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at opening fire upon a restaurant.
Rachel drove south. The two Escalades trailed close. I re-
moved my contacts and tried the doors, windows, and sunroof.
Everything was locked tight. I didn t like being caged like a
dog going to the vet. If I was along for the ride, might as well be
under my terms.
I scooted to the front of the passenger compartment, grasped
an overhead strap, and kicked the partition window. The glass
shattered and fell apart.
Rachel gave a very unvampirelike, girly scream.
I dove through the partition and landed beside Rachel. Her
orange aura looked like a ball of burning gasoline. Her fangs
and talons extended to maximum length.
X- RATED BLOODSUCKERS 243
She lunged for me. I parried her arms, grabbed a hand-
ful of hair, and pressed her open mouth against the steering
wheel. She hissed and chomped but I was too strong. The limo
whipped back and forth across the lane. Cars scooted out of
our way. Their horns honked in disbelief and anger.
I used Rachel s head to steer and straightened our path.
 How many vampires have you killed?
 None, she mumbled, the steering wheel pushing into her
mouth like a horse bit.
 Same as me. But I ve killed a lot of humans. You want to be
my first vampire?
Her aura dimmed to a pale, weak orange.  No.
 You going to behave yourself?
 Yes.
I let go of her hair. She spit bits of plastic. Bite marks
crimped the steering wheel.
The limousine slowed and glided toward a parked car.
Rachel grasped the wheel, jerked the limousine back into the
lane, and accelerated.
A cell phone clipped to the dashboard began chiming.
 It s probably your posse. I took the phone and flipped it
open.  Hello?
A gruff voice said,  Who the hell is this?
I handed the phone to Rachel.  They want to speak to the
vampire in charge. I think that s you.
Rachel held the phone to her ear. A firecracker string of ex-
pletives made her wince.
 It s under control, she said, sounding like a mewling kit-
ten.  We ll get there.
More expletives. Rachel closed the phone.  You got me in
trouble.
244 MARI O ACEVEDO
We stopped at a red light.
 So what happens? Detention? I brushed pieces of safety
glass off my seat.  Where are we going?
 I told you. An interview.
 You can either cut the bullshit or go back to eating the
steering wheel.
Rachel kept her gaze straight ahead.
 Well? I asked.
 To see Councilwoman Venin.
The one individual I hadn t yet seen. So far Venin had been
in the margins of my investigation, and now she summoned me
with a gesture worthy of a czarist monarch.
The light turned green, and we rolled forward.
 What does she want?
 To talk.
 She s a vampire, right?
Rachel shook her head.
 Human?
 That. And more.
Rachel s vague reply pissed me off.  What s that mean?
 That s all I know about her, Rachel added.
I reached over and tapped the bite marks on the steering
wheel.
Rachel scowled.  Cut me some slack, okay?
 Maybe. Who s in the Escalades? I asked.  Vampires?
 They re to make sure you meet Councilwoman Venin.
 Is one of them the shooter who tried to nail me at the res-
taurant?
 Kacy. He s in the Escalade behind us.
 You say that like I m supposed to know him.
Rachel replied,  You met in Hollywood. He drove a Jaguar.
X- RATED BLOODSUCKERS 245
That Kacy. I left him broken and bloody on the hood of his
expensive car.  He carries a grudge, I bet.
 A big one, Rachel said.
 Then why not do me in now?
 Because Venin wants to talk to you. She said if you sur-
vived the shooting, then you are a vampire worth keeping.
 Keeping for what?
 You ll have to ask her.
I could commandeer the limousine, but how far would I get?
Councilwoman Petale Venin wanted to talk, and I suppose this
was as good a time as any.
We merged onto the San Diego Freeway and took the exit
into Westwood. Rachel drove a few blocks and turned down a
narrow side street into an alley shaded by tall mulberry trees.
The alley led into an open parking bay on the back side of a
four-story complex. Rachel parked the limo in a space between
two support columns. The Escalades blocked us in. Rachel
touched a button, and the doors unlocked. A couple of passen-
gers dismounted from one Escalade, their footfalls deliberate.
Ominous.
My door jerked open.
Kacy scowled at me, his aura bright as the lamp of an oncom-
ing train. Scars from my beating pitted his face.
Kacy wore a black leather tactical jumpsuit. He towered
over the door, powerful and big, like a Mack truck. An M16
rifle in a combat sling hung from his shoulder. His right hand
clasped the pistol grip and kept the muzzle of the rifle aimed at
my chest. The weapon was outfitted with a silencer, scope, and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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