He felt like squirming but refused to do so or make eye contact with any of his fellow team members. There were many reasons he shouldn’t be with Olivia, but he didn’t feel he should have to enumerate them. They ought to be obvious to anyone with eyes to see.
“What do you need from us?”
“Right now, simply be observant. If anything seems beyond what you normally see from the Soulless, let Ray or me know. I have a handful of Imperium representatives I trust investigating, as well. I also need for you to just be on standby.” She paused. “But before you agree, you need to know that should I call on you, what I ask of you must take precedence over everything else. You may have to deliberately disobey the Imperium.”
The full impact of what was going on descended on the room, but Campbell didn’t look away from Catherine. Like her, he trusted his instincts. And they were telling him that the vampire world was on the precipice of something huge, and Catherine was standing on the right side of the battle.
“I’m with you, but I cannot speak for the rest of my team. This is too big.” He shifted his attention to the others. “Each of you has to make the decision for yourself.”
“Well, I’m in,” Len said with no hesitation.
“Me, too,” Colin said.
Kaja flipped her hair over her shoulder, and a sort of defiance flashed in her eyes. “I don’t like authority figures who take advantage of their positions, so if there’s a chance that’s happening here, I’m with you one hundred percent.”
Travis followed suit, and finally Sophia, who unsurprisingly had the most difficult time with going against authority. She had a good heart and always wanted to do the right thing, but she wasn’t by nature a rebel.
Campbell returned his attention to Catherine. “There you have it.”
“Good.” She smiled. “I knew I was making the right decision. Until you hear from me again, go about your normal duties. I have no idea when I might need you or for what. It could be hours, days, even months.”
Campbell couldn’t say he liked the sound of that. If a threat existed, he’d much prefer to dedicate all his energy to rooting it out and destroying it for good. But for now, he’d trust Catherine and just keep his eyes and ears open.
Catherine and Ray shifted as if to leave. “Campbell, walk with me,” she said.
He fell into step with her and noticed that Ray lagged behind.
“I know how you think, so I would bet my considerable fortune that you consider this new threat yet another reason to not be with the lovely Olivia.”
He wasn’t even surprised that Catherine had found out Olivia’s name. She probably had Olivia’s entire family history committed to memory by now.
“You’re wrong,” Catherine said.
Campbell stopped walking. “How do you know that?”
Catherine halted and shifted halfway toward him. “Remember those instincts I mentioned? They tell me that you are stronger with her in your life than without.”
“But what about her? Her life is more dangerous, more full of problems with me in it.”
“Is it? Or could it just be you’re afraid?” She turned to fully face him. “Tell me, would she be safer with or without someone with your power watching over her? Loving her?”
Campbell paced several steps away. “I could kill her so easily.”
“But you won’t.”
“You talk as if you’re all-knowing.”
“Hardly. But I have been around for a long time. And I know that cutting people out of our lives because we think we’re protecting them is never the answer. It just makes us resent this forever life we lead. How much sense does it make to be lonely for eternity when you have the option not to be?”
Campbell didn’t have an answer. The truth was his resolve to stay away from Olivia was weakening more with each word Catherine spoke. He didn’t know if he could convince himself that going back to her was even remotely safe, but there were things he could do for her while he tried to decide.
Catherine had started to walk away when he spoke again. “I need a favor.”
When she turned back toward him, she wore a victorious smile.
* * *
Now that the abduction case had been put to rest, Olivia expected Campbell to come see her. But two days passed with no visit, no call, no word of any kind. Her mood was not improved by the continued emptiness of the diner.
“I don’t know why I even opened,” she said to Mindy, who sat across from her in the dining room. “I sure don’t know why you came in. You should be resting.”
“If I rest any more, I’m going to go bonkers.”
Olivia sighed and looked out at the deepening darkness. “At this rate, I can’t afford to keep the diner running much longer.”
“I don’t like that sound of defeat in your voice.”
“I don’t either, but sometimes we have to face the truth, no matter how much it hurts.”
“Why do I think this has as much to do with Campbell as the diner?”
Olivia shrugged. “Maybe it’s just time for a change, a big one.”
Mindy glanced beyond Olivia. “Hold that thought.” She grabbed the remote control for the TV and turned it up. “Look.”
Olivia turned and was stunned to see Campbell on TV, Colin at his side.
“With us outside the studio tonight is Campbell Raines, the head of the team of vampires who rescued the eight human abductees from that vampire nightclub two nights ago. Mr. Raines is a former NYPD officer. With him is Colin O’Shea, a former firefighter with the FDNY.”
Olivia stood motionless as she listened to the reporter ask Campbell and Colin question after question, and they answered, sharing with the viewing public all the information Campbell had shared with her. The differences between Souled and Soulless vampires, the Imperium, vampire law.
“But none of this changes the precautions humans should take,” Campbell said. “The night is still deadly, and humans should stay indoors after sundown. It’s the only way to ensure their safety.”
