by Rayna Vause
The man frowned, swaying a bit when Rogan released him. “Didn’t see a fight. Heard a fight, but didn’t see it.”
Rogan glared at the man. “You hear someone being attacked and you did nothing?”
The man just shrugged. “What was I gonna do?”
Rogan opened his mouth, closed it, then shook his head.
“Looks like the one guy made it out okay. Lucky break finding that piece of wood.”
“I thought you didn’t see anything.”
“Said I didn’t see the fight, and I didn’t. But I needed to pee. When the shouting stopped, I climbed out of blankets and saw him lying there and another man running away.”
“So, you pissed, then went back to sleep.”
The man shrugged again. “He was dead, the other man was gone. Ran off that way.” He pointed down the sidewalk that wrapped around to the front of the library.
“You climbed back in your pile and went back to sleep? You didn’t think to contact the authorities.”
“Warm in there. Didn’t want to lose my spot. ’Sides, he’s gone. Nobody can help him now.”
Truer words.
Rogan looked at the two soldiers. “Stay here. Make sure the scene isn’t disturbed. When backup gets here, fan out. I want some men here on the site. The rest should search around the library and see if they can find anything to help us figure out exactly what happened here. We need to track down the other man involved. We could have a huge problem on our hands.” Especially if he ingested any of Jared’s blood.
“WHAT PART of I don’t want to be disturbed did you not understand? If you want to keep your job as my assistant, you need to learn that do not disturb means just that.”
At the sound of the barked dismissal, Rogan rolled his eyes and pushed open the door to Dr. Thomas Lydecker’s lab.
He crossed to the gray-haired scientist who sat at a table on the far side of a state-of-the-art laboratory scribbling notes in his journal. He stood waiting for Dr. Lydecker to acknowledge him, but he continued to scribble in his notebook. Rogan gritted his teeth. “Dr. Lydecker, we need to talk.”
Lydecker shot up a single finger, finished his note, then glared up at Rogan. “What do you want? Why are you here disturbing me? You know I don’t like being bothered when I’m working. I am this close to having a working formula for my genetic reversal serum. I can feel it. In fact, I might have had it already if you people would leave me alone.”
Rogan crossed his arms. “Are you done?”
Lydecker narrowed his eyes at Rogan. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
Rogan wanted to say a pain-in-the-ass mad scientist but checked the impulse. Now wasn’t the time. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at the man.
Lydecker leaned back in his chair and huffed out a breath. “What is it?”
Rogan pushed his black beret off his head, stepped into the laboratory, and stood tall, almost at attention. “Sir, I’m sorry to report that we found your son while we were out on patrol near the public library.”
“What do you mean found? That’s not possible,” Lydecker scoffed. “Jared is sedated and secured in one of the containment rooms. He got a little overexcited.”
Rogan shoved his hands in his pockets and drew in a long breath. He might not like the man much, but no parent should ever get a death notice on their child. “I’m sorry, sir, but Jared is dead.”
Lydecker blinked and shook his head.
“Not possible. He’s still in his rooms.”
“No, sir, he’s not. Somehow he managed to escape.”
Lydecker’s mouth opened, but no sound emerged. He shook his head again. “No. I locked Jared’s door myself.” He shoved off his stool and away from the lab table, heading for the door. Rogan followed him. Together, they rushed down the shadow-filled hallway. Lydecker muttered denials with every step. When he reached the first of the containment rooms, he slid open the small viewing window and peered into the secured room beyond.
“Jared?”
No answer. Lydecker hammered his fist against the door. “Jared. Answer me.” He grabbed the ring that attached to a retractable cord on his belt and fumbled for the correct key. He unlocked the door and then rushed in, calling for his son. Rogan followed him, not wanting to leave the distraught man alone. He trailed Lydecker from kitchen to sitting area to bedroom. All empty. When they entered the small bathroom off the bedroom, they found dust, debris, and a bent vent cover lying on the floor. Lydecker clenched his fists as he stared up into the large, dark, open hole of the ventilation shaft.
