[Venom 01.0] Venom & Vanilla Page 7

  “I was,” I whispered.

  From the window came a low groan. “Assholes, all of them. Think they’re right, won’t conform. Won’t change. My family was turned in by a local group of them.” A pause. “Usually end up offing themselves in the first six months. They claim it isn’t suicide, since they were already dead to the world.”

  Someone laughed from the other room. “Bet she doesn’t last even that long. Shame. I’d like to see what she’s got under that frilly skirt.”

  I swallowed hard. “I’m not going to kill myself.” I stared at the next question and was fully stumped, so I left it blank.

  Oberfall raised his eyebrows. “Good to know.”

  I pushed the sheets back at him. “That’s everything I know.”

  He glanced over the papers, shuffling through them. “You didn’t fill this out. What is your designation? What species are you?”

  I didn’t hesitate. “I don’t know.”

  He snorted. “You can’t not know. What are you?”

  I shrugged and leaned back in my chair. “I really don’t know. Merlin said I was a special snowflake.”

  Oberfall growled, low and deep, and as he leaned forward I got a whiff of pine forest and deep snow.

  Gray fur, howling at the moon, pack family.

  Wolf.

  The image flickered through my mind, and I swallowed hard. “Maybe a psychic?”

  “That’s not a supernatural designation,” he snapped. “And a maybe psychic? No more games. What. Are. You?”

  “I’m not playing games. This isn’t tiddlywinks, you know. My brother is a naga. That’s what he said I was going to be.” I pushed back from the table and stood up. He leapt to his feet, his hand going to a gun at his waist.

  “I have every right to shoot you where you stand if you don’t give me the answers I want. You aren’t a naga. You don’t smell like one.”

  Oh dear, this was not going well at all. Not that I’d really expected it to.

  I lifted my hands slowly above my head, fear cascading down my spine. A funny tingle started in my toes and crept up my legs. “I really don’t know what I am, then. I told Merlin I didn’t want to be a vampire, werewolf, or witch. I wanted to be something else. Something different and as human as possible.” The words poured out of me, and his trigger finger eased.

  “Something special. But you aren’t a naga.”

  I nodded.

  A loud thump reverberated through the room, stopping the conversation in its tracks. Oberfall ran for the door. It opened and he leapt out, shouting, “Get the UV guns.”

  UV guns? Did he mean ultraviolet? I stood and stared at the now-open door. I should stay put. That was the good-girl thing to do, to conform and do what I was told.

  And get a tracking device shoved in my liver. Maybe not.

  I hurried to the door and peeked out. The Supe Squad dressed themselves in hard black body armor with red slashes on the arms, but they weren’t the only ones wearing armor in the hall anymore. They had been joined by an influx of new additions. The new guys, or girls, it was hard to tell, had their own kind of covering. Four of them ran by me, chasing two SDMP members. I jerked back with a gasp. The ones swarming the station wore full-on coverage, from the top of their heads down to their toes, a strange shimmering black material that looked like it would hold out every stitch of light. Even their faces were covered, giving them an eerie ghostlike quality. All of which could only mean one thing.

  Vampires.

  Two ran by me, barely sparing me a glance. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew I could use it to my advantage. With my back to the wall I slid down the hallway to the next interrogation door. I opened it and peered in. Tad sat in a chair, strapped down to it, his head resting on his chest. Stepping into the room, I shut the door behind me, then groaned. I was an idiot. One quick twist of the doorknob told me all I needed to know.

  I’d just locked us in. But at least we were together.

  “Tad. Wake up.” I hurried to his side and crouched next to him.

  He groaned and lifted his face. In the short time we’d been there he’d been roughed up bad. His face was swollen. He had cuts and growing bruises on both cheeks. I gasped and put my hands on his face. “Why would they do this to you?”

  “They didn’t like my answers. Can you untie me?”

  I slid a hand over the zap straps. Pulling on them would only cut up his wrists, or maybe even cut his hands off. The chair was wooden, though.

  I put a hand on either side of the chair and pushed with all I had in me.

