by Lynsay Sands
Abigail nodded slowly, thinking that the men obviously hadn't heard them discussing her need for "medicine" and didn't realize she and Jet were staying at the same villa as Mary. They obviously also hadn't recognized Jet as their pilot. She supposed it was the beard and mustache he'd grown since last seeing them. That was a lucky break. They seemed to think she and Jet had just encountered Mary.
"Well, if we hadn't prevented it and you'd got to that villa, you would have been breakfast for her--" Jake jerked his thumb back toward Mary as he added "--and her friends."
"You're saying she's a vampire and that she's staying at a villa here with other vampires?" Abigail asked, trying to sound shocked at the possibility.
Apparently, her attempt to appear shocked came across as disbelief too, because he frowned and shook his head. "I know. I'm not surprised you don't believe me. But you will. The fact is there are a bunch of 'em. I think their home base is Texas. We've found a lot of them there. In fact, the only reason we're here now is because we were transporting one of them and he got free and jumped out of the plane we were on somewhere over this area."
"Jumped out of a plane?" Abigail gasped. "He had a parachute?"
"No." Jake shook his head firmly and she was pretty sure he was being honest. He had no idea there had been a parachute in the back of the cargo hold. "He jumped without one, and he survived," he stressed. "These damned vampires are hard to kill," Jake added with disgust. "We've been looking for him this last week. Got here last night, but didn't really expect him to be here. Truth is we were starting to think the search was a waste of time, but we thought we'd poke around a bit and move on to the next place. But then we saw her." He jerked his thumb toward Mary again. "She and her sire and another vampire were coming out of the open-air restaurant last night."
"Sire?" Abigail murmured, realizing that Jake and Sully must have arrived just after she herself had left the bar with Tomasso on her heels. It couldn't have been long after, though, she thought. Abigail was pretty sure Dante, Mary, and Justin had probably left close behind them. She would have guessed right behind them, but Lucian may have held them up giving further instructions. Either way, it was amazing that Jake and Sully hadn't seen her and Tomasso . . . seriously lucky. Now if she could just figure out a way to use that luck to her advantage--
"Yes, sire. The one who turned her," Jake explained and glanced back to peer at Mary. Shaking his head, he added, "Apparently she used to be as human as me and you, but the twin of the fellow who escaped us, escaped some buddies of ours and turned the poor old bitch."
Abigail had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping at him for calling Mary a bitch.
"When we saw them, we knew our boy must be here," Jake continued, turning to face her again. "So we followed them to their villa, then searched the others nearby and settled on this one so we could keep an eye on them while we came up with a plan."
Mouth tightening, Jake turned to glance toward the bathroom and the middle-aged couple visible through the open door. "Unfortunately, the people here weren't too cooperative. If they'd just done what they were told and stayed put, we might have let them live. But no, they had to try to escape." He eyed them with disgust as if the couple's trying to escape two madmen ranting about vampires was completely unreasonable.
"Anyway," Jake said, giving his head a shake as if that was all it took to remove the couple and any responsibility for their death from his mind. "This morning Blondie there and her sire headed down to the shops. We followed, hoping for an opportunity to grab them. Then she started talking to you in the store. The next thing we knew her sire was leaving, saying something about get a table big enough for everyone and he'd get the others. Then you three were headed to the restaurant.
"At that point, we weren't sure you and your boyfriend weren't vampires too. We weren't close enough to get a look at your eyes then. So we figured we'd follow, have breakfast too, and keep an eye on the group and sort out whether you two were vampires or not and who else was with them."
Abigail swallowed at this news as she recalled Sully saying he'd seen Jet's eyes and they were human. If they'd seen her eyes before they'd left the store, these men would have known she wasn't, but Jet had bought her the ridiculous sunglasses she still wore. She had no idea when Sully had seen Jet's eyes though. Perhaps when they'd stopped and turned on the sidewalk at Dr. Cortez's shout. Yes, that seemed likely. The pair had been close behind them and had parted to avoid crashing into them. Sully could have seen Jet's eyes then.
