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Here's a couple sample chapters of Midnight Reborn. If you want to read
more, click on the "Buy Now" link above to purchase and download the book
in its entirety.
Chapter Three
Robyn passed the long trip on the bus gazing out the window and listening to
the conversations around her, which were mostly gossip.
One elderly lady was showing pictures of her grandbabies to a woman seated
next to her who looked on intently.
“The oldest, Sarah, is going off to college next year to the University of
Kentucky. She wants to be a Pharmacist. She says that college is big on
research and such.”
“I bet her parents are proud of her too!” said the other woman.
The bus stopped several times for meals and for two transfers. For each meal
stop, Robyn had to control her hunger and her urge to satisfy it with a big
meal. Instead, she munched on her crackers and drank the water she had
taken from the ranch. She needed to save what little money she had left to get
her through until she could find work and a shelter when she got to Louisville.
Robyn knew what it was like to be hungry. Food had been a luxury item while
she was kept at the ranch. Hiding food in the kitchen and sneaking bites when
she was cooking had kept her from starving.
During the last stop, Robyn heard the driver tell one of the passengers they
were on their last leg of the trip and would be arriving in Louisville in less than
two hours.
Feeling somewhat relieved and with a need to quell the anxiety rising in her
chest, Robyn tried to nod off as it was dark outside. She would be arriving in
the city in the dead of night.
During the long trip, Robyn had desperately hoped that it wouldn’t take her
long to find a place to settle until morning. But, since it appeared they would
arrive during the late evening hours, her chances of that were slim.
She planned to find a shelter tomorrow that would take her in as well as offer
her some assistance in getting her feet planted somewhere. Her only skills
were cooking and cleaning, but surely there would be some job around the
city she could do. She could only hope.
Robyn had been lucky to find her birth certificate and social security card
within the stack of boxes that were in Jake’s basement. Her mother had
brought everything with her when they moved to the ranch. Mom.
She missed her mother so much that her heart ached. Her mother had loved
her dearly and always did her best to make sure she had everything she
needed. What had her mother seen in Jake Carter? How had she gotten mixed
up in drugs? Robyn forced back the tears that were behind her eyes.
As the bus hummed along the highway, Robyn closed her eyes and drifted off
to sleep. The dreams came. Actually, they were nightmares. Nightmares that
replayed the past few months of her life in hell, all coming back to her in vivid
detail.
Robyn was released from her room by one of Jake’s men and was told the
clothes needed washing.
She made her way up the stairs and into the laundry room to piles of clothes
that needed sorting, so she grudgingly got to work.
An hour or so passed and she began to get concerned about her mother.
Rachel had not come out of the bedroom all morning and the door was closed.
She couldn’t push aside the nagging unease that had settled in her stomach.
Finally, not able to stand the worry, Robyn went to the window and peered
out to see where Jake was. She spotted him standing outside the bunkhouse
talking to one of his men.
Seeing her chance, she ran to Jake’s bedroom, but when she put her hand on
the doorknob, she found it locked. Something wasn’t right.
The doorknob held one of those flimsy locks that locked from the inside and
had a hole on the outside where something small could be inserted to unlock
the door.
Robyn went back to the window once again to see if Jake was headed
towards the house. After making sure he was still busy with his men, she went
to the junk drawer to find something small enough to fit through the hole in the
doorknob to unlock the door. Finding a small screwdriver, she went back to
the bedroom door and inserted it into the hole in the knob. After turning it
several times, she managed to unlock it.
Robyn slowly opened the door, expecting to find her mother bruised and
battered from another beating at the hands of Jake. All morning she had told
herself that her mother was hiding in the room so Robyn wouldn’t see what he
had done to her once again.
What she saw made her blood run cold. Her mother was lying on her back,
her feet hanging off the bed towards the floor. One arm was draped across her
chest. Robyn couldn’t see her face as it was turned away from the door.
A sick feeling came over her and her heart started pounding in her ears.
Sucking in a ragged breath, she walked into the room and stood at the side of
the bed.
Her mother lay there with her eyes closed, mouth open and a needle lying by
her side.
Robyn felt the blood drain from her head. She reached for her mother and
tried desperately to feel for a pulse in her neck, but there was nothing. Not
willing to believe she was dead, she laid her head on her mother’s chest to
listen to her heart. Nothing.
Her mother was gone. She had overdosed on the drugs that Jake kept her
doped up on.
Robyn felt a surge of anger and grief erupt through her like a volcano. She
grabbed her mother’s hand and fell to the floor.
“No!” She wailed at the top of her lungs. “Mama, no! Get up! You can’t do
this, Mama. Get up!” she cried.
Jake burst into the room followed by a few of his men. He looked at Rachel
sprawled on her back on the bed, then turned to see Robyn hunched over on
the floor, screaming and crying as if she had lost her mind.
“Christ!” he spat.
He walked over to check Rachel’s pulse, thinking she was just passed out or
stoned. “Damn whore done killed herself!” he cursed.
Suddenly, he turned to Robyn who was still wailing on the floor. With a
backhand that sent her head thumping the wall hard behind her, he yelled,
“Shut the hell up!”
Robyn stopped crying by pure force of will, but continued to shudder and
draw in short, ragged breaths.
“Get her out of here,” he growled. “Take her downstairs and lock her in until
we get this shit cleaned up.”
One of his men nodded and pulled Robyn from off the floor and dragged her
out of the bedroom.
As the man hauled her down the hallway to the basement steps, she looked
over her shoulder to see Jake carry her mother, wrapped in a sheet, out the
door and toss her into the bed of his pickup as if she were a piece of trash.
Robyn felt the bile rising in her throat and her mind go blank without thought or
emotion. It was as if she were floating in a dream. No longer able to take in
the reality of what was happening.
The man pushed her into her room, then shut and locked the door. Robyn
crawled unto her mattress, lay down and pulled her knees up to her chest. It
was then that the dam broke and the wrenching sobs overtook her.
A car horn blew outside her window, startling Robyn awake. Her face felt hot
and wet. She reached up and quickly brushed away the tears she had cried in
her sleep while dreaming about what had happened to her mother.
She quickly looked around the bus to make sure no one was looking at her or
had seen her tears. Relieved that no one was paying any attention to her, she
turned her face back to the window beside her. Thankfully, they were in the
city.
The lights from the city’s buildings lit up the night sky. People were walking
down the street and in and out of shops and restaurants as the bus angled by.
I’m finally here, she thought, as the bus rounded a corner and headed down a
one-way street.
They came to a stop at a red light. As Robyn continued to stare out the
window, she noticed a brick-lined street covered with a high ceiling. It was
streaming with people and she could hear music blaring.
After the light changed, the bus proceeded down the street, then slowed
before turning into the bus terminal. The brakes squealed and the familiar
chuuurrsh sound signaled that the bus had come to a stop.
Robyn gathered up her bag and shoved her blanket inside as she stood to
stretch her legs while waiting until it was her turn to join the exodus. She
stepped off the bus quickly and into a drizzle of rain.
She made her way inside the terminal to inquire about maps of the city and
directions to a local shelter, knowing the shelter would probably not be
accessible until the next morning.
The woman at the service counter was busily assisting passengers seeking
information and directions to hotels. Robyn’s eye caught a wooden display
holding local bus schedules and city and state maps. She perused the
information, snagged one of the local maps and headed to the street. The first
order of business was to find a place to hole up for the night before finding
better arrangements in the morning.
The drizzle turned into a steady rain as she made her way down the street,
dodging deep puddles as she walked. After a few blocks, she heard music and
recalled the stone-paved street the bus had passed earlier. As she got closer,
not only did the music become louder, the scent of food filled her nostrils and
her stomach rumbled.
Putting her hand to her belly, Robyn stopped and checked her cash. Although
she hated to spend any of it, she hadn’t eaten at the last stop. Her crackers
and water had only lasted so long during the trip.
Her funds were extremely tight, but if she didn’t get something to eat, she was
going to be sick.
Stuffing her cash into the back pocket of her jeans and pulling the collar of her
jacket up around her neck, Robyn continued to walk towards the sound of
music and the aroma of food.
At the end of the block, it looked as though she had stumbled upon the city’s
center of action. After rounding the corner by a large bookstore, she stopped.
The street was crowded with people walking around, talking, laughing and
drinking. So many people. She grimaced. Large crowds had always made her
nervous.
Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she continued up the stone-paved
street, thankful that it was covered by the high ceiling, stopping the rain that
had relentlessly poured down the back of her ball cap and inside her jacket.
Speakers blasted music and huge television screens showed the accompanying
music videos. Robyn stopped in front of a restaurant. It looked warm and
comfortable inside, something she longed for─a place to sit and melt away.
After several minutes of staring through the window of the restaurant, she
decided to go inside and hoped there was something cheap on the menu that
she could get to soothe her grumbling stomach.
“Hi! How many in your party and do you prefer smoking or nonsmoking?”
