Free Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) by R.G. Lawrence Page A

room, the television showing a muted Giants game, Rio sucked on a bottle
of Bud and wondered if his next thirty years would be like this; and at what
point he would eat his .45?
    The next morning, not sure what his plan was, but knowing
he needed to be somewhere else, he visited a local realtor, and listed his
mom’s house, realizing that sitting alone every night in front of the tube was
going to drive him crazy…or worse. He needed to be moving, to find some action
that would satisfy his needs. Returning home, he started calling old friends,
trying desperately to find something or somewhere he might fit in.
    Somewhere out there was a meaningful spot for one of the
finest snipers that the Army Rangers had ever had.

 
    ------
    Portland was a bigger town than Amp remembered. A year
ago, when she and Danner and Riley had made a quick stop for feeding purposes,
she hadn’t noticed or cared about the town. Now as she walked out of the
airport, the night traffic and hectic activity surprised her. She wasn’t sure
where she was going, or what she was doing, only that the weight of loneliness
was pushing down on her, and she felt like she was sinking into a dark hole; a
hole she wasn’t sure she wanted to crawl out of.
    Not knowing how she was to achieve her goal of destroying
Wilson, having no real friends or allies that would stand with her, all these
things were crushing her. Several times during the past 24 hours she had
considered Morgan’s offer of a home and a position on his staff. It would be so
easy to let others take over the worries for her, but her stubborn resolve to
finish what she had started, and her breeding of independence, thanks to
Danner, had forced her away from L.A.
    She knew she probably shouldn’t be in Portland, but the
nights of dreaming about Katy, and their few minutes together made Amp hungry
for the lonely girl she had fed from.
    Checking into a downtown hotel, Amp spent the rest of the
evening trying to develop a plan. She knew her next stop must be in Washington,
and her hopes were cautiously optimistic that she could recruit some allies
from the crew of vampires she had met in the Petersburg bar. They had seemed to
hold a great deal of animosity for Wilson and his crew. If that could be
channeled correctly, Amp just might end up with some backup. She finally fell
asleep at dawn, her mind a jumbled mess of despair.
    That evening, it took an hour for Amp to find the teen
club she had been in over a year ago. The atmosphere was exactly as she
remembered. She sat at a round table and took tiny sips from a bottle of water,
wondering if Katy still came to this club? She didn’t know anything about the
girl, only that she felt a strange kinship with her. It was well past midnight
when she caught sight of the girl, coming through the door alone, looking
around as though looking for someone. She made her way to the bar, ordering a
soft drink, then turned and scanned the crowd of loud and obnoxious youths. Her
eyes met Amps and kept going, then jerked back, her
mouth forming a word, a smile spreading across it that left Amp satisfied that
this had been the right choice.
    “You came back,” was the girl’s first words as she stood
hesitatingly by the table. “Oh crap…I’ve…I’ve…”
    “Sit,” Amp whispered, not wanting to draw attention.
    Silently the girl took the seat across from Amp, the look
of disbelief on her face changing to something akin to bliss. Amp stared at the
girl, wondering where this was going? Finally settling
on her plan, she stood and held out her hand.
      “Can we go for a
walk?” she started, in no way wanting to influence this girl with her glamour.
At the moment, she needed a friend, not a conquest.
    Katy nodded, joining her, and the two walked out of the
club hand in hand, neither looking back.

 
    ------
    Amp didn’t have a clue how to find somebody in Skagit
Valley, Washington. She decided that she would find a place to stay, and then
follow her