by D McEntire
He slipped through the secret panel, but didn’t bother closing it behind him. What he needed right now was sitting in his briefcase. Climbing the stairs to the first floor took all his strength, but he was determined. On shaking legs, he propelled himself to the sitting area by the fireplace. He needed to sit before he fell. As he reached the old couch, his vision swam and so did the room. He felt himself falling, then nothing at all.
Dr. Pearson coughed, choking on dust. He felt scratchy fabric beneath his cheek. The pounding started in his head again, causing him to groan. He reached up and felt the sticky blood from the gash left by the fireplace poker.
With a loud grunt, Dr. Pearson lifted his head and found himself sprawled across the old couch by the fireplace. He had obviously passed out and wondered how long he had been unconscious. Anger seized him at losing precious time. He wasn’t sure if the woman was in the lab, but he was certain the poison had killed the vampire, or the creature was incapacitated with severe pain.
Raising himself into a sitting position was difficult. When he bent to lift his briefcase from the floor, the pressure in his head felt as though someone had hit him with a sledgehammer.
Gritting his teeth, he placed the briefcase on the couch beside him, opened it wide and checked the explosives he had obtained from his friend, Jonathan, after arriving in Louisville.
On wobbly legs threatening to buckle at any time, Dr. Pearson made his way to the basement. He had to hold tightly to the banister to steady himself as he descended the stairs.
Stepping through the secret door and reaching the end of the tunnel, Dr. Pearson felt his heart beat accelerate as his anxiety level rose. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He had planned for this during the entire return trip from Colorado. This would finish it all. Then he could make a new start at Dr. Olivia’s lab.
When he reached the door, he was thankful to find it closed. That meant the two were inside. Carefully, he removed the block of explosives from the briefcase. He fastened it to the right side of the door, then pulled out a square mechanism and attached it to the left side, directly across from the explosives.
The last item Dr. Pearson pulled from his briefcase was a small remote. He pressed the TEST button and watched as a beam of light spread from the mechanism to the direct center of a sensor attached to the explosives.
Elation filled him. He was proud of his plans and what he was about to do. The errors and even the destruction of the lab upstairs by the vampires meant nothing. He knew things were changing for him. His goal was almost at his fingertips.
Quickly, Dr. Pearson pressed the TEST button again on the remote, shutting off the beam. He didn’t want anything tripping the device and triggering the explosives until he was well away from the building.
Grabbing the briefcase, he staggered through the tunnel, not bothering to close the secret panel in the basement behind him. In a few minutes, it would be finished. The building would be a pile of rubble, and so would the lab and everything in it, including the vampire. Nothing would be left of him to be identified. The same went for the woman, if she was inside.
Feeling he would not be able to make it up another set of stairs, Dr. Pearson left the building by the side entrance off the basement. He was not sure if he could drive, but he had to get as far away as possible. He would tend to his wounds when he reached a safe distance. Going to an emergency room was not an option. Too many questions would be asked, and he had neither the time nor the mental focus to concoct a story.
Kern ran out the rear door and onto the porch, ignoring the biting cold. Marie had told him the truth. There were no buildings close by, and this one sat off the road. She had always been telling the truth.
He stepped off the porch and into the deep snow, looking in all directions, trying to find somewhere to get help for Marie.
Finally, he took off at a run toward a line of trees behind which he had caught a glimpse of buildings. He hoped they were not too far away. Even though he could run faster than any human, whoever he brought with him to help Marie might not possess the ability to keep up.
Marie had said they were in Louisville. Kern had been stunned to find out he hadn’t been taken far from where he was captured, and after all this time, no one had found him. This was quite a blow and cut him deeply.
During his captivity, Kern had often wondered if the Watchers and Headquarters had actually searched for him, or if they had felt it a waste of time. He had been captured during the two busy weeks the city holds its annual festival. Two hundred Watchers had been brought in to police the area for Rogues. What was one less Watcher?
