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rummaging in your purse for your license. It makes them testy. So I sit
quietly, both hands on the steering wheel like a good little girl, and watch
in the rearview mirror as he approaches. He's big, thick-bodied, like a
wrestler, with his cap pulled down low over his face.
He shines a flashlight in my eyes. Good morning, Miss. Do you know why I
stopped you?"
On reflex, I put up a hand to shield my eyes. I was speeding."
He doesn't lower the flashlight. Please put your hands back on the steering
wheel."
"Please lower the flashlight. It's hurting my eyes."
He doesn't drop the light, but instead shoves it closer to my face. The glare
causes sharp pinpricks of pain at the back of my eyes. Is this another vampire
peculiarity? I can go out in sunlight, but the strobe of a flashlight is
intolerable?
I hear, rather than see, my car door being opened. The cop's voice is hard
and brittle at my ear. Please step out of the car, he says.
I do, stumbling a little. It's as if the light is affecting my equilibrium as
well as my sight.
"Have you been drinking, Miss?"
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God.I assume he means alcohol. How much wine did I drink? I remember one
glass. It's probably not wise to share that though. No, officer. I haven't
been drinking. It's that light in my eyes that's causing the problem. Is it
really necessary to blind me?"
He must take umbrage at my tone, because before I can say anything else, his
hands dig into my shoulders and he's turning me so that I'm facing my car. He
jerks my hands together behind my back.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you in, he says, snapping cuffs on my
wrists.
It happens so fast that I don't have time to react. You'rearresting me? I
squeak, outrage notching my voice up an octave. For what?"
I still haven't seen his face. I try to turn but he doesn't let me.
"Driving under the influence, Miss, he says, shoving me toward his car.
I dig my heels in. Wait a minute. Don't you have to give me a sobriety test
or something? I tell you, I'm not drunk."
But even if I were, the muzzle of the gun pressed into the small of my back
would have sobered me up fast enough. What are you doing?"
"Get into the car, bitch, hesays, his voice full of venom. Or I'll stake
you right here."
Chapter Fourteen
He'shuman; I feel it. One of those anti-watchers Avery warned me about? I
stop fighting and let him manhandle me into the back seat of the car. I don't
know what a bullet will do to me, and I'm not sure this is the time to find
out. I figure my best chance to get away will be when we get to wherever it is
he plans to take me. I'm willing to bet it won't be jail.
He's stopped talking. He sweeps the cap off his head and tosses it into the
back seat beside me. Then he's behind the wheel. He throws me an
over-the-shoulder glance through the mesh of the wire partition separating us.
Relax, he says. We're going for a ride."
I settle back into the seat, working at the cuffs. They're standard police
issue. If I had my purse, I could use my own handcuff key to free myself.
Unfortunately, it's in the trunk of my car.
"Aren't you going to let me get my purse? I ask. It's in the car."
He ignores the request as he guides the police car back onto the road. He
makes a U-turn at the first opportunity, and we're soon cruising north
onTorrey Pines road.Away from downtownSan Diego and jail.
"Where are you taking me?"
I may as well be talking to myself. Once again, he doesn't answer. He doesn't
even act as if he's heard.
"Somewhere dark and deserted, I imagine, I continue anyway. You'll need
privacy for what you have in mind. Around here that would be what the State
Park?"
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His eyes flash back in the mirror, but then he must remember vampire and he
stops looking.
But I can see him. The streetlights cast enough illumination for me to study
his face. He's younger than I am, with short-cropped blond hair and a jutting
chin. Are you even a real cop?"
That brings a smile to his full lips. Yeah. I'm a real cop. I'm here to
protect and serve. Getting rid of vermin like you is my favorite part of the
job."
I think back to what Avery said. And you get a bounty for each vampire you
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