"It does that," she agreed. She fell silent for a moment and then lifted one hand to her neck. "Have you ever hypnotized me?"
"No."
"How can you drink… blood? Isn't it gross?"
He pulled into the diner's parking lot, found a space, and killed the engine. "It is normal for me to ingest blood, just as it is normal for you to eat and drink mortal food."
"Are there a lot of vampires running around?"
"More than you might think."
It was not a comforting thought.
Exiting the car, he opened the door for her, took her hand, and helped her out. He kept hold of her hand as he walked her to the back door.
"Will you be in later?" she asked.
"If you wish."
"I do."
"Then I shall be here." He kissed her hand, then turned it over and kissed her palm. The touch of his lips sent a shiver of pleasure rocketing up her arm. "Till later, my sweet one."
Antonio handed her the keys to the car, lifted a hand in farewell as she entered the building, then walked across the parking lot to the sidewalk. He had not fed in several days, and he dared not put it off any longer. Being with Victoria stirred more man his passion, and he had no wish to lose control in her presence and frighten her away, not now, when she was just beginning to trust him again.
With preternatural speed, he left Pear Blossom Creek. A short time later, he was strolling downCottonwood 's main thoroughfare. At this time of evening, the streets were crowded. He grinned inwardly, wondering what Victoria would say if she knew where he was and what he was doing. Wandering through the townspeople was like walking through a human buffet, trying to decide which dish to try. Most people thought all blood was the same and in some ways, perhaps it was. But to a vampire, no two mortals tasted alike.
He followed a pretty brunette for several blocks, inhaling her scent, whetting his appetite. When she reached an alleyway, he moved up beside her and drew her into the darkness, his mind easily overriding her objections. He took her in his arms, his mind speaking to hers, soothing her fears as he brushed the hair away from her neck, then lowered his head, his eyes closing in the sheer ecstasy of feeding.
With his hunger assuaged, he wiped his memory from her mind, then escorted the woman back to the sidewalk and vanished from her sight.
He walked until he found a bench under a tree in a small park. Sitting down, he gazed into the darkness. So many changes since he had been born. Once, people had walked or ridden beasts of burden wherever they wanted to go. Now they could go across the country in a matter of hours. Once, it had taken days for a letter to reach its destination.
Now e-mail went across the world in a matter of moments. Machines now did many household tasks, giving women more free time than they had ever known. Books that had once been laboriously printed, one copy at a time by hand, were now turned out by the thousands.
Progress, he thought, it was a wonderful thing and yet, on occasion, he longed for the days of his youth, when every dawn had promised a new adventure.
With a shake of his head, he left the park. There was no point in thinking about the past.
His parents, his brothers and sisters, everyone he had grown up with, the town where he was born, were long gone. It was a lonely life, being a vampire. To make friends with humans, to grow fond of them, meant that, inevitably, they went the way of all flesh, leaving you alone once again. If you kept yourself apart from humanity, the results were the same.
Which made him think of Victoria. For the first time in centuries, he had let himself care for a mortal. He was sorely afraid that this time, when the inevitable separation came, he would not be able to bear the loss, or the pain that was sure to follow.
He was nearing the end of the city limits when a faint cry of terror reached his ears, and with it the strong coppery scent of fresh blood.
Falco!
A thought took him to a deserted part of the city, where the vampire was savaging the throat of a young woman with curry red hair.
"Let her go!"
Falco lifted his head. His lips were smeared with crimson, his eyes blazed with the lust for blood. He hissed when he saw Battista.
"You want her?" Falco said with a snarl. "Take her!" Ripping a lock of hair from the girl's head, he hurled her body toward Battista; then, with a wave of his hand, the vampire disappeared into the night.
Battista looked down at the girl in his arms. She was as limp and lifeless as a rag doll.
Blood oozed from the hideous wound in her throat. She couldn't have been more than twenty years old.
A howl of anger rose in Battista's throat as he cradled her body to his chest.
And that was how Duncan found him a few moments later.
Tom came up short when he saw the two people in the shadows. It was pure luck that he was in town. He had come here earlier in the day, searching for Falco's lair, and been about to call it a night when he'd heard an ungodly howl that had sent shivers down his spine. He knew that sound. He'd heard it often enough in his line of work.
