Chapter Eighteen
The next evening, Abigail headed upstairs to the family floor so she could check on her mother. She and her sister had flown back to D.C. that morning, and she'd spent the rest of the day at the lab, gathering information for the meeting tonight with her father. And Gregori.
By George, that man can kiss. Prunella Culpepper had been right about that. She'd hardly slept a wink last night. Memories of kissing Gregori had filled her mind, and she'd relived the scene over and over, treasuring each detail she could recall and eventually imagining what could have happened if they hadn't been interrupted.
She tightened her grip on the handle of her leather portfolio. She'd have to act cool at the meeting with her father. Not stare at Gregori with red-hot cheeks. Her files were inside the portfolio, along with Gregori's note, safely stashed away in a zippered pocket. Could she work up the nerve to call him? She would need to be alone to do it. She couldn't let a Secret Service agent overhear her flirting with a vampire.
She hadn't found a moment alone since sunset. She'd worked late at the lab with some other scientists. An agent had picked her up and delivered her to the White House. Even now, as she made her way to the clinic, there were Black Suits stationed here and there, always watching. Always on alert for danger. And no doubt they considered Gregori a danger.
She knew she should keep a distance from him. It was the smart thing to do, and all her life, she'd always done the smart thing. But it was already too late. She'd stepped off a cliff and didn't know how to stop the fall. Wasn't sure she even wanted to stop.
Falling for Gregori was a crazy, irresponsible act. Totally out of character for her. And totally exciting. How strange that it took an Undead man to make her feel so alive.
She nodded at the female agent who stood by the clinic door. Inside, she could hear laughter - her mother's and Madison's.
She slipped inside. "Hello."
"Abigail!" Her mother waved her over. "We were just watching Madison's commercial. Come and see it."
"She already saw it live." Madison reached for the remote control. "But if you'd like to see it again?"
"Sure. I'd love to." Abigail hugged her mom and quickly looked her over. She looked tired with dark circles under her eyes. "Is Debra gone for the evening?"
"She's on her dinner break," Belinda said. She leaned close and whispered, "We're not supposed to talk about vampires when she's here. Top secret, you know."
Abigail nodded, noting the twinkle in her mother's eyes. All the recent excitement seemed to be invigorating her mother. Her sister, too. Madison had chattered nonstop all the way home about her new friends at the Digital Vampire Network. Maggie had given her a DVD of the pretend commercial she'd done with Phineas.
"It's starting!" Madison hushed them.
Abigail sat and watched her sister and Phineas. "It's really good." Thank God Maggie hadn't included the commercial she'd done with Gregori.
Belinda clapped her hands. "I love it. I'm so proud of you, Madison."
"And guess what?" Madison jumped to her feet, grinning. "Last night I auditioned for a mortal role on one of their soap operas. They usually have vampires play those roles because mortals don't know about DVN, but Gordon - he's the director - he said it doesn't work very well 'cause everyone can tell they have fangs. So there's a good chance that I could get on one of their shows and be a real actress!"
"Wow." Abigail glanced over at their mom, who looked more alarmed than happy. "That's really exciting, Maddie."
"I know!" Madison clasped her hands together with a dreamy look. "I could be a real star."
"I thought you said the commercial was pretend, just for fun," Belinda said. "I didn't realize you were serious about acting."
"I didn't realize I'd be so good!" Madison exclaimed.
"But what about art school?" Belinda asked.
Madison waved a dismissive hand. "I'm only going there 'cause I didn't know what to do with myself. I'm not all that good at art, you know. But Maggie said I show real potential for acting. And Gordon said I look fabulous in front of the camera."
"Yes, dear, you do," Belinda conceded, "but this is a vampire network."
Madison blinked. "So?"
Abigail winced inwardly with a sinking feeling.
"I'm delighted you were able to discover a new talent," Belinda continued. "But you need to develop it among your own kind. DVN is not the sort of environment you should be visiting every night."
Madison looked stunned. "Why not?"
