Tempted in the Night (18 page)

Shutting out the memory, he gestured to the book. "There were a couple of pages missing—specifically for this week. Do you remember what was on those pages? Did you happen to mention coming to
New Orleans
or the address of this house?"

She gave him a depressed look. "Yes, it was all there."

He saw her glance toward the door, as if finally appreciating the legitimacy of his warning.

"Don't worry," he reassured her. "I'll find Brody and stop him."

Her chin went up in defiance. "You've never even killed a vampire. I'll take care of it. Just you and your vampire friend stay out of my way."

"Jess, Brody isn't just a
vampire,
he's a psychotic killer who targets women. He doesn't want to kill you, he wants to rape you and then torture you because that gives him a sense of power. I've been after him for a long time, but I've always been hampered by the law. That's no longer a problem so when I find him, I
am
going to kill him, but I don't need you running around out there where I have to worry about you or where you can get in the way. Stay in here."

She stared at him in disgust. "Brody will probably slip right past you and your vampire friend."

"Well, if he does, then you'll get a chance to show us what a hotshot vampire hunter you are." He handed her the sword and then started for the door, feeling her glare burning a hole in his back.

"Just so you know," she said after he had the door open and was about to step out, "I'm killing any vampire that comes through that door, got it? So you might want to tell your friend that."

John glanced over at Harris, still standing far from the house. "I think he knows."

He pulled his Smith & Wesson from his holster and checked the cylinder.

"That's not going to help you much," she commented, following him to the doorway. "You should take a sword."

He almost smiled at the note of concern that slipped into her voice. Maybe she really did care about him. "I have extra bullets," he replied, placing the gun back in its holster. Mac said it took a lot of bullets to kill a vampire, so he'd remembered to bring extra ammunition. Looking at her now, seeing the worry behind her defiant glare, he couldn't resist her. Before he could stop himself, he cupped the back of her head with his hand and leaned forward, delivering a searing kiss, which, God help him, she returned. "Stay inside and lock the door after I leave," he said huskily—and then he walked out, leaving her standing there with a bewildered, lost expression on her face.

"Looks like you have your hands full," Harris said, moving out of the shadows where John could see him.

John grimaced. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Right."

He thought he saw Harris smile, but the movement was so slight, it was hard to be sure. He was about to tell the vampire to mind his own business when a shift in the shadows caught his attention. "Behind you," he warned, drawing his gun.

"No, don't shoot." Harris moved into his line of fire. "It's only Lucy."

"You brought a date?" John asked in total disbelief.

Harris scowled at him.
"Not exactly."
The shadows shifted and a figure stepped out.

"Holy shit."
John stumbled back from the five-foot-tall gargoyle-looking creature. "What the hell?"

"I guess you've never seen a
chupacabra
?" Harris asked as calmly as if he were asking if John had ever tried a beignet.

John swallowed hard and stared at the large hind legs the creature was balanced on, the talon-sharp three-toed claws, the large oval red eyes and almost feline-shaped round head. Sweat broke out along his forehead as he realized that this was the kind of creature that had killed Harris and made Mac and Dirk changelings. "No. I think I'd have remembered seeing something like this."

Harris chuckled. "Yeah,
chupacabras
certainly leave an impression." He shrugged. "I thought maybe you'd seen Gem."

"Gem?"

"The young creature that Mac's wife is taking care of? Lucy here is her mother."

John only heard the first part of what Harris said. "There's a creature like this at the admiral's house?"

"She's much smaller.
Still a baby, really.
She and Lucy were found together in the Amazon jungle."

"So how come Lucy's with you and not with the admiral and her baby?"

"It's a long story, but the short version is that she was severely mistreated by one of the vampires she created, and now she tends to avoid anything that resembles a human. I think she must be okay with
Lanie
Knight caring for Gem because I think if she wasn't then there's not much that would have stopped her from getting her baby back. But Gem seems happy where she is, so Lucy goes by to visit a couple of times a week. I usually go with her, but not always."

"And you call her Lucy because?"

