“Anything else?” his sire asked.
“How do I transport myself from one place to another?”
“The same way you turn into mist. Mind over matter. It’s as simple as that. Any more questions?”
When Travis shook his head, Ronan said, “Let’s take a walk through the town.”
After leaving the hospital, they turned right and headed toward the residential section. It had been dark for about an hour and the streets and sidewalks were deserted.
“These houses are all inhabited by vampires,” Ronan remarked as they reached the end of the last street. “All but the one on Hampstead. The vampire who owned the house is dead, but his mate still lives there.”
“Did you detect any sign of humans being imprisoned anywhere?”
“No. But the scents of dozens of humans lingers in the air. Many are fresh, which leads me to believe they’re still here.”
“So, where are they?”
“The only possibility I can think of is that they’re being kept somewhere underground.”
“Assuming you’re right, how do they get their prey to the buyers?”
“A good question. I’m also wondering if they kidnap people from other towns. I can’t imagine this place gets that many visitors.”
“Last night, two vampires kidnapped a couple from a motor home. A third vampire drove the vehicle away, with a kid still inside.”
“Of course. They’d have to dispose of the vehicle.”
“What do you think happened to the boy?”
Ronan didn’t answer, merely looked at him.
Travis nodded. Either they intended to sell the kid, or the vampires had a fondness for young blood. He shook the thought away. “So, the vampires sleep all day. A few of their mates work the businesses to give the town a look of normalcy, which is why no one has bothered Sara.”
Ronan nodded. “She’s window dressing, like the other women.”
“Are we done here?” Travis asked. “I need to get back to Sara’s so Overstreet can take a break.”
“Go ahead. I’m going to look around some more.”
“Where’s Shannah?”
“She went to get a room at the hotel in the next town. I’m going to meet her there later.”
“Tired of bedding down in the hospital?”
“Indeed.”
With a grin and a wave of his hand, Travis headed for Sara’s.
He found her and Overstreet in the living room watching Frasier reruns, a large bowl of popcorn between them.
“Sorry I’m late,” Travis said, dropping a burlap bag on the floor. “How was your day?”
Overstreet grunted. “Long and—nothing against this lovely lady—boring.”
“You can take off now, if you want,” Travis said.
“Thanks, I think I will.”
“Hang on a minute. Sara, I think it’s okay for you to go back to work, as long as Overstreet is there with you.” Picking up the bag he’d dropped on the floor, he handed it to the writer. “This stuff’s for you.”
“And I didn’t buy you anything,” Carl muttered, peering into the sack. “Damn, are we going to war?”
“Maybe.”
“What’s in there?” Sara asked.
“A pistol loaded with silver bullets,” Travis said with a shrug. “A couple of wooden stakes. Three large spray bottles filled with holy water. And a silver-bladed dagger.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. Where did you find all that stuff?”
“It used to be mine. I had it in the trunk of my car.”
Sara bit down on her lower lip. She couldn’t begin to imagine how he felt, what he thought, about the-one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn his life had taken.
“Thanks for the weapons,” Overstreet said as he tucked one of the stakes into the waistband of his trousers and slipped the pistol into his coat pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sara.”
“Goodnight.” Sara put the popcorn bowl on the coffee table when Travis came to sit beside her.
Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he said, “I miss you when we’re apart.”
She smiled up at him. “I miss you, too. I think about you all the time.”
“Oh?”
She shrugged. “I keep thinking how hard it must have been for you to go from hunter to hunted,” she remarked. And then frowned. “Has anyone hunted you?”
“Not yet. I’ve been keeping a low profile. It’s one of the reasons I changed my name. Too many people knew what I was before. The last thing I want is for some old friend to track me down and try to drive a stake in my heart when he realizes what I’ve become.”
She nodded. “Did you see Ronan tonight?”
“Yeah. We walked through the town. He thinks there are definitely people being held here against their will, but he can’t locate them, which surprised me. He thinks they’re being kept somewhere underground and I think he’s probably right. It’s the only explanation, unless they’re being held somewhere on the outskirts of town.”
“It’s all just so bizarre,” Sara murmured, massaging her temples. “I keep thinking it’s a nightmare and I’ll wake up. But then I think about you and I’m glad it’s not a dream.”
“Sara.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lightly. “Do you know how amazing you are?”
“What do you mean?”
“Any other woman would be scared out of her wits to know she had a vampire in her house. She’d be running for the hills. And yet here you sit, with my arm around you, as if we’re just an ordinary couple. Like I said. Amazing.”
Sara laughed. And then she sobered. “Not really. What I am is scared half to death. Oh, not of you,” she said quickly. “But that Ronan character scares me right down to my socks.”
“He scares me, too. But he taught me how to do some remarkable things tonight.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“For one thing, he turned into a wolf in the blink of an eye.”
“He did? Now that is amazing!” She looked at him quizzically. “Can you do it, too?”
“I haven’t tried yet. But he told me that all I have to do to use my supernatural abilities is to believe that I can.”
“The power of positive thinking?” she asked with a grin.
“Something like that.”
She snuggled against him, thinking of