"Only you guys never went to the restaurant," Jake continued, grabbing her attention again. "All of a sudden, the three of you stopped. When we realized you were heading for the path back up here, we figured she'd somehow convinced you and your boyfriend to come up to their villa. It seemed the perfect opportunity. So Sully moved the van to the back road, and we waited for our chance."
Smiling wryly, he added, "Luckily for you that little fat doctor came running up to see how you were. Started yapping about you having dengue fever, so we knew you weren't a vampire either. Figured out then she'd been luring you back to the villa to be their breakfast." He shrugged and added, "Like I said, the fact is you're lucky we stopped you when we did, or by now you'd either be dead or a vampire yourself."
"Yes, lucky," Abigail agreed and almost winced as she heard the words. Even she could hear the lack of sincerity in them.
"I know you don't believe me, girl," Jake said harshly. "Can't say I'm surprised. I had trouble swallowing the fact that vampires really exist myself. But they do," he assured her. "And you'll believe soon enough when that one wakes up and gets hungry. You'll be glad then that we stopped you going to their villa, and you'll be glad we chained her up like we did too so she can't suck you dry."
Abigail stared at him silently, thinking he should probably worry more about himself just now. While she'd mistaken her hunger earlier this morning as a hunger for food, it was becoming more and more apparent to her that food wasn't what her body was craving. The man before her was starting to smell like a pork chop smothered in mushroom sauce, and she was quite sure it wasn't the cologne he was wearing. Grimacing at these thoughts, Abigail cleared her throat and asked, "What are you going to do with her?"
"Use her for bait to get the others," Jake said quickly, and then glanced to Mary again and frowned. "We just have to figure out how to do that."
"And once you have them all?" Abigail asked.
"Take them to the island," he answered absently, his gaze still on Mary. Abigail was pretty sure he was trying to come up with that plan to catch the others.
"What's the island?" she asked, hoping that in his distraction he might just mention its name and where it was. Instead, her question made him turn to look at her blankly.
"It's an island," he said slowly as if she might be slow in the head.
Abigail managed a nervous laugh. "Yes, but I meant, what happens there? Why not just stake them all here? That's what you do to vampires, right?"
"Oh." Jake smiled faintly. "Well, Dr. Dressler wants them. He's studying them. The man's got a bunch of freaks on his island," he added in a tone of disgust. "You wouldn't believe the shit he has caged up there--fishmen, snakemen, birdmen. Hell, he even has a kid who's half horse and half little boy."
"A centaur?" Abigail asked with disbelief.
"If that's what they're called," he said with a shrug. "I just call him freak. Makes the little shit cry and trot off, but man can he move."
Abigail sank back against the headboard, her mind spinning. This couldn't be true. There was no such thing as centaurs. They were mythological creatures.
Like vampires? the snarky voice in her head asked.
"Jesus," Abigail breathed.
"Yeah, shocking, huh?" Jake said, his voice wry. "I hear tell he's made female freaks too, but he keeps them and the female vamps separate from the male specimens and I've never been in their building."
Jake sighed and added, "But I'd like to. I'd really like to see if the female
fishman looks like a mermaid or what. The male doesn't. Just has gills and stuff, but I wouldn't mind me a pretty little mermaid with perky titties. I'd make a real special big old glass fishbowl for her right in my living room so she could swim around naked all day and I could just watch and maybe squeeze her titties once in a while. If she has a hole for it, I might even get to make her my girlfriend good and proper. If not, she'd surely have a mouth to--"
Jake stopped abruptly when he caught the flash of disgust on Abigail's face. She hadn't been able to hold it back. But she was sorry she hadn't at least tried when he shut down like a clam, scowled at her, then turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Abigail let her breath out slowly. Fishmen, snakemen, birdmen, and a centaur? Impossible, she thought, and then Jake's words slid through her mind again.
I hear tell he's made female freaks too.
"Made?" she murmured to herself.
