By Bru Baker
White-collar dad Hugh Whitby dotes on his adopted daughter, but she’s away at camp. Now it’s time let the vampiric urges he so tightly controls run wild and take advantage of his monster hall pass to feed on criminals. But when fae prince Rykoff of Harlow interrupts Hugh feeding, he catches Hugh’s daughter’s scent and vows to avenge the fae youngling he believes Hugh has captured.
Hugh had no idea his daughter wasn’t human, and it rocks the foundation of his world. He must convince Rykoff that the fae youngling in question is safe with her vampire dad and can prosper in the mortal realm—or risk losing her forever.
Thanks to my own Gaga ball enthusiast, who was definitely the inspiration for Ruby and all the antics she gets up to at summer camp. This also wouldn’t have been possible without Rhys, Tamm, and Jenn, who took this crazy idea for a short story and turned it into an amazing anthology. Much love to all of you.
SOMEONE KNOCKED softly on Hugh’s glass office door, breaking his concentration. He needed his A game on this call, so he did something he hated—he held up a finger, telling the knocker to wait. He couldn’t do much over the phone, but if he focused hard enough, he could use his powers of persuasion on the person outside the door.
He recognized the shock of bright blond hair, and his mouth watered involuntarily. Dammit. This phone call was all that separated him from his vacation, and he needed to make sure his brain was here and not leaping ahead to, ah, other appetites.
“That sounds frustrating. I’m sorry your experience has been so stressful,” he said, wincing when he heard his voice. It had lost the soothing, honeyed tone of persuasion, which meant he would be back at square one with the caller.
The woman on the line plowed ahead with her litany of complaints, as he’d known she would. Mrs. Simmons was a frequent caller, and he knew better than to interrupt her before she hit full steam. It would start the excruciatingly in-depth explanation of her problems all over again, and he didn’t have time for that now.
Hugh muted his headset and waved Cassandra into his office.
“Hey, Cass,” he said warmly, standing up to take her hands in his. Not everyone on the staff embraced his literal hands-on approach to management, and he was careful to respect each employee’s boundaries. But Cassandra always sought it out, so Hugh didn’t feel bad about the pulse of power he sent her way. She shivered slightly, her eyes glazing over for the fraction of a second it took for him to drain off the worst of her anxiety. A nice snack for him, and a heady punch of relaxation for her.
He checked to make sure his headset was muted before motioning her toward the cozy chair he kept for employees. Call-center work was hard enough without having to deal with an uncomfortable work environment. He’d paid for the cushy chair himself—officially because it made his office welcoming, unofficially because some people went a bit weak after he fed on their auras, and it helped to have a soft place for them to land if their knees went out from under them.
“I’m so sorry,” Cassandra said as soon as she sat down. “I know you’re trying to get out of here early to get Ruby, but I just couldn’t get her to calm down.”
The bitter-hot smell of her frustration tinged the air, and if his stomach could growl, it would have. He needed a decent feed before he left or he’d never be able to handle summer camp drop-off with Ruby. So much anxiety and excitement and fear—it was like a smorgasbord of emotions, and going in starving could be a disaster.
“Hey, hey. It’s fine.” He let a little of his power slip into his voice, and her shoulders dropped noticeably as she reacted. “You’ve only been here a month, Cass. You’re doing a wonderful job. Mrs. Simmons is a tough one. There likely wasn’t anything you could have done. She always escalates to a manager. That’s not a reflection on your abilities. It’s just how she is.”
Hell, the fact that Cass was still working there after a month meant she was better than most of the new hires. Not everyone was cut out for working in a health-insurance call center. Most people couldn’t handle the stress and anger, not to mention the desperation and fear. It was hard to talk to angry people day in and day out.
It even took a toll on Hugh, and he thrived on intense emotions.
No one called their insurance company because they were happy with their service. Literally every call was a complaint. If they were lucky it was something they could actually help with, but most of the time it wasn’t. Hugh wished he could shape the company’s policies and reverse claims denials, but he couldn’t. He and his employees were working from a limited scope, and that put them on the front lines with very little power to actually do anything.
“I know, but I just wanted to come tell you I’m sorry,” she said, her head hanging.
Crap. If he didn’t handle this right, she wouldn’t last much longer. He needed employees like Cass. She really was good at her job, but she was also empathetic. Hugh had come to rely on her as one of his main feeding sources because she felt so bad for all of the customers.
Mrs. Simmons paused long enough in her diatribe for him to get a word in edgewise, so he put a hand out to motion to Cass to be quiet and unmuted his headset.
“I can’t imagine the stress,” he said, agreeing with what she’d said. “And I am so sorry that you feel Unity Health isn’t serving you well. I am putting a note in your file that we’ve spoken and asking our billing department to take another look at that claim.”
