“I can’t imagine who it was, or why,” she said.
He didn’t look as if he believed her, but he didn’t press the issue. “Well, whoever it was, looks as if he was right to be concerned. These two have a rap sheet as long as Broadway. We might need to rebuild the human population, but I can’t say I’m sorry to see these two out of the gene pool.”
The cop, an Officer Cortez, judging by his nametag, looked down at the dead kidnappers, a pinched look on his face.
“Is something wrong?” Olivia asked.
Officer Cortez sighed. “The person who called about protection claimed some humans were working with the vampires. Sounded crazy to us at the time. But recent events have proven he was right about that, too.”
Olivia did her best to play dumb. “You think these two were working for vampires?”
“The fact that they were out here at night tells me yes.”
“Were they killed by a vampire? I thought they were fighting with each other.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. There are no bite marks, but their necks were broken. Hard for them to break each other’s necks, don’t you think?”
The visible shiver that shook her wasn’t manufactured. Campbell had killed them so easily, so quickly. That he’d done it to protect her didn’t calm the nausea rising in her stomach. She didn’t dare make eye contact with Mindy.
“So whoever they were working for turned on them?” Olivia asked.
“We may never know. But I’d be very cautious if I were you.” He pointed toward the bodies now zipped up in body bags. “This is bad news, whatever really happened.” With a nod, he walked away and started talking to another of the officers drawing the attention of her neighbors. Just what she needed, curious stares turned in her direction right when she needed people to look the other way.
She did her best not to fidget, irrationally afraid she’d somehow reveal that she had a vampire hiding in her walk-in freezer next to her frozen foods. Would he freeze in there? Did cold affect vampires at all?
“He knows something,” Mindy said.
“Shh.”
When the police left and the coroner hauled away what was left of her attackers, Mindy strode to the sink and poured a large glass of water. She downed it before turning back toward Olivia. Her face was drained of color. She glanced toward the freezer. “I don’t know if I can stay here, not with him so close.”
“He can’t hurt you.”
“Like he didn’t hurt those guys?”
“He’s in bad shape, Min. Give him the time to heal today and he’ll leave.”
Mindy didn’t speak for what seemed like endless minutes. “I’ll stay, but we’re both leaving well before sunset.”
Olivia nodded, though she didn’t think she could leave unless Campbell looked well on the way to mending. She’d deal with that later. Now she had to somehow get Mindy and herself through the day wearing a facade of normalcy.
Mindy started preparing breakfast while Olivia headed to the freezer to check on Campbell.
Mindy stopped her. “Don’t.”
“It’s daylight. He can’t step foot out of there.”
After a moment, Mindy released Olivia’s arm. She even followed as Olivia approached the freezer and gripped the handle.
When Olivia opened the door, she saw that Campbell had managed to drag himself to a sitting position against some cartons of sausage. And he didn’t look as if he’d healed at all.
“Hi, Mindy,” he said, his voice weak and raspy.
Mindy gasped, though Olivia had no idea if it was because Campbell had spoken to her or because he looked as if he’d walked through hell. Without speaking, Mindy retreated. Olivia would be lucky if Mindy managed to stay in the building.
When Olivia returned her attention to Campbell, beyond the pain she saw a sense of relief in his eyes. As if he was glad not to be alone anymore.
She approached him and he tried to move away. He stilled only when she touched his hand, his badly burned hand.
“Why aren’t you healing? Do the cuffs prevent that, too?”
“No. I guess I just got smoked more than I thought.”
She met his eyes. “You need to feed to get better, don’t you?”
He hesitated before nodding.
“What happens if you don’t? It’ll just take a long time to heal, right?”
“Afraid not. I’ll stay like this. It’s too much damage.”
She bit her bottom lip. After what he’d done for her, she couldn’t let him suffer, too weak to heal or even to leave the relative safety of her freezer.
“If I take off the cuffs—”
“No!”
She flinched but didn’t move away from him.
“No,” he said more calmly. “I won’t take the risk of hurting you.”
“But I can’t let you suffer like this. I won’t.”
A look of disbelief invaded his blue eyes. Then he turned his damaged hand over and held hers. “Call St. Patrick’s. Tell Chloe what happened. She can help you get what I need.”
Olivia tamped down a twinge of jealousy that he was turning to another woman for help. It didn’t matter as long as it aided in his healing. And it was Chloe. Through their time together, she knew that Campbell and Chloe were nothing more than friends. Olivia and Chloe had bonded over the fact that they were perhaps the only two humans in Manhattan who could say they were true friends with vampires.
Campbell squeezed Olivia’s hand despite how it must make his tender skin pull. “Why are you doing this?”
She met his gaze then jumped off the proverbial cliff. “I think you know.” And before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. It was over before he had a chance to react, and the look of surprise on his face when she pulled away made her happy.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn’t help smiling as she stood. But she let the evidence of how Campbell made her feel fall away before she left the freezer and closed the door behind her. At least that kiss might give him something to think about other than his condition. Judging by the rapid beating of her heart, she certainly wasn’t going to forget it anytime soon.
Mindy looked up from where she was flipping sausage patties on the grill. “Is he dying in there?”
“No, but he’s not getting better. He needs to feed.”
Mindy fumbled and dropped a spatula. “You...you didn’t?”
“No, but I have to help him.” Olivia headed to the phone and dialed St. Patrick’s. When Chloe answered, Olivia said, “Hey, Chloe. It’s Olivia. I need your help. I need to go to the blood bank.”
“If you can wait another couple of hours, I’ll go and give my monthly quota, too.”
“No, I need to go now. Campbell is here and he’s badly burned. He needs to feed.”
Chloe gasped. Judging by the sounds coming through the phone line, Olivia guessed Chloe was standing and heading for the door. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Okay, thanks.”
When Olivia hung up, Mindy was staring at her in disbelief.
“You’re leaving me here with that thing?”
“If not for him, I’d be suffering a fate worse than death now. Would you have me be so cruel as to let him die for it?”
“He’s already dead.”
“You know what I mean.”
Mindy squeezed Olivia’s hands. “I’m glad you’re safe, but nothing’s ever going to make me like them or trust them. They’re savages.”
Olivia wanted to cry as she faced the knowledge that she was going to lose her best friend or the guy she
