Now she knew better. He’d planned on telling her he was a vampire.
She was sick of hearing about it. On the drive back to Kansas City that morning, J.L. and Barker had talked endlessly about vampires. J.L. thought their powers were awesome. Barker was grateful there were good ones to combat the bad ones. They’d spent a good thirty minutes speculating on what the Malcontents would do next, then another thirty minutes wondering how the CIA would cover up what had happened.
Olivia had been ready to scream by the time they arrived at the office. At least the afternoon had been spent on something different. She and J.L. had interviewed some of Yasmine’s relatives. One of Yasmine’s sisters admitted that she’d seen her two days earlier. She claimed not to know where Yasmine was hiding, but she’d loaned her debit card to her sister.
After more investigation they learned the debit card had been used at an ATM machine on the Kansas side of Kansas City. They canvassed the neighborhood but didn’t find her.
Olivia was exhausted by the time she made it home that evening, but she still kept busy. If she stopped for a moment, her thoughts would return to Robby, and the pain would rush back.
How could she have a relationship with a vampire? He could never share a day with her. Or a meal with her. He would never grow old. And what would it mean to her? Would she continue to age until she lost him? Would she never have children? Would she be lured into a dark world and become one of them?
She shuddered. Love should bring a person joy and life, not darkness and death.
She watched the news while she ate her supper of salad and moussaka. Her fork froze halfway to her mouth when she recognized the scene on the television. A helicopter was flying over the farmhouses in Nebraska. The reporter claimed ten people had died from a new deadly strain of the flu. The public was warned to stay away from the area. It was believed to be the same strain of flu that had recently caused eight deaths in South Dakota.
Olivia set her fork down. The Malcontents were leaving a trail of death down the center of the country. She prayed the children would survive.
When the sun went down, she closed all the blinds and wondered where Robby was. Was he waking up from the dead? Would he spend the night hunting for Casimir and the Malcontents?
She was washing dishes when her cell phone rang. She quickly dried her hands. Part of her hoped it was Robby. Part of her dreaded that it would be. “Hello?”
“Liv, turn on the news,” J.L. said. “Hurry.”
She went to the television. “If this is about that cover story, I already—” She gasped.
There was a picture of Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary on the screen. A headline read: EIGHT INMATES ESCAPE.
“Do you see it?” J.L. asked.
“Yes.” She turned up the volume.
The news anchor reported a strange incident at Leavenworth. Eight of their worst inmates had simply disappeared from their prison cells. The guards had no idea how it had happened.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” J.L. asked. “What if it was teleportation?”
Olivia sank onto the love seat. “You mean the Malcontents teleported in and took them.” She closed her eyes briefly. Robby had said that Casimir needed to expand his army. And if he couldn’t find evil vampires, he would make them. What better place to find evil people than a federal prison?
The news anchor continued with his report. “This just in. We are now able to identify the eight inmates who escaped. If you see any of these men, notify the authorities immediately. Do not approach them. They are extremely dangerous.”
He recited names while the prison photos were flashed on the screen. “And the last prisoner—Otis Crump.”
Her heart plummeted into her stomach.
“Shit!” J.L. shouted. “Olivia, get out of the apartment now. Go straight to work. I’ll meet you there.”
She froze, staring at Otis’s photo on the television screen. He was free. Not only free, but if Casimir had freed him, he might soon be a vampire. Otis’s claim that they were destined to be together forever took on a sinister new meaning.
He would come after her. And if he succeeded, she would end up either dead…or undead.
“Liv!” J.L. yelled on the phone. “Are you there?”
She jerked out of her stunned trance. “I’m here. I’m leaving. See you soon.”
She ran into her bedroom to put on some socks and her athletic shoes. Then she strapped on her holster and sidearm over her blue jeans. Her heart pounded. Otis could be on his way to her apartment right now. If he was alive, he might be driving. If he was already a vampire, he might be able to teleport straight into her living room.
She threw on a jacket and stuffed an extra clip of bullets into the pocket. How fast could someone become a vampire? She had no idea. Could her bullets kill a vampire? She hoped she wouldn’t have to find out.
She rushed into her living room just as a form suddenly appeared. Her heart lurched.
“Oh God, Robby!” She pressed a hand to her chest. “You scared me to death.”
“Ye’re in grave danger.”
“Yeah, I know.” She hurried past him to the console by the front door. “Otis Crump could be on his way here.”
