Eat Prey Love (3 page)

She winced. Okay, the vampire problem wasn't little. It was colossal. It was freaking bizarre. But even so, she wasn't prepared to reject her sister
over it. Or her innocent young nephew and niece. “I'll stay, but I'd like to be alone for a little while.” So she could pinch herself to make sure she was awake.

“There's my office. You could use that.” Shanna's eyes lit up. “Or you could take a walk in the garden. It's beautiful right now. The bulbs are blooming.”

“That sounds good.”

“Perfect. Come on.” Shanna led her past the women, who smiled and waved.

Caitlyn waved back, forcing a smile. No wonder she'd sensed how close-knit these women were. They were all keepers of the Big Secret, the hidden world of vampires.

Shanna exited a glass door into the courtyard. Caitlyn steeled her nerves as she joined her sister.
Great.
Now she was outside with a bunch of bloodsuckers playing basketball. The shiver that skittered down her spine wasn't caused entirely by the chilly night air.

She reached beneath the strap of her handbag to fasten the top button of her bright yellow cardigan sweater. Her gaze wandered over the basketball players as she looked for the gorgeous mystery man. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but chances were he was a vampire.

A shocking image speared her thoughts. Shanna's daughter had black hair. “What does your husband look like?”

“He's gorgeous.” Shanna led her closer to the brightly lit basketball court. “Golden brown eyes, shoulder-length black hair.”

Caitlyn gulped.
Oh, God, please don't let me be attracted to my sister's husband.

“Hey, Teddy,” Shanna greeted a young man with a white stripe bleached down the middle of his dark hair and a referee whistle looped around his neck. “This is my sister, Caitlyn.”

Teddy glanced up from his stopwatch and clipboard. “Nice to meet you.” His attention returned to the game.

Caitlyn leaned close to her sister. “Is he…?”

“He's mortal like us,” Shanna reassured her. “So how's the game going, Teddy?”

He checked his stopwatch. “Two minutes to go in the last quarter. Claws ahead by two. Oh, another slam dunk by Phineas.” He marked his clipboard. “Fangs are tied.”

“Go, Fangs!” Shanna pumped the air with her fist, then grinned at Caitlyn. “Tino's on the Fangs team.”

Caitlyn's eyes widened as her nephew floated up in the air to give Phineas a high five. “He's flying again.”

“Levitating,” Shanna yelled over the shouting players. “See the guy next to Tino? That's my husband Roman.”

Caitlyn let out a whoosh of air in relief. Roman was good-looking, all right, but he wasn't her gorgeous mystery man. She scanned the court, searching for him. Now that she could see all ten players close up, she came to a startling realization. Apparently, vampire men were extremely handsome.

Then
he
broke from the pack, and she forgot
all about the other handsome guys. Good God, he was magnificent. Stealthy, graceful, and wild. Exotic. She covered her mouth when a strangled whimper escaped.

And his head turned. His steps slowed to a stop.

Her hand fluttered down to press against her chest. Oh God, he was looking right at her. Her heart pounded, thundering in her ears. His loose black hair was wild about his shoulders. His black T-shirt was stretched tight across a muscular chest. His golden brown eyes narrowed on her and his gaze sizzled through her, hot and electric.

“Carlos!” a teammate yelled just as he hurled a pass.

Bam!
The ball slammed against Carlos's head and he stumbled to the side.

“Carlos!” his teammates shouted in dismay.

He rubbed his head, then glanced again at Caitlyn. He didn't attempt to stop his redheaded opponent, who took the ball. As far as Caitlyn could tell, he wasn't paying any attention to the game. He was completely focused on her.

“Uncle Angus!” Tino yelled from beneath the goal.

The redheaded man tossed him the ball. Constantine levitated up to make a basket.

Teddy blew a whistle. “Game over. Fangs win!”

Constantine's team whooped in victory and took turns tossing the birthday boy into the air. The other team soon joined in the celebration.

Caitlyn noticed Carlos talking to the redheaded man, the one her nephew called Uncle Angus. The two men strode through a glass door leading to
the first wing and disappeared down a hallway. A jab of disappointment pricked her. He hadn't bothered to meet her.

