LaToya led Lara down the dormitory hall. "You see what I mean by weird? Megan was acting normal, then she turned into a zombie."
"I know," Lara grumbled. "It looked like she'd been programmed."
"And we know only one person who's capable of doing that."
Lara winced. Not Jack, please. "There could be others with that ability." Hadn't he said something about protecting others? Others who could be like him? But if his friends were capable of kidnapping, what did that say about Jack?
LaToya knocked on door 124. "Vanessa's friends live here. Carmen and Ramya."
Lara talked to the two girls. They were both pretty brunettes. Carmen looked Hispanic and Ramya came from India. They were clearly worried about Vanessa and eager to help in any way they could. Until Lara asked if they'd gone out the night before.
Their faces went blank and their eyes shuttered. "We were in our room, studying," they answered in unison.
Gooseflesh slithered down Lara's arms. "Thank you." When the door shut, she turned to LaToya. "Don't say it. It can't be Jack."
LaToya grimaced, then headed toward the stairs. "There's someone else I want you to meet."
Lara followed her up to the second floor. "All three girls were programmed to say the same thing. They must have all gone out together. But why was Vanessa abducted, and the other girls sent back?"
"Maybe the perp can handle only one vie at a time." LaToya turned right, down the hall.
"I don't think so. With mind control, he could handle a room full of women. He wouldn't even need restraints. They would just obey him like sheep."
"Well, that's a good point." LaToya knocked on a door. "This is Roxanne's room."
A girl with dyed black hair, heavy black eyeliner, and a lip ring answered the door. "Yeah, what?"
"I'll tell you what," LaToya said. "Megan, Carmen, and Ramya all claim they were in their rooms last night, studying."
"Well, I can't swear under oath about Carmen and Ramya. I didn't go to their room. But I know Vanessa went out, so the other girls had to be with her. They follow her everywhere like puppy dogs. It's freaking pathetic."
"How do you know Vanessa went out?" Lara asked.
Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Look, I was really suffering from menstrual cramps, and Vanessa-she's like a freaking pharmacy down there. So I went to her room to score some Midol, and no one answered the door. It was locked, but I was really desperate, you know. So I jimmied the lock and went inside."
"What did you see?" Lara asked.
"A box of Midol in the top drawer of her dresser, so I took two pills. Left her fifty cents. I'm not a thief, you know." She slanted a worried look at LaToya. "You guys aren't going to arrest me, are you?"
"You're fine," Lara assured her. "But are you saying the room was empty? Vanessa wasn't there?"
"Duh. Vanessa and her chubby sidekick were gone."
"Any idea where they went?" Lara asked.
Roxanne snorted. "I don't know. Maybe she went shopping or to get her nails done. She really freaks out if her nails aren't perfect. Or her hair. She's got about fifty different tote bags for her books, so she can coordinate them with whatever she's wearing each day."
LaToya narrowed her eyes. "You don't like her much, do you?"
"Oh, brilliant detective work, Nancy Drew. But if you think I'd do anything to hurt Vanessa, you're crazy. She paid me three hundred bucks to type her papers this semester. I need her." Roxanne grimaced. "And the whole thing kinda freaks me out. The same thing happened last year to Brittney Beckford. She disappeared, and the cops never found her."
Lara exchanged a worried look with LaToya. Brittney had gone missing before they'd arrived in New York. How long had Jack been in New York? "Can you describe Brittney?"
"Typical spoiled rich preppie," Roxanne grumbled.
"English?" LaToya pulled out her notebook and pen.
Roxanne sighed. "Long hair, bleached strawberry blond. Fake tan. Blue eyes due to her contacts. Collagen lips. Fake friends who have forgotten her. The only thing real about Brittney was her low IQ."
"Thanks. You've been very helpful." LaToya stuffed her notebook back into her pocket and headed back to the stairs.
"Fascists," Roxanne muttered as she shut the door.
Lara and LaToya descended the stairs in silence, then strode down the hallway to the dormitory entrance.
"Vanessa seems to worry a lot about her appearance," Lara said.
"She and a million other girls," LaToya muttered.
