Encounters with Evil Pt. 03

© Copyright jvaughn, 2013. All rights reserved. Copyright violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

*

Lights came on automatically as they came to the end of the tunnel, illuminating a small parking area and an elevator. Guy's motorcycle was parked to one side as was an early 1960's black Cadillac that appeared to be in perfect condition.

Tigger knew his eyes were the size of saucers. Who lives like this? he wondered as they stepped into the gleaming elevator.

The ride was fast. Before he knew it the elevator doors swished open and he followed Guy into a wide well-lit hallway. The floor was polished marble with green veins. There was a small table made of various types of wood, fitted together in an intricate pattern. It looked more like artwork than a functional piece, but Guy pulled out a drawer and tossed his keys into it. Then he set his phone on it next to a large vase of fresh flowers. Tigger could see Guy's face reflected in the tall gilded mirror that hung above the table. His expression had gone back to the forbidding, tight-lipped mask that he usually wore. Tigger wondered what had happened in his past to make him so closed-off. He longed to crack that hard shell and see the smiling version of Guy. He'd only caught glimpses of the softer, caring man who was buried under all that stone.

Opening a closet door, Guy shrugged out of his jacket, and then he sat down on a mahogany chair to remove his boots and socks. Tigger could not help but stare at his large, broad feet. They were perfectly shaped with a smattering of dark hairs on them. He had never thought of himself as having a foot fetish, but there was definitely something erotic about Guy's feet.

Glancing up at Tigger, Guy said, "You'd better take off your shoes or Consuela will have your hide." He tossed his boots and socks into the hall closet.

Consuela? A small lump formed in Tigger's throat. He's probably so far in the closet he has a girlfriend. He was afraid to ask. He toed off his tennis shoes and shuffled them into the closet. The marble floor was surprisingly warm beneath his stocking feet. Turning back around, he saw Guy disappearing through an opening at the end of the hallway. Tigger followed and stopped short on the threshold of a huge room, looking around in wonder.

*****

Guy turned and watched Mel come slowly into the room, his huge eyes trying to take in everything at once. He looked a little overwhelmed by the space.

Guy knew the house was impressive, but he'd gotten used to it. He tried to see how it would look from Mel's eyes. The room was so spacious it seemed sparsely furnished, although it wasn't really. There was a black leather couch with two matching arm chairs, and an iron and glass coffee table and end tables. Floor to ceiling bookshelves lined a wall and a white brick fireplace dominated one side of the room. The far end held the mahogany dining room table and a matching sideboard. The white marble flooring from the front hall continued into the great room. The only color came from the abstract art on the walls, a few blown glass sculptures, and the fresh flowers on the dining room table.

"Holy shit, you're rich!" Mel's voice was full of awe.

It's just money. "It's corporate housing," Guy said with a shrug and a small smile.

"Corporate housing? Seriously? I guess you really don't work for the government," Mel said with a laugh. Just then his eyes focused on the far wall that was made almost entirely of glass. He went immediately to the massive sliding door and yanked on the handle.

Guy stepped up to the wall nearest the door and punched a code into a small panel. There was a soft click and the door yielded to Mel's tug, sliding back silently.

"Oh wow!" Mel said as he stepped out onto the porch. The broad deck ran along the whole outside of the house which was built into a cliff wall. Lights twinkled in the distance across the dark water.

Guy followed him out. It was raining lightly and the wind picked up the tiny droplets and hurled them at the men, whipping the hair away from Mel's face. The young man tilted his head back and laughed with abandon. Guy couldn't help a broad answering smile. His jaw ached with the unfamiliar movement. He had smiled more in the last hour than he'd had in months.

"This is so awesome!" Mel said. "Unless you were just right out there in a boat you'd never know your house was here. Do you even have any neighbors?"

"No one close. The property is on four acres."

"Four acres of waterfront property on Mercer Island? I can't even imagine how much that costs."

"My company is well-funded," Guy said modestly.

Mel shivered and Guy ushered him back inside with a hand on the small of his back. Mel leaned into his touch like a cat responding to a loving caress. He could feel the warmth of the young man under his fingers. An electrical charge ran up his arm, igniting a fire in his core, and heat swelled in his chest triggering a storm of emotion. Mine!