Thoughts continued to flash through Kern’s mind, and he tried to push them aside. He had to find help for Marie quickly. He had no idea how to break the fever and was worried about the damage it would cause to her body if it didn’t go down soon.
Kern had gotten several yards away from the building before a dark figure stepped out of the trees. He cursed himself for being careless. Distracted by his thoughts, he hadn’t realized someone was near. Stopping dead in his tracks, he glared at the figure slowly coming into view. That same carelessness had cost him eight months of his life.
Dr. Olivia observed a man running out of the building he had come to inspect upon learning Dr. Pearson was still operating a lab in Louisville. As the scientist had put it, the lab had been right under their noses.
The man’s speed indicated he was a vampire. Olivia’s senses didn’t detect the stench of a Rogue. When the man drew closer, his heart nearly stopped. Kern. The Watcher who had been missing for eight months was standing before him.
Teams of Watchers had searched the city for Kern, but had found nothing. Not even his scent, aside from what had been picked up in an alley along with ashes from Rogues the warrior had eliminated. It was feared Rogues had somehow captured him, but the theory had not panned out.
Dr. Olivia took a few moments to observe the Watcher, checking for any signs of instability. He secretly prayed the man was whole in body and mind, giving no cause to destroy him. A crazed warrior was a very dangerous vampire.
“Kern,” Dr. Olivia said in a calm voice.
Kern stared at him as if searching his mind for recognition.
“Kern, it’s Dr. Olivia. You’ve been missing for eight months. Teams of Watchers searched the entire city, even branching out through Kentucky, Indiana and several surrounding states.”
Dr. Olivia saw what flashed in Kern’s eyes, and he understood. The Watcher had been through something terrible. He wasn’t going to ask what had happened, not yet. His first priority was to get him to safety.
“Kern, listen to me. Let me take you to one of the Cells. The closest one is commanded by Tank. Do you remember Tank?”
The man standing in front of him must be another dream, Kern thought. Dr. Olivia, the founder of the Watchers, was here. Kern blinked several times, wanting to make sure the man was not a figment of his imagination, a hallucination caused by his wavering sanity or remnants of the poisoned bullet.
“Dr. Olivia?”
The man smiled and nodded. Kern reached out tentatively, wanting to touch him to ensure himself the man was real. The man held out his hand and met Kern’s halfway. He was real.
Dr. Olivia wanted to take him to one of the Cells. One commanded by a Watcher named Tank. Kern searched his memory, bringing Tank’s face to mind. He did know Tank and had worked alongside the warrior on many missions. Tank was honorable and well respected among the Watchers. The Cell would be a safe haven while he healed, but he had to get help for Marie. He could not leave. He would not leave her behind.
“No,” Kern said abruptly, then softened his voice. “Dr. Olivia. I need your help. There is a woman inside. She is going through the conversion, and I fear she’s in danger.”
Several heartbeats passed and Dr. Olivia had not spoken. The man seemed to be studying him. Not receiving an answer, Kern turned to leave, but Dr. Olivia grabbed his arm and nodded, then followed. When they neare
d the building, Kern heard a car drive away. He had a feeling it was Dr. Pearson. The man was getting away, but it didn’t matter. He needed to ease the suffering Marie was going through in the lab. All he cared about right now was saving her.
They bounded through the door and took the stairs to the basement. Dr. Olivia stayed close on his heels as he navigated the basement and ducked into the tunnel. When they neared the end, Dr. Olivia grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.
“Wait. Listen.”
Kern heard a faint hum as he carefully continued forward. He scanned the tunnel for the source of the sound. Dr. Olivia stepped up beside him when they reached the lab door. What Kern saw sucked the breath from his lungs.
“Don’t touch the door, Kern. It’s been rigged with explosives.” Dr. Olivia pointed to the item attached to the right of the door. “It’s set to go off when the beam is broken. Someone must have been waiting for you to come out.”
