CHAPTER 23
Robby swooped Olivia up in his arms. A surge of guilt shot through him. He should have told her the truth weeks ago. But was there ever a good time to tell someone you were a bloodsucker? The poor lass had run away in horror, and now she was in a dead faint.
"Wait a minute." J.L. regarded him suspiciously. "Why was she talking about vampires?"
"She just met one." Robby caught the scent of the tall man beside J.L. "Ye're a shifter?"
The man stiffened. "You know about shifters?"
"Aye. Are ye a wolf?"
"Wolfhound. I'm Patrick O'Shea Barker. FBI."
"Och. Ye're Olivia's supervisor. She's mentioned you before. In a favorable way, of course. I'm Robby MacKay of MacKay Security and Investigation. We have a few shifters in our employ."
"Really? That's interesting."
"Stop!" J.L. held up his hands. "Rewind. I don't think we sufficiently covered the vampire thing. Are you freaking telling me vampires are real?"
"Aye." Robby held Olivia close and strode along the corn row, headed toward the farmhouses.
"Where are you going with her?" J.L. followed closely behind.
Robby sighed. She probably didn't want to see him when she awoke. "Do ye have a safe place to take her?"
"We have rooms at the motel in town," Barker said.
"Good." Robby reached the backyard. The two FBI men flanked him and watched him warily.
"Aren't you one of the guys who materialized here?" J.L. asked. "How the hell did you do that?"
Robby winced. They hadn't realized they'd had an audience. He started down a worn path between the two farmhouses. "Does the car in the driveway belong to one of you?"
"It's mine," J.L. said. "Harrison and the sheriff left."
"What?" Barker gave J.L. an incredulous look. "Harrison left? Why did he do that?"
"Beats me." J.L. glared at Robby. "They met some guys in kilts, and the next thing we know, they're driving off."
Robby sighed inwardly. That would have been Connor and Angus. They'd been the first to arrive. They'd called the local sheriff's office and teleported there. Then, using vampire mind control, they'd persuaded the operator to call the sheriff's car radio. They'd erased memories and teleported to the sheriff's car, using the radio as a beacon.
"Yer companions were told to leave," Robby admitted.
"Why would Harrison do what some strangers told him to do?" Barker asked. "I'm his boss, and he doesn't obey me half the time."
"Vampire mind control." Robby spotted his colleagues gathered by the road. Their number had dwindled. Some must have teleported away.
Barker motioned toward them. "Those guys over there are vampires?"
"Aye, but doona worry. They willna harm you."
"Whoa." J.L. halted with a jerk. "Then you're a vampire, too?"
Robby groaned inwardly. "Aye." Olivia stirred in his arms, so he hurried toward the car.
Barker kept up with him. "You bite people?"
"Nay. I drink synthetic blood."
"And you materialized here?" J.L. asked.
"We teleported."
"What other powers do you have?" Barker asked.
"Superstrength and - speed, superhearing and - vision, a prolonged life, levitation, mind control."
"Cool," J.L. whispered.
"Nay." Robby stopped beside the car. "'Tis no' cool when it is used for evil. The Malcontents used mind control to render those puir mortals helpless. They died in terror, unable to defend themselves."
"Who are the Malcontents?" Barker asked.
Robby launched into a quick explanation of the Malcontents, Vamps, and the CIA Stake-Out Team. He stopped when Olivia moaned. "Hurry, open the door. The keys are on the ground there."
J.L. picked up the keys while Barker opened the back door. Robby deposited Olivia on the backseat.
"So basically you're the good vampires, and the Malcontents are the evil ones?" Barker asked.
"Aye." Robby shut the back door.
"What's the deal with the skirts?" J.L. asked. "I thought you guys were more into capes."
Robby gave him an annoyed look, then noticed Olivia was waking up. "I'll need you to keep this a secret. 'Tis imperative that the mortal world no' know."
