Texas Hold 'Em (12 page)

Lacey shrugged and then dribbled the contents over my open wound. Her face scrunched up as she began to concentrate. Words I didn’t understand flowed from her lips, and the blood began to dance.

Even Jacob was transfixed, reluctantly taking his eyes off Megan to watch Lacey as she worked her magic. His expression was torn between revulsion and awe as my blood ran in unnatural directions.

I must have passed out, because I don’t remember anything else before Lacey’s voice pushed through the cobwebs.

“Am I good or what?”

“I don’t know. Let’s you and me head behind those shelves and find out,” said Bryan.

My hands were encompassed in a cool grasp that gave a squeeze when I opened my eyes. Megan sat next to me on one of the office chairs, holding my right hand in both of hers. Lacey stood over us, smugly surveying her work.

I looked down at my leg. It was still a mess, but the wound had knitted itself closed, covered by an ugly scab. It was still horrific, and there was a still a slight indentation where the meat was simply gone, but it was nowhere as deep as before. I’d had no idea Lacey could re-grow muscle. The pain had also become more generalized, to the point where I could no longer tell what hurt. It had transformed into a throbbing ache that permeated my every pore.

Jacob looked ill. He caught my eyes. “Chance, it was
unnatural
. Chance, she used
a por
—”

Lacey cleared her throat loudly, covering up what Jacob was going to say.

I looked at Lacey for an explanation, but she purposefully avoided my eyes, saying, “Now all we have to do is feed the vamp. Looks like you’re up, Bryan.”

“What, me? Oh, hell, no.”

“Look, your brother has lost too much blood already; he can’t do it. And
he
certainly isn’t going to volunteer.” She pointed a thumb to where a green-tinged Jacob stood, still holding the gun down by his side like a lethal security blanket. “So that leaves you.”

“What about you?” asked Bryan.

“I saved your brother; my good deed for the day is done.”

“Why didn’t you bring any blood with you?” I asked. It seemed like a reasonable question, but then again, I was pretty woozy and tired.

“We were kind of in a hurry. Besides, have you tried taking blood bags through airport security lately? It’s frowned upon.” Lacey seemed to glow as she talked to me. My savior. A soft cool light radiated around her. I frowned. It wasn’t possible. She was one of the last people I would have called angelic.

The expression on my face obviously concerned her, because she looked down at herself, trying to figure out what was wrong. Bryan was the one who noticed the light coming in through the window behind her.

“Shit, sun’s almost up.”

“Jacob, do you have a place without any windows?” I knew the answer before I asked the question. A guy like Jacob was bound to have some sort of panic room. The question was, would he let us use it?

“Why?” The answer came to him right after he asked the question. “Oh no. No, no, no. No. I can’t be housing no vampire! You’re fixed. Y’all need to get out of here right now.”

“We can’t, Jacob, it’s almost daylight. It’s only for one day. Come nightfall, we’ll be gone.”

“Chance, I
sleep
here. Man, this is my home. It’s bad enough having one of those things visit, but to have it stay? In my house?”

We both turned at the sound of a squeaking door. Lacey had opened the small refrigerator and was helping herself to a bottle of Mexican Coke, the kind with real sugar, and a slice of leftover pizza. Jacob opened his mouth to say something, then promptly shut it, deciding not to piss off the otherworldly terror plundering his fridge.

Lacey took a bite and frowned. “This is awful.”

“We don’t do good pizza in Texas. But our Tex-Mex and barbeque rock. Speaking of food, Bryan, can you please feed Megan?” It felt strange asking him to do that, not only because it made it sound like Megan was a dog, but I felt a weird sense of jealousy asking someone else to take care of her for me.

“And, Jacob, if you could put us up for the day, I would owe you one. I promise we’ll leave as soon as it’s dark.”

“One? You owe me more than one, boy. Bringing people back to my home— wait, no, not people—
monsters
back to my home, then borrowing my car, then—” He stopped abruptly.

“It’s fine, you can call us monsters. Chance does it all the time, and it hasn’t stopped him from sleeping with one,” said Lacey, her voice trailing off as she stared at Bryan, who had begun shuffling up to Megan with his neck crooked.

