Love Bites (21 page)

Pudge frowned, his gaze shifting between his weapon, the police, and Rachel and Etienne. “But what about them? You should be pointing your guns at them,” he said finally.

“Well, now,” the blonde drawled, “guns don't work on vampires, do they? But I'm sure they'll come along
peaceable-like.” He glanced at Rachel and Etienne. “Won't you?”

They both nodded.

“See?” the first officer said soothingly. “They know they're caught. Now you just need to give up your weapon there, buddy.”

When Pudge hesitated, the second officer added, “We didn't come prepared for a call like this. You know, vampires aren't exactly thick on the ground these days. We aren't armed properly. Why don't you give us the weapon so we can take them into custody?”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah.” Pudge looked relieved. “You should be armed too.” He started to shift sideways toward the nearest officer, making sure to keep the crossbow aimed at Rachel and Etienne. “I have more weapons in the back. You can keep this trained on them while I get more. I have holy water, crosses, and more stakes. I'll get them while you watch them.”

“Good thinking,” the blonde said agreeably, lowering his gun slightly and holding his free hand out to accept the crossbow.

“Don't take it off them,” Pudge warned as he handed it over. “They're super fast you know. And super strong. I—Hey!”

The moment the weapon changed hands, the officer tossed the crossbow aside and raised his gun to aim it at Pudge. Ignoring his wounded expression, the
policeman gestured with it. “Against the wall. Come on, against the wall and spread 'em.”

“But—” Pudge's protest was cut off as the second officer hurried forward and caught him by the arm.

“Spreadeagle,” the dark-haired man barked, all trace of cajolery gone. The blonde kept his gun trained on Pudge while his partner ripped off his cape and proceeded to frisk him. The maniac had a couple more stakes in the back pocket of his jeans that the officer took away.

Rachel and Etienne watched in silence as a protesting Pudge was cuffed and led to the stairs. He was still babbling about their being soulless vampires and he was the hero in this piece and that they were making a huge mistake.

“Well,” the officer who had been pinned to the wall said as his partner disappeared upstairs with Pudge. He turned to survey Rachel and Etienne, then his attention focused on Rachel. “I gather this is where you disappeared to from work a week ago?”

Rachel glanced at Etienne as she felt him standing tense beside her. She knew what he wanted her to say. He and his whole family wanted her to claim that Pudge had brought her here that night over a week ago. It wasn't true, though, and she was a lousy liar. She hesitated briefly, considering her options. The man
had
kidnapped her. She certainly hadn't come here from Etienne's place willingly. On the other hand, she couldn't explain where she had been for
the past week without there being questions that would be difficult to answer. Rachel decided to be honest but cagey.

“Pudge kidnapped me, brought me here, and held me against my will,” she admitted solemnly, and felt Etienne relax beside her. She almost turned to ask him why he was relaxing; they weren't out of the woods yet. But she caught herself as the officer nodded.

“How did he get you here, ma'am?”

Rachel hesitated, then said, “He came into the morgue wearing a trench coat over fatigues. He had a rifle and ax under the coat and was shouting something about vampires and such and…” She hesitated and glanced at Etienne again. He seemed to be holding his breath. Swallowing, she turned back and said, “I'm afraid my memory gets rather blurry after that. The next thing I can tell you is that I woke up here today chained to that wall. He was still rambling on about vampires and geeks, and he seemed fixated on Etienne's game.”

“Game?” The policeman glanced between them in confusion.

“Etienne is the designer of Blood Lust,” Rachel explained. “It's a vampire video game.”

“Oh,” the man said, but still appeared lost. “Okay, he was fixated on your game,” he said to Etienne, then turned his gaze back to Rachel. “But if that's the case, why did he kidnap you and not him?”

“Because she's my girlfriend,” Etienne said calmly.

Rachel added, “It was really quite confusing. Half the time he thought I was a vampire and Etienne was one too, then he thought he was one or wanted to be one. The fellow seems quite insane.”