J.L. snorted. "Like anyone would believe this." He climbed into the driver's seat.
"You can trust us." Barker circled to the other side of the car. "I don't want my secret to come out, either." He folded his long frame into the front passenger seat.
J.L. started the engine, and Robby stepped back. Olivia sat up in the backseat and looked around with a dazed expression. She spotted him, and her eyes widened with horror.
His heart twisted in his chest.
The car backed down the driveway. As it turned onto the road, Olivia peered out the window at him.
He raised a hand. Was this good-bye? Would she ever agree to see him again? She had to. He couldn't let her go without a fight.
The car sped off, and he was left looking at a cloud of dust.
"Are ye all right, lad?" Angus walked up to him.
He swallowed hard. "I may have lost her."
"She could still come around." Angus patted him on the back. "Give her some time."
"What did I miss?" Robby changed the subject. It hurt too much to dwell on the horrified look on Olivia's face. And he knew he'd missed some of the strategy meeting while he'd chased after her.
"Casimir is clearly moving south, but we doona know his final destination. Phineas teleported to New Orleans to warn them, in case Casimir is headed there. Dougal went to Jean-Luc's home in Texas to warn him."
Robby nodded. "Maggie and Pierce live in Texas, too. We should warn them. And we should tighten security at the Romatech in Texas." Casimir had blown it up last summer, but production had started again.
"We're going to spend the rest of tonight checking all the storm cellars in the vicinity." Angus sighed. "'Tis a waste of time, most likely. They could be far away by now."
Robby glanced at the farmhouses. "And the people who died? Is Whelan going to take care of the cover story?"
"Aye." Angus chuckled. "He's threatening to have you arrested for assault."
"Let him try, the bastard." After Olivia had run off into the cornfield, Robby had walked up to the smirking Whelan and punched his face.
His friends had applauded.
"He'll get his comeuppance," Angus said. "One of these days he'll find out his grandchildren are half Vamp."
Robby smiled. He didn't know how Roman could stand having Sean Whelan for a father-in-law. His smile faded. He could end up with some angry in-laws, too, if Olivia ever agreed to marry him.
Olivia took a shower, but it didn't wash away the shock. She took two aspirin, but it didn't take away the pain. She lounged on the lumpy bed in the motel room in her pajamas, staring into space. The television was on with the volume turned down low. The old familiar sitcom helped her believe the world was still normal. Even though it wasn't.
Vampires. The word repeated over and over in her mind. Vampires were real. And Robby was one of them.
She recalled how much attention he'd given to her neck when they'd made love. Two giant red hickeys below each ear. But he hadn't broken the skin. Instead, he'd bitten her decorative pillow. She shuddered, remembering the twin punctures. Robby had fangs.
He was never available during the day. Robby was dead. Or Undead. It was all rather confusing.
She'd caught him drinking something in the villa on Patmos. She'd thought it was a glass of wine, but now she knew better. It must have been blood.
She groaned. She didn't want to think about vampires anymore. She grabbed the remote control to access the movie channel on the television. Tonight's feature was...a vampire movie. Great. She flipped the channel to HBO. A vampire series was showing. She switched to the History Channel. A documentary on the history of...vampires.
"Dammit!" She turned the television off and sprawled across the bed. It was a conspiracy.
A knock sounded at her door, and she sat up with a jerk. Please don't be Robby. She couldn't handle that yet.
"Liv, it's me!" J.L. yelled. "I've got pizza!"
Like she really wanted food after an evening of dead bodies and shocking revelations. But she didn't want to be alone. "Just a minute." She checked her long flannel pajama bottoms and baggy sweatshirt and decided she was decent enough. She opened the door.
"How's it going?" J.L. strode inside, his arms loaded down with a pizza box and a plastic bag of food. He set it all on the table by the window. "Come on, let's party."
She shut the door and locked it. "What's there to party about?"
He reached inside the bag, grabbed a diet cola and passed it to her. "We're still alive. That's something."
