“What do you need from us?”
“Right now, simply be observant. If anything seems beyond what you normally see from the Soulless, let Ray or me know. I have a handful of Imperium representatives I trust investigating, as well. I also need for you to just be on standby.” She paused. “But before you agree, you need to know that should I call on you, what I ask of you must take precedence over everything else. You may have to deliberately disobey the Imperium.”
The full impact of what was going on descended on the room, but Campbell didn’t look away from Catherine. Like her, he trusted his instincts. And they were telling him that the vampire world was on the precipice of something huge, and Catherine was standing on the right side of the battle.
“I’m with you, but I cannot speak for the rest of my team. This is too big.” He shifted his attention to the others. “Each of you has to make the decision for yourself.”
“Well, I’m in,” Len said with no hesitation.
“Me, too,” Colin said.
Kaja flipped her hair over her shoulder, and a sort of defiance flashed in her eyes. “I don’t like authority figures who take advantage of their positions, so if there’s a chance that’s happening here, I’m with you one hundred percent.”
Travis followed suit, and finally Sophia, who unsurprisingly had the most difficult time with going against authority. She had a good heart and always wanted to do the right thing, but she wasn’t by nature a rebel.
Campbell returned his attention to Catherine. “There you have it.”
“Good.” She smiled. “I knew I was making the right decision. Until you hear from me again, go about your normal duties. I have no idea when I might need you or for what. It could be hours, days, even months.”
Campbell couldn’t say he liked the sound of that. If a threat existed, he’d much prefer to dedicate all his energy to rooting it out and destroying it for good. But for now, he’d trust Catherine and just keep his eyes and ears open.
Catherine and Ray shifted as if to leave. “Campbell, walk with me,” she said.
He fell into step with her and noticed that Ray lagged behind.
“I know how you think, so I would bet my considerable fortune that you consider this new threat yet another reason to not be with the lovely Olivia.”
He wasn’t even surprised that Catherine had found out Olivia’s name. She probably had Olivia’s entire family history committed to memory by now.
“You’re wrong,” Catherine said.
Campbell stopped walking. “How do you know that?”
Catherine halted and shifted halfway toward him. “Remember those instincts I mentioned? They tell me that you are stronger with her in your life than without.”
“But what about her? Her life is more dangerous, more full of problems with me in it.”
“Is it? Or could it just be you’re afraid?” She turned to fully face him. “Tell me, would she be safer with or without someone with your power watching over her? Loving her?”
Campbell paced several steps away. “I could kill her so easily.”
“But you won’t.”
“You talk as if you’re all-knowing.”
“Hardly. But I have been around for a long time. And I know that cutting people out of our lives because we think we’re protecting them is never the answer. It just makes us resent this forever life we lead. How much sense does it make to be lonely for eternity when you have the option not to be?”
Campbell didn’t have an answer. The truth was his resolve to stay away from Olivia was weakening more with each word Catherine spoke. He didn’t know if he could convince himself that going back to her was even remotely safe, but there were things he could do for her while he tried to decide.
Catherine had started to walk away when he spoke again. “I need a favor.”
When she turned back toward him, she wore a victorious smile.
* * *
Now that the abduction case had been put to rest, Olivia expected Campbell to come see her. But two days passed with no visit, no call, no word of any kind. Her mood was not improved by the continued emptiness of the diner.
“I don’t know why I even opened,” she said to Mindy, who sat across from her in the dining room. “I sure don’t know why you came in. You should be resting.”
“If I
Olivia sighed and looked out at the deepening darkness. “At this rate, I can’t afford to keep the diner running much longer.”
“I don’t like that sound of defeat in your voice.”
“I don’t either, but sometimes we have to face the truth, no matter how much it hurts.”
“Why do I think this has as much to do with Campbell as the diner?”
Olivia shrugged. “Maybe it’s just time for a change, a big one.”
Mindy glanced beyond Olivia. “Hold that thought.” She grabbed the remote control for the TV and turned it up. “Look.”
Olivia turned and was stunned to see Campbell on TV, Colin at his side.
“With us outside the studio tonight is Campbell Raines, the head of the team of vampires who rescued the eight human abductees from that vampire nightclub two nights ago. Mr. Raines is a former NYPD officer. With him is Colin O’Shea, a former firefighter with the FDNY.”
Olivia stood motionless as she listened to the reporter ask Campbell and Colin question after question, and they answered, sharing with the viewing public all the information Campbell had shared with her. The differences between Souled and Soulless vampires, the Imperium, vampire law.
“But none of this changes the precautions humans should take,” Campbell said. “The night is still deadly, and humans should stay indoors after sundown. It’s the only way to ensure their safety.”
“I can’t believe they’re doing this,” Mindy said.
“Me neither.” Everyone they used to know would see them and know that they’d not perished during the pandemic or at the hands of vampires, that they had in fact become vampires.
“I understand you have something else you want to share with our viewing audience tonight,” the reporter said.
“Yes.” Campbell looked directly into the camera that must have been mounted outside the TV station and handled remotely from inside. “A private party has purchased an apartment building here in Manhattan and will be donating it for housing for the homeless, a safe place for them to live.”
“Is this private party a vampire, and if so, how does that make the homeless any safer than they’d be on the streets?”
“Because the title to the property will be transferred to a human before anyone moves in.”
“Which human?”
“Her name is Olivia DaCosta, and she already works with the homeless, taking them meals when no one else will. She’s put her own life at risk to help those society has continued to forget in the wake of the Bokor virus and the emergence of vampires.”
Olivia lifted her hand to cover a gasp. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“This is the Olivia DaCosta who prevented a kidnapping recently, then was a victim of one earlier this week?”
“Yes. Olivia is a remarkable person, strong, determined,” Campbell said. “Not only does she help the less fortunate, but she’s been able to see something in me that I couldn’t even see myself.”
“And what would that be?”
“My humanity, that I’m not a monster just because I was attacked. That with obvious differences, I’m still the man I was before I was turned. But it’s cost her. People who can’t see the same things have abandoned her diner, leaving her without the means to support herself or her employee. She’s done nothing wrong, and yet she’s paying the price.”
“It sounds as if you care for Miss DaCosta.”
“I do. I love her.”
“Oh, Olivia,” Mindy said, and grabbed her hand.
