BodySnatchers (8 page)

“Care to explain?” he asked.

“Not really,” she said.

“We were just telling Agent Tanner about the incident this
morning,” Torsten said.

“Thanks,” Reggie said. Yuri still hadn’t said a word, and it
made her all jittery inside. She found herself anxious to hear his low baritone
voice with the foreign accent.

“Next time you debrief me on an operation, don’t leave out
the important details,” Tanner said.

Worry for her sister pushed through her thoughts of Yuri.
How could she think of him at a time like this? “How did they get in?”

“Walked in during broad daylight,” Tanner responded.

“The cloud cover helps,” Torsten offered.

“They want to help recover the women and bring in the guy
responsible for their disappearances.”

Reggie put aside her uneasiness and turned to Tanner. “I
found them.”

“The women?” Tanner’s frown lifted. “Where?”

“In the A.S.E. warehouse near the waterfront.”

“Why didn’t you bother to call in? We could have sent
someone over in a matter of minutes.”

“I didn’t trust the lines. Another part of last night I
didn’t mention was that I think someone knew about our setup and sabotaged it
before we even started.”

Tanner’s jaw tightened. “We’ve lost two good men already and
possibly Madison. Think it’s an inside job?”

“I didn’t want to take the chance,” Reggie said.

“It’s just as well you didn’t send anyone down there
immediately,” Yuri finally spoke up, his voice turning Reggie’s knees to mush.

“Why is that?” Tanner crossed his arms over his chest as if
daring Yuri to say anything he wanted to listen to.

Yuri’s lips thinned. “If you retrieve the women now, you
will not deal with the main problem.”

“Andrei Skirko,” Torsten filled in. “A.S. of A.S.
Enterprises.”

“What exactly did you learn at the warehouse?” Tanner shot
the question at Reggie.

“They plan to move the women tonight at midnight. They have
the truck in place and their boss is due to be there for the event.” She looked
from Torsten to Yuri. “I take it the boss is this guy Andrei?”

“Yes. He’s a four-hundred-twenty-two-year-old vampire we’ve
been following off and on over the centuries, cleaning up after him.” Yuri
stepped closer, his presence raising her body temperature with each step.

Reggie held her ground, refusing to let him know she
responded in any way to his presence, even though her heart was hammering in
her chest and perspiration popped out on her upper lip. “Why should we trust
you?”

“We have the same interests at heart,” he said, his voice
soft and directed only at her.

“I seriously doubt that,” she said, her voice a little less
convinced than her body. What was wrong with her? She shouldn’t be even mildly
attracted to Yuri Kovak. He was a vampire, she was human. It was just wrong.

“Be that as it may.” He winked and then turned to face her
boss.

A good thing too, because her skin was tingling all over and
her mind wasn’t focusing on anything past his lips.

Yuri swept his arm out. “We of the vampire world are very
much like you.”

Tanner snorted.

Yuri nodded but didn’t comment on the derogatory sound.
“There are good vampires,” he nodded toward Torsten, “and very bad vampires.
When a bad vampire is out of control, Torsten and I are sent in to…fix things.”

“So you’re some kind of vampire cops?” her boss asked.

“More like special forces. We come in, assess, identify and
eliminate the problem. We work on our own or with local police forces and even
the federal government. Check with the CIA. They’ll vouch for us.”

“Thanks, I will.” Tanner punched a button on his phone.
“Maury, call the CIA and ask if they’ve ever worked with a Yuri Kovak and
Torsten Lang. Get on that ASAP.”

“Thus our reason for being here,” Yuri continued when Tanner
switched off the intercom. “Which I was getting to before Agent Gallagher
arrived.” He shot a glance back at Reggie.

The glance lit a fire in her and she stepped forward. “I
don’t really care why you’re here. We need reinforcements to go into that
warehouse and retrieve those women.”

“And if you do, you might save these women, but Andrei will
be free to do it all again.” Yuri stared hard at Reggie. “If not in Houston, in
some other city where women are equally vulnerable to him.”

“What is he doing with them?” Tanner asked.

Torsten stepped forward. “He’s selling them in foreign
countries as sheep to other vampires.”

“Sheep?” Reggie asked.