She unscrewed the top off the bottle. "I suppose."
"Yeah. Could be worse." He opened a cola and drank a few gulps. "We could be dead."
"Or Undead," she muttered, and sat in one of the two chairs that flanked the table.
"And guess what?" J.L. opened the pizza box. "Harrison drove all the way back to Kansas City, so we don't have to share our food with him. Isn't that a lucky break?"
"What's he doing in Kansas City?"
J.L. selected a pizza slice, then sat in the other chair to eat. "Barker called him at his home, and he doesn't even remember coming here. He knows nothing about this assignment. Isn't that weird?"
Olivia sipped from her bottle. "How did that happen?"
"The vampires zapped him with some mind control." J.L. took a big bite of pizza.
She frowned, recalling how frustrating it had felt when Whelan had controlled her mind. "What about the guy from the CIA? He tried to control my mind and make me leave."
J.L. nodded with his mouth full. "The CIA guys are members of the Stake-Out team. Robby told us about them. They have psychic power so they can resist vampire mind control."
"When did Robby tell you that?"
"While we were walking to the car." J.L. took another bite. "You were unconscious at the time. Robby was carrying you."
She winced. She couldn't believe she'd fainted like that. She never fainted. But then she didn't usually spend her evenings surrounded by dead bodies while she discovered her boyfriend was a vampire and her boss was a dog.
She took another drink. "Where is Barker?"
"He's in his room. He didn't think you were up to seeing him just yet."
She sighed. "It's so strange. I had no idea. I mean his name is a major clue, but people can be named Wood without it meaning they can shift into a two by four."
"Yeah." J.L. stuffed more pizza in his mouth. "But it does explain a few things."
"Like what? His special fondness for fire hydrants?"
J.L. snickered. "No. I mean he never questioned your abilities. When the other guys in the office thought you were crazy or a sham, he believed in you. In fact, he requested you."
"Really? I never knew that."
J.L. nodded. "He already knew weird-assed crap was for real."
She plucked an olive off the pizza and popped it in her mouth. "You believed me from the beginning."
"Well, sure, but I'm a really smart guy."
She smiled. "Yes, you are."
Her cell phone rang and she flinched. Was it Robby? She stared at the phone. She'd left it on the bedside table between the two double beds.
J.L. rose to his feet. "You want me to get that?"
"Not really." The phone rang again.
"What if it's Robby?" J.L. walked over to her phone.
"I don't want to talk to him."
"Because he's a vampire?"
"Yes."
"Oh, come on, Liv. Nobody's perfect."
"I'm not expecting perfection. I just think a heartbeat would be nice." The phone rang again.
J.L. frowned at her. "It really could be worse, you know. He could be like a...zombie who eats your brains."
She grimaced. "That's not helping."
J.L. opened her phone. "Hello? Oh, hi, Robby." He gave Olivia a pointed look. "So what's up? Are you out biting people?"
There was a pause, then J.L. covered the phone. "He says he drinks synthetic blood from a bottle, the kind they make at Romatech."
Romatech. She snorted. That would be a favorite place for vampires to hang out.
"Okay," J.L. said into the phone, then looked at her. "He says he wants to talk to you."
She shook her head. "I don't want to talk to him. Not yet. Maybe after a few days. Or weeks."
J.L. sighed. "Sorry, dude. She's not ready to talk to you yet."
Robby suddenly appeared in the room. "She'll get over it."
Olivia jumped and spilled diet cola down her sweatshirt. "Damn!"
"Whoa!" J.L. snapped the phone shut. "Dude, what a way to make an entrance."
Olivia set her bottle on the table. "I'm not ready for this. I assume you can leave the same way you came in?"
Robby frowned at her. "We need to talk."
J.L. put her phone back on the bedside table. "I guess I should leave you two alone."
"No!" Olivia jumped to her feet. "Don't leave me."
