The Lady is a Vamp (The Paranormal Investigations Series Book 1) (7 page)

Last night, part of her had wanted to confide in Nick, so much, especially when he had looked at her with such emotion in his eyes and told her he wanted her, and not just for one night.. But at the same time she couldn’t let him play the hero and end up hurt. Because of her. And he knew he would never let her come on the hunt, especially if she told him what she had discovered.

But right now, she was the only person, apart from Azriel, who knew where the lair was. By the time Nick had discovered she was gone and got the answers he needed from the wannabe vamp, Ruby would have cornered the vamp and … what? It occurred to her that she had no idea whether or not she could overpower him or not. She remembered he was fast, and amazingly strong, but he had used no mind control. So as long as she saw him first, she should be fine. Of course, she had no guarantees her powers would work on him; they had always been effective on other vamps, but then she had never before met a human who didn’t respond until Nick.

Nick. She stole a glance at him, her heart breaking at the thought that if anything went wrong, she might never see him again. But if he got hurt, because of her … it pained her to even think about it. She couldn’t lose another love. Watching him sleep, his mouth soft and those thick eyelashes a woman would kill for sweeping his cheeks, his broad chest rising and falling as he breathed deeply, Ruby felt a love so intense it could choke her. He was different to any man she had ever met, and already he encompassed her whole world. Tears stung at her eyes as she slipped silently out of the bed and padded into the other room to retrieve her clothes. She let herself out, but not without a lingering backwards glance at Nick.

Nick, as soon as Ruby was out of the door, sat bolt upright, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, leaped out of bed, and pulled on cleans jeans and a tight tee, added his gun and jacket with the hidden flame thrower and, giving her just enough time to get downstairs onto the street, hurried after her. His heart was pounding. What the hell was she playing at? He had woken to the sound of her dressing and known she was about to run. It had taken all of his self-control to lie there and let her go. Because he knew of course where she was headed. To the killer. What he didn’t know was why.

Nick reached the bottom of his apartment and let himself out, looking discreetly around for Ruby. Sure enough there she was at the top of the road, about to turn the corner, her deep red hair standing out like a beacon. He got into his car and started it up, following as slowly as he could without looking obvious.

The thought of her walking alone into danger twisted his stomach and he wanted nothing more than to bundle her into the car and take her somewhere safe, but he had to face facts; her behaviour looked pretty damn suspicious. Had she been fooling him all along, and was actually in cohorts with the other vamp? It felt wrong, but Nick wasn’t so arrogant to believe that he could never be wrong. The idea that it had all been a scam was like torture, but no matter how suspicious her taking off looked, he couldn’t believe that the passion she had shown last night and in the early hours of the morning was a sham. No, it had been real, he was certain of it. Perhaps the vampire had some hold over her? Or maybe she wanted to face him alone, but that possibility raised more questions than it answered. Sure, Ruby wasn’t defenceless, she had proved that last night against Azriel, but it still made no sense. Nick shook his head, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. He trailed Ruby for a couple of blocks, realising she was heading towards the rougher side of town, expecting her to notice him any minute. Or was she luring him into a trap? A muscle in the side of Nick’s face twitched as he ran through the possibilities. Really, he should be calling for back-up. Going after one vamp alone was silly, but two would be suicidal.

But if his superiors discovered Ruby and her powers and had any excuse to bring her in, Nick was under no illusions that she would ever really be free again. He couldn’t betray her, not even suspecting that she might be about to betray him. Whatever was going on, he would sort it, and bring the killer to justice. He was a cop, it was what he did, but he would do his damn best not to hurt Ruby in the process.

He trailed her into a run-down street, watched her long strides slow and knew instinctively this was the place. Then he saw her disappear down a decayed looking alley, where the car couldn’t follow. Cursing, Nick pulled up and got out of the car, being careful to keep a distance as he followed, even though his heart pounded in his chest at the thought that Ruby may be in danger. Never had he felt so compromised on a case.

The reason for his compromised state was at that moment  carefully letting herself in to the shabby apartment, which the inhabitant was so confident about that he hadn’t even bothered to lock. She stepped carefully through the door, all her senses on hyper-alert. All the curtains were drawn and the furniture clearly unused. An old-school vampire. She wouldn’t be surprised to find him sleeping in a coffin.

