Page 2 of Secret of the Vampire
Plus, I had bigger things to worry about right now.
I locked the door and backed up toward the bar, stashing my bag underneath. Taking off my coat, I folded it over my arm and tucked it on the shelf beside it. Then I kicked off my heels and stretched my bare feet. I needed my movements to be unhampered. Whatever was out there, common sense told me a locked door wasn’t going to keep it out, and I wasn’t about to just sit around and wait for Alex to get here and “save” me.
Opening the screen on my cell, I started to tap out a quick text to Killian, the master vampire of my coven and head of the only family I’d ever known. But then I paused. Alex was on his way, and if Killian caught him here without his permission there would be hell to pay. And if I had to choose a champion, I’d rather have a scary warlock on my side to fight dark magic.
Deleting the message, I slid my phone into my bag where it wouldn’t get damaged. I could always call Killian after the fact to walk me home.
If I made it out of here.
The club was dark except for a light over the bar, and I moved into the shadows near the door. My pants and blouse were both black, and with my dark skin and hair, it would hopefully give me a chance to surprise them.
I needed one second to get the upper hand.
Just one.
Time ticked silently by, and although I felt that whoever or whatever was stalking me was still outside, it made no move to try to get into the club. Yet I could feel how restless it was becoming, like vibrations in the air. Could almost see it pacing the sidewalk just outside.
I swallowed down my anxiety and tried to calm my heart, which was doing its best to break through the cage of my breastbone. My glasses slid slowly down my nose, but I didn’t dare move.
It had been stupid of me to stay here alone, especially after I’d promised Alex I wouldn’t when he’d checked on me after my illness. But nothing had happened for weeks, and we had all started to relax back into our normal lives. Even Killian, the ever-watchful master vampire, had only given me a thoughtful glance when I’d told him I was going to stay late to catch up on things. Then he’d given me a nod and told me not to get caught by the sun before he’d hurried home to his mate.
As I waited, my mind wandered back to the night Alex had saved my life. Killian had hidden me at the swamp house after I’d fallen ill, and no one had known what was happening. But I did. I was dying, rotting from the inside out, something unheard of for one of my species. Vampires died by things like beheadings or sunlight, not from a horrible case of the flu.
But what I’d had was much worse than a common virus. It was a curse. And not a normal curse. With no other options, Killian had called in the witches we shared the city of New Orleans with. But even they hadn’t known where it had come from or who had placed it. Lucky for me, Alex had stepped up completely on a whim and tried to help. He’d torn it out of me with his bare hands.
Well, it was magic, but it sure as hell hadfeltlike his bare hands had reached inside of me to rip it out.
Quite a different feeling from the way he’d touched me the next time I’d seen him, right here at the club at closing time, his large palm flat against my chest, radiating heat through my body as he searched for any remaining signs of the curse.
A noise outside the door brought me back to the here and now with a vengeance. I hissed, my fangs bared and my hands up, fingers curled into lethal claws. Whoever was coming after me, I wasn’t going down without one hell of a fight.
The scent of blood assaulted my senses. My own. Vaguely, I noticed the tip of my left middle finger was bleeding. I must’ve nicked it on something coming back into the club.
“Kenya! Let me in.”
It was Alex. Even if I hadn’t recognized his voice, I would’ve known it was him by the way my body immediately went on alert, ready for a different kind of battle.
One that involved who was going to be on top.
“Kenya!”
Shaking off the untoward thought, I unlocked the door and stepped back out of the way of the door. Alex hurried inside, closing and locking it behind him.
He was dressed in jeans and his dark green coat, much as he was the last time I’d seen him. I barely came to the top of his shoulder without my heels on. And with his broad shoulders, dark hair, intense golden eyes, and olive-toned skin…
He took my breath away.
And gods, he smelled better than any human I’d ever fed on. It was completely distracting.
However, it didn’t matter if I found him attractive. Alex was a warlock. I was a vampire. Two lines that weren’t allowed to cross.
“What are you doing here? And how did you get my number?” I asked him.
Taking my face between his palms, his golden eyes held mine for a few seconds before he released me and stepped back, raking his eyes up and down my body. Then he grabbed my shoulders, spearing me with his gaze. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”
As though he’d only just realized what he was doing, he dropped his hands and took a step back. But his eyes never left me.
