CHAPTER 20
Jack arrived at Romatech in a good mood. Lara had heard his psychic voice, and she knew that he still loved her. The meeting had started off a bit awkward, but by the end of it, she'd allowed him to touch her and comfort her. She'd shared important moments from her past. She'd offered her friendship. That had to mean she was willing to trust him. In time, their relationship could grow into something deeper. She was such an amazing woman. So strong, brave, clever, and beautiful. There was no doubt in his mind that Lara was the one for him.
But she was still in danger. His happy mood evaporated as he strode toward the MacKay security office. A month had gone by with nothing to show for it but one botched attempt after another to find Apollo. Jack's muscles tensed and his hands curled into fists. When it came to his work as an investigator, he was not accustomed to failure.
He grudgingly admitted that so far they had failed to find Casimir. But the wily Malcontent leader stayed constantly on the move. This Apollo had a base. He was staying put. It was ridiculous that they couldn't locate the bastard.
Jack entered the office and found Phil sitting at the desk, studying something on the computer. "Where is everybody?"
Phil didn't even blink at the anger in Jack's voice. "I guess your meeting didn't go well?"
"It went fine, but we're running out of time. Where is everybody?"
"Robby's still chasing leads in Europe. He said he'd probably crash at your place."
"Fine." Jack always offered his palazzo as a sanctuary for Vamp friends who were traveling. "And Connor?"
"Connor and Phineas are investigating a place in Ohio," Phil continued. "And I've been scouring the Internet for any place that mentions Apollo or a sun god."
Jack paced across the office. "How many false leads have we followed?"
"Over a hundred," Phil muttered.
Jack slammed a fist against the chain-link cage that housed their weapons. "It shouldn't be this damned hard. There are Vamps all over the world. Why can't we find this one sick bastard?"
Phil leaned back in the chair, frowning. "I have a theory about that."
"To hell with theories. I need results!" Jack paced toward the door. Merda. He needed to get a grip. Anger was not going to help Lara. "Okay, what's the damned theory?"
"Well, now that you ask," Phil began with a wry twist to his mouth. "I've noticed over the years that Vamps tend to live in well-populated areas. Of course, in the past, you probably wanted to be close to your food source, and the more people who were available to bite, the less likely you were to be noticed."
Jack kept pacing. "Go on."
"You like to hang out with each other, too. And party a lot. It's been hard on Jean-Luc, going into hiding in the countryside. I think he'd be crazy by now if it weren't for Heather and her family. I know it's been tough on Robby."
Jack nodded. "And your point is?"
"If Apollo's resort is far away from any city or towns, then there aren't any Vamps around to notice it. Not many mortals around, either. That's why Apollo kidnaps people. He has no other food supply."
Jack sighed. Phil was probably right, but it made their chances of finding Apollo sound hopeless.
Phil leaned forward, propping his elbows on the desk. "Now shifters are completely the opposite. They avoid civilization. We enjoy roaming the more remote areas of the world."
Jack halted. "You think a wolf pack could find Apollo?"
"I think it's worth a shot. I could ask the Pack Masters across the country to help us." Phil frowned. "I offered to do it last night, but Connor didn't like the idea. He didn't want to involve the werewolves in Vamp business."
Jack resumed his pacing. He understood Connor's reaction. For centuries, the vampires and shape shifters had coexisted with a tense attitude of mutual distrust. They stayed away from each other, wary that another species knew of their existence. Angus had tried to breach the gap by offering shifters high-paying positions of trust.
Even so, Jack knew that most of the shifter employees at MacKay S & I were considered traitors to their own kind. Howard fared better since male bears tended to be loners. But Phil was a wolf and expected to be a member of a pack. A rogue wolf was a bizarre and dangerous phenomenon.
"Would the werewolves help us?" Jack asked.
"They might." Phil dragged a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "The truth is, they would like to have you indebted to them."
