What Lies Beneath

I smiled. "Hey, darlin', wanna loosen up your grip? I'm not so into the rough stuff." I was swung around and sat down on the open back to the van.

The man to my left was standing over me with no amusement whatsoever on his face. His arms crossed over his chest. "I tried to be nice to you, but for whatever reason, you seem to want trouble." Oh, right now wasn't a time to fuck with me. "Maybe I do. What are you gonna do about it?"

The man from last night sighed, done with me already. "I can pay you, since you seem to be swayed that way."

My eyebrows pushed together. "Pay me? For what?"

"That book you stole from Knox. You have it. I want it."

My blood turned to ice. "Knox? That's his name?"

He seemed as thrown as I was. "Do you know him? Did you take the book on purpose?"

"No. But he just had my brother kidnapped, if you really wanna know. What the hell is that book?"

"Information."

Information that was sensitive enough to cause all this trouble.

Then a thought came to my desperate mind. This guy knows... Knox... and that might mean he knew where to find him. He was awful at trying to get information, but that didn't mean he wouldn't know. This meant I had a chance. "Who is he?" I asked.

He shifted on his feet. "If you don't know, it's not your problem. Just tell me how much you want for the book, and you can have it."

"To do what with?"

"None of your business."

I stood up and set my hands on my hips. "I think it is entirely my business. So tell me what it's for."

He almost laughed. "Or what? You'll cock your hip and bat your eyelashes at me?"

"Nope. I'll make sure you never find that book. I'm in a real bad mood at the moment, so I suggest you be careful."

He smiled, and I guessed it was supposed to chill me. Unfortunately for him, I dealt with shady characters all the damn time. I'd had a gun to my head, a blade to my throat, bones broken. He wasn't scary.

He leaned down so he could put his lips to my ear. "Don't be stupid. This isn't something you want to be in the middle of. If you want to live through this, be a good girl and hand over the book." When he leaned back I said, "I don't want money."

He almost seemed interested. "Shocking. What do you want?"

"My brother. That guy took him, and you seem to know a lot more about him than I do."

He scoffed. "So, what? Am I supposed to track him down for you?"

I just watched him.

He made a sound. "No," he said slowly, "I am not looking for your brother just for that book. Not when I can just take it from you and be done with it."

I held a finger up. "But you do have a clue where he might have been taken."

A shrug. "Maybe. Doesn't matter, since I'm not helping you."

My smile was wide. "Yeah, you are."

Such amusement in his face. "You're very cute. But you can go fuck yourself."

I cocked an eyebrow. "If you want that ledger, you'll play nice, baby."

"Two choices here, kid. You let me pay you for it, or I hurt you. Either is fine with me, and the latter is becoming more tempting all the time."

I nodded. "Fair enough. You win." Yeah right.

I turned and started digging through my bag. I palmed my Zippo and grabbed the ledger. With a really quick movement, I lit the thing up and turned around.

When the man saw it burning, there was a quick look of shock before he reached for it. I chucked it over his head, and he turned, catching it before it hit the ground. The speed was... not normal.

He growled once the fire was out. The leather was burnt, but the pages were gone. I'd aimed for those because I'd known what I was doing. He didn't seem to get that.

I was against the side of the van with a hand around my throat and the man in my face. "You have ten seconds to convince me not to break your neck."

Don't show fear. Bluff. I heard my brother's voice in my head. "Danielle Valdes. Felix Cavanaugh. Jonathan McKean. Barbara Tonkin. I can go for miles, honey." His grip loosened. "How do you know those names?"

I smiled. "I know them all. I have every page of that book locked in my head. Names, addresses, dates. You name it. Kill me, and the information is gone."

He slammed me lightly into the car. If you could do such a thing lightly. "Four names. You could have just remembered them. That doesn't prove a thing."

