Vamps by Nancy A. Collins Read Free Book Online Page A

She flashed the handsome stranger a smile, only to have him blush and bury his nose in his paperback. Yeah, definitely emo.
    At any other time she would have flirted with him—at least a little—but when the tunnel lights switched from red to green, Cally quickly forgot about her admirer. As her train pulled in, she slipped inside and stood near the door. There were a handful of commuters in the car with her, mostly partyers headed home after a long night at the clubs.
    When she got off the train a couple of stops later, she thought she saw the guy in skinny jeans getting out onto the platform one car down from her. She turned around to make sure, but no one was there. She put him out of her mind and hurried down the passageway to her next train.
    Now that she had enough space between herself and her potential enemies, Cally took the time to quickly count her earnings for the night. She was disappointed to find she had barely two hundred dollars. Normally she could score at least twice that offthe dealers in the park. She frowned in dismay as she tucked the bills back inside her bra.
    She needed cash for the next emergency. And she didn’t need a fortune-teller to know there’d be one.
    Although her father sent money on a regular basis, her mother had a way of blowing it all on things she “had” to have, like a giant flat-screen TV or a two-day spa treatment. So paying the electric bill or the mortgage on the condo often fell to Cally. Cally wondered for a moment what might become of her mother if she had been the one to catch the crossbow bolt earlier, but the thought was so distressing she instantly blocked it from her mind.
    There’s no point in worrying about things that haven’t happened , she told herself. Focus on getting back home; that’s all that matters. Just one more train, and I’m home free.
    There was the sound of a shoe scuffing against concrete behind her. Cally turned to see the figure of a man headed down the stairs from the concourse above. Panic rose in her like floodwater as she looked around the platform and realized that she was totally alone.
    She ducked behind one of the narrow steel support columns that lined the platform, pressing herself against its cold metal surface as the footsteps drew closer. She frantically searched the platform for better cover, but there was nowhere else she could possibly hide.
    If only she were more experienced in this kindof thing. She still hadn’t recovered enough since the park to gather up more than a stiff breeze. That meant she would have to rely on what weapons were closest at hand. Cally reached out with her mind and made contact with something brown, furry, and very nearby.
    As the man reached the bottom of the stairs, a rat the size of a kitten darted out of nowhere, its beady eyes gleaming like tiny polished stones. The animal reared up on its hind legs and made an angry, squealing noise.
    â€œWhat the hell—?!?” the stranger cried as the rat suddenly raced up his leg. “Ah! Get off me! Help!” He swatted at the angry rodent as it tore at him with its gleaming yellow teeth, but it refused to be frightened away and was at his throat within seconds. As he tried to shield his eyes from its slashing fangs and filthy claws, he lost his balance and toppled off the edge of the platform. On striking the ground below, the rat jumped off and scurried back into the darkness of the tunnel, leaving its victim lying dazed on the tracks, moaning as blood oozed from the numerous wounds to his face and hands.
    Cally peered over the platform and, with a start, recognized the young man as the one she had seen earlier, the one with whom she had experienced an unexpected connection. The fear that she had for her own life suddenly turned into alarm. She had sicced therat on the stranger, hoping she could run away while he was distracted. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would end up seriously injured as a result