The perky hostess walked up to Robyn as she entered the door. Her smile
seemed genuine and warm, which almost made Robyn smile in return, but she
didn’t. She was too tired and hungry to smile.
The hostess wore a very short, black skirt and a black button down shirt,
which bore the name of the restaurant. She had her hair, which was black and
tipped with red streaks, up in ponytails on each side of her head. Her tanned
legs were bare and she wore little black socks with black boots. Stylish,
Robyn thought.
“Uh, just me and nonsmoking please,” Robyn said so quietly it was a wonder
the hostess heard her over the music and all the talking and laughing going on
in the restaurant.
The hostess replied, “Follow me,” and led Robyn through the tables to a booth
near the back.
Once Robyn was seated, the hostess placed a menu in front of her and
advised that her waitress, Lisa, would be there shortly to take her order.
Robyn picked up the menu and glanced at the prices. Her eyes bulged and her
heart sank. She could definitely not afford a meal, not even a cheeseburger,
though the thought of one almost made her groan aloud.
She turned the menu’s pages and checked over the appetizers and frowned
because their prices weren’t much better. The side items caught her eye and
she was thankful some were cheap enough she could afford one.
When her waitress, Lisa, danced over to her table, something she realized was
the norm in this restaurant, Robyn had made up her mind. She tried to wipe
the frown from her face before looking at the waitress standing before her.
“What can I get for you?” Lisa asked with a bright smile.
“I’ll have a small order of fries,” she said then hesitated, “and water, please.”
She handed the menu back to the waitress and turned her eyes back to the
table to hide the shame she felt.
“Sure, coming right up. I’ll be right back with your water,” Lisa said before
she turned and headed off towards the kitchen.
Robyn removed her ball cap and ran a hand through the damp fuzz of blonde
hair. She caught herself and was looking around to see if anyone was staring,
when she noticed a rather large man, who was definitely looking at her.
He sat in the very back of the restaurant, about four booths from hers and
seemed to fill the entire booth and tower over his table. Robyn couldn’t quite
see his face, as if he were sitting in the shadows. She could feel him though,
and the feeling she got was danger, lethal. But, there was something more. His
demeanor was thick with sensuality, which surprised her. How could someone
who looked so scary be so very sexy?
Robyn was surprised at her thoughts. Never had a man interested her before,
especially not like that. Even before things took a turn for the worse at the
ranch, Jake and his vulgar men had never interested her in the slightest. The
thought of them now turned her stomach.
Catching herself staring at the rather enticing man, Robyn quickly pulled her
cap back on her head and looked down at her table. She knew better than to
stare. Jake had practically beaten that rule into her. She shifted and nearly
winced. The bruises she sported from the last beating still smarted.
Robyn sat quietly, looking at her hands, which were clasped on the table while
she waited for the waitress to return. A few times she glanced around the
restaurant at the other patrons, watching them chat and laugh. Families and
friends were enjoying good food and each other’s company and she envied
them.
At one table, two young boys were blowing the paper off straws, using them
as projectiles against each other. Suddenly, one of the waiters ran up to the
table and threw a handful of straws at them. Everyone at the table laughed,
and the additional straws meant more ammunition for the boys.
As she continued to look around the restaurant, she couldn’t keep her gaze
from returning to the man at the booth in the corner. He sat alone and seemed
to be constantly scanning the room, even while he ate his meal.
A cheeseburger. Robyn stared at his plate and her mouth began to water. Her
stomach growled loudly and she pressed a hand to it, trying to stifle the noise.
It felt as if her insides were slowly shrinking, drying up and wasting away to
nothing.
It wasn’t long before her waitress, Lisa, came back to her table with her glass
of water and small plate of fries. Robyn smiled at her bleakly, trying to be
polite, then reached for her napkin.
After grabbing the bottle of ketchup and shaking it a few times, she twisted off
the cap and turned it upside down, letting a few lines of the thick red sauce
dribble over her fries.
The fries were hot, and Robyn felt she had died and gone to heaven. After
popping a particularly long fry in her mouth, she closed her eyes and savored it
as she chewed, practically moaning at the taste.
She ate slowly, being sure to chew each fry until she could chew it no more.
She wanted to drag this meal out. She didn’t know what time the restaurant
would close, but hoped it wasn’t for a few more hours. The thought of going
back out into the cold rain made her shiver. Maybe she could inconspicuously
sit there for another hour or so. The restaurant was warm and she felt safe.
The music was entertaining and periodically, the waiters and waitresses got up
on chairs, dancing and singing along with the music videos.
Robyn found herself smiling, something she had almost forgotten how to do.
This moment, this small piece of time, smoothed away all her troubles.
She could forget everything and just enjoy, but when it ended, she would go
outside and find a place to crouch and hide until morning. Hopefully, she
would catch a few minutes of sleep.
Chapter Four
The Watchers’ meeting had finally ended and Trigg left the hotel, deciding to
walk off his growing agitation. He hated being around people, and having to sit
in that cramped meeting room with the other Watchers for the past several
hours had been pure hell. What was worse was thinking about the next weeks
to come.
Each year the two-week festival was a big pain in the ass and this year would
be no different. A hoard of people crowded into the city, many getting stoned
beyond reason and no one paying attention to what was going on.
People got stupid when they were partying, especially on the crowded
riverfront, and the Rogues were counting on that. It was the best time for the
bloodsuckers to strike. The perfect hunting ground and their prey wouldn’t
even see it coming.
Trigg grumbled at the thought. Although he didn’t associate with humans in any
way, shape or form, he certainly didn’t want to see innocent people fall victim
to the Rogues. Their killings were often brutal, vicious. It was something they
got off on. Something they craved.
He walked down the steps of the Belvedere and turned, heading towards the
heart of the city, ignoring the rain that had turned from a drizzle to a pour.
Sitting in the meeting room all that time was not only boring beyond belief, it
made him hungry. He wondered if sitting down to a good meal would settle
him down. Besides, he still had time to kill before dawn and he’d never pass
up the opportunity for a large, juicy steak or cheeseburger. He laughed at that,
thinking that he almost sounded like Vane, one of his Cell-mates. Vane always
had something going into that mouth of his, whether it was food, or the tongue
of the woman of the week.
Trigg decided to head to his favorite restaurant since it was only a few blocks
away. He walked down the street unnoticed, passing people as they wandered
in and out of the city’s bars and restaurants.
One of the theater’s shows had just ended. As its doors opened, Trigg
crossed the street to get away from the throngs of people spilling out onto the
sidewalk. Many would head out to eat, he thought, so he stepped up his pace
before seating problems at the restaurant added to his headache and sour
mood.
Just as he arrived at Fourth Street, the block where the restaurant was
located, a small figure amidst the crowd caught his eye. A waif of a girl was
standing in the pouring rain while huddled over a small stack of bills, counting
the cash. Suddenly, her shoulders slumped and she hesitated a few moments
before shoving them into her back pocket.
With a slight shrug of her shoulders, she pulled the collar of her jacket closer
to her neck and proceeded down the street, heading in his direction.
Trigg didn’t know why she had caught his attention. He had walked the streets
of this city and cities like it night after night for what seemed like an eternity,
hunting rogue vampires in an effort to protect humans and fellow, more
civilized, vampires. Not once in all this time had he paid much attention to
those around him, those he swore to protect. His focus was always on seeking
out and eliminating Rogues.
Only a short while ago he had passed throngs of people on his walk to Fourth
Street, but had paid them no mind. It wasn’t as if he had a particular dislike for
humans, or others of his kind for that matter, he just didn’t want to deal with
them. He wanted to do his job and be left alone.
What in the devil made him notice her? Unmistakably, he had felt something as
he watched her, as if her sadness and despair, so evident in the way she
carried herself, washed over him. Trigg scowled at himself for even thinking
such a thing. He was just tired and needed to eat and get back to the Cell.
Turning away from the girl as she continued to make her way in his direction,
he rounded the corner and walked to the door of the restaurant.
Finally, she squared her shoulders, and walked inside. To his surprise, the
hostess seated her a few booths down from his. Actually, he was glad she had
been seated close to him, but he wasn't about to admit it.
Trigg watched the girl intently as she frowned over the menu. She looked over
the items many times, turning the menu over and over before staring down at
one section. He knew the menu inside and out, having been here too many
times to count, and knew she was looking at the side orders. As skinny as she
is, he thought, she should be ordering everything on the menu!
When his cheeseburger arrived, Trigg situated the plate in front of him and
grabbed the ketchup.
After squirting a hefty dollop of ketchup on his plate for his fries, he picked up
the very rare, jumbo cheeseburger and launched in with a huge bite.
Looking up over the cheeseburger he held to his mouth, he saw the girl staring,
but she wasn’t staring at him. Those big, blue eyes were looking almost
reverently at his cheeseburger.
more, click on the "Buy Now" link above to purchase and download the book
in its entirety.
