Kiss of Crimson(81)

Ben‘s neighborhood wasn‘t the most desirable, particularly in the dark, but Tess wasn‘t afraid. Many of her clients were from this general area: hardworking, good people. Ironically, if there was anyone to be wary of in this stretch of tightly clustered duplexes and three-deckers, it was probably the drug dealer living in Apartment 3-B of the building where Tess now stood.

A television blared from the unit on the first floor, casting an eerie blue wash onto the sidewalk outside. Tess tipped her head up, looking to Ben‘s set of windows for any indication that he might be there. The ratty white miniblinds were drawn closed over the balcony sliders and the bedroom window. The apartment was all dark, no light showing from anywhere inside, no movement.

Or... was there?

Although it was difficult to tell, she could have sworn she saw one of the sets of blinds sway against the window—as if someone inside had moved them or walked by them and bumped them, unaware.

Was it Ben? If he was home, he evidently didn‘t want anyone to know, including her. He hadn‘t returned any of her phone calls or e-mails, so why would she think he‘d want her showing up at his place now?

And if he wasn‘t home? What if someone had broken in? What if it were some of his drug contacts waiting for him to return? What if someone was up there right now, turning his place upside down looking for the flash drive she had in her coat pocket?

Tess backed away from the building, an anxious crawl working its way up her spine. She held Harvard‘s leash in a death grip, silently shooing him from the dried-out shrubs that lined the sidewalk.

Then she saw it again—a definite shift of the blinds in Ben‘s unit. One of the sliders began to open on the dark third-level balcony. Someone was coming out. And this someone was enormous, definitely not Ben.

―Oh, shit,‖ she whispered under her breath, stooping to pick up the dog so she could bolt the hell out of there in the next second.

She started jogging up the sidewalk, braving only the quickest glance over her shoulder. The guy was at the railing of the rickety balcony, peering out into the dark. She felt the savage heat of his stare like a lance slicing through the dark. His eyes were impossibly bright... glowing.

―Oh, my God.‖

Tess dashed out to cross the street. When she looked back at Ben‘s building again, the man on the balcony was climbing onto the railing, two more coming out behind him. The one in the lead swung his legs over the edge and dropped, as neatly as a cat, down onto the lawn. He started running up behind her, moving too fast. As if his speed had rendered her own to slow motion, her feet as sluggish as if they‘d been mired in quicksand. Tess hugged Harvard close to her chest and ran up onto the other sidewalk, darting between the cars parked at the curb. She glanced once more behind her, only to find that her pursuer was gone. She knew hope for a brief fraction of a second. Because when she looked forward again, she saw that he was somehow, suddenly there, less than five paces in front of her, blocking her path. How could he have gotten there so fast? She hadn‘t even seen him move, hadn‘t heard his feet on the pavement. He cocked his large head at her and sniffed at the air like an animal. He—or rather it, because whatever this was, it was far from human—began to chuckle low under its breath.

Tess backed up, moving woodenly, disbelieving. This wasn‘t happening. It couldn‘t be. This was some kind of sick joke. It was impossible.

―No.‖ She stepped back and back, shaking her head in denial.

The big man started moving then, coming toward her. Tess‘s heart stuttered into a panicked beat, her every instinct clanging on high alert. She pivoted on her heel and bolted—

Just as another beastly-looking man came between the cars and hemmed her in.

―Hello, pretty,‖ he said in a voice that was all gravel and malice.

In the pale wash of streetlight overhead, Tess‘s gaze locked on the guy‘s open mouth. His lips peeled back from his teeth in a thick hiss, revealing a huge pair of fangs.

Tess dropped the dog from her limp grasp and sent a terrified scream shooting high up into the night sky.



―Hang a left up here,‖ Dante said to Tegan from the passenger seat of the Range Rover. Chase sat in back like he was awaiting his execution, an anticipation that Dante was about to prolong a bit more. ―Let‘s swing through Southie before we head for the compound.‖

Tegan gave a grim nod, then turned the vehicle at the light. ―You got a feeling the dealer might be home?‖

―I don‘t know. Worth a look, though.‖

Dante rubbed at a cold spot that had settled behind his sternum, a strange void that was squeezing his lungs, making it hard to breathe. The sensation was more visceral than physical, a hard tweaking of his instincts that put his senses on full alert. He hit the window control next to him, watching the dark glass slide open as he inhaled the cold night air.