The bar was everything you'd think it would be. Lush decor, overpriced drinks, very attractive waiter for our table and obnoxious businessmen happy to throw their money around for a pretty face. Well at least that was the case where we were sitting. Apart from Hannah, I knew no one with us and the other women were not exactly the kind of people we usually hung around. In some ways I felt like I was back with the pack; they were tall, beautiful, intimidating and in other words - everything I wasn't.
"I hate when he brings his brother. If i had known, I probably wouldn't have come. Hurry up and finish that, then we can escape to the bar." Hannah whispers to me as, John - the brother, laughs so loud it's easy to hear him over the music playing. That's pretty damn loud.
"No! Cause then I'd be sitting at home with my cat and Breaking Bad reruns." I pout. Then again, that didn't sound like a bad way to spend a night. "Much better cocktails here."
She smiles as I drink my martini down fast. "I'm glad you're here too. Since you started working more from home I feel like I never see you. Another?"
"Allow me." One of the men smiles, leaning across the table he takes one of the spare glasses from the two other women near him and pushes over some of the champagne for us.
"Thank you." I'm cheap and a free drink is a free drink. Hesitantly Hannah takes a glass too, offering a quick smile before nudging me so I have no choice to get up. "What?"
"I see someone I want to say hi too, come with." We take our champagne and disappear from the upstairs area to the more casual seating options down below and out of sight. "Oh god, I hate him. This is really nice though."
"Is it always like this?" I ask.
"With Stephen? Only when his brother and friends are around." She sighs. "Stephens friends are lovely, he's lovely. I'm pretty sure they're like, part of a mob."
"That's a bit dramatic."
"I watch too much of the Sopranos." Hannah laughs. "But seriously, the shorter one, Tony, he came up in a couple of stories I wrote last year about the drug epidemic taking over the country. It makes me nervous to be around him."
Swapping werewolves and vampires for mobsters. Only in my life.
"We can go?" I offer.
"No, no!" She gulps down her champagne. "Don't hate me, but I also came here tonight to meet with a contact about something I'm working on."
"You're kidding?" So much for girls night.
"You know those horrible murders that have been going on? A contact I have in the police force let slip there have been more than we actually know about." Hannah slips into a vacant place by the bar and my stomach sinks.
"Seriously?"
"Yup. No real pattern or anything either which makes it like a hundred times scarier. Did you want something?" She asks as the bartender stops in front of her.
"Werewolves exist." I mumble, deciding that would probably be even scarier for her. She only frowns so I talk louder this time. "Water will be best."
She grins and nods, yet I don't get water, I get a shot glass with tequila.
"Couldn't hear you so thought you'd like this!" She smirks before we clink our glasses together.
We go back to our table for a little while and as soon as it hits midnight, I'm being ushered away from everyone again under the lie of we need to pee. Stephen looks as though he's having as much as fun with them as we were, but Hannah leaves him behind as we pass the toilets and sneak through the fire escape instead.
"I've got a gun, so if shit goes bad, do you know how to shoot?" Hannah whispers as we quickly hurry out of the alley way.
"What? No!" Well I did, but I wasn't sure what my so called friend had just got me into especially if she had a good feeling about tonight.
"Oh well. I'm sure it's not hard." She giggles. Her tiny purse can't actually be hiding a gun and wishing I'd had more, or maybe less tequila, loyally follow her onto the street and away from the crowds outside the bar. "We just need to go to the park."
"You owe me big time for this. I'm to young and pretty to die." We look at each other laugh, but I was kind of serious. I also never got to try- nope. I was not thinking about Aiden in what could end up being the last few minutes of my life.
"Ok. This is the spot."
We stop by a park bench that overlooks a lake. It's cold, but I'm feeling pretty hot from the bar and alcohol anyway so don't really mind. There is no one else around and ever the noise from the club and road has vanished. Our breath comes out in big misty clouds and without thinking about it, we inch closer together. It feels like we've been standing there for hours when we finally see someone coming from the darkness.
Every part of me goes on alert. Something isn't right here and as the figure gets closer I can't stop myself from thinking vampire. I have no idea where it even comes from as my encounter a couple of nights ago didn't make how to spot them any clearer unless they wanted to kill you.
"Hillary?" He asks, looking at me.
"That's me." Hannah steps in between us and takes out her phone, opening up an app for recording. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"
The stranger is tall and lean, as pale as me in this light but that doesn't automatically make him a vampire. Maybe the reddish glint of his eyes does.
"You said you were coming alone." The man grumbles.
"Call me cautious. Now if you-" He hands her an envelope instead. "What's this?"
"Proof." He looks at me again, frowning slightly as he sniffs the air. "Now I want my money."
Hannah ignores the request, opening it to inspect what I think it photographs.
"What is this?"
"Footage off a camera nearby. Money. Now."
"I don't understand." She flicks through them. "What, what is he doing?"