"Ah." That was why Connor had refused. He didn't want to owe any favors to a pack of wolves. But Jack was desperate enough to make a deal with the devil if he had to. "Ask them to help. Any debt incurred will be mine."
"Can you hear me now?" Jack asked again. It was Wednesday night, and this was his third session with Lara.
"Just a few words here and there." She sighed. "This is so frustrating."
"Tell me about it," Jack muttered. He'd had high hopes for the meeting on Tuesday, but it had ended after only ten minutes because it made Lara's head hurt too much. He knew she was in pain, for he could feel it, too, and he hated being the one who caused it.
"Do you need an aspirin?" he asked.
"I took one before you came." She massaged her temples. "It's either kicked in already, or I'm getting better at this. The pain is not as bad tonight."
"That's good. Your brain could be adjusting." He settled on the bed beside her. She didn't give him that wary, skittish look, so he took that as another good sign. She was adjusting to him, personally.
He believed he was slowly regaining her trust. He wanted more. He wanted her love, but he could be patient.
He had a few new leads to check out later tonight. A western wolf pack had spotted two isolated mortal compounds in Wyoming and Utah. He doubted either place would pan out. They were so far away, and they'd been described as log cabins. But still, he was desperate enough to look anywhere.
"I can't let you do this, Lara. Apollo could teleport you anywhere, and I'd never be able to find you."
She frowned. "I'll be wearing a tracking device. I'm getting it tomorrow."
"Tracking devices can be lost."
"The FBI is aware of that. They have something special planned." She gave him a stern look. "This is going to happen, Jack."
"No, it's not. I can't let you do it, so I have an alternative plan. When Apollo shows up for the seminar, Robby and I will grab him and teleport him to Romatech. We'll hold him prisoner in the silver room there."
Her frown deepened. "What about the other girls? We have to know where he's keeping them."
"We'll make him tell us."
She winced. "How?"
"Depriving him of blood might do the trick. Or we can try taking over his mind."
She was silent for a while, thinking it over. "Your plan might work, but how do we explain it to the police and FBI?"
"We don't. We erase their memories." When she started to object, he continued, "We have no choice. Whether we teleport Apollo away, or he teleports you away, that's still more than we can let any mortals see. We sure can't allow them to discover Apollo's resort. If we find the girls, we'll send them home with their memories altered. We have to protect the secret of vampire existence."
Lara scooted off the bed and paced toward the door. She spun around and shot him an angry look. "If you have your way, no one will remember anything. What about making Apollo pay for his crimes?"
"Believe me, he will pay."
She planted her hands on her hips. "What about all my hard work? It would all be for nothing."
"You'll be alive. I wouldn't call that nothing."
She glowered at him. "I trained a month for this assignment. I can handle it."
"I will not let that bastard kidnap you. I'll do anything to protect you."
Her eyes narrowed. "It sounds to me like you're more concerned with protecting the precious vampire secret."
He clenched his jaw. "That is important, but nothing is more important to me than protecting you." My life would be meaningless without you. I love you too damned much.
She gasped. "Don't say that."
He stood. "Did you hear my thoughts?"
"Oh my gosh." She touched her forehead.
I want to throw you on the bed and strip your clothes off.
"Stop that." She glared at him.
He smiled. "You are hearing me."
"Uh, maybe." She rubbed her brow. "Just a little."
I'm going to nibble on your little toes, then kiss my way up your long, luscious legs until I reach-
"Enough!" Her cheeks blushed pink.
"But I was just getting to the good part."
She shook her head. "I'm trying to have a decent argument with you, and you're describing an X-rated movie in my head."
Jack glanced at her bed. "We could make it real."
"I have a headache." She folded her arms across her chest. "I think you should go."
"Lara-"
"And I don't need to see you till after it's all over. We can call the lessons a big success. Thanks to you, I'll be able to hear Apollo's every little perverted thought."
