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.”
“Olivia, I can explain.”
“Can you deny it? Can you tell me you’re not a—” She couldn’t even say it.
He stepped toward her. “Ye know I love you.”
She stepped back farther and shook her head. He wasn’t denying it. She couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t denying it.
“There’s no need to be afraid,” he said quietly. “We can talk about it.”
A strange sound escaped her mouth, a cross between disbelief and despair. This was the important thing he’d wanted to tell her.
She glanced to the side. The people who had materialized earlier were gathered together by the road. They were keeping a distance and pretending not to watch, but they were casting worried glances at her and Robby and scowling at Whelan.
Vampires. They were all vampires. The murderers were vampires. And Robby.
“No!” She turned and ran into the cornfield. Green leaves swished at her. She batted them away and kept running. Vampires? No. It was ridiculous. It was crazy.
It made sense. It explained everything.
She charged through the field behind the houses. She needed J.L. and Barker. She needed real people.
“Olivia?” J.L. emerged onto the corn row she was running down. “What’s wrong?”
“J.L.!” She sprinted toward him.
Barker joined him.
“Oh thank God. You’re both okay.” She ran into J.L.’s arms and hugged him.
“We were headed back to you,” J.L. said. “Are you okay?”
“No.” She stepped back, still breathing heavily from her run. And the shock. “You’re not going to believe it. It—it’s unbelievable.”
“You figured it out?” J.L. asked.
“Yes.” She pressed a hand to her chest.
“Wow,” J.L. muttered. “I had no idea till Barker led me back to his clothes.”
“What?”
“Then you don’t know?” J.L. looked at their supervisor. “Maybe you should tell her.”
“What?” Olivia repeated.
Barker sighed. “I’m a shape-shifter.”
“What?”
“I was the Irish wolfhound. I shifted to try to track down the children, but I couldn’t trace their scent.”
She stared at him. “No.”
“Yes,” Barker replied.
She stepped back. “No.” Her boyfriend had fangs, and her boss was a dog? Her world was tipping upside down. Where had all the normal people gone? She shivered. The normal people were the dead ones in the farmhouses.
She glanced suspiciously at J.L. “And what are you? Do you turn into an animal, too?”
“I wish. I think I’d be a dragon. That would be cool.”
“No.” She retreated another step. “Not cool.” She heard swishing sounds behind her.
“Olivia?” Robby called.
She spun around. Dear God, no. He was coming after her.
“Is that Robby?” J.L. asked. “What’s he doing here?”
“Vampire,” she whispered. “They’re all vampires.”
“Holy cow,” Barker muttered.
The dog speaks, she thought faintly. Green corn plants swirled around her, and she saw dancing stars.
“Olivia.” Robby pushed through some plants into their row.
She stumbled back, and Barker caught her. She lurched away from him, and Robby made a grab for her. God, no. She was stuck between a vampire and a man-dog. The cornfield swayed, and everything went black.
CHAPTER 23
Robby swooped Olivia up in his arms. A surge of guilt shot through him. He should have told her the truth weeks ago. But was there ever a good time to tell someone you were a bloodsucker? The poor lass had run away in horror, and now she was in a dead faint.
“Wait a minute.” J.L. regarded him suspiciously. “Why was she talking about vampires?”
“She just met one.” Robby caught the scent of the tall man beside J.L. “Ye’re a shifter?”
The man stiffened. “You know about shifters?”
“Aye. Are ye a wolf?”
“Wolfhound. I’m Patrick O’Shea Barker. FBI.”
“Och. Ye’re Olivia’s supervisor. She’s mentioned you before. In a favorable way, of course. I’m Robby MacKay of MacKay Security and Investigation. We have a few shifters in our employ.”
“Really? That’s interesting.”
“Stop!” J.L. held up his hands. “Rewind. I don’t think we sufficiently covered the vampire thing. Are you freaking telli
ng me vampires are real?”
“Aye.” Robby held Olivia close and strode along the corn row, headed toward the farmhouses.
“Where are you going with her?” J.L. followed closely behind.
Robby sighed. She probably didn’t want to see him when she awoke. “Do ye have a safe place to take her?”
“We have rooms at the motel in town,” Barker said.
“Good.” Robby reached the backyard. The two FBI men flanked him and watched him warily.
