Chapter 4

Stripping down I changed into a plain black jogging suit, grabbed my black and gold bomber jacket and hit the streets. Thankfully it was still pure darkness outside, even though it was skimming five o’clock. Still, knowing all my girls were hanging out in their rooms or already sleeping eased my mind considerably. Especially when I caught the scent of fresh, warm blood in the cool air. At least I knew it wasn’t one of mine, none of my girls would be stupid enough to hunt on the territory of another gang so generously granting us temporary sanctum. They were all home being good little girls…

Who was I kidding?

I followed the scent, catching hold of a man in his mid twenties running out as I entered the ally, holding him easily as I met Mica’s eyes.

“Okay Mica…” I started with borrowed patience. “I’m not going to freak out, but please…please tell me you have a good reason for this.”

Mica shrugged, letting the boy she‘d been feeding from fall to her feet.

“The Crypts got away with killing by being vigilantes.” She said plainly. “Kinda liked the idea so I figured I’d give it a shot…fresh blood, no guilt. Pretty sweet.”

I looked at the dead boy and shook my head.

“So you, just like that, decided on a change of menu? Damn it Mica this is not our territory, you can’t make decisions like this without letting me know! Who do you thinks gonna get the backlash of this if you get caught?”

Mica smiled brightly, blithely unconcerned.

“Oh Nicky, have some faith! I wasn’t planning on getting caught.” She assured. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“So what did they do oh denizen of justice.” I asked wearily. My fatigue was starting to show, the man I held actually started to struggle a bit. I forced myself to concentrate on stilling him.

“I caught them raping a girl…both of them. Poor thing looked like she was too doped up to fight them off.” She leaned back against the brick wall sounding completely blasé. I wondered briefly if Mica got the fact that her lack of genuine empathy for the girl undermined her claim of vigilante action. I sighed. There was nothing left to do but cover it up.

Bending back the throat of the man in my arms I wasted no time biting down on the sweet pulsing vein, pulling at the wound hard to increase the flow. Like honey thick on my tongue it poured into me, so filling, so very satisfying I wondered how I could possibly go back to cold bottled blood after this. Licking the wound I dropped his limp form on top of the other and tossed Mica the keys for the jeep.

“Park on the edge of the ally, just in the shadow. I’ll drag them out and we’ll find somewhere to dump the bodies.” Mica nodded and took off at a sprint. I grabbed a wrist of each of the bodies and dragged them forward, cursing at the small drops of blood left from the punctures Mica had failed to close. Someone was bound to notice.

Turning into the light that spread before me as the jeep rolled up I waited till Mica came out and let her take one of the bodies, smiling as the snow began to fall. It was just thick enough to nicely cover the evidence of the kill. If our luck would hold maybe we could put this behind us and never have to think on it again.

Mica and I climbed into the jeep and left the ally, taking LaSalle Boulevard along the St. Lawrence river. Pulling down a small road that led to the embankment by the water I was suddenly very thankful for the snow tires, between them and the heavy jeep the slippery drive wasn’t a problem. Reaching level ground I parked and we left the jeep quickly, pulling the bodies from the back seat and hefted them easily over our shoulders. The deep snow was irritating, but not really a hindrance as we walked over to where the building rapids of the river still crashed violently, the cold not quite strong enough to hold it down. Wordlessly we threw the bodies into the rush, which quickly pulled them under. I turned without pause back to the jeep, stopping before opening the door to watch Mica’s slow approach, an uncharacteristic pensive look on her face.

“You okay?” I asked. She nodded, then grinned like a wicked cherub.

“That was positively thrilling.” She remarked. “Rushing to cover up our crimes, knowing at any second we could get caught. I’d give up ten guys a night to be able to do that more often.”

I got in behind the wheel, watching her as she settled in shotgun.

“Which would leave you at what? Twenty?”

She scowled at me, looking like she’d taken extreme offence. I didn’t buy it for a second.

“I resent that…I do not sleep with thirty guys a night…usually about five or six. Whatever else I do does not count.” She clarified. I chuckled.

“’I repeat…I did not have sexual relations with that woman…these allegations are false!’” I quipped playfully. She opened her mouth, closed it, tilted her head then giggled.

“Damn right.” She added. We took off, thankfully getting back home before the sky began to lighten, and parting at the door went to our respective rooms. Half in the closet I changed into a long t-shirt and bootie shorts, shuffled sideways around the first double bed and climbed into the second carefully so as not to wake Tammy. Stretching out I stared at the ceiling, trying my best to ignore the flash of dark blue eyes that teased at my mind. I thought over what Mica would suggest, the immediate answer bringing a small smile to my lips. She’d probably be right, I needed to get back in the game. Guys were good for one thing…well maybe two. Needed to find one I could use.