“I can’t believe they’re doing this,” Mindy said.
“Me neither.” Everyone they used to know would see them and know that they’d not perished during the pandemic or at the hands of vampires, that they had in fact become vampires.
“I understand you have something else you want to share with our viewing audience tonight,” the reporter said.
“Yes.” Campbell looked directly into the camera that must have been mounted outside the TV station and handled remotely from inside. “A private party has purchased an apartment building here in Manhattan and will be donating it for housing for the homeless, a safe place for them to live.”
“Is this private party a vampire, and if so, how does that make the homeless any safer than they’d be on the streets?”
“Because the title to the property will be transferred to a human before anyone moves in.”
“Which human?”
“Her name is Olivia DaCosta, and she already works with the homeless, taking them meals when no one else will. She’s put her own life at risk to help those society has continued to forget in the wake of the Bokor virus and the emergence of vampires.”
Olivia lifted her hand to cover a gasp. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“This is the Olivia DaCosta who prevented a kidnapping recently, then was a victim of one earlier this week?”
“Yes. Olivia is a remarkable person, strong, determined,” Campbell said. “Not only does she help the less fortunate, but she’s been able to see something in me that I couldn’t even see myself.”
“And what would that be?”
“My humanity, that I’m not a monster just because I was attacked. That with obvious differences, I’m still the man I was before I was turned. But it’s cost her. People who can’t see the same things have abandoned her diner, leaving her without the means to support herself or her employee. She’s done nothing wrong, and yet she’s paying the price.”
�
��It sounds as if you care for Miss DaCosta.”
“I do. I love her.”
“Oh, Olivia,” Mindy said, and grabbed her hand.
Olivia was too stunned by Campbell’s public declaration of love to respond. She just kept staring at the TV screen, even after the video feed cut away from Campbell and Colin. The two TV anchors looked stunned.
“I don’t know what to make of the past few days, Frank,” the woman said to her co-anchor.
“I’m right there with you, Candice. Only time will tell what new revelations will come from the vampire community. But remember what Mr. Raines said, ladies and gentlemen. This makes no difference in just how dangerous the world continues to be at night.”
When the news shifted to the weather, Mindy lifted the remote and turned off the TV.
Olivia continued to stare at the black television screen. “Did that just happen?”
“Unless you and I are having the same dream, yes, it did.”
Olivia felt Campbell’s presence before she saw him. Slowly, she turned in her seat to see him standing outside.
“I suddenly feel the need to be anywhere but here,” Mindy said.
Olivia paid her no attention as she crossed to the front door and opened it. “I saw the news,” she said. She had no idea how to voice everything she was feeling. All she knew was that she wanted to grab him and never let go.
“Mindy,” Campbell said.
“Yeah?” she said.
“Colin will take you home.”
Suddenly, Colin stood in the doorway, too, his forearm propped against the outside since he couldn’t cross the invisible barrier.
“No, I’ll stay here tonight.” Even though Mindy had thawed a little toward Campbell and his team, Olivia doubted her deep fear of vamps would ever go away.
Colin gave Mindy a crooked grin that Olivia knew was meant to help alleviate her fear. “You’re safe from me. I couldn’t drink from you even if I wanted to. I do and I die, for good this time. So you have a choice. You either allow me to take you home or you can stay here and listen to these two make wild monkey love all night. I’d vote for going with me. I’m really kind of fun to be around.”
Campbell made a sound of frustration, and Olivia’s face flamed with embarrassment. Mindy stood slowly and pulled a wooden stake from where she’d hidden it in her waistband below her shirt.
Colin placed his hand over his heart. “Now you’re just hurting my feelings.”
“He won’t hurt you,” Olivia said. “He’s the one who carried you out of the club.”
Mindy averted her gaze, but not before Olivia saw that Mindy remembered what Colin had done without being reminded. She sensed a struggle going on in her friend—the beliefs she’d held for so long against the fact that she was standing across from the vampires who had saved her life.
“I’m leaving in thirty seconds. Your call—monkey sex sounds or my sterling taxi service.” He retreated to the truck to wait.
Mindy rolled her eyes and muttered something about big egos but approached the door nonetheless. She paused and looked up at Campbell. “How you ended up with that for a best friend has got to be one of life’s great mysteries.”
“He has his good qualities.”
“If you say so.”
Her hand firmly around the stake, Mindy glanced up and down the street and headed for the armored truck. Colin sped off the moment she got her door closed.
“Alone at last,” Campbell said.
“Whatever will we do with ourselves?”
He gave her a wicked grin. “I have a few ideas.”
She tugged him inside, and he locked the door behind him. In a blink, he lifted her in his arms and made quick work of the stairs up to her apartment. When he placed her on her feet, she lifted to her toes, took his face in her hands and kissed him. With an animal sound that had nothing to do with him being a vampire, he pulled her close against him and deepened the kiss until her head spun.
