“God, no. Who could eat after that?” She slumped in a chair and called Barker to catch him up on the latest news. Then she set her phone down and closed her eyes.
Robby swung his claymore off his back and set it on Barker’s desk. “Ye’re tired.”
“It’s been a rough few days. I haven’t been sleeping well.”
“Go lie down on the couch. I’ll watch over you. Ye’ll be completely safe.”
“With a vampire?” She smiled. “Maybe I’ll just rest my eyes for a little while.” She trudged over to the sofa.
Robby dimmed the lights. Within minutes she’d fallen asleep. He sat at Barker’s desk and watched her. He felt fairly certain that she still loved him. If he could just keep her safe, she would eventually accept him.
A sudden thought made him stiffen with alarm. If Otis was still mortal the next day, he might come for her. He might plan to capture her first, so they could be transformed together the following night.
And Robby was dead during the day. He couldn’t protect her. Or maybe he could.
Olivia woke slowly from a deep sleep and stretched in the big comfy bed.
Bed? A lightning bolt of alarm skittered through her. She sat up and looked around the dimly lit room. The light was coming from an adjoining room, a bathroom. She spotted her holster and jacket on a table. She was still dressed, except for her shoes.
“Robby,” she breathed with relief when she saw him lying on the other side of the king-sized bed. “Where are we? Where have you taken me?”
He just lay there with a peaceful look on his face. He was wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt. Since he’d changed clothes, she assumed this could be his bedroom, wherever that was.
“Robby?” She tapped him on the shoulder. No response. “Come on, Robby, wake up.” She gave him a nudge.
His chest wasn’t moving. He wasn’t breathing.
“Oh my God!” She scrambled out of bed. She’d been sleeping with a dead man.
“Ms. Sotiris?” a booming voice said, and she jumped.
“What?” She pivoted, looking around, then spotted a surveillance camera in a corner by the ceiling.
“Ms. Sotiris, don’t be alarmed. This is Howard Barr. Robby asked us to keep an eye on you.”
She noticed a light switch by the door and ran over to turn it on. The room was a fairly typical bedroom. Chest of drawers, easy chair, table and lamp, big bed with a dead body on it. She winced. Poor Robby. At least the light she’d turned on wouldn’t disturb him.
“Ms. Sotiris, I’m sending Carlos down to get you,” Howard Barr announced.
She realized his voice was coming from the intercom by the door. She pushed the talk button. “Where am I exactly?”
“The basement of Romatech Industries,” Howard responded.
Her breath hitched. “I’m in New York City?”
“White Plains.”
She looked at her watch. It was almost eleven. She recalled falling asleep in Barker’s office about 3:00 A.M. Robby must have teleported her while she slept.
She didn’t know whether to be annoyed or grateful. If Otis was still alive and looking for her, he’d never find her here. But Robby shouldn’t have done this without her permission. She was supposed to be at work today.
There was a knock on the door, and she opened it.
“Menina.” Carlos grinned at her. “It is good to see you again.”
“Hello, Carlos.” She stepped into the hall, then slammed him against the wall. “I know it was you who chased me into the sea. Don’t ever terrorize me again.”
His amber colored eyes twinkled. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”
She snorted and released him.
He led her upstairs to the MacKay security office and introduced her to Howard Barr.
“This is where Robby works at night?” she asked. She looked at the wall of monitors and spotted the camera in Robby’s room.
“We don’t usually watch him sleep,” Howard said from his chair behind the desk.
“That’s for sure,” Carlos agreed. “It’s not like he’s going to do anything.”
“He asked us to keep the camera on so we would know when you woke up.” Howard pushed a box of doughnuts toward her. “You must be hungry.”
She munched on a bear claw while she called Barker.
He wasn’t surprised. Robby had left a note on his desk, telling him where she would be.
“I’ll get him to teleport me back as soon as he wakes up,” she told her boss.