Chapter Three
Robyn passed the long trip on the bus gazing out the window and listening to
the conversations around her, which were mostly gossip.
One elderly lady was showing pictures of her grandbabies to a woman seated
next to her who looked on intently.
“The oldest, Sarah, is going off to college next year to the University of
Kentucky. She wants to be a Pharmacist. She says that college is big on
research and such.”
“I bet her parents are proud of her too!” said the other woman.
The bus stopped several times for meals and for two transfers. For each meal
stop, Robyn had to control her hunger and her urge to satisfy it with a big
meal. Instead, she munched on her crackers and drank the water she had
taken from the ranch. She needed to save what little money she had left to get
her through until she could find work and a shelter when she got to Louisville.
Robyn knew what it was like to be hungry. Food had been a luxury item while
she was kept at the ranch. Hiding food in the kitchen and sneaking bites when
she was cooking had kept her from starving.
During the last stop, Robyn heard the driver tell one of the passengers they
were on their last leg of the trip and would be arriving in Louisville in less than
two hours.
Feeling somewhat relieved and with a need to quell the anxiety rising in her
chest, Robyn tried to nod off as it was dark outside. She would be arriving in
the city in the dead of night.
During the long trip, Robyn had desperately hoped that it wouldn’t take her
long to find a place to settle until morning. But, since it appeared they would
arrive during the late evening hours, her chances of that were slim.
She planned to find a shelter tomorrow that would take her in as well as offer
her some assistance in getting her feet planted somewhere. Her only skills
were cooking and cleaning, but surely there would be some job around the
city she could do. She could only hope.
Robyn had been lucky to find her birth certificate and social security card
within the stack of boxes that were in Jake’s basement. Her mother had
brought everything with her when they moved to the ranch. Mom.
She missed her mother so much that her heart ached. Her mother had loved
her dearly and always did her best to make sure she had everything she
needed. What had her mother seen in Jake Carter? How had she gotten mixed
up in drugs? Robyn forced back the tears that were behind her eyes.
As the bus hummed along the highway, Robyn closed her eyes and drifted off
to sleep. The dreams came. Actually, they were nightmares. Nightmares that
replayed the past few months of her life in hell, all coming back to her in vivid
detail.
Robyn was released from her room by one of Jake’s men and was told the
clothes needed washing.
She made her way up the stairs and into the laundry room to piles of clothes
that needed sorting, so she grudgingly got to work.
An hour or so passed and she began to get concerned about her mother.
Rachel had not come out of the bedroom all morning and the door was closed.
She couldn’t push aside the nagging unease that had settled in her stomach.
Finally, not able to stand the worry, Robyn went to the window and peered
out to see where Jake was. She spotted him standing outside the bunkhouse
talking to one of his men.
Seeing her chance, she ran to Jake’s bedroom, but when she put her hand on
the doorknob, she found it locked. Something wasn’t right.
The doorknob held one of those flimsy locks that locked from the inside and
had a hole on the outside where something small could be inserted to unlock
the door.
Robyn went back to the window once again to see if Jake was headed
towards the house. After making sure he was still busy with his men, she went
to the junk drawer to find something small enough to fit through the hole in the
doorknob to unlock the door. Finding a small screwdriver, she went back to
the bedroom door and inserted it into the hole in the knob. After turning it
several times, she managed to unlock it.
Robyn slowly opened the door, expecting to find her mother bruised and
battered from another beating at the hands of Jake. All morning she had told
herself that her mother was hiding in the room so Robyn wouldn’t see what he
had done to her once again.
What she saw made her blood run cold. Her mother was lying on her back,
her feet hanging off the bed towards the floor. One arm was draped across her
chest. Robyn couldn’t see her face as it was turned away from the door.
A sick feeling came over her and her heart started pounding in her ears.
Sucking in a ragged breath, she walked into the room and stood at the side of
the bed.
Her mother lay there with her eyes closed, mouth open and a needle lying by
her side.
Robyn felt the blood drain from her head. She reached for her mother and
tried desperately to feel for a pulse in her neck, but there was nothing. Not
willing to believe she was dead, she laid her head on her mother’s chest to
listen to her heart. Nothing.
Her mother was gone. She had overdosed on the drugs that Jake kept her
doped up on.
Robyn felt a surge of anger and grief erupt through her like a volcano. She
grabbed her mother’s hand and fell to the floor.
“No!” She wailed at the top of her lungs. “Mama, no! Get up! You can’t do
this, Mama. Get up!” she cried.
Jake burst into the room followed by a few of his men. He looked at Rachel
sprawled on her back on the bed, then turned to see Robyn hunched over on
the floor, screaming and crying as if she had lost her mind.
“Christ!” he spat.
He walked over to check Rachel’s pulse, thinking she was just passed out or
stoned. “Damn whore done killed herself!” he cursed.
Suddenly, he turned to Robyn who was still wailing on the floor. With a
backhand that sent her head thumping the wall hard behind her, he yelled,
“Shut the hell up!”
Robyn stopped crying by pure force of will, but continued to shudder and
draw in short, ragged breaths.
“Get her out of here,” he growled. “Take her downstairs and lock her in until
we get this shit cleaned up.”
One of his men nodded and pulled Robyn from off the floor and dragged her
out of the bedroom.
As the man hauled her down the hallway to the basement steps, she looked
over her shoulder to see Jake carry her mother, wrapped in a sheet, out the
door and toss her into the bed of his pickup as if she were a piece of trash.
Robyn felt the bile rising in her throat and her mind go blank without thought or
emotion. It was as if she were floating in a dream. No longer able to take in
the reality of what was happening.
The man pushed her into her room, then shut and locked the door. Robyn
crawled unto her mattress, lay down and pulled her knees up to her chest. It
was then that the dam broke and the wrenching sobs overtook her.
A car horn blew outside her window, startling Robyn awake. Her face felt hot
and wet. She reached up and quickly brushed away the tears she had cried in
her sleep while dreaming about what had happened to her mother.
She quickly looked around the bus to make sure no one was looking at her or
had seen her tears. Relieved that no one was paying any attention to her, she
turned her face back to the window beside her. Thankfully, they were in the
city.
The lights from the city’s buildings lit up the night sky. People were walking
down the street and in and out of shops and restaurants as the bus angled by.
I’m finally here, she thought, as the bus rounded a corner and headed down a
one-way street.
They came to a stop at a red light. As Robyn continued to stare out the
window, she noticed a brick-lined street covered with a high ceiling. It was
streaming with people and she could hear music blaring.
After the light changed, the bus proceeded down the street, then slowed
before turning into the bus terminal. The brakes squealed and the familiar
chuuurrsh sound signaled that the bus had come to a stop.
Robyn gathered up her bag and shoved her blanket inside as she stood to
stretch her legs while waiting until it was her turn to join the exodus. She
stepped off the bus quickly and into a drizzle of rain.
She made her way inside the terminal to inquire about maps of the city and
directions to a local shelter, knowing the shelter would probably not be
accessible until the next morning.
The woman at the service counter was busily assisting passengers seeking
information and directions to hotels. Robyn’s eye caught a wooden display
holding local bus schedules and city and state maps. She perused the
information, snagged one of the local maps and headed to the street. The first
order of business was to find a place to hole up for the night before finding
better arrangements in the morning.
The drizzle turned into a steady rain as she made her way down the street,
dodging deep puddles as she walked. After a few blocks, she heard music and
recalled the stone-paved street the bus had passed earlier. As she got closer,
not only did the music become louder, the scent of food filled her nostrils and
her stomach rumbled.
Putting her hand to her belly, Robyn stopped and checked her cash. Although
she hated to spend any of it, she hadn’t eaten at the last stop. Her crackers
and water had only lasted so long during the trip.
Her funds were extremely tight, but if she didn’t get something to eat, she was
going to be sick.
Stuffing her cash into the back pocket of her jeans and pulling the collar of her
jacket up around her neck, Robyn continued to walk towards the sound of
music and the aroma of food.
At the end of the block, it looked as though she had stumbled upon the city’s
center of action. After rounding the corner by a large bookstore, she stopped.
The street was crowded with people walking around, talking, laughing and
drinking. So many people. She grimaced. Large crowds had always made her
nervous.
Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she continued up the stone-paved
street, thankful that it was covered by the high ceiling, stopping the rain that
had relentlessly poured down the back of her ball cap and inside her jacket.
Speakers blasted music and huge television screens showed the accompanying
music videos. Robyn stopped in front of a restaurant. It looked warm and
comfortable inside, something she longed for─a place to sit and melt away.
After several minutes of staring through the window of the restaurant, she
decided to go inside and hoped there was something cheap on the menu that
she could get to soothe her grumbling stomach.
“Hi! How many in your party and do you prefer smoking or nonsmoking?”
The perky hostess walked up to Robyn as she entered the door. Her smile
seemed genuine and warm, which almost made Robyn smile in return, but she
didn’t. She was too tired and hungry to smile.
