Ben examined the two men on the ground. Making a swift decision, he grabbed Stefano’s shoes and slipped them on his feet, leaving the laces untied. They were a little big, but they were better than nothing.
He ran for the door. He was nearly home free when the vampire appeared.
She appeared a few yards away from Ben, moving so quickly he nearly didn’t see her. She stomped her foot on the ground and a crack split the floor. Ben’s foot fell into the earth and he felt the pulse of power as the dirt tightened around his ankle.
Earth vampire. He added that to the file.
“Hey there.” He kept his knife out and reached for the gun he’d slipped in his pocket, never taking his eyes off the vampire walking toward him. “Ben Vecchio. How you doing?”
“I know who you are.” She wasn’t angry. She was curious. Her head was angled to the side, and she examined him like normal people examined an interesting specimen at the science museum.
“I’m just trying to get out of here,” Ben said. “I have no desire to start a fight.”
“You’ve already been in one.” Her voice was still barely over a whisper, and Ben was starting to wonder whether she had some physical disability that affected her voice.
Contrary to human mythology, changing into a vampire didn’t cure all your ills. It didn’t make you younger or heal anything other than the most recent injuries. If you were missing an arm before you turned, it was still going to be gone. If you were deaf as a human, you’d be deaf as a vampire. Nerve damage could be cured, and immortality fixed all but the most severe eye problems. But a damaged voice? You’d live with that for eternity.
“I’m not looking for a fight,” he repeated. “I just want to go home.”
“Do you?” She met his eyes and her fangs fell. “And who would miss you if you didn’t go home, Ben Vecchio?”
He raised the gun. “I don’t know you. I am a human under vampire aegis. We have no quarrel. Let me go.”
Her mouth was halfway between a smile and a pout. “If you’re under vampire aegis, you should know that gun won’t do anything to stop me.”
“I know if I hit your spine, you’ll be out of commission until nightfall tomorrow.” He glanced at the ceiling. “You’ll be safe in here. I won’t even have to feel guilty. No direct sunlight. Whoever might find you during your day rest, that’s not my problem, is it?” He really wished Luca’d had a semiautomatic he could steal, but he was still a decent shot with a revolver. “I’m an excellent shot. You don’t want to take a chance. Let me go.”
She smiled. “I’m not going to kill you. I was simply curious.”
“Oh?” He kept the gun trained on the vampire’s neck as she moved.
“Curious what she sees in you.”
Fuck. Ben knew exactly who she was and just the reminder pissed him off. He cocked the gun. “Let me go.”
“I don’t poach.” She came closer. “But I wonder if a taste—”
The gun went off and her long hair blew back. Ben could see a red line where the bullet had passed by her neck.
“Back off,” he said in a low voice. “I won’t miss again.”
“You didn’t miss that time. Interesting.” She blinked and smiled fully. “I do understand what she sees in you, Benjamin Vecchio.”
Without another word, the vampire ran out the door and Ben heard it creak from the swift gust of air.
And his foot was still stuck in the ground. “Really?”
Wiggling it back and forth, Ben managed to work it out, but only because Stefano’s shoes were bigger than his foot. He left the right shoe stuck in the ground and limped to the door.
Ben was almost there when it swung back, revealing a thin man leaning against the wall, pointing his gun at Ben with a shaking hand.
Ben glared at the man. “You really want to do this?” He raised his revolver and the man lowered his gun.
“No, I don’t—”
“Are you Topo?”
The man nodded.
Ben kept his voice low and walked toward him. “Okay, mouse, the rest of them are out. The vampire’s gone. You want me to punch you or shoot you?”
The blood drained from his face. “Are those my only options?”
“You think your boss is gonna be satisfied if you just run?” Ben nodded over his shoulder. “She knows you were here and walking when she left.”
Topo’s face crumpled. “I guess… shoot me. Left leg?”
Ben had been certain the man would go for the knockout. “A bullet? You sure?”
The man pointed to his eyes. “The doctor, he says if I take any more punches, I could lose an eye. I used to be a boxer.”
“That sucks.”
Topo shrugged. “It’s only a nine millimeter.”
“Still a bullet, man.”
Topo hesitated. “Maybe… you could break a few ribs?”
It was a solid option. It wouldn’t put him completely out, but with enough bruising, his boss would believe Ben got past him. After all, he’d already taken out all the other brutes.
“If you’re sure.”
Topo put the safety on his gun and tossed it to the side. “Yes.”
Ben didn’t hesitate. He smashed his fist into Topo’s ribs, punching him until the man was falling to the ground and Ben’s fist felt like hamburger.
Damn. He really wished he’d just gone with the bullet like Topo wanted. His knuckles would take weeks to heal.
Ben finished Topo off with a swift kick to the side. He looked at Topo’s feet and bent over. “Hey, mouse?”
Topo could only blink. He was gasping for breath.
“I hate to do this, but I’m gonna need your shoes.”
2
Ben was holding an ice pack to his face when he contacted Fabia on screen chat. “Hey.”
“Cavalo!” She leaned toward the camera. “What happened to you?”
“The other guys look worse.” He shifted the ice pack. “Okay, probably I look worse, but they have concussions. Doesn’t matter. I got the info. Let Filomena know I’ll be down in Naples tomorrow night. Going to sleep, and then I’ll catch the train in the morning. I’ll have to check the schedule because I can’t remember when—”
“Ben, you need to see a physician. Come back to Rome and I’ll call Dr. Mariano.”
He winced when he shifted. He hadn’t broken any ribs, but his face and his hands were battered. “I promise it looks worse than it is. Nothing broken. My feet are a little torn up, but I finally found shoes.” He glanced at Topo’s shoes, which were sitting by the door. “Actually, after I clean them up, I might keep them. They’re really well made.”
“What are you talking about? Have you lost consciousness at any time in the past few hours? I’m worried about you falling asleep by yourself. Do you want me to come get you?”
“I’m fine.” He reached for a cotton ball and dipped it in disinfectant before he dabbed his lip. “I’m going to clean up, take a nice long shower, and then I’ll feel better after some sleep. I’m in a secure place. I just wanted to call you because my phone got smashed and I knew you’d be worried.”