Paige sat at her desk in the security office listening to Aiden describe a series of advanced concepts in modern building electrical circuitry layout. Until that day, she had a functional understanding of basic AC and DC circuits, but lacked the advanced knowledge to fathom some of the intricacies of what had happened in Katrina and Caleb's suite.
"Am I going too fast?" he politely asked.
"Nope, got it."
The young electrician shook his head with wonder. "Well, you're the first person who's new to this type of information that grasped everything we've talked about in only a single conversation. I mean, it took me months of studying and hands-on apprenticeship to become comfortable with this."
She shrugged. "Survival mechanism for vampires," she offered. "You either learn quickly and adapt, or you're dead. Anyway, I've tinkered with basic electrical work before."
"Okay, then. Let's move on."
Following two additional hours of discussion, including a sidebar of questions for clarification, Paige felt more comfortable with the theory of operation for the advanced concepts. At least, it all made sense to her after he had explained it. Granted, it wasn't as if she were ready to become a trade electrician, but she would at least be able to conceptualize the things he had described.
"Thanks, Aiden," she offered. "I owe you one."
Then she turned to the female vampire manning the surveillance system.
"Hey, Satish. Get hold of Caleb and get him down here. I have a few questions to ask him."
"Right away, Captain," the vampire replied and reached for a nearby phone.
Aiden tried to ignore the exchange while gathering up the notes that he had written out for Paige. He neatly arranged them and handed them over to her. Then he gathered up his can of Sprite and headed for the door.
"Thanks for the drink," he remarked while reaching for the handle.
"He's not in his room," Satish remarked. She quickly scanned the video screens before her and spoke into her headset, "All eyes for Caleb Taylor. Report."
"No problem, Aiden," Paige absently remarked.
Then she looked up. "Hey, do you know where I can find Caleb?" Aiden paused but didn't turn around.
"Me? Nah, haven't seen him since this afternoon." He opened the door and stepped across the threshold.
She frowned, noting the discreet tension in the man's body.
"Aiden," she prompted.
Satish looked up from her screens and turned to face Paige. "Captain, all units reporting in. Nobody has eyes on Taylor, and the screens aren't showing anything. He might be in another guests' room," she ventured.
Aiden turned to look at Paige with an innocent expression. "Yes, Captain?"
Paige's bright blue eyes bored into the young man's, and he swallowed hard. It was just a hunch, but she decided to play it.
"Where exactly did you last see Caleb?"
Katrina idly wondered what Dominic Ambrogio had been in a hurry to attend to, while also partly listening to some very good suggestions being offered by Hakizimana. In particular, he suggested a cooperative agreement for the use of Sunset Air services and other resources as an incentive for membership towards a worldwide consortium of vampires. She was really surprised by how many useful suggestions the ancient vampire had brought up.
And to think, he had been opposed to even being here leading up to the conference. Alton must be beside himself with glee now.
A knock sounded at the door, ushering in a hush across the room. This time, instead of the security guard, a very concerned-looking Paige Turner entered, directly walking to Alton and Katrina.
Katrina's optimistic features fell, and the pit of her stomach soured.
Paige handed a note to each of them, saying, "My apologies for the interruption. An urgent matter."
And how, she grimly thought.
Katrina's features turned to stone as she read the note: Caleb and Dori both missing. Aiden helped to distract a guard so they could leave the property.
"Bloody hell," Alton cursed under his breath in uncharacteristic fashion, trumping Katrina's own pending exclamation of surprise.
Instead, Katrina immediately rose, demanding, "Gather an escort."
Paige nodded, and Katrina followed her from the room in a rush.
"What's happened?" demanded Rianne.
Everyone else looked up with a mix of concern and curiosity.
Alton clenched his jaw. "I'm afraid we must adjourn for the day, everyone. An urgent personal matter has arisen requiring immediate attention by both the chair and the co-chair."
Baldar Dubravko chuckled, breaking the silence in the room. "Let me guess, Rutherford. Your humans are running amok again, aren't they?"
Alton ground his teeth and marked the vampire with contempt in a stare that would freeze open flames. "We will resume discussions tomorrow. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience."
With no further comment, he stalked from the room.
Katrina and Paige watched as Alton quickly removed the tracking unit from the black storage case in his suite. Within seconds, he had powered it on and was initializing the system for use.
"I just don't understand what they're trying to pull," Katrina angrily complained. It was upsetting that not even the threat of homing transmitters could keep the two troublemakers on site.
It's worse than raising teenagers.
"Any idea where they went?" Alton demanded as the system finished initializing.
Paige's expression spoke volumes of the worry that she felt. "Maybe. From what little the surveillance cameras show, they likely hopped into the back of a linens truck bound for town."
Alton paused, sharply looking up at Paige.
Katrina took immediate notice and demanded, "What? What are you thinking?"
"The mines," Alton muttered. "Dori tried to tell me there was something suspicious about those damned mines near the storage building where they were first apprehended. I told her that she was grasping at straws."
The tall vampire strode to a nearby closet, removing a leather briefcase. Inside was an array of small weapons. He tossed two combat knives to Katrina and withdrew a knife and automatic pistol for himself.
"Come on, let's go," Paige insisted. She fingered the hilt of a large combat knife tucked into her waistband and concealed beneath her blazer.
"No," Alton countered. "I need you to stay here and coordinate efforts. If I need more people, you'll need to dispatch them. I don't have confidence in the major's competency as of late."
Paige didn't like staying behind, but she immediately took note of Alton's suspicions concerning the major. A number of things didn't set well with her either, but she had thought it was just because she personally didn't like the guy.
"Fine," she reluctantly conceded. "There are four guards sitting in two SUVs waiting out front for you."
Alton and Katrina stormed from the suite in a blur of motion.
Dori and Caleb stacked three more benches in front of the storage room door. The sound of a large object battering against the other side of the door reverberated through the room, jostling the benches with each impact.
Their expressions mirrored the fear and anxiety that each felt.
"That won't hold them forever," Dori warned.
The battering stopped, and moments later, all the lights went out. In the darkness, the only sound was their heavy breathing.
Then the battering began again on the door.
Caleb activated his flashlight, and his mind raced for any useful ideas. His light beam swept the perimeter of the room, and he noticed three small crates labeled as explosives.
Dori stared at where his light shone and began shaking her head.
"Don't even think about it, Taylor," she warned. "It'll kill us all."
He jolted as another massive impact hit the door. He continued sweeping the area with his flashlight and found the UV light bulbs. Nearby, he noticed electrical extension cords alongside light ballasts, and an idea formed.
"How many bullets do you have left?" he asked.
She paused to count. "Twelve, spread between two magazines."
Another crash landed against the door, and the hinges squeaked loose.
He steeled himself for what was coming. "If...When that door comes down, I'm gonna need you to shoot any humans that you can."
"There's also at least one really pissed off vampire out there."
He grabbed some side cutting pliers from the floor and began stripping back one end of electrical cable from one of the light ballasts.
"True. But I've got an idea."
The tracking device didn't register any beacon signals from the immediate vicinity around the conference site, but as Alton and Katrina's entourage raced towards town at breakneck speed, a faint blip registered. The sun was already hidden by the horizon, leaving only a fading glow that illuminated the countryside barely enough for a human to see without artificial light. The ambient UV radiation was more than tolerable for vampires, for which Katrina was particularly grateful.
