Chapter Nineteen
“Hell no!” Aidan blurted. “Are you mad, woman?”
“No,” Dana said and looked around the table. “What other option is there?”
“That’s not an option,” he retorted. “That’s not even close to the table, let alone on it. We are not using you as bait. Absolutely not.” What was she thinking?
“Look,” she said, her face and voice sober as she addressed them all, “I’m not real keen on the idea either. But we already know that in North Carolina, Gershom has been targeting female gifted ones who have been in direct contact with Aidan. We know he has ordered vampires to attack me in the past. I assume he knows Aidan and I are lovers. And since he’s been sticking his nose into everybody’s business, he probably also knows that you’ve all taken me under your wing and are trying to protect me. What better target could he have?”
“Ami,” Marcus offered. “Or Adira.”
Adira looked up at the sound of her name and tilted her head back to smile up at her father. Marcus kissed the top of her head.
“All the more reason to use me as bait,” Dana said, “and direct his attention away from them.”
“No,” Aidan said again, still having difficulty believing she would even contemplate such a thing. Hadn’t she heard Chris tell them that several of the gifted ones had been found dead?
Roland caught Dana’s gaze. “The immortals present can all hear your heart racing with fear at just the idea of baiting a trap for Gershom. Why would you do this for us?”
She looked around the table. “Because I love Aidan. And you all stood up for him when Gershom made him look guilty as hell. You all broke the rules to stand by his side and try to help him. To help us both. To keep us safe.” She shook her head. “I don’t have a family of my own. I haven’t in a long time. And three days ago, having never laid eyes on me before, you all welcomed me into yours and showed me what it would be like to be one of you. To be part of this family.”
Aidan’s heart began to pound. “Dana…”
She held up a hand. “I know. I have choice. And that’s what makes all of this mean so much more to me. None of you have placed any conditions on my being here. None of you have pressured me to transform for Aidan and become immortal. I honestly think that all of you would welcome me and let me be part of your family whether I transformed or remained as I am.”
“We would,” David interjected.
“We would,” Seth agreed.
“Of course we would,” Aidan told her.
Reaching up, she pressed a hand to his cheek. “You’ve been trying so hard to protect me, Aidan. Well, I want to protect you, too. I love you. I really do. And watching Gershom do his damnedest to kill you yesterday before Seth and Zach showed up…” Tears welled in her eyes.
Aidan covered her hand with his and held it to him.
“You’re worth fighting for.” She looked around the table. “You’re all worth fighting for. And if the only way you can get a leg up on Gershom is by shoving me out there as bait, then I say do it.” She forced a smile. “And do it quickly, before I change my mind.”
A few chuckles lightened the heavy atmosphere.
Dana lowered her hand, taking Aidan’s with it and linking their fingers as she rested them on her thigh.
Seth visually consulted David.
Aidan frowned at them. “You aren’t actually considering it, are you?”
David never took his gaze from Seth. “He would read it in her memories.”
“Such was my thought.”
Aidan shook his head. “Even if he couldn’t, it’s out of the question.”
Dana looked back and forth between the two elders. “Would it work better if I were immortal?”
Aidan’s breath caught. “What?”
Dana winced. “Ow—ow—ouch! Honey, you’re squeezing the crap out of my hand.”
He swiftly relaxed his grip. “I’m sorry.” Glancing down, he examined her hand and noted the pale marks he’d left that slowly regained their color. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’d never hurt you on purpose. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m fine. It was just a little tight. No worries.”
Roland caught her attention. “Are you saying you would transform and become immortal?”
“Yes. Would that help? Would that make it harder for Gershom to read my thoughts and know I’m bait?”
Aidan stared at her, both elated and terrified. He wanted so badly for her to transform and spend the rest of eternity with him. But he didn’t want her to feel forced into it. “Dana…”
“Don’t say it again,” she said, irritation creeping into her features. “You keep telling me I have choice as if you’re trying to talk me out of it.”
“I keep telling you you have choice because I can’t bring myself to believe you’ll make the one I’m hoping for.” He shook his head. “And I don’t want Gershom to force your hand. I don’t want you to make a hasty decision you may come to regret. This isn’t reversible.”
She smiled, a soft curling up of her lips that warmed his insides and coaxed his racing heart into calming the hell down. “I’m not doing it because Gershom is forcing my hand. And I’m not doing it because I felt so helpless standing on your back porch, doing nothing while I watched you fight Gershom. Ethan and Heather both leapt to your side to help you. Cliff did, too. And all I could do was just stand there,” she told him, her smile gone.
