Immortal Heat (The Guardians of Dacia Book 1) (18 page)

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Every day she called in to Livedel to check with the medical office to see if she was able to go back to work and every day she was denied. She still hadn't heard from her mother either. It had been nearly two weeks and still no word. It wasn't like her not to call when she was away, even on business. Maggie, her mother's administrative assistant told her all was well and that she was at a conference with Rick Delvante. As secretive as that man was, she shouldn't worry.

Carrying her weekly bag of groceries, she juggled with the load to unlock her door. But the door swung open without effort.

"Hello?"

"Hello," a dejected voice called from behind her laptop across the apartment.

Tina peeked up over the monitor screen and buried her face in her hands.

"What's going on? What are you doing here so early? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

Marilyn was proud of her friend for sticking to her guns and returning to work after the frightening incident. But she made Tina promise not to work after hours when the vampire guy might be around.

"I was…until I was suspended." There was shame in her voice.

"Why?" She had Marilyn's full attention. No one in their right mind would ever have an issue with Tina. She was perfection wrapped up in quality. All of her teachers growing up had loved her. She was "class favorite," "most friendly," "most caring" and would forgive a scorpion if one ever bit her. It just didn't make sense.

"They said my accounting numbers were off. The books don't match the deposits of blood donated." She sighed, fidgeting with her fingernails. Her telltale angst always had her studying her fingernails as if they might be dirty. Dirt didn't touch Tina. It was ashamed to sully such a delicate doll.

"Did they show you the documents?"

She shook her head. "Max just told me I was suspended, and he'd let me know when I could return." She sat down heavily on the bed. "I don't know where I went wrong."

"But you've been handling their accounts so thoroughly for the past two years. Why now?"

Tina shrugged. "I swear I haven't done anything differently. I could do the accounts in my sleep and still come out with everything balanced and in order." She looked to Marilyn. "Maybe it's time for me to move on. Do you think you might be able to get me in on the ground floor at Livedel?"

"Possibly. Update your resume and I'll take it in. I'm not going to promise you anything though. Mom caught a bunch of flack from employees and the board members for taking me on and playing "favorites." She ended up having to take it all the way up to Mr. Delvante himself."

Marilyn unloaded Styrofoam platters of meat from the grocery bag into her refrigerator. "In the meantime though, don't sweat it too much. Maybe they made a mistake and will find out they owe you an apology. Give them a few days to figure things out."

Tina knotted her fingers together. "I'm just so worried. What if they end up firing me? A suspension is the first offense. I can't afford to lose this position. With the economy still struggling and jobs at a minimum, even for an accountant, I don't know what I'd do."

"We'll work it out when we get there. Just take it easy today." She grabbed slices of nearly raw roast beef from the deli bag and devoured it.

"I can't take it easy. I'm supposed to be in Baltimore helping with the annual blood drive this weekend and meeting with the director, Aiden Vamier."

Marilyn stopped chewing immediately. Aiden Vamier? Vamier…why did that name sound so familiar?

She could sense Tina staring at her. "Are you feeling all right?"

No…yes…she wasn't sure. Her temples throbbed as she tried to comprehend what her best friend said. Vamier. Professor Vamier. She
was
supposed to work with him for the semester in Romania. She wasn't crazy. She'd been given the opportunity to study under his tutelage and find out about her medallion.

Her medallion! She remembered having it, wearing it, the heaviness lying on her chest…and then she'd wrapped it around her hand… Marilyn went through the motions as if it were only the night before.

"I was in Nonni's cottage. There were two wolves…no, two naked men who were wolves and then there was Draylon."

Tina tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"I was there. I was in Romania. " She went to her jewelry box where she kept her medallion safe when she wasn't wearing it. It wasn't there. Panic laced up her breastbone, the agony making her head hurt all the more. "It's gone."

Her bag. Maybe she'd packed it in her suitcase. No, not her suitcase, her knapsack. Throwing open the closet door she found the bag and opened it. Empty. But she swore this was the bag she'd taken with her when she'd fled Cluj. Frantic and heart sore she sobbed.

"Where is it? Tina I've lost it…oh God, what am I going to do? He entrusted me to keep it safe and now…" Searching the various inner pockets, her fingers lit on an odd piece of linen. She stopped, pulled out the vintage, embroidered handkerchief bundle and sat up on her knees. She shook it out to reveal the medallion, still intact, still safe.

Breathing again she inhaled a faint scent of woodsy smoke. She held the kerchief up to her nose. The fragrance struck a familiar note. Closing her eyes, Marilyn's other senses picked up details of the cottage, the night of her escape from vampires. It wasn't a dream, it had been real.

But just what was it that had been real and why?

Chapter Eleven

Draylon didn't like the situation he'd seen. Gerlich instructed his hoods to load up iced coolers of what could only be the banks supply of blood into the small moving trucks. He'd been sitting in the shadows watching them for two nights now. Rick's assignment didn't leave much to the imagination. He was to keep an eye on Gerlich and report on his findings. But he was not to interfere until they had all the information. He hated being a spy. Let him take out a band of Vamier's vampires and he'd be a happy fuck.

"Anything new?"

His partner and good friend, Mike Linder tried sneaking up on him. He didn't hear the former special-ops agent because of his stealth, but Draylon didn't have any problem picking up scents. It was just one of his many, unusual gifts.

"Nada. Still just packing up trucks full of blood."

"Hell, we don't know that man. Those Styrofoam coolers could be full of picnic supplies. Wouldn't we look stupid if they were?"

"It's a picnic all right, made for every vampire in Vamier's compound." He turned his attention to Mike. "Who did you find out was in charge?"