As she moved into the lounge a cold chill crossed her mental awareness … he was awake. Ruby froze, scanning for any sign of the vamp, but the instant her mental abilities could warn her he was approaching, he was there in front of her without her having heard or seen anyone move. That was fast. Ruby stared defiantly, aware that he would smell any fear – a sign of weakness in another vampire, but as her eyes became accustomed to the gloom and she saw his face a wave of nausea washed over her at the images that filled her mind. The screams of her father-in-law as he cried for help, Ruby running up the stairs to see the same face that was in front of her now suddenly appearing from the shadows, his icy cold hands reaching for her neck …

‘Why have you come?’ his voice was low and almost seductive. With his long black curls and chalk white skin, he was everything the mad Azriel had longed to be. He was also, Ruby could sense from the dark psychic shadow that clung to him, dangerous and evil. He was looking at Ruby however with both interest and desire. Ruby knew she should use this to her advantage, but was finding it hard to control the rage inside her as she confronted the monster who had robbed her of human life and condemned her to centuries alone. When she spoke, the anger thrummed in her voice.

‘Don’t you know me?’

The vampire frowned, looking at her. Then realisation dawned.

‘Ah yes, you were the girl from the inn … so long ago now. You were far too exquisite for me to not attempt to turn you, but unfortunately a mob came before I could stay around and see how you fared. You have, just as I predicted, made a beautiful vampire. After all this time, you have sought me for companionship?’

Ruby had to fight herself to not snarl.

‘Hardly. You killed Simon.’

The other vampire shrugged disdainfully.

‘The boy? He was a fool’

 ‘He was my friend. And you have the NYPD and the local paranormal Alliance hot on your ass. The world has changed, and this is my territory. You need to back off.’

Ruby unleashed her mental powers, intending to freeze him where he stood, but he moved in a blur of motion, too fast her to follow. Damn it. If she couldn’t see him clearly enough to focus on him, then her powers would have no target to lock on to.Out of nowhere the vamp struck her hard on the side of her face, lifting her off her feet and sending her filling into the corner of the room, her consciousness slipping away. She heard a scream, and was only vaguely aware that it came from her.

Outside, Nick had ducked into the alley, took in his surroundings, and climbed the metal staircase at the back of the only apartment that didn’t have a boarded-up door. Instead, it had one slightly ajar. It had to be where Ruby had gone.  As he approached the opening he became aware of a presence behind him. He was being followed, and not just by anyone, but by a were. He went to spin round to confront his pursuer then heard a scream coming from within the apartment behind him.

Ruby.

Nick spun on his heel, drew his gun, and ran through the door, going straight into a slight crouch, eyes and senses scanning the room.

‘NYPD, freeze!’ he yelled. The first thing he saw was Ruby huddled on the floor in the corner. She blinked at him, and he released a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding. Then her eyes went wide with horror.

The vamp materialised in front of him as if from nowhere, knocking Nick’s gun from his hand. Even as Nick reached for his flamethrower he knew he was out of time.

Then the vamp froze, releasing his grip on Nick. His eyes burned with hate and his facial muscles twitched as if he was trying to speak, but couldn’t.

‘Nick,’ Ruby’s voice sounded strained, ‘I can’t hold him for long.’

Nick grabbed his gun.

‘Did he admit to killing Simon?’

‘Yes,’ she hesitated before saying, ‘and he’s killed others. He’s the one that attacked me.’

‘Son of a bitch.’

Nick shot the vampire once in the heart, his face devoid of any expression, then reached for his flamethrower. With vamps, you had to be doubly sure.

A sudden blur moved past him, a low growling filling the air. Before he had time to react, Nick saw a large wolf jump at Ruby, his jaw aiming for her chest. As if in slow motion, a crimson stain spread over her vest. Nick shot the wolf in the leg. It yelped, then turn to snarl at Nick.

‘Get off her,’ Nick said, his voice low and dangerous.

‘They’re together,’ the wolf answered. Hearing a human voice coming from the mouth off what looked like a hound from hell never ceased to surprise Nick, no matter how many preternatural cases he worked. On the scale of bizarre, it ranked right up there with the time a harpy had sprouted wings in front of him.

