Vampire Thirst (2 page)

Ouch.

“They haven’t found anything yet. Tardieh…that is,
Hikuro
says the lead may be a dead end,” Z replied through clenched teeth.

“Are they coming to London?” Sam asked.
Please say no, please say no.
 

“No.”

Yes!
Sam turned her focus back to the onion on the chopping board. Her brain was saying
thank you, Apa Dobrý!
but her heart was singing a completely different tune. If it were up to Sam, they would never work with the vampires again. Despite the fact that they did close the case in New York and saved their king a lot of trouble, Hikuro had called Sam a double-faced liar and had stalked her like a hawk, watching her every move. Sam got so fed up that she almost fried his pompous ninja ass. He had gotten the shits because Yara and Sam had to trick him in order to get a message to Tardieh. Well, Yara was supposed to seduce one of the vampires and then give him a special sedative. But things didn’t go exactly according to plan. Before Yara could make her move, Hikuro found Sam and stunned her with an amazing kiss. So Sam was the one who carried out the mission. Which meant untangling herself from his toe-curling kiss and electrocuting him into oblivion. OK, maybe he had a point, but it wasn’t her fault that
he
had come on to
her
! Or that his king was such a hermit and made it so hard for anyone to have an audience with him!

Since then, their loathing for each other had become as palpable as a hooker’s arse. She hated Hikuro’s pompous ass and he hated her guts. Period.

Sam sighed. It was better this way – the vampires in Malaga, them in London. Countries apart; it was safer for everyone.

Zoricah slammed the laptop shut, bringing Sam back from her brooding. She watched her friend cross the room and stop by the tall bay window. Z clearly didn’t like the way Tardieh was giving her the cold shoulder.

Sam put the chopping knife down and went to her. The evening was dark, with low clouds hanging over Camden Town. Despite the constant drizzle, the street was filled with weird-looking people on their way to the clubs. “Do you want to go to him?”

Zoricah’s gaze met Sam’s for a split second. Her eyes were glazed in an effort to hide her tears.
Damn you, Tardieh
, Sam cursed silently. Zoricah was the toughest woman on earth. She had survived trips to Hiad and back – literally – just to be crushed by a heartless S.O.B.

“No,” Zoricah finally replied. Her voice was huskier than usual. “My fall-out with Tardieh will have to wait. We need to stay here and find Yerik’s partners.”

A clicking sound just outside the apartment made them both stop. Sam looked at Z, then at Yara. They all went into full alert. Someone was outside their door, but they weren’t expecting any visitors.

Just like a well-rehearsed ballet, the three of them moved as one. Sam ran behind the kitchen counter and called her energies forth. Zoricah turned the lights off, pulled her combat knife out and positioned herself by the front door. Yara ducked behind the sofa, her Beretta M9 firmly in her hands.

Time seemed to slow down. Sam’s heart pounded in her chest. The clock in the kitchen ticked once, announcing that a second had passed. Tick. Tick. The door knob turned. Tick. Dim light seeped through as the door opened slowly.

Sam called her energies at full throttle. Time to fry the sucker before he or she attacked them first. She grew an energy ball between her hands, then jumped out and threw it straight at the trespasser. It was much bigger than necessary, draining her quite a bit. The bright white thunder travelled through the air and hit…a car across the road.

Damn it!

The intruder had been too fast and ducked out of the way. Her blast of pure energy made a hole in the small red Hyundai, which toppled over with the impact.

"What the fuck?" A male voice protested from the burnt hallway.

Zoricah hit the lights back on.

Hikuro pushed up off the ground and paused by the door
–
imperial, imposing, mesmerizing.

Oh, crap.

“Hikuro?” Zoricah cried out. “What are you doing in London?”

“Tardieh sent me,” Hikuro replied through clenched teeth. “We found the lab in Malaga.”

“Oh, so he sent
you
to give us the news.” Zoricah’s disappointment was as clear as spring water.

“Yes.”

Awkward silence descended in the room. Hikuro had been more than transparent about his disapproval of Tardieh’s love affair with Z. Of course, he was a gazillion-year-old vampire from a Japanese noble family. He probably believed women were supposed to cook, clean and breed, that’s it. Pompous ass.

“So it wasn’t a dead end then,” Yara said, breaking the ice.