The two SUVs raced through the center of Podjelje, heedless of the display they were making. Upon arrival at the small garage near the souvenir shop, Katrina pointed to the small dirt road leading into the forest towards the mountain.
"There," she urged, at which Alton gunned the vehicle down the road.
"I can go faster by foot," she argued while reaching for the door handle.
"No," he admonished. "We still have to conceal our existence to the general public. Things are bad enough, and containment's going to be questionable as it is."
She grit her teeth as countless seconds passed. Once the vehicles were heading through the trees, she leapt from the vehicle and ran well ahead of them.
Dodging trees in a blur of movement, she quickly arrived outside the small storage building where she spotted three vehicles: a police car, a small truck painted in forest camouflage, and one of the tinted-glass SUVs from the conference site that was parked right next to the building's entrance.
She approached the small building and immediately spied a secret entrance into a darkened cave-like interior. Hearing the sound of pounding inside, she entered as the two SUVs pulled up outside.
A man wearing a hunting outfit and carrying an assault rifle appeared in the entryway. Rather than speaking, he immediately raised his weapon to fire.
Katrina sidestepped the burst of gunfire and threw one of her combat knives, squarely catching the man in the chest. Additional rounds ricocheted harmlessly around the room as the man spun to the floor.
Alton appeared inside the doorway, quickly assessing the situation. He heard shouts of voices from inside and motioned to the vampire guards as he brandished his automatic pistol.
"Two inside, two outside. Eliminate anyone who's not ours," he ordered.
Two of the guards sped past him into the mine, and the other two took up positions outside. Katrina darted in behind the guards with Alton closely following.
Fresh gunfire quickly erupted.
As Paige paced the floor of the security office waiting for word from Katrina and Alton, some motion caught her attention beyond the front office window. She saw the major talking to Baldar Dubravko in the lobby. Pietari hastily surveyed the lobby and gestured towards the security office with one hand.
Something that Alton had said earlier replayed in Paige's mind, and she reached into her desk drawer to withdraw a small digital recorder. Picking up a handful of reports from her desk, she moved like a blur to enter the major's office.
She tossed the paperwork onto his desk and activated the recorder, which she slid behind a line of books on a shelf suspended from the wall behind the desk.
The door to the main office opened and Pietari and Dubravko entered. Paige acknowledged them in passing on their way to the major's office.
"Papers on your desk to sign, Major."
"Fine, thanks," Pietari distractedly replied and closed the door behind them.
She returned to her desk and scowled.
For once, there'll actually be a fly on the wall. Or at least, in the bookcase.
Caleb relied on Dori's flashlight so that he could use both hands to work. He had already rewired one of the small ballasts to a long, heavy-duty extension cord. After inserting two of the fluorescent UV bulbs into the ballast, he picked up the connector plug at the other end of the cord. Using his own flashlight, he located an electrical outlet that had been spiked into the mine wall and anxiously looked up at Dori.
Another heavy impact strained against the door's hinges. The top bracket barely remained secured to the rafter.
"Let's hope they only turned out the lights and not the entire system," he suggested and plugged the cable in.
A warm glow emanated from the bulbs.
"Yes!" he exclaimed.
The echoes of gunfire erupted from beyond the door, but they sounded more distant than earlier. In addition, the pounding on the door abruptly ceased.
"Help me move the benches," Caleb urged as he slipped on a pair of old gloves lying nearby.
"You're insane!" Dori seethed.
"Hey, everyone says that the best defense is a good offense," he countered.
She shook her head and helped him push the benches aside.
The sounds of additional distant gunfire continued outside. Then the pounding on the other side of the door renewed, and it nearly came off its hinges.
Caleb signaled to Dori to open the door, and with one fluid motion, she disengaged the bolt and flung open the door.
Ambrogio appeared surprised as the door opened to reveal his grimacing face. Caleb turned the full force of the light ballast onto the vampire, and his exposed skin immediately sizzled.
The vampire screamed and fled down the corridor.
Dori gripped her pistol with the flashlight held alongside it and peered out into the corridor. The two of them moved together as Caleb also shone his light ahead of them. The sounds of gunfire ceased, and he thought that he heard the fleeting sounds of air rushing past the far end of the corridor.
Dori paused briefly then slowly proceeded forwards.
Alton's two vampire guards had neatly dispatched the armed humans, leaving Katrina free to barrel ahead through the corridor. Fortunately, as a vampire, she had a perfect sense of direction and low-level vision in the mine and confidently proceeded in search of Dori and Caleb.
She heard a pained cry and stopped. A vampire swiftly moved ahead of her. She rushed forward at best speed and quickly overtook the staggering vampire.
It was Ambrogio, and he appeared to have been burned.
A wave of raw fury coursed through her as she assumed that Ambrogio had something to do with Caleb and Dori's disappearance. He hissed with bared fangs and grasped her by the neck, but she slammed a combat knife into the vampire's chest.
Gripping his wrist with one hand, she slammed her opposite fist into his burned face with a jarring impact. As his head popped backwards, her hand deftly grasped the hilt of her knife that still protruded from his chest. With a single motion, she withdrew the blade and buried it into the vampire's eye with a squishy thud.
Ambrogio's body limply fell to the floor as Alton watched from a short distance away.
"UV light!" yelled one of Alton's vampire guards from back down the corridor.
"Shoot it out then," suggested another guard.
Katrina and Alton exchanged glances and made their way that direction until they saw a burst of UV light blaring from one of the side corridors. They stopped well short of the passageway, and Alton brandished his pistol.
Suddenly, amidst the odor of burnt flesh and gunpowder, Katrina smelled her mate's scent in the air.
"Stop! It's them!" she shouted.
Alton sniffed the air. "I believe you're right."
There was a silent pause, and Caleb's voice inquired, "Kat? Is that you?"
She nearly collapsed with relief, and the sick feeling in her stomach began to ebb slightly.
"Are you okay? Where's Dori?" she shouted.
"Here," Dori replied. "We're okay."
"Stand down. It's them," Alton alerted the guards.
"Well, they better turn off that damned UV light then!" one guard bellowed.
"Oh, yeah," Caleb faintly conceded in the distance. "Sorry about that..."
Katrina grinned despite herself and caught a glimpse of Alton as he shook his head.
Moments later, the lights came back on to reveal Katrina hugging Caleb in her arms while Alton warmly embraced Dori.
"I'm so glad you're okay, my love," Katrina muttered with relief. "But now I'm going to strangle you."
"My sentiments exactly," Alton agreed.
While sitting on the couch back at the suite, Caleb required a couple of beers before he was able to come down from his adrenaline high. And given the manner that Dori drank her glass of wine, she must have felt the same.
Caleb silently admired the young French woman, marveling at how capably she had handled herself at the mines and with such amazing presence of mind.
Who is she, exactly?
Paige, Alton, and Katrina sat at the small dining table adjacent to the living room reviewing information gained from the cursory investigation performed immediately following the excitement. Reports were still coming in via cell phone, making the suite a sort of impromptu command post.
A knock sounded at the suite door, and Caleb rose to answer it, but Paige pointed her finger at him and shook her head. Instead, the blonde vampire moved to the door in a blur.
A waiter rolled a cart into the room and hastily departed. The smell of food made Caleb's mouth water, and he determined that he must be feeling better if his appetite had returned.
