her. The two women and a white-haired man walked as quickly as their addled minds would allow, waddling in oversized shoes borrowed from the dead.
At their side, Samantha rode the wobbly bicycle bearing the crate of guns and ammo. She looked like 233
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Tippi Hedren with scattered hair. The woman had outfitted herself with the works: a rifle and handguns galore.
Poe’s ear had stopped bleeding, and the tiny earlobe flap held on to dear life by a stitch. Definitely no peridot earrings for me. Sister Ann had said not to trust anyone. I should’ve followed the nun’s advice.
She thought of Sainvire’s unforgettable naked body and shuddered.
“You know what I’m gonna do, Samantha?” Poe said then interrupted the woman before she could speak. “I’m gonna rid this town of vampires. I’ll just kill them all. Before, my heart wasn’t one hundred percent into vampire killing and cattle running. Now it is.”
“You can’t mean that,” said Samantha, who held back on pedaling a notch. “You can’t seriously put Kaleb and his people in the same league as Trench and Gruman Raspair.”
“Sure I can. Wholeheartedly.”
“But–”
“But nothing. They all gotta go so humanity can be free again.” She saw the disbelief in the pretty woman’s face and raised her hand. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. I gotta think about fixing up homemade explosives. If I can find Goss’ instructions, that is.”
Poe caught movement in the periphery of her eye.
She recognized the hip-heavy woman waving at them as one of Sainvire’s cronies.
Skidding to a halt, Sam got off and let the bike fall where it stood. “Veronica! Don’t tell me the gang’s all here.”
“I’ve been waiting for that one for like over an hour,” the pretty brunette complained. “But nice to 234
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know you made it safe, Sam. So like what happened to you? You look like Joseph’s dead toe nail.”
“Long story. Can’t get into it now. We’ve got to let these guys rest.”
“Yeah, well, they can sit in the shade over there.
Sainvire told me to haul her ass to the meeting, like over an hour ago,” Veronica said, clearly displeased.
“To finish me off?” Poe threw out, equally annoyed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the forty-year-old teenager said, zigzaging her neck like a turkey with attitude. “The meeting’s started. Couldn’t wait for you any more.”
“What meeting?” Poe asked incredulously.
The brunette sighed in frustration and gave Poe a don’t-play-dumb look. “Give me a break and just follow me in. I’ve been standing here for like ages and I’m missing out!”
Poe didn’t budge. She wasn’t going anywhere.
Surely there was a second trap laid out for her in case she survived the first. Fuck that.
“Is Sainvire at the meeting?”
“Of course he is,” the middle-age valley girl said as she rolled her eyes. “Can we go now?”
“No,” Poe answered quietly but firmly.
“What?”
“No.”
“Geez, you’re one annoying little–” The woman, red from too much sun exposure, stopped herself from blowing up. “Kaleb said not to come back inside unless I bring you with me, so why don’t you be a good little girl and follow me, huh?”
Poe shook her head, looking highly peeved at the patronizing woman who dared refer to her as “little”
when she herself was short. “Why don’t you tell Sainvire to come out here and get me himself?”
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“But he’s in the middle of the conference.
There’re over a hundred people in there.”
“Look at my face,” Poe said.
“What about your face?” the woman demanded, furious. Her eyes lingered upon Poe’s scar and earlobe.
“Do I look like I care?” Poe raised an eyebrow for emphasis.
“Just do as she says, Veronica,” Samantha nervously suggested.
Narrow-eyed, Veronica screamed, “Fine! And your ear is fucking gross!”
Poe was relieved to see the prissy brunette leave her sight. A few more seconds and her index finger would have ended all diplomacy. Just to make herself feel better, Poe fiddled with the AKS-74U, releasing its magazine only to push it back in place. She slowly checked the vicinity for possible snipers. The surrounding buildings had too many perfect hiding places. Poe shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the broken concrete steps of a forgotten park. She ignored Samantha who tried to speak with her.
Five minutes was all it took for him to exit from a high-rise. The master vampire had no discernible weapons, but then again, his long nails were all he needed. He reached the middle of the road before Poe ordered him to stop.
“Where were you, Poe?” he asked, clearly incensed. “Do you realize how much time we’ve wasted