Mrs. Simmons went off again, and he listened for half a beat to make sure it wasn’t anything new before muting her again.
“Cass, you absolutely did the right thing escalating her to me. I’ll finish up with Mrs. Simmons, and by then Doug will be in to take over for the evening shift. Why don’t you take a ten-minute break to go unwind in the employee lounge?”
She nodded and got up, her scent already lighter from his affirmation.
He was a good manager. And when you took his special abilities into account, he was a great manager. Vampires often worked in high-stress environments because it gave them so many emotions to feed from, but few used their abilities to help people feel better. Darker emotions like hate, anger, and lust were the best feeds, but they were hard to find unless you went hunting for them—literally. And he hated treating humans like prey.
The day-to-day emotions that swirled around a white-collar office were much more mundane. The desperation, fear, depression, and anxiety he siphoned off when he fed made a measurable difference in his coworkers’ lives. He was a Good Samaritan. Kind of. Feeding on them wasn’t great for keeping him sated, but it contributed a lot to office morale.
“Mrs. Simmons,” he said, cutting her off when she finally took a breath, “you’re absolutely right that we haven’t been able to help you here in the call center. So I will refer this to our case-management team. You have a complicated claim, and a case manager will be able to give you the time and attention you deserve.”
Anyone who called more than seven times in a calendar year was eligible for the case management program, and she definitely qualified. He’d selfishly been letting her go into the main call-center pool because it was good for his feeding schedule, but that had been going on long enough.
“The system will assign you a case manager tomorrow, and they’ll be in touch. I’ll follow up with you myself on Monday to make sure they have contacted you.”
That took the wind out of the old hag’s sails, and he could end the call with minimal threats and sputterings from her. He put a note in his calendar to remember to call her from the road on Monday.
He filed a report on the call and did the escalation paperwork that would hopefully ensure Mrs. Simmons wouldn’t drive Cass into a nervous breakdown before his return. Once he’d cleared his inbox, he could shut everything down and officially be on vacation for the next three weeks.
Hugh tried not to think about his monster hall pass, as he liked to call it, much during the year. He put a lot of effort into suppressing his vampire side when he was playing at being human, and that meant those three precious weeks were his only time to give in to his more demonic nature. Vampires weren’t meant to subsist on the kind of diet he allowed himself, at least not long-term. He got weaker and weaker throughout the year, though it didn’t matter much since even at half power he still had to work to conceal his abilities in order to fit in with humans.
Hugh just had to hang on until he could get Ruby to camp, and then his break could begin.
Hugh shivered and his mouth watered as memories of past trips flitted through his mind. He’d settled down when Ruby came into his life and tried to go cold turkey from feeding frenzies and general debauchery. That lasted until she’d been old enough to go to sleepaway camp. He wasn’t sure how he’d survived those first six years, only giving himself a few hours away from his humanity a month while Ruby was with a sitter. Even that hadn’t been nearly enough, since he was careful never to break his rule about draining people within a hundred-mile radius of his home. He’d survived on the residual energy from sketchy Tinder hookups and craigslist orgies.
But once she was old enough to spend time away at Oak River, that had changed. At first she’d gone for a week, then two. Now she was ten, and he’d finally been comfortable signing her up for a full month this summer. It was a huge financial drain, but so worth it. The last few years of summer hall passes had helped him feel more grounded and happier. Between his call-center job and his monster hall pass, he’d really been able to get into a groove. Sure, he had to fit all his orgies, feeding frenzies, and hunting into his brief respite from the responsibilities of parenthood every summer, but it was enough. It had to be.
Ruby needed him to be human, and humans did things like attend PTA meetings instead of attacking rapists in crack dens and draining them of their life force.
Hugh closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to focus. His vacation hadn’t officially started yet, and it wouldn’t begin until he finished up here. He’d already made all the arrangements for his stay in Detroit, so the best thing to do was put it out of his mind until he’d done everything on his list.
Then he’d get Ruby packed up for camp, and they could get on the road. There was a sleazy truck stop on the way to Michigan—maybe he’d reward himself by stopping there to hunt after drop-off.
HUGH RIFLED through the pile of duffel bags at the bottom of the stairs, sighing heavily when his hand closed over a box of granola bars. He pulled it out and kept digging, coming up with a dozen chocolate bars, a box of cookies, and, inexplicably for his vegetarian daughter, a handful of beef jerky sticks.
He confiscated the contraband and rezipped the bag, moving on to the next one. It yielded even more candy. Ruby had a sweet tooth, but this was ridiculous. Did she really think he wouldn’t check her bags? He wasn’t sure if he was angrier that she was trying to sneak food to camp or that her effort was so weak. All she’d done was pile clothes on top of the boxes. Amateur.
Hugh sensed Ruby coming around the corner, her curious absence of scent preceding her. His daughter was the only person he’d met who was immune to his powers. He couldn’t even scent her aura, which was how he’d found her.
