"I wouldn't give him the chance. Look, we have a business relationship and th at's as far as it goes."

"It sounded like it went a little farther the other night."

"And it won't happen again."

"Because you don't want it...or him?"

"Look, we had s.e.x-that's the end of it. Closed subject."

"You think it meant more to him than that?"

"Excuse me?" Laurie could not believe her ears. Cole Kincaid had walked o ut on her, not the other way around. How could Cindy even suggest it migh t mean something to Cole?

"According to you it was just s.e.x. But has anyone asked Cole what he though t of the other night?"

"No, and no one better," Laurie stated, narrowing her gaze. "Whatever that li ttle mind of yours is thinking, it better stop. Cole Kincaid and I are not go ing to happen." "So is he the reason you won't go to the club with me?"

"Maybe."

"Cole hasn't been there since the last time you were. It's not likely he'll b e there tonight. Damien says Cole rarely comes to see them play."

"So you haven't seen Cole?"

Cindy released a sigh. "Last night."

"At his apartment?" Laurie's ire rose as a look of guilt formed in Cindy's b lue eyes. "G.o.d, what did you say?"

Cindy stirred the remainder of her sundae as she looked down. "All I asked was if he had seen you."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing." Cindy chuckled, glancing back at Laurie. "You're as off-limits t o him as he is to you. Besides, Damien didn't give me a chance to say any mo re-he sent me to his room. G.o.d, I felt like such a little girl."

Laurie chuckled for the first time since arriving. "Good for him. So how are the two of you getting along?"

"Pretty well." Cindy glanced around as though to see if anyone was within hea ring distance. Satisfied, she turned back and said quietly, "I think I'm fall ing in love with him."

Laurie choked on the bite she just put in her mouth. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she said, "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am." And the look in her eyes told Laurie Cindy was in it deep. "I kn ow it hasn't been that long since Patrick dumped me, but I never felt for hi m what I do for Damien."

"You can't go looking for love just because your parents dropped you off o n your grandmother's doorstep, Cindy."

"Grandma didn't love me anymore than my parents."

"Precisely. So that's not a reason to look for a man. You're a good person and the right man will come along someday."

Laurie's words hurt Cindy; she could tell by the way she now refused to look at her. Laurie grasped her chin and tilted it upward.

"I'm just not sure Damien-"

"I can't stop loving him. Yeah, maybe it is foolish-" Cindy's laughter ran g false, "-to love someone who could have any woman he wants. And I know i t's probably only a matter of time before he gets bored with me."

Tears slipped down Cindy's cheeks and Laurie wanted nothing more than to hold her and soothe away her spoken fears.

"But I can't help it, Laurie," she sniffed, wiping the napkin beneath her no se. "It's too late-I've already fallen in love with him. He makes me feel sp ecial...he makes me feel cherished. Don't ask me to give that up. You never know, maybe one day he'll even love me back."

"I hope so," Laurie said, wishing for Cindy's sake it would come true. Who was she to say any different? "Hey, you know what? I'm suddenly in the mood to go see a band tonight. What do you say we look up Dragonslayer? After a ll, I hear their lead singer is a real dream."

"You mean it?"

"Yes," Laurie smiled. "I'm getting tired of sitting at home and feeling sorr y for myself anyway. I say we go dance our stockings off."

Cindy's eyes turned up on the corners. "I'm not wearing any."

Laurie returned her smile. After all, Cindy was like the sister she never ha d and at this moment Laurie would not deny her anything. "Then it won't be t oo hard for you, will it?"

'Ah sir, you dwellers in the city cannot enter into the feelings of the hunter.'

When a mind is pure evil and focuses on a deed at hand, how then can the th oughts of one who serves justice pretend to know what the soul is feeling?

The mind is a complexity of charts, courses, and maps. Each has a makeup so different that the most brilliant of scientists cannot pretend to understand why one feels as he does. And yet, one man will try to serve as judge and j ury-to condemn the soul for all he does.

