Seduced by the Night (7 page)

Dirk jerked his sword from the body and, taking her hand in his, started for the building. "Come on."

She pulled back and shook her head. "I can't go up there." She felt her lips tremble as she pleaded with him to go without her.

"Beth, I can't leave you out here alone. You have to come with me." He stared deep into her eyes, willing her to trust him. "I won't let them hurt you."

Slowly, she nodded.

They went inside and as they rode the elevator to the third floor, Dirk kept an eye on Beth. Several times, he saw her gaze drift to the bloodied blade of his sword and then to him. She wasn't stupid. Even now, as terrified as she was, he knew her mind was putting together all the pieces. He prayed she waited to ask questions until later, when he had time to answer them.

The elevator slowed to a stop and when the doors opened, he tensed for an attack, but none came. From where he stood, the hall loomed long and empty before him.

Pressing the button that would hold the elevator there until released, he stepped out. He suspected that the vampires were gone, but it paid to be cautious.

Bethany
's apartment was at the far end and when they reached it, they found the door standing ajar. Dirk paused to listen for any sounds from within. Then, hearing nothing, he pushed the door open farther and peered through the crack to make sure no one hid behind it.

Moving into the foyer, he paused at the entrance to the living room. There, lying in the middle of the floor, was the bodyguard.

It was obvious the man was dead, and even from several feet away, Dirk could see the two holes in the side of his neck. Behind him, he heard
Bern
's gasp, so he steered her past the scene, needing to check the rest of the apartment.

He had to stay alert to the possibility that more vampires lay in wait. It would be unusual for them to stick around, but nothing about what he'd witnessed over the last several nights had been "usual." Hell, he'd already killed more in this one night than was normal. There had been the three he'd dispatched in the alley before he heard Beth's scream and then the one who'd tried to kill her. Four in the last hour alone. If Harris and Patterson were behind this assault, they must be growing desperate.

With
Bethany
right behind him, Dirk slowly worked his way through the entire apartment. In the bedroom, he found the window open and a bloodstained handprint on the curtain where it had been pushed aside. He didn't know if this was how they'd gotten in, but it was definitely how the one had escaped.

Dirk stepped out on the fire escape and looked around, but saw nothing. He contemplated going to the roof, but there was no point. The vampires wouldn't be returning tonight.

Climbing back inside, he sheathed his sword and turned to Beth, who still stared at him through haunted eyes. She was in shock.

"They're gone." Going to her because he couldn't seem to stay away, he slowly rubbed his hands up and down her arms in what he hoped was a reassuring caress. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, and then shook her head. "No, I'm not all right. I don't understand what's going on. It's like something out of a bad Vincent Price movie." Her voice rose with her excitement and she paused to catch her breath. "I know this sounds crazy, but they looked like vampires…" Her words trailed off into a desperate kind of laugh as she raised a hand to rub her head. "You probably think I'm losing it. I don't know; maybe I am."

He knew he should tell her that it was her imagination playing tricks; that the killers were human. Yet, when he opened his mouth to spin the lie, he found himself telling her the truth instead. "They
were
vampires."

He waited for her reaction, but all she did was nod her head.

"Okay. That's what I thought." Her voice sounded too matter of fact and Dirk again recognized the symptoms of shock. It was buffering her reactions—letting few emotions in and none out. Studying her face, he wondered when the dam would break, knowing it would be soon.

"I need to make a couple of phone calls," he said, hoping he had time.

She nodded. "I should call Miles. He'll want to know about Mr.
Yarbro
."

Dirk found her statement revealing, but didn't point out that
Miles's
first concern would most likely be for
her
safety. The mention of the man's name, however, raised an issue that needed to be addressed. "Let's not mention the vampires to Miles, all right? In fact, let's not mention them to anyone."

A quizzical look penetrated through an otherwise glassy, distant gaze. Then she shrugged. "He probably wouldn't believe me anyway." Still sounding unnaturally calm, she walked over to the bedside table where a cordless phone sat next to a book.

When she began to dial, Dirk pulled out his cell phone and punched in Mac's phone number. As he listened to the rings, his eyes scanned the room, taking in details that helped paint a picture of the woman who lived here. The furniture was elegant but simple in design, consistent with the soothing neutral tones of the bedspread and curtains. Bookshelves lined the walls and except for one shelf dedicated to photos of what Dirk assumed to be family, they were filled past capacity with various paperback and hardback volumes. Scanning the titles, he saw everything from scientific reference books to popular fiction. He took all this in at a glance and it didn't tell him much about Bethany
Stavinoski
except that she was neat and liked to read. Only the little cloth clown doll, perched on her dresser, seemed out of place.

Its little purple velveteen outfit was stained, the ruffled collar had become detached at one side, and the once white color had faded to gray. The clown's hat sat precariously on its head, above the once-golden strands of hair, and one eye was missing from the face. To anyone else, the doll might appear to be junk, but Dirk suspected it had been the object of a young girl's love, so much so that the grown woman couldn't bring herself to throw it away. A man would be lucky to earn the love of a woman like that.

A click on the other end of the line caught his attention.

"Mac here."

"I'm at
Bethany
's apartment. There was another attempt. I've got three bodies in the back alley, one on the sidewalk out in front of the building, and a dead bodyguard inside." He kept his words clipped and to the point.

"And the woman?"

