Chapter 19

Sharaina sat bored on her golden throne. Two maidens fanned her with green vines while one held out a plate of berries. Standing on her right side was Wadose.

Vice commander Melonina approached her and bowed down. "My queen, great leader of Dark Star. It has come to my attention that Akirexer needs to feed if she has to progress in her training." She said without lifting her head up to Sharaina.

"I am aware of that. Take her to hunt in Africa. That place is crawling of vampires. I shall inform Commander Ronitte of your arrival." Sharaina authorized.

"Yes, my queen."

"You may leave at once." Sharaina ordered Melonina and she got up and left.

Wadose turned to Sharaina and cleared his throat to capture her attention. "My queen, do you think that she will return? Earth is her home and there are also chances of her going insane after feeding for the first time." he humbly asked with his hand on his chest and head bowed.

Sharaina crossed her legs. "Whether she returns or not is up to her. Fact is that no matter where she goes, our pact still remains intact."

"Yes, you are right my queen. Forgive me for asking such a foolish question. May I call in the maidens again?" he asked after seeing Sharaina wipe her forehead.

Sharaina got up. "No, I am going to take a nap. Do not disturb me."

****

Rose strutted into the office the next morning paying no attention to everyone. She was heading straight to Mr Martin's office. After what she saw last night, she demanded answers. She completely lost her trust in Steve.

"What is your involvement with Danny Packet?" She asked as she stormed into Martin's office.

"Maybe if you calm down and stop attracting attention, I will tell you." Mr Martin answered with a scowl.

Rose turned around and saw the other employees quickly turn their heads away. She forgot that just like her office, Mr Martin's office was made of see through glass. She took a deep breath and sat down.

Mr Martin took out his laptop. He proceeded to play Whitney's sex tape with Kelvin White to her.

"What you see here is the link I had with Danny Packet." he said and not waiting for a response from Rose he continued, "That man was blackmailing the firm. He told me to pay him $500 000 to keep the tape from going viral. He came here to collect the cheque that morning you saw him."

Rose gasped in shock. "So, that's why you fired Whitney."

"You, my co founders and I are the only ones in the firm who have seen this. I'm going to keep it that way." Mr Martin permanently deleted the video. "Now, may you please excuse me? I have a lot of work to do."

Without another word Rose left the office. She felt perplexed by everything. Mr Martin, however, gave her an eye-opener. He had proven to not be involved in anything suspicious with the Packet brothers.

Rose's attention was now solely on the Packet brothers. How did they get a copy of Whitney's sex tape? What was their involvement with her and most importantly, were they involved in her murder? How was Steve involved in all this?

Rose needed to know.

Steve and Whitney had a great relationship. It was so good that their break up astonished her. The fact that they remained friends despite everything just showed how close they were. This now made her wonder why Steve would harm Whitney.

"Good morning Stevie." Rose greeted Steve in her usual flirty tone as she walked past him down the hall.

"Good morning Rose." Steve responded.

It was best that he didn't know that she knew his dirty little secret. Not yet anyway.

Rose went straight to Rajat's desk. She leaned over and he accidentally glanced at her cleavage. Rajat broke out into a cough and averted his eyes from the ambush before him.

"In my office now." Rose told him with so much seriousness that he got up immediately.

****

Steve was working on a probono case involving a young man suing his father for defamation of character. Steve spaced out while his ears heard what the man across him was saying. Steve tried his best to concentrate, but he couldn't get his mind off his brothers. He couldn't help but suspect that they had something to do with Whitney's death.

Whitney was found dead in the woods by campers. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises. He knew that his brothers were ruthless rapist misogynists.

Whitney could have given them a hard time so that may have been why she wasn't raped. Steve rubbed his clean-shaven strong jaw.

His thoughts were interrupted when his telephone rang. "Hello Amanda," Amanda was his secretary.

"Sir, a doctor from the St Patrick Hospital would like to talk to you." she formally said in her rehearsed tone.

