I Kill Monsters: Fury (Book 1) Read Online Free

It had no reason to.
    Even if it did, Boone had his shirt jacket
unbuttoned, the Smith & Wesson under his arm accessible, his
hand hovering near the silver-dipped stake hanging from the lanyard
off his shoulder, concealed inside the flannel. He had knives
sheathed grip-down under each pants leg and he wore a Glock
17—identical to the ones Gossitch and Santa Anna and the other guys
in his crew carried—at the small of his back.
    Boone figured he could plug the bloodsucker
before the fucker knew what had happened. By the time homeboy
comprehended its situation it would be too late, the silver
coursing its way through the vamp’s blood to its heart and brain,
the vital organs, homie dead right there, just like that.
    A heap of dust on the floor. That would be
that.
    The clerk asked Boone if he wanted anything
else in heavily accented English.
    “Yeah, chief, one second.” Boone turned and
walked over to the cooler. The vampire wasn’t going to attack him.
Unless it was provoked.
    “Yo homes, pass me a chocolate milk,
a’ight?”
    The vamp—Boone had no doubt this thing was a
bloodsucker, he’d known it as soon as he’d entered the bodega, its presence , he had a sixth sense for i.d.-ing these things—it
just stood with its back to him. It didn’t acknowledge his
presence.
    “Homeboy.” Boone stood behind the thing,
turned to his side, presenting less of a target if it struck. He
kept one eye on the cloaked freak and one eye on Saheeb. The camel
jockey had to think something was up—two Caucasians in his shit
hole of an establishment at once? What were the odds…
    “Yo, I’m talking to you.”
    He voiced it as a challenge and if the
bloodsucker wanted to throw down here, Boone was ready to pin its
undead ass to the fucking wall with the quickness. The thing had
four inches on him but Boone carried more muscle on his frame and
had no doubts in his mind that he could take the fucker out.
    “Hey, please,” the clerk behind the glass had
a Pakistani or Indian accent. Boone couldn’t tell which and
couldn’t care less. He didn’t see much difference between those
peoples anyway. “No problems in my store, okay?”
    The thing at the soda cooler turned slowly
and faced Boone. Even from a distance of less than five feet its
face was cast in shadow from the boonie hat it wore. The shadows
seemed to be swirling around its face, inviting Boone to look and
get lost in their hypnotic gloom. Boone knew vampires, knew what
they were about, knew how they could suck you in if you weren’t
careful. So he watched its hands as he stepped up to the soda
cooler. Its hands were gloved in thin black leather. Looked like
calfskin.
    Boone watched the vampire’s gloved hands and
walked right up to it and now he could smell it. Its odor
was rank, sweat and something else… the grave ? Boone
didn’t think it was his imagination but the air around the thing
was chillier than the rest of the room. He had to be sure, so as he
rolled the door to the cooler back and leaned over slightly to
reach inside, he looked into the shadows of its face as he
spoke.
    “Damn son. No Quik.”
    The thing by the soda cooler said nothing as
Boone retrieved a Coke, walked back to the counter, paid the clerk
for his drink and smokes under the glass, took his change and left
the store.

 
5.
5:08 A.M.
     
    Boone hit the street and his adrenalin was
pumping. Party time ! He turned the corner out of site
of the K-car and walked a couple of yards before stopping and
leaning against the side of the bodega. The Christmas lights
blinked overhead.
    He slipped the pack of smokes into one of the
outer pockets of his flannel and saw the nose of the Pontiac poking
around the side of a boarded-up beauty salon. Hamilton and Jay
waited in it for Gossitch’s go. Somewhere beyond them Madison
waited in the van.
    Boone checked the bottle cap. It thanked him
for drinking Coke. He hadn’t won shit. He took a slug of the
carbonated sugar water and thought it would taste