The dark city blurred past in streaks of neon and wet asphalt as Sawyer fleeted down the street toward the JW Marriott. He fleeted by traffic, weaving around it, as if it weren’t even moving. His boots slapped across shallow puddles. He sped past whole city blocks in seconds. He fleeted down rain slicked streets and narrow alleys, taking shortcuts which reeked of diesel fuel.

  When he stopped, he stared up at the JW Marriott Tower. It looked like an obelisk of glass and steel, its mirrored skin drank the city lights and threw them back in molten gold. Every pane was slick with rain that caught the glow of the perimeter lights. Floodlight covered terraces ringed its crown where the highest floors shimmered against the night like an unreachable paradise. From the ground it felt less like a hotel and more like the palace of a great king with no intention of giving up his power.

  Men in tailored black suits stood under the porte-cochère like gargoyles. Their expressions were blank, but their eyes moved constantly. Pistols rode high on their hips. Others wielded compact SMGs. Every one of them wore BlackDiamond cufflinks.

  A new envoy rolled up, a cherry-red Ferrari, a cobalt Maserati, and a champagne colored Aston Martin. The vehicles cruised low to the ground and their engines hummed like vicious cats ready to run. Their doors lifted and out spilled executives in tuxedos and their beautiful female escorts. Their cologne traveled through the air and assaulted Sawyer’s nose with its woody oaks. They were ushered inside by security who didn’t so much as glance at their credentials, already knowing who they were.

  Sawyer moved down the block and examined the facade. The tower’s exterior blended old world colonial accents with the sleek corporate minimalism. Tall plants lined the marble steps and their fronds were lit by upwash spotlights. Water ran down a black granite fountain in sheets and masked the chatter of the well dressed executives chatting around the entrance. Through the revolving doors, he caught glimpses of a crystal chandelier hanging in the lobby the size and shape of a roaring bear.

  Cormac was somewhere inside. At least, Sawyer hoped he was. He very well could be halfway to a BlackDiamond facility in California. Technically, since BlackDiamond held holdings all across the world, they may have stuffed him in the back of a cargo jet and flown him as far as China. Sawyer didn’t have the luxury of solid intel, let alone certainty, so he had to act on the intelligence he was given. It was highly probable that Cormac was inside that tower and somewhere in the vicinity of Harland Morrow.

  Overhead, the sound of thrumming broke the night. He craned his head up and spotted the helicopters. There were three of them, sleek and civilian with white and gold trim. They were painted with a BlackDiamond insignia and landed on the tower’s rooftop pad one after another before lifting and patrolling the skies. The entire vibe of the place felt like a fortified embassy.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  He thought briefly about a HALO drop. If he could grab the right gear and catch the right altitude, he could slip down from above and access the roof. But the extraction plan was risky without securing a way out. If he had to fight his way down from the roof, it could be a suicide run and the objective wasn’t even guaranteed. So he chose another path.

  If he played his cards stupidly, then he’d take a slug in the head, probably from some boneheaded private security thug with a twelve-gauge and that would be the end of Sawyer Kestrel the vampire.

  He tried the simplest approach first.

  Wearing his civilian attire, he didn’t appear to be in any rush. He calmed his breathing and walked right up the marble steps. He weaved between laughing couples who nodded at his approach like he belonged there. And in a way, he did. The first round of security waved him inside, and he simply walked through the rotating glass doors and into glass doors and into the cold perfumed air of the lobby. He made it about three strides across the lobby before a man in a black suit and golden security badge stepped in his way. His badge read “Manager.”

  “Ticket and ID, please, sir.”

  Sawyer gave him a faint smile. “I’m here to book a room. Business trip.”

  The manager’s eyes didn’t soften. “I’m sorry, sir. The entire tower has been booked for the week. We’re sold out. BlackDiamond corporate function.” He said the words like they explained everything.

  Sawyer looked at him closer…then the truth hit. The man’s pupils were too sharp and his scent was too clean. He didn’t have the same smell. His aura of cold confidence was predatory. When the man’s mouth parted slightly, extending another smile, Sawyer spotted the fangs.

  Sawyer let his lips curl just enough for his fangs to show. “I’m here for some fun, just like you. Can you let me in? I’m quite hungry…”

  The manager’s gaze flicked to Sawyer’s fangs. His face changed to something resembling approval. Then it shifted into pleasure. But it only lasted for a flicker of a second. He shook his head. “From a child of darkness to another, I can appreciate your desires. On any other day, I would let you in. But today, they’re very strict. I’m only authorized to allow BlackDiamond executives, hotel staff, or security. You’re neither. If I let you in, Harland will order me killed and I’ll be a pile of ash in the morning. Understand?”

  Sawyer didn’t push it. A vampire afraid of being turned to dust? It made sense. Either that, or he was just making up an excuse to get rid of him.

  In the end, Sawyer nodded politely and excused himself, walking back out of the hotel.

  The parking lot outside was full of high end cars with tinted glass. He walked halfway down the street, looking for another way inside, when he spotted headlights flaring at the far edge of the property. A dark sedan pulled into the parking lot, slowly and deliberately; it rolled past the valet queue and straight to the back of the lot, to the furthest and most secluded corner somewhat near a service entrance.

  The driver stepped out. He had a white shirt and a black vest, a hotel staff uniform. And he was alone. Bingo. Sawyer moved closer. He watched the man fish something out of the back seat, then moved in. Sawyer’s jaw set. He had his way in.