Forget About Midnight by Trina M Lee

crazy had only served to feed the fire that drove my madness. I would go home when I was damn well good and ready.
    Seeking a place that was likely to be unpopulated at night, I headed for the cemetery north of downtown. I’d ran there blindly on the night I’d awoken as vampire. It would do for what I had in mind.
    I used the hands-free feature in my car to leave a message telling Kale to meet me there. Driving paths crisscrossed through the cemetery. It was the perfect place to pull off the street and wait.
    I parked where two paths intersected. The graveyard was dense with trees. It gave the illusion that we weren’t in the middle of the city anymore. Unable to resist, I leaned over and breathed deeply of Sylvia’s scent. Expensive perfume tickled my nose. Beneath that was the very rich, tantalizing aroma of human blood.
    When she opened her eyes and found me inches away, I smiled. She screamed and grabbed for the door handle. My hand on her wrist stopped her.
    “Because I don’t want to chase you around a cemetery, I’m going to make this easier on you.” After a pulse of power, she blinked a few times, confused. Then it hit her, and she sank back in the seat.
    “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” She was relaxed, as if I’d slipped her a pill rather than a subtle taste of my energy. There was a laziness to her tone, and she eyed me with a carnal interest.
    “No. Kale probably will though.”
    She nodded and smoothed back her hair as if primping for a big date. She flipped down the visor and examined herself in the mirror. “I deserve that I suppose. I’m not going to deny it. I tortured the fuck out of him. And many others.”
    “Is that all you do for the FPA?” I studied her, watching as she pursed her lips at her reflection.
    “Pretty much. I’m also the bait more often than I like to be.” She turned to me with a painted, pink smile. “Do you have any hand lotion?”
    A little manipulation could go a long way. Her friendly demeanor was bothersome. I liked it better when she was afraid and fighting.
    “No, sorry.”
    “I knew it would catch up to me one day. Especially when that one got away. Your friend. I’ve been expecting this.” Sylvia examined her fingernails before holding them up for me to see. “I tried a new place for my last manicure. What do you think?”
    Sparkles in her mint green fingernails caught the light from the visor mirror. Girl talk with Sylvia had not been part of my plan. Maybe I should just knock her out again.
    Headlights shone in my eyes as Kale’s ’73 Camaro came around the corner. The sight of the sleek, black car rekindled my excitement. Show time. I’d been very patient up until this point.
    I got out of the car and went around to Sylvia’s side. Jerking the door open, I dropped the hold I had on her and pulled her from the car.
    “Alexa, what the fuck?” Kale jerked to a stop when he saw Sylvia. A range of emotions crossed his battered face. He’d been fighting, and I had a bad feeling that I knew who had left those marks.
    Without my manipulation to mess with her mind, Sylvia was a shrieking, trembling mess. The scent of her fear was intoxicating, and I savored it, going so far as to run my tongue along her jugular.
    Kale watched me with growing intrigue. I saw him slip from the careful composure he’d gotten so good at hiding behind to the fierce killer he was beneath that mask.
    I shoved Sylvia to him and said, “I got you a little something.”

Chapter Five
    “You are the most amazing woman to ever walk this earth.” Kale regarded me with a playful grin, which vanished when his gaze dropped to the brunette squirming in his grasp.
    “You don’t want to kill me. I can help you. I can be your eyes on the inside.” Sylvia’s calm acceptance had fled. Now she was ready to bargain. “I’ll do anything. Anything. Please!”
    Kale held her firmly by both arms. He pulled her close, forcing her to meet his angry gaze. “Remember me, bitch?