'Fuck.' Evelyn wiped the bloody blade clean on the vamps shirt and sat down on the ground. With a painful grin on her face, she inspected the wound on her left arm. One of the suckers had scratched her with his sharp nails during the fight. It looked nasty, but nothing that some disinfectant and bandages could not fix. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket to cover the wound temporarily. A deep sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes for a minute, the exhaustion of hunting non-stop finally kicking in. Sleep had been one of her least concerns. Her body that had been fueled on coffee, energy bars, and adrenaline finally started to crash. With a groan, she picked up her blade, gave the room with the dead vamps a last look and walked out through the door. Her Royal Enfield Classic stood parked outside on the driveway. Putting the machete away in the saddle bag and fastening her helmet, she checked her surroundings one last time. With a grin, she mounted her bike, turned the key, kicked the shackle and the black motorcycle roared to live.

'Let's do this, princess.' Without looking back at the house she steered onto the road and opened up gas. On to the next case. And the closest, cheapest motel.

Several hours and a tank of gas later, the black motor pulled up by a dive bar, located next to a small, shabby looking motel. It would have to do, Evelyn neither had the money or the energy to look for anything else. The parking lot was empty except for an old BMW and a black Chevy Impala. Evelyn parked her bike next to the black car, a small whistle escaping from her lips. Although she preferred motorcycles, she still had a soft spot for cars, especially old ones. And at the looks of it, the car had been taken good care off, she was in perfect shape.

Ignoring the looks from the man who were standing outside the bar, Evelyn took of her helmet, picked up the saddlebags from the back of her bike and proceeded towards the reception of the motel, taking in her surroundings. The interior of the motel looked old and shabby, but it wasn't too dirty and Evelyn had definitely seen worse. The woman behind the desk barely looked up, glued to the magazine in front of here. 'Welcome to the Bluebird Motel. How can I help you?

Evelyn put on a polite smile and greeted the receptionist. 'Good evening. Do you have any rooms available?'

'How many guests? And how long will you be staying?' The woman asked with a disinterested tone, not averting her eyes from the pages before her.

'Just one, for two nights please.' Evelyn turned around to get her credit card out of her backpack and noticed a man standing next to the soda machine in the hall, eyeing her. She raised her eyebrows, giving him a questioning look before handing her credit card to the blonde behind the desk. 'The name is Emma Stevens. Could I get a nonsmoking room please?'

The man, now leaning against the vending machine with his arm crossed in front of his chest, was still staring at her.

'Thank you.' Evelyn picked up the key from the desk. 'Have a good night.'

The receptionist grumbled as answer and turned her full attention back to the apparently very interesting magazine.

'Enjoying the view?' Evelyn asked the guy while grabbing her bags and helmet. He grinned and shook his head. 'Admiring your tattoos.' He nodded towards Evelyn her right arm, where a couple of tattoos were visible, not covered by the sleeve of her jacket. 'Can I have a look?'. He gave her a cheeky grin and winked. He was good-looking, had nice cheekbones, broad shoulders, and attractive eyes. It was tempting, but there was something that stopped Evelyn. Not this time. Not now.

'Not a chance.' Evelyn rolled down her sleeve and pushed the door open, ignoring the stare she felt burning on her back.

While walking towards her hotel room, Evelyn checked her phone. Two missed messages. One from Silvie, the other one from Bobby. She listened to Bobby's message while opening the door to her motel room. 'Call me as soon as possible, I've got info on your case.'.

Evelyn returned the call while unpacking her bags and inspecting her room. It looked clean enough and the bed was king size, something that was rare in these cheap motel rooms.

'Hello.' He sounded grumpy and as always as if he was too busy for you. What he probably was.

'Hi Bobby. It's Evelyn. Sorry I didn't call earlier. Got caught up in a vamps nest.'

'You got out of it in one piece?'

'Ofcourse. You know me, Bobby.'

'Yeah sure, they always say that until something goes wrong.'

'And then I can call you to clean up my mess. Now tell me about the case...'

'Are you there already?'

'Yes. Why?'

'Good. I will send you the info over. There have been more strange deaths since the last report yesterday. You should check it out, they might be our kind of thing. .'

'When are strange deaths not our thing… Thanks, Bobby, I'll take a look at it in the morning.'

