Seduced by the Night (27 page)

"I'm impressed," Dirk admitted, speaking for the first time. "There aren't many people who would have remained calm under those circumstances."

Julia gave a small laugh. "Then I won't tell you about the small breakdown I had."

 The admiral's smile was warm and gentle. "I suspect you have a few questions."

"Actually," she admitted, "I only have one."

They all turned to her expectantly and waited.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Everyone stared at her and Dirk wondered if they, like he, were trying to figure out if she was joking or serious. He suspected the latter and it bothered him.

The admiral, however, looked to be the most upset. "Julia, why would you even ask that?"

Her gaze was level when she answered him. "You say you're running a security agency, but you only have one client, as far as I can tell, and she's not paying you to watch her. All the money you get for the philanthropic activities is coming from somewhere, but I have no clue where. You're former military and you work with the local police. Dirk and Mac work mostly at night and except for an occasional meal, you go to great lengths to see that I'm not here after dark. I know you were trying to keep whatever it is you do confidential and this creature, whatever it is, is part of that. So, I just wondered if you were going to kill me in order to keep your secret."

"Of course we're not going to kill you." The admiral sounded outraged. "I'm highly offended that you would even suggest such a thing. I'll admit that we have kept certain things from you, but only for your own protection."

Julia laid her hand on his arm. "You don't owe me any explanations. I'm not going to tell anyone what I've seen. I'll just clean out my desk and be out of your way as soon as I can."

"You're quitting?"
Lanie
asked, her face showing concern as she set the baby
chupacabra
on the floor to play so she could approach Julia.

It was Julia's turn to look surprised as she looked at
Lanie
and then the admiral. "No, I'm not quitting. I mean, I don't want to quit, but I thought, after what happened, that you wouldn't… that is to say, I thought I was fired."

The admiral smiled. "No, you're not fired. I can't stop you if you want to leave, but I hope you'll stay."

Julia smiled up at him, the dirt on her face giving her a particularly waiflike appearance. "Well, I do like it here."

"Good," the admiral said, as if things had been decided. "But this does change things a little." He exchanged meaningful looks with Dirk and the others and they all silently nodded. Turning back to Julia, the admiral continued. "I'm afraid that there is much more to what we do than what little you've figured out. I think it's time we told you all of it, but first, perhaps you'd like to freshen up a bit?"

Julia's eyes widened in horror as she raised a hand to her hair. "Oh, my, I must look, and smell, a mess."

"I think you look stunning," the admiral replied gallantly. "
Lanie
, would you show Julia to a guest room so she can shower and perhaps either you or Bethany has a change of clothes she can borrow."

"Bethany's about your size,"
Lanie
said, leading Julia upstairs. They were gone for a few minutes before
Lanie
called down. "Has anyone seen Bethany? She's not in her room."

Dirk tensed. "What do you mean, she's not there?" he growled, racing up to Bethany's room. He immediately spotted the suitcases sitting on the bed, lids opened to reveal the packed clothes inside. She was leaving?

 The discovery came as a shock, followed closely by anger, frustration, and the trickling of fear. "Where the hell is she?"

"Maybe she's still at the lab," Julia offered, drawing everyone's attention. "I dropped her off earlier today." She looked around. "Oh, dear," she sighed. "Was that wrong?"

Dirk didn't say a word. He simply raced outside, jumped into his SUV, and headed into town.

Harris approached the farm, his senses alert to every sound and movement. He knew the adult
chupacabra
was near because he'd felt her presence through the psychic link.

He'd driven himself out into the country, but had left the car down the road, not wanting to frighten her off. He wasn't expecting miracles tonight. He knew that her trust would be hard to win, t
hank
s to Burton's cruelty. Once again, Harris felt the familiar hate and anger well up inside until it almost choked him. It took great discipline to tamp it down, but Harris still had that discipline, which was a miracle in itself.

Every day, it got a little harder to control the monster within, but every day, Harris found the strength to do it.

Climbing through the rails of a wood fence, he walked across the pasture, heading for the barn. He had only gone a few feet when he found the first animal carcass. Though it was night, he had no trouble making out the two puncture wounds in the neck. He walked a bit farther before spotting two more dead cows. These bodies hadn't been dead that long. He climbed the upward slope of the
pastore
until he stood at the very top and then, looking down into the small valley below, he saw the darker forms.

The adult was feeding, but she must have sensed him there because she stopped and looked up. He froze, not wanting to scare her away. It was enough that he was this close and she wasn't running from him.

He remained where he was until she finished eating and then he used the shared psychic link to send her an image of her own departure. He didn't want her remaining at the farm long enough to be spotted. That wouldn't be good.

She stood watching him for several seconds and then finally turned and lumbered off. Once she was out of his sight, Harris turned around and headed back to his car. He was feeling good. He'd gotten this close and she hadn't run from him. Tonight's encounter could be considered a success.

