Shadows & Secrets (Lick of Fire Book 4) Read online

  “Damn it!” I kicked the tire of his SUV, why was he always right?

  “Here. Can you shoot?” He was holding out a gun, a very weird looking gun, it was silver with a blue glass tube type thing on the top. “What’s that?”

  “A pyre gun. It won’t kill vampires but it will incapacitate them for a bit.”

  I took it from him, felt the weight of it in my hands – it was surprisingly light.

  “I’m not that good with guns.” I admitted, turning it over in my hands.

  “Better get good fast.” Was his helpful response.

  * * *

  The vampires were where I’d guessed them to be. The field where they’d attacked me and Grandpa all those years ago. It was the only place that made sense. Yet why here? And in daylight? I’d thought vampires couldn’t withstand sunlight, yet here we were, mid-morning, sun blazing and the five vampires before me were feeling no ill effects from the sun’s rays.

  Tyler was tied to a tree, blood covered his neck and shirt front, but he was conscious. Just. Vampires stood guard on either side of him, while three others milled together in a group several yards away. Lowering the binoculars Buchanan had given me I assessed my options. Could I hit five vampires with the pyre gun? It was highly doubtful I could hit one, firearms were not my forte. But what choice did I have? Glancing around I searched for Buchanan but couldn’t see him…I had to trust he was here like he said he’d be.

  “Come on out Shelton.” One of the vampires suddenly shouted, making me jump. “We know you’re there, we can smell you.”

  Great. This was going beautifully. Sighing I stepped out from behind the tree I’d been hiding behind, the pyre gun gripped tight in my hand.

  “Ahhh, there she is. Rae Shelton herself.” Dressed in black jeans and a white t-shirt with slicked back hair you’d be forgiven for thinking this vampire was James Dean. Hell, maybe he was? His skin was perfectly smooth, not so much as a laugh line to be seen.

  “Who are you?” I demanded, buying time.

  “Bonno.”

  “Bonno? What sort of name is that?” I scoffed.

  “Don’t matter. Now I’d be tossing that gun aside if you value your brothers life.” He drawled, cocking his head toward Tyler, who’d raised his head when he heard voices.

  “Rae. No. Run.” He groaned.

  “Shut up little brother.” I held my hands up, with the gun dangling from my fingers. I prayed Buchanan was in place, for it was now or never. Spinning the gun I gripped it tight, closed my eyes, and fired. The gun fired effortlessly and I hurriedly opened my eyes again in case I accidentally shot Tyler. Turns out I didn’t hit anyone, but I continued firing furiously anyway.

  The vamps started to drop, but not from my shots, I had to assume Buchanan was in position and hitting his targets. I was running toward Tyler when I was tackled from the side, arms like steel bands closing around me and driving me into the ground. I heard Tyler screaming my name as I bucked and twisted in the vampires hold, bolts of fire shot from my fingers, scorching the ground around us but not finding their intended target.

  Then I felt it. The pain of a vampire bite. That same pain I’d felt as a five-year-old girl, one that had never left me. It was like acid being poured into an open wound. As the fangs punctured the skin on my shoulder I screamed, my whole-body tensing, then convulsing. My demon writhed within me, then seemed to grow, sucking up all my energy and then detonating with all the power of a nuclear blast. Electricity and fire erupted, bathing both the vampire laying on top of me, mouth clamped to my shoulder, and myself, trapped beneath him.

  “RAE!” Tyler’s scream reached my ears and with one last final effort I managed to pry the vampire loose and wriggle out from beneath him, one hand clamped to my bleeding shoulder. My fire subsided and much to my disappointment the vampire, while smoldering, didn’t appear harmed. Although he was clutching at his throat and spitting on the ground.

  Scrambling away I rushed to Tyler, frantically tugging at the ropes tying him to the tree.

  “Run!” I gasped, swaying and holding my shoulder tight. It hurt. A lot. And I felt dizzy and nauseous.

  “Rae. Look.” Putting his arm around my shoulders Tyler turned me to look at the vampire on the ground before us. He was now on his back, writhing and clutching at his throat as if choking. His mouth was spewing black tar. Totally gross.

