"Yeah. Some dick from the club." She shrugged and kept walking, but was moving slower, hoping she was right.
"Need a phone?"
Dahlia shook her head. "No one home to answer. I just have to find a ride. No way am I going with him."
He set the nozzle back on the pump and began screwing on the lid to his gas tank. "How far?"
"Pretty far. Know where BabyDolls is? My roommate's working there, and that's the only way I'm getting back to Irving." Hopefully one of those places would be along his path. Either one would work, and she was giving him every chance to be a gentleman.
He jerked his head at the car. "Girl, the strip clubs are only fifteen minutes from here. I'm headed north anyways, so I don't mind giving you a ride."
Without hesitation, she hurried back to claim the passenger seat. It took a little longer than fifteen minutes, but the man was nice and willing to entertain her with his bad jokes. He was doing his best to make sure she felt comfortable alone with some strange Black man. She could tell by the way he acted. What the poor guy didn't realize was that she should be the one trying to reassure him. She, the beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed "victim," was the person people should fear, not the sweet man just trying to help out. She was the monster, and society had their ideas all wrong.
Which was why she didn't touch him. He pulled into the parking lot of the seedy strip club and let her out, waiting until she made it to the door before pulling away. Dahlia waved her fingers at his car, wishing there were more people like that in the world. It was what she missed most: people who took care of each other. Then again, being dead had a way of ruining all that.
As soon as the car was out of sight, she walked away from the building. Inside wasn't where she wanted to be. Her "roommate" certainly didn't work at a place like this. What she needed was an easy way to find lonely men. The more disgusting they were, the better, and late night at a topless club? Her odds were pretty good that at least one creep would be looking for a good time.
It didn't take too long. Leaning against the wall by the parking lot, she turned down four college guys before the right man showed himself. His suit was rumpled. His wedding ring was still on his hand, but that didn't stop him from leering. When he moseyed toward her, she could smell his desperation. It was nearly rancid, and most people would call it body odor. Appealing was not a word she would ever use to describe this guy, but he'd do.
"How much for a good time?" he asked, slurring his words.
Dahlia pasted on a tired smile. "Hundred and I'll rock your world."
"Don't got a hundred. Will give ya fifty for a blow job."
She looked him over again. The keys in his hand meant he had a car around here. The cut of his clothes meant it would probably be decent and made it likely that there was at least one credit card in his wallet. She chewed at her lip as if thinking it over.
"Fine. Your car. I'm not going to a hotel room for fifty bucks."
"Oh yeah," he purred, motioning for her to follow.
Of course he drove a truck. It was Texas, after all, so she shouldn't be shocked, yet she was. She'd pegged this guy as more of the BMW type, not the half-ton brand. Thankfully, it was a newer model. Pressing a button on his key fob, the lights flashed and the doors unlocked. She didn't even ask, just made her way to the passenger side.
The idiot was fumbling at his belt before she even closed the door. Dahlia wanted to roll her eyes, but refused the urge. Instead, she put on her best act, forcing herself to something between bored and seductive. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, not when she was this hungry.
Yanking at the side of his pants, the man's erection surged free, begging to be seen. Touching that was not in her plans, but he didn't need to know. Sex was only one way to get a drink of life. There were so many others, and this fool had just locked himself in a car, alone, with her.
"Money first," she demanded, raising the console that separated them.
The sound he made was a cross between frustration and embarrassment. Lifting his ass away from the seat, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. When he opened it for the cash, she saw the sheen of a credit card. Dahlia took the money, not bothering to count it, folded it in half, then shoved it between her breasts.
"Ok, so turn on the radio."
The man dropped his wallet onto the seat between them, shoved his keys in the ignition, and turned it back. A second later, modern country music began to fill the cab. It wasn't loud, but it should be loud enough. Dahlia gestured for him to lean back.
"Pants down to your knees, and whatever you do, don't make a sound," she warned.
The moment he was fully exposed, she grabbed the base of his shaft, moving it aside as she dove for the soft skin just inside his thigh. Her other hand found his neck, forcing him to stay very still. When he tried to complain, she squeezed, making sure no sound could get out.
Then her teeth broke through his flesh. The man tried to get free, but even weak, she was still stronger than a human. In her mouth, blood pooled from his femoral artery. With it came the energy she needed. Lots of it. It was his desperation fueling her. The taste was bitter, but it would work. She preferred the candy of desire or the bite of fear, but she didn't have any good options for those, not with an inquisitor still looking for her. She just needed to refuel so she could be ready if he managed to catch up.
It didn't take long. Slowly, gulp by gulp, she bled him dry, if for no other reason than his lack of compassion. He tried to push her off, but wasn't strong enough. He struggled, but that only made the blood flow faster. In a dark parking lot outside a strip club, no one wanted to look inside a rocking truck, so she didn't actually care. She just kept drinking.
This man had treated her like something to be used up and discarded. Even if she had been a prostitute, she didn't deserve that. No one did, and Dahlia enjoyed removing one more selfish prick from the world she longed for so badly. Like Mei always said, it was their civic duty. They were just helping the species survive.
When the man's heart finally failed him, she stopped. In death, the blood began to lose its taste quickly, and she wasn't that needy. She wanted his truck, though, and he would only cause problems. Reaching over his body, she opened the door far enough to let his corpse slip out, then took his place. Twisting the key, she started the engine with one hand. The other grabbed the wallet he'd left between them. Oh yeah, he had credit cards. She just hoped they weren't already maxed out.
Dahlia tossed the wallet on the seat beside her, and eased the truck out of the parking lot. It was time to go home and make sure Mei was ok. When she found the highway, she didn't head to Irving. Nope, that was nothing more than a safe place to mention where an inquisitor might hear. Dahlia was working on plan B. That meant head to the next town up the highway that had a big enough college for them to blend in: Denton.