wanted to pierce his thick vein. She wanted to feed from him. And she wanted him to have sex with her body while she did.
Bloodlust.
Oh, God. That's why she was so tired. She hadn't been able to feed from Rehvenge the other night, and then there had been all the stress of Butch being so ill, followed by his taking off. Plus the thing with Havers.
Not that the whys mattered at the moment. All she knew was the hunger.
Her lips parted and she started to reach forward-
Except what would happen if she drank from him?
Well, that was easy. She'd drain him dry trying to satisfy herself because his human blood was so weak. She would kill him.
But God, he would taste good.
She cut off the voice of the bloodlust, and in an act of iron will, put her arms under the sheets. "I'll see you tonight."
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As Butch straightened, his eyes dulled and he put his hands over the front of his hips, like he was hiding an erection. Which naturally made the urge to grab him get even stronger.
"You take care of yourself, Marissa," he said in a low, sad tone.
He was at the door when she said, "Butch?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think of you as weak."
He frowned as if wondering where that came from. "Neither do I. Sleep well, beautiful. I'll see you soon."
When she was alone, she waited for the hunger to pass and it did. Which gave her some hope. With everything that was going on right now, she would love to put feeding off for a little while. Getting so close to Rehvenge just seemed wrong.
Chapter Eighteen
Van drove downtown as night came rolling over Caldwell. After getting off the highway, he took a half-assed access road to the river, easing his truck along a pothole-riddled strip that ran beneath the city's big bridge.
Stopping under a pylon marked F-8 in orange spray paint, he got out and looked around.
Traffic overhead rushed by, semis bumping along with echoing thunder, cars letting off the occasional horn blast. Down here, at river level, the Hudson was almost as loud as the din from above. The day had been the first to carry a shot of spring warmth, and the water was flowing fast from the runoff of melting snow.
The dark gray rush looked like liquid asphalt. Smelled like dirt.
He scanned the area, instincts hackling up. Man, alone under the bridge was never a good place to be.
Especially as daylight faded.
Fuck this, he shouldn't have come. He turned back to his truck.
Xavier stepped from the shadows. "Glad you made it, son."
Van sucked back his surprise. Shit, the guy was like some kind of ghost. "Why couldn't we do this over the phone?" Well, didn't that sound weak. "I got things I have to fucking do."
"I need you to help me with something."
"I told you I wasn't interested."
Xavier smiled a little. "Yes, you did, didn't you."
The sound of wheels on loose gravel percolated into Van's ears and he looked to the left. The Chrysler Town
& Country, that gold-toned, utterly forgettable minivan, was pulling up right next to him.
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Keeping his eyes on Xavier, Van put his hand in his pocket and slipped his finger into the trigger of his nine.
If they were going to try and whack him, they were going to get a lead fight.
"There's something in the back for you, son. Go ahead. Open her up." There was a pause. "Afraid, Van?"
"Fuck that." He walked over, ready to pull out his heat. But when he slid back the door, all he could do was recoil. His brother, Richard, was tied up with nylon rope, and had strips of duct tape over his mouth and his eyes.
"Jesus, Rich ..." When he reached forward, he heard a gun get cocked and he looked up at the minivan's driver.
The pale-haired bastard behind the wheel was pointing what appeared to be a Smith & Wesson forty right in Van's face.
"I'd like you to rethink my invitation," Xavier said.
Behind the wheel of Sally Forrester's Honda, Butch cursed as he took a left at a stoplight and saw a Caldwell PD patrol car parked at the Stewart's on the corner of Framingham and Hollis. Holy hell. Driving around in a lifted car with two grand in cash did not make a guy feel relaxed.
Good thing he had backup. V was right on his ass in the Escalade as they headed to the Barnstable Road address.