Bad Vampire by Lauren Dawes (read aloud books txt) 📕

I wanted to scream ‘How in the hell was that possible?!’ but then I remembered I was but a puny, weak-minded human and the supernatural community was more advanced than us and scary as fuck. “Noted.”

“How is she?” Sawyer asked, coming to stand beside me. Showing a united front, good for him.

“Angry.”

“About?”

“The attacks last night.”

“Attacks?” I asked, stressing the plurality. I looked at Sawyer, who gave me an indecipherable look. To Alistair, I demanded, “How many were there?”

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled wickedly. “You really don’t want to know.”

I hated supes. No, correction—I hated vamps. They were so snooty and holier than thou. I got that they may have been on this earth for a lot longer than I had, but they were a bunch of douche bunnies who were too smug for my liking.

“Let’s get on with it,” Sawyer pressed. He walked up the stairs, and after a moment of hesitation, I followed. I didn’t like the idea of being inside a house I had no idea how to get around in with a bunch of fangers who wanted nothing more than to strip me of my hemoglobin.

Call me paranoid, but there it was.

Alistair flowed into the house like he was made of water, waiting until both Sawyer and I were inside before slamming the door. Something heavy and metallic slid into place, and I jerked around to see a foot-thick steel crosspiece barring the only easy entry and exit point. I guessed defenestration it was.

“That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” I jerked my chin in the direction of the door. “It’s not like this is a crime hotspot.”

Alistair indulged me with an innocent-looking smile, flashing his fangs. “Speaking of crime, I have to ask you to take off your weapons before you see my mistress.”

He snapped his fingers, and two more vampires appeared, startling me. My heart began to pound, fear kicking the bastard against my ribs in an effort to get them both the hell out of there. I tried to stay cool, to follow Sawyer’s lead. He opened up his arms like he was being frisked by security at the airport, looking cool and nonplussed.

I felt exposed, like I was going to lose my arsenal of security blankets. Sawyer did say they would remove weapons from me. I’d just been languishing in misguided hope that it wouldn’t happen.

“Spread your arms and legs.”

Turning my head, I stared at the vampire who had spoken to me. He looked like he’d also stepped from the set of Interview with the Vampire, the look complete with a frilly cream shirt and sapphire blue cravat. His vest and jacket both had gold embroidered thread woven into the fabric, the shape of a serpent appearing in every single curve and whirl. He gave me a predatory smile as he ran his hands over my shoulders, patting me down.

“Get handsy and you lose your life,” I said to him sweetly.

With a snarl, he continued working his way down my body. The first thing to go was my gun. I didn’t care so much about that one. I heard guns weren’t all that effective against vampires anyways. I sucked in a breath, though, when he got to the stakes on my chest. He eyed the holster.

“Forget to put something in this?” he asked, sliding a finger beneath the leather to indicate the empty holster.

I jolted in surprise but played it cool. “Oh, I did?” I feigned. “I guess that was stupid.”

I caught Sawyer’s smirk at my words.

“It might be the last mistake you make, human.”

“Promises, promises,” I replied.

I was left with all four stakes and Reaver. I would kiss that damn sword if we got out of this alive. The two lackeys finished frisking us, then dumped my sidearm as well as Sawyer’s small arsenal of a gun, half a dozen knives, and a stake onto the table. The pair of vampires disappeared as quickly as they’d arrived, and I was left with a distinct case of vertigo.

Clearing my throat, I asked, “What’s with the bar on the door?”

Alistair said, “The kiss sleeps here. Having someone come through that door during the day would be a disaster. This way.”

I wanted to argue that it was evening and the vamps were awake right now, but I shut my mouth. The fact that the bar was on the door wasn’t the point. The point was Roxanne Monroe was flexing her dominance and power, and I wasn’t about to cry foul.

I half expected Alistair to take us into a parlor where sweet tea would be served. Alas, no such luck. Instead, the vampire led us down a long hallway before opening a door that revealed a void of darkness.

“I’ll wait out here,” I told Sawyer, eying the descending stairs that disappeared into nothingness. There was no way I was going to go down there when I had no idea what was waiting. It was like the start of every fucking slasher movie I’d ever seen.

“It’s not safe to be left on your own,” Alistair pointed out. “There are some vampires here that will claim they didn’t hear the mistress’s edict to do no harm to you and Sawyer. But if you come with me and stay by my side, on my honor, no harm shall come to you.”

I hated this. I hated that I had to trust a vampire with my safety while we were in the belly of the beast, but what other choice did I have? Swallowing hard, I gestured Sawyer to go ahead of me while I took the rear position. I reached out for the handrail, the metal cold as ice against my palm. My necklace started to heat up a bit, just a little warning, and I clung to it. Lower and lower we went, the basement stairs defying logic and the laws of physics it seemed. Water dripped somewhere deeper into the darkness, but I focused on a flicker of what I thought could be torchlight