An evil vampire’s head.
Jonas let out a groan of impatience, reached for her water pistol and thrust it toward her. “Go ahead. Shoot me.”
When she just stared at him, horrified, he turned the pistol toward his chest and pulled the trigger himself.
Deanna screamed.
Nothing happened, except that. Jonas got wet.
He turned the gun on Mark and shot him. In the face. Mark started, then stared at him with a fierce scowl. “Come outside,” he told Lauren firmly.
He got to his feet without asking for help and he strode toward the stairs.
Deanna gave Lauren a distrustful glance. Even Heidi shuddered as she walked by.
With little choice, Lauren followed Mark
The room above was empty. It was dark, the candles out, but it didn’t matter. She could
She followed him out into the night.
The moon was no longer shadowed and red. It was a huge, glowing orb in the heavens, casting a gentle glow.
Then she looked around and was amazed by the sight that met her eyes.
There was Big Jim, a huge wooden lance in one hands, the tip dripping blood, and a machete in his other hand.
And there was Stacey, armed with a mega-water pistol, like the Uzi of squirt toys.
Sean was there, and Maggie, and Bobby and the cop who had been watching over Deanna when she had first gone into the hospital.
To her amazement, there was also an older black woman there, carrying a huge cross and a machete, and flanked by a handsome black man and a stunning young black woman. Lauren realized that she had seen the younger woman before, at the hospital. She was Deanna’s nurse, the one who had gone mad, although she seemed to be just fine now.
The older woman stepped forward. “It’s over, then?” she asked Mark.
He reached out, drawing her to him. “It’s over, Ms. Lockwood. Thank you.”
“I told you I knew what I was up against,” the woman told him, drawing away and shaking a finger at him. “You’ve just got to have a little more faith in folks, you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mark looked at Sean. “How are you going to explain this one?” he asked.
Lauren took a good look around the yard and gasped.
There were dust piles and soot streaks everywhere.
There were also bones, and a fresh headless body. She winced.
“I think it’ll poetic justice if we pin it on the taxi driver,” Sean said. “Though I’ll have to think about how to explain him ending up without a head.”
“Really, Sean,” Maggie protested. “Sometimes you can be so…”
Sean sighed. “Maggie, his ID is false. The guy’s real name was Wayne Girard. He was found guilty of twenty- seven murders, then escaped—I’m sure with our pal Stephan’s help. I’ll have some fast talking to do, but he can take the blame.”
Lauren walked over to Maggie and Sean, and everyone from Montresse House. They all hugged her—hard.
“Cop by day, vampire hunter by night,” Bobby said lightly, winking.
“You all need to get the hell out of here,” Sean said. “Except for you, Bobby, Mr. Fearless Vampire Hunter. You get to stay and help me clean this mess up. More cars are on the way,” he said quietly.
His wife gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and headed for her car. By then the others had come up from the basement, and Mark beckoned the two women closer.
“You three,” he said, including Lauren, “go with Maggie. Jonas and I will get back on our own.”
“Jonas…” Deanna murmured.
“Jonas will be fine,” Maggie called. “Get in the car. Come on. It will be much easier for Sean and Bobby if we get out of here.”
Deanna exchanged one last long kiss with Jonas before Maggie sighed and grabbed her arm, almost throwing her in the car.
As they drove away, Lauren looked back. Mark and Jonas were still there with Sean and Bobby. Maybe they meant to help with the clean up. But how would they explain their presence when the rest of the cops got there?
“What will the other cops say when they see Mark and Jonas?” Deanna asked worriedly.
“They won’t,” Maggie said.
“They’ll fly back,” Heidi said cheerfully