“Mommy!” Constantine ran to Shanna and flung his arms around her. “Did you see me? I made the winning basket!”

“You were fantastic!” Shanna lifted him in her arms. “I'm so proud of you.”

“He scored more points than I did.” Roman wrapped an arm around Shanna's shoulders and kissed her cheek.

“That's because Uncle Angus always passes the ball to me,” Constantine boasted. He looked at Caitlyn curiously. “Hello.”

“This is my sister, Caitlyn,” Shanna told him. “Your aunt.”

“Then you know Grandpa?” Constantine asked, his blue eyes wide with hope. “Did he come with you?”

“I'm afraid he couldn't make it.” Caitlyn ached for the little boy. “But I'm delighted to finally meet you.”

“Me, too.” He grinned and reached out to her.

Caitlyn's heart squeezed in her chest as she took him from her sister and felt his little arms wrap around her neck. In that instant she knew she could never let anyone hurt this little boy, no matter what kind of blood flowed through his veins.

“Thank you for coming.” Roman extended a hand to her.

She swallowed hard.

Tino pulled back to look at her. “You're afraid?”

“No, I'm fine.” She quickly shook hands with Roman.

“Caitlyn just found out about vampires,” Shanna explained, “so she's still in shock.”

Roman nodded. “You have my word, Caitlyn, that no harm will come to you here.”

“Let's have cake and ice cream!” Constantine wiggled out of Caitlyn's arms. “Come on.”

“I'll join you in a little while.” Caitlyn tousled his blond curls. “Save a piece of cake for me.”

“Okay.” He ran inside when his dad opened the door.

“See you soon.” Shanna smiled, then entered the cafeteria with her husband.

Caitlyn retreated across the basketball court as all the players and spectators hurried into the cafeteria. She spotted a gazebo in the distance and strode toward it. The strains of “Happy Birthday” wafted toward her, and she glanced back at the cafeteria. The song ended with applause and laughter. Apparently, vampires liked to party.

She wrapped her bright yellow cardigan around herself to ward off the chilly night air and resumed her stroll toward the gazebo. The farther she walked, the darker it became. Her red silk embroidered handbag bounced gently against her hip.

The stone-flagged path led her up a gentle incline. Clumps of yellow daffodils sprung from the grass. Hyacinths in shades of purple, pink, and white added their sweet fragrance to the air.

As she neared the gazebo, the unmistakable sounds of passion drifted from the interior. She halted as a woman let out of long, soft moan.

“Oh, Robby, we need to stop. We're missing the party.”

“I canna wait another minute,” he grumbled in a low voice. “I need you now, Olivia.”

The woman let out another long moan that Caitlyn could only interpret as surrender. She tiptoed across the grass, headed in another direction. A feminine squeal emanated from the gazebo, followed by a masculine growl.

Sheesh.
Caitlyn hurried away. Apparently, vampires were very seductive. Images of Carlos flitted through her mind but she shoved them away. He wasn't interested in her. He'd looked her over, then walked away.

She spotted a cement bench underneath an oak tree and strode toward it. She couldn't put off reality any longer. She needed to deal with it.
Vampires.

She skimmed her fingertips along the rough bark of the oak tree. According to her sister, vampires were as real as this tree. Now she understood Howard's cryptic warning that it was what was inside that really mattered. The Vamps appeared to be generous and kind. And they wanted to protect mortals from the bad vampires.

Caitlyn sat on the bench. What was she going to do? First, she needed to talk to Dad and make sure this was all real. She had a terrible feeling deep in her gut that it was. After all, Shanna's husband manufactured synthetic blood—a perfect job for a vampire who didn't want to bite people. And her dad had warned her never to come here. It explained why he refused to let her mom visit her grandchildren. He considered this enemy territory.

As far as Caitlyn could tell, she had three choices.
First option: she could pretend none of this had ever happened. She could find employment that had nothing to do with vampires. She could lead a normal life.

Boring
. She never did boring. She loved adventure. And she was not the type to hide from reality.

Option two was accept her sister's world and family and take the job with Emma MacKay's company. She could work all over the world and meet a lot of interesting…people, alive and Undead. Major drawback: danger from the bad vampires.

