Seduced by the Night (15 page)

He waited to see if she reacted to anything he said, but she remained quiet and still in his arms. Deciding he had no other choice, he slowly let her go. To her credit, she took a very purposeful step back, but didn't bolt. Up until now, she hadn't looked at him—not really—and he tensed, waiting for that moment. Finally, she raised her eyes and he knew that despite the fact that his fangs were covered and his eyes had returned to their normal blue, she still saw the vampire.

After tonight, she'd never see him any other way. She'd probably want to move out of the mansion, away from him, but it didn't mean he wouldn't still be there, in the shadows, doing his best to protect her from Harris and Patterson—at least until this whole thing was over. After that—he didn't know. Maybe he'd still be there, trying to catch glimpses of her, hoping that would be enough for him, but knowing it wouldn't be.

Moving slowly, so as not to alarm her further, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to his SUV. Then he held them out to her. "Take these. Drive yourself home, or wherever you want to go, but for God's sake, be careful. This isn't over yet and there will probably be other attacks."

"How… how do you know?"

"Because you're still here. Beth, they're not going to stop until they have you—or until I kill them all." When she still didn't move, he jangled the keys in front of her. "Go."

Hesitantly, she reached out and took them. "What about the bodies?"

"I'll call Mac and ask him to meet me here."

She nodded and backed away from him in the direction of his SUV. Minutes later, she pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.

The sound of the restaurant door opening tore Dirk from his thoughts and he hurriedly ducked out of sight, behind the Dumpster where the one body lay. He dragged it farther out of sight and waited for the latest patrons to drive off before recovering the other two bodies.

Then, reluctantly, he pulled out his cell phone and called Mac.

Hands gripping the wheel,
Bethany
drove, not caring where she headed as long as it was away from the restaurant, away from Dirk, and away from vampires. Right now, all she felt was numb, but she knew that fear and confusion lurked just beneath the surface. She wanted to scream and the temptation to head out of town and keep on driving, leave all of it—Dirk, Miles, the research project, and the vampires—behind was great.

"Get hold of yourself, Bethany." Her voice sounded unusually loud in the too quiet vehicle and she reached over to flip on the radio. A rock tune came on and its familiar melody soothed her, chasing away the numbness and fear, letting the cogwheels of her brain turn once again.

It occurred to her that while she had tried to adjust to the reality of vampires, there had been a part of her still in denial. Seeing the three tonight had shattered that tiny illusion. She'd never seen anything like them. Their strength and speed so far exceeded human capabilities that she wondered how anyone could possibly defeat them.

It was little wonder that Mr.
Yarbro
had failed, despite being strong and, presumably, well trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat. The image of Frank, the security guard, rose in her mind. Even Frank hadn't stood a chance against them. No human could.

Bethany stopped at a traffic light, and staring into its red glow, she once again saw Dirk's eyes staring at her— worried and uncertain—but not with malice. Never with malice—because Dirk would never hurt her. She knew that with an unshakable certainty. Since the moment she'd first met him, he had done nothing but protect her.

She thought back to the way he'd fought the vampires—his strength and speed equal to theirs. It made sense, didn't it? It would take someone not quite human to defeat them. Not quite human—or maybe half human and half something else?

By the time the light changed,
Bethany
had made up her mind. She pulled off on the side of the road and turned around. As she neared the restaurant, her pulse began to pound. She hoped she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life. If so, she'd find out soon enough.

At first, she didn't see Dirk and the beginnings of panic set in. Had he already left? Or maybe gone inside? She considered parking the SUV, but the memory of vampires springing out of thin air was too fresh. Instead, she slowly drove around the lot, finally going behind the restaurant. There she spotted him standing near the line of trees.

She pulled even with him and put the SUV in park, letting the engine idle. He was on the phone.

As she stepped out to face him, he lowered the phone from his ear, but didn't disconnect the call. He gave her a curious look, equal parts of confusion, concern, and, she thought, hope.

"I don't understand everything that's going on," she told him. "That scares me—a lot. I've seen things that I would have said were impossible, and that scares me, too. The only time I've felt safe lately was when I was with you—but tonight, for the first time, I was afraid of you."

"Beth, I—"

She held up her hand to silence him. "I did some thinking while I drove around. You could have killed me any number of times over the last couple of days, but you didn't. So, I'm back." She walked around to the other side of the SUV and opened the passenger door. She looked at him from behind the V formed by the door and the windshield. "Like I said before, I don't understand all of it, but I think I'm safer
with
you than
without
you." She glanced at the trees behind him. "Do you need help with the bodies?"

"No."

She nodded but couldn't think of anything else to say, so she silently climbed into the SUV and closed the door.

Dirk stared at her, both amazed and more than a little relieved. Remembering the phone, he lifted it to his ear. "Forget the ride. I'm good. I'll be there shortly."

He glanced back at
Bethany
, half afraid he'd imagined her return, but she continued to sit in the SUV, waiting for him to join her. He hoped she wouldn't change her mind when he started hauling out the bodies and dumping them in the back.

Working quickly, he carried each one from where he'd placed it just behind the line of trees. To her credit,
Bethany
didn't bolt. She sat there, a stoic look on her face, eyes forward, never once turning her head until he finally finished and climbed in beside her.

