Scared that Lee seemed to be considering it, I pulled harder at her hand. “Come on!” She didn’t budge.
Thunder grumbled through the night. It came from a distance. Rain continued to fall, but I realized the worst of the storm had moved on.
“What about Rusty?” she asked.
“What about him?”
“Do we get him even if I lose?”
“Certainly.”
“No!” I blurted. I wanted Rusty back, but not if it meant Lee getting ripped up by Valeria. “Are you crazy?”
Lee turned her head toward me. “I’m the reason Rusty came here tonight. I bought the tickets, remember?”
“I know, but...”
“And I’m not leaving without him. Not if I can help it.”
“Then we have a deal?” Stryker asked.
“We have a deal,” said Lee.
“You can’t fight her!”
She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and said, “It’ll be all right.”
“Leeeee!”
“Don’t worry, honey. Please.”
Stryker stepped away and spoke to some of his crew. Three of them went hurrying off through the rain. Two others came over to me.
While Stryker stayed in the arena with Lee, I was led up the empty bleachers. My two guards were Vivian and a muscular man with a crewcut. They chose seats in the middle, about halfway up, and positioned themselves on both sides of me.
From there, we would have the best view possible of the activities inside the cage.
Vivian patted my leg. “This is gonna be good,” she said.
I didn’t respond.
“So who’s the lucky gal? Not your mom, is she?”
I shook my head.
“Didn’t think so. She looks way too young. What is she, your big sister?”
I had no reason to tell this woman the truth, so I said, “Yeah, my sister.”
“Good lookin’ gal,” said the guy on my right.
Go to hell, I thought. But I didn’t say it. I’m not that stupid.
“Your mom know you’re here?” Vivian asked.
I shook my head again.
“Bet your folks think you’re home in bed, don’t they?”
“Maybe.”
“Glad you came?”
I frowned at her. “Not very.”
“Bet your friend Rusty had himself a good time. For a while there, anyway ... till Valeria put the bite on him.”
Her attempt at humor angered me. I opened my mouth. Mostly, I intended to tell her to shut up. But different words came out. “Is she real?” I heard myself ask.
“Real? Sure she’s real.”
“I mean, a vampire.”
Vivian let out a harsh laugh. “What do you think, kid?”
“Is she?”
“Nan. She’s the tooth fairy.”
The guy laughed. “Good one,” he said.
Off ahead of me, behind the other stand of bleachers, three sets of headlights lit the night. I couldn’t see the vehicles behind them, but figured they must be the Traveling Vampire Show’s hearse, bus and truck.
The beams of the headlights reached through the stands. In their pale glow, I saw Stryker and Lee standing together on the ground, and Valeria alone in her cage.
She no longer wore her boots. Totally naked, she was leaning back against the bars, arms and legs spread out, stretching and writhing as if she relished the flexing of her muscles and the feel of the rain on her bare skin.
When the light beams shifted, I looked away from Valeria.
One pair of headlights continued to aim at the arena, but the other two sets slid away through the rainy night.
In the jittery glare of a lightning flash, I caught a glimpse of the vehicles. The hearse remained in place behind the opposite bleachers. Moving slowly to the right was the large black truck. Moving to the left was the black bus.
Where’re they going? I wondered.
Is Rusty in one of them?
We had no guarantee that Stryker would keep his part of the bargain.
What if they’re taking Rusty away?
Through the sounds of their engines and the hiss and patter of the falling rain came a soft rumble of thunder.
The truck and bus rounded the ends of the bleachers, then turned. They weren’t leaving, after all.
They drove straight toward each other until the bright beams of their headlights filled the cage. Then they stopped. I heard brakes squeak.
Now, headlights reached through the night from three directions. All of them met in the cage.
Stryker climbed the steps and entered.
Lee walked in after him.