Bite Me if You Can (3 page)

“Where’s Leigh?”

Lucian paused on the top step. He and Mortimer had finished clearing out the nest and trailing gasoline through the basement and up the stairs to the kitchen, the first time either man had been there since rushing downstairs. Bricker had been the one to run up to retrieve the cans of gasoline they’d left in the room. He’d brought the smaller one down to them, then taken the other up to the second floor to drop a trail of the flammable liquid there and down to the main floor.

“I left her seated at the table,” Lucian said. “Maybe Bricker already took her out to the van.”

“Maybe,” Mortimer agreed wearily.

Lucian turned back to continue splashing the gasoline on the tile floor, but he, too, was tired. It had been a lot of work.

There had been more vampires in the nest than expected. Morgan had managed to turn upward of thirty-odd followers... and they hadn’t all laid around accommodatingly for Lucian and his men to put out of their misery. It had taken quite a while to take care of them all.

It was only after they’d gone through the rooms in the basement that they realized Morgan had gotten away in those first moments of chaos after they charged downstairs. So had the man he’d called Donald. The pair had slid out through a pair of cellar doors that opened into the backyard. The daughter of the previous owner had apparently forgotten this detail.

Moods grim at what they considered a failure, they’d started to lay the gasoline down. Lucian now trailed it into the hallway, following Mortimer toward the front door. They met up with Bricker coming out of the living room, splashing his own can around.

“Did you take Leigh to the van?” Mortimer asked.

Bricker’s eyebrows flew up. “No. I thought Lucian did before following us downstairs.”

“No.” Mortimer shook his head. “He left her at the table in the kitchen.”

Lucian shrugged and returned to splashing the gasoline along the hall toward the front door. “Morgan must have taken her. We catch up to him, we’ll find her.”

Neither man looked pleased, but moved quickly toward the door to stay out of his way. Bricker emptied the last of his can as he went, then tossed it aside and stepped out of the house. Mortimer followed and Lucian continued with his own gasoline until it ran out two feet short of the door.

Tossing his can to the side, Lucian pulled a Zippo from his pocket. He flicked it open, struck the wheel with his thumb to light it, then tossed it over his shoulder as he stepped onto the porch. He pulled the door closed just as the fire whooshed to life behind him.

It wasn’t until he’d started down the steps that Lucian saw the woman. She was on her knees on the gravel where Morgan’s van had been parked. Her arms were wrapped tight around her waist as she swayed weakly where she knelt. Her pain was obvious, as was the fact that a combination of determination and the desire to survive were all that had helped her make her way out of the house.

Mortimer and Bricker were on their haunches, one in front of her, one beside her, both of them peering at her worriedly.

“She’s turning,” Mortimer announced as Lucian paused beside them.

Of course she was, he thought wearily. He had hoped she hadn’t yet been given blood. Then they could have erased her memory and sent her on her way. However, that wasn’t possible anymore. She was now an immortal and would have to be taken care of and trained.

The only good news was that unlike those in the house, Morgan hadn’t had her long enough to turn her into a heartless, killing machine.

“We’ll have to take her back to the hotel and take care of her,” Mortimer announced, the words bringing a grimace to Lucian’s face.

“We don’t have time to nurse a baby vamp,” he said dryly. “We have to catch up to Morgan before he starts another nest.”

“Well, we can’t just leave her here,” Mortimer pointed out. “Bricker and I will take care of her.”

“What about Morgan?” Lucian asked.

The two men exchanged a glance, then Bricker said, “The plan was to go back to the hotel, get some sleep, and then start out fresh tonight, right?”

“Right,” Lucian allowed, his gaze flickering to the sky and the bright white orb of the sun. It was nearly mid-morning, and the sunlight was getting stronger by the minute. He bent to unstrap the quiver from his leg as Bricker made his case.

“Well, the turn doesn’t usually take more than twenty-four hours. Eight hours while we sleep, then one of us can stay and watch over her while the other two go after Morgan and the Donald guy. There are only the two of them; all three of us aren’t really needed.”

“And who’s going to stay awake today to give her blood?” Lucian asked as he straightened with the empty quiver in hand.

“Bricker and I will take turns.”

