A Blood Seduction (Vamp City #1)(24)

And then he was gone. As suddenly as the sunbeam had appeared, the vision of the dark world ended. The gate between the worlds had closed. She turned back to the welcome sight of a bright, teeming city, sighing with relief at the welcome feel of the sun heating her skin. Looking around, she found her bearings. F Street NW, two blocks from the Treasury Building.

Pressing her fist to her chest, she willed her heart to settle down, turned, and started the long walk home. Euphoria and bone-deep relief twined with despair. She'd done it. She'd escaped Vamp City.

But Zack had not.

Chapter Five

Quinn slipped an extra package of flashlight batteries into the backpack that sat on her kitchen counter, ready and waiting for her return to the vampire world. And had been for six days. As she'd done more than a dozen times since she escaped, she inventoried the contents - three water bottles, a flashlight, a half dozen breakfast bars, and five wooden stakes.

Her stomach cramped. God help her, she was going back. Assuming, that was, the damn worlds ever opened to one another again. Six days she'd been waiting for that crawling sensation that would tell her she'd see that dark street from her window again. Hours on end she'd stared out the window or paced endlessly in clothing fit for the mission - cargo pants with lots of pockets, thick-soled boots, a tank top, and a lightweight jacket since it had been far cooler in the darkness than it was in the sunlight.

So far, all for nothing. She'd barely left the apartment, instead spending hours on the computer studying everything she could find about vampires. If they were real, then someone knew about them. Some of the myths had to be true. And she needed to know everything she could about how to protect herself. And how to kill them.

When she'd first gotten home, she'd immediately called work. Jennifer had been immensely relieved at first, glad Quinn hadn't become one of the missing. But as Quinn had tried to explain that she was in the middle of a family crisis and would have to take a little time off, her boss's tone had cooled. Especially with Quinn forced to be so vague about what was going on or how much time she needed. Of course, if she'd told her the truth, that her brother had been captured by vampires, and she was preparing a rescue attempt, she'd have been fired on the spot for insanity. She still had a job waiting for her when this was over. For now. But she'd worry about that later. All that mattered was getting back into that world. And getting Zack out.

Some mornings, she awoke feeling like she really was insane, that none of it could have actually happened. Then she'd walk into the living room, see Zack's laptop sitting there, and her chest would cave. It was all real. He was gone. Lost. And she was the only one who could possibly save him though she'd give anything if she weren't.

She left her backpack and walked into the living room, stopping before the window where she'd begun to wear a hole in the carpet. As much as she longed to see that shadowy street appear, she dreaded it more. The last thing, the last thing she wanted to do was go back to that place. She still knew virtually nothing about it. A quick google of Vamp City brought up exactly nothing. If people on the outside did know the truth, they weren't sharing.

Staring at the traffic on the street below, she wondered for the umpteenth time if she shouldn't call the FBI. After all, she knew where those missing people had gone. She could tell them exactly what had happened to them. She could send them in to rescue them all, including Zack.

Except she wasn't an idiot. They'd never believe her, at least not until she pulled one of them through a sunbeam. The bigger problem was that she knew vampires well enough by now to know that no human could possibly be a match for them. No one. Taking others with her into that world was as good as signing their death warrants. Or consigning them to slavery for the rest of their lives. At least she knew how to get in and out. She'd gotten Zack into this mess. It was up to her to get him out. And Lily, too, if she could find her.

If only the damn worlds would open again!

She raked her hair back from her face, frustrated and impatient. Ever since she'd gotten home, she'd been a twisted bundle of nerves. If another sunbeam did break through, what then? She had no real plan other than to get back in, no idea where to start looking for him when she did. All she knew was that they'd been attacked close to the White House and that the vampire, Arturo, lived on F Street, on the other side of the White House in what had appeared to be a thriving vampire neighborhood. She was almost certainly going to have to head back that way if she wanted to find her brother. Even if the thought gave her nightmares.

Her cell phone rang. She reached for it and glanced at the number. Shit. Pressing the answer button, she lifted the phone to her ear, fighting to keep her voice calm and level.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hello, Quinn," her father replied formally. Too formally, as if they barely knew one another. Or as if he didn't know how to breach the chasm he'd long ago allowed to form between them. "Where's Zack? I thought you said he'd be back from that sail two days ago."

Uhn. She'd been dreading this. It was a little hard to explain to one's parent how you'd accidentally led his only son into an alternate universe where he'd been taken prisoner . . . or been killed . . . by vampires. No, not killed.

"The cruise was kind of open-ended, Dad," she lied. "I spoke with the outfit yesterday, and they said the fishing has been really good, so they decided to extend it a few more days. I'll have him call you the minute he gets back, I promise."