“Aren’t you one of the guys who materialized here?” J.L. asked. “How the hell did you do that?”
Robby winced. They hadn’t realized they’d had an audience. He started down a worn path between the two farmhouses. “Does the car in the driveway belong to one of you?”
“It’s mine,” J.L. said. “Harrison and the sheriff left.”
“What?” Barker gave J.L. an incredulous look. “Harrison left? Why did he do that?”
“Beats me.” J.L. glared at Robby. “They met some guys in kilts, and the next thing we know, they’re driving off.”
Robby sighed inwardly. That would have been Connor and Angus. They’d been the first to arrive. They’d called the local sheriff’s office and teleported there. Then, using vampire mind control, they’d persuaded the operator to call the sheriff’s car radio. They’d erased memories and teleported to the sheriff’s car, using the radio as a beacon.
“Yer companions were told to leave,” Robby admitted.
“Why would Harrison do what some strangers told him to do?” Barker asked. “I’m his boss, and he doesn’t obey me half the time.”
“Vampire mind control.” Robby spotted his colleagues gathered by the road. Their number had dwindled. Some must have teleported away.
Barker motioned toward them. “Those guys over there are vampires?”
“Aye, but doona worry. They willna harm you.”
“Whoa.” J.L. halted with a jerk. “Then you’re a vampire, too?”
Robby groaned inwardly. “Aye.” Olivia stirred in his arms, so he hurried toward the car.
Barker kept up with him. “You bite people?”
“Nay. I drink synthetic blood.”
“And you materialized here?” J.L. asked.
“We teleported.”
“What other powers do you have?” Barker asked.
“Superstrength and — speed, superhearing and — vision, a prolonged life, levitation, mind control.”
“Cool,” J.L. whispered.
“Nay.” Robby stopped beside the car. “’Tis no’ cool when it is used for evil. The Malcontents used mind control to render those puir mortals helpless. They died in terror, unable to defend themselves.”
“Who are the Malcontents?” Barker asked.
Robby launched into a quick explanation of the Malcontents, Vamps, and the CIA Stake-Out Team. He stopped when Olivia moaned. “Hurry, open the door. The keys are on the ground there.”
J.L. picked up the keys while Barker opened the back door. Robby deposited Olivia on the backseat.
“So basically you’re the good vampires, and the Malcontents are the evil ones?” Barker asked.
“Aye.” Robby shut the back door.
“What’s the deal with the skirts?” J.L. asked. “I thought you guys were more into capes.”
Robby gave him an annoyed look, then noticed Olivia was waking up. “I’ll need you to keep this a secret. ’Tis imperative that the mortal world no’ know.”
J.L. snorted. “Like anyone would believe this.” He climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You can trust us.” Barker circled to the other side of the car. “I don’t want my secret to come out, either.” He folded his long frame into the front passenger seat.
J.L. started the engine, and Robby stepped back. Olivia sat up in the backseat and looked around with a dazed expression. She spotted him, and her eyes widened with horror.
His heart twisted in his chest.
The car backed down the driveway. As it turned onto the road, Olivia peered out the window at him.
He raised a hand. Was this good-bye? Would she ever agree to see him again? She had to. He couldn’t let her go without a fight.
The car sped off, and he was left looking at a cloud of dust.
“Are ye all right, lad?” Angus walked up to him.
He swallowed hard. “I may have lost her.”
“She could still come around.” Angus patted him on the back. “Give her some time.”
“What did I miss?” Robby changed the subject. It hurt too much to dwell on the horrified look on Olivia’s face. And he knew he’d missed some of the strategy meeting while he’d chased after her.
“Casimir is clearly moving south, but we doona know his final destination. Phineas teleported to New Orleans to warn them, in case Casimir is headed there. Dougal went to Jean-Luc’s home in Texas to warn him.”
Robby nodded. “Maggie and Pierce live in Texas, too. We should warn them. And we should tighten security at the Romatech in Texas.” Casimir had blown it up last summer, but production had started again.
“We’re going to spend the rest of tonight checking all the storm cellars in the vicinity.” Angus sighed. “’Tis a waste of time, most likely. They could be far away by now.”
Robby glanced at the farmhouses. “And the people who died? Is Whelan going to take care of the cover story?”
“Aye.” Angus chuckled. “He’s threatening to have you arrested for assault.”
