Chapter Eight
Abigail blinked her eyes as the world slowly came back into focus. For a fuzzy moment, she wondered why she was lying on the floor. And why was there so much shouting? Her father and Madison were kneeling beside her and watching her closely.
"She's fine, Dad," Madison yelled over the noise. "She just fainted."
Fainted? She never fainted.
Dad touched her cheek and smiled. "That's my girl."
When he stood, Abigail's gaze lifted and she gasped. Good Lord, now she remembered what had caused her to faint. Gregori Holstein was floating on the ceiling! And three Secret Service agents were bouncing on the sofas trying to grab hold of him. "What - ?"
Madison squeezed her arm. "You were right, Abby! He's a vampire!"
"What?" She blinked, and he was still there, watching her with a worried look. Good Lord, this was real. This was horrible! "No!" She scooted back on the floor.
A grimace of pain flashed across his face.
Her breath caught. Had she hurt his feelings?
He turned away from her and slowly floated down to the floor.
"Arrest him!" the CIA director shouted, and two Secret Service agents seized his arms.
Abigail scrambled to her feet. "Don't hurt him!"
His gaze snapped back to her.
Her heart lurched. Out of all the noise in the room, he'd heard her voice. She pressed a hand against her pounding heart, terrified he was a monster and equally terrified he would be hurt.
"Everyone, quiet!" Dad shouted, and the room grew silent. "Now let's sit down and discuss this calmly." He motioned to the Secret Service men. "You can let him go."
"Laurence, no!" Mr. Caprese gritted his teeth. "Mr. President, he threatened to kill the general."
Abigail gasped.
"Oh my God," Madison whispered.
Mr. Holstein cursed under his breath. The Secret Service men continued to hold him.
"He must be arrested and detained," Caprese continued.
"I seriously doubt we can detain him," the president replied. "Am I right, Mr. Holstein?"
"Yes, sir. I could vanish from here or any holding cell, and you would never find me." His gaze shifted to Abigail. "You would never see me again."
That should be a good thing, she thought, considering he was a vampire and he'd threatened to kill one of her father's advisors. So why did the notion of never seeing him again give her a strange sensation of loss?
She looked away, her heart racing. It was baffling. Part of her feared him. He was some sort of unnatural creature. But another part of her found him oddly attractive. It had to be scientific curiosity. He presented an intriguing subject for study. Right. And his handsome face has nothing to do with it. She winced, directing a spurt of anger at herself for finding a dangerous creature like him attractive.
She turned back to him, her fists clenched. "Is it true? Did you threaten to kill the general?"
His eyes flashed with anger. "Do you believe I'm capable of killing in cold blood?"
"I have no idea what you are capable of."
He stared at her a moment, then inclined his head. "You are correct. Trust has to be earned."
Her mouth dropped open. That was not the response she had expected. "Why - why did you threaten him?"
"I said I'd kill him if he were a Malcontent, but he isn't one, so there was no threat. I was merely giving a demonstration. Like this." He vanished, leaving the Secret Service men grasping at air. He reappeared, standing behind her father's desk.
Abigail gasped. He could actually teleport!
"Awesome," Madison whispered.
Mr. Holstein spread his hands. "I have no intention of harming anyone."
Could that be true? Abigail wondered. Could there be such a thing as a harmless vampire? It sounded like an oxymoron.
"You can believe Mr. Holstein," the stocky man who had arrived with him said. "Even though the Vamps have a number of impressive powers, they are basically safe and harmless."
"Stow it, Whelan," Mr. Caprese muttered. "That's not what you told me when you started the Stake-Out team. You said the Undead were dangerous, and this one has just proven it."
Mr. Holstein folded his arms over his chest. "If I was truly dangerous, none of you would be alive to talk about it. But as Mr. Whelan has discovered over the last few years, we are harmless. We're morally opposed to causing any injury to humans."
"Of course." The general sneered at him. "You wouldn't want to diminish your food source."
Mr. Holstein glared at him. "We're not inhuman monsters. We all started our lives as humans. We had human parents and a human childhood. Many of the older Vamps have descendants. Younger Vamps like me still have family. How could I view a human as food when my own mother is still alive?"
He was a young vampire? Abigail wondered what had caused him to become Undead. What exactly did it mean to be Undead? Gregori Holstein was moving about, thinking, talking. Didn't these things require an active circulatory system? Her mind raced with one question after another. So many unknowns, but one thing was for certain. Mr. Holstein was fascinating.