I shut my eyes. "In this lot right now, there are six red BMWs. One has a sticker of Tigger on the bumper, and the plate says 1046GT2. On the hotel building, six floors up and three windows to the left is the guy that cleans them. His uniform is white, and the pant leg is torn. You're in a dark blue button-up-three undone because you wanna look like you're not trying. You have an adorable little mole right..." I reached out and put my hand on his chest, moving it up and touching the spot on his top left side. "...there." I dropped my hand, letting it glide down on him. "Your eyes are only green when you stand in the sun, but in shadows they look hazel. Your boots are scuffed, but only the top. And your hands are really, really cold."

I heard him scoff. "That last one doesn't prove anything."

I opened my eyes. "Just an observation. Do you believe me?"

His hands left my neck. "Dammit." He ran his fingers through his hair. He had been turning from me when he sharply turned back. "If I find out you're lying, you try and screw me over, I will kill you. Do you understand me?" "Sounds fair."

His hands went to his sides as he stared at the ground. "Can you tell me anything about the men who attacked you? Anything at all might help this get done quicker."

I hesitated. "Um, well I'm not sure you'll believe me if I told you." He would probably think I was crazy if I said some guy pinned me to the car without touching me. Then he would leave, and I'd be screwed.

He sighed. "Try me."

I stared up at the clear blue sky and started in on the story, beginning to end. I couldn't look at him when I was done. There was silence. Just silence.

"Well?" I said. Then I dared to look at him.

And he was neutral. "Well, I don't think I know any of the men you just described. Not a surprise that Knox would have your brother taken for inconveniencing him."

I blinked. "Did you miss the part where I said that the guy tossed me backward with a flick of the wrist?"

His smile was telling and actually frightening. "Do you really wanna know?"

I nodded, despite myself.

He stepped closer to me, slipping his hands in his pockets and leaning to my ear again. "I gave you an out, and you didn't take it. I even warned you that you didn't want to be a part of this, but if you insist on knowing..." There was a touch of evil in his grin when he pulled back. More than that, there were two points on his canines, sharper than they should have been.

"Holy shit," I said quietly.

Then I busted into loud and unrepentant laughter.

The guy was so not amused. "Something funny?"

I laughed so hard I snorted. Okay, so I was crazy. I must have gotten hit much harder than I thought. "You're a vampire?" I said in a mocking and spooky tone.

His eyebrow went up, and his fangs were gone. "And something about that concept makes you want to mock me?"

I pulled myself together enough to breathe. "Long fucking morning, sweetheart."

"All right," he huffed and sat me down again in the open van "You don't seem to understand the position you're in. I can, and very well might, kill you. The only reason I'm not is for that information you have. Maybe you're just in shock from getting attacked. So because of that, I'll explain a few things to you."

"Go for it, sugar." None of it mattered. I was unconscious or dead right now. None of this was real. Vampires weren't real. I was just dreaming about the weirdo I met the other night.

"The man that hurt you, he was a demon. Demons have magic. Each has a... talent I suppose. His must have been an element. It was how he pushed you back and held you still."

"Okay..." I nodded and chewed on my lip. "...demon. Like a... demon."

He nodded back, and his tone was condescending. "Yes, a demon."

I arched a brow. "They don't look very demon like. They just look like people."

He smiled and spoke to me slowly, like I needed help understanding. "Yes, because they are people. Like I am a person. Do you think that you're the only kind of person there can be? Very closed minded of you. I blame television for your ignorance."

"So..." I clicked my tongue. "...he's a demon." I pointed to him. "And you're a vampire."

"I am. And you're a stupid little human who should have just given me that book when you had the chance. Now, for the rest of your days, you'll have to live with the knowledge of what goes bump in the night. While you sit here in denial, you're wasting time that we could be using to find your brother before those men do God-knows-what to him."

No. This wasn't real. Vampires weren't anything that lived beyond the pages of cheesy books. He was screwing with me.

I grabbed his hand, and he wasn't expecting it, but he didn't pull it away. He let me examine it, trying to make sense of what didn't make sense. His hand was cold, but not like ice. Just cooler than mine. Next, I looked for a pulse. Nothing.

