Veso (VLG Book 4) Read online

  Mark’s droning voice grated on her nerves. “Where is my dad?”

  “Um…” Mark grew silent.

  She tensed. “What is going on?”

  “They got your father,” he stated softly.

  “Stop playing games. What are you talking about?” A list of reasons why she hated Mark Tarnet filled her head, beginning with the way he could never just spit something out. He seemed to take pleasure from annoying others. “Who has my father? Was he arrested? What for this time? Did he trespass on private property again?”

  “Do you see his tablet? Open it and let’s do this live.”

  “Just tell me what the hell is going on and where my dad is!”

  The silence was on purpose. He refused to answer.

  She cursed, hanging up the CB and rising from the seat. The tablet was on the kitchen counter and she turned it on. Within seconds, an incoming request came for video chat. She clicked it on and glared at her father’s research partner.

  His appearance stunned her. His hair was wild and his usually rounded face looked gaunt. He sat in what appeared to be a metal room, and she saw two people crouched behind him. Peggy didn’t appear as if she’d brushed her hair in a good while and Brent’s normally clean-shaven face had days of growth. The siblings both seemed exhausted.

  “You look like hell.” Jadee lifted the tablet, making sure the plug wasn’t pulled, and took a seat at the table in front of the gun. She used it to help prop up the device. “I take it that’s the interior of that new trailer my dad told me about? It looks industrial.”

  “What did your father tell you about why we’re here?” Mark leaned in closer.

  Jadee wasn’t in a mood to play games. “The same crap he always says. He thought he was finally going to have proof about his theories. I only came because he was so worked up. He’s already had one heart attack. Someone needed to talk some sense into him. I would have called to ask how to find him faster but my cell couldn’t pick up a signal. Speaking of, how come we can get the internet here?”

  “It’s a short-distance signal we set up.” Peggy bent lower, peering at the camera over Mark’s shoulder. “Are you sure the doors are locked and the shutters are still down? It’s important.”

  “Let me guess. It’s getting dark and you’re expecting visitors.” Jadee became more annoyed. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told my dad. Nobody in their right mind would want to live out here—including Vampires. They theoretically would stick to large cities with lots of people since they’re supposed to drink human blood. This was a bullshit trip you made. There isn’t even a hospital near here. What are you geniuses going to do if my dad gets sick again? Somebody has to look out for him since none of you will.”

  Brent leaned forward, hogging the screen. “I’m so sorry, Jadee. We believe your dad is dead.”

  The shock felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. Denial was instant. “What do you mean you think? What are you talking about?”

  Mark shoved him aside, intently peering at her. “We found damaged night walkers.”

  Jadee was about to lose her temper—big time. “I don’t want to hear this crap! Is he lost in the woods or something? Did you call in search and rescue?”

  “It’s true,” Brent swore. “We were contacted by a reliable source via our website about a sighting of Vampires. He also said some people he knew had disappeared. He was certain the Vampires were taking them.”

  Jadee resisted rolling her eyes. “Oh, someone from your website said so? It must have been true. How do you know he was reliable?”

  Brent hesitated. “Well, he sounded sincere and he had good details, so we packed up and headed here. We lost contact with him after that though and were worried that something happened to him. We arrived five days ago and set our trap. We caught four of them.”

  “They’re Vampires,” Peggy whispered shakily. “Real ones.”

  “They were more animalistic than we expected,” Mark added. “They seemed mentally unstable too but they’re allergic to sunlight. It burns them. That’s why you’ve got to make sure you’re locked in and the shutters are down. It’s too late to reach you. It’s already getting dark. You’re going to have to stay there until morning.”

  “The Vampires escaped,” Peggy blurted. “Your dad had already called you and you said you were flying here. We weren’t sure when you’d arrive And we can’t get cell service, so we weren’t able to warn you to stay away. We didn’t even know they’d escaped at first until Victor disappeared last night. They were too strong to handle at night so we were only running tests on them when the sun came up.”

  “We’d locked ourselves inside at night, thankfully. Otherwise we’d all be dead.” Mark paused. “I’m so sorry, Jadee. They got him.”

  “His car is gone. He must have driven to get groceries.” Jadee wondered if the extreme isolation had made them jump to the worst conclusions possible.

  “They pushed it into a ravine,” Peggy whimpered. “They’ve done that to all our cars, and we found tracks where they pushed the big rig that hauls this trailer into the river. They’ve stranded us.”

  “Right.” She was fed up. “This guy who contacted you probably has friends and they’re messing with you.”

  “No. It’s all true!” Peggy swore. “This isn’t a hoax.”

  “The RV is fine.” She glanced around.

  “The engine isn’t. We checked it during the day once we realized we were trapped. The RV’s impossible for them to move. There were signs that they’d crawled under it so we took a peek. Your father had activated the emergency pillars on the motor home. They are six footings that flatten to the ground. It’s a precaution for high winds and bad storms. The wheels won’t roll. We have the same setup here. It’s why they haven’t managed to kill us yet.”

  Jadee was fed up. Their paranoid delusions had finally gotten the best of them. Her father ran for supplies often and his hunk-of-junk tow car had probably just broken down again. He refused to spend money on it. “The RV has power. Notice the lights on?”

  “It’s the solar panels. I’m telling you, we looked under it and they ripped out the oil pan on the motor home. It wasn’t shielded as well as the hood is with the reinforced steel.” Mark shook his head. “We’re stranded. They’ve taken out all our vehicles.”

  Jadee clenched her jaw, ready to start screaming at the idiots. They were so gullible. “Have you guys been smoking pot? Been adding a little LSD to it again? Is that it? Or have you just totally lost your damn minds? Dad probably went to a major town because he needed his car repaired. Remember New Mexico? You called to tell me you thought he’d been kidnapped by an army of ghosts. Instead, he was waiting on a new transmission to be installed in some out-of-the-way repair shop.”

  “Wait until darkness falls,” Mark warned. “They tried to break into our trailer a few times last night.”

  Peggy leaned in, her face close to the screen. “Do not let them in! I know you don’t believe us but damn it, we found Vampires, hon. These are real Vampires. They kill their victims by tearing out their throats and drinking the blood.”

  “Show her the evidence,” Brent urged. “We found a few bodies of the locals. They decapitated them postmortem. We believe it’s so they won’t turn, if legend is accurate about their bites transmitting the Vampire disease. Maybe we should ask her to rush outside and make a run for it in her rental car. She could come back in the morning to rescue us.”

  Jadee frowned. “I rented a truck from the airport, not a car. Dad said I’d need one to get to your camp.”

  “It’s too late,” Peggy moaned. “It’s miles to the main highway. You’ve seen how fast those things run. They’d catch up to her and attack. Hell, they would probably be on her before she made it ten feet out the door. Look at the cameras. The sun is too far down. It’s already dark enough for them to be awake and moving around in the shade of all the trees.”

  “They have us cut off,” Mark agreed. “She’d never get out of he