He’d been stalking a man with an aura of violence so strong Hugh could practically see it when he’d come across a curious blank spot behind the dumpster of a Ruby Tuesday. He could tell there was something there, but he couldn’t read it. The surprise was enough to distract him from his hunt, and three months later he’d gone before a judge and adopted her.
It had only taken a little of his persuasion to grease the wheels. On paper he was a great choice as an adoptive parent. He’d been a nomad before finding Ruby, but in the weeks after he’d held her for the first time, shivering and swaddled in a too-thin blanket, all alone in the world, he’d changed his entire life. He’d gotten the job at the insurance call center and used the modest amount of money he’d had in the bank to buy a house.
It was the stuff that wasn’t on paper that would have caused problems.
Like the fact he was a vampire.
His daughter had no idea, which was part of the reason she was heading to summer camp for a month. He’d be able to hunt to his heart’s content and not worry about staying out past the sitter’s curfew or running into the PTA president with his fangs out.
Ruby stopped short when she saw her open bags, her eyes comically wide.
“I can explain.”
He might not be able to read her emotions, but luckily she was predictable. He didn’t need the upper hand provided by his powers when it came to his daughter.
Hugh spread the food out on the floor and quirked an eyebrow at her, letting the silence build until she burst.
“It’s not for me!”
He cocked his head to the side a bit, waiting her out.
“Last year Emma got a care package from home with snacks, and everybody wanted some,” she blurted.
“Ah. And you thought having contraband snacks would be the way to make friends?”
She’d been going to the same camp for years and had a group of girls she always bunked with. They were pen pals during the year, and they’d even visited a few of the girls who only lived a few hours away. Why did she need to make new friends?
Ruby hesitated and then shook her head. “No. She didn’t have enough to share with everyone, so kids started offering her money.”
Hugh bit back a laugh. He needed to be stern, no matter how amused he was by her scheme. “And you thought you could make money selling snacks?”
It was admirable, really. And if his health didn’t hang in the balance, maybe he’d let her do it. But he really couldn’t afford for her to be kicked out of camp. The small meals he could get during the year weren’t enough. He needed to drain a few victims to keep himself going, and that couldn’t happen here in Cincinnati. He needed the anonymity of a bigger city, one where a few unexplained deaths wouldn’t spark an investigation.
“Sorry, kiddo. You know the rules. No food from home.”
Ruby sighed and gathered up the pile. He followed her as she trudged into the kitchen.
“There are good reasons for the rules, Rube. Ashlynn’s diabetic, isn’t she? And Cadence is allergic to nuts.”
Sometimes the ridiculousness of his life snuck up on him, and this was one of them. He was a vampire. He killed people to stay alive. Yet here he was in his suburban kitchen, listing off his daughter’s friends with food allergies.
“And there are bears,” Ruby said knowingly.
“I don’t think there are bears, Ruby.”
“Gina saw one last year!”
He shook his head and let it go. There were no bears in Ohio. Or very few, at least. And certainly no bears at the camp Ruby attended. He’d spent months picking it out, reading tons of reviews and even touring the camp itself before enrolling her. He was a total helicopter dad, and he knew it.
“No contraband. Take a final pass through your room and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything,” he said like he wouldn’t do a double check himself before they left. His baby girl would be gone for a full month this time—there was no way he would leave anything to chance. What if she forgot the lavender-infused eye mask she needed to fall asleep every night? Or the natural silk pillowcase and sheets that were the only bedding her sensitive skin could tolerate without breaking out into rashes?
“Fine,” she said, flouncing up the stairs. “But see if I make you a bracelet to match your necklace now! I was going to, but that was when you were nice.”
He stifled a laugh as she stomped her way upstairs, his fingers automatically seeking the pendant he never took off. She’d made it in a rock tumbler last year at camp, and she’d been so proud of it. She’d found the piece of celestite in a riverbed when they’d been rock hunting and told him she’d known the moment she saw it in the mud that he needed to have it. He’d thought she was being dramatic, but she insisted he wear it at all times. He only took it off to shower, and if he forgot to put it back on, she’d pitch a fit.
He’d worn it dutifully ever since. After a few weeks, wearing it had become such a routine that he felt naked without it. He used it almost like a worry stone whenever he was troubled over something involving her. Like this latest blowup.
But the parenting blogs all said he needed to let her assert her independence and start taking more responsibility for things, so that’s what he’d do. Within reason. And only when it wasn’t actually important.
He huffed out a laugh at himself. He’d be in the running for dad of the year in no time. Except for his pesky habit of killing humans. That might give the awards committee pause.
Hugh puttered around while he waited for Ruby to finish up. He’d already packed, but he busied himself with small tasks like making sure the garden hose was off outside and that he hadn’t left the oven on or something like that. He’d be leaving for his vacation from camp, so no one would be here for the next few weeks.