Option three was also accepting the world of vampires, but taking the job with her dad. As a member of the CIA Stake-Out team, she'd have an exciting life, fighting bad vampires. Unfortunately, she'd never been the sort to engage in physical conflict. And what if Dad decided Roman, or worse, Constantine, was bad?

She sighed. At least now she understood the animosity between her dad and her sister.

“Damn,” she whispered. She was going to have to choose which side of the family feud she was on.

I
'd like to go as soon as possible,” Carlos told his employer as they strolled down the hallway to the MacKay security office.

Angus MacKay frowned. “I'd feel better about this if ye had some real evidence.”

Carlos understood his boss's hesitation. Angus had financed his last two expeditions, one to Belize and one to Nicaragua. Both trips had yielded zero results. “Actually, it's the best lead I've had in years. According to Pat, the informant saw a wild jungle cat change into a human after it was killed.”

Angus halted mid-step. “That is promising. But what if he's making it up?”

“Pat believes him.”

“And who is Pat?” Angus resumed his walk to the office.

“Professor Supat Satapatpattana from the Chu
lalongkorn University in Bangkok. I call him Pat for short.”

“I wonder why,” Angus muttered as he pressed his hand against the security pad by the office door.

“Chula is a prestigious university, and Pat is a well-known anthropologist. He wouldn't have passed the report on to me if he didn't believe it was true.”

Angus nodded. “Then ye'll have to check it out. Go ahead with yer plans.” He opened the door. “Howard, how's it going?”

Carlos exhaled with relief. Maybe this time he would succeed. It had been five years since the Summer of Death, five years since he'd witnessed his family and friends being slaughtered. As far as he knew, he and five orphans were all that were left. He had to find more of his kind. He had to find a mate.

Howard's and Angus's conversation faded into background noise as memories bombarded Carlos's mind. So much death. The stench of burning bodies. The choking smoke of burning villages. His parents gone. His brother gone. Everyone murdered. Everything destroyed.

At first the memories had hounded him constantly, dragging him into an ugly pit of despair. Now they only haunted him once a day. Time hadn't erased the pain. It only made it easier for him to project the image that he was all right.

He'd become a master of pretense and illusion. He'd learned as a young child how to hide in the Amazon jungle, camouflaging himself so he couldn't be seen. Now he was able to hide in
plain sight. No one knew the real him. No one…except Fernando.

Since the Summer of Death, Carlos had gone on a total of five expeditions. All had failed. He took a deep breath to steel his resolve. It didn't matter if this last glimpse of hope teetered on a vague rumor. He would keep hunting until he succeeded.

He wandered over to the wall of surveillance monitors. The daily deluge of pain had faded away for the time being. Angus was bragging about how well his godson, Tino, could play basketball.

Carlos was glad the birthday boy's team had won, but the shape shifter team had come mighty close to victory. If he had caught that last pass, the Claws would have won. He didn't want to dwell on the cause of his stupid mistake.
Her.

He'd never felt such an immediate attraction before. A potent mix of desire and passion had slammed into him like a charging bull, leaving him dazed and breathless. Proof positive that he'd gone too long without a woman. For a few glorious seconds he thought he'd found the perfect woman.

But one sniff had crushed his hopes. Reality had crashed down on him so hard, he'd hardly felt the ball smacking him upside the head. She wasn't a shifter. She wasn't the one for him. The sooner he found his true mate, the better.

He studied the monitors. No one in the parking lot or the foyer. The hallways were empty. Everyone seemed to be in the cafeteria partying. He should be there with his adopted children. But
he'd needed to talk to Angus about the new expedition.

And he needed to avoid
her
.

His chest tightened when he spotted her on a monitor. She was approaching the edge of the garden where it melded into the woods. Her bright yellow sweater and blond hair made her look like sunshine in the midst of darkness. What was she doing here? If she'd come for Tino's party, why was she missing it?

“Who is she?” He pointed to the monitor, attempting to keep his manner nonchalant.

Howard glanced up. “That's Caitlyn Whelan, Shanna's sister.”

Carlos's hand curled into a fist.
Merda.
Sean Whelan was her father? The man was a bigoted fool. Still, he was not someone the Vamps wanted to anger. They needed their alliance with him in order to defeat the Malcontents and keep themselves safe.

