Scarlet Assassin (2 page)

“I’m busy.”

“Okay, Wednesday same time.”

Selene could tell by the tone in AJ’s voice that the kidding was over and it was no longer a request.

“Look, I might work for you but you don’t own me. Is that clear?”

The man in front of Selene turned as her voice grew louder. This time she flashed a set of fangs and let out a low rumble. Selene smelled urine and felt a tad sorry for the old guy.

“You’re not my master, AJ.”

“I’m not asking for me, I’m asking for Clarissa.”

“Fine, tell Clare I’ll be there on Wednesday.”
Might was well get it over with
.

“Clare?”

“Yeah?”

“Since when do you call my wife, Clare?”

“Since she told me to, why? I’m sure you have lots of other things you call her that she likes better. Like, Sweetheart, Honey, Sweetie Pie, Sugar Lips, shit like that.”

“Well yeah, but she’s never told me to call her Clare.”

Selene could feel the fingers of jealousy reaching through the phone and thread around her neck.
Calm down AJ Shit, she’s your wife for Christ’s sake.

“Don’t tell me to calm down.”

Selene shook her head, she forgot AJ’s telepathic abilities were greater than hers and she would have to sensor her thoughts around AJ.

“If you’re jealous of Clarissa and my history, I guess I won’t come over. Either that, or you’ll have to deal with it. Besides, I have plenty to keep me busy at the club and hunting down leads on De Marcus.”

“No, no it’s fine.”

Selene heard AJ strumming her fingers, a sign she was frustrated.

“I’m just…I’m just worried about Clarissa, that’s all. Until we get De Marcus, I’ll always be worried.”

“We can talk about this tomorrow. Like I said, I’m right in the middle of something.” Selene slammed the phone shut.

The lights and darks of the black and white film flicked across Selene’s pale complexion as she immersed herself back into the movie

“Fine, tomorrow then.”

Her target sat two rows in front of her. He’d been giving the wrong someone trouble and Selene was the solution to the problem. She could smell his fancy perfume, the gel he wore in his hair and the B negative coursing through his veins. Selene noticed the old man in front of her had decided to leave. Lucky for him, otherwise she would have had to shorten his time on this earth, too. Slipping up one row, she settled herself and watched the movie again. Things had picked up for her recently and she wasn’t quite sure why, but she never passed up a job. More money got her closer to her goal of chucking it all and finishing her mountain retreat. It was so far off the beaten path, she relished her time alone there. The solitude, the clean air, the quiet made her nostalgic for another time, another place. Letting the memories slip away was probably best. She didn’t need another walk down memory lane during a job. She needed her wits and speed, both of which were affected when she let the melancholy creep in.

Sliding over the seat directly behind the man, she caught a full whiff of him. Vampire! That’s why she’d been called. The bastard wasn’t just anyone; he also wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
Great! Why do these clients lie?
He’d probably heard her twenty minutes ago when she growled at the man, who wet himself.
Beautiful
.

Pulling her garrote, she unwound the thin piano wire, grabbed the handles, and sat quietly for a moment. She studied the size of his neck, his position in the seat and noticed his ears perk, just a bit. She’d have to be quick. Without a second of hesitation, she wrapped the long wire around his neck and pulled. He’d managed to get a couple of fingers between his neck and the wire, but it wouldn’t matter. Putting her knee against the seat, Selene leaned back and yanked. She felt the digits stop her progress for a moment and then the resistance was gone. She’d cut right through them. Now she needed to be quick to finish the job. Pulling harder, she leaned back more and pushed both knees against the seat. A growl escaped the man’s lips and she knew he was trying to shift into his vampire form.

“No doing, big guy,” she said, switching handles from hand-to-hand and scissoring the garrote. So focused, a snap, a squish and the ping of the garrote as the wire straightened were the only sounds. She took a deep breath, taking in the aroma of fresh blood sprayed on her starched white shirt. Selene groaned as the heady smell engulfed and enflamed her. With a quick flick of her tongue, she wiped the garrote clean and wound it up, slipping the deadly instrument back into her pocket. She settled back and focused on the movie, her job done.

Chapter Two

“She’s coming.”

