Bloodstone Heart (5 page)

"Okay, then what?"
 

"I stepped in the alley to see what it was."
 

"Good, Josh.
 
About where were you then?"
 

He took two or three steps in the alley way and said, "I guess about here."

"Then what?"

"I bent down to pick up the object and that's when I heard his thoughts."

"Good.
 
You're doing really well. Now you told me that his thoughts were jumbled. Can you remember anything else?"

"Not really, just that he seemed frustrated.
 
He was angry because he couldn't find what he was looking for."

"Did you get an image of what he was looking for?"

"No.
 
I rarely get images, just voices."

"That's okay.
 
So he was angry and frustrated and you were bent down, then what happened?"

"That's when he sensed me.
 
His thoughts focused on me and he thought something about being hungry or that he might as well eat."

"Good.
 
You didn't tell me that before.
 
That's good.
 
Okay, then what?"

"I kept my head down and I stood up and tried to back out of the alley and that's when he grabbed my throat with one hand and threw me against that wall."
 
Josh pointed to the right wall.

"Ow. That must have really hurt. That is solid brick. I'm surprised you don't have a concussion." She rubbed his shoulder as if to comfort his old wounds. "So are these your groceries from that night?"

"Yeah."

"Pop Tarts, beer, and milk? That's not a very healthy diet."
 
She smirked at him.

"We're not here to discuss my dietary habits, Lanie."
 

She laughed. "How did you pay for the groceries?"

"Why?"

"Well, I don't see the receipt. Do you remember if you paid cash, debit, or credit?"

"I used FastPay because I was trying to catch up with you."

"Hmmm. That's not good."

"What are you talking about? Why is that not good?
 
Do vampires not like people who use plastic?"

She smiled at him. "Well, I don't know about that, Josh, but when you use your debit or credit card, often the receipt will have your name on it."

"Oh crap. You're right, and since you can't find my receipt in the bag, maybe the second guy now knows my name."

"It's possible."

"And in a small town like this, it would be pretty easy to find where I lived."

Melanie nodded. "But before we get too worried about that, tell me what happened next."

"Okay. So I hit this wall, dropped my stuff, and started to slide down the wall, when he had a grip at my throat again and he threw me back and I landed there." Josh pointed to the broken pallet.
 

"You're lucky the throws didn't kill you, Josh." She started back towards the pallet.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to look back there."

"Is that necessary?"

"Yeah, it's necessary," she said. Josh followed her tentatively.
 
"Okay, so you were smashed into the pallet, then what?"

Josh looked into the corner where the man had been crouched the previous day and then continued towards her. "Well, I could see his red eyes staring at me and as he slowly stepped closer I could see his fangs and then he lunged at me about there."
 
He pointed to a spot about twelve feet away. "I was feeling around on the ground and pulled up a piece of wood and pointed it towards him as he started to lunge and he landed on it."

"Right and then he exploded into ash, right?"

"Yes."

She was looking around on the ground for remnants of ash when she found a small patch.
 
Then she did something that Josh didn't expect; she started to take her gloves off. Josh wasn't sure what he had expected to see, maybe burned hands, maybe disfigured, but no, they were dainty, milk white hands, small and beautiful, so much so that he almost sprang at her just to touch them and take a closer peek.
 
Instead, he watched her meticulously put the gloves in her pocket and then she put both dainty hands in the ash she'd found.
 
She closed her eyes and stayed there for what Josh thought was five minutes, but in actuality was only a minute, maybe less.
 

She stood up, clapped both hands together to get the excess ash off and then grabbed a little pouch of towelettes from her pocket, cleaned her hands, and then put her gloves back on. She turned towards Josh and said, "So where did you see the second man?"
 

"He was crouched down right where you were."

"Looking at the ash?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm.
 
We need to get out of here." She grabbed Josh's forearm and headed back to the street.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to my place."

"But I need to get some stuff from my place."

"I don't know if that is such a good idea."

"Why?"

"They're going to come looking for you."

"What? Why?"

"I can't explain right now, we just need to get you somewhere safe."

"But can't I go home and get some stuff?"

"Is it far from here?"

"No, just three blocks or so."

"How about we walk by and if it looks okay you can go in and get what you need?"

"Okay, but then will you explain what's going on?"

"I'll try. Lead the way."

They walked in silence to Josh's house and now it was Melanie acting paranoid, looking over her shoulder every couple of minutes.
 
When they got to the house, Melanie made him walk past it.
 
She whispered, "Listen, Josh. Do you hear anyone in or around your house? I want you to listen and tell me if you hear anyone thinking about you or that sounds similar to the man you saw.
 
We'll go to the end of the block, cross the street, and come back.
 
If all is clear, then we will go inside.
 
Okay?"
 
He nodded.

Like a couple out for a morning walk, they went up the block, crossed the street and walked back.
 
As they got closer to the house, Josh bent down to whisper in her ear that all sounded quiet.
 
With her brows furrowed, not knowing if this was a good idea, she said, "Okay, let's go in and get what you need, but quickly, Josh.
 
Very quickly."

They walked across the street and up the walkway to the nondescript taupe ranch house.
 
