Bump in the night.

Chapter One: What lurks in the shadows?

The sound of the nightclub made me wince, the throbbing base and patrons shouting to be heard at the bar mixing until a headache firmly planted itself in my temple.
I tried to navigate the crowd, looking for Cindy, my younger cousin who had dragged me out to go clubbing for her first time since she turned legal, using the excuse that it was my 25th birthday.
She knew I hated going out, but I couldn't deny my little cousin.
We'd lived together since I was 18 and she was 11, our parents died in a car accident together. I'd become her legal guardian, refusing to let her go into foster care. I'd got two jobs despite my parents having left me their ranch with some savings and their life insurance, I still wanted to provide for Cindy without relying on that money.
Working as a mail-girl at a law office downtown during the week and a receptionist for a small medical clinic near our house on the weekends.
I walked passed the VIP area, catching the eye of a gorgeous blonde man in a suit, he watched me curiously for a moment, the woman under his arm glaring at me making me look away and dash towards the back hall of the bathrooms.
She'd disappeared with a group of squeaking girls down the hall last I'd seen, so I swallowed the fear that tightened at the terribly lit walkway to the bathroom.
One of her friend stumbled out of the ladies room as I turned the corner, wiping her nose and inhaling deeply as I got close enough to see the white residue on her lip.
She gave me a wide eye look before bolting into the crowd through the open hallway beside her, loosing a shoe.
I pushed the bathroom door open and turned around the stalls that blocked my view of the bench of sinks.
Cindy in her little red sequin dress stood with two other girls, one holding her blonde curls back while she snorted a line off the bench.
The brunette behind Cindy noticed me first, tapping her quickly on the shoulder as she threw her head back and whooped.
She spun, smiling and wiping her nose.
Stopping dead in her spin when she saw me.
She looked back at her friends, who were trying to clear the evidence and ran off.
I let them, setting Cindy with a mad stare.
"Look, I was just having fun." She threw her arms up in the air, her tanned complexion flushing suddenly and she turned to throw up in the sink.
"Jesus, Cin, how much did you have?" I stepped to her, watching her blown pupils.
"It's the shots I had. I'm fine!" She whined in her childish voice.
I sighed, wrapping her arm over my shoulder, supporting her weight and pulling my phone out of my pocket.
"Come on, princess. Let's go home." I dragged her out of the bathroom and battled the crowd, trying to get reception to call a cab.
My phone flashed it was 1:15am, meaning all the taxis would hopefully be waiting out front.
I managed to find a backdoor near the back of the stairs, that was left ajar by a brick. I kicked open with my toe and pulled Cindy with me into the dark alleyway.
I sucked in a sharp breath at the lack of lighting, making Cindy giggle weakly.
"Still scared of the dark." She teased, her hand trying to come up and tap me but falling halfway.
"Shut up." I grumbled, at least relieved if she was making jokes, she was fine, just drunk.
I still called the non-emergency line for advice, waiting on hold.
Cindy stumbled away from me, leaning on a wall by a dumpster, sighing in delight as her skin touched the cold stone.
A woman answered the phone.
"Non-emergency line, this is April, how can I help?"
"Hi, I'm Penelope, my cousin did a bit of nose snow and I don't know how much, can you-" a sudden thud behind me made me jump and spin to see the man from the VIP section step out, a cigarette in his mouth.
He stopped suddenly seeing me, looked between Cindy and I and stepped a few feet away, lighting his cigarette.
I swallowed hard when April called my name after giving me an information dump.
"Sorry, could you repeat that?" I muttered, turning away from the man.
He was tall and handsome, but something felt odd about him.
April gave me a list of things to do and check for during the night, I thanked her and hung up.
Turning to see the man handing Cindy a cigarette.
"Hey! She's a kid dude!" I snapped, stepping forward.
Cindy ignored me, snatching the lighter from the man and lighting the tip, inhaling deeply.
She slapped the lighter into the man's hand, smiling.
"Excuse my mum, she forgets I'm 18 now." Cindy said, wiggling her shoulders at me and taking drags.
The man stood up from his crouch and stepped towards me, making me nervous and shiver despite the fact I wore jeans and a turtleneck.
"Sorry, I should have asked, mum." He smirked, dimples showing making my heart skip at how attractive he was.
He had soft honey eyes that matched his hair, a strong jaw, straight nose and thick, kissable lips.
I inwardly shook myself.
The man watched me for a moment, I rolled my eyes and moved past him, crouching in front of Cindy and grabbing her wrist to check her pulse.
I glared at her as she continued to smoke, stealing it from her and taking a quick drag making her eyes widen in surprise at me when I handed it back.
I blew out the smoke and counted her heartbeat, relieved it wasn't too high despite her intake claim.
"Hey, is she okay?" The man asked in a concerned tone, stepping behind me.
"She's fine, we're about to go home." I brushed him off, standing and pulling Cindy with me.
Another thud made me jump and look behind us at the line of dumpsters.
My eyes widened as a tall man come out of the shadows then, a broad smile on his face.
Two of his teeth were sharp to points and his eyes were pure black.
