Whiteout (Aurora Sky (27 page)

Zack leaned against the table. “Hey, everyone. Say hi to my new friend.” He looked from me to the others. “That's Kyle, Stanley, Robert, and Alice.”

No one said hi or asked my name.

K
yle slipped out of the booth and stood. “Why don't you slide in next to Stan and me?”

“Okay,” I said slowly, not wanting to at all. I'd identified the club's vamps. That seemed good enough. I really didn't want to cozy up with them, but Zack had just intro
duced us. It wasn't exactly a “
hi
,
b
ye” situation.

At least there was another woman at the table, but if she was anything like Giselle, it would be like trying to befriend a barracuda.

I took a tentative step toward the bench and sat slowly, scooting in re
luctantly. Kyle sat back down. It was a tight fit. His thigh and Stanley's pressed against mine, forming an Aurora Sky
sandwich
.

Zack pulled a chair over and plopped down near Kyle.

Kyle turned to me. “What's your blood type, sweetheart?”

Sheesh. Wanted t
o know what was on the menu this evening, did he?

“AB negative,” I answered.

“That's a shame,
” he said with a glance toward Alice.

She looked
at the table and tugged on a strand of hair, twisting it around her finger. As she fiddled with her fair locks, I
caught a glimpse of red teeth marks on her neck. I'd been wrong about Alice. Suck toy.

The vamp besid
e Alice put his arm around her.

“AB is AB. Oh well,” Kyle said. “Beggars can't be choosers.”

“Who's begging?” Stanley asked
,
and the two of them laughed.

I
was only half listening
,
as I'd caught sight of a familiar mustache. Dante stood at a tall round table, emptying his root beer. A waitress set down another and took the empty bottle. The aviator glasses were folded and hanging from his shirt collar. He fa
ced a booth a few down from us, but he only had to move his eyes sideways to see me.

Relief washed over me when I reminded myself that
I wasn't alone.

Kyle swept my hair over my shoulder, exposing my neck and the wound
Arlo had made.

“Nice wig,” Kyle sai
d. “What do you think, Alice? Would you ever do blue?”

“I like her
blond
,” the vamp
with his arm around
her said.

Alice looked across the table at me and frowned. “I'm not into fake. What's wrong with your real hair? Why hide who you really are?”

Wow, that
was deep coming from a suck toy
/
vamp groupie
/
Chillers chick.

My heart constricted. What was up her butt? The vamps' suck toy was more suspicious than the vampires
.

My body tensed. Kyle and Stanley would feel it. Thinking about it made me tense up more.

“W
hat's the matter?” Kyle asked, turning to me.

 “I like the color blue,” I said, throwing in a pout. It wouldn't be too hard to convince them that my ire was nothing more than a ca
tty reaction to Alice's insults
.

“Blue's cool,” Kyle said.

Let me guess. Red
was rad.

“You look like you're a pretty cool chick,” he added.

Alice rolled her eyes. “Why don't you dispense with the small talk and bite her already? She obviously isn't opposed to it.”

I frowned. Way to throw me to the wolves. So much for girls looking
out for one an
other. Alice's
frosty blue irises zeroed in on mine.

“What did you say your name was?” she asked.

I narrowed my eyes. I hadn't. “It's Anna.”

“Is that a real name
,
or is it as fake as your hair?”

I clenched my jaw
and glowered at the pesky wom
an
across the table.

“Hey. Be nice, Alice,” Kyle said. He leaned over the table. “Robert, can you take your woman out dancing or to the bar for a drink? She's ruining the mood.”

Robert's forehead wrinkled and he leaned his head toward Alice in a loving ges
ture. “We don't have to go. I can make them leave.”

“No,” Alice said. “They don't want me here. I'll go.” She slid out from under Robert's arm and stood.

Robert followed her out of the booth, but not before aiming a glower of contempt around the table. He
looked more like the pet in this scenario. Alice had the vamp wrapped around her finger. I had to give her credit for that.