Aidan hadn’t thought much about that aspect of things but felt her frustration.
“That was terrifying and horrible and I never want to feel that helpless again,” she continued. “But that still isn’t what’s compelling me to transform.”
“Then what is?” he asked.
Her smile returned. “You. I love you, Aidan. And the opportunity to have hundreds, if not thousands, of years together instead of a few decades is just too tempting to pass up.”
There went his treacherous heart again, slamming against his rib cage. “You’re sure? We’ve been seeing each other for less than a month.”
“I’m sure.” She shrugged. “And we aren’t the first couple to fall in love so quickly.”
Roland grunted. “Hell, it only took me twenty-four hours to fall for Sarah.”
Sarah looked up at him in surprise. “Really?”
“You know you’re irresistible,” he countered.
Grinning, she leaned up and brushed a quick kiss across his lips.
Ethan glanced at Heather. “We fell for each other after only a couple of dates.” He frowned. “Wait. Does fighting vampires together count as a date?”
Heather laughed.
Farther down the table, Krysta laughed, too. “It did for us. That’s how Étienne and I met and fell in love.”
Étienne smiled. “If memory serves, you tried to decapitate me the first time we met. The second, too. What kind of date is that?”
Krysta winked. “A fun-filled, flirtatious one?”
Laughter all around.
Aidan paid little attention. His eyes continued to cling to Dana’s. “You’re sure?” he murmured beneath the chuckles.
“I’m sure,” she said.
“No doubts?” he pressed, elation beginning to overcome fear.
“None at all.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her tight. “Thank you.”
She nodded against his chest. “I didn’t mean to tell you in front of everyone.”
Aware of the quiet that had settled around them, Aidan released her but kept an arm around her shoulders.
A faint blush climbed her cheeks when she noticed everyone watching them. “But if now would be a better time for me to transform…”
Seth sent her a kind smile. “Becoming immortal wouldn’t keep Gershom from reading your thoughts.”
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed as she looked from Seth to David and back again. “Then you can’t use me as bait?”
“No,” Seth said.
“We appreciate the offer though and admire the courage you showed in making it,” David added.
Thank you, Aidan told both elders telepathically.
“Then what are you going to do?” Dana pressed.
Chris spoke. “My contacts are going to see if they can dig anything up.”
Heather leaned forward. “Do you mean your contacts in government agencies?”
Chris nodded. “FBI, CIA, NSA, NRO and a few others. I want to ensure the military is not in any way involved.”
Heather frowned. “Why would you think the military might be involved?”
“Because my forensics team said the weapons used to kill the gifted ones we found are commonly employed by the military. The grouping of the gunshot wounds also pointed toward someone with military training.”
Heather looked at Seth and David, then returned her gaze to Chris. “One of your contacts wouldn’t happen to be my father, would it?”
Chris hesitated. “Yes.”
Heather swore.
Dana caught Heather’s gaze. “Who’s your father?”
“General Nathan Lane.”
Dana’s eyes widened. “The one I see on the news sometimes?”
“Yes,” Heather ground out, her eyes on Chris. “I thought we had agreed to keep him out of this.”
“I agreed to try to keep him out of it last time. I made no such agreement this time. And he’s in a position to access even more classified information than my other contacts, so I gave him a call.”
Heather turned to Seth. “You knew about this?”
“Actually,” Seth said, “this is my first time hearing about it.”
“Then kick his ass,” Heather demanded furiously. Clearly she didn’t like the idea of her father taking dangerous risks to acquire information for them.
Seth’s face reflected regret. “In this instance, I’m afraid the decision was your father’s to make.” He eyed Chris. “I assume you didn’t pressure him?”
“I did not,” Chris confirmed. “I merely informed him of the situation and asked if he thought he could be of some assistance. He said yes.”
Heather’s eyes flashed bright amber. “Of course, he did! He—”
Seth held up a hand, silencing Heather and catching Chris’s eye. “Does General Lane have my number?”
“Yes,” Chris said, then looked at Heather. “And I told him to call it if he feels even the tiniest hint that he may be in danger.”
Heather sighed.
They all did as tempers calmed.
“So, what do we do now?” Krysta asked.
“Wait to see what Chris can find out,” Seth said. “See what we can find out ourselves.”
David nodded. “You should all hunt in groups now. Not pairs, but groups. If possible, it would be best to include a telepath in each group.”
“I agree,” Seth said. “Telepaths, read the mind of every vampire you encounter. We don’t know if the vampires are congregating in the same place the gifted ones are being held, so look for any clues in their memories that may lead us to where they are staying.”
