stop being so resistant to being with her, might stop worrying that he’d bring her nothing but sorrow. Even as he’d rescued her and held her close, she could feel some sort of barrier still between them. She needed to find out what it was so she could break it down.
She told Mindy she was going to the cafeteria, but when she reached the end of the hallway she called Chloe. “Hey, it’s Olivia.”
“I was just about to head to the hospital to see you and Mindy. How are you?”
“We’re fine. Listen, I have a question. Do you know where the new V Force headquarters is?”
Chloe hesitated before answering slowly. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I want you to take me there. I need to see Campbell.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not? Campbell won’t hurt me, and the rest of the team doesn’t have my blood type.”
“They’re not the only vampires there, and not every vampire has the strength to resist the call of the blood like Campbell does. Hell, even he can’t always overcome it. You know that.”
“Chloe, please. If I could just talk to him.”
“No, Olivia. No matter how much you beg, the answer will remain no.”
“But—”
“No. And it’s not just for your safety but also for theirs. The fewer people who know, the better. The only reason I know is because I have to deliver the holy water.”
Olivia understood, could even appreciate her friend’s concern for her, but it was getting really damn old. She was going to find Campbell, one way or another.
* * *
Campbell stared at the pencil he was twirling between his fingers. He despised Nicky Salmeri for many things, but perhaps most of all for the thought he’d put in his head. The one that someone was eventually going to take Campbell out, and that if he let his relationship with Olivia continue, she would be the one left behind grieving. She’d already been through that once. And he’d seen how thinking he’d died in the bombing affected her. She didn’t deserve to be subjected to it again.
And then there was the fact he had not shared his darkest secret with her. Each time he thought about doing so, he wondered if he could face seeing her horror, watching as she realized she’d been wrong about him all along. Realized that he really was a monster and ran away from him forever.
“When you get that look on your face, it means you’re thinking too much,” Kaja said from where she sat with her booted feet propped on the edge of her new desk. “And if I were a betting vampire, I’d say it has something to do with Olivia. When are you going to stop being an idiot and go see her again, anyway?”
Campbell tossed the pencil onto his desk. “Well, haven’t you made a one-eighty on that topic.”
“What? I’m an incurable romantic.”
Len literally choked on a drink of blood he was taking, this time from his own cup. Kaja had threatened him with castration if he ever drank from hers again, and even vampires wanted to keep that particular body part intact and functioning properly.
“It doesn’t seem fair to her when I could be killed tomorrow.”
“Seriously, that’s the excuse you’re going with?” Kaja asked.
“It’s not an excuse. It’s true.” And he couldn’t tell Kaja the bigger reason.
“For you and every cop in the world. Pretty sure a lot of them have girlfriends or, gasp, even wives.”
“They don’t have the strike of having died once already against them.”
“Do you think she cares? Seems to me you’re the only one hung up on that anymore.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Until you’ve found someone you really care about, you can’t know.”
Kaja dropped her feet to the floor and stood. “You know, Campbell, I respect the hell out of you. But sometimes you can be a real ass.”
He didn’t try to stop her, because she was right. But didn’t that just prove his point that he was no good for Olivia? Vampire, the constant target of the Soulless who would love to take out a V Force member, jerk. Three strikes and you were out.
The door opened and Ray walked in. But he wasn’t alone. When Campbell saw who was with him, he stood.
“Baroness.”
She made a dismissive wave. “Please, call me Catherine. After so many years of hearing myself addressed as
“Can we get you anything?” Sophia asked.
Catherine smiled. “No, dear, but thank you. I’m here to congratulate you on a successful mission. It is a good thing to have so many humans back where they belong through the help of Souled vampires.”
“We were just doing our job,” Campbell said.
“Yes, you were. You’ll be happy to know the trial date has been set for the detestable Mr. Salmeri. And if I have anything to say about it, he will no longer be a problem.”
“I’d be happier if I could just toss him out into the sun to roast,” Kaja murmured, but Catherine didn’t miss it.
“You never know,” Catherine said. “He might end up with a date with daylight.”
Campbell winced, not because he didn’t think Salmeri deserved such a punishment but rather at the memory of his own brush with the sun.
“I am sorry to not be able to let you all enjoy a much-deserved break,” Catherine said. “However, I need to discuss something of the utmost importance with you. I’m afraid that your job will only grow more challenging in the days and months ahead.”
Campbell knew vampire crime was on the rise, but something told him theft and assaults weren’t exactly what she was talking about.
“What I’m about to tell you is classified to the highest levels of the Imperium. I do not agree with that decision, so I’m not going to abide by it.”
Sophia gasped, and a couple of the others shifted uncomfortably. The Imperium’s law was absolute.
“It must be something very serious to cause you to make that decision,” Campbell said.
“It is indeed. It’s why I’ve been traveling like a crazy woman lately, why I’m in New York now. I’ve been meeting with the heads of the various Imperium offices around the world. We believe there is a building and significant threat to the Imperium itself.”
“The Nefari has gained that much power?” Colin asked.
“I wish it were as simple as the Nefari. Them, we know how to deal with. Common crooks, if ones with a lot of resources.” Catherine sighed, though she hadn’t required breath in more than a century. “I’m afraid the Nefari are child’s play compared to the Pravus.”
“The Pravus?” Campbell asked. “Sorry, but I’m no expert in Latin.”
“Evil, pure and simple,” Ray offered.
“We do not know who is behind it or what the specifics of their plans are, but what little we have gleaned points toward it being a plot by the Soulless to take over the Imperium and substantially change vampire society.”
“Oh, my God,” Sophia said, and sank heavily into her chair.
Campbell watched the baroness for a moment before speaking. “Why are you telling us this?”
“Quite frankly, because I trust you more than I do some of my colleagues in the Imperium.”
“You think someone in the Imperium is involved?” Kaja asked.
“That I don’t know, but I’ve been around long enough to know I should always trust my instincts. And those instincts are telling me that your team members are trustworthy. You all have proven that by how you interact with humans.” She looked directly at Campbell. “You, more than the vampires at the highest levels of the Imperium, see them as more than a food source. You see the potential for our two species to coexist, to do more than just share a world without crossing paths.”
He felt like squirming but refused to do so or make eye contact with any of his fellow team members. There were many reasons he shouldn’t be with Olivia, but he didn’t feel he should have to enumerate them. They ought to be obvious to anyone with eyes to see.
