Face Read online

  He shifted in his seat and leaned back. “What exactly is this spyware doing? I mean, from the name of it I assume it’s spying on stuff on our system?”

  I shrugged. “Sort of. I can’t nail down the type of spyware it is exactly, but it does seem to be a type of bug that mostly spies on what we’re doing. It hasn’t really infected anything like a virus would. It’s more like watching what we do rather than stealing information... I believe.”

  “That’s not good. How long has it been happening?” he asked.

  “About five days, give or take.” I sighed.

  He nodded. “I see. Do you need to call in some outside help? Humans good with computers? I’ll pay whatever it costs.”

  “I will consider that next; however, Jemini has an old colleague she’s going to call. She promised to be discreet.”

  “Very well. In the meantime, is there anything you need from me or anyone in the club?”

  “Yes, can you call church soon? I need to brief everyone on what they need to be aware of with their tablets and phones.”

  Viper looked at his watch. “I’ll call church in five.”

  “Thanks, boss. And look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it sooner.”

  He looked at me hard for a few long seconds then said, “I understand. Just make sure you keep me in the loop from now on, no matter how small the issue. You dig?”

  I bit back a smile at the use of his favorite old-school term. “I dig.”

  Five minutes later, we were all in the main area of the Cobalt Room.

  Viper stood at the podium. “Sorry for the short notice. Face has some things he needs to go over with you guys.” He looked at me and stepped away from the podium. “Face?”

  “Thanks, boss.” I looked out at the prospects, lieutenants, and their old ladies. Jemini stood next to me for support. “Look, I’m just going to cut to the chase. There’s been a breach in our computer system. Someone or something is attempting to inject spyware onto our systems. This isn’t a virus, but something that’s watching things like keystrokes and website visits. I would urge all of you to not say anything that will incriminate yourself or bring attention to the club. Do not send texts or emails about vampires or anything supernatural. Don’t visit websites to look up anything to do with the supernatural. Regular websites for shopping, searches, and that type of stuff is fine. If you must text, do it in code, but it’s preferable you use the phone and call the person because we’re fairly sure that can’t be recorded. I’m going to install a computer in the main area of the club for you to use for whatever you’d like. It’s going to have bare minimum WiFi and no connection to our intranet’s main system. So, if you must look up something questionable, do it on there. Or if you’re just tired of online shopping on your phones and tablets.” I looked at Kalissa and her blue eyes twinkled in amusement.

  Jemini added, “We’re sorry about this, but we’ll get it taken care of soon. In the meantime, I’m sorry to ask but you’re going to have to turn your location services off on the phones and tablets for now. The malware may be tracking where you’re going. We don’t need whoever’s watching us to know our every move.”

  Viper asked, “Is that it?”

  I looked at Jemini and she nodded. “Yes, boss.” She looked at the crowd. “Just know we’re on top of it.”

  “Questions?” Viper asked the crowd.

  Andy, our newest lieutenant, raised his hand. “Do we know who’s doing it?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Totally anonymous. We couldn’t even track where in the country or even the world it’s coming from. This person or persons are good.”

  “I’m here if you need anything,” he replied.

  “Thanks, Andy,” I said.

  Dash raised his hand. “You good if I get a burner phone to use in the meantime?”

  I glanced at Viper. “Boss?”

  “It’s your call,” Viper replied to me.

  “That’s fine, just keep your main one on so we can contact you, if need be.”

  Dash nodded.

  “Anyone else?”

  At the lack of questions, I left the podium.

  “Adjourned,” Viper said, pounding the gavel.

  The next night, Jemini came into my office looking excited. “Got a sec?”

  “Of course.” I indicated the chair.

  She sat and said, “How’s it going? Any luck?”

  “Not really. I was able to isolate one and remove it, then program the system to reject it next time it tries to worm in.”

  “Well, I talked to my friend. He said he can’t help but he knows someone who can.”

  “Great,” I said with a smile and some relief.

