Dark Experiments

by Lana Campbell

  “Yes, Tiffany is one of Mia Davenport’s daughters from her human marriage. I’ve known Mia for many years. She’s a beautiful person who raised some pretty amazing women.” He stared at Tiffany who strongly resembled her mother, not just physically, but in spirit. He was counting on that strong, fiery spirit to bring her back to him.

  “I see. Mrs. Davenport appears to be a very gentile lady. I am so very sorry for anything I may have said untoward regarding Miss Peebles. I had no way to know she was your life mate.”

  He stood and faced Noah. “I appreciate that, Noah. Where are they?”

  “Upstairs in the waiting room at the front of the clinic. I didn’t want to bring them here until you were prepared to meet with them.”

  Christian’s gut knotted as he glanced over his shoulder at Tiffany. No one looked good during a turning. The sight of her would shock the family, especially her mother. Although Mia had gone through a turning herself and her other daughter Danielle as well, wouldn’t matter when she saw Tiffany and learned she was far from out of the woods. “I’ll go talk with them. Please stay with her until I get back.”

  “Of course.”

  Christian hated this part of his job. The fact this patient was Tiffany compounded his loathing for what he was about to do. As soon as he entered the little waiting room they all stood and viewed him with varying expressions of fearful anticipation.

  Mia approached him. “Where is she, Christian? How is she? When can we see her?”

  “In a minute. Everyone please sit so I can explain.” He gestured for them to take a seat, took one himself then got to the heart of the matter. “Tiffany was poisoned.”

  The news caused gasps from Chelsie and Danielle, a curse from Nathan, but Mia just gaped at him with shock and disbelief.

  He’d refused to tell Mia anything about Tiffany over the phone. He felt the kind of news he needed to deliver should be done in person. He’d merely told her Tiffany was very ill and she needed to get here ASAP.

  “How the hell did this happen?” Nathan demanded.

  Christian shook his head. “I don’t have a clue, nor have I had time to figure out the hows. Trust me. My partners and I are working around the clock to find out. She seems to be doing marginally better, but Tiffany’s condition is still listed as critical and her prognosis is dicey. I’m so very sorry.”

  Mia glanced at Nathan then began to cry. He tried to pull her into his arms, but she pushed away and bolted to her feet, her expression fierce, determined. “I refuse to accept that. She will pull through. I want to see her right now Christian.”

  He nodded, understanding her angst. “There are a couple things you need to know first. Noah, my partner and I had to induce a coma due to the severity of her condition and the treatment we chose. She’s on life support and when you see her, all of it will seem a bit frightening, but the measures were necessary.” He swallowed hard, loathing what he had to say next. “Mia, the treatment I chose was very radical and I’m not even sure it will save her.”

  “Dear God, what did you do Christian?”

  “I turned her. Rather, I’m attempting to.”

  That news garnered more gasps of shock and “Oh-my-gods” from the family.

  “I estimate the turning to be about a quarter complete, which means she’ll have a couple more days ahead of her. The medically induced coma will keep her from suffering any pain. If she comes out of this she’ll remember nothing prior to coming here.”

  Chelsie leaned forward and adjusted her glasses. “What was the poison Christian?”

  “It was a cocktail, Chelsie. When time allows I’ll get into details. Right now keeping Tiffany alive is all I have time to think about because a turning is a very vile affair.”

  Nathan stood and fixed him with a pointed look. “Whose blood did you use?”

  Christian returned a look in kind because Nathan already knew the answer to that question. What he really asked is why. “Mine of course and because she needed it if she were to have a prayer of survival.”

  Mia glanced up at her husband, then back at him and lifted her chin. “Then I thank you for the sacrifice. I know you care about her and I also know you’d lay your life down for me or any one of my children. I have no doubt you’re doing all you can, but rest assured she will survive. I’ve been praying non-stop since you called and God has assured me she will live.”

  Christian blinked at her, absolutely stymied by the woman’s monumental faith. He knew from experience she had a direct line to the Man upstairs. “Well, Darlin’, I reckon if anyone could get a prayer answered it would be you and I’m believing with you. Come on. Let me take all of you to her.”