“Oh good. I’ve missed her. We haven’t seen much of Selene since she left with De Marcus. Do you think she’s avoiding us?” Clarissa stirred a pot, the steaming aroma filling the room.

AJ walked up to her wife, grabbing her hips and rubbing herself against Clarissa’s tight ass. She would never miss an opportunity to touch Clarissa now that they were finally together. Clarissa stiffened and leaned against her chest.

“Is that all you think about?” Clarissa laid her head back on AJ’s shoulder, giving her just enough room to snip at Clarissa’s neck.

“Not all the time.”

“Hmm?”

“Okay, most of the time. But can you blame me? I have a lot of catching up to do.”

“How lucky for you the semester is almost over and you can have me all to yourself.”

“Yes.” AJ licked the throbbing vein, ready to burst. The pulse pulled AJ’s incisors, an audible pop as they dropped ready for action. “I am lucky. I can’t wait to keep you in bed all night and day. I think about making wild passionate love to you, feeding your heart and your soul.” Pulling Clarissa closer, she grazed her points down Clarissa’s neck, barely pricking the skin. Flicking her tongue across the slight bead of blood, her heart thumped so hard in her chest she knew Clarissa could hear it.

Hungry, my love?

Starving.
AJ’s thoughts were overpowering. She closed her eyes and concentrated on controlling her appetite.

What am I going to do with you?

Make love to me.

AJ’s empathic abilities intensified as her connection to Clarissa got stronger. They felt each other, even when great distances apart. AJ knew Clarissa was working to bring them closer. She’d had a lot to overcome, thinking at first that AJ had been the one to kill her family, only to discover that De Marcus had in fact done it to keep Clarissa closer to him. De Marcus was evil personified even a hundred years ago. He’d taken advantage of his relationship with Clarissa’s father and wormed his way into the family. Finally, he turned Clarissa when she was at her sickest, and AJ wondered how harsh her life with De Marcus had been. She’d gotten bits and pieces when they were quiet after their love making, but she’d had to be strategic with the questions. Clarissa had withdrawn when AJ inquired the first time, a sign she wasn’t ready to talk about the past. While they had an eternity to explore the world and their pasts, AJ wanted De Marcus dead now so Clarissa could live.

“What are you thinking about?” Clarissa turned in AJ’s arms and cradled her face.

AJ’s eyes softened. Looking down at Clarissa’s mouth she let her tongue slide across her lips, wetting them, and then answered. “You.”

“Why?”

“Why? What a funny question, my love.” AJ scooped Clarissa up and carried her to the couch, plopping down with Clarissa firmly ensconced on her lap. Pressing her nose into Clarissa’s hair, she took a deep breath and enjoyed the warm scent enveloping her. Feeling a lover’s energy, savoring their essence and being in tune with them gave AJ a feeling of contentment, and she wasn’t about to rush her time with Clarissa. AJ constantly lived with the fear of losing Clarissa niggling in the back of her mind. She would never be settled until De Marcus was dead. Everything else she could handle.

“Maybe—”

AJ put her finger on Clarissa’s lips. “I think about you all the time. I watch you sleep and wonder how I find myself lying next to the one person in this world I never thought I would see again. I marvel at the way you’ve adapted to this world we find ourselves living in now. I know so many of our kind who’ve slid into degradation, depravity and self-loathing. They medicate themselves, they recreate themselves by turning the most depraved of human kind into vampires, and they’ve traded what was left of their humanity for hatred of everything breathing. We’re faced with a problem that the coven wants to neither address nor take credit for. They’ve allowed masters to feed wantonly, turning whomever they want and killing those that fight back.” AJ pulled Clarissa tighter. “We must be diligent in our lives. We can’t become like those who have little regard for life. I’ve finally found you and I refuse to walk back on the dark side, never again. I won’t let us devolve, I won’t.” AJ buried her nose in to Clarissa’s hair and memorized her scent.

“It’s a scary place to be right now, isn’t it?” Clarissa burrowed further into AJ’s protective embrace.

“Don’t be scared. I worry enough for the both of us. You…” AJ turned Clarissa to meet her gaze. “You need to think about finals, grades, and the approaching summer. I think a vacation is in order, don’t you?”