  “Slight problem, though...” She hesitated.

  I furrowed my brow. “What is it?”

  She chewed her lip and answered, “He said she’s somewhat, ah, shady—but good. Works for cash only, and... get this... will only meet at night.”

  I lifted my right eyebrow. “Vampire?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “Could be, but I couldn’t exactly ask him that, ya know? I set up a meeting with her for tomorrow night.”

  “Okay... and her credentials? I mean, what makes your friend think she can help us?”

  Jemini’s lips twitched. “She’s apparently a very skilled hacker.”

  I thought about this and realized we didn’t have much to lose. If she was indeed a vampire, that would make things easier. I hoped. “Okay, well, we can just hope for the best, I guess.”

  “Gabe and I are headed out to the Devil’s Den for a bite. You coming with?”

  I looked at the computer screens, realizing how much work I had to do, but also remembering I hadn’t eaten today. The last sustenance I’d had was that mug yesterday before the gym. I hated that I needed to feed more often than my older brothers, but Jemini understood since she was an even newer vampire than me. She and her boyfriend Phoenix, another lieutenant here, frequented the vampire bar more often than not. “Sure, let’s go.”

  Jemini held onto Phoenix as they weaved their way through the streets of New Orleans with me trailing behind on my Harley. Once we reached the small, dark club, we parked our bikes out back and wandered inside.

  The couple ordered whiskey, but I rarely drank and didn’t see any reason to start now. As a vampire, the alcohol metabolized too quickly to catch any kind of buzz. In college, I’d done enough drinking to last me the rest of my existence.

  “Club soda, man,” I said to the bartender.

  I looked around and saw all the blood whores and fellow vampires, and wondered how this place even stayed in business. They didn’t serve food and the cocktails weren’t very expensive. I assumed it was the humans who drank to relax before they got their life force sucked out by a preternatural creature such as myself.

  It hadn’t taken Phoenix and Jemini long to find themselves a donor. As the human blonde sat on Phoenix’s lap with his mouth to her neck, Jemini suckled at the woman’s wrist with her eyes closed. I looked away and quickly spotted a woman in the darkest corner of the bar. She had long black hair and an exotic look to her. Her lips tipped up in a smile, and when she held her drink up to me, I knew that was a cue that she was available.

  “I’m Parker,” I said, taking the empty chair across from her.

  “Angel,” she replied with a smile. “You hungry, gorgeous?”

  I nodded. “Yes, babe. Come have a seat.” I patted my lap. No use in pleasantries or small talk. We both only wanted one thing.

  Setting her drink down, she grinned before slinking into my lap and wrapping her slender arms around my neck. Then, she leaned in and kissed me on the mouth as I ran my hand down her back and squeezed her ass. I kissed my way down to her jugular, the throbbing vein begging me to bite into it. Angel moved her sleek black hair to the side and seemed to push her neck out to me. Licking my lips, I felt my fangs descend and then quickly inserted them into her jugular. The blood flowed perfectly as I swallowed it down.

&n
bsp; Angel moaned in my ear. “Yes. God, yes.”

  My dick was stiff like it always was when I fed, and as I sucked down more of her deliciously sweet blood, I tried to remember the last time I got laid. It had been weeks if not months. Another blood whore.

  Concentrate, Parker!

  I listened to her heartbeat, which was still fairly strong, but told myself to stop feeding. Reluctantly, I pulled my teeth from her neck and then licked the wound slowly. I felt Angel shudder in my arms.

  “Holy shit, I’m so horny,” she whispered in my ear. “Wanna get out of here and continue this elsewhere, gorgeous?”

  Definitely couldn’t say no to that. “Lead the way, babe.”

  As Angel dragged me by the hand, I waved at Phoenix, who was ordering another drink from the server at the table, and walked out the door of the bar with this blood whore to release some pent-up frustration. Her blow job in the alley behind the bar did not disappoint.