Kern ran a hand through his hair, wanting to yank it out in frustration. He needed to get to Marie. He could not fail her. Not after what she had done for him. “Dr. Pearson,” he growled.
“Yes, I know all about him. I made a trip to Colorado after a tip regarding the doctor’s research on vampires. There was even talk he was experimenting with vampire blood.”
“He was. My blood,” Kern said flatly as he continued to stare at the bomb. He was quiet for several seconds trying to calm his panic. “I’ve got to get in there. She needs me, and it’s my fault she is stuck in there. She found me while Dr. Pearson was away and released me from the chains he had me in.”
Dr. Olivia eyed the explosives for a moment. “I’ll call in Tank and his team. I don’t know the first thing about bombs or how to diffuse them. Even if I did, I don’t have the equipment here to do so. Tank has many years of experience in this area. I’ll get him down here. Hang in there, Kern.”
Before leaving the tunnel to use his cell phone away from the building so as not to inadvertently set off the explosives, Dr. Olivia placed a hand on Kern’s shoulder and gave a light supportive squeeze. The gesture eased the pain in Kern’s heart from not being found by the Watchers. He realized it was not for their lack of trying.
Kern watched Dr. Olivia exit the tunnel, then blew out a long breath, turned his face to the ceiling and closed his eyes. He was trembling inside with worry over Marie and the thought of losing her.
Time seemed to pass slowly as he waited. Finally, he heard someone approach from the other end of the tunnel. Sensing more than one person and thinking the doctor had returned, his body tensed. He breathed a sigh of relief when Tank came into view.
“Kern.”
Tank called out his name, his deep voice echoing off the tunnel walls. When the Watcher was in front of him, the warrior pulled Kern into a tight embrace.
Kern was a little surprised at Tank’s warm welcome. The action melted more of the anger and hurt he had held towards his fellow Watchers for so long.
After explaining the situation to Tank, who had arrived with Vane and Trigg, members of Tank’s Cell, Tank stepped closer to the door to study the bomb and the explosives.
“I need everyone to get out of the building while I take care of this.” The expression on Tank’s face brooked no argument. Everyone turned and exited the tunnel. Everyone except Kern.
“What do you think you’re doing? I said leave.”
Kern ignored Tank’s scowl and looked him square in the eye, holding his ground. He was not about to leave Marie. If the bomb was going to blow the building to dust, then he would die with her.
“No. I’m staying. I am not leaving her. Do you understand?” Kern almost growled the words at Tank.
With a sigh, Tank nodded, then turned to further study what might be the last thing they both would ever see.
“What’s going on here, Dr. Olivia?” Vane asked, glancing over at the building. Dr. Olivia followed his gaze.
“A man by the name of Dr. Pearson is behind all this.”
Trigg’s face went pale. “Dr. Pearson? He was the lead scientist hired by Evan and then by Rico to make the vampire drug.”
Dr. Olivia nodded.
“Tank and I destroyed the lab and took out four lab techs the night of the charity bash, but Dr. Pearson was nowhere to be found. Damn. If we had caught him, then none of this would have happened.”
Dr. Olivia understood Trigg’s anger and knew the warrior felt guilty. Trigg was blaming himself, but no one had known about Dr. Pearson’s lab or intentions. The man had disappeared after the lab’s destruction eight months ago. The fact the doctor had returned to the place where it had all started and had been directly under their noses the entire time was a hard pill to swallow.
“Who is the woman inside?” Vane asked, breaking into Dr. Olivia thoughts.
“I really don’t know,—” he sighed, “—but it seems she is very important to Kern, and he is adamant we get her out of there.”
Vane and Trigg looked at each other with eyebrows raised but said no more about the subject. They all stared at the building from a safe distance, waiting and hoping Tank could diffuse the bomb—for all of their sakes.
Kern stepped aside to give Tank enough room to work as the Watcher opened a toolbox he had brought. The dim light had no affect on Tank’s assessment of the bomb. Vampires had excellent night vision. Kern watched, holding his breath while Tank worked.