I stepped backwards towards Cindy, gasping.
"Ma'am? Are you okay?" The VIP man asked, not seeing the man behind him.
"A dude with sharp teeth and black as fuck eyes is being a creep!" Cindy yelled, bending to pick up a bottle beside her and lobbing it towards the man.
"Cindy don't!" I squeaked, trying to stop the bottle but hit the VIP man and I watched the glass smashed across the man's face, black blood oozing out of the wounds and smoke sizzling from it.
He opened his mouth, making a horrid hissing-gargle noise and lunged forward.
I shoved VIP man to the side, falling backwards as the man fell on my legs.
He bit down on my thigh, making me scream in pain as the area was engulfed in flames.
"Fuck!" I screamed.
The man grabbed me and tossed me sideways, my ribs, shoulder and head smacking painfully into a dumpster corner.
My vision blurred and I felt blood at the back of my head when I touched it, wincing in pain.
I remembered Cindy and the man, suddenly trying to get to my feet.
I managed a scattered crawl across the alley to the man who now leaned over Cindy, holding her close and his mouth on her throat.
VIP Man was gone, probably run off.
I tried to pull the attacker off, finding he was cemented there no matter how hard I yanked or kicked or punched.
"Stop! Get off! Please!" I screamed in panic, not hearing Cindy anymore.
I tried to claw his face and neck but he threw an arm back, hitting me across the face and to the ground with an impossibly strong blow.
My head smashed the concrete and I saw someone entered the alley, running towards us.
It was VIP Man, looking between the scene in a second before producing a weapon and throwing himself at our attacker.
The attacker screamed in pain as a glowing blade was shoved through the side of his head before he collapsed and spasmed.
His body began to fold in on itself as black smoking blood pooled around him like tar.
Soon there was no evidence he was there but Cindy's unmoving body and her neck bloodied.
I screamed, trying to crawl to her but VIP Man picked me up, cradling me to his chest, taking me away from Cindy while I screamed.
"She'll be okay. You're badly injured. Please, let me help." He said into my ear, his voice making me freeze and wanting to obey.
I nodded, letting him load me into the back of a large car.
I watched him call someone before he ran and got Cindy, sliding her beside me.
Her body was limp and her head fell into my lap.
I pulled off my shirt and pressed it against her neck, trying to stop the bleeding as tears fell.
"Please be okay." I whispered
VIP Man got into the driver's seat, the car jolting from him hitting the gas, the woman from the VIP section jumped into the car when he'd paused for a moment at a stop sign near the club.
Despite being in a tight black dress and nine inch heels, she'd easily caught up to the car in time.
"If you're going to ditch me for some cute red head, least give me the house ke-"
"Juliette, back seat." VIP Man snapped making the woman turn to look at Cindy and me.
I thought for a moment she meant me due to my copper hair, but dismissed it when Cindy groaned.
The womans eyes widened and she crawled quickly between the seats, pulling my shirt back.
"Fuck, vamp." She hissed, grabbing her small clutch that hung from a metal chain and pulled out a small glass bottle of green liquid.
Before I could stop her, she popped the cork and downed the contents into Cindy's mouth.
"Hey!"
"Shuddup!" The woman hissed, running her hand across Cindy's throat, encouraging her to swallow.
I looked in the rear vision mirror, meeting VIP Man's eyes, he nodded at me and I looked down.
He said he'd help, I had to trust that.
"Come on, Cin, swallow baby." I encouraged, patting her hair. Finally she swallowed, choking slightly but the fabric under my hand started to get hot and when the woman moved it away, the wound was bubbling and sealing.
"Okay, good." The woman said, helping me shift Cindy into a seating position. I buckled her in, moving in a way that made me scream as my leg ached, suddenly all my adrenaline dropped and I was overwhelmed with dizziness and pain.
The woman climbed into the middle seat and began checking me over.
"Who are you people?" I whispered as she pulled a pair of scissors from her bag and began cutting my favourite jeans.
I tried to protest, but my arms and legs felt cold and numb, too heavy to move anything but my eyes and mouth.
"I'm Juliette," the woman said, poking my leg and making me cry out. She pulled more things from her tiny purse, pouring something over my leg that stung but instantly soothed the burn.
"That's Grayson," she gestured to VIP Man, I looked where he was driving, realising we were on the back stretch to the ranch.
Juliette leaned me forward slight, a light in her hand as she checked the back of my head.
She leaned me back and ran her hands across my ribs, pulling away when I winced in pain at one area. She flashed the light in my eyes for a few moments.
She leaned back to look at Grayson.
"She's okay, no venom. Broken ribs and a concussion." She pulled herself back into the front seat, putting away her tools.
Grayson nodded and turned onto the dirt strip towards the archway that read Wayland Ranch.
The two story mansion spread out in the large open lot, cattle fences surrounding it with paddocks and the large red barn shed with dad's tractor.
Grayson pulled up near the front steps, getting out quickly and seeming to do something with my lock before the door sprung open.
"Hey!" I yelled, Juliette grabbed me as I opened the door.
"Let him!" She said quickly. "Vamps hunt in packs, he's making sure they haven't found your house."
