Read Online Running From the Night by R. J. Terrell - Free Book Online

a deal with you. If you just find a nice discrete place for me to kill you, I won’t feed on you, and I won’t try to turn you either. It’ll be quick and painless.”
    “Promise?” Jelani said, a fleeting moment of sarcasm catching him despite his situation.
    The vampire narrowed his eyes. “I will kill you, maggot. There is nothing you can do about it and no way to avoid it. I’m just giving you the option of it being endlessly excruciating with the possibility of you stalking the night forever, or a quick and painless end. Do not mock my generosity.”
    “Generosity?” Jelani huffed a strangled laugh. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’ll have to excuse me if I have trouble recognizing the kindness of someone sitting across from me who has killed my best friend and is offering me an option as to how I want to die.” He looked around at all the milling people and spotted two security guards passing by, not fifteen feet away.
    “You will be dead before the sound escapes your mouth.”
    Jelani looked back to see the vampire staring dangerously at him. “If that were true, you would have already killed me.”
    “No. I haven’t killed you because I don’t want to attract too much attention to myself. Trust me, I can easily kill you now, take out both security guards, and be out of here. Now, the reason I haven’t done that is because I couldn’t do it quickly enough to avoid the resulting screams and panic it would cause.”
    “Our friends the Hunters,” Jelani said, and the vampire nodded.
    “I would prefer this business to be a little more discrete. But if I even think you’re going to call out for help, I will put an end to you and take my chances.”
    Jelani wished he had his knife, or some kind of weapon, but he hadn’t the time to grab it on his way out the door. The vampire rubbed his eyes.
    “I have to give you credit. That little eye gouge thing actually hurt. You are by far the toughest kill I’ve had.”
    “Thanks,” Jelani said dryly.
    The other man leaned forward, and Jelani saw hunger in his eyes. “You play it cool, but I can hear your heart. It’s pattering like a sparrow. I can hear the blood roaring through your veins.” He drew a long intake of breath through his nose. “I can smell the fear laced in your blood. Gives it a much better taste. Sweeter.”
    Jelani was horrified. How could he get away from this guy? What could he do? His eyes darted this way and that, hoping for some opportunity to present itself.
    “Ah, ah, ah,” the vampire said, shaking a finger at him. “You want to be responsible for some of these innocent people dying? You’re getting desperate, aren’t you? I can tell. At first you thought there was a chance to get away from me, that this might all just die down and go away. Now you know you’re dead, and you’re starting to panic. Now you’re wondering if you should take your chances and scream out for help. You’re asking yourself if I’m really that fast. Can I really snap your neck before you cry out? Can I really kill you and escape? Am I bluffing? Are there enough people between here and Chapters for you to make it there without me killing you?”
    Jelani’s heart skipped a beat. He had been thinking of going to Chapters Bookstore. The place didn’t close till eleven o’clock, and that would buy him a couple hours to figure out what to do next. Could vampires read minds?
    “Right now, you’re wondering if I’m reading your mind. No, I’m not. But when you’ve hunted and killed as many as I have, you learn that every condemned prey has the same thoughts.”
    The food court was beginning to clear, and Jelani thought it might be a good time to go. He stood, his unwanted companion standing with him.
    “So you’re going to try to hang out at the bookstore after all?” the vampire asked, walking beside him. They might have been two friends walking through the mall.
    “Why not?” He looked at the other man. Blond hair, blue eyes,