“Yeah. It would seem so,” the blonde said dryly and shook his head. Then he told her, “Every cop in the city's been looking for you, ma'am. And him.” He gestured toward the now empty stairs. “The girl who was supposed to replace your assistant arrived as this guy stormed into the hospital morgue. She went to find security, but they were dealing with another issue at the time and slow getting to your offices. The room was empty when they got there, and it was assumed the fellow had taken you.” He shook his head. “She did a pretty good job of describing him too. They did a police sketch and put it on all the news shows. I don't know why no one picked up on it being this guy. He's a dead ringer for his picture.”

Rachel nodded but remained silent, afraid to draw any more questions from the man. Fortunately, he turned his attention to Etienne to ask, “How did you end up here today, sir? The next-door neighbor said you came in and set her free, but she didn't seem to know who you were.”

Etienne hesitated, then said, “I've been quite concerned about Rachel since she disappeared. I spotted Pu—this guy while I was waiting at a streetlight. He was driving a van. I recognized him from the pictures on the news and followed him here,” he lied blandly.

Etienne was very good at lying, Rachel noted with interest. She supposed it shouldn't surprise her. He'd had over three hundred years to perfect his technique.

“You should have called the police at once,” the officer said with disapproval.

“I intended to,” Etienne assured him solemnly. “But I wanted a closer look at the guy. I didn't want to raise a false alarm. By the time I parked, he was out of his van and had entered the house. I peeked in a couple of windows, hoping to get a better look at him, but he must have gone straight downstairs. I came around the back of the house and found that window—”

Rachel followed his gesture and noted with some surprise that there were indeed windows in the basement. She hadn't noticed them before, but they hadn't been unblocked to allow sunlight in earlier. She supposed one of the buttons Pudge had pushed had uncovered the windows as well as turning on the sunlamps. She wondered what Pudge had made of the fact that they hadn't burst into flames the moment the sunlamps and sunlight hit them as he had no doubt expected.

“When I looked in and saw Rachel chained up down here, all I could think of was getting in to her. I forgot all about calling you. I could see the coffin, and the old lady. Not to mention the fellow dancing around in a cape and fake teeth.” Etienne shook his head. “It was obvious he was crazy and I was afraid to leave the women alone. So when the back door
turned out to be unlocked, I slid inside and crept down here to free them.”

“Well, I guess I can understand your concern, but you really should have called us,” the officer grumbled. “The old lady said she was tied up, but that Ms. Garrett was chained and you couldn't free her. How—?”

The question died midsentence and the officer appeared confused for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice sounded almost robotlike. “Well, that's enough questions for now, I suppose. You've been through enough. We should get you out of here.”

Rachel arched an amused eyebrow at Etienne. It was pretty handy to be able to control people's minds. She really had to learn that skill, she decided.

“After you.” Etienne's grin was unrepentant as he gestured for her to lead the way upstairs. He obviously felt no shame at using his skills so shamelessly. And frankly, she couldn't blame him. She was exhausted and starving. The sunlamps, on top of her original hunger, were making her body cramp with need. Getting back to his place and partaking of blood was the only thing on her mind right then.

Rachel managed the stairs on her own, but it was slow and wearying. By the time they left the house she was swaying slightly on her feet, and Etienne put out his hand to steady her as they crossed the lawn.

“We'll have to call an ambulance to take you to the hospital, Ms Garrett. You look in pretty bad shape,”
the officer said, taking in her weakness and pallor. “Has he fed you at all since taking you?”

“No,” Rachel answered, grateful she was able to be honest.

“I'll see her to the hospital,” Etienne announced and the hypnotic tone of his voice told Rachel he was digging inside the officer's mind again. He was probably planting the suggestion that his seeing her there was the better option, she thought.

“That will be fine, sir,” the officer agreed. “My partner should have already called for backup to come and collect our friend there.” He gestured toward the vehicle where Pudge stood, still vehemently trying to convince the dark-haired officer that Etienne and Rachel were the bad guys, while he was trying to save the world from their soulless selves.

