chapter 18
Amber fanned Reid’s face. Sweat beaded his brow but his cheeks paled. He shook his head and dropped back down to the hard kitchen chair.
“What the hell?” He looked from Amber to Gerard. “I mean, what the holy hell?”
Amber slapped Gerard’s arm. “That was mean. Just mean. You should have let me tell him.”
Gerard quirked a brow. “And just how were you planning to tell your partner vampires are real? It was easier just to show him.”
“More cruel.” She pushed against his chest before dropping down to the computer chair to face Reid.
Reid shook his head again, clearing his slack-jawed stare. “This is a joke. Right?”
Amber took a deep breath and exhaled on a sigh. If only it were a joke. If only Gerard was mortal. If only she could tell her partner everything… “I wish.”
He stood, and to Amber’s dismay, reached for Gerard’s mouth. He pushed up Gerard’s lip and ran a finger over his teeth. “Those things can’t be real.”
Gerard jerked his head back. “Get your damn hand out of my mouth before I bite it off.”
“Damn.” Reid shook his head and dropped back down to the chair again.
His confusion tugged at Amber’s conscience. She should have found a way to get rid of him before Gerard blabbed. Reid didn’t need the stress of wondering if vampires posed a threat to mortal existence—or how to protect innocuous vampires from people like Colonel Timmons and Dr. Weldon.
“You’re shitting me? Right?” Reid’s wide-eyed gaze swung from Amber to Gerard and back again. “You can’t possibly expect me to believe—”
“That vampires are real?” Gerard supplied, earning him another glare from Amber.
“Would you please let me handle this?” Turning back to Reid, she took his hands in hers. “If you’ll just be patient, I’ll explain everything.”
Even with the proof standing in front of her, how could she make Reid understand? Vampires were real but not all of them were bloodsucking killers devoid of a conscience. Vampires like Gerard should be left alone to live out their very long lives in peace. The others—vampires like Surratt and the clone—should be hunted down and destroyed. But what if Reid decided all vampires were a threat?
Could she risk Gerard’s safety?
Maybe it was best if she didn’t tell Reid anything. Gerard could zap his brain and make him forget the last fifteen minutes of this visit. Better yet, Gerard could put Reid in a trance and drive him back to his house so he’d never remember stopping by tonight.
The idea was more appealing than she wanted to admit.
She swallowed the temptation along with her guilt and forced herself to trust her partner. He’d never let her down before.
Silently praying he wouldn’t let her down now, she told him everything. Or almost everything. She didn’t tell him she was a dhampir. And she didn’t tell him she’d fallen in love with Gerard. It sounded insane, even to her.
She met Reid’s hard stare and braced herself for ridicule.
“No shit?” he said at last, his tone much less disbelieving than before.
Either she’d done a damn good job explaining or he was still too numb to think of a logical argument.
“I shit you not. Vampires are real. Some are good. Some…not so much.” She cast a glance in Gerard’s direction.
He smiled. “I hope you count me among the good guys.”
Warmth settled in the pit of her stomach. Her answering smile sent heat to his eyes.
Swallowing a sudden surge of soft emotions, she turned back to Reid. His eyes were slits beneath furrowed brows, his lips a firm line. He was obviously mulling things over in his head. He wasn’t defensive nor was he spouting denials. Honestly, she’d expected him to look at her as if she’d gone off the deep end. So far, he hadn’t challenged her gullibility or her sanity. Then again, he’d just seen proof vampires existed.
“Guess I should have taken Carl’s offer seriously,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Huh?” Amber looked at Gerard again. His expression mirrored her feelings to a “T.”
A well-balanced, logical mind looked for alternative explanations despite evidence to the contrary. Reid’s response was random and made no sense. He was either patronizing them by pretending to believe and then changing the subject—or he wasn’t as stable as she’d thought.
“What offer was that, Sheridan?” Gerard asked with the same degree of patience cops reserved for the armed and mentally unbalanced.
Reid’s mouth quirked upward on one side. “From Carl Matheson. He works for the Department of Homeland Security in the Office of Intelligence Analysis. We went to grade school together. He was a science geek and a bit of a conspiracy theorist, even as a kid.”
A frisson of fear chilled her skin, raising the hair on her arms. Forcing herself to speak calmly, she said, “Did he offer you a job?”
“Yes.”
Reid wanted to advance in law enforcement, and the DHS was bigger than the NYPD. But if the government knew vampires were real and that they could read minds and manipulate behavior through psychic suggestions, they’d destroy them all—unless they could somehow gain control over them. Imagine the Intel possibilities. Colonel Timmons had certainly considered the potential threat and benefit of vampires when he hired Steve Weldon to clone them for the military.
She forced a smile. “That’s great.”
Her gaze sought Gerard’s. Apprehension etched his face but he made no attempt to alter Reid’s memory or read his thoughts.
