situation is you.” He increased the pressure on Jerry’s neck ever so slightly. “Now, I may be a new vampire, but I’m an old cop. I know bullshit when I smell it.”
Doug tossed Jerry across the room onto the bed.
“I don’t know what you’re afraid of, but I can promise you one thing,” he said, drawing his gun and pointing it at Jerry’s head. “You should be more afraid of me and of what I’m going to do if you don’t share what you know.”
Jerry scrambled back on the bed into the pile of pillows and looked to Olivia for help.
“Eyes on me, little man.” He flipped the safety on the gun, and Jerry looked back to him. “That’s better. Now. What do you know about the rogues and this guy, The Maker?”
“Washington Square Hotel.” Jerry ran a hand over his bald head. “I hear they go there yesterday.” He flashed a furious look to Doug. “That all I tell you. Now get out before I tell Emperor Zhao how bad you treat his favorite cousin.”
“Washington Square Hotel?” Doug put the safety back on and holstered his weapon. “It’s right by where both of the victims were found.” He turned to Olivia, who now stood beside him. “It’s a central location. Not only that, Moriarty stays there with his crew from time to time.”
Olivia nodded. “Holing up at a ritzy hotel during the day would be a lot better than an abandoned subway station.” She smirked and lifted one shoulder playfully. “Not that I minded.”
Doug winked and then shifted his attention back to Jerry. “If you hear anything else, you go to the Presidium and fill them in. Right now, our only advantage is that we’ve got the element of surprise. They don’t know we’ve figured out where they’re holing up, but let me promise you something, Jerry.” He leaned both hands on the footboard of the bed and leveled a deadly glare at the diminutive man. “If they get wind of the fact that we’re onto them, and if one single hair on Olivia’s head is harmed, I’m taking it out on your ass.”
He and Olivia let themselves out and hit the city streets once again, heading toward the park. As they walked in silence, Doug took a mental count of the ammunition he had left, and it wasn’t a good number.
“We’re low on ammo.”
“Got it covered, detective.” Olivia gestured to the dark alley on the left. “Let’s duck in here for a second.”
Memories of their kiss in the alley came roaring back, and his cock stirred to life as he walked beside her. There wasn’t time for fooling around—but later, all bets were off.
Olivia stopped in the cover of darkness and grinned, her white fangs flashing brightly.
“Let’s fly, lover.”
She shot into the sky like a bullet, and he could hear the beautiful sound of her laughter as she zipped through the night. Wasting no time, he flew up into the night to join his lover as she sped through the city sky. Doug didn’t know who this Maker guy was, and he had no idea what kind of shit-show they were getting into, but there were a few things he was sure of.
He’d been reincarnated. He was a vampire. He was in love with Olivia. And even though there was a solid chance he was going to die, he was having the time of his life… of any life.
Chapter 15
Olivia and Doug landed silently in a dark corner of Washington Square Park. It was close to midnight, and this part of the park was deserted, so there was little danger of humans seeing them. They made their way swiftly down the steps of the West Fourth Street subway station, and not surprisingly, found it empty.
They hopped the turnstile and walked to the end of the platform. Olivia took a quick look around, and satisfied there were no humans in the vicinity, she pushed the black tiles in the wall that read W Fourth Street. Moments later, a large section of the wall swung inward.
“Unbelievable,” Doug murmured as he followed Olivia into the emergency armory storage facility.
The lights flickered on as the door sealed shut behind them, and Doug swore under his breath as he looked at the arsenal that surrounded them. Olivia smiled and took a brief moment to enjoy his wonder and awe at this latest discovery.
“I love seeing our world through your eyes. I’ve been doing this for so long, I forget what a shock certain things will be for you.”
“Are there armories like this in other places?”
“Yes.” Olivia snagged a new gun and a few rounds of ammunition and handed them to Doug. “We have several for the sentries, and they are the only ones who know where they are. I have my own weapons closet at my apartment, but I didn’t want to risk taking the fight there. I figure the rogues are looking for us too.”
“You heard from the girls?” he asked tentatively. “Or is your telepathy still limited to me?”
She adjusted the gun at her hip and checked the safety. “When we flew over here I tried to contact Trixie. She’s my rebel, you know, so I thought maybe… but nothing.”
“When did you turn her?”
Olivia stilled for a moment before looking up at him. She was worried she might see contempt or scorn, yet all she saw was curiosity.
“In 1980. I found her dying of a heroin overdose in the subway tunnels. She was heavily involved in the punk-music and drug scene here in the city, but her dreams of making it in the Big Apple didn’t quite pan out.”
“What about Sadie? You two seem closer than the others.” His inspecting gaze wandered over her. “She seems like more of an equal to you than the other girls.”
“Sadie’s been with me since the night I split with Vincent and just before I became a sentry. Her family lived in a remote cabin in what was then considered the frontier, and they fell victim to an Indian attack. Vincent and I smelled the blood and went to check it out. Sadie was barely alive, but her parents and five siblings were dead.” Olivia’s mind filled with the memories of that night, and she grimaced. “She looked so innocent and alone. I couldn’t leave her there.”
“It was a long time ago.” She shrugged and inspected her ammo. “I turned her, and Vincent was fucking furious. I guess he didn’t like the idea of the student becoming the teacher. He left us there, and I didn’t see him again for another fifty years.”
Doug said nothing but watched her through serious eyes.
“Maya was assaulted and dumped in the alley behind my club.” Her voice hardened as the memories of Maya’s rapist came roaring back in full color. “When I turned her, I got her blood memories.” Olivia’s body shook with rage, and her hands clenched and unclenched at her side. “Like I said, there are some memories you don’t want.”
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears, and her voice dropped to a whisper.
“I killed the man who hurt her. I let the monster out and took a human life, and you know what? I loved every minute.”
Doug reached out to comfort her, but she held up her hand and stepped back.
“There are no free rides, Doug. I got
Olivia swiped at her eyes and turned her back on Doug, unable to look at him, fearing what he might think of her now that he knew the truth. She grabbed some ammo and a silencer off the shelf and held it out to him without looking.
“Here.” She sniffled and bit back the tears, refusing to allow them to spill. “We’ll want to use the silencer because we may have to do this above ground. I’d like to keep the human involvement to a minimum. These aren’t UV rounds. They’re silver and wood, so make sure you hit them in the head or the heart.”
“Got it.” Doug took them from her and restocked his supply in a casual manner. Silence hung heavily between them for what felt like forever before he finally broke the silence. “The only monster in that story you told me was the sack of shit you killed, and if you ask me, you did society a favor,” Doug said.
Olivia turned slowly to face him but found him perusing the shelves, looking for more weapons to take. Relief washed over her. Doug wasn’t the least bit bothered by her dirty secret. Maybe everything would work out
