Holiday with a Vampire 4 (5 page)

“Nothin’,” Alfie said.

“So far. But we aren’t alone.” Kane readied his rifle, listening to the tread of boots climbing to meet them.

“Goodman,” he said, rising. “To what do we owe this dubious pleasure?”

Goodman stopped. He was empty-handed, but his mouth was twisted in disgust. “Put that down, bloodsucker,” he said, “or you won’t like what happens.”

“Threats, Commander?” Kane said. “Hardly effective, under the circumstances.”

“It’s not my life that’s in danger,” Goodman said. “The senator may trust you, but I know better. I’ve been with the captain a long time. I don’t know what you’ve done to her, but she’s lost her judgment where you’re concerned.”

“So, apparently, has your ambassador,” Kane said coldly, lowering his weapon.

“Sandoval,” Goodman said. He spat inches from Kane’s feet. “He’s too softhearted for this. They could both jeopardize the mission.”

“And you would be more suited to lead it.”

“I don’t have a problem getting rid of anything that stands in our way.”

“Or yours,” Kane said. “What do you really want?”

“What should have been mine.” The commander dragged his hand across his lips, as if even the act of speaking to Opiri left a bad taste in his mouth. “I’ve come to give you a final warning. Leave now. If you stick around, I’ll arrange for the captain to have an accident. I’ll take command, and I’ll finish the job I started with you two.”

A red veil fell over Kane’s vision. “You’d kill your former partner?”

“We haven’t been partners in a long time,” Goodman said. “Whatever happened in the past doesn’t matter now.”

“Why do you think I’m concerned with the captain’s fate?”

“You must think I’m stupid. You saved her life at the risk of your own. You’d do anything to save her again, and that’s why you’ll do what I say.”

“The captain won’t believe we’ve left of our own volition.”

“You’d better hope I convince her.”

Only Alfie had the strength to hold Kane back. “You oughtn’t talk ta the lieutenant that way,” the Brit said pleasantly, keeping a powerful grip on Kane’s arm. “’E might get mad and tear yer ’ead off.”

“He’d better not try if he wants the captain to live,” Goodman said. “You understand, bloodsucker?”

“I understand,” Kane said through his teeth. “Now I warn
you
—”

“I have men to back me up. One of us’ll always be able to take care of the captain if I don’t return or you refuse to cooperate. If you behave, she’ll be all right.”

“Why should I trust your word?”

“You have no choice. You’ve got your blood. Keep going the way you were before, and be glad I didn’t bring the VS120.”

“Your new weapon?” Kane asked.

Goodman grinned. “We call it the ‘Vampire Slayer.’”

“Very appropriate,” Kane said. “But I doubt you’ll ever have a chance to use it again.”

“Lieutenant,” Alfie whispered behind Kane, too quietly for Goodman to hear. “We better do what ’e says—fer now.”

For now.
Kane stared into Goodman’s eyes. Wisest to let the human think he had won.

“We’ll go,” he said.

“If you try to follow us,” Goodman said, “we’ll know it. Get moving.”

Turning their backs on the commander, Kane and Alfie descended the hill and headed south, away from the house. Once they were out of the range of human hearing, they crouched amid a stand of oaks and waited until they were sure Goodman had gone back inside.

“What now, guv?” Alfie asked.

“We aren’t leaving Fiona in that house.”

“’Course not.”

“Goodman won’t let her keep command. He’ll find a way to remove her and make the others think it was an accident. I won’t let that happen.”

Alfie sighed and rested his thick arms over his knees. “She won’t thank you fer it.”

“I know. I’ll be stealing her honor as surely as if I’d made a serf of her.”

“’Onor?” Alfie said. “We don’t ’ave that luxury no more.”

Kane turned to face Alfie. “No,” he said. “I’m not honorable. Not where she is concerned.” He scraped his hair back from his forehead. “All I can think about is tasting her blood.”

“I don’t think that’s all, guv,” Alfie said, laying his hand on Kane’s shoulder. “I was wrong about ’onor. You ’ave it, ’n’ you’ll ’ave it till ya die.”

“I hope you’re right, my friend.” Kane rose. “We’ll have to get her outside, where we can take her without alerting the others.”

“What’s yer plan?”

Kane told him. Odds were the humans wouldn’t fall for it, but it was the best he could come up with.

