Search and Devour
Pittsburgh Vampires
Vol. 14
By. B.A. Stretke
Copyright © 2020 by B.A. Stretke
Published by Superiorland Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person (living or dead), place, or event is purely coincidence.
CHAPTER ONE
He didn’t know where to go. It had been over three months since his life fell apart, and everything that he knew was gone. Running and hiding had become his daily routine, his daily trauma. Would his life ever be his own again? Little by little, as the days passed, he became less and less recognizable even to himself. His hair usually so carefully coifed now hung in dirty tendrils around his shoulders. His clothing nothing but threadbare charity items.
His identity was hidden, and now he was no one, and to survive, he had to stay that way, invisible. He’d kept his driver’s license tucked into an old tattered wallet that he’d found at a thrift shop. He couldn’t keep his designer wallet; it would have drawn attention, and attention was the last thing he wanted. He kept the license for the vain purpose of wanting to be identified if, in fact, the worst happened. Nobody wanted to leave this world as John Doe.
They were after him, and they would not stop until he was dead. What he’d witnessed that night was burned into his brain. The visions came back to him often to torment and leave him sick to his stomach. He had to keep moving. If he stayed anywhere too long, someone might recognize him, and that would be his end. With no money, he was stuck in Pittsburgh, and he was running out of hiding spaces and dark alleyways in which to conceal himself. He was getting so tired.
…
Sergio was just finishing his shift when Kash came up to stand beside him. “How about you join me for a quick cup of coffee before you head to your apartment?” Sergio was getting off at five, which was ten minutes away.
“Sure. Is there something you want to discuss?” Sergio could see stress in his friend’s expression, and he could also feel it in the air.
“Yes, it’s about the Ruby Light and the investigation into the previous staff,” Kash told him and waited for Sergio’s comment.
“Kyler and Gage dogging you about finding those dancers?” Sergio knew that Kash’s two beloveds were anxious to locate the two missing dancers from the Ruby Light. The two dangers, Keagan and Carlo, had suffered under the corrupt leadership of the manager Cruise and his henchmen and had disappeared one night never to be heard from again. Everyone feared that they would not be found alive if they were ever found at all.
The Ruby Light had become, after a couple of years of willful mismanagement, a corrupt cesspool of criminals. The situation had been dealt with and the guilty punished, but the damage was still being assessed. Kash’s beloveds, the twins Kyler and Gage, were given, as restitution for their mistreatment, the position of managers of the soon to be redesigned Ruby Light. They were tasked by Master Hadden with the duty of reestablishing the bar’s reputation and stature in the community, and they were doing an excellent job.
Their only constant concern was for Keagan and Carlo, two dancers who worked at the Ruby Light when they first started and disappeared soon after. Carlo had shared with them the cloaking mixture that allowed them to somewhat conceal themselves from vampires and shifters and to appear less tempting. They were less likely to suffer assaults at the hands of Cruise and his staff and allowed them to appeal primarily to the human customers. It had played a major part in saving their lives.
“Meet me for coffee, and I’ll explain,” Kash stated.
“Dining hall?” Sergio asked.
“No, my place.” Kash clarified.
“See you in about thirty minutes.”
“Thanks.”
…
In a couple of hours, he would have to find himself a place for the night. The shelter on the hill was a possibility, but it was a considerable walk. He’d stayed there a few weeks ago without incident, and the food and bed were both good. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and the hunger pains were getting stronger. His weight loss was significant, as was the decrease in his energy overall. This life was becoming unsustainable, and in a few more weeks, he wouldn’t have to worry about Cruise and his thugs because the street itself would kill him.
He pulled his knit hat down to his brow and dropped his gaze to the sidewalk as he headed up the hill towards the shelter. A decent night on a shelter bed would give him a chance to think. If he could just find a way out of the city, perhaps they would forget about him, and he could begin his life again.
His mind wandered to his apartment downtown. It was still there and still his because the rent came out of his account automatically an account he couldn’t touch without alerting his enemies that he was alive. How he wished he could go to his apartment even for a night to rest and take a shower, but that was an impossibility. They would surely find him if he went there, but the desire was strong for just one night of normalcy.
…
“They tracked Carlo Stanton to Idaho believe it or not,” Kyler informed them after they were all seated in the living room. Kash sat on the large sofa with an arm around each of his