The muscle in Yuri’s jaw twitched. “It’s a crude term for
someone who feeds the needs of a vampire, whether it’s blood or lust.”

“In other words, they’re trafficking women, forcing them to
be sex slaves and blood donors for the highest bidder?”

“American women bring a higher price.” Yuri’s tone was hard.

Reggie spun on her heels. “I’m getting Madison out of there,
and I’m gonna bust some serious heads while I’m at it.”

Yuri laid a hand on her arm, dragging her to a halt before
she reached the door. “You can’t. Andrei will get away. Hopefully, they don’t
know you found them and they’ll continue with their planned shipment. We have
to be there when it happens and when Andrei shows up to direct operations.”

“I hate to say he’s right, but the vamp has a point,
Reggie.” Tanner glared at Yuri. “You can let go of her arm now.”

Yuri held on for a second longer and then released her,
leaving his warm imprint on her skin.

“But I can’t just leave Madison there.” Reggie stepped up to
Tanner’s desk, trying hard to ignore the other two men in the room.

“We’ll get her out of there, but we need to get Andrei as
well.” The PIA lead tapped a pen against the hard metal of his desk. “How?”

Reggie stared at him. “I can’t believe you’re going along
with vampires while my sister is lying in some warehouse waiting to be shipped
out to the highest bidder. Did you consider these guys might be lying?”

“I told you I haven’t lied to you,” Yuri said, his voice as
warm as melted chocolate.

Fighting to control her temper, she faced Yuri. “I don’t
know that, and I’ve never trusted the word of a vampire. It’s one of your kind
who killed my father.”

A muscle worked in Yuri’s jaw. “I see.”

“What do you see?” She stared at him, refusing to back down
or be sucked in by his handsome looks. “All I see is the enemy in friendly
territory.”

The phone on Tanner’s desk buzzed, and he punched a button.
“Tanner.”

“Sir, CIA says the two names you gave me check out. They also
said these guys are the pros and to let them be fully involved in whatever
operation you’re conducting.”

“Thanks.” He stabbed the button and stared across the room
at Reggie. “I know how you feel about Madison. I feel the same way. She’s one
of my people.”

“No, you
don’t
know how I feel,” Reggie said. “She’s
my
sister, not yours.”

“Granted.” He nodded. “However, we need to take out Andrei
so he can’t do this to other women.”

“Precisely,” Yuri agreed.

“I don’t trust you even if the CIA swore on a stack of
Bibles. You’re vampires!” Or was it herself she couldn’t trust around Yuri?
He’d saved her from Cesar and hidden her until daylight to keep her from
getting hurt. What had he done so far to prove himself untrustworthy?

He was a vampire. A vampire Tanner was willing to believe
in. Should she? For her sister?

“Agent Gallagher,” Tanner said in a warning tone, “if I have
to, I’ll pull you off this case.”

Her heart stopped cold in her chest and then it leapt into
motion, beating twice as fast as normal. “You can’t do that. Not while my
sister is in that animal’s hands.”

“Then you have to have confidence in me and believe they
will get Madison and the other ladies out alive.” Her boss stood with his hands
propped on his hips.

She stared from Tanner to Yuri and back to Tanner. If she
wanted to be there when it all went down, she had to shut up and go along with
their tactics. Pushing her shoulders back, she gave Yuri a cold stare. “What’s
the plan?”

Chapter Seven

“How in hell you got Tanner to agree to this, I’ll never
know.” Reggie wasn’t letting go of her anger any time soon. Yuri suspected that
if she did, she might fall apart. The worry for her sister had to be colossal.

“I really think he wants you to keep an eye on me or vice
versa.” Yuri leaned against the counter of her kitchenette, studying her as she
paced from her refrigerator to the stove and back.

“You’re the vampire. It’s not as if I can easily dispose of
you if you tried to do something. Hell, you can out-muscle me by at least ten
to one.” She slammed a jug of orange juice on the counter and turned. “What do
you want with the PIA? Can’t you fight your own kind without our help?”

“Yes, but there’s just the two of us, and Andrei’s got a few
more on his side at the moment.”

“Uh-huh. Yeah. And I’m supposed to feel good about leaving
my sister in that hellhole?” Her eyes filling with tears, she turned her back
to him and yanked a skillet from beneath the cabinet, giving him a terrific
view of black denim molded to her firm, rounded bottom.