Megan scowled, but I noted that she didn’t correct Lacey about us sleeping together. I wondered if Megan had told her we hadn’t, or if it was some kind of chick game going on.

“Your car is fine,” I said, guessing the real reason for Jacob’s sudden stop in verbiage.

“It had better be fine! I am the original owner of one mint-condition 1971 Cadillac, and that purple minivan sitting out in front—”

“Burgundy,” Lacey corrected.

“Burgundy minivan,” Jacob continued, his voice rising, “out in front of my store is certainly no 1971 mint-condition Cadillac. If that car is not somewhere being detailed, vampires will be the least of your problems.”

“Your car’s okay,” I insisted.

“Where is it?”

“At Fred’s.”

Jacob’s eyebrows drew together. “Didn’t you say the vampires burned down his house?”

“Yeah, but I mean, your car was at least twenty yards away.”

Jacob’s spluttering was interrupted by my brother. “Hey, if it was big and gold, I saw someone leaving the theater with it when we got there. Some dude tore out after it in an Explorer.” Bryan stopped in front of Megan, his neck bent. “Well, what are you waiting for? Mack down.”

Megan finally noticed my brother. She looked even more uncomfortable than when Lacey had offered her a handful of my blood earlier. “I’m not sure I can do this.”

Lacey was exasperated. “It’s not like you haven’t done it with an audience before. Or is it this
particular
audience? We can all turn around if you like, though you’ve never been bashful before….” I made a mental note to follow up with Lacey about that comment.

“It’s not that; I’m worried the stupid might be contagious.” Megan was doing a stellar impression of a five-year-old being accosted by a plate full of Brussels sprouts.

“Hey! That’s cold!” said Bryan.

Megan turned to Jacob. “Do you think I could borrow a glass?”

Jacob was a little shocked at being directly addressed by the vampire, but he managed to open a desk drawer and used two fingers and a fully extended arm to hand Megan a “vacuum cleaner repairmen do it with suction” mug.

Megan read the cup with upturned brows, then cast a wary eye into it, using a finger to remove something objectionable from its interior. She flicked the offender away and walked up to Bryan. Ignoring his tilted head, she took hold of his wrist and, with a quick slice, cut it with her nail.

“You mean we’re not going to neck?” he asked. ”It’s okay; I understand, babe. Most women can’t contain themselves around me. Best not to start something you aren’t prepared to finish.”

“Oh, please, Megan, start it,” said Lacey.

Megan declined to comment, concentrating instead on the task at hand. Bryan watched his blood drain into the cup for a moment before deciding to find something else to occupy his field of vision. He settled on a device lying on the table next to him.

“What’s this?” He grabbed the plastic L-shaped object off the desk and held it up for everyone to see. It was the thermometer that Jacob had accosted me with back at the Alamo.

“A vamp detector. Jacob uses it in the field to screen for vampires,” I said, trying unsuccessfully not to watch what Megan was doing.

“With a thermometer?” asked Lacey between bites. The pizza’s sub-par quality did little to save it from total annihilation.

Jacob looked affronted at being questioned about his methods twice in one night.

“What of it?”

Lacey included me in her patented frown, like somehow I condoned Jacob’s craziness. “So how does that work? I mean: you walk up to a vamp, pull out the thermometer, and then you hope that they’re either so stunned by shock or crippled by laughter that you actually get a chance to slide it across their forehead. Then what? If it’s not a vampire, you have just committed one heck of a serious social faux pas. And if it is? Bingo! Positive reading! It’s the walking dead, standing right there in front of you! Then what do you do?”

“Dude, at least it’s a forehead thermometer.”

It was hard to argue with my brother’s point.

Jacob clamped his mouth shut and continued watching what Megan was doing, maintaining a dignified silence as if to imply that he most definitely had a plan if someone ever tested positive, but that it was either too obvious—or too cunning—for him to share.

Lacey continued, this time with her mouth full. “I mean, if it was made of wood, you could sharpen one end and stake them with it.”

Bryan swiped the thermometer across Megan’s forehead while she was too focused on the liquid draining into the cup to realize what was happening.

“It’s not working.” He studied the display, oblivious to the venomous stare his action garnered from the angry vampire holding his bleeding wrist.

