Dark Whispers Sheridan and Cain 2009 Read online

  “You see, Yun? Master Sakurai can block us from reading him and apparently he can shield his “pet’s” mind from us as well. He has much to teach us. And we are more than willing to learn.”

  Sakurai gave them a smug smirk. “No.”

  Viktoria bowed her head in a really nice, but obviously totally insincere, show of humility.

  “As you wish, Elder.” She leaned back against the divan and ran her fingers through Wei’s hair. “But what will you tell Jung Kai?”

  As Sakurai stood, he arched an eyebrow at the woman. “How is that any of your business?”

  “He is the one who sent you, yes?” Viktoria matched his raised eyebrow with one of her own. “To put a stop to us—to killall of us.”

  Dai tensed again, his eyes darting to Wei as he dozed against her shoulder and then back to Sakurai. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

  “You know how Jung is,” Sakurai addressed Viktoria with a cold smile. “He smells smoke and runs to jump into the fire.”

  “I know exactly what Jung Kai is like.” Viktoria kissed Wei on the forehead. “He knows the time is coming to an end for him and his exclusive little order. All the Old Ones are afraid.”

  “Not all.” Sakurai’s grin widened but the expression looked even more intimidating—more frightening.

  Viktoria bowed her head again, but her eyes flickered over Dai. “That’s why you don’t belong with them, Master Sakurai.”

  “And I don’t wish to ‘belong with you’ and your minions, either. Good evening.” Sakurai tossed his hair back from his face with a dismissive flick of the wrist and exited the room like a king removing himself from the presence of beggars.

  After a moment Dai followed, hoping Sakurai was right about Wei being safe with these crazy fuckers.

  Of course he’s fine. If they harm him that will distress you and in turn annoy me which they will not do. At least not yet.

  Dai looked around the club’s outer room but could not see Sakurai anywhere, and yet he felt the weight of the man’s—thevampire’s—stare as he made his way to the door.

  * * * * *

  Sakurai waited for Daisuke to leave safely first. Whatever fun he’d managed to enjoy earlier in the evening was gone now, and he no longer found this club as amusing.

  Encasing his thoughts in the strongest psychic shield he’d ever felt compelled to use, he left the ‘theater’ room without so much as a glance at the three vampires on stage in the middle of some kind of orgy.

  This ‘Mistress’ was full of shit.

  Who was she to even suggest where or with whom he belonged? Sakurai paused halfway down the hall that led to the basement exit, fully prepared to storm back and slaughter her along with every one of her minions.

  He knew full fucking well what Viktoria had tried to imply with that forked tongue of hers . . . .

  Jung Kai had many issues with that upstart vampire bitch, but one thing the chiang shih had made clear was that he loathed her ties with humans like Daisuke’s brother. Jung looked down on mortals, and he was offended by her ‘closeness’ with them. And with those carefully chosen words of hers, Viktoria suggested Sakurai had a soft spot for the weak creatures himself.

  “Thebitch,” he seethed.

  * * * * *

  “Well, well,” Diaz said, handing the binoculars over to Brandt. “It looks like your boy made it out alive. I wonder if they changed him.”

  Brandt laughed as he focused the lenses upon the front of Matsui’s jeans. “It looks to me like he pissed his pants and ran. Although they had to have a reason to let him run.”

  “Wanna go get him now?”

  Brandt lowered the binoculars and shook his head. “Nah. We’ll give it day or two to sink in. Let’s just keep an eye on him.”

  * * * * *

  “Fuck!” Dai yelled as he slammed the apartment door closed and slid the deadbolt into place. He shouldn’t have left Wei behind. Those assholes thought they were vampires. What kind of crazy fucking bullshit was that, anyway?

  He tore off his jacket, threw it onto the sofa then went to his room. He emptied his pockets onto the dresser then slid his Glock under his pillow. As he did so, a bulge under the blanket caught his eye. He pulled the coverlet back, and picked up the hand towel that bastard Sakurai had left behind. The semen had dried and turned stiff to the touch, but Dai could still remember the taste of it upon his tongue. It was salty and thick, and thinking back now, Dai could swear it had given him a rush when he’d tasted it, almost as if he’d snorted coke or something.

