Page 1 of The Vampire’s Prey

Chapter 1

Evangeline

Energy thrums through my body in time with the beat of the music pouring from Club Toxic. It gives me a nervous energy that just doesn’t seem to want to quit. My fingers inch up towards my mouth, but I force them down, knowing that gnawing them to bits will mess up my makeup. Groaning, I take in my reflection in the club’s darkened windows. Thank God, Father can’t see me looking like this. I feel so self-conscious as I tug my shorts down a little bit. I turn around to look at my ass. Thankfully, not as exposed as I thought. I can handle many things but not my ass cheeks hanging out for all to see. I glance at my phone one more time, the compulsive need making me pull up Father’s name and check for more messages. Nothing new pops up, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Pocketing my tethering device, I smooth down my outfit and take some fortifying breaths.

First day on the job and fuck if I’m not ready. I gently rub my eyes to alleviate the itch of these damned contacts as I wait for Barbara. Honestly, I should be grateful that she’s helping me get a job, but then, it’s not like I actually want to be here in the first place.

Lectures and scriptures flow through my brain as I stare at my reflection. Father’s voice is there, an incessant white noise in my head that won’t shut up. It never shuts up. Closing my eyes, I try to ground myself, to go to that place where nothing can touch me, not even him. Slowly, the noise fades to a mild hum. Still there, but enough to finally ignore. That tight band around my heart begins to ease open.

“Looking hot, momma!”

A shock of panic flows through my body and takes over my normal reflexes. Without thinking, my body crouches down, and I start to extend my leg. It takes a second, but my mind and body finally catch up with me, and I realize it’s Barbara behind me. At the last second, I pull my leg back and keep from knocking her legs out from under her.

“Whoah!” She pulls back and looks at me, her eyes widening. “Sorry girl! Didn’t mean to scare you.”

In one fluid movement, I pull myself back up and brush off. “Bad neighborhood,” the lie trips easily off my lips “You ready?” Looking her up and down, I wonder if I look just as ridiculous as she does in those short shorts, but it’s now or never. I can’t keep standing out here worrying over my outfit when I have a job to do. Taking a fortifying breath, I walk up to the tall, muscly bouncer at the entrance.

I’ve seen hot guys before, but damn, he has muscles on his muscles. Swallowing, I try to keep my gaze focused on his face and not on his rippling biceps. He’s a bit too muscly for me, but I can for sure appreciate the work he’s put in to make himself look like a god. Even as those thoughts go through my head, they’re followed up with a stab of guilt. Head out of the gutter, Evie. Nothing good comes from those thoughts.

“Hi hottie!” Barbara chirps, not even a bit fazed by Hercules over here. “She’s with me.” Turning to wink at me, she places her hand on his bulging arm. “Hopefully we can convince her to work with us. You’ll help me, won’t you big guy?”

The behemoth looks me up and down and grunts before opening the door. Clunky movements. Most likely not a bloodsucker. I do file him away for future reference but don’t give him much more of a thought. There are bigger fish to fry than a linebacker on steroids. Cute as he may be, he’s not why I’m here

“Don’t worry girl. They’re going to love you!”

A smirk tilts the corner of my mouth. If this clueless human is picking up on my discomfort, then I need to really up my game. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath to calm and center my thoughts. I can’t afford to tip my hand this early in the game. However, if the owners working here are anything like Barbara, then they’re going to be pushovers. I draw on all my training and prepare for the battle to come. This is my first mission, but I have to succeed. Father’s approval depends on it. My status with The Family depends on it. Hell, I’m not so dense as to not know my own self esteem depends on it.

The music is even louder as I ease my way inside. Eyes peeled, I search out every face I can, trying to commit them to memory. Who knows when I will need to recall them. Barbara keeps tugging on my arm, pulling me deeper and deeper into the crowd. But that’s just fine with me. If I pause for a moment, there will be plenty of time to scope out the place when I get this job. It’s better to start out acting eager to work than to draw any suspicion towards me.

Hot, sweaty bodies twist and writhe to the music, filling in every space I try to walk. It feels like we’re fighting a rising tide as we worm our way through the crowd and towards the upstairs office. The heat coming off the bodies is intense, as is the music. I pull myself inward to keep contact to a minimum, but even then, an arm or ass brushes up against me. As we reach the stairs, the crowd thins out, allowing me to catch a breath that’s not tainted with the grime of lust.

“Is it always this crowded?”

Looking down at me, Barbara frowns for a moment then looks out over the people. “I guess it is. I just don’t notice it that much anymore. The longer you work here, the easier people become. Unless you’re claustrophobic. Most days aren’t like this though. But be grateful. That’s why we need an extra hand. No customers means you’re not needed here.”

Nodding, I follow her into the upper offices. Compared to the feel of the club, it’s damn near tranquil up here. Too bad I can’t keep an eye from up here. I’d change my job description in a hurry! Looking around, I keep my senses keen, trying to find anything that seems off. Maybe there are no vampires here. There certainly don’t seem to be any coffins lying about. The quicker I get my intel, the quicker I can get back home where I belong. Where I’m safe and needed.

“Knock, knock, Theophilus! This is the girl I told you about!”

Barbara’s hand squeezes my arm as she slides by me. Smiling back at her, I attempt to portray the response of a friend and not an actual stranger who doesn’t like to be to be touched. Her huge grin back tells me I succeeded.

“Good luck!”

Don’t need it. I’ve got this in the bag. “Thanks doll!” I guess that’s a good, normal response? Mentally shrugging, I let it go and turn my attention to the next hurdle.

The man before me is impressive enough. I lower my eyes and study him through my half-closed lids. His movements seem normal enough. Not quite as stilted as his body frame suggests but not completely out of the realm of possibility. However, when he rises up to greet me. Bingo. Found one in the wild. His movements are lithe, like a jungle cat. Too sinuous for his frame and build.

“Barbara said you’re looking for a job?”

I plaster on my winning smile. “That’s right, sir,” I add for extra measure. Men love being called sir. It makes them feel virile and potent. I have no problem playing on that weakness. Deep down, all men are that shallow; all men have this hubris.

He raises his eyebrow and stares me down. “What do you know about bartending?”

“I’ve watched Cocktail about 20 times. Does that count?” My smile widens even further. I even bat my eyelashes a bit, every inch of me playing the tart. My stomach squirms and clenches. It’s okay. You’re just getting your foot in the door. You’re not actually a whore. You’ve been trained for this very reason. Father won’t think less of you.

His eyes narrow. “I have neither the time nor patience. If you truly want the job, you’ll just answer my question without being cheeky.”

Hmmm. So, either no nonsense, or I’m completely barking up the wrong tree. No biggie. React, adapt, re-react. Just because I read him wrong doesn’t mean I still can’t salvage this. Men run within a few gamuts with only a few of them actually being outliers. So far, nothing about this...man...tells me he is anything outside of those quadrants.