“No!” He shook his head and looked back at Rogan. “No, dammit.” In that moment, all the energy seemed to drain from the man. He took one last scan of the empty cell and then braced his hand on the wall. “You’re sure it’s him?” His voice broke on the last word as his entire body sagged.
Rogan cleared his throat so he could answer. He had his differences with the annoying scientist, but his gut clenched at the sight of this father in pain. “I’m sure, sir.”
Lydecker turned and headed for his laboratory. He moved as though lead filled his shoes. “Where is he?”
“His body is on its way in. I’ll let you know when he arrives.”
Lydecker nodded and continued down the hallway until he reached the door to his lab. He pulled it open and then trudged in. With shoulders sagging, he dropped into a chair. His head dropped back, and he stared up at the ceiling.
“I just needed a little more time. I was so close to having a new serum, and this time it would have worked. It would have cured him of his horrible affliction. I could have changed him back into the bright, ambitious young man he’d been before they made him a monster.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, sir.” Rogan reached out and patted his shoulder.
Two soldiers pushed a gurney holding a black body bag into the laboratory.
Lydecker approached the table, fists clenched at his sides. He stared down at the black bag, his entire body tensed. He pressed his lips together, and then reached for the zipper tab. He clasped it between two fingers, the metal to jangling from his trembling. Then he whipped his hand away as though the zipper became white-hot.
“Who did this?”
“We don’t know, sir. When we arrived, we found your son, signs of a fight, and some blood.”
“I want a full investigation. Do you understand? Find the person who did this to Jared and bring him to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now get out. I’ve got work to do.” He dismissed all of them with a sharp wave of his hand.
The two soldiers filed out of the room. Rogan turned to do the same.
“Rogan.”
He looked back at Lydecker, who stared down at the bag again. “I want whoever did this alive.”
“MIKE.”
“Dammit. Does she have me microchipped?” Rogan muttered to himself as he turned and watched Melissa Moran, the number two person in charge of Purity, stride toward him. He didn’t know how she always found him in the five-story building with its twisting maze of hallways. But she always popped up out of nowhere like a ghoul in a haunted house.
“Melissa, do me a favor and get some hard-soled shoes.”
“Why would I do that?” She smirked at him, but her cold ice-blue eyes remained expressionless.
“I was apprised of the Jared situation.”
“Yeah. I feel for Lydecker.”
She snorted. “It’s sort of ironic and galling. All the money, time, and effort we’ve dumped into Lydecker’s cure for his son and what happens? Jared breaks out and gets staked. Wasteful.” She shook her head.
Rogan studied Melissa, not sure if she referred to the resources used or Jared’s death. Odds were she meant both, but you could never really tell.
“Do we know what happened?” she asked.
“Basically, Jared got loose and attacked someone. I’ve got men going over the scene as we speak.”
“Keep me in the loop. In fact, it might better
to funnel everything through me. All Dr. Lydecker will care about are results, not the details. When your team finishes collecting evidence, let me know. I want our best people on the analysis.”
“I can do that.” He narrowed his eyes and gave her a slow once-over as warning bells chimed like mad in his head. She betrayed nothing of her intentions. Melissa Moran made an art of keeping her thoughts and feelings locked behind a wall of professionalism and suspect concern.
“Excellent. The faster we can get this situation resolved, the better. We need to get this organization back on track.”
“What do you mean?”
She waved off the question. “Do we know anything about the other person involved?”
“No, whoever it was had gone by the time we found the body. There was a lot of blood at the scene. I’m not sure of exactly what went down, but we need to track down the victim.”
“My thoughts exactly. We need to ensure that there weren’t any repercussions from the attack. If there were, we should—address the issue.”
“If this person was infected by Jared, perhaps Lydecker can help him. It would be good PR for Purity.”