From Tomasso's history lesson, Abigail knew this Doctor Dressler hadn't created immortals. But then Jake hadn't said he had, she realized, replaying his words again.
I hear tell he's made female freaks too, but he keeps them and the female vamps separate from the male specimens.
That suggested he'd created the female creatures Jake had mentioned, and kept them plus the female vamps who he hadn't created but had kidnapped, separate from the males of both groups. But . . . could this Dressler have really made hybrid humans?
No, Abigail assured herself. Jake was high or something, or maybe trying to impress her with nonsense tales. Still, she kept hearing Jake's words in her head. Fishmen, snakemen, birdmen.
Those three words played over and over in her head until a groan from Jet distracted her.
"No one saw or learned anything?" Tomasso asked with disbelief. He had been the last to return from scouring his quadrant, but supposed he shouldn't be surprised. This was a beach resort. Where else would most of the clientele be except on the beach? It hadn't been too busy when he'd first arrived to begin reading minds and searching, but had begun to fill up quickly soon after.
It seemed people had their breakfast and then headed directly to the beach to ensure they got a lounge chair in a good spot. From what Tomasso had seen today, the most desirable chairs appeared to be ones with shade. At least those were the seats that had been filled first.
"You need to feed," Justin said and Tomasso glanced to the man standing beside the fridge just as he retrieved a bag of blood and tossed it to him.
Tomasso caught it and popped it to his teeth at once. He had tried to stay in the shade as much as possible while he and Abigail had been on the beach. But that had been impossible today. He'd spent most of the last three hours under the burning sun as he read mind after mind after mind, searching for any little thought or memory of Abigail, Mary, and Jet and what might have happened to them. He had actually picked up on a couple of memories of the trio, mostly by men who had noticed the women and thought them attractive, or women who had felt the same way about Jet. But none of those memories had done more than make him want to punch a man or two. They certainly hadn't revealed where the trio had gone or what had happened to them.
"There has been no word from the kidnappers either," Dante said as Tomasso slumped onto a stool to wait for the bag at his mouth to empty.
"I am afraid we are back to waiting," Lucian added.
Tomasso stiffened and glared at the man over the bag at his mouth. He couldn't say so then, but there was no way in hell that he was going to just sit there and wait to hear from the kidnappers. He just couldn't. Tomasso needed to be doing something to find her. Anything.
"What if they do not do what you expect?" Dante asked. "What if they just take the women to this island Abigail heard one of the men mention?"
"Then we will find the island and get them and the other kidnapped immortals back," Lucian growled.
Ripping the now empty bag of blood from his mouth, Tomasso moved around the island in the middle of the kitchen to grab another from the refrigerator. He had no intention of sitting around waiting. But he needed more blood before he went back out under that tropical sun.
"It is a waste of time and blood to go back out there on a fruitless search," Lucian snapped.
"You should read my mind more carefully if you are going to read it at all," Tomasso said bitingly before slapping another bag to his fangs.
Lucian stared at him silently, eyes narrowed, and then his eyes widened and his head suddenly went back the slightest bit as if he'd been hit by the thoughts in Tomasso's head.
"The security tapes at the front desk?" Justin said, apparently reading his mind too.
"They may have caught the kidnappers on camera if they went to the desk to inquire after Tomasso," Dante murmured.
"How does that help us?" Justin asked.
"It will tell us if they took a room here, or tried to, and what direction they went in when they left," Lucian said.
"There are other cameras around the resort," Dante said suddenly. "One of them might have filmed what happened to Mary, Abigail, and Jet."
Tomasso glanced at him sharply, and could have kicked himself for not thinking of it. The sun must have got to him, he thought.
"Call a car, Justin," Lucian ordered and then opened the map again to look it over, no doubt to see where the security offices for the resort were.
Abigail let her breath out on a small sigh and slumped back against the headboard again. She'd been watching Jet hopefully for several minutes, ever since she'd heard his second moan, but--like the first time he'd moaned--he hadn't followed it up by opening his eyes or even moving.
