Baited Blood (24 page)

THIRTY

M
adison danced from foot to foot as she waited for Julianne in the cool morning dampness. Sunrise wasn’t for another fifteen minutes. Overhead, the sky was the color of a porpoise, shiny and sleek with just enough shimmer to show the running path. There was a light drizzle coming down. Officially, the trail didn’t open until seven o’clock, but those who liked to get out earlier paid no attention to that.

There had been no sign of other runners yet. Madison hadn’t wanted to make the run quite so early, but the more time she gave Colin and his crew before sunrise, the stronger they would be. It was a delicate balance—early enough to assure they were at their peak versus late enough so that at least some of the vampires at the castle were already asleep and therefore vulnerable to attack in their deathlike suspension. The extra thirty minutes could mean the difference between success and failure.

They had calculated that it would take Julianne about twenty minutes to reach the trail from the castle. Colin and the others would already be near the castle, waiting for Julianne to leave, buying them another chunk of time to carry out their mission. By Madison’s estimation, they should already be in the house and taking care of business. Although she wasn’t looking forward to seeing Julianne Jaz, Madison knew the sight of her meant that so far the plan was working. Julianne not showing up could mean big trouble back at the castle.

When Dodie and Doug had stopped by their house to pick up clothes for them all, Dodie had had the insight to pack Madison’s running shoes and some leggings, so it was easy to piece together a running outfit. Madison had topped it off with the tee shirt she slept in and a gray hoodie she’d borrowed from Hyun. It was a bit too large for her but was keeping her warm in the dampness. Her hands were stuck in the pockets, her left hand on her cell phone. If anything went wrong, she was to immediately call Samuel’s house. Colin had asked Byron and Ricky to stay behind to keep an eye on Ann Hayes. Even gagged and tied, he didn’t want to leave the manipulative Ann alone in the company of Libby, Enid, and Foster.

Madison’s right hand fingered the spray vial of bloodroot. That and her bracelet were her only protection. She felt naked and exposed, and out of her mind with worry for those attacking the castle.

They didn’t know if Julianne had any indication that she’d been exposed or if she thought anything out of the ordinary about Libby leaving, except for the reason she’d given—that she was frightened and disgusted by the recent violence being visited upon the consorts. They also didn’t know if Heather had heeded Libby’s advice and gotten herself and the other consorts out. Colin was operating under the assumption that there were mortals still in the castle.

Julianne’s SUV drove up and found parking in the small lot opposite from where Madison stood. Julianne got out of the driver’s side. From the passenger side emerged the young man she’d seen with her on Friday morning. Two against one—now Madison wished she’d had Notchey with her.

“New wheels,” Julianne observed, noting the plain white rental car. Madison’s car was still at the Dedhams’.

“Just a rental. My car’s having a diva moment. I’m thinking it’s time to buy another.”

Madison then noticed a second man getting out of the back seat of the SUV. He was tall and slender, with high-cut cheekbones and longish dark blond hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. Now it was three against one; not good odds at all. She fingered the bloodroot in her pocket, wondering how many she could hit before things got really nasty.

“I thought it was going to be just us girls,” Madison said in a joking manner.

Julianne glanced over at the men. “It was, then Adam said we ladies
shouldn’t be running alone in the dark, so he came to protect us.” At the name Adam, Madison forced a smile at the dark- haired man she’d seen on Friday. He was the vampire who’d tortured Libby.

“The other one’s Coby,” Libby said by way of sloppy introduction. “He’s crashing with Adam for a few days.” Julianne leaned in close and whispered, “Who knows, you two might hit it off. When I told him you were cute, he slapped on his sneakers.”

Coby—the other guy who had attacked Libby. Madison shuddered and pretended it was a chill. If Julianne had any idea what was happening at her rented mansion while she bantered with Madison, she gave no indication.

“I’m getting cold,” said Madison to the three of them as she jogged in place. “Shall we get going?”

They started up the trail, Madison jogging alongside Julianne. Behind them were the two men. Madison wished they were up ahead, where she could keep an eye on them. “If you guys want to push it,” she said over her shoulder, “don’t let us hold you up.”

Julianne looked back at them. “She’s right. You wouldn’t want to listen to our gabfest anyway.”

The two men picked up their speed and passed them. They didn’t take off but put some distance between themselves and the women while still remaining in sight.

“How did your business trip go?” asked Julianne.

“Boring and exhausting. Glad to be home.”

“What is it you do?”

Madison looked over at Julianne. Her ponytail had been threaded through the back of her baseball cap and bounced playfully with every step she took. Madison’s hair was pulled back, too, but lay like a damp, thick rope coiled in the hood of the sweatshirt.

“I’m an executive assistant for a nonprofit foundation. How about you?”

“Not sure.”

Madison shot her a look. “You don’t know what you do for work?”

“Guess you could call me a headhunter of sorts.”

Had she not been terrified, Madison would have found the comment funny. “You find jobs for people?”

“More like I find prospects and mentor them.” Julianne jogged a few more steps before elaborating. “I look for losers and give them a second chance at life.”

“So you train them for new jobs?”

“Basically.”

“Your job must be very rewarding.”

Julianne cackled with laughter. “You have no idea.”

Madison’s earlier amusement turned to disgust, but she fought not to show it.

They were jogging uphill now, almost to the top, lobbing along silently at a nice pace. Madison’s mind wandered to the castle. Had Colin and his band managed to get into the place and overtake Julianne’s ragtag army of newly turned vampires, or was there still a heated battle going on? If the run went as planned, Julianne and Madison would part as new pals, and Julianne would return to the castle to face defeat and capture.

Up ahead, the men disappeared around a bend. Madison went on alert, giving the situation her full attention.

