“Obviously your room was ransacked earlier. Fredrick’s men looking for something. Do you know what?” Richard wasn’t quite ready to leave me.
“Gretchen has Fredrick’s device. He calls it his Eliminator. I guess they hoped she’d left it here. She didn’t, of course.” I’d already looked around. As far as I could tell nothing was missing, the men had just made a thorough search.
“Is there any reason they’d come back?” Richard stared at Jerry. “You said the man hires shifters. I don’t like the idea of how vulnerable you are during death sleep.”
“How vulnerable we all are. But Fredrick’s really after Gunnar and Gretchen, his wife. Since he’s satisfied we don’t have his weapon, I think we’re safe. He already had a chance to hurt us earlier and didn’t take it. He let us go.” I touched Richard’s strong sturdy chest. “Thank you, for coming and caring.”
“Always at your service.” Richard smiled when Flo tugged at his sleeve. “Yes, darling, I know it’s late and we need our luggage. I’ll give the bellman our keys and directions so he can fetch it.” He shrugged. “We left the luggage in a rental car outside here. You know my wife will not face the sunset without her makeup and wardrobe close at hand.”
“And I have the most wonderful fur coats and boots, Glory.” Flo dragged him to the door. “I never get to wear them in Austin. This trip is serious business, I know. But also a chance to wear some of my better cold weather things for a change.” She ran back to give me a hug. “I pray for Jeremiah. I know he will be fine. And thank you for calling us. It is an adventure, eh?”
“An adventure with almost deadly consequences for Campbell.” Ian ignored Flo’s very Italian gesture before she flounced out the door. “Lock yourself in, Glory. Use the deadbolt.” He’d put a dressing over Jerry’s wound while I’d been talking to Flo and Richard. “When you wake up, drink some synthetic then let him feed from you. It will help. If we need to, we’ll find another mortal tomorrow. That little guy probably can’t take another feeding.”
He threw the bedspread over Jerry then picked up his case. “I’m the big tipper. I’m going to give Viktor another one when he brings my luggage. Then I’ll insist with a little mind control that he treat himself to a rare steak dinner as soon as he leaves us at our doors.”
“Thanks, Ian. You were brilliant tonight as usual.” I kissed his cheek. “And thanks for providing the plane.”
“As Florence says, it’s an adventure. I’m just sorry it’s taken such a nasty turn.” He glanced back at Jerry and frowned. “But we all need an adventure now and then. When you live forever, things can get dull without a little excitement occasionally.” Ian stalked to the door. “Damned wooden bullets. They should be outlawed. And a vampire who turns against his own kind needs to be put down. I’d be happy to take care of that.”
“Um, let’s discuss that before we start murdering people, okay?” I don’t know why I was reluctant to see Fredrick ‘put down’. Gretchen’s husband certainly had no qualms about taking people out. “See you after sunset.”
“You have a soft heart.” Ian stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “Get over it, Glory. Some people are more trouble than they’re worth. We’d be doing the vampire world a favor if we rid it of this man. Think about that.”
I thought of little else as I stripped off my clothes and took a quick shower. Then I dipped a washcloth in the warm water and gently cleaned any remaining blood from Jerry’s way too still body. He was sleeping. So, so rare in a vampire. Or was he unconscious? I still couldn’t tell and didn’t want to know as I slipped into bed beside him. Sunrise was definitely trying to suck me under. I touched his skin, alarmed when I realized it was hot, not vampire cool as it should be. Fever. Damned wooden bullets. Maybe Ian was right. Fredrick had to go and every weapon he’d ever made had to go with him.
Chapter Nine
I woke at sunset but I knew we’d only had a few hours of rest, the downside of these long winter nights. I didn’t mind but knew it hadn’t helped Jerry. He hadn’t moved yet. I reached over to feel his forehead then jumped when his hand clamped on my wrist, his knife at my throat. Uh oh. I’d forgotten about the knife. Last time I’d seen it, he’d had it between his teeth. Trust Jerry, even in pain and almost unconscious, to tuck a knife under his pillow.
“What the hell do you want?” His eyes were unfocused. He didn’t know me or see me.