  It exploded out from under Tad, who tumbled to the floor. “Shit, sis. Ease up.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push so hard.”

  “No, it’s all good.” He rolled to the side and slid his feet back through the loop his hands made. He brought the zap strap to his mouth and on one fang cut through it. “They really should invest in handcuffs.”

  “I’m glad they didn’t,” I said.

  He took the lead and I let him. “The door?”

  “Locked. Sorry.”

  “Stop saying that.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered.

  The sound of gunfire rippled through the air, and I backed away from the door.

  Tad looked at the door and then to the window. “New plan. Break the mirror.”

  “You mean window,” I corrected.

  “No, I mean the two-way mirror.”

  How had I been able to see through a two-way mirror? Only another question that made me wonder just what I was.

  Merlin, what did you do to me?

  Tad picked up the biggest piece of the chair, which happened to be the seat, and walked to the mirror. With a yell, he slammed it into the big surface, shattering it. The glass exploded, sending shards everywhere in a spray. The ones that landed at my feet blinked up at me as perfect mirrors. Dang, it had been a mirror. But I’d been able to see right through it. I frowned, trying to figure it out.

  “Lena, time to go.” Tad held a hand out to me. He was on the other side of the mirror, leaning back into the room for me. I took his hand, and he helped me up and over the shattered pieces.

  The room we stood in wasn’t much bigger than the interrogation room, only this one had more stuff. Weapons of all sorts. Knives, guns, and a few of the type of dart thing that had taken Tad out. He grabbed a bag hanging on the wall and stuffed it until it overflowed with weapons. I just stood there, unable to make myself touch anything.

  “Come on.” Tad slid the bag over his head and held out a hand to me again. I took it, and he tugged me along, out the door, into a new hallway. We ran, twisting and turning as we searched for a way out. I struggled to keep track of where we were, and then suddenly we were outside the building, in a back alley.

  “Take your shoes off, you can’t run in them.”

  With a sigh, I did as he asked, knowing he was right. For my first heels, they were pretty nice, though, and I didn’t want to leave them behind. I hooked my fingers through the ankle straps, dangling them from a hand. Maybe I could find somewhere else to wear them.

  We ran down the alley as the sun set, sending the world into a dusky twilight of pale purple. It was only then I realized it was January and I wasn’t freezing even though I wore next to nothing. Tad was dressed in jeans and a thick hoodie under a leather jacket. Why wasn’t I cold?

  We were the same kind of creature . . . weren’t we?

  CHAPTER 6

  We stopped at the front edge of the SDMP building, peering out into the street. Tad pointed at the three Hummers in the street. “Vamp wheels. The local mob boss, Remo, and his gang.”

  “Stay away from vamps, right? That’s the deal?” I stood beside him, staring at the array of big trucks.

  “You better believe it.”

  Except I saw someone I knew sitting in the driver’s seat. I knew her from the pictures we’d shared. Red hair and a vibrant smile I knew even with teeth. She was stunning. I couldn’t help but wave. />
  “Dahlia!”

  Her eyes shot to me and she frowned. Of course. “She doesn’t recognize me,” I said, hurt more than I’d thought I would be.

  Tad yanked my hand down. “Don’t be waving at her. We don’t need that kind of—shit.”

  I looked away from him to see Dahlia running at us with a wide grin on her face. “Alena!”

  I met her partway, catching her in a hug. “Dahlia, you’re okay.”

  “How did you recognize me?” she asked as she held me at arm’s length.

  “Your smile.” I grinned at her.

  “Damn, you look good, girl. I can’t believe you did it, but I’m so happy you did!”

  I laughed, a light sweet feeling tugging at my heart for the first time in weeks. Happiness seemed a foreign emotion.

  “Me too. I think. How did you recognize me?”

  She grinned. “You look exactly as I saw you in the hospital. Gorgeous.”

  And then she kissed me. Heat flushed along my skin, and I pulled away. “Dahlia.”

  “Oh, get over it. I swing both ways and you are freaking stunning. I had to at least get a kiss in before—”

  Tad yanked me away, putting himself between us. “No kissing my sister, fang face.”

