Misty Read online

  On the way back she suggested going out to the same restaurant again, since she had another dress to wear. Alex clearly liked to dress up, so he was all for it. She took her time and again put her hair up and lots of makeup and high heels—only this time, she took a large purse. She put in it all the money she had and her debit card that she knew she would only be able to use once. She took her credit cards so she could sell them on the street. She put a set of jeans, flats, and a sweatshirt into the purse.

  She waited until late in the night, after dinner, then through several dances. She said she needed to go to the ladies room. He checked out the hallway, smiled and gave her a big bow. He went back to the table. As she hoped, he was only checking for Vamps, not to see if she might be looking to escape. He had gotten accustomed to her staying with him.

  She went into a booth and immediately started to change clothes. The first change was easy. She got out of the dress and heels then into the jeans, sweatshirt, and flats. She came out of the booth, dumped everything she had taken off into a waste bin, putting a lot of the dirty paper towels on top of them. She went to the mirror to let her hair down. She put it in a low ponytail. She took a couple of damp paper towels and washed the make-up off. She changed the red lipstick for a soft pink. She came out of the restroom slowly, but did not see anyone so she turned down the hallway away from the noise of the restaurant. As she hoped, there were a couple of rooms at the end there was a door with a red exit sign. She crossed her fingers that an alarm would not go off as she opened the door. She took a deep breath, then walked out into the alley.

  She went to the main street and saw a taxi. She walked over to it and got in. She instructed the driver to take her to the bus station. He nodded, hit the mileage tracker, and drove away. She glanced out the back window and saw no one following them. After the taxi dropped her off in front of the small bus station, she went in to buy maps. She found the location of the train station so she started walking. It was a long walk, but she felt she could make it before dawn. At the train station she went in and read the board to see the departures. The next train was leaving in a half hour, heading north towards Chicago with lots of stops in between. It suited her. She bought a ticket to Chicago, but thought she had a choice to get off anywhere along the route.

  She finally boarded the train and settled down in the cloth seat that smelled of antiseptic and had one of those little white cloths with blue stripes pinned to the headrest. It did not take her very long to drift off to sleep, but the first stop jolted her awake. She was unsure where she was for a moment or two. A porter came through announcing they had 15 minutes at this stop.

  “Excuse me, will a food cart be coming through?” She asked. He assured her that one would be coming as soon as the train resumed its journey. As predicted, when the rolling of the train allowed a cart to pass by each seat, she bought a bagel and coffee. She took some time to look out the window. The train car she was on only had a couple of others and everyone seemed to want to mind their own business. She got no Vampire signal. She rode the train comfortably for most of the next day. She allowed herself to doze off. Each time the train came into a station she would wake up, stretch and casually watch as people boarded. There were not many people who rode AmTrack in the middle of the week. She still did not feel any Vamp tingle.

  Finally she realized they were at a large city, so she got off. She went with the crowd, drifting into the city and looked for a busy but sort of run down area. She looked at the windows of the cheap restaurants, watching for help wanted signs. She stopped at one and the old man running it grudgingly offered her a job. She asked about a place to stay but he said he was not her father so she dropped the issue, making sure she would be back tomorrow. She realized he did not ask for her social security number or ID. He told her he paid in cash on Thursdays. Hmmmm. Okay, this would work.

  She was not sure where she would sleep but she went to the local Wal-mart and brought a few clothes. The big purse and the Wal-mart bag would do for a suitcase for a while. She walked the streets until dark, not feeling any Vamp vibes. She came to an area where she recognized a couple of hookers were standing under a street light. She walked up to the two girls, getting an unfriendly once over.

  “Hey, if you think you are going to move into our territory, our pimp is going to kick the shit out of you.” One of the girls said as she gave her a shove.

  She raised her hands to pacify the women. “Look, I am trying to get even with my Dad and I want to sell my credit cards. Do you know anyone who might want to buy a couple?”