  Buchanan was approaching each vampire he’d taken down and securing them with a glowing collar around their necks, and another around their wrists. He came to stand next to us, watching with interest as the vampire twisted and writhed before eventually becoming still, apparently dead.

  “Just as I thought.” He muttered. I whipped my head around so fast I nearly fell over.

  “What do you mean? Did you LET me get bitten?”

  “Not intentionally. But you’re a lousy shot Shelton.”

  “I told you I wasn’t good with guns.” I muttered in defense.

  “You okay Tyler? They bite you?” Buchanan tilted Tyler’s head to the side to get a better look at the wound on his neck.

  “Yeah. Hurt like a bitch but I’m okay. They didn’t do that when they drank my blood though.” He nodded at the dead vampire at our feet.

  “I’ll call an ambulance – you both need medical attention. I need to deal with this lot. Remember, this was a coyote attack.”

  “Got it.” I muttered, slinging my arm around Tyler’s waist and holding us both up.

  “Coyote?” Tyler asked, confused.

  “Long story. Just go with it, okay?” I told him, leading him back to the tree he’d been tied to and allowing myself to slide down it’s trunk until my ass hit the ground.

  “How’d they get the jump on you?” I asked, watching as Buchanan dragged the dead vampire away.

  “Got me as I was leaving my apartment. They were on me before I could blink. These bastards are strong, silent, and fast.”

  We lapsed into silence, lost in our own thoughts until the ambulance arrived, closely followed by the Sheriff.

  * * *

  “The Sheriff kept me in an interrogation room for hours. HOURS!” I stood in front of Buchanan’s desk, hands planted on hips, static electricity making my hair stand on end. He looked up from the paperwork he was reading with a bored expression. “Hmmm?”

  Sliding into the chair opposite him I planted my elbows on the desk, then winced when it jarred my shoulder. I was sporting a large white dressing over the bite. Buchanan’s eyes went to it and then back to me.

  “All fixed?”

  “Sure.”

  “You know you heal quickly. No big deal.”

  “No big deal? It hurt like a son of a bitch – that’s a big deal to me! Why are you acting like this?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you don’t care? That what happened today doesn’t matter. Vampires took my brother. VAMPIRES!”

  “Shhh.” Pushing his chair back he walked around the desk and closed the door, leaning back against it to study me. “The public don’t know what it is I do here.”

  “What? Right under their nose? In their very own Police Station?” I scoffed, finding that hard to believe.

  “They know I’m a special agent sent to investigate the murders.”

  “They’re murders now? I thought you said they were Coyote attacks?”

  “We’ve agreed to go with that as a cover story but the Sheriff is aware something is amiss. He just doesn’t know what.”

  “Like he has blood sucking night crawlers killing his townsfolk?” That reminded me, “and another thing, how come these vampires were out in the sun? I thought they fried in the daylight.”

  “So did we. We’re looking into it.”

  “Right.” I wasn’t convinced he’d turn up much. Something weird was going on in Maxxan that’s for sure.

  “What happened? What happened to make me deserve this? Why are they after me? For they are, aren’t they?”

  “I can’t reveal details of an open case.” He pu
lled out a file and slapped it down on his desk, leaning back in his chair with an air of casualness I couldn’t pull off.

  “Are you serious?” My voice rose with my eyebrows, which I’m pretty sure had shot into my hairline. “Do they teach douchery at the SIA or do you have a natural talent?”

  “You have an extensive criminal record. You’re involved in an assault, not to mention the attack on Tyler.” His voice was bland, matter of fact. He had me, the bastard.

  “You’re blackmailing me? Blackmailing me to help you?”

  “You’ve been attacked by vampires, twice, and survived. The SIA wants you.”

  “You’ll follow through on your promise?”

  “I promised nothing.”

  “You said you’ll teach me how to control my demon.”

  His smirk told me he knew he had me over a barrel. And I wasn’t happy about it.