“And carry the sedative with you,” David added. “Seth, Zach, and I can examine the minds of any vampires you tranq to see if there’s something buried that you couldn’t see yourselves.”
Alena closed her file folder. “Scott and I will continue to work on things from our end and see what we can ferret out since we don’t even know in what state the gifted ones are being held.”
Seth inclined his head. “Thank you.”
Zach leaned back in his chair. “There’s one problem we’ve yet to address.”
All waited for him to continue.
“The fact that Gershom can pass himself off as Seth.”
Uneasy glances slid Seth’s way.
Seth sighed. “I don’t know how to combat that.”
David eyed those present. “You should all spend your days and downtime here until we sort this out. Ami has no difficulty telling Seth from Gershom. She doesn’t even have to be in the same room with Gershom to know he’s present. So she can set your minds at ease while you’re here.”
“And when we’re not here?” Aidan asked, wanting to avoid a repeat of his battle with Gershom and the confusion that had thrown him.
Seth shook his head. “I don’t know how to assure you I’m me when I see you. Or how to ensure Gershom won’t fool you into believing he is me.”
A thoughtful hush descended.
“What about a password?” Melanie suggested. “Something we would know ahead of time that you’ll say to prove you’re you. Like a PIN.”
Seth shook his head. “Gershom could pluck it from your thoughts.”
She frowned. “I keep forgetting that.”
Chris straightened. “Wait a minute. A password may not work, but you may be on to something with the PIN.”
Aidan glanced around. What the hell was a PIN?
“Let me consult my tech guys. They may be able to come up with something electronic Seth can carry on him that can identify him as the real deal. Something you can scan from a distance.”
Seth tilted his head to one side. “Couldn’t Gershom steal a duplicate from the network or compel one of your tech guys to make a duplicate?”
“Not without us knowing,” Chris said. “And not if I keep my tech guys on site. If I lock down the network, no immortals can teleport in or out and no humans can enter or leave without triggering the alarm.”
Seth shared a look with David. “Sounds good. Have your tech crew work as swiftly as they can.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as we have something.”
“Thank you.”
Krysta glanced around the table. “Are we hunting tonight?”
“Yes, you may hunt tonight,” Seth said with obvious reluctance. “But do as David said and hunt in groups. I want a telepath in every group.”
David eyed the gathering. “I shall remain here and hold down the fort, so to speak.”
And protect Ami and Adira, Aidan thought. No doubt Marcus would remain behind as well, wanting to ensure Gershom didn’t get his hands on his wife and daughter.
“Bastien and Melanie,” Seth directed, “I want you to stay at the network and keep an eye on things there. As usual, if trouble arises and you need reinforcements, let the vampires out to play until the cavalry can arrive.”
The couple nodded.
Seth studied those around the table. “If I show up unexpectedly while you’re away from David’s place, I want the telepaths to summon me immediately. And I want the rest of you to speed dial me on your cell phones. Just to be sure it’s me.” Though Seth spoke in even tones, he radiated anger that such action was necessary. “Anything else?”
No one spoke.
“Very well. Be safe.”
Chairs scuffed the bamboo floor as those gathered around the table scooted them back and rose.
Seth stood and wove his way through the others to reach Aidan and Dana as they rose. “I heard what you wanted to ask,” he told Dana.
Aidan glanced down at Dana. “You wanted to ask something?”
She nodded but seemed reluctant to speak.
Seth took one of her hands and held it between his. “If Aidan transforms you tonight, you will be very ill and weakened for three days or more and he will be distracted. I’m very happy you’ve decided to join the immortals’ ranks, but I believe it would be best if you waited.”
Dana had wanted Aidan to transform her tonight?
Though she appeared disappointed, Dana again nodded. “Okay.”
Giving her hand a pat, Seth headed over to David.
Aidan saw the logic of it but would’ve felt a hell of a lot better going up against Gershom if Dana were immortal.
Bastien stepped around Brodie and Ed. “Aidan. Any chance I could talk you into teleporting Melanie and me back to the network? I’d like to check on Cliff.”
Guilt struck. Yet again, Aidan had failed to take Cliff into sunlight this afternoon. “How’s he doing? I wasn’t able to take him into the sun today.”
“Not good. He’s been very agitated since the fight with Gershom. Melanie has been giving him watered-down doses of the sedative to try to keep things in check.”
Aidan nodded. “We can go now then.” He looked around. “Ethan? Heather?”
“Yeah?” Ethan said as the couple joined them.
“I want to stop off at the network before we begin the night’s hunt.”
“Okay,” they both agreed.
Aidan slid an arm around Dana’s waist. “Everyone grab a shoulder.”
