Gidion's Hunt Read online

  She called home as he drove her to her car. Richmond Music Center was less than ten minutes from where he lived. In the silence of the car, he could hear her mom shriek over the phone. He felt sorry for her. She really was going to catch hell from her parents for this, and she didn’t deserve it. Tamara kept the phone call short. She wiped her eyes, but she didn’t cry. Maybe she was tougher than she looked.

  The shopping center parking lot was empty except for a dark green Lexus.

  “That’s your car?” The damn thing looked brand new. Kids going to Midlothian Springs High School had a rep for coming from rich families. She wasn’t exactly bucking that trend.

  “Yeah, that’s mine.” She sighed. “Probably won’t get to drive it for the rest of the week, except to school and back home.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “I don’t blame you. I blame that stupid—thing.”

  Gidion got out first and checked her car and scanned the parking lot for any sign of movement. The closest hiding places were far enough away to where he decided they were safe. Still, he didn’t trust the night anymore.

  “You got my cell number?” he asked as he opened the door for her to get out.

  She nodded.

  “Text me when you get home, and by home, I mean inside the house.”

  “That might not be so simple,” she said. “They might take my phone from me.”

  “Then email me, if you can.”

  She held up the sheet of paper onto which he’d written all his contact info. “Got it.” Then she shoved the paper into her front pocket.

  “Gidion, thanks for saving me.” She opened her car door but didn’t climb in right away.

  “No problem.”

  He was scanning the parking lot again. Right as he looked back at her, she caught him by surprise. She grabbed him by the arms, leaned in and kissed him. Holy shit! It wasn’t some peck on the cheek either. This was right on the lips. Every hair on his head stood straight as if he’d been shocked by lightning.

  His legs were shaking and his head all dizzy as she pulled back. She climbed into her car and smiled up at him. “For the record,” she said, “when I tell my parents I spent the night out with a really nice, cute guy, I won’t be lying.”

  He just smiled as she closed the car door and drove off. Once the car had disappeared onto Midlothian Turnpike, Gidion jumped and spun a full three-sixty. “Oh, HELL yeah! Whoo!”

  He hummed to himself as he wiped down the interior of the Crown Vic and put on some gloves before he drove out of the parking lot. Holy crap! She’d kissed him. Hell, she’d called him cute!

  Then it hit him.

  “Aw, man.” He couldn’t tell anyone about it. How would he explain that he’d even been with her tonight, a senior girl from an entirely different high school? That just sucked. “If only I’d gotten a rabbit’s foot before tonight.”

  Despite that downer note, he was still humming to himself as he pulled up to his car. He circled the block once just to make sure no one was waiting for him. Given where he’d left his car, he didn’t think it was likely Stephanie would have noticed it. He parked the Crown Vic right behind it and dashed from the vampire’s car into his.

  His phone beeped once he was almost home. It was a text from Tamara. ‘Home safe. Thanks again! I’ll B @ the game Friday. Hope U will 2.’

  “She wants to see me again.” He pumped his fist into the air. “Hell yeah!”

  He was dancing as he walked back into his house. The dancing stopped as he heard Page scratching at Dad’s door and whimpering to be let out.

  “Oh, crap!” He’d forgotten about her. “Sorry, girl.” She gave him a dirty look after he opened the door and went straight to the bathroom and then the kitchen as she sniffed out all the places Tamara had gone in the house.

  While his dog engaged in her investigation, Gidion delved back into his. He pulled out the vampire’s cell phone and checked out the call history and contacts.

  “Let’s see who you’ve been calling, Mr. Polka Dots.” This guy’s contact list was a lot shorter than the other vamp’s had been. Guy wasn’t worried about proper spelling either. The name for the Richmond safe house was entered as “rIckmond.” Most of the other contact names were about as bad. He pulled out the cell phone from the other vampire and compared some of the phone numbers. Both of these guys seemed to favor the East Coast, but Mr. Polka Dots had a few random numbers in there, too, like Detroit and Chicago…or rather “Destroidt and Chickaggo.”

