Renegade: Vampire Outlaw

Chapter Seventeen

Vampire Outlaws, MC

Brooklyn, New York

Caleb

I remember the pain, the seeping wound and the coldness of death knocking on my door. Darkness clouded my vision. But that didn't mean my hearing wasn't gone in the slightest. There was gunfire, lots of gunfire with men screaming in agony. Someone was killing them. It couldn't have been the police. No, this was someone else. Someone on a mission, an agenda, with a plan to kill. If I could smile I would tell this person to kick their ass and shoot them once for me. Unfortunately, I may never get the chance.

When the battle was over, I felt my body change positions as a voice appeared out of thin air. It sounded familiar, but no matter how hard I tried to wrap my mind around it, I couldn't come up with an answer. So I clung to it with every fiber of my being. Then something happened. Something I never expected. I suddenly felt like I was being brought back to life. Like an invisible force snatched me up out of thin air and propelled me forward into the bright light that was to be the land of the living.

My sense of hearing was the first thing that came to mind. Second, my lungs expanded even though my body didn't seem to need it. And thirdly, my throat ached to the point where it felt like it was on fire. I opened my eyes to the dim light of the room. A room that looked like an office with a desk in the center behind a wall of windows. I sat up slowly and swung my legs over the side of the couch as I tried to stand up. Whoa! I sat back down in an instant. Surely I don't ever remember feeling like this.

My body felt weightless and strange. I examined my hands and noticed nothing out of the ordinary until I got to my mouth and ran my tongue across the front of my teeth. Ouch! I swallowed a bit and ended up tasting blood. What the hell? A door opposite me looked like the ideal place to build a bathroom as I ran inside and flipped on the light and stared at myself in the mirror. I leaned in close and parted my lips as my eyes widened in worry. Two sharp points protrude from the gum line as I touched them with my fingertips.

Are—Are those fangs!? Does that mean I'm a vampire!?

Footsteps proceeded down the hallway on the other side of the wall as my eyes tracked it right up to the office door. The doorknob squeaked, turning slowly until I saw a men's-sized boot crossover the threshold. Zane appeared, shutting the door behind him until he saw me standing in his bathroom while a black duffel bag was strapped across his back. He sighed with relief, making his way toward me as he took me in his arms and held me tight.

"You made it," he said softly. "I was so sure you were dead that first night I found you."

"What do you mean? How long have I been out for?"

"Almost three days."

"Three days? Oh my god. I think I need to sit down."

Taking me under his arm, Zane led me to the couch as he sat down next to me and laid the duffel bag at his feet. He opened it and pulled out a plastic bag filled with a dark red liquid of some kind. Then he went across the way and brought back a mug as he bit off the top and squeezed the liquid into the mug and passed it to me.

"Drink this. It'll make you feel a lot better."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Blood. It's what your body's craving. You just don't know it yet."

"So it is true." My voice cracked. "I really am a vampire."

"I'm sorry."

"But I never wanted this. At least not right away."

"I had no choice. It was either let you go and watch you die or save you. So I had to make a decision."

I stared at the mug in my hand, moving it around as the blood sloshed from side to side. I sniffed it once and attempted to take a sip but it tasted nasty. So I spit out and handed it back to Zane as I began to pace around the room.