Zoricah motioned for Hikuro to come in. “Please tell us what happened.”

His strides were confident and somber, as if he were the king himself. He wore a light blue t-shirt, black pants and combat boots. The black leather suit jacket fit perfectly over his broad shoulders. His pitch-black hair was a bit damp but not plastered onto his face like hers was. It made his strong features even more striking. He wasn’t a bulky warrior, but well defined and taut, and his abs…oh, merciful Soartas. It should be illegal to have such amazing abs. Sam’s eyes drifted upward to his square chin, his thick lips, his long nose, his dark eyes.

Hikuro’s dark gaze met hers.

Oh, crap.

The room suddenly became too small. She needed air, space, anything to stop the burning in her cheeks. She walked back to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Cool air hit her face.
Yeeees
. She exhaled a long breath, trying hard to ignore her stupid heart hammering against her ribs. No problem, she pondered, she’d just stay inside the refrigerator until he left.

No biggy.

“Apologies for the sudden visit,” she heard Hikuro say. “Tardieh gave me his keys.”

Damn it, she couldn’t resist it. She straightened up and peeked from the top of the fridge door. Yara had sat down on the couch. Hikuro stood in the middle of the living room, both hands raised, offering the keys to Zoricah.

Zoricah waved him off, then sat on the couch beside Yara. “Please take a seat. Did you say the lab is in Malaga?”

Hikuro bowed low – he actually bowed! – then sat on the sofa by the fireplace. “It’s on the outskirts of the city.”

“I don’t get it,” Yara said. “Why Malaga? It’s not a massive city – it has what? Just over half a million people?”

“But it’s a very popular tourist destination in Spain and it has a very busy international airport,” Sam answered from her hiding spot.

Hikuro’s almond-shaped eyes locked onto hers. Her heart skipped a beat and butterflies took up permanent residence in her stomach. Sam’s cheeks blazed like cast iron.
Every time!
She tore her eyes away from his.

“A lot of vampires enjoy going to resort towns,” Zoricah said.

“For what? The summer sun?” Yara asked, and giggled at her own joke.  

“No,” Hikuro answered flatly. “Because it’s easy to feed in towns with a lot of tourists. They are harder to account for when they go missing.”

“Oh.” Yara’s humor melted into thin air.

“Yerik probably used the lab in Malaga as the first stop after the abductions before he flew to New York. Are there any survivors?” Zoricah asked, then frowned slightly at Sam as if to say
what in Hiad are you doing back there?
 

Sam took a deep breath, closed the fridge and forced her feet to walk to the living room, but once she got there she realized that there was only one spot left – next to Hikuro.

No freakin’ way!

“Would anyone like a drink?” Sam asked, making a beeline back to the kitchen.

“Yes, please!” Yara replied. “The usual.”

“Right, one caipirinha. Zoricah? G+T for you?”

Zoricah nodded.

“Hikuro, what would you...err…I don’t think we have...err.”
Blood, you goose! He’s a freaking vampire; he drinks blood.
 

“Nothing for me, thank you.” Hikuro replied. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips.

Pompous ass.

“We found the lab last night,” he carried on. “But it was close to dawn, so we didn’t have time to check it out properly. Tardieh, Dyam and Joel are going back there tonight.”

“Should we join them?” Yara’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

 “It may be a good idea…” Zoricah turned to Hikuro.

“My king has asked me to pass on the message that we can manage it ourselves.”

Hikuro’s dismissal was somewhat polite, but nonetheless Z’s fury was so palpable she could cut it with a knife. Her shoulders went rigid and her chin lowered as she glared at the vampire through her long, demigoddess lashes.

“OK.” Sam quickly brought the drinks over. “Here’s the G+T, Z.”

Zoricah took a long sip, then placed the glass on the coffee table and stood up. “Thank you for delivering your report in person, Hikuro. Please tell your king to. . .”

“Watch out!”

A cold shiver went up Sam’s spine at Hikuro’s warning. Before she knew it, she was flat on her back, with him on top of her. “What the…?”

A stream of bullets flew past and hit the wall inches above their heads. Sam swallowed dry.

“Are you OK?” he asked her.

Sam nodded. He was propped up on his elbows; his thick biceps shielded her head. He was very close, his nose just inches from hers.