  “Someone’s spelling skills really sucked.”

  He went to the text messages after that. He didn’t see any sent messages. Either the phone wasn’t set to store those, or the guy had recently cleared it. The received ones were interesting. Gidion didn’t recognize the number this guy had been texting with, but he’d received a few messages tonight from the same person. The most recent one wasn’t illuminating. Just a simple, ‘Good.’ Before that was, ‘Make sure she suffers. A LOT!’ Was that about Tamara? He looked at the time, and the texts were traded just about the time he’d gone inside the safe house.

  The next text was much older, more than a week old, and from a different number. ‘Sounds good. Have fun with the girl. I’ll take the woman.’ Gidion didn’t recognize the number, but Polka Dots had saved it in his contacts with the name “Pike.”

  “Pike.” He pulled out the wallet from the first vampire. The name on the driver’s license was Allen Pike. He pressed a button for Polka Dot’s phone to dial “Pike.” A heartbeat later, the first vampire’s phone lit up and played some cheesy ringtone, “The Girl from Ipanema.”

  He hung up.

  “Oh, that’s not good.” That meant Polka Dots and Pike were coordinating their attacks.

  Gidion went back to Polka Dot’s cell. He saw a text from a restricted number with a picture attached. It was the same text about Gidion’s teacher, the one with Ms. Aldgate’s picture. Was it too much to hope these were the only two vampires to get that message? “I hate it when I’m right,” he said, remembering his fear that the message had been a text blast.

  Unlike Pike’s phone, there was a second text message with a picture. He opened it, but this wasn’t Ms. Aldgate’s picture.

  Tamara Gardner. Find her. Kill her.

  Reward: admittance. –RICCVN

  “What the hell?” The Richmond Coven wanted her dead, too? First a teacher, and now a student from an entirely different school. He couldn’t figure out why the vampires would consider either one a threat. Neither even knew vampires existed prior to their attacks. What was it that connected them? How many people were these vampires targeting? He needed to find out before another vampire came after Tamara, his teacher, or both of them and figure out a way to end this.

  Chapter Fourteen

  If Gidion had his way, the nimrod who decided 7:25 a.m. was a good time to start school would be dragged into the streets and run over by a bus. Coming from a long line of nighthawks, he wasn’t a morning person, and on a day like this, he had too much to get done before he was truly awake.

  He started with a call to Pete on his way to school, but the call went straight to voicemail. The text message he sent next went unanswered. He timed his next text message just ten minutes before school started. By that time, he was standing in the science building, next to the door to Pete’s first class. The text wasn’t for Pete, though. That one went to Tamara, ‘Call me after school. It’s important.’ He would’ve told her more than that, but he wasn’t sure if she still had her phone or if her parents had taken it from her. He also hoped that if she had the phone, her parents wouldn’t be around her to see he’d texted her.

  She answered less than a minute later. ‘Everything okay?’

  ‘Not urgent, but found out something important about last night you need to know.’

  ‘Ok. Mysterious…Can’t wait.’

  She included a smiley face at the end. That was just too cool. He looked up and saw this guy with a dopey looking grin and then realize
d it was his reflection in the window of a classroom door. The teacher, one he didn’t recognize, gave him this evil eye. He wondered why until he realized he had three minutes left to get to class.

  Where the hell was Pete? He had to worry about that later. For now, he needed to get halfway across campus for his Algebra III class.

  He kept an eye out for Pete between classes, but he didn’t see him. The text he’d sent Pete went unanswered, but that wasn’t surprising. The teachers at West Chester were militant about confiscating cell phones if they even suspected students were texting in class, and the five minute breaks between classes didn’t really allow for much of a conversation, text or otherwise. Lunch confirmed for him that Pete hadn’t shown up at school.

  “No, haven’t seen him all day.” Seth took a bite of his sandwich and then offered Andrea a bite of it.

  “Has he said anything to you about what’s going on with him?” Gidion asked.

  Andrea placed a chip in Seth’s mouth before he could answer. Lord, these two were way over the top.