Robby stiffened. "Do ye think I would harm you, lass? Have ye forgotten how much I love you?"
"I remember." She crossed her arms over her damp shirt. "I also remember talking to you for months, and you never told me the truth about yourself."
"I was going to tell you tomorrow night."
"That's a little late, don't you think? You should have told me before taking me to bed!"
He stepped toward her. "I hesitated, remember? Ye thought it was because I dinna want you, but it was because I knew ye deserved the truth first. But ye wouldna wait! Ye forced my hand."
She snorted. "I forced you to have sex with me?"
"I'm seriously outta here." J.L. grabbed the pizza box. "You don't mind if I take this, right? Barker wanted a few slices, and I'm guessing you're not into it."
"Ye can take it," Robby muttered.
J.L. glanced at Olivia. "If you need me, call."
"Fine." She plopped down in her chair and scowled at the worn carpet.
The door shut, and she was alone with Robby. Anger simmered deep inside her, along with hurt.
He sat on the bed across from her. "I realize ye're in shock."
"I think I'm over the shock and denial stage."
"That's good."
She glared at him. "And I'm rapidly moving into the royally pissed stage."
He winced. "How long does that one last?"
"As long as I want it to." She stood and paced across the room. "You should have told me. You know how much I value honesty. You should have been honest with me from the beginning."
He turned in his sitting position to face her. "Be honest with yerself, Olivia. If I had told you the truth up front, ye would have refused to see me again."
"We talked for months and you never told me. You purposely deceived me."
"I fell in love with you. That was no' a deception."
She didn't want to talk about love. It had happened so quickly on Patmos, as if it were magical. She'd thought she was falling for the perfect man, but now she realized she didn't even know him. "Who - what are you exactly? Are you dead or alive or something in between?"
"I'm alive right now. My heart is pumping blood. My mind is thinking how beautiful ye are. My eyes have noticed ye're no' wearing a bra."
She crossed her arms and winced at the feel of her damp, sticky sweatshirt. "And during the day, when you never call or e-mail, are you sleeping or unconscious?"
"I'm dead."
She gave him a dubious look. "Seriously...dead?"
"Aye." He nodded slowly. "'Tis a major drawback to my condition."
"I should say so."
"When I doona respond to yer messages during the day, 'tis no' because I'm being rude or neglecting you."
"Right. You're not emotionally unavailable. You're just dead." She rubbed her brow. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
He frowned. "'Tis no' all bad, being a vampire. We have some excellent perks. A prolonged life - "
"How old are you?" she interrupted.
"I was born in 1719."
Her knees buckled and she sat on the other bed. He was almost three hundred years old. He didn't age. And she did. This was terrible. "What other...perks?"
"I have superior strength and speed. Heightened senses. I can levitate, teleport, or use mind control."
She stiffened as her anger flared back to life. "Some of your friends used mind control to make Harrison and the sheriff leave."
"Aye."
"Harrison drove all the way home, and he has no memory of ever coming here."
Robby nodded. "We can erase memories if we need to."
Her anger escalated to a boil. "So you manipulate us mere mortals whenever you feel like it?"
His jaw shifted. "We doona do it unless we have a good reason."
Like making sure a woman fell in love really fast?
She jumped to her feet, glaring at him. "Did you ever use mind control on me?"
His mouth thinned. "Aye."
She cried out with rage. "You bastard!"
He stood. "Let me explain."
"No! I knew I fell for you too fast. You - you were making me - "
"Nay! I only controlled you once. Ye were in the sea and freezing to death. I told you to sleep so ye wouldna see me teleport you to the patio - "
"You teleported me?"
"Aye. So I could put you in the hot tub. I was trying to save you."
And she'd been so grateful, so impressed, so ready to fall completely in love. But what if he'd manipulated the whole thing? "Did you arrange it all? Did you know about the panther?"
"I dinna know Carlos was planning to frighten you."