  Christian opened the door to Tiffany’s room, stood back while they filed in, then followed. Silently, all family members, Mia, Nathan, her sisters Chelsie and Danielle along with her husband Dominic encircled her bed. The grief and worry they all shared felt literally palpable, a mate to his own.

  While they did so, Noah had stepped out of the way. “Call if you need me.”

  Christian nodded then watched him leave.

  Mia turned to him, tears swimming in her eyes. “Oh, God, Christian. She doesn’t even look alive. And all this stuff…” She broke off and gestured toward the equipment which monitored Tiffany’s vitals and kept her alive. The suctioning sound of the mechanical ventilator filled the room. He was used to it. They weren’t and hearing it probably sounded very scary coupled with how lifeless she looked.

  He went to Mia and took her hand. “Darlin’, I warned you. Please trust me. All of this is necessary and I’m doing everything I know to do.” He looked behind her at Chelsie who stared at him with big, round brown eyes behind her thick glasses. The newbie doctor appeared the most frightened of them all because she’d seen enough to know her sister’s condition was very tenuous.

  The girl adjusted her glasses and approached him. “Whether you choose to hire me or not, Christian, I intend to help here and I won’t take no for an answer. I can tell by looking at you that you’ve gone without sleep for days. You need some relief. Give me a project. Anything.”

  He returned a warm smile. “There isn’t much you can do at the moment but be here for your sister. Trust me, if we get in a pinch, I won’t hesitate to take you up on that offer.”

  She nodded, tears swimming in her eyes like everyone else’s in the room.

  Mia gazed at Nathan in the way of life mates and Christian knew they mind spoke. When they finished, Mia took hold of Tiffany’s hand. Nathan approached him, then hitched his head toward the door.

  Getting his meaning, Christian nodded and exited the suite. Nathan followed.

  Once they were alone in the hallway Nathan said, “Is there anything else you can think of that might save her? A specialist of our kind? Further transfusions. We’ll all donate. Mia can’t lose her. It would destroy her. I know she’s believing in a miracle, but if there’s anything I can do to help that miracle along, I will.”

  Christian understood where he was coming from. Nathan wanted to spare his life mate the trauma of losing a child. “Nathan, everything that can be done, I’m doing for her. I took an extreme risk turning her, but it really was her only chance for survival. The poisons were destroying her human body and she would have been dead in a matter of hours. My hope by giving her my blood had been to kill off the sick infected cells which had been in the process of shutting down her kidneys and other vital organs. I don’t generally think this way, but Mia’s prayers, all of our prayers are probably Tiffany’s best line of defense right now. They seem to be helping because she is holding her own presently.”

  Nathan shook his head, propped a hand on his hip and stared at the floor for a few seconds. “I don’t know how the hell this happened, but I guarantee you I’ll get to the bottom of it, if it’s the last thing I do. I realize Tiffany’s health is paramount at the moment, but when you have time to spare we’re going to talk. Whoever did this to her will die a slow miserable death. You have my word on t
hat.”

  Christian let out a derisive snort. “You’ll have to stand in line for that one, buddy. If I get ahold of the bastard who did this… Well, trust me they’ll be begging for death before I finish with them.”

  Nathan’s face wreathed with a tired smile. “Fair enough. Just do whatever you must to save her.”

  Christian reached up and scratched his temple. “Trust me, I am. If I could think of anything more to do, I’d be doing it. I’d lay down my life for her. She means everything to me.”

  Nathan stared at him for a few seconds with a calculating look. “Well, I’ll be damned. Tiffany is your life mate.”

  Chapter 9

  Christian frowned at Nathan then released a lengthy breath. He hadn’t meant to let the cat out of the bag, especially at a time like this, but lack of sleep, blood and nutrition had just about rendered him brain dead. “Yes. Tiffany’s my life mate.”