  “Thanks,” he said as he chewed the chip. “I don’t know what’s going on with him lately. I figured you probably had a better idea. You’ve both been really MIA, you more than him. Thought you two had been hanging out since Andrea and I have been going out a lot.”

  “Hey, are we going to the movies this weekend?” she asked Seth, as if Gidion wasn’t there.

  “Sure,” Seth said.

  “When did he start hanging out with Stephanie Drake?”

  “Wait.” Andrea covered Seth’s mouth before he could answer. “Pete’s dating Stephanie Drake? I heard she broke up with Dillon Masters over the summer, but not that she was going out with anyone else yet. Heard the breakup was really ugly, too.”

  Gidion needed a wall to smack his head against. On second thought, better to smack Andrea’s head against it.

  “No, Pete and Stephanie are not dating. He’s been hanging out with her crowd, though.”

  Seth pried his girlfriend’s hand off his face. “Wow, I didn’t have a clue. When did that happen?”

  Maybe he should smack Seth’s head against a wall, too. “Dude, that’s what I was asking you.”

  “Oh.” Seth shrugged. “Sorry, no clue, man.”

  “Hey, if Seth and Stephanie are dating, maybe we could do a double-date kind of thing,” Andrea said.

  Good God! Was Gidion the only one left in this place who lived in the real freaking world? “They are not dating.” He waved his hands around in a mock version of sign language, purposefully sticking his hands right in front of her face.

  “I said ‘if’.” She rolled her eyes. “If you had a girl, could make it a triple-date. That would be so brilliant.”

  Gidion wanted to snap back that he’d been making out with a senior girl last night, but “making out” was really overstating it, and it wasn’t like he could explain how he’d met her.

  “Look, I gotta run.” Retreat seemed a better option than sitting here while Andrea tried to shove as much estrogen into their lives as possible. He bet she was gonna drag Seth to a chick flick this weekend.

  He’d deal with Pete after school. For now, he could check on Ms. Aldgate.

  Gidion found her classroom empty. Fabulous. At least the door was open, so she couldn’t have gone far. He dropped his backpack on the floor by his desk and pulled out his stuff for class. God, this had to be an all-time low for him, arriving for class a solid half hour early.

  He was busy reading chapter eight in his history book when he heard Ms. Aldgate talking to someone in the hallway.

  “A formal complaint? They don’t really expect me to change their child’s grade, do they?”

  “At least these parents care how their child does. How many parents can you say that about?” He didn’t recognize the man’s voice until he saw Principal Vermel stop outside the classroom door. Most folks liked to call him “Principal Vermin” behind his back. That poor excuse for a beard didn’t do much for him either. Neither did his height, or rather the lack thereof, not that Gidion could throw stones.

  “Other than that, how are you doing, Lillian?”

  “The usual.”

  “You look nice today.”

  Oh, how gross. Was “the Vermin” flirting with Ms. Aldgate? Jeez, he was a good six inches shorter than her. A Chihuahua had a better chance of humping a Great Dane.

  “Ms. Aldgate?” Gidion waved to her from his desk as she and the Vermin looked over at him. The principal had that hand-in-the-cookie-jar look. “I had a question about that chapter you had us read last night.”

  “Of course, I’ll be right there.” She smiled at him and then turned back to the Vermin. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  “Yes, yes…I’ll, uh, keep you informed.”

  “Thank you.”

  The Vermin scurried away. Ms. Aldgate shook her head as she walked back into the classroom.

  “So, what was your question about chapter eight, Gidion?”

  “Oh, nothing. Just figured you needed an excuse to get rid of Mr. Vermi—uh, Vermel.”

  She smirked. “Yes, we call him that, too. So what do you want, Gidion? You don’t typically show up early for class. You make an art out of sitting down right as the bell rings.”

  “I like to maximize my time between classes.” Was that so wrong?

  She looked back at the door. “So am I to assume this is about…?”

  “Yeah.” He pulled out the driver’s license he’d taken off of Mr. Polka Dots. “Wanted to see if you recognized this guy.”