He had to count to ten before he could think straight and
then count ten more before he could form a coherent sentence. “It only makes
sense to wait until midnight to catch Andrei. Tanner has people watching the
warehouse throughout the day and evening in case any trucks come or go.”

“I should be there. I’m just glad he handpicked the team.”
With a flick of her wrist, she turned the knob on the stove and the burner
beneath the smooth surface glowed red. “I still hate to think there’s a leak in
our department.” Placing the skillet on the burner, she sprayed it with cooking
spray.

Yuri liked the casual ease with which she moved around the
kitchen, as if she were as at home here as out on the streets busting badass
monsters. “You’re a strange woman, Regina.”

She turned, a frown creasing the smooth skin of her
forehead. “Me? I’m human,
you’re
the vampire, and you’re calling
me
strange?”

“Last night I saw a tough young woman stand up to a crowd of
really nasty men.” He nodded at the stove and the pan. “Tonight I see a
completely different side of you, working in a kitchen as if you know your way
around.”

A smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. “A girl has to eat
to keep up her strength. I’m not passing out on the job. My sister needs me.”

“These days, women who work in jobs like yours don’t always
have the time to cook.”

“Don’t get the wrong impression. I’m not very domestic. Ask
me to clean a bathroom and I’ll throw the toilet brush at you. This,” she waved
her hand at the stove, “I call self-preservation. My sister was—” Her voice
broke and she turned away, the moisture back in her eyes. “My sister and I live
together, and she’s a really lousy cook.”

She accidently brushed her finger against the side of the
pan and jerked it away. “Ouch!” Her finger went into her mouth, and she looked
across the room at Yuri, as if waiting for him to say something. “Why are you
really here?” she blurted out around her finger.

He wanted to answer her, but he couldn’t think past her
lips. Just that little movement of putting her finger in her mouth had him
salivating and wishing he were the finger. The way she’d touched him this
morning still lingered in his body’s memory, crying out to finish what they’d
started when she was still in the grip of his trance. Only this time, he wanted
very much for her to be fully awake and participating with her eyes wide open.

The longer he stared, the wider her eyes grew, her gaze
darting to his mouth.

He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t resist stepping closer
until he stood toe to-toe with her in the middle of the kitchen. “As I told you
before, I’m here to bring Andrei down.”

“No.” Her finger slipped from her lips, and she stood
looking up into his eyes, hers wary. But she didn’t back away. “Why are you
here in my apartment?”

“I wanted to make sure you were safe. It’s dark outside.”

“I’ve been around in the dark by myself before. I don’t need
you to protect me.”

Her defiance pleased him. He liked a woman who wasn’t afraid
to stand up for herself and speak her mind. Especially if she had flaming red
hair, smooth, creamy shoulders and… “Did you realize your skin is the color of
cream sprinkled with cinnamon?”

Her breath caught on a little gasp. “My freckles are none of
your concern, and you’re changing the subject.”

“Yes, I am.” His hands came up to clasp her elbows. “I came
here because I find you intriguing and I want to know you better.”

“Me?” she squeaked, and backed into the stove.

Taking it as a good sign that she hadn’t tried to knee him
or hit him with the skillet, he closed the distance. His hands slid up her bare
arms to her neck, his thumbs skimming her jaw. “You’re a beautiful woman,
Regina Gallagher.”

“And you’re treading on dangerous ground, vampire,” she said
on a whisper, her lips full and open, ready for—

The harsh scent of something burning broke through his
concentration. Gripping her waist he spun her away from the stove and the
smoking skillet with the blackened cooking spray.

Regina grabbed the pan and held it under the faucet, the
spray hissing until the pan cooled. She stood with her back to him longer than
necessary, as if avoiding the unavoidable.

What was wrong with her? He was a vampire, for God’s sake! A
gorgeous vampire wearing a black trench coat, looking for all the world like
he’d stepped out of a
Matrix
movie ready to sweep her into his arms and
carry her off to have hot and dirty sex. Sweat beaded on her upper lip and
between her breasts. “Don’t,” she said, surprised at how ragged her voice
sounded to her own ears.