Page 73 of My Mr. Vampire

And finally, Marisol stood, collecting her small purse from a table. She headed toward a side exit without a backwards glance. I gave her just enough of a head-start to feel safe and secure out on the Chicago streets.

I stood up, leaving my barely touched whiskey and a generous tip. I stepped outside the exit door. It was a welcome relief after hours in the club’s stench. The street was busy enough that I don’t stand out, but quiet enough that I can track Marisol’s walking about half a block ahead of me.

She walked alone with her head up. Not the posture of someone afraid to walk the streets at night. She was probably strapped, like Morgan suspected.

I followed at a safe distance. I was just another late-night partygoer heading home. The predator in me was fully awake now. I was hungry for fresh blood after guzzling that abomination called whiskey.

As we moved away from the busier streets toward a row of dimly lit storefronts closed for the night, I knew my moment wascoming. Ahead of us was a particularly dark stretch of sidewalk. This area was perfect for what needed to be done to end this chapter.

Marisol’s heels tapped against the concrete. Click. Click. Click. The sound measured the seconds of life she had left. She turned down a narrower street, lined with closed shops and parked cars, but no people. No witnesses. This was perfect.

I accelerated my pace and let the distance between us shrink. I was close enough to smell her perfume. I was close enough to see the slight tension in her shoulders. Was it awareness? Impossible. She couldn’t hear me. I was soundless behind her.

Now. It had to be now. I told myself to lunge forward with my hands and reach for her throat. I was going to force her down to the sidewalk, rendering her immobile underneath my weight.

After the lunge, something went wrong. Instead of connecting with the soft flesh of her neck, my hands grasped at the empty air. Marisol pivoted impossibly fast, and she was facing me.

“What took you so long?” She teased with a surprisingly calm tone. “I thought you were going to jump me two blocks ago.”

I didn’t have a response. I shifted into a fighting stance.

“You fucking gringos.” She smirked and raised her fist.

I couldn’t hold back my chuckle. Did she think she could win this fight? Marisol struck me first. There was a blur of movement that I could barely detect. Her fist grazed my jaw, and it was like being hit with a hammer. She was too strong. Too fast. Something was fucking off! Something was fucking wrong!

I recovered quickly, driving forward with a barrage of blows aimed at her face and torso. She blocked most of them, but I connected with one that sent her stumbling back against a brick wall. The impact would crush a human’s spine. Marisol merely grunted. Was she on drugs? She smelled like a human.

“Who sent you?”

I didn’t answer. Words were distractions. Instead, I faked left and attacked her on the right. I grabbed her arm and used her momentum to slam her to the ground. I was on top of her in an instant, pinning her with my weight, with one hand around her throat.

“You shouldn’t have come to Chicago.” I growled, tightening my grip. “

A strange sound escaped her mouth, not a choke or gasp, but a hearty laugh.

“You, stupid gringo.”

Marisol’s face changed. It wasn’t gradual. It was instant. Her dark eyes lightened. Her red lips parted to reveal what couldn’t possibly be there.

Fangs! Vampire fangs!

“What the fuck?” The words tumbled out before I could stop them. My grip on her throat loosened from the shock. “You’re a vampire?”

That single split-second of hesitation costs me everything. Marisol bucked beneath me with her supernatural strength. She threw me off balance. Her hand connected with my chest, and I was suddenly airborne. I crashed into a parked car ten feet away. The impact dented the metal and shattered glass rained down around me.

Pain bloomed across my back. Not debilitating, but sharp enough to slow me down. I scrambled to my feet as Marisol rose from the ground with fluidity that only came from vampire reflexes.

“Tell your brother his ex-wife sends her regards!” She yelled out while running away from me. “Now I can avenge my brother!”

I took off behind her, but she had a head-start on me.

I use all my speed to dive at her. She sidesteps and delivers a kick to my knee that would have shattered a human’s joint. Istaggered but didn’t fall. I was ready to fight to the death. I could take a new vamp.

Something odd flickered across her new face. Marisol turned on her heels and ran away from me. I chased her toward the end of the block. I sprinted after her, pushing my body to its limits. I was faster than her, older, and more experienced but she had a head start. I started to close the distance between us. I reached up and my fingers nearly brushed the back of her shirt.

A few feet ahead a black sedan appeared on the street stopping directly in our path.

The sedan’s door flung open and Marisol dove inside. I caught a glimpse of the driver, a woman with olive skin and dark hair. Before the door slammed shut, the car accelerated with a screech of tires.

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