He’d already emptied the refrigerator and taken the trash out. Mundane chores like that grounded him and helped keep his mind off the gnawing hunger that had been building in his gut as his anticipation of his holiday grew.
By the time they were in the car headed toward camp, he was a bundle of nerves. Leaving Ruby was necessary. It was good, even. They lived in each other’s pockets eleven months out of the year, so this break was healthy. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Ruby, who had her headphones on and was staring out the window at the endless expanse of farmland.
He wasn’t a neglectful father for needing time away. Plenty of parents did.
Only most of them didn’t murder people while they were gone.
GOD, HE was hungry.
He’d dropped Ruby off at camp a few hours ago, and it had taken a toll on him. He was attuned to emotions since he relied on chi to survive, and boy did summer camp drop-off have a lot of them.
He’d watched dozens of families have tearful goodbyes. Many had seemed outwardly happy, but every aura there had been tinged with sadness, even amid all the excitement and nervousness.
Meanwhile his kid—the only one whose aura he couldn’t read—had barely been able to stand still through registration before she’d given him a single wave and then darted off into the crowd to find her friends.
He had been so tempted to feed a bit while swimming in that miasma of emotion. Not from the kids—he’d never do that. But there were plenty of parents who were distraught at leaving their precious babies.
It would have been easy to put a comforting hand on the shoulder of the mom who was openly sobbing. Hell, it would have helped her, drawing out a bit of that sadness. But he’d always been careful never to mix Ruby’s life with his vampire needs. Even that time at the PTA meeting when a fistfight broke out over whether the annual bake sale could include items with tree nuts.
Ruby deserved a life free from supernatural shenanigans. He wasn’t sure he’d ever tell her about his true nature.
Not that he thought she’d take it badly. She’d probably be thrilled.
Her self-sufficiency was almost scary. It was good she felt so comfortable at camp, but it stung a bit to know she didn’t need him. She hadn’t even batted an eye when he’d told her he was traveling while she was at camp and wouldn’t be home to get her letters. Usually he took a few weekends away but stayed close in case she needed him.
She never had, of course. Ruby was a fierce little thing. Opinionated and wicked smart, cunning and manipulative, but always honest when it counted. She could take care of herself, and she’d proven that over the last few summers.
So here he was, living the dream, a free man for nearly a month.
What he needed was a good feed to clear his head. His mouth watered at the thought of feasting on a trucker hell-bent on taking advantage of a lot lizard. Truck stops were like fast food for a vamp. Open twenty-four seven and always serving something, even though the quality wasn’t great and you’d probably be hungry again in an hour.
Hugh scolded himself for his paranoia and got out of the car, taking time to stretch his limbs. His Corolla was a good family car, but it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to drive. Sometimes he felt like he was peeling his six-foot-three frame out of a clown car when he got out.
Two big rigs were parked in the truck lot, and three sedans were scattered through the lot he was in. Probably meant a clerk and maybe a customer or two inside. Not ideal, but if there wasn’t anyone to feed on, he could at least get himself a stale sandwich and a drink.
He hung out near the car for a few minutes, pretending to check the air in his tires and inspect the vehicle. Nothing that would draw suspicion in a place like this. It only took two passes around the Corolla before he scented someone whose aura was dark enough to make his skin prickle with anticipation. He spent a lot of the year feeding on people with gray intent. People who could go either way, who he could siphon the dark energy off of and let them go on their way, harmless. A small snack for Hugh; a big benefit for humanity.
This guy was not one of those, and Hugh had never been so happy to see a rapist. He straightened out of his crouch as the man came into view. He was wearing a tattered baseball cap pulled low over his face. His T-shirt had a trucking-company logo on it, probably the one he drove for. A big rig that hadn’t been there when Hugh arrived was now parked in the truck lot.
The trucker’s aura was saturated with malice. This was clearly not the first time he’d done whatever he was about to do. Hugh wondered how someone this stupid had never been caught. Not that Hugh was going to wait and catch the guy in the act. The acrid tang of murder was in his aura, so Hugh wasn’t going to feel bad about draining every last drop of his chi out of him.
Unlike the trucker, Hugh had already scoped out the parking lot and confirmed the only camera was one directly aimed at the door to record people coming in and out of the truck stop. He could grab the guy and haul him off into a darkened part of the lot without attracting any attention.
He sprang into action as soon as the guy was in reach. Chronically underfed as he was, Hugh was still much faster than a human. Even if there had been a camera, it wouldn’t have registered much more than a blur tackling the trucker and dragging him to the ground. It would be easy to bundle him into the back of his sedan and kill him there, but Hugh had a rule about keeping his feeds as distanced from his daughter as he could, and that included not bringing them into his car or home.
