Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

She couldn’t remember.

The skin all over her body abruptly flushed with heat. Her head swam as the campus tilted around her. Nicole staggered. Oh crap.

With a startled yelp, the woman hastily grabbed Nicole’s arm to steady her. “Hey, are you okay?” She sent the men another scowl. “Way to go, assholes. You probably gave her a concussion.”

The woman’s glove was definitely wet.

Nicole tried to shake off her hold as the dizziness increased.

The woman turned back to her. “It’s okay.” Swiftly raising the small canister in her free hand, she sprayed a puff of something moist in Nicole’s face.

That was not pepper spray.

“It’s okay,” she said in a soothing voice. “You’re going to take a little nap now.”

Nicole’s knees buckled.

One of the men caught her before she could hit the ground.

“Find her phone,” the woman ordered as Nicole’s eyelids grew heavy.

A large hand delved into her pocket and yanked it out.

“Put it in here so she can’t be traced.”

“Hey,” a man called from what sounded far away. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, is she okay?” a woman seconded. “What happened?”

Though she found it hard to focus, Nicole thought it might be the special ops couple.

“She got hit in the head with the football,” Canister Lady called back, “and she’s feeling a little woozy. We’re going to take her to the hospital and have them check her out, make sure she doesn’t have a concussion.”

“You need any help?” the man asked.

“No. We’re good. Thank you.”

Oh. Right. She was supposed to let them take her.

Ignoring the deep-seated urge to fight, Nicole forced her limbs to go limp.

Her eyes closed.

These had damned well better be the people who kept trying to get their hands on Becca.

Darkness fell.



Sean stared at the map on his cell. A little phone icon kept him apprised of Nicole’s location.

He smiled. If she saw him, Nicole would probably think he eagerly waited for her to return with Taco Tuesday goodies, but he really just wanted to keep an eye on her. Cliff had given them the best news earlier. Aidan would take Nicole’s place as Becca tomorrow, so she would once more be safe. They just had to get through one more day and night.

Nicole’s phone jumped ahead as the app updated her progress. Then jumped ahead again.

Sean wished he could join her on her afternoon runs. He had been on his high school track team and enjoyed it. Then college and Krysta’s vampire-hunting endeavors had eaten up the spare time he would’ve usually spent running, and he’d had to give it up.

He didn’t blame Krysta or resent her for needing him to linger nearby, ready to race to her aid when she hunted. At the time, they’d thought they were the only people who knew that vampires existed. So if Krysta hadn’t killed them to keep their numbers in check, who would’ve?

Nicole’s phone jumped ahead again.

Sean missed sunshine, too. When he’d decided to transform, he’d known he would but had thought it worth the sacrifice. He still did. And having to eschew the sun hadn’t bothered him much until now.

How he wished he could be by Nicole’s side, joking with her and making her laugh or just enjoying a quiet run as they passed from shade into sunlight and back again.

The app updated again, but her phone didn’t move.

Frowning, he refreshed it.

No movement.

Had she stopped to talk to someone? One of Becca’s friends, perhaps?

He supposed it was bound to happen. She’d been lucky to avoid them this long.

When her phone remained stationary, Sean stood and started to pace. Agitation thrummed through him. She was okay, wasn’t she? All of the previous attacks had taken place at night and had been conducted by vampires. Vampires couldn’t attack during the day. So, she had to be okay. Right?

Nicole hadn’t reached the lunch truck yet. Sean had learned the locations of all of them.

Maybe she’d paused to take pictures of a squirrel or something. She was always showing him photos she’d taken of birds and squirrels and flowers and frogs.

Her phone icon abruptly went dark, indicating she was no longer online.

What the hell?

His phone rang, startling Sean so much that he nearly dropped it. He glanced at the screen.

Darius, one of the special ops soldiers on campus, was calling.

Oh shit. “Yeah?” he answered.

“They took the bait,” Darius said without preamble.

His stomach sank. “Who did?”

“Unknown.” He sounded a little breathless, as if he were running and talking simultaneously. “Two males, one female. They camouflaged the kidnapping so students who saw it wouldn’t intervene. Our sniper has eyes on them. They’re heading toward the parking lot closest to the dorm. We’re on our way there now.”

Sean put the phone on speaker and tossed it on the bed. “Are you going to take them into custody?” He shoved his feet into boots.

“That isn’t the mission. The mission is to follow them discreetly and step in only if Nicole’s life appears to be in danger.”

“Fuck the mission,” Sean snarled, and crossed to the mini-fridge. “Get them before they leave. One of the telepaths can read their minds and tell us what we need to know.”