The Vampire and the Virgin

“Forget it, Ms. Sotiris. You’ll have no defense against them. They can take over your mind and make you do whatever they want.”

She gulped. Was that what had happened to Harrison and the sheriff?

“They’re dangerous,” Alyssa whispered. “We’ve lost two members of our team because of them.”

Olivia winced. No wonder this woman was so afraid. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Oh, they weren’t killed,” Alyssa said. “They’re just…gone.”

A shiver skittered down Olivia’s back.

“Get a grip, Alyssa,” Whelan growled. “And you, Ms. Sotiris, you’ve wasted enough of my time.”

Olivia stumbled back a step when a spurt of heat shot across her brow. Her mind went fuzzy, then sharpened with a sudden compulsion to leave. “I must leave.” She wandered down the road to the driveway.

What was she doing? She glanced back and saw Whelan and Alyssa following her.

Keep going. Leave.

She shook her head. This wasn’t her decision.

Go to your car and leave. Now.

She turned onto the driveway. Dammit, what was wrong with her? She kept walking toward J.L.’s car. She glanced toward the cornfield, wishing he and Barker would emerge. She looked in the other direction and spotted the mysterious men who had materialized earlier. They were leaving the barns and the storm cellar. They were headed in her direction.

She veered toward the cornfield so they wouldn’t see her.

No. Go to the car. Leave now.

Her steps slanted back toward the car. Damn! What was she doing? She felt exposed.

She pulled J.L.’s keys from her pocket and hit the unlock button. The car’s headlights flashed. She winced. Those guys would see her for sure now.

Hurry up. Leave.

She walked up to the driver’s side door.

“Olivia?” someone shouted.

She froze. Robby? She turned and saw a man break apart from the group that had materialized. He sprinted toward her, passing through the light of the second house.

“Robby,” she whispered. It was him. He was wearing a kilt that swished about his knees as he ran toward her.

“Ms. Sotiris, leave now!” Whelan yelled.

She saw the CIA man and Alyssa walking up the driveway. It was Whelan who was making her leave. Somehow, he was projecting commands into her head.

A hot blast seared her brow, and she flinched.

Get in the car and leave.

She reached for the door handle.

“Olivia!” Robby called.

She paused, and suddenly he was there.

“Olivia.” He touched her arm. “What are ye doing here?”

“I must leave.”

He peered closely at her. “Are ye all right?”

She shook her head. “I must leave.”

“Back away from her, MacKay!” Whelan yelled.

Robby glared at the CIA man. “Release her. Ye have no right to control her.”

Whelan snorted. “Better me than you. You know this woman?”

“Aye. Release her now, or I’ll do it.”

“Fine,” Whelan growled. “But you leave her alone.”

“I willna harm her,” Robby said between gritted teeth.

“Right,” Whelan snarled. “Just like no one’s harmed Shanna or Emma.”

A hot wind swooshed through Olivia’s mind, and she swayed. Her keys tumbled to the ground.

Robby grabbed her forearms to steady her. “Are ye all right now?”

“Robby.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank God you’re here.” She shot an angry look at the CIA man. “He was trying to control me.”

“You idiot!” Whelan shouted. “I was trying to protect you.”

Robby hugged her tight. “’Tis all right, sweetheart.”

“Shit,” Whelan muttered. “Another woman compromised.”

“He seems to actually care for her,” Alyssa said.

Whelan slanted a suspicious look at her. “Go back to the car and wait for us.”

As Alyssa walked away, Whelan crossed his arms and scowled at Robby. “Why can’t you bastards pick on your own kind?”

Robby rubbed a hand up and down Olivia’s back. “Go on about yer business, Whelan, and leave us alone.”

Whelan. Now Olivia recalled where she’d heard the name. Robby had mentioned it on Patmos. As her mind continued to clear from Whelan’s control, she realized that Robby was one of the guys who had magically appeared.

She stepped back, pulling out of his arms. “What’s going on, Robby? What are you doing here?”

“Great,” Whelan grumbled. “Now she starts thinking. A little too late.”

Robby gave the CIA man an annoyed look, then turned back to Olivia. “Ye know I work for an agency that specializes in investigation. We’re working with the CIA on this case.”

Whelan snorted. “That’s a cleaned up version.”

Robby scowled at him. “Ye called Connor an hour ago about this place. Ye wanted us to come here first.”

“I thought the Malcontents might still be here,” Whelan said. “Are they?”

Robby shook his head. “They’ve already left.”

“Who are the Malcontents?” Olivia asked. “And how did you magically appear in the front yard?”

Robby stiffened.

Whelan chuckled. “Yeah, try explaining that to your girlfriend.”

Robby’s jaw shifted. “The Malcontents are the terrorists I told you about.”

“The ones who tortured you?” she asked.

“Aye. We believe they murdered these people.”

“Stop sanitizing the truth,” Whelan snarled. “They drained every drop of blood from these people, then slashed their throats to hide the bite marks.”

Olivia stepped back and bumped into the car. “Bite marks?”

“Did you find any blood around the victims?” Whelan asked.

She shook her head no.

“Whelan, enough.” Robby glowered at him. “I need to talk to her in private.”

“You haven’t told her yet?” Whelan scoffed. “Typical. You bastards are never honest about yourselves.”

Olivia swallowed hard. As much as she disliked Whelan, she was afraid he had a point. Robby had materialized out of thin air. And then, there were the other things, like red glowing eyes and leaving her apartment without unlocking the door. She realized with a jolt that he might have simply vanished. “What—what are you?”

Robby regarded her sadly. “I was going to tell you. Tomorrow night.”

“Vampires!” Whelan blurted out.

Robby winced.

Olivia blinked. “What?”

“Vampires,” Whelan repeated.

Robby’s green eyes glittered as he glared at Whelan. “For God’s sake, man, go away and let me handle this.”

A cold chill teased the back of Olivia’s neck. “There’s no such thing as vampires.”

“Think about it, Ms. Sotiris,” Whelan said. “The victims were drained of all blood before their throats were slashed. They were manipulated with vampire mind control. That’s why they have no defensive wounds. They never fought back ’cause they were completely controlled.”

Vampire mind control? She didn’t want to believe vampires existed, but Whelan’s description of the crime scene was too accurate. Why would anyone steal a person’s blood? Unless they needed it to survive. “How do you know what the crime scene looks like? You never went inside the house.”

Whelan shrugged. “I’ve seen it before. They always use the same M.O.”

She looked at Robby. He wasn’t denying any of it. He was simply watching her with a worried expression. “Is it true? Do vampires really exist?”

He nodded. “Some are evil, but some are good.”

She rubbed her forehead. This was crazy. She might as well believe in leprechauns and fairies. Vampires. Bloodsuckers. They’d slashed the victims’ throats to hide bite marks. That meant fangs. A shudder skittered through her. Vampire mind control.

She flinched and looked at Whelan. “You controlled my mind.” She moved closer to Robby, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Whelan rolled his eyes. “Oh come on. I’m not the vampire. I’m the one who told you about them.”

“Leave us,” Robby whispered. “Let me tell her.”

Whelan snorted. “You’ll just control her and make her stay with you, the same way Roman does to my daughter.”

A chill settled on Olivia as memories flashed through her mind. Red glowing eyes, puncture marks in her pillow. Robby never answered the phone or e-mail during the day. She never saw him during the day. Never saw him eat or drink. And could never read his emotions.

She jumped back and stared at him. “No,” she whispered. “No.”