He and Alfie worked their way carefully back toward the house. Alfie climbed the hill behind it, while Kane continued north to hide inside a small wood of frost-damaged eucalyptus trees. He waited for Alfie to get into position and then opened fire on the house.

His shots were deliberately angled to hit the roof and not the walls, but that wouldn’t matter as far as the people inside were concerned.

“Humans!” Kane shouted, altering his voice to a higher pitch. “We know who you are, and we outnumber you. Send your commanding officer out unarmed, or we’ll cut you to pieces.”

Nothing happened for several minutes, and Kane was about to open fire again when Fiona walked out of the house, hands raised. Her hair was in braids tightly pinned around the top of her head, and she was dressed in heavy winter fatigues. She still wore her sidearm.

“Come into the trees alone,” Kane called. “If anyone follows, you’ll be shot.”

Fiona walked toward him, her expression grim. When she reached the trees, Kane set down his rifle, grabbed her and pulled her into the deeper shadows.

“Fiona,” he said, dropping his voice back to its normal register. “Listen—”

“You ran!” she yelled, wrenching her arm out of his grasp. “Goodman made a serious mistake in trying to question you, but maybe he was right.”

Kane realized then that Goodman had already gotten to her, convinced her that he and Alfie had abandoned her and the senator.

“Have you forgotten we saved your life?” he asked, matching her coldness.

“How do I know you didn’t do it just to get a look at our plans?” she asked. “I let myself believe I owed you a debt. I deserve to lose my command for making the mistake of trusting you.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that you’re playing right into Goodman’s hands?”

She laughed. “He’s made mistakes, but he’s a good soldier. You want to turn me against him for reasons of your own.”

It was as if she was parroting someone else’s words. Something wasn’t right. “Believe what you want,” he said. “I can’t stop you.”

“But
I
can stop
you.
” She pulled her gun and pointed it at Kane’s chest. “I knew it was you out here all along,” she said. “I decided to gamble that you wouldn’t shoot me. But
I’m
not so merciful. I can hit your heart before you can move. Give me a reason not to.”

She was bluffing. If she really thought he and Alfie had betrayed her, she knew her odds of getting back to the house were slim to none.

And now he would have to make her believe that he and Alfie were exactly what Goodman had told her.

Chapter 5

K
ane lunged for Fiona, squeezed her hand until she was forced to drop the gun and then shoved the weapon under his belt.

“You’re coming with us, Captain Donnelly,” he said.

She rubbed her hand. “I’m no good to you as a hostage,” she said, her voice still pitched to a level anyone near the door to the house could hear.

“We don’t want a hostage,” Kane said, looking away from her accusing eyes.

“I’ll kill myself before I let you take my blood,” she spat.

Alfie strolled into the grove. “D’ya think we can’t stop ya?” he asked.

Kane nodded to Alfie. “Bind her.”

The Englishman took a rope from his field pack and tied Fiona’s hands. She didn’t struggle, but her expression was stark as she tried to resist showing any sign of emotion.

“Let’s go,” Kane said.

“They’ll come looking for me,” she said.

“You said yourself that they won’t risk the mission, not even for their captain,” Kane said, picking up his rifle. “Remember?”

She said nothing more until they were in the hills southwest of the house. Kane took her arm when he thought she might stumble in the dark, feeling the tension in her muscles. Her rejection.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked when they stopped to rest.

“I know you won’t believe me, but our only purpose was to get you away from Goodman.”

“Because he wants to take command of the mission?”

Kane stared at her. “You know?”

Her laughter held an edge. “That’s why I came out to you. Why I said the things I did.”

“What?” Alfie said, coming to join them.

“Goodman knew that was you out here shooting, too,” Fiona said. “He got me alone and said I couldn’t be trusted, that I was going to pass command to him. He said he’d kill you if I didn’t find a way to get rid of you, even if I had to leave with you.”

“Because ’e knew ’ow ya felt about Kane,” Alfie said.

“He thought he knew,” Fiona said, looking away, “but it wouldn’t have mattered if he was right about that or not. He wanted it to seem as if I believed you’d betrayed us, for the sake of the other troops. But sending me out here was only a trap. He was watching all the time, and he planned to kill you the second he got the chance.”

“With the ‘Vampire Slayer’?” Kane asked.

“Who told you that name?”

“Goodman did, when he politely asked us to leave.”