Guy snatched his hand away almost as if he'd been burned, but almost immediately he reached out and gently grabbed Mel's arm to keep him standing on the small rug just inside the door. Once again the touch sparked between them. Guy caught a whiff of Mel's scent: clean skin with a hint of lavender soap, citrus from his hair, and underneath a heady muskiness that was virile young man. Mel looked up at him, his wide aqua eyes shining with pleasure, his full lips slightly parted.

Desire slammed into Guy like a punch in the gut, causing him to gasp for air. He immediately let go of Mel's arm. Do not touch! Do not touch! he repeated to himself in a daze as he stumbled a few feet away. He needed distance or he'd lose complete control. In two short seconds his cock had become uncomfortably hard.

He took a deep breath and turned back to look at Mel who was staring at him with longing in his eyes. "Wipe your feet," he commanded in a rough voice. Noticing Mel's sopping socks, he added, "Take your socks off. Don't get mud on the floor."

"Consuela?" Mel asked in a tight voice. The contentment he had radiated only moments earlier vanished. He looked around apprehensively, as if expecting a she-demon to appear at any moment.

"She's not here right now," Guy assured him, "but she'll be here first thing in the morning, and if you've gotten the floors dirty she'll string you up by your fingernails."

"Oh," Mel said in a small voice.

"Let me show you the rest of the house." Guy led the way into a spacious kitchen. It was separated from the main room by rich wood panels that could slide back and make the kitchen part of the great room. The setup was useful for entertaining, but he never opened them. The immaculate kitchen had granite countertops, gleaming appliances, and state-of-the art lighting and fixtures.

"You can make yourself at home. There's food and stuff." Guy waved a hand in the direction of the pantry as he passed through the kitchen and out the far door which led back into the front hall. He turned to point out a small bathroom and realized he'd lost Mel in the kitchen.

Poking his head back through the doorway, he couldn't help but smile. His angel was standing in the middle of the space, turning slowly around, taking everything in. Guy couldn't help but notice how well Mel's tight jeans accentuated his shapely ass. His still-swollen cock throbbed.

Seeing Guy, Mel said, "Make myself at home? How long do you think I'll be here?"

"Until I eliminate Valjevo."

Mel's eyes widened. "How long will that take?" His voice quavered slightly.

The reality of the situation suddenly hit Guy: he could potentially have Mel living in his house for a long time. Given his current state after only ten minutes of having Mel in his home, how would he be able to control himself over an extended period? He swallowed hard before replying, "Days, weeks, months. I don't know."

"Months?" Mel's face registered shock. "How am I going to get to work from here?"

"You're not. You can't go to work. You can't leave. You must stay here until I eliminate him."

"What?" Mel's voice was shrill. "I can't stay here for months! I can't just drop out of my life. I have classes. I have work. I'm going home, back to Centralia, over Fourth of July."

"You'll have to put everything on hold for now. I'm sorry. I'll take care of him as fast as I can, but I can't promise it will be soon."

"I can't even visit my mom?"

"No!" Guy's tone was more emphatic than he meant it to be. Mel's distress over having to stay at his house was throwing him. Intellectually he understood that it was a difficult situations for the young man, but he couldn't help but feel rejected.

"The vampire has your address now," he continued, "which means he has your name and your parents' addresses and probably knows your work and school schedule and is figuring out who your friends are. You can't underestimate him. Remember, he's been around a very long time; he'll have resources. You can't use your credit cards or contact anyone you know from a traceable source."

Mel stared at him, stunned and speechless. Guy pulled a chair out from the small breakfast area and urged him into it. "Sit!" he commanded.

Mel sank slowly onto the chair. Guy fetched him a glass of water and got one for himself before sitting down opposite the young man.

"Is my family in danger? My friends?" Mel's voice sounded strained.

"Probably not. If Valjevo follows the typical pattern he'll just watch them until you make a reappearance in one of their lives, then he'll nab you. But vampires are unpredictable, so I can't guarantee anything."

Mel's lovely eyes clouded with worry and Guy's urge to protect swelled to monstrous proportions. Nothing will ever hurt him as long as I'm alive! he vowed. But he couldn't protect all of Mel's friends and family and Mel too. He'd have to get Ed to put a watch on Mel's family, at least.

