Seduced by the Night

by Robin T. Popp

  Bethany sat at the kitchen table, absently playing with her cup of coffee as she worried about what Dirk was doing.

  “He’ll be okay.”

  Bethany stared at the admiral blankly, so focused on her thoughts that his words didn’t, at first, register. Then she nodded. “I know.”

  Just then, Mac and Lanie came walking in.

  “Where have you two been?” Julia asked.

  “We went to dinner and then for a walk,” Lanie answered as they joined the others at the table.

  “Really? Where’d you go?” the admiral asked, politely interested.

  “The zoo.”

  Julia looked confused. “It’s after hours, isn’t it closed?”

  “Yes, that’s why we went.” Lanie dug in her purse and pulled out a folded newspaper. “I found this story in today’s paper, see?” She held the paper out so Julia and the admiral could read the article she indicated. “Several goats at the petting zoo were found dead this morning. You can see from the picture here that it looks like they were bitten on the neck. I wondered . . .”

  As Lanie went on, Bethany’s thoughts returned to Dirk. She stared absently at the back of the newspaper until something about a photo there caught her attention. The orange color of the man’s hair stood out, making it easy to identify Mr. Santi.

  Curious what the story was about, she stared at the upside-down caption until she made out the words. Trepidation filled her. “May I see that?” she asked Lanie, already reaching out for the paper.

  “Uh, sure,” Lanie said, handing it to her. “Is everything all right?”

  “I’m not sure.” Bethany read the article. Juan Santi, second in command of one of the largest East Coast drug rings, was dead of a gunshot wound sustained during a drug deal gone bad, the police believed.

  “Bethany, what’s the matter?”

  Feeling dazed, Bethany showed the article and photo to the others. “This is the drug rep Miles has been doing business with. He must have lied to Miles about who he worked for.”

  She pushed away from the table and hurried to the phone. “Miles has no idea what he’s involved in.” Quickly dialing Miles’ cell phone number, she waited for him to answer, which he did on the third ring.

  “Miles, it’s Bethany.”

  “What’s the matter, you sound upset?” He paused. “Does this have anything to do with earlier, because I don’t know what Adams may have told you, but—”

  “No, no. It doesn’t have anything to do with Dirk. Where are you? Are you safe?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m just walking into my apartment building, why?” He sounded confused.

  “Have you seen today’s paper?”

  “No, not yet. I thought I might look at it tonight.”

  “Well, there’s a story in there about Mr. Santi.”

  “Really?” He didn’t sound particularly upset.

  “Miles, he’s dead. Mr. Santi is dead—and that’s not the worst of it. He was a major drug dealer.”

  There was silence on the other end, then she heard Miles swear softly. “How was he killed?”

  “He was shot. The police think it was a drug deal gone bad.” She thought she heard Miles’s sigh of relief and worried that he wasn’t taking this seriously. “If the murderers know you were helping him develop a new drug, even if you did it unknowingly, you could be in trouble, too.”

  “Calm down, Bethany, everything will be fine. Look, I’m at my apartment. Hang on while I unlock my door. Then we can finish discussing this.”

  She heard the sound of his key in the door and then—

  “What the hell . . . ?”

  The phone went dead and Bethany stared at it, trying to figure out what had happened. She hit auto redial, but instead of ringing through, it rolled over into Miles’s voice mailbox. Her mind conjured hundreds of scenarios to explain the abruptness with which the call ended—all of them tragic.

  Dumbfounded, she hung up.

  “Bethany, what’s wrong?” Lanie asked.

  She turned to look at the others. “The phone went dead. He was in the middle of talking and then . . . it just went dead.” She started wringing her hands together, unable to stop. “Can I borrow someone’s car—please.”

  No one moved and Bethany grew desperate. “Please, I’m afraid someone might be trying to kill him.”

  “I’ll go.” Mac pushed away from the table. “I can’t let you go if there really is trouble.”

  As he started walking to the door, Bethany snatched her purse from the counter and hurried after him. “If you think you’re leaving me behind, you’ve got another think coming.”