“Let him try, the bastard.” After Olivia had run off into the cornfield, Robby had walked up to the smirking Whelan and punched his face.
His friends had applauded.
“He’ll get his comeuppance,” Angus said. “One of these days he’ll find out his grandchildren are half Vamp.”
Robby smiled. He didn’t know how Roman could stand having Sean Whelan for a father-in-law. His smile faded. He could end up with some angry in-laws, too, if Olivia ever agreed to marry him.
Olivia took a shower, but it didn’t wash away the shock. She took two aspirin, but it didn’t take away the pain. She lounged on the lumpy bed in the motel room in her pajamas, staring into space. The television was on with the volume turned down low. The old familiar sitcom helped her believe the world was still normal. Even though it wasn’t.
Vampires. The word repeated over and over in her mind. Vampires were real. And Robby was one of them.
She recalled how much attention he’d given to her neck when they’d made love. Two giant red hickeys below each ear. But he hadn’t broken the skin. Instead, he’d bitten her decorative pillow. She shuddered, remembering the twin punctures. Robby had fangs.
He was never available during the day. Robby was dead. Or Undead. It was all rather confusing.
She’d caught him drinking something in the villa on Patmos. She’d thought it was a glass of wine, but now she knew better. It must have been blood.
She groaned. She didn’t want to think about vampires anymore. She grabbed the remote control to access the movie channel on the television. Tonight’s feature was…a vampire movie. Great. She flipped the channel to HBO. A vampire series was showing. She switched to the History Channel. A documentary on the history of…vampires.
“Dammit!” She turned the television off and sprawled across the bed. It was a conspiracy.
A knock sounded at her door, and she sat up with a jerk. Please don’t be Robby. She couldn’t handle that yet.
“Liv, it’s me!” J.L. yelled. “I’ve got pizza!”
Like she really wanted food after an evening of dead bodies and shocking revelations. But she didn’t want to be alone. “Just a minute.” She checked her long flannel pajama bottoms and baggy sweatshirt and decided she was decent enough. She opened the door.
“How’s it going?” J.L. strode inside, his arms loaded down with a pizza box and a plastic bag of food. He set it all on the table by the window. “Come on, let’s party.”
She shut the door and locked it. �
�What’s there to party about?”
He reached inside the bag, grabbed a diet cola and passed it to her. “We’re still alive. That’s something.”
She unscrewed the top off the bottle. “I suppose.”
“Yeah. Could be worse.” He opened a cola and drank a few gulps. “We could be dead.”
“Or Undead,” she muttered, and sat in one of the two chairs that flanked the table.
“And guess what?” J.L. opened the pizza box. “Harrison drove all the way back to Kansas City, so we don’t have to share our food with him. Isn’t that a lucky break?”
“What’s he doing in Kansas City?”
J.L. selected a pizza slice, then sat in the other chair to eat. “Barker called him at his home, and he doesn’t even remember coming here. He knows nothing about this assignment. Isn’t that weird?”
Olivia sipped from her bottle. “How did that happen?”
“The vampires zapped him with some mind control.” J.L. took a big bite of pizza.
She frowned, recalling how frustrating it had felt when Whelan had controlled her mind. “What about the guy from the CIA? He tried to control my mind and make me leave.”
J.L. nodded with his mouth full. “The CIA guys are members of the Stake-Out team. Robby told us about them. They have psychic power so they can resist vampire mind control.”
“When did Robby tell you that?”
“While we were walking to the car.” J.L. took another bite. “You were unconscious at the time. Robby was carrying you.”
She winced. She couldn’t believe she’d fainted like that. She never fainted. But then she didn’t usually spend her evenings surrounded by dead bodies while she discovered her boyfriend was a vampire and her boss was a dog.
She took another drink. “Where is Barker?”
“He’s in his room. He didn’t think you were up to seeing him just yet.”
She sighed. “It’s so strange. I had no idea. I mean his name is a major clue, but people can be named Wood without it meaning they can shift into a two by four.”
“Yeah.” J.L. stuffed more pizza in his mouth. “But it does explain a few things.”
“Like what? His special fondness for fire hydrants?”
J.L. snickered. “No. I mean he never questioned your abilities. When the other guys in the office thought you were crazy or a sham, he believed in you. In fact, he requested you.”
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