Mel frowned. "I can't just not go to work and school. I'll lose my job. I'll flunk my classes. And if I don't contact them, my family will be out of their minds with worry. I can't do that to them."

He has family that worries about him. A stab of loss swept over Guy, infusing him with a familiar aching sadness. He pushed his emotions aside impatiently. There's no time for feeling sorry for yourself. You need to protect Mel. He focused once more on his charge.

"My mother will have the national guard out marching the streets looking for me," Mel was saying.

"You can use the disposable phone I have to call her right now, but you can only talk for a minute; I don't want him to trace your call."

Mel stared at him for a long moment. "Trace my call? You think he's got my mother's phone tapped?"

"If he doesn't yet, he will very soon."

"But aren't disposable phones untraceable? I mean it doesn't have GPS or anything, right?"

"They used to be impossible to trace. Now all phones can connect with the Public Safety Answering Point when you dial 911 so the police can find you in an emergency. Unfortunately there's recent evidence that that technology has been exploited, which means any phone in the United States is potentially traceable to a physical location whether they dial 911 or not. Tomorrow I'll set you up with email and VOIP accounts—they'll be routed through my company and completely untraceable."

"Oh, wow! Spy stuff." Mel still looked a little dazed. "That's scary, actually."

Guy's heart lurched when Mel's eyebrows drew down into a frown. He never wanted to see his angel sad or upset.

"So I have to stay here the whole time—there's no other way? Couldn't I go out of town to somewhere?"

He doesn't want to stay with me. Disappointment slammed into Guy, followed by a bitterness so intense it tasted like acid on his tongue. "There are other places we could hide you, of course." He kept his voice carefully neutral. "This is the safest." Especially since I'll be here and I can protect you better than anyone else on the planet.

Mel stuck out his hand in resignation. "Hand me the phone. I'll call my mom—I'm sure she's frantic by now."

Guy fetched the disposable from his jacket in the hall closet and grabbed his personal phone too. He returned to find Mel running his hands through his hair, sweeping the long curls into charming disarray. As Mel looked up at him, Guy found his gaze lingering on those full, red lips. So fucking pretty! He mentally slapped himself. Stop it! You will not lust after him. He's work. Just a job. But Guy knew Mel wasn't just a job—his heart was pounding way too hard in his chest. Just being close to Mel evoked a strong physical reaction from him. I am in so much trouble, he thought as he handed Mel the phone, being careful that their fingers didn't touch.

Mel stared at the phone for a second. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"It takes a little while for the trace to go through. A minute is overly conservative, but that's how long I'll let you talk. You will be safe." I'll make sure of it.

He started to dial, then paused. "What do I tell her?"

"As little as possible."

Mel looked at him blankly.

"Tell her you're in protective custody."

"Protective custody? Is that what this is?" He didn't seem to expect an answer because he followed this statement with, "Oh my God. I never expected to be in this situation. Stuff like this doesn't happen to me. I lead a nice, quiet, boring life."

Guy smirked at him. "My goal is to make sure you continue to lead a nice quiet, boring life. But it will be here, hidden away, until I destroy the demon."

Mel looked up at him, something indefinable in his eyes. "Somehow I don't think life with you would ever be boring."

Guy's heart thudded so loudly in his chest he was sure Mel would be able to hear it. Does he likes me after all?

Mel turned his attention back to dialing.

"One minute. That's all," Guy warned him. "Tell her you'll call her tomorrow. You can talk longer then. And whatever you do, don't tell her where you are or who you're with. Don't even let her know you're still in Seattle."

Mel smiled. "I don't even know your last name. You're just some Guy."

Guy rolled his eyes. He'd heard jokes about his name his whole life. He listened as Mel tried to convince his mother that he was okay without giving her any details of what had happened. He could hear the woman's voice on the other end of line, shrill with worry.

Timing the call, he said, "Fifteen seconds."

"Mom, I've got to go. I'll call you tomorrow." His mom continued to rant at him. "Mom...." Mel could not get another word in.

Guy watched the fifteen seconds tick by and approached Mel to cut the call off.

"Bye Mom," Mel said.

"Don't you dare hang up on me!" he heard Mel's mother warn as he took the phone from the young man and pressed the End button.

"She'll be so mad at me for that," Mel lamented.