Jack frowned at her. He had to try one more thing, just to be sure. He hurtled a wave of cold psychic energy at her, and she stumbled back. I am your master, and you will obey. Take off your clothes now.
She snorted. "In your dreams."
He stepped toward her, ratcheting up the power. You are under my control. You will make love to me.
Her eyes flashed with anger. "Get out, now!"
He took a deep breath and let the power fade away. "Brava, bellissima. You can hear, but you can still resist vampire control. That is very good news."
She eyed him warily. "That was just a test?"
He nodded. "I needed to make sure."
She looked away, but not before Jack noted the tears in her eyes. "You told me once that you would never use your powers to get me in bed. I thought you had betrayed your promise."
"Lara, I would never force you or manipulate you. It is true that I... long to have you in my bed, but more than anything, I want to have your love. Given freely."
"I can't do that," she whispered.
He paced toward the desk with despair settling heavily in his chest. What if he could never win her heart? He couldn't make her love him. But no matter what, he would keep her safe. "I will not let Apollo kidnap you."
She was still turned away from him, her arms crossed and her shoulders hunched over.
Merda, this was hurting her as much as him. "Goodbye, Lara." He teleported away.
"There's no point in meeting tonight," she told Jack when he called her Thursday night. "I appreciate you helping me, but it's done, and don't you dare teleport here while I'm talking."
Merda. She knew him too well. "Our plan is on for Saturday night. We're kidnapping Apollo."
"No, you're not! Jack, I'm serious. You will stay out of this."
"Have you seen a flyer yet? Is Apollo coming to Syracuse?"
"I'm not discussing this with you. I swear, if I see you or any of your friends here, I'll have you arrested."
"Lara-" The long beep indicated that she'd hung up on him. Stubborn woman. Well, he could be just as stubborn.
He spent the next few hours with Phineas, investigating a compound in Colorado that a wolf pack had reported. It turned out to be a survivalist training camp. When they returned to Romatech, Robby had arrived from Europe. Jack called a meeting to discuss their plans for Saturday night.
At three-thirty in the morning, he teleported into Lara's dorm room. Since he'd teleported there before, the location was embedded in his psychic memory. With his superior vision, he spotted her in the dark room. She was in bed, sound asleep, just as he had hoped.
He moved silently toward the door. He hadn't come to see her, but to check if Apollo had posted his flyer downstairs in the lounge.
A high-pitched beep sounded in his ears, very faint. He waited, and it beeped again. It was strange. He almost sensed it more than heard it. It was a repeating pulse of energy. He glanced at the bed.
It was coming from Lara.
He eased toward her. The FBI must have put the tracer on her. Merda. If he could hear the damned thing, Apollo would, too. He would know the mortal authorities were after him. He'd be tempted to kill Lara immediately.
Jack leaned over, trying to zero in on the homing device. She wasn't wearing a necklace. No earrings. Was it under her skin?
She moaned and turned on her side, facing the wall. Her hair spilled across the white pillowcase-thick, wavy, and...beeping. He gently touched the strands. Soft and silky. Wait. This felt different. Harsh and foreign. He stroked her hair again to be sure. He'd have to cut the fake hair off before Saturday.
"Mmm." She moaned and turned onto her back.
He stifled a groan. Her thin T-shirt left little to the imagination. He could see the round fullness of her breasts, the plump nipples begging to be coaxed into hardened tips. It would be so easy to slip into her mind and give her a round of vampire sex she'd never forget. She'd enjoy it so much, she'd beg him for the real thing.
But he'd promised not to use his vampire powers to get into her bed. Merda. Life would be easier if he could be a scoundrel like his father.
"Jack," she murmured.
He caught his breath. The heaviness in his heart lifted slightly. Maybe there was still a chance. Don't give up on me, Lara. I will always love you.
He slipped into the hall and zoomed toward the elevator. On the first floor, he located the bulletin board, and there it was. A pink flyer. Do you want to stay young and beautiful forever?
He phoned the security office at Romatech. "We've got him."