Texas Hold 'Em (3 page)

I took out one of the assault rifles, an AK-47, along with a few magazines. Bullets wouldn’t kill vampires, but enough of them would slow one down. I also grabbed a crossbow, a dozen wooden bolts tipped with steel broadheads, and two polished wooden stakes. Those were more useful. A wooden shaft through the heart would paralyze a vampire, putting it in a coma so that it could be finished off by beheading or burning. Or, if you wanted to be thorough, both.

If Christian had friends with him, the likelihood of my getting to use this much firepower was slim. I pushed the thought aside and distracted myself by disassembling the crossbow and rifle and putting them in my backpack, along with the stakes. Robert’s KA-BAR Special Forces knife and my trusty Kimber .45-caliber handgun went under my jacket.

Antsy, I peeked out of the blinds, watching for my ride. Bryan was still asleep, which was no surprise. He was a late riser when he didn’t have to be up for work, and considering he still wasn’t used to the two- hour time difference, it was a good bet he would sleep through to lunch.

By the time I heard the squeaky brakes of the cab I was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, reconsidering my decision to go it alone. I might actually have a chance of surviving if I brought along Lacey and Megan. Maybe. But maybe I would just get two more people killed. And when I thought about all the trouble I had already caused, and how everything tended to go south for the people around me…I shouldered my backpack.

Before I left, I pulled out as much cash as I could spare from my last job’s payment and left it on the counter next to the fern and the abandoned bottle of wine. I grabbed my phone and walked out the door, closing it quietly behind me.

I told the driver to take me to the hospital where Toni was recuperating from the wounds she suffered during that last job. More collateral damage from the disaster that had been my life over the last few weeks. On the way, I had the driver stop by a grocery store so I could pick up some flowers and a couple of motorcycle magazines. I figured if I threw enough gifts at her, Toni might be distracted enough to not ask any awkward questions.

Toni was watching a morning TV show when I knocked on the doorframe of her hospital room. She had the small suite to herself. It was nicer than my apartment back home in Austin, though that wasn’t saying much.

Toni was a pretty Asian-American girl, and also the alpha female of one of the two werewolf packs in the Bay Area.

“Aw, you got up this early to see little old me?” She stretched her long, lean body and smiled at me as she said it.

“How could I keep away?” I handed her the flowers and set down the magazines on the bedside table.

“A better question is: why would you want to?” She took the flowers and sniffed them. “So what’s up?”

“Not much. My brother’s decided to stick around for a while, so we helped him get set up in an apartment.”

“We?” Her tone developed a dangerous edge.

Oops. “Um, yeah…me and him.”

“Uh huh.” She wasn’t buying it, but she let it drop for the time being. “So by saying that he’s sticking around, are you implying that you’re leaving? Is this your idea of a goodbye?”

The subtle growl in her voice let me know this conversation wasn’t going well. It was time for some damage control. I decided to divert the topic of conversation to us.

“I’m not leaving yet. Hey, the new place isn’t half bad. You should come and check it out once you’re feeling better.”

“Doc says I should be out of here tomorrow or the next day.” She saw my surprised look and explained, “I’m a fast healer.”

“I’ll say.” I had seen her fly off her motorcycle at fifty miles an hour, sail through the window of an SUV, and then duke it out in the back seat with a couple of heavily armed thugs. She should be dead.

“It sounds like a party is in order to celebrate your speedy recovery. Maybe you and your friends can come over. The apartment complex has a pool with a couple of grills. We can all hang out, and I can cook something up.”

“I think I’d rather do my celebrating on a more intimate level. Just you and me. But I’ll tell you what,” she said. “If you’re that anxious to cook, you can fix me breakfast when we’re done.”

It was impossible to argue with her, so I didn’t even try. Heck, looking at her, I didn’t even want to. “Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

“Not if you know what’s good for you.” She smiled, then grabbed a magazine and casually began to flip through it before asking, “So what
are
your plans, Chance? Long-term?”