"Despite the spectacle they generated, Caleb and Dori's discovery of the UV light bulbs was rather timely," Alton conceded.
"Tell me again how our boy made a UV flamethrower," Paige urged.
"Maybe later," Katrina countered dryly.
"He's a regular MacGyver," Paige proudly quipped.
"Who?" Dori asked.
"It was this pretty cool TV show from the 80s about a resourceful guy who could use bits of nothing to make tools and gadgets," Caleb began, but then paused with a perplexed expression. "Or was it the 90s? I only remember it in reruns, actually."
Paige groaned and pressed one of her palms to the side of her face. "Just never mind."
Alton cast them a strained expression, but continued as if uninterrupted. "The explosives are another matter altogether," he said. "Those were high-yield, military-grade explosives, not for mining. And it appeared that less than half of the original contents were still intact in their crates."
"Aren't you glad I didn't let you use them," Dori prodded Caleb with a knowing look.
He blushed and caught a glimpse of Katrina's wide-eyed look of shock from across the room.
She shook her head.
"Let's eat," Caleb remarked to change the subject while moving to peruse the food cart.
He smoothly commandeered a plate adorned with a cheeseburger and fries and moved over to the unoccupied end of the dining room table. Dori moved from her seat and began picking at the vegetable tray on the cart.
"What concerns me is that, despite the compelling evidence in our favor, Ambrogio's death will probably create a suspicious stir among the attendees," Katrina pointed out. She was convinced that the vampire was merely part of a larger scheme, though she lacked further evidence for corroboration.
"Probably true," Alton ruefully agreed.
"Additionally, there's the leadership angle to consider," Katrina added.
Caleb rose from his chair and returned to the cart, searching for condiments. Finding none, he walked towards the suite door.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Paige demanded.
Everyone looked up to stare at him.
"Ketchup," he innocently replied.
"Forget it," Paige dismissed. "You're grounded for the time being."
"Hello? Fries need ketchup," he insisted.
"We often use mayonnaise in France," Dori interjected.
Caleb's look of horror was his silent reply.
"For Pete's sake," Paige retorted, slapping a palm to her forehead. "Just cool your jets, Ned McNeedy. I'll get your ketchup."
"Ned McNeedy? Is that some character from a Philip Marlowe mystery?" he teased.
"Don't dis Marlowe."
"I'm just sayin'."
The short vampire narrowed her blue eyes.
"Watch it. And don't be stealin' my catch phrases, either," she admonished before disappearing through the suite's door.
He watched the door close and fondly reflected on his surrogate vampire. She had practically squeezed the breath from his lungs in a bear hug upon their return to the hotel that evening.
"I worried about you, kiddo," she had whispered in his ear.
A warm, satisfied feeling flowed through him at the memory.
"Ned McNeedy," he muttered. "What a hoot."
When he turned back to everyone, Katrina and Alton were intently staring at him.
"What?" he asked with an innocent expression.
"As I was saying," Katrina continued with an exasperated tone, "Ambrogio was a follower, not a leader. I doubt that he was the only one involved in things that have transpired. Recall that it was Baldar Dubravko who Caleb first saw at the dirt road leading back to the mines, not Ambrogio."
Caleb looked up from his burger, recalling that night and how hard it had been to get anyone but Dori to believe him. He scrutinized the mysterious brunette, watching her nibble on vegetables and cheese while sipping her wine. She noticed his attention and smiled at him from the reading chair across the room.
"I wonder if there's a relationship between the London sect that you uncovered in the train tunnels and this group," Dori pondered.
Caleb wondered precisely how much she knew about their March exploits in London.
I've got to find out the real backstory on this lady.
"We should know more once my agents finish pouring over the site," Alton replied. "We're fortunate not to have to deal with the local authorities on this yet."
Katrina was happy for that small blessing. At least the mines were far enough from town that nobody seemed to have overheard the gunshots.
Granted, the battle took place almost exclusively within the mines.
In what must have been record time, Paige reappeared through the suite door holding a bottle of ketchup. Caleb grinned while gratefully accepting it and created a veritable pool of it near his fries.
"Makes me thirsty," Paige mumbled, staring at the red substance on his plate.
"Pour you a glass of ketchup?" he quipped, holding up the bottle.
She promptly, albeit lightly, smacked him on the back of the head.
"Check ya later, funny boy," she retorted. "There's something I need to look into."
Paige returned to the security office and motioned to Satish at the surveillance station. She wandered over to her desk, discreetly noting that the major's office was empty.
"The major say anything about signing those reports?" Paige asked.
"Didn't say anything to me, Captain."
Paige wandered into the major's office, picked up the reports from the out basket on his desk, and quickly extracted the digital recorder from the bookcase. It was still on, and she fingered the power button to Off. Slipping it into her pocket, she walked back out to her desk.
She downloaded the audio file to her computer and password protected it in a nondescript folder on her system. Then she slipped the recorder back into her pocket and used a headset to listen to the audio file. Within moments, she heard the major's door shut, followed by his and Dubravko's nearly whispered voices.
"...thought you said you could handle Turner?" demanded Dubravko.
"...staged the vault, just as you insisted. The video surveillance snafu was damned difficult to manage, and then Taylor brought Turner down there with him. It was a stupid idea in the end; they both survived, which only made them grow more suspicious," Pietari chastised. "You should've let me do things more directly."
Paige gritted her teeth. Hatred surged through her system, and her fists clenched across the desktop.
"You'll do as you're told," ordered Dubravko.
"What next then?"
There was a long pause.
"Let me worry about that," Dubravko said. "I'm still waiting to hear back from Ambrogio. I should have a better idea by then."
The two exchanged benign information about the conference, and both vampires departed the office. Then silence.
Paige closed the audio application and locked her workstation. Anger roiled through her as she replayed the audio recording in her mind.
I'm going to kill Pietari, she vowed.
Paige once again focused on how she and Caleb had very nearly asphyxiated inside the vault, and the major's recorded statements replayed in her thoughts.
You bastard. Trying to kill me's one thing. But almost murdering Caleb? There's hell to pay for that.
"Captain?" Satish inquired as she studied Paige with concern. "Are you okay? The major's requesting your location on the radio."
Paige's bright blue eyes flashed, and she deliberately struggled to regain her composure.
"Sorry, got some bad news in email," she neatly replied. "Where'd you say the major is?"
Minutes later, Paige met the major, who was speaking with one of the uniformed vampire security guards at the loading dock area at the rear of the facility. He was studying a surveillance camera mounted on a corner of the building.
The blonde vampire suspiciously followed the major's gaze.
"What's going on out here, Major?" she asked.
Both vampires scrutinized her with perplexed expressions.
"You ask that as if there's something wrong with our being here, Captain," Pietari retorted. "Actually, I'm considering how that human of yours managed to elude our surveillance system so handily today."
She speculated that, given all that had happened, it was probably a good thing, despite the danger in which Caleb and Dori had placed themselves. So much had been brought to light thanks to their successful efforts.
Of course, it's easy to be cavalier when they're safely back under our protection.
Then her anger threatened to rise again as she focused upon the traitor before her. She barely managed to keep her fury in check.
"Captain?" the major asked with a quizzical expression.
Paige blinked. "Sorry, just wondering about that myself. I'm sure we'll make a better effort to track him and Dori from now on."
"I was considering house arrest, myself," the vampire offered.
The other guard warily watched both the major and Paige.