He smiled. "No heartbeat. I am living dead, darlin'."

I blinked. "I think I'm gonna throw up." I let go of his hand and stood, my own hands going to my stomach.

"Please don't. I can't nurse you back to health. Do you have questions?"

"Duh," I breathed. "Starting with, what the fuck?!"

"Maybe some basics. I can't turn into a bat, sadly. I don't sparkle, but enough sun can kill me."

That caught my attention. "How?"

"I'm a non-living vampire. My heart doesn't beat. The sun soaks into my skin, heats my blood, and cooks my heart. Essentially. I have a few hours in direct sunlight before it would kill me. Another reason I think we should leave." "Hold on. Assuming I'm not having a fever dream and all this is real, how the hell is there such thing as a living vampire?"

"If you're born a vampire. Fifty-fifty shot if you have a vampire parent. I was turned, not born."

Fabulous. "Okay then, Edward. Say I believe you, how is it possible that no one has heard of vampires and demons and zombies being real?"

"I never said zombies. And it's not like there are a ton of us. We know how to stay hidden. When people find out, they tend to be really annoying." He focused on me.

"Well, excuse me for not believing that monsters are real."

"Maybe you should, since you were on the business end of some magic not too long ago."

I wanted very badly to not believe any of this, but I was becoming more and more convinced I wasn't sleeping. My brother was gone, and there was a vampire standing very close to me.

"Vampire," I said. "You're a vampire."

"Finally. I thought you'd make me stand here for an eternity."

My eyes went to his. "So you eat people?"

He smiled. "Only if they're really nice."

"Seriously? Read the room, dumbass. If I'm gonna spend some time with you, I wanna know."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I need blood to survive. Not too much if I'm eating food regularly. Maybe a liter or so of human blood just to get by. Don't worry, I only drink from teenage girls that are too mouthy Oh..." He had a fake look of shock. "...I'm so sorry. Didn't mean to offend."

I stood right in front of him and looked up. "If you try and eat me, I'll kick your ass."

He smirked at me, unaffected. "And how unlucky you are that I won't be eating you."

Then I smacked him in the arm. "I'm not kidding."

"Neither am I."

"I already hate you."

"Good. Then I won't have to worry about your advances."

Oh, I think I might kill this guy. Speaking of... "If you're dead, how can you die again? Why is your heart important?"

"How the fuck would I know? All I know is that I'd die again if my heart is destroyed."

"Same for a demon?"

He shook his head. "They die easier. They don't age once they reach maturity, but a lot of things can kill them."

"Super. So it won't take much for me to kill this Knox guy?"

Then he laughed at me. "You'd die in a second if you tried. Plus, I'm killing him."

"And why do you get that honor?" Now that I think about it, I was very curious on why he was stalking him last time we met.

His face went blank, and he looked directly at the ground. "That's none of your business. I'm going to help you find your possibly dead brother, and you're going to copy down every letter in that book. Then we part ways. I don't want to know you, and you don't want to know me. Agreed?"

I hesitated before I said, "Fine. Do I get the honor of knowing your name?"

His coldness broke into something else. "Landon Crane."

I smiled at the last name. "Mila Moody."

The man almost looked disappointed. "So you used a fake name then or now?"

"Well, obviously then. I'm not so lucky to have been born with the name of a movie character." I paused. "Actually I wasn't even born with my current last name, so never mind."

He chuckled. "Me neither. Being immortal, you need to change once in a while. But I guess you have to do that if you're a con artist too."

My mouth dropped open. "How dare you. I am not a con artist. I'm just clever, and I know how to get by."

He nodded. "Con artist."

I flipped him off and shut the door. "You're driving, bitch."

We got in the van, and he was in the driver's seat. I was fairly sure he wasn't going to murder me. He needed me. I needed him. If all went to plan, we could be out of each other's lives in a day or so.

