night moves - a holden chancery story Read Free Page A

traced her fingernail along her throat. “You were hungry. You wanted to feed.”
    “And?” He was interested now. He’d never known he had a hunger tell, some visible sign he was on the hunt for a meal. If there was something he was doing, it would be a smart thing to correct.
    “Your veins. I’ve noticed when vampires haven’t fed, their veins start to bulge.”
    Holden’s hand lifted to mirror hers, and he touched his throat. Sure enough, the skin felt thinner, and the veins stood out markedly.
    Felicia went on. “I think it’s an aging thing. The same thing happens to the veins of the elderly. Your bodies start to age more rapidly when you don’t eat, like you’re going to decompose.”
    Having seen what happened to vampires who were denied food, Holden could attest she wasn’t far off. But how could she make that kind of assumption?
    His expression must have given away what he was thinking because she gave a half shrug and let her hand drop to the table. “I used to be a nurse. Once. I know a thing or two about how the body is supposed to work.”
    “So you’ve seen enough vampires you can recognize them on sight, but I’m the first one you’ve ever confronted.”
    Her silence was all the confirmation he needed.
    “Why me?”
    “Honestly?”
    “I think we’re past the point of polite lies, don’t you?”
    She nodded. “You didn’t seem all that tough.”
    Whatever answer he’d been expecting from her, this wasn’t it. He hadn’t known what he thought she would say, but you didn’t seem all that tough wasn’t even in his top-ten list of potentials.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “You’re pretty. You hang around art galleries and wear Armani.”
    “Let me guess, the guy who killed your sister was some monstrous former biker who was about seven feet tall and weighed three fifty?” Holden snorted and ignored how uncomfortable the topic made her. “Not tough. Now I’ve heard everything.”
    Felicia blushed. “If it makes you feel any better, clearly I was wrong.”
    “I think it’s safe to say you’ve got a lot of things wrong, little one.” Holden slid out of the booth and tossed a twenty on the table.
    “Wait, where are you going?” Felicia’s embarrassment melted into panic. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought you were going to tell me more about vampires.” Her tone dropped low at the end, so the last word was almost a whisper.
    “I don’t think talking is going to help you.”
    “But—”
    “I’m going to have to show you.”
     

Chapter Three
     
    Bold splashes of color crisscrossed the entirety of the subway platform at Canal Street, creating an oppressive wall of tags that loomed over Holden and Felicia as they waited for the train.
    Felicia had her arms wrapped nervously around her middle, and Holden could tell his presence wasn’t doing anything to soothe her. This late at night it didn’t matter where in the city they were, the subways were unsafe. Especially for a beautiful young woman wearing an expensive dress.
    Holden’s own attire would be an invitation for trouble, if he hadn’t undone his coat to expose his bloodied midsection. Now, instead of an upper-class couple with no sense of self-preservation, he looked like a serial killer in a nice suit leading his next victim to certain death.
    Somehow that was the better of two options.
    Metal crashed against concrete somewhere nearby, and Felicia jumped.
    “Try to relax.”
    She shot him a withering glare. “ Try to relax ,” she snipped back. “Easy thing to say when you’re immortal and have superhuman strength.”
    “And yet you thought I wasn’t tough enough.” He smirked at her and stuffed his hands into his pockets. On the other side of the platform a young kid with stringy blond hair and filthy clothes was watching them hungrily. Holden knew what they represented to him: money, another fix, easy prey.
    It was how Holden eyed up girls at Studio 54 during its heyday. Those girls had tasted