Free Vampire Shift (Kiera Hudson Series #1) by Tim O'Rourke

were left with, however unlikely, was the truth.
    Okay, so let’s just say that the murders and disappearances were the work of vampires – who were they? Did they live among the town’s folk by day and kill by night? Were they all gathered together in some secret location? And how many were there?
    With so many questions racing around my mind, my head began to hurt all over again. But there was one question that just wouldn’t go away: Where had Luke disappeared to last night? Where had he been when I’d needed him?
    Climbing from the bath, I toweled myself dry and brushed my teeth. Pulling on a pair of jeans, T-shirt, and jumper, I tied my hair into a ponytail, and checked out the cuts and bruises on my face in the bathroom mirror. I had a green-blue bump on my temple, my top lip was spilt and I had a graze just beneath my chin. What with the gash on my wrist, I’d never had so many cuts and bruises in such a short space of time.
    With my stomach aching for food, I decided to try out Roland’s bacon and eggs. Toast this morning just wouldn’t be enough. Opening the door to my room, I found another envelope tacked to it. As before, ‘Kiera’ had been scrawled across the front. Pulling it free, I opened it to find another tiny silver crucifix. Looking at the envelope, I could see that it had been left in the last couple of minutes or so. Yanking the door closed behind me, I ran down the stairs, through the lobby, and out into the road. I looked left, and then right but the road in both directions was deserted. Although I knew he had left the envelope only moments before I’d discovered it, what I didn’t know, was how he knew I needed another crucifix.

Chapter Nine
    Taking a seat at one of the tables in the small dining area of the Inn, the old woman made her way around the nests of tables and chairs.
    “Looks like you’ve been in a fight,” she said, eyeing the cuts and bruises on my face.
    “I’m okay,” I said, forcing a smile.
    “It ain’t right,” she said, pouring me a mug of coffee.
    “What isn’t?” I asked.
    “A pretty girl like you being a cop ‘an all.”
    “How’s that?” I asked, kind of flattered by her remark.
    Then looking over her shoulder as if being spied on, she turned to me and said, “If you’re not careful, you’ll end up dead… or worse .”
    “What could be worse than being dead?” I asked her, sipping the coffee.
    “One of the living-dead,” she whispered, and her voice sounded dry and rasping.
    Looking into her grey-cloudy eyes, I was just about to ask her to tell me more, when Roland appeared in the doorway that led from the dining area and into the kitchen.
    “Mother!” he hollered, and the old woman seemed to flinch at the sound of his voice. “How many times have I told you not to go upsetting the guests with your stupid stories?”
    Before turning to face her son, the old woman slipped her hand into her apron, removed something, and gave it to me. Then winking, she said, ”That’s on the house.” Before I had a chance to say anything, she had shuffled away. Uncurling my fingers, I could see that she had slipped me one of the tiny bottles of holy water that I’d seen the previous day.
    Hiding it beneath the table, I watched Roland come towards me. His beefy face looked hot and tired. “I’m sorry about that,” he blustered. “Mother doesn’t know when to stop talking.”
    “It’s okay,” I assured him.
    “What can I fix you up with?” he asked, wiping his greasy hands on his white apron. Although I felt a little sickened by the sight of his lack of hygiene, my stomach continued to rumble.
    “Bacon and eggs would be good,” I told him.
    “Bacon and eggs it is,” he smiled, turning away.
    As he wobbled back across the diner, I called after him and said, “I don’t suppose you’ve seen a guy hanging around here this morning?”
    Turning to face me, Roland said, “I don’t think so. What did he look like?”
    “I don’t really know,”