Violet Midnight (Violet Night Trilogy) (8 page)

The Vamp’s rancid breath slammed into Jake’s senses as they rolled. Fanged teeth snapped at his neck. Orienting himself, Jake thrust one last revolution to land on top. He pummeled the Vamp’s jaw.

“Why are you here?”

Dark blood oozed from the corner of the creature’s mouth, and he let out a hiss that sounded like a rattlesnake.

Jake yanked the monster up by his shirt and threw him against the cement sidewalk they’d landed on. “Why?”

“Cattle,” the Vamp spat out as he bucked.

Jake lunged off the creature, somersaulted, and landed on his feet. The Vamp jumped up, and with hands out to his side, scanned the area. Blood stormed through Jake’s head, throbbing like a bass strumming his eardrum.

Emma rolled with one last Vamp, but Jake saw her reaching for the crossbow and trusted she was fine. He needed information.

“Why the sudden appearance? And in these numbers?”

“As if I’d tell you.
Human.
”

An ache radiated through Jake’s shoulder. Images raged through his mind on fast-forward. Past foster parents. Emma. People he didn’t know. The Cunninghams. Dylan.

Jake clawed at his shoulder.

“Oh. Maybe not human for long.” The Vamp leapt to the side and scampered away.

Jake cranked his arm back and fired the dagger at the retreating Vamp. He stumbled. Dust flew.

Jake rammed into the brick wall and oozed to the ground. Sweat streamed down his face, his heart battered his ribcage.
Breathe
. No visions. No blackouts—or whatever had him roaming a dirt road in the middle of nowhere last week.

One more long inhale purged the images from his mind.

“Jake.” Emma fell to his side and clutched his shoulders. “You. Kicked. Ass.”

She took hold of his face and tilted his head from side-to-side.

“Seriously. Nice job. No fangs went through your skin. Maybe it
can
resist them, huh?”

Jake clutched her shoulders and planted a kiss so hard it stung his mouth. What if he hadn’t come out when he did? Emma could have been killed.
His
Emma. Gone. That did not sit well.

They needed to find out what the hell was going on. The Vamps seemed to be focused on her. And to send so many?

Her cool fingers glided into his hair, and she peppered kisses along his cheek to his ear. “Thanks for having my back. Been a long time since I’ve had that.”

“I’ll always cover you.” A vow spoken in truth.
In love
. “You’ll never be on your own again.”

“Good.” She leaned back on the heels of her feet. “Because I think we should be a little worried a half-dozen Vamps just tried to kill me.”

“That’s a lot of Vamps to share a meal.”

“Exactly. Something’s up.” She fixed her gaze on him. “But we’ll worry about that after the movie. Want to walk me to my dorm so we can try and resurrect this night of normalcy?”

He dove in for a final kiss. “There’s nothing normal about us. But yeah, I’m anxious to go on a first date with you.”

“I can’t believe you’re letting me beautify you, and you’re not complaining one bit!” Ava raked the brush through Emma’s hair.

“Hey. Watch the snarls.”

“What happened to you? There’s a freaking forest all up in here.”

Emma settled into the desk chair, resting her back against the hard wood. The pampering was easier to tolerate since she was almost giddy after hearing Jake profess he’d always be with her.

Barely ten days she’d known him, but she felt it, too. The connection. And how he came in protective and dominating, kicking those Vamp asses. He truly did save her. A pack so big tonight, not to mention the two other packs of three she encountered a few days earlier.

After tonight, it was her mission to inspect every single journal in the trunk. So far, it’d been mostly things she knew from talking with Gabriel while they were together. Except a handful of printouts she couldn’t read since they weren’t in English.

“Hey. What happened here?” Ava brushed her finger over the puncture marks on Emma’s wrist.

“Oh. Nothing.”

“Looks like a dog bite.”

“I didn’t realize I even had it until you pointed it out.” Emma flipped her hand over. “What are you up to tonight?”

