by Folsom, Tina
Oliver marched into the study and dropped into the chair behind the desk. The screen showed Cain, also sitting at a desk. They were connected via Scanguards’ secure communication system, a video conferencing program similar to Skype. However, it was encrypted and, thanks to Thomas’s programming skills, hacker-proof.
“There you are.”
“What’s up? What did you find?”
Cain looked serious. “Quite a bit, but I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
Oliver squeezed shut his eyes for a moment. He was in so deep already, he could only hope that the news wasn’t all bad. If Ursula was lying to them and turned out to be a plant by a rival vampire group, he wasn’t sure how he’d extricate himself from the situation he was in. He wanted Ursula, and with every kiss his need grew stronger.
“Go on, don’t make me pull it out of your nose.”
Cain nodded. “I’ve found newspaper articles about her disappearance, and Thomas was able to get me the corresponding police reports. The photo is definitely her. Her name is Ursula Wei Ling Tseng. Daughter of a Chinese diplomat stationed at the Chinese embassy in Washington DC. An only child. She went to NYU before she disappeared.”
Oliver relaxed, dropping his shoulders to release the tension in his neck. “So far it checks out then. So, what am I not gonna like?”
Cain grimaced. “She told us she was abducted.” He shook his head. “More like she ran away.”
A gasp from the door made Oliver look away from the screen. Ursula stood there, her mouth gaping open. Blake was behind her.
“That’s not true!” She rushed into the room and rounded the desk, then repeated her words when she stared at Cain on the screen. “It’s a lie.”
Oliver sensed her distress, but didn’t dare put a soothing hand on her arm. “Are you sure, Cain?” he asked instead, forcing his voice to remain calm, despite the storm raging inside him.
“Sorry, but yes.” He held up a few sheets of paper. “It’s in the police report. Apparently they found a note written by Ursula.”
Shock rolling off her in spades, Ursula leaned toward the computer. “I never wrote a note! There was no note!”
“That’s not all,” Cain continued. “The report says that you and your parents had a big fight days before your disappearance.”
Ursula jerked back, and Oliver noticed how she flinched. “But . . . ” She hesitated, looking down to him, tears welling up in her eyes. “I . . . it was all a big misunderstanding. I was stressed out about my exams. I didn’t mean to quarrel with them.”
Her eyes begged him for understanding, and his heart broke for her.
The clearing of a throat came from the speakers. “The evidence the police found, the note, a piece of your clothing on a pier in Manhattan . . . they concluded that you cracked, that you couldn’t take it. It was ruled a suicide.”
A sob tore from Ursula’s chest. Oliver noticed her grip the edge of the desk for support and jumped up, catching her before her knees buckled.
“My parents think I’m dead?” she sobbed. “No. No, please, no.”
Oliver looked back toward the screen. “Thanks, Cain. I’ll call you back later.”
Then he led Ursula to the Chesterfield sofa that stood below the window and lowered her down, taking a seat next to her without releasing her from his arms.
Her tears were only interrupted by frantic gulps for air, which resulted in even louder sobs. He’d never seen a woman cry like this.
“They think I’m dead,” she repeated over and over again.
Oliver stroked his palm over her hair and pressed her head against his chest. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
“Please believe me,” she whispered barely audible.
“I do. I believe you.”
His doubts about her story had evaporated the moment she’d cried out after finding out that everybody believed her dead. Her reaction had been instantaneous and pure. She hadn’t faked her death and run away. Whoever had kidnapped her, had done that to stop her parents and the police from looking for her. He had no doubts about that now.
“My parents,” she sniffed. “I have to let them know I’m alive.”
He nodded. “I’ll take care of it. But you’ll need to give me some time. If your kidnappers took such pains to make you disappear, I wouldn’t put it past them to watch your parents now that you escaped. They must anticipate that your parents will be the first people you’ll contact. I want to make sure nobody is tapping their phone or intercepting any communications to them.”