"Yeah, it sounds like she and Brittney have a lot in common." Two missing girls with red or reddish blonde hair and blue eyes. Lara paused to look at the bulletin board. A pink paper drew her attention. "Look at this." She ripped it free.
LaToya read it out loud. "Do you want to stay young and beautiful forever? Free seminar. Room 4, Student Services Building. Saturday, nine p.m."
"That would be the kind of seminar Vanessa would go to." Lara studied the paper. "Let's check it out."
They located the room where the meeting had taken place, but it was empty except for a few plastic chairs and a dry-erase board. They talked to the building manager, and he checked the schedule.
"Room 4?" His face went blank. "There was no one in that room Saturday night."
Lara gulped. Whoever had run the seminar had erased his tracks. Much like Jack had erased all evidence of him and his friends at the Plaza hotel. Damn! She'd wanted so much to believe in Jack. She'd wanted to trust him.
Her gut churned as they walked across the campus. She couldn't believe he was involved. There had to be someone else with his abilities. "I need to talk to Jack."
"You're in luck." LaToya pulled out her notebook and flipped through the pages. "I have his address right here. That Lexus he was driving was registered to a Roman Draganesti. Upper East Side."
"Then let's go." Lara's heart squeezed in her chest. She'd wanted so badly to see Jack again. But now, she'd have to question him as a suspect.
"What did you learn about Jack in our apartment?" LaToya asked. "You didn't say much about it."
She hadn't wanted to talk about his kiss. It had been too glorious to cheapen with gossip. A vision flitted through her mind—Jack in his jeans and no shirt. His broad chest and strong shoulders. His warm brown eyes that glimmered with gold. Or glowed red when he was turned on.
She swallowed hard. "I'm not sure what he is."
LaToya shook her head. "It's looking bad for him."
"I know." Lara's gut clenched. Please, God. Don't let Jack be a kidnapper. Or a murderer.
CHAPTER 8
It was almost six o'clock when Lara and LaToya ascended the steps to Roman Draganesti's townhouse on the Upper East Side.
"Fancy place." LaToya scanned the neighborhood from the front porch. "Nice and quiet."
"Did you notice how heavily shuttered all the windows are?" Lara had hoped for a peek inside one of the windows, but the place was closed up tight.
She pressed the doorbell. The chimes echoed inside as if they were reverberating around an empty cavern. There was something not quite right here, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was just an overactive imagination coupled with her current sense of gloom.
The subway ride and short walk hadn't done much to calm her nerves. A niggling fear had settled in her gut and a sick heaviness in her heart. She recognized the symptoms, having endured this pain once before. Disillusionment. Betrayal.
She had fought so hard after the car accident to rebuild her life and put the pageant days behind her. She'd met Ronny at LSU. She'd thought he understood her need for a new and meaningful life, had trusted him and believed him to truly love her. Until he had bragged to his friends and anyone else who would listen that he'd popped the cherry of a beauty queen. She'd been nothing more than a fancy title so he could mark a notch on his trophy case.
Dammit. She had thought Jack could be trusted. She'd thought he was different, that he admired her for her intelligence and strength of character. She
'd thought he might be the one.
"We're being watched," LaToya whispered.
Lara looked up at the surveillance camera. The red light had come on. "Jack works for a company that specializes in security."
"I wonder what they're keeping secure," LaToya muttered.
A crackling sound emanated from an intercom next to the door. "May I help you?" a male voice asked.
Lara pushed the call button. "NYPD. We have a few questions."
"Yeah, open up!" LaToya shouted.
There was a pause. Lara's stomach knotted. Please let Jack have an alibi for Saturday night.
The door opened slowly, revealing a tall young man. The words MacKay S & I were embroidered on the left side of his navy Polo shirt. His khaki pants were belted low on his lean hips. His dark hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. A gold stud gleamed in his ear. He was almost as gorgeous as Jack.
"I am Carlos," he said with a slight accent. "How may I help you?"
"Can we come in?" LaToya asked.
His mouth quirked. "Do you have a warrant?"
