Still, as hard as she struggled against the heavy person, she couldn't break free.
"Get off me!" she bellowed, but she knew that there was no way that was going to happen. She was in such a secluded area that no one would hear her.
Or so she thought.
Because suddenly, the heavy figure was lifted off of her and she heard a familiar voice say, "Leave!"
Kenzie rolled over, but she didn't see her assailant. Instead, she found herself staring into the eyes of the stranger who'd given her a very blatant warning.
As if reading her thoughts, he looked down at her and said, "I told you it was for the best if you left Bridgeport."
Kenzie scrambled to get to her feet, dusting the dirt particles off her clothes.
"Who are you?" she demanded hotly.
The stranger's icy blue eyes sparkled as he inhaled sharply. He finally replied, "I'm Isaiah Cavanaugh."
Was that supposed to mean something to her?
"What do you want?" she prodded, the irritation in her voice still prominent.
"I told you," he explained, "I want you to leave Bridgeport. It's not safe here."
"You think? I just got attacked by someone, and there's some killer out there draining bodies of their blood. I find it really suspicious that you're warning me to leave this case, and you just happened to be nearby when I was assaulted."
"It wasn't a coincidence. I live in this area."
"Great. But how do I know you don't want me to leave because you're the guilty party?"
Isaiah raised his eyebrows in a conceited manner. "I just saved your life. If I was guilty, I would have let you die, or I could have easily killed you myself."
"Is that a threat?"
"No, it's a fact. Believe me, I could easily overpower you."
"Good for you. Now why don't you tell me what's so dangerous about Bridgeport that you felt it necessary to leave an anonymous note on my windshield? Do you know something about this case?"
A brief look of guilt flashed across Isaiah's face, but he said nothing.
"You can tell me," Kenzie added, "or you can tell Chief Tobias at the station."
"It's not that," Isaiah said in what sounded like a sincere tone. "I...can't tell you."
"What is that supposed to mean? You can't give me any information on this case? Why? Are you being threatened?"
"Not exactly."
"Then spit it out."
"Just leave Bridgeport. It's too dangerous for you to be here snooping around."
"I'm not leaving this case unfinished. Innocent people are being killed, and you're looking more and more like a suspect."
"So, you won't leave?"
"No way."
Isaiah sighed resolutely and muttered, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."
He then stepped forward and withdrew something from his jacket. It wasn't until it was in Kenzie's hands that she saw what it was – a wooden stake.
"What the...?" she stammered.
"Just take this as a precaution," Isaiah insisted. "You might need it if you're so adamant to solve this case."
"This is a wooden stake. What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Use your imagination."
"This isn't funny. There's only one thing I can think of to use a wooden stake for, and that's impossible."
"Is it?"
Two words. That was all Isaiah had spoken, but it was enough to send a chill down Kenzie's spine. She'd read enough stories and seen enough movies to know that a vampire can be killed with a wooden stake. But vampires didn't exist, right? There was no way they could.
Was Isaiah a vampire hunter? Was he related to Margo somehow in his blatant belief in the supernatural?
"So...you believe in vampires," she finally croaked. It wasn't a question; it was a statement.
Isaiah's eyes seemed to burn right through hers and into her soul. "For a detective, you can be pretty narrow-minded."
"Excuse me for not believing in something that can't possibly exist."
"So, you don't believe. No wonder you have no intention of leaving Bridgeport. You don't believe in the most dangerous threat the city has."
"Of course not! There's no proof that vampires exist!"
"Not even the puncture wounds on the victims' necks and their bodies being devoid of blood?"
"How did you even know those details?"
"It's on the news every night."
"Uh huh. That's it. I'm calling Chief Tobias right now, and he's going to bring you in for official questioning. He might also be able to recommend a mental hospital."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you want to solve this case, I'll allow it. On one condition."
"You'll allow it? This should be good."
"You can work on this case only if you permit me to help."
Kenzie couldn't restrain herself. She threw her head back and laughed.
"What do you take me for?" she asked in between guffaws.
Isaiah's eyes were narrow and his brow was furrowed. "I take you for an outsider who will get herself killed if she doesn't listen to me."
"What do you know about solving cases? How could you possibly help? What, you want to be my bodyguard or something? Is that it?"
"From the looks of it, you need a bodyguard considering the pickle you just had yourself in with a total stranger who ambushed you in broad daylight."
"Look, you might not realize this, but cases are confidential. You're not a cop or a detective, so you can't exactly be snooping around with me. And like I said, you know nothing about solving cases."
"Solving cases isn't what I need to know to assist you."
"Then what? Why are you so determined to help me?"
Isaiah just lifted his mouth into a cocky grin before saying, "Who better to catch a vampire than an actual one?"
No comments:
Post a Comment