"Just fucking pay me!" He yells and in the blink of an eye he's snatched her purse, and shoved her into me so we both fall roughly to the ground.
"Hey!" She screams, fumbling to get up Hannah stops as she looks around before offering her hand to help me up. "He's gone."
"He can't be gone he-" He was gone. "What were the photographs?"
"Nothing. I mean, it shows a guy killing the victims but I can't see how or anything. I think he kisses them after he's done it though. Freak." She picks them up from where she dropped them and passes the envelope over. "Glad I didn't have a gun. He could have used it against us"
I don't answer as looking at the photos I know exactly how the guy is killing them. In some shots, he's merely a blur, but there is no denying the killer is definitely a vampire.
"Let's get out of here." I decide, handing them back. She's already on her phone and doesn't take them.
"What a waste of time. I thought I was going to get some decent shit from this guy too, but good thing I left my actual purse in the club."
I could tell her what I see, but stay quiet as we start walking back. "I mean, he told me he had been at two of the crime scenes!"
"He was?"
"Yeah, but I doubt it now. Who knows where he even got them from. Probably made them himself and wanted to get a few quick dollars."
"Probably." I agree, looking behind us as goosebumps suddenly spread all over the arms. What am I doing? "I dropped my phone, stay right here. I'll be back."
Running in heels isn't a great idea, but i manage to do it and too busy doing whatever she was doing, Hannah simply nodded and did as I said. Stopping by the bench, I knew he was still around and saying a quick prayer to anything and anyone godly that might be listening, I wished once more I had stayed home tonight.
"I know what you are, vampire." I called out, trying to sound braver than I felt.
"Vampire?" He shuffled out of the darkness, throwing the purse at my feet. "She's fifty short."
"Well, for a human, what you gave her isn't exactly helpful so be happy with what you got."
"And for, what ever you are?"
"Shifter." Not a total lie. "You told her you were at those crime scenes?"
"Being part of the clean up crew is good work for someone like me." He came closer, no longer standing in the dark. "Got your kind worked up hasn't it?"
"Do you know who is doing it?"
Before I can process what's happening, he has me up against the tree by the bench. Breathing is near impossible as my throat is on fire and the pain of feeling his hands on my neck makes it feel as though he is about to rip my head off - literally.
"You're not a shifter, but I can smell something about you. What are you really?" He growls, baring his fangs before he presses up against me and pushes his nose into my hair.
I try to fight. I kick and claw at his hands but my attack is pointless as tiny black spots start to cloud my vision.
"Actually, I think you're lying and you're human."
His hands leave my neck and gasping for air I wonder why the hell I came back here. I don't care about the pack. I should've just got this guy's details from Hannah and passed them on - instead I'm probably going to die for them and for nothing. Leaning against the tree, my hand replaces his as I gently touch the sorest spot. Did he just want to scare me, cause okay. I'm big enough to admit he was scaring me and now he can just run along like a good vampire, back to his darkness and creepiness.
"Maybe I should just taste you to find out." He growls and suddenly my hands are pinned above me as he bites into my neck.
Pain like i have never, ever known has me screaming out, yet it's more of a gasp as the force of him against me leaves me breathless. This is it. I'm dead. I never got to tell Kyle he can keep Kitty cause I was over cleaning the litter tray. I never found some kind of peace with my Dad. I never got to give Aiden - again? Why the hell does he have to keep popping up, even now?
It's then I realise I'm not actually dying. Maybe. Vampire guy is stumbling backwards, spitting out whatever blood he just took from me like it was poison.
"You're not just human."
"Told. You." I mumbled, sliding down onto the ground.
"Sam?" Hannah calls and the vampire looks nervous now.
"You're not a shifter. What are you?"
I don't know what happens now. It's bright, too bright and if I didn't know better, it was Brianna standing in front of me. The next time i open my eyes, Hannah is there, gently shaking my shoulder.
"Shit, are you okay? Did he attack you?" She look around, clearly freaked out.
"What?" Hannah helps me stand and I look around. There is nothing and no one around except for us. "Did you see a light?"
"No?" She frowns. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Touching my neck, it's sore but there is no wound, no blood, nothing. We go back into the bar and Hannah gets our things, making the excuse of me being sick for us leaving. I don't even care, I just want to go home. She grabs a cab after leaving Stephen with her car keys and drops me off first.
"I'm so sorry about tonight. I honestly had a good feeling about it and this, this is just horrible!"
"I'm fine. Honest. I'll talk to you tomorrow." I assure her and wave her goodbye before making a very slow journey to my front door.
Which is open.
And standing behind Kitty who sits with that cat stare in the doorway - looking more like a very disapproving parent is a very, very angry looking Aiden.
Hannah had no idea just how shit her good feeling really was and for me, it looks as though my night was just going to keep getting better and better. Lucky me.