Hugh eyed the camera, confirming it was pointed solidly at the sickly yellow pool of light that illuminated the front door, one of the few security lights in the parking lot. He could feed on the guy here in the shadow of his car, but then he’d have to drag the body away later. That would be hard to pass off as a buddy helping his friend get somewhere to sleep it off if anyone discovered them, which was his go-to ruse when he was dealing with scumbags like this. He’d done it for years and never had anyone question it.
It wasn’t as safe as feeding in clubs and areas where the bouncers and police knew who he was and what he was doing. Hugh had a decent network of people who helped point him toward criminals to drain during his hall-pass trips, which made things a lot safer and easier for him. But he wasn’t going to pass up a golden opportunity to feed to his heart’s content and get a dangerous predator off the streets for good.
Hugh headbutted the struggling man to knock him out, then wrapped him in a bear hug and stood up. He could walk with the added weight easily, but he staggered around in case anyone was watching. There were dumpsters around the side of the building, and he headed in that direction, restraining himself from siphoning off any of the trucker’s aura as they walked.
He’d made it into the patchy brightness of the lights near the dumpster area when someone grabbed him from behind.
The shock of being snuck up on was a harder blow than the scrape of his face against the dirty cinder-block truck-stop wall. He’d had no inkling they weren’t alone in the parking lot. How was that possible? His attacker had no aura. No scent.
He lost his grip on the trucker, who fell to the pavement with a thump. Hugh saw him crawl away out of the corner of his eye, but he let him go, his attention focused on the man who was attacking him.
Hugh fought back, moderating his strength so he didn’t hurt the person. He could toss a human twenty feet if he wanted, but attracting that kind of attention was never good. Instead he pushed back, surprised when he found that even if he tried, he couldn’t free himself from the iron-like hold.
“Demon! How dare you feed so brazenly?”
Hugh struggled, unleashing his full strength in a panic. Even trying his hardest, he barely moved his attacker an inch. This wasn’t good.
The man leaned in and took a deep sniff. Despite himself, Hugh’s pulse jumped at the intimacy. His power pulsed, taking on a life of its own as it probed his attacker. He couldn’t stop it, and it was good, letting his humanity take a back seat to his vampire instincts. Like being alive for the first time in a long time. He hadn’t lost control like this in decades.
Tendrils of his aura encased the man behind him, caressing skin that was so curiously free of any scent. Hugh reared back when he realized that even with his extra senses at full blast, he still couldn’t smell his attacker.
Just like Ruby.
That put the brakes on his bloodlust like a bucket of ice-cold water. He’d never met anyone else that he couldn’t sense. It explained how the man had snuck up on him, but it also opened up more questions. What was he? And why did he lack a smell like Ruby did?
He struggled in the man’s viselike grip around his chest, his lungs screaming from lack of air as his breath came in tiny gasps.
“Do not try your tricks on me, you disgusting bottom-feeder,” the man muttered.
So he’d been able to feel Hugh’s aura? But it hadn’t weakened him like it should have. Usually when fully deployed, his powers were almost like a numbing agent. They prevented his victim from struggling and allowed him to feed without drawing attention.
Hugh stopped moving. “What are you?”
The man flipped him around like he weighed less than a rag doll. Hugh’s head bounced against the cinder block with a thud. He managed a few deep breaths before the man dug a forearm into his windpipe, choking him.
Hugh grasped at his attacker’s shoulders to dislodge him, but fighting only cut off his airway further. His lips tingled, and spots crowded his vision.
The man didn’t look like he should have enough strength to hold down a vampire, but he hadn’t even broken a sweat. He must be supernatural, but Hugh had never heard of a creature that didn’t have a scent. He’d suspect a spell or talisman that was hiding it if he hadn’t experienced the same thing with Ruby.
Did that mean she was supernatural? She’d never shown signs of superstrength or any other latent abilities, aside from her lack of scent. God. Ruby. He had to get out of this for her sake.
Hugh struggled harder against the man. He needed to get the upper hand so he could find out what kind of supernatural he was. What kind of supernatural Ruby was.
Fear for his daughter flooded his limbs with a well of new strength, and Hugh landed a punch to his attacker’s solar plexus. The man gasped and faltered for a split second, but it was enough time for Hugh to duck out of his grasp and pull the man’s arms behind his back. The move would have wrenched both shoulders out of their sockets if the man had been human.
Hugh swung him around and pinned him to the dumpster.
“Who are you?” he rasped out, his throat sore and raw.
“Someone duty bound to avenge the lives of the innocent humans your kind murders!”
“I have never killed an innocent,” Hugh said evenly. “Tell me what you are.”
The man renewed his struggle but remained silent.
The irony of this being very similar to the place he’d found Ruby gave him a renewed sense of purpose.
A terrified scream from inside the building made them both stop. He held the man’s gaze, both of them barely breathing as they listened.