Heather rested a hand on Dana’s shoulder. Ethan and Bastien both gripped Aidan’s. Melanie leaned into Bastien and wrapped an arm around his waist.
“Aidan!” Chris called over the conversations rumbling through the room. Shouldering his way through the crowd, he stopped beside Bastien. “Can I hitch a ride back to the network?”
Aidan nodded. “Grab a shoulder.”
Clutching his briefcase with one hand, Chris drew out his cell phone and dialed. “John. Chris Reordon. Aidan is about to teleport me and five others into the network. Turn the alarm off.” He rested the hand holding the phone on Bastien’s shoulder, then nodded.
David’s dining room darkened and disappeared, replaced by the lab Dana had visited once before at the network.
Chris returned the phone to his ear. “Okay. We’re here. Turn it back on.”
“Dana?”
Dana glanced at the pretty brunette who stood beside Bastien. Unlike the other immortals present, Melanie wore faded blue jeans, a Tar Heels T-shirt, and sneakers.
“Yes?”
Melanie smiled. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced yet. I’m Melanie. I believe you’ve met my husband, Bastien?”
Returning her smile, Dana shook the hand she offered. “Yes. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Melanie drew her aside. “I know the past few days have been very trying. And I’m sorry you’ve had such a violent and terrifying entrance into our world, but I’d like to ask your help with something.”
“Okay,” Dana said, not knowing how else to respond. “What can I do for you?”
Looping her arm through Dana’s, Melanie began to slowly steer her toward an area that resembled an exam room in a doctor’s office. “My colleagues at the network who have been studying the virus with me have been puzzling over an anomaly we can’t explain, and I think you could help us solve the mystery.”
Dana glanced over her shoulder.
Aidan stood beside Bastien, his brow furrowed as though he wasn’t sure he liked what he was hearing.
“To put it briefly,” Melanie continued, “older immortals are always stronger and faster than younger immortals. It’s been that way for thousands of years until the past decade. When Roland, who is nine hundred plus years old, transformed Sarah a few years ago, she ended up being as strong and powerful as he is. Roland then transformed me and Jenna, and the same thing happened. We ended up being far stronger and faster than we should be. We weren’t sure if it was because we were transformed by an immortal or, perhaps, if it might be something unique with Roland.”
Dana frowned. “Weren’t there other immortals who were transformed by immortals?”
“No. Until Sarah, every immortal in existence had been transformed by a vampire.” She paused. “Well, except for Richart and Étienne. Lisette accidentally transformed her brothers because none of them understood the nature of the virus at the time.”
“Oh.” That was messed up.
Dana didn’t realize until then that she didn’t know how Aidan had been transformed. So much had happened that she hadn’t had a chance to get the details yet, but it sounded as though he had been transformed against his will.
“Then Étienne, a younger immortal,” Melanie continued, “transformed Krysta. And Aidan transformed Heather.”
Dana’s stomach sank. She looked back at Aidan.
Heather jumped up and down behind him, trying to see over his shoulder, then ducked around to stand beside him. “Ethan and I asked him to do it so I’d be stronger and better able to fight Gershom. But just FYI, there wasn’t anything romantic or sexual about it, and we aren’t bonded or anything like in the movies.”
“Oh.” Relief dispelled the jealousy that had risen so swiftly. “Okay.”
“Anyway,” Melanie said, reclaiming her attention, “we all thought Krysta was as strong and fast as Étienne until she graciously allowed me to run some tests and we discovered that she isn’t. While she’s stronger than a vampire, she isn’t as strong as the immortal who transformed her. So we’ve come to believe that something different happens when immortals like Roland and Aidan transform gifted ones because they’re healers. We believe their healing ability alters the transformation process in some way and—since you’re planning to have Aidan transform you—I was hoping you would be willing to help us solve the mystery.”
“How?” Dana asked.
Melanie bit her lip. “By letting me take some samples and do some blood work, both before and after your transformation. And maybe during?”
Aidan stepped forward. “You only want blood samples?”
She hesitated. “Actually, blood and tissue samples would be best. But I would only need the tiniest—”
“Hell no,” Aidan blurted.
Dana didn’t like that sound of that either.
Melanie eyed Aidan warily but spoke to Dana. “It sounds worse than it is. The tissue samples are tiny. It would be no more painful or invasive than having a mole removed and tested by your dermatologist.”
“Oh.” Reassured, Dana nodded. She had actually had a freckle-like mole removed and tested three years ago. “Okay. Sure. If that would help you, I’m fine with it.”
“Well, I’m not,” Aidan protested.