"You need to convince her that this is for your safety. She'd be endangering your life if she kept you on the line any longer."

"It's going to be so hard not to tell her anything. I swear sometimes she can read my mind even when I don't say anything."

Guy looked at Mel sharply, his eyes narrowing. "Be extremely careful. I'd prefer you not talk to her at all in case you inadvertently say something that hints at your location. But I know she'll need to hear your voice." And you might need to hear hers too.

Guy glanced at the time on his phone. "I need to check in with work. You can show yourself around if you like. The bedrooms are downstairs. You'll figure out which one's mine. You can pick either of the other two. I don't have clothes that will fit you, but you can find a new toothbrush and razor in the guest bathroom. I'll run by your place and pick up some of your things while I'm out talking to Jon."

"Can you find out about Mrs. McGruder?" Mel asked. "I think the vampire might have done something to her."

Guy kept his face impassive. "I will," he said. If the vampire took notice of Mrs. McGruder, she's probably dead, he thought, but he didn't tell Mel that. I hope he's not friends with her.

As Mel left the room, he pressed the button on his cell to connect him with Central. "Reporting," he barked into the phone when it was picked up.

"One moment, sir," a woman said. This must be someone new. He didn't recognize the voice.

All too soon Ed rasped into his ear. "About time you called in." Even through the garbling mechanism, he could hear his boss's irritation. "Where the hell are you?"

Guy raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" he asked, amused. The Company never made mistakes like that. Guy had an implanted GPS and they were supposed to keep track of him at all times while he was working. His home was shielded—as soon as he went into the tunnel the signal would cut off—but they should have tracked him to the garage.

"Don't push me, Salt. Location!" Ed barked.

"I'm at home," Guy replied calmly. He needed to be careful with his touchy boss. He wasn't at all sure Ed was completely sane.

"What the hell are you doing at home?"

"I needed to secure the intended victim."

"You brought Melvin to your house?" Ed's voice was full of disbelief. "What are you thinking, Salluci? You know that's strictly against protocol. You're usually so level-headed."

"It's the safest place I know of," Guy said defensively.

"So you let the vampire go and whisked your lover off to a safe haven?"

The Company knew Guy was gay. He hadn't admitted it, but they had run such a battery of psychological tests on him that there was no way he could have hidden it. If he had tried he probably would have appeared unstable. Luckily, they didn't care. In fact, he seemed to be the ideal employee for them. He had been trained in undercover operations from an early age. He was untethered, estranged from his family, had few friends, and was a confirmed bachelor. He wouldn't be giving their secrets away to anyone and when he was finally killed in the line of duty, there would be no messy explanations to family and friends about the condition of his body.

"He's not my lover," Guy said through gritted teeth.

"No? You could have fooled me." There was an edge to Ed's voice. "You just let the opportunity to eliminate Valjevo slip through your butterfingers!"

"I tried to take him out. Better send someone by to find my spent darts. There'll be three of them and they'll be on the east side of the building under Mel's window."

"It's not like you to miss. Are you losing your edge?"

"I was dodging bullets," Guy said dryly. If you don't like it, go find yourself another fucking vampire hunter. It's not like I missed on purpose.

"He's carrying a gun?" Ed asked in surprise.

"Yes, a small caliber pistol. I didn't get a good look at it."

"Well, that's a new one. Never heard of a vampire carrying a gun. They're plenty lethal without one."

"Yes, this one's different. Very dangerous. Unpredictable. Speaking of which, can you find out what happened to Mel's neighbor, Mrs. McGruder?

"She's fine. Shaken up a bit, but unharmed. She swears she saw a vampire, but of course the police don't believe her."

"That's good. Can you also set someone to watch Mel's family? I can't be here and in Centralia and in Anaheim too."

"We're a bit short resources right now. Kendall was killed last night in Cleveland."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Guy said softly as a bright spike of fear washed over him. He hadn't been close to Kendall, but he'd met him. He was a competent operative, but the odds were against all of them. Kendall's death was a powerful reminder that he was living on borrowed time. He could only hope that when the end came it would be quick. He was tempted to ask what had happened to Kendall, but decided he's rather read the report on his own. He needed to know what had gone down so he could avoid making the same mistake, but he intended to skip over any grisly details.