"So what. Claude wants us to whack him anyway. Let's just get this done."

"Not while he's watching us. He's too quick. Just shut up and lay down, maybe he'll go back."

The two big men dropped down and tried to blend into the gra.s.s.

Cheeto kept his nine-mil palmed just in case. f.u.c.k, this was going wrong.

Moonpie had always been a loose cannon. He hadn't wanted to bring the a.s.shole, but Moonpie was the only one available, and Claude said he wanted this job done post-haste. So he'd accepted him as his back-up. Looks like it was a mistake, but it was too late now to change it.

In his other hand, Cheeto fingered the ax that Claude had sent with him. He was freaked out by this whole situation, but Claude had promised him that if he didn't hack off the guy's head, then the guy would rise again and kill him. And while it seemed impossible that it could be true, Cheeto had always been superst.i.tious, so he wasn't taking any chances.

Lifting his head, he didn't see anything. He scanned the area, the target was nowhere in sight, so he must not have heard them after all. Thank the f.u.c.king G.o.ds!

"I think we're clear. Let's get the f.u.c.k out of here, regroup, and come back when we have the element of surprise, not him." Cheeto smacked Moonpie on the arm as they stood.

Moonpie shook his head, with a low whistle. "Yeah, 'cause that is the biggest scary-a.s.s dude I have ever seen."

Cheeto puffed his cheeks out. "You don't know the half of it. Let's go. Quiet and quick."

Moonpie and Cheeto were nearly to their car, left parked for a fast getaway on the edge of the street, when a voice behind them stopped them in their tracks.

"What, not staying for the party?"

Cheeto's blood froze, and on instinct, and because he was terrified, he whirled and fired.

He saw the huge vampire's look of shock as his body keeled backwards, landing flat on the sand at the edge of the beach.

"Oh, f.u.c.k! That was him! You got him!" Moonpie yelled.

"We got to hack his head off," Cheeto spit out suddenly.

"Huh? Is that why you have the ax? Yeeks, gross. That's on you, dude. I ain't hackin' off any heads tonight or f.u.c.king ever."

"Claude says he'll come back if we don't. He'll come back and come after us."

"What? f.u.c.k that. Look, you got him right in the middle of the forehead. That dude's done for good! Let's go."

"No, I'm going to do this."

Moonpie waved at Cheeto as he walked away. "Do it quick. I'm gonna be in the car."

Cheeto walked back over to the man that Claude had told him was a vampire, and looked down at him. That was just s.h.i.t, right? Wasn't no such thing as vampires.

Standing over him, Cheeto admitted he was a big-a.s.s guy. And ripped to h.e.l.l and back. A body that perfect, yeah, if anyone was a vampire, he might be.

He had to do this because he was terrified that if he didn't, the guy would show up in the dark and tear his throat out.

Lifting the ax, he lined it up to the guy's throat and started to bring it down, when an ATV flew through the sand. It's bright lights shined right on Cheeto, ax raised, the dead man at his feet.

"Hey, what the f.u.c.k is going on?"

The aggressive voice came out of the darkness as a big blonde guy, surfer-type, dressed appropriately in Hawaiian-print shorts, came towards Cheeto and the dead, maybe dead, vampire. Behind the blonde guy, several other guys had jumped from the vehicle to follow him.

f.u.c.k his luck! Cheeto hesitated only a second longer, looked down at the corpse, and ran for the car.

This would have to happen another time.

The car sped out, throwing gravel as it disappeared down the road.

The guys from the ATV arrived at the body.

The blonde guy dropped and looked at Ahmose, naked, lying flat on his back, as perfect a masculine specimen as he'd ever seen. Except for the perfect round hole dead center in his forehead.

"Billy, hey, call the cops," he said to one of the guys behind him. "This guy's done. Did any of you get the license plate of that car?"

JUST UP THE ROAD.

Luka had chosen the bedroom to the front of the small beach house.

"That freaking roar would keep me awake."

Mal laughed as she dropped her satchel on the bed in the room that faced the sea, then went over to open the French doors to let the sound of the waves in.

"You live in the city. It's a freaking roar all the time."

"Yeah, well, different kind. Anyway, I can't wait until morning so I can take my boogie board out."

