A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (40 page)

“My love, I could find you in a city packed with people,” she replied simply. “How much easier would it be in an empty subway? Besides, I also heard you shout, and a faint trace of your scent was flowing through the tunnel.”

“I’m so glad you’re a predator,” he mumbled gratefully.

She chuckled at his odd comment and shook her head slightly before craning her neck down slightly to kiss him. While reluctantly separating from their embrace and stepping back into the dark tunnel, she reached down to his belt, smoothly slipping his cell phone from its carry pouch. She flipped the facing open with her thumb and noticed it was powered off.

“Dead battery,” he explained irritably.

She nodded. “Explains why we couldn’t reach you,” she observed. “And why Alton was unable to triangulate your location from it.”

“Pretty typical, isn’t it?” he asked with a sigh. In all the excitement over their arrival in London, he had forgotten to place it on the charger.

She handed his dead phone back to him with a smirk and asked, “Ready to get back to civilization?”

He glanced up into her eyes, noticing they weren’t glowing as much as a few moments ago. Realizing that she must have been upset when she found him, he smiled, pleased to have a mate who cared so deeply for him.

“Hell yeah, I’m ready,” he insisted as he grasped her hand and began walking. Then he stopped dead in his tracks, looking up at her with an annoyed expression. “Um, Kat, do you know how to get the hell out of here?”

She chuckled and nodded. “As a matter of fact, I believe I do.”

She led him in the direction he had started to proceed initially, and within minutes they heard another approaching train. Halting their progress, she ushered him into one of the nearest wall niches and pressed his back to the wall. Stepping into the niche facing him, she placed her arms on either side of the concrete columns to hold their two bodies securely in place.

Caleb’s right arm slipped around her waist to pull her closer into the niche with him. He stared up into her eyes, appreciating the closeness of her body, and closed his eyes again as the train’s roar assailed his ears. A swift rush of air flowed over them as the train sped past. Afterwards, he opened his eyes, and both of them stepped from the small alcove to resume their journey up the tunnel.

“Geez, it’s really creepy down here,” he observed warily, only to glance up and see her smirking at him.

After a short time, they encountered a dimly lit passageway just wide enough for two people to walk abreast that detoured from the tunnel at a right angle. Caleb pulled on Katrina’s hand to halt her, gently beckoning her forwards to continue their journey down the tunnel.

“Probably just another dead end,” he offered. “I tried one further down the tunnel that was abandoned.”

“Really?” she chided lightly, instead urging him to follow her with an abrupt tug on his hand.

They went down the narrow, dark corridor at a brisk pace, and he noted that a heavy-duty metal cage loomed ahead. The area appeared somewhat different from either the initial corridor he had exited into or the older one leading to the dead end. Katrina barely paused in her brisk stride as her right leg whipped up to kick the lock mechanism. The metal cage door made a crashing metallic sound as it swung open with a powerful reverberation that nearly took it from its hinges.

My God, she’s powerful
, Caleb noted with awe. He wasn’t often able to appreciate Katrina’s abilities firsthand, but they amazed him on each occasion.

She led him by the hand to a metal door set into a concrete wall. Firmly grasping the metal handle, she effortlessly pulled it open with a single jerk of her arm, causing the door to yield with a loud pinging sound and a metallic groan of its rusty hinges. Caleb found himself being half-pulled up the concrete stairs behind her, and within seconds they were standing in a deserted, well-lit maintenance access corridor. A sigh of relief emitted from him, and she turned to look into his eyes with a satisfied smile.

“Back to civilization, as promised,” she remarked.

He elevated himself on his toes slightly as she bent her head down towards him, and he kissed her lips appreciatively. “Thanks, Kat,” he offered with a firm squeeze of her hand.

She winked at him, paused for a moment to get her bearings, and led them down one of the lengths of hallway back to the main terminal area. She withdrew her cell phone and called Alton as they proceeded on their way down the corridor. Minutes later, they were on the Tube heading towards his location.