"Some guy by the name of Maxwell Struthers. He worked with Trevor Lyon before Gerlich took over. I wonder what happened to Trevor to put Gerlich in command?"

"You have to ask?"

The object of their discussion stepped out from inside the building, gave orders to one of his unit leaders and left in his Mercedes, leaving the others to do his dirty deeds.

"Oh I know Aiden took him out in one bite, but why? Trevor had been like a son to him for over two centuries. Hadn't he been one of his recruits from the Crusades?"

"Yeah. He'd been a real sonofabitch back then, too. Gerlich is much younger but moved up in ranks fast for a World War II Nazi soldier."

Trevor had been a major pain in the ass for the better part of the two centuries. But because he and Trevor had been equals in rank under their individual commands for so long, Draylon felt a kindred spirit with him. It bothered him to know he'd been the reason behind Aiden killing him.

But it had been worth it. He still couldn't shake thoughts of her. The month he'd kept her protected had been the most difficult of times, but also the best time he remembered in quite a while. Her intelligence and fun loving nature alone made for a unique experience. He wasn't used to involving himself with such a breed of woman. Most of his dates preferred designer shoes, social functions and seeing how far they could push a man to do their bidding.

What they didn't understand was he wasn't a man to be pushed. Draylon had always focused on finding the one woman who could accept him for what he was. Unfortunately what he was wasn't human. As much as he'd enjoyed Marilyn's company, he wouldn't subject her to having to witness the truth. When her safety from him was no longer an issue, he deemed it necessary to wipe her mind of the memories they'd made and brought her home. The only problem was Rick had sent him right back to where he'd returned her, Frederick, Maryland. Now, there was the chance of seeing her again.

"I still don't know why Rick sent you on this mission," Mike ventured forth. "I'm right here in Frederick and could have handled this job."

And probably better, too. With Mike's Navy SEAL training and stealthy ability, no one was more equipped to go in and spy on Gerlich's business. Draylon preferred to go in and take out his target with guns blazing, so to speak. He excelled at mass killings of vamps when there was a hoard of them attacking.

"I don't know. When Rick assigns me a site, I don't ask questions."

Mike shook his head. "You've got to stop kissing his ass, man."

Draylon looked away from the site to glare at Mike. "He saved my life. I owe him my allegiance. No questions asked."

"We can't go blindly into a situation just on faith. It's your right as a human being to question authority."

"If you remember, Mike…I'm not human."

Mike didn't say anything more.

"Have you managed to locate Christina Johnston?"

"Nope. I checked and she wasn't in today."

A car's headlights split the darkness of the night in the front parking area of the blood bank, canceling the remaining interrogation of his friend. Draylon's senses went on alert. He motioned to Mike who'd already noticed and took inventory of the situation. The lights turned off.

He could make out the shadows of two figures sitting inside the vehicle. Something told him they weren't associated with the goings-on in the back of the building though. They would have pulled up around to the loading docks if they were.

The doors opened on the small two door coup and the distinct chatter of feminine voices echoed in the night. Draylon strained to hear what they were saying.

"You don't have to come with me. I'm just going in to get my bag of cross-stitching I left."

"Tina, it's dark. I'm not letting you go inside a dark building by yourself."

"Fine."

Tina turned and hit the lock button on her key fob, sounding the horn to lock her car doors and alerting some of Gerlich's goons who were busy packing. Shit.

"Shit. Those two women are heading right into a butt load of trouble," Mike echoed his sentiments.

Things were now out of Rick's direct orders not to get involved. He motioned for Mike to head towards the front of the building as he snuck up into the back, hopefully timing his arrival to protect the women from what he knew would be a bad thing.

Draylon had his blade drawn from the inside of his jacket sleeve where he kept it, knowing black-blood would be drawn tonight.

There were five vamps left now that Gerlich was gone from the scene. Draylon counted two at the ramp of the truck, a third on the concrete loading dock but couldn't see the other two. They had to be inside.

Mike made it to the edge of the brick building. He gave the hand signal for "going-in."

Draylon approached the back, keeping to the shadows of the night. Sneaking up on one of the guys on the truck, he quietly slit his throat all the way through to…sonofabitch. Red blood covered the black of his gloves in the lamplight. This wasn't a Vamier vamp, this guy was human. Fuck. He'd have some explaining to do to Rick.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Draylon looked up to see the second guy carrying an ice tote. The guy noticed what happened, seeing his buddy on the ground in a pool of blood. He dropped the tote, withdrew a Glock and shot at him. A mortal man would have died instantly, this time Draylon was thankful he wasn't.

Roundhouse kicking the gun out of his assailant's hands, Draylon was able to knock the guy out without killing him. But where had the third man gone?

Cautiously he closed in on the loading dock, made his way up into the building and looked around. Nothing but storage freezer units and wire cages of office and blood donation supplies. The door to the inner office stood open. This didn't bode well. He hoped Mike had intercepted any issues before anything could get to the two women.

The scene he came up on didn't look as good as he'd wished.

"…sure you came back for your cross-stitch." A middle aged man stood over a blonde haired girl with her back to the wall. The gun he had point-blank at her forehead answered any questions Draylon might have. Still hidden he waited to see if Mike had managed to get a bead on the situation but didn't see his partner. There wasn't much he could see from his angle. Where was the other woman?

"No one 'cross-stitches' anymore, Johnston." The man threw his chin up. "Who are you working for, or are you just trying to get even with me for suspending you?"

"Hey Max." Another guy came down the hallway brandishing an auburn haired woman. "I found another coming out of the ladies room."

Draylon's breath hitched when the abductor turned the struggling form to the front of him as if presenting a prize. But his beefy arm had her in a choke hold and she struggled to breathe.