"All this excitement lately over vampires - it's been great fun, but . . ." Belinda sighed. "It's a nice world to visit, but you don't want to live there."
Madison frowned. "You have something against vampires?"
"I'm sure some of them are very nice, but - let's be honest about this, Maddie. They're dead. I don't want you to get involved with any of them."
"But I wouldn't," Madison insisted. "I'm not attracted to any of them." Her gaze shifted to Abigail.
Please don't say anything, Abigail beseeched her with her eyes.
Madison's frown deepened. "I don't understand, Mom. It's not like you to be so . . . prejudiced."
"I don't mean to be rude. I just don't want you to form a relationship with any of them. Think about it. They can live for centuries, right? They would either tire of you after a few years, or they would insist on making you a vampire. How can I possibly condone that?"
Madison bit her lip and glanced at Abigail. "Some might think it's romantic."
Belinda scoffed. "Only in fiction. In reality, he would be killing you."
Abigail swallowed hard. Her mom was bringing up valid points. Even she had warned Madison several nights ago that falling for a vampire was sheer folly.
It was like that old saying her grandmother used to joke about. If you're going to fall in love, it might as well be with a rich man. And if she was going to fall in love, why couldn't she find a live man?
Her shoulders slumped. She needed to admit the truth. A relationship with Gregori was truly impossible. But how could she possibly find anyone as wonderful as him? He was everything she'd ever dreamed of. Except for the vampire part.
Madison stuck out her bottom lip. "I thought you would be happy for me. I really want the job at DVN."
Belinda sighed. "It would worry me too much for you to be around vampires."
Madison huffed. "But Abby's going to be around them when she goes to China!"
Abigail jerked up in her seat and shook her head.
"What?" Belinda gave her a shocked look. "You're doing what?"
Madison winced. "Sorry, Abby. I thought she knew."
Abigail shot her an annoyed look, then turned to her mother. "It's a research trip, that's all. Just a few days."
Belinda's eyes narrowed. "Is your research connected to me?"
"It'll be fine, Mom. The Vamps will only be there to protect me. They're super strong and fast. They have special abilities like superheroes."
"Yeah!" Madison nodded. "It'll be like traveling with Superman and the Justice League!"
Belinda frowned. "I don't think you should go."
"Mom - " Abigail started to say she was doing it for her, but that would only make her mother more opposed to the trip. "I need to do this."
Belinda's eyes shimmered with tears. "Sweetie, my health is my problem. You can't take responsibility for everything."
Abigail blinked to keep her eyes from misting up. "How can I live with myself if I don't try everything I can do?"
A knock sounded at the door, and the Secret Service agent cracked it open. "The meeting has started in the Oval Office. The president requests Miss Abigail's attendance."
"I'll be right there." She stood and picked up her portfolio. "It'll be fine, Mom."
Her mother sighed wearily. "I hope so."
She waved at Madison as she crossed the room. "See you later."
"Good luck." Madison eased up close to her and lowered her voice. "With everything."
Was she referring to Gregori? "Thank you." Thank you for not mentioning him to Mom.
With a smile, Madison patted her on the shoulder. "You've always worked so hard. You deserve to be happy."
So Madison approved? Abigail nodded and left the room.
Sure, she wanted to be happy, but could happiness be found with a vampire? She'd certainly felt happy in Gregori's arms last night, but what if that sensation proved to be fleeting? Could her happiness endure if it made her parents unhappy? What if her mother was right and Gregori's attraction to her faded away as she grew older? What if he expected her to become a vampire, too?
She shuddered. Kissing Gregori was one thing, but getting involved to the point that he'd want her to become a vampire, too - that was really frightening.
She should stop this now before she fell totally, irreversibly in love. Stop falling in love? A chill prickled the back of her neck.
It might already be too late.
Gregori stood when Abigail entered the Oval Office. His chest tightened, and he fought an urge to pull her into his arms. She was wearing a lab coat as if she'd just come from work, and she had a leather portfolio gripped in one hand.
"Good evening." He kept his face blank.