  The girls looked at each other then one of them walked away, pulling out a cell. Within minutes a car pulled up. Of course it was a huge shiny tricked out black SUV. The girl walked over to the driver’s window and talked quietly. The driver motioned Misty over.

  She hesitated, figuring as long as she didn’t get into the car, it was okay. She was surprised to see the guy in the car—he was an eighteen year old preppy. He looked like he should be in college studying math or hitting on cheerleaders.

  “So you want to sell your cards, why?”

  “I want to screw with my dad. No matter how old I am, he still pulls the purse strings. How much will you give me for them?” She pulled out her wallet, starting to show the cards, but he grabbed her wallet.

  He began going through it carelessly. He checked her driver’s license against the names on the cards. He pulled out five cards, handing them to a guy in back and reached inside of his own pocket. He pulled out some cash, counting out some and put it in the wallet. She held her breath but took the wallet as he handed it back to her.

  “Now get lost.” The big SUV pulled away.

  She was afraid to stay around and count to see what he had paid, so she just started walking away. She did ask the girls where the bus station was located and went in that direction. It was a long walk but she had nothing but time, so as long as she got no Vamp tingles she wasn’t in a hurry. She hated to give up the easy job but she did not want to be around when someone started using the credit cards.

  Chapter Nine

  The Council had made its decision. It was going to strip Bathromo of his district and his command, along with some of his powers. This act was like brain surgery on mortals. Having several strong Vampires actually going into his power center would reduce the mental powers of the strong old Vampire.

  Bathromo roared at the reading of the verdict, and Rad was thinking he would be instrumental in the sentence, when he felt the vibration of his phone. He had taken several messages during the Council hearing, but they had been normal business. So he had looked at the names, ignored or read the messages, deciding to answer later. This time he expected more of the same type of information as he took his time pulling and looking at the cell face, but a shock set in as he read the short message. She is gone. Alex.

  He stood up. All five council members’ eyes pierced him. Interruptions were not approved. “Sorry, true emergency.” He left the room and of course, a servant ran ahead to open doors and summonedthe elevator. He had his sunglasses on and was in his car ordering a private jet almost before the car was moving. He hunted for contacts and was able to reach a military contact in England that would get him to Washington in a jet, as fast as the now non-existent Concord. He chartered a private jet from Rome to the military base in England. Before getting outfitted for the small fast plane, he was able to have a private jet waiting for him in Washington to get him to Alex. From there he would find out where to start looking for her. Time was of the essence—her life was at stake.

  He made the flights to reach Alex faster than anyone could have under normal circumstances, but he was still frustrated by the hours lost in the travel time. He did use the Vampire speed as he landed at night, going from the airport to the suite atop the apartment complex where he had left her. He flew through the stairwell, flying above the stairs and knocking the kitchen door off it’s hinges as he burst into the apartment.

  Alex was waiting, standing
in the middle of the living room with Rad’s servant, Marco.

  Marco bowed to Rad and reported. “We have contacted the leaders of domains in three states that owe you allegiance. We also have sent out a reminder on the Council Directive on the woman. We have several volunteers of your team who are willing to be here at your service when you say.” Marco quit talking, and watched as Rad began to strip.

  Rad went into his bathroom to the shower, leaving the water cold, and washed off the travel stains that he was feeling. He started dressing in black leather pants, black tee shirt, and pulled out a black leather jacket. He found his favorite black Italian leather boots that reached half way to his knees.

  Both men watched all of this in silence. But when he pulled out two silver knives, one short one that fit into his boot and one long one that went into the sheath that was on his back between his shoulders, the men looked at each other.

  Finally Alex spoke. “You are in hunting garb. You are going alone?”

