Thirty minutes later, Bethany sat in the front seat of Miles’s car, staring at the taillights of the gold-tone Humvee Mac was driving, without really seeing them. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t at first notice Miles’s silence or the glaring looks he shot her. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”
“As a matter of fact, I said quite a few things, until I realized you weren’t listening.”
“I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “This evening was traumatic. I keep seeing Mr. Yarbro’s body in my mind and wondering if I could have done something to save him.”
Miles sighed, the anger draining from him as he reached across the seat and took her hand in his. “I’m an insensitive jerk. Of course you’re upset about what happened this evening, but don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
His words were an eerie echo of Dirk’s, but they left her feeling far less reassured. She knew he meant well, so she gave him a grateful smile and then turned to gaze out the window.
They were out in the country and the sun was beginning to rise. Bethany felt as if she were in a different world. She watched the open pasturelands pass by and was just beginning to wonder how far out in the country Admiral Winslow lived when the brakes of the Humvee lit up. It turned onto a drive partially hidden behind a line of trees edging the road.
The mansion, for that’s truly what it was, loomed before them. Two rows of huge, ancient oaks trees graced the front drive, reminding Bethany of Oak Alley in Louisiana.
All three cars pulled to a stop in front and Bethany, feeling suddenly awkward, hesitated before getting out. Was she doing the right thing in staying with these people when she didn’t even know them?
Miles came around and opened the door for her, helping her out. She held his hand, grateful to have him with her, and he seemed to like her show of attention, laying his other hand on top of hers before turning to face Mac and Dirk who joined them, each carrying one of Bethany’s suitcases.
“This way,” Mac said, walking to the front door. He opened it and, looking back once to make sure they followed, led the way inside.
As soon as Bethany stepped into the foyer, she was overwhelmed by the old-world charm that greeted her. Admiral Winslow and Lanie walked up to greet them, offering warm smiles and words of welcome. Mac set the suitcase he carried by the door and gave his wife a kiss.
Bethany saw the tender way Lanie gazed at him and how his eyes burned possessively when he looked at her. They were clearly in love and Bethany felt a small stab of jealousy, which she quickly suppressed.
“Good morning, everyone,” the admiral said pleasantly, shaking hands with Miles and Bethany. “Please, come in. Can I interest anyone in breakfast or a cup of coffee?” He showed them into the kitchen. Bethany wasn’t hungry, so she politely refused—as did Miles—but the coffee sounded good and after she took a seat at the table, she gratefully accepted the cup offered her.
Bethany noticed that Dirk, silent and sullen as he leaned against the counter, refused the coffee and she found it odd, considering how tired he looked.
As if he felt her gaze on him, Dirk turned and she saw a flash of something cross his eyes, but it was gone too quickly for her to know what it was.
“How are you?” Lanie asked, drawing Bethany’s attention by the warmth in her voice. “It must have been horrible.”
“It was frightening,” she admitted, not wanting to relive the whole thing again so soon.
Lanie must have sensed her reluctance because she didn’t push. “I’m glad you’ve come to stay with us,” she said. “We have plenty of room and it will be nice to have another woman staying here.”
“Thank you.” Bethany took a sip of the coffee and let its warmth seep through her. Beside her, Miles had struck up a conversation with the admiral. Both of them men of wealth and means, it turned out they had many of the same acquaintances. For fifteen minutes, while they talked, Bethany remained quiet and did her best to keep her attention focused on their conversation. The entire time, however, she felt Dirk watching her and couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at him every now and then.
The intensity of his gaze was unsettling. She didn’t know how to react, so she turned her attention back to the conversation, but high society had never interested her much and it wasn’t long before the night’s events caught up to her. Placing her cup on the table, she fought to keep her eyes open.
Suddenly a warm hand was at her elbow, pulling her to her feet.
“If you all will excuse us,” Dirk’s voice filled the room, interrupting the conversation, “Beth is exhausted. Lanie, if you’ll lead the way, we can show Beth to her room.”
“Of course.” Lanie jumped to her feet.
Miles and the admiral also stood up. Bethany saw the irritation return to Miles’s eyes as he looked to where Dirk’s hand supported her elbow and rather than watch the two men get into another round of adolescent posturing, she politely pulled her elbow free from Dirk’s grip. Almost immediately, she wished she hadn’t because she was apparently more tired than she thought and for a moment the room swayed before her.
“I think I’d better help you.” Instantly Dirk’s hand was back and this time she let it stay.
“Thank you.”
Miles, maybe sensing that any effort on his part to help her would draw undue attention to the situation, let it go and followed along quietly.
Feeling like a VIP surrounded by her entourage, Bethany was led up the main stairs and down a long corridor. When Lanie finally stopped and opened the door, Bethany was sure there’d been some mistake. The room was huge and luxurious.
“Oh, this is beautiful,” she exclaimed breathlessly, looking around. “Really, this is much too nice.”
Lanie laughed. “Nonsense. We have more than enough room and, as I said before, it will be nice to have another woman staying here. I get lonely sometimes. Now, do you have everything you need?”