“Don’t laugh, but I have a date with Greg.”

“As in Greg Adams?”

“I said don’t laugh.” Ava continued with her assault on Emma’s hair. “Damn, girl. Do you ever comb your hair?”

“I wasn’t laughing…just clarifying I heard you right.” Emma coughed. “What happened with Todd?”

“Nothing. He was fun and all. Just done with him.”

“Well. He made it longer than most.” Emma leaned back and looked over her shoulder at Ava standing behind the chair. “But Greg Adams? Not really your usual type.”

“Might be time for something new.”

“Come with us to the movies. Seriously.”

“Naw. He’s got us hooked up at some Italian restaurant already.” She clipped two strands of Emma’s hair together behind her and stepped back. “Okay. That’s the best I can do with such short notice.” She tossed the brush onto the desk in front of Emma. “And with a tomboy for my subject.”

“You’re lucky I like you, otherwise this
tomboy
would deck you for saying crap like that.” Emma pushed up from the chair and smiled. “But thanks. I want to look good for Jake tonight.”

“You’re so into him.” Ava planted her hands on her hips and stopped in front of the TV. “And he’s the shit, too. Dark, mysterious eyes. Muscular, smart and rich—well, rich adoptive parents, anyway. You did good, hon. And it’s about time.”

It was about time, wasn’t it? She’d been in mourning long enough. Emma stood tall and raised her arms out to her side. “Wardrobe check.”

“You raided
my
closet. You can’t go wrong when you do that.” She plopped onto the foot of her bed. “Dang, you actually have boobs. Could never tell since all you wear are those sports bras and jogging shirts.”

“You’re killing me with the humor tonight. Really.” Emma hurried into the bathroom and snatched Ava’s perfume from the counter.

“Micro jean-skirt, snug tank—and obviously not wearing a sports bra beneath it—is major hot. But the show stealers are the eyes.” Ava stood. “The hair up and away from your face really does it.”

Knock.
Knock.

Ava clapped. “Oh….I feel like a mom watching her kid get picked up for the prom.”

Emma reached for the door handle, shaking her head. “Dork.”

“Hey. Almost two full years rooming together, and you’ve never had a date. Who’s the
real
dork?”

Emma opened the door, and there stood her Hunter. Snug at the chest t-shirt, loose jeans hanging around narrow hips, combined with a wave of a spicy-sweet cologne, sent Emma’s heart into hammer mode.

Jake scanned down her body, and she absorbed every tantalizing second of his attention, igniting a swirl of heat deep in her stomach. “Ava did good.” He leaned in and kissed Emma’s cheek. “Very good.”

“Come in.” Emma held the door open and Jake strode by, but snagged her hand as he did.

“I almost didn’t believe you when you told me you were still in the dorms as juniors.” Jake regarded the room. “But now I can see why. This is pretty nice.”

“It’s easier. No grocery shopping, no rent, and no need for a car.” Of course, she always told everyone that story. Really, though, it was a target-rich environment for the Vamps with so many co-eds roaming around at any given hour of the day.

“’Bout time she brings you to our place.” Ava smiled. “You’ve been dating how long?”

Felt like longer than ten days. “Ready?” Emma slipped her ID and some cash in her back pocket. Thank God for jean skirts.

Jake twined his fingers with hers and shifted toward the door. “See you tomorrow, Ava.”

She waved as she turned toward the bathroom. “I won’t wait up.”

Emma snickered as she closed the door behind her and Jake. “She’d be up forever, huh?”

Two steaming hands fastened onto her hips and whirled her around. Her back met the concrete wall, and Jake’s body went flush against hers. Soft lips swept over Emma’s. “I mean it. You look amazing.”

She touched a kiss to his neck. “It’s kind of nice to dress up once in a while.”

Jake leaned back and looked at her, eyebrows raised.

“If you ever tell Ava, I’ll flat out deny it.” She slapped at his chest. “Come on, take me on our first official date.”