“But, you don’t understand! They must be hurting. I have to tell them I’m still alive.” She stared at him with a look that could squeeze blood from a stone.
“Oliver is right,” Blake said from the door. “Not just for your safety, but also for theirs. What if they threaten your parents if they have reason to believe they know where you are?”
The words seemed to sink in, because finally Ursula nodded. But it didn’t diminish the pain that was etched on her face.
“I’ll arrange for our office in New York to send somebody to Washington and check out the situation. If everything is clear, we’ll arrange for you to speak to them. I promise you,” Oliver said.
It was a promise he was determined to keep.
15
“You’d better be right about this,” Zane warned.
Oliver squared his shoulders and lifted his chin slightly. They stood next to Zane’s Hummer which was parked outside of Oliver’s house. The sun had set only a half hour earlier.
“She’s telling the truth. You have to believe her.”
“I don’t have to do anything. The only reason I’m even authorizing this is because the whole story intrigues me.”
“If Gabriel were here, he would—”
“But he isn’t here,” Zane cut him off. “I’m in charge right now. And I expect my orders to be followed.”
Oliver bit back his next remark. Zane could be such an asshole sometimes. And now that he was subbing for Gabriel, who was visiting Scanguards’ New York headquarters to assure himself that everything was running smoothly, Zane was downright unbearable.
“Understood.”
A black Porsche careened around the corner, barreling toward them. Neither he nor Zane flinched. When the car came to a stop only inches from them, Oliver shook his head.
“He loves to make an entrance,” Oliver said and watched as the car door opened and Amaury emerged.
A wide grin spread over his colleague’s face, and the light evening breeze blew through his long dark hair. His piercing blue eyes were even more brilliant at night than during daytime.
“Right on time,” Zane acknowledged and raised his hand in greeting.
Oliver took a step toward him. “Hey Amaury, thanks for coming.”
“Didn’t want to miss the action.” Amaury’s gravelly voice echoed in the quiet side street.
“We’ll see if there’s any action to be had,” Zane cautioned. “Amaury, you’ll ride with me. Oliver, you’re taking Cain and the girl.”
“She has a name.”
Zane cocked an eyebrow. “Ursula then. We’ll follow you, Oliver. And she’d better not be leading us on a wild goose chase. Call me when you’re in the car, and keep the line open. I want to hear everything that’s going on.”
With a tight nod, Oliver turned and walked back up the stairs leading to the entrance door. After Cain had given him all the information pertaining to Ursula’s background, he’d contacted Zane to ask him for help, knowing that if he did anything without Scanguards’ support, he would put not only himself, but most likely others in danger. That by others he was primarily thinking of Ursula was something he kept to himself.
When he entered the living room, Ursula shot up from the couch, and both Cain and Blake looked at him expectantly.
“Zane’s agreed to it.”
Blake grinned. “Excellent! Some action!”
“You’re not coming, Blake.”
“What?”
&
nbsp; “You heard me. Nobody is in the mood to save your ass tonight.”
It wasn’t exactly how Zane had put it, but since they didn’t know what they would be facing, they had agreed to leave the human behind. It was bad enough that they had to take one human—Ursula. Two could distract them when they ran into trouble.
“That’s totally unfair!” Blake complained.
“Life isn’t fair. Get used to it.” Then Oliver motioned to Cain and Ursula. “Let’s go. We’re taking the minivan. Zane and Amaury will follow in the Hummer.”
As Ursula walked past him, their gazes collided. A silent thank you shimmered in her eyes. He hoped that he wasn’t wrong about her, and that she wasn’t leading them into a trap.
Moments later, they were in the van, Cain sitting on the back bench, Ursula in the passenger seat. Oliver gunned the engine and shot out into the street. As he passed the parked Hummer, he speed dialed Zane’s cell phone. It was answered before it could ring even once.
“Lead.”