  Nathan glanced up and harrumphed. “That woman never misses a trick. Mia has been telling me for years the two of you were destined to be life mates, which gives me confidence Tiffany will survive.”

  That comment shocked him speechless. He blinked at him for several moments then said, “She couldn’t possibly know that. I didn’t figure it out until very recently.”

  The look he returned was cagey. “When Mia makes it her mission to pray for someone, she doesn’t let up. You’ve been a spiritual project of hers for years, due to the affection she developed for you when you cared for her after her own turning and Danielle’s.” He paused there and hunched a shoulder. “I thought she’d missed the mark on this one, regarding you and Tiffany, because it’s very unusual for a vampire to take so long to recognize his or her life mate.”

  Christian glanced down and cleared his throat. Nathan was right. Generally, a vampire’s sixth sense aided him or her in identifying their life mate almost immediately once they’d met.

  Something suddenly occurred to him and he speared Nathan with a sharp look. “Has Mia’s been trying to push us together lately?”

  Nathan hunched a shoulder. “I don’t know if I’d put it that way. Helping the two of you discover what was already there was the way she termed it.”

  He couldn’t be angry with Mia’s meddling. Deep down he’d known for a long-time Tiffany wasn’t just a passing fancy for him. “I don’t know why it took so long to recognize the truth, Nathan. I guess I had my head up my ass.”

  “Maybe, but honestly, I think if you’d realized it ten years ago, you’d still be working on her because, well…she’s a piece of work.”

  Christian burst out laughing. “You’ve got that one right.” After she found out what he’d done to her it might be ten more years before he convinced her to accept him as her life mate.

  Nathan laughed too. “More than once, I wondered what she might be like vampire if the two of you ever figured things out. Those imaginations made me cringe with dread.”

  Christian’s smile widened. “Yeah, I have a feeling my life is about to change in a few dreadful ways once she wakes up, but I’ll happily suffer the consequences.”

  It was so good to be talking about Tiffany in the future tense because his mind had been caught up in the reality of her current state far too long. He sighed then confessed to Nathan, “She didn’t not want to become vampire. She let me know that emphatically. I guarantee her awakening won’t be a cheery one.”

  Nathan’s brows quirked. “I didn’t know she felt that way or so strongly. I’m not even sure Mia does. That being the case, I’m sure she’ll make a fuss, but the girl isn’t stupid. She’ll realize what you did was necessary to save her life. I wasn’t born vampire and I certainly wasn’t happy to become one, but the troubles of our kind aside, it’s better than death.”

  “I just hope Tiffany draws that conclusion sooner than later when she learns the truth.”

  Nathan nodded. “Mia will get through to her one way or another, I assure you. No doubt her sisters will be on the case too. You won’t be alone.”

  Christian smiled. It was good to have the reinforcements of friends. “I’ll leave you with her for now. There are some matters I need to check on, but I won’t be long.”

  Nathan nodded, slid back the ICU door, then went inside.

  Christian reached inside the pocket of his lab coat, extracted his cell and called Asa. He was supposed to be flying in tonight from Denver. His best friend answered on the third ring. “Where the hell are you? Noah and I are losing our minds here.”

  “The airport. I literally just walked off the plane. I’ll be there soon. How’s Tiffany?”

  “Holding her own. The Davenports and her sisters just arrived.”

  “Damn it, Christian. I’m so sorry. I’m sure you and Noah are doing everything you can for our patients and Tiffany. We’ll get to the bottom of these poisonings. Keep the faith, brother.”

  “Yeah, I’m trying. Just get here.” He ended the call. Christian hadn’t yet told Asa that Tiffany was his life mate, but Asa knew him better than anyone on the planet and understood Tiffany and her family were incredibly important to him.

  He and Asa went way back. Their fathers, both doctors, had shared a practice in San Antonio when he and Asa were kids, still did in fact although now it was located in Houston. Their mothers were best friends. Asa was as close as he’d ever come to a brother because they both had been an only child and practically raised together. They’d shared a practice for years and had even gone to med school together the first time around.

