could. “Paige!” he shouted. “Are you in here?”
There was a rustling to his left. When he turned, he tightened both hands around the makeshift weapons he’d collected and prepared to put them to use. A man stepped through the door that led to the kitchen and took a moment to look him up and down. He was around Cole’s height, had a similar build, and a rusty hue to his skin. Stringy black hair was combed over to one side, but the other side of his head was buzzed almost down to the scalp.
The man took one step forward, squinted into the darkness and parted his lips to show one set were extended canines and the others, growing beside them, were thinner and curved.
“Where’s Paige?” Cole snarled as he planted his feet and squared his shoulders.
“She’s here,” the man replied in a smooth, casual voice.
“I want to see her. If you’ve hurt her—”
“Take it easy, slick.”
“Fuck easy!” Cole snapped. “Anything that’s happened to her, I’ll make sure it happens to you twice as bad.”
Taking another few steps forward, the man said, “I don’t know who you are, but you got your signals crossed.”
“I’ll decide that once I see Paige.”
The man had both hands open and out to his sides. Lifting his chin a bit, he looked over Cole’s shoulder and asked, “How did this guy get past you, Steph?”
Cole grinned and shook his head. Before he could say anything about not being tricked to look away, he felt the gentle touch of fingernails against his shoulder.
“I had to take care of the cab driver,” replied the redhead in the nylon body stocking and tube top.
The sound of that voice and the brush of those nails caused Cole to twist around and take a swing with the piece of lumber he was carrying. There was some power behind it, but his arm was batted away with just as much effort as the redhead had used to tickle his shoulder. Steph kept walking and then flicked her fingernails against Cole’s chin. Winking, she licked the edge of the slender fangs she had on display. Her skin was the color of fresh milk, giving a sharp contrast to the black lines running along her neck and making her hair look just a bit brighter than freshly spilled blood.
“Where’s Paige?” Cole demanded. “You can bring out all the helpers you want, but if she’s dead, you’ll all get piled up in the same corner!”
Steph stood in front of Cole with her hip cocked in one direction and her head cocked in the other. Running her hand up between her breasts, she kept it going until she could slide her tongue out between her fangs and lick her fingertips. “If that short broad with the dark hair told me you were coming, I would’ve worn a little less.” Her eyes slowly moved down until she got a look at what Cole was holding. Then her smile widened and she started laughing in a way that was anything but seductive. “I knew you Skinners were low-tech, but come on!”
This time Cole couldn’t help but follow the vampire’s gaze. He was holding his lumber in one hand like a sword, and a trash can lid in the other like a shield. All he needed to finish his outfit was a hat made out of folded newspaper.
When Steph laughed at him even harder, Cole swung his left arm out to catch her with a backhanded blow. The trash can lid banged against her torso, forcing her to take a couple stumbling steps to the side. He moved around and built up some momentum so he could push her toward the back door and into the breaking dawn.
Steph was still laughing, but she was also trying to sink her nails into Cole’s arm. Just as she was about to reach around his bargain bin shield, she was knocked through the doorway with enough force to separate a man’s shoulder. Wincing while still moving backward, she didn’t truly look angry until her shoes scraped against the ground and one of her heels snapped off beneath her weight.
Lowering his shoulder, Cole gave one more push so the vampire was completely clear of the building. He could feel the warmth of daylight in the air, but the sun wasn’t quite high enough to clear the top of the building across the street. Raising his shield once more, he charged at Steph again. When he hit her, it was like pounding against a brick wall. Even so, he swung his piece of lumber and connected with her upraised arm. He followed up by driving the end of the lumber into Steph’s belly and pushing her beyond the shadow cast by the restaurant.
She hobbled upon one broken heel and spun away from him. When she whipped back around to face him, her face was illuminated by the rising sun.
“How do you like that, bitch?” Cole asked victoriously.
Steph stood there with her snarl in place. She looked up and squinted into the dull glow of the dawn, then looking back at Cole, straightened and lowered her chin to display a well-practiced pout. “Oh help me,” she droned. “I am burning.”
Cole’s brow furrowed as he looked up to double-check that the sun was shining on her. It was a long cry from high noon, but that bright ball in the sky was pretty distinctive.
Now, Steph was laughing so hard she could barely form a sentence. Lifting one arm to place it dramatically along her forehead, she tossed her head back and let out a sob that could have been plucked from any daytime soap opera. “I am burning! Oh, curse you pure rays of the sun. You have cast me out and now I will surely perish in a storm of ash.”
Letting out a sigh, Cole grumbled, “I get it. You can cut the act.”
“You have slain me, valiant knight,” she wailed. “Your shield and magic helmet were too much for me.”
“I get it!” Cole shouted.
Since Steph was having too much fun carrying on and not burning in the sunlight, he went back inside, to find her companion waiting for him. This time, however, the man was not alone.
“Cole?” Paige said as she walked in from the kitchen. “When did you get here?”
Cole dropped his trash can lid and rushed to hold Paige at arm’s distance. “I thought you were in trouble,” he said while looking her over.
“That,” the man next to Cole said, “remains to be decided.”
Ignoring the other man, Paige asked, “What happened to you, Cole? Did Steph try to hurt you?”
“No, but…the cab driver! He’s right outside and he might have—”
“I told you I took care of him,” Steph replied as she stepped back inside.
“What did you do?” Cole snarled.
Her lower lip drooping in a mischievous pout, Steph replied, “I paid him. He said you promised triple the tip. You cost me everything I had on me, naughty boy.”
Cole pulled away from Paige and stood next to her so he was facing both Nymar with his back to the wall. “All right. Someone—and I don’t care who—just tell me what’s going on here.”
Paige patted his back to let him know she was nearby. “I invited Ace and Stephanie here. We were just about to talk business. Isn’t that right, Ace?”
Now that he was closer to the other man, Cole could see the symbol shaved into the buzzed half of the Nymar’s scalp. It was a single, three leaf clover straight off the ace of clubs.
“You bet your ass that’s right,” Ace said. “And I wouldn’t get too comfortable thinking this is a friendly visit. Considering how your boy treated Steph, I should start skinning some Skinners right here and now!”
Leaning over to whisper into Cole’s ear, Paige told him, “They represent some of Chicago’s finest working girls, including Racquel.”
Cole shook his head and let out a tired laugh. “You guys are undead and the best way to spend your time is running hookers?”
“Working girls, cutie,” Steph said. “And boys. Hookers are humans who give themselves up to strangers. We cater to your kind who pay us to be fed upon. They like the biting and all the rest, so we make sure it’s worth the price. Maybe you should try it.”
“Well, we saved your working girl’s life,” Cole said. “I don’t think we should be catching any grief for that. As for the other thing…I’ll pass.”
“Racquel told us what happened,” Steph said. “That’s why we haven’t killed you yet. Things ran a whole lot smoother when Gerald was here. When can we talk to him?”
“Never,” Paige said coldly. “You’ll talk to me.”
Keeping her sights set upon Paige, Steph walked across the room as if trying to kick holes into the floor. “Fine. I’ll say this to you. Chicago is under Nymar control! We’re the ones who tolerate Skinners being here, and that’s