Hugh was tempted to loosen his hold on the man, but he’d been on the receiving end of his brutality too recently to underestimate him. He kept the pressure on the man’s arms steady even though he hated the thought of how much pain the man must be in. His own injuries were throbbing in time with his heart, which was beating much slower than it should be. He needed to feed… and soon.
The man he’d been about to drain must be inside the truck stop now. Hugh was torn between the desire to go help the woman who had screamed and pressing his advantage with the man he had up against the dumpster so he could find out what he was.
Another scream rent the air, followed by a gunshot. Hugh gritted his teeth and made a decision.
“The man you ‘rescued’ from me is a criminal,” Hugh said, his voice low. “And he’s inside right now attacking a human that he intends to kill. When I grabbed him he had murder in his aura. Nothing but ill intent. I don’t kill innocents. I feed off men like him to save innocents from situations like this one.”
His attacker seemed to be weakening the longer they spoke. His tanned skin was turning sallow, and his breaths were becoming more labored.
“If I release you, will you try to kill me again?”
The man closed his eyes. “My name is Rykoff of Harlow. You have my word as a servant of the fae summer court that I will not harm you.”
Hugh sent up a prayer that he wasn’t being a soft-hearted idiot and let go of the man. He stepped back, ready to defend himself, but the man slumped forward into a heap on the dirty ground.
“Will you heal?”
The man looked up, and the color of his eyes struck Hugh. They were gray like Ruby’s, and in this light they almost looked amber. Like hers did when she got upset.
“Aye, but not in time to help. I need to get away from this iron before I can regain my strength. Go.”
Hugh hoped he wasn’t signing his own death warrant as he turned his back on the man, but unless he was a terrific actor, the guy wasn’t in any shape to attack. Hugh tried the back door, but it was locked from the inside. Cursing, he ran around the perimeter of the building and wrenched open the front door.
An electronic chirp sounded when he stepped inside, but neither of the occupants acknowledged him at all. The truck stop smelled like burned coffee and stale hotdogs, all overlaid with the overwhelming stink of lust and hatred.
He hadn’t been lying when he’d told the man he never drained innocent people. It was one thing to siphon off a little greed or sadness—or even excitement and attraction—to get by, but he didn’t believe in killing innocents so he could live.
Hell, he rarely even drained people who weren’t innocent. His powers didn’t work that way. He fed off a person’s chi, and he was very good at directing what part of the aura he consumed. If he was at an orgy, he’d sample a little lust from everyone. If he was just with one person, he’d feed at the moment of their orgasm, siphoning off the burst of pleasure but leaving them with the endorphin high.
When he fed off criminals, it was different. He’d dig down deep, pulling out all their darkest emotions and motivations. Unlike when he fed off innocents, he didn’t worry about going too far. He’d search out every bit of lust, anger, or hatred that the person harbored and yank it out. Besides giving him the nourishment he needed to stay strong, it also had the basic effect of chemically castrating the offender. The only time it killed them was if there was no redeemable part of their aura left. He didn’t feel bad about those.
This guy, though.
This guy he was definitely gonna kill.
The clerk must have been restocking energy drinks when he’d come up on her, and the man had her forced up against a pallet of them, one hand holding a gun on her while the other pawed at her clothes. The gunshot they’d heard must have been a warning, since Hugh didn’t smell any blood. The woman was unharmed. Physically, at least.
Hugh didn’t bother masking his speed as he rushed the man, hitting him with his full body weight and sending the gun skittering across the floor. The woman jumped up and ran to the front of the store, and Hugh figured he had a few minutes before the police arrived. Not ideal, but he could work with it.
Since vampires drained psychic energy and not blood, contrary to pop culture’s portrayal of them, there wouldn’t be any sign of Hugh’s feeding when the medical examiner autopsied the body. Vampire kills were recorded as strokes or heart attacks. The abrupt severance of the chi from the body could cause both.
Hugh flattened himself over the man’s body, and from the clerk’s view it would look like he was just holding him down until the police could arrive. That would be the statement he gave the officers too.
Hugh nestled his head against the man’s throat, using the man’s heartbeat to help ground himself. He gathered his energy and cast it out like a net around the man’s body. His own muscles went stiff as he drained him, the influx of power both exhilarating and painful. He normally liked to take his time to avoid this, but he had to finish before the police interrupted them. There was nothing to salvage in the man’s aura. If Hugh didn’t kill him, he’d do the same thing again.
“AND YOU two don’t know each other? You don’t know how he came to be all banged up?”
Hugh looked over the cop’s shoulder to watch the paramedics tending the man who’d jumped him. Rykoff, he’d said his name was. Hugh doubted they’d be able to do anything to help him, since he was supernatural, but they probably couldn’t do anything to hurt him either.