* * * *

Alton stood between two vampires dressed in business suits and the Fullers as Katrina and Caleb exited from the train that had pulled up at the station near Alton’s office complex. The stately vampire was dressed in an immaculately tailored dark gray suit. Caleb’s eyes widened slightly as he exited the train car amidst the other passengers and noted Alton’s dour expression. However, Katrina looked like she had just won the lottery, if the broad smile on her face were any indication.

“I’m glad you found him so quickly,” Alton complimented as he glanced at Caleb reprovingly. “And as for you, young man, I’m happy that you weren’t harmed. Please allow me to reassure you that I won’t be underestimated like this again. I intended for your stay in London to be memorable but for the appropriate reasons, naturally.”

He nodded with an appreciative expression. “Thanks Alton.”

“However, if there is a next time, perhaps follow the advice of your escorts,” he suggested.

“I would have,” Caleb countered innocently. “But another vampire was heading my direction.”

“Another vampire?” Alton inquired with narrowed eyes. He glanced to the Fullers, but they each shrugged and shook their heads negatively.

“You didn’t see him?” Caleb asked with a frown.
I’m sure he was a vampire
, he considered. “He was coming down the second escalator, so I turned and ran down an alternate corridor. But then I got lost in the subway tunnels.”

“We’ll examine the substation’s security camera footages,” Alton said. “Our mysterious vampire should turn up on one.”

“You have access to the Tube security systems?” Caleb asked.

“My dear boy,” Alton replied, “we have access to a great number of things, some of which might actually surprise you.”

“Let me guess,” Caleb ventured wryly. “You own the Tube system, don’t you?”

The edges of Alton’s mouth upturned ever so slightly, and he reached out to place a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “Rubbish. Honestly,” he retorted. “You’re an absolute scamp. You know that, don’t you?”

Caleb grinned back at the tall vampire as Lynne Fuller recalled, “Scamp, indeed. One minute he was running towards the escalators in my line of sight. As soon as I was down on the next level, I turned back to spot him again, but he had already disappeared into nowhere. You’re fast, Caleb, almost like a vam--”

The blonde agent refrained from completing her sentence given their public surroundings, but her suggestion was obvious to everyone present, and her eyes fell upon Alton and Katrina in equal turn. Alton’s eyes briefly darted to Katrina’s, both of them exchanging a similar consideration of Lynne’s observation. Alton turned to stare inquisitively at the woman.

“Not entirely as fast, obviously,” Lynne amended. “But remarkably swift.”

Katrina frowned as she considered how quickly Caleb seemed to be able to move for a human. She had noted that when she had first revealed herself to him in the park near her estate, and he had run away at a rapid pace.
Likely, he would be a very fast vampire
, she mused.

“Our apologies, Caleb,” Rob offered. “The matter is quite an embarrassment on our part, and we won’t get caught off-guard again.”

“Exactly,” Alton agreed as he gestured for everyone to follow him from the terminal area. “Next time, we keep Caleb top-side in the light of day. And there will be additional resources available at a moment’s notice, if needed.”

“It sounds strange, but I’m not convinced they were actually looking for us,” Caleb speculated.

“The timing is too convenient,” Alton reflected. “Why else would they have been there, if not to intercept you?”

Katrina frowned as she followed directly behind Caleb and Alton. The two other vampires and the Fullers brought up the rear. Alton led them through a length of the terminal until he reached a non-descript, solid metal door. He punched a series of codes into a numeric keypad, and a metallic clicking emitted from inside the wall. They walked into a well-lit, carpeted hallway with pictures of London night scenes placed intermittently down the length of both walls.

“Please remind me, and I’ll provide you with the codes to these access doors, Katrina,” Alton suggested as they walked down the hall.

“Thank you,” she replied, wondering how many such corridors existed.

Eventually, they entered an open, well-lit lobby area located deep beneath Alton’s office building. The central portion of the room contained a carpeted floor decorated with professional reading chairs and couches, a mix of end tables, coffee tables, and some live potted plants. A few men and women in business attire either milled around the nearby elevators and seating area or were gathered at the small coffee shop set off to one side of the elevators. While the area was obviously in a subterranean portion of the building, it appeared much like a traditional office lobby.