"It's stupid, really," Harris said, looking suddenly embarrassed. "Sometimes she'll show up at my lair and I'll have no idea where she's been or what she's been up to, which is strange since we share this psychic link. When she sees me, she gives me a look of such total innocence that I know it's a cover. I end up feeling like Ricky Ricardo. You know? '
Lucy, you have some '
splaining
to do.'"
He shrugged. "The name sort of stuck."

John stared at the creature, who stared back at him. "What's she doing here?"

Harris looked affronted. "I'm not leaving her in D.C. all alone."

The
chupacabra
stepped closer, and it took a tremendous effort on John's part not to shy away from her when she leaned close, like she
was smelling
him. Then, apparently satisfied, she stepped away and moved off into the night, disappearing once again.

"Where's she going?"

"I don't know," Harris admitted. "I'm not her owner, she's not my pet."

"Aren't you worried that she'll get lost?"

"No, I—" Harris stopped, cocking his head to one side. "Brady's in the area. Let's get settled."

He led the way to a spot near the corner of the manor where the trees and bushes provided excellent cover, while still giving them a clear view of at least two sides of the mansion. The night was clear, and light filtering down from the full moon made it possible to see.

"The most logical point to approach the mansion is from that direction." Harris pointed, echoing John's thoughts. "I think we'll see him before he even knows we're here."

John agreed and, used to long stakeouts, settled in to wait. It was nice to have company, even that of a vampire. Without the luxury of conversation, part of John's mind wandered to Jessica. The woman bothered him in more ways than one and kissing her sure as hell hadn't helped.

Very gently, he felt Harris's hand touch his arm. Then Harris pointed to the left rear corner of the mansion. At first the shifting in the shadows was hard to make out, but slowly the dark form of a man became visible.
Brody
.

He neared the front of the house, moving fast. John was concerned that if they didn't go after him soon, it might be too late. Just then, Harris took off.

With superhuman speed, he crossed the yard, with John racing after him as fast as he could pump his legs. Up ahead, Brody froze. When he saw them, he turned and raced off into the night. Harris followed with John, at his much slower human speed, falling far behind.

They disappeared into the woods, and it soon became too dark for John to see. He was forced to slow down and finally to stop altogether.

After catching his breath, he straightened from his bent stance and looked at his surroundings. He was standing near an old cemetery.

Like most
New Orleans
cemeteries, the graves were aboveground, and the place was ornate with an abundance of statuary. It was a perfect place to hide, he thought, moving toward it.

Gripping his gun a little more tightly, he entered the cemetery and began working his way systematically through it, using moonlight to guide his steps. Still, progress was slow, and as he wove his way through the tombs, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Common sense told him he should stop and return to the mansion—wait for Harris to return; but the old need to bring Brody to justice spurred him on. He moved down the next row of headstones, stepping around a statue that bore an uncanny resemblance to Harris's
chupacabra
, except the statue had huge,
batlike
wings. Briefly, John wondered if the sculptor who created this work might have seen the real creatures at one time, but then he dismissed the thought as he focused his attention once more on his task. If he didn't pay attention, Brody could step—

A movement off to the side caught his attention. John whirled and found himself facing the statue he'd just passed, eyes now glowing with a spooky crimson light and very much alive.

John brought his gun up to fire, but before he could, a huge, talon-tipped claw knocked the gun from his hand, sending it sailing into the night.

Jerked from his paralysis, John scrambled back, but the creature's huge wings wrapped around him and drew him inexorably closer. John fought against it, but when his fists struck the creature, it was like hitting stone. He was going to die. The realization hit him with such suddenness, all he felt was shock until the searing pain ripped through his neck. Then there was nothing.

Harris saw Brody disappear around the corner of a house not fifty yards ahead of him and put on a burst of speed. The thrill of the hunt filled him with exhilarated anticipation. Tonight, it would be over. He would correct his mistake before the Progeny was allowed to kill again. All he had to do was turn the corner and—

A bolt of alarm shot through him with such force, he literally stumbled and almost fell. Confused, he slowed his pace, trying to identify the source. The emotion hit him again—alarm mixed with a more primitive, animalistic need to protect.
Lucy
.

Focusing his attention on the link he shared with the
chupacabra
, Harris received an image. It was distorted, as if he
were
looking through the bottom of a glass bottle, but he made out the form of a man, lying on the ground. A tall, dark shape loomed over him.