Melissa flexed her jaw. “The last thing we need is Lydecker finding a fresh test subject. I’m sure this latest development will only ratchet up his obsession with this damn cure.” She sighed and pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“It could kill it. The whole point was to cure Jared. Now he’s gone.”
“Unlikely. That man is convinced a cure for vampirism is the answer. That it will end the tension and fear. Stop the attacks. It won’t. It may treat the symptoms of the disease, but it doesn’t change what these people, and I use that term loosely, have done.”
“Come on. That’s like saying finding a cure for cancer is a bad thing. Both are terrible diseases. If we could cure them, it would help a lot of people.”
“Apples and oranges, Mike. Cancer patients don’t opt in. Vampires do. Then they become monsters….” Her hands balled into fists.
Rogan cocked an eyebrow at her rare display. “Not all of them. What about attack victims?”
“They would have been better off dying.”
Her words were so soft Rogan almost didn’t hear her response.
Melissa rolled her shoulders and smoothed her hands over her hips. “I need to get back to work. Keep me in the loop. We need to get this resolved as soon as possible.” She strode off without making a sound.
She’s up to something. He didn’t know what, but he planned to keep his eyes open.
Chapter 3
Present Day
DANNY HUDDLED deeper in his coat, trying to escape the biting cold as he and Kier approached a three-story, redbrick office building that looked dated but well maintained. The small parking lot stood empty, as did the quiet suburban street it sat on. They made their way up a shrub-lined pathway to the darkened front door emblazoned with Total Family Care in bold blue letters. A white roller shade covered the windowed section of the door. Danny took a quick gaze up and down the street. No traffic, one lone streetlight, no signs of life from any of the surrounding houses.
“Kier, I’m pretty sure this place is closed for the day.”
“Sharon is here. She’s always here.”
“Workaholic?”
“Yes, and she also lives here.”
“I suppose that’s one way to avoid a commute. But seriously, Kier, I have a doctor. What’s happening to me is probably a bit beyond what conventional medical science can treat.”
Kier huffed out a breath. It condensed into a cloud in the chill of the evening. “Do you want help or not?”
“Yes.”
“Then shut it. If anyone can help, Sharon can.” He pressed a buzzer. A minute later a female voice came over the tinny intercom. Kier stated his name in response to the inquiry. After a brief pause, the locks clicked open, admitting them into the building. They stepped into a waiting room filled with cloth-cushioned seats, battered magazines, drug advertisements, and a large aquarium alive with multicolored fish.
“It’s a regular doctor’s office. One, not what I was expecting. Two, have I mentioned I don’t like doctors?”
“It is a regular doctor’s office. Where did you think I was taking you?”
“Frankenstein’s lab or at the very least, a specialist.”
Kier rolled his eyes. “Sharon Stiles is the best shot we have at figuring out how to fix what’s wrong with you.” He crossed to the receptionist’s window and yelled, “Sharon.”
“Coming. Keep your shirt on.”
Danny hadn’t known what to expect of a doctor who treated vampires, but when the little sprite of a woman emerged from the door that led to the exam rooms, Danny’s eyebrows shot up. She wore a lab coat over jeans and a tattered Harvard Medicine sweatshirt. She’d tied her dark hair back in a high ponytail, and cat-eye glasses sat perched on her pert little nose. All she needed was a backpack and an armload of notebooks, and the college co-ed look would be complete.
“Expecting Igor?” She winked at Kier.
“No! I, uh… just someone a little older, less cute.” He covered his face with his hand. “God. Sorry, Dr. Stiles.”
Sharon laughed. “I like him, Kier.”
Kier grunted.
She laughed again. “Come on back.” She waved for them to follow her through the doorway and showed them into an office loaded down with file cabinets, medical texts, and journals. She rounded the desk and claimed her seat in a large wingback chair that dwarfed her and made Danny think of an old Lily Tomlin skit. When she rested her arms on the desk and linked her fingers, her demeanor changed, and she became all professional. “Okay, boys, what seems to be the problem?”
