"Oh, no you don't. You're not leaving until you tell me what the hell that thing is."
A slight smile creased the corners of his lush mouth. "And what gives you the right to detain me?"
"I'm a cop, mister. You're under arrest."
"For what? Saving your life?" He pried her fingers away from his wrist, his fingers warm and slightly rough against hers. "Sorry, but I have a creature to stop. Arrests will have to wait."
He moved so swiftly that he almost seemed to blur. One blink and he was gone.
The night didn't appear to be getting any saner, she thought sourly. First her partner becomes a vampire, and then she's hunted by a kite-like monster, only to be rescued by a man who could blur his form and move like the wind. What next?
Knowing she probably didn't want an answer to that question, she slowly climbed to her feet. Pain fired up her right leg and her ankle suddenly felt encased in iron. Great, just great. The night from hell and a busted ankle. Maybe the best idea was to just sit here and wait for the cavalry to arrive. The thought made her frown, and she glanced at her wristcom. Four minutes had passed since she'd pressed the emergency beacon, nine since she'd first requested help. Why wasn't anyone here?
She glanced around for her weapon and saw it sitting in a puddle ten feet away. She hobbled to it, doing her best to ignore the protests from her ankle. As she bent down, that weird sliver of heat prickled a warning across her skin.
Jack was behind her.
Slowly, warily, she picked up her weapon and turned around. He stood ten feet away. Blood ran from the wound in his thigh, the flow gleaming darkly against his rain soaked jeans. Fear swept her again. On a night like this she shouldn't be able to even see the blood.
She flicked off the auto safety catch and pointed the gun at him. "I have to take you back. You know I have to."
He smiled. "I'm not going back. I can't. Pull that trigger if you want to."
She didn't pull the trigger. Nor did she lower her weapon. "Why did you really call me here tonight?"
"I've already told you — to ask you to join us."
"And that thing you were with — did it kill the old man?"
He lowered his gaze, but not before she'd seen a brief flash of amusement. A chill ran down her spine. Jack had watched that thing strip the old man of his humanity. Had enjoyed it.
"We all have to feed, Ryan, and society has no use for the dregs." His gaze flashed up again, cold and hungry. If there was any humanity left in her partner, it quickly fled as the vampire rose fully to the surface.
"I'm sorry you won't join us," he continued. "We were a good team."
Were. Not are. She swallowed. It didn't ease the aching dryness in her throat. "Don't move, Jack. This time I'll shoot to kill."
His laugh was a low, almost inhuman, sound. "Perhaps you want me to wait until the reinforcements arrive."
Sweat trickled down her back, and her palms felt slick against the cool metal of the gun. "That's my plan, yes."
"Ever the optimist." He flashed a familiar smile, all confidence and teeth.
Too much teeth, in fact.
The vampire was getting ready to feed.
"Don't make me kill you," she warned softly. Please don't.
The sudden ferocity in his eyes made her take a step back. Even as she did so, he leapt.
Jack had once told her the best way to kill a vampire was to blow its f**king head off.
And that's exactly what she did.
Chapter Two
Gabriel Stern leaned a shoulder against the wall and watched dawn color the sky a bright, almost bloody red. The rising sun played across his face and arms, pleasant and warm. But if the gathering clouds were anything to go by, it was going to be a bitch of a day. God, he hated Melbourne in winter.