Did he refrain because of her? Or did he think he had to prove he wasn’t a threat to national security?
Reid smiled but it looked more like a smirk. “Carl’s division of Homeland Security is a Special Access Program requiring Top Secret security clearance. The BBTF—Blue Book Task Force—operates under the Office of Intelligence Analysis.”
Amber had never heard of the task force, but Project Blue Book had a familiar ring—a ring that chimed warning bells in her head. Her heart tripped and then beat a little faster. “I’m not familiar with that agency.”
Reid cast a quick glance in Gerard’s direction. Gerard remained silent, his lids lowered, not making eye contact. Amber knew he wanted to delve into Reid’s thoughts. She felt his restraint.
Turning back to Amber, Reid said, “After the incident at Roswell, the Air Force created Project Blue Book to investigate UFO reports. In 1969, the Air Force concluded UFO’s were not alien spacecraft or a threat to national security. By 1970, all activity under the project ceased. Then in 1983, the FBI received a disturbing report—not about UFO’s, but vampires.”
A concussion grenade couldn’t have knocked the wind from Amber faster. She gasped on a strangled breath.
Her mother had contacted Timmons in 1983. Had she also contacted other government agencies?
Reid might be laughing now, but the threat was real—to mortals and vampires alike. Such an organization could lead to secret trials—witch hunts of suspected vampires. XP patients could be targeted. And vampires who only wished to be human again could lose their chance for a semi-normal life. Death would finally greet them.
Fear for Gerard settled like a weight on her chest. Shaking, she raised her chin and met his gaze. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, a silent acknowledgement of the truth. A covert government agency knew vampires existed—an agency too secret and too large to control or manipulate—an agency that wouldn't hesitate to destroy all vampires.
A lump rose in her throat. Gerard would be exterminated. And she’d likely be in danger as well—unless the Task Force was interested in employing a half-vampire, half-human detective capable of tracking vampires. Even without training, she’d tracked Vincent to his home in New York, and she was getting feelers from the clone—even without Gerard’s touch boosting her abilities.
If it meant her own death, she could never aid such an organization. She wouldn’t want the responsibility of determining which vampires were a threat and which were merely trying to survive immortality as best they could.
“What was in the report?” Gerard asked, his voice tightly controlled.
“I wasn’t interested in working for his agency so I didn’t ask for details.” Pride for having been offered a position and an apparent disbelief that such an organization existed added an odd quality to Reid’s voice. Somehow, he came across as cocky and disappointed at the same time.
Irritation shone in Gerard’s eyes “What’s the agency’s purpose?”
“They investigate the legitimacy of every crack-pot claim they receive and then assess the threat level to national security while denying such an agency exists.” Reid grunted. “It probably doesn’t.”
Gerard’s control slipped a notch. His jaw clenched. “Can you be more specific?”
“No,” Reid said with an irritated huff. “I didn’t take Carl’s offer seriously, and the man he was with gave me the creeps. I made excuses and got the hell out of there.”
The warning bells started to sound like sirens in Amber’s brain. “Who was the other man?”
Reid shrugged. “Some guy named Surratt.”
Her heart rose into her throat, beating so hard she feared she’d choke. She held a fisted hand to her breastbone, taking deep breaths, trying to control the rising panic. Gerard’s hand settled on her shoulder, comforting. Calming. She looked up.
“Breathe,” he said, his voice as smooth as honey.
Her throat opened. Her pulse slowed.
Reid’s eyes shone with suspicion. “How do you know Surratt? Who is he?”
She swallowed her fear and took a calming breath. “One of his—followers—killed my mother. And Andrew. And—” She took another deep breath.
Confessing her secret put her in danger. Not confessing was cowardly. Gerard had admitted he was a vampire so she wouldn’t have to lie to her partner. Allowing him to face the danger alone seemed like desertion.
Gerard’s hand still rested on her shoulder. She raised hers, entwining her fingers with his. Strengthened by his touch, she admitted the truth. “Surratt turned my father into a vampire.”
Reid’s dark eyes rounded. His mouth gaped. Then he snapped his jaw shut and narrowed his gaze. One corner of his mouth twisted upward in a smirk. “The man lives in Florida and you want me to believe he’s a vampire?”
“I’m not talking about Greg,” Amber said, clinging to Gerard’s hand like a lifeline.
Reid had met her father—Greg—two years ago. He’d come to Asheville intent on convincing Amber to move to Florida. He wanted her to get to know her stepmother and half-sister. Amber refused. They’d spoken since then but he hadn’t been back to Asheville and Amber hadn’t been to Florida—not even for Christmas.
She swallowed the lingering heartache and admitted what now seemed like an inarguable truth. “Greg isn’t my father.”
“But—”
“I thought he was,” she said, her voice cracking as her throat closed with emotion. “But, it seems my father was a vampire and—”
Reid popped himself on the forehead with an open palm. “No wonder the creep was asking so many questions about you.”