"We have a few questions, if you don't mind." Lara gave him a friendly smile. "Is Jack here? Giacomo di Venezia, otherwise known as Jack."
Carlos tilted his head, studying her. "Are you the cop who crashed Ian's wedding? I heard about you."
Lara felt heat creeping up her neck to her cheeks. "I'm Officer Boucher, and I'm here on a professional matter. Jack is a… person of interest."
Carlos's eyes gleamed. "I bet he is."
"This is my associate, Officer Lafayette." Lara motioned to LaToya. "Is Jack here? We need to talk to him."
"He's not available at this time." Carlos's amused gaze swept down to her feet and back up. "Robby said you were pretty, but that's a huge understatement. He must be angry that Jack caught you first."
Lara stiffened. "I haven't been caught by anyone."
Carlos smiled. "I believe the net has been cast."
"Will you cut the bullshit and get Jack?" LaToya demanded.
"Miss Lafayette." Carlos's eyes glimmered as he considered LaToya. "Aren't you a little wildcat?"
Her brown eyes narrowed. "Sucker, I've got claws you don't want to see."
Carlos chuckled. "I'll tell Jack you stopped by. He has your number?"
"We need to see him now," Lara insisted. "I realize he sleeps during the day, but would you please wake him?"
"Easier said than done," Carlos muttered. "I'm afraid he's not really here. Not in the metaphysical sense."
LaToya jutted out a hip and planted a hand on it. "Where is he then? In the freaking metaphysical sense?"
"I've often wondered that myself." Carlos frowned. "Where exactly do they go when they're… not here?"
Lara exchanged a look with her roommate. Carlos sounded like he was one taco short of a combination plate. "Are you saying you don't know where Jack is?"
"Not exactly. But if you'll return about eight-thirty, he could see you then."
"We'll do that," LaToya said.
"Excellent." Carlos smiled. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, ladies. Ciao." The door closed.
Lara heard the sound of deadbolts being shot into place. "That was interesting."
"I'll say." LaToya descended the steps to the sidewalk. "Between Ian, Jack, and Carlos, I can't decide which one is the hunkiest."
Jack, definitely. Lara checked her watch. "Let's grab some supper."
They walked toward Central Park, then turned south. As they passed by the Plaza, Lara remembered that the hotel had a business center inside. She and LaToya shared a pizza at a deli on Sixth Avenue, then returned to the Plaza, where the staff was happy to cooperate with New York's finest. They sat side by side in front of computers in the business center.
"I'll check out the Draganesti dude." LaToya typed on her keyboard.
Lara Googled Giacomo di Venezia, but all the links referred to Giacomo Casanova, the famous womanizer. That wasn't any help, although it did elicit a memory. When Lara had questioned Jack at the church, he'd mentioned his father had seduced hundreds of women, and that his mother had been the last conquest. What a strange coincidence.
Was Jack like his father? Did he make a sport of seducing women? Somehow, Lara had felt that his attraction to her was genuine. But wasn't that how these cads operated? They made all the women they seduced think they were special. And Lara had been fooled before.
It would really hurt to find out he was a womanizing pig. Unfortunately, it could be even worse. He might be a criminal.
No! She refused to believe Jack had anything to do with the missing girl. Lara didn't know him that well, but she couldn't believe he would ever abuse a woman. He'd saved her life. He was a protector of women, not an abuser.
"Well, Roman Draganesti sounds like a genius," LaToya said. "He figured out how to clone blood. According to this article, his synthetic blood is responsible for saving thousands of lives every year."
"Synthetic blood?" Lara thought back. "I was given some of that when I was in the hospital."
"Then this Roman dude saved you, too," LaToya continued. "He manufactures the stuff at Romatech Industries. He's got several factories around the country, but the biggest one is in White Plains, New York."
"That's close to us." Lara did a search on Romatech and located a news article that described a bombing at the facility last December. A car had exploded in the parking lot, but no one had been seriously injured. This was just the last of several attempts to bomb the place. "It looks like Romatech has some serious enemies."
"Maybe they're doing some kind of funky research that's upsetting people," LaToya suggested. "You know, stem-cell research or genetic engineering."