“I think so.” Bethany eyed the large queen-sized bed. It looked like heaven and she wanted nothing more than to collapse across it and fall fast asleep.
“Well, I guess it’s time for me to leave.” Miles sounded reluctant. He took her hands in his and gave her a warm smile. “What time do you want me to pick you up tonight? I assume you’ll want to sleep, but we have that gallery reception at eight.”
“She’ll have to pass,” Dirk said. “Going to a public function is too dangerous.”
Miles started to protest, but Bethany put a hand on his arm to quiet him.
“He’s right,” she said. “Besides, I have plenty of work to do at the lab. All those tests have to be rerun.”
Miles sighed, but didn’t push her. “All right. I’ll pick you up at six, then, and drop you at the lab.”
Bethany thought through her schedule and slowly nodded. “Okay, that will be—”
“Unnecessary,” Dirk’s voice interrupted. “I’ll take her to the lab whenever she needs to go. There’s no reason for you to pick her up.”
“Now see here.” Miles sounded indignant. “I will not have you telling me when I can and cannot see my own fiancée.”
“I’m not telling you when you can or cannot see Beth,” Dirk bit out. “But since I’m now her bodyguard until this thing is over, I’m going to be her shadow whenever she leaves this house. So that means if she goes to the lab, I go to the lab. If you want to ride in with us, then by all means, drive out here first.”
Beth gave him a quelling look as she laid a pacifying hand on the older man’s arm. “He’s right, Miles. There’s no need for you to come all the way out here when he can just as easily bring me into town.”
“Okay,” Miles finally agreed. “If you’re sure.”
At that moment, Admiral Winslow and Mac joined them.
“Are you leaving, Miles?” the admiral asked.
“I’m afraid so. Bethany is tired and there are things at the office that must be attended to.” The two men shook hands. “It was very nice seeing you again. Thank you for all
owing Bethany to stay with you. She and I are most grateful.”
Dirk watched as Miles pulled Bethany into his arms and gave her what Dirk guessed was supposed to be a deep passionate kiss. He thought Bethany looked more embarrassed by the display than anything else. Then Miles stepped out into the hallway and, accompanied by the admiral, Mac, and Lanie, headed for the front door, allowing Dirk to breathe his first easy breath in almost twelve hours.
Finally alone, Dirk turned to Beth and found her looking at him expectantly. Suddenly, feeling self-conscious, he cleared his throat. “What time do you want to go into town?”
Dirk silently prayed that it wouldn’t be too much earlier than the time Miles had originally suggested. Winters were proving to be tough. The days were short and the nights were long and hard, which didn’t allow for much downtime. As it was, he was using the last of his strength just to remain upright.
“I should read the test results about two this afternoon,” she said, “but I think I’ll call one of the lab students to do that for me. Would six be all right with you?”
He sighed with relief. “You bet. I’ll meet you in the great room then.” He started to step through the door when she stopped him.
“Dirk, about the vampires—”
“Not right now, okay? I know you have questions and I’ll be glad to answer them—after we’ve both had some sleep.”
She nodded. “Okay.” She paused. “Thank you—for everything.” There was such sincerity in her tone, he knew it was heartfelt.
He gave her a slight smile and nodded his head once. “You’re welcome.”
He shut the door then and headed to his room where he found Mac waiting for him.
“You look like shit.”
Dirk cocked an eyebrow but continued to his bed so he could sit on the edge. “And your point?”
Mac gave him a serious look. “Are you all right?”
Dirk rubbed his face before looking up to meet Mac’s gaze. “I almost let her get killed.”
“But you didn’t. Don’t beat yourself up over what might have happened. Take it from me, it’ll eat you alive.”
“But next time . . .”
Mac held up his hand. “Next time, you’ll do what needs to be done, just like you did tonight.”
“I pray you’re right.” He stood up and started for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I forgot about the bodies.”
Mac stood and waved him back. “Go to bed. I’ll take care of them. Your night was tougher than mine.”
Dirk didn’t need to be convinced. “Thanks.”
“No problem. I know you’re tired, but sometime soon, we need to talk about Harris and Patterson.”
Dirk nodded. “Come to the lab tonight. We can talk then.”
Harris licked the last drops of blood from his fangs and lips as he lowered the body of the drug dealer to the ground. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out the wood stake and drove it through the dead man’s heart, ensuring he wouldn’t rise again. He felt no remorse at killing a drug dealer. In fact, in his own way, he considered it a service to the community. He’d spotted this one trying to sell drugs to a group of teenagers. It hadn’t taken much to scare the kids away and he knew they’d think twice before buying drugs again. The thought caused him to smile as he rolled the body behind a Dumpster where, eventually, someone would find it.
Then he slipped back down the alley, moving faster than any human could, and made his way along the back streets of the city until he reached the entrance to the lair. With a last look around, he descended into the lower levels, winding his way through oversized pipes that reeked of human waste. The smell was offensive, but an effective deterrent to curious humans.
Reaching the old abandoned underground workstation, he let himself into the room, his eyes going immediately to the humans chained to the wall. They were young, healthy males, in their early twenties if he had to guess.
