Runaway Vampire (Argeneau, #23)

“Yes, I do,” Mary said unhappily. “I killed Bert, which led to Ernie dying too. And you needed one of them alive to find out where Tomasso is.” Raising her head, she added quickly, “I was only trying to make them stop. It was all a trap. They were leading you to a warehouse about a block away from the crash, or maybe a half a block by that time. There were two men waiting there.” Mary paused and then muttered with frustration, “They said their names, but I can’t remember. I think one was Jack or something.”

“You took a lot of trauma to the head,” Dante said soothingly. “The nanos are probably still making repairs. Your memory may be shaky for a while until the repairs are finished.”

“Right.” She took a deep breath and then continued, “Anyway, they set it up for you to follow. Once at the warehouse, there were men waiting to shoot you and Russell and Francis with darts, and then we were all going to be shipped to wherever with Tomasso.”

“Tomasso was there at this warehouse?” he asked sharply.

“I’m not sure, but I think so,” she said unhappily. “I was going to tell you what I’d heard once I forced them to stop the van. I thought maybe we could drive in, in the van. They wouldn’t have been expecting that. But then dumb Ernie ignored my warning and went for the dart gun. I tried to grab him and broke Bert’s neck and we crashed.”

Sighing, she dropped her head to his shoulder again. “I’m sorry, Dante. I messed up. It’s all my fault.”

“No,” he said firmly, wrapping his arms around her. “It is not. If you had not done what you did, we might all now be in the same position Tomasso is in. Instead, we are alive and safe and able to help look for him.”

Mary thought it was sweet of him to try to soothe her conscience, but she still felt guilty. Relaxing against him, she closed her eyes, then glanced up with surprise when Dante pulled back. But he merely scooped her up in his arms and carried her back out to the bedroom.

Bailey was still lying on the bed and Mary frowned with concern as she noticed the cast on her leg.

“She is fine,” Dante said softly. “She has had her pain killers and the cast barely slows her down. She is not even limping anymore.”

“Oh,” Mary murmured as he carried her around the bed and set her down next to Bailey.

Dante quickly covered her with the sheets and blankets she’d tossed aside just moments ago, and then straightened and turned to open the cabinet door of the table on his side of the bed. Curious, Mary watched as he bent to retrieve something, her eyes widening when he turned to set two bags of blood on the bed.

Catching her surprise, he smiled and said, “It is a hidden fridge. Mortimer,” he paused to explained, “He’s the head of the rogue hunters. He had them custom-made. Now everyone wants them for their homes,” he added with amusement as he retrieved two more bags to set next to the others. He closed the door as he straightened, then scooped up the four bags and set them down right next to her before leaning forward to kiss her on the forehead. “I have to go tell Lucian what you told me. He will want to send someone to search the warehouses in the area and see if there is any information that might be of use.” He straightened, and then asked, “Is there anything you want me to bring you when I return? Something to eat or drink?”

Mary hesitated, but then aware that he wanted to leave, just shook her head. “Maybe later.”

Nodding, he bent to kiss her again, then leaned past her to give Bailey an affectionate pet before straightening and crossing the room.

“Feed,” Dante said firmly as he opened the second door in the room to reveal a hall beyond. Glancing back he added, “I want all four bags empty when I come back.” Then he slipped from the room and pulled the door closed behind him.

Mary picked up one of the bags, but then just stared at it. She had no idea how to make her fangs come out. Before this, they’d just popped out whenever she was hungry. She hadn’t had to—

The thought died as she felt a shifting in her mouth. Mary waited, and then ran her tongue cautiously along her teeth until it rubbed up against a fang. Well, that was handy. But then she was hungry, although she hadn’t realized it until she’d actually picked up the bag. Or, perhaps, it was better to say she hadn’t been able to identify what she was hungry for until then. Although, Mary thought, she wouldn’t mind food either, just then. However, she didn’t have any, so she simply opened her mouth and popped the bag toward it, relieved when it landed correctly and remained in place.

Keeping her hand in place on the bag to support it, Mary glanced to Bailey then. The dog appeared to be asleep. She suspected it might have something to do with the pain pills Dante had mentioned. On the other hand, Bailey slept a lot. Most dogs seemed to. They’d run around like crazy chasing balls, animals and anything else that caught their attention, and then would drop and sleep for a while before getting up to do it again.