"You don't have a mate, do you, Major?" she asked.
He regarded her coldly. "As you so succinctly put it not long ago, that's none of your damned business."
"Fair enough," she flatly temporized, at which the guard uncomfortably looked away from them both as if studying somewhere in another area of the complex.
Paige glanced at her watch.
"I think it's about time for Satish to be relieved at the surveillance desk," she suggested. "Tegins, would you mind relieving her until I return?"
The guard gave the major a questioning look.
Pietari shrugged. "Fine. Go ahead."
"Yes, sir," the guard replied and turned to depart, visibly pleased to be leaving.
"As I was saying, Captain, we need to eliminate the blind spots back here, for one," he noted. "I expect you'll get on that as soon as possible."
"Really? What other blind spots?" she inquired.
The major surveyed the exterior length of the building towards a tall, wooden fence surrounding some of the facility's massive air conditioning units. He pointed to them.
"There are large blind spots around those units, for example."
She considered the placement of the cameras on that side of the building, and the corners of her lips upturned slightly.
"Yes, you might be right," she said and began walking that direction. "Still, there's something I need to talk to you about."
Pietari walked beside her. "Really? Such as?"
Her mind settled upon an immediate course of action, though she didn't think that Alton or Katrina would later approve.
Too damned bad.
"I'm considering a change in my life, Major," she offered as they got closer to the fenced area.
"That so?"
"Yep," she confirmed, stopping next to the fence and gazing around at the nearest camera. "Oh, and you're right about the cameras, by the way."
"Indeed. About that life change, Captain?" he impatiently pressed while following her gaze to the camera she was staring at.
"Oh, yeah, that," she said while gazing up at the camera with a devilish grin. "Thinking about taking a job as head of security."
"Mm-hm," he absently murmured. "Where?"
"Here." Her blue eyes burned brightly with hatred. Her hand slid beneath her security blazer, grasping the hilt of her knife.
"Huh?" he asked, turning to stare at her with surprise.
She brought the blade up, slamming it down at an angle into the lower left quadrant of his chest, penetrating all the way through his heart and into his lung.
Pietari gasped and jerked towards her.
"Trying to kill me is one thing, but going after Caleb really pisses me off!"
She moved in a blur to grasp his head in her hands and twisted it around with all her speed while bearing her full weight until the major's neck snapped with a sound like a breaking tree branch.
She brought her leg up and viciously kicked his body against the brick wall of the building, where it bounced off and onto the ground with a heavy thud.
"Rot in hell, you bastard," she seethed through clenched teeth. Then she calmly reached under her jacket for her cell phone.
"Alton? Boy, do I have the scoop on something good," she stated in an evil, satisfied tone as her eyes pulsed in the darkness.
As she slipped her cell phone back into her blazer, she spied Ethan Reynolds standing at the corner of the building staring at her in surprise. He warily studied her.
Oh crap, she thought. Friend or foe?
"This isn't what you think," she reassured him.
"I think you just killed your supervisor."
A quirky expression formed on her face. "Well, you got me there, I suppose."
A flash of uncertainty flashed in his eyes as he calmly observed her.
"Wait, I can explain everything in good order."
Ethan shook his head. "Lady, I sure as hell hope so."
Well, there goes date night, Paige thought.
Alton, Katrina, Dori, and Caleb all stood outside around the prone, dead body of Major Pietari. Ethan stood with his arms folded before him, remarkably calm and quietly observing everything. No less than three security guards and a sergeant crowded around the periphery of the group, confused as to what had happened.
"What happened here?" Katrina demanded.
Paige calmly pulled out her digital recorder. "Everything's on here," she explained.
"What's this all about, Captain? Should we mobilize the entire security staff?" one guard demanded. "Do we have an intruder on site?"
"Nope. This is one of the bad guys, believe it or not. Wrap him in plastic and get him outta sight."
The sergeant stared at Paige as if she were insane. "You're kidding me."
"Do it, Sergeant," she coldly demanded, her eyes suddenly blazing.
"Yes, ma'am," the guard replied and ordered another guard to help him remove the body. The two other guards looked at each other and then back at Paige.
"You two, keep your eyes open for anything suspicious," she ordered.
The two guards looked at each other before turning to walk back to the south on patrol. Ethan patiently watched, and both Katrina and Alton turned to consider him.
"What were you doing out here, if I may ask?" Katrina suspiciously asked Ethan.
"Me? I usually take a stroll during the evening, so I went by the security office to ask Paige if she wanted to join me. They said she was outside..."
"It's okay. He's okay," Paige interrupted.
I hope so, anyway.
Katrina appeared dubious, but Caleb confidently spoke up, "Really, he's one of the good guys."
Ethan smiled at Caleb appreciatively as Katrina weighed her mate's comments and shrugged, but nevertheless she moved to stand closer to him.
"Play it," Alton insisted, staring at the recorder in Paige's hand.
Everyone expectantly watched Paige as she shrugged and hit Play.
By the time the conversation between Pietari and Dubravko had finished, Katrina's jaw was firmly clenched. Dori appeared surprised, and Caleb stood quietly, entranced by Paige's angry blue eyes. It sent a shiver through him, which caught both Paige's and Katrina's attention.
Paige's expression softened following his reaction, and Katrina wrapped one arm around his waist, pulling him closer to her.
"Well, isn't this just a night filled with revelations?" Alton postulated.
"What do we do now?" Paige asked while tentatively surveying the immediate area.
Alton's eyes glistened with intrigue. "Do nothing. Leave the rest to me."
Later, Caleb and Katrina were finally alone together in their suite for what felt like the first time in an eternity. He closed his eyes and relished his shower, rinsing the shampoo from his hair and appreciating the feeling of hot water cascading down his tired body. Then he heard the shower curtain moving.
"Kat?" he called as the water ran over his head.
He felt soft hands massage his shoulders.
"Who else, my love?" her gentle voice asked.
It had been too long since he had heard her voice sound so soft or relaxed.
"Paige, maybe?" he mischievously teased.
She loudly slapped his bare buttock with the flat of her palm, making him jerk slightly with surprise from the impact and sting.
"Wrong answer."
He chuckled and finished rinsing the last of the shampoo from his hair. Turning around and opening his eyes, he gazed upon the woman he considered to be the most beautiful in the world.
Katrina's long red hair fell around her shoulders. Her pale skin was like porcelain, and her green eyes bore into him with an almost magical intensity. His eyes panned the length of her nude body, which he found simply irresistible.
She stepped forward, passionately kissing him on the lips. His body instantly reacted, and he pulled her against him. Then time stood still.
Lying in bed together following their shower, she laid her head against his muscular chest, appreciating the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. She lightly ran her fingernails across and down his arm, and he practically purred with appreciation.
"Roll over and I'll do your back," she offered.
He rolled onto his stomach and immediately appreciated the sensation of her fingernails lightly scraping across his skin.
"Ohh, thanks," he moaned.
She allowed the silence to grow between them. After a few minutes, she brought up a topic that had been on her mind all evening.
"You have to promise me that you'll stop trying to go off on any more risky adventures, my love."
His body tensed, and his ire rose slightly. "Only if you promise to start taking me more seriously when I bring something to your attention."
He thought that if any of the vampires in his life had given more credibility to his suspicions early on, maybe a lot of what had happened could have been avoided.
She mulled over his reaction and finally conceded that she may have dismissed his concerns a bit too hastily due to her focus on the actual conference.