Amber felt the warmth drain from her face. Reid didn’t question how she was part vampire. The geek in him probably knew the legends. So did Surratt.
Did the vampire know her memory had returned? Was he assessing her threat level to vampires?
Her pulse jumped.
Gerard let go of her hand and came around her chair to hunker down in front of Reid’s. “The creep. Surratt?”
Reid nodded. “Yeah. He was tall. Thin. Extremely pale. He spoke with an odd accent, and he smelled mildewed—like his clothes had hung too long in an old closet with plaster walls.”
“He’s probably an ancient. Vampires don’t age but after so many centuries, the skin crackles and starts to accumulate odors, especially if the vampire follows medieval bathing customs.”
Reid leaned forward and sniffed. “Humph. You don’t smell musty. In fact, I think I used to have a bottle of that same cologne.”
Gerard sprung to his feet as if he’d been poked in the ass with a cattle prod. “What’s with everyone sniffing me lately? Merde! You’d think I smelled.”
“Paranoid?” Amber asked, choking down an irrational giggle.
He looked at her and winked. “Maybe.”
Warmth flooded her veins. Her world was fast tumbling into chaos but with just a word, a touch, or a damn wink, Gerard made her feel safe and protected.
Clearing the tightness from her throat, she looked at Reid. “What kind of questions did Surratt ask?”
He propped his elbows on his thighs and leaned toward her. “He wanted to know who you were seeing. Who your friends were. How well I knew you outside the department.”
“What did you tell him?”
He sat up, lips curling in disgust. “Really, Amber. You should know me better than that. I didn’t tell him a damn thing. I told you. The guy gave me the creeps.”
“What was he doing with your buddy, Matheson?” Gerard asked.
“Buddy?” Reid scoffed. “Carl Matheson is a flake. I met him for drinks. He offered me a job. I turned him down. Then his friend showed up and started drilling me about Amber.”
None of it made sense. Surratt wanted to protect vampires and keep their existence a secret. He’d protected the bastard who killed her mother. When the vampire attacked again in Germany, he made Nicolas erase her memory and keep watch over her to stop those memories from returning.
Surratt must know she was a dhampir. And yet, he’d allowed her to live. But what would the ancient vampire do if he knew she was hunting vampires? And why would he associate with a mortal who was most likely searching for proof vampires existed?
She looked at her partner. “Reid, you said the BBTF investigated unusual claims. Did Matheson give you any specifics?”
“Amber, the man’s paranoid and delusional. Besides requesting a table in a dark corner of the restaurant, he got up in my face, whispering like he was afraid the place was bugged. He went on and on about Area 51, government conspiracies, and the newest threat to mankind—vampires.” Reid laughed. “Hell, I didn’t know vampires were new. I thought they’d been around since Vlad the Impaler ruled Wallachia.”
“You’re not taking any of this seriously. Are you?” she said.
He studied her face in silence and then turned to meet Gerard’s steady gaze. “It’s hard to take vampires seriously. But…” he added when Gerard raised his brows. “It’s hard to ignore the evidence when it’s flashing its fangs in my face.”
Gerard cocked a brow. “I thought you needed proof.”
Reid winced, his expression pinched and bitter. “You’re right. I did.” He turned back to Amber. “I was ridiculed for believing in the paranormal as a kid. So, I stopped believing in anything I couldn’t prove years ago. But there’s enough evidence here to prove vampires exist. Besides Delaroche, we have Richard Baxter’s autopsy report. Right?”
“Right. And now Weldon has Axel,” she reminded him. “So, he’s either dead or a vampire. Either way, we need to save him if we can.” If it’s not too late.
“I wonder if Carl knows about Weldon,” Reid said, as if talking aloud to himself. “Maybe he’s the reason Surratt and Carl are working together.”
Gerard jerked him to his feet. “You said Matheson didn’t mention specifics. That sounds pretty damn specific to me.”
Reid clawed at Gerard’s hands until he released him. His face was pale and his hands shook when he brushed down his shirt collar and said, “I’m dealing with vampires, cloning, and secret organizations. So, cut me some damn slack if I happen to forget a few details.”
“Withholding vital information could cost Amber her life,” Gerard growled. “Is that what you want?”
A flush stained Reid’s cheeks. He looked at Amber, his expression rueful. “You know I’d protect you with my life, but I’m having a tough time dealing with this.”
“Been there,” she said with a commiserating sigh. She was still dealing with it.
He raked a hand through his short-cropped hair. “I quit believing in anything I couldn’t see, touch, or feel when my dad walked out on me and my mom when I was ten. He left us for his secretary—his young, gorgeous secretary. Mom had signed a pre-nup so she got nothing. Not even child support because dad claimed he never wanted kids. And she didn’t want to lose me. Dad said he’d fight her for full custody if she demanded child support. And he probably would have won, even though he didn’t want me.