“Get down!” Zoricah shouted, and dived behind the couch.

Another wave of bullets tore the schist-rock fireplace to pieces.

“Who the fuck is firing at us?” Yara yelled from across the room.

“Don’t know, but stay low and follow me.” Sam could barely hear Zoricah’s command through all the blasting and shattering. She slid out from underneath Hikuro and crawled after Zoricah toward the kitchen.

Z’s eyes went pure gold, then she pushed the dishwasher aside as if it were a box of chocolates and lifted a hidden latch on the floor. A horrible stench invaded the room, but Z seemed not to care as she jumped in head first, then yelled for them to do the same.

“You go, Yara,” Sam shouted over the roaring noises around them.

“OK, but come right behind me. This place will fall apart at any time!”

After a moment, Sam heard Yara crash onto the ground with a grunt.

Sam quickly scooted over to the edge of the hatch and looked down. Nothing, just pitch-black darkness.

A loud thump made both her and Hikuro turn around just in time to see a grenade roll along the carpeted floor.

Fuck.

She quickly swung her legs down the hole and jumped. Her plan was to keep herself steady enough to avoid hitting unexpected objects along the way, while her knees would be bent to absorb the crash, thus enabling her to keep her balance once her feet hit the ground.

Fat chance.

The floor of the underground tunnel was as slimy as an eel. She skidded sideways and fell face-first onto the mucky ground. Yuk.

Strong hands lifted her up by the shoulders. “Come on, we gotta get out of here,” Hikuro said, rushing her on.

Sam pushed up off the nasty floor and darted down the dark tunnel. She couldn’t see a thing, so she trusted her training. She closed her eyes and followed the noises.  Soon she caught up with Zoricah and Yara. She could feel Hikuro right beside her.

“Where are we?” she shouted to Zoricah.

“An old sewage conduit, deactivated after WW2.”   

Sam ran her hands down her slimy face. A sewer. How fitting.

Suddenly the darkness receded and she was able to make out shadows and shapes around her. Z took a hard left and stopped in front of a rusty iron gate. She lifted a closed fist, asking for silence.

They all knew the drill. They needed to use their ears to see if the coast was clear.

Sam pulled her Glock 38 out of her right boot and leaned back against the wall. Yara raised her Beretta M9 up and positioned herself on the opposite side of the gate. With her gun steady in her hands, Zoricah opened the round hatch. It cringed in protest. Sam was the first through. She ducked low and aimed straight up. No movements, no suspicious shadows.

“Clear!” she reported, then ran onward.

The gate led to an alcove with a ladder ascending to the street exit above.

“Get ready. After this we’ll be back on the streets. We are just across the road from my house,” Zoricah warned, then climbed the first steps.

“No.” Hikuro’s low command reverberated in the tunnel. “I’ll go first.”

Zoricah just glared at him.

He took a step back and waited in line like a good boy.

Ha-ha.

As soon as they got out into the dark alleyway, a massive explosion illuminated the sky.

Sam ran for cover behind a large dumpster. Yara followed her and Zoricah hid inside a restaurant’s service entryway. All guns were out and ready, but the attack never came. After a few tense moments, Sam followed Yara out of their hiding place and met the other two in the middle of the empty alleyway. They all stared at the bright sky. Zoricah’s beautiful home had just been blown to pieces.

People started gathering around. Someone shouted “Call the fire department!”  And just on cue, sirens were added to the chaos.

“Who?” Hikuro snarled.

“Not sure, but if they found us, they can find Tardieh,” Zoricah replied, then without pausing, she added. “I’m going to Spain.” She turned to Hikuro. “Stay here and back them up.” It wasn’t a request.

Hikuro lowered his head in reverence.
Huh? No protest?
 

“We’ll come with you,” Yara said.

“I need you here. Phillip should reply to our meeting request any minute now.”

What?
Sam’s jaw dropped. “You still want us to meet with him? He was probably the one who ratted on us.”

“He doesn’t know where my house is, Sam. Besides, it’s even more vital for us to find out now who is running Yerik’s labs here in the UK.”

“King Tardieh will be at the abandoned lab we found. It’s in Los Tomillares, near the Flamenco Art Museum,” Hikuro explained, pulling his smart phone out.

Zoricah stopped him. “No phones. They may have traced us this way.”