“I'm parched anyway,” she said, brushing her layers forward and over her shoulders as though suddenly self-conscious. “The four of y
ou only ever think of your own thirst.”

Robert's lower lip quivered. “You should have told me.”

“Well, sometimes it's nice to be asked.”

“Whatever you want, Alice.” Robert held his arm out to
her and led her toward the bar.

Kyle gave a derisive huff.
“She's got that one whipped.” He turned to me. “Now, where were we?” Kyle ran his finger lightly down my neck. “Do you mind if I have a taste?”

“And me,” Stanley said from my left side. “Can I have a taste too?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound cam
e out. Before I could form a coherent thought, Kyle's lips were on my neck, sucking the skin that had already been bitten.

Stanley lifted my wrist without waiting for an answer, and sharp teeth pierced the tender skin near my palm. The pain of it caused te
ars to spring to my eyes. I blinked them back, furious at being trapped in the booth and taken off guard. My wrist itched and burned. It was almost a relief to have Stanley sucking at the wound. I sucked air between my teeth as blood rushed through my vein
s to the lesions in my skin.

I'd once envied Noel for not having toxic blood. Not anymore. Not while I was being fed on. My stomach churned. I willed the last traces of toxin somewhere within my bloodstream to infiltrate these assholes and knock them out.

But they kept sucking and sucking and sucking. They could do whatever they wanted in their dark corner. The lights kept strobing. The music pounding. Everyone was
distracted and
unaware.

My eyelashes fluttered and my head felt light.

Then I remembered Dan
te and suddenly opened my eyes. I wasn't
alone. He wouldn't leave me as he'd done on that first mission in Fairbanks. He had my back this time.

I stared out into the club and found him, still stationed at his table. He was looking in my direction, and for
a moment I thought everything would be okay. But the expression on Dante's face wasn't one of concern. His eyes were hooded, oblivious to my emotional distress. He was too busy watching the two vamps suck on me.

He had a hard grip on his bottle. His knuckl
es had turned white. If he squeezed any tighter he might
have broken
the glass.

I'd seen that look before. Forever ago, it seemed. He'd had the same look on his face when he'd taken me on my first assignment in the field and gone into a house party as Jani
ne's boyfriend. Dante had taunted a vampire named Patrick into biting and sucking Janine. I'd caught Dante watching with the same rapt expression he had on his face now.

He moistened his lips. Lip
s I wished I'd never kissed
. Blind rage rushed through my ve
ins, hotter than blood.

Fane would never sit back while vampires bit into me and lapped their tongues over my skin.

“That's enough,” I said, pulling my wrist away from Stanley.

I'd wanted to yank my arm away, but my body swayed and my brain fuzzed over.

K
yle pulled back. My neck burned where his lips had been. Stanley wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

“Why don't I go get you a drink?” Zack asked. Dante hadn't been the only one watching the suck fest. How nice of Zack to let his friends get first dib
s.

My jaw ached when I ground my teeth together. “I don't want a soda,” I snarled.

Zack tapped the hidden pocket within his coat.

“I don't want that either,” I said. “I want to go.”

Zack stood. “I'll give you a ride home.”

“Sure,” I said sarcastically. My
tone was lost on the group.

Kyle slid out of the booth and I scooted to the edge slowly. When I stood, black spots formed over my eyes and I blinked rapidly.

I walked past Dante without making eye contact, Zack trailing behind me. The sound of a glass slid
ing across
the long
wood
en counter
seemed to follow me. One foot in front of the other, I made my way through the club. It was as though I had tunnel vision. The only thing I saw was the door.

The cold air grasped me the moment I stepped outside. It espec
ially stung at my neck and wrist.

Footsteps followed mine. I kept moving forward, through the parking lot until I reached the truck.

The sound of techno music receded and the wooziness returned. I leaned against the passenger's side door.

“My van's over he
re,” Zack said.

As if I'd step within ten feet of
a
vamp van.

Before I could answer, a hand appeared from behind Zack and grabbed him by the shoulder. “That's nice, but you're coming with us,” Dante said as he clamped his right hand over Zack's mouth.