Lucian wasn’t pleased, but he supposed there weren’t a lot of choices. Besides, he was growing uncomfortable under the direct sunlight and wanted an end to the discussion.

“Fine, but she’s your responsibility,” he said abruptly, and headed for the vehicles they’d parked on a small, unused dirt lane beyond the trees surrounding the house.

Lucian released a small breath of relief as he slid into the safety of the rental car. There was still sunlight coming through the windshield, but it was better than being out in full light. He placed the crossbow and quiver back into the large duffel bag on the passenger seat, then straightened and glanced out the window again. Bricker was carrying the brunette toward the van a car’s length up the lane, while Mortimer rushed ahead holding both weapons.

Lucian shook his head as he watched Mortimer open the van’s back doors and Bricker jump inside with the woman. The men, he knew, hadn’t thought it through. The woman was going to be a problem. She was moaning and writhing in obvious pain as the turn began, her white blouse bearing a large rust-colored stain that could be mistaken for nothing other than blood. And it was after 10:00 A.M., so the hotel lobby would be busy. Yet, somehow, they had to get her into the hotel.

When Mortimer closed the van doors and hurried around to get behind the wheel, Lucian started the rental car and backed out of the lane. He retrieved the cell phone from his shirt pocket as he started slowly up the road. He punched in the first number on his speed dial and glanced in the rearview mirror to watch the van back onto the road behind him as he waited to be connected.

“Hello?”

Lucian smiled faintly at the sleepy snarl, knowing he’d woken up his nephew. “Good morning, Bastien.”

There was a pause, then a suspicious, “Uncle Lucian?”

“That’s right. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Bastien grunted in reply. “How did it go? Did you get Morgan?”

“No. He got away with another man. Someone named Donald.”

“I’m going to need more information than that if you want me to trace this Donald guy—” Bastien began.

“That’s not why I’m calling,” Lucian interrupted. “How long would it take for one of the company planes to get here?”

“A company plane?” Bastien echoed.

“Yes.”

“Hmm. We only have the one available at the moment. The others are all booked today,” he said thoughtfully. “I’d have to call the pilot and co-pilot. They’ll have to get up and around and get to the airport, gas up, file a flight plan, fly down to Kansas. That’s a what? Two hour flight? Two and a half hours?”

“Closer to two and a half hours,” Lucian guessed. He hadn’t paid close attention when he’d flown down.

“Two and a half,” Bastien murmured. “I’m guessing it would be at least four to five hours, probably more, before the plane could get there. No, definitely more,” he added suddenly and explained, “The only pilot we have available at the moment lives an hour from the airport.”

“So, six hours, maybe more?” Lucian asked with a frown.

“I did offer to keep one there at your disposal until you were done, but you said—”

“Yes, yes,” Lucian interrupted impatiently. He hated hearing I told you so. “Just send the plane down. Have them call me at the hotel before they leave and I’ll head to the airport to wait.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“No.” Lucian clicked the button to disengage before realizing he hadn’t said good-bye, or even thanks. Living on his own had made him a rude bastard. Fortunately, his family members—including Bastien—were used to it.

Returning the phone to his pocket, he took the turn that would take them back to the hotel. He’d hoped to head right to the airport with the girl to wait for the plane, but six hours was a long wait when you were already tired. It looked like they were going to have to take Leigh to the hotel after all.

“How are we going to get her to our room?” Mortimer asked as he slid out of the van and met Lucian getting out of his car. Apparently, he had considered the problem during the drive.

Lucian’s gaze moved around the hotel parking garage. They might be able to get her to the elevator without anyone seeing her, but the elevator would certainly stop in the lobby, and possibly at other floors. He already knew from their short stay that the elevators were always busy, jam-packed in fact. Chances were they would encounter anywhere from twenty to sixty people between the elevator and the hall to their room. He didn’t like the idea of having to erase the memories of so many people.

Lucian’s ruminations were interrupted by the purr of a car pulling into a parking spot. Both men glanced over as a woman got out, walked around to the trunk, opened it, and struggled to pull out a huge black suitcase.

Before he’d even thought about it, Lucian found himself walking to the woman’s side. He flashed his best smile, but when that just made fear curl to life in her eyes, he gave up the smile and slid into her mind instead. Controlling one was better than having to control sixty.

