by T. J. Quinn
Her blood felt so good going down his throat. Alek could feel his body responding to the warm, delicious nutrition. It was pure and sweet, the best he had ever tasted. He trusted her instantly. All vampires knew human’s blood was a direct representation of them as a person. Sweet tasting blood to him meant she was a good, decent person.
She was also kind and gentle with him. His heart shattered into a million pieces as he sat between drinks, looking up at her beautiful face…she appeared so worried and concerned about him.
Dakota was growing gravely concerned. Feeding did not seem to be changing his eye color at all. Normally, when vampires fed, their eyes took on a slight red cast and turned deep red when they were fully sated. His eyes were still dull blue. She took this to mean that he was in critical condition.
She kept her arms around him, supporting him, smoothing his hair, and forcing blood into his mouth until help arrived. Honestly, it was all she could think to do in this situation. Her protective instincts had really kicked into high gear with this man. She would not risk further injury to him, even if that meant accompanying him to the hospital herself.
The Kalian and Jared went out to show EMS their exact location. Dakota cradled his head in her hand and held him close as he continued to feed weakly from her neck. She couldn’t help but to whisper positive, encouraging things to him over and over. She told him that everyone in his life had been missing him terribly and this girls were would be so happy that he was found alive. She told him how glad she was to finally find him and that everything was going to be alright. His tension seemed to melt away.
Dakota was pleased that her call generated so much back up. Local law enforcement sent their SWAT and the local sheriff’s office sent their best. What she really wanted was EMS and they were hard on the heels of local law enforcement. The sheriff’s department searched the dead body and the surrounding area and found the key to get the cuffs off.
The look on his face when the cuffs slid off almost brought tears to her eyes. He looked up at the large number of people buzzing around and saw both humans and vampires working side by side, with a smattering of other alien species.
EMS loaded him in an ambulance and she stepped in as well. Jared was on the phone to Selene and Arianna. She watched as the paramedics hung a blood bag and set up his IV. Seeing all the blood going straight into his vein reduced her anxiety somewhat. He looked awful but not as bad as he had looked before she had fresh fed him. His eyes still had not changed in the slightest. The dirt on his skin was unbelievable, considering he had only been gone a couple of months. His hair was a matted mess. She reached out and moved a strand of hair from his face and pulled it gently to the side of his head.
He glanced up at her like he recognized her but he just couldn’t place the face. Alek asked the person changing out his IV, “Why do you have bags of warm blood in your vehicle?” His voice barely scratched out the words.
The paramedic smiled, showing the tips of his fangs. “We often get calls for vampires who need emergency medical care. The quickest way to stabilize one of our kind is to get warm blood in their veins.”
Alek questioned weakly, “Where do you get the blood? I prefer synthetic blood and if not that, then I only accept blood from the willing.” His mind was clearly foggy and he couldn’t seem place where he was or why there were so many of his kind around.
The paramedic smiled politely. “Synthetic blood is not what you need right now. Your body is in no condition to synthesize it. You need actual blood. Don’t worry, with all the blood drives over the last few years, there are more people willing to donate blood than ever before. Trust me, no vampire on this planet has had to resort to taking blood from unwilling people. Some people donate to blood banks and as you know, others like Miss Dakota donate from their vein to our lips if there is need. Obviously, only nice, kind, decent people bother with donating blood so it is always of good quality.”
The paramedic could see the look of confusion on his face. “You have been through a trauma, my brother, and it is affecting your thought processes. Do not worry, once we get some plasma into your veins you will be fine.”
The paramedic looked at the wounds on Dakota’s wrist and neck and asked, “Do you want me to have a look at your wounds?”
“No, they’ve almost completely healed already.” Everyone knew that the saliva of a vampire had strong healing powers and once a human was bitten, within 24 hours, you would never know by looking. Unless, of course, they kept breaking the bite open over and over again, then it would take substantially longer to heal.
Dakota stayed with him until he was wheeled into the emergency room. She held his hand and only reluctantly let it go when he cleared the threshold to the trauma bay.
Her hand went out and grabbed the doctor by the arm as he rushed into the bay. “Take good care of him. He has been through a lot.”
The doctor put his hand over hers. “Don’t worry, I will ensure my brethren is well cared for.”
Dakota liked that vampires were generally very dedicated to each other, whether they knew the other person or not. It was a clannish trait that many of the aliens shared, probably from banding together by species to survive on the ships all those years. Old habits were hard to break, even when such behavior was no longer necessary for survival.
She came out into the waiting area to find Charles and Jared waiting for her. Josh and the Kalian joined them within moments. Alek’s daughters had had been very upset at meeting the men who had kidnapped their father but after seeing how dedicated they were to searching for him, their anger slowly died away.
Squeaky showed up with his young wife. The little vampire was dressed in nice business attire and looked better than he ever had. Dakota gave him a swift upward nod as he came in. They had stopped and brought coffee along with some mini-shots of Synth-B. Everyone gratefully grabbed their drink of choice.