“Yet another professional gathering area for humans and vampires alike,” Alton commented just loud enough for Caleb to hear him clearly. “It also tastefully bridges the office complex with the subway system.”

Katrina scanned the area and complimented suspiciously, “Very impressive, Alton. This is all very elaborate, actually. But to what end, I wonder?”

He smirked with a gleam in his hazel eyes. “Why, Katrina, I would have thought that was readily apparent. I intend for London to be a major hub of interaction for our kind, and all alongside the common commerce of humanity. Certainly London is a multifaceted center: commercial, cultural, and social. How much more so for our own kind?”

She began to understand the implications at hand. Alton appeared to be establishing the complex to act as a sort of base of operations or centralized venue for vampires. However, what were missing from his explanation were the barriers to his success.
Namely, who would have an interest in seeing the venture fail? And more to the point, why?

However, rather than broach the subject with him in such a public setting, she merely nodded and looked at Caleb, who appeared somewhat tired or shell-shocked from his recent adventure. She reached out to grasp her young, sandy-haired mate by the hand and smiled at him. “You look tired,” she observed with a supportive squeeze of his hand.

He offered a half-smile. “A little. But actually, I’m kind of thirsty and maybe a little hungry.”

She rolled her eyes at him, always amazed at how robust his stomach seemed to be despite the accompaniment of stress or hardship.

“But of course,” Alton neatly interjected. “I’m always hungry following a romp in the Tube tunnels,” he teased.

She cast a withering glace at her former mentor, while the Fullers quietly smirked. But Alton’s amused visage quickly turned serious, and he turned to address the Fullers.

“Thank you for your service today. I’d like to go over events with you again tomorrow morning, but I’ll bid you a good evening for now,” he instructed.

They both nodded and turned to Caleb.

“Again, my apologies for today’s finale,” Rob offered as he reached out to shake Caleb’s hand. “I assure you a better showing of our abilities all around, if we’re allowed the opportunity for a further tour of London.”

“I’d like that very much, thanks,” he replied with a grin. “I had a great time, and you’ve both been very kind.”

Lynne extended her hand in kind and offered, “My apologies as well. But it’s been a pleasure, Caleb. I enjoyed our time today, and as Rob said, I’d enjoy showing you around some more.”

“Thank you,” Caleb replied as he shook the former agent’s hand. “I’d love that, in fact.”

Each agent nodded deferentially to Katrina while silently shaking her hand and nodded to Alton before departing towards the nearby elevators. Alton turned to address the two sharply dressed vampires standing nearby.

“Activate the others,” he instructed in a near whisper. “Search the immediate area where they were. I want to know who was down there and why. Most importantly, we need to know where they’re operating out of.”

Both vampires silently nodded and departed in the direction of a nondescript door with keypad panel inset in the wall located off to the left side of the nearby coffee shop. Alton turned back to Caleb and Katrina with an apologetic expression.

“I hope to have some answers by tomorrow,” he offered. “Are you sure you’re okay, Caleb?”

Caleb looked up at Katrina with a thankful expression and replied, “I am now, thanks.”

“Good. I’m happy to hear it,” Alton offered and looked at Katrina. “I’ll call you in the morning, okay?”

She nodded, and he turned to depart.

“Alton?” Caleb called after him, to which the dark-haired vampire turned to look at him curiously. “Rob and Lynne were wonderful today,” he said. “Don’t be angry with them. I felt really safe and welcome around them, and I’m the one who ran in the wrong direction.”

Alton nodded and walked towards the nearby elevator. Katrina wrapped her arm around Caleb’s shoulders and led him towards the underground corridor across the room that connected to their hotel. He slipped his arm around her waist as they walked.

“Any chance we might stay in tonight?” he asked after a quiet moment.

She smiled, turned to kiss him on the lips, and replied, “I think I can arrange that.”

However, as they walked, her thoughts returned to the events in the tunnels. She wondered who had attacked Caleb and the Fullers and why.
And Caleb mentioned a second vampire
.
Who could that have been?