The hostess wore a very short, black skirt and a black button down shirt,
which bore the name of the restaurant. She had her hair, which was black and
tipped with red streaks, up in ponytails on each side of her head. Her tanned
legs were bare and she wore little black socks with black boots. Stylish,
Robyn thought.
“Uh, just me and nonsmoking please,” Robyn said so quietly it was a wonder
the hostess heard her over the music and all the talking and laughing going on
in the restaurant.
The hostess replied, “Follow me,” and led Robyn through the tables to a booth
near the back.
Once Robyn was seated, the hostess placed a menu in front of her and
advised that her waitress, Lisa, would be there shortly to take her order.
Robyn picked up the menu and glanced at the prices. Her eyes bulged and her
heart sank. She could definitely not afford a meal, not even a cheeseburger,
though the thought of one almost made her groan aloud.
She turned the menu’s pages and checked over the appetizers and frowned
because their prices weren’t much better. The side items caught her eye and
she was thankful some were cheap enough she could afford one.
When her waitress, Lisa, danced over to her table, something she realized was
the norm in this restaurant, Robyn had made up her mind. She tried to wipe
the frown from her face before looking at the waitress standing before her.
“What can I get for you?” Lisa asked with a bright smile.
“I’ll have a small order of fries,” she said then hesitated, “and water, please.”
She handed the menu back to the waitress and turned her eyes back to the
table to hide the shame she felt.
“Sure, coming right up. I’ll be right back with your water,” Lisa said before
she turned and headed off towards the kitchen.
Robyn removed her ball cap and ran a hand through the damp fuzz of blonde
hair. She caught herself and was looking around to see if anyone was staring,
when she noticed a rather large man, who was definitely looking at her.
He sat in the very back of the restaurant, about four booths from hers and
seemed to fill the entire booth and tower over his table. Robyn couldn’t quite
see his face, as if he were sitting in the shadows. She could feel him though,
and the feeling she got was danger, lethal. But, there was something more. His
demeanor was thick with sensuality, which surprised her. How could someone
who looked so scary be so very sexy?
Robyn was surprised at her thoughts. Never had a man interested her before,
especially not like that. Even before things took a turn for the worse at the
ranch, Jake and his vulgar men had never interested her in the slightest. The
thought of them now turned her stomach.
Catching herself staring at the rather enticing man, Robyn quickly pulled her
cap back on her head and looked down at her table. She knew better than to
stare. Jake had practically beaten that rule into her. She shifted and nearly
winced. The bruises she sported from the last beating still smarted.
Robyn sat quietly, looking at her hands, which were clasped on the table while
she waited for the waitress to return. A few times she glanced around the
restaurant at the other patrons, watching them chat and laugh. Families and
friends were enjoying good food and each other’s company and she envied
them.
At one table, two young boys were blowing the paper off straws, using them
as projectiles against each other. Suddenly, one of the waiters ran up to the
table and threw a handful of straws at them. Everyone at the table laughed,
and the additional straws meant more ammunition for the boys.
As she continued to look around the restaurant, she couldn’t keep her gaze
from returning to the man at the booth in the corner. He sat alone and seemed
to be constantly scanning the room, even while he ate his meal.
A cheeseburger. Robyn stared at his plate and her mouth began to water. Her
stomach growled loudly and she pressed a hand to it, trying to stifle the noise.
It felt as if her insides were slowly shrinking, drying up and wasting away to
nothing.
It wasn’t long before her waitress, Lisa, came back to her table with her glass
of water and small plate of fries. Robyn smiled at her bleakly, trying to be
polite, then reached for her napkin.
After grabbing the bottle of ketchup and shaking it a few times, she twisted off
the cap and turned it upside down, letting a few lines of the thick red sauce
dribble over her fries.
The fries were hot, and Robyn felt she had died and gone to heaven. After
popping a particularly long fry in her mouth, she closed her eyes and savored it
as she chewed, practically moaning at the taste.
She ate slowly, being sure to chew each fry until she could chew it no more.
She wanted to drag this meal out. She didn’t know what time the restaurant
would close, but hoped it wasn’t for a few more hours. The thought of going
back out into the cold rain made her shiver. Maybe she could inconspicuously
sit there for another hour or so. The restaurant was warm and she felt safe.
The music was entertaining and periodically, the waiters and waitresses got up
on chairs, dancing and singing along with the music videos.
Robyn found herself smiling, something she had almost forgotten how to do.
This moment, this small piece of time, smoothed away all her troubles.
She could forget everything and just enjoy, but when it ended, she would go
outside and find a place to crouch and hide until morning. Hopefully, she
would catch a few minutes of sleep.
Chapter Four
The Watchers’ meeting had finally ended and Trigg left the hotel, deciding to
walk off his growing agitation. He hated being around people, and having to sit
in that cramped meeting room with the other Watchers for the past several
hours had been pure hell. What was worse was thinking about the next weeks
to come.
Each year the two-week festival was a big pain in the ass and this year would
be no different. A hoard of people crowded into the city, many getting stoned
beyond reason and no one paying attention to what was going on.
People got stupid when they were partying, especially on the crowded
riverfront, and the Rogues were counting on that. It was the best time for the
bloodsuckers to strike. The perfect hunting ground and their prey wouldn’t
even see it coming.
Trigg grumbled at the thought. Although he didn’t associate with humans in any
way, shape or form, he certainly didn’t want to see innocent people fall victim
to the Rogues. Their killings were often brutal, vicious. It was something they
got off on. Something they craved.
He walked down the steps of the Belvedere and turned, heading towards the
heart of the city, ignoring the rain that had turned from a drizzle to a pour.
Sitting in the meeting room all that time was not only boring beyond belief, it
made him hungry. He wondered if sitting down to a good meal would settle
him down. Besides, he still had time to kill before dawn and he’d never pass
up the opportunity for a large, juicy steak or cheeseburger. He laughed at that,
thinking that he almost sounded like Vane, one of his Cell-mates. Vane always
had something going into that mouth of his, whether it was food, or the tongue
of the woman of the week.
Trigg decided to head to his favorite restaurant since it was only a few blocks
away. He walked down the street unnoticed, passing people as they wandered
in and out of the city’s bars and restaurants.
One of the theater’s shows had just ended. As its doors opened, Trigg
crossed the street to get away from the throngs of people spilling out onto the
sidewalk. Many would head out to eat, he thought, so he stepped up his pace
before seating problems at the restaurant added to his headache and sour
mood.
Just as he arrived at Fourth Street, the block where the restaurant was
located, a small figure amidst the crowd caught his eye. A waif of a girl was
standing in the pouring rain while huddled over a small stack of bills, counting
the cash. Suddenly, her shoulders slumped and she hesitated a few moments
before shoving them into her back pocket.
With a slight shrug of her shoulders, she pulled the collar of her jacket closer
to her neck and proceeded down the street, heading in his direction.
Trigg didn’t know why she had caught his attention. He had walked the streets
of this city and cities like it night after night for what seemed like an eternity,
hunting rogue vampires in an effort to protect humans and fellow, more
civilized, vampires. Not once in all this time had he paid much attention to
those around him, those he swore to protect. His focus was always on seeking
out and eliminating Rogues.
Only a short while ago he had passed throngs of people on his walk to Fourth
Street, but had paid them no mind. It wasn’t as if he had a particular dislike for
humans, or others of his kind for that matter, he just didn’t want to deal with
them. He wanted to do his job and be left alone.
What in the devil made him notice her? Unmistakably, he had felt something as
he watched her, as if her sadness and despair, so evident in the way she
carried herself, washed over him. Trigg scowled at himself for even thinking
such a thing. He was just tired and needed to eat and get back to the Cell.
Turning away from the girl as she continued to make her way in his direction,
he rounded the corner and walked to the door of the restaurant.
Finally, she squared her shoulders, and walked inside. To his surprise, the
hostess seated her a few booths down from his. Actually, he was glad she had
been seated close to him, but he wasn't about to admit it.
Trigg watched the girl intently as she frowned over the menu. She looked over
the items many times, turning the menu over and over before staring down at
one section. He knew the menu inside and out, having been here too many
times to count, and knew she was looking at the side orders. As skinny as she
is, he thought, she should be ordering everything on the menu!
When his cheeseburger arrived, Trigg situated the plate in front of him and
grabbed the ketchup.
After squirting a hefty dollop of ketchup on his plate for his fries, he picked up
the very rare, jumbo cheeseburger and launched in with a huge bite.
Looking up over the cheeseburger he held to his mouth, he saw the girl staring,
but she wasn’t staring at him. Those big, blue eyes were looking almost
reverently at his cheeseburger.
The look of longing he saw on her face and the pain in her eyes almost
stopped his heart.
Before he could blink, she had lowered her eyes back to her table and
placed a hand over her mid-section. With his keen hearing he heard the long
growl of her stomach.