'Evelyn, if it is too much I can call in someone else.'

'Don't worry Bobby. I can take care of myself.'

'I know you can. Call me when you've got something.'

'Will do.'

With a sigh, Evelyn clicked the call away and threw the phone on the bed. She had actually hoped to get a day off after the vamp hunt, but it looked like she would get into this case right away. Great. At least she had a free night. Evelyn felt her stomach grumble and realized she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast except for an apple and an energy bar. She seemed to be living on those nasty things. But first, she needed a shower. She smelled of sweat and blood.

The hot water worked relaxing on her muscles and her knuckles stopped aching, although they were still bruised and injured from punching one of the vamps. The wound on her arm had stopped bleeding but would make a nice scare. One of the many. Luckily enough it had been her right arm and not ruined her tattoo sleeve.

Fifteen minutes later she walked out of the bathroom, her red curly hair secured in a towel, wearing only her underwear. While putting on a clean pair of jeans and a red tank top she scrolled through the info Bobby had sent her, not being able to leave it until the morning. Three people died while in perfect health under what seemed freak accidents in a span of a week. Definitely worth checking out. But first, some hot food. The bar she had seen earlier served hopefully some nice cheeseburgers. And loads of alcohol. She really needed that.

As soon as she stepped into the bar, she felt the eyes of some of the man drawn to her. It was rare to see a young girl traveling alone, especially one that rode a motorcycle, had a bunch of tattoos and a couple of scars. Oh and of course the fact that she wore jeans and a bit of a revealing top. They would go for anything with boobs, an ass, and two legs. Ignoring the stares, she made her way over to the bar. There was one last seat left, next to two guys who were talking together, too busy to even notice Evelyn. After quickly scanning the menu, Evelyn waved towards the bartender. 'A whiskey and cheeseburger please.' The bartender, a broad-shouldered man with a walrus mustache and a mullet, nodded. 'Coming right up, darling'.

The guy next to her turned around as soon as Evelyn had placed her order. 'So, that sounds -' His eyebrows went up in surprise. 'If it isn't the tattoo girl.'

Evelyn sighed when she recognized the guy from their encounter in the motel lobby earlier. 'You again.'

'Well, I just never give up on a first try.' He winked. 'Not when they are as good looking as you.'

'These lines actually work on girls you want to pick up? Because if so, you have very low standards. Hate to bring it to you pal, but I am not interested.'

'Let me buy you a drink and just give me a chance.'

'Hey,' Evelyn turned towards the tall man next to the guy currently bothering her. 'He is with you right? Tell your friend to quit trying so hard, he isn't getting anywhere. And leave me alone please, I've had an exhausting day and just want to get drunk on my own. Thank you.'

'You heard her Dean, she wants to be left alone.' The tall guy patted Dean on his shoulder.

'Alright, your loss.' He gave her a last cheeky grin and turned towards his friend. Soon after that, they were engaged in their conversation again.

Normally Evelyn would have gone for the cheesy pickup lines, certainly when the guy looked as attractive as this Dean did. He was handsome and his body looked amazing, would have definitely ensured her a good night of fun. But she just wasn't feeling it today. Maybe because she had been on a hunt for a couple of days and was exhausted. Or maybe because it was almost November third.

Pushing away any of those thoughts, she took a big gulp of her whiskey.

Scanning the rest of the bar she spotted a pool table in the far left corner. Grabbing her glass of whiskey, she made her way towards the group guys playing billiards.

'Can I still join? I've never really played pool, but there is always a time to start. And everyone always says I am a quick learner.' Evelyn leaned against the table, looking at one of the men with an innocent smile, popping up her chest, knowing that would do the trick. His eyes averted downwards for a minute before looking back at here. 'Sure honey. Chip in ten dollars and you are in...'

'Alright...' She pulled a ten out of her pocket, grabbed a cue stick and chose a good spot at the table. 'So, I need to hit the white ball, right?' Evelyn gave the blonde guy a dumb look, pretending she had no idea. 'Yes, sweetheart. That is the point of the game. Shall I show you how to do it?'

Fully knowing what that meant she nodded nonetheless. 'Yes, please.'