She spent the rest of the day getting a tour of Romatech and hanging around the security office. She met Shanna Draganesti and her children about supper time, and they invited her to eat with them at the Romatech cafeteria. They were a lovely family, but she was painfully aware that the father wasn’t with them. He was currently dead, like Robby.
An hour later J.L. called. “Good news! Yasmine used her debit card last night about three-thirty A.M. She rented two units at a climate-controlled storage facility.”
Olivia related this news to Howard and Carlos.
“Sounds like a good place to hide vampires during the day,” Carlos said. “They’re all locked up safe and secure with no windows.”
“Barker and I are going to check it out,” J.L. told her.
“Be careful.” Olivia groaned inwardly. She should be with them, but she was stuck at Romatech until Robby woke up. “Why don’t you take Harrison and Saunders with you?”
“We thought about that,” J.L. said. “But if we find any vampires, we’ll stake them, and we don’t want anyone from the office to see that. Don’t worry, Liv. It’s still daylight here. The vampires will be dead.”
“Okay.” She supposed they would be all right as long as it was daylight. The sun was already nearing the horizon in White Plains, but it would still be up in Kansas City.
She knew the instant the sun had set. On the monitor, she saw Robby’s body jerk, then his chest expanded with a deep breath. “I should go see him.”
“Give him a few minutes,” Howard said. “The Vamps are always very hungry when they first wake up.”
They thought he might bite her? She watched on the monitor as Robby sat up and looked at the spot where she’d slept. Then he climbed out of bed and hurried to a small refrigerator. He removed a bottle of blood and stuffed it into a microwave.
“How many bottles do they need every night?” Olivia asked.
“They can get by on a minimum of two,” Howard said. “But they prefer more.”
“And sometimes they drink for fun,” Carlos added. “I’ve seen them drink lots of Blissky and Bleer.”
Howard chuckled at Olivia’s confused look. “That’s synthetic blood mixed with whiskey or beer.”
“Oh.” She watched Robby guzzle down the entire bottle. Then he grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom. “I’ll go to his room now.”
“I’ll show you the way.” Carlos led her downstairs. “There are about ten bedrooms down here in the basement. You wouldn’t want to venture into the wrong one. Connor, Angus, and Emma stayed here last night, too.”
That surprised Olivia. “Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to stay close to where the action is?”
“You mean in Kansas City?” Carlos shrugged. “Teleportation only takes a few seconds, so the distance doesn’t matter. Besides, they have a strategic advantage by staying here. They’re already awake. They’ll be fed, armed, and ready to go before the bad guys even wake up.”
Carlos opened a door and peeked inside. “This is it.” He winked. “Have fun.”
“We’re just going to talk.”
Carlos chuckled as he strode away.
Olivia eased inside and locked the door. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom.
She was sitting in the easy chair when Robby emerged from the bathroom. His hair was wet and loose. He had on a pair of jeans, unbuttoned at the waist, and was drying his damp chest with a towel.
All the memorie
s of the night she’d lost her virginity came rushing back to her. He’d far surpassed any fantasy lover she’d ever imagined. He had been both gentle and strong, both giving and demanding.
He froze when he saw her. “Good evening.”
“Good evening,” she whispered.
“Did ye sleep well?” He dropped the towel, then slowly fastened his jeans. His eyes glimmered with a reddish tint.
“Why do your eyes turn red?”
He glanced at the surveillance camera and made a cutting motion. The light went off. He sat on the edge of the bed. “A Vamp’s eyes glow red when he wants to make love.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me? Your eyes are always turning red.”
His mouth tilted up. “True.”
Her face grew warm. “Then all that stuff about the webcam, or the sand in your eyes, or the reflection from the fireplace—that was all lies?”
He winced. “Olivia, I never wanted to lie. I just never knew how to explain things without scaring you away. The closer I got to you, the more I knew I needed to tell you the truth, but the more I fell in love with you and couldna bear to lose you.”
She nodded slowly. “This is a big decision for me. I can’t make it lightly.”