“We'll meet you at the hospital. If the doctor says you're okay, you might have to come to the station while we type up your statements.”

“That'll be fine,” Etienne agreed, as if he had some say in the matter. Which, she supposed, he did. He could probably wipe the memory of their presence from their thoughts had he wished, but then, this all worked to his benefit. Pudge was no longer going to be a threat to him or any of his clan.

Including herself. The thought ran through Rachel's mind, and she recognized at once that it wasn't her own. Her gaze slid to the van parked on the street as Etienne finished talking to the officer and took her
arm to lead her toward the vehicle. She recognized his brothers sitting in the front seat but was sure neither of them had been the voice in her head. It had been a woman's thought placed there. Rachel wasn't terribly surprised when Etienne slid the side door open to reveal Marguerite seated on the bench seat.

“Come in, dear. You look terribly dehydrated. Etienne, fetch the poor girl some blood from the back,” the Argeneau matriarch ordered. “She's in terrible pain.”

Etienne helped Rachel into the van, then followed and slammed the door closed before crawling into the back to retrieve several bags of blood from the medical cooler there.

“How are you?” Bastien asked solicitously as Etienne settled on the bench next to her, sandwiching her between himself and his mother.

“I'm fine,” Rachel murmured as she accepted the first bag of blood. She was hungry enough that she didn't bother with the straw business, but merely opened her mouth and punched the bag into her teeth to let them do the work.

“You'll have to tell us what happened. Don't leave out any details,” Lucern said from his seat.

Rachel stared at the man, the bag still affixed to her teeth, as he drew a small pad and pen from his pocket. He obviously intended to take notes, and she was aware that he had done this the other times he had come around Etienne's home. When she had asked
Etienne what his brother was doing, he had muttered something about Lucern being a scribbler, whatever that meant.

“Later, Lucern,” Marguerite said quietly. “Let the poor girl recover a bit before you bombard her with questions.”

“I take it we're to go to the hospital?” Bastien asked, turning in his seat to start the engine.

“Drive slowly, Bastien. Rachel needs a lot of blood and the time to consume it,” Marguerite said by way of an answer. “You'll have to go in with Etienne to help at the hospital. We all will. Between her working there and the fact that she's big news, she'll draw a lot of attention. Etienne will need all the help he can get.”

“Help with what?” Rachel asked as she pulled the now empty bag off her teeth and accepted the next one Etienne held out.

“They'll want to examine you,” Etienne explained.

“And we simply can't allow that, dear,” Marguerite pointed out. “Bastien, Lucern, and I will go in with you to make sure the doctors and nurses think they've examined you and found you dehydrated and under-nourished, as you should be after being kidnapped and starved. We'll attend you to be sure all goes smoothly.”

Rachel nodded her understanding, silently allowing her teeth to soak in the blood her body needed so badly. She was exhausted enough to let them handle
it whatever way they saw fit. Rachel was even starting to think she should have listened to them regarding the issue of Pudge and agreed to lie about him, bad at it or not. They had all lived an awfully long time. No doubt the collected wisdom they had gained over the centuries was monstrous. The very thought of what might have happened to Pudge's neighbor, not to mention Etienne and herself, because of her stubborn insistence on telling the truth was frightening. Perhaps there were times when honesty wasn't the best policy and a small lie might save a bad situation.

“You'll learn,” Marguerite said quietly, obviously having read her thoughts. “Time is not the great teacher. Experience is. A man may live a whole life, but if he never leaves his home to experience that life, he dies knowing nothing. A mere child who has suffered and lived can be the wiser of the two.”

“They're vampires, I tell you!”

Pudge was beginning to sound more whiney than adamant, Rachel decided, as she watched him run his fingers through his greasy hair and tug on the ends with frustration. She couldn't really blame him. They had been questioning him for hours now. They'd apparently brought him straight here to the police station, booked him, and settled him in the small square room where they were now grilling him. And they had kept him there ever since.

