Page 2 of Midlife Vampire Unexpected

“Fuck I can’t,” I said. And even as I said it, I snapped my head forward, cracking it against his forehead. It was kind of a stupid mistake because I was already weak and hurt. It dislodged the cross on my necklace, which fell against him, burning his skin. He screamed and his hand on my neck loosened just enough for me to pull back. I stood up and fired shots at him, but the bullets didn’t do a thing. He just laid there and laughed. I ripped my necklace from my neck and held it over him.

My head was spinning and my body was weak. The blood he had drained out of me had made him stronger. I was losing consciousness, but I swore no matter what, I was going to come back and arrest this motherfucker if it was the last thing I did.

Chapter 2

The meaty wild scent of game stew drew me from the darkness. I remembered it from when I was a kid. Being from the Midwest, everybody hunted. My dad used to come home to the trailer park bringing squirrels and bobcats and all sorts of crazy meat. We ate it all, too. Didn’t matter what it was. That was how my father provided for our family. Smelling the game stew gave me a warm sense of home.

I wasn’t home though.

I opened my eyes. Wooden walls faced me and my peripheral vision showed me the trappings of a rustic cabin. Another smell pervaded the room hovering just below the scent of the cooking food.

A man.

My gun wasn’t anywhere I could readily see without moving. I was going to have to trust that if he hadn’t killed or maimed me yet, it wasn’t the top item on his to do list.

I rolled over slowly and sat up. The man sat at a rustic table, his back to me, his hair a shock of white on top of his head. His shoulders were broad with chiseled muscles. In hand-to-hand combat, I wouldn’t stand a chance. Without my gun, all I had to rely on was my wit and charm. In other words, I was screwed.

“Where am I?” I dropped the words out as my feet hit the floor.

“You’re awake,” his low voice growled. I immediately didn’t like his tone. He sounded like a disgruntled union worker who thought I was in middle management.

A stabbing pain coursed through my stomach. Damn, I was hungry!

“Yeah, I’m awake and I’m hungry.” There was no point in beating around the bush. He didn’t need any pleasantries as far as I could see. Memories came flooding back to me. Me lying on the ground. This guy over Xavier Santiago, killing him. “And you’re under arrest for murder.”

This brought out a little raucous laughter from the man and he turned around to look at me. I almost recoiled at the brilliance of his bright blue eyes. His hair was almost completely silver, but his face was smooth and free of any lines. He looked like one of those people who goes gray early. His full lips spread wide as he laughed in my face.

“Are you trying to make an arrest, Deputy?” he said, clearly not taking me seriously in the slightest.

I looked down and suddenly realized I didn’t have any pants on. “Why am I in my underwear?”

“You were throwing up a lot. I didn’t want you to get your clothes dirty.” He nodded his head to the corner where my clothes were neatly folded and stacked.

I searched my memory, vaguely recalling moments of being held by this man as I’d vomited up my lunch and dinner. There was something more though. I touched my fingers to my lips.

Blood.

I moved my hand away from my lips, expecting to see blood on my fingertips, but there was nothing there. I looked incredulously at the man sitting at the table.

“You made me drink blood,” I said. “What sort of sick motherfucker are you? And where is my gun?” My holster was by my uniform, well out of reach.

I was dealing with a crazy man. I had to be aware of that. I had to move slowly and think clearly. “I’m going to get dressed. Could you keep your back to me?”

He gave me a slight nod, as if he really didn’t care if I was butt naked or wearing a Burka. It didn’t appear that there was anything about me he found the least bit compelling.

I wasn’t sure if the feeling was mutual or not. There was something about him that was repulsive and compelling all at the same time, but there was no way I was going to think clearly about anything sitting here in my bra and underwear.

Keeping a careful eye on him, I stood up and made my way over to my clothes. At forty-two I was physically fit and still had a solid workout program. It kept my body trimmed. I still ran a marathon every year. I couldn’t say my knees felt as good as they used to or that I could run quite as fast as before, but I tried to keep up and do some obstacle courses. I wasn’t afraid of a good Spartan race now and again. I’d never had kids. I ran my hand over my flat stomach. I would’ve given anything to have had a child, but instead, I’d been forced to give up my marriage when we found out I couldn’t have kids. Somehow having a biological child was more of a priority to my husband than staying married to me. I didn’t know that I could blame him. The sense of wanting to leave a legacy or wanting to have a child was still strong in me even though my body was incapable. I dressed in seconds and then strapped my holster on. Pulling the gun from it, I pointed it directly at the man in the chair.

“You’re under arrest for the murder of Xavier Santiago,” I said, cocking the trigger as the man’s hands went deathly still on the table.

“You don’t wanna do that, lady.” The man stood up and moved to the stove, completely unperturbed by the gun I had aimed at him.

“I saw you do it.” My voice was cold.

“No, you didn’t,” He glanced at me over his shoulder. “There’s something there for you to eat,” he said, pointing at a cup at the end of the table. I frowned at him, keeping my attention where it should be.

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