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she? Where was Allen? Was he okay? Was he alive? What if he
never…
“Alexis Kane?”
Alexis looked up to see a tall, red-haired woman in her forties
standing in front of the table. She was wearing a pair of blue slacks
with a white blouse, her long hair tied back in one braid. She put
down her briefcase as Alexis got to his feet. “Doctor Laving?”
She nodded.
“Please sit.” Alexis went to pull out her chair and she smiled.
“That’s rare nowadays.”
“My mother taught me to…”
“Be polite to old ladies,” she smirked.
“You’re not that old,” Alexis muttered, feeling a little
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embarrassed. “How did you know it was me?” He sat down again
and signaled the waitress.
“I’m an observer of human behavior, Sergeant, as are you.”
She ordered hot chocolate. “You appeared as agitated sitting there
as you sounded on the phone, plus I looked you up on the net. You
won some award for something or another.”
She was a smart woman.
Alexis nodded as the waitress sat the hot chocolate in front of
the professor.
“You’re a top notch profiler, that’s why I came. I figured
someone of your reputation couldn’t be a flake.”
“Thanks for coming. I read your study.”
“You can now count yourself among the handful of others
who’ve read it. And now you think you’ve seen a vampire.” She
smiled and sipped her hot chocolate.
“I don’t think, I know,” Alexis leaned forward. “I saw him
crawl on the God damned ceiling for Christ’s sakes!”
“They usually don’t do that sort of thing, too showy. Why
would he have revealed himself to you, a mortal?”
“He had nothing to fear given that his intention was to kill me.”
She looked stunned.
“I worked on a case in Florida—people died in a trailer park,
retired people from Quebec. We never solved it. Everything
pointed to the signs of a”—Alexis looked around then said—
“vampire.”
She looked down at her cocoa.
Alexis’s eyes widened. “You knew about it. You knew about
the murders in Los Angeles, too, didn’t you?”
“Same lead forensic investigator on both serial murder cases,”
she said.
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FLORIDA HEAT 2
Alexis swallowed. “Allen. How did you know about these
cases?”
She shook her head, met his gaze. “I read. Look, if he has him,
there’s nothing we can do. He’s lost to us.”
“I don’t believe that. Help me find him.”
She stood, picked up her briefcase. “I can’t help you,” she said.
She walked out, leaving Alexis sitting there, dumbfounded. He
sprang up out of his seat after a moment and chased after her. He
caught up to her at the corner waiting to cross the street.
“What do you mean, you can’t help me? You can’t or you
won’t?” He took her arm.
She jerked her arm away. “I just can’t. Now leave me alone, or
I’ll call the…” She stopped. “Why haven’t you called the police?”
“They won’t do anything for twenty-four hours. It will be too
late then. Listen, he’s killing people. He’s going to kill again and
again and you know it.”
“Yes, and there’s nothing either of us can do about it.”
“You need to help me.” He reached out to her again and she
tried to pull away. “Why won’t you…” He paused, narrowed his
eyes. “Your research…he let you study him. You know him. You
know where he is, don’t you?”
She broke away and hurried across the street. He raced after
her. On the other corner he stopped her again. “Please, Doctor.
Please. He’s going to kill Allen. Tell me what you know, where to
find him.”
The professor began to tremble. “He’ll…kill me. He’ll come
for me and…”
“He won’t. I promise. I won’t let him hurt you. Work with me.
Tell me where I can find this monster and how to stop him.”
“You won’t,” she cried, shaking her head. “Nothing can stop
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FLORIDA HEAT 2
him. Nothing!”
Alexis took her arm and pulled her in the other direction
toward his car. “We’ll see about that.”
*
*
*
Allen stood still, not moving from where his back pressed into
the wall so tightly it began to ache. Silence loomed now, but he felt
something or someone right beside his foot. His nostrils flared.
Something smelt intoxicating. His stomach churned in spite of the
compulsion he felt to find out where that smell was coming from.
Saliva filled his mouth and he licked his palate. As he did, he felt a
sharp pain in his tongue. He opened his mouth and felt his tongue.
It stung. Then the horror of it filled him. He wanted to scream. “Oh
God, no,” he whispered. “Please no.”
“God can’t help you now, Allen,” a voice said softly in his ear.
“It’s too late for God. Only that hunk of flesh and blood at your
feet can save you.”
Allen heard a groan and then some movement. He felt the razor
sharp fangs retracting in his jaw. Tears stung his eyes. Alexis. The
smell was more acute now, as the body fell against him.
“Drink.”
“No!” Allen cried out and pushed the body away. It fell with a
loud thud.
“Drink or die!”
Allen sunk down onto the ground, his face in his hands. He
sobbed. His life was over, his time with Alexis, so short and yet so
beautiful.
You will surrender eventually. In the meantime, enjoy the
torment.
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Allen knew he was alone as he cried bitter tears. His stomach
churned again and he felt the cravings in his mouth, in his chest.
The darkness began to lift and he could see shadows now, shapes.
He blinked. Spiders and bugs scurried around him. He could smell
a rodent. He knew it was nearby. Bodies. Human bodies. He wiped
his eyes and got to his feet. Death all around him, at least six
bodies in various states of decomposer. Only one of them was still
breathing. Maybe he could help him.
Allen leaned down and turned the body over onto its back. The
pulse was weak, the throat was… Allen gasped and sprang back.
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