A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (32 page)

Trish asked about food and drink preferences, to which he asked for a menu and a Coca-Cola, while Katrina asked for a glass of wine. The stewardess departed, and Caleb set his towel aside on the small adjustable table before him.

“Kat, what else are you expecting to do while we’re in London?” he asked. “I get the impression this is part business trip.”

Very perceptive
, she congratulated him. “Alton mentioned there are some vampire-related matters he wanted to discuss with me,” she explained. “I’m not entirely clear on most of the details, but it appears a rift is forming in the vampire community. The implications are still being determined, although I can’t help feeling that Alton is one of the leaders representing one side of the issue.”

He considered that for a moment. “He wants to recruit you, doesn’t he? Isn’t that part of why he offered to set up the meeting for me with the vampire psychiatrist?”

She frowned, not wanting to consider her former mentor’s actions as being so base or manipulative, but conceded there might be a hint of accuracy to her mate’s assessment. “It’s possible that Alton only wants to get my impression of things, but it’s more likely that he wants my assistance in some form,” she said. “However, he’s becoming fond of you, and I think he sincerely wants to try and help if he can.”

“Well, that’s nice of him, at any rate,” he conceded with a shake of his head. “I’m feeling both nervous and hopeful about meeting with- What’s his name?”

“Dr. Roehl Guilhelm,” she supplied. “According to Alton, he’s supposed to be one of the best in his field. I did some preliminary research, and he does appear to be an actively practicing psychiatrist.”

Caleb nodded, hoping again the doctor was as good as his reputation. He really wanted to get his blocked memories back. Somehow he felt as if some sort of important closure could occur, at least regarding his father, if not also for his initial meeting of Katrina, or rather, Amber. “That’s good to know,” he replied absently.

A few minutes later, Trish returned with wine, cola, and a menu, which Caleb perused at length before ordering a deli sandwich. Much to his surprise, it tasted freshly prepared. He and Katrina watched a recent blockbuster action film on the display and read novels they had brought in their carry-on luggage. He was amazed by the friendly, attentive service provided on the flight and became so acclimated to the smooth in-flight conditions that he felt comfortable taking a shower and napping in his reclined seat. Although Katrina was amused that he didn’t feel so relaxed that he would concede to napping on the comfortable-looking bed.

“Fear of unexpected turbulence rolling me out of bed,” he had countered with a yawn.

Soon afterwards, she took her turn in the shower, after which she noted he had fallen deeply asleep during her brief absence. She settled down to do some more reading while listening to some music on a set of headphones connected to the console above her.

When he woke, he realized that he had slept nearly six hours and was hungry. After a quick perusal of the menu, he was served an early morning breakfast of eggs, pork sausage, and Belgian waffles while Katrina enjoyed a warm glass of human blood. In a brief simultaneous exchange, each viewed the other’s meal with mild disdain.

“Mine smells tastier than yours,” he bragged with a smirk.

“You smell tastier than either,” she observed with a predatory grin, to which he smiled and returned to his platter of food.

“You want a little nip?” he asked playfully as he poured hot syrup over his waffles.

“I would, but I’ve decided to spare you for later,” she replied suggestively.

He merely smiled and shook his head. It was nice to be desired, despite the fact that he was the intended meal. He suddenly realized how comfortable he had become with being a vampire’s mate in just a matter of months and how much he relished his role in Katrina’s life. It was a source of both great pride and personal satisfaction.

As their plane approached the British Isles, the sun had already risen, and the human pilot who took control of the aircraft invited Caleb to the cockpit to view their approach to the mainland. As he approached the cockpit he noted all the other cabins had been closed and the bar area was devoid of patrons. He found the cockpit view fascinating and couldn’t help but wonder what adventures awaited him as he observed the looming land mass of Great Britain. Upon his return to their cabin, Katrina glanced up at him from her mystery novel.

“Enjoy the view?” she asked with a smirk, though she easily detected how pleased he was.

He bent down to kiss her. “It was great! And I suspect I’ve got you to thank for that, as well.”

