Chapter Four

"The white zone is for loading and unloading only," a recorded announcement played. Sometimes, Damien wondered if the same woman recorded those announcements for every airport in America.

Father Augustine pulled the van from the concourse as Damien strolled into the airport. He stood in line to check in and have his tickets printed. He had a First Class flight from Albuquerque to Chicago. O'Hare International Airport was a great hub with direct connections with most of America. That was why Damien lived in a small suburb outside of the city.

"Heading through security," Damien texted as he stood in line, "wish me luck."

Abigail texted back, "You never know, you might get lucky with one of the guards."

Damien chuckled. His wife always had a feisty tongue. "Nothing like an overweight man giving me a reach around."

His phone vibrated immediately, "LOL. That is an image I did not need in my head."

"Just giving you fodder for your long flight."

"Hun, it's an hour flight," Abigail replied. "I'm practically home. You're the one that needs something to keep you occupied."

"That would be sleep." Damien yawned as he shuffled forward. "I could use a few winks after the last two week."

"And here I was planning on seducing you when you got home." A winky emoji and a glass of wine ended her tweet.

"That's why I'm sleeping on the plane. I need to be well rested to feed your appetites." Damien smiled as he hit send.

"I'm hungry. You know what killing vampires does to me."

Damien paused. "It wasn't weird. Being back there."

"Yeah. It was."

"You okay."

"I'm a tough cookie."

Damien texted, "I know, I chipped a tooth last time I bit you."

"LMAO." There was a pause. "But I'm fine. Looking forward to seeing you. I've accepted what happened years ago. We did pretty good for a bunch of dumb kids."

"Sir, put all your metal objects and your phone in the tray," a white-shirted TSA officer said as he stood by the metal detector.

Damien made it through security unmolested and gathered up his belongings. He strode through the airport and navigated to his gate. He sat down on a plastic chair and checked the clock. He had forty minutes before his flight. He texted his wife for a few minutes, but then she had to catch her flight.

He allowed his eyes to close, napping as he waited for his flight. He was eager to see his wife. Her smiling face, framed by her fiery hair, filled his vision. When she was on the hunt, she was cold, calculating, and even ruthless. But away from the filth of the vampires, she was a woman bubbling with life.

It was rare for them to not be on the same hunt. Normally, Damien would immediately enjoy her aroused passion after a successful kill. He didn't have to wait on a four hour plane ride and another hour drive from the airport.

Luckily, hunting taught patience.

Damien stretched his long legs when the gate attendant announced boarding for his flight, starting with First Class and passengers with small children. He strolled up in line behind a woman in a dark red business suit with a skirt that hugged a curvy rear. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a tight bun. She turned her head, the profile of her face graceful and beautiful, with ruby-red lips, a smile curling at the corners.

"You do not see a lot of men wearing a leather duster," the woman purred, her voice dripping with sweet honey.

"I watched too many Westerns as a kid," Damien answered.

"I see that," the woman purred, her hazel eyes flicking across Damien's body. Her smile grew and Damien noticed the extra shake to her hips.

Damien ignored the itching swell in his groin and the friendly invitation in her eyes. He gave the woman a friendly smile while casually stroking his chin with his left hand, his gold wedding band prominent on his finger.

The line began to move. Damien fought the urge to stare at her ass as she walked before him. Her skirt hugged it like a second skin. The woman moved with grace on her high heels. Every movement seemed deliberate.

A paranoid part of him wondered if she was something more than a woman. Vampiress?

Vampires could be hard to tell apart from a normal person. If they just drank blood, they would have normal pallor to their skin and the only physical change were fangs that sprouted right before they fed. You had to watch for subtle movements. Vampires had more strength and dexterity than a human. The changes were betrayed in their movements if they weren't careful.

Older vampires could be quite adapt at blending in.

Touching a person was a good indication of where they lived or where undead. While vampires had pulses and even breathed, their metabolism wasn't like a human's. Their bodies didn't produce heat, so they would be the same temperature as the surrounding air, which usually meant they would feel cool to the touch.

The woman handed her boarding pass to the gate attendant then Damien. The gate attendant gave him an empty smile and a "Enjoy your flight, Sir," before slipping the pass into the slot in her kiosk. Then Damien was trooping down the walkway. It swayed with everyone's echoing steps, and the sounds of the plane's engines grew louder. Flight attendants waited at the door with more fake smiles and "Enjoy your flight, Sir."

Damien seat was 3B. The woman sat in 3A.