"You live near the ocean, and you don't surf?"

"Do you know how big those waves get? And no, I don't. I fell off a surfboard when I was ten and nearly drowned. So don't laugh, okay?"

"Aw, Luka, sorry, buddy. No, I'm not laughing. But I am f.u.c.king starving. What did you bring?"

"Beer and chips. Potato and tortilla. Cheese. More beer."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"No. I got essentials."

"You were supposed to get supplies. Food, for crying out loud."

"Potato chips aren't food?"

"Not in any cookbook in the world. I guess we'll have to go out."

"No, Mal, not our first night here. I tell you what, how about you start a fire in that fire-pit, I'll head out, get some groceries, and pick up an extra-large pepperoni for tonight."

"Yeah, I can live with that plan."

"Okay. You'll be okay until I come back?"

Mal shoved him hard enough to knock him through the doorway and into the small, but charming living room.

"Like I need a babysitter. Get out of here. Try to be back before I die of starvation."

Luka grabbed the keys to Mal's SUV, his expression suddenly serious.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Mal, you know that?"

"Get out of here," she barked.

Nodding, Luka took off down the long gravel driveway and disappeared around a line of trees that stood sentry for Captain Kordalis's property.

Wandering to the back of the house once again, Mal opened the doors that led off of the living room onto the main balcony. The cool ocean air felt like sprinkles of magic on her overheated skin. She moaned, her eyes closed, and just immersed herself in the moment. Peace. Nothing and no one needing her to do something, fix something, or chase something or someone.

d.a.m.n, it felt good to just be still and breathe.

A sling-back couch took up the corner of the balcony so she dropped onto it and leaned into it to let her body relax. She watched the ocean move under a strangely shaped moon that illuminated the landscape with its reflected light. With slow deliberation, the waves moved in, scattered its water onto the soft sand, then rolled away again. Ummm, Mal thought. I could really sleep here.

Sleep. G.o.d, she was going to sleep!

A low rumble in her belly told her that first, she needed some dinner. While it was well past dinnertime for most normal people, for her and Luka, there was no normal. Dinner came when they finished for the night, and that was often late. Like now.

Her head swiveled back towards the small kitchen. He said he brought chips and beer.

"As good a start as any," she murmured out loud and got up to head to the refrigerator for a cold beer.

Plopping onto a barstool at a high counter in the kitchen, she popped open a sweating can of beer. On the counter sat a police scanner and she glanced at it, then turned it on. With Luka gone, she was a little bored, so she began to toy with it. After several minutes, it began to intercept some signals. The calls were infrequent, and a few of them were no more than greetings between the female dispatcher and two male officers out on calls.

"Small towns," she murmured as she took a long swallow of beer and listened to the dispatcher flirting with both of the officers.

"Better be careful, dearie. Don't s.h.i.t where you eat," Mal said out loud to her audience of one.

But the girl seemed comfortable with playing them off against each other.

"This isn't going to turn out well," Mal mused, reaching for a bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips. Luka did have good taste in junk food. Although, it was junk food...how could you go wrong?

The two officers were on different calls on opposite sides of the town, and after several minutes of listening to quiet chatter that was significantly less interesting than the view of the ocean, Mal stood to turn the unit off. Suddenly, she heard the dispatcher say that there was a body on the beach. A naked male with a single gunshot to the head. Some four-wheelers had found him.

Both of the officers responded but said it would be a little while before they arrived. Listening to the address, Mal realized it was just down the street from where she was. She grabbed the landline, and yes, the captain had the local police station on auto-dial, thanks. Pressing the b.u.t.ton, she waited while the phone was answered.

"Tremont P.D." a man answered, his graveled voice a little impatient.

"Hey, listen, you don't know me, but I'm a homicide detective from L.A. here on vacation and I heard the call about the body at the beach. I know your officers are otherwise engaged, and I'd be happy to secure the scene until they arrive. I'm staying at Jeffrey Kordalis's beach house. You know him, I'm sure?"

"What's your name, detective?"

"Mal Kalani."