“So, I went from rich boy in a private school to poor kid in an inner city school practically overnight. And my space alien, vampire hunter, super hero fantasies didn’t go over well in the public school system.”
His childhood explained his initial animosity toward Brit Travers. He’d thought Brit disowned Axle, when nothing could have been farther from the truth.
For the first time, she realized just how much she and Reid had in common. His father never wanted him and the man who raised her—whom she never felt close to—wasn’t even her father.
She had to give Greg credit, though. He’d tried. He’d raised another man’s kid as his own—or at least, his mother had. He just never bonded with her. And that hurt more than she cared to admit.
“What about now?” she asked, her heart aching for her partner—and for the lost opportunity to get to know her real father. “You can’t deny vampires are real.”
Reid smirked. “Yeah, but until I see ET in person, I’m not going to believe the government is hiding an alien spacecraft in Roswell, New Mexico. I’m not a gullible kid any more. But Carl was one of those rich kids from my past. So, he knew I was a geek. And I didn’t want anything to do with him.”
“You’re not a geek, Reid.”
“Ça suffit,” Gerard said with a groan. “Can we move on to the important stuff—like how Surratt is involved?”
Heat flushed Amber’s cheeks. Avoiding Gerard’s annoyed gaze, she spoke to Reid. “Do you know why Carl is working with Surratt?”
Reid shrugged. “From what I gathered, Carl’s job is to investigate the existence of vampires, find proof, and catalogue them as dangerous or not. The agency will then determine which are threats and which warrant continued observation. Supposedly, Surratt was helping him locate rogue vampires who’ve attacked humans.”
Did the government’s idea of observation include experimentation?
Amber looked at Gerard to gage his reaction. His face showed no emotion. His eyes smoldered.
“The government wouldn’t destroy a vampire they could recruit,” he said, his voice sharp with sarcasm. “And since Surratt’s goal is to protect vampires from discovery, it would behoove him to assist Carl in locating and destroying those who’ve attracted human interest.”
Gerard clenched his teeth. The muscles in his jaw bunched as anger simmered just beneath the surface of his calm. Amber ached for him.
His carefully constructed world—a world in which he strived to live as a mortal—was in imminent danger of collapse. And because she was part vampire and part mortal, she could wind up caught in the middle of two worlds at war.
Anxiety churned in her gut. Her stomach burned. “Surratt protected the vampire who killed my mother. He erases the memories of mortals who discover the truth and then converts them—or hunts them—when those memories return. Why is he working with mortals to identify and destroy vampires now?”
There had to be a trigger—some cataclysmic event that forced the vampire to change his MO.
Tension radiated off Gerard in waves. “Keeping our existence secret is paramount to survival. Surratt’s chosen to sacrifice the rogues to protect the species. He can’t destroy them on his own. If he’s as ancient as I believe, he could have hundreds of vampire descendants. If one of them has gone rogue, it puts his entire clan in danger. If the rogue is from his direct line but several creations removed, the blood link may be too weak for him to control him—but not so weak he can destroy him—or her” He held up a finger. His eyes glittered dangerously. “Ah, but if he manipulates a government agent into destroying the vampire for him, he accomplishes his goal without alienating his other descendants.”
“He’s playing both sides of the fence,” Reid said.
Gerard nodded, his expression now solemn. “And it could very well start a war between mortals and immortals.”
Amber’s fury burned brighter. Her hatred glowed like a beacon in her brain, guiding her emotions. “He’s not some philanthropic vampire looking out for the welfare of immortals. He’s protecting his empire—his vampire following. And he’s using Matheson to destroy the vampires who’re drawing attention to him. He has no interest in mortals or vampires.”
“I don’t know,” Gerard said with a sigh. “His motives could be sincere.”
“Are you frickin’ kidding me?” Amber’s voice raised two octaves. “He created the monster who killed my mother and Andrew. If Nicolas hadn’t destroyed that—creature—he would have killed me too. Surratt did that. He’s responsible.”
“And you could be biased,” Gerard said, his voice as gentle as a cop trying to talk a jumper down from a ledge. “But once he’s gotten Carl Matheson to kill the vampires he’s selected to die, he might kill Carl too—or convert him. He wouldn’t risk erasing his memory. The contact between them has been prolonged—too many memories to erase.” He looked at Reid with pity. “And you’d be just another loose end he needs to kill or convert.”
Reid made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. “Well, doesn’t that just bite.” He smiled. “If you’ll pardon the pun.”
“The bastard's got to die,” Amber said through clenched teeth, ignoring the fact that she probably was biased. Then she looked at Gerard and the fury faded.
He was trying so hard to be fair—to protect mortals and vampires alike. And for the first time since her mother died, Amber didn’t feel quite so alone.