"I should give you more credit, I suppose," she temporized. "You're just so young and inexperienced. Sometimes it's just easier for me to think -"
"That I'm a child?"
She frowned and stopped scratching his back. It hadn't been that long ago since Paige had made a similar accusation over her treatment of him.
Is that it? Does some subconscious part of me still perceive him as that fragile, vulnerable eight-year-old whom I met two decades ago?
The idea unsettled her, though she doubted that there was any truth in the notion. She resolved that, if anything, it was her desire for control that was at play. Ultimately, she recognized that the heart of the matter was focused upon wanting to keep him safe from harm.
She slyly smiled and purred, "You're certainly no child, Caleb. You're a grown man in every sense of the word, I'm happy to say, and I have very mature feelings towards you."
He wriggled his back slightly, and she continued running her nails across his skin.
He moaned with pleasure. "You trust me, don't you?"
"Of course I do," she replied. "Perhaps a compromise: if I promise not to discount your observations, you'll promise me not to go off adventuring without conferring with me first."
He contemplated that for a moment.
So, as long as she's aware of my actions, I'm free to act as I see fit? That seems fair enough.
"Done," he replied.
She was content that something very important had been agreed upon.
"What about tomorrow morning, Kat? What's Alton planning to do?"
She stared across the dark room while considering all the angles.
"I'm not entirely certain," she conceded. "But I know he means well, and I trust his instincts."
"And, um, what about the plan for me tomorrow?" he asked, unsure if he were technically still in trouble for that day's events in the mine.
She adopted a shrewd expression while glaring down at her young mate.
"As for you, I expect you to stay around the hotel, of course," she insisted. As if to accentuate her point, she pressed the tips of her fingernails against his skin in lieu of claws.
While not enough to break the skin, it generated an unpleasant sensation. His body tensed, and he swallowed hard.
"Got it," he quickly agreed.
She happily continued scratching his back.
The next morning, Katrina rose early to confer with Alton on the day's plan prior to the start of the session. A discreet inquiry assured her that Dubravko was still at the hotel, and she took the additional step of asking Paige to keep an eye on her mate.
Caleb slept later than he had planned, waking well after nine o'clock. The previous day's adventures had taken a toll, and he appreciated the additional rest. For some reason, he felt much more hopeful, though perhaps that was partially attributed to the neutralization of two previous vampire-related threats on his life.
Additionally, he hoped that the tense rift between him and Katrina had been somewhat mended, and he fondly recalled her previous evening's attentions.
After shaving and pulling on some jeans and a concert t-shirt from The National, Caleb made his way to the lobby. He had no sooner stepped off the elevator than he noted a few straggling vampires making their way in the direction of the conference room. A rush of air washed past him, and Paige appeared at his side.
"Whoa!"
She smoothly fell into stride beside him on his way to the dining room.
"I promised Red I'd keep track of you today."
He made a sour expression. "Let me guess, you're the -"
"That's right. Babysitter's on duty."
"Aw, man."
The mere term suggested that she would probably be stuck to him like glue. And with her being a vampire and its being daytime, he was likely on "house restriction" for the day.
"I wanted to go fishing again," he lamented.
"Well, I'll send a human guard, or two, to keep an eye on you then. Meanwhile, let's get my boy something to eat."
Once seated at their table, his pale blue eyes settled upon her.
"How is your staff doing with the news this morning?"
She thoughtfully contemplated him. You mean, how's everyone taking the news that I murdered their boss last night?
"I briefed everyone this morning and explained that additional information will be forthcoming later today. Most of them are curious, but generally supportive. I've managed to build considerable respect with the majority of the guards. That's something Pietari never garnered during his brief tenure."
Thank goodness, or I'd have serious loyalty problems right now.
He listened with a serious expression. Then his visage softened, and he wanly smiled at her.
"What's that expression all about?" she asked with a chuckle. It looked endearing to her.
"I'm really proud of you," he whispered. "You're kind of amazing, really."
Paige was an anomaly to him in so many ways. Part fun-loving, part lethal, but always a true friend, even when she's annoying the hell out of me. He not only adored her, he loved her.
She stared into his eyes, appreciating the gentleness reflected in them. His expression was full of adoration, akin to how someone might gaze upon their hero.
Oh, I could so get used to that.
"Thanks, kiddo," she said, returning his smile.
"So, what happens next?"
Her smile faded. "That's really the million-dollar question, isn't it?"
The vampires assembled in the conference room sported a host of demeanors, including curiosity, wariness, and various levels of concern. Alton and Katrina sat at the head of the table, patiently waiting for the murmuring to subside before beginning.
Katrina spied Dubravko across the table, and she took interest that he appeared surprisingly calm under the circumstances. That suggested that he was either completely oblivious as to what might be coming, an unlikely prospect, or that he had another angle of his own ready to spring on everyone. The second notion bothered her more than she cared to reveal.
Once the din of voices had abated, Alton addressed the group.
"Many of you have had an opportunity to hear varying degrees of information related to multiple events that unfolded late yesterday afternoon and early evening. I can accurately confirm the deaths of two vampires: Dominic Ambrogio and Major Kivo Pietari."
A murmuring reignited among the attendees, except for Dubravko, who listened with a stoic expression.
"The deaths were over separate events, but related," Alton continued.
A series of questions issued forth from multiple members at once, each demanding details. Alton held up his hand for silence and informed the group of what had transpired that led to both deaths. The recollections took some time, though the gathering was polite enough to allow him to complete his presentation.
The subsequent questions were mostly for clarification of previously stated details. However, when the queries turned to one of context, Alton moved to the next phase of his presentation.
"I'm afraid there's some rather uncomfortable information accompanying these events," he began. "That is, beyond the participants already cited. I'm afraid we're looking at a conspiracy to disrupt these proceedings."
Dubravko's expression turned stony, and he leveled a hard stare at Alton. The corners of Katrina's lips upturned slightly.
"I have some evidence that I'd like to share with you that I believe will explain everything," Alton said while removing the small digital recorder from his blazer pocket.
Everyone waited expectantly.
After Caleb finished eating breakfast, he and Paige walked into the lobby. A vampire security officer with lieutenant's bars on his shoulder approached her.
"Captain," he politely began, "the sergeant and I would like to discuss some important staffing concerns with you in the maj -- that is, in the main office. There are two of our human guards who have been acting suspiciously following last night's events. We'd rather address things earlier rather than later, if you catch my meaning."
Paige studied Caleb. "Sure, makes sense," she replied.
"Why don't I just hang around here until you get back?" Caleb suggested.
She turned to him and firmly ordered, "Fine, but you had better sit here in the lobby waiting for me. I'll be back soon, so don't get any ideas about leaving, or..."
"I know, I know," he interrupted with a roll of his eyes. "Retribution, angst, and a host of painful punishments."
She grinned. "Yeah, something like that."
The lieutenant pointed up to a nearby lobby camera and noted in a mock-ominous tone, "We're watching you, human."
This guy sounds like a lame Bela Lugosi, Caleb mused.
He plopped down on a nearby couch and watched them walk towards the security office.
"Good one. I like that," Paige told the lieutenant.
A few minutes later, Maddy happened by and noticed Caleb give a slight wave in her direction.
"Hey, Trouble," she quipped.