"Please put him through." Steve permitted and apologized to his client.

Steve listened to the beeping sound at the other end of the line. He wondered why a doctor would want to speak to him.

Did something happen to Asher? I hope she hasn't had an asthma attack. She sometimes forgets her inhaler. Steve flashed a faint smile to ease the awkwardness between him and his client.

"Hello, I'm I speaking to Mr Steve Rodolf?" a frail voice with a thick Indian accent sounded.

Steve cleared his throat. "Yes you are speaking to him." he confirmed.

"I am doctor Patel Gurmeet. One of my patients, Luis White, is requesting to speak to you." he said

Luis White? "Alright, when can I pass through? Steve asked the doctor, a little surprised at the sudden request.

"He demands to see you immediately. He says that he has something important to tell you."

"Alright then please inform him that I am on my way." Steve hung up. His response was met with a scowl from his client. "I am so sorry Mr Taylor. I have something very urgent to attend to. May we reschedule our meeting to later this afternoon?" To his relief, his client agreed.

After his client left the office, Steve picked up his jacket, told his secretary he was heading to the hospital. On his way out, he caught Rose glaring at him from the comfort of her office.

"What's her problem?" Steve wondered.

"Gosh, I just don't trust him." Rose whispered to Rajat with disgust.

"It could be a mere coincidence that he met up with the Packet brothers last night." Rajat tried to reason with her.

Rose looked at him with her nostrils stretched and lips pulled. "How much more foolish can you be Rajat? Steve is Robert Packet. In fact, I think he had a hand in Whitney's murder."

Rajat gasped and looked over his shoulder. "That is a serious accusation Miss Peterson. You could get in trouble for that." he rebuked in a whisper.

"Oh pish posh. I know that bastard had something to do with her murder. I can feel it in my gut."

"What are you planning on doing? Go to the police?"

"Those idiots won't believe me without proof. We will have to keep digging deeper. As a matter of fact, that thing I placed on Danny's truck is a GPS tracker." Rose said with a grin. "Tracking him down won't be difficult."

Rajat helplessly sat there looking at Rose. He knew that nothing he could say would change her mind. She was so keen to follow this dangerous path that she had chosen to take.

Rajat observed her expression shift from confidence to pain. It was at that moment when he realized that everything meant so much more to her.

"A good friend of mine was murdered and no one knows who did it. After everything I have seen, I can't help but fear that Steve had something to do with it. I must get to the bottom of this." Rose set her dull eyes on Rajat who was furrowing at her. "Whitney deserves justice."

Rose turned on her computer and keyed in commands. A map and a resting red dot flashed on her screen. Rajat was able to see the reflection of the dot beeping through Rose's grey eyes.

"This dot will be my starting point." Rose proclaimed and locked eyes with Rajat. "So, God help me."

****

At the set of Lucy's Secret, Asher was doing better than she did last time. For once, she did not screw up her lines and mess up the shot. Her director seemed pleased too.

After two hours of shooting, the cast were given half an hour break. Asher looked around hoping to spot Paul but he wasn't there. She decided to go to the trailer she shared with other actresses and call him.

Hello darling! Paul answered.

"Where the hell are you Paul? You were supposed to be here by now." Asher asked him in a whiny voice.

Oh sweetie forgive me. Sean asked me to spend the day with him. You know I can't resist him. Paul giggled.

Asher sniffed. "Oh sure, ditch me for a guy."

Like you have never done it before. Paul rolled his eyes and they both giggled.

"Yeah so tell me, when will we double date?"

Very soon darling. Oh he drives me crazy!

"Have fun on your special day with Sean. Let me know how it goes. I want all the details." Asher chuckled and cut the call.

****

Paul went over to his balcony on the fourth floor. He waved at an old woman that lived across his flat and she glared at him. He smiled and turned away from her.

Strong arms wrapped Paul around from behind. Paul put his head back and received a gentle kiss on his neck. He brought his head back and chuckled only to receive a kiss on his cheek.

