One kiss led to another, and then another, each one longer and sweeter than the last. They were lying side by side on the sofa now, bodies pressed intimately together. Lost in the magic of his kisses, it took Sara a minute to realize someone was pounding on the front door.
“Leave it,” Travis said, his voice husky. “Maybe they’ll go away.”
“Good idea.” She slid her fingers into the hair at his nape, her eyelids fluttering down as he kissed her again, only to let out a whimper of protest when Travis rolled to his feet.
Sara blinked up at him. “Travis? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Overstreet. Maybe we’d better let him in. He might be in trouble.”
Chapter 16
“Carl, this is a surprise,” Sara said, smoothing a hand over her hair. “Is something wrong?”
“Is Hewitt here?”
“Yes.”
Overstreet stood in the open doorway, his shoulders slumping when he saw Travis.
“What’s wrong?” Travis asked. “You look like hell.”
“I was at the hospital, looking over my notes … and …” Overstreet scrubbed a hand over his face.
“And what?” Travis asked impatiently. “Spit it out, man.”
“Ronan’s here.”
Travis swore under his breath. “What the hell! Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure! He’s waiting for you at the hospital.”
“I decided not to wait.”
Sara let out a shriek as a tall, dark-haired man suddenly appeared on the porch beside Carl.
Overstreet darted across the threshold as if his life depended on it. And maybe it did, Sara thought.
Travis put himself between Ronan and the others, eyes narrowed as he stared at the vampire who had turned him and then abandoned him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Shannah’s been worried about you,” Ronan replied with a negligent shrug. “She insisted we come and make sure you were adjusting to your new lifestyle.”
“Is she here, too?”
“Indeed. She’s waiting for me at the hospital.” Ronan looked his fledgling up and down. “You seem to be doing all right.”
“No thanks to you.”
Ronan shrugged. “As I frequently remind my wife, you’re lucky I didn’t kill you.”
“Yeah,” Travis said bitterly. “Lucky. So, you’ve seen me. You can tell Shannah to stop worrying about me and go home.”
“But you haven’t introduced me to this lovely lady.”
Travis hesitated a moment before answering. “This is Sara. She’s a friend of mine. Sara, remember when you said you wanted to meet Claire Ebon? Well, here she is.”
Sara stared at the man standing on the other side of the threshold. Clad all in black, he was tall and broad-shouldered, with hair and eyes the color of ebony. She took a step back when his gaze met hers. Danger emanated from that flint-like stare like the warning rattle of a snake.
“Always pleased to meet a fan,” the vampire said, his voice silky soft and smooth.
She nodded, speechless.
The vampire laughed softly, as if her fear greatly amused him.
Sara felt a wave of relief when the vampire turned his attention back to Travis.
Frowning, the vampire said, “You’ve changed your name.”
“Get out of my head!”
“Travis Black? Interesting choice for a last name. Should I be flattered?”
Travis scowled at him.
“When you have time, please come to the hospital.” It wasn’t a request. “Shannah would like to see you.” Ronan sketched a bow in Sara’s direction. “Until next time, Miss Winters,” he said, and vanished into the darkness.
Sara looked at Travis and frowned. “How did he know my last name?”
“He’s a master vampire. He can’t only read your mind, but he can compel you to do whatever he wants.”
Sara pressed a hand to her heart. That was the scariest thing she’d ever heard.
“Are you going to go the hospital?” Overstreet asked.
“I don’t have much choice.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. He’s my sire. If he commands it, I have to obey. “Why don’t you stay here with Sara?”
“Fine with me, if Sara doesn’t mind.”
“No, please. I’d rather not be alone.” She smiled, though it felt a little frayed around the edges.
Carl looked at Travis, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Do you think that’s why he’s really here?” he asked, frowning. “Because Shannah’s worried about you?”
Travis snorted. “I don’t know why she would be. After I staked him, she dragged me over to him so he could feed on me and then ruin my life.”
Somewhat timidly, Sara took Travis’ hand. “I’m glad he didn’t kill you.”
He looked at her, his anger melting away. “Yeah. Me, too, because I never would have met you. And believe me, darlin’, you’re the only thing that makes me want to go on living.” He kissed her lightly. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Travis found Ronan and Shannah sitting side by side on a faded sofa in the hospital waiting room. In her mid-twenties when Ronan turned her, Shannah was as lovely as he remembered, with a wealth of thick black hair, blue eyes, and a curvy figure.
“So, you wanted to see me and here I am,” Travis said flatly. “Is that all?”
Shannah glanced at Ronan.
He shrugged. “I told you he wouldn’t be happy to see us.”
“Right as always,” Shannah murmured as she turned those wide blue eyes on Travis. “I’m sorry for the way things turned out, but you brought it on yourself. You should have left us alone.”
“Yeah. Well, silly me, I thought your life was in danger. Little did I know the female was just as deadly as the male.”
She stiffened, her chin jutting out. “I guess I don’t need to worry about you anymore.”
“I guess not.” Travis looked at his sire. “Okay if I go now, master?”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“There’s something strange going on in this town. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not sure, but I smell treachery in the air.”
Travis frowned. “Are you serious? I’ve only counted maybe forty people in town, counting kids, and twenty-three of them are vampires.”
Ronan snorted. “I’d say there were more than fifty vampires living here. Don’t you think that’s odd?”
“I never thought about it,” Travis said, shrugging. “Fifteen or