She smelled the strong odor of beer when he leaned over here, placed his arm on her shoulder and breathed down her neck. Bending over Evelyn and the table, he showed her how to get a good shot. From the corner of her eye, Evelyn saw the other two guys grinning and nodding at each other, their eyes focused on her chest. A sly smile formed around her lips. This was too easy.

While playing the game of pool, with the occasional help from the blond guy named Mike - he was getting more grabby every time-, Evelyn felt a constant stare in her back. After missing a yellow ball on purpose, she turned around to chalk the tip of her cue and quickly looked up to see who was staring at her. It was the guy from earlier, Dean. Of course. His friend was glued to a newspaper in front of him, not paying attention to his surroundings.

Dean however seemed to have a great interest in the game, sitting at the bar with his arms crossed before his chest. There was something about him that didn't feel right. A gut feeling that said to get as far away from him as possible. She couldn't really place it. Shrugging her shoulders she turned around to the pooltable.

Evelyn lost the first game and handed over the ten dollars with a sad grin. 'And I thought I was doing good... You know what, if I don't practice I will never get better. What about a rematch. Let's say for fifty dollars. I feel like I am getting the hang of this.' Evelyn flashed elaborate with her eyelashes and gave him a foolish, flirtatious smile. Mike, exchanging a quick glance with his buddies, nodded. 'Sure baby, let's play another round.'

Evelyn put on a fake smile. 'I will get my order from the bar and you can go set up the table or whatever needs to be done before the game.'

'Drinks are on me, princess.' Mike handed over a couple of dollars and gave Evelyn a cheesy wink.

'Thank you!' Evelyn turned around, rolled her eyes and made her way towards the bar.

'They seem to enjoy your company...' Dean grinned at Evelyn, who was picking up her order. 'So what is that they have and I don't?'

'Money.' Evelyn answered, short and grumpy. She grabbed her now full glass of whiskey and the cheeseburger and made her way over to the pool table.

'Hey guys. Ready for round two?' She winked and took a sip of her drink before bending over the pool table to pick up her ceg.

'Gentleman, lady. Care if I join?' A too familiar voice made Evelyn turn around. Dean stood behind her, a grin across his face.

Mike shrugged his shoulders, noticing how Dean was eyeing Evelyn. 'If you don't mind to team up with the lady over here, why not?...' He bowed over towards Evelyn, bringing his lips close to her ear. 'Shall I show you again how to play, sweetie?' He glanced over to the other side of the table, to see the look on Dean's face when he placed his hand around her waist. Evelyn stepped aside, brushing his hand away. 'I think I will be fine, thanks.'

She walked over to the other side of the table, picked a good spot and took her shot. Perfect. Two balls putted. Evelyn looked up with a triumphant smile, raising her eyebrows towards Mike, whose mouth had fallen open in surprise. Dean, on the other hand, tried to hide a grin by quickly taking a sip of his beer.

'I believe it is your turn, Mike.' Evelyn her voice sounded sneering. 'What? I said I was a quick learner, didn't I?'

Picking up her hamburger and whiskey, Evelyn sat down on one of the chairs close to the pool table. It didn't take long for Dean to appear next to her.

'Hmmmm… Interesting, I figured you would pull a move like that.'

Evelyn, forgetting for a moment she didn't like the guy, looked up. 'Why?'

'Well you made it more than clear back at the motel and just before at the bar that you weren't interested in any guys tonight. So when you seemed so eager to have that no-brainer grabbing you, I figured there was something more to it.'

Evelyn laughed sneering.'Just because I turned you down doesn't mean I am not interested in other guys.'

'Well, and judging by the way you held the ceg and moved around the table, you had definitely played pool before. It was clear that you were lying about your experience. '

'You've got me...So what are you going to do, turn me in?' Evelyn raised her eyebrows while taking a bite from her burger.

'No, not at all. We are going to win this game and let that jerk see what real pool is. And then I am going to beat you in the next round.'

'You wish. Don't underestimate me. Dean, isn't it?'

'Yes. Seems I finally succeeded in a having a conversation with you.'

'Emma.' Evelyn lied. 'Don't get too cocky, still not interested.'

Dean grinned, flashing her another cheeky smile.'Will see about that at the end of the evening.'

Rolling her eyes, she went back to devouring her hamburger. Deep down she knew she should just ignore Dean, but the prospect of earning some cash held her back. Maybe she could get something positive out of the situation.

p'You set me up!' Dave spat towards Evelyn. 'You bitch!'