  He stared at the towel, no longer seeing it, but picturing the scene at the club in his mind’s eyes instead. Damn, the way Sakurai had that guy crawling around like his own pet bitch had been unreal. The power of his low voice, his stare, his very demeanor was like nothing Dai had ever come across—except for Watts and that time at his house . . . . Fuck, Sakurai had even used the same words Watts had used. What was up with that shit?

  He didn’t know and he really didn’t want to think about it just now.

  He threw the towel into the corner, kicked off his boots and went to take a shower.

  Just as the hot water started to run over his body and loosen the tense muscles in his back and shoulders, someone started pounding on the front door.

  “Shit.” Dai cursed and shut off the water before stepping out of the shower. He just wanted five fucking minutes of peace, for Christ’s sake. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he went to the door and took a quick glance through the peephole to see who the hell it was now.

  A nervous-looking, middle-aged woman stood in the hall, alternately running her bone-thin hands through her long, tawny hair and wringing them in front of her. Tracy McCutcheon had already been renting the apartment across from Dai’s before he moved in and worked a little bit down the block at the used book store. She was wired as shit half the time, but kept to herself and never bothered anyone, so she was cool as far as Dai was concerned. And right now she looked like someone had just scared the bejesus out of her.

  “You okay?” he said as he opened the door.

  “No-not really, no,” she stammered, her voice cracking, and wrung her hands again. “I’m so glad you’re still here and still a policeman, right?”

  Dai clenched his jaw, really not in the fucking mood to explain himself. The woman continued, “I was locking my bike in the storage area downstairs and there’s someone down there messing around. I heard him laughing and whispering and I don’t know what’s going on.”

  Tears filled Tracy’s eyes, and Dai muttered another curse under his breath.

  “Look, its okay—probably just some kids trying to make a quick buck by ripping off people’s stuff.”

  “Oh, no.” She shook her head and laughed nervously as she wiped her eyes. “That wasn’t some kid--it was a man, and he scared the shit out of me.”

  She wasn’t kidding either.

  Dai swiped the wet hair off his forehead. He was officially off-duty--suspended no fucking less. Answering a call like this could get his ass stuck on the bench for another two, three weeks, maybe. But if he went downstairs to check it out as simply a ‘concerned tenant’. . . .

  “I’ll go take a look, Tracy.” He stepped out, closing the door behind him. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Okay.” She nodded and turned away, disappearing into her apartment before he even reached the stairwell.

  Moving faster than if he’d waited for the clunky elevator, Dai went down a couple of flights and reached the basement door. He found it unlocked and slightly ajar, the dim fluorescent light from the stairwell barely piercing the darkness inside the room. Dai paused and listened, but heard nothing except the hum of the AC unit working to cool the building.

  Dai slowly pushed the door open while his eyes adjusted to the dimness. He shivered, the air cooling his wet skin and the cement sending a chill up through his bare feet.What the fuck? Why the hell had he come down here without getting dressed? Dai shook his head. All the weird shi
t happening was making him crazy. He shook his head. He was already down here . . . might as well take a quick look around.

  The light in back, near the storage area Tracy had been at, was still on and casting long, black shadows over all the junk piled throughout the wide room. Through the grating, Dai could see boxes, old ironing boards, bikes, shit, basically. But no sign of a mysterious man—thief or otherwise.

  Just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not here, Daisuke.

  Fuck. Sakurai.

  “Indeed.” Sakurai stepped forward, coming into view on the other side of the cavernous basement, standing just at the edge of the light’s reach. He took a step closer, the dim glow illuminating his high cheekbones and long, shining hair. His dark eyes pierced through the shadows. Dai felt as if they went right through him.

  “What the fuck do you want here? Get out and leave the tenants alone.”

  “But do the tenantswant to be left alone? I have my doubts about certain of them, Daisuke,” Sakurai said with a smirk, his gaze traveling down.