"Who were you talking to?" Sean asked him in his deep voice of a god.

"I was talking to Asher." Paul quickly answered.

"Oh I see." Sean licked Paul's neck.

Paul bit his lip and threw his hands back to Sean's neck, giving him room to caress his body. Sean found his way to Paul's chest and played with his nipple.

"What do you want me to do to you?" Sean teased as he dug his way into Paul's pants.

Paul moaned at the feeling of Sean's hand around his wood. Sean stroked it and sucked on Paul's neck. Paul no longer had control of his body. He could barely stand straight as the strokes continued. Sean supported his weight and continued to grin at the moans filling up his ears.

The moans got the attention of the old woman across and she gagged at them. She closed her curtains annoyed and unnoticed by both men on the balcony.

Sean withdrew his moist hand and listened to Paul panting for more. Paul turned to face him and crushed his lips on Sean who pulled him in and kissed him with so much intensity that Paul's mind went blank.

Sean pulled away and put his finger to Paul's hungry lips. "You haven't told me what you me to do to you." he teased.

"I want you to have me. Take me now." Paul impatiently replied to which Sean grinned.

Sean grabbed Paul's ass with both his hands as their tongues intertwined in a rhythm of hot passion and lust. Sean trailed his tongue on Paul's neck and Paul squeezed his arms—sinking his fingers deep.

Sean faced up and his emerald eyes turned into a freakishly yellow glow. His canines stretched with a growl that only aroused Paul even more. Veins sprout out around Sean's face and with a final growl, he sank them into Paul's flesh.

Paul screamed and fidgeted in Sean's arms. He thought that perhaps biting was one of his fetishes so he took the pain. Unfortunately for him, the pain got intense when Sean sank his teeth deeper. They felt like nails jamming into his neck. Paul panicked when he felt his warm blood go down his neck wet his shirt.

Paul opened his mouth to scream but he choked on his own blood. His gritted teeth were red as his attacker continued to feed. Paul tried to push Sean away but he was too strong.

The old woman went out of her flat with a watering can. She glanced across and dropped her watering can with a cold splash. In shock, she shakily made her way back in. Sean opened one eye and saw her panicking over the phone.

Sean, with his teeth still tearing through Paul's tender flesh, walked backwards into the room. He roughly bit off part of Paul's neck. With the piece hanging in his mouth, he watched Paul stagger to the door.

Sean spit out the piece and laughed at him. Paul held his neck to reduce the bleeding but it didn't work. His blood poured out through his fingers and stained the floor. Paul's hand hopefully set on the door but slide down leaving a bloody trail when he dropped to his knees.

Sean's laughter was nothing but a distant echo. Paul didn't hear the sound of Sean's slow footsteps. Blood continued to pour out of his neck and drip out of his mouth.

Sean grabbed Paul's greasy hair and with his other hand, he held his neck. He pulled hard and Paul's eyes turned to the back of his sockets. His neck snapped and out was his head. Blood rained and splashed on the walls and furniture.

The decapitated body fell to the floor with blood oozing out. Sean raised the head up and blood poured on his face. He opened his mouth and drank it. When he was satisfied, he tossed the head across the room like it was nothing.

Blood stained, Sean got the body by the leg and dragged it to the balcony. With both hands, he lifted it up. The old woman peeped through her curtains and screamed when she saw the headless body and Sean covered in blood.

Sean threw the body over the balcony and it landed on a taxi. The taxi went out of control and hit another car that crushed into another one immediately creating a traffic jam. Sean grinned at the terrified old woman and she closed her curtains.

"Don't you think that was a bit much?" a tall and slim vampire in a lab coat asked him and kicked Paul's head away.

Sean shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just having fun Dr Spencer." he said

"Either way, let's get out of here. The cops that old hag called have arrived. The last thing we need is attention." Dr Spencer insisted and received a smirk in response.