Page 8 of Unholy Gambit: Checkmate in Blood
He stared at her a solid twenty seconds before finally responding with a faint wisp of amusement in his strong, mental voice.Based on popular culture, that’s a rational and intelligent conclusion. However, popular culture isn’t often entirely accurate.
“Which means I’m not right,” she said with her voice this time, a little faster than necessary becauseholy fuck, he’d not only heard her thoughts, he’d answered them in her fucking head.
It was like having the dream version of him step into the room and breathe down her neck. Confirmation the damned nightmares were the reality, though he’d already done that just by showing up, butfuck, this was more.
“I love the way your mind thinks,” he told her. “Here’s a promise. I will never lie to you. At the present time, I can’t share certain truths with you, but I’ll be honest when that’s the case, rather than telling an untruth.”
“I appreciate that.” She looked around and decided the rest of what she had to say shouldn’t be said out loud. She didn’t think anyone was listening, but if they were, she didn’t want to give the impression she’d lost her mind.It won’t do me much good to promise to be honest, since I’m assuming you can hear my thoughts, see my memories.
When he didn’t respond, she brushed some shading on his bare shoulder, and then between the muscles of his ripped abs, deepening the hollows until he looked starved and mean. He was so pale, the effect was starker than she’d intended, but she didn’t want to use her fingers to blend it.
His bone-deep pallor wasn’t just lack of sun, it whisperedvampirein every shadowy pathway deep inside her brain, where her nightmares lived. He hadn’t exactly denied it, had he? Her mind kept circling back to the same question, the one that’d been chewing at her since he first stepped out of her night terrors and into her life.
“Why now?” she asked quietly, meeting his gaze.
Your psychiatrist recognized your memories had been overwritten. He contacted… let’s say the boss of that section of France at that time. He’d heard the story from me, so more phone calls were made.
Her heart raced in her chest. Slammed against her ribs. Cold fear surged through her like an icy mountain stream.
Are you here to make me forget the dream?
His answer came without hesitation, steady and firm.I don’t know what your psychiatrist expects of me, but I won’t make you forget me.
Relief crashed over her, warm and comforting, smothering the cold still coiled inside.
An instinctive, treacherous trust curled in her gut. She shouldn’t believe him so quickly, not when logic demanded caution, but the bare truth in his voice resonated down to her marrow: now that he’d arrived, he had no intention of erasing her again.
She nodded, slid her makeup and brush into her kit, and tucked it behind a fake cemetery headstone.
The coat’s inner pocket held her key fob, driver’s license, credit card, and some cash. She also carried a nine-millimeterSig Sauer in a belly band over the top of her unitard, well-hidden under the layers of zombie clothes.
Their script had them coming at the attendees from the left side of the trail, twenty yards back. When they got halfway there, a sound would play to make the patrons look to their right, where three zombies would be five feet off the path, stumbling toward them.
Everyone practiced their zombie walks, some of the staff walked through for a dress rehearsal, and then it was time for the first paying customers.
* * * * *
Axel watched Aury closely, quietly monitoring how her knee held up. An hour in, he set the chair where they’d decided it should go, stood beside it, and gave her a pointed look.
“Okay, fine, but only fifteen minutes.”
The chair and footstool were black fabric over a dark frame, and she looked convincingly unanimated. Stretched out, head lagging to the side, sunglasses so you couldn’t see her eyes. He knew the sunglasses weren’t as dark as they seemed. A dip into her mind assured him she could see people approaching.
Her job was to sit up when the patrons came near, an extra scare after they’d been startled by the zombies on the other side of the trail, and the misdirection pulled them right into her space.
Four groups through, it was clear the setup worked better than having her mobile, and he had a feeling Ruby planned it that way from the start.
He was only a little surprised when a group came through consisting of Marco, Cora, Josef with a tiger, along with Etta and the Slayer.
A redheaded woman carried the energy of Mother Nature, and she was with the Lion King and Mordecai. That one made Axel pause, Marco had some powerful friends.
Moira was there with another vampire, a bear shifter, and a werewolf. There were others, too, he knew the vampires, though not the name they were going by in this decade but he hadn’t met any of the shapeshifters or humans.
The group seemed to be having fun, and when they passed, Aury telepathed,You know them?
Not the whole group. Just a few.
Which means there were some vampires, but not all were.