  Shit. He should have put goddamned pants on, though they wouldn’t have done much to contain his forming hard on.

  Sakurai laughed, the richly timbered sound doing nothing to help stop the betrayal of Dai’s body. Dai hated the sound of it, even as he realized he wanted to hear it more and more.

  “I just have that kind of effect on people,” Sakurai whispered across the distance between them.

  “The fuck you do,” Dai snapped, knowing any attempt on his part to deny it was a damn lie. “Just get the hell out of here before I have your ass arrested for trespassing.”

  Sakurai drifted along the fringes of the room, his face in shadows, his eyes reflecting the dull glow from the lightbulb hanging in the storage area. He leaned against the chainlink-pen enclosure, his fingers hooking into the metal loops as he cocked his head and grinned at Dai.

  “Ooh, are you threatening me with some of that ‘excessive force’ you’re so well known for these days, Detective?” Sakurai teased, flicking his tongue out obscenely. “Handcuff me, baby.”

  He slid his hand down to rub across his groin, that insufferable smirk still upon his lips, his stare never breaking with Dai’s. He moved closer and if Dai had had his cuffs he sure as hell would have use them on the fucker.

  “You mean cuffs like these?” Sakurai whispered, pulling a pair from his rear pocket.

  “Where the fuck did you get those?”

  “I have my ways and I thought you knew. No matter.”

  The man became a blur in the dim light. Dai felt a vice-like grip upon his arm, dragging him forward until he slammed into the cage. “If you cuff me here I swear to fucking God—”

  Sakurai silenced him with a kiss to his bare shoulder. “Ssshh. All in good time, pet, all in good time.”

  Sakurai moved in close, his erection pressing through the damp towel against Dai’s ass. Dai groaned as the fence pressed him from the front and Sakurai reached around to slide his hand beneath the towel.

  “Let go of me, you fucker,” Dai growled.

  “But you’re enjoying it---”

  His words were cut off by Dai’s backward elbow jab to the midsection but he did not move except to press Dai harder into the fence.

  “You haven’t the strength to truly fight me. Don’t waste your time or mine.”

  Dai knew he couldn’t overpower the motherfucker, and that was saying something. He was no pushover, but Sakurai was just unreal.

  But physical strength wasn’t everything.

  Dai relaxed, and just as he’d anticipated, the sudden shift of tension in his body threw off the hold Sakurai had on him. He pivoted sharply, grabbing Sakurai’s elbow and carrying his momentum sideways so he was able to slam the other man face first against the chainlink fence. And it was a good thing Sakurai was facing the other way because Dai’s towel was now rumpled on the floor, underneath his feet.

  “I’ve been fighting motherfuckers three times my size since I was in the fucking third grade,” he said in Sakurai’s ear. “Just because you’re pumped up on some kind of steroids or some shit, doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass.”

  But the way his exposed and fully erect cock was rubbing against the seat of Sakurai’s pants suggested he wanted to do something else to the man’s ass.

  Dai felt the heat reach his cheeks and just knew Sakurai was going to say something about it, the cock-assed bastard.

  “Viktoria was full of shit.”

  “What the hell?” Dai raised both eyebrows.

  Sakurai tilted his head back and sighed. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about—suggesting you belong in her little ménage of human trolls, that I share her ‘fancy’ for mortals. Viktoria is a shiteater.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Sakurai’s reply was a feral growl and Dai felt a static electric charge come off the man an instant before the lights blew, plunging them into darkness, and an invisible force threw him back into a pile of empty cardboard boxes.

  “Shit!”

  “Dai? Dai are you in here?”

  Lenzer? What the fuck was she doing here? A thin flashlight beam appeared and came closer and Dai scrambled to find the towel he’d dropped. He got it into place just before she reached him.

  “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. False alarm. What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in the hospital or home?”

