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Kacy grasped my collar and dragged me out of the limou-
sine.
246 MARI O ACEVEDO
 I don t know what kind of luck you ve got, asshole, he
said,  but I m betting it ends soon. I ve got enough silver bul-
lets for every organ in your miserable body.
His finger twitched on the trigger and the red thread of the
aiming laser vibrated between my eyebrows.  I sneeze and your
brains are pudding.
A second armed guard, with a complexion the hue of roasted
beef, stood next to Kacy. This guard carried an Uzi.
 If this cabrón screws up with Venin, the guard said, his
Chicano accent coming on too forced,  I get dibs.
The guard might be raza, but that didn t mean I wouldn t
kill him to escape.
Kacy relaxed his finger and the laser disappeared. I blinked
to get the spots out of my eyes. The Chicano guard plucked the
sunglasses out of my shirt pocket.  Put these on, mocoso. Snot
face.  We ll tell you when to take them off.
Kacy jabbed with the M16 toward a door.  That way.
Venin had a compelling motive to knock off Roxy revenge
for torpedoing Project Eleven. My two vampire escorts meant
the councilwoman wasn t shy about applying muscle or spilling
blood, especially if Venin was, as Rachel said, more than hu-
man. What was that? How close was I to the nexus of vampire
human collusion? Would Cragnow be here?
Deputy Police Chief Julius Paxton waited inside. He gave a
bear trap smile.  Look what floated up the sewer.
 Kacy doesn t smell that bad, I said.
Paxton s hand shot at me with lightning speed. His fist
smashed into my gut.
The blow stunned my kundalini noir. Electric bolts of pain
shot through my limbs. The guards grabbed my arms and
wrenched my shoulders back.
X- RATED BLOODSUCKERS 247
Paxton s fangs extended from under his upper lip like two
ivory stalactites. He clenched and unclenched his right fist. His
arm drew back. I saw the second blow coming like a boulder
crashing down the mountain but I was helpless to move out of
the way.
His fist hit the same spot as before. My insides were torn
apart by an explosion of pain. I doubled over.
The guards let go and I dropped to the floor. Paxton kicked
my ribs. Blinded with agony, I curled into a ball and lay on my
side.
Paxton dug his shoe into my throat and levered my chin up
with his heel. He rubbed the sole of his shoe against my Ad-
am s apple.
 I ve got the ass with you, smart guy. His voice sounded
like words dragged over sandpaper.  Twice you ve escaped.
First in Pacoima. Today at Trixie s. So that s two times you
made me look bad. I can t kill you now because the council-
woman wants an audience. But the third time will be a charm.
Paxton withdrew his shoe. He nodded to the guards, who
pulled me upright. I leaned against the wall and waited for the
nausea to pass.
My sunglasses sat askew on my nose and the Chicano guard
adjusted them.  Tough luck, ese.
An air conditioner hummed and a gust of cool air brushed
against me. It took a moment to get the strength to say some-
thing.  Paxton, so we ll see each other around?
His fangs retracted.  I wouldn t count on it, shit for
brains.
My two escorts took me to an elevator and up to the third
floor. We stopped before a door in the middle of the hall. The
Chicano guard reached over my shoulder and knocked.
248 MARI O ACEVEDO
 Enter, answered a woman s voice, sounding brisk and au-
thoritative.
The guard opened the door. Kacy pushed me into a haze of
menthol cigarette smoke.
Petale Venin stood behind a desk of polished cherry. She
looked exactly like the photos I d seen of her. A woman in
her midforties. Blue, searching irises. Tiny creases around her
eyes.
Those eyes. She had a lazy eye. I couldn t decide which one
to look at. The left stared at me and the right was a bit off cen-
ter. Or was it the right eye that stared at me?
A thin, prominent nose was centered between the fleshy
cushions of her well-fed face. Skin the color of a manila enve-
lope toasted by the sun. Rouged cheeks. A perfectly normal
human, except for the eyes.
Venin toyed with a set of eyeglasses in her manicured hands.
She wore a long-sleeved silk blouse. A pleated brown skirt cov-
ered her substantial hips. Still a perfectly normal human except
for those eyes.
She motioned in a maternal manner to come close.  Felix,
you may take off your sunglasses.
I did.
The shock turned my guts into liquid.
A red aura surrounded Petale Venin, a vermillion corona
placid as still waters. My naked eyes bore into hers and nothing
happened.
Venin was immune to vampire hypnosis. She was definitely
more than human.
X- RATED BLOODSUCKERS 249
C HAPT ER 36
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I clutched the back of the chair to steady myself. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]