That meant Carlos needed to stay away from his daughter. A dalliance would upset Sean and the Vamps.

But to be honest, Carlos had already known she was forbidden. She was a disaster disguised as paradise, the kind of woman a man could never forget and never leave. He couldn't allow himself anywhere near her. His fate was written in stone. To ensure the survival of his species, he had to find a mate just like him.

Angus sauntered toward the wall of monitors. “She looks a lot like her sister.”

Not at all, Carlos thought. Her eyes were more
turquoise in color. Her face was more oval-shaped. Her nose was sprinkled with a few freckles. Her hair was longer and a more golden shade than Shanna's strawberry blond hair. He shook his head ruefully. Was there nothing he hadn't noticed about her and already committed to memory?

Howard leaned back in his chair behind the desk. “Did you know Sean didn't tell her that Shanna was married or had children?”

“Och, what an arse,” Angus muttered.

When it came to Sean Whelan, Carlos was tempted to use more colorful language. “She's missing the party.”

“She's probably in shock.” Howard propped his feet up on the desk. “Shanna was going to tell her about vampires.”

Angus nodded. “That was Emma's idea. She thought it would be better for Caitlyn to hear the news from her sister.” He glanced at her on the monitor. “She seems to be taking it well.”

Howard snorted. “Because she's not running for her car, screaming her head off?”

Carlos gave Angus a curious look. “Why did Emma want her to know the truth?”

“We're hoping to hire her.”

“What?” Carlos stepped back.

“We'd rather have her working for us than for her father and his bloody Stake-Out team.”

Carlos gulped. He couldn't work alongside
her
. If they stationed her here at Romatech, he'd have to put in for a transfer. Better yet, he'd just depart immediately for Bangkok. “I need to leave on my trip right away.”

“What trip?” Howard asked.

Carlos quickly explained. “I'll take the first available flight.”

Angus's brow creased with a frown. “Why the big hurry?”

“Why not?” Carlos countered. “Things are slow right now, with Casimir and the Malcontents in hiding. You don't really need me here. And you know I have to find a mate. I've been looking for five years. I'm not getting any younger.”

“I understand, lad.” Angus rested a hand on his shoulder. “I'm just concerned about yer children. I hear they're having some trouble adjusting to the new school and new country. I'm no' sure ye should be leaving them right now.”

Carlos groaned inwardly. He knew the orphans were having a rough time. All the more reason for him to find a mate. Coco was only six years old. Raquel was nine, and Teresa twelve. They needed a mother. They needed a woman who could guide them through the shape shifting process when they reached puberty. The change could happen any time now for Teresa. Carlos could feel the clock ticking.

Angus's cell phone rang, and he retrieved it from his pocket. “Aye, I'll be there soon.”

The big Scotsman's normally gruff voice had softened, a sure sign he was talking to his wife, Emma. His eyes widened. “They're missing? Doona worry, sweetheart. We'll find them.” He hung up.

“Who's missing?” Carlos asked.

“Coco and Raquel.” Angus studied the monitors. “Emma was fetching cake and ice cream for
the children, and when she came back to the table, the two lassies were gone.”

Howard dropped his feet to the floor with a thud and stood. “They couldn't have gone far.”

Carlos felt the usual heaviness in his chest whenever a problem arose with the children. They were suffering, and he didn't have a clue how to make it better. His pretense that everything was fine wasn't working. He knew how to save people physically, but emotionally? Whenever the children looked at him with all that pain glimmering in their teary eyes, he cringed inside.

He spotted movement on a monitor that showed the garden. Someone was hiding behind a big rhododendron. His heart twinged. The poor girls didn't want to be found.

He motioned to the quivering bush. “They're hiding there. I'll get them.” He could return them to the party, but God help him, he didn't know what to tell them. For the last few years, he'd entertained them with jokes, amateur magic tricks, and trips to the ice cream parlor to make the tears go away. It wasn't enough, but how could he open his heart when all he had to offer was pain and despair?

He left the security office and trudged down the hallway to the side exit. The heaviness in his chest bore down on him, making it hard to breathe. The orphans thought he was their hero, the bravest man in the world, the one who had rescued them from a horrible death.