  Chapter 3

  Cloak & Dagger

  “I feel like I’m in a spy movie,” Jemini said, looking around the dark alley as she crossed her arms over her black tank top. Lights from the mouth of the alley reflected off her black leather pants.

  I glanced around. “You’re not wrong. This is weird as hell.”

  She checked her phone. “It’s five past midnight. Where is she?”

  “Where’s Phoenix?” I asked as we waited for this mysterious stranger to show up.

  “He’s... close by.” She winked at me.

  “I’m guessing he’s not alone,” I deadpanned.

  “You would be correct.”

  Movement from my peripheral vision caught my eye and we both turned to see a figure standing at the mouth of the alley. They were slight in build, with dark clothing, including a hoodie over their head.

  “Hello?” Jemini called out.

  “Just wait,” I whispered.

  “Shoot,” Jemini said quietly. “I just remembered. Mack said not to stare or comment on her face.”

  I looked at her, puzzled. “What does that mean?”

  We watched as the hooded figure began to slowly walk down the alley toward us. Then, in a blink, they were right in front of us.

  “Vampires,” the person whispered in a voice too high to be male.

  “Correct,” I replied, standing stock-still with my arms folded over my cut.

  Jemini asked, “Are you the one Mack referred to us?”

  She nodded, but I still couldn’t see her face. “Yes. You’re Face and Jemini?”

  “Yes,” we answered in unison.

  “What’s the password?” the stranger asked.

  “What’s with the Cloak and Dagger bullshit?” I snapped back.

  “Password.” She put her hands in her hoodie pockets and looked both ways down the alley.

  Paranoid, much?

  “Keylogger,” Jemini replied.

  I looked down at my partner in question, then back to the stranger.

  “I’m Rocky,” she said. “What’s the issue you needed help with?”

  Glancing around, I said, “Malware. Are we doing this here?”

  Rocky lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “We need WiFi. So, you’ll have to bring me back to your office or wherever you have your computers so I can check out the problem.”

  I pulled the laptop I’d brought out of the bag and opened it up. “I’m not comfortable with that, so I guess we do it here, unless you’d like to go to a café or something. I have an external hotspot I can use for service.”

  I was frustrated that I couldn’t see this person’s face. Her hood was still up, and I could see eyes the color of fresh grass staring up at me, but nothing else. It made her seem untrustworthy and sketchy. Though—hadn’t Jemini warned me she wasn’t exactly on the up and up?

  “I don’t do bright places,” Rocky replied. “But if you want to meet at Zombies, they have good WiFi there.”

  “That’s fine,” I said. “Meet you there.”

  Rocky blitzed down the alley in the blink of an eye, and once she was out of sight, I told Jemini I’d meet her there, knowing Phoenix would give her a ride.

  The owner of Zombies, Theo, shook my hand and provided us with a private back room to conduct our business. He seemed to be familiar with Rocky.

  I shook his hand. “Thanks, Theo. I owe ya one.”

  He grinned at me before straightening his tie. “Next time my computers take a shit, I’ll be calling in that favor.”

  I chuckled. “Absolutely.”

  Briefly nodding to Phoenix and Venom, who sat in a corner sipping on drinks, I made my way to the back room with Jemini and Rocky following me. After closing the door, I pulled the laptop from the messenger bag and set it on the table. Rocky and Jemini stood, waiting for the system to boot.

  Typing in commands, I brought up the lines of code that showed the malware.

  “That’s spyware,” Rocky said.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Jemini replied, rolling her eyes. Then she folded her arms across her chest. “Mind losing the hood? We’re indoors.”

  Slowly, Rocky lowered the hood from her head, and I bit back a gasp. There were lines of old white scars crisscrossed on her cheeks and down her neck. Waves of light-brown hair secured in a low ponytail cascaded down her back and her brilliant green eyes held mine in an expression I could only describe as something between curiosity and unease.

  Jemini replied, “Thank you.”

  Rocky’s eyes held mine for a few more seconds before she put her gaze back on the laptop screen and pointed. “That’s spyware. You need to remove it manually.”