“I understand.”
She studied her hands in her lap a moment, unsure what to say next. When she glanced at him, he was watching her with the red glint in his eyes. Her heart rate quickened. He wanted to make love to her.
He was tempting, so very tempting.
Her cell phone rang. Saved by the bell. She stood to retrieve it from her jeans pocket. “Hello?”
“Olivia,” Barker said in a rushed voice. “Have you heard from J.L.?”
“No. I thought he was with you.” She motioned for Robby to come over and listen.
“Damn,” Barker muttered. “He must have gone back.”
“What happened?” Olivia asked.
“We went to the storage facility to check out the two units Yasmine rented. We heard crying behind one of them, so we opened it up and found the children.”
“Oh thank God!” Olivia cried. “Are they all right?”
“They’re very weak. We called ambulances and took them to the hospital. There are eleven of them. I had six in one room where I was questioning them. The vampires were controlling their minds, so they don’t remember very much.”
“That might be a blessing.” Olivia’s heart ached for the children. They would have to learn that their parents were dead.
“J.L. was supposed to be interviewing the other children,” Barker continued. “I went to see how he was doing, but he was gone. He left the kids with a nurse. I’ve tried calling him, but he doesn’t answer his phone.”
“He must have gone back to check the other unit,” Olivia said. “Is it still daylight there?”
“Yeah, but the sun is setting. I’m going to drive back to the storage unit.” Barker sighed. “It’s rush hour traffic around here. It may take a while to get back.”
“Let us know when you arrive.” Olivia hung up and looked at Robby. “I hope J.L. hasn’t done anything stupid.”
“He probably wanted to stake some vampires. They won’t give him any trouble when they’re dead.” Robby pulled on a T-shirt. “But he’d better not be anywhere near them when they wake up.” He pulled on some socks and shoes.
Olivia fastened her holster and slipped on her jacket.
Five minutes later she was back in the security office. This time, Robby, Connor, Angus, and Emma were there, along with Howard and Carlos.
“This could be it,” Robby said. “Casimir and his followers could be in the other storage unit.”
“The escaped prisoners, too,” Olivia added.
“If we get there right at sunset, we could catch them by surprise,” Connor said.
They made plans. Howard was to remain behind to keep Romatech secure. Robby downloaded contact numbers for five more Vamps in Olivia’s cell phone so she could call for backup if necessary. They armed themselves. Robby slipped some wooden stakes into her jacket pocket and wedged a long dagger under her belt.
They called Barker from the speakerphone so all the Vamps could use his voice as a beacon.
“I’m just getting off the freeway,” Barker told them. “Damn. The sun’s going down.”
“Let us know the second ye arrive at the facility,” Angus said.
They all waited, tense with excitement.
“It’s dark now,” Barker reported. “I’m about a mile away.”
Olivia prayed J.L. was all right. The minutes seemed to drag on like hours.
“Okay! I’m pulling into the parking lot,” Barker said. “I see J.L.’s car.”
Olivia held onto Robby, and everything went black. They arrived in a dark parking lot. Connor had brought Carlos. Angus and Emma arrived together. Barker exited his car and joined them.
“Let’s go.” Angus dashed forward.
Olivia found herself with the two shape-shifters, running to try to keep up with the Vamps. Inside the facility, she heard screams of terror. The Vamps drew their swords as they zoomed toward the noise.
She heard the clashing of swords in the distance. The battle had begun. She arrived at the storage unit with her gun ready. It was a huge room with too much movement and mayhem for her to get in a clear shot. She recognized the faces of the escaped convicts. Some of them were hissing with long fangs as they clumsily wielded swords. The Vamps made short work of them, stabbing them in the heart. They turned to dust.
A few escaped prisoners screamed when they were stabbed. They fell to the floor, writhing in pain. She spotted bite marks on them. They’d been kept mortal to provide food for the vampires.
“Olivia, help!”
She spotted Yasmine at the back of the unit. The poor woman looked terrified. Blood seeped from punctures on her neck.
