chapter 14
Thomas looked up from his console and stared at the dark-haired vampire in front of him. Cain had joined Scanguards only a few weeks earlier after providing them with vital information about an insane Nazi-vampire who wanted to create a master race. During the final battle, Thomas had sustained major injuries, but thanks to the care of his mentee Eddie, he’d recovered quickly.
“But we have nothing to go by,” he replied to Cain’s earlier question.
“I know that. But everybody says you’re a genius and can dig up anything.”
Thomas rolled his eyes. “If it comes to hacking into a computer system, sure, but to find out who you are? How do you want me to do that? You don’t even know who you are.”
Cain bent over the desk. “I need your help. I need to know who I am. It’s been driving me mad not having any memory from when I was human. What if I have family? What if there is somebody who needs me? Somebody who’s looking for me? Don’t you understand how that feels?”
His eyes begged for understanding.
Thomas dropped his lids halfway, not wanting to see the pain and desperation that was engrained in Cain’s every cell. He understood him all too well. He understood the pain of knowing there was somebody who had counted on him. He’d walked away once himself, knowing if he hadn’t he would have become a different person: a power hungry, dangerous vampire. Walked away from one who manipulated others because he could, because of the power that coursed through his veins.
Thomas knew he’d inherited that same blood. It carried power—and destruction. Walking away had been the only way to survive.
Maybe Cain had walked away from something similar, and his mind had graced him with memory loss. What a gift.
“What if you don’t like what I find?” Thomas challenged. “What if it’s something you’d rather not know?”
Cain shook his head. “Whatever it is, I want to know. I want to be whole again. I know there’s something . . . I feel it.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “Here. I feel it here.”
Then he pointed his finger toward the door. “Out there, somewhere, my past is waiting for me. I need to know what I’m up against before it comes biting me in the ass.”
Slowly, Thomas nodded. He wished he didn’t have to lie to Cain, but he was already in the middle of investigating the other vampire’s past. Gabriel had ordered it shortly after Cain had come on board. Yet so far, nothing had turned up.
“Fine. I’ll see what I can find out. Email me everything you remember, anything at all, no matter how insignificant. I know you’ve already given us some of this information when you joined, but I want you to think about it, try to remember what else there might be. Will you do that?”
A grateful smile spread over Cain’s handsome face. But oddly enough, despite the other vampire’s attractiveness, Thomas felt nothing other than the connection he felt with all Scanguards vampires. It was different with Eddie, the young vampire he mentored and who lived with him. The straight vampire, he tried to remind himself. And he would never make a pass at a straight man, no matter how much he longed for him, how much he craved his touch.
There were lines he never crossed, because he knew that adhering to his high moral ethics was the only way to keep the lust for dominance at bay and to hide from everybody how truly powerful he was.
“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Cain grabbed his hand and shook it enthusiastically.
“Yeah, yeah, now get out of here.”
Before Cain could open the door, there was a knock.
“Come in.”
To his surprise, Quinn stepped in.
“Hey, what’s bringing you to my humble office?”
“Just a quick thing.”
“See you,” Cain said and walked through the door.
“Oh, Cain,” Quinn called after him.
“Yeah?”
“You were just assigned to me. Can you wait for me in the V Staff Lounge?”
“Sure thing.” Then he pulled the door shut behind him.
“Do you have a minute?” Quinn asked and let himself fall in the chair opposite Thomas’s desk without waiting for an answer.
“Not really. Do you need me to check the system to see what other staff is available for your assignment? I’m assuming since it’s bringing in a million dollars, we can throw a few more bodies at it.”
Quinn quickly waved him off. “I’ve already checked with Gabriel on who’s available. I’ve got it in hand. Not to worry. But you could do something else for me.” He leaned forward, and his eyes darted to the door, then back to him.
Thomas raised a curious eyebrow.
“I need you to find out everything you can about Rose.”
Thomas felt his jaw drop. His friend couldn’t be serious. “Listen, I don’t know what’s between you and her, and I’m not asking about it.” He raised his hands when Quinn tried to interrupt. “But I’m not violating somebody else’s privacy for no reason other than your curiosity.”
Quinn jumped up. “It’s got nothing to do with my curiosity. Rose is lying to me. She’s hiding something from me, and I need to know what it is.”
“That’s not my problem. If she’s hiding something from you, maybe it’s none of your business.”
“It is my business,” Quinn bit out.
“I can’t help you. If it’s got nothing to do with the assignment, then I don’t want to be dragged into some domestic issues between a couple.”
“We’re NOT a couple!”
“Aren’t you? Funny, because somebody told me she’s your wife.”
Quinn fumed now. “Consider us divorced. She rejected me after I became a vamp—” He stopped himself, obviously realizing that he’d said too much.
“Well, it very much looks to me like you and Rose have issues. And I’m old enough to know not to get in the middle of it.”
“Come on, Thomas. What’s it to you? You don’t even know her. I thought we were friends,” Quinn tried to cajole him.
“We are. And that’s exactly why I’m not snooping around for you. Because, trust me, it will come to bite you in the ass.”
When he noticed Quinn’s face fall in disappointment, he sighed. But he didn’t cave. “Now get out of here.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “I want to get some work done before going over to the party.”