 

 

 15

Active Duty

 

“Get the door,” Dante said as Zack struggled against him.

My fingers slipped over the truck's door handle. I hadn't had a drop of alcohol and yet I wasn't fully operational. How much blood had I
lost
? I felt like I'd been bit
ten
, licked, and sucked dry. I opened the door on the second try.

“Grab the gun from the glove
box,” Dante said.

That task proved easier than opening the door. Snatching the gun from the glove
box and holding it made me feel better. Back in control.

Dante yan
ked Zack's head to his lips. “Get in or get shot,” he said.

“I was just going to give her a ride home,” Zack insisted.

“Sure you were,” Dante said. “Regular old
do-
gooder looking out for the local ladies. Now get in the truck before I make you.”

I stepped
aside as Dante pushed Zack against the seat. He scrambled inside, beginning to shake.

Dante kept his eyes on our hostage while asking me if I'd prefer to drive the truck or hold the gun on Zack.

“Gun,” I said.

 Hoisting myself in after Zack proved somewhat
difficult. The seat seemed very high up. I had to pull myself in rather than jump.

Once settled with the gun trained on Zack, Dante closed my door and hurried around the hood to the driver's side.

“Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?” Zack demand
ed.

“He's not my boyfriend,” I said. “He's my partner.”

Confusion swept over Zack's face. There wasn't any time for follow
-
up questions. Dante got inside the truck quickly and started it up.

“Was Jab at that table?” Dante asked.

“No,” I said.

Dante put th
e truck in drive and headed out of the parking lot. Once on the road, Dante demanded, “Where's Jab?”

“Jab?” Zack repeated. “I haven't seen him in over a month. He's not exactly a regular.”

“I'll bet,” Dante said. “Probably comes into town when he's ready
to grab his next victim.”

Zack's shoulders hunched into his neck. “I don't know anything about that. I'm not even friends with the guy.”

“But you know where he lives,” Dante said.

“If I did, I'd tell you, but we're only acquaintances… barely that.”

“Uh-huh
,” Dante responded, turning sharply at the next light. Zack had to grip the bench to keep from falling against Dante.

“And what would you have done if you took her home?” he questioned, nodding his head in my direction. “Tell the truth now. I'll know if yo
u're lying.”

Zack looked at me before answering. “She's the one who wanted to get bitten. So, yeah, I would have asked to come in for a drink. Why wouldn't I?”

“And if she refused?”

“I'd drop her off and be on my way.”

Dante burst into laughter. He laughed
until tears leaked from the corner
s
of his eyes. “Dude, you're too much. I know all about your kind. Can you believe this guy? He must think I was born yesterday.”

I didn't answer or join in the hilarity. I felt fatigued and hungry… hungry for blood.

The
streetlight ahead turned yellow as we approached. Dante stopped. My slumped posture held me in place better than Zack
,
who had to throw a hand forward and catch himself on the dashboard. A Honda Fit pulled into the spot next to us, waiting for the light t
o change. I held the gun in my lap, pointed sideways at Zack. For his part, Zack didn't appear interested in screaming for help. He kept still, watching the streetlight rather than the vehicle beside us.

When the light turned green, Dante eased into the in
tersection, allowing the Honda to drive ahead.

Zack studied Dante's side profile. He seemed more interested in him than me or the gun pointed at him.

“Who are you anyway?” Zack asked. “I've never seen you around.”

Dante glanced over and grinned wide. “Don'
t recognize me? How about now?” he asked, pulling off his mustache and tossing it on the dashboard.

Zack took a good, long look. “I don't think I've ever seen you before.”

Headlights from behind us reflected off the truck's rearview mirror. Dante adjusted
it.

“Reach inside my pocket and pull out the folded piece of paper inside,” he said. “Go on. Unlike you, I won't bite.”

Zack did as he was told. Once he had the square of paper, he unfolded it and looked down. He stared a moment before taking a closer look
at Dante.

