No Escape

The rent money sat in Mark’s back pocket like a prize.

He’d found it tucked inside one of Mireya’s old purses, the one she thought he didn’t know about. Three hundred dollars in cash. Probably saved up over months, skimming a little here and there from the grocery money.

She thought she was so clever.

Mark laughed, alone in the living room, the sound echoing off the walls. The house was a wreck. Empty bottles lined the coffee table. Dishes piled in the sink. He didn’t care.

He pulled the bills out and counted them again. Still three hundred.

Enough for a few bottles. Maybe a card game at Benny’s bar. He could turn this into six hundred if he played smart.

But first, he needed a drink.

He grabbed his jacket and keys, stumbling slightly as he headed for the door. His vision swam. His stomach growled. When was the last time he ate? Yesterday? Two days ago?

Didn’t matter.

The car started on the third try. He threw it into reverse and backed out of the driveway without checking the mirrors. Someone honked. He flipped them off.

Fifteen minutes later, he was pulling into a gas station on the south side. The kind with bars on the windows and a clerk who didn’t ask questions.

He bought two bottles of cheap whiskey and a six-pack of beer. Paid in cash. Stuffed the change into his pocket without counting it.

Back in the car, he cracked open one of the beers and drank half of it in one go.

Better.

He sat there in the parking lot, engine idling, staring at nothing.

And that was when it hit him.

Why go home? Why drink alone when he could go see Mireya at work? Show up at that fancy building where she pretended to be somebody. Drag her out in front of her coworkers. Make her come home and cook him a real meal.

She owed him that much. She hasn’t made food for him in like a week.

Mark grinned, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Yeah, I’m a damn genius” he muttered. “Let’s go see the wife.”

He finished the beer, tossed the can into the backseat, and pulled out onto the street.

Nocturne Capital Group wasn’t far. Twenty minutes if he didn’t hit traffic.

He made it in twelve.

The parking garage was cool and quiet. He parked crooked, one wheel up on the curb. Didn’t bother straightening out.

He grabbed the whiskey bottle from the passenger seat and took a long drink. The burn felt good.

Then he leaned back against the car and waited.

She’d come out eventually. They always did.

-----

Mireya threw the supply closet door open and ran like an animal that was being hunted.

Her legs barely held her. She didn’t stop.

The hallway blurred past her. Voices. Footsteps. Normal people doing normal things. They were all just looking at because no one appeared to be chasing her

She shoved through the door to the main office floor and stumbled inside her own department where dozens of employees sat at their desks, typing, talking, and focusing on screens.

“Help,” she gasped. “Please, someone help me.”

Diane looked up from her desk, frowning. Trevor pulled out one earbud.

“I need…” Mireya’s voice cracked. “I need to report something. Our boss, he’s not…”

“Mireya.”

The sound of her name froze her in place.

She turned slowly.

Lucien stood in the doorway. Calm. Composed. Like he’d been standing there the whole time.

“No,” she whispered.

No….oh my God no…no…How did you get…? No

He took a step forward.

She backed away, nearly tripping over a chair.

“Stay away from me.”

How was he there, she had ran non-stop from the closet to the office, he just looked like he took a stroll down there.

The other employees stared. Confused. Uncomfortable. Nobody moved. Nobody knew what was going on.

“You know what? Go to hell you demon… I quit,” Mireya said, louder now. Her voice shook. “I quit. You can’t make me stay here.”

All the workers were surprised, nobody ever dared speak to the CEO in that tone.

Lucien’s expression didn’t change.

“You can’t quit,” he said. His voice was quiet. Too quiet. “Not until I figure you out mama.”

“She parted her lips like she was about to say something, when she saw him”

He murmured like four words under his breath and the chaos started.

Every worker who had been watching began to move, all packing their bags in sync like they were being controlled.

And the employees stood.

All of them. At the same time.

Their faces went blank. Their eyes glazed over. They gathered their things in silence and walked toward the exits.

She was starting to panic.

“Wait,” Mireya called out. “Wait, don’t leave! Please!”

But they didn’t hear her. Didn’t look at her. Just filed out one by one until the office was empty.

No— no, no, no, oh God Mireya cried.

I told you earlier, he's in heaven and he’s not coming to save you, he was walking closer to her now.

He was enjoying the fear radiating off her.

She turned back to Lucien.

“You… you… stay away from me,” she stammered.

“He took one slow step forward.

She ran.

The elevators were at the end of the hall. She slammed her hand against the button over and over, her breath coming in short gasps.

“Come on, come on.”

The doors opened.

Lucien was inside.

Mireya screamed.

He stood with his back to her, hands in his pockets. Then he turned, slow and deliberate, locking eyes with her.

“So,” he said quietly, hands still behind him, voice echoing faintly inside the elevator, “why can’t I touch you?”

She moved backwards, almost stumbling.

“I don’t know,” she choked out. “I swear, I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

He stepped closer. The elevator doors stayed open.

“You won’t leave my side,” he said. His voice wrapped around her, low and smooth, like something dangerous pretending to be gentle. “Not until I figure out what you are.”

“You can’t keep me here.”

“Can’t I?”

“So what do you want?” she asked. “You want me to just… stand here? Let you do whatever you want?”

Lucien smiled. It wasn’t kind.

There and then, instinct kicked in.

She lunged forward and grabbed his wrist with her left hand, held it tight.

His skin burnt under her rough

Mireya didn’t think. She just moved.

The reaction was instant.

His skin burned under her touch. Red and blistering. Smoke rose between them.

Lucien pulled back, winced at the pain.

Mireya shoved him out of the elevator with all the strength the terror gave her, and then threw herself back inside. The elevator door slid shut before he could recover.

She collapsed against the wall, gasping.

Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Through the closing gap, she saw him standing there. Staring at his hand. Then at her.

His eyes glowed green.

“Run all you want, mama,” he said. His voice carried through the metal doors like a promise. “I’ll find you.”

The elevator sealed shut.

Mireya slid to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

She’d just burned a vampire.

And now he wasn’t going to let her go.