  Dahlia’s eyes widened. “Well, well. You must be Tad. I see the genetics run strong with you two.” She leaned in and kissed him too. Only he didn’t pull back.

  I stared as they locked lips, oblivious to the world around them. Men all in black poured out of the building waving guns as they stripped off their masks.

  “Ummm, Tad. I think we should go.” I grabbed at his arm, but he shook me off and all but picked Dahlia up, his hands tight on her butt.

  I grabbed the back of his jacket and jerked him away from her. They unsuctioned with a pop. “I said we have to go.”

  His bottom lip bled, and he stared up at me with a rather blank look on his face. Dahlia cringed. “Damn, I rolled him.”

  “You what?”

  The men shouted, and one of them called to her. She waved. “Come on, you can come with us. We’ll sort this out.”

  “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “You want to stay with the Supe Squad?” She ran toward the Hummers, and I knew I didn’t really have a choice. Especially when from behind us the clatter of boots on the asphalt told me all I needed to know. We were stuck between a rock and a rock-hard biscuit.

  I didn’t think, just scooped Tad up over my shoulder and ran for the Hummers. The fact that I was running with my brother over my shoulder only confirmed that I was anything but human, and for the moment I was glad. I wouldn’t have been able to get him out without the extra strength.

  I pushed him ahead of me into the backseat of Dahlia’s Hummer and slid in, sitting on top of him.

  Dahlia hit the gas and we peeled out.

  “Won’t they follow us?” I asked.

  From the passenger side a man peered back at me. “You’re new, aren’t you?”

  “Is it stamped on my fricky-dicky forehead?” I snapped.

  He grinned, his fangs showing clearly. “Not quite. But close. What are you?”

  I didn’t want to tell him in case he decided he shouldn’t have anything to do with Tad and me, so I kept my mouth shut. One step at a time. “Dahlia, can you drop us off somewhere?”

  “Nope, sorry. Remo said to bring you in.”

  I groaned. Of course the big bad mob boss wanted to talk to us. Or worse. Eat us. What a mess.

  I took a breath and tried to sort through the last few hours of my life. In that time I’d been in a motorcycle chase, been interrogated by a werewolf, run from gunfire, and been kissed by a vampire. A girl vampire, no less. As if picking up my thoughts, Dahlia grinned into the rearview mirror. “I didn’t swing both ways before. But that’s part of being a vamp. It ramps up your hormones like crazy, makes you irresistible. Which is why we’re supposed to stay away from the humans.”

  I thought for a minute. “What did you mean when you said you rolled Tad?”

  The other passenger glared at her. “Yeah, what did you mean by that?”

  She didn’t shrink in her seat, only shrugged. “I’m still learning, Max. You know that.” Her eyes went to me again. “Basically means I made him a bit of a pet. It’s temporary, but the more you do it the harder it is to undo it. Right?”

  “But not with me?”

  “No, I tried to roll you. I couldn’t.” She stared hard at me and I stared back.

  “You look like you’re bunged up and trying too hard to push to squeeze a poop out.” I leaned back in my seat. Tad let out a groan, stirring, but not waking.

  Max burst out laughing. “Oh shit, Remo is going to like her.”

  Dahlia nodded. “Yeah. I’m thinking he might too. I just can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not.”

  Max shrugged and smiled over at me. “If Remo likes her, we all have to.”

  The vampire was handsome; I’d give him that with his dirty-blond hair and dark-brown eyes that seemed to be full of mischief. “How long have you been a vampire, Max?”

  “Ten years.”

  That was before the Aegrus virus had appeared on the scene. He grinned at me. “Yup, I did it just because I wanted to. I loved the idea of never seeing the sun again, my family, or the world I’d grown up in.”

  Shame flickered over me. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t assume—”

  “Everyone does it, kid.” His smile softened. “Especially in this world. Are you human? Are you a Supe? Are you a monster or a magician? I didn’t become a vamp because I wanted to. My wife was dying and I tried to save her, selling myself to the highest bidder to pay for her chemotherapy.” He shrugged again. “So am I still damned to hell, or am I a hero wrapped in monster clothing?”