"Carlos?"
Robby winced. "Carlos Panterra. He's a shifter."
She stumbled back a step. "Carlos was the...?"
"Panther, aye."
"He's a cat?" And her boss was a dog. She shook her head. Was her next door neighbor a goldfish? "He scared the hell out of me. Why?"
"He was playing matchmaker. He thought if I rescued you - "
"What?" Her anger exploded again. "I was never in any danger? I thought you'd save my life. You tricked me!"
"I did save you. Ye were freezing to death."
She paced away, her hands clenched. Was nothing the way she'd thought it was? She whirled around to face him. "Was any of it real? Can you swear that you never manipulated my thoughts or feelings?"
"Never. I wouldna want yer love if it was false. Yer feelings were yer own. And they have always been real."
Tears gathered in her eyes. "What would you know about my feelings? I've gone through hell and back because of my feelings for you!"
His eyes glimmered with pain. "I have, too. I love you, Olivia. I have always loved you."
She covered her mouth to keep a sob from escaping. Damn him. She walked away, headed for the vanity area of the motel room. She spotted herself in the mirror, her eyes glistening with tears and her mouth twisted in pain.
She jerked to a stop. Robby wasn't there. She spun around. He was there. She glanced back at the mirror. He had no reflection. He wasn't a real person.
She doubled over as pain stabbed her gut. She'd fallen in love with an illusion. She could never have a real life with Robby. All her dreams of a future with him were gone.
"Olivia, sweetheart." He took hold of her shoulders.
"No." She pulled away as tears streamed down her face. "I wanted it to be real. I wanted to love you forever."
"Ye can. Sweetheart, we can work this out."
She collapsed on a bed and covered her face.
The bed shifted as he sat beside her. "We'll be all right, Olivia."
She sniffed. "I'm not angry anymore."
"Then ye've accepted me?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm...in mourning. I've lost the future I thought we would have together."
He sighed. "If I could be a normal man for you, I would."
She sat up and pulled at her sticky sweatshirt. "I can't sleep in this. And I didn't pack another shirt."
"No' a problem." He vanished.
She started. "Damn." She looked around the room. He was really gone.
And she was really in love with a vampire. How could this ever work out? A few minutes later he reappeared with something clutched in his hand.
"You went to my apartment?"
"Aye. I brought you something to wear." He handed it to her.
It was the nightgown she'd put on that he'd promptly removed the night he'd taken her virginity. Her eyes misted with tears. What was she going to do? It hurt too much to just reject him. She needed to learn more about him.
She took a deep breath. "Tell me everything."
He told her about his job, and how he and his friends were battling the evil Malcontents. A vampire named Casimir was their leader, and he was the one who had tortured Robby.
"Casimir murdered the people at the farmhouses?" she asked.
"Aye. He and his minions."
"How many...minions does he have?"
"Just a handful, we believe. He needs to replenish his army. He'll either find more vampires or make them."
She grimaced. "Why didn't he change the people at the farmhouses into vampires?"
"They were probably good people. Good people turn into good vampires."
"Like...you?"
Robby nodded. "Death doesna change a person's nature."
She thought about that a moment, then inhaled sharply. "The children! Oh my gosh, with everything that's happened, I forgot."
"What children?"
"There were children living in those farmhouses, and they've disappeared."
Robby grew pale. "Bloody hell. Casimir must have taken them."
"Why? Why would he take innocent children?"
"They're lighter and easier to teleport with. They're an easy food source."
Olivia gasped in horror. "They're snack food?"
Robby stood. "I need to go."
She rose to her feet, too. "Can you find them?"
"We'll do our best." He touched her cheek.
She stepped back. "Don't. Please. I've had a lot thrown at me in one night. I'm not sure I can handle this."
He gave her a wry look. "Ye'll get over it."
"How can you be so sure?" Her heart felt so heavy, so burdened with pain.
"Because ye love me." He vanished.