She winced inwardly. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted by this man, no matter how mysterious and handsome he was. She had to hold firm to her mission. All her years of study and hard work had been aimed at one goal: discovering a cure for her mother. She had no time for studying this . . . vampire, no matter how fascinating he was.
"Mr. Holstein makes an excellent point," her dad said. "He's still basically human. I think we can trust him."
The Homeland Security director, Mr. Schiller, snorted. "Are you kidding? He has powers we can't hope to compete with."
"But we don't use them to harm mortals," Mr. Holstein insisted.
"What other powers do you have?" the national security advisor asked.
Mr. Holstein shrugged and skirted the desk. "You've witnessed most of them. Levitation, teleportation, super speed and strength."
"And heightened senses," Abigail murmured softly.
He looked at her, and that shot her heart rate into warp drive. The corner of his mouth lifted.
Blast him. He could hear it.
"Any other powers?" her dad asked.
His smile widened. "I'm an excellent dancer."
Dad chuckled, but her breath caught in her chest. He was deflecting. She knew it. He had more powers. Powers he didn't want them to know about. For one thing, she was ninety-nine percent certain that he had caused Madison's dog to fall asleep. If he could do that to an animal, he could probably do it to humans. What other tricks could he play on the human mind?
A chill skittered down her arms, giving her goose bumps. Mr. Holstein could be far more dangerous than her father realized. She needed to warn him, but she didn't want to make accusations she couldn't prove.
"Dad?" She sidled up close to him. "Can I have a word with you in private?"
He turned to her, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "You're thinking the same thing I am, aren't you?" He squeezed her shoulder. "That research trip you wanted to take? I think it's possible now."
She gasped. Good Lord, that hadn't occurred to her. She'd proposed that trip two weeks ago.
"I hated having to turn you down," her dad whispered. "But this changes everything. And the fact that it happened now, just when we need it, it makes me believe this was meant to be."
Her heart squeezed in her chest. She couldn't blame her father for believing that fate had somehow stepped in to help him keep his beloved wife alive. But could fate take the form of vampires?
She glanced at Mr. Holstein. He was watching them curiously, and no doubt he could hear every word. "Dad, we need to talk about this. Alone."
"It'll be fine. Trust me." He patted her shoulder, then turned to his advisors. "My decision is made. We will proceed with the alliance. These Vamps possess special abilities that will come in handy." He glanced back at Abigail and winked.
She gulped. Dad might be jumping into this alliance out of desperation to save Mom. Such an alliance shouldn't be based on emotional reasons, but she couldn't help but share his surge of hope. Mr. Holstein's ability to teleport meant he could get her into China without the Chinese government even knowing about it. She might find the plants that had the most potential of saving her mother.
But what if Mr. Holstein had dangerous psychic powers? How could she possibly trust him? On the other hand, how could she pass up an opportunity to help her mother?
"Alan." Her dad turned to the director of Homeland Security. "I'm putting you in charge of making that video disappear and proving to the public that vampires are nothing more than fantasy. Get started immediately."
Alan Schiller nodded with a resigned look. "Yes, Mr. President." He strode from the room.
"Thank you," Mr. Holstein told her father. "We'll be happy to assist you with any problems that might arise." He glanced at Abigail and lifted his eyebrows with a questioning look.
She turned away, her cheeks growing warm. Would Dad actually do it? Would he ask a vampire to take her on her research trip?
"I have something personal I'd like to discuss with Mr. Holstein," her father said. "General, George, Frank, thank you for coming."
General Bond shot Mr. Holstein a disgusted look, then marched from the office, followed by the secretary of defense and the national security advisor.
"Mr. President?" Josh asked. "I'll escort your daughters back to the residence floor now."
"You can take Madison, but I'd like Abigail to stay."
She swallowed hard. Yes, Dad was going to do it.
"But that's not fair!" Madison latched on to Abigail's arm. "If Abby gets to stay, then so do I."
Dad lowered his voice. "Sweetie, we have business to discuss with Mr. Holstein."
"I can do that! I'm a vampire expert!"
Dad's mouth twitched. "I doubt you could know more than the vampire himself."
"Oh." She tucked her chin down. "I suppose that's true."
"If the young ladies wish to remain, I would be honored to have their company." Mr. Holstein gave them a dazzling smile.