Trigg had the powerful urge to pick up his plate, walk over and sit at her
booth, and share what he had with her. He felt the need to give her anything
she asked for, to feed her from his plate by hand.
Where the hell did that come from? What the hell was wrong with him? What
did he care about this all too skinny girl who had the air of a kicked one-time-
too-many dog?
After giving himself a mental ass-kicking, he took another bite of his
cheeseburger and tried to push all thoughts, except for his delicious dinner,
out of his mind.
As he finished off his meal, Trigg couldn’t stop himself from watching the girl
eat her fries. She ate slowly, intently, savoring every bite as if it were her last
meal.
Though she wore a jacket, Trigg could see by her hands and wrists that she
was bone thin. Her face was long and pale, making her dark blue eyes seem
too big for her face. With every quick glance around her, he saw the look of
fear on her face, as well as loneliness.
Loneliness was something he knew all too well, but didn’t dwell on. In fact,
he enjoyed being alone. There was no one to tell him what to do, where to
go or even how to act. He relished the freedom, or did he?
His focus returning to the girl, he gave her the once over, noticing the small
shirt she wore under her jacket, which was soaked from the rain. She had to
be chilled, he thought, his forehead creased in a frown. Running around in the
rain with her frail body would surely make any human sick. And why did that
make him concerned?
Shaking off his thoughts, which were beginning to annoy him, he rose from
the booth and plopped down some bills to pay for his food and a decent tip.
He turned to leave, but took one more look at the troubled girl, still chewing
her fries while glancing around the room.
Trigg breathed a sigh and sat back down in the booth. He sent a compulsion
for the waitress to come back to his table. When she did, he pulled a twenty
out of his pocket and gave explicit instructions to take a loaded cheeseburger
and a big chocolate shake to the girl sitting four booths down. He also
instructed the waitress to allow the girl to sit as long as she wanted and not
be pressured into leaving once her meal was finished.
The waitress glanced in the direction to which he was referring and nodded.
Trigg sent another compulsion to ensure his instructions were carried out and
that the waitress didn’t just pocket the money instead.
After the waitress left for the kitchen, Trigg stood once again, and this time he
left the restaurant without daring to glance back at the girl who had
captivated his attention. He didn’t question his reasons for what he had just
done. In fact, he didn’t want to think about it at all. He had to focus on the
events at hand and needed to get back to the place he shared with three
other Watchers, his Cell-mates.
A small grin almost touched his face at the thought of that phrase. It was used
often enough among his comrades as a joke, although it was, in all honestly, a
true endearment. Even to him.
One big family. Brothers and sisters who had taken a vow to uphold the
mission to eliminate vampires who preyed on humans and even other
vampires.
Rogues thought themselves superior to humans, as well as vampires who
didn’t follow their lead and blended in with human society. They looked only
to satisfy their bloodlust—the lure of warm blood and the thrill of the kill.
Trigg’s smile faded as he stepped out into the rain and headed back towards
the east side of Main Street where his Cell was located.
Feeling the need to take one last patrol for the night, he decided to take the
route closer to the highway where Rogues were known to lurk in the
shadows. With the mood he was in, he was itching for a fight.
Walking along the now deserted downtown streets, he took his time. The
rain didn’t bother him. Besides, it was nature’s people-repellant, he mused.
Most people would rather stay warm and dry indoors, which meant they
were out of his way.
Trigg used his senses as he walked to detect the presence of Rogues, as well
as humans in the area. If there was a human around, especially this time of
night, they must be stupid, drunk or suicidal. He rolled his eyes at that
thought. From his experience humans were rather careless. No civilian
vampire would use such bad judgment, unless they were young and foolish.
Surprisingly, he didn’t pick up anything and wondered if it had something to
do with the rain. To his knowledge, rain hadn’t kept the Rogues from hunting
before. Or maybe, he thought again, the low number of Rogues in the area
meant that they hadn’t yet made their way into the city. If that was indeed the
case, this was definitely good news where the Watchers were concerned.
They had time to implement the plans coming from Headquarters and have
the extra men in place before the bloodsuckers had a chance to gather and
find lairs in which to hide.
After roaming downtown for awhile, Trigg reached a narrow alleyway that
led to a parking garage behind what had been a large old warehouse, but had
recently been renovated into office space for a healthcare company. The
company owned the garage and employees working the evening shift entered
it late at night, many of them alone.
Through the pounding of the rain, Trigg could hear a scuffle on the floor
above him. “Yep, another night,” he sighed to himself. He knew a skirmish
when he heard one and headed up the stairs of the parking lot to the next
level.
When he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped to listen for the location of
the noise. Rogues. He could sense them, smell them—the smell of blood and
death. The stench permeated the air and turned his stomach and he
wondered why humans couldn’t smell them.
Pinpointing their location, he sprinted across the cement floor and up the
ramp to the half level. There he spotted two Rogues attempting to pin a man,
who looked to be in his thirties, onto the hood of a car.
The man was dressed in a business suit and sported an athletic build. Giving
the Rogues a run for their money, he held his own in an attempt to protect
himself. He probably would have fared much better if his attackers had been
human.
His briefcase lay on the floor beside the car with its contents spread
everywhere. The Rogues were slipping on papers as they tried to subdue
their late night snack.
“I hate to disrupt your meal, boys, but I believe it’s bad to eat anything after
six or seven o’clock. They say it puts on weight. Probably not good for the
digestive system, either,” Trigg drawled with a sly grin.
The Rogues backed away from the man, who quickly slumped to his knees in
exhaustion. They walked around the car to face Trigg, sneering at him to
show their displeasure at the interruption.
“No one invited you to the party, Watcher,” one of them said through gritted,
bloodstained teeth.
Trigg walked towards them, eager to get this battle going. He reached out his
hand and curled his fingers several times in a “bring it on” gesture.
Robyn was still chewing on her fries and letting her gaze wander to the other
patrons sitting in the restaurant. Her attention was caught once again by the
man sitting in the corner when he slid out of the booth.
He unfolded his muscular frame from the confines of the small booth and
stretched his long legs, and Robyn almost choked.
As he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded stack of bills, his
movements made the muscles in his legs and upper body bunch and ripple.
The action made her heart beat a little faster. The man was so amazing she
wanted to wag her tongue and follow him anywhere.
He turned and made a move in her direction, then stopped suddenly. Robyn
looked away quickly, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him slide
back into the booth. Moments later, the waitress, Lisa, walked over and
listened as he spoke to her, his voice too low for Robyn to hear.
After Lisa left, the man stood again and this time he did walk in her direction
without stopping. Robyn sucked in a nervous breath just as he passed,
catching the scent of musk, leather and man. Even his scent is sexy and
dangerous, she thought to herself as she dared to turn her head and watch
him make his way to the front door of the restaurant. His walk was graceful,
but predatory, and she wasn’t the least bit surprised to see people step to the
side, giving him wide berth as he passed.
After a few moments, he was gone, and she was once again alone. She
frowned at the thought. She had been alone when she walked into this
restaurant. Just because she had made eye contact…several times…with Mr.
Tall, Dark and Broody didn’t make them acquaintances or anything. Then
why hadn’t she felt alone as he sat there in the corner? Why had she felt safe,
protected?
Robyn looked up and saw the waitress coming towards her booth carrying a
platter, which she placed down in front of her.
“I…I didn’t order this,” she stammered as she looked wide-eyed at Lisa.
Lisa grinned, then said, “Don’t worry, it was ordered and paid for just for
you.”
Before Robyn could ask what she was talking about, Lisa walked away.
While Robyn stared at the huge, fully dressed cheeseburger with fries sitting
in front of her, Lisa returned with a tall chocolate shake.
“There ya go,” Lisa said with a wink. “This is for you too.”
“I…I don’t understand,” Robyn said totally flabbergasted. She looked up at
Lisa with a bewildered look.
“That guy who was sitting in the back booth told me to get you a
cheeseburger platter and a huge chocolate shake. He also told me to make
sure that you were allowed to sit here as long as you want and that no one
bothered you.” With that, Lisa left the table to check on her other customers.
Robyn couldn’t believe her good fortune. She hoped that she would run into
Mr. Mystery, as she decided to call him, again so that she could thank him.
She was still hungry after finishing her small plate of fries.
Without waiting another minute, she cut her cheeseburger in half, since it was
too large to fit into her small mouth, and dug in. The warm juices from the
burger filled her mouth and she almost moaned aloud. Swallowing, she
picked up the shake to wash it down. After one sip, she sighed. Heaven! It
had been so long since she had had ice cream. Pure heaven.
Once she polished off as much as she could, Robyn got a box from the
waitress for her leftovers. She would eat them for breakfast tomorrow
morning. Sheepishly, she left her booth, feeling guilty she was unable to leave
the waitress a tip.
With her head down, Robyn made her exit from the restaurant. She could tell
from the way the customers had cleared out and only a few stragglers
remained inside it was almost closing time.