She glanced at him and nodded. "Gregori." She smiled slightly at her father and the CIA director, Nick Caprese. "I hope I didn't miss anything important."
"We're just getting started." Her father motioned to the couches, then sat in the chair at the head of the coffee table.
Gregori sat to the president's right and set his folder on the coffee table. Abigail took a seat on the couch across from him, next to Caprese. She must be trying to keep a distance from him. Hopefully that only signified she was trying to keep their relationship a secret. He didn't want to consider that she might be having second thoughts.
She laid her portfolio on the couch beside her, then shifted her gaze straight to her father.
"Gregori teleported straight to this office from New York," the president told her. "Very impressive. And he tells me you practiced teleporting with him last night and did extremely well."
She nodded. "Yes."
She was purposely trying not to look at him, Gregori thought. "I was just telling the president and Mr. Caprese about MacKay Security and Investigation."
"And I verified with the British prime minister that they have a good working relationship with Angus MacKay and his employees," Caprese said.
"Excellent." The president turned to Gregori. "So you were about to tell us about a plan you developed with Mr. MacKay?"
"Yes." Gregori opened his folder. "Angus and I selected the members for the team last night. We're calling it the A-Team. A for Abigail."
Her father smiled. "I like it."
Gregori glanced at Abigail. She was focused on his folder, her cheeks slightly flushed.
He picked up the paper on top. "This is a brief bio and photo for the team captain, J.L. Wang. He speaks fluent Mandarin and can blend in among the locals. He's been a vampire for two years. Before that, he was a FBI special agent stationed in Kansas City. For the past year, he's been head of security for the West Coast Coven, headquartered in San Francisco."
"Sounds good." The president scanned J.L.'s profile, then passed it on to Caprese, who glanced at it, then set it on the coffee table.
Abigail slid the paper closer to her so she could see it.
Gregori picked up the next profile. "The second vampire on the team is Russell Ryan Hankelburg. He was a major in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He's an expert in weaponry and survival techniques."
The president looked over his profile. "He was declared MIA in 1971. What happened to him?"
"He was discovered by some MacKay employees a year ago in a cave in northern Thailand," Gregori said. "We believe he was in a coma for thirty-nine years. Angus managed to revive him by transforming him. The minute he heard about this mission, he volunteered. He's eager to serve his country once again."
"Admirable." The president handed the profile to Caprese.
"So not only did he wake up Undead, but he lost thirty-nine years of his life?" Abigail asked. "That must have been traumatic."
Gregori shrugged. "He's a Marine. From what I hear, he adjusted quickly to all his new vampire capabilities."
Caprese scanned his profile, then set it on the table. "These two men appear to be excellent choices. I'll have to vet them, of course."
"Of course. As vampires, we won't be able to do much during the day." Gregori refrained from saying they were actually dead. It was a vulnerability they didn't want the government to know about. "We don't want to leave Abigail unprotected while we sleep, so we're bringing a few day guards."
He lifted the next profile. "This is Howard Barr. He was a defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears."
President Tucker took the paper and frowned. "I can see why you might need some humans, but why not take Josh and Charles?" He motioned to Charles, who stood by the door.
"Or some operatives from the Agency," Caprese offered. "They have experience in this sort of mission."
"Yes, but they're not going to have abilities like our day guards."
Caprese snorted. "I say we go with a few of my men. It'll show that you Vamps are willing to work with us."
Gregori winced. "I'm afraid we have to insist on our own guys."
"Why?" Caprese sat back. "What's so special about them? Do they crap golden eggs?"
"Something like that," Gregori muttered. He and Angus had debated this for an hour. The shifters expected the Vamps to keep their secret. But if Abigail traveled with them, she'd have to know. And if she knew, then her father should know. If he found out after the trip was over, he'd be understandably angry that they had withheld the information.
Gregori leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "The information I'm about to tell you is top secret even in the vampire world. I'd like your word that it never leaves this room."
The president and CIA director exchanged looks, then nodded.
