Page 21 of How to Stake a Vampire (Diary of a Reluctant Werewolf #2)

PREMIUM RESERVE

“This is worse than watching paint dry,” Bo grumbled from his position near the van’s back doors.

“No one told you to come,” Samuel said pointedly.

“What, and leave Abby alone with you?” Bo huffed indignantly. “You should thank your lucky stars I’m here, protecting your wolfy virtue.”

Detective Johnson snickered. My mouth pressed to a thin line.

“Pearl put you up to this, didn’t she?” I asked my dog coolly.

“Don’t involve the cat,” Bo sniffed. “Or her jerky bribe.”

“Tell me again why we’re sitting outside a blood bank at seven in the morning on a Saturday?” Didi groaned. “I haven’t had enough coffee yet for this level of suffering.”

“Because Ellie’s vision showed Ludvik was looking at a notebook with this address in it,” I explained patiently for what felt like the hundredth time. “Since Hemoglobin Haven caters to vampire aristocracy, he’s probably planning to hit it today.”

We’d been watching Amberford’s most exclusive boutique blood bank since dawn. The upscale establishment was located in the ritzy Maple Park district, next to Temple Heights. It had valet parking and an ice sculpture of a bat in the waiting room.

No one had been more surprised than me when Ellie had revealed what she’d seen last night. She hadn’t exactly been happy about having some weird mental link to the vampire who’d tried to kill her but had done her best to describe the details of her vision.

The whole psychic-vampire-bond thing was new to Barney.

I tried to find a comfortable position in the cramped surveillance van. Seeing as it currently contained three werewolves, a vampire, a witch, a dragon newt, and a sulking Husky, this proved impossible.

“I can’t believe we’re working Saturday overtime,” Gavin muttered, peering through the viewfinder of his camera. Smoke curled from his nostrils.

Didi cut her eyes to Samuel. “I hope we’re getting premium pay for this.”

“Yes, I’m paying you guys extra,” Samuel said testily. “So how about everyone put a sock in it?”

“Lucky you,” Detective Johnson muttered, unwrapping an egg and bacon bagel. “I don’t get overtime pay.”

He clocked Bo’s focused stare and guarded his food closely.

Samuel’s answer satisfied Didi for all of five seconds. She pursed her lips. “You know, it’s weird having you on a stakeout with us.”

Samuel frowned. “Why?”

“It’s like trying to have sex in front of your teacher. Awkward, painful, and liable to bring the law down on you.”

Detective Johnson choked on his bagel. Samuel rubbed his temples.

I had to agree with Didi. Since Virgil had gone home to reconcile with his parents, I’d spent last night at my apartment with Ellie.

Having Samuel in a confined space this morning was testing the limits of my self-control, especially this close to my next full-moon transformation.

The fact that he was wearing casual clothes that showcased his muscular physique wasn’t helping.

I swallowed a sigh, hating that Pearl had been right.

There was a crumpling noise. We all looked at Barney.

The vampire was reading a newspaper and sipping a cup of blood orange tea like he was in the drawing room of his home. He became conscious of our stares.

“What?”

“You realize we’re on a stakeout, right?” Detective Johnson asked.

“Yes, and I’m all ears and nose,” Barney replied.

Didi curled a lip at that.

A crackling sound came from the radio. “Team Alpha, this is Base. Do you copy?”

Samuel picked up the handset. “We copy, Nigel. Also, I’m pretty sure I told you not to call us that.”

“But Team Alpha is such a cool name,” the boogeyman protested.

“It is a cool name,” Gavin concurred.

Bo huffed an agreement. Detective Johnson dipped his head.

Even I had to concede it had a ring to it.

Samuel sighed. “Any activity on the street cameras?”

“Negative.” Nigel hesitated. “Though I should mention, the system’s been acting up all morning. I keep getting these weird glitches.”

I tensed and exchanged a cautious glance with the others.

“Define glitches,” Samuel said stiffly.

“It’s hard to describe. It’s like something’s interfering with the signal, but only intermittently.”

Didi arched an eyebrow. “It could just be technology failing us.”

“Or it could be our perp,” Detective Johnson said, frowning.

Samuel’s expression hardened. “Try and look into those glitches,” he instructed Nigel. “And if any of the cameras go dark, let us know ASAP.”

“Okay. Oh and Mindy wanted me to tell you she’s excited about her first field mission.”

Though we’d all had doubts on this subject, Barney had suggested bringing Mindy along since ghosts didn’t have a scent that vampires could detect. She was supposed to be our invisible advance scout.

“Where is she now?” Samuel asked warily.

“Inside the blood bank. She’s been possessing their security system for the past thirty minutes.”

That didn’t sound good. We traded another round of wary glances.

“Please tell me she’s not rearranging their filing system,” Didi said sharply.

Nigel’s silence was laced with guilt. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

There was a longer pause. The boogeyman came back online.

“She’s reorganized their appointment system by blood type and vintage,” he confessed sheepishly.

Didi cursed. “That damn ghost!”

Barney frowned. “I hope she didn’t mess with their inventory. That could lead to allergic reactions.”

I briefly wondered what an allergic reaction might look like on a vampire, before deciding it was too early to picture that stomach-churning possibility.

“She only color-coded it,” Nigel protested weakly. “The staff think it’s a Christmas miracle.”

“Jesus,” Detective Johnson muttered.

Bo stretched and yawned. “How much longer do we have to sit here?”