“You have to press the button first. You’ll hear a beep,” said Jacob, “Though you might not want to try it again.”

“Why not?” There was an audible beep as Bryan pressed the button.

“Because it’s pissing off the vampire that’s currently draining you, and she might decide not to stop,” supplied Lacey, who, having finished off the slice of pizza, was back in the fridge rummaging for seconds.

“Damn. Chance, tell your woman to lighten up. I was only taking her temperature. See if I ever share some of the Bry with you again!” Despite his tough words, I noted Bryan had tossed the thermometer back onto the table.

“Jacob, how about that room?” I asked. The light emanating from the windows was getting brighter with each passing moment.

Jacob gave a furtive look at Megan, who had visibly calmed once the threat of the thermometer abated and her cup was full of “Bry.” She was now showing obvious restraint in sipping from the mug.

“Well, I can’t see how this day could get much worse. Come on—when you’re finished there, follow me,” said Jacob.

“Can we trust him?” Lacey asked.

The question caused Jacob to spin on her, face dripping incredulity. He began to sputter something incomprehensible. There were more words, but “
me
, murder
you
?” was all I got out of it.

“What?” Lacey asked innocently. “How do we know you’re not going to kill us all in our sleep? You’re a hunter, after all. A heck of a good one.”

Jacob sputtered a bit more before indignantly turning and walking off into the maze. He was struggling with the whole ordeal. I knew he didn’t interact with many people. Only those he trusted, and he didn’t trust easily. I was pretty sure the trust he had placed in me had all but evaporated.

Megan and Lacey started after him. Bryan waited with me. I shouldn’t have moved with my injuries, but I felt the whole process would go better with me there. My first attempt at standing was a failure. My leg was better, but I couldn’t make it on my own. So, with my brother’s support, we limped along after everyone.

After a couple of wrong turns, Bryan and I finally found them in another corner of the loft. This section had been turned into the main living area. There was a small studio-style kitchen on one wall, a bed and a couple of dressers against another, and a worn La-Z-Boy chair facing a large flat-screen TV in the center of it all.

“Sweet TV—you have an Xbox?” Bryan asked. He left me propped up against the kitchen counter, sat down on the La-Z-Boy, and grabbed one of several remotes off the table.

Jacob scowled at him, then tugged aside a corner of the small carpet that lay in front of the sink. A keyhole and a handle were set into the wood. He pulled out a key ring, inserted a brass key, and turned it. Then he tugged on the ring. The three-inch-thick solid wood door rose out of the floor without a sound. The rug was still affixed to its back, so that if someone closed the door—say, from below—it would fall back into place, hiding the entrance.

Lacey, Megan, and I stood around the hole and peered down. A ladder descended into a chamber located on the first floor.

“Safe room is down there. No windows. There’s a door that leads outside. It’s alarmed; don’t open it. Don’t touch anything,” said Jacob.

“Thank you.” Megan addressed him directly. Jacob looked at her a moment, nodded, and then looked away, emotions battling across his face.

I reached out, placing my hand on his shoulder. “Really. Thanks, Jacob.” I paused. “Look, there’s something I have to tell you. Paul is dead. When I was at Fred’s house, I heard the vampires say that you and I were the last ones they had on their hit list.”

Jacob nodded. “I know. I called him as soon as you left. When I didn’t get an answer, I went snooping around the internet. Seems he was killed in a mugging in Houston last week. Throat was cut. They never found who did it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You and me both. Let’s all get some rest; we can talk about what’s next afterwards.” He turned and shuffled off to the fridge, Lacey moving to intercept him.

Megan was eyeing the heavy door and ladder with a certain amount of trepidation. I knew what she was thinking. It could double as a prison. Could we trust Jacob?

If I were her, I’d be worried as well. Trapped in a cell in some hunter’s house, the odds were good that she’d end up with a stake in her chest. Not that Jacob would try anything, but she didn’t know him.

“After you.” I held out my hand, letting her know I was going to be right behind her.

She smiled. “You just want me down there first, so I can break your fall when that leg gives out on the stairs.”

“Touché.”

“Damn, bro, you actually came up with a way to get on top of a woman I hadn’t thought of.” Bryan finally found the right remote combinations to get the TV working and turned on a cartoon.