"He's spoken of you. Actually, recently. He called and told me you would be staying at his place. Uh, yeah, if that wouldn't put you out, I'd appreciate it, just until one of my officers can arrive. I'm with a non-custodial parental abduction, or I'd go. The victim was found by some guys out joy riding on the beach, but they couldn't stick around. So, if you could just make sure the scene is undisturbed, I should be able to have one of my boys there within thirty minutes."

"Happy to help. I'll head out now."

Mal wrote a quick note to Luka, looked around until she found a nice million candle power flashlight lantern, and picked up the keys to Luka's bike. She'd ridden before, not recently, and not often. Looking at the big motorcycle, she hesitated.

"Aw, it's just a bicycle on steroids. You've got this."

And she did. After a shaky start, she hit the pavement and the open road. G.o.d, did that feel good. Bev and the Captain had been right. The trauma of this situation aside, this time away from work had been desperately needed. Sadly, she arrived at the address in too short a time, and promised herself as she pushed the kickstand in place, and got off the bike, that she would have Luka take her out for a long ride.

Engaging the light, she easily found her GSW victim. Before they left, the guys who'd found him had covered him with an old blanket they'd had with them for a picnic.

She pulled the blanket back to look at his face. G.o.d, he was big. And probably the handsomest man she had ever seen. What a shame. She held the light closer and dropped down to study him.

It was a perfect face. Even in death, he was beautiful. She was sorry she would never see him smile or open his eyes, it had to be incredible.

Moving closer, she felt for a pulse in his neck. No, he was definitely deceased.

Mal was pretty sure that, alive, he would have blown her away. She smiled sadly. Her friends would have laughed their a.s.ses off if she told them that the first man she'd even been attracted to in years was a gorgeous corpse lying abandoned on a stretch of lonely highway on a warm summer night.

The single bullet hole arranged in the middle of his forehead was so obscene because, otherwise, he looked like he was sleeping. She wanted to run her fingers across his cheek and tell him he was going to be fine.

But forensics had yet to arrive. And he wasn't going to be fine. He was done with the joys and strife of living.

Sighing, she stood up, but couldn't bring herself to cover that stunning face again. She pulled the blanket back to check his body for other wounds. The sight of his naked body was every bit as erotically s.e.xy as his face, and she shook her head. G.o.d, was he incredible. She couldn't stop looking at him. Heavily muscled arms and chest, flat hard abdominals and beneath, nestled between his legs...

She threw the blanket back over his body quickly.

This job required the detachment she had long ago perfected. Getting justice for the murdered was what she did, what she was for much of her life. Stepping into their lives, their stories, was just normal for her. She rarely had an emotional reaction. You couldn't. If you were to be effective in finding the creeps responsible for these people's deaths, it was a requirement. Cold, a.n.a.lytical, effective. Work the job. Miss nothing. Find the perp. Justice achieved for the victim, if nothing else. Wrap up their story. Next!

And speaking of... Glancing around, she began to search the terrain while she waited for someone from this city's police department to arrive. She needed to stop thinking about how amazingly gorgeous this man was. He was just a victim. If he'd been her a.s.signment, she would eat, sleep, and breathe this man until she did her job for him. She would owe him her best, and the arrest of the a.s.shole who did this to him.

Squatting again, she started to reach out for him and let her hand pause just above his lips.

"I'm sorry handsome. We'll catch him. Or her. Was it a lover scorned? I could see that. She couldn't let you go. She vowed that if she couldn't have you, no one would. Or a jealous rival? No man could stand up to you. Not your real story? We'll find it. If you were mine to work, I'd know you better than you knew yourself before I was done. Just listen, don't make me fall in love with you, too. Don't need the complication."

She started to get up when she thought she saw his lips part. Closing her eyes briefly, she shook her head before she opened them again, but he was as still as he should be for a dead man.

Mal snorted a laugh. "One beer and I'm hallucinating?"

Maybe she should cover his face back up and quit musing about him. Leaning over to do exactly that, she pulled the blanket back up and just as she was going to drop it back over the victim's face, he drew a breath.

She was so startled, she fell back on her a.s.s, shocked, and scrambled to regain her footing.

What the h.e.l.l!

No way. No f.u.c.king way!

Standing again, she walked back over and squatted down to look more closely at him. He hadn't moved, but he was breathing. Shallowly, unevenly, but he was breathing.