She looked around as he unlocked the front door. They both stepped in quickly only to find the house had been ransacked.
 
Josh's mouth dropped. "Oh my God.
 
What happened?"
 

"Well, Josh, I think these vampires think you have something of theirs and they want it back."

"But I don't have anything of theirs.
 
I don't have anything!"

"Josh, we need to get out of here.
 
Grab what you need and let's go."

Josh jumped into action running through the house with a duffle bag grabbing this and that. Melanie wandered around the house as he packed until she came to the back door. The glass in the door had been broken and she was sure it was how the vandals had gotten in.
 
Carefully she took off her gloves and put one hand on the doorknob.
 
She closed her eyes as she had before, but this time she pulled away with a jerk. Josh was coming into the kitchen when he saw her without her gloves and her eyes wide with shock.

"Are you okay?"

"We need to leave now. Do you have any cash in the house or on you?"
 

"Yeah.
 
I hate going to the bank so I keep quite a bit in a wall safe."

"You're going to need as much as you can take and hurry."

Without questioning, he ran out of the room and was back in a flash zipping up the duffle as he entered the room.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay, when we get to the front door, I want you to listen again to see that no one is thinking about you, this place, or anything sinister."

"Yeah, okay."

When they got to the door, Josh did as Lanie had asked and stopped and listened.
 
He shook his head and they headed out the door and proceeded down the road as fast as they could without looking conspicuous.
 
This time they went through the park, avoiding the alley as they headed for Melanie's.
 
When they got to the corner of the street, Josh put out his hand and herded her behind his body as he backed up slowly.

She whispered, "What is it?"

He was still stepping backward, keeping her behind him.
 
"It's the guy from the alley talking to Stuart," he whispered.

"Empty your mind, Josh, NOW.
 
Think of sitcoms, work, grocery lists, mundane everyday ordinary things."

His eyes went far away as they had the last time she asked him to listen.
 
He thought of laundry that needed to be done and the brakes on his bike that needed to be fixed as he spun her around and they headed back away from house.
 

"We need a car. Obviously, we can't get to mine.
 
What about you?" she asked.

"Don't have one. But I have a bike."

"Well, that won't do us much good unless you can pedal really fast."

"Not a bicycle, a motorcycle."

"Hmm, but that means we'd have to head back to your house."

"Yeah, but if he's at your place he can't be at mine."

"Unless he has help."

"True, but I think we should take the chance, don't you?"

"I guess we don't have much of a choice. If we can stop at the bank on the way out of town I can grab all my cash and we can get out of here."

In a running walk they headed back to Josh's house.
 
They went straight for the garage.
 
He tossed a leather jacket to her.
 
"Here, put this on.
 
Your coat is no protection if we take a fall.
 
In fact, it will probably fit over your coat and keep you double warm.
 
With you at my back you are going to have to carry the duffle bag.
 
Sorry about that.
 
Easiest way to carry it is cross the strap over your body with the duffle across your back. Good. Okay and here."
 
He gently helped her put on an extra helmet he had for passengers. He brushed her hair out of her face and strapped the helmet under her chin.
 
“How is that? Not too tight?"

She nodded her head that looked like a giant ping-pong ball on her tiny slender neck.
 
He pushed the bike into the driveway and closed the garage door.
 
He got on the bike and started it. He reached out his now gloved hand to help her get on the back with the heavy duffle.
 
With his visor up he yelled, "Are you okay?"

She put her thumb up to tell him she was fine.
 
He could see her smiling through the visor. He yelled, "Hold on," and flipped his visor down and took off like a shot.
 
The bike lurched forward so quickly that Lanie grabbed Josh hard around the chest.
 
He could tell by the tightness of her grasp that she had never ridden on a bike before.

When they got close to the outskirts of town, she pointed at a Wells Fargo bank and he knew this was where she wanted to get her money.
 
She couldn't get the helmet off and Josh chuckled as he helped her.
 
When he lifted it off her, her eyes sparkled with what he could only assume was wild excitement from the ride.
 
Her hair came down in wisps from the helmet, meeting with her shoulders and falling back into place in a disheveled way, but Josh thought it looked very becoming on her. She smiled and said, "Be back in a flash."
 
He laughed at her as she handed him the duffle bag and she ran into the bank wearing his old leather jacket looking much like a five year old might look in her father's jacket.

Like she’d said, she was back in a flash and he was again helping her with the duffle bag and the helmet, but before he shut her visor he asked,
 
"So where are we going?"
 

“I say we go as far as we can south until it gets dark and then we get a hotel and some food and decide what to do then. We just need to get some distance between this guy and us so that we can think.”

"Okay then.
 
Highway 5, here we come." He shut her visor, buckled her helmet, and started the bike. Again, he held out his hand to help her get on and in no time they were on Highway 5 heading south.

Chapter 5

Despite the reasons for the road trip, Josh felt good to be on the highway.
 
He’d always liked long rides on a cool day.
 
The brisk air cool all around him along with the heat from the engine and the leather he was wearing kept him at a perfect temperature.
 
However, with Lanie behind him, it was heaven.
 
Her arms were tight around his waist now, her thighs against his, and her head and body tight against his back. It was distracting - very distracting, but very nice.