Part 14 (2/2)

Sam's limp, pale body made her force herself to focus. What had Nina gone on and on about this afternoon before they'd left to go to Dr. Hornstein's office? Twitter and Facebook. Yes! A secondary way to get in touch with them, if she couldn't reach them by phone or text.

Nina had said, if all else failed, tweet or Facebook the OOPS account, and if she didn't see it, some person-demon-otherworldly creature Phoebe had yet to investigate named Darnell would. Locating the big Twitter icon, she pressed it and prayed the instructions were simple.

She held Sam's head in her lap with one hand, lifting his eyelids to see if he responded. Thank G.o.d she'd been practicing her c.r.a.ppy texting skills. She forced herself to calm and began to type, ignoring the quiver of her fingers and how pale and unmoving Sam was.

Clotheswh.o.r.es @OOPS Help! Where r u? Answer phone. Man down! Make that 2!

She bit the inside of her lip, running her hands over Sam's forehead and brus.h.i.+ng his hair out of his face. Her gaze strayed to another man, who lay on the far corner of the roof in a crumpled heap. When her phone vibrated, she almost cheered out loud.

OOPS @Clotheswh.o.r.es Barbie? Is that u?

Clotheswh.o.r.es @OOPS Yes! Gigantor backed out. I have a situation. Help!

OOPS @Clotheswh.o.r.es OMFG! Backed out of what? Did that motherf.u.c.ker stand u up? Will club 2 death. Buy Louisville. Best wood for clubbing deaths.

Phoebe frowned at her phone in confusion, then clamped her teeth together. d.a.m.n you, AutoCorrect! She retyped her text with shaky fingers, glancing worriedly at Sam.

Clotheswh.o.r.es @OOPS No. He's black now!

OOPS @Clotheswh.o.r.es Jesus. He can change colors? Now he's Chameleon Vampire?

Clotheswh.o.r.es @OOPS No. Sam is BLACKED out OOPS @Clotheswh.o.r.es WTF? What r you 2 s.h.i.+theads doing? Didn't I say come right home after doctor?

Clotheswh.o.r.es @OOPS STFU. I'm a bug girl. Can take care of myself.

OOPS @Clotheswh.o.r.es Which explains y you're tweeting me for help, BUG girl.

Clotheswh.o.r.es @OOPS Stop b.i.t.c.hing and get here!

OOPS @Clotheswh.o.r.es Where's here, brain surgeon?

Phoebe typed in the address and prayed Nina would hurry. No sooner had she tweeted Nina back than a tall, portly man appeared out of nowhere with a s.h.i.+mmer of light and, she'd swear, a faint tinkling of bells. Chains with gold medallions swung from his thick neck, and he wore a blue football jersey that hung low over baggy jeans tucked into high-top Nikes.

His gravelly voice was cheerful in contrast to his enormous stature. ”Don't be afraid now, Miss Phoebe. I know all about wha.s.s happenin'. I'm Darnell-sho nuff nice to meet ya, shawty.” He held out a hand so large Phoebe was sure he'd crush hers. Yet, his grasp was gentle and warm to her cool fingers. ”Nina sent me cuz I can get here quicker than her. She'll be here any minute, I 'spect.”

Phoebe wasn't going to dwell on how he'd arrived out of thin air, nor would she dwell on the fact that, as she recalled, he was a demon. Which was bad, bad, bad, according to her Bible study teacher.

Why fret over yet another paranormal experience? Werewolves were supposed to be vicious animals, if you allowed books and movies to dictate your beliefs. Yet, Marty, in all her fluffy hair and half-off designer clothes, was anything but vicious. And Wanda? She was like the Grace Kelly of halfsies. Regal, elegant, diplomatic. So that a demon that resembled The Notorious B.I.G. had appeared out of thin air came as almost no surprise.

The enormous bear of a man stooped low, the heavy gold chains he wore around his neck swaying in the frigid air. His scruff of shortly cropped black hair clung to hers when he leaned in toward her. ”C'mon, now,” he encouraged, kneeling beside she and Sam. ”I'll get him while you tell me what happened, a'ight?”

Darnell had an instant charisma, an immediate rea.s.suring quality to his tone and mannerisms that left Phoebe feeling safe. ”We were trying to get information about the dead woman we found the other night at O-Tech. She lives in this building.”

Darnell hoisted Sam's big body over his shoulder like he was a rag doll and patted him on the back like one would an infant. ”Sammy here got the name of the lady from your doc, right?”

Phoebe nodded, her eyes skirting the man across the roof. The man who hadn't moved an inch. ”Sam said it probably wasn't a good idea to go in through the front door in case we were seen. So we decided to test our vampire skills and jump up onto the roof, break into the exit door, and hit the stairwell to get to her apartment. Sam got to the roof just fine, but almost the second his feet hit the ground, he blacked out. Just crumpled.”

”And the dude in the corner? What happened all up in here?” Darnell thumbed a finger in the man's direction.

She trembled, despite the fact that she couldn't really feel the cold anymore. Her tremble was for the fear of the unknown. ”He was already up here when I got here. He caught me by surprise and grabbed me from behind. So I took him out.” Like she was David Carradine reincarnated, in fact.