“You're vampire hunters,” he breathed. “I am so dead.”

“Not tonight,” Dante said. “We're going to let you go. All you have to do is take this
flyer
with you, call the number on it, and
send
them our love.”

“That's it?” Zack asked. “You're going
to let me go?”

Dante slapped a hand over Zack's shoulder. “We'll catch up again. You can count on that.” He pulled over along the shoulder of the road. A car blasted its horn and whizzed by.

Once the truck came to a stop, Dante leaned against the steering
wheel and stuck his open palm out in front of Zack.

“Before you get out
, give me your phone.”

“My phone? Why?” Zack asked.

“Do you want us to let you
go
or not?” Dante demanded.

That must have been answer enough for Zack. His arm jerked back as he stuck h
is hand inside his outer coat pocket. He handed his phone to Dante.

“You want me to call this number, but now you have my phone,” Zack said, holding up the
flyer
.

“Don't want you calling too soon,” Dante said, tossing the phone into a
cupholder
.

Zack
hunched forward, giving the device one last longing stare. Humans and vampires alike had a seriously unhealthy addiction to their electronics. Zack should be counting his lucky stars he got to live another day.

I opened my door and slid my legs outside. As
soon as I touched ground, I turned around, keeping my eyes and gun on Zack. He
scooted
along the bench and hurried out of the truck. As he moved aside, I hopped back inside the truck and slammed the door without a word of goodbye. More like good riddance.
I was done for the night.

Dante slammed his foot on the gas pedal. The tires spun and screeched before jolting the truck forward.

Zack jumped in place. Dante smirked.

“Let Melcher chew on that one,” he said. “He'll have agents swarming the area in no tim
e. Good thing too. He's not doing a very good job monitoring the area from the looks of it. Things have really gone downhill since Renard killed poor Janine.” When I didn't answer, Dante's head swiveled in my direction. “You've been awfully quiet. Are you
okay?”

Anger surged up my spine. For a moment I couldn't breathe
,
let alone speak.

“Aurora?” Dante prodded.

“No, I'm not okay. I got bit!” Now that we were finally alone, I felt free to release my frustration. I jabbed a finger at my neck, accidently pokin
g the wound. I winced.

“I don't understand why you're upset. You've been bitten before.”

“Maybe I don't enjoy being sucked on,” I snapped.

“That's a relief,” Dante said, voice lifting. It boiled my blood. “You did good back there,” he added.

“While you ju
st sat back and watched them feed on me.” I
set the gun on the middle seat
and yanked the blue wig off my head. Once in my lap, I fisted my fingers through the smooth strands.

Dante rubbed the bridge of his nose with his right hand then set it back on the
steering wheel. “Sorry, I didn't realiz
e it would upset you this much. Why didn't you say something before we went into the club?”

The apology calmed me down. I didn't have the energy to stay mad. I
sank
into the seat. “I'll be fine. It just sucks to be fe
d on and unable to do anything about it.”

Dante sat up in his seat. “Sky, I hear you loud and clear. I'm sorry about that. I really am. You know how much it kills me to walk away from those bloodsuckers at the club and let one go. They're up to no good. I
just know it.”

“Me too,” I said. “I never thought I'd miss having toxic blood, but back there…” I took a steadying breath before continuing. “I kinda wish I did.”

“If it's out of you, it's most likely out of me,” Dante said. “Tell you what. Next time we'll
trade places.”

“Oh really?” I challenged. “I'll sit back drinking root beer while you get the blood sucked out of you.”

Dante grinned. “I'm all for equal opportunity.”

“You're so progressive,” I said sarcastically. “But it doesn't matter. There's not goin
g to be a next time. When do we leave for Anchorage?”

“Before we go anywhere, we need to ditch this truck,” Dante said. “Unfortunately, that means lifting something else.”

We'd already stolen snowmachines. Why not a car? Desperate times.

“Got any more frie
nds we can steal from?” I joked.

“We'll drive over to North Pole and swap vehicles.”