He couldn't let them know the truth. He was brave enough to face the physical pain of death, but when it came to emotional pain, he was a clue
less pretender. Worse than that, he thought with a snort. He was a damned coward.

 

Caitlyn was deep in thought as she sat on the bench beneath the oak tree. If vampires were real, what other strange creatures could exist? Elves? The tooth fairy? Big Foot?

A sound close by made her jump. She turned and spotted someone behind the oak tree. Definitely not Big Foot. Not big at all.

She rose to her feet. “Hello?”

The little girl peered around the tree. Tears glistened in her big brown eyes and her bottom lip trembled.

“Coco, no,” another girl whispered from behind a nearby bush. Her voice carried a slight accent and sounded tense with pain. “Leave the lady alone.”

“It's all right,” Caitlyn assured them. Were these hybrid children like Constantine? Whatever they were, they were certainly upset.

Coco rounded the tree and approached Caitlyn quietly. She had a lost, frightened look in her eyes that Caitlyn had seen many times in her life, every time a stray kitten or puppy came to her for help.

She sat on the bench and patted the space beside her. “Tell me what's wrong, Coco.”

The little girl climbed onto the bench and wiggled up close.

The second girl, who appeared a few years older, ventured closer. “I forgot your name.”

“I'm Caitlyn. And you are?”

“Raquel. Raquel Gatina.” She lifted her chin proudly. “We're from Brazil.”

Coco's thin shoulders shook as she burst into tears. “I want to go home. I…I'm so tired of this English. It's hard.”

“Sweetie.” Caitlyn patted her on the back. “You speak whatever you like. I'll understand.” Her comprehension would be immediate, but it would take a while before she could start responding in the girls' native language.

Raquel stepped closer. “Are you serious?”

“Try me.”

Coco gazed up at her. “I feel bad,” she said in Portuguese.

“Why do you feel bad?” Caitlyn asked in English.

The girls exchanged surprised looks.

“Coco's mad at Constantine,” Raquel explained in Portuguese. “She says she hates him.”

“I don't want to hate him,” Coco wailed. “I like Tino. But it's not fair!”

Raquel sniffed. “Tino has family and friends. We don't.”

Caitlyn's heart squeezed. “You have each other. And from what I could tell, every woman at the party loves you and wants to be your aunt.”

Raquel frowned and kicked at the ground. “They just feel sorry for us because we're orphans.”

“Tino has a mommy and daddy and a sister,” Coco whispered. “My mommy and daddy and sister are dead.”

Caitlyn gulped. “How did that—I'm sorry. I'm sure you don't want to talk about it.”

Raquel perched on the bench next to Coco. “Some bad men came to our village and killed our families. They hate us because we're different.”

Caitlyn sucked in a deep breath. Good God. Were the girls' families killed because they were vampires? That was unconscionable. It reminded her of racial purging. It could not be allowed to continue.

She was struck suddenly with a moment of crystal clarity. If she took the job offered by Emma MacKay, she could work to protect innocent children like Coco and Raquel. And her niece and nephew.

Coco tugged on the sleeve of her cardigan sweater. “Am I bad 'cause I'm mad at Tino?”

“No, sweetie. It's normal to be envious when someone else has what you want for yourself.”

“I really do like him.” Coco sniffled. “I want to be happy for him, but it's not fair.”

“I know.” Caitlyn stroked the girl's long black hair. “But in a strange way, you can be happy that the world isn't fair.”

Raquel stiffened. “But it should be fair.”

“Think about it,” Caitlyn said softly. “In a world that was totally fair, everything that happened to you would be because somehow you absolutely deserved it.”

Raquel's mouth dropped open. “We—We didn't deserve it.”

Coco sat up, her eyes wide with horror. “The bad men came because I'm bad?”

“No!” Caitlyn grabbed the girl by the shoulders. “You are good. You are a sweet, innocent child, and there is no way you could ever deserve what happened.”

Raquel jumped to her feet. “Then why did it happen?”

Tears filled Caitlyn's eyes. “Oh, honey, I don't know why there's evil in the world. I think it has something to do with free will, so people can decide to be good or bad.”