Page 38 of Midlife Vampire Unexpected

“Shit, that was pretty impressive,” I muttered as I raced forward to pull the lid of the bunker open.

“No doubt this was a safe place in case for some reason the enemy ended up flying bombers over here,” Antonio said.

“Bianca!” I called down through the opening. My voice echoed against the cement-sided bunker.

I stood up on my haunches seeing nothing in the darkness below.

“Chloe, don’t,” Antonio said, but it was too late. I had already pushed off the edge of the floor and was shooting down into the darkness of the bunker. My feet hit cement as I crouched down and made a quick scan around.

“Bianca,” I shouted rushing to the limp pile in the corner. “Bianca,” I cried, pulling her forward and up into my arms. I felt for her pulse.

“She’s got a pulse, but it’s weak,” I called up to Antonio.

“They must’ve drugged her,” Antonio said. “Otherwise, her Lycan genes would heal themselves and she would be fine.”

“It’ll take time for the drugs to wear off.”

“Here’s a ladder,” Antonio said, sliding it down. “Can you lift her?”

Could I ever? I probably could’ve thrown her up through the opening if I trusted my aim at getting her through the narrow hole. Being a vampire was like what I imagined being on steroids was like, because I felt as though I could take on the whole freaking world in one second. I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. It wasn’t the most elegant way to get Bianca out of the bunker, but it was efficient. Her red curls bobbed against my back as I headed for the ladder. I balanced her with one arm and used the other one to pull myself up as I climbed up and deposited her on the edge.

“Did you find anything out from the others?” I asked Antonio.

“You’ve got a good right hook,” Antonio chuckled. “The harpy is out cold. The second vampire is coming to, though. Maybe we can get some feedback from her.”

We made our way over to the vampire whose arms were tied with string dipped in holy water which apparently was something Antonio carried with him in his little tool kit. I had to remind myself to stay away from him and his toolkit.

The vampire looked up, her red eyes shooting daggers as she curled her lips at me. “Pretty impressive move,” she said.

“I could teach it to you, but we need to find out some information.”

“I don’t need to learn anything from you,” the vampire said. Antonio moved up behind her and held a wooden dagger to her heart.

“In one second, I’ll kill you. How does that sound for a deal,” Antonio said. “I love killing vampires. Vampires annoy the fuck out of me because you guys are always sucking people’s blood and killing the wrong people.”

He sounded hostile and angry, as if he had a personal vendetta against vampires. I glared at him. What the fuck did all that mean? And why was he letting me feed on him if he was such a hater of the vamp?

“What do you want to know?” the vampire asked.

I wanted to grip her by the throat and choke the answer out of her. “Who’s keeping werewolves out of Southern Oregon?”

“How the hell should I know,” the vampire said. “All I know is they put out a huge hit. So big, in fact, the six of us were willing to share the bounty. We knew there’d be others, but we didn’t think two people could take us down.”

“Do they know you have her?” I asked.

“Yeah, they’ll be here soon.” She grimaced as Antonio pushed the wooden blade against her chest.

I looked at Antonio. “Let her go.”

“Why would I let her go?” he asked. “She’s going to cause a nuisance.”

“Take the wooden dagger from her chest. I’m going to make a deal with her.”

“I am not making a deal with you, not for one second,” she said.

“Your job here is to shut up and to think smart. You want to live right?” I leaned in inches from her. “Then I suggest you listen closely. I’m going to put you down in the bunker, and you’re going to be quiet. We’re going to put you in Bianca‘s clothes so you smell like her. You’re not going to look like her, but it’s dark enough down there. It’ll take them a little while to figure it out.”

“I’m not your bait.” she snarled.

---