“Jerry, Jeremiah. It’s me, Glory.” I couldn’t move or he’d cut me. He’d hate himself later if he did that. “Lover, you’ve been hurt.” I carefully wiggled my fingers, managing to brush them against his skin. Hot. Still feverish.
“Glory. Hurt.” He let me go, the knife relaxing in his hand.
I gently took it from him and set it on the bedside table within easy reach. If Fredrick’s men came back, it could come in handy. “Let me call Ian. He’ll have something to help you.”
“MacDonald?” Jerry rolled toward me. “No. Drink from you. Heal me.”
“In a minute.” I eased out of bed. Ian had said I should take care of myself first. I grabbed a bottle of synthetic out of the mini-fridge and popped it open. I gulped it down, not even tasting it. Jerry’s hand fell on me as soon as I slid in beside him again.
“Want you.” He obviously meant that in the sexiest way possible but I doubted he could follow through with a raging fever and a wound in his stomach.
“Blood first.” I slid down the sheet. Holy shit! He was still bleeding. This wasn’t right. He’d soaked through the bandage Ian had placed over his wound. I had to clear my throat before I could even speak. “Uh, Jer, be careful now and use my wrist. I don’t want to hurt you.” I settled next to him and laid my wrist against his lips.
“Fuck the wrist. Need your vein.” His fingers tangled in my hair and he pulled me closer with surprising strength. “Come. Here.”
My jugular. Of course he wanted it. We never used the wrist. Not when the intimate connection of the jugular was so much better. I was willing. But I’d have to practically crawl on top for him to reach it. It was worth a try but if he gasped in pain I was going to have to figure out some other way to give him my blood. He was almost out of it with his eyes closed. If I had to just slash my wrist, surely he’d go ahead and take it.
“Gloriana,” he groaned, pulling firmly yet gently. I moved closer so, so carefully, stopping when he kissed me. I broke the kiss to look into his eyes. Oh, God. He was struggling to stay with me, his eyes fever glazed.
“Jerry. I love you. Don’t you dare leave me.” I kissed him deeply then, with all my fear and love.
His fingers fell out of my hair to caress my breast. His mouth moved over mine again while he still fought to stay conscious. Damn, but I could tell he was losing that battle. I pulled away to offer my neck so he could take what he needed, bracing my hands on the bed as best I could.
When he plunged his fangs into my vein, I dug my fingers into the sheets to keep from gasping. Of course it hurt. He hadn’t made any effort to sooth my skin like he usually did. But I sighed when he began drinking. I felt the pull deep inside me and closed my eyes, praying that this would be the magic that would heal him. I loved this primal connection between us and let it go on longer than I should have.
The sinking feeling that I was in danger of losing myself warned me that he was on the verge of taking too much. I murmured his name and thank God he got the message. He slipped his fangs free and used his tongue to seal the wounds before he kissed my vein tenderly.
“Thank you, love. That helped more than you know.” He settled back against the pillows. “But you’d better call MacDonald. The bleeding hasn’t stopped.”
“What? Still?” I rolled off of him. Yes, he was right. His bandage was even brighter red and now my gown was stained as well.
“The wood . . .” He grimaced and moved restlessly, obviously in pain. “It’s toxic. There must still be a piece in there. Maybe I was hit by more than one bullet. That’s the only reason I can think of to explain why I have
n’t already healed.”
“God, Jerry!” I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and hit the speed dial for Ian. A few words and Ian assured me that he was on his way. I had to hurry to strip off my soiled gown and rinse the blood off my own body before the doctor arrived.
“Where are you going?” Jerry sounded weak when he tried to snag my hand as I headed to the bathroom.
“I can’t greet Ian naked, now can I?” I managed a smile as I tore off my gown and tossed it aside. “You would probably rise from your sick bed to put a knife in his gut if Ian so much as gave me a wink.” I did grip his hand then. “We need Ian now so I’m not taking any chances.”
“Need a MacDonald. I’ve sunk low, haven’t I? But you’re right.” He pulled me closer. “Come here before you get dressed.”
How could I resist? I leaned in. “He’s only a few doors away, Jer. I have to hurry.”