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Rianne told me a little bit about what's been going on," she offered, plopping onto the couch next to him. "It looks as if a lot of us owe you and Dorianne an apology. I would've never imagined all that's happened the past few days. It's kind of shocking to learn that some nefarious people have been operating in our midst all this time."
Caleb knew all too well how things, and people, often weren't what they claimed to be. He realized how street-smart he was becoming since meeting Katrina.
Actually, my entire personality's been undergoing a bit of an overhaul, he realized. He felt much more self-confident and self-reliant since becoming involved with her. But then, he was a much happier person, as well.
"Earth to Caleb," Maddy teased.
"Sorry," he broke from his reverie. "I was just thinking about what you said, that's all."
"Sure, I get it. Face it, your life's a lot more exciting than I gave you credit for when I first met you."
Boy, that's an understatement. A lot more than I prefer, actually.
"You're one lucky guy, Taylor," she said. "Having two beautiful women in your life like you do, and both vampires. Frankly, I'm a little envious."
"Only one of them is my mate, however," he stipulated.
One of her eyebrows dubiously arched, and she chuckled. "Boy, are you in for a surprise someday," she knowingly whispered.
He frowned, but light-heartedly countered, "Well, just keep your hands off either of them. I don't need any competition."
She rose to continue on her original errand and smirked. "From what I see, Taylor, they're way outta my league. But then, I love Rianne too much to stray."
"Good thing for me then," he credited.
She proceeded towards the lobby exit, and he watched the happy-go-lucky blonde walk away while pondering her observations with a puzzled expression.
"Better not let Katrina catch you girl-watching," Aiden chortled.
Aiden's sudden appearance startled him, and he swiveled to stare at him.
"Hey, there's no competition there," he awkwardly countered.
"Yeah, that one's batting for the other team," the young electrician observed.
Caleb acknowledged the truth in his comment. "Okay, there's that, too."
Absently, he noticed two hotel employees hauling luggage through the lobby towards the main desk. It appeared that someone was checking out, and he wondered who it might be. Turning to gaze towards the glass doors of the lobby, he noticed a few staff members arranging an awning over a black limousine with dark tinted windows.
Maybe a vampire departing, he thought.
The two staff members at the counter took the luggage outside to the rear of the limousine.
"Wonder what's going on there?" Aiden asked. "I didn't know folks were already leaving. Is the conference ending early or something?"
Caleb was curious about that, as well.
Before Alton pressed Play on the digital recorder, there was an outburst.
"What kind of theatrics are you trying to pull, Rutherford?" Dubravko demanded.
"I'm just offering everyone a chance to listen to the truth," Alton calmly explained.
"I've heard enough of this ridiculousness," Dubravko complained. "This conference has been a complete waste of time, and I intend to report that to the parties that I'm representing here. First, I see an inability to reach a viable structure for continued dialogue. Next, the inability to solidify a standardized base of common principles. And finally, you're trying to use conspiracy theories to manipulate group dynamics. Preposterous!"
Dubravko's gold-flecked eyes glared at Alton and then at Katrina as he rose from his chair.
"You're fools if you stay for anymore of this," he warned the rest of the participants. Then he grabbed the folder and notes before him and angrily stormed from the room.
The assembled group traded curious or concerned glances with each other, and a few vampires acted as if they were preparing to rise from their chairs.
"Please," Alton diplomatically offered. "Please listen to the evidence, and then you can judge for yourselves. Nobody, least of all me, is trying to force anything upon you."
The few who had started to rise sat back in their chairs. Others erupted into individual hushed conversations, while Katrina just stared into Alton's eyes.
That was both odd and unexpected.
As Aiden and Caleb talked about all that had happened the previous day and evening, Caleb noticed Dubravko storm into the lobby, headed straight for the main desk. The surly vampire removed a cell phone from his pocket and appeared to be texting with someone. Then he abruptly put away his cell phone and locked eyes with Caleb. The imposing vampire sneered at him and proceeded to the main desk.
"Is my car ready?" he demanded.
"Yes, sir," the woman at the counter assured him. "Your driver arrived not long ago, and we're loading your luggage now. Thank you for staying with us, Mr. Dubravko, and have a pleasant journey home."
"Thanks," the vampire replied. "I'm looking forward to it."
He proceeded through the main doors to the dim area of the awning-shrouded limousine and slipped inside.
"That was weird," Caleb noted.
His mind screamed that something seemed very odd about the display, but he couldn't quite place what.
"Hey!" Paige exclaimed from nearby. "Was that Dubravko?"
Caleb acknowledged her, but was still distracted by his thoughts.
"Yeah, the guy just stormed out of here like a bullet," Aiden supplied.
"What the hell is Alton thinking?" Paige hated the idea that the vampire would get away after being neatly implicated in recent events.
Then something occurred to Caleb like a light bulb snapping on. It was Dubravko; something was definitely missing.
"The briefcase," he muttered.
"What?" Aiden asked.
Then another image flashed from Caleb's memory, and a look of horror formed on his face.
"Oh crap!" he exclaimed. "We gotta see Alton. Now!"
Paige wanted to press him for information, but he had already leapt up from the couch and was racing towards the conference room.
Following Dubravko's hasty departure, the room seemed to erupt in a litany of simultaneous comments or arguments over the events of the prior twenty-four hours. Seemingly, everyone had an opinion, some better-informed than others.
"Please, if we could all quiet down so that I can play the recording for you," Alton urged.
The door to the conference room opened to reveal a harried-looking guard. "Uh, sorry Mr. Rutherford, but this young man -"
"Alton! You've gotta listen to me!" Caleb yelled from the hallway. "The briefcase!"
Katrina's eyes widened, and she rose from her chair with concern. "Caleb?"
"Let him in," Alton ordered as he rose from his seat.
The room burst into hushed whisperings as all eyes intently focused on the young man.
Caleb quickly squeezed past the guard then momentarily froze as he took in the roomful of vampire eyes all focused on him. He gathered his wits and concentrated on Alton.
"The briefcase," he blurted.
Alton stepped closer to him, abandoning further attempts to calm the mutterings of his fellow vampires, resigned to the fact that order had been lost.
"What briefcase?" Alton asked.
As Katrina watched her mate with a frown, Caleb scanned the room and circumnavigated the conference table until arriving at two empty seats, one of which Dubravko had been seated in.
He slowly pulled the chairs away and looked underneath the table as the nearest vampires stopped chatting and turned to observe him.
Paige appeared in the doorway and announced, "Dubravko's leaving."
"What?" Alton demanded. "It's broad daylight. He's not going anywhere."
"Hello? They pitched the awning over the car," she clarified.
"Bloody hell," Alton cursed under his breath.
As Caleb peered underneath the table, he saw Dubravko's black leather briefcase and looked up, pointing to it.
Katrina and Alton had followed him around the table to watch.
"That can't be good," Caleb urgently noted.
Katrina and Alton saw that red LED numbers on the briefcase's lock code display were counting down rapidly. Alton immediately grabbed the briefcase and turned to hand it to the vampire guard who had entered the room to announce Caleb.
"Get this outside and far away from the building! Now!" he ordered.
The vampire carefully took the briefcase in hand and hastily exited the room with it.
Katrina insisted, "We've got to clear the outdoor vicinity of any humans."
Paige turned to speed from the room in a blur.
"Everyone needs to account for their human companions immediately," Katrina barked at the other vampires milling around the room.