“However long it takes,” Samuel said between gritted teeth.

“But I’m bored,” Bo whined. “And hungry. And this van smells like Gavin’s lunch.”

I sighed.

“What’s wrong with my lunch?” Gavin asked defensively.

“It’s got tentacles in it,” Bo said with a shudder.

“Calamari is perfectly normal,” Gavin protested.

“For humans, maybe,” Bo muttered.

“You eat kibble,” Gavin pointed out.

“Kibble doesn’t have suction cups.”

“Will you two keep it down?” Samuel snapped. “We’re supposed to be conducting a covert surveillance.”

Bo huffed sullenly.

Gavin went back to his camera but kept glancing at his lunch bag with wounded pride.

The radio crackled again.

“Base to Team—I mean, this is Base. Mindy’s reporting movement inside the blood bank,” Nigel said. “A well-dressed customer just entered the building. He’s wearing an expensive suit and talking like he owns the place.”

“That could be any vampire aristocrat,” Barney remarked.

“Here, I’ll get Mindy to send us a visual.”

The monitor in the van came to life.

“Hello,” someone whispered loudly amidst the static.

We all screamed a little.

“Is that you, Mindy?” I mumbled, clutching my chest.

“Yes,” Mindy replied. “I’m in the system.” The ghost sounded pleased with herself. “Would you like me to describe the atmosphere?”

“No, thanks,” Samuel said hastily. “We just want to focus on that customer. Can you show us?”

“Oh.” Mindy sounded disappointed. “That sounds a bit boring, but you’re the boss.”

Samuel squeezed his eyes shut and muttered something under his breath.

Detective Johnson made a sympathetic sound and patted his shoulder.

The monitor switched to the view of a security camera in the foyer. We stared at a familiar-looking figure.

“Isn’t that Count de Vile?” Gavin asked suspiciously.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Samuel snapped.

“Being a pain in the ass by the looks of it,” I observed.

The reception staff were having a hard time dealing with the count.

“He must have self-discharged from the hospital,” Didi muttered.

“I bet Hilda and Hazel are celebrating,” Bo panted.

Samuel scowled. “Ludwik might leave if he sees him. Didi and Gavin, go inside and see if you can get him out of there. The rest of us will get in position.”

Didi and Gavin exited the van with unenthusiastic expressions. They tried their best to look like a witch and dragon newt in need of specialty blood products as they headed for the front entrance.

“I still think I should go with you,” Bo protested as Samuel, Barney, and I got ready to head out to cover the back exit.

He was staying in the van with Detective Johnson to serve as our lookout.

“Dogs aren’t allowed inside blood banks,” I told him for the third time.

“What about service dogs?”

“You hate being a service dog.”

“I could be for once,” Bo huffed. “A very helpful one, in fact.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You tried to eat evidence during our last stakeout.”

“It was shaped like a bone,” Bo said defensively.

“It was a femur.”

“Exactly. Bone-shaped.”

“Wow,” Detective Johnson muttered.

Samuel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Nigel, you copying?”

“Loud and clear. The Husky is a liability.”

“Not that.” Samuel sighed. “Tell Mindy to stay alert. And keep monitoring things closely from your end.”

“Oh. Gotcha.”

Samuel, Barney, and I left the vehicle and circled around to the back. We were halfway there when Nigel’s voice crackled in our earpieces.

“Mindy’s reporting a problem.”

Samuel’s shoulders knotted. “What kind of problem?”

“She accidentally triggered the fire suppression system,” Nigel said apologetically. “The customers are evacuating.”

“Any sign of our target?” I asked while Samuel cursed softly.

Didi’s mildly disgusted voice came through the comm before Nigel could reply.

“People are leaving en masse. Wait, Gavin, watch where you’re?—!”

A loud crash echoed through the earpiece. It was following by an intense sizzling sound.

“I hope you guys have stakeout insurance,” Detective Johnson said flatly.

“Why?” Samuel groaned.

“Because the dragon newt just slipped on the floor, crashed into the ice sculpture, and melted it in his panic.”

“The bat one?” I said warily.

“Yup. It’s more of a puddle now.”

“This is going well,” Barney remarked with a pinched expression.

“FYI, the Husky says this wouldn’t have happened if they’d taken him as a service dog,” Detective Johnson added.

I narrowed my eyes.

“Uh-oh.” Nigel’s tone had grown urgent. “Mindy’s just lost contact with the security system. Something’s fighting her for control.”

My pulse spiked.

“Fighting her how?” Tension knotted Samuel’s shoulders.

“She says it feels like another presence in the system. Something old and angry.”

“We should get in there,” I told Samuel and Barney urgently.

They nodded. We moved toward the rear exit.

Nigel’s voice was full of dread when he spoke again. “The cameras just went dark.”

My blood ran cold. “All of them?”

“Every single one,” Nigel confirmed grimly.

“Nigel, tell Mindy to get out of there,” Samuel ordered sharply. “Didi, Gavin, evacuate the staff and the customers. I don’t care what excuse you give them, just get them out!”

I grabbed the back door of Hemoglobin Haven. It was locked. I let my wolf slip effortlessly under my skin and yanked sharply on the handle.

The door ripped out of the wall like it was made of paper.

Samuel and Barney stared at the crumbling bricks surrounding the gaping opening.

I grimaced. “Sorry.”

I dropped the door and ran inside with them.