“I know. But this is my honeymoon, damn it.” He traced my nipples with a fingertip. “And you’re so damned beautiful.” He groaned and closed his eyes. “Shit. This is not how I planned it.”
I sighed and kissed him. “We’ll have the rest of our lives together. So relax and let me throw on a robe.” I heard a knock at the door. “There’s Ian now.” I smoothed Jerry’s hair. He was still too warm for a vampire even after taking my blood. This was freaking me out.
“Just a minute!” I called as I rushed into the bathroom and grabbed that toweling robe that covered every inch of my body. Adding jealousy to Jerry’s feelings about Ian was the last thing I wanted to do. I hurried over to the door, taking a deep breath.
“Who is it?” Smelled like vampire but I’d be stupid not to be cautious.
“Ian. Let me in, Glory.”
I threw open the door. “He’s bleeding again. Jerry thinks there may be another bullet in him.”
“That’s bad news. You did let him feed from you this morning, didn’t you?” Ian had brought his case and strode straight to the bed.
“Yes, of course. He almost took more than he should have.”
Ian frowned and touched Jerry’s forehead with his palm. “How do you feel, Campbell?”
“Like there’s a fire in my belly.” Jerry stared at me. “Gloriana, go take a shower. Get dressed. Let MacDonald and me take care of this.”
“I want to help.” I looked from Ian’s grim face to Jerry’s.
“Drink some synthetic then do what he says.” Ian pulled open his case.
“I’ll drink but there’s bound to be something I can do.” I hated the sight of the scalpel again. The doctor had cleaned all the instruments and they were shiny and ready for action. That made me shiver as I pulled out a bottle of the fake blood and opened it.
“You’ve done all you can for now, Glory. Campbell is right. Take care of yourself and leave him to me.” Ian took my elbow and steered me to the bathroom then lowered his voice. “A man would rather not have his woman around when he’s in pain. I’m getting ready to put him through hell while I probe for another bullet. You really want him to have to put on a brave front during that while you’re watching?”
“Oh. If I’m not here he could cry out. Not be so stoic.” I glanced at Jerry. His eyes were closed, his jaw tight. Like he was waiting for Ian to do his worst. “I get it. Tell him I won’t be able to hear a thing while I’m in the shower, washing my hair.”
“Good girl.” Ian smiled. “I promise I’ll get every bit of wood out of him this time and he’ll heal faster. I’m sorry I didn’t do more of an exploratory last night but he really couldn’t have taken a prolonged surgery then.”
“No, he was very weak.” I touched Ian’s hand. “Don’t blame yourself. Who would think those shifters would be such crack shots that they could have hit him twice while he was flying?”
“Exactly. Now take your time. This won’t be quick.” He wasn’t smiling now as he patted my shoulder then pushed me into the bathroom and shut the door.
I slumped against it. He was going to dig into Jerry again with that scalpel. No anesthetic. God. I couldn’t bear the thought. But I also couldn’t stand the idea that Jerry would hold all his pain inside for fear I’d think less of him. So I turned on the shower and threw off my robe. I spent a long time doing everything I could think of--washing and conditioning my hair, shaving my legs, even blowing my hair dry with the loudest dryer I’d heard this side of the Atlantic. I applied makeup and put on clothes I selected from the closet that luckily was part of the luxurious bathroom.
At one point I thought I heard Jerry cry out. I wanted desperately to go to him but didn’t. Instead I blinked back tears and waited until I couldn’t stall a moment longer. I eased open the door and peeked into the bedroom. Ian was sitting in a chair next to the window, his bag at his feet. He was finishing a bottle of synthetic blood. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was upset by the surgery he’d had to perform.
Forget Ian. I rushed to Jerry’s side, his middle swathed in a bandage. He was very, very pale and there were lines around his eyes and mouth from the unspeakable pain he must have endured. I fell to my knees and laid my head on his hand. Prayers. That was all I could manage for the moment. Finally I raised my head and turned to Ian.
“He’s sleeping.” Ian sounded tired.
“How is he? Did you get it all?”