“You can’t be serious?” Bricker gasped minutes later when Lucian opened the back doors of the van and the man caught sight of the large, now empty suitcase.

“You come up with an alternate method to get her inside without having to erase the memories of half the hotel clients and I’d be happy to go along with it,” Lucian said as he set the suitcase on the van floor. He didn’t know what all the fuss was. It was a huge suitcase, lots of room. It had wheels that would make it easy to maneuver, was cloth so she wouldn’t suffocate, and she wouldn’t have to be in it long. It was a short walk to the elevator, a quick ride up, then a stroll to their suite of rooms... and she wasn’t even really conscious. It wasn’t like she would ever know.

Mortimer finally gave a helpless shrug. Letting his breath out, Bricker peered down at the woman writhing in his arms, then glanced up at Lucian. “Okay, open the case.”

Lucian flipped the lid open, then glanced around to be sure no one was in the parking lot to see as Bricker set Leigh into it. The only person around was the woman who owned the suitcase, and she was asleep in the driver’s seat of her car. Mortimer would bring the suitcase back when they were through with it and erase the whole episode from her memory. Lucian had already slipped a fifty dollar bill into her purse for the use of the suitcase. She would recall it as a fifty she’d found on the floor of the parking garage. Lucian hated being beholden to people, whether they remembered it or not.

“Maybe I should leave it unzipped a couple of inches to make sure she gets enough air,” Bricker said thoughtfully.

Lucian turned back to the interior of the van to see that Leigh was already in the suitcase and Bricker had it half zipped up. As he’d thought, there was lots of room. With her seated at the bottom, knees pressed close to her chest and head resting against them, there had to be six inches of space above her head.

“I’ll take the bottom to lift her out,” Mortimer said once Bricker had the zipper closed except for an inch at the top.

Lucian moved out of the way to give the men room, then glanced at his watch. It had only been twenty minutes since he’d called Bastien. If they got through this quickly, he could catch a good four or five hour nap before he had to wake up to head to the airport. He grimaced at the idea. He’d rather get eight hours, but five was better than the none the other two men would get.

“All set.” Bricker followed the suitcase out of the back of the van and slammed the doors closed.

Nodding, Lucian turned to lead the way to the elevator. He pressed the call button, then glanced back to see that the men were only halfway there. Bricker was pulling the suitcase, but both he and Mortimer were moving slowly, fussing over bumping it too much.

Lucian bit his tongue on the reminder that she was unconscious, and turned back as the elevator arrived. He nodded at the couple who stepped out, then stepped on board and pressed the hold button as he waited for Mortimer and Bricker to reach him. He thought he showed amazing patience by not commenting when they finally reached the elevator. Lucian remained silent as they lifted the suitcase over the small crack at the door to prevent unnecessary jarring. The moment they were inside, he let the elevator doors close and pressed the button for their floor.

“Do you think she’s okay in there?” Bricker asked as the elevator started upward.

“I don’t know,” Mortimer murmured. “Maybe we should check on her.”

Before Lucian could snap that they were being idiots, the elevator suddenly gave a ding and slid to a stop. The doors opened, revealing the lobby and about two dozen people all waiting to crowd in.

Mouth tightening, he moved to the corner of the elevator where Bricker and Mortimer stood, positioning his body in front of the suitcase to prevent anyone from bumping it and discovering it held something more than clothes. Mortimer stood to the side of the case, protecting it from that angle, Bricker stood behind it, and the other side was against the back wall of the elevator. It was the best they could do.

Lucian ground his teeth together as body after body crowded into the small contraption. When not one single person more could squeeze in, those still waiting in the hall sagged and moved away from the doors. They closed, and the elevator finally continued upward.

One floor up it stopped again. Two people got off, one got on. At the next floor, one got off and two got on. But after that it was a slow, steady stream of people getting off, until by the eighth floor there were only themselves and two other couples. The others all eased a little away from each other, taking advantage of the extra space, but Lucian stayed right where he was. Leigh had begun to thrash about inside the suitcase, and the last thing he wanted was to step aside and let them see the cloth case bulging and shifting about.