Tank used a very thin, pointed tool to poke gently around the explosive, looking for something. After several minutes, he returned the tool to his toolbox, then removed a set of tweezers and a small wire cutter.
With steady hands, Tank placed the tweezers on a wire he had uncovered with the first tool he had used, then eased the clippers over it.
“Ok, this is it. This will either disengage the bomb, or it won’t. If it doesn’t, I guess we won’t give a rat’s ass, will we?”
Kern could not bring himself to laugh at Tank’s attempt at humor. Tank lowered the clippers, and Kern heard a faint snip.
Silence. It was music to Kern’s ears. Even after all the time he had been held alone and in silence, he was now thankful for its existence. This time it meant he would finally get to Marie. She had been left alone for too long, and he could only hope she hadn’t taken a turn for the worse.
Without hesitation, Kern pushed open the door and ran inside.
Chapter Twenty
Tank walked up the tunnel and headed outside to give the others the all clear. When he returned, his jaw dropped at the sight of the underground lab.
Tables and glassware were abundant in the room, as was an overturned table and broken glass strewn about the floor. A pool of blood lay by the wall.
“Kern?” Tank called out to find where the Watcher had gone.
“In here,” Kern answered.
Tank headed down the narrow hallway to a small room. Inside he found Kern sitting on a cot, cradling a woman in his arms. The Watcher brushed soft strokes across her cheek and placed a kiss on her forehead.
Tank’s chest clenched at the sight. He could feel the power of attraction in the air between the two, and knew all too well what it meant. The same energy flooded the Cell from the two mated couples residing there—Trigg and Robyn, and Vane and Rosa. Kern had found his mate, and he was not letting her go without a fight.
Hearing footsteps, Tank turned to halt Trigg, Vane and Dr. Olivia who were coming down the hallway. He stepped toward them, then motioned for them to follow him out of the narrow hallway and into the lab.
“The woman is definitely going through the change. She is suffering from a high fever.”
“We need to get her out of here,” Dr. Olivia said.
Tank held up his hands. “Yes, we do, but there’s something you need to be aware of and take into great consideration. It seems Kern has found who he feels to be his mate, and he’s not going to let anyone take her away from him. I can feel the tension in there, and it’s rather strong. We must proceed with caution.”
“I agree,
” Dr. Olivia said. “I have no doubt Kern has been put through some sort of hell over the last eight months. I can see it in his eyes. There is no telling how stable he is. We want to keep him calm and cooperative.”
“We all know what happens when a male vampire finds his mate. His primal instincts take over and he acts without thought,” Trigg added.
“Yeah, you should know,” Vane replied with a smile at Trigg.
Trigg snarled, then gave Vane a light shove on his shoulder. “You don’t have anything to talk about, brother.”
Tank and Dr. Olivia shook their heads. Trigg and Vane had found their mates, and it had been far from easy. But now they seemed happy. It could definitely be said mates were the best thing to have ever happened to those two, Tank mused. He blew out a breath and turned to Dr. Olivia. “What’s the plan, boss?”
Dr. Olivia stared at the floor for a moment, then returned his gaze to Tank. “We need to get her somewhere fast, but I don’t think we have enough time to get her to the clinic in Lexington.”
They followed Tank to the small room where Kern was rocking the woman gently in his arms, caressing her hair and speaking softly to her.
“Kern. Take your woman outside. We’ll put her in my car and follow Tank and the guys to their Cell. It’s less than five miles away.” Dr. Olivia had spoken softly, but when he stepped forward, Kern let out a slow, low growl, his eyes never leaving Marie’s face.
Tank grabbed Dr. Olivia’s arm and addressed Kern. His made sure his tone was more direct. He wanted the Watcher’s full attention.
“Kern. You have to listen. We’re taking you and your woman to safety where you will both be cared for. We’re not going to take her from you. You can carry her to the car yourself, and you’ll not have to let her go from your arms. Do you understand?”