The question was as loaded as they come. We hadn’t known each other long, but I got the feeling Toni handled attachment slightly differently from most people. I said, in as neutral a voice as I could, “I thought I would go back to school and finish up my degree. I’m registered for the fall semester, and it starts next week.” You know, after I single-handedly kill a very old vampire and all of his flunkies.

She stopped flipping. “So you are leaving.”

“I’ll be back. Definitely for Christmas break, and I’m sure I won’t be able to resist a visit or two before then.”

“You better. That is, assuming your car can make the trip.” My car, a decade-or-two-old Miata, served as a source of constant amusement to, well, everyone.

“Hey, now that you mention it, since all the trouble has died down... I was wondering if I could grab my car out of your garage. I have to run a couple of errands today, pick up the last few things for the apartment. I could use it.”

“Use it to what? My bike has more storage,” said Toni.

“I guess you’re right. I could always borrow something bigger, but I hate to keep asking the vampires for favors. I don’t want to get in their debt or anything. Though Donovan has lent me cars in the past….” I let the last part trail off, knowing it would do the trick. It bothered Toni to no end that I hung out with what she ironically considered to be monsters.

“Sure, grab your car, and feel free to use my truck if you need to actually carry anything.” She pulled a set of keys out of her purse and handed them to me. “Notice how I gave you permission so you didn’t have to go ahead and steal it?”

“Now when have I ever stolen anything from you?” She laughed and I smiled. I had borrowed her bike a couple of times—using the term “borrowed” loosely. I think the couple of cases of grand theft cycle were actually what ended up attracting Toni to me. As an alpha, she responded in strange ways to overt displays of dominance.

I gave her a hug, not able to stop it from turning into a kiss that lingered until a nurse came in and made disapproving sounds.

“I’ll see you around, Toni.”

“Oh, you can count on it. We’re going to do some celebrating, remember? Tomorrow night. I’ll be there at six.”

“I thought the doc said you might be in another day.”

“Don’t you worry about the doctor. Just focus on ensuring that brother of yours is out of the apartment. Three’s a crowd.”

“Will do! Take care of yourself.” I got out of there as quickly as I could. I wouldn’t be back in California by tomorrow night—or probably ever. Which was a good thing: if the vampires didn’t kill me, then the unholy tantrum Toni was going to throw for standing her up would.

I retrieved my car from her garage, then stopped at a diner for breakfast. Even if I did need to get out of town, I functioned better when I wasn’t hungry, and the rush hour traffic would be a bear for the next hour or so anyway.

After finishing a rare uninterrupted meal, I stopped by a post office to overnight Toni’s keys back to her at the hospital. Then I filled up the tank of my battered old Miata and headed east to Texas.

I was on the road again, only this time I was heading toward my troubles. It was a long drive from the Bay Area to Central Texas, about twenty-six hours if you drove it straight through, which I had no intention of doing. I was sub-optimal when not well fed and rested, and I had a feeling I would need to be at my best to have any chance of surviving the next couple of days.

I checked the call history on my phone before tossing it out the window along Highway 5, somewhere in California’s Central Valley. I didn’t want to run the risk of Christian being able to use its GPS to track me. Megan had called several times, as had my manager at Game Shack. In a cowardly move of epic proportions, I had turned my ringer off when I received Megan’s first call. After that, I let each one fall straight through to voice mail.

I replaced my jettisoned smart phone with a cheap pre-paid one at a gas station convenience store an hour later. I entered the few worthwhile numbers I knew into speed dial. I would make sure to use only cash for all purchases from here on out, another precaution in case Christian could somehow track my credit or debit cards. Thanks to my last job, I was stocked up on paper currency, even after what I left for my brother. Still, I couldn’t afford to squander it on things like clean sheets and healthy food. There was no telling how many days I had to make it last. That night, I shared a room with a colony of roaches at a thirty-dollar-a -night highway special in Eastern Arizona.

The roaches and I parted ways not too long after daybreak and I continued the drive eastward, stopping only for gas and the occasional drive-through for a bite to eat. Because of all the hardware I was carrying, I never strayed too far above the speed limit. I was carrying more illegal weapons than a rebel army.

At lunch, I called Toni on my new phone. The trip had given me ample time to think, and when my thoughts strayed to scenarios involving the werewolf’s vengeance for standing her up, I decided the best course of action was to cancel ahead of time.

I let out my breath when it went through to voicemail. I gave her the excuse I’d been working on for the last fifteen minutes of my trek through the desert: an emergency had come up with my mom, and I had to rush to Texas to take care of it. Bonus points for it being the truth.

I thought about calling Megan. She was going to be as ticked off as Toni. But in the end, I decided against it. For some reason I knew Megan would be harder to talk to, and I was worried she might actually be able to convince me to tell her where I was. At least by ignoring her I knew she’d be safe, and I’d be fighting my own battles this time around.

It was a few hours after dark by the time I pulled off the highway, twenty miles outside of San Antonio. Toni had already called me back several times. I let them all go directly to voice mail. I promised myself I’d call her in the morning after I’d had a good night’s sleep and felt better able to deal with her. Maybe I’d call Megan, too; after the long drive, I was finding that I missed her.

The freeway exit consisted of a hotel, some gas stations, and a couple of fast-food places in the middle of nowhere. I always wondered where the people who worked those places lived. There weren’t any houses around for miles.

I parked in front of the dusty hotel, blowing my nose on a wadded-up napkin I had found on the Miata’s floorboard. I had been in Texas less than a day, but the heat and allergies had wasted no time reintroducing themselves.

The lobby was overly air-conditioned, and I went from hot to freezing in an instant. I tugged on the front of my sweat-saturated, burnt-orange t-shirt, peeling the white Longhorn symbol away from my chest as I waited for the desk clerk to run through the registration process.

After I finished checking in, I grabbed the stuff out of my car and tossed it onto the orange floral-print bedspread, splashed some water on my face, and headed for the cluster of gas stations and fast-food restaurants across the way. Even though the sun had gone down hours ago, the hot asphalt radiated through the soles of my Vans as I walked across the parking lot to the first burger joint in my path.

I went for broke and ordered a triple-bacon cheeseburger, large fries, and a ginormous drink. While I waited for my order, I sat down at a booth and called one of Robert’s contacts.

Robert had been my mentor in the vampire-slaying business. He was the guy that the vampire Christian had been after in the first place. The one that had put together the team that was killed a few weeks ago at the ranch.

Robert had introduced me to his friend Jacob a few months back, when we were down in San Antonio looking into a feral vampire that was feasting on an impoverished area of the city. Outside of our crew, Jacob was the only friend of Robert’s that I knew, which meant he was now the only
living
friend of Robert’s that I knew.

I remembered Jacob’s number because he had made such a big deal about Robert giving it to me. When he found out Robert had given out his number, Jacob had been so mad at him for “violating his trust” that he refused to speak to him for weeks. The guy was paranoid. We’re talking about a tinfoil-hat level of paranoia.

He had a right to be like that. He was one of Robert’s old team; they’d started hunting vampires and other monsters together way back in the seventies. Jacob knew more about the supernatural than was safe for any human. His specialty was information: he monitored everything from police band scanners to tabloids, always on the lookout for conspiracies and monsters. Most of what he found was garbage, but Robert insisted his information was reliable, so Jacob must have had a knack for sifting through the bullshit and wackos.

The first time I met Jacob, Robert had sprung me on him. It was supposed to be a meeting between the two of them to talk about the vampire that was gorging its way through the underbelly of San Antonio, but Robert decided I should come along and meet him.

It was shortly after my girlfriend died, and I was in a funk. I had withdrawn a little and Robert was trying to drag me back out. Jacob was permanently withdrawn, so Robert thought it would be good for both of us to talk to actual people.

I remember the look of terror and betrayal on Jacob’s face when he saw me. He was like a trapped rabbit. It didn’t matter that I had done nothing threatening, or that we were in a public place filled with people—I was an unknown, and Jacob didn’t like unknowns.

It took Robert an hour of apologizing before Jacob calmed down enough to talk to us, and even then, he was guarded. The man had serious reservations about coming into contact with a living person he didn’t know. In fact, I think he had serious reservations about coming into contact with people he did know.