Abigail briefly considered calling his name softly or making some other sound that might wake him if he was just sleeping, but the truth was, he was probably better off asleep. At least he was until she figured out what to do. Escape seemed the obvious answer, but every time she tried to think of the best way to escape, Abigail found her eye being drawn to the open bathroom door. The couple in there had tried to escape and died for their efforts. That made her cautious. Now that she was immortal she would be hard to kill. And as an immortal Jake and Sully would have no desire to kill her once they figured it out. But Jet was mortal. He could die and Abigail couldn't risk that. She would not be able to live with herself for a moment, let alone centuries, if she had to carry the guilt that her actions had contributed to, or directly caused, his death.
Not even wishing to think about Jet dying, Abigail turned to the sliding glass doors and peered out at the beautiful sunny day on display. She could have been looking out from their own villa master bedroom, she thought as her gaze slid over the terrace, pool and lounge chairs surrounded by palm trees and flowered bushes for privacy. The thought made her swallow a sudden lump in her throat. She wished she was looking out from there, that she was safe in Tomasso's arms somewhere . . . anywhere.
Abigail scowled at having such thoughts. Her mother had been a single parent, a strong independent woman who had carried the burden of feeding, clothing, and rearing her child alone. And she'd raised Abigail to be strong and independent too, to take care of herself, and never depend on anyone. Yet now, all Abigail wanted in the world was for Tomasso to come charging in, rescue her, and then carry her off somewhere where they could make love until they passed out.
How lame was that? Her mother would be rolling in her grave at such a wimpy fantasy.
But Abigail couldn't help it. Just the thought of Tomasso made her close her eyes and hope. He was so strong and smart and sexy. Abigail had never met a man like him. Most of the guys she'd dated at college had either been pretty and stupid, smart and wimpy, or handsome and cruel. Tomasso was the first man that was not only beautiful, but brilliant as well. Honestly, she'd hit the jackpot with him. He was the first man she'd met that she not only liked and lusted after, but respected too.
Even Jet, her best friend for years, didn't meet all three criteria for Abigail. He was smart enough, and obviously she liked and loved him, and she ev
en respected him, but that chemistry she had with Tomasso was missing with Jet. She'd known him too long, been friends for too many years maybe, Abigail thought as her gaze sought him out again.
Her friend hadn't moved a muscle as far as she could tell. Neither had Mary, she noted before turning her gaze back to the window and her thoughts back to Tomasso. Rather than thinking about a way to get out of there, Abigail found her mind replaying scenes of things that had happened since she'd pulled that tarp off Tomasso's cage more than a week ago. The memory of his naked wild man appearance when she'd first seen him made her smile. As did the thought of the leafy loincloth he'd fashioned and donned on the beach to please her. There were a whole host of memories that made her smile: his tending her head wound, cooking fish for her that he'd speared, bringing her coconuts so that she could drink the coconut water. Taking care of her while she was sick. Turning her when she was dying. The passion he showed her whenever they were together.
The man was special, both strong and brave, yet tender and caring, Abigail thought, and acknowledged that she might actually be falling in love with the big Italian stud who was also a closet geek. In truth, Abigail suspected she already was in love with him, but knew it was way too soon for such things so was trying to slow her ponies on that. "Falling for" sounded far more sensible than "already in love" at this stage of the game, even in her own head.
Grimacing, Abigail opened her eyes and froze as she saw that Mary's eyes were also open. She was awake.
"There," Tomasso barked, pointing at the digital screen. "That's Dante leaving the store."
Dante nodded. "The girls and Jet were inside the store at that point."
They all watched silently as Dante walked away from the shopping area and back up the lane in the direction of the villas, moving out of the camera's view. Two, perhaps three minutes passed and then Tomasso and Dante barked together, "There!" as Abigail led Mary and Jet out of the store. The trio started walking toward the restaurant, Jet in the middle. They were all chattering and laughing happily, Tomasso noted. None of them even suspecting anything was amiss.