Now that she was back outside, she looked around to see if there was any
place to huddle unseen until morning. After spotting what looked like the
perfect place under the stairs leading to the upper level of the covered plaza,
she cautiously made her way in that direction.
“Hey, you!” came a voice from behind her.
Robyn turned to see a security guard walking her way, eyeballing her bag.
“You can’t camp out here. You’ll have to move on.”
Robyn nodded at the guard, turned and headed out to the street. The last
thing she needed was for someone to call the cops on her.
Once again Robyn was in the pouring rain. She stood there, swiveling her
head as she took in her surroundings. Sadly, to her left were only buildings
and cars parked along the street. To her right, the same. Nothing that looked
like shelter.
Straight ahead, however, Robyn could see the highway rising above the
smaller buildings. Well, she thought, homeless people find shelter under
highways and overpasses. Guess I can, too.
Robyn headed in that direction, walking as fast as she could in the rain. Her
ball cap pulled down low over her head as far as it would go in an attempt to
keep the rain out of her face didn’t stop the water from dripping underneath
the collar of her jacket and down her back, drenching her shirt.
After turning into a small alley, she found a parking garage in the back of one
of the buildings. At least this was shelter from the rain, she thought with a
mental sigh. If she hid well, no one would see her.
A small river of rainwater coming in from the street flooded the bottom floor
of the parking garage. Robyn decided to go up a couple of levels, hoping for
a dry spot to camp out for the night.
Climbing the cement stairs, she caught the sound of a scuffle followed by a
thud and she froze, listening intently for more noises. When she heard voices,
curiosity kicked in and she continued to climb the stairs to the next level.
To her amazement, Robyn saw Mr. Mystery, the guy from the restaurant,
facing two men, while a man in a business suit sat slumped against a car, his
chin resting on his chest.
Mr. Mystery and the two men looked as though they were ready to go toe-
to-toe. Just as she was about to ease her way over the last step to get a
closer look, she glanced down at the box in her hand, containing the other
half of her cheeseburger and leftover fries. If she brought the food up with
her, someone would smell it and know she was there.
Robyn backed down the stairs and placed the box on the window ledge in
the stairwell. She would come back for it later. Now she was ready to check
out what was happening up there.
Slowly, she crept back up the stairs, crouched and soundlessly skirted across
the floor to squat behind a car parked at the end of the ramp, then peered
around the car’s bumper.
The man from the restaurant was wielding a dagger, while the two men
circled him. She held her breath as they taunted him like wild animals hunting
prey, smiling and making strange growling noises.
Robyn could not see Mr. Mystery’s face as his back was to her. He didn’t
move. He just stood quietly, following their every move with the dagger held
out at his side, ready to do business.
As if on cue, a third man sauntered out of the shadows and stood with the
other two men who had stopped circling as soon as he had appeared. Three
against one, she thought in a panic. That wasn’t very good odds, not to
mention totally unfair.
Three against one didn’t sit well with her, especially when the man had done
something so extraordinarily nice for her at the restaurant. She fumbled in her
bag until her hand brushed the handle of the large kitchen knife she had taken
from Jake’s ranch. “Well,” she muttered to herself, “this was supposed to be
just for show. Guess it’s show time.”
Now that she had herself talked into joining the rumble, she shoved her bag
into the concrete wall for safekeeping. After this was over, she would know
where to find it.
As quietly as she could, she eased herself from the front of the car, crouched
low and eased her way to the front of the next one, and then the next, until
she reached the car right behind the three men who were about to gang up on
the man from the restaurant. From the way the three were acting, she figured
they intended to rob the guy, and the wild look on their faces made her think
they were stoned out of their gourds.
Holding her breath, Robyn gathered all her courage. What did she have to
lose? She felt she owed this man for his kindness. If someone was in need of
help, many people just walked by as if they were blind, which was exactly
what the men on Jake’s ranch had done. They knew about the beatings that
went on in that house, but they looked the other way. Sometimes she had
heard them laugh and joke about it.
Robyn steeled her thoughts and let them fuel her resolve to help him. Taking
in a deep breath, she slipped out from behind the car.
Trigg froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl from the restaurant
slowly make her way from behind a car, and creep up behind one of the
Rogues with a large knife gripped in her hand.
He marveled at how her eyes showed fear, but also determination. Though
what she was doing was stupid, she definitely had balls, he’d give her that.
Her actions intrigued him. What in the world could be going through the mind
of this skinny girl to jump into a fight between four men? He admired the
spunk of this little human female, which almost brought a smile to his lips, but
he caught himself before he gave anything away.
Robyn managed to get close enough to the man standing directly in front of
her. “Back off!” she said in the harshest voice she could muster, though her
hands were trembling, making the knife wobble.
The Rogue directly in front of her slowly turned to regard her as the other
two stopped and turned their heads to look her way. The feral look on the
face of the man who stood mere feet away from her made her blood run
cold. He looked almost mad. The slow, evil grin that crept across his face
stunned her.
She had first thought the men to be high on something, but his eyes were not
dilated or glassy. They were glowing an eerie red that made her gasp.
“Well, look what we have here,” he said with a sneer as he glanced at the
other two men, then returned his savage gaze to her. “Another snack, though
not much meat on her bones. But she might prove to be entertaining. What
do y’all think?” He glanced again at the other men who were smiling and
nodding in agreement.
“Leave her be, Rogue!” Mr. Mystery said in a low, rumbling voice. It
sounded almost like a growl and reverberated throughout the parking garage.
His voice captivated her, the sound tingling over her body. She found herself
wanting to sit and replay it over and over through her head. That thought was
cut short as the man in front of her lunged forward. She jumped back,
swinging the knife in self-defense.
Her swing brought the knife slicing across her attacker’s forearm, stopping
his assault. In what seemed to be slow motion, he glanced down at the slice
on his arm.
Robyn had expected the man to yell or at least say “ouch”, but he just stood
there for a moment, watching the blood flow down his arm from his torn shirt.
In the next moment, a slow hiss came from him as he turned back to her.
Lips parted, revealing a mouth full of bloodstained teeth and two rather long,
sharp fangs.
Robyn couldn’t move. She could only stare in horror. This can’t be real, her
mind screamed in denial. These men must have some sort of vampire fetish
and had their canines surgically lengthened and filed to sharp points.
The man continued to hiss as he lunged at her again, causing her to dart
backwards again. She turned and ran to the nearest car, putting it between
her and the mad man as protection.
When the first Rogue advanced on Robyn, the other two had attacked Trigg.
He dodged a punch to his face, ducked and came in low with a head to one
Rogue’s stomach, driving him hard into the cement wall where he slumped to
the floor in a daze.
The second Rogue rushed Trigg from behind and sank his fangs into his
shoulder. Trigg let out a grunt of pain as he backed away from the Rogue
slumped against the wall but was now trying to get back onto his feet.
Slamming the hilt of his dagger into the side of the head of the Rogue on his
back, he forced the Rogue to release his shoulder. A look of menace and the
promise of retribution filled the face of the Rogue as he staggered backwards
from the blow.
Trigg took a second to glance at the Rogue against the cement wall and
found him unsuccessfully trying to get his footing, only to fall back down to
the floor with each attempt.
Robyn’s heart raced as she focused on keeping the car between her and
what was undoubtedly a crazed killer. Suddenly, he leapt on the roof of the
car and jumped down on top of her. She fell backwards onto the cement
floor under his weight, hitting the concrete with so much force the breath was
knocked out of her lungs.
Stars danced in front of her eyes, and she fought to stay conscious as the
man on top of her raked at her jacket and shirt. The sound of tearing fabric
from his long, sharp claws filled her ears, followed by the sound of a scream.
Her scream.
Pain ripped through her chest and arms, and visions of beatings she had
endured at Jake’s hands came flooding back to her, filling her with sudden
rage. No longer was she a child. This time she had the power to do
something about it. She glanced to her side and found she had not lost the
knife. It was still clenched by her tight, white knuckles.
Mustering her strength, she raised the knife with a war cry that would make
Geronimo proud and stabbed the man in the back where it pierced through
flesh and bone, right into his heart.
With a loud shriek, the man jerked up and stared down at her with a look of
horror on his face, then slowly rolled to the side. He lay unmoving beside her
in a spreading pool of blood.
Robyn was dazed, and she felt frozen in place. She couldn’t look at the man.
What had she just done? In just a few short days she had killed two people.
The horror of that realization rushed over her.
Finally, Robyn turned her head and saw Mr. Mystery removing his dagger
from the second man and straightening when a sudden flash of movement
caught her attention. The man who had hit the wall had regained his footing
and was streaking towards her.
In the blink of an eye, she was hurled weightlessly through the air until her
body found matter. Her head hit the car, sending shards of pain slicing
through her skull. The ringing of her ears was the last thing she heard before
darkness overtook her.
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stopped his heart.
Before he could blink, she had lowered her eyes back to her table and
placed a hand over her mid-section. With his keen hearing he heard the long
growl of her stomach.
