then it’s a good bet that he’s here too.” Ugh. Bet. No more
talk about bets. That was what got us into this mess in the first
place.

I finally broke free his other hand from the
rope. “Come on.” I grabbed his hand. “Let’s get you out of here. Be
very quiet. If they find us, we’ll be toast.”

I eased out from the room, looking to my
left and then to my right. It was eerily silent. No movement. No
noise. It was the calm before the storm and I knew it. For all I
knew they were hiding and watching our every move, waiting for the
right moment to pounce. They’d wait until we thought we were safe,
then attack.

“I have to get you out of here so I can find
Jack. Don’t look back, just run.”

He shook his head. “I’m going to call the
pack police.”

“No. Don’t do that. It’ll just make matters
worse right now. Let me get Jack and then we can call them.
Remember, don’t look back, and don’t tell the pack police yet. And
whatever you do, don’t get my parents involved. They’ve been
through enough already. Go get the sculpture and bring it to my
apartment. Don’t do anything else? Okay.”

“Okay. Thanks, Rylie. You’re a real special
girl.”

“Uh-huh. Save that for later when you fix
this mess. Now scoot.”

After he slipped out the door, I made my way
back inside the building. I’d never seen so many twists and turns
in one building. Navigating the maze of corridors was like trying
to navigate the maze of thoughts in my mind. Virtually impossible.
Where did I even start to look for Jack?

I tried to ease my steps so they wouldn’t
echo throughout the space and let every vampire in the place know I
was there. Were there more vampires there? Sure, there had to be. I
might as well ring a bell announcing my arrival. I eased past a few
doors, stopping just before I approached each one to make sure no
one was in the room. When I moved past the third one, I spotted
something on the concrete floor. The room was otherwise empty, so I
was curious as to what this item was. Was it something that
belonged to Jack? After all, I’d found his wallet. A clue to let me
know where he might be? I eased into the space, making sure no one
was actually hiding in there.

A silk bag set in the middle of the room. I
was drawn to it as if it was a big juicy steak and I hadn’t eaten
in days. What was inside? I reached down and picked up the silk
bag. I eased back over to the door to see if anyone approached. I
just had to know what was inside the bag.

With shaking hands, I pulled back the
drawstring and peered inside. It was too dark to make out exactly
what was in there. Just then, a bang sounded from somewhere close
by. I stepped behind the door and held my breath, praying that no
one would come by and catch me. My heart hammered in my chest.

After a minute, or what seemed like forever,
I reached inside the bag to pull out the contents. I hoped that it
wasn’t full of bugs or something even more ghastly. My hand met
with something small and cool. I pulled out the object. In my hand
I held a gold ring. In the middle of the ring was a black symbol
outlined with a black scrolled line. No diamonds or any other gems,
just the black, which I realized might be onyx. It was a man’s
ring. But I had no clue who it belonged to. Maybe something else in
the bag would tell me who was the owner. I reached in, but all I
found was a piece of paper. At first glance, it looked strangely
familiar when I pulled it out and looked at it. I unfolded the
sheet. It was a map of the French Market. That’s when I realized it
was exactly like the note that Isabella had given me. Was this her
bag? Was this her ring? Had she really had something to do with
Jack’s disappearance?

Isabella had seemed genuine when she said
she didn’t know where Jack was, and I had believed her when she
acted concerned for him. But maybe she was just a really good
actress? After all, she said she’d always wanted to be one. Then
again, this could have something to do with the vampire leader.
Isabella had said the note had come from him. But what was the ring
doing in the little pouch? I may never know the answers. But
regardless, right now I had only one thing on my mind, and that was
to find Jack. The rest would have to wait. I studied the ring one
last time, looking on the inside to see if there was an
inscription. A date and the initials, Q.R.T were stamped
inside.

I stuffed the ring back into the pouch, then
tucked the little bag into my back pocket. I needed to get out of
there before whoever lost the ring came back looking for it and
found me instead. How did I consistently get myself into these kind
of messes? I was a simple girl who just wanted to relax at home,
reading a good book. Go out for the occasional good meal and some
good music. But no, instead I was running from werewolves,
vampires, soul collectors, and every other supernatural creature
that anyone had every dreamed of.

Heck, I wished I didn’t know any of them
ever existed. I eased back around the door and into the corridor.
The building was eerily quiet, which to me was a warning sign of
bad things to come. If I could only find where Quinton had gone.
Maybe the ring really had belonged to him? He looked like he might
wear some gaudy piece of jewelry like that. That’s when I
remembered the initials. Okay, a little slow, I know, but I hadn’t
eaten and the stress was getting to me.

The initials had to be Quinton’s. Not many
people had the first initial Q. I’d confront him with it if I ever
found him. That was if he didn’t try to kill me first. I wouldn’t
go down without a fight though, and somehow I knew he knew that.
The middle of a room seemed an odd place to find a ring in a little
pouch like that. If someone dropped it, you’d think they’d realize
it. It was kind of hard to miss it there in the center of the room
like that.