  Rad looked up at them. There was a glow in his eyes and a look on his face that neither of them wanted to question. “I am the best enforcer the Council has—that makes me the best hunter. I want this female. Yes, I am going alone. Anyone else would throw off the scent. Do not let the Council know that she is not in our possession. Marco, take care of my businesses and investments as usual. Alex, stay in touch with your cell phone in case I do need you for any reason.” He left through the stairwell, half flying as he dropped down the opening.

  He took the sedan to the nightclub first, to follow her trail from the table to the dance floor, to the bathroom, to the back door. He found where she went out into the alley. He knew without a doubt which way she had gone, but at the street he lost her scent. So, would she take a taxi or a ride from a stranger? He would check out taxis first.

  * * * *

  She decided that the train ride was over. She needed to get rid of her smell. She walked through town to find the Good Will store. She went in, first picking up a pair of gloves that she put on. Then she bought two complete outfits, from underclothes to jackets down to shoes. She also found a decent backpack, then went to the front desk. They only asked for fifteen dollars for everything, giving her the usual open value receipt.

  She walked with her sack for about a mile, then went into a restroom in one of the usual stores attached to a gas station to change. She put all of her old clothes into the bag. The new stuff went into the newly obtained backpack. She purchased a to go meal from the store, mostly junk food, but there was a basket of apples, so she added two for health. On the way out she dumped the Good Will bag into the dumpster at the side of the store. Along with a meal, she had purchased a map of the US and a large can of mosquito spray. She had decided to travel south, into the desert states. She had never been in Arizona or New Mexico, but she thought that there probably were not too many Vampires in those states, due to the direct sun. She used the spray liberally, not knowing if it was any good at covering her smell, but she could only try.

  She headed out of town looking for the main highway, hoping to catch a ride. She saw a truck stop with a few big rigs. It only took her a short while to get a ride with a driver who was not on the make. They talked about his family as they made their way south. She rode for twelve hours as he drove a little longer than he should have by law, but he had delivery times to meet. When he had to turn east for his delivery, she thanked him for the ride and got off at another truck stop.

  There was a sign in the window, HELP WANTED. She went in to see what type of work was available. They needed kitchen help and she felt that was great. It was dirty, hot, and it would keep her away from the public. For the next two weeks she scrubbed pots, emptied garbage cans, mopped floors, and filled the huge dishwashers. Actually it was not that bad. The five other workers in the back kitchen were a happy go lucky bunch, with a lot of kidding, and they helped each other at the end of shifts, since the restaurant was open 24 hours.

  There was another strange blessing. You soon picked up the smell of the kitchen on your body. You left smelling of French fries, grease, and old fried fish. Of course there was lots of garbage. Everyone complained about it at first, but then said the usual, “You get used to it after a while.”

  One night, near the end of her shift she was helping one of the guys take out cans to the dumpster when she got the Vamp tingle. She stoppedand looked around. There were standard fuel pumps in front, usually with several vehicles pulled up as travelers from the main highway stopped in for fuel. There was a large black SUV and a tall good looking man was putting fuel in it as he leaned against the back fender. Bingo.

  She stepped back into the shadows immediately, getting behind her working buddy and watched the Vamp fuel his car. The male did not look her way but she did not want to take any chances. She went inside and without saying anything she found a garbage bag. She went around a corner stuffing her jacket along with the backpack down into it. She picked up another can, put the bag into the top and went back out the door. No one said anything, just assuming she was taking out more garbage.

  She pulled out the plastic bag and took out her items. She put the jacket on and an arm through one strap of the backpack. She walked away from the pumps, keeping the building between her, the cars and people. She headed to where the trucks were stacked up for the night. Misty walked until she found a carrier that was moving chickens. She looked around, and when she didn’t see anyone, she crawled up on top of the stack of wooden cages. She was rewarded with a separation of the boxes that allowed her to crawl down like a stepladder to the floor of the trailer bed. It stank from the chickens but there were some rough empty bags piled up. It suited her purpose, so she settled down and actually got some sleep until the movement of the truck woke her.