Dirk cast a glance at her and, seeing her hang up the phone, he turned his back so she wouldn't hear him. "She's in shock, but otherwise okay." Dirk paused. "I told her."

There was a moment of silence, but when Mac spoke, he didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Everything?"

This time, Dirk felt embarrassed. "Only about the vampires. She saw them and I… didn't want to lie."

"Okay. You were there so it was your call. I'm on my way. I can get the bodies outside, but what about the bodyguard?"

"I think we'll have to call
John
."

"I'll do it."

"T
hank
s." Dirk hung up the phone and turned to check on
Bethany
, only to find her walking past him to the living room. Worried, he followed after her as she walked over to the dead man's body and stared down at it.

"He died because of me." Her voice cracked with emotion. "I don't understand." She looked up at Dirk, her eyes pleading for him to explain it, and a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye. He barely heard her next words, they were so softly spoken. "I'm scared."

Dirk sensed the dam break and pulled her into his arms, gathering her close. "You're not responsible for these attacks,
Bethany
. It's not your fault. And I won't let them hurt you, I promise." He heard her muffled sobs and vowed that he'd keep that promise, even if it killed him.

In the protected safety of Dirk's embrace,
Bethany
's
defenses
fell. She burrowed closer, needing the feel of his solid, wide chest and the strength of his arms wrapped around her to block out the horrors of the night's events. She knew she should have felt embarrassed, crying as she was in a stranger's arms, but at that particular moment, he didn't feel like a stranger.

How long they stood there,
Bethany
had no idea, but when she finally stopped crying, she expected Dirk to release her. Surprisingly, he didn't, nor did she make any effort to step away from him. It felt right and she never wanted the moment to end.

"
Bethany
—are you all right?"

She jumped at the sound of
Miles's
voice and stepped away from Dirk quickly, as if she'd been caught doing something wrong. Giving Dirk a last, longing look, she went to Miles and let him hug her. If his arms felt small and spindly compared to Dirk's, or his chest cadaverous compared to the firm, muscled tone of Dirk's, she tried not to notice. After all, their relationship wasn't about physical attraction, she reminded herself. His looks were not why she was marrying him.

"What happened?" Miles asked. "Who did this?"

Vampires! I came home and they were waiting for me. They killed Mr.
Yarbro
and almost killed me
. Even in her mind, it sounded too far-fetched to be true. She eased herself out of his embrace. "I don't know."

"Do you think you could give the police a description?"

She knew she'd remember the glowing red eyes, the sharp, gleaming fangs, and the pale, translucent faces of the vampires for the rest of her life. "I'm sorry, Miles. It all happened so fast." She rubbed her temple, knowing that Miles would believe her too frazzled to remember any details of her attackers.

A commotion at the front door drew their attention and seconds later Mac walked into the room. His glance took  in everything, touching briefly on her and Miles before coming to rest on Dirk.

"Any problems?" Dirk asked.

"Maybe." Mac glanced over at the couple before turning back to Dirk. "
John
's on his way."

Dirk nodded. Then
Bethany
saw him glance at the bodyguard's body. "Let's step into the other room," he suggested.

Momentarily confused until she saw his subtle nod toward Miles, she took Miles by the hand and led him into the bedroom.

Dirk watched them go and as soon as they were out of hearing distance, he turned to Mac. "What?"

"I found the three bodies in the back alley, but there was nothing across the street."

Dirk crossed the room and pulled back the curtain. He had been running on pure adrenaline and fear since he'd heard Beth's screams from half a block away. He was in no mood to put up with crap like a missing corpse. Looking out the window, his improved night vision allowed him to pick out the darkened entryway across the street. "Son of a bitch."

Mac moved behind him and looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"He's not there."

"Like I said."

"I watched him die. How could he have simply disappeared?"

"Maybe you missed the heart?"

Dirk let the curtain fall back in place. "Shit."

"I guess you were distracted."

Scared shitless was more like it, Dirk thought, wondering what the price would be for his mistake.

From the other room,
Bethany
strained to hear what Mac and Dirk were saying, but couldn't make out their words. Then Detective
Boehler
arrived and she and Miles went out to join the others in the foyer.

"Mr. Van Home. Ms.
Stavinoski
. I'm sorry to see you again under these circumstances," the detective said, coming over to them. "Neither of you was injured?"

"No," Miles replied. "However, Mr.
Yarbro
, the bodyguard I hired, wasn't as lucky."

Detective
Boehler
nodded. "I'd like to look at the body."

"This way,
John
," Dirk said.

The detective started to follow him into the living room, but then stopped to look at
Bethany
. "I'm afraid you'll need to move out of the apartment for a few days."

She nodded. "I don't want to stay here anyway."

As the detective, Dirk, and Mac continued on to the living room, Bethany and Miles returned to her bedroom. He stood off to the side as she pulled a suitcase from her closet and set it on the bed. Sifting through her clothes, she had no trouble deciding what to take with her. The sooner she was out of this apartment, the better. She only wished she could take everything now and never have to return.

Focusing on packing, she almost forgot Miles was there until he spoke.

"I'm so sorry,
Bethany
. I never meant for you to get hurt."

"Well, of course not." She stopped packing long enough  to go to him and lay her hand comfortingly on his arm. "You hired the best bodyguard you could find. It's just these… people… are more dangerous than we realized. Luckily, Dirk was around."