  His words hung in the air between us. “I don’t know.”

  He turned away from me. “I do. I’m a monster. Just ask my wife.”

  Oh, God. The pain in those four words all but resonated in my chest.

  Tad woke up but kept his eyes down as he squirmed underneath me, breaking the silence. “Why did you go with them?”

  “Not like we had a choice,” I said. “Besides, Dahlia’s my friend. I trust her.”

  She grinned at me and I grinned back, though it was a strain after what Max had revealed. “We almost died together. Now here we are, being chased by the SDMP. Together again, just like old times.”

  “Exactly.”

  The SDMP gave up faster than I thought, their lights fading behind us as we drove out through the valley toward the mountains. Dahlia didn’t slow the Hummer down, though. We drove for over two hours, out of the city and into the lower floodlands that met with the base of the coastal mountains. Dahlia and I laughed and talked. I told her about how the nurses all thought she’d died, and Max kept looking at me oddly. Like he couldn’t decide what to make of me.

  I didn’t care. We were safe and with a friend.

  Only . . . One of those wasn’t right. We weren’t safe at all, not if we were going to meet a vampire mob boss.

  “Why were you guys at the detachment?” Tad asked.

  Dahlia shared a look with Max. “Looking for something the boss wanted.”

  “Did you get it?”

  They shrugged in unison and said no more.

  Dahlia pulled the Humvee off onto a dirt track that bounced us around, our heads brushing the low ceiling of the vehicle. The road twisted and turned, and around a sharp right-hand turn we came to a stop. “Here we are.”

  I peered out through the windshield. “Tad, look at this place. It’s huge!”

  That was an understatement. It looked like a castle had been plucked out of Europe and plopped in the middle of the floodplains. Right down to the moat circling around the place and the drawbridge that lowered as Dahlia crept the Hummer forward. I counted at least seven spires curling up into the sky.

  “Shit. We can’t go in there, Lena. We’ll never get out.”

 
I glanced at him. “Really? Never? Never ever, never, never ever?”

  Dahlia giggled and high-pitched her words. “Never ever ever?”

  “You two are unreal,” he muttered, and Max grunted in what I assumed was a form of male agreement.

  The four of us slid out of the Humvee as the other two armored trucks pulled up on either side. No one came to greet us, but vamps spilled out of the other vehicles. I wanted to press against the Hummer and lower my eyes. But . . . Tad was vulnerable. I wasn’t for some reason, which meant I had to do this for both of us. I thought about the last meeting I’d had with a banker who’d thought he could charge me a higher interest rate on my loan because I was a woman. I didn’t let that happen then, and I wouldn’t let either of us get taken here any more than I would let that banker take me for a ride.

  I stood up straight and met each vampire’s gaze with one lifted eyebrow.

  Tad stayed behind me. “What the hell did Merlin make you that you can’t be rolled?”

  “I’m a naga, like you. Maybe the females are just naturally stronger.” I didn’t want to say I didn’t know. But I didn’t want to say nothing. Tad shot a look at me and I shrugged. “Well, it is a possibility.”

  Dahlia motioned for us to follow her. “Come on. We didn’t get what we were looking for at the SDMP, so Remo is not going to be happy.”

  Max put a hand on my arm, tugging me forward. “All the more reason to distract him with your friend here. Right, Alena?”

  He pulled me in the opposite direction from Dahlia, and I went along. Not because I wanted to, I just didn’t want to fight if I didn’t have to. He led Tad and me into the castle, and I realized again everyone else was bundled up, whereas I was completely comfortable in my tiny dress. “Tad, how are you doing?”

  “Fine. Embarrassed. You know I hate redheads. They’re stupid, and just from kissing her I could catch the dumbs.”

  I gasped, spun, and slapped him hard, knocking him back several steps. “Don’t you talk about Dahlia like she’s a horrible person. As far as I’m concerned she’s one of my best friends. So you just shut your fat mouth.”

  He lifted his eyes to mine, shock filtering through. “I came back to you from the dead only a few hours ago, and you’d put your friend you’ve known for weeks ahead of me?”