  * * * *

  It took him days to track down the taxi driver and get the information from his mind, more time lost when he realized she had not taken a bus. He was so exasperated, yet his respect for her went up. This hunt was going to be a lot more difficult than he had expected. Something stirred in his body. It had been a long time since he had been on a real hunt and he wondered whether it was the excitement of the hunt, or the reward at the end that turned the heat up in his body.

  He lost two more days finding the trail on the train. His anger took over when he could not find where she had left the train. Time lost, and he had the fear that some rogue Vampire might find her. He caught the feel of her from someone as he was traveling in a car along the train route in the suburbs of a city. He stopped, parked, and got out then went into shadow mode. He went back to find out who had the thought of her. He found the young man, obviously a drug user who was buying from a man in an alley.

  Why would this kid be thinking of her? As he probed the kid was not seeing her, he was only thinking of her name. He let himself be seen and walked up to the two as the action was taking place. The pusher, not a user himself, reacted quicker. He pulled back, intending to just run away. Rad let him as he did not sense any contact with Misty, but as the young addict tried to leave, he grabbed him and pinned him to the dirty wall of the alley.

  “Are you a cop?” rhe kid squealed as he tried to hang onto the tiny plastic bag he had just purchased.

  Rad took the bag and looked at the kid. “You know the woman, Misty Bower?”

  The kid looked confused and kept his eyes on the plastic bag in Rad’s hand. Rad shook him, probing his mind. Rad was confused, because the name was there but the view was not. He got a thought of a credit card. He gave the kid a mental order to stand still as he went through his pockets. He found a lot of junk that he threw on the ground but finally pulled out the one credit card that belonged to Misty.

  He turned in anger, lifting the young man off his feet to search his mind to find how he had obtained the card. He found another young man, an expensive car and hookers. He came very close to throwing the mortal across the alley but restrained himself and left the kid to his vices that would soon kill him.

  He
tracked the hookers, suggested to them he had money that would be of interest to their pimp. Once they had called the pimp, he gave each of them a couple of hundred, sending them home for the night. He waited for the SUV. It rolled up and the driver’s window rolled down. He walked over to look at the smirk on the young face. There were three young men in the car—the driver, who was the so called boss, and two kids who saw themselves as his team.

  “So, what do you need?” The driver spoke, but there was a snicker from the back seat.

  Rad’s anger level hit a very high mark. Without hesitation he reached over, grabbed the door by taking hold of the open window, and gave a solid jerk. The large vehicle rocked as the door crumpled, coming away in his hands. He pitched it sideways. Before the young man could recover from the shock he snapped the seat belt, had the man out and up against the back door with his feet off the ground. He decided it was time to let this worm see real danger. He let heat glow from his eyes, the long teeth pushing down.

  The kid started screaming and he recovered enough to try to reach the gun in his back waistband. Rad shook him, almost knocking him out and pulled the gun and pointed it in the car.

  “Get out and run or you both are dead.” He did not shout but the two others heard him plainly. They had already been trying to get their seat belts off. They had the other back door open and were out on the street, their Nikes raising dust. He added a mental burst at them to give them an extra push, then turned his attention to the young slime ball he was still holding off the ground against the black SUV.

  “I’m sorry, don’t hurt me. I don’t know what I did. But I can make it right. Look, I have money. I can fix it. I have women, whatever you want.” The kid was whining as his legs bounced against the bottom of the vehicle.

  “Shut up.” Rad ordered him in disgust. He lowered the kid to his feet. “You bought some credit cards from a girl a few weeks ago. Her name was Misty Bower. Tell me about it. Think.” He ordered the kid to think so he could sort through the memories, but this kid was so screwed up it was like walking through a sewer. The stink, slime, and cobwebs made everything swirl together. He saw Misty and he went in sharply. He heard the boy let out a moan, but he did not care how much damage he did. He bent down and with disgust he bit the boy’s neck to draw blood to make the memories of contact more vivid.