Why hadn’t anyone walked past and spotted
it? How long had it been here in the first place? So many questions
and no answers. It felt weird being in this building alone, as if I
was in a cobweb and the spiders were just waiting to pounce. At any
second, they could find me, and all of this would be over. My
mission to find Jack would all be for nothing.

After traveling down the corridor for what
seemed like forever, I needed time to rest and think about my next
move. To my right was a small empty room. It would be the only
place to slip out of view and collect my thoughts. Paint was
peeling from the pea-green walls and the concrete floor was covered
in dirt.

I slid up against the wall near the door and
pressed my back against the cool concrete. As I hid in the gloomy
little space, contemplating where to go next, the only sound was my
heavy breathing. I tried to steady my panting so no one would hear
me. Sophie’s voice sounded from somewhere nearby. I’d never forget
her shrill, whiny voice. It would be etched in my brain forever.
Just like Lily’s annoying ear-penetrating tone. I inched back out
into the dim corridor and made my way over to another area, hiding
behind a large metal beam. The space was wide open in the middle of
the building on the ground floor, not a great spot to attempt to
disappear from vampires. When I peeked around the edge, I saw her
right away. Sophie stood in the middle of the room. When she
stepped to the side, I spotted Jack. My hand flew to my mouth to
stop my gasp. He was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room.
The dim lighting cast an eerie feeling around the space.

I knew I couldn't trust that woman. She had
said she wanted to help Jack, but she really wanted to kill him.
And to think I let that other evil vampire ride with me. He had
known what Sophie had planned. He’d practically delivered me to her
until I’d given him the slip. I’d followed him right into their
trap. Just as he’d wanted.

She hovered over Jack. Her lips were almost
touching his lips. Her fangs were exposed and she was just about to
plant a kiss on Jack’s mouth.

“Stop,” I yelled with undisguised anger.
“Get off him. Jack, I’ll help you.” The words rolled off my tongue
as if I had all the confidence in the world.

My voice must have startled her because she
jumped off him and spun around, giving me a death glare. Sophie had
been straddling Jack. That was not what I'd wanted to see. The
fangs were bad enough.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Back away from Jack and I won't have to
kill you,” I demanded.

“He likes it. He’s really a yummy little
treat. A fine specimen of male perfection. So why don't you go
scratch your fleas.”

“I will not leave unless he is leaving with
me.” I pointed at Jack. “Now back off.”

“I can’t believe you actually think you can
save him.”

“You can’t think you’ll get away with this,
can you? Why do you want him? He has nothing for you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. But what he has
for me is none of your concern.” She stared over my shoulder,
letting me know someone stood behind me. I was afraid to turn
around. “Why did you bring her here?” Sophie asked Quinton.

I whipped around to find Quinton behind me.
He stood near—almost close enough to whisper in my ear. I jumped
back, and my heart thumped in my chest. I guess I should have known
he’d find me. How would I fight both of them? I was surrounded by
vampires. Not the kind of situation you’d want to find yourself in.
I didn’t have enough blood to go around.

“I don't know why you’re behaving this way,
Sophie, but you know why I brought her here.”

“I’ll get you for this, Quinton,” Sophie
hissed.

Couldn't they just come out and say what
they were thinking? Did every word out of their mouths have to be a
puzzle?

“I don't even know why you brought me here,
so why don't you share with me.” I frowned at Quinton. “Stop
playing your silly little games.”

“I will share later. Right now you need to
get your boyfriend out of here.” He gestured behind him.

That was easy for him to say. Heck, I wasn’t
even sure I could find my way back out of this huge building.

“I intend on it,” I said as I moved closer
to Jack.

Sophie hissed and I stopped, unsure of what
move I should make next. Jack couldn't move, not with the ropes
tightly wrapped around his wrists. He sat there staring blankly
straight ahead. He didn’t look at me. Dark circles ringed his eyes
and his skin looked paler than ever. I wasn’t a vampire and even I
knew he needed blood. From the large streaks of blood running down
the side of his arms, I knew Sophie had been up to no good. I
wasn't sure how much longer he would last under these
conditions.

The dirt covering the windows filtered out
most of the sunlight, making the area mostly dim. I couldn’t make
out for sure, but what I thought to be bags of blood set on the
ground behind Jack, lined up in a neat little row. Had she been
draining the blood from him? How much blood had she taken from him?
He couldn’t afford to lose anymore. It would kill him. The bitch.
She’d pay for this.

“Jack, my little pet, I suggest you get her
out of here before she gets hurt.” Sophie stood next to Jack,
stroking his hair. The sight of it made me want to hurl all over
her ugly shoes. It would be hard for him to get me out of there
since he was tied up. He was barely alive thanks to her. How could
he tell me to do anything?

“I advise you to remove your hands from
him.”

“The only one getting hurt is you, Elvira.
So back off.”