Quinn stopped in his tracks. “What party?”
“Haven’s birthday party, of course. Didn’t you get the invite?”
He shook his head.
Then Thomas realized why his friend hadn’t been invited. “Of course. Those went out last week, and you were supposed to be back in New York already. Guess that’s why Yvette didn’t send you one. But, hey, you should go anyway. You know they would have invited you.”
“I might just do that.”
And maybe it would lift his friend’s spirit. He didn’t look as carefree as he usually did. Apparently Rose’s reappearance had thrown a serious wrench into the playboy’s lifestyle. Maybe it was for the better, or maybe it would all blow up one day.
***
Rose could see Blake perspire as he turned in his test, just like the five fake applicants. She waved at him, motioning him to join her and Oliver. Dutifully, he came to her.
He ran a shaky hand through his dark hair, a gesture that reminded her of Quinn. Odd, how certain things got passed on from generation to generation, even though neither Blake nor any of his ancestors had ever met Quinn and been exposed to his idiosyncrasies.
“I think I did well. But I’m not sure how the others did. They looked pretty confident too.”
Rose smiled. “We’ll just have to wait and see. It shouldn’t take long.” She turned to Oliver. “Right?”
“They’ll just run it through the computer and give the result to Quinn. Let’s go to the lounge to wait for him,” Oliver instructed, winking clandestinely at Rose.
She managed not to chuckle. How a bunch of grown vampires could go through all these gyrations without flinching was just beyond her. Couldn’t they simply have pretended to offer him a job? No, they had to go all Mission Impossible on the kid to make him feel special. Like Blake needed another boost for his ego.
They didn’t have to wait long in the lounge. Quinn arrived fifteen minutes after they had sat down. The look on his face was serious.
Rose noticed how Blake swallowed hard.
“Oh, shit, that doesn’t look good.”
Quinn sat down opposite Blake and took a long look at him. “Well, I have good and bad news.”
“Oh.”
“Good news is, you did extremely well in all the tests.” Then he paused, clearly for effect. “The bad news is, so did one other guy. Basically, it’s a tie.”
“Oh, shit,” Blake let out. “What now?”
Quinn edged forward on his seat. “Here’s the deal. As we speak, my colleague is making an offer to the other guy—”
“F*ck!”
Quinn raised his hand. “Hold it. But I’m making one to you. Whoever accepts all our conditions first gets the job.”
“Conditions? Give ‘em to me. Don’t waste any time.” The urgency in Blake’s voice was undeniable.
“The trainee will live at a place of our choosing, surrounded by other trainees and trainers. You’ll never leave our sight, unless authorized to do so and under supervision. There are others out there who are keen on snatching our recruits from under our noses. We want to prevent that.”
Rose rolled her eyes, which Blake couldn’t see. How much more crap was Quinn going to dish up?
“You will follow all our instructions to a T. All your needs will be taken care of. Your housing is paid for, all your bills will be paid. Your salary is more than generous.”
“How much?” Blake interjected.
“During training you’ll make as much as an attorney in his first year. After that . . . ” Quinn shrugged. “Enough to qualify for a mortgage on a house in Pacific Heights.”
Blake blew out an impressed breath. “Yeah!”
“But you decide now.” Quinn looked toward the door. “If my colleague comes in here before I have a decision from you, the deal is off.”
“I’ll take it!” Blake blurted out.
“Excellent! Wait here.” He rushed to the door, closing it behind him.
Only sixty seconds later he came back in, giving a thumbs up signal. Next to him, a dark-haired vampire entered.
Excitedly, Blake jumped up and down. “Yeah! I got it!” He pulled her into an embrace, squeezed her against his broad chest. “I got it.”
Over his shoulder, Rose peered at Quinn, whose mouth had formed into a thin line.
She had to hand it to him. Apparently, his strategy had paid off. Blake would do whatever they wanted him to. It would make protecting him much easier.
“Okay,” Quinn said tightly. Then he pointed to the man next to him. “Cain here and Oliver will accompany you to your new quarters. Training will start immediately.”
“Right now?” Blake asked, surprised.
“Yes, didn’t I say that?”
“Oh, yeah, sure, of course,” he said quickly.
“Well, we’ll see you later, then,” Quinn confirmed and looked at her. “Rose, shall we?” He motioned her to the door.
A few seconds later they were in the corridor, walking toward the exit.
“Where are we going? I thought we were staying with Blake.”
“Oliver and Cain can handle him right now. We have to go to a party.”
“A party? I have no time to amuse myself at some party right now.”
“We’re not going to amuse ourselves. I need to rustle up some humans who can join us at the house, just in case Blake decides to go walking about during daylight hours.”
He had a point. If Blake managed to leave the house and their protection during daytime, they would have a hard time keeping up with him. Sure, they could use blackout vans to follow him, but that wouldn’t provide sufficient protection, and the vans were only useful on the street. Once Blake dashed into a building or an area inaccessible to vans, they would lose him.
“And you’re going to find those humans at some party?”
“Not just some party; it’s strictly a family affair.”
Then he put his hand on her forearm, the contact scorching her skin and reminding her of his touch less than twenty-four hours earlier.
“Let’s go. It’s not far from here.”