Abigail's pulse jumped. Did he know the power of that smile? It was every bit as striking as his phenomenal hearing. The man who had accompanied him, Mr. Whelan, nudged him with an elbow and gave him a warning look that he seemed to find amusing.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Holstein!" Madison grinned and extended a hand. "I'm so excited to meet you. I have long been an admirer of your . . . species."
He shook her hand. "Please, call me Gregori."
She giggled. "I love your name! It's so vampirish. Don't you think so, Abby?"
"I suppose." She avoided eye contact with him, but still saw his hand reach out to her.
"Abby?" he asked softly.
She swallowed hard. Why did his voice have to be so deep and sexy? "Gori." She clasped his hand, intending to give it one quick shake and release, but he held tight until she lifted her gaze to meet his.
A small frisson of energy shot through her, giving her a shock. Where had that come from? His eyes? His hand? Or both? She pulled her hand from his grip, jerking back hard enough that she lost her balance and fell onto her rump on the couch.
"Yes, let's all have a seat." Her dad sat in his chair at the head of the coffee table, apparently unaware that anything odd had happened.
The CIA director and Mr. Whelan sat on the other couch. Josh and the three Secret Service agents remained standing.
Had she imagined that little jolt? No, her right palm still tingled with residual electricity. Abigail clenched her hands together. Maybe it was just her. She ventured a glance at Gregori.
He was regarding her with a puzzled look.
"Gregori." Her dad cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I call you Gregori?"
"No, that would be fine." He sat in the chair at the end of the coffee table.
Madison set her dog bag on the coffee table next to the ice bucket, then sat next to Abigail. "I'm so sorry, Gregori, that I didn't recognize you right away. I was expecting you to fly in as a bat."
He nodded with a hint of a smile. "We try to be inconspicuous."
Abigail snorted. As if Gregori Holstein could ever be inconspicuous.
He glanced at her, and his eyes darkened to an intense green.
Her heart went back into warp drive. Dammit, he could probably hear that.
Abigail's dad leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees, as he studied Gregori. "Now that we're helping you with your problem, I'm sure you realize that we expect something in return."
Gregori shifted in his chair as he unbuttoned his suit coat. "What do you have in mind?"
Mr. Caprese cleared his throat. "Your ability to teleport makes you an excellent candidate for covert operations."
Gregori nodded. "We can do covert. We've been covert for centuries." He leaned forward, his expression earnest. "But you must understand that our commitment to not harm mortals remains firm. We will not torture or assassinate for you."
Mr. Caprese huffed. "What makes you think we do that sort of thing?"
Gregori arched a brow, then pulled a bottle from the ice bucket.
Madison nudged Abigail and whispered, "Look! He's going to drink blood!"
"He can hear you," Abigail muttered.
He glanced at her, lifted the bottle in salute, then took a sip.
Yeech. She suppressed a shudder.
His eyes twinkled with humor as he licked his lips.
She looked away, her cheeks warm. The rascal was purposely trying to unnerve her. And succeeding.
"We won't ask you to do something you find morally offensive," her dad said.
The CIA director raised a hand in objection. "They were caught decapitating someone on video. I don't buy the morally superior act."
"That was a battle against the Malcontents." Gregori took another sip of blood. "Our warriors kill in self-defense like any good soldiers."
"So if you were attacked while on a mission," Mr. Caprese said, "we could expect you to kill in order to defend yourselves?"
Gregori frowned. "If necessary, yes. But it is rarely necessary when we can simply teleport away."
Mr. Caprese smirked. "Is that your usual reaction to danger? Run away and hide? I suppose that's how you've managed to exist in secret for so many centuries."
Abigail sucked in a breath. Gregori looked pissed. His eyes had narrowed and turned a more brilliant, luminescent green.
His voice was deadly soft. "Vamps have been risking their lives in battle against the Malcontents for centuries in order to protect mortals. You will not question their bravery."
"Of course not," her dad agreed.
Abigail watched Gregori, fascinated by the changes in his eyes. He seemed to be calming down now, and his eyes were returning to their normal shade of grayish-green. Still, while he'd been upset, the intensity in the room had felt electric and exciting.
He definitely didn't like being considered cowardly. She wondered what other hot buttons he had. What would happen if he completely lost control? Was there a bloodsucking monster inside him just waiting to burst free?
"Who are the Malcontents?" she asked.
