Jennifer Rardin - [Jaz Parks 1] - Once Bitten, Twice Shy

'Lovely dance, that. The story is all in the hands. I did not know you knew—'

'Vayl, I was kidding.'

'Oh.' Tightening of the lips. Translation—crap, when am I going to leap into the 21st century and get with their damn humor? Jerk of the head. Translation—obviously not today, so let's get on with the job, shall we?

'Keep hold of my hand.' Vayl's power slid over me like silk pajamas. What a rush! No one even glanced at us as we passed, and most of them couldn't have seen us if they'd tried. We followed Assan and his vampire friend into the part of the foyer that wandered underneath the stairs. Assan's vamp wouldn't sense me here either, not as long as I was touching Vayl.

There are other, more permanent ways for a vamp to share power, but I preferred this one. Less invasive. Plus I liked the hand-holding. Pathetic, I know, but that's what happens when you haven't touched another soul in over a year.

We crouched behind a huge statue of a naked guy and listened in. Okay, the gleaming black marble butt in my face distracted me slightly, but I'm still a pro, so I did hear the highlights.

'—well?' Assan was saying.

'Better than expected,' the vamp said, 'the virus has already mutated.'

My stomach clenched at the word 'virus.'

Assan nodded happily. 'So we are ready for the final test?'

The vampire nodded, pushing his hair away from his face in a way I found chilling, because it was such a graceful gesture. The worst monsters are always the prettiest.

'I wish we could do it tonight,' Assan ventured, but the vampire shook his head.

'No, we must follow the plan. We know the mutation must have a full 24 hours to thrive before it can be transferred and made lethal. Tomorrow night is soon enough.'

'And then?'

'You know,' the vampire said indulgently.

Assan's grin would've fit better on a shark. 'And then the purge begins.'

The vamp flashed his fangs in ecstatic agreement. He looked at his watch. 'Svetlana and Boris arrive in 20 minutes. We should go.'

Vayl and I traded looks of dread. Obviously defrauding charities and rearranging fanatics' faces were the least of Assan's crimes.

I jerked my head toward the surgeon and his undead friend, raised my eyebrows. Let's take them now. Try to make them talk before this virus can be unleashed. I badly wanted to grab the bastards and bang their heads together.

Vayl shook his head. I knew what he was thinking. Too public. Too soon. Though it chafed to admit it, he was right. Only God knew what vital information we'd miss if we hit them now. So we followed the men toward the back of the house. When we knew they were headed for the garage, we shifted into high gear.

We dodged into the dining room, slipped out the poolside doors and raced to our car. Still holding hands, we swept through the night like a couple of phantoms, Vayl's power pushing us so our feet barely touched the ground. I'd never felt so strong, as if all the complex systems that allowed me to exist were working with such perfect precision I could perform miracles if I wanted to. Nifty Gift, I thought. If Vayl's ferocious grin was any sign, he thought so too.

I'd left the car unlocked just in case. My keys were in my hand almost before I thought of it, and within seconds we were rolling down the driveway.

'No lights in the rearview,' I said.

'Good. Do you know where you are going?'

'Yeah. One of the neighboring houses is vacant. The drive's open, but there's a row of pine trees near the road that screens the rest of the yard and the house. We can wait there.'

'Excellent work, Jasmine.' I nodded my thanks, pressing my lips together to keep myself from grinning at the compliment.

The guards at the gate waved us through without even a second glance. I made a left as if I was headed for the interstate. When the gate had disappeared behind us I took the next right and killed the headlights. After some high speed, highly illegal driving, I hit the driveway of the empty house, drove into the grass and behind the trees. With my night vision activated I could easily see Assan's mansion and, moments later, the headlights of a vehicle began to close the distance between the house and gate. Vayl didn't tell me it was all in my hands now. Even though I'd screwed up less than an hour before, he still trusted me to know my job. I liked that about him.

My hands were wet on the wheel as I pulled back onto the street. Following taillights is easy in a low traffic area like Assan's neighborhood. It gets a little more challenging on the interstate, but Assan's vehicle, an extended-cab Dodge Ram the color of strawberry Pop Tart filling, was tough to miss. Too bad this virus bombshell had blown our original assignment to shreds. I could've taken him out on the Interstate and no one would ever have known it wasn't an accident.

Ten minutes later we'd followed the Pop Tart truck to an abandoned air force base. As soon as we could, we ditched the car and headed toward a congregation of sightless buildings gathered in the empty compound. A hundred yards from Assan's truck, we grabbed cover among the jungle of shrubs and tall grasses that edged one of the base's old helipads and watched the two men exit their vehicle. The vamp leaned on the hood while Assan went to an electric pole where he fiddled inside a large gray box. Seconds later a ring of red lights came on and less than five minutes after that I heard the rhythmic thump of helicopter blades spinning overhead.

I tensed with expectation as the copter touched down and a couple, one large, one small, wearing black jumpsuits hopped out. They crouched low as they hurried toward Assan's truck. Moments later the helicopter flew away and our four subjects made their own exit. I sat in the weeds and watched them go, trying to come to some practical conclusions.