* * * *

Chapter 8: Forgotten Realms

Caleb slept in late the next morning. When he woke, his thoughts were immediately of the previous afternoon’s exploits in the Tube substation, rather than the pleasant daylong sightseeing excursion with the Fullers. Entire spans of enjoyable, peaceful activities could be negated so easily by a single, brief, negative experience involving a vampire.
Let’s face it
,
potentially lethal events tend to focus one’s thoughts.

Katrina appeared by his bedside moments after he woke, and she bent down to kiss him. While her expression was tender, it seemed to him that there was tension simmering just beneath the surface of her outward demeanor. She regarded him with a curious expression as he stretched his body, as if pondering how to say something. He suspected that it had to do with yesterday’s Tube episode.

“Good morning,” she offered pleasantly, though it seemed a little forced.

“Just waking up to you is a good morning,” he offered with a grin.

She shook her head at him while running her fingertips across his forehead, tickling his skin. “I’ve been thinking about today’s agenda,” she began with a tentative, tight-lipped expression.

I bet she would prefer that I stay close today
, he anticipated. He understood that concern and didn’t want to cause her further undue stress by challenging her on the matter. Instead, he offered her an easy out over the topic. “Yeah, about that,” he interjected quickly. “Would you mind if we stuck around the hotel for the most part? With all the power-touring the past day or so, I’d kind of like to just relax a little bit, if that’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” she asked in surprise.

“Sure,” he reassured her, feigning a hesitant look. “I mean, unless you have other plans or something. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you or anything.”

She smirked, and he suspected that he’d just hit the nail on the head.

“No, that’s fine, actually,” she responded readily. “We’ll just rest and maybe go out together later tonight. Sound okay?”

He nodded agreeably. “Yeah, great. I was thinking about getting brunch in the hotel restaurant. Care to join me?”

“Definitely,” she concurred. “I wouldn’t mind a hot cup of tea, actually.”

As he shaved and dressed, he was inwardly satisfied with himself for deftly negotiating what could easily have become an argument.
I’m getting better at sensing her mood, I think
, he congratulated himself with a grin.

In the hotel dining room, she watched him eat as they passed the time discussing London sites they still wanted to visit. As he finished eating, she sat back in the chair with her arms crossed before her and gazed at him with an appraising expression.

“What?” he asked somewhat self-consciously.

“So, now that you’re giving me a pass on the whole ’stay around the hotel today’ suggestion, what can we do to occupy your time?” she asked plainly.

His eyebrows rose slightly at her unexpected candor. It was apparent that he hadn’t been fooling her at all.
How does she do that?

“I do appreciate it, of course. And don’t feel bad, my love,” she offered with a smug expression. “I’ve come to know you rather well. That, and I have over five hundred years of human observation under my belt.”

“Oh,” he managed with a dazed expression.

Her cell phone rang, and she smoothly extracted the device before he could blink an eye. He glanced around them to see if anyone else noticed her speedy reaction, but there were few patrons lingering about the dining room.

“Sure, Alton,” she replied while watching him with amusement. “No, as luck may have it, we don’t have any specific plans for today.”

Caleb rolled his eyes and glanced at their server, who had walked up to the table to check on them. Katrina smiled politely and subtly tapped the edge of her tea cup with her fingertip, to which the lady inclined her head in acknowledgement of the silent request. Caleb merely smiled, shook his head, and offered, “Nothing more for me, thanks.”

Their server departed to retrieve more tea for Katrina.

“That’s fine. Until later this afternoon,” Katrina replied and smoothly closed her cell phone as Caleb’s eyebrows rose in silent query. “Well, part of our schedule is set,” she said. “Alton would like to meet with us this afternoon regarding your encounter yesterday.”

Just great
, he thought with a sigh,
more intrigue
.
Such a pleasant diversion while on vacation
. She observed him curiously, but he merely glowered where he sat.

In the end, they lounged around the hotel suite for nearly half the day. She read a mystery novel, while he unsuccessfully tried to contact Paige via email, cell phone, and text messaging.

“Hey, what’s with Paige lately?” he called from the dining room where he was using his laptop while looking out upon the city.