He touched the cross at his throat for luck, then pulled his.38 out of one coat pocket and a bottle of holy water from the other.
"Put the girl down, easy like," he demanded.
"Do not be a fool, Duncan."
"Battista!" Tom took a step forward, his eyes narrowed. "I knew it. Put her down."
"You know nothing."
"I know you've killed your last innocent woman."
"I did not kill her."
"Yeah, right."
"I am putting her down." Antonio laid the girl's body gently on the sidewalk.
And Duncan went into action. Springing forward, he dumped holy water over the vampire's head, then fired his pistol, hoping to bring the vampire to his knees so that he could take his head.
Battista hissed as holy water splashed across his face and trickled down his neck, every drop burning into his skin like acid. The bullet struck him in the chest, but he recovered quickly. With a roar of pain and rage, he backhanded Duncan across the face.
The hunter reeled backward, momentarily stunned.
And Battista vanished into the darkness.
Vicki checked the clock on the wall, counting the minutes until it was time to go home.
She had waited all evening for Antonio to come into the diner, and when he didn't show up, her imagination went into overdrive, coming up with all sorts of reasons for his absence. He had forgotten. He had left town. He had changed his mind about wanting to spend time with her. He had met someone else…
She cleared the last table, helped Bobbie Sue refill the salt and pepper shakers and replace the packets of cream and sugar substitutes, still hoping that Antonio would appear, until Gus came out of the kitchen to lock the front door.
"See ya tomorrow night, Bobbie," he said cheerfully.
"Sure thing," Bobbie Sue said. "Night, Gussie."
He glowered at her.
"Come on, I'll walk the two of you out. Oh, don't forget to come in costume tomorrow night," he reminded them. "It's Halloween."
Halloween, Vicki thought. How could she have forgotten that when every house in town was decorated with ghosts and goblins and jack-o'-lanterns, and the windows of every business, including the diner, wished the world a happy Halloween?
Outside, she bade Gus and Bobbie Sue good night, then glanced around the parking lot, expecting Battista to be there to meet her, but there was no sign of him.
Remembering that he wasn't the only vampire in town, she quickly unlocked her car, got behind the wheel, and locked the door.
So, she thought as she drove home, where was he? She told herself not to worry, he had promised to look after her. What was it he had said? I will be there if you need me.
Did that mean he was somewhere nearby, even now?
Tom Duncan was waiting for her on the porch when she got home.
"Hi," she said. "Is something wrong?"
"Falco's not the only killer in town," he said brusquely. "I caught your boyfriend red-handed tonight."
"I don't believe you!"
"I saw him with my own eyes. He was holding the body in his arms."
Vicki shook her head. "No."
"Yes. She was just a kid, maybe eighteen or nineteen."
"He told me he didn't kill when he… that he didn't have to take life."
"Well, he sure as hell took this one. I took her body to the morgue myself. She didn't have enough blood left to fill a teacup."
The image made her sick to her stomach. Pressing one hand to her mouth, she unlocked the front door and dashed into the bathroom. Bending over the toilet, she was violently ill.
Tom was there to hand her a damp towel when she got up. "Do you know where he is?"
Vicki wiped her face, then rinsed her mouth. "No," she said dully. "I haven't seen him since he drove me to work."
"I don't know what his game is," Duncan said, "but I don't have to tell you that you're in danger. Whatever you do, don't let him in."
"But if he meant to hurt me, he's had plenty of opportunities to do so."
Duncan shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know what his game is. Maybe he likes to pick one girl and string her along until he decides to leave town."
Vicki tossed the towel into the hamper. "Thanks for letting me know."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know that you… " He made a vague gesture with one hand. "I know you liked him."
"It never would have worked anyway." She wanted to make Tom think it didn't matter, that Antonio hadn't meant that much to her. She failed miserably.
Tom gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Do you want me to stay?"
"No." All she wanted was to be alone with her broken heart.
"Are you sure? I don't like the idea of you being here alone."
"I'm sure."
"You've got my number. Call me if you need me."
"I will."
She walked him to the door, stood there while he climbed into the Camaro and drove away. With a sigh, she closed and locked the door. If she didn't have the worst luck in the world with men, she didn't know who did. Not only was Antonio a vampire, he was a liar and a killer.