Bastien clapped Aidan on the back. “It won’t hurt. I’ve seen her do it to Cliff and the other vampires loads of times. It really isn’t as bad as it sounds.”
Melanie offered Dana a hopeful smile. “Could we maybe do it now?”
“Seriously?” Aidan protested.
She nodded. “We don’t know what Gershom is going to do next or whether or not Dana will manage to come through it unscathed. If she’s seriously injured, you’ll go ahead and transform her ahead of schedule, so I’d really rather do it now, just to be safe.”
Dana took Aidan’s hand. “She’s right. If she doesn’t do it now, I may be immortal the next time she sees me. I’m fine with it. Really. Why don’t you go check on Cliff while we take care of this?”
“No, I want to stay with you.”
She grinned, both touched and amused by his concern for her. “I’m not having major surgery, Aidan. She’s just going to take some blood and a couple of itty-bitty tissue samples. It’s no big deal. My doctors have done it before. More than once, actually. You just go check on Cliff. We’ll be done by the time you get back.”
It took a little more coaxing, but Aidan finally agreed.
After he left with Bastien and Chris, Ethan turned to Melanie. “Do you mind if we grab some bags of blood? I want to tank up before our hunt tonight.”
“Not at all,” Melanie said and gestured to one of the small rooms that branched off the lab. “Employees just donated a fresh batch today. It’s right through there.”
Taking Heather’s hand, Ethan led her into the other room.
Melanie pulled a privacy curtain around them and motioned for Dana to sit on the exam table. “Thank you again for doing this. Shall we get started?”
His ears attuned to the murmured conversation passing between Melanie and Dana, Aidan started down the hallway to Cliff’s apartment.
“He isn’t there,” Chris said. “His behavior became too erratic after Melanie and Bastien left for the meeting, so I isolated him.”
Bastien scowled. “Isolated him where? In a holding room?”
Though Chris shook his head in slow, deliberate movements, he said, “Yes. We had to sedate him, too. Follow me. I’ll take you to him.” Then he motioned to the doors of the other vampires’ apartments and tapped his ear.
Aidan shared a puzzled glance with Bastien.
What didn’t Chris want the other vampires to hear?
Following Chris to the elevator, he noticed one of the guards was missing. Todd.
Aidan remained quiet as the elevator carried them to the ground floor. But he exchanged another confused look with Bastien as they followed Chris down the hallway that led to his office.
A dozen guards manned the entrance of the reception room outside Chris’s office. Inside the reception room, Kate—Chris’s assistant—sat at a large desk situated in front of a row of file cabinets. Garbed in a formfitting business suit not unlike the one Alena Moreno had worn, she glanced up at their entrance.
“Any calls?” Chris asked, striding toward the door to his office.
“Nothing that can’t wait,” she replied. When she reached to one side to pick up a sheaf of papers, Aidan spotted a weapon housed in a shoulder holster under her jacket.
Todd and a dozen more guards bracketed the entrance to Chris’s office.
What the hell? Aidan had never seen such before.
Chris nodded to the guards as he strode inside his office.
Aidan and Bastien followed.
Chris closed the door, crossed to his desk, and dropped his briefcase atop it.
Aidan glanced around. Something was different.
Chris’s sofa was missing.
Facing them both, Chris pressed a finger to his lips, then guided them over to the boardroom. Opening the door, he motioned for them to enter.
Aidan followed Bastien inside and stopped short.
Chris nudged them forward enough for him to enter behind them, then closed the door. “I didn’t want the vampires to find out.”
At the other end of the boardroom, Cliff was curled up on Chris’s sofa with Emma.
Both slept soundly.
Aidan gaped at Chris. “You knew?”
Chris arched a brow. “Of course I knew.”
Bastien grunted. “The bastard knows everything. He’s as bad as Seth.”
Chris laughed. But his laughter died quickly as the three of them studied the couple.
Emma’s face reflected the peace she had found in slumber.
Cliff was another matter. His brow furrowed, his muscles tense, he clutched Emma tightly, as though he feared his violent dreams would tear her from his arms.
But at least he slept.
“I’m surprised you didn’t put a stop to it,” Aidan murmured.
Chris shook his head. “I like Cliff. He’s smart as hell. He’s brave. He’s honorable. If he were human, he’d be one of my higher-ups here at the network. I knew you didn’t take him into the sun today and could see he was struggling. So I brought them both in here.”
Bastien turned to the network leader. “Thank you.”
Chris shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe whatever Melanie learns from Dana’s transformation might also help Cliff.”
Aidan sure as hell hoped it would.