He sent up a silent prayer that the fae had excellent hearing, like vamps. He needed Rykoff to give the same statement he did so they could get out of here without raising any alarms with the police.
“He was on the pavement when I got here. He told me some lunatic had jumped him and then gone inside, and I ran in when I heard the woman scream and a gunshot.”
He saw Rykoff incline his head a fraction, and Hugh almost sighed in relief. So yes on supernatural hearing.
The cop had Hugh hold out his hands so he could inspect them. Ten minutes ago they’d been scraped and bruised from his fight with Rykoff, but feeding off the guy inside had healed him. There wasn’t a scratch on him, which supported Hugh’s story that he’d tackled the man and then done nothing but hold him down until the police came. He’d added a bit about the man going stiff and gasping for breath, which the clerk could confirm if she’d been watching. The autopsy would show a heart attack, most likely.
“What was your business here? You just happened to stop?”
The best lies were ones sprinkled with truth, Hugh had learned. “I’m heading up to Detroit for vacation, and I got hungry and pulled in to grab something to eat.”
The officer nodded and tucked his pen back into his pocket. “Thank you, Mr. Whitby. The paramedics are going to check you over just in case, and then we’ll see if we need any further statement from you. Please don’t leave the scene.”
Hugh wandered over to the ambulance, keeping his distance from the hysterical clerk who was being treated inside. He hoped they could give her something to calm her down. He’d do it himself, but he didn’t think she’d let him anywhere near her. Not that he blamed her. She’d had a hell of an evening.
The same officer who’d questioned him had Rykoff off to the side now, so Hugh took the spot he’d been in earlier, leaning on the bumper of the ambulance. He waved the paramedic away when she tried to poke him.
“I’m fine,” he said, remembering he should be shaken up a beat too late. “I mean, physically I’m okay. I didn’t hurt myself when I grabbed him.”
The paramedic ignored him and slapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm. Hugh swallowed a curse. His blood pressure and heart rate ran low, especially after a good feed. The last thing he needed was a trip to the hospital because the EMT thought he was in shock.
He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, hoping the sudden pain would raise his heart rate. He stood like he was craning to see what was happening, which drew an annoyed noise out of the EMT, who frowned at him.
“Please sit still while I get your vitals,” she said. “You may feel fine, but you could still have an injury.”
She put her stethoscope against the crook of his arm and started pumping the cuff. His gaze darted to Rykoff again, who was running a hand through his messy hair as the police officer took his statement. He was telling him the same thing Hugh had, adding more details about how the man had jumped him. Good.
“Have you ever been told your blood pressure is very low?” the EMT asked. “What is normal for you?”
Fuck.
“Uh, I don’t know,” he mumbled. What was a normal blood pressure? He didn’t want to spit out numbers that would be unreasonable. “I’m, ah, healthy? I don’t really go to the doctor.”
The paramedic made a low noise. “I’m not happy with your vitals. Sit tight, and we’ll check them again in a few minutes, okay?”
She patted his knee and climbed into the ambulance to check on the clerk. Hugh knew he could refuse treatment, but that would create a paper trail, and he didn’t want that. Supernaturals were supposed to keep a low profile. Being found at the scene of a crime, especially one where the criminal died, was bad enough. He didn’t need to add to the situation by causing a scene about refusing medical care.
They’d let Rykoff be taken for questioning, which had to mean he’d convinced them he was okay. Did that mean fae vitals were closer to humans than vampires were? Or maybe he could glamour or do some other mind control?
Hugh’s limited powers of persuasion hadn’t affected Rykoff at all. He wouldn’t be able to finesse his way out of the paramedic’s concern either. His abilities hinged on manipulating emotions, and the EMT was very professional. She had no emotional involvement for Hugh to pluck at. As for Rykoff—Hugh didn’t know if fae were immune to vampire powers or not. It could be that or a strong set of mental barriers. Very little was known about the fae because they rarely left their secluded realm.
Hugh could barely sit still. Power thrummed through him, roiling under his skin from his feeding. It had been months since he’d been this well fed. He hadn’t drained anyone since winter break, when Ruby had spent the weekend at a friend’s house and he’d dipped down to Chicago to hunt.
He had so much energy. He wanted to run. To fuck.
Too bad Rykoff had made it clear he hated vampires. Hugh would love to see what he was like in bed. If he was a quarter as fierce as he’d been while they were fighting, he’d be well worth the effort.
Would Rykoff be rough in bed? He was stronger than Hugh, which meant Hugh wouldn’t have to hold himself back. Excitement rippled up Hugh’s spine, his breath quickening as he thought about what it would be like to have Rykoff underneath him.
He shifted his gaze from Rykoff to the paramedic when she joined him a moment later.
“Okay, let’s get that blood pressure one more time.”
Hugh watched her carefully as she took his vitals again, relaxing when she seemed satisfied.