“Sharon, this is Danny Reynolds.”
Sharon’s eyes went wide as she shot Kier a look. Then she schooled her face and focused back on Danny.
“Why don’t you tell her.”
Danny sat silent for a long moment. “Well, I….” He stopped, swallowed the lump that clogged his throat at the memory of the attack. He’d come so damn close to dying.
“Danny?”
“Well, last night I was attacked by a crazed vampire and now something is wrong with me. Oh, and doctors make me nervous.” Danny’s voice wavered a little at the end.
“I’m sorry to hear you were hurt, but if I’m going to help, I need a little more detail. I promise you I won’t bite.” She smiled and winked at him, flashing a fang.
A shaky laugh tumbled out of Danny. “Sorry. Remembering the attack isn’t easy.”
Kier’s hand fisted, then released in his lap. He reached out, hesitated, then patted Danny’s shoulder.
Danny took a breath, rubbed his hands over his thighs, and started from the beginning. He watched Sharon as he told his story. As he spoke, the gleam in Sharon’s eyes got brighter and brighter. A long silence fell over the room when he finished.
“I’m so sorry you went through that, Danny, but this is fascinating.” He could all but see the gears turning in her brain.
Kier frowned. “Sharon, he’s not one of your science experiments. We just want to know if you can help him.”
“I don’t know yet. This is new to me too. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before. I’m going to have to run a few tests and see what’s what. But the obvious answer to the problem would seem to be turning him.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured you were going to say that.” Kier sighed.
“What! No!” Danny shoved up from the chair. His heart pounded. Blood roared past his ears, almost deafening him. “I don’t want— I can’t be a— There has to be another option?”
Sharon rose and rounded the desk. She took both of Danny’s hands in her cool, delicate clasp. “Let’s do tests, and then we’ll see. We won’t rush into anything. I don’t know what’s going on inside you. We’re going to be smart and calm. And get to the bottom of this, all right?”
Danny shifted his gaze to Kier, then back to Sharon. So much whirl
ed around inside him. Exhaustion dragged at him. He wanted to sit and breathe and have the world be normal for five minutes. He searched Kier’s eyes for some understanding, some feeling, but cold blue stared back at him.
“Look, guys, let’s go to my lab. We’ll start with simple blood tests and take it from there. Sound fair?”
Kier shrugged. “It’s your call, Dan.”
Danny just nodded.
“Great! Come on downstairs with me. You might as well be comfortable while we do this.”
“Have I mentioned that I hate needles?” Danny followed Sharon and Kier out of the office.
“Don’t worry. Kier can distract you.”
Yeah, he sure could. Once Kier had had distracting him down to an art form. Danny pushed the thought aside. Neither the time nor place. Besides, now he’d probably take more pleasure in jabbing him with the needle than diverting his attention.
Sharon led them down the hall to the rear of the office. She coded into a room that looked like an average medical supply room. On the far wall, there appeared to be a locked storage cabinet. Again, Sharon typed a code into the cabinet, and it opened to reveal a spiral staircase leading to a lower level. One by one they filed in, winding their way downstairs. Last one through the door, Danny stopped to shut it behind him. He tugged the door and grunted at the unexpected weight. He gave it another yank, and the door glided closed with a solid thunk and a loud click of locks.
“Sorry about that. It’s heavier than it looks.” Sharon glanced up and smiled. “Rule number one in the world of vampires is spare no expense when protecting your personal space.”
“Good to know. Should I be taking notes?”
Sharon laughed. Kier remained stoic.
The lights from below illuminated their way as they descended. The stairs led down to a huge open space that flowed uninterrupted from family room to formal dining room to kitchen. Warm bronze and tans decorated the entire space, but each section had its own unique splashes of color.
“Wow,” Danny murmured.
“Thanks, we like it.” Sharon led Danny to the dining area and offered him a seat. Kier stood behind him. “I’ll be right back.” She left the room and disappeared down a hallway.