“While you were napping earlier, I slipped out and let it be known it was your first transatlantic flight, and the other vampires and crew were kind enough to oblige my small request.”

He smiled warmly as he sat down next to her, once again touched by his mate’s seemingly endless kindness. “Thanks, Kat. You’re the best.”

She adopted a mock-smug expression, returned to reading her novel, and agreed, “Yes I am, in fact. And don’t you forget it, my love.”

It was mid-morning by the time the plane landed at a small airport just outside of London. They remained in the plane at length while the aircraft taxied into a completely blacked-out hangar, its doors closed to preclude any sunlight from entering. A special ramp was brought alongside the plane, and the few passengers disembarked.

They grabbed their carry-on luggage and proceeded through the quiet central hallway leading towards the front of the plane, though the only people they encountered were the human pilot and their two assigned stewardesses. Caleb shook their hands and thanked them for their service and safe flight, and each person seemed flattered and slightly taken aback by his friendly and appreciative manner. Katrina followed suit, though merely nodding, smiling, and thanking the crew for their hospitality and service.

“Such a friendly, polite young man,” the captain whispered to the two crewwomen standing next to him.

“Cute couple,” one of the women muttered, causing Katrina to smirk as she descended the ramp next to Caleb.

Two black limousines with tinted windows were already idling near the plane with their brake lights on, indicating their passengers were loaded and ready to depart the hangar. One lone black limousine remained near the bottom of the ramp. Its rear-most passenger side door was open, beside which a tall man wearing a tailored suit stood arrow-straight. His right hand was crossed neatly against his left hand as he stared ahead of him observing their descent to the concrete floor of the hangar. A man dressed in a traditional chauffeur’s uniform stood next to the rear bumper of the vehicle as airport employees transferred the luggage from the aircraft into the car’s trunk.

Caleb noticed Katrina’s change in posture to a more aggressive stance as she deliberately walked a little ahead of him towards the man standing next to the car’s open door. The dark-haired man seemed momentarily taken aback by Katrina’s forward bearing, and he blinked once as he stared back at her.

“Ma’am,” the man offered deferentially with a nod. “Welcome to London. My name is Simmons, ma’am. Mr. Rutherford sends his regrets that he couldn’t meet you in person. He sent me to ensure that you and Mr. Taylor are properly escorted to your hotel.”

The chauffeur approached Caleb and gestured towards his and Katrina’s carry-on luggage, which he took and stored in the trunk for them. He nodded politely to Caleb, returned to the rear of the vehicle, and watched the other airport staff who were loading two remaining luggage items.

Katrina raised an eyebrow. “I see. And you’re part of the security detail for Mr. Rutherford?”

The man nodded and replied in a crisp English accent, “Yes, ma’am.”

Caleb knew better than to interrupt the interaction taking place and stood quietly behind and to the left of Katrina. He found his mate’s sudden change in demeanor to one of immediate authority curious, but perhaps not surprising. She was an alpha vampire, after all, and she had no idea who the man was.

“Expecting trouble, Simmons?” she asked pointedly as she looked in the direction of the chauffeur, who closed the trunk and moved to the driver’s side of the vehicle. He stood quietly, apparently awaiting word to proceed with the departure.

“Not expecting any, ma’am,” Simmons replied crisply. “Mr. Rutherford merely wanted to ensure that your journey to the hotel was without incident given that it’s daytime.”

Caleb’s eyes perked up with the recognition that the man fully understood he was addressing a vampire.

“Then I appreciate your service today, Simmons,” Katrina replied politely. “Let’s proceed.”

Simmons nodded to the chauffeur and held the car door open for them. Caleb glanced back to the airplane, but all the people had suddenly disappeared from the area, leaving them seemingly alone in that part of the hangar. Katrina touched Caleb lightly on the shoulder to urge him forward to enter the back of the car before her. He ducked into the back of the limousine and scooted over to the far side of the seat to allow her to enter. She slid onto the seat, and Simmons closed the door. He got into the passenger side of the front compartment, leaving Katrina and Caleb alone in the roomy rear compartment of the vehicle.

