His Captive Mortal (A Vampire Romance)

I’d be in the mood to play along if I wasn’t so worried about Charlie.

“Turn left here,” I instruct and sit back for the rest of the ride. Sombrero Peak juts out of the cacti studded dessert. I don't know exactly where Charlie’s bunker is, but I’m hoping I can find a private road that looks vaguely official.

I hold the image in my mind, and as we reach the foot of the mountain, I see exactly what I’m looking for.

“There.” I point to an old dirt road. There’s a rusted out sign warning us not to trespass.

“Are you sure?” Gwen asks, but she’s already following my directions. Gwen’s yellow Beetle rolls down the road, kicking up thick brown dust. Her poor car’s going to be covered. I make a mental note to pay for a car wash when we’re back in town.

The road ends at another huge yellow and black sign with the nuclear symbol stamped on it.

“Okay, this is it. You can stop here.” I instruct.

“Okay.” Gwen sounds unsure, but the Beetle glides to a halt. “Is this where you want to picnic?”

“No...um…” For a second I wish I had a vampire’s power of mind wiping. But I don’t want to do that to Gwen. “Can you do me a favor? A huge favor. I need you to drop me off and go back home.” I’m already out of the car. Something tells me I need to hurry.

Gwen rolls down the window on the passenger side. She gnaws her lip. “But what about you? How will you get back?”

“My friend will give me a ride.” I cock my thumb in the vague direction of the nuclear sign.

“What friend?” Now Gwen is suspicious.

“A guy friend. Remember, I told you about Charlie?”

She perks up. “Yes!”

“He’s really handsome and mysterious. I think he’s super rich, but he hasn’t been in a relationship for a while because the last woman he was with burned him.”

“Oh no,” Gwen is totally buying this story. Which is good because it’s pretty much the truth.

“He’s very private and eccentric, which is why he lives out here. But he brought me here the other night.” I take a deep breath. “We shared a wonderful night together, and I thought we were meant to be. He even said I belonged to him. But then he disappeared.”

Gwen nods vigorously. “He got scared and retreated. He’s afraid of intimacy. He opened up to you, and he knows you’re the One, but he’s been hurt before. I read a romance novel with this exact type of hero last week.”

“Uh, yeah. Good. So...I just know we’re meant to be.” The words tumble out of my mouth, and I feel how true they are. Huh. “It’s Fate. We’re soulmates.”

“Oh,” Gwen has her hand over her heart and stars in her eyes. “You must go to him.”

“I am. That’s why I’m here. I’ll be okay, but I need to do this alone.”

“Of course.” She nods. “Get your man.”

“I will. I promise.” I shut the car door and back away. I stop to awkwardly wave goodbye, hoping she’ll get the message.

“Use protection!” she trills and hits a button to roll up the window. She puts the car in reverse, and in another minute, she’s gone.

That went better than I thought it would. I make a mental note to buy Gwen more romance novels. Then I turn and hike past the sign, disappearing into the creosote.

“Goll darn it, Charlie,” I mutter, shading my eyes to look up at the mountain. Dusk is falling, which is good. I need Charlie awake, so I can yell at him.

Darkness falls, and I stop to hold out a hand and call a ball of light onto my palm.

“Help me find him,” I whisper. Tingles spread through my body, and I sense the direction I need to go. And not five minutes later, I literally stumble across the rusted-out iron platform lying among the creosote.The top of the bunker.

Charlie is in there. I’m sure of it.

From the outside, it’s not much to look at. Just a bunch of metal panels in the ground. One of the panels has been moved aside to reveal a staircase. Which is weird because Charlie can trace in and out of his home. He doesn’t need to exit through the door. The only reason this panel would be open is if someone else is here.

A chill runs through me.

I jog down the stairs. “Charlie?” There’s a door at the end that’s hanging half off its hinges, like someone broke it down.

Oh fork.

I push open the broken door and freeze.

The three vampires from the fight in the alleyway are gathered in the living room, holding Charlie down. One of them wears a leather glove and holds some sort of silver cup in his hand, which he thrusts against Charlie’s bare belly.