Rachel and the Argeneaus had missed the first two hours of the interrogation. It had taken that long to get her through emergency and out of the hospital. Despite her being an employee at the hospital—not to mention her being something of a celebrity, thanks
to the fact that she had been “kidnapped” from work—they'd had to wait quite a while to be seen by a doctor. When Rachel had asked why they simply didn't put the whammy on the nurses and move them to the front of the line, Marguerite had seemed surprised at the very idea. Her case wasn't urgent, she had pointed out, and they could manage the wait.

Rachel had felt a moment's shame that she hadn't thought that herself, but Marguerite had immediately reached into her mind to soothe her with the words that she “would learn.” Frankly, Rachel couldn't wait to learn. She had marveled at the family as they escorted her everywhere uncontested. There were definitely benefits to being able to control the thoughts and minds of those around them. She hadn't been examined, but as far as the hospital staff could recall she had been. And as Marguerite had promised, the reports all read what would be expected: She was suffering dehydration and malnutrition. The Argeneaus had been astounding to watch in action, and Rachel was quickly beginning to realize the power Etienne had gifted her with.

“They're vampires, are they?” Officer Carstairs, the blond officer asked. He stood to the side of the table where his partner and Pudge sat facing each other. “You're the one with the coffin and the vampire teeth, Norman. Yet you claim Ms. Garrett and Mr. Argeneau are the vampires?”

“They're fake teeth, I tell you,” Pudge muttered,
sounding harassed. “If you'd uncuff me, I'd take the damn things out. Mine are fake, but theirs are real.”

“Sure they are, Norman,” the darked-haired officer, Treebech, agreed soothingly.

“Stop calling me that!” Pudge snapped. “Norman. God, I hate that name. It makes me sound like a geek.” He glared at them briefly, then said, “I tell you, Etienne Argeneau is a vampire. So is the woman. Hell, she bit me!”

Rachel grimaced. She hadn't really bit him, but she'd gotten closer than she'd realized, and the man had a scratch where one tooth had caught him. It was a nick really, and not even recognizable as a bite. Still, it was closer than she ever hoped to get to biting someone again. Well, except perhaps for Etienne. She rather enjoyed giving him love bites when they—Love bites? Rachel gave her head a shake. Sex bites, she meant. Not love bites. She didn't love Etienne. Did she? The question ran around and around through her mind, followed by a welling of confusing thoughts and feelings. Warm, gushy feelings that rather alarmed her. Dear God, she
couldn't
love him.

Rachel was suddenly aware that Lucern was staring at her with interest. Then it occurred to her that any one of the people standing protectively around her could be reading her thoughts. She forced her runaway thoughts and feelings into a dark corner of her mind and turned her attention back to what was tak
ing place beyond the one-way mirror. Pudge was glaring at the officers, closemouthed.

“Okay, so say she did bite you,” Carstairs commented. “Do you think you'll be a vampire now too, Norman?”

“Don't call me Norm—” Pudge paused abruptly, his eyes widening. He suddenly looked less harassed. Excitement and wonderment filled his expression. “She
did
bite me. Do you really think I'll become a vampire?”

“I don't know, Norman. You're the expert. Why don't you tell us?”

Pudge pondered for a minute, then reasoned, “I guess it's possible. But Renfield didn't turn into a vampire after one bite. He…” His expression became horrified. “Oh, man! Renfield became Dracula's servant for life after one bite. He was his slave.”

“So, does that make you Ms. Garrett's slave?” Treebech asked.

Pudge wasn't listening. His mind was preoccupied. “Jeez, and he ate bugs and stuff too. Man! I don't know if I can eat bugs.”

The officers exchanged glances as Pudge shook his head in despair.

 

“I think that's enough. I'd like to question him now.”

Rachel glanced at the man who had spoken: Dr. Smythe, a psychiatrist from her hospital. He had been called into the police station to assess Pudge's mental
state. He'd asked to first be allowed to simply observe Pudge while he was being questioned. He claimed that subjects tended to respond differently to mental health professionals than to lay persons, even police. Now, it appeared he wanted to ask some questions himself.