  Mac stopped in the hall and turned to face her. “I don’t think so.”

  “I’m going, too,” Lanie said, joining Bethany.

  “Now wait just a damn minute,” Mac protested as the admiral appeared.

  “You kids can argue in the car, let’s go. I’m driving. You coming, Julia? There’s safety in numbers.”

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” Dirk said coldly, sitting in the shadows of Miles’s apartment.

  “Have you now?” Miles tossed his phone onto a nearby counter and sauntered into the room, clearly unperturbed to have found an unwanted visitor waiting for him. “And why would that be? Did you want to continue our earlier conversation?”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary. I’m here for another reason.”

  “Really?”

  Dirk stood so he could face Miles as the older man walked about the room. “I know what you’re up to and I can’t let you get away with it.”

  “And I suppose you plan to stop me?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I’d like to see you try,” Miles snarled. In the dim lighting of the room, his eyes glowed a vibrant red and when his lips curled upward, Dirk saw the two newly formed fangs.

  Chapter 21

  Miles hissed and then frowned. “You don’t look surprised.”

  “I’m not,” Dirk admitted. “I’ve been hunting vampires for a while now; you might say I have a sixth sense for them. I’ll admit that you had me fooled at the restaurant. I kept sensing a vampire, but I didn’t expect it to be you.”

  Miles shrugged. “Your reaction is a bit disappointing but I suppose it makes sense. On the night of the attack at the lab, I saw Frank’s body. I knew the police called you in because you knew something about vampires.”

  Another piece of the puzzle fell into place for Dirk. “You’ve been working with Patterson and Harris all along, haven’t you?” He mentally kicked himself for not having seen it earlier.

  “Of course,” Miles readily admitted.

  “And the plant extract Beth’s been trying to duplicate?”

  “Chupacabra venom.”

  Dirk was relieved it wasn’t biotoxin, but still, he was confused. “If Beth was already working on duplicating the venom, then why did Patterson and Harris try to kidnap her?”

  Miles’s face clouded over. “I never meant for that to happen,” he admitted. “Patterson felt her research was going too slow; that she was purposely dragging her feet. He thought if he had her at his lair, he might persuade her to work more quickly.”

  “And you did nothing to try and stop them?” Dirk felt his anger grow. “We won’t pretend that what you felt for her was love, but don’t you at least care a little about her?”

  Miles had the decency to look insulted. “Of course I cared about her. I was going to marry her, wasn’t I?”

  “You used her. I should kill you for that alone,” Dirk spit out.

  Miles circled the room, taking slow casual steps, and Dirk continued to move with him. Eventually, Dirk knew he’d have to fight the older man, but not yet. He didn’t have all his answers yet. “What are you getting in return for helping the Primes?”

  “I get immortality,” Miles said proudly, gesturing to himself. “And a percent
of the profits when we sell Immortality on the street.”

  “Not a lot of repeat business in that, is there?”

  “At the price Patterson plans to sell it, we don’t need repeat business.”

  “Only one problem,” Dirk said, confused. “I thought Beth wasn’t able to duplicate the venom.”

  “True, but I was never in it for the money.”

  “I suspect Patterson and Harris are, so I can’t help but wonder why they agreed to convert you before you delivered the goods?” Then the light went on. “You gave them the stuff Beth was working on and told them it worked.”

  Miles cocked an eyebrow and smiled.

  “And they didn’t test the drug for themselves?”

  “Of course they did, but as I’m sure you know, it takes a couple of nights.”

  Dirk shook his head. “You have no idea whom you’re dealing with, do you?”

  “I don’t really care. I got what I wanted. By the time they figure it out, I’ll be long gone.” There was arrogance in his tone that wouldn’t have been there if he really understood what was going on.

