16. Can’t Wait

H arlow's eyes snapped open, and he rubbed at them as the song Play With Fire started to play. "Foxx," he rasped, his voice rough with sleep. "Phone."

Harlow hissed as the song continued to play, only getting louder, each word echoing in his head. His ears seemed to be the most sensitive when he first woke up, as if his brain had forgotten how to tone it the fuck down overnight.

"Foxx," he groaned again, lightly shaking the man who was cuddled on his chest. "Answer it. It's your phone. I don't have one, remember?"

Foxx let out a whine that did not help his pounding head. "No…"

"Foxx!"

When the man didn't respond or move, Harlow turned onto his side, dumping Foxx off him.

The vampire hissed as he landed, and whined some more, before huffing, "I'm supposed to whine and you answer!"

"It's on your side!" he growled.

"Fine!" Foxx snapped. Sitting up, the man grumbled as he grabbed it. "I'm moving it to your side after this."

Harlow rolled his eyes. "Brat."

Foxx stared at the still ringing phone, his mouth twisting. "It's…Charity…" The song cut off when the vampire accepted the call with what seemed to be trepidation and set it to speaker phone.

Instead of her normal annoying ass cheerful tone, when Charity spoke, she sounded hesitant. "I know you two don't want to, and shouldn't be hearing from me, but…"

"Charity, it's too soon," Foxx said stiffly. "Harlow isn't ready. I don't even know if he will be ready in a week, which is the deadline you gave us. His senses randomly flare up and go screwy. At this very moment, he's wincing in pain because his ears are too sensitive. And since the world isn't soundproof, like our apartment is, the flare ups will be worse out there."

Ah…so Foxx had noticed. Not that he was trying to hide it. He was better, but Foxx was right, he had mostly been in quiet environments while dealing with this shit. The loudest being when they'd driven to and from the cabin.

"I know, Foxx, I know, but…we're?—"

"Short staffed?" Harlow sighed.

"No," Foxx snapped. "I don't care what is going on, the answer is no. It can wait."

"It can't. It really can't, Foxx," Charity said, sounding helpless.

Harlow frowned, sitting up when he realized the woman had yet to use a single nickname. "Charity, what is going on?"

"Multiple teams have been sent, but it's too much ground to cover. It can't wait. I wouldn't have called if it wasn't important. Just…check the news, on your phone, or anywhere."

Foxx sighed as he set the phone down, before grabbing the remote from his nightstand and turning the TV on, lowering the volume as he did.

"Breaking news. The cities of Lowville, Laketon, and Dorbin, Iowa are on lockdown. Violent and deadly vampire attacks have been reported throughout those areas. Officials are advising all residents of those three cities, and the surrounding areas, to stay inside, lock your doors, and arm yourselves, if possible. I repeat, vampire attacks on paranormals and humans alike have been recorded city wide in Lowville, Laketon, and Dorbin."

Foxx's eyes widened in horror as the breaking news continued.

"We have received footage of an attack on a local news reporter. Please be advised that the following footage is not safe for all ages, and may be disturbing for some viewers as it contains extreme graphic violence and death."

The video started with screaming as the reporter was dragged to the ground. It doesn't actually show the man being murdered, but it does show some limbs going flying and blood spraying. The last picture captured before the screen went black was of the vampire who did it. But there was something odd about the man's eyes—the whites were brown…

"What the bloody hell was that?" Foxx rasped.

"We need you two to go to Lowville now," Charity said softly. "Before more are killed."

He wanted to scream the word no. But he couldn't. Not after what he'd just seen, or after hearing the reports that seemed to be continuously coming in. "If another team sees him…I can't guarantee…"

Foxx didn't say any more… He couldn't trust the call was safe enough for him to finish…

"He is a vampire," she stated. "Things are already in progress, and registering his vampire status won't hurt."

So Harlow's cover was that he was a vampire now… And it sounded as if they would fake the registration while his real one was still going through.

Frowning, he looked to the man in question.

The dhampir shrugged. "What else can we do?"

"Fine." Foxx sighed. "What teams are there? Do we know them?"

"There have been two teams assigned per city. You'll likely only be seen by the other team in Lowville. Unfortunately…it is one of our teams, and you do know them. It's Ignatius and Oceana."

As the man grabbed him and pulled him against his chest, Harlow snarled, "MINE!"

Foxx rolled his eyes. "Did you have to send them?"

"Ah…ummm…what?" Charity slowly asked, obviously confused.

"Nevermind. Don't worry about it," Foxx groaned. "Iggy just pissed Harlow off, that's all. Are they already there?"

"No, it's a four-hour drive. They are on their way, but we only sent them an hour ago. From what I know, the other four teams are all pretty much coming from similar distances away. The situation has since devolved, and will likely have worsened even further by the time you all get there.

"That being said, Ignatius and Oceana will be waiting for you before setting off into the city. With the amount of square footage you have to cover, it's better that you talk and at least set up a strategy before heading in."

Harlow mouthed the word talk, before making a face.

Shaking his head, Foxx drawled, "We'll do that when we get there."

Maybe he could talk to Oceana in private before they went on the hunt. She'd likely…notice something was off. Harlow wasn't good enough at his vampire disguise for her to not… But maybe they would get lucky and she wouldn't look closer. Doubtful, but Foxx could hope, couldn't he?

Charity hummed softly. "On another note, the police have set up a successful blockade around all the three cities. Though, I believe, the surrounding ones are moving towards locking down as well. Either way, while the individuals are still violent, they are trapped, even if they still have a whole city to run around in."

Foxx's brow rose at that. "How did they manage to trap them?"

"One of the officers noticed the vampires would hiss and flee anytime they came near a bright light. So, they made a gate with…the brightest lights they could find on short notice."

Lights… Why would bright lights drive them away? "That…doesn't make sense. Charity, the one I saw on the TV, his actions would suggest he was suffering from bloodlust, yet…bloodlust isn't that uncontrolled or mindless. And his eyes… Something was wrong with them."

"We don't know what is going on either, Foxx. Something is off here, we just don't know what. Sorry, I'll send the file. Please, go now," Charity said, before hesitatingly adding, "Stay safe, you two." She hung up then.

"Have you…seen anything like this before?" Foxx asked Harlow.

The man shook his head. "I haven't. You?"

"No… I don't know what this is. There's nothing I can think of that would turn the whites of the eye brown, or cause a vampire to run away from bright lights."

"No matter the cause, they are still killing people. We have to take them down."

Frowning, Foxx sighed and slowly said, "Right…"