Trigg had the powerful urge to pick up his plate, walk over and sit at her
booth, and share what he had with her. He felt the need to give her anything
she asked for, to feed her from his plate by hand.
Where the hell did that come from? What the hell was wrong with him? What
did he care about this all too skinny girl who had the air of a kicked one-time-
too-many dog?
After giving himself a mental ass-kicking, he took another bite of his
cheeseburger and tried to push all thoughts, except for his delicious dinner,
out of his mind.
As he finished off his meal, Trigg couldn’t stop himself from watching the girl
eat her fries. She ate slowly, intently, savoring every bite as if it were her last
meal.
Though she wore a jacket, Trigg could see by her hands and wrists that she
was bone thin. Her face was long and pale, making her dark blue eyes seem
too big for her face. With every quick glance around her, he saw the look of
fear on her face, as well as loneliness.
Loneliness was something he knew all too well, but didn’t dwell on. In fact,
he enjoyed being alone. There was no one to tell him what to do, where to
go or even how to act. He relished the freedom, or did he?
His focus returning to the girl, he gave her the once over, noticing the small
shirt she wore under her jacket, which was soaked from the rain. She had to
be chilled, he thought, his forehead creased in a frown. Running around in the
rain with her frail body would surely make any human sick. And why did that
make him concerned?
Shaking off his thoughts, which were beginning to annoy him, he rose from
the booth and plopped down some bills to pay for his food and a decent tip.
He turned to leave, but took one more look at the troubled girl, still chewing
her fries while glancing around the room.
Trigg breathed a sigh and sat back down in the booth. He sent a compulsion
for the waitress to come back to his table. When she did, he pulled a twenty
out of his pocket and gave explicit instructions to take a loaded cheeseburger
and a big chocolate shake to the girl sitting four booths down. He also
instructed the waitress to allow the girl to sit as long as she wanted and not
be pressured into leaving once her meal was finished.
The waitress glanced in the direction to which he was referring and nodded.
Trigg sent another compulsion to ensure his instructions were carried out and
that the waitress didn’t just pocket the money instead.
After the waitress left for the kitchen, Trigg stood once again, and this time he
left the restaurant without daring to glance back at the girl who had
captivated his attention. He didn’t question his reasons for what he had just
done. In fact, he didn’t want to think about it at all. He had to focus on the
events at hand and needed to get back to the place he shared with three
other Watchers, his Cell-mates.
A small grin almost touched his face at the thought of that phrase. It was used
often enough among his comrades as a joke, although it was, in all honestly, a
true endearment. Even to him.
One big family. Brothers and sisters who had taken a vow to uphold the
mission to eliminate vampires who preyed on humans and even other
vampires.
Rogues thought themselves superior to humans, as well as vampires who
didn’t follow their lead and blended in with human society. They looked only
to satisfy their bloodlust—the lure of warm blood and the thrill of the kill.
Trigg’s smile faded as he stepped out into the rain and headed back towards
the east side of Main Street where his Cell was located.
Feeling the need to take one last patrol for the night, he decided to take the
route closer to the highway where Rogues were known to lurk in the
shadows. With the mood he was in, he was itching for a fight.
Walking along the now deserted downtown streets, he took his time. The
rain didn’t bother him. Besides, it was nature’s people-repellant, he mused.
Most people would rather stay warm and dry indoors, which meant they
were out of his way.
Trigg used his senses as he walked to detect the presence of Rogues, as well
as humans in the area. If there was a human around, especially this time of
night, they must be stupid, drunk or suicidal. He rolled his eyes at that
thought. From his experience humans were rather careless. No civilian
vampire would use such bad judgment, unless they were young and foolish.
Surprisingly, he didn’t pick up anything and wondered if it had something to
do with the rain. To his knowledge, rain hadn’t kept the Rogues from hunting
before. Or maybe, he thought again, the low number of Rogues in the area
meant that they hadn’t yet made their way into the city. If that was indeed the
case, this was definitely good news where the Watchers were concerned.
They had time to implement the plans coming from Headquarters and have
the extra men in place before the bloodsuckers had a chance to gather and
find lairs in which to hide.
After roaming downtown for awhile, Trigg reached a narrow alleyway that
led to a parking garage behind what had been a large old warehouse, but had
recently been renovated into office space for a healthcare company. The
company owned the garage and employees working the evening shift entered
it late at night, many of them alone.
Through the pounding of the rain, Trigg could hear a scuffle on the floor
above him. “Yep, another night,” he sighed to himself. He knew a skirmish
when he heard one and headed up the stairs of the parking lot to the next
level.
When he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped to listen for the location of
the noise. Rogues. He could sense them, smell them—the smell of blood and
death. The stench permeated the air and turned his stomach and he
wondered why humans couldn’t smell them.
Pinpointing their location, he sprinted across the cement floor and up the
ramp to the half level. There he spotted two Rogues attempting to pin a man,
who looked to be in his thirties, onto the hood of a car.
The man was dressed in a business suit and sported an athletic build. Giving
the Rogues a run for their money, he held his own in an attempt to protect
himself. He probably would have fared much better if his attackers had been
human.
His briefcase lay on the floor beside the car with its contents spread
everywhere. The Rogues were slipping on papers as they tried to subdue
their late night snack.
“I hate to disrupt your meal, boys, but I believe it’s bad to eat anything after
six or seven o’clock. They say it puts on weight. Probably not good for the
digestive system, either,” Trigg drawled with a sly grin.
The Rogues backed away from the man, who quickly slumped to his knees in
exhaustion. They walked around the car to face Trigg, sneering at him to
show their displeasure at the interruption.
“No one invited you to the party, Watcher,” one of them said through gritted,
bloodstained teeth.
Trigg walked towards them, eager to get this battle going. He reached out his
hand and curled his fingers several times in a “bring it on” gesture.
Robyn was still chewing on her fries and letting her gaze wander to the other
patrons sitting in the restaurant. Her attention was caught once again by the
man sitting in the corner when he slid out of the booth.
He unfolded his muscular frame from the confines of the small booth and
stretched his long legs, and Robyn almost choked.
As he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded stack of bills, his
movements made the muscles in his legs and upper body bunch and ripple.
The action made her heart beat a little faster. The man was so amazing she
wanted to wag her tongue and follow him anywhere.
He turned and made a move in her direction, then stopped suddenly. Robyn
looked away quickly, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw him slide
back into the booth. Moments later, the waitress, Lisa, walked over and
listened as he spoke to her, his voice too low for Robyn to hear.
After Lisa left, the man stood again and this time he did walk in her direction
without stopping. Robyn sucked in a nervous breath just as he passed,
catching the scent of musk, leather and man. Even his scent is sexy and
dangerous, she thought to herself as she dared to turn her head and watch
him make his way to the front door of the restaurant. His walk was graceful,
but predatory, and she wasn’t the least bit surprised to see people step to the
side, giving him wide berth as he passed.
After a few moments, he was gone, and she was once again alone. She
frowned at the thought. She had been alone when she walked into this
restaurant. Just because she had made eye contact…several times…with Mr.
Tall, Dark and Broody didn’t make them acquaintances or anything. Then
why hadn’t she felt alone as he sat there in the corner? Why had she felt safe,
protected?
Robyn looked up and saw the waitress coming towards her booth carrying a
platter, which she placed down in front of her.
“I…I didn’t order this,” she stammered as she looked wide-eyed at Lisa.
Lisa grinned, then said, “Don’t worry, it was ordered and paid for just for
you.”
Before Robyn could ask what she was talking about, Lisa walked away.
While Robyn stared at the huge, fully dressed cheeseburger with fries sitting
in front of her, Lisa returned with a tall chocolate shake.
“There ya go,” Lisa said with a wink. “This is for you too.”
“I…I don’t understand,” Robyn said totally flabbergasted. She looked up at
Lisa with a bewildered look.
“That guy who was sitting in the back booth told me to get you a
cheeseburger platter and a huge chocolate shake. He also told me to make
sure that you were allowed to sit here as long as you want and that no one
bothered you.” With that, Lisa left the table to check on her other customers.
Robyn couldn’t believe her good fortune. She hoped that she would run into
Mr. Mystery, as she decided to call him, again so that she could thank him.
She was still hungry after finishing her small plate of fries.
Without waiting another minute, she cut her cheeseburger in half, since it was
too large to fit into her small mouth, and dug in. The warm juices from the
burger filled her mouth and she almost moaned aloud. Swallowing, she
picked up the shake to wash it down. After one sip, she sighed. Heaven! It
had been so long since she had had ice cream. Pure heaven.
Once she polished off as much as she could, Robyn got a box from the
waitress for her leftovers. She would eat them for breakfast tomorrow
morning. Sheepishly, she left her booth, feeling guilty she was unable to leave
the waitress a tip.