“Hang on!” Olivia drew her dagger and eased into the room.
A vampire made a grab for her, and she slashed at him with her dagger. He hissed and lunged, then turned to dust as Robby stabbed him through the heart.
She rushed toward Yasmine, but a vampire grabbed the woman from behind and teleported away.
“Olivia, darling.”
She turned to see Otis coming toward her. He smiled, and his pointed fangs were stained with blood.
“No!” Robby pulled Olivia behind him.
“Well, hello, Robby.” A vampire with black eyes moved next to Otis. “So good to see you again.”
“Casimir.” Robby pointed his sword at him. “’Tis time for you to die.”
“If you come after me, my new friend here will attack the woman,” Casimir said.
“She’s the one I told you about,” Otis whispered to Casimir. “She’ll be mine for all eternity.”
Robby shifted his sword to Otis. “Ye’ll never have her.”
“You will, dear friend.” Casimir seized Otis by the arm. “But not tonight.” He vanished, taking Otis with him.
Robby lunged forward, but it was too late. “Dammit. Bloody hell!”
Olivia glanced around. There were piles of dust on the cement floor and the writhing bodies of wounded mortals. The other Vamps were still fighting, but the Malcontents were starting to teleport away. She spotted Barker and Carlos in a far corner and headed toward them.
Her heart lurched when she realized they’d found J.L. He lay unconscious on the ground, trussed up in ropes. Carlos cut through them with his knife.
She fell to her knees beside J.L. and grabbed his wrist to check his pulse. Usually, she would check a pulse at the neck, but J.L.’s neck was punctured with bite marks and stained with blood. More blood was clotted along his temple where he’d been bashed in the head.
“He must have thought there were only vampires in here,” Barker whispered. “He thought it would be safe as long as the sun was up.”
“The mortals in here must have attacked him,” Carlos added. “They tied him up so the vampires could feed on him wh
en they woke up.”
“He’s still alive,” Olivia cried. “Call an ambulance.”
Robby knelt beside her. “I’m so sorry.”
She flinched. “He’s not dead yet!”
Connor crouched on the other side of J.L. “He hardly has any blood left in him. He’ll never make it to a hospital.”
“We have to do something.” Olivia’s hands trembled as she took hold of J.L.’s limp hand. Hot tears stung her eyes. “We can’t just let him die.”
“We could transform him,” Angus suggested as he approached.
“Nay.” Robby shook his head. “We canna force such a change on him without his permission.”
“He’ll be all right with it,” Olivia insisted. “He thinks your powers are awesome.” She grabbed Robby’s arm as tears ran down her face. “Please. You have to help him.”
Robby’s face paled. “I–I’ve never done it before.”
“If ye doona do it, I will,” Angus said. “We need all the good men we can get.”
“Ye’d better be quick about it,” Connor said. “We’re losing him fast.”
Olivia squeezed Robby’s arm. “Please. Save him.”
His eyes glimmered with unshed tears. “All right.”
CHAPTER 26
Robby feared he would lose Olivia forever. He couldn’t guarantee J.L. would survive the transformation. Sometimes human bodies rejected the change, and if that happened now, he would be responsible for killing her friend.
And regardless of the outcome, wouldn’t Olivia be repulsed by the gruesome act he was about to commit?
“Give him some room.” Connor shooed everyone back.
“Ye should step into the hallway,” Robby told Olivia. “Ye doona want to see this.”
She shook her head, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m not leaving.”
Robby was tempted to argue, but there wasn’t any time. He leaned over her friend, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply the scent of blood. The primitive urge was always there, usually well-controlled, but this time he surrendered to the lust for blood. His gums tingled. With a hissing sound his fangs sprung out.
He was barely aware of Olivia’s gasp. He sank his teeth into J.L.’s neck. He drained the last of J.L.’s blood from his body, and then, instead of stopping, let his vampire saliva seep into the wound.
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