“I’ve come to take you to safety.”
“No thanks.” She collected her handbag and keys.
Robby strode toward her. “Ye must let me protect you.”
“I don’t think so.” She opened the door and stepped onto the front porch.
“What are ye doing?” His eyes were wide with shock. “Ye canna leave on yer own.”
“Watch me.” She closed the door in his face and locked it. She hurried down the stairs, stifling a grin. That had felt surprisingly good.
As she strode toward her car, her stride hitched a bit when he appeared in the parking lot. He wasn’t wearing a kilt tonight. His black cargo pants and black T-shirt hugged a muscular body. Leather straps across his chest probably meant his claymore was on his back. His brow was furrowed with fierce determination.
Damn, he was good looking. And as much as she chafed against his he-man tendencies, she had to admit there was a raw masculinity to him that made her bones melt. She forced herself to look away and headed for her car.
He followed her. “Perhaps ye doona understand the gravity of the situation. We know it was Casimir and his minions who helped the prisoners escape.”
“I already figured that out.” She pressed her keypad to unlock her car.
“Then ye should know the Malcontents could be transforming the prisoners into vampires right now, including the bastard who’s obsessed with you.”
“I know.” She reached for the door handle.
He leaned against the car door, blocking her. “I can take you to a safe place where no vampire can get to you.”
“Including you?”
His jaw shifted. “Ye have no reason to fear me. I would never harm you.”
“Tell that to my breaking heart,” she muttered.
His eyes glittered an intense green. “There is no reason for you to suffer. We could be together. Ye only have to accept me for what I am.”
“I can’t do that right now. Please move, so I can go.”
“Bugger,” he muttered, and stepped back. “Dammit, woman. If ye love me, ye will stay loyal to me. Ye willna stab me in the back with betrayal.”
She flinched. He was accusing her of wrongdoing? How dare he? “If you loved me, you would have been honest with me!”
His face paled and a glint of pain flickered in his eyes. Her heart clenched in her chest. Damn, she hadn’t realized he was hurting as much as she was. She usually knew exactly what other people were feeling.
With a trembling hand she opened the car door.
“Where are ye going?” Robby asked as she climbed inside.
“Work.” She shut the door and turned on the engine.
She backed out of her parking space, then hit the brakes with a lurch when Robby suddenly materialized in the passenger seat. “My God, would you stop scaring me? What are you doing here?”
He removed the sheath from his back. “I have to protect you.”
“I don’t need your protection.”
“No one can protect you from a vampire as well as another vampire.” He settled back in the seat and put on his seat belt. “Where exactly are we going?”
“FBI building, and I didn’t invite you.”
“Och, I could teleport you there in a second. ’Twould save you time and gas.”
She ignored him and stomped on the accelerator. Traffic was light at this time of night, so she was able to make good time.
“Whelan and his team are at Leavenworth,” Robby said as she passed another car. “And Angus and Connor are there. If there are any clues to be found, they’ll find them.”
She sped up to catch a yellow light.
“The safest place for you is the silver room at Romatech,” Robby continued. “’Tis completely lined in silver so no vampire can teleport in or out.”
“You can’t teleport through silver?” The minute the question left her lips, she slapped herself mentally. She’d meant to completely ignore him. It irked her that he assumed she would need saving. She wasn’t a stupid weakling. She could save herself.
“That is how they were able to hold me prisoner last summer,” Robby explained. “They tied me up with silver chains. We canna teleport through it. And if it touches our bare skin, it burns away the flesh.”
She grimaced. Poor Robby. And he hadn’t been able to save himself. Damn. His fear that she might need saving wasn’t an insult. He was simply being realistic.
“I could teleport you to Romatech in a second,” he continued. “Ye would be safe there.”
“I’m not running away. I’m not hiding.” She cast an annoyed look at him. “And I’m not allowing you to take over my decisions.”
He crossed his arms, scowling. “I’m trying to keep you alive.”
She snorted. “Are you sure about that? Don’t you intend to change me over someday?”
He remained quiet a moment, then turned toward her. “Are ye saying ye intend to stay with me?”
She winced. “It was a hypothetical question. I haven’t made any decisions yet.”
“Och, well, becoming a Vamp would be yer decision as well. I would hope we could have children first, and ye need to be mortal for that.”
She shot him an incredulous look. “Wouldn’t
He quickly explained a procedure that Roman Draganesti had invented to allow the Vamp men to father children.