“I hope to God I did.” Ian didn’t look so great himself. He set his empty bottle on the table next to him. “He was almost right, Glory. It wasn’t another bullet but a splinter from the one I took out of him last night.” Ian shook his head. “My fault, damn it. Careless. I should have studied the thing more closely. Noticed that it wasn’t intact.” He ran a hand through his hair but it fell back into place as if by magic. He was a handsome man though a little on the scary side with his very blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. Intense only began to describe him.
“But you got it all this time? You’re sure?” I forced myself to stand on wobbly legs.
“As sure as I can be in these circumstances. I probed his gut so much it became a form of torture. Campbell and I simply couldn’t take any more. Time will tell if I got it all. I think I did. If I had proper equipment here, I could know for a certainty. A CT scan would help, even an X-ray machine.” Ian stood. “I need a shower. Then you’d better find him another mortal to drink from.”
“Who? Some hapless housekeeper? I don’t like that.” I stepped back to Jerry’s side and wished he’d open his eyes.
“But it’s necessary. Call for fresh towels. God knows you need them.” Ian gestured at a pile of blood soaked towels he’d dumped into that basin Flo had left in the bedroom. “Do what you call the whammy on the person and get this done. You’re clever enough to handle it. Explain away the blood soaked towels with an accident. I’m sure you’ll think of something. Anyway, you can handle the mortal and the blood exchange. I know you’ve done it before.”
“Yes, of course. But I don’t like to do it now that we have synthetic available.” I brushed my hand over Jerry’s brow. Warm. “Do you think he has a fever?”
“Yes. But that mortal blood should take care of it. Forget your scruples, Glory, and take care of it. Or do I have to call the housekeeper myself?” Ian walked over to the house phone.
“No, I’ll do it. Jerry’s in my hands now and I’ll do whatever is best for him whether I like it or not.” I sighed. “Just go. Take your shower. Let’s all meet here in an hour. That should give me enough time to take care of ‘housekeeping.’”
“Excellent. I’ll stop by Mainwaring’s room and let them know the plan.” Ian leaned down to kiss my cheek. “You’ve been very brave about this, Glory. Campbell’s a lucky man.”
“Thanks. I’m grateful for what you’ve done. I know I didn’t sound like it just now.” I squeezed his hand.
“You’re worried, I get it.” And with that he was gone.
I stared at the closed door for a moment. Brave, hah! And worried, of course. Almost out of my mind. So I called housekeeping and asked for fresh towels
, assured they’d be here in minutes. I tidied the room as best I could, covering Jerry with a sheet and the bedspread. He didn’t move, obviously exhausted from the recent “exploratory” as Ian had called it.
Less than ten minutes passed before there was a knock on the door and a soft female voice claimed to be from “Housekeeping.” I inhaled. Mortal. Then I cautiously opened the door. I still wasn’t sure Fredrick’s men wouldn’t show up looking for Gretchen. But it was a tall sturdy woman in a hotel uniform who looked like she’d be able to flip a mattress one-handed. She stood next to a cart and held a pile of fresh towels in her hands.
“Thank you for being so prompt. We had a little accident in here and used up all our towels.” I gestured to the pile of blood soaked ones.
“Herregud! Some accident. Where’s the dead body?” She laughed nervously but looked from the towels to Jerry, laid out like a corpse on the bed. “Oh, I didn’t mean . . . Is it serious?”
“He’ll be fine. Our doctor just left. But my husband takes blood thinners and it’s almost impossible to get the bleeding to stop. He cut himself accidentally you see.” I took her by the elbow. “He’s merely sleeping. It takes a lot out of you when you lose blood.”
“I’m sure, Madame. Don’t you think he should be in hospital? He looks very pale. How did you say he cut himself?” She pulled free of me with another nervous giggle and backed toward the door.
Oops, she’d spotted Jerry’s knife on the bedside table. I’d just left it there, too used to the damned things lying around to think to put it out of sight.
“A silly accident. Men. He was showing off his knife skills to one of our friends.” I grabbed her elbow. “What’s your name?”
“Klara, Madame. Perhaps he would like his sheets changed. I always say a fresh bed makes me feel better. Can he get up and move to a chair?” She wouldn’t look at me, which was what I was waiting for. I needed to catch her gaze to mesmerize her. “The sheets are on the cart outside.” She jerked free and made a dash for the door.
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