“Tell me, Madison,” asked Julianne, without looking over. “How do you enjoy working for Samuel La Croix?”

Inside her chest, Madison’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand that.”

“Oh, come now. Don’t play games.” Julianne stopped on the trail. “I know damn well who you are. But it’s about time
you
knew who
I
was.” She roared, her fangs snapping out and filling her mouth.

Madison pretended shock. “You’re a vam—a vampire?”

Julianne sneered. “More game playing? Not to mention bad acting.”

Madison wasn’t sure what to do. She looked up ahead and didn’t see the others, and assumed they were waiting in ambush. She started walking backwards down the hill, keeping one eye on Julianne, the other on the trail.

“Let’s see,” Julianne said, following her but keeping her distance. “You live with vampires. Work with vampires. No doubt even fuck vampires. Not sure why you’re so surprised I turned out to be one.”

“What do you want with me?”

“You, my dear, are my ticket to Samuel La Croix. I’m going to destroy your boss, and you’re going to help. I’ve already tweaked his nose. All those dead vampires left carelessly around? I did that. Samuel’s dead whore?” Julianne cocked a thumb at herself. “My handiwork.” She took another small step toward Madison. “But you’ll bring home the prize.”

“Like hell I will!”

Madison turned and lit down the hill as fast as she could, praying Julianne and her friends did not have the gift of speed.

“After her,” yelled Julianne.

Without looking back, Madison knew the vampires were on her heels even without extra speed. She dug deep, looking for a burst of extra energy. Samuel had been right, she should have gotten at least a little sleep. She looked up at the sky. The sun was coming up. Between the rising sun and it being their bedtime, the vampires should also be exhausted. And unless the rain didn’t keep them away, other people might be on the trail down below.

Madison thought about Hyun running for his life for a living and found more speed. She was about one third of the way down the trail when her sneaker hit a patch of loose gravel. She stumbled but didn’t lose her balance. After a few awkward steps, she found her groove again. A hundred yards more, she stumbled again. This time she fought to remain upright. Someone crashed into her from behind. The force sent her sprawling into the brush alongside the trail. Her face and arms stung from scratches. She started to get to her knees when someone grabbed her from behind by her hair and pulled her up. It was Coby.

Once on her feet, Coby dragged her up the trail several yards to where Adam and Julianne waited with self-satisfied grins.

“Now listen up and listen good,” Julianne warned, getting in Madison’s face. “You will go back down the trail with us, and you will behave. You try to warn anyone we meet along the way, I’ll kill you as entertainment for anyone willing to watch.”

“You can’t hurt me.” Madison concentrated on keeping the fear in her voice to a minimum. She held up the arm with the bracelet.

“So,” laughed Julianne. “I see you’re not as stupid as Samuel’s bimbo.” She gave Madison a wide, ugly smile and licked her fangs. “I saw that on you before and brought backup just in case you had a habit of wearing it.”

Coby jerked Madison’s hair. She let out a short cry of pain. They laughed.

“Coby isn’t a vampire—at least not yet.” Julianne blew him a sloppy kiss. “So I’m afraid he can do whatever he wants with you and no one can stop him … or will.”

To prove the point, Coby took out a small knife and nicked Madison on the neck, just below the ear Colin had nipped. Keeping a tight hold on her, Coby bent down and ran his tongue over the blood that trickled out of the incision. It made her shiver, but not in the same way as Colin’s actions had.

“Tasty,” he told the others.

Adam showed his fangs and eyed the slow-dripping blood with barely contained lust.

“In time,” Julianne told Adam, patting him on the back.

Coby put his mouth on Madison’s neck and gave the wound several loud, noisy sucks. She wanted to vomit.

“Come now, Coby,” Julianne warned. “It’s not nice to tease us like that.” She looked up at the sky, alight now with the promise of the day to come. “We have to get back and get her secured before we turn in. Tonight, we’ll bring down La Croix, and she’ll be our victory feast.”

“But the bracelet?” reminded Adam.

Putting her hands on her hips, Julianne looked at him and sighed. “It’s a good thing you’re good in the sack, Adam, because you sure aren’t very bright.” She glanced over at Madison. “Coby will kill her and drain the blood for us,” she spelled out to the dull-witted vampire.

As Adam’s light went on, he snarled at Madison in anticipation.

The four of them started down the trail, walking at an even pace. Still maintaining a tight grip on her hair, Coby walked along Madison’s left side. The two of them led the way, with the two vampires several yards behind them. Madison put one foot in front of the other like a robot, her hands in her pockets. To anyone passing them coming up the hill, they looked like two couples returning from a leisurely morning walk. Because of the danger, Madison now hoped other people wouldn’t be on the trail. She didn’t want to chance Julianne deciding to have a snack on the way back to the car. It didn’t seem to be on her agenda, but Madison was learning that Julianne was unpredictable and her hatred for Samuel might only fuel her instability.

With her fingers playing with the spray bottle of bloodroot, Madison tried to devise a plan. She didn’t have long, ten minutes at the most, until they reached the parking area. The bloodroot wouldn’t take out Coby, but a spray of the red liquid to his face might loosen his grip on her and render him temporarily off-balance. The vampires could chase her all they wanted, but until Coby was back in action, they couldn’t do anything to her. Madison saw it as her only chance.

With her hand still in her pocket, Madison tested the sprayer by depressing it a little. It was stiff, but went down. She tried again. This time it lowered easily and her fingers grew wet with the sticky liquid. The juice was probably staining the pocket of the hoodie but with the vampires behind her, she doubted they could see it. With the tip of her index finger, she felt for the direction of the spray opening and positioned her grip so that it went in the right direction when pulled it out of her pocket.

“Let her go,” an unseen voice called from the side of the trail.