“That’s better.” She took the cuff off him. “No chest pain? Dizziness?”
She shined a light in his eyes.
“No, I’m fine.”
Horny as hell, but it had brought his blood pressure up, so mission accomplished.
“You could still go into shock later,” she said, packing things up. “Give your doctor a call or go to the ER if you experience shortness of breath, light-headedness, or anything out of the ordinary tonight, okay?”
He nodded. “I will.”
The officer was still talking to Rykoff, so Hugh walked over to his car and sat on the trunk. This was shaping up to be a terrible vacation, even if he had just drained someone.
Rykoff was fae, and unless he was mistaken, so was Ruby. Hugh had to learn whatever he could about them from Rykoff, and that would probably be a difficult task, given that the guy had tried to smash his head in an hour ago. Fae were a mystery in the supernatural community. They were one of the few groups that didn’t take part in the governing councils tasked with protecting the supernatural secret. It had never been an issue before, since they stuck to their own realm. Until now, apparently.
Hugh wasn’t used to not having any inkling what other people were thinking. He could read everyone but Ruby, and luckily the kid wore her emotions on her sleeve.
As far as he could tell, Rykoff had none of Ruby’s tells. He was stone-faced, his emotions held firmly in check. Hugh was flying blind.
At least he wasn’t actively trying to kill Hugh anymore. That was a plus. Though who knew if the truce was temporary or not. They hadn’t exactly had time to negotiate terms when Hugh had dashed off to kill the bad guy.
He dangled his feet off the trunk and rested his head in his hands, listening to the surrounding conversations. Two officers were talking about a baseball game. The techs were chattering about inane things as they processed the scene inside. Rykoff was feeding the cop who was interviewing him a load of crap about why he didn’t have his driver’s license on him.
Shit.
He needed to get Rykoff out of there before the cop ran him through the system and came up empty.
One of the perks of being registered with the Greater North American Supernatural Council was having help in situations like these. He’d worked for the council before adopting Ruby, when he’d taken a big step back from everything related to the supernatural world in an effort to keep her safe.
Hugh didn’t know what kind of safeguards, if any, the fae had to protect them from discovery. He sure as hell wasn’t going to wait around and hope Rykoff had enough sense to pull himself out of this.
He hopped off the trunk and jogged across the lot. His muscles screamed for a real run, but he forced himself to keep a very human pace. Rykoff looked about two questions from an explosion when he got to him.
Luckily the cop was frustrated too, which Hugh used to his advantage. He pretended to stumble and put his hand out to brace himself, grabbing the officer by the shoulder. He drained off the frustration and focused on replacing it with euphoria.
“This is an open-and-shut case. Isn’t it nice for a change to have things all wrapped up so neatly? I bet when you run the attacker’s prints, you’ll find a lot of unsolved cases too. This will be great for your career. It was lucky for you that Rykoff and I were here and were able to take the attacker down.”
The cop’s eyes glazed over briefly, and he grabbed a hold of Hugh.
“Careful there, Mr. Whitby. You wouldn’t want to come through a violent crime unscathed and then fall in the parking lot afterward.”
Hugh grinned and sent another burst of goodwill through their link before he let go. “Thanks for catching me. I was coming over to see if you had everything you needed from us.”
The cop looked a bit dazed but nodded. “The clerk was lucky you were both here. I don’t think this was the first time that perp did this, and we can all rest easier knowing he’s not going to hurt anyone else.”
Hugh nodded. “Definitely. You have my contact information if you need anything else. We’ve had a long night, and we’re going to leave now.”
“Yes. I’ll be in touch if we need more details. Both of you should go get some rest.”
Rykoff looked angry but followed Hugh when he walked away. He waited until they were out of earshot before laying into him.
“What did you do to him? I told you I won’t abide you harming humans.”
“I didn’t hurt him,” Hugh snapped. “You’re the one traipsing around without a human cover story. He would have tried to run your information, and then what?”
Rykoff scowled. “I move through the mortal realm as I please.”
“In a car you don’t have a license for, you mean.”
“I do not require a vehicle to travel.”
Wait, what?
“This truck stop is in the middle of nowhere. The only way to get here is off the interstate. How did you get here without a car?”
A small smile curved Rykoff’s lips. “Magic.”
Hugh doubted that. Magic had a very noticeable scent—like burned ozone. And there wasn’t a trace of it here.
The ambulance had left, but the parking lot was still teeming with police. Unless Rykoff’s method of travel was inconspicuous, he wasn’t getting out of here anytime soon. From the look on his face, he seemed to realize that around the same time Hugh did.
“I opened a portal. I can move through the mortal and fae realms through them,” he said with a sigh.
Hugh grinned. This was his chance to find out more about the fae.
“Well, then, it seems you might need a ride. How fortunate that I have a car.”