When their lips parted, she said, “I’ve missed you so much. I was afraid you were never coming back.”
“I considered staying away. I thought it would be easier for you.”
She leaned back so she could meet his eyes. “How could living without you make my life easier? I’ve already lost one man I love. I don’t want to go through that again.”
“It could happen. Every day that I go out and do my job, it could happen. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to shield you.”
She bit her lip at the thought of him dying the final death. “I choose not to think of that. But if it’s a choice between living with that knowledge but having you in my life and not having you at all, I know which one I’ll choose. Every time.”
He framed her face with his big hands. “I love you, Olivia DaCosta.”
“I know. I saw it on the news. After all, they do say it’s News You Can Trust.” She smiled.
“I hope you don’t mind that all of New York knows now.”
“I’m guessing it’s probably spread across the whole country now,” she said. “I’m hoping my mother hasn’t had a stroke. But no, I don’t mind. A lot of people will hate me for it, but I don’t care. I’m not listening to them. I’m only going to listen to my heart. And you know what it’s telling me to do right now?”
“No.”
“Take you to bed and not let you leave until daylight forces you to.”
He smiled. “I like that idea.” But then his smile faded and sadness took its place. “First I have to tell you something that might change your mind.”
“I can’t imagine what.”
He walked across the room and stood staring out the front window. “I’ve never told anyone this before.”
“You can tell me anything.” She wanted to cross to him, but she sensed he needed the distance.
He said nothing for so long that she grew nervous. Finally, he turned toward her. “I’m responsible for someone’s death.”
“Yes, I know. I was there.”
“Not the guys who attacked you. Right after I was turned, I almost drained a girl, a college student named Bridget Jameson. She was walking home after a night class.”
Olivia had said he could tell her anything, but she hadn’t expected this. She sank onto the arm of the couch and pushed an instinctual fear away.
“The vampire who turned me, my sire, was a criminal I was chasing. He’d attacked a deli owner in his store, but something made him run. I still don’t know who he was, because I never saw his face, and the deli didn’t have a security camera. He bit me, forced me to drink his blood then didn’t stick around to usher me through the transition.”
“Why did he turn you instead of killing you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he thought that was a better way to get me off his trail, strike back, who knows. But when I came out the other side hungry for blood, I attacked the first person I came across. When I realized what I was doing, I was horrified. I thought I’d gone suddenly insane. I dropped her and ran. I was on the verge of jumping off a building when another vamp found me and talked me down. Even when I told him what I’d done, he helped me. He’d been a doctor but since he couldn’t treat patients anymore, he found ways to help vampires.”
“He didn’t turn you in?”
“No. I didn’t actually kill Bridget. I learned later, though, that I might as well have. I just left her lying there, and the scent of her blood drew another vampire. He finished her off. I wanted to die for good. I still think of her, wondering what her life might be like now.”
“She might not have survived the virus,” Olivia said.
He stared at a spot on the floor. “But she would have had the chance.” He paused, lost in what-ifs. “David, the vampire who took me in, helped me learn to live as close to a human life as I could.”
Olivia swallowed, trying to take in all this new information and determine if it changed how she felt about Campbell. Despite how she cared for him, she was surprised her survival instinct hadn’t yet sent her f
leeing. That had to mean something, right?
“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” she asked.
He met her gaze. “It’s a heavy secret to bear. And...I was afraid of how you’d look at me when I did.”
She tried not to think of that poor girl, instead focusing on the good Campbell had done since. He’d once said he was atoning, and now Olivia realized it was for much more than his attack on her.
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “You didn’t ask to be turned, didn’t ask to be left with no direction on how to deal with that.”
Campbell shook his head. “How do you do that?”
“What?”
“Forgive so easily.”
“I’m not discounting that what happened to Bridget was awful, but you were a victim that night, too. It’s no different than having a baby then abandoning it, expecting it to learn to walk and talk all by itself.”
He stared at her for a long time. “You’re amazing.”
“I just see you carrying too much on your shoulders. You have team members to help. Friends. Me.”
“You still want to be with me?” he asked.
“More than ever.” Wanting to push away the past, she gave him a wicked grin. “It’s not every vampire I invite into my bed.”
He stalked toward her slowly, a graceful animal. “I was afraid to tell you.”
“I’m glad you did. Your secret is safe with me. There’s nothing to be gained by its revelation. And if I know you, you’ve beaten yourself up about this since the moment it happened.”
He stopped close to her and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Thank you.”
“How about you thank me with something more than words?”
She squealed when he swept her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom. He fell with her to the bed and started trailing kisses up her neck to her ear. He bit her lobe just hard enough to send an erotic surge of need through her body. The words he’d said into that TV camera, that he loved her, fueled her need to touch him, to consume him and have him consume her.
Out of the Night (Harlequin Nocturne) Page 25