Strangers in the Night (The Hunter and The Spider #1)

Chapter 1: Along Came a Spider

Jasper Craig withdrew his weapon, smearing the congealed blood and vampire dust on the thigh of his jeans with a sigh. At least the vampires didn't leave a body behind to deal with afterward, though he'd be scraping the dust from his boots for a week.

He slid the silver stake neatly back into its holster and reached for his cell phone.

A gentle twist deep in his gut warned him he was not alone.

A tortured cry, louder and angrier than any natural beast, rose above the sounds of distant traffic. He drew his matte black .45 Glock, darting his gaze along the rooftops as he jogged towards the narrow alley end.

Movement flickered overhead and he fired without question, silencer whistling. The vampiress, Ella Black, was known for her tendency to hunt alone, but tonight was obviously the exception. He could feel the others. Not one or two, but many, and coming in fast. Goddamn fucking vampires.

Something sprang across the gap above him, a featureless shadow in the night. He turned the muzzle upward and fired again, catching a glimpse of the demon twisting in midair, plummeting to the pavement and bursting into an ashy cloud on impact.

Jasper didn't wait for the others.

He cut through another alley. The empty parking lot behind it was painted with faded yellow lines. Its old light posts were dark. A corroded chain-link fence stood on the opposing side.

He was almost to it when a figure stepped from the shadows in front of him, barring his way. Others emerged from his left and right, racing towards him in fanged blurs with glittering red eyes.

Jasper got off a single shot, landing it in the forehead of the vampire at the head of the pack, dusting him before he even had time to scream, but by then two others were upon him, more coming from behind. He blocked the onslaught of swinging fists and biting fangs, swearing as one of them wrested the pistol from his grasp and sent it skittering on the asphalt.

Sharp canines broke against his fist. He drew the hidden short sword from under his jacket, catching two on the upswing as he unsheathed the silver blade. One screeched and staggered away with his hands clasped to his face. The other stumbled with a smoking gash slashed across his chest. Jasper drove the sword into the vampire's spine as he tried to turn and flee, and the creature dissipated around the blade just in time for two pairs of hands to seize Jasper around the shoulders and force him down onto his back.

His head cracked against the pavement. Stars burst at the corners of his eyes. He brought his feet quickly up, catching one of them in the chest with both feet, bending his knees and then quickly straightening them to throw the lunging vampire back.

Sharp fangs grazed his throat. He saw the white flash of a brow and brought his head forward as hard as he could. His forehead collided with the vampire's hard enough to pop his own ears. Or maybe that was the demon's skull cracking. Either way, the vampire's hold loosened.

Jasper wrestled his wrist free and slammed his fist into the other's jaw, scrambling to find his footing as he pulled away.