Fiona’s jaw hardened. “He met with you again?”

“Didn’t bother to ’ide ’is plans, neither,” Alfie said.

“He said he’d kill you if we didn’t go,” Kane said.

“He believed you would protect me from him and his supporters,” Fiona said, “but I think if things had gone as he planned, he would have killed
me
out here, too, and blamed it on you. There was just no good way to handle this except hope that, between us, you and I could keep him from shooting. I don’t know how he got hold of the weapon again, but keeping it out of his hands was my responsibility.”

“Ya did what ya could,” Alfie said gently.

She shook her head. “I never knew he hated me so much. He thinks he should have been promoted to captain years ago. He believes I’m too soft, that this mission should have been his.”

It wasn’t as if Kane hadn’t seen men kill each other for lesser reasons. “If you go back,” he said, “he’ll find another way to get rid of you.”

“But I can’t leave the mission in his hands. He’s too reckless, too angry. He’ll fight instead of think. Now that he has the weapon, he’ll keep it. Sandoval can’t stop him, but he’ll have a hard time murdering me in front of the team.” She pulled on her bonds. “You can let me go now. I’ll take care of Goodman the way I should have before.”

“No,” Kane said. “You’re still coming with us.”

She stared at him. “I’ll be all right. Go. Take your freedom.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you leave,” he said quietly. He got up and turned his back to her, listening as Alfie moved closer and began to speak.

“’E won’t do it,” Alfie said, well knowing Kane could hear every word. “Ya see, ’e cares too much about ya. ’E just won’t admit it out loud.” He chuckled. “Same thing with ya, ain’t it? Too proud. But ya tried ta save each other anyway.”

“I owed him,” Fiona said stiffly. “I owed both of you. That has nothing to do with—”

“Ya can’t fool ol’ Alfie. I been watchin’ both of ya. Ya think ’e let your soldiers take us because ’e’s weak? He coulda killed all of ’em before they could move. But ’e wanted ta make sure
you
was safe. ’N’ you did the same for ’im when Goodman said ’e’d kill ’im.”

“No,” Fiona said. She moved to stand behind Kane. “Don’t do this, Kane. If I ever...cared about you, I’ll despise you if you don’t let me go back.”

“There are only a few hours’ travel time left before dawn,” he said, ignoring her.

“And where will you take me?” she demanded. “Have I become your serf now, Kane?”

“No. Never.”

“But you’ll take me against my will anyway. If you’re headed southwest, you’ll be very close to the Enclave borders. The first chance I get, I’ll run to the nearest outpost and send them after you. They won’t take any chances with you. They’ll kill you.”

It wasn’t her threat that cut into his heart but her desperation, her determination to get away from him.

“I’ll let you go as soon as we’re far enough away that you can’t rejoin your team,” he said, turning to face her. “Or if you’re prepared to accept our help... The Opiri who are against any move toward peace will have sent scouts to pinpoint your position and assess your strength before a direct attack. They’ll likely be coming from the northeast. If we find them first, we can warn your people.”

Her breath quickened, loud in the silence. “You’re still willing to scout for us?”

“If
you
stay with us,” he said. “If you give your word you won’t try to go back until I let you leave.”

“Are you sure my word is sufficient?” she asked bitterly.

“Yes,” he said. “And I promise your people will receive any intelligence we obtain.”

“But not through me.”

“Alfie and I will make sure word gets to them.” He looked past her in the direction of the house. “You don’t have your pack with you, but we have enough rations for you.”

“Not hungry?” she asked, her voice sharp with mockery.

“Our field rations are supplementary. Without blood, we can’t digest them. But you must know that.” He met her gaze again. “We need to get going. I expect another storm to arrive sometime in the next twenty-four hours.”

Fiona folded her arms across her chest. “If we’re heading back toward the lines, how likely is it that you’ll fall back under your Bloodmaster’s influence? What will you do then? Will you forget you ever ‘cared’ about me?”

She was right. That was a danger, and he had known the risk from the moment he offered his compromise. He and Alfie could both be caught again. That would be enough to put Fiona in grave peril.

“If that happens,” he said, “we’ll know it. If I so much as begin to feel his influence, I’ll tell you. You know how to kill an Opir, especially if he isn’t fighting back.” He untied her hands and then pulled her handgun from his belt. “Keep this with you.”

She took the gun from his hