Vampire Lane (12 page)

“I know. Let’s go mess with Natasha.”

Chapter 24

Mindy felt her heart beating faster and faster. She ran as fast as her feet would carry her. She had been tied up for days and tormented by an actual vampire. He bit her, repeatedly drinking her blood, and he repeatedly threatened to rape her, but never did. He was a vampire, a fucking vampire. She stopped to rest a moment. He never visited during the day, always at night. As soon as he left the last time, she managed to escape, and now she could only run, hoping to find her way through the swamp. If she couldn’t find her way back to some kind of civilization, she wasn’t sure what would happen. She ran into a dead end, nothing but more swamp and who knew what in the water.

She spotted an old row boat, with a small motor tied to an old dock. It sat next to rickety old boat house. She got inside and tried to start the motor. It was harder than she thought, but she tried again and it had barely turned over. She could tell she needed to put more muscle into it. She took a deep breath and pulled really hard. The motor finally turned on, and she pushed off the dock and took off into the swamp. She had no idea where she was headed, but she was just happy to finally go somewhere far away from that house.

Finally, what seemed like hours later, she could see a house in the middle of the water. She pulled up to it and was met by some very unfriendly gators. They had yellow, beady eyes and snapped at her. She was just about to take off when a man came out of the little shack house. He threw the gators some food, rotten chicken by the smell of it.

Mindy watched, scared and not sure if she should try to leave in the boat or stay with the beautiful stranger.

He held his hand out, and she shyly took it. He was so strong. He pulled her right into his arms and carried her into the small house. She looked into his eyes, so beautiful; a hazel color with golden flexes. She thought he was definitely the kind of man women dreamt about, but never got to have, and here she was being carried by him.

“I am Blake,” he finally said.

She felt faint. She felt like the women on a romance novel cover, with the handsome half naked man. She closed her eyes and felt herself give in to the darkness of sleep.

***

Despite the murder, Natasha still had to work the next night. She rushed over to her next table in the vampire section. The murder seemed to have brought in even more customers. Tanek was even helping out since they were still short staffed. As soon as she walked into the vampire section, she was surprised to see Nora having drinks with other vampires.

“Oh my word, is that you, Natasha?” Nora yelped in that all too familiar southern accent.

“Yes it is. I work here. What can I get you ladies to drink?”

“We would like a bottle of your best champagne with some shots of blood, please.”

“What blood type?”

“Oh, how about AB Positive; it’s always been my fav.”

The other women, who were mostly silent, nodded their heads in agreement. “Anything else?”

“Do you have a vampire VIP section? We may want some fresh company,” Nora asked.

“Yes. Let me go get a table ready. I will have someone come back and escort you.”

All three vampires smiled with full fangs. It creeped Natasha out how brazen they were, even if it was the vampire section.

Natasha saw Tanek running around and stopped him. “Hey, I need a VIP table for some vamps and a blood donor.”

“Any open table room is fine, and get whatever human you think they will like. There is a $1000 charge to hold the table. You will wait on them for the rest of the night. Good job, Natasha. Keep up the excellent work.”

Natasha could not help but smile at the praise. She never got those kinds of compliments, and she really liked it. Natasha ran off to where the blood donors hung out. She spotted a hunky young guy she knew would be perfect. His name tag said Jacek. “Hey Jacek! I have a job for you.”

Jacek smiled and ran over to Natasha. “Is this for yourself or another customer?”

“I have a VIP group that would like company.” His smile got bigger, and he followed her back to the table where Nora and her group still sat.

“Hey ladies, this is Jacek, and he will be accompanying you at your table. If you would follow me.”

Nora and the other two vampires followed Natasha to a private, curtained off room with wall to wall seating, in black leather. They sat, and Jacek followed them. He was a good looking man, and dressed very professional in a suit and tie. He had a clean cut, boy next door look with an edge of bad boy. She always wondered what would lead a human to be a donor. Was it the money, or something else?

Natasha left the room and made her way through the packed crowd. She pushed her way through until she came to the bar and placed her drink order.

“Crazy tonight? I can barely breathe with so many people in here,” Maureen commented.

“I gotta go get my other tables. I’ll be back for the order in a few.”

***

Maureen had a tray full of drinks for a bachelor party. She was helping out on the floor as it was a crazy night. She turned around and backed right up against a man. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Maureen apologized.

“You, my dear, have nothing to apologize for. This place is packed, but you can run into me anytime.”

Maureen laughed. It was a bad attempt at flirting, but she always tried to be kind to the customers. She couldn’t help but notice the man was handsome. He wasn’t human, either. She looked into his hazel eyes, and with all the time she spent around vampires, she knew a bad one when she saw it, and this guy was very bad news.

“Well, I have to get these to the table, so I gotta go.”

Maureen rushed away. She knew he watched her; she could feel his eyes watching her. She delivered the drinks then went back. For some unknown reason, she was scared of the man she ran into.

***

Shane watched Maureen from the back of the bar. He was captivated in all the wrong ways. He liked her, and she would be his that night. He stepped outside and found a good spot, not far but hidden, and he waited.

Several hours later, he finally saw her again. He followed her, always nearby but never to be seen.

Maureen turned around. “Is there someone there?!” she yelled into the darkness.

Shane watched her walk further until she walked over to her car and fiddled with her keys before she opened the door. Shane watched her start the car and sit inside, checking her phone. He could grab her now and have his fun. But he decided he would wait. It wasn’t the right time, but soon it would be.

Chapter 25

Mindy awoke with a major headache, and she didn’t quite remember what happened. She looked around at the small shack of a house then she rushed to a nearby window and saw nothing but water. A man came through the door, and she was so scared and was confused. Looking around, she grabbed some kind of figurine to use as a weapon.

Blake stood there with a bowl of soup, his green hair slightly messy. ”Are you going to use that? I surrender. I won’t hurt you.”

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“You came to me, I live here, my name is Blake. I carried you inside and you passed out. I made you soup; it’s chicken noodle.”

Mindy put down the little figurine. She didn’t think it would be much help against him, anyway. “Sorry, I’m just a little foggy. I don't really remember what happened.”

“Come into the living room and sit. We can talk about what you can remember.”

Mindy nodded and followed Blake. There was only one couch in the living room and no TV. Who in their right mind didn’t have a TV? She sat down, and Blake put the bowl of soup on the coffee table in front of her.

“Eat, you must be hungry.”

“I am, actually. I can’t remember when I ate last.”

“So what do you remember?” Blake asked.

“I went to a bar, I was alone, I met someone. He took me to go for a walk, but instead we went in his car. He took me to an abandoned house. He started biting me over and over again. He said he loved my virginal blood, and he kept saying I wouldn’t die a virgin. I was so scared. I eventually escaped and found a boat.”

Mindy was crying—her face red, puffy, and covered in tears.

“You are brave and lucky to have escaped. When you are finished, I have clothes you can change into.”

Mindy nodded and tried to eat some more, but she was still a nervous wreck, and she had completely lost her appetite. Blake had disappeared back into the bedroom and came back with a black sun dress with purple flowers adorned over the entire garment. Mindy wondered where he got women’s clothes from. Maybe he had a girlfriend or wife.

Mindy snatched the dress and changed quickly in the bathroom, and she came out after a quick face wash.

“I want to go and report this crime.”

Blake looked at her, his face stern, and he nodded. “We have to go tell someone. You’re right.”

Mindy followed Blake back into the boat, but this time the gators didn’t bother them. The ride seemed to drag on forever before they parked the boat near a dock. Blake tied the boat up and she followed him nearby where a car was parked.

“You have a car?”

“What do you think of me? Some kind of backwater hick?”

Mindy realized that was exactly what she thought, but she knew he was a good guy. He had only tried to help her since she found him in that god forsaken swamp.

***

Godfryd opened the door to the old abandoned house. He looked around and could smell the strong scent of blood. He walked over to the chair Shane said the woman would be, but there was no one; just an empty bloodstained chair. If he had killed her before he had his turn, Godfryd would kill him himself. This was unacceptable.

Godfryd had no phone to call Shane, as neither one of them believed in those contraptions. He would find Shane and find out what happened. He hoped he did kill the woman, as an escaped victim would get them both killed.

The door slammed and Godfryd looked to find Shane standing there. “What did you do with her?” Shane asked.

Godfryd approached Shane, and then, without warning, slammed him against the wall, choking him. “You are a stupid stupid, man. I came to find my meal was gone. Why did you leave her unattended?”

“I’m sorry, sire. I just went to find another woman. She was tied up; I tied her myself.”

“You underestimated her, and now she is gone. She is probably reporting you as we speak,” Godfryd spat out in disgust. When he asked Shane to join him after so many years, he thought he would make a good companion. He found very quickly he was incompetent and a fool. This is why he needed Natasha. She had always been obedient, and never once had she let a meal get away alive.

“Go find her and bring her back so we can finish her together as planned. I won’t accept failure.”

“Yes, sire. I am sorry. I won’t fail again.

Natasha looked up at a knock at her door. Maureen was standing there. Natasha waved her inside.

Chapter 26

The hour was late for a vampire as the sun was beginning to turn the sky orange. Natasha waited for Tanek to get back to her house, but he still hadn’t shown up. Natasha

“What’s up?” Natasha asked.

“Well, I wanted to know what is going to happen now that you and Tanek are going to get married? Do I have to move out?”

Natasha hadn’t really thought about that, and she liked Maureen so she saw no reason to have her move out. She still needed help around the house, and she still could not cook. “I think, as long as you’re happy and I’m happy, there is no reason to change things … well, except the sleeping in the same bed thing. You have to sleep in your own room from now on.”

Maureen smiled and hugged Natasha. “Thank you. I can’t imagine having to leave. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

Natasha thought about that. She figured Maureen had some really crappy friends in the past. “Hey, I have an idea. Let’s do something tomorrow, just the two of us, anything you want.

“Really?” Maureen excitedly asked.

“Yes really.”

“Even a midnight ghost tour through town, the ones the tourists take? I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“Sure, I can set it up. It will be fun.”

***

Blake walked inside the New Orleans VC (Vampire Council) office with Mindy. He knew he could not take her to the police, so this was the next best thing. The office was in an ordinary office in a plain brown building. It was so ordinary you would never know what you were looking at. The receptionist greeted them as soon as they were inside. She was clearly a vampire with pale skin and curly red hair that seemed so vibrant against her complexion.

“Welcome to the VC office. How can I help you today?”

“We need to report a rogue vampire,” Blake said, like it was no big deal.

Mindy cringed. She hated talking about it, and just the mention of the word vampire gave her the chills.

“I’m going to send you right back to see the head officer, Krispin Cortina. Don't be scared, sweetie, not all vampires are bad.”