'Calm down now' Evelyn stuffed half of the money in her back pocket and picked up the glass of whiskey. 'I just might have been lying about my experience with pool, but you guys were way too easy too trick. You seriously thought that I was that stupid? What would a girl all by herself, with no knowledge about pool or whatsoever do in a bar like this? You should have seen this coming. I won fair and square.' She took a sip of her drink and gave the blonde man a foul look. 'And you better stop calling women that or you will pay for it one day.

Dave laughed drunkenly. 'What, are you threatening me, missy?'

'Just saying that if I were you I would watch my back.' Evelyn gave him a fake smile before turning around. Asshole. 'Don't think you get away from this so easily, you bitch.' He grabbed her by the wrist and yanked the girl backward, smacking her into the table with force. Dean, who had been silently watching, stepped forward in protest. 'He, let her go!'

'What, are you her boyfriend or something? You got your money dude, walk away.' Dave turned towards Evelyn whilst his friends blocked Dean.

'Dean, get lost, I didn't ask for your help. I can handle this douche.' Evelyn gritted through the pain that burned in her back when she came in rough contact with the game table. Before Dave could get any closer, Evelyn lifted her knee up and kicked him straight in his junk, causing him to double over and grunt in pain. 'That is for calling me a bitch.'

Before Dave could recover and fight back, she hit him straight on the jaw with a clenched fist, knocking him out cold. With a smack, he fell on the dirty, wooden bar floor. 'And that is for being a total asshole.' She brushed her curly hair out of her face, shook her right hand in pain and stepped over the body of Dave without giving him a second look. His friends shot her angry looks but didn't dare to get any closer.

'You still want to play?' Evelyn gave Dean a questioning look whilst downing the last of her whiskey.

'Hell yeah.' After seeing the girl putting up a fight like that, he was only more interested in her.

'So what does a girl do all alone in a bar?' Dean picked up a ceg from the table and set up the game.

'Earning some easy money from losers like him.' Evelyn nodded towards Dave, who with help of his friends, slowly sat upright, shooting her angry looks while clenching his jaw.

Dean grinned. 'Ouch, that is something he isn't going to forget any time soon.'

Evelyn lined up for a shot and nodded. 'Good. Hope he has learned his lesson.'

'And what do you and your friend do in rundown motels like these? Picking up easy girls? Although…' Evelyn nodded towards the long man at the bar, still glued to his paper. 'he doesn't seem very interested in his surroundings.'

Dean shook his head while lining up for the next shot. 'My little brother isn't really the going out type. Prefers to stay home and when that isn't possible he just takes his work with him. No joy to be around when you want to have fun. That is why I have you, not?'

Evelyn glanced over to the man who took a perfect shot, putting a red ball. 'Hmmm. Keep believing that…'

Dean grinned and shook his head. 'Can I at least buy you a drink?'

Evelyn shrugged her shoulder. 'If you want to lose more money, it is your problem. Just know that you are getting nowhere with me tonight.'

'Yeah, you made that loud and clear, but it doesn't mean I can't offer you a drink. Be back in a minute.'

Evelyn sighed and watched Dean walk towards the bar. Why was it that when she had sworn to herself not to get involved with him, he ended up buying drinks for her. Maybe all the whiskey was making her loosen up a bit. With a smug smile on her face, she took her next shot. She was so going to win.

'Alright, here is your money. You won fair and square…' Dean handed a hand full of cash over to the girl, who accepted it with a cheeky grin on her face. He had to admit, not out loud of course, that he hadn't expected her to be this good. It happened rarely these days that he got his ass kicked at pool. 'You were a worthy competitor.'

'You weren't so bad yourself. Maybe I will see you around Dean.' Evelyn gave him a small smile before heading towards the door.

Dean's eyes followed her, automatically checking out her ass. The moment she had walked into the motel, Emma had caught his attention. She was not extremely curvy or busty, and with her red hair, freckles, and scars, not his usual type, but her confidence in combination with her fit body, sparkling eyes, and defined cheekbones, he could not keep his eyes off her. And apparently, she could kick ass, was good in pool and knew how to handle her liquor. She could definitely be a night of fun. He hoped he had not seen the last of her yet.