Here is the second scene from my soon-to-be-released vampire, dark fantasy, A Scarlet Fever, book 1 in the Bloodborne Pathogens series (see the blurb here). If you’re interested in an adult vampire story, where the main character finds herself unexpectedly transformed, and has to fight the beast inside her while battling the things that go bump in the night, all while trying to keep from reeling into the bed of the nearest blood sucker, I hope you enjoy! If you want to read the first chapter, check it out.
A Scarlet Fever: Scene 2
“To watch. Not to interfere.”
Jack scowled down at the dance floor from the upper level of the club, ignoring the buxom brunette slithering up to him, trying to get his attention. Normally, he might have let her distract him for a while. However, tonight he was here to tail Luca, not a new assignment, and not one he enjoyed. So he scowled as he watched. Luca was unmistakable even in the mass of bodies. There were shades of his father in the lean, hungry look on his chiseled face, and Jack was more familiar with both father and son than he’d like to be. Luca was off to the side, at the edge of the strobe lights, nodding his head out of time with the music, as if he were listening to someone, though Jack couldn’t see who. What was clear to see was that Luca had a woman in his sights. Following Luca’s gaze, Jack caught glimpses of her: short skirt, lithe legs and high heeled boots, and black hair the kept obscuring her face, only allowing Jack glimpses of red lips and dark eyes. And the intricate tattoo on her bare shoulder. When she headed out back, Luca followed. Jack waited, tapping his fingers on the rail, not keeping time to a song he didn’t hear.
“God, you’re a pill tonight,” Bee said, coming to stand beside him. Jack glanced her way. Judging from her ruddy cheeks and the smell of her breath when she spoke, she’d had something to drink. He didn’t respond; instead he stepped away from the railing — and the brunette who hadn’t been dissuaded by Bee’s appearance.
“Where are you going?” Bee asked.
“To see what he’s up to.”
“What do you he’s up to?” she said, her eyes rolling.
“Who knows what he could be doing right now. Our instructions are….”
“To watch. Not to interfere.”
Jack looked back at the door Luca and the woman had gone out of. He was about to go in search of his prey when they came back, together now, and started dancing, though he was pretty sure her mom would not approve of those moves. Judging from her tattoos, he guessed she didn’t care what mom thought.
When Luca and the woman made to leave, Jack started to follow, ignoring Bee’s loud sigh, but he found his path blocked by a leather-clad woman with long, blond hair tied in a severe ponytail.
“Emily.” She sneered at him: she hated ‘Emily’. Em, one of his failures. Despite his best efforts, she hadn’t wanted to be rescued — she’d found a happy home in Matteo’s circle.
“Jack, is that the welcome I get after all we’ve been through?” She ran her red fingernails over his chest, up his neck and into his carefully tousled hair. She regarded the brunette with icy blue eyes then growled at her; the brunette, smarter than she seemed, backed away.
“I don’t have time for a reunion.” He picked Em up and moved her out of his way. She grabbed his arm, her grip strong, and dug her nails in.
“If you don’t leave Luca alone, you’ll have Matteo after you,” she said, flashing him a wicked smile of perfectly formed teeth, and ran a red fingernail along her cleavage. “I just say this because I have a soft spot for you. We’re supposed to be getting along now.”
“If Matteo doesn’t want me bothering Luca then he should keep him on a shorter leash.” Jack disengaged himself but by the time he and Bee got down to the main floor, Luca and the woman were gone.