"There is another group of . . . people, supernatural like vampires, but different. They wish to remain secret for obvious reasons. I need your word that you will never attempt to hunt them down or harm them. They have trusted us to keep their secret, and it would be dishonorable for us to betray them in any way."
"You have my word," President Tucker said, then gave Caprese a pointed look. "If you can't keep a secret, leave the room now."
Caprese arched a brow. "I was quiet about vampires for six years. I can keep my mouth shut."
"All right, then." Gregori glanced at Abigail, whose face had turned pale. "Howard is a shifter." When he was met with blank looks, he explained further. "A shape shifter. He changes form at will."
She gasped. "You mean like a werewolf?"
"The majority of shifters are werewolves," Gregori admitted.
Caprese scoffed. "I don't believe it."
Abigail shook her head. "I don't see how it's physically possible."
Gregori gave her a pointed look. "There are a lot of things that can be possible." Like a relationship with me. Her cheeks blushed, so he assumed she'd understood his point. "If you need proof, I could bring Howard here and let him shift. He might rip the sofas in two, but - "
"Wait." The president lifted a hand. "If he turns into a beast, will my daughter be safe?"
"Yes." Gregori nodded. "He has complete control. And even in human form, he has super strength and speed and heightened senses. He can protect Abigail better than any human."
"He's a werewolf?" she asked him.
"Actually, he's a were-bear. A Kodiak bear. Nobody's going to mess with Howard."
She stared at him with a stunned expression.
"The second day guard is Rajiv." Gregori picked up the last profile.
"Do you know Maxim?" Abigail interrupted.
Gregori blinked. "Who?"
"Maxim. He's a werewolf."
The president stiffened. "Abby! You know a werewolf?"
"No! He's the hero in Mom's book . . . but I guess he's not real." Her face flushed. "Sorry. I hardly know what's real anymore."
Gregori refrained from smiling.
The president's face softened as he regarded his daughter. "I understand how you feel, sweetie. We've had a lot thrown at us these last few nights." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Werewolves and were-bears - who would ever believe this?"
"You can add were-tigers to the list." Gregori passed him the last profile.
Abigail gasped. "Tigers?"
Gregori chuckled. "Wolves, tigers, and bears, oh my!"
When the others continued to stare at him with stunned expressions, he cleared his throat and assumed a serious expression. "Rajiv has been working for MacKay S and I for a year. His tribe is from Thailand, but they originated in the Yunnan province. Came down the Mekong River, and then settled in northern Thailand. Apparently the were-tigers like to have a set territory for each tribe, and they ran out of room in Yunnan. The good news is Rajiv has relatives there, and he knows one of their local dialects."
"And he shifts into a tiger?" President Tucker passed the profile to Caprese.
"Yes. He can shift at will." Gregori closed his now-empty folder. "I'll be going, too. And Abigail. So you have the six members the A-Team."
"Why only two day guards?" Caprese asked.
"We'll be teleporting around," Gregori explained. "Three vampires means we can safely transport only three - Abigail plus the two shifters."
Caprese gathered the profiles together in a stack. "I'll let you know if I approve of these . . . men."
Gregori gave him a wry look. "Try to do it within a few hours. The men are already in San Francisco. As soon as the sun sets in Hawaii, they'll teleport there. Then they'll move on to the MacKay office in Tokyo. In twelve hours they could be in the Yunnan province setting things up."
Abigail sat up with an alarmed look. "They're leaving without me?"
"You and I will follow as soon as everything is ready," Gregori said. "The other four will establish bases around the province. Since the terrain is fairly mountainous, they'll be looking for caves or abandoned buildings away from populated areas. They'll set up beacons in these bases that only Vamps and shifters can hear. We use the beacons to know exactly where to teleport. And each base will be stocked with supplies: food, water, synthetic blood, sleeping bags, and so forth. I'm afraid we'll be roughing it."
She nodded. "I was expecting that."
Gregori shifted to face the president. "The plan is this - careful and thorough preparation, everything set up, and then when it's time to take Abigail in, we do a quick strike. Get her in and out as fast as possible. Two or three nights at the most. No one will ever know she was there."
