the moment. He didn’t let go of Olivia as he led her back through the maze of corridors.
When they reached the basement where the captives had been held, all of them were gone but Mindy. Colin had just lifted her in his arms. Olivia raced forward. “Min?”
“She’s passed out,” Colin said. “But alive. She’s strong.”
“How are the rest?” Campbell asked.
“Weak but okay. They hadn’t been fed on in a couple of days, and it looked as if they’d been given food.”
“They wanted to make sure they were able to keep making blood,” Campbell said with disgust.
“Everyone else went up under their own power,” Colin said.
“We’ll guard them until morning when the ambulances start running, but we’re taking Mindy and Olivia to the hospital now.”
Colin didn’t argue and started up the stairs with Mindy.
When they reached the club, Campbell stopped and looked down at Olivia. “Go out with Colin. I’ll be there in a minute.”
She gripped his arm.
“It’s okay. I just have a bit of business to finish.”
He watched as Olivia followed Colin out the door. Then he turned his attention to Salmeri. “You have no idea how much I want to kill you right now and save the Imperium the trouble of a trial. I’ll settle for shutting you down and anticipating seeing which horrible punishment they hand you.”
“You may have won the battle, but you’ll lose the war,” Salmeri said with a contemptuous sneer.
“It’s war, is it?” Campbell asked. “That why you tried to blow us to the hereafter?”
“You’re nothing more than a nuisance, but I don’t like nuisances.”
“Then you’re really not going to like where you’re going.”
Salmeri had the gall to laugh. “I won’t be there for long.”
“You seem mighty sure of that,” Campbell said. “Think your Nefari friends are going to break you out?”
Salmeri snorted. “You think like the small-minded vampires you are, as if the Nefari were your biggest problem.”
There it was again, that skittering feeling up his back that told Campbell something bigger was going on.
“Feel free to stop being cryptic at any time,” he said.
“You’ll know soon enough,” Salmeri said, evidently deciding to stay with the cryptic. “That or the next time someone bombs you, your merry little band won’t be so lucky.” He met Campbell’s gaze with hate-filled eyes. “When they do kill you, I plan to watch the tears pool in your little human’s eyes, delight in her mourning for her poor dead vampire.” Salmeri smiled, causing rage to swell inside Campbell.
Fed up, he jerked Salmeri to his feet and shoved him at Len and Kaja, who had returned from escorting Salmeri’s victims to safety. “Get this piece of garbage out of my sight before I kill him.”
Kaja wrapped a silver chain around Salmeri’s neck and dragged him out like the dog he was.
“You think he was just blowing smoke with all that mysterious crap?” Len asked.
Campbell stared toward the door and thought about Salmeri’s words. “I don’t think so.”
“What do you think he was talking about, then?”
Campbell shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m sure we’re not going to like it.”
Having been checked out and given a clean bill of health, Olivia sat beside Mindy’s hospital bed as her friend slept. Mindy had been through so much, new horrors she didn’t deserve. The press had wanted to interview them again, especially since the viewing audience was already familiar with them from when they’d halted the earlier kidnapping attempt. But Olivia had simply denied them access, focusing instead on Mindy’s recovery. Despite what Mindy had said when they’d been held captive, Olivia still felt guilty.
A scrolling Breaking News banner on the muted TV caught her attention, so she adjusted the volume just enough to hear the reporter.
“An unbelievable story is coming out of Mount Sinai Hospital this morning. Eight people, the victims in a rash of recent abductions, were rushed to the hospital this morning just after daybreak. All had suffered significant blood loss and other less threatening injuries after having been kept as blood slaves beneath a new nightclub popular among vampires. Officials say that the victims confirmed that they were abducted by humans working for vampires. But what is truly surprising to everyone who has spoken to the victims is that they are all claiming they were also rescued by vampires. One of the rescued abductees, Jennifer Watson, spoke with some of the vampires who raided the club and freed the people being held captive.”
“I didn’t believe it at first,” Jennifer said from her hospital bed. “I thought I’d either died or was hallucinating. But there was this...team of vampires who busted in and set us free. They unchained us and led us across the street to a human-owned building so we could wait for the sun to rise. Just after dawn several ambulances arrived, so I can only assume they kept their word and called them for us.” She shook her head slowly. “These vampires captured the one behind our abductions, said he would be made to pay. I still half can’t believe it, but it makes me wonder about all my assumptions.”
When the filmed clip ended and the camera refocused on the reporter outside Mount Sinai, she looked every bit as stunned as Jennifer Watson.
“Law enforcement officials have indicated to us that they had their doubts about the story at first, but each abductee relayed the same details in separate interviews. This is one of those events that has just left everyone scratching their heads, but rest assured we will stay on the story and bring you more information as we have it.”
As the news anchor shifted to another story, Olivia lowered the volume. When she turned back toward the bed, Mindy’s eyes were open.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Olivia said.
“It’s okay.” Mindy glanced at the TV. “So it wasn’t all a dream?”
“No. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, so stop acting as if it is.” She didn’t seem upset, just put out. In fact, she sounded enough like her old self that hope swelled in Olivia.
“Can I get you anything?”
Mindy shook her head on her pillow then stared at Olivia.
“What?” Olivia asked.
“You love Campbell, don’t you?”
She’d hoped to not have to face this conversation so soon.
“It’s okay if you do,” Mindy said.
Olivia couldn’t believe her ears. “It is?”
“Yeah. If it wasn’t for him and his team, we might be dead now. How many times has he saved you now, four? Even I can’t argue that he’s evil after that.”
Tears popped into Olivia’s eyes as she squeezed Mindy’s hand. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I should have listened to you sooner.”
“You had reason not to. More than once I thought I was crazy.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Mindy said. “I still believe most of them are monsters, just that there are a few exceptions when they’re not thirsty.”
Olivia couldn’t argue with that, because she agreed with every word. She shivered as she remembered Salmeri’s hand on her, the cold, hopeless feeling she’d gotten the moment she’d seen the nameless vampire in the black cloak. She hated the idea that he was still out there somewhere. She just hoped V Force’s raid forced him to flee and stay far, far away.
Despite her experience, hope bloomed inside Olivia. Hope that this story would start to change people’s minds about all vampires being evil. Maybe if the details of vampire society started to come out, Campbell would