Captain Rogers—Carstairs' and Treebech's superior—nodded and stood. “Certainly, Doctor. Come with me.”

Rachel watched them leave the viewing room. A moment later the door of the interrogation room opened and Dr. Smythe and Captain Rogers entered. The police captain gestured Carstairs and Treebech to his side, held a brief whispered consultation and then left the room. The moment he was gone, Dr. Smythe introduced himself and took possession of the chair Treebech had vacated. He smiled at Pudge and asked, “Norman, do you understand the difference between fantasy and reality?”

Rachel smiled slightly at the question. It was the same one Etienne had asked at the house. Her gaze darted to the viewing room door as it opened to admit Captain Rogers but quickly shifted back to Pudge, who was staring at the doctor as if he were an alien. “Huh?”

“Do you understand the difference between fantasy and reality?” Dr. Smythe repeated patiently.

“Sure.” Pudge scowled. “I'm not crazy, you know.”

“No, of course you aren't,” Dr. Smythe said sooth
ingly. “Could you explain the difference between fantasy and reality for me?”

“Sure. Fantasy is…well it's like that wizards and warriors game. Magic and stuff. It's not real.”

“Ah. Huh.” Dr Smythe pursed his lips and nodded his head. “And could you give me an example of reality?”

“Blood Lust,” Pudge said firmly.

“Blood Lust?” Dr. Smythe asked in confusion.

“That's the game Mr. Argeneau created,” Carstairs explained. “Vampires and stuff.”

“Ah.” Dr. Smythe glanced back at Pudge. “And that would be reality?”

“Oh, yeah,” Pudge assured him. “Magic, well, that's a bunch of nonsense—but there really are vampires. Chicks dig them, and they're super strong and super fast and live forever.”

“And which is most important?” Dr. Smythe asked.

Pudge didn't have to think long. “Living forever…and the chicks,” he decided.

“Women and immortality are most important, you say?” Dr. Smythe nodded, then added, “It seems to me you mentioned at some point that your mother died recently—didn't she, Norman?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, then his attention drifted from the doctor and followed the table as if trailing something. Rachel gave a start when he suddenly raised his arm and slammed it down on the tabletop, apparently
squashing a bug. She wasn't the only one to jump. The doctor and police officers did too.

“Excuse me a moment.” Dr. Smythe stood and left the room. Rachel wasn't terribly surprised when he stepped back into the viewing room. He didn't say anything at first, but simply stood beside the captain to view Pudge through the window. They all watched in silence as Pudge picked up the bug he had squashed and examined it with seeming fascination. Rachel grimaced with distaste when he suddenly popped the squashed creature into his mouth and chewed experimentally. After a moment, he shrugged mildly and muttered, “Not bad. A bit nutty.”

“We have a very confused young man here,” Dr. Smythe said. “I've already talked to his brother, and he claims Norman has become obsessive and strange of late. He thinks he should be locked up for his own safety. I'll need to do extensive testing, of course, but Norman has already proven himself a threat not only to himself but to the public at large; specifically anyone he decides is a threat.”

The psychiatrist's gaze slid meaningfully to herself and Etienne before he continued. “That's enough to commit him for seventy-two hours of testing.”

“Thank you for coming, Doctor,” the captain said. “We'll have to process the paperwork, but I think you can expect to have Mr. Renberger in your custody rather quickly.”

“I'll have a bed ready when he is,” Dr. Smythe as
sured him solemnly. They shook hands, then the gentleman left them alone. The captain glanced toward the viewing room and shook his head as Pudge slammed his hand on the table again, then picked up whatever he had killed to examine.

“Nutty as a fruitcake,” the cop muttered as Pudge popped the bug into his mouth and chewed. Pushing one hand across the top of his balding scalp, the captain shook his head, then sighed and moved to the door when a soft knock sounded. He spoke briefly with someone Rachel couldn't see, then turned back to them.

“Your statements are ready to sign. If you'd like to follow Officer Janscom, she'll take you to do that.”