The president smiled. "I like it."
"Laurence," Caprese said, "I hope you realize the ramifications if your daughter is discovered. The Chinese could hold her prisoner, claiming she's a spy."
"I'm counting on the Vamps being able to teleport her out at the first sign of trouble," the president replied.
"What if the Chinese realize she's stolen some of their plants for research?" Caprese asked. "She could be in serious trouble, and your career would be over."
"If I can save my wife, I don't give a damn what people think of me," President Tucker said. "I'm on my second term, so my career's over anyway."
"If I discover something useful with one of the plants," Abigail said, "I'll find a way to synthesize it so we won't have to go back. We should only have to go once."
"Exactly," her father agreed. "What's important right now is managing Abby's trip without putting her in any danger." He turned to Gregori. "I'm counting on you guys for that. Don't let me down."
Gregori nodded. Personally, he didn't know how he could live with himself if something happened to Abigail. And if something bad did happen and the president blamed the Vamps, then they could all be in serious trouble.
He adjusted his tie. "If Abigail can give us some information on the plants, we'll do our best to locate them ahead of time. Then we'll take her in, grab them, and leave."
She removed a short stack of papers from her portfolio. "I have the information here."
"Great." Gregori smiled at her, then turned back to her father. "Our first priority is your daughter's safety. That's why we're trying to minimize the time she'll be in China. But it would be seriously remiss of me if I didn't suggest letting our men take care of the entire mission. With enough information, we should be able to find the plants she wants."
She gasped. "You would go without me?"
Gregori winced inwardly at the shocked and injured look on her face. "I'm sorry, but it's something we should consider."
She pressed a hand to her mouth, then to her chest. "I can't believe this. You know how important this is to me."
Her father gave her a sympathetic look. "He has a valid point, Abby. The best way to protect you is to keep you safe here."
Her eyes glistened with tears. "There's more to life than always being safe." She glanced at the Secret Service man. "Everywhere I go, everything I do, I'm watched so I'll be safe. We've had bodyguards since you first entered Congress. It's been going on for fifteen years!"
"It's all right," the president said gently. "I'm sure they can locate the plants without you."
"No!" She shook her head, and tears tumbled down her cheeks. "Don't tell me I can't do this! I'm always being told what I can't do. You can't wear that. It doesn't look classy enough. You can't have those friends. They're not prestigious enough. Don't frown like that. You can't look unhappy in public. Don't say anything in front of the media. They might print it. I had to go into hiding to get a life!"
Gregori sat back, stunned. He squeezed his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to her. He glanced at her father. President Tucker looked equally stunned.
"Abby," her father whispered. "I - I didn't know . . ."
"Oh God." She wiped her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to . . ." She stuffed her papers back into the portfolio, her hands shaking. "I'm going on the trip. I won't share my information until you agree." She rushed toward the door and stopped in front of Charles. "I want to leave."
The Secret Service man glanced at the president, who nodded, then he opened the door and Abigail ran out.
President Tucker slumped in his chair, rubbing his forehead. "I didn't realize my career was so hard on her. She never complained. Not once."
Gregori shifted on the couch. The CIA director was just sitting there with a blank face. Charles was expressionless as usual. "Sir, I've only known your daughter a few days, but I can tell she loves her family very much. She would do anything for you."
The president nodded with tears in his eyes. "She's so brave. So smart." He leaned forward suddenly and grasped Gregori's shoulder. "Give me your word you won't let anything happen to her."
He gazed into the president's eyes. They were hazel like Abigail's. "You have my word. I'll defend her with my life."
The president watched him closely, then nodded. "Good." He sat back and took a deep breath. "You were right to suggest she stay here. It occurred to me, too. But you can see how strongly she feels."
Gregori nodded. "Yes, sir."
"She's very passionate about this mission. She hopes it will save her mother. I have the same hope, or I would never put her at such risk."
Gregori rose to his feet. "Then it's settled. We'll take her." And God help them if anything happened to her.