And if he should fall short, then Christ will hold reign over the soul's fate and ultimate destination. But with Satan guiding his actions and will, would Christ's enemy not stand witness at the judgment or leave the soul to his ow n demise? After all, it is the intense hunger for blood that causes him to si n.

And who is held responsible for the crossed wire of his genes, a relentless a che to feed on a substance that gives another life? Should the soul be held i n account when his hand had no say in the creation?

He should think not, for G.o.d himself had long ago forsaken him, leaving the so ul with nothing as a guide but his flesh, the earth, and Satan; the root of al l that is evil.

Running a hand down his smooth chest, the soul glances at the paper clutche d within his hand.

Vampire Strikes Fairview. Indeed!

Chuckles echo off the red walls as the nude soul circles the altar in the cent er, ready to add one more article to his collection. No one can think as he; t herefore, no one can pretend to understand.

Bloodsuckers. Fiends. Ghouls.

Vampires are but bloodthirsty creatures of the night, preying on the blood o f the innocent. A call so strong, beckoning them to the fluid which gives th em life and satisfies an unquenchable hunger, one which refuses to be denied . Could it be that this man, sent to be his judge, had guessed the origins of the quote?

Chortles turn into full-blown laughter as the soul falls to his knees and con ceals the merriment in his face at the misconception of it all. He will give them that his crimes mirror that of the vampire. But undead? Indeed not!

A single bullet could end his tortured life and all this would be at its end . But because of their ignorance, now another must die. Only one player can be left standing when the game comes to its completion.

But now, another p.a.w.n is added to the board.

The soul lowers his hands; the amus.e.m.e.nt is replaced by eyes of undiluted ev il, mirroring his angry soul. One name captures his attention as he glares a t the article that dares to call him a fiend. The game piece he did not coun t on. He will crucify Cole Kincaid in the end and have little empathy.

But Laurie Michaels, what of her?

The beauty he believed capable of saving his anguished soul now means to ent er into his madness. His teeth clench, his jaw aches, his hands become fists of death. A game she is ill prepared for. A game that will steal her innoce nce.

Slamming his angry fist onto the altar, the candles rock precariously. Now sh e, too, must be forced to see his soul.

Chapter 19.

Victoria Stanton walked into the blackened night with nothing to illuminate the sidewalk but the dim streetlights. Doorways cloaked in shadows could h ide even the lowest of evils. Though she was used to going places on her ow n, even in the wee hours of the morning, she still could not help the feeli ng of trepidation which raised the hairs on the back of her neck and crept under her skin. She chalked it up as nothing more than a repercussion to th e news she had read in this morning's Plain Dealer .

But she was in Cleveland, not Fairview Park, she reminded herself as she step ped from the curb to cross the busy street. Victoria glanced both ways then t rotted across the intersection in a sudden hurry to get to her car.

A light cool breeze lifted her brown hair away from her face and sent a chill down her spine.

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself," she quoted to the still night air, ho ping to convince herself of the fact.

Within minutes, she would be safe in her car and heading home to her father 's big house on the hill. Victoria smiled. She had been lucky to be born into money and her father had had the good fortune of becoming Mayor. He had easily won the election, for there was not a person in Fairview Park who di d not like him.

Reaching the parking lot, Victoria's brown gaze skimmed the area. Be aware o f your surroundings at all times, she reminded herself, one of the first thi ngs she had been taught in the self-defense cla.s.ses.

Not a soul could be seen, though several other cars were in the lot. Satisfied , Victoria stuck her keys into the lock and turned them.

"Excuse me," came from behind her, causing her to jump. Her heart lodged in her throat as a male voice chuckled. "I didn't mean to scare you," he apol ogized.

Victoria turned around to find a tall man standing near the rear of her dark green Z28. A smile rose on her face, recognizing him instantly.

"G.o.d, you scared me," she laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention," he smiled back. He could certainly be thought of as good-looking, she mused. "I was wondering if you might like t o have breakfast."

