The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

the hands of the Kid so he wasn’t about
to pass up the opportunity for some payback. ‘No fucking way,’ he snarled. Then
without waiting for permission from anyone he squeezed the trigger on his gun.
The loud bang that followed was deafening. Beth covered her ears and winced.
    JD had ducked out of the way of
the bullet before it was even fired. His response to the attack was emphatic.
As he rolled to one side he aimed his right arm in Beth’s direction. A silver
dart flew out of his sleeve. Before she had a chance to move the dart flashed
past her hip. It missed her by less than an inch and embedded itself into
Razor’s crotch. He doubled over and slumped to the ground howling in agony
clasping at the dart.
    From behind her, Beth heard
Sanchez sum up the events in one overstated sentence.
    ‘ SHIIIIT! He just shot
that guy in the dick!’ the bartender exclaimed.
    Realising that she was suddenly
free of Razor’s grasp, Beth turned to flee. She had no idea where she was
intending to run to, but anywhere away from Jessica was a start. Unfortunately
Jessica was fully expecting such a move. She stepped in behind Beth and grabbed
her by the hair, yanking her head back. A moment later Beth felt the Vampire
Queen’s razor sharp fingernails pressed against her throat.
    ‘That was a mistake!’ Jessica
hissed at the Kid.
    The Kid stood up and spoke
calmly. ‘Let her go. This is between you and me. Leave her out of it.’
    ‘Drop that fucking crossbow
you’ve got up your sleeve!’ Jessica demanded.
    ‘Fine.’
    The Kid lowered his arms. From
the right sleeve of his coat he dropped a miniature silver crossbow to the
floor. It clattered against the hard marble and bounced away from him.
    ‘Got any other weapons?’ Jessica
asked. ‘Because now’s the time to drop them.’
    The Kid opened his coat.
Underneath it he wore a simple black T-shirt and black combat trousers. ‘I have
nothing else. Now let her go.’
    ‘Take off your coat and get on
your knees,’ said Jessica.
    ‘You’ll let Beth go?’
    ‘Get on your knees.’
    The Kid took off his coat and
tossed it onto the floor. But instead of dropping to his knees he made a swift
movement with his right arm. He reached back and whipped out a gun that had
been strapped across his back. He pointed it at Jessica’s head, its red laser
sighter aimed at the centre of her face. Jessica was lightning quick though. As
the Kid was about to squeeze the trigger she yanked Beth’s head into the line
of fire. For several seconds the Kid continued to re-aim the gun at Jessica.
Each time he did she moved a part of Beth into the line of the red sighter.
    Behind her, Beth heard Razor
groaning. It distracted the Kid momentarily too. He took his eye off Jessica,
pointed his gun at Razor and fired off a shot.
    BANG!
    Although Beth didn’t see what happened,
she heard the unpleasant sound of blood splattering against the marble floor.
And then the red laser was aimed back at Jessica again and the ritualistic
dance began once more. The Kid tried in vain to line up a clean shot at the
Vampire Queen who was revelling in the challenge.
    After numerous failed attempts
to line up a clear shot, he gave up trying. It was obvious that she was too
quick. Firing a shot would be far too risky. He stopped re-aiming the gun and
lowered it to his side.
    ‘You’ve got no intention of
letting her go, have you?’ he said.
    Jessica smiled. ‘I want you to
watch this,’ she said. ‘I’m going to make your darling Beth into a vampire.
She’s going to be my new bitch. And you can be her first victim, unless you
choose to kill her of course. You know, like you did with your mother?’
    ‘And like I did with Archie
Somers. Shoulda heard him scream. What a bitch.’
    Beth felt Jessica’s grip on her
throat tighten. The claws on the end of her fingers were on the verge of
drawing blood. ‘I’m going to enjoy this,’ she hissed.
    The Kid seemed unfazed. ‘I knew
it would come to this. Quit stalling and do it now. What are you waiting for?’
    ‘Very well. As you wish!’
    Jessica opened her mouth wide,
revealing a set of huge vampire fangs, thirsty for blood. Beth looked over at
JD, her eyes pleading with him to save her. And that was when it finally hit
her. This was not JD who had come to her rescue. This was the Bourbon Kid, the
man who cared for no one.
    As that thought raced
through Beth’s head, Jessica’s fangs ripped through the skin on the lower part
of her neck, plunging