He twined his hand with hers and guided her down the hallway. He glanced around. “Hey. I found this bookstore a few miles from campus. Might have a book I tracked down on the net.”

“Yeah?” She followed Jake around the corner to the stairwell that led to the first floor.

“Horizon’s Elite. It’s across town on Grand.” He pushed through the door leading into the dark night. A solid breeze shuffled the tails of his shirt and sent a wash of his familiar scent into her senses. “Found it when I got a hit on Hunters and Mark of Chaos.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Not tonight, we’re on our first date and you’ve got a Psych exam tomorrow, remember?” He swung their clasped hands.

Emma grinned. “Like it’ll matter. My grade has tanked in that class since I met you. Been a little…distracted.”

“Well, you’ve been fighting more Vamps lately, too. They’re crawling out of the woodwork like roaches.” Jake steered them onto the sidewalk leading to the main campus parking lot.

They’d not left the campus together yet. Hell, she didn’t even know what kind of car he drove. So strange to feel so intensely for someone and still not know them very well. Didn’t matter, but still. . .

“Yeah. That’s strange. There’ve been ebbs and flows of attacks. But this is nuts.” She looked up at him. “I found a few printouts in the trunk. Can’t read them, though. Maybe Cynthia can help.”

He pointed toward the black car in the front row. “Fourth from the end is me.”

“Nice. Mustang?”

“Beautiful, strong,
and
knows cars.” He hugged her from the side. “You really couldn’t be anymore perfect could you?”

“Far from perfect. But I love Mustangs. Dad had one.”

Jake stepped around the front of the stallion and opened her door. Emma tucked herself into the smooth, leather chair and pulled in a cleansing breath. Even the car smelled like him, mixed with a hint of leather and something floral.

His door opened, and he jumped in. “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Come on. Just do it. I’m having fun with this first-date-thing.”

He must want a bit of normal, too. Two years neither of them have had it, so they were due. She closed her eyes and rested her head back.

Satin-soft petals skimmed the side of her face, and the floral scent magnified.

“Open.”

A single, red rose, only inches from her face and in full bloom explained the smell. She plucked the treasure from his fingertips and kissed his cheek. “Thanks. It’s beautiful.”

“Like you.” He touched a kiss to the tip of her nose.

He leaned over and jammed the key into the ignition. “Now. You were saying something about some printouts?”

Emma held the flower to her nose and inhaled. “Right. I found some papers in the trunk. I set them on top so I could call them to us. Maybe Cynthia knows whatever language they are. Looks Italian or Greek or—ah hell—who am I kidding? I’m not a linguist.” She held her palm out. “Papers.”

A soft glow brought the stack of five sheets.

“Amazing.” He steered the car onto the main street and settled back. “Why can’t I do that?”

“Get Cynthia to read these and maybe we’ll find out.” Emma rested her hand on his thigh.

“And you can only call what’s in the trunk or what you’ve seen.”

“Right. Only wish I could conjure things. That’d be wicked-cool, huh? If I’ve seen it, know pretty much where it is, I can get it. That’s why I’ve kept the trunk. It’s locked. Keeps my stuff safe.”

“Dagger and crossbow. Got it. So, the movies aren’t too far off with the stabbing to the heart when it comes to killing Vamps. Just the kind of weapon.”

“It’d be easier if it was wood. Just think how many stakes I could make. Only the Crossbow and Thantos dagger work. Gabriel said something about someone important blessing the weapons and that’s why they work when others won’t.” She rifled through the sheets. “I think there’s something about that here since there’s a dagger drawn on one of these.”

“Okay. Enough
work
talk.” He took the papers from her lap and set them on the floor behind his seat. “Flowers, movies, and friends for now, then—”

“Then lots of kissing and less clothes.” Emma’s body warmed at the idea of being close to Jake later. “You won. You bested me tonight. I don’t ever back out of a bet.”