But I wasn’t going to kill him until I had hard proof Judson was killing random vampires. I realized that I didn’t have time to get into a full-blown relationship with this guy if I was planning on killing him. I may have to come clean about what I was and then talk to him to see what was going through his mind. Why he was killing them. Yeah, we knew his sister had been killed by one, but why wipe out the whole vampire population because of it? And was it him doing the killing in the first place?
I had a lot to think on, but first, sleep. I could see the first tiny bit of light begin to creep over the eastern horizon. I stepped on the gas and headed toward home and my bed.
I woke up and looked at my watch. It was 5:30 p.m., but it was also October 27. I had four days to shit or get off the pot here. Either kill Judson and get paid, or don’t kill him and not only be ass-out five grand, I’d also have a lot of splainin’ to do. After a shower, I made some coffee and sat at the table in the kitchen. I knew Angie would be home from work soon, so I used the quiet time to watch the videos again.
They were all relatively the same. Judson, mostly disguised in a hoodie or some kind of goth makeup and black clothes, sits at a bar, nurses a drink, and then watches the vampire for a few minutes. Once the vampire leaves, he follows him out. That was it. No actual video evidence of any murders. Yet, these vamps had been killed. Admittedly, it did look very suspicious and kind of a no-brainer, so I could see why Ringo put a hit out on him.
That got me wondering—which vampire actually killed Audrey? I got up and went to my bedroom to retrieve the folder Jonas had given me. I’d already read it but wanted to look again at some things.
I pulled out the police report and read aloud to myself. “The victim’s brother stated a dirty-looking, young, blond man jumped out at them outside the back of Club Bash and was hissing at them with sharpened teeth and wild eyes. When Audrey Smith ran, the subject gave chase and then Judson Smith followed after them. He found his sister dead in the alley and Officer McElroy of the Denver PD was nearby and heard his screams for help. The victim was found to have several teeth marks and gashes along her neck, and her carotid artery had been torn open. The cause of death was Exsanguination.”
I looked at the crime scene photos. Gross. Whoever or whatever did this was not in its right mind. It’s very easy to feed and leave the victim not only alive, but healthy and without any memory of their little donation.
Speaking of… it had been about four days since I’d had any blood. I’d wanted to bite Judson so badly last night but knew I couldn’t blow my cover yet. I only needed to feed about twice a week so picked up my phone and texted one of my donors. Our bite caused a bit of a euphoric high, so we had plenty of donors who gave willingly.
Me: You busy? I’m hungry.
Lucy: I’ll be right over.
Me: See you soon :)
I put the phone down and began to get ready for the evening.
Lucy arrived about twenty minutes later. Thankfully, Angie hadn’t come home yet so we sat on the couch. I brought her a glass of milk and a cheese sandwich (her request, yuck). As she ate, I lifted her wrist to my lips, waited for my fangs to descend, and gently pierced them into the big blue vein there. I took a few long pulls and drew her blood into my mouth. Lucy groaned between bites and let out a little shudder. After a few sips, I removed my fangs, licked her wound closed, and wiped my mouth.
“All done?” she asked, smiling.
I nodded. “Yes, thank you.” I looked at her thin frame and gaunt cheeks. “Please, finish your food.”
“I’m not too hungry.” She smiled.
“I insist.”
I felt bad enough feeding, even though she was more than willing. I just couldn’t stand to drink the medical blood bags. I mean, I used them when necessary, but straight from the tap was always best.
Lucy took a few more bites of her sandwich, a long drink from the milk, and then stood up.
“See you soon. Call me if get hungry again.”
I thanked her and she left. Feeling re-energized and in a good mood, I picked up my phone to see a text from Judson: You busy tonight?
I grinned.
Me: Nope, you playing again at Bash?
Judson: No, have the night off. Wanna do something fun?
Me: Sure, what time?
Judson: Meet me at 7 at the Mile High Flea Market
What the…
Me: Why?
Judson: Just meet me. You’ll see. Unless you want me to pick you up?
Me: No, I’ll be there.
Flea Market? What were we doing, shopping? Don’t those things only go on during the day? Since I figured we’d be outdoors, I chose a sweater, jeans, and boots. I put my hair into a high ponytail and put on less makeup than usual.
I couldn’t believe I was actually going on dates with this guy. What kind of dating rabbit hole had I fallen down?
I pulled up to the dirt parking lot of the flea market and quickly realized it wasn’t a flea market at all right now.
It was a haunted house-slash-maze. Awesome. I was 12 years old all over again.
Judson pulled his motorcycle up next to