In the back mirror Oliver saw Zane’s Hummer follow him. “I’m heading down to the Bayview to where I ran into Ursula.” He glanced at her from the side. “After that, she’ll have to guide us.”
Ursula nodded nervously. “I’ll do my best.”
“You’d better,” Zane’s voice came over the loudspeakers.
“She will,” Oliver said with determination before concentrating on the heavy evening traffic downtown.
They rode in silence until he crossed the 3rd Street bridge behind the Baseball park, passed a few swanky new housing developments, and then entered the less savory neighborhood of Bayview.
The area didn’t have much going for itself. It was crime-ridden, and even the recent extension of the rail line—the MUNI as it was called—down 3rd Street did little to improve the area. If anything, it made it easier for the thugs to get around.
Oliver would know: he’d grown up here. And he didn’t relish being back. It reminded him of the sins of his youth, the gang of thugs he’d consorted with, the crimes he’d committed. With every block that brought them farther into the heart of the neighborhood, he felt his shoulders and chest tighten.
Only a night earlier he’d been down here, feeding on a down-and-out youngster. He felt disgusted at the thought now. Why had he even come down here? He’d avoided the neighborhood ever since he’d started working for Scanguards, but ever since his turning two months earlier something had drawn him to it again. Had he sensed that somebody here needed his help?
He shook off the stupid thought. He wasn’t psychic, nor had he any special gifts like Samson or Gabriel, or even Yvette. Perhaps he had simply considered the Bayview an easy hunting ground where he could still his lust for blood. Nothing more. Only tonight, he wasn’t here for blood, even though he’d left the house on an empty stomach. He felt it growl now, but he pushed back the hunger. For a few hours, he would be all right. Then later, when this raid was over, he would feed. The memory of drinking the bottled blood the night before still haunted him: it had left him empty and unsatisfied. And he had no intention of repeating the experience.
Oliver slowed the car. “This is where I was when Ursula asked me for help.”
“Okay. Which direction did she come from?” Zane asked over the open line of the cell phone.
“East,” he answered and pointed toward the intersection.
“Yes, I think so.” There was a hesitation in Ursula’s voice.
When he looked at her, she nodded quickly. “I’m pretty sure.”
Oliver turned into the next street and kept the car at low speed, giving Ursula a chance to find her bearings.
“Do you recognize anything?” he asked softly.
Her gaze darted around, first to the left then to the right, then straight out front. Her hands fisted at her thighs. “Yes, it looks familiar. But I was running. And afraid.”
“Try harder!”
At Zane’s harsh command, Oliver noticed her flinch.
She instantly pointed her finger to a target in the distance. “That way. I noticed that boarded up shop.”
Yard by yard, they progressed through the area, slowly reaching the edge of the neighborhood where it bled into the worst of what San Francisco had to offer: Hunter’s Point, a place no tourist ever saw, a place even most San Franciscans never ventured into. Few people lived here, and many of those who did lived in desolate public housing projects. Closer to the Bay, many of the plots of land lay bare; others were occupied by old warehouses and industrial complexes.
Not far from India Basin Park, Ursula’s breathing suddenly changed. “Stop,” she whispered.
Oliver brought the car to a stop and confirmed with a look in the mirror that Zane had done the same. “What is it?”
Her hand trembled when she pointed it toward something past the windshield. “There. The sign for the import/export company. I ran past it.” She swallowed. “The building where they held me is just around the corner. Right on the next block.”
Oliver put the car back in gear and inched forward.
“No. Don’t go too close,” she begged.
He glanced at her. “You’ll have to point out the building to us, and since I doubt you want to get out of the car, I have to drive closer to it.”
Oliver noticed her jaw tightening in concert with the rest of her body as if she was trying to steel herself against an invisible attacker.
“Don’t worry, if anybody approaches us, we’ll speed away.” And then he and his colleagues would come back later without her. But he didn’t tell her this.
“Which building is it?” Zane asked.
