Kyle beamed, thrilled at his aim.
Kyle began to walk calmly up the driveway, smiling wildly, already in a good mood, looking at the chaos and destruction already before him. He walked casually, as if he had all the time in the world, passing several other cars – Lamborghinis and Mercedes and Maseratis – that were parked in the driveway.
Finally, he climbed the white marble steps leading to the front door, and as he did, Kyle could hear multiple bolts being locked behind the double-wide mahogany front doors. He could hear alarms being set, could hear a frantic voice calling the police. Kyle knew that was a waste of time: with a mansion like this, the police would have been notified automatically, the second he broke that intercom. The people inside were panicking.
He smiled broadly. As well they should.
Kyle grabbed the gold-plated doorknobs and with a good yank he tore the thick mahogany doors off their hinges, throwing them back behind him and into the Lamborghini. He glanced over his shoulder and admired his handiwork.
Kyle looked into the front door and saw a caretaker standing there, holding a cell phone, looking at him with panic.
“I told you to help yourself,” Kyle said, as he took two steps in, grabbed the man by the shirt, and hoisted him into the air.
“The police are on their way!” the man shouted, frantic.
Kyle smiled.
“I myself could never afford help,” Kyle said. “Then again, I couldn’t afford a house, either. You might say that I learned to help myself.”
Kyle turned and threw the man and he went flying a good fifty yards, until he landed in the marble bubbling fountain in the center of the circular driveway, smashing it to pieces. He lay there, unmoving.
Kyle shook his head at the sight.
“Should’ve took another job,” he said. “That’s what you get for working for rich people.”
Kyle turned back and stepped into the house. It was adorned with a huge marble foyer, sweeping ceilings thirty feet high, a whole wall of glass facing out back, through which he could see a marble stone patio about fifty feet deep, leading to a massive pool.
Lounging beside the pool he saw a girl who must be Vivian, maybe seventeen, lying there, dressed but taking advantage of the sun even though it was November, clearly oblivious to all the goings-on the other side of the house.
Kyle grinned.
“Nice spread,” he murmured to himself, admiring the decor as he casually walked through the foyer. He ran his hand along the back of a silk settee, then reached out and touched a priceless vase of china. He leaned over and smelled the flowers.
“I could have used a spread like this in prison,” he said.
Kyle slid the china vase toward the edge gingerly, little by little, until it hovered on the edge. Then he gave it one tiny push, and he laughed as it fell and shattered into pieces, the flowers falling onto the floor.
“Whoops,” he said.
From outside, Kyle could already hear the distant sirens. The police were surely coming for him. His clock was ticking.
Kyle marched across the foyer, out the French doors, which were already ajar, the curtains billowing in the wind, and he walked quietly across the endless marble plaza until he was poolside. There were dozens of plush lounge chairs lined up around it, only one of them occupied.
Vivian.
She lay there, her back to him, eyes closed to the sunny November sky.
“Carlos, is that you?” Vivian called out, eyes still closed as she lay in the sun. “You forgot the lime in my seltzer.”
She lay there, eyes closed, frowning.
“Carlos?” she called out. “Do you hear me? I need another. And do it right this time.”
Kyle walked up to her, grinning as he sat on a chair beside her.
“Lime, huh?” he said. “I always go for lemon when I order my servants around.”
Vivian sat up in a panic, squinting over at him, raising a hand to the sun, disoriented. At the sight of him she flinched, pulling her sweater tighter and jumping back a bit, as if some grotesque creature had just landed beside her and violated her space.
“Who are you?” she demanded, with the insolent voice of the rich. “How did you get here? The service entrance is around front.”
“A bit cold for tanning, wouldn’t you say?” Kyle said.
“Did you hear me?” she asked. “What are you doing here? I can call the police, you know.”
Kyle laughed, slapping his thigh. This one had spirit.
“Check. Someone beat you to it. But they won’t help you now.”
Vivian’s brow furrowed in recognition that she was in danger, and for the first time, worry crossed her face. She began to get up, but Kyle reached out and draped an arm around her shoulder, held her close. He squeezed her tight, holding her there as she squirmed uncomfortably.
“Get off of me!” she snapped. “What do you want? Let go! Please. I don’t know you. My daddy can pay you whatever you want. Just tell me how much you want. Please, let me go!”
Kyle held her tight, laughing madly, and Vivian began to cry.
“I don’t want your daddy’s money,” he said. “I want something far more valuable.”
“What?” she asked. “What do you want? Please, just let me go!”
She struggled, but he held her tight.
“I will ask you once,” he said. “Lie to me, and you’ll be swimming in that gunite pool of yours, far beneath that tarp. Answer correctly, and I’ll let you go.”
She cried, weeping, truly scared.
“Please,” she said between tears. “Just let me go. Whatever you want, I’ll tell you. Do you want to code to the safe?”
Kyle shook his head.
“I want to know where your best friend is. Where is Scarlet?”
“Scarlet!?” Vivian said. “My best friend!? I hate her.”
Kyle looked back, confused by her reaction.
“I won’t ask again,” he said. “Where is she?”
“How should I know?” Vivian said. “As long as she’s far away from me, I could care less. I have no idea. Please. I swear. I really don’t know.”
Kyle shook his head as he smiled.
“You’re a good actress,” he said.” I almost believe you. I really almost believe you don’t like her.”
“Please, you don’t understand. I don’t like her!”
“Very good. You’re a loyal friend. I admire loyalty.”
“I’m not loyal! I hate her! Let me go, please!”
“Sorry,” he said. “You came so close to freedom.”
Kylie turned and in one quick motion, sank his teeth into Vivian’s neck.
Vivian screamed and screamed as his fangs sank deeper and he sucked her blood. Kyle felt reborn as her blood entered his veins, felt a sweet ecstasy he did not even know could be possible.
Finally, slowly, Vivian’s body went limp in his arms, and Kyle sat up and wiped the back of his mouth. He looked down at her and realized she was the first person he’d turned. His first protégé.
He stood, smiled wide, and said:
“Welcome to the club.”
Chapter Twenty Eight
Caleb drove like a madman on Route 9 and checked his rearview to see a dozen police cruisers trailing him. They were gaining fast, and he didn’t know how much longer he could shake them.
“We’re not going to outrun them,” Caitlin said. “Should we pull over?”
Caleb shook his head.
“Too late for that,” he said. “They’ll throw us in jail. We’ll never save Scarlet. Not in time.”
“But Scarlet’s upstate. It’s a ten-hour drive – we’ll never make it in time.”
Caleb drove on, his mind racing with a million thoughts. He knew she was right. He knew the police would catch up to them soon enough. He knew they could not travel all the way upstate in this pickup. More than anything, he knew that they needed to rescue Scarlet. Nothing else mattered.
As Caleb drove in desperation, racking his brain for what they could do, suddenly they passed a sign lit up in the night, going almost a hundred miles an hour, and he had an idea. Duchess Air Force Base. It made Caleb think of work. His fighter jets.