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

instincts in her search for the crew of guys she had met in Alaska.
She and Kate flew into SeaTac airport on an evening flight. The next night they
took the late Amtrak for the two hour trip to Mount Vernon. They checked into
the Tulip Inn, a nice hotel just off of Highway 5.  
    “So how are we going to find these guys?” Katy asked
after they unpacked their few belongings in the nice suite Amp had rented for a
week.
    “We are not going to find them,” Amp answered. “You are
going to stay right here. Showing up in the middle of a group of strange vamps
with a cute little human would not be politically correct,” she laughed. “They would
probably think I was bringing a treat.”
    Katy looked a bit hurt, but nodded at Amp’s decision.
“Okay, I can find something to do around here. You just be careful.”
    Pulling on her long duster over her jeans and t-shirt, she
checked herself in the mirror. After a moment, she took the duster off and
threw it on the bed, replacing it with a hooded Jayhawk sweatshirt. Remembering
Silas’s advice about playing the little girl card, the last thing she wanted
was to look like a tough-guy wannabe.
    She had looked in the yellow pages for forms of nighttime
entertainment in the area, and had picked out a few clubs that might be beacons
for vampires. It was midnight when she gave Katy a hug, then took to the street
in search of friends. Pushing aside her thoughts about bringing Katy with her,
she put her mind on high alert, knowing that walking the street of an area where
vampires existed was dangerous. As she walked down the clean street towards the
downtown area of Mount Vernon, she started to have doubts about her plan to
recruit Ernie and his friends. After all, she had only spoken to them for a few
moments in that bar over a year ago. Why would they even welcome her to their
area, much less consider fighting with her against her enemies. There had been
something there, she told herself. An offer of something; friendship, lust, she
wasn’t certain. But considering her choices, any move forward was better than
what was behind her.
    The Night Train Bar was her first stop, and it was
everything she had imagined; dark with red lights in the background high on the
walls, a long wooden bar, and tables scattered in the shadows. An empty dance
floor was off to the right, a lone pool table in the back to the left. Amp saw
perfectly inside the establishment, her night vision as good as a humans
perfect day vision. Knowing what tables were occupied, she walked casually to
the bar, taking a seat with a view of most of the room.
    “See an i.d ., sis?” the large,
black bartender demanded in a no-nonsense voice.
    Turning to face him, catching his eyes, Amp spoke in a
low voice meant only for him. “I have one and you’ve seen it. I’d like a bottle
of water, please.”
    The bartender paused for a beat, smiled at her, and
reached back and took a bottle of water from his mini fridge. Amp laid a five
dollar bill down and smiled back.
    “Thanks,” she said. “Hey, maybe you can help me, I’m
looking for a couple guys I met last year in Alaska, and they told me they were
from around here. Names are Ernie and Will. You have any clue who they are?”
    “Not a bill collector or the law, are you?” the big man
asked, more than halfway serious. His eyes were appraising her a bit closer
now, wondering if she was legit, or a danger to two of his semi-regular
customers.
    “Just tell me how to find them,” she demanded, her eyes
burning glamour into the man’s brain. She was wasting time, and this yahoo
wasn’t helping.
    “Sure, sorry…Ernie hangs around at the Blue Goose Tavern,
right on the water, about six blocks east of here. Probably there right now.”
    Without another word, Amp turned and walked out of the
dive, the bartender staring after her, his mind wondering what she had wanted.
Funny, he didn’t remember saying a word to her.

 
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    “You want us to what?” Ernie asked