The room erupted with vampires disappearing from around the table. Caleb watched the disarray while his mind grasped an important concept.
It's daylight; these vampires can't leave the hotel!
He slipped from the room as Katrina and Alton urgently spoke with Hakizimana. When he arrived in the lobby, the vampire guard holding the briefcase was heatedly arguing with a human guard who was refusing to accept the briefcase.
Dorianne stood near the lobby entrance with a puzzled look on her face as she watched the arguing guards. Caleb rushed over to the two and caught Dori's attention. He mouthed the word "bomb," and her eyes widened with realization. One glance at the numerals on the briefcase indicated that they didn't have much time left.
He grabbed at the briefcase, and the vampire guard glared at him.
"Get back," the guard ordered.
"You sure as hell can't!" Caleb objected. "And this guy's petrified."
He instantly relinquished the case to the young man.
"Door!' Caleb shouted as he rushed for the first set of glass doors.
Dori's expression immediately turned to one of understanding. She launched herself at the glass doors as Caleb raced to them. She held the door open as he passed and then sped outside in close pursuit.
"Just throw it as far away as quickly as you can and get the hell out of there!" Dori shouted.
Katrina entered the lobby just as Caleb and Dori were exiting.
"Caleb!" she screamed as she raced to the lobby's exit.
She rushed past the first set of double doors, immediately feeling the intense burning affect of UV radiation from the sunlight beyond. Alton's hand wrapped around her arm and jerked her back inside, where they nearly tumbled to the floor.
"No!" she screamed with anguish as her head rotated towards the coated glass windows to see her mate rushing outside across the large expanse of grassy field before the conference center.
All of the people in the lobby, both vampires and humans, ran to the UV-protected glass windows and strained to watch Caleb. Alton and Katrina rushed forward to command a front spot at the glass, and Alton placed a supportive arm around Katrina's shoulders as the two vampires collectively held their breath.
"For God's sake, just throw it and run," Katrina urgently whispered.
"Everyone get away from the damned windows!" Paige harshly ordered, though her eyes were filled with horror as she tried not to think about Caleb.
Then she stood in a veritable daze, transfixed to the view beyond.
Caleb felt sheer terror rise in him as he immediately realized the death sentence that he faced if he didn't hastily ditch the briefcase. With a determination born of both desperation and fear, he ran across the expanse of manicured turf that constituted the frontage of the hotel grounds towards the looming cliff facing into which the road leading to the conference center had been cut.
"Throw it, Caleb!" Dori yelled from somewhere behind him. "There's not enough time!"
His mind raced with where to throw the briefcase to minimize the possible damage to innocent lives and the hotel itself, which he knew was covered in panes of glass along its façade. Then he spied the looming cliff that fell to the road below, and he spotted the dark limousine in the distance as it made the gently graded turn towards the road.
Given the short time that had passed, he just knew that the limousine occupant had to be Dubravko. The car had been delayed by the rolling length of street that wound its way around before tying into the road below.
He willed his legs to run as fast as possible towards the cliff's edge. He swallowed to loosen the growing tightness in his throat and kept to his course. Reaching the edge of the sharp drop-off, he saw the black limousine making its steady way directly below where he stood.
Thankfully, the only vehicle in view was the oncoming black limousine. His eyes darted to the briefcase as its three LED digits transmuted into two.
In a panic, he used all of his upper body strength to throw the weighty attache down to the road below. It plummeted through the air in a spinning arc and flatly landed onto the pavement with a bounce at the side of the roadway.
He started to run, but turned back to see the limousine sail past it. As the tail of the vehicle passed the briefcase, a huge explosion erupted. The shockwave was enormous, and the blast threw Caleb onto the ground.
Dori was standing halfway across the grassy field when the explosion erupted, and the concussion from the blast knocked her to the ground. A plume of red fire and black smoke mushroomed upwards into the sky above the cliff line as the onlookers inside of the hotel all simultaneously gasped. The glass vibrated all along the front side of the hotel. Some panes cracked, but thankfully remained intact.
"Caleb!" was all that Katrina could helplessly shout as the palms of her hands pressed against the glass. Alton placed a supportive hand against her back, though his face was a mask of concern as he stared at Dori's prone form.
Paige was still wide-eyed with shock as she struggled to discern the state of Caleb's body as it she saw it lying still on the ground. A grim possibility clouded her thoughts.
Please, please, please...not that.
Caleb felt strong hands grasping his body and rolling him onto his back as high-pitched ringing sounded in his head. He was groggy, and his eyelids felt so heavy that he had trouble opening them.
"Caleb? Caleb, can you hear me?" Dori pleaded from somewhere that sounded far away.
He pried his eyes open and saw Dori's face come into focus, as well as three men wearing hotel security jackets. The sky beyond alternated between sunshine and dark puffs of smoke.
"Can you sit up?" one of the men asked.
"Y-Yeah," he stammered as they helped him sit.
His head felt woozy, and his balance escaped him slightly as he almost swooned. Firm hands gripped his shoulders, and Dori squatted down on her knees before him. She reached out and lifted his eyelids as she gazed into his eyes.
He ran one hand across his face and felt something sticky. When he finally focused on his hand, he saw fresh blood.
"Is my nose bleeding?" he asked.
"He might have a concussion," Dori surmised. "Get the cart over here."
A golf cart appeared nearby, and they helped him onto the passenger seat. Dori moved around to the driver's seat while one security guard stepped onto the passenger side and held onto the roof to keep Caleb from falling out. The cart slowly pulled away towards the main entrance of the hotel.
"What happened?" Caleb asked.
Dori looked at him sidelong. "The limousine flipped over lengthwise and exploded. I saw one person lying on the street. Well, most of him anyway. Then I saw another body on the ground, but it was smoldering in the sunlight. It had to be Dubravko."
He tried to nod with understanding, but a sudden pain shot through his head and neck.
"Ow," he muttered while reaching for the back of his head.
"Just sit still," she suggested as she pulled alongside the main hotel entrance. "I think you need some attention."
He chuckled despite his fatigue and muttered, "Oh, I think I'm about to get that, all right."
Katrina's going to be pissed.
He was half-carried through the main doors leading into the lobby by Dori on one side and a male security guard on the other. The room was a shouting match of voices and activity, and Caleb winced from the painful effect on his ears.
He was no sooner through the doors when he smelled the scent of cherry blossoms.
"Caleb," Katrina whispered in his ear while gently cradling him in her arms. "Are you okay, my love?"
He managed a lopsided grin. "I am now."
Her soft lips pressed to his, kissing him.
Alton and Dori watched with concern as Alton protectively encircled her with his arms, pulling her body close to his. Paige hovered over both Katrina and Caleb, trying to gauge the young man's condition.
Caleb's hearing began to buzz loudly, and the voices in the room sounded distant in his ears. The crowded lobby of vampires and humans seemed to spin around him, and he started losing his balance.
Fortunately, Katrina already had hold of him and neatly swept him into her arms. A moment later, darkness enveloped him, and he lost consciousness.
Ethan instantly appeared at her side.
"Let's get him into the examining room," he urged, leading the way towards his office.
It took less than a minute for the vampire physician to diagnose the young man on the examining table before him. Alton, Paige, and Dori all entered the room.
"I think he may have a mild concussion at the very least," Reynolds determined with concern.
"What do we do?" Katrina demanded.