  “That’s your first mistake.” Miles raised a curious brow, so Dirk went on. “The police found a body against your door earlier this evening. Middle-aged man, blue jogging shorts, white T-shirt. Sound familiar? From the looks of him, he’d been killed a couple of days ago. He’d converted, but then something went wrong. That body will never rise again. I’d say Patterson already knows your drug doesn’t work.”

  Miles was silent for a moment, seeming lost in thought. Then, as if remembering that he wasn’t alone, he turned to Dirk. “Well, I appreciate the information. I guess I’ll have to leave town a little sooner than expected.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Miles’s eyes blazed brighter and he gave a bark of laughter. “What? You think you’re going to stop me? You are nothing compared to what I am.”

  “That’s your second mistake,” Dirk replied. He gave his anger and hatred for the man free rein. His vision bled to red and his lips instinctively curled back to reveal his fangs. He saw Miles’s eyes widen in surprise. “If it’s a fight you want, let’s do it.”

  The ride to Miles’s apartment was a silent one, except for Bethany giving the admiral directions as he drove. Even though he pushed the upper bounds of the speed limit, it still took twenty minutes to reach the building. The doorman tried to stop them, but the admiral held up some sort of badge Bethany had never seen before and they were allowed to continue.

  They stepped on the elevator and Bethany wanted to scream as it slowly carried them to Miles’s floor. As soon as the doors opened, she rushed down the hall, heedless of Mac’s order to let him go first. They reached the door to Miles’ apartment and found it slightly ajar. From inside came the sound of a man’s cry followed by the dull thump a body makes when it falls to the floor.

  With no thought other than to save Miles, Bethany burst into the room.

  The sight that met her was so horrifying that she stopped short and stared, openmouthed. Before her, on the ground, lay Miles’ body with Dirk poised over it; eyes glowing red, breathing hard, rivulets of blood running down his arms from myriad scratches—and his hand still gripping the dagger buried to the hilt in Miles’ chest.

  Dirk slowly became aware that he was no longer alone in the apartment. Looking up, he saw Mac, the admiral, Lanie, Julia, and Bethany standing just inside the door. Their shocked expressions of horror were understandable. The condemnation he saw was not.

  “You killed him?” Bethany’s voice was barely more than a whisper of sound.

  “Bethany . . .” he started to explain, taking a step toward her only to stop when she shied away.

  He looked at Mac and the admiral. Both men wore grim expressions of confusion and something worse, disappointment. He knew what they were thinking. In a jealous rage, he’d lost control and killed an innocent old man. They weren’t interested in knowing what happened and suddenly Dirk was a teenager again, found guilty without consideration for the truth.

  It had been the story of his life for so long, he should have been used to it. Their censure should come as no surprise and certainly shouldn’t cause the pain and hurt it did. Seeing Bethany’s confusion and horror, her fear of him, was the cruelest blow of all.

  He had to get away. Giving them a defiant glare, he brushed past them, unfettered.

  Bethany watched him go as grief and horror warred with confusion, leaving her in a type of shock. Miles was dead. Dirk had killed him. Those were the only thoughts she seemed capable of and her mind replayed them over and over. She knew Miles and Dirk had hated each other, but would hate have been enough reason for Dirk to kill Miles?

  Finally, a single new thought pierced through her mental fog. No. Irrefutably, no. Dirk might be many things, but he was not a cold-blooded murderer.

  In her mind’s eye came the image of Dirk’s expression when he’d seen them standing there. The hurt that flashed across his eyes tore at her heart and she knew he thought they blamed him.

  Pushing past the others, she raced for the elevators, stabbing the button for the lobby repeatedly until the doors closed.

  “A man just came this way,” she said breathlessly to the doorman when she reached the front of the building. “Tall, blond hair, wearing a black duster. Which way did he go?”

  The doorman pointed.

  “Thanks.” She rushed out the door, heading in the direction the doorman indicated. The night air was cool, but she didn’t notice. A few cars were on the streets and the pedestrian traffic at this time of night was light. She scanned the sidewalk ahead of her, but saw no sign of Dirk.

