Read Sunrise at Sunset for Free Online Page B

could react, she sank her fangs into his jugular vein and sealed her lips against his sweaty skin. He tried to yell, but all he heard was strangled gurgling.
    He attempted to struggle, but she pinned his body to the wall like a fixture, and within moments he felt the strength leaving his body. His legs soon buckled, but she held him upright. A strange sense of calm washed over him, even as he felt sluggish and a growing sense of weakness. A euphoric feeling overcame him just before he blacked out to the sounds of slurping and swallowing. Then nothing.
    Katrina withdrew her fangs and wiped her mouth against the material of his cotton hoody. In one swift jerk, she snapped his neck between her hands and let the body drop to the concrete. She felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her as she relished the warmth of his blood beginning to metabolize in her system.
    “Creep,” she muttered under her breath while picking him up by the worn belt around his waist and hauling him down the length of the alley.
    There was an old paint-peeled trash dumpster at the rear of the buildings beyond the alleyway. She casually threw the body through the dumpster’s open metal window, landing atop the refuse and empty cardboard boxes inside. Sensing no onlookers, but still visually scanning the area, she removed a small can of Zippo cigarette lighter fluid from her jacket pocket and sprayed the contents onto the boxes and body. Immolation was her time-tested, favorite method for eliminating evidence.
    She lit a single match and tossed it and the empty canister onto the body. It quickly ignited, the contents protected from the drizzle by the closed dumpster lid. Katrina walked to the front of the alley, the only sound the clicking of her boots on the damp pavement. As she traversed the wet sidewalk along the street to where she had parked her car, she scanned the area around her again to ensure that she hadn’t missed any public cameras.
    Her thoughts soon gravitated to Caleb and the grim satisfaction she felt for tying up the loose ends with the cretin who had tried to rob him. She couldn’t risk the creep making an attempt on someone else. Honesty set in as she confessed it wasn’t through any innate concern for the general public. It’s really all about protecting Caleb, isn’t it?
    Katrina slyly smirked as she got back into her car and drove away. Caleb was definitely getting under her skin, and her Audi seemed to automatically navigate its way in the general direction of his apartment building.
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    Caleb was still in a degree of shock as he drove to his apartment across town. Fortunately, his building paid for all-hours gate security services for the small guard shack at the entrance to the underground parking garage. It meant he paid quite a bit more for rent on an already Spartan income, but that night it seemed perfectly worth it. He pulled into a spot not far from the elevator and made his way up to his apartment on the third floor. He entered and immediately set the deadbolt after shutting the door behind him.
    He glanced around his small, somewhat cluttered apartment. Aside from the medium-sized bedroom and attached bathroom, there was a living room that opened into the combined small dining room and kitchen.
    After dropping his keys onto the small counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, he draped his leather jacket over one of the two barstools. Frowning, his mind kept repeating the flurry of events that comprised the attempted robbery. He marveled at how Katrina seemed to appear out of nowhere to help him. Actually, it was more like she came to his rescue. He smirked at that.
    He plopped onto the worn leather sofa and reached over to the television remote sitting on one of the glass end tables. A small entertainment center sat in the corner next to the twin, medium-sized windows that looked out onto the fire escape. He pointed the remote at the TV and then changed his mind. Gazing towards the sheer curtains,