"They are the true enemy," Mr. Whelan explained. "Evil vampires who believe they have the right to feed off mortals and kill them. Mortals would be defenseless against them in battle. But the Vamps have the same powers as the Malcontents, so they're our best bet at defeating them. We need the Vamps on our side."
"Then on behalf of our country, I would like to thank you for protecting us," the president said.
Gregori inclined his head. "You're welcome."
Strange, Abigail thought. Mr. Whelan made the Vamps sound like heroes. Protectors of the Universe with their black vampire capes and super powers. Come to think of it, she wouldn't mind seeing Gregori in a spandex costume.
"I'd like to hear more about teleportation," her dad continued. "How far can you travel?"
She sat up, anxious to hear his answer.
"I can go anywhere in the world," Gregori replied. "But it has to be nighttime wherever I'm going."
Abigail's dad exchanged a look with her, then turned back to Gregori. "Can you take someone with you when you teleport?"
Gregori nodded. "One person. Some of the older Vamps can manage two, but we usually stick with just one to be safe."
Abigail's heart raced even faster.
Gregori leaned forward. "What sort of project do you have in mind?"
"Nothing violent." Her dad waved a dismissive hand. "It would be more of a . . . humanitarian mission."
"Mr. President," the CIA director whispered. "We need to discuss this first."
He nodded. "We will. I just wanted to gather some facts beforehand." He turned to Abigail and lowered his voice. "What do you think? Would you be comfortable traveling and working with him and his kind?"
Her heart pounded in her ears. "It's hard to say." She cast a nervous glance toward Gregori. "I hardly know him."
"Then you need to get better acquainted." Her dad turned back to Gregori. "Would you mind spending some time with my daughter? Tomorrow night? Perhaps you could introduce her to your world and some of your associates."
His eyes widened. "If you wish. Yes, sir."
Abigail gulped. Did her father just set her up on a date with a vampire?
"I want to come!" Madison bounced on the couch with excitement. "Please, Daddy. I want to see the vampire world!"
"Yes." Abigail grabbed her sister's arm. "I'd like Madison to come, too." Anything to keep me from being alone with Gregori Holstein.
"Oh, thank you, Abby!" Madison hugged her. "It's going to be so much fun!" She turned to Gregori. "Where will you take us?"
"I - " He adjusted his tie and glanced at Mr. Whelan, who had just cursed under his breath. "Somewhere . . . public. I don't know any vampire places in D.C. There's a new vampire nightclub in Manhattan that's very popular right now."
"A vampire nightclub!" Madison clasped her hands together over her chest. "That sounds so exciting!"
Their dad frowned. "What goes on at this club? Is it a safe place for my daughters?"
"Completely safe. All the Vamps there will be drinking from bottles," Gregori explained. "They just go there to talk and dance."
"Then I guess it would be all right." Dad motioned to two of the Secret Service men. "Josh and Charles will provide transportation. They'll need to be with you at all times, and they'll report directly to me every five minutes. The girls will arrive in Manhattan tomorrow. We'll let you know where they're staying."
"Dad." Abigail touched his sleeve. "I have to go to work tomorrow."
"They can give you a few days off." He squeezed her hand. "This is important. We have to know if you can get along with this vampire and his friends." He glanced at Gregori. "And I need to know if I can trust you with my daughter."
Gregori nodded. "I will guard her with my life."
"Me too!" Madison clapped her hands merrily.
Their dad stood and gave Gregori a stern look. "I will hold you to that promise. My daughters are to stay safe and protected. If anything happens to them, if they come home just feeling unhappy, then our deal is off, and you and your vampire friends are on your own."
"I understand." Gregori stood and turned stiffly toward Abigail and Madison. "I will see you tomorrow evening at nine in New York."
Madison jumped to her feet. "Thank you!"
He nodded at her, then gave Abigail a questioning look.
Her cheeks blazed with heat. A date with a vampire? Her whole world had suddenly turned topsy-turvy.
Her dad gestured to one of the Secret Service men. "Charles will drive you back now."
"Thank you, but no. It's not necessary." Gregori took hold of Mr. Whelan's arm and glanced at the dog bag on the coffee table.
Dolly opened her eyes and sat up.
Abigail stiffened and stared at Gregori. "You - "
"We can talk tomorrow," he interrupted.
Before she could respond, he vanished, taking Mr. Whelan with him.