Single White Vampire

"Yeah." He grinned and shoved himself off her desk, walked to the door. "Well, I'm ninety-nine percent sure, but I'm not suicidal. Better you than me if I'm wrong." Then he left.

Kate watched the door close behind him, then peered at the paperwork on her desk. The conference had put her behind. She'd tried to catch up on returning, but was so distracted she seemed to just be slipping further behind. She wasn't going to get any further ahead now, either. Not till she found out where she stood with Lucern.

Grabbing her purse from under her desk, she stood up. It was time to stop moping and being miserable, and to sort this out. Especially if there was a chance… She didn't finish the thought. She already had too much hope building in her.

Chris stood in the hall, glanced back with raised eyebrows when she left her office. "Where are you going?"

"To catch a plane," Kate answered.

"Oh." He watched her walk past, then followed saying, "Urn… shouldn't you call or write and let him know you're coming?"

"Like he'd answer the phone or read the letter." Kate snorted. "No. It's better this way. He wants me in Toronto. He's got me. I hope he's ready."



"Uh, lady? Did you want to get out here or not?"

Kate tore her gaze away from the front of Lucern's house and forced an apologetic smile for the taxi driver. The man was twisted in his seat, watching her with concern. He was being terribly patient. She had paid him several minutes ago, but then instead of getting out, she had sat staring fearfully up at the house.

"I'm sorry. I…" She shrugged helplessly, unable to admit that while determination had carried her this far, it was starting to flag and terror was taking its place.

"No, hey, that's okay, lady. I can take you somewhere else if you want."

Kate sighed and reached for the door handle. "No, thank you."

She got out and closed the door, then stood to the side of the driveway as the taxi backed out. Since she had caught a ride straight from the office to the airport—she hadn't even stopped to pack—she had come with nothing but her purse. She now gripped it with both hands and struggled to keep her breathing regular. She couldn't believe she was actually here.

"Well, you are, so you had best get it over with," she told herself.

Somewhat emboldened by her own firm voice, Kate walked up the sidewalk and crossed the porch. She raised her hand to knock at the door, then paused as she realized that it wasn't yet noon. It was bright daylight outside. Lucern would be sleeping. Kate let her hand drop with uncertainty. She didn't want to wake him up. He might be really cranky if she woke him up. It might get this whole meeting off to a bad start.

She glanced at her watch. 11:45. There were a good six hours or more until dark. She considered sitting on the porch and waiting, but six hours was a long time. Besides, she was rather tired. She hadn't slept a full night since leaving the conference. She wouldn't mind a nap. That way, she would be refreshed and wide awake to meet him.

Kate turned and looked at the street, then sighed. She didn't have a car or any way to call a cab, so she couldn't go to a hotel. And she wasn't napping on his porch like some displaced street person. She turned back to the door again, hesitated, then reached for the doorknob. Turning it slowly, she was surprised to find that the door opened. He hadn't locked it. What kind of an idiot left his door unlocked? Anyone could walk right in and stake him. And she had already seen someone do that to him, so he couldn't claim no one would. She would just have to talk to him about that.

In the meantime, she couldn't just walk away and leave his door unlocked. She would just go inside, lock the door behind herself, and nap on his couch. It was for his own good. Kate smiled at her reasoning. It might not hold water, but it sounded reasonable enough. Almost.

Kate had closed and locked the door and made it almost to the living room when she heard a clank from the kitchen. She turned abruptly, prepared to hurry back outside and knock, then grew still again. What if the noise from the kitchen hadn't been made by Lucern? He should be sleeping and he had left the door unlocked so that just anyone could walk in and rob him. Kate lived in New York; the crime rate was high there. Toronto was supposed to be a big city. Crime was probably rampant here, too. She had to see about the noise. She would just peek into the kitchen door. If it was Lucern, she would slip back outside and knock. If it wasn't Lucern, she would slip outside and run to a neighbor's house to call the police.

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