I stared at her incredulously.
"Fucking, what?" I gaped.
She rolled her eyes. "Humans. Look, just know that the guy who attacked you, doesn't work alone. Grayson's making sure your house is empty."
"I have a dog. She bites." I tried, unsure how to process what she'd just said.
I looked towards the front door, watching Grayson bound down the steps before he turned and slapped his legs with a smile.
My so-called Rottweiler guard dog, Molly, bounced down the steps towards him, her tongue sticking out and her tail wagging as she spun around him and got pats.
"Traitor," I muttered.
"It's clear." Grayson said, opening the door and pulling me out, cradling me again.
"I can walk, jackass." I snapped, trying to struggle out of his grip.
He smirked and put me down, letting me go only for my legs to refuse to carry any weight and I started to fall down.
He caught me quickly, pulling me back up into his arms.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, ignoring the smug look he had as he headed for the house.
I watched Juliette effortlessly pull Cindy out of the car and followed behind us, kicking the car door and front door closed with her foot.
Grayson moved expertly through the house, moving passed the enclosed foyer to the right where our connecting lounge and sun room sat. He placed me on the lazyboy near the fire, stepping behind me to close the rolling doors to the sun room while Juliette laid Cindy on the sofa across from me, the large oak coffee table seperating us. Molly waltzed in, tail wagging and went to her bed beside the fireplace, watching us.
My legs forbid me from moving to sit beside Cindy, I could only watch as she rolled and slept.
"She'll be okay," Juliette tried to soothe but I gained enough self-awareness to glare at her and then Grayson.
"Who the fuck are you? You've said the word Vamp now, twice and I sure as shit am not going to believe you mean Dracula type bull." I yelled at them, furious.
Juliette sat in the chair next to the sofa, pulling off her shoe to pull out a small packet of white powder concealed in the strap.
She handed it to me.
It glittered and shone weirdly.
"You're handing me drugs? What the fuck?" I snapped, throwing it onto the coffee table.
She moved quickly, snatching up the power and suddenly pinning me to the chair grabbing my face painfully.
"You want to forget everything you saw tonight." She hissed. "Take the powder, put it in coffee, put it in a warm glass of milk, shove it up your ass. I don't care." Her light blue eyes flared with anger and control making me terrified.
"Take the powder, you and your kid sister can forget this night ever happened." She threw the powder at the my chest and left, slamming the front door.
Grayson remained, watching me as I sat up pathetically to take the powder from my chest, realising then I was half naked in front of a strange man.
I pulled the crochet blanket from the back of the chair and wrapped it around me.
I tried to stand only to remember I still couldn't fully feel my legs.
Exhausted and annoyed I turned to Grayson.
"So, help me stick it in my ass?" I asked in a flat tone. His eyes flashed with surprise before his dimples appeared when he smiled.
He crouched next to me and gently took the powder from me, his finger brushing mine and sending a spark through my skin that gave me goosebumps.
I looked away, unable to stop the blush at my own behaviour.
"I'll make you some tea, you seem to have alot of it." He muttered, stepping away towards the hallway and right into the dinning room that led to the kitchen, basement and backdoor.
By the time he'd returned with two steaming cups, I'd managed to crawl to Cindy and had her pulled against me under the blanket.
He helped me give her some of the tea, being soothing and sweet when he spoke gently to her, I stroked her hair and encouraged.
When she'd finished the tea, she yawned widly and rolled into my lap, making me jolt a bit in pain but I would suffer it for her.
I looked at Grayson as he knelt beside my knee, holding the cup and staring at it.
"So, I'll forget everything from tonight?" I asked
He nodded. "Everything in the last twenty four hours. The medicine Juliette gave you both, will heal you by the time you wake up, so you won't even know you were hurt." He explained, holding out the cup to me.
I chuckled without humour.
"What?" He asked slightly smiling.
I met his honey brown eyes, frowning enough his smile vanished.
"I'll forget my own 25th birthday." I whispered pathetically. I wanted to forget the attack, but I didn't want to forget the burnt dinner Cindy tried to make, having to order pizza instead or the small cake the doctors at the clinic had made me. It had been a lovely day, despite the horrid end to it I didn't want to forget.
And for some strange reason, I also didn't want to forget Grayson.
"Happy birthday," he said quietly, making me look up.
When I did, he leaned forward, pushing the tea cup into my hands and pressing his soft lips to mine in a tender kiss.
He stayed there for a second until I responded then pulled back.
Before I could say anything, he was gone.
The front door closing gently.
I blinked into the lounge room, staring at our old bulky TV that sat on an old cabinet.
The fireplace in the middle of the room with its rusted ornate caging.
I looked down at Cindy sleeping happily and took a deep breath, finally pulling the hot tea to my lips that still tingled from the kiss.
I sipped slowly, making sure to finish the whole thing before I put it on the table and leaned back, suddenly feeling tired and like I couldn't stay awake as my mind went fuzzy trying to remember why I was so tired.
I only remembered honey coloured eyes and a dimpled smile, the name Grayson seeming to flood my brain as a dreamless sleep took me.