Victoria's fears subsided. "I'd like that. After all the alcohol I've consumed , G.o.d only knows I could use it. Get in," she offered.

His eyes gleamed in the obscured light. "You just said you had too much to drink. Why don't you let me drive?"

"Deal," she agreed and placed the key back in her lock and secured the door . She followed him through the parking lot to an older, weathered black car.

It probably had not seen a spot of wax in years. Obviously, he cared little about what he drove.

He unlocked her car door, opened it, then walked around to his side and got in. She scooted a little closer to him, taking advantage of the bench seat.

Imagine, she thought, her luck in running into him. Had he actually picked h er over the many other girls he could have had?

"Where are we going?" she asked, as she used the rear-view mirror to check her appearance and reapply her lipstick.

"I know this little diner down the road," he said, his eyes on the parking lot and not on her. He turned on the ignition and threw the car into drive.

"Why me?" she asked, suddenly putting to voice her earlier unspoken questi on.

"I like brown hair and brown eyes," he stated with little conviction or warmt h.

She grasped his forearm to tell him she was glad, but he flinched, causing the long sleeve of his shirt to fall back from his arm, exposing blistered raw sk in.

"What's the matter?" she gasped, as she pulled the sleeve further away, s eeing the angry wound left from an obvious burn days old. "My G.o.d, what happened?"

He yanked his arm from her grasp and tugged the sleeve back down. Turning to look at her, his eyes narrowed to evil slits, causing the hair to rise at h er nape. "That's what happens when you get too close to the flame...you get burned."

Having gone to confession and said her Hail Marys, Laurie was well on her way to being forgiven. Now all she need do was forgive herself. Church had been nearly full, forcing her to sit in the back pew, which had been fine by her. Following communion, she had slipped out the door and headed for her lunch engagement with Cindy.

Cindy and she had agreed to connect for lunch at the mall and do some shop ping. Since meeting Damien, they had spent little time together. Laurie gu essed she should be happy for Cindy, but something about her and Damien's relationship soured her stomach.

Laurie knew Cindy's involvement with Damien had little to do with her, and believed Cindy deserved to find happiness, which was why she had elected to keep her opinion about Damien Vincent to herself. She decided to be not hing but delighted for Cindy.

The Westgate Mall bustled with Sunday shoppers, but to Laurie's luck, she f ound a patron leaving and followed him to his parking place, earning her hi s s.p.a.ce. Wearing a short blue skirt and a sleeveless white sweater, she jum ped from her car, locked it, and walked briskly to the entrance.

Laurie spotted Cindy waiting for her in the food court. She sat at a round ta ble for two, waving her arm in the air as though she had a red flag flutterin g from it. She stepped through the throng and walked over to the table.

"I got you a Cafe Caramel." Cindy indicated the cup of coffee sitting on th e table, near to over flowing with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. "A re you hungry yet?"

"Famished. Mark Pi's it is. I'll be right back. Lunch is on me."

Not giving her a chance to argue, Laurie walked to the counter, already kn owing what Cindy liked, she ordered two sweet-and-sour shrimp.

Back at the table in no time, Laurie retook her seat. "So what did you do last night?"

Cindy stabbed one of the shrimp with her plastic fork. "I read a book."

Laurie's gaze snapped up. "You what?"

Cindy grinned. "I know, I haven't read in years, but Damien didn't mention that I should come see him play-as a matter of fact, I think he wanted a ni ght apart. You know men and their precious s.p.a.ce."

"You don't sound too upset," Laurie said, then plopped a shrimp into her mo uth.

Cindy's face glowed and Laurie wondered how much Damien had to do with it. She shrugged. "I'm not. We've been spending a lot of time together. He has his life and I have mine. Besides, I don't want to smother him."

The hairs on Laurie's nape rose, as a sudden intense feeling of being watc hed washed over her. She turned around and scanned the room, rubbing the g ooseflesh from her arms.

"What's the matter?" Cindy asked.