  “Welcome to the SIA Rae.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Like it or not you are now a consultant for the Supernatural Investigation Agency. You need to be smart, discrete, especially when you’re hunting vampires.”

  “Gotcha.” Climbing out of Buchanan’s SUV I was about to slam the door when his words stopped me.

  “First tip. Conceal your weapon.”

  “Shit. Right.” I tucked the pyre gun into the back of my jeans. Buchanan was still seated behind the wheel and I frowned at him, “you’re not coming with me?”

  Apparently my first mission was to identify and detain any vampires within the town limits of Maxxan. Easier said than done now that we knew they were day walkers. They looked like us, blended in.

  “I’ve got every faith in you.”

  “You do?” That surprised me, since even I didn’t have a whole lot of faith in myself.

  “Just get inside and do your job, okay?” My job was to sniff out any vampires in the nightclub we’d just pulled up in front of. How I was meant to spot them I didn’t have a clue, but Buchanan had seemed confident that I’d know one when I saw one. So far his training techniques sucked.

  “Fine Sargent.” I muttered underneath my breath, slamming the door I crossed the street with long strides. I wasn’t dressed for clubbing, that much was blatantly obvious as I pushed through the doors and was greeted with strobe lighting, music so loud my ears wanted to bleed, and young women dressed in obscenely short sparkly dresses. Squaring my shoulders, I nudged my way through the throng, uncaring of my jeans, boots and customary black tank. My shoulder still sported a dressing, although I was almost healed beneath. Pretty sure I stood out like dog’s balls.

  “Watch it.” A woman with her hair higher than her IQ snarled at me as I pushed past her. How the hell was I going to spot a vampire amongst all these humans?

  “Come here often?” The words breathed in my ear sent a shiver down my spine and I spun, hand going to the pyre gun in the back of my jeans.

  “It is you. I thought so.” The smile the creep gave me confirmed it. Fangs.

  “Hands in the air bloodsucker, you’re under arrest.” Whipping out the pyre gun I aimed it point blank at his chest. People around me screamed and began stampeding for the exit while the vampire tossed back his blonde head and laughed. Long and loud. What the hell? Didn’t he recognize authority when he saw it? Asshole.

  “The boss is going to love this.”

  “The boss? Who’s the boss?” I demanded, only the vampire laughed again, then leaned his face in close to mine. My demon finally decided to wake up – about time – and blue sparks darted across my skin.

  “All in good time. He’s not happy that you killed Marko.”

  “I don’t know who Marko is.” I flexed my fingers, trying to encourage my power. With the pyre gun and my own power, I could bring this vamp down, I was sure of it. Of course, I had no way of knowing if that was true or if I could even control my demon once I unleashed it.

  “We saw everything on the hill this morning. You don’t think we’d have sent Bonno out alone? Careless of him to get his sorry ass captured – we’ll spring him later, give him time to learn his lesson first.”

  Bonno was the vampire from this morning, the one who had taken Tyler. Only clearly he wasn’t behind the whole plan. I needed to find out who the mysterious ‘boss’ is, and the best way to do that? Beat it out of the vampire in front of me.

  Pulling the trigger on the pyre gun I smiled when the vampire grunted and grabbed his stomach, but the bastard didn’t go down and I frowned at the gun, did this thing have different settings? Buchanan had said it was a type of stun gun, to think of it as a taser on steroids. Well so far all it had done was given the vampire a tingling massage of his abdomen. Unfortunately, everyone had seen me pull the trigger and the club erupted in panic, we were swamped as patrons bolted for the doors, pushing between me and the vampire.

  “What part of discrete didn’t you understand?” Buchanan grabbed my elbow and dragged me across the street. I’d tumbled out of the doors with everyone else, frantically trying to find the vampire.

  “You sent me in there as bait didn’t you?” I had to hand it to him, as underhand as it was, it was a good idea. I’d have probably done the same.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “It’s what I would have done. I had no way of knowing who was a vampire and who wasn’t, but they all know me. Correct?”

  “I believe so.” He didn’t apologize for it and I kinda respected that.

  “You owe me Tacos.” I headed back toward his car. Our mission was blown for the night, might as well eat.