Bethany placed a drop of her latest batch of synthetic extract on a slide and placed it under the microscope next to the first one. She'd run every test she could think of and in all cases the synthetic had reacted just as the original— for about ten minutes. Staring at both the original and synthetic for the thousandth time as if the answer were in front of her if she could only see it, she tried to accept her own failure.

She tried to be objective, but couldn't. She didn't like failing. Taking a deep breath, she set up another round of experiments, refusing to give up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Dirk's sudden appearance startled her and the sound of  his voice set her pulse to racing, though she tried not to show it. "I'm working."

Coming up behind her, he grabbed her arm and spun her around on the stool until she was staring up into angry blue eyes tinged with a red glowing light. "I told you specifically not to go out by yourself."

She glared back. "News flash," she said heatedly, "I don't take orders from you." She started to turn her back on him, but he grabbed her arm again and refused to let her go.

"What you did was dangerous." His eyes practically shot sparks of light and his lips curled, revealing his fangs. She didn't know if he was trying to frighten her on purpose or whether he was even aware of how he looked. Either way, he was crowding her, making it hard for her to focus on anything but him. It wasn't fear, though, that she felt. Despite everything, she still wanted him and that, to her, was the crudest blow of all.

She managed to push off the stool and stood toe to toe, looking up at him. He didn't move. "You're in my way," she said between clenched teeth, staring up at him defiantly.

"We're not through talking."

"Oh, yes, we are." She placed her hand against his chest and shoved. He didn't budge, making her feel small and ineffectual. Anger, frustration, and hurt bubbled up, almost choking her as she shoved at him again, this time harder. "Get away from me."

"You should have told me where you were going," he growled.

"Told you where I was going?" she yelled, incredulous. "Why?" She fisted her hands and rode the wave of anger coursing through her. "Would you have believed me? After all, in your twisted little reality, I'm a liar and a cheat. You don't give a damn what happens to me."

"I don't want anything to hurt you," he said—and she lost it.

Pounding him with her fists, she started yelling. "You don't want anything to hurt me? Well, guess what, you jerk? In the last two weeks, the only
thing
that's hurt me is you. You. You." Each word was punctuated with a blow to his chest.

Dirk stood there and let her vent, guilt hitting him with a force far stronger than anything she could dole out. After finding the ring in her drawer, it had never occurred to him that she had been honest with him—that she would give up the wealth and affluence Miles could give her for a chance to be with him.

He stood there patiently waiting as her blows grew weaker and then finally stopped. He looked down and saw that she wasn't trying to fight him now, wasn't glaring at him. She was merely standing there, her head bowed, crying.

He pulled her to him, not allowing her to resist, and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry… for everything."

He stroked her back, relishing the feel of her in his arms for as long as she'd let him hold her. She hated him—how could she not? And it was his own fault.

Looking down at her, he put a finger under her chin and tipped her tear-streaked face up toward him. Her eyes were swollen, her mascara had run, and her nose was red, yet he'd never thought she looked more beautiful. He wanted one last kiss—to last a lifetime.

He moved slowly, giving her time to pull away or turn her head, then his mouth was on hers and his tongue teased the seam of her closed lips until she opened for him. He heard her sigh and realized he was wrong when he'd thought that all there was between them was a physical attraction.

Somewhere along the way, Beth had become the most important thing in his life.

"I finished."

Patterson looked up as Stuart walked into the chamber where he kept the prisoners. "Really? And this is different from the others how?"

"The problem was the enzyme—"

Patterson held up his hand, silencing the young man. "Spare me the technical explanation. Just tell me—how sure are you that this is a perfect match to the real venom?"

He saw Stuart's confident, cocky expression. "Positive."

Patterson smiled, not bothering to hide his fangs. "Positive?" he echoed. "Then let's test it, shall we?" He looked at the wall where the bodies of the previous test subjects lay withered and dead on the floor. All but one cowering man.

"Do you have a syringe?"

Stuart nodded, holding it up. "I've already filled it."

"Excellent." He reached for the syringe and was stunned when the other man pulled his hand back out of reach.

 "Remember our agreement," Stuart said. "I know you're planning to sell this and I expect you'll make a ton of money. All I'm asking for is a piece of the action. I think that's only fair."

The two stared at each other while Patterson fought to control his temper. Then he smiled. "Of course." He held out his hand again and this time Stuart gave him the syringe. Patterson took it and held it up to the light. "I trust you've made extensive notes on the formula?"

"Of course," Stuart mimicked Patterson's condescending tone.

"Good." Patterson never gave Stuart a chance to anticipate his demise. The first rush of warm blood filling his mouth was like ambrosia and he drank deeply. Whether the venom worked this time or not, he was glad to be rid of this young man.

When Stuart sagged in his arms, Patterson lowered him to the ground. Pulling the syringe from his lifeless fingers, Patterson injected the contents into Stuart's heart. "A piece of the action—as promised."