With her head down, Robyn made her exit from the restaurant. She could tell
from the way the customers had cleared out and only a few stragglers
remained inside it was almost closing time.
Now that she was back outside, she looked around to see if there was any
place to huddle unseen until morning. After spotting what looked like the
perfect place under the stairs leading to the upper level of the covered plaza,
she cautiously made her way in that direction.
“Hey, you!” came a voice from behind her.
Robyn turned to see a security guard walking her way, eyeballing her bag.
“You can’t camp out here. You’ll have to move on.”
Robyn nodded at the guard, turned and headed out to the street. The last
thing she needed was for someone to call the cops on her.
Once again Robyn was in the pouring rain. She stood there, swiveling her
head as she took in her surroundings. Sadly, to her left were only buildings
and cars parked along the street. To her right, the same. Nothing that looked
like shelter.
Straight ahead, however, Robyn could see the highway rising above the
smaller buildings. Well, she thought, homeless people find shelter under
highways and overpasses. Guess I can, too.
Robyn headed in that direction, walking as fast as she could in the rain. Her
ball cap pulled down low over her head as far as it would go in an attempt to
keep the rain out of her face didn’t stop the water from dripping underneath
the collar of her jacket and down her back, drenching her shirt.
After turning into a small alley, she found a parking garage in the back of one
of the buildings. At least this was shelter from the rain, she thought with a
mental sigh. If she hid well, no one would see her.
A small river of rainwater coming in from the street flooded the bottom floor
of the parking garage. Robyn decided to go up a couple of levels, hoping for
a dry spot to camp out for the night.
Climbing the cement stairs, she caught the sound of a scuffle followed by a
thud and she froze, listening intently for more noises. When she heard voices,
curiosity kicked in and she continued to climb the stairs to the next level.
To her amazement, Robyn saw Mr. Mystery, the guy from the restaurant,
facing two men, while a man in a business suit sat slumped against a car, his
chin resting on his chest.
Mr. Mystery and the two men looked as though they were ready to go toe-
to-toe. Just as she was about to ease her way over the last step to get a
closer look, she glanced down at the box in her hand, containing the other
half of her cheeseburger and leftover fries. If she brought the food up with
her, someone would smell it and know she was there.
Robyn backed down the stairs and placed the box on the window ledge in
the stairwell. She would come back for it later. Now she was ready to check
out what was happening up there.
Slowly, she crept back up the stairs, crouched and soundlessly skirted across
the floor to squat behind a car parked at the end of the ramp, then peered
around the car’s bumper.
The man from the restaurant was wielding a dagger, while the two men
circled him. She held her breath as they taunted him like wild animals hunting
prey, smiling and making strange growling noises.
Robyn could not see Mr. Mystery’s face as his back was to her. He didn’t
move. He just stood quietly, following their every move with the dagger held
out at his side, ready to do business.
As if on cue, a third man sauntered out of the shadows and stood with the
other two men who had stopped circling as soon as he had appeared. Three
against one, she thought in a panic. That wasn’t very good odds, not to
mention totally unfair.
Three against one didn’t sit well with her, especially when the man had done
something so extraordinarily nice for her at the restaurant. She fumbled in her
bag until her hand brushed the handle of the large kitchen knife she had taken
from Jake’s ranch. “Well,” she muttered to herself, “this was supposed to be
just for show. Guess it’s show time.”
Now that she had herself talked into joining the rumble, she shoved her bag
into the concrete wall for safekeeping. After this was over, she would know
where to find it.
As quietly as she could, she eased herself from the front of the car, crouched
low and eased her way to the front of the next one, and then the next, until
she reached the car right behind the three men who were about to gang up on
the man from the restaurant. From the way the three were acting, she figured
they intended to rob the guy, and the wild look on their faces made her think
they were stoned out of their gourds.
Holding her breath, Robyn gathered all her courage. What did she have to
lose? She felt she owed this man for his kindness. If someone was in need of
help, many people just walked by as if they were blind, which was exactly
what the men on Jake’s ranch had done. They knew about the beatings that
went on in that house, but they looked the other way. Sometimes she had
heard them laugh and joke about it.
Robyn steeled her thoughts and let them fuel her resolve to help him. Taking
in a deep breath, she slipped out from behind the car.
Trigg froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl from the restaurant
slowly make her way from behind a car, and creep up behind one of the
Rogues with a large knife gripped in her hand.
He marveled at how her eyes showed fear, but also determination. Though
what she was doing was stupid, she definitely had balls, he’d give her that.
Her actions intrigued him. What in the world could be going through the mind
of this skinny girl to jump into a fight between four men? He admired the
spunk of this little human female, which almost brought a smile to his lips, but
he caught himself before he gave anything away.
Robyn managed to get close enough to the man standing directly in front of
her. “Back off!” she said in the harshest voice she could muster, though her
hands were trembling, making the knife wobble.
The Rogue directly in front of her slowly turned to regard her as the other
two stopped and turned their heads to look her way. The feral look on the
face of the man who stood mere feet away from her made her blood run
cold. He looked almost mad. The slow, evil grin that crept across his face
stunned her.
She had first thought the men to be high on something, but his eyes were not
dilated or glassy. They were glowing an eerie red that made her gasp.
“Well, look what we have here,” he said with a sneer as he glanced at the
other two men, then returned his savage gaze to her. “Another snack, though
not much meat on her bones. But she might prove to be entertaining. What
do y’all think?” He glanced again at the other men who were smiling and
nodding in agreement.
“Leave her be, Rogue!” Mr. Mystery said in a low, rumbling voice. It
sounded almost like a growl and reverberated throughout the parking garage.
His voice captivated her, the sound tingling over her body. She found herself
wanting to sit and replay it over and over through her head. That thought was
cut short as the man in front of her lunged forward. She jumped back,
swinging the knife in self-defense.
Her swing brought the knife slicing across her attacker’s forearm, stopping
his assault. In what seemed to be slow motion, he glanced down at the slice
on his arm.
Robyn had expected the man to yell or at least say “ouch”, but he just stood
there for a moment, watching the blood flow down his arm from his torn shirt.
In the next moment, a slow hiss came from him as he turned back to her.
Lips parted, revealing a mouth full of bloodstained teeth and two rather long,
sharp fangs.
Robyn couldn’t move. She could only stare in horror. This can’t be real, her
mind screamed in denial. These men must have some sort of vampire fetish
and had their canines surgically lengthened and filed to sharp points.
The man continued to hiss as he lunged at her again, causing her to dart
backwards again. She turned and ran to the nearest car, putting it between
her and the mad man as protection.
When the first Rogue advanced on Robyn, the other two had attacked Trigg.
He dodged a punch to his face, ducked and came in low with a head to one
Rogue’s stomach, driving him hard into the cement wall where he slumped to
the floor in a daze.
The second Rogue rushed Trigg from behind and sank his fangs into his
shoulder. Trigg let out a grunt of pain as he backed away from the Rogue
slumped against the wall but was now trying to get back onto his feet.
Slamming the hilt of his dagger into the side of the head of the Rogue on his
back, he forced the Rogue to release his shoulder. A look of menace and the
promise of retribution filled the face of the Rogue as he staggered backwards
from the blow.
Trigg took a second to glance at the Rogue against the cement wall and
found him unsuccessfully trying to get his footing, only to fall back down to
the floor with each attempt.
Robyn’s heart raced as she focused on keeping the car between her and
what was undoubtedly a crazed killer. Suddenly, he leapt on the roof of the
car and jumped down on top of her. She fell backwards onto the cement
floor under his weight, hitting the concrete with so much force the breath was
knocked out of her lungs.
Stars danced in front of her eyes, and she fought to stay conscious as the
man on top of her raked at her jacket and shirt. The sound of tearing fabric
from his long, sharp claws filled her ears, followed by the sound of a scream.
Her scream.
Pain ripped through her chest and arms, and visions of beatings she had
endured at Jake’s hands came flooding back to her, filling her with sudden
rage. No longer was she a child. This time she had the power to do
something about it. She glanced to her side and found she had not lost the
knife. It was still clenched by her tight, white knuckles.
Mustering her strength, she raised the knife with a war cry that would make
Geronimo proud and stabbed the man in the back where it pierced through
flesh and bone, right into his heart.
With a loud shriek, the man jerked up and stared down at her with a look of
horror on his face, then slowly rolled to the side. He lay unmoving beside her
in a spreading pool of blood.
Robyn was dazed, and she felt frozen in place. She couldn’t look at the man.
What had she just done? In just a few short days she had killed two people.
The horror of that realization rushed over her.
Finally, Robyn turned her head and saw Mr. Mystery removing his dagger
from the second man and straightening when a sudden flash of movement
caught her attention. The man who had hit the wall had regained his footing
and was streaking towards her.
In the blink of an eye, she was hurled weightlessly through the air until her
body found matter. Her head hit the car, sending shards of pain slicing
through her skull. The ringing of her ears was the last thing she heard before
darkness overtook her.
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