"He needs an MRI as soon as possible to check for traumatic brain injury," Ethan explained.
"Is there a hospital nearby?" Alton asked Paige.
"There's one in Jereka," Paige supplied. "I'll arrange a vehicle."
"Time's of the essence, everyone," Reynolds soberly insisted.
Alton immediately suggested, "Helicopter would be preferable."
Paige nodded. "I'm on it."
Katrina stared down upon her mate with both concern and a growing sense of fear.
When Caleb awoke, he vaguely realized that he was lying in a hospital bed. His eyelids fluttered slightly as his vision focused on the dimly lit room around him. Heavy curtains covered the windows, but he could still see soft light emanating into the room from above them.
Is it sunrise or sunset?
A sense of time displacement washed over him, and he wondered how long he had been unconscious.
"Finally awake, are we?" a middle-aged nurse asked from across the room. Her accent was thickly Slovene, but pleasant.
"Where am I?" he asked as the woman came into view beside him.
"Jereka General Hospital," she replied while holding his left wrist to measure his pulse.
"How long have I been here?" he asked.
"Almost four hours," she replied. "It's nearly evening now."
He relaxed somewhat, confident in knowing he hadn't been in a lengthy coma or anything. The events leading up to the explosion replayed in his mind, though he only recalled bits and pieces after that. His head still ached, and he was having trouble thinking clearly.
"I'll let the doctor know you're awake," she offered before turning to depart. "He'll want to speak with you."
"Um," he prompted to get her attention. "Is anyone else waiting for me?"
"I'll check the waiting area for you," she offered.
"Thanks."
Lying in the bed contemplating all that had happened, he almost didn't notice the doctor slip into the room. He was a tall gentleman with slightly graying brown hair and a bushy mustache. He displayed a polite demeanor as he observed Caleb.
"Mr. Taylor, how are you feeling?" the man asked. His accent wasn't Slovenian, but Scandinavian. "I'm Doctor Stian Flagstad, Chief of Neurology here at the hospital."
"Hi, Doc," Caleb politely offered. "What...How bad am I?"
Flagstad smiled. "You're a very lucky man, Mr. Taylor."
"Caleb," he prompted the doctor.
"Certainly, Caleb," Flagstad continued. "We performed an MRI, and everything appears normal. However, I'd like to perform some additional tests and examine you further before making a final diagnosis."
Caleb's eyes swept the room as he fully digested what the doctor had told him. It was as if his mind were struggling to keep up with what was being said. He stared at the curtained window, and when he looked back at the doctor, he saw Katrina standing at the back of the room.
She looked beautiful to him with her red hair falling around her shoulders. However, she wore a concerned expression, and her arms were tightly folded before her.
His eyes widened with recognition, and he whispered, "Kat?"
The doctor frowned and turned to look over his shoulder with surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you stepped in. I'm Doctor -"
"Flagstad," Katrina finished as she stepped forward to shake the doctor's hand. "I'm Katrina Rawlings. You were saying about Caleb?"
Flagstad seemed a little unnerved. "Ms. Rawlings, are you family?"
She moved to the side of the bed, reaching down to run her fingers through Caleb's hair.
"We're common-law partners. I also have a power of attorney to authorize any medical or billing forms that require attention."
As she observed her mate in support, Caleb looked up at her and squeezed her hand.
"I'm glad you're here," he said.
The doctor paused for a moment, as if assessing the couple before him, before continuing. "We need to run some additional tests, and I'll be happy to brief you further."
"Thank you, Doctor," Katrina responded.
"I'll let the two of you visit briefly," he offered and left.
One of Katrina's eyebrows arched as she focused upon her mate.
"You're going to be the death of me someday. You know that, don't you?"
"I'm sorry." Worrying her was the last thing that he wanted to do. His head suddenly ached terribly, and he pressed his fingertips to his eyes. "My head's pounding."
"I'll see what they can do about that," she promised.
He laid his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes. The next few hours were eased by some medication given to him by the nurse, though it made him dopey, and he phased in and out of consciousness.
He thought that it must have been the middle of the night when he stirred, only to see both Katrina and Paige sitting in guest chairs next to his bed. He quickly fell asleep again.
When he awoke sometime later, it was to the voices of Dr. Flagstad, Katrina, and Ethan. He only vaguely followed what was being said, though the topic involved his diagnosis. He abruptly fell back asleep.
The next morning, Caleb felt much more rested. His head hurt less, and he had undergone a series of additional examinations and tests. By mid-morning, Dr. Flagstad briefed Katrina and Ethan on his condition, which involved a concussion, though with no expected long-term neurological or traumatic injury. He received brief instructions on what symptoms to expect, as well as advice to visit both his primary care physician and a preferred neurologist when he returned to Atlanta.
By late afternoon, he was anxious to be released. Alton ensured that a limousine with protective window screening was dispatched to pick him, Katrina, and Ethan up at the hospital. It was briefly tricky as the two vampires rushed from the shaded entrance of the building into the back of the vehicles. Each only suffered minor effects that appeared much like a bad sunburn, partly aided by shielding themselves with jackets over their heads as they rushed into the car. Fortunately, few people were nearby to see the strange display.
On the drive back to the conference center, Ethan reminded Caleb to take one of his prescribed pain medications. Caleb dozed in and out of sleep as Katrina nestled his head against her shoulder with her arm draped around him. He recalled the beautiful sunset as the vehicle pulled before the hotel entrance, but was only partially aware during the wheelchair ride to his suite.
Katrina gently laid Caleb onto the bed in their suite and pulled his shoes and socks off for him. Drawing the bed's comforter over him, she made sure that his head was only slightly elevated on the pillow. Then she lightly kissed him on the lips.
"Kat?" he asked, stirring slightly.
"I'm here, my love," she assured him while perched on the edge of the bed.
"I love you," he urgently whispered. "I love you so much, and I need you to know that."
She lightly ran her fingertips across his forehead. "Oh, my brave angel. I love you dearly, too."
She loved him so much that she didn't have the heart to tell him how his nearly lethal heroic actions had almost devastated her.
If he had died...
She shook her head and tried not to contemplate that further.
Following a knock at the door to their suite, she moved like a blur to answer it. Alton and Dori stood outside, and she ushered them into the room.
"Paige just mentioned that you had returned," Alton began as Katrina closed the door behind them.
Dori quickly relayed the latest details garnered following the explosion, including the secretive forensic confirmation of Dubravko and his aide's demise. She indicated that the local authorities were fully cooperating with Interpol on the investigation, though Alton had intervened, using key contacts in order to handle Dubravko's vampire remains to mask them from general discovery.
"Well, that's something at least," Katrina darkly said. "Thanks for your help, Dori."
The young French woman smiled in return. "My pleasure."
"But we still don't know who Dubravko was specifically representing at the conference," Alton pointed out as the three moved towards the bedroom where Caleb was resting. "And we have no idea if the attempt with those explosives was specifically sanctioned by the lobbying parties or not."
Katrina's expression hardened, and she muttered in a quiet, lethal-sounding voice, "Well, we're going to discover the answers to both of those questions. And there's going to be hell to pay if I don't like what I learn."
Alton silently sat for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "It may take some time, but believe it or not, I agree with you fully."
Dori remained silent, moving to sit in a chair not far from the bed.
"Count me in," Caleb mumbled to everyone's surprise. "But before all that, does anybody have any aspirin?"