Their eyes met briefly and it pained him to see the flicker of fear that passed through hers. He wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what, so he merely put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot

They'd driven for about five minutes in silence when she finally broke it. "Are those things dead? I mean, I know they're dead or rather
undead
, isn't that how they refer to it in the movies? But back at the restaurant, you said you didn't know if they were really dead, so…" As if she realized she was rambling, she stopped and took a breath. "Is there any chance they'll climb over the backseat and come after us?"

"They're as dead as I can make them—for now." Which he hoped was dead enough—at least until he could get to his sword and cut off their heads. As far as he knew, that was the only guarantee.

Bethany
rubbed her forehead, but Dirk knew from experience that no amount of massaging would make the pain go away. The most he could do to help was wait until she was ready and then answer her questions when they started. He didn't have to wait long.

"You said you're half vampire. Were you born that way? Is one of your parents…"

"A vampire?' he finished for her when she seemed to hesitate. "No. I was born human, but back when all this started, I was attacked by the adult
chupacabra
."

He heard her gasp. "How horrible."

"Yeah, it was." He thought back to that night so long ago. "Mac got there before the creature could finish me off, but by then it had injected so much venom into my bloodstream that my body reacted. It
changed
me." He hesitated for the length of a heartbeat and then went on. "That's what they call those that are like me—
changelings
."

"There are more of you?"

"Just one, that I know of. Mac."

"Did the same thing happen to him, too? He was attacked by the
chupacabra
?"

"Yeah. In fact,
Lanie's
the one who saved him."

"Is she… ?"

"No. She's still human."

She nodded slowly like she was processing the information. "What's the admiral's involvement in all of this?"

"From what I understand, his ancestors used to find the changelings, help them adapt, and make sure they had the training and equipment to hunt the vampires."

"By equipment, you mean that sword you showed me?"

He nodded.

"But you didn't have the sword tonight?" She cast a nervous glance into the back of the SUV. "Are you sure they're dead?"

"I think we'll be okay. Using the sword to cut off their heads is the best way to make sure the vampires stay dead, but it's not the only way."

She glanced to the back of the SUV again, but Dirk could tell she didn't look as nervous as she had before. "So if the admiral's family has been doing this for centuries, how come there aren't more changelings? Or fewer vampires?"

"Supposedly, all the vampires had been killed—at least over here in the states. T
hank
s to
Burton
bringing the
chupacabra
from the Amazon to D.C., all that changed."

She fell silent again, so that the only noise heard inside the car was the steady hum of the tires on the road. Finally, she glanced at him, the expression in her eyes nervous. "Do you drink blood?"

He wanted to smile, but was afraid she might misinterpret his expression.

"No. A changeling doesn't normally crave blood and we don't need it to survive. There are certain circumstances, however, when blood can heal us or give us unusual strength and vitality." She looked confused, so he hurried to explain. "You see, blood that is freely given is like the sweetest nectar. It's the gift of life and fills us with so much energy and strength, it's like being supercharged or something—at least, that's what Mac tells me. He's taken
Lanie's
blood a number of times."

"What kind of circumstances?" Anyone else and he would have thought the person was asking so they could specifically avoid finding themselves in such a circumstance, but Beth just sounded curious. Beneath it all, she was a scientist.

"Well, for instance, there was the time that Mac had been captured by
Burton
. He was severely beaten, virtually dead.
Lanie
let him drink her blood so he could get his strength back and rescue them."

She looked frightened again. "That happens often?"

"As far as I know, he's only taken her blood once out of necessity." He couldn't resist giving her a lascivious smile. "The other times were when they made love. Apparently, it's quite the aphrodisiac."

The shock in her eyes made his daring remark worth it. She quickly recovered. "That doesn't turn her into a vampire? Or a… a changeling?"

"No. A changeling's bite doesn't seem to affect humans. And vampires only turn humans into vampires if they kill them."

Dirk cast another glance at her and saw that instead of looking scared, she merely looked dazed. He guessed that was an improvement.

"What else is different about you?" she asked.

"Well"—he pretended to think—"I do cast a reflection in a mirror, garlic won't kill me, although I find the odor offensive. I don't burst into flames when I go out into the sun, but I do need sunglasses because bright light hurts my eyes. I also have great night vision."

She remained quiet, as if waiting to see if there was more, so he went on. "I don't 'die' during the day, but the daylight makes me unusually tired, so much so that I have a hard time functioning while the sun is up. Otherwise, I'm much stronger than I was as a human and I can run ungodly fast. I can't fly or leap tall buildings in a single bound and I can't change into a bat or any other creature."

They had finally reached the mansion and Dirk pulled into the driveway. He drove them to the front door and stopped, but didn't shut off the engine. Instead, he honked  the horn three times. "Go inside, Beth. Mac and I know what we're doing. You'll be safe here at the mansion. You have my word."

She reached for the door handle, but then paused. "Aren't you coming inside?"

He shook his head. "Not just yet."

At that moment, the front door opened and Mac strolled out, sword clutched in his hand. Seeing it,
Bethany
nodded and climbed out of the vehicle.

"
Lanie's
inside, waiting for you," Mac told her as he took her place.

Bethany
turned and headed for the front door, very much aware of two sets of male eyes watching her. As soon as she was inside, she heard the SUV drive off.

Ahead of her, the great room looked warm and friendly.

"
Bethany
!"
Lanie
rounded the corner and came toward her. "Are you all right?" She didn't give
Bethany
a chance to answer but pulled her into the living room where they sat on the couch together. "Dirk phoned and told us all about the attack." She gave
Bethany
a sympathetic look. "And he told us that you found out about him, as well."