  “I’ve tried,” I replied, ignoring the fact that her eyes and voice were stirring something inside me. “It just comes back.”

  “Let me see,” Rocky said, shooing me out of the way.

  I let her access the device and watched as her long, pale fingers lithely danced across the keyboard, putting in codes to extract the malware. I’d tried some things, but this woman had much more extensive knowledge than I did. I suddenly felt like a rookie watching her. I glanced at Jemini, whose eyes were wide in awe.

  “There you go, it’s gone. I put a code in to make sure it can’t get back in.” Rocky moved out of the way.

  I sat down and ran a few programs to see if the malware was indeed gone, and to my surprise, it was. I looked up at the new stranger. “Wow, you’re good. I’ll give you that.”

  “Thanks,” Rocky replied, holding my gaze briefly and then looking away.

  “How long have you been a vampire?” I asked her boldly, wondering if her scars were acquired before or after her transformation, but then I remembered she would have healed scarless if they came after.

  She pierced me with her leafy stare and said, “Too long.”

  I was caught off guard when I felt the air crackle between us, and it made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t like it was with a blood whore; this was something deeper. It unnerved me so I decided to dismiss it.

  “I see. What do we owe you?” I asked.

  “Five hundred,” she replied.

  Fishing five one-hundred-dollar bills from my pocket, I held them out to her silently.

  Rocky took the bills, and when her soft hand brushed mine, I felt a tingle race up my arm. What the hell is that?

  “Pleasure doing business with you,” she replied, pulling the hood back over her head and disappearing out of the door.

  I looked at Jemini, whose eyebrow was raised in question.

  “What?” I asked.

  “She was quite... uh...”

  “Unique,” I finished for her.

  She nodded. “I agree.”

  “I’m gonna head back to the club. Phoenix got you?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yep.”

  After thanking Theo, we headed out of Zombies. I slung the messenger bag over my shoulder and hopped on my bike. The ride wasn’t more than ten minutes, and once I got back to the clubhouse, I quickly made my way to my office and checked the system again.
Sure enough, Rocky had removed the worst of the malware. I had carefully watched the codes she’d put in to do it and hoped it would work for any other spyware that was sure to come.

  I sat back and wondered how she knew how to remove it so quickly. According to Jemini, she hadn’t been told much about the type of invasion we’d been dealing with. That was why I’d asked her how long she’d been a vampire. Maybe she’d had years—even decades—to hone the craft of hacking and computer sciences. Unlike me.

  After another quick scan, I texted one of the prospects, Fox, to meet me in my office. Then, I got up and went to the supply closet where I kept all my spare computer parts and extras. After selecting a CPU, two twenty-one-inch monitors, a keyboard, and a mouse, I set them on the desk just as Fox poked his head in the door.

  “You rang?” he asked in his best Lurch voice.

  I chuckled. “Yes. Can you help me carry these things out to the clubhouse? I’m gonna set up a station right outside the breakroom for people to use.”

  “Sure,” he said, grabbing both monitors and the keyboard. “Great idea.”

  I took the rest and followed him out. I realized I needed a table and chair until I could order a real desk, so we set the stuff down on the breakroom table. I went into a supply closet and pulled out the spare table. It was small and would have to do.

  Fox helped me set everything up and once I booted up the machine, I installed a local WiFi connection that was just for this particular computer in case hackers wanted to keep trying to get into our systems. Once I was satisfied with the setup, I thanked Fox before he headed back to the Cobalt Room where he was a bartender.

  Viper walked up to the new setup and said, “Great idea.”

  “Thanks. This has a local internet connection only, so in case we’re hacked again, they won’t be able to access this one—I hope. It’s not tied into our systems at all.”

  “Very nice. What’s the latest on that, anyway?”

  I quickly filled him in on the situation from earlier and let him know there was no more spyware or malware on the system—for now.

  “That’s great. Do you think we can trust this Rocky person?”