‘No, they’re not. She’s with me. Now get away from her before I switch to silver bullets.’

The wolf snarled again but moved aside. Nick knelt beside Ruby. She was even whiter than usual, her skin taking on a grey pallor, and the wound in her chest wasn’t healing as it should.

‘What’s wrong with her?’ The wolf hadn’t had time to reach her heart, and anything apart from a heart wound, decapitation, or fire – sometimes, a combination of all of them, should be easily healed by a vampire’s body. Ruby’s eyes fluttered, and she reached for Nick’s hand.

‘Sweetheart, I’m here, tell me what to do,’ he said, smoothing her hair back from her face. Her skin felt clammy.

‘She needs to feed before she can heal,’ the werewolf said, matter-of-factly. Nick didn’t hesitate. He lifted his wrist to Ruby and her eyelids fluttered again, but she was sinking into unconsciousness. Cradling her in his arms, he pushed his wrist against her mouth.

‘Ruby, drink.’

For a moment he thought she wasn’t going to respond, then her mouth clamped around his wrist. He felt a sharp stab of pain as her teeth pierced him, then she began to drink. Whatever qualms Nick had harboured about the act before, they were forgotten now. All that mattered was keeping Ruby safe. Her mouth on his wrist grew stronger and her eyes opened fully, staring right at him. He couldn’t read her mind, but her gaze told him all he needed to know; the love in her eyes was unmistakable. With wonder, Nick watched as the wound in her chest under the now torn fabric of her shirt healed, and her usual porcelain pallor returned. She let go, wiped her mouth, then pulled him down towards her and kissed him softly on the lips. When he sat back up, there were tears on her cheeks.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘My pleasure,’ Nick said, smiling down at her.

He had all but forgotten the wolf, who now padded towards them. Nick’s hand automatically went to his gun, and the wolf stopped, cocking his head to one side.

‘A cop and a vampire? Now I’ve seen it all.’

Nick glared.

‘Why don’t you go back to whoever heads your precious Alliance and tell them the score? You’re lucky I don’t arrest you.’

‘For attacking a vampire? Maybe if you guys shared information with the paranormals in this city instead of treating us like second class citizens, we wouldn’t have to take things into our own hands. I’ll see you soon, Detective.’

The wolf loped off, and Nick turned back to Ruby, who was still smiling.

‘It’s okay Nick, it was a natural enough mistake to make. Now that the killer’s been found, myself and the Alliance will be able to go back to our usual strategy of avoiding each other.’

Nick glanced at the dead vampire and sighed. He was going to have to call a clean-up team, but he needed to get Ruby out of here first. He would no doubt get a roasting for not calling in back-up, and the paperwork that would result from this whole mess wasn’t going to be fun. He looked again at Ruby and felt his heart burst with love for her. It had been worth it. He helped her to her feet.

‘Let’s get out of here.’

Nick took her back to his once again, after calling in the clean-ups and left her curled up in bed, sleeping off the mornings exertions, while he went to tie up any loose ends, and face his roasting. He was thinking hard about his future.

Ruby slept, exhausted both emotionally and physically, and woke up feeling renewed, not just from Nick’s blood but his love. Though it hadn’t been the ideal way to introduce him to the act, he had saved her life without hesitation, and the last barrier between them and been broken. With the vampire that had attacked her all those years ago dead, she finally had closure from the events she had been running away from for so long. Finally, thanks to Nick, she could believe she had a future.

When he came back Ruby was awake and she patted the bed next to her when Nick walked into the room, a soft look of desire in her eyes. As Nick sat down next to her however, he looked serious and she sat up in alarm.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing really,’ he assured her, ‘everything’s fine. As far as the general public will be aware, Azriel’s the killer. I got a warning for going in alone and not waiting for back-up but at the end of the day I brought them the killer, so it wasn’t too harsh.’

‘There’s something bothering you,’ Ruby stated, wondering if it was because of her sneaking off. After all if it hadn’t been for her Nick wouldn’t have gone rushing in alone and she would never have got hurt and needed to feed from him … pain gripped her heart like a vice at the thought that he might be having second thoughts about them.