  Hoping the doorman had steered her in the right direction, she picked up her pace. After going several blocks, she spotted him in the distance. She ran, hollering for him to stop, afraid that even if he heard her, he wouldn’t listen.

  Desperate, she ran faster, closing the distance, and almost slammed into him when he suddenly whirled around to confront her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You shouldn’t be out here.” He looked beyond her. “Where’s Mac?”

  “Back at the apartment,” she panted.

  “You came out here by yourself?” He was yelling now, but she knew his anger stemmed from his concern for her safety.

  “I’m not by myself, I’m with you.”

  He gave a derisive snort. “Yeah, and we both know how safe that is, right?”

  “I’m willing to take my chances.” She searched his face for some sign of what he was feeling. “You’re not a cold-blooded murderer.”

  “Don’t kid yourself, Beth. I didn’t find him dead; I sank my dagger into his chest. The man you were going to marry, I just stabbed through the heart. Don’t tell me that doesn’t bother you.”

  She flinched at the hurt and anger in his tone as much as from his words. “I’d like to know what happened,” she admitted softly. “But you’re wrong about one thing. I wasn’t going to marry Miles. I didn’t love him.” She hesitated, gazing into his eyes, willing him to believe her. “I do, however, love you.”

  Dirk stood there, shell-shocked. No one had told him that before; no one who’d meant it. “Beth.” He breathed out her name as if it were a prayer, grabbed her to him and kissed her. She was his life’s blood, his reason for living. He savored the feel of her body and in her arms he found sanctuary and peace. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but having never spoken the words before, they stuck in his throat.

  “Isn’t this romantic?” a snide voice spoke from the darkness.

  Dirk froze. “Patterson,” he spat out, lifting his head to look around. In doing so, he saw they were surrounded by vampires and knew he had failed to do the one thing he’d vowed to do—keep Beth safe.

  Dirk felt at his belt, belatedly remembering where he’d left his dagger. It made him think of the others. Mac wouldn’t have allowed Bethany to race out unprotected; he had to be close. All Dirk had to do was stall for time. “What do you wan
t?” he asked the Prime.

  “I would think that would be obvious by now, Adams,” Patterson said with a smile.

  “You’re not getting Bethany without going through me.” Dirk pushed her behind him, hoping to protect her.

  Patterson laughed. “How very noble of you, and yet, totally naive. I have twenty fresh recruits. Do you suppose you can beat them all? Do you think you can beat me?”

  Dirk knew he couldn’t take them all, so he changed tactics. “You don’t need her. The venom can’t be duplicated.”

  Patterson shook his head. “No, I don’t believe that. Van Horne simply didn’t know how to properly motivate his employees.”

  “What does Miles have to do with this?” Bethany asked quietly from behind Dirk. “What venom?”

  Patterson looked at Dirk in surprise. “You didn’t tell her how her fiancé was using us all?”

  “What?” Dirk heard the disbelief in her voice.

  “That’s right,” the vampire continued. “The night we took Stuart wasn’t our first attempt to kidnap a biochemist. The night we kidnapped Van Horne was.” He gave a half laugh. “You can imagine our disappointment when we learned he wasn’t a scientist at all, merely a wealthy businessman—but one, it seems, with high ambition.”

  Bethany gasped and Dirk wished he could have spared her the truth, but if it bought them more time, he hoped Patterson continued to talk.

  “From the beginning, Van Horne was only interested in what he could gain for himself,” Patterson continued. “He convinced us that his research facility could duplicate the venom; that his fiancée was a brilliant scientist and unquestionably devoted to him. I assume he meant you.” He gave her a mocking smile.

  “The plant extract?” she asked.

  Patterson shook his head. “It wasn’t plant extract. It was chupacabra venom.”

  “But why would Miles offer to help?” she asked.

  “Not for money. A man like that—wealthy, powerful, in the autumn of his life—only wants one thing, but what the hell. Who am I to deny him? If he kept his word, I intended to keep mine. I told him my plans to sell the venom on the black market and he offered to work with the distributor I’d already lined up.”