  * * * * *

  Sakurai’s sharp sight pierced the darkness, focusing on the blond bitch who took hold of Daisuke’s arm and led him from the basement. How dare he go with her? He was no better than that limp-dicked little brother of his. Such a waste of time and effort. Daisuke Matsui was nothing but a mortal for the taking after all. Nothing but a walking midnight snack.

  Dark Whispers Sheridan and Cain 2009

  Chapter Twelve

  “So why aren’t you at home?” Dai asked as he closed the basement door shut behind them. He could still feel Sakurai there, watching . . . .

  He jumped when he felt Susan touch his forehead.

  “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” She gently brushed some damp strands of hair out his eyes.

  “Uh, no.” Dai pulled away from her touch and felt bad afterwards when she looked down at the floor, obviously crushed. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind, Susan.”

  She nodded and flashed him a weak smile. “I was just saying I can’t stand hospitals and I’m sick of hearing people leave messages on my machine at home. I stopped by to see you, and Tracy said you were down here, that there was trouble.” Susan started up the stairs and winced. She pressed her hand against her ribcage. “These damn bandages are too tight,” she muttered.

  Dai stepped up next to her and pulled her arm across his shoulders to help support her weight. “You should’ve just unplugged the answering machine and stayed home.”

  “I heard what happened to you—the suspension,” Susan said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Dai said. “The pansy had it coming.” He paused and glanced down at her upturned face. “I doubt they’ll really do anything. He’ll get someone killed. He’s a fucking coward. Maybe you need to transfer to a cupcake precinct. You could have been killed.”

  Susan smiled up at him and caressed his cheek. “You don’t have to worry about me. I reallycan take care of myself. Today was, I don’t know . . . . Just weird . . . .” Her voice drifted off and before Dai could protest her lips were on his. She pulled away before he could and he was glad he didn’t have to hurt her feelings again by brushing her off as he had before.

  She smiled again and Dai wished he had pulled away first because she clearly had the wrong idea about what just happened. “Susan—”

  “I stopped at the Black Lotus on the way over. I got your favorite. Let’s go up and eat before it gets too cold.”

  Dai stopped at the landing on the first floor and hung his head, gripping the handrail with one hand
. “Listen, Susan, dim sum sounds great now, but . . . .”

  “You don’t have to say it.”

  He looked up, and she put a finger to his lips, smiling sadly. “I know. I messed up months ago.”

  Dai turned his head to the side, and for a second her fingers brushed against his cheekbone.

  “Even if you had moved in when I asked you to.” He paused, then clenched his jaw.“It wouldn’t have worked out, anyway. Things weren’t ever all that perfect between us.”

  Susan dropped her hand from his shoulder and found the spot where he’d tucked in his towel at his waist to keep it in place. “We’ve been friends since the Academy, we know what it’s like being a cop, right?”

  Dai nodded and she continued, “Besides, the sex was always great.”

  She gave him a coy wink and tugged a little at the towel.

  The ceiling light behind them popped and plunged the narrow hallway into darkness.

  “Motherfucker.”

  “What?”

  Dai shook his head and tightened his hold on Susan’s waist. “Nothing. Just cussing out the stupid super for using cheap bulbs. Come on, let’s get upstairs.”

  Susan giggled. “Yes, we wouldn’t want anyone to get too much of an eyeful of you Detective Matsui—well except maybe me.”

  She gave his ass a gentle squeeze and leaned over to kiss his shoulder.

  Dai gave her a half-smile, not knowing what he could do so the message would sink in once and for all—Susan, it’s over. But he did move a little faster, guiding her to the elevator as quickly as possible, considering the extent of her injuries. He needed to get her away from the bad vibes that came from downstairs, reminding him that fucker Sakurai was still down there.

  Of course, Susan took it the wrong way. Just like she did the lingering hard-on his scuffle with Sakurai had left behind. She was all smiles when they picked up the box of food outside his apartment and went inside.

  As soon as the door closed behind them, she touched his chin and kissed his earlobe, playfully pulling on the soft skin with her teeth. “Thanks for everything, Dai. I wanted to be alone tonight, but at the same time . . . I didn’t. Weird, huh?”