  He stared at the glass doors of Tiffany’s suite, reluctant to leave her, but his body screamed for rest and a transfusion. “Hang in there, Darlin’. I’ll be back soon.”

  Christian made his way to the lab first, hunting Noah. He felt bad Noah was doing all the V clinic patient care and leg work for this Vampire Hemolysis Syndrome because he’d been glued to Tiffany’s side. Thank God Asa would be here soon to take some of the burden off Noah’s shoulders.

  When Christian entered the lab, he spotted Noah sitting in front of a microscope, scrawling something on a legal pad. Several patient charts were spread across the surface of his work station.

  Noah glanced up and laid down his pen. “How did matters go with Miss Peebles family?”

  Christian let out a weary sigh then shrugged. “As expected under the circumstances. They’re all distraught, but with her presently. Betty has her covered for the moment. I have a little time, then I need a transfusion before I get back to her.”

  “I understand. You look a little worse for the wear. May I suggest some rest too. Her condition is stable and I’m confident nurse Betty will notify you if anything changes.”

  Christian nodded his agreement. He considered Betty his most trusted nurse. She was the clinic and hospital’s DON. Betty had worked for the V clinic twenty two years. Generally, she pulled the twelve hour first shift in the hospital because she had the most training and experience with his kind. Since she created the schedule for the nursing staff in both the clinic and hospital, she placed herself where she wanted, but generally on busy shifts in both areas. He’d noticed she’d pulled several doubles lately. She’d never said a word, but she had to know the V clinic faced crisis, albeit not the specifics. Then of course there was Tiffany. Both were likely reasons why she’d been reluctant to go home. What he wouldn’t give for five more Bettys.

  “I was just checking in while Tiffany’s family visits. Any news?”

  Noah glanced at the legal pad, his brows creasing with a frown. “I have and it is not good news. Our three VHS patients are worse I’m afraid. I’ve viewed far more ruptured red cells and clumping in the last two blood samples. The toxin levels have decreased, so I can’t fathom why this is happening. As you were tied up with Miss Peebles, I took the liberty of changing their orders from one to two units of blood per day and ordered hemodialysis on each patient hoping to flush out the remaining toxins and infected cells. I wish to ask your thoughts, but before you answer there’s more.”

 
Christian closed his eyes and inhaled. “Please tell me it’s good news.”

  “Sorry. I wish I could. On a hunch I began to run saved blood samples on various patients. Two of the samples present VHS with arsenic and cyanide present as well. Neither of those patients have reported problems, thank God. However, these two women have been poisoned and their babies could be in danger. We have to bring them in and treat them, Christian, but I can’t convey this information over the phone. It would be far too upsetting and I fear the physical repercussions on the mothers. Once they arrive here we can begin treatment and hopefully forestall more miscarriages.”

  Christian swiped a palm across his mouth, so sick and tired of this disaster. “Who are they and how many weeks?”

  Noah glanced down at the pad, then back at him. “A Mrs. Goodman, your patient, she’s a few days shy of thirty-five weeks and Mrs. Boyd, Asa’s patient who is thirty-two weeks. Both were here last week for a routine checkup, which further proves the dreadful. They encountered it here.”

  “Just great,” he muttered, wishing he could plow his fist into something to release some stress, yet too damned tired to do so. “Call them in the morning at a respectable hour and tell them we want to bring them here because we noted an abnormality in their blood work. I agree that you shouldn’t get into details over the phone. Do they live close to the V clinic?”

  Noah nodded. “Mrs. Goodman lives in Baton Rouge. Mrs. Boyd resides here in the city. We’ll have to tell them the truth, Christian.”

  “I know. Once we see what’s going on with them, we’ll talk to them about how we think they were exposed.”

  Five now plus Tiffany had been poisoned. Even if no more incidents occurred and everyone else survived, Christian couldn’t imagine the V clinic not facing multiple law suits over this. He should probably care about that possibility more than he did, but keeping the death toll down was all that mattered presently.

  Noah picked up the pen and tapped it on the pad, staring at whatever he’d written.