Caleb looked out the passenger side of the car and noticed the hangar doors were opening, allowing the two limousines ahead of them to depart. A few moments later, their own limousine pulled through the hangar and into the daylight, although the darkly tinted windows kept any ultraviolet radiation from penetrating. He looked out the car window at the airport buildings and hangars and found that things looked very similar to the airports in the United States.

Katrina extended her left arm across the open expanse of space towards him and pulled him back to the center of the car next to her with one swift motion. He chuckled as he slid across the leather seat towards her and tilted his head up to kiss her.

“Welcome to London, my love,” she offered. “Don’t worry about the view for now. It will begin to look more scenic and noteworthy once we leave the area around the airport.”

“That man, Simmons,” Caleb noted curiously. “He reminds me of a secret service agent.”

“Alton likes to hire former British military and intelligence service members in his security ranks,” she told him. “Their experience and discipline lend themselves well to Alton’s preferred style of performance and leadership.”

He nodded. “You looked rather authoritative there for a moment, as well.”

She shrugged and hugged him to her. “It was important to establish the pecking order with such types. They respect that, and it removes any role ambiguity.”

He smirked. “I think I like you better this way.”

She smiled back slyly and kissed him on the cheek. “Of course you do. But then, I’ve already established our pecking order, haven’t I?”

He shook his head, rolled his eyes, and patted her thigh with his hand. He took a moment to take in the interior of the vehicle and realized that a small LCD display was built into a central console before him. There appeared to be a small bar and built-in cooler, and a leather seat was situated on each side of the console facing towards them. The interior would comfortably seat five, he noted.

“Nice ride,” he said. He was impressed with the luxuriousness of the vehicle and anticipated that it must have cost a small fortune.

“One of Alton’s,” she noted. “I’ll bet they even stocked the fridge for us.”

He reached across to open the small refrigerator and found two bottles of chilled Coca-cola along with two plastic vials of chilled blood. He took out one of the Coke bottles, opened it, and took a swig. His dry throat appreciated it, and he looked up at Katrina.

“Want some cold blood?” he asked with a grin.

She frowned for a moment and reached over to the console to open a small wooden panel. Inside was a set of two clear drinking glasses, which were heated by elements surrounding the interior of the small storage area. A brief wave of heat flowed out of the interior towards them.

“Wow,” he said with surprise. “Preheated glasses. Never seen that before.”

She nodded, but closed the door again without removing a glass. “I seem to recall his telling me about installing heated glass holders in his cars. Novel idea, but I’m not terribly hungry right now,” she replied, although she took the Coke bottle from him and took a small swig before handing it back to him.

Once they left the area surrounding the airport, the scenery looked somewhat rustic, though the most notable aspect was that they were riding down the opposite side of the road from what was normal in America. Caleb decided to not look forward, half expecting to run into an oncoming vehicle. As if sensing his personal challenge, Katrina ran her fingers down the back of his neck lightly, which caused him to shiver slightly.

“Try looking at the passing scenery instead of forwards for a time,” she suggested. “It takes a little getting used to, I’ll admit.”

As they approached the outskirts of London, Caleb noticed that the buildings were a mix of the most modern constructions combined with architectures of less descript design. It was almost like one could see the varying generations of English architecture all combined into one stretch of the city. However, a number of homes and buildings really didn’t look that different from designs found in the United States or Canada.

Once downtown, he wished that he could open a window to see a lighter version of the scenery around him, rather than the darkly tinted imagery, but he naturally didn’t want to do anything to harm Katrina. He anticipated that he could stand outside of the hotel for a time once they arrived and checked into their room.

Again, Katrina seemed to sense his thoughts. “I’ll see if Alton knows someone who can take you out for some daytime touring of the city. It would be a shame for you to only see the place at night.”

He grinned back at her as he briefly turned from the window. “You’re sure vampires don’t read minds? Thanks, I’d love that.”

She smiled in response and appreciated the engaged manner in which he tried to take in the passing scenery. Their trip had been very successful thus far, which pleased her. She was determined to make the trip as relaxing, fun, and enjoyable as she could manage, despite her daylight limitations.