“Fine. Thank you.” Etienne took Rachel's arm and urged her toward the door. She went silently, aware that the rest of the Argeneau clan were following.

Signing the papers was a relatively quick ordeal, at least for Rachel. She had been separated from the Argeneaus and led to a different room from Etienne and his family to sign papers in front of a witness. Rachel felt a bit lost when she finished and stepped out into the hall to find it empty. The Argeneaus had stuck protectively close to her since retrieving her from Pudge's house. She felt a bit disconcerted to suddenly be alone.

She paused in the hallway briefly, considering what she should do. Should she wait? Should she go? The officer had said she was free to leave now that her
statement was signed. Rachel was debating her next move when it suddenly occurred to her that there might not be anyone to wait for. Etienne may have already finished with his paperwork. He might have already left. After all, there was really no need for them to hover over her now. She had learned to feed herself and to control her teeth, and working in a hospital, it wasn't as if she would have trouble getting her hands on blood. It wouldn't be easy, but she could manage it, and they probably realized that. Perhaps they were relieved to be free of the responsibility for her.

That thought was distressing. Rachel was almost gasping under the impact it had on her. It was surprisingly hurtful.

“Rachel?”

She turned abruptly at the sound of her name. Relief coursed through her when she recognized Lissianna hurrying up the hall toward her, Gregory Hewitt on her heels.

“Are you all right?” Lissianna asked with concern. “The message Mother left on my answering machine was rather garbled. All I understood was that you had been kidnapped.”

“I'm fine.” Rachel forced a smile.

“Oh, good.” Lissianna smiled, but the worry didn't completely leave her eyes. “Where is everyone? Is Etienne all right too?”

“Yes. He's fine. I'm not sure where they are though,”
Rachel admitted. “For all I know, they may have finished with their paperwork and left all ready.”

Lissianna frowned at this news, then glanced around. “I'll go ask someone.”

She was gone as quickly as that, hurrying up the hall in search of someone who could answer her questions.

“I'm sure Etienne wouldn't leave without you,” Gregory said in a solemn voice.

Rachel turned and forced a smile for his benefit. “Well, there isn't any real reason for him not to. I've gained control of my teeth and can feed myself now. He doesn't need to baby-sit me anymore.”

Gregory frowned at her words, his handsome face troubled. “Rachel, has anyone told you about the life mate rule?”

Rachel blinked in confusion at the question. It seemed to her to be completely unrelated to anything going on at the moment. “I—No. I'm sorry. No one has mentioned this rule.”

He nodded slowly. “I didn't think so. But I feel it's important you understand. It will help you to comprehend where you stand with Etienne.”

Rachel's eyebrows rose. It would be a relief to have some idea of where she stood. She was starting to realize that her feelings for Etienne went deep and could be potentially painful.

“Because our people feed on the general population,” he began, “it's important—of course—that our
numbers be kept small, so as not to outgrow the potential of our food source.”

Rachel nodded. That made perfect sense to her.

“So there are certain rules. For instance, each couple can only have one child every hundred years.”

“Marguerite mentioned that,” Rachel said with a nod.

“I'm not surprised. But what she might not have mentioned is that each vampire is allowed to turn only one human.”

Rachel shook her head. “Excuse me? They're allowed only one mate?”

“Oh, no. Divorces do happen. We are speaking of hundreds of years of life here, so of course divorce happens, although I understand it's much less frequent than in the general population,” he informed her. “I mean they are literally allowed to turn only one person. This person is usually a life mate, though it can be something else altogether, and then that vampire can't turn anyone else. They can't turn a life mate if they should find one.”

“But Etienne turned me,” Rachel said.

“Yes.” Greg nodded solemnly.

“Rachel!”

This time Rachel was slower to turn toward the voice calling her name in strident tones. Her head was spinning, and it took several moments for her to recognize the older woman rushing toward her. It was the sight of the gray-haired man hurrying along behind
her who made her realize that these were her parents hurrying up the hall. Then her mother's arms closed around her, and Rachel found herself enveloped in Poison, the perfume her mother favored.