And it had taken nothing more than a good upward swing of the heel of her hand. The moment the stranger's hands were on her, she'd reacted in a blur of color and limbs. The powerful surge she'd experienced when Nina had cornered her at Sam's had returned tenfold, and it was both frightening and exhilarating. Yet, she had no idea why he'd jacked her from behind or who he was.

But she'd smelled him. Just like her big sister had taught her to.

Darnell chuckled, flas.h.i.+ng teeth so white they glowed in the dark. ”Hoo-boy-you a fiery one like yo sista, huh? Nice job, Phoebe. Give ol' Darnell a knuck.” He held out his fist full of gold rings, and Phoebe knocked it with hers. ”You okay otherwise? You feel a'ight?”

The landing of another pair of footsteps had them both turning to find Nina coming at them with a sour expression. She stomped up to Phoebe, looming over her in the way of the bada.s.s. ”Didn't I tell you two to f.u.c.king come right home if you got that file from the doctor, Buffy Junior? G.o.dd.a.m.n it. I knew I should have gone with you two twits. I should have never fallen for the *leave it to me, I can be very charming when I need to be' bulls.h.i.+t Sam fed me. And you, Powder Puff Barbie,” she said between clenched teeth, ”quit following Sammy around with your cootchie-la-la and your l.u.s.ty lady-lumps and listen for a change. If he wants to have his a.s.s slaughtered, then that's on him, but the h.e.l.l you'll end up whacked, too.”

Before Phoebe had the chance to react to all that sisterly love, Darnell wedged himself between the two women while Sam's body hung limply from his shoulder. He put his free hand on Nina's arm and patted it. ”Chill, honeycakes. Phoebe here, she took a dude out. Looks to me like she capped da dude purty good, yo. She got it covered.”

It was as though Darnell was the Preparation H to Nina's hemorrhoid. Upon his words, instantly, her angry features relaxed and she smiled.

Smiled.

Phoebe gave a surrept.i.tious glance around the rooftop in search of one of the four hors.e.m.e.n. Surely one of them would ride up on his trusty steed and wipe them all out. The universe had to be at risk if Nina was smiling. Though, even in the midst of yet more chaos, Phoebe couldn't help but think that her sister's smile made her even more beautiful, if that was possible.

She gave Darnell a slap on the back. ”I told them not to do anything but get that file. So what are they doing here?” Nina asked him, sweet as the day was long.

”They's lookin' for clues to that dead lady y'all found. This is where she lives. But we got more trouble than jus' Sammy blacking out. Look over yonder.” He lifted a chubby finger over his shoulder.

Nina followed Darnell's eyes to see the heap of limbs across the rooftop. Her nostrils flared, but Phoebe's hand was instantly in the air because she'd smelled it, too. ”No, don't say it. Vampire, right? Bad vampire.”

Nina nodded her agreement, jamming her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. ”Jesus Christ, Darnell. It's like vampocalypse these days. What the h.e.l.l is going on? How many people has this a.s.shole gotten his hands on?”

A long, low moan made them all swing around. Phoebe was the first to react, her feet moving toward the stranger with that bizarre blur of speed she was still adjusting to. She knelt beside him, rolling him over and fighting back a scream of horror.

G.o.d. No. Not again.

Like the woman in her apartment, the man she'd taken out just moments before writhed in pain and began screaming his terror while his body shuddered in violent jolts. His face, one that didn't look like it was more than fifty or so, was wreathed in a mixture of horror and pain.

Nina was at her side in seconds, tearing off her hoodie and throwing it at Darnell. Her grunt in Phoebe's ear was a muttered, ”Here we go again.”

Darnell set Sam down, putting Nina's discarded hoodie under his head, then put a hand on Nina's back, his expression under the surrounding streetlights painfully grim. ”Lawd have mercy on us all.”

Phoebe didn't have time to ponder the irony of Darnell's plea upstairs due to the fact that the man began the same agonizing struggle the woman who'd bitten Sam had. Twisting his body as his skin began to deteriorate, he moaned.

Darnell was the first to react, dragging the man to his lap, pulling him close, and rocking him, digging the heels of his Nikes into the roof's surface to keep the stranger near. But even Darnell, as large and imposing as he was, had trouble keeping the man, a quarter of the size of him, calm and still.

Nina and Phoebe automatically both positioned themselves at either end of his body. Nina's lips moved to his ear. ”What happened to you? Who are you?” she whispered, though her words weren't harsh, nor did they hold any sort of angry determination to garner information. Instead, like before with the woman in her apartment, she soothed, cajoled.

The man's body stiffened, and Phoebe, with the lingering memory of the woman who'd bitten Sam still fresh, prepared for the end with frustrated defeat.

Tears fell from Darnell's eyes in fat, salty drops, splattering down his nylon jersey, something Phoebe couldn't quite fathom. ”Ol' Darnell's here for ya, man. You let go, brotha. Let go now. Go where it's good,” he cooed as they held him.

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