"They obviously need good security." Lara wondered if this was the security work Jack was doing. "I might check this place out." Thank God she was off work for a few more days.
"I'm supposed to work tomorrow, but I could call in sick and go with you," LaToya offered.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry." Lara checked her watch. "It's a little after eight. Let's go talk to Jack."
"Is something wrong?" Jack had just teleported into the kitchen at the townhouse. He'd been in the fifth-floor office, drinking his breakfast and catching up on e-mail when Carlos called on the intercom to request his presence downstairs.
"You bet something's wrong." Phineas sat at the kitchen table, wearing the official khaki pants and navy Polo shirt of MacKay Security and Investigation. "Carlos has gone crazy. I think he's been sniffing some catnip."
Carlos shook his head as he opened the refrigerator. He retrieved a bottle of water and twisted off the top. "Some cops came by while you two were…. napping."
"And Carlos invited them back!" Phineas thumped a fist on the kitchen table, shaking his half-empty glass of blood. "They'll be here in fifteen minutes."
Jack frowned. "What do the police want?"
"Me, probably." Phineas gulped down the last of his breakfast, then slammed the glass on the table. "I–I have an outstanding warrant."
"Sheesh, Phineas." Carlos grimaced. "You should have warned me. How can I protect you if I don't know?"
As their daytime guard, it was Carlos Panterra's job to keep them safe during their death-sleep. Jack had been impressed so far by the Brazilian's vigilance. Like many of the mortal day guards who worked for MacKay Security and Investigation, Carlos had special skills. And a special secret. He kept quiet about the Vamps, and they kept quiet about his shapeshifting ability.
Phineas's shoulders slumped. "I didn't want Angus to know. He believed in me enough to give me a job. I really like being one of the good guys."
"Don't worry. Angus is very happy with you," Jack assured him, then turned to Carlos. "Were the police looking for Phineas?"
"No, they didn't even mention him. He should be safe." Carlos sipped some water.
Phineas exhaled in relief. "Then I'm outta here."
"That's a shame." Carlos sat beside him at the table. "They were very pretty ladies."
Jack's heart speeded up. "The police were women?" Was Lara looking for him?
"Pretty ladies?" Phineas smoothed back his short hair. "This sounds like a job for the Love Doctor."
"Was Lara here?" Jack strode toward the table. "I mean Officer Boucher?"
"Yes. She was looking for you. And Officer Lafayette was with her." Carlos smiled at Phineas. "She's a lovely black woman."
"Hot damn!" Phineas's face lit up, then crumbled. "Why would a pretty young thing join the po-po?"
"They're clever, too," Carlos continued. "Somehow they figured out where Jack's living."
"That's the po-po for you, man. They'll track your ass down!" Phineas took his empty glass and blood bottle to the sink and rinsed them out.
Jack sat at the table as he thought back. He'd been careful not to tell Lara where he lived or worked. The car! That's why Lara's roommate had been waiting on the street. "They must have run the plates on Roman's car."
Carlos nodded. "They're smart."
"Relentless." Phineas jammed his empty glass and bottle in the dishwasher. "You'd better not talk to them, man. They'll drag you down to the precinct, where they have those interrogation rooms with one-way glass, and when you don't show up in the mirror, your ass will be cooked."
"I'll be careful." Jack glanced at the clock above the sink. They would be here in eight minutes. "Phineas, go on to work without me. Tell Connor I'll be there shortly."
"Okay, but I can tell you he's not going to like this." Phineas frowned as his body wavered and disappeared.
Jack sighed. Connor had strongly suggested he avoid seeing Lara again. Jack had tried to forget her, but it was impossible. Someone at Romatech would walk by wearing a blue shirt that reminded him of the color of her eyes. Or he would hear someone laugh and find himself longing to hear the sound of Lara's laughter. Whenever he showered, he recalled the feel of her hands on his skin.
And when he lay down to fall into his death-sleep, he imagined the sun rising, a fiery ball of gold and red. He could never see it again, but he could see Lara's hair, the way it gleamed red and gold, the way soft strands curled close to her brow. It felt like silken fire in his hands.
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