The Kalian and Josh held hands and Dakota could see the worried expression on their faces. She was surprised that Squeaky had a wife, and a very beautiful and well manered one from the look of it. She seemed exceptionally dedicated to him as evidenced by the fact that they sat close together, held hands, and she kind of fussed over him. His woman making a fuss over him was embarrassing for the little vampire and she decided the two of them were quite adorable.
Taking it all in, Dakota knew she was probably in shock. No amount of experience could prepare a person for what she saw inside that crypt.
Dakota sat with her head in her hands for a long moment before looking up. Once she did, she realized her hands were trembling. It was definitely a reaction to the shock of finding him in such bad shape. Dakota and Faran took turns explaining the situation they found him in to Charles, Josh, and Squeaky, with very little input from Jared.
Dakota commented despondently, “I don’t know what I was expecting to find but what I saw in the crypt was nothing I could have ever imagined. The conditions were deplorable. I don’t even know how someone comes back from something like that. Before, I felt like maybe he was locked in another warehouse somewhere, living off blood bags, but now, I see how optimistic that idea was. Seeing him looking like a corpse will haunt my dreams. This is one hunt I wish I hadn’t subjected Jared to.”
Jared reached over and held her trembling hand in his. “It’s affecting you much more strongly than me. I’ve seen things in my life that make this pale by comparison.”
Before she could fully process what her son was telling her, Charles spoke. “Alek is stronger than you can possibly imagine and he’ll get through this. We’re lucky you got involved and that none of you gave up, even when everyone else did. I admit to feeling certain he was dead.”
“I should have gotten involved sooner or looked harder.”
“It happened the way it happened, Dakota. To look diligently and not find…well, there is no shame in that, but to have given up…now that would have been letting him down.”
Jared tossed in his opinion. “We disciplined ou
rselves to look for him every single day. We have nothing to feel bad about. Even Josh and Faran have redeemed themselves with their dedication in hunting for him. Trust me when I say he will be grateful to have his life back.”
The more Dakota thought of the situation, the more she realized that they were probably right. She should just thank her lucky stars to have found him alive and hope and pray for a full recovery.
She thought back in her mind to the several times she had seen him at various functions at the academy. He always struck her as a very strong, poised, and professional. She desperately wanted to see him get back to that point as quickly as possible. After the sacrifices he had made to keep their world safe, Alek deserved all the support they could give him.
They sat for about an hour until he received emergency treatment and was placed in his room. Selene and Arianna arrived just in time to see him wheeled into his room. They could not go in to see him until he was set up and the doctor had seen him one more time. Dakota could tell the waiting was killing them.
Selene sat wrapped around Jared’s chest. She kept saying over and over, “I can’t believe you really did find him. He’s alive. I can’t believe he is actually alive.”
“We will just have to pray for another miracle in terms of his recovery.” Arianna murmured sagely.
“We should all make a pact. Whatever he needs to recover fully, we will work together to make sure he has it.” Jared suggested. Everyone verbalized their agreement.
Dakota glanced up at Squeaky and asked, “I have a job for you if you’re interested?” “I’m always looking to better myself. Do you mind if I ask what you had in mind.”
“I know that now isn’t the time to talk but I’m going to shoot you a ton of information on a side project I’ve been working on for the last few years. I need and administrative assistant and I think you’d be a good fit.”
“I’ll review the information and message you back promptly.” Squeaky seemed for all the world like a businessman discussing a career advancement. His wife beamed up at him, clearly proud and still very enamored with her husband.
Dakota sighed, wishing she could give him the kind of attention this situation deserved. She didn’t have it in her right now. She tried not to think about the twenty-eight active special projects all in motion right now. Really it was more like twelve, because two didn’t seem viable…fourteen seemed flawed, but he would just have to figure all that out.
The small vampire drew her from her random pointless thoughts. “Please call me Squeaky.”
Reaching out to touch his hand, she sighed. “Thank you for everything you did to help us with this situation. You’re the reason Mr. Shardon survived. I hope you know that.”
“I am not a perfect man, but I do what I can, as I can.”
“I don’t believe anyone can expect more of you than that.”
Chapter 10
Standing Vigil
Finally, they allowed family into his hospital room. Dakota, Jared, Charles, Arianna, and Selene managed to fit into his room because it was a large private room with a small sitting area in the far corner. They sat with him all night as his body slowly absorbed packet after packet of warm plasma. He began to look like a live person after about seven hours of intensive IV therapy.
His daughters refused to allow any of the medical staff to clean him. Jared carried pan after pan of warm water and the girls meticulously removed every speck of dirt from his hair and body. Arianna cut his nails and gently combed his hair. Dakota could see tears running down her cheeks as she brushed his hair. Alek was definitely loved by his sweet daughters, there was absolutely no doubt about that.
Selene sat crying gently in Jared’s arms. Dakota had to admit, she was proud of her son. He had held up well and was worth his weight in gold during a hunt. Her mind traveled back to the As the night wore on, both girls and Jared fell asleep.