We left the strip and ended up at another hotel. A cheaper one than where I'd been staying. Landon dragged me up to his room so he could grab his bag.

"So you were stalking me?" I asked when we were walking through the hall and to the elevator.

"I needed that book, so yes."

"Creepy." We stepped into the elevator, and I slapped Landon's hand away when he went to hit the button. I wanted to hit the button.

"Well, it was properly motivated." The doors closed. "Unfortunately, now I'm stuck with girl whose mouth is more annoying than tempting." "My mouth isn't any concern of yours, pointy."

We walked out of the elevator and through the lobby, headed to the parking lot. Landon threw his bag into my van. He started driving again, and we traveled in silence. It gave my worry time to grow. Was Jaxon moving in a car too? Was he even still alive? I was comforting myself with the fact that they could have killed him in front of me. It meant that he was probably still alive.

The quiet was making me too anxious, so I spoke. "Where are we going?"

He didn't look away from the road. "I know where Knox is staying. If he's still in town, he'll be there. Business meeting."

Of course. "What business is he in?"

With an even voice, Landon said, "He sells demons."

It took me a few seconds to accept that I'd heard him right. "Sells demons?"

"Family business. For at least five hundred years. Probably longer."

I felt my forehead crinkle. "Why does he do that?"

"Money. There are, in fact, a lot of humans that know about us. Humans with money sometimes like to buy demons with an ability that they think they can use. Future seers, someone with a lot of power. Anything useful." "Do they do that with vampires too?"

A cold "Yes" left his lips.

All right then. "Do you think they would try and sell my brother?"

He gave me a quick glance. "I don't know what they might do to him. You picked the wrong man to steal from, kid."

"That's becoming more and more apparent. Now I'm stuck in a car with Dracula, looking for a brother that might already be dead."

"It's kind of racist to just call me vampire names like we're all the same. I'm not calling you a bunch of human names just because you're one of them."

"Oh no, did I hurt your feelings?" I laid on a falsely sad voice and made my lips pouty.

"I will, in fact, bite you if you don't close your mouth."

"Those teeth aren't coming anywhere near me. You can go eat a chipmunk for all I care."

"Ha," he said. "Animal blood does almost nothing for us, FYI."

"Don't care."

I caught him rolling his eyes. "Amazing that you find a way to survive with that mouth on you."

"Hey, buster, this mouth has talked me out of a lot of situations."

"And gotten you into many more, I'm sure."

We got to another hotel, and Landon pulled into the lot, ignoring the valets. The hotel was nice, but not as nice as I thought it might be. Not for the money Knox had been playing with.

Landon went to get out of the van, but I grabbed his arm. "Hold on. What are we going to do? Just walk in there and ask the front desk if he's in?"

He glanced back at the building. "I might be able to pick up a scent."

"Gross."

He smiled. "Thank you. And you smell very sweet, by the way. A trick, I'm sure."

I fake gagged. "Yeah, I wanted to know what I smell like to you. I bet I taste real yummy too."

Once we were out of the van, he looked me up and down, slowly and covetously. "I bet."

I was about to smack him again when I caught sight of one of the men from before. He was the first man to grab Jax. That meant Jaxon was still close to the area. Too bad the man was going at Landon with a knife.

Landon shoved me out of the way, and I fell onto the ground. My hands scraped against the hard surface, and I almost fell on my head. I was struggling to right myself as the men fought.

Landon got the knife from the man without effort, so it was down to fists. Nothing was connecting, but my eyes were locked on them.

I was on my feet, scrambling for my own knife, when I was hit in the side. It was a woman that got me. Short and blonde. She scratched at me with her nails, and I tried reaching into my pocket for my knife, but there was no getting it. So I had

to try running.

I saw Landon finally get a hit in with the man he was fighting. I heard a snapping sound as the man grabbed his fingers and bent one back. I never did see that fight end.

The woman on me grinned as she closed the distance between us. She got her hands on my shoulders and slammed my head into the side of my van. My ears rang, and the world faded into darkness.