  “I owe you?”

  “If you’re going to set me up as bait, the least you can do is buy me dinner.”

  He muttered something I didn’t quite catch and I grinned to myself. Day one as an SIA Agent may not have gone as planned but I’d survived and managed to glean some intel to boot. The vampires in Maxxan were an organized crew who had a leader. I had no idea how we were going to sniff out said leader but I assumed Buchanan would have a plan.

  * * *

  “I thought you’d have a plan.” I scowled, hands on my hips as I surveyed the firearms laid out in front of me and the targets Buchanan had setup at the back of Grandma’s house.

  “The plan is you need to learn to shoot – with your eyes open – before you get yourself killed.”

  “You said you’ll teach me how to control my demon. Why can’t I use those powers?”

  “I will teach you but right now your powers are too unpredictable. You need backup, in the way of a firearm. Tyler told me you were shooting that thing with your eyes closed the entire time.” He shook his head in apparent wonder.

  “Tyler’s a snitch.”

  “He has your best interests at heart. Now shut up and listen.” For the next hour I did as instructed, which let’s be honest, is pretty rare for me. I have the attention span of a goldfish, or so I’ve been told, and we all know I don’t do authority well, so listening attentively and following his directions for an entire hour was somewhat of a record.

  “You don’t have to jump up and down and cheer each time you hit the target.” He sighed for the umpteenth time.

  “You take the fun out of everything.” I pouted, secretly pleased with my progress even if he wasn’t going to give me any encouragement. I didn’t like guns. Never had. My natural inclination was to close my eyes and squeeze the trigger. Today I’d managed to overcome my aversion and with my eyes open it wasn’t surprising that I managed to hit the target.

  We were packing up when Buchanan’s cell phone rang. Answering it he turned his back and walked a few paces away – I couldn’t help but admire his butt. When he turned back I quickly pulled my eyes to his face, a light flush burning my cheeks at getting busted checking him out. Only he hadn’t noticed.

  “Gotta go. Been another murder.”

  “Another one? That makes what? Four?”

  “Yep.” He began packing the variety of guns he’d brought out for training and snapping their cases closed. I helped him carry
them to his SUV.

  “Get in.”

  “You’re taking me with you?” I was surprised. After last nights fiasco at the night club I thought he may have grounded me.

  “You’ve gotta learn and this is why I hired you after all.”

  “I thought you hired me because you figured out I have something the vampires want.”

  “That too. Now get in.”

  We headed toward the opposite side of town, blue and red lights on the dash flashing. My adrenaline was pumping and I couldn’t sit still until he suddenly slammed on the brakes and turned to face me, “do you need to pee?” he asked.

  “What? No!”

  “Then for the love of god will you sit still? You’re wriggling around like god only knows what over there – I don’t need the distraction.”

  “I’m a distraction?” My lips curled in a grin.

  “Jesus Christ.” Returning his attention to the windscreen we began moving again and I sat daydreaming about the whether distracting Buchanan was a good thing or not. He was hot, no denying it, and the kiss that we’d shared was off the charts. Did I want more? Shit yeah. But now it was complicated. We worked together. I may or may not be stuck in Maxxan for up to a year. And I don’t do relationships. But I did want to jump his bones.

  We eventually pulled up at a small house on the outskirts of town. This was what my mom called the wrong side of the tracks. The poor side. Where you did what you could to get by and your neighbors didn’t judge – although they would steal anything of value not tied down.

  “Should she be here?” Sheriff greeted us at the bottom of the driveway. Buchanan dismissed him with a brief, “she’s with me.” And kept on walking. I followed.

  “Oh shit. Fuck.” I’d seen bad things before. And this was bad. A woman lay on the patch of dried out lawn at the rear of the property, her head several feet from her body. But it wasn’t the sight so much as the smell. Of blood. Of death. Clapping a hand over my nose I tried to breath through my mouth but you could taste it. I swallowed, trying not to hurl.

  “You holding it together?” Buchanan nudged me with his elbow and I nodded, not wanting to let him down.