  “Andy Blake?” She shook her head. “I don’t recall ever seeing him. Should I?”

  “Wasn’t thinking you would, but figured it was worth a check.”

  “He must be a vampire with a fake name like that,” she said.

  “How are you so sure of that?” He figured the name was an alias, but she just sounded so certain.

  “Isn’t it obvious? Andy Blake?” She stared at him a second as if that explained everything. “You know. Anita Blake? Laurell K. Hamilton?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, no clue what you’re talking about. Is this something I should know?”

  “Given what most of her books are like and your age, probably not.”

  “What about the name Tamara Gardner?”

  That just received a shrug. “Sorry,” she said. “Are these two connected to the attack on me?”

  “Well, ‘Andy’ attacked Tamara Gardner last night. She’s a senior at Midlothian Springs and a very good kisser.” He figured he might as well brag about it to her since she was the only one with whom he could. “Anyway, she had a hit put on her by the Richmond Coven. He was coordinating with the vampire who attacked you at the Canal Walk.”

  He pulled out Mr. Polka Dot’s cell phone and showed her the text with Tamara’s picture.

  “Pretty hot, isn’t she?”

  She sighed. “Gidion.”

  “Sorry, but I haven’t gotten to tell anyone else considering how I met her. Anyway, does she look familiar to you?”

  She took the phone from him and looked at the picture. “No.” She closed it and handed it back to him. “What is it you’re thinking here? That there’s a connection between me and this girl?”

  “These vampires received the texts about the hits on you and Tamara at the same time. Something connects the two of you.”

  “I don’t recognize that girl, and there’s not really any reason for me to. The only school I’ve taught at in Richmond is West Chester. This is my seventh year here.”

  Gidion put the phone back into his backpack. “How did you end up in Richmond anyway?”

  “My ex-husband got a job here,” she said. “We were still married at the time.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “You think he might be tied into this somehow?” The way she eyed him as she crossed her arms made her opinion pretty clear. “Or are you just being nosey?”

  “Something connects you with Tamara,” he said. “I’ve
got to figure out what that is. Does your ex still live in Richmond?”

  “Sadly.” Her voice trailed off.

  “What?” Something had clicked for her, and God knows, he needed a lead to run with.

  “I saw him the night I was attacked.”

  He suddenly remembered when he’d seen her walk out of Siné that night. “Ohhhh…Did you two have a fight?” That would explain why she’d been crying.

  Her body stiffened. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  He pulled out his notebook and a pencil. “I need to get some info on your ex.” When it became clear she wasn’t intending to answer that, he looked up at her. “Just so I can make sure he’s not connected to this.”

  “I’m rather certain he’s not.”

  “Let me do what I do, and you can go from ‘rather certain’ to ‘without a doubt’.”

  The last time he’d seen her mouth form a line that hard was when one of his classmates had made the mistake of going three days in a row without doing his homework.

  “Oh, before I forget, you ever go to Old World?” he asked. “It’s a dance club.”

  “No, but I’ve heard of it.”

  “Good, probably best if you to stay clear of it. I think it’s somehow connected to the Richmond Coven.”

  “After the other night, I plan to stay clear of downtown altogether.”

  Yeah, that probably was best, but he decided not to say that. “So, let’s talk about your ex…” He wondered what the chances were the guy had paid a visit to Old World.

  Chapter Fifteen

  When Gidion, Pete and Seth became friends, it didn’t take long to figure out whose house was best to go to—Gidion’s. Dad might not rank high in the “cool” department, but at least domestic disputes weren’t a daily occurrence.

  Seth’s parents eventually divorced a few years ago, but the “Unhappy-Lives-Here” vibe had never lifted from the Parson home. That said, it was still a better option than Pete’s place. The only love Pete’s parents had was a passion for hating each other and a refusal to use birth control. Pete had two older brothers and a younger sister. One brother was with the Army somewhere in Afghanistan. No one knew where the oldest brother was, but the top-running bets had Roddy Addams rotting in a prison or a ditch.