Katrina paused from her reading to consider his question. S
he has been uncustomarily out of touch lately
. Her only communiqué had been a phone call to Katrina saying that she hadn’t been implicated in Gil’s fatal “accident.”

“She’s not in trouble, after all, I hope,” he said with a hint of worry in his voice.

“Gil’s death was ruled an accident, Caleb. I’m sure she’s fine,” she tried to reassure him.
Paige is a resourceful alpha vampire, after all. Likely she’s just preoccupied.

“Too bad she lives in California,” he muttered, clicking at pages on the Internet. “It’d be better if she lived closer.”

Katrina stopped reading. “How much closer?”

He stopped clicking, but didn’t look over at her. “Like, Atlanta, maybe?”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” she quipped and returned to reading.
Not enough clubs and social diversions in the whole of Georgia for Paige Turner.

“So, you wouldn’t mind her moving to the Atlanta then?” he asked with upraised eyebrows. He knew that Kat and Paige were close friends, but wasn’t sure how his mate liked the idea of her close proximity on a permanent basis.

She stopped reading again and stared at him, noting his tense body language.
He’s not sure what I’d think about the idea, I bet.
She immediately came to a decision, shrugged, and returned to her novel. “I’m okay with that,” she conceded. “It would be more convenient.”

He grinned, and then his phone beeped. He read the text message and noted irritably, “Finally, a reply from Paige. She says she’s wrapped up in a project and can’t ’chit-chat’ right now. She hopes we’re having a good time. Geez, glad I didn’t really need anything.”

Katrina frowned, but didn’t press the matter with him.
Paige’s strange behavior is something else I need to get to the bottom of, it seems
. She glanced at her watch.

“Time to meet with Alton, my love,” she offered with an almost relieved tone. She didn’t want him spending time dwelling on the situation with Paige. It wasn’t as if anyone could do anything about it for the time being.

Half an hour later, they sat in Alton’s office before his expansive oak desk. As he recapped information acquired by his staff’s investigations, Caleb absently reflected on just how big the vampire’s desk was.

“You know, I’ve seen smaller aircraft carriers,” Caleb teased. “I mean, just how much paperwork do you actually spread out on a daily basis?”

Alton cast a bland look at him as Katrina stifled a chuckle.

“So, did the Tube’s security cameras catch a glimpse of the blond vampire I saw coming down the escalator?” Caleb quickly asked to change the subject.

Alton paused as he considered his question. “Actually, no. Unfortunately, the cameras in that particular substation mysteriously went offline just a few minutes before your encounter. They began operating again soon after the injured vampire departed.”

Katrina stared at her former mentor in a penetrating manner.

“Sound familiar?” she asked pointedly. She and Aton had used an electronic jamming gadget that he had acquired from British Intelligence when they were hunting the vampire, Chimalma, last December. Perhaps a similar device had been used to suspend the security system’s operation.

He anticipated where her thoughts were leading and replied, “Yes, I already considered it. There must be a number of those jamming devices running around the country by now. Technology rarely stays a secret for long these days.”

A silent moment passed before anyone said anything.

“You know, I’ve been thinking. It seems unlikely that we were intended as a target yesterday,” Caleb ventured. “It didn’t feel like an overt attack. It was more like we interrupted something.”

The two vampires exchanged curious glances, and then studied him closely.

“Interesting theory,” Alton finally replied. “A meeting of some kind?”

“Maybe,” Caleb agreed. “Anyway, the idea occurred to me after you ordered your vampire agents to go looking around the terminal and nearby tunnels. What if the location is somehow meaningful?”

Katrina listened to her mate’s statement with interest and interjected, “Your theory has merit, actually.”

He smiled up at her with an appreciative expression. She returned the smile and reached over to trail her fingernails down the back of his neck. It caused the desired effect of sending a tickling sensation down his neck and into his shoulders, and he shivered slightly.

“Well, my staff haven’t turned up anything yet,” Alton said. “And frankly, I’m not sure what I expect them to find.” His eyes darted to Katrina’s. “Perhaps if we go over some of the information I collected over recent months regarding vampire operations in the area, it might reveal something that we’ve overlooked.”