“Where did you have in mind?” Clarissa let out an audible sigh. Relinquishing control was never her strong suit, but AJ knew that Clarissa would if asked. All AJ had to do was ask. She didn’t want Clarissa to lose the independence she had worked so hard to develop, but she wanted to protect her with every fiber of her being. So, AJ walked the tightrope of protector, but not too protective. She would be whatever Clarissa wanted - lover, champion, or she would step back just enough to give Clarissa the space she needed to feel independent of AJ and her new world. A plant didn’t grow if you pulled it up constantly, checking to see if its roots were growing. AJ wanted Clarissa to flower, to grow where she was planted.

“Tuscany?”

“Paris?”

“Really?” AJ was surprised by the suggestion.

“I haven’t been back since my family was…” Clarissa swallowed hard and buried her head against AJ.

“It’s okay,” AJ said, pulling Clarissa tighter.

AJ gently stroked Clarissa’s back. She wished she could take Clarissa’s pain and carry it for her. AJ’s life had never and would never be as harsh as what Clarissa had endured.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” AJ kissed the side of her head and rolled Clarissa on to the couch, their bodies tightly wound together. “You’re my world now. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. Please never make me find out if I can live without you.”

****

AJ’s moment of weakness pulled at Clarissa’s heart. It wasn’t often that her strong, proud lover confessed her fears. She didn’t think she could live life without AJ in it but
she
wasn’t as vocal. She knew she still kept her feelings close to her vest, but De Marcus had taught her not to show weakness, ever. A beating stayed with a person longer than a stroke of kindness, and Clarissa had to endure a lifetime’s worth of torture at De Marcus’ hand. She worked every day to push herself closer to AJ, to open herself to AJ’s loving touch, sometimes only to find herself craving the needed caress.

“Careful, you might crush me under the weight of all this mushiness.” Clarissa tried to make light of the moment.

“Hmm, am I too heavy?” AJ rolled to her side and snuggled closer on the couch.

“No, I was only kidding. I like the feel of you close to me,” Clarissa said, pushing a strand of hair out of AJ’s eyes. Her fingertips glided over the planes of AJ’s face, her thumb rubbing against her bottom lip. AJ snapped at it, pulling her thumb between her teeth and licking the tip. The sensation sent a jolt through Clarissa before she could pull it back. Trapped, AJ continued to suckle on the tip, eliciting what Clarissa was sure was the desired response. Closing her eyes, she drifted with her lover.

Chapter Three

The coven was a mess. Instead of creating a path Selene could follow, their outdated mindset and ways created roadblocks that she would either have to break down or work around.  Selene knew AJ would say bulldoze down the roadblocks and to hell with the coven. Getting De Marcus was the only objective, period.

Flipping through the yellow legal pad she kept on her desk, she studied a few notes and scratched off her last kill. Selene picked up her cell phone and fingered a few numbers.

“He’s dead,” she said. “You should be getting a package…” Selene pulled the pocket watch from her vest and continued, “Any time now. Transfer the rest of the money, now.”

The wise cracking voice on the other end made her want to strangle the bastard, but until he paid, she’d wait. Selene narrowed her eyes as if the person on the other end of the line could see her. After that last snide comment, she’d made up her mind. He was a dead man.

“Later.”

The antique watch still lay open in her palm. She ran her finger over the inscription for the thousandth time. She’d had the text re-inscribed several times after wearing it down through years of rubbing. Her mother’s words of love to her father knifed through her heart each time she read them. It was the only thing she had of her father and she treasured it more with each passing decade. Opening the other side, she gazed down at the painted face of her mother. She was beautiful and Selene never touched the portrait, fearful her touch would destroy the image and she would be lost to Selene forever. She was in the process of having a large painting made of the image, so she could see her mother every day without worry. Gently closing the watch, she slipped it into the safety of her vest pocket and picked up the phone to call the coven.

After scribbling some notes on the pad, she checked off her client’s name and moved to her next item on the to-do list. Gaylord was going to be an exercise in patience. Selene wondered if she could handle talking to the pompous ass.