Oliver turned the corner, slowing to a crawl, then his eyes followed Ursula’s outstretched hand.
“That one.”
16
The four-story building was built of bricks, and it looked just as foreboding as it had the night she’d escaped its walls. A chill ran down Ursula’s spine just looking at it. Fear tightened her throat, making her unable to say anything else.
“The brick building?” Zane asked over the loudspeaker.
“Yes,” Oliver confirmed.
“Looks dark. There are no cars in the vicinity, no movement I can detect. Nothing. I say it’s deserted. I wouldn’t normally do this tonight, but let’s not waste any time and check it out now.”
“No! No, they’ll catch you. You’ll need more people,” Ursula warned, overtaken by panic. If they went in there just the four of them, they could easily be overpowered. And then she wouldn’t be any further than before: her kidnappers would recapture her.
“Cain, stay with the girl. The rest of us, let’s go.”
Before she could stop Oliver, he opened the car door and got out. She saw how the two other vampires, Zane and Amaury, left the Hummer.
Oliver had described Zane to her earlier while they’d been waiting for him and Amaury. But even his comment that Zane only looked tough because of his bald head, couldn’t have prepared her for what she saw. He was tall and lean. When he briefly turned his head to look in her direction, his ice-cold gaze chilled her to the bone. His mouth was pressed into a thin line. His gait was determined, purposeful, and she knew instinctively that those long legs could chase down their prey in seconds. She never wanted to be caught on Zane’s wrong side.
Amaury seemed different. Compared to Zane, he looked like a cuddly bear, but she wasn’t fooled. He was just as deadly, and with more mass than his colleague, he could crush any human or vampire without effort. Those two were dangerous, deadly vampires.
She watched as they joined Oliver and marched toward the building. When they passed a streetlight, she noticed that all three of them carried guns. She pulled in a quick breath: she hadn’t noticed that Oliver had been armed when he’d left the car.
“Don’t worry, they know what they’re doing,” Cain said from the driver’s seat.
She shrieked. She hadn’t seen that he’d also exited the van and taken Oliver’s spot while she’d watched the three vampires wa
lk toward her former prison.
Cain shrugged. “Just in case we need to make a quick getaway.”
Ursula wrapped her arms around her torso, feeling cold and scared. The vampire next to her wasn’t like Oliver. Yes, he seemed friendly on the surface. He didn’t carry his hostility on his sleeve like Zane—even seeing Zane only from the distance she’d felt that—but there was something unreadable about him. It made her feel uneasy around him. Oliver, on the other hand, unleashed an entirely different feeling in her. She felt drawn to him in the most primal way she had ever felt. Was it the fact that he was the first man who’d kissed her in over three years? Was it because she was so starved for physical intimacy that she had temporarily pushed aside her disgust for vampires when he’d pressed his lips onto hers?
Whatever it was, the intensity of it scared her. Because she knew that if it happened again, it would be as impossible for her to push him away as it had been to refuse his demand to touch him.
Wanting to silence her thoughts, she searched for a topic of conversation. “How long have you been working for Scanguards?”
Cain’s eyes narrowed, suspicion rolling off him. “Why are you asking?”
“No reason.”
She looked out the window. Oliver and his colleagues had disappeared. Had they entered the building or walked around it? “Where are they?”
“Inside.”
At his nonchalant voice, she glared at him. “Aren’t you worried?”
“They know what they’re doing. Amaury and Zane are the best.”
Her legs trembled. She pressed her palms onto her thighs to hide the fact that she was full of fear. “And Oliver?” Why hadn’t Cain said that Oliver was one of the best too?
Cain hesitated. “He’s still . . . young.”
“But he can defend himself, right?”
“Of course he can. You worry about him?”
Ursula pressed herself back into the seat. “No.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“Then stop fidgeting. If what you say is true, and those vampires run some sort of blood brothel, my colleagues will pose as clients to get the lay of the land. They won’t start a fight tonight.”
