Chris opened his mouth.
Dana held up a hand to silence him and arched a brow at Seth in challenge. “Care to test me again?”
He nodded. “Turn your back, please.”
Dana gave them her back.
The scuffling of shoes filled the air, followed by silence.
Chris nodded to Dana. “Okay, you can turn around.”
Dana swiveled around and faced them. Pursing her lips, she tilted her head to one side, then the other.
None of the men’s eyes glowed. And the four of them really did look identical.
Walking up to the Aidan on the far right, she studied him closely. “You suck at dating,” she announced, deadpan.
He grinned, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement. “Yes, I do.”
She moved on to the next one. “You suck at dating.”
Aidan Number Two grinned, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement. “Yes, I do.”
She could identify no difference between them.
It was very unsettling.
Dana said the same to the next Aidan and the last, both of whom imitated the other Aidans’ responses.
She moved closer to the last and rested her hand on his shoulder. Then, without warning, she rammed her knee up into his groin.
Groaning, the man’s eyes flashed golden as he slammed his knees together and folded over.
Stepping back, she smiled. “One down. Three to go.”
The Aidan beside him burst into guffaws as he shifted into Zach’s form.
The Aidan beside him shifted into Seth.
The Aidan on the end—her Aidan—remained unchanged as he laughed in delight.
Dismay filled Dana as she turned to the Aidan who groaned as he shifted into the form of a tall man with no shirt and… wings? “Oh! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She looked at Seth with a wince. “I hate to admit this, but I was kind of hoping that was you.”
Far from being offended, Seth laughed. “Had it been me, I would’ve deserved it. I hope you will forgive me for kissing you.”
Relieved, she sent him a wry smile. “Since it tipped me off to your eyes, you’re forgiven.”
Seth brows flew up. “My eyes?”
She nodded. “When I kissed you, Aidan’s eyes flared bright amber. Yours”—she looked at Zach and the recovering man—“all glowed golden.”
Frowning, Seth looked at Ethan and the others.
They nodded.
“Hmm.” The Immortal Guardians’ leader closed his eyes.
Still grinning, Aidan crossed to Dana and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Rising onto her toes, she kissed him. Thoroughly. Then lowered her heels to the floor and gave him a grin. “Just making sure you’re you.”
He laughed.
Seth opened his eyes. “What about now?”
Aidan shook his head. “Still golden.”
All three of the elder immortals then tried to alter the color their eyes glowed. Multiple times. None succeeded.
“That’s interesting to know,” Seth concluded. “Even when we aren’t gripped by strong emotion, we can’t control what color our eyes glow. And Gershom’s eyes glow golden like ours.”
Dana winked up at Aidan. “So all I have to do to make sure you’re you is either kiss the stuffing out of you or piss you off.”
Smiling, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Piss me off. If it’s me, you can always make it up to me later.”
She laughed.
“Well,” Seth said. “I should go see the vampires you captured last night.”
Dread pooled in Dana’s stomach. He hadn’t seen the vampires yet?
Seth turned to the unfamiliar man with wings. “Jared, you should leave before your absence is noted.”
Nodding, Jared vanished without another word.
Seth drew out a pocket watch, flipped it open, and glanced at the time. “The head of the West Coast division of the network wants to see me. It shouldn’t take too long, then I’ll pop over to speak with the vampires and read their minds.” Tucking the watch away again, he looked to Chris. “They’re in the missile silo you refurbished?”
“Yeah,” Chris confirmed. “The guards there are expecting you.”
“Good.”
“Seth?” Aidan said.
“Yes?”
“I need to take Cliff into the sunlight for an hour. I didn’t do it yesterday and don’t want to miss another.”
Seth hesitated. “Is it that bad?”
Aidan nodded. “Have you not read his thoughts?”
“Not in a while.” A moment passed while Seth tilted his head as though listening. His brow furrowed. “All right. But take Ethan, Heather, and Dana with you and make sure Ethan has ample shade.”
“I will.”
Seth vanished.
Zach dipped his chin in an abrupt nod, then vanished, too.
Richart yawned. “Do you want me to help you teleport Ethan and Heather?”
Aidan smiled. “No. I’ve got it. Go home and get some rest.”
The French immortal nodded. “Call me if you need me.” In the next instant, he disappeared.
“Who is Cliff?” Dana asked. She’d learned so many new names in the last few days that she couldn’t remember.
“My friend who is ill,” Aidan told her.
Oh. Right. The one with the brain injury or brain-related illness.
“He’s a vampire, Dana,” Aidan admitted.
She stared at him. “I thought vampires were the bad guys.” According to her gift, the man Aidan worried over was a friend, not an enemy.
“They usually are. But Cliff surrendered to us in battle a few years ago, hoping we’d be able to help him hold off the insanity—or cure it altogether. He’s been living here at the network ever since.”
She didn’t ask if they’d succeeded in helping Cliff. The concern she had felt when she touched Aidan during his second reading told her they had not and that his condition was worsening.
“He’s become a strong ally to us. And a good friend to me. He’s an honorable man. He’s just…”
“Infected with a virus that is slowly robbing him of his sanity?” she finished for him.
“Yes.”
That was messed up.
“We discovered that the sun silences the voices in his head. So I’ve been taking him into sunlight every day and healing him in real time to keep it from harming him.”
Dana’s admiration for Aidan soared. “Is he dangerous?”
“Not to you. I vow it.”
And she trusted Aidan implicitly. “Okay.”
Aidan dipped his head and gave her a brief kiss, then drew her into his arms for a hug. “Thank you.”
She patted his back. “Let’s go help your friend.”
Chapter Sixteen
Chris opened the boardroom door and led them into his office. “I’ll turn the alarm off for ten minutes to give you time to teleport out. Call me when you’re ready to bring him back and I’ll turn it off again and alert the guards.”
Aidan nodded as he took Dana’s hand and led her out of Chris’s office. Ethan and Heather followed. An attractive brunette sat at a large desk in an outer office. Dana smiled at her.
The woman smiled back and gave them a nod as she rose, picked up a stack of folders, and headed into Chris’s office.
Dana accompanied Aidan down one hallway then another until they came to a pair of elevators. Men garbed in black cargo pants, black boots, and black shirts stood sentry on either side of the elevator doors, clutching automatic weapons.