She nodded with an introspective expression. “Perhaps.”

While the development was somewhat intriguing given their experience the previous day, Caleb didn’t want his and Katrina’s vacation to get detracted by something that might very well have just been a coincidence. He felt fidgety and wanted to stretch his legs a little.
Maybe this is a good time to take a break
, he pondered.

“Um, I’m thinking about going down to the little coffee shop in the lobby for a snack,” he explained as he rose from his seat. “Anybody want anything?”

Alton looked up and shook his head negatively, while Katrina winked at him and smiled. “Thanks. Nothing for me, my love.”

He nodded and hastily exited the office. He walked down the hallway, made his way to the elevator, and pressed the call button. A glance up at the LCD display indicated that a car was on its way up. He glanced around the small alcove in the corner, and his eyes caught on a nondescript leather couch sitting there, which looked familiar for some reason.

The elevator doors opened, revealing a pale figure in a dark business suit. Caleb recognized him as the blond vampire he had seen on the escalator in the Tube station the day before. The vampire immediately recognized him with a wide-eyed expression, and his hand darted out to grasp Caleb’s upper bicep in a vice-like grip. Caleb started to shout, but the vampire’s other hand shot to his mouth, and he quickly found himself twisted into an arm bar. Caleb’s eyes glanced into the hallway to try to get someone’s attention. However, the corridor was empty, and he was forcefully propelled towards the nearby stairwell.

He struggled and knew that in order for the door to open the vampire had to release either the arm bar or the coverage of his mouth. The vampire chose the latter, but banged Caleb’s head into the metal door jamb, briefly stunning him. Then the vampire forced him into the stairwell. A moment later, Caleb felt himself being half-carried, half-propelled down the stairs. At the foot of the first tier, he managed to kick his leg in front of the vampire, causing him to trip slightly.

“Help!” Caleb barked, but was slammed into the nearby wall, where the breath was knocked out of him.

The stairwell door opened at the top of the stairs, and Marla Kendrick’s face peered through the opening. “Did someone cry out?” she asked tentatively. But her eyes immediately focused on Caleb, and she entered the stairwell.

“Davison! What the hell --” she demanded, only to have her words cut short by the impact of the vampire’s zooming upstairs into her. He yanked her down the stairwell, throwing her head-first downstairs.

Her head impacted the floor tier with a dull pounding sound, and her body slammed against the stairs. She lay still, her eyes closed. Davison sped to her side and bent down to squeeze the woman’s throat. Caleb managed to gather his faculties enough to grab a fire axe from the wall next to a fire hose box. He hefted the axe in his hands and swung with all the strength he could muster. As Davison turned from Kendrick, the blade caught him in the upper left chest with a meaty thud. Initially, the impact propelled the vampire backwards, but he fell forwards onto the floor as his mouth opened to emit a raspy hiss. Davison’s body fell next to where Caleb stood and slumped motionlessly with his right hand grasping the axe hilt just below the blade.

Caleb immediately rushed to Marla’s side and felt her neck for a pulse. A swift intake of breath surprised him, and her eyes suddenly shot open. They glowed with a washed-out green color, and her hand darted up to grab his wrist so quickly that he didn’t have time to react.

“Friend!” he yelped before she tried to attack him.

She released his hand, muttering, “It’s okay. I know.”

He started to say something more, but her eyes suddenly went wide. Her arm managed to throw him aside before the whooshing sound of an axe blade went past him to clank against the stairs where his body had been a mere second prior. A small shower of cement erupted from the stairs, and Caleb glanced back over his shoulder to see a profusely bleeding Davison with a contorted expression of rage on his face. His violet eyes blazed as he quickly swung the axe over his head for another strike.

Caleb barely registered multiple simultaneous events. As he viewed the axe blade’s being raised with a horrified expression, he heard the stairwell access door erupt open, smashing into the wall with a metallic crash. A feral-sounding scream assailed his ears, forcing his hands to the side of his head, while Davison’s face shone in momentary surprise as his eyes flickered up.