Read Online The New Night Novels (Book 1): Rippers: A New Night Novel by Ashlei D. Hawley - Free Book Online

women’s clothing were mixed together. More shoes littered the floor of the space and boxes occupied the top. Though Phoebe moved some clothing around, she didn’t find a space where anyone could be hiding. She gave a sigh of relief and closed the closet back up.
         The last place she checked was beneath the bed. It sat so low to the floor she couldn’t even squeeze her slim body underneath it. If anyone was hiding under there, she thought, they would have to be an anorexic child.
         Satisfied that they were alone in the apartment, Phoebe returned to the children.
    Chapter Ten – Vanity – Leland and Jameson
         The sounds of movement in the parking lot of the convenience store caught Jameson’s attention long before Leland realized they had company.
         “Someone’s out there.” Jameson tipped his head toward the parking lot.
         Female, he thought. He could smell an overwhelming amount of perfume even through the thick walls of the building. Even though he couldn’t see her, he could hear her stumbling on the uneven pavement. She would be near the door soon.
         “Do you see them?” Leland asked as he turned to look out the door.
         “I caught a glimpse,” Jameson lied. He didn’t like the way Leland’s pulse began to accelerate as he thought about the potential for others-crazy or not-to be near their temporary safe place.
         Rising adrenaline gave the scent of Leland’s blood a spicy kick and made Jameson’s mouth flood with saliva. His gums tingled, and his fangs pressed against the flesh, making it burn. He couldn’t feed from Leland because he doubted he could stop himself. He liked the boy; he didn’t want to drain his life. But if he didn’t take blood soon, he was going to go completely insane with hunger. 
         The woman approached the door quickly. High heels clacked on the sidewalk in front of the entrance. Her heavily-made up face peered through the dirty glass as she tried to pull the door open. Her lips, lined in black around lipstick red as blood, turned down into a pissed-off pout. She kicked the door frame with one open-toed heel and hissed in pain as she stubbed her toe.
         “We can let her in,” Leland suggested as he made his way to the door. “We’re leaving anyway, right?”
         Jameson nodded. He didn’t want to speak because he feared his voice would come out in a monstrous, ravenous growl. Instead, he gestured Leland forward. The woman didn’t seem insane. Stupid for running around in heels perhaps, but not crazy like the others.
         Leland threw the lock on the door and ushered the woman inside. Her mouth became an ‘o’ of surprise before she came to her senses and tripped over her tall heels to get through the door.
         “I didn’t think,” she drawled as she righted herself and adjusted her flimsy tank top around her obviously fake breasts. “I mean, I didn’t think no one was here.”
         She sent a flirtatious smile Jameson’s way as he approached.
         “Heya, handsome,” she purred. “How can a girl get a drink around here?” She looked over the counter and her eyes lit on the cigarette racks. “And maybe some smokes, yeah?”
         “Store’s not mine,” Jameson said in an affable tone. “You’re welcome to what you want.”
         The woman pouted once more, but the look was a carefully measured combination of sulk and sexy. Jameson would bet it got response from plenty of customers, but he wasn’t buying. Even as a human, he’d never had an interest in that kind of woman.
         High-heels sashayed over to the counter and leaned herself fully over it. Her short skirt revealed little beneath. Though Leland’s eyes bugged out at the view, Jameson’s rolled around in their sockets. She should have had ‘obvious’ printed across that surgically-altered ass.
         She turned from her place on the counter and smirked at them. “My