Dakota continued sketching images in her sketch book. It was her way to work out her feelings about each hunt. She had stacks of notebooks filled with sketches of her hunting experiences over the years. So far, she had images of Jared and Arianna in their training leathers, Jared distributing weapons out of the trunks, Jared sitting with his arm around Selene, Arianna with her hand on Marko’s chest, their make shift office, the chains with the frayed wire where Alek had been electrocuted, Alek chained in the crypt, Alek in the ambulance, the children all cuddled up like bear cubs, sleeping in his room, and now him lying in bed, hooked to an IV plasma bag. She was compulsive about sketching while she thought things through. She had dozens more sketches in her little black book.
Chapter 11
Medically Stable
Finally, Alek’s eyes opened and thankfully his eyes were a dull red. He said weakly, “Charles, I supposed they just let any old vampire walk the streets these days.”
Charles moved to his bedside and replied, with a worried look on his face, “Just rest and replenish yourself. The doctors think you may be ready to get out of here in a few days if you keep up the plasma therapy.” Alek smiled slightly and asked, “So, detective, did you detect where I was being held or did you hire the hunter to do your detecting?”
Charles said, “Look, old friend, we detected nothing so the hunter and her son hunted you. Both of your daughters spent endless hours supporting their hunt. Arianna actually engaged the hunter. Trust me when I say you were better off having her hunt you than relying on my overworked officers.”
Alek glanced over and saw his daughters sleeping. His eyes got big and he pleaded, “Get them out of here. I don’t want them to see me like this.”
Dakota stated, “Too late, my friend. They came as soon as I brought you in and they’ve not left your side. Refusing to let anyone touch you, they insisted upon cleaning you up and washing your hair themselves. I’ve never seen such love and devotion. We wouldn’t have been able to force them from your side if we tried.”
Both of his daughters rushed to his side. After whispering and hugging him tenderly, they reluctantly left to get some rest. It had been a long night for the two of them. Dakota spoke with her, “You’ll see them home?”
Nodding, he glanced over at them gathering their coats. “I’ll take your SUV if you don’t mind.”
“Please do. I’ll call for my driver when I’m ready to go.”
Charles asked worriedly. “How are you feeling. You weren’t doing so hot when they first brought you in.”
Alek sighed and complained, “Whatever they’re putting into my body burns like fire.”
Charles said, “Don’t worry, I will get them to dial it down a bit. Give me a minute. ”Charles went out to speak with the nursing staff. Dakota could hear them paging a doctor.
She walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. He was thinking more clearly and had recognized her when he woke. “If it isn’t the famous Dakota Davenport. I’m honored to have such a famous person hunting me,” he murmured weakly.
Dakota’s expression darkened. “I wouldn’t have wished what happened to you on my worst enemy. I’m sorry it took us so long to find you. How strange that you even remember me.”
He tried to sit up more, but was clearly still weak. “We met a couple of years ago when I took Arianna to a party at the academy.”
Dakota reached out and helped him get comfortable. “You have a good memory for faces.”
He replied weakly “You have sweet tasting blood. You must be a good person.”
She could tell the amount of effort expended to talk to her was exhausting him. She smiled and gently touched his face before replying, “I don’t know about that but I would be happy to feed you if you would prefer fresh blood rather than the plasma.”
He looked torn, so she made the decision for him. She reached out and flipped the IV plasma bag off, made a small cut on her neck with her fingernail and leaned over to him. He seemed reluctant to drink from her.
“Please don’t feel strange. I’ve fed many, with much less need than you, my friend. You have no
thing to feel uncomfortable about. At this very moment, there are probably a dozen or more vampires in need, all drinking from human hosts in this very hospital. Feeding the sick is a privilege, so don’t deny me.”
He sighed and slowly brought his lips to her neck and drank awkwardly. There was movement at the door. It was Charles and his physician. They both noticed he was feeding and politely waited outside.
She wrapped her arms around him as he fed and stroked his hair. He seemed so very frail and sickly to her. “I am genuinely sorry we didn’t get to you sooner. No one should live like that.”
He brought her neck from his lips and wiped his lips on the back of his hand. “That was not living, it was surviving to suffer. And it was not your fault. I am grateful that you didn’t give up or I could be there still.”
She pressed her neck back to his lips. “Don’t worry, your daughters would not have permitted me to give up on you. They were tenacious.”
He licked at the bite on her neck. “That’s my girls.”
“You would have been so very proud of them.” She continued to press fresh blood on him. After drinking for a while longer, he licked the blood from her skin and held his thumb over the area to stem the bleeding.
Alek was a considerate feeder. She had looked at his pictures and hunted for him so long that actually being with him was surreal. His eyes were a brighter shade of red, which she found a little reassuring. He noticed that she seemed somewhat relieved that he had fed. She must be a worrier, many human women were.
She observed, “You are looking much better, I can see your eyes finally look red.”
He seemed embarrassed and looked away as he replied, “I am well aware just how horrible I must look right now.”
Dakota ran her fingers through one side of his hair and responded, “I am certainly not catching you at you best but don’t sell yourself short. Even sick, you are more attractive than most males.” He rolled his eyes and wondered why the beautiful hunter was flirting with him. She waved Charles to bring the doctor back in.