They cowered in fear when they saw him, but he ignored them and continued down the short hallway to the back room and without knocking walked in.
The first thing he noticed was the man chained to the wall. This was not a food source, as the others were. This was a vampire, or had been several nights ago. Now it was nothing more than a depraved creature straining at its chains, trying to break free.
“Another remission?” he asked Patterson, who lounged in a nearby chair. “This one only lasted a week.”
The other Prime gave him an irritated look. “I know how long he lasted.” Rising from his seat, a stake clutched in one hand, Patterson attacked the creature before it could react, driving the stake into its heart. “We’ll have to rely on the vampires we convert ourselves for now. Third generation and below are too unstable.”
Harris swore under his breath. “We’re never going to get anywhere like this. We need a biochemist.”
“Look,” Patterson snapped. “If you think you can do better, then feel free to try.”
Harris’s sight bled red as he glared at Patterson. He’d never particularly liked the man when they’d been alive. How ironic that they would be thrown together in death. He tried to remember skills learned in life and tamped down his anger and frustration. “What happened tonight?”
“Adams was there. As we thought, putting the three in the alley distracted him, but not long enough. The woman got away and we lost our team, such as it was, except for that newest one. Another inch and we would’ve lost him, too.” He rubbed his jaw. “Maybe we should try converting some of our former SEAL teammates, like Burton did?”
Harris shook his head. “No. Once they start to regress, these civilians are hard enough to control. I’d hate to try and control a SEAL in that state.” He paused. “Maybe we should go after a different biochemist—one that’s not so well protected.” Harris was growing desperate. He’d lived as a vampire for over six months now and hated every minute of it.
If Lance Burton wasn’t already dead, Harris would kill him. He hadn’t asked for this. His life had finally started looking up. He’d met a girl, Cynthia. They’d started dating and he’d thought she might be the one. Six months ago, when he’d looked to his future, it had included marriage, kids—the whole “happily-ever-after” story. Now all he saw was an endless road of death and destruction, mostly by his own hand if he hoped to survive. And he did, but not like this.
“You want to risk letting a second-rate biochemist use our last vial of chupacabra venom?” Patterson snarled at him.
Harris shot him a look. “As opposed to the assistant you currently have working on it? Yeah.”
“That assistant worked with the Stavinoski woman. He can’t exactly be an idiot.”
Harris studied Patterson’s face and knew his former teammate wasn’t any more convinced than he was, but decided not to press the issue. “I’m going to rest.” The sun would be up soon and Harris needed time alone to think.
He left the room and walked down the tunnel for another hundred yards, coming to a stop at a seemingly random spot. Glancing both ways to make sure no errant vampires were nearby, he activated a lever and a part of the pipe slid back, revealing the small hole he’d tunneled out to be his resting place. It had taken almost a month of hard labor, but had been worth it. At least now when he slept, he didn’t have to worry about someone staking him in his sleep.
Climbing inside, he closed the door and lay back. He opened his mind and reached out, moving past Patterson, to the city beyond, feeling for a presence he hoped—he prayed—would be out there. He’d felt her once before—the adult chupacabra. Dr. Weber, the biochemist who’d been coerced into working for Lance Burton, had told them she’d died, but if she truly had, the link they all shared would have died with her. That hadn’t happened.
He conducted his search systematically, covering each inch of the psychic plane until he felt the first pull of fatigue. The sun would rise soon and he could add another failed attempt to his list of achievements.
Then h
e touched something. He was so shocked that he almost let the link dissolve and had to scramble to hold on to it. It was her, the adult chupacabra. He recognized her “feel.” Stretching his awareness, he tried to get an impression of where in the city she was—if she was even in the city. He had no idea how far the mind link stretched.
As the sun came up, the link shuttered and collapsed, but at least now he had hope. If he could find her, then he could secure more venom. Then all he needed was a biochemist to unlock the venom’s secret—and make him human again.
Chapter 6
Good evening.” Miles’s voice came from the doorway. “I brought you a cup of your favorite gourmet coffee . . .” His words trailed off as Bethany swiveled around on the lab stool to face him, a cup similar to the one he held suspended halfway to her mouth. “Oh. I see you already have some.” His gaze shot past her to the other side of the lab table where Dirk sat and his expression turned cold and resentful.
Hoping to stave off another argument between the two men, Bethany placed her cup on the table, hopped off the stool, and hurried to Miles. “That was so sweet of you. You must have read my mind. I told Dirk when we stopped on the way in that one wouldn’t be enough to get me through the evening. You saved us a trip back out.” She planted a kiss on his cheek as she took the cup from his hand. “Thank you for being so thoughtful.”
Miles pulled his attention away from Dirk and the expression in his eyes softened, but not by much. Grabbing her elbow with his free hand, he steered her out of the lab, into her office. “Are you sure you won’t come with me tonight?” he implored her. “I could have a dress delivered here in no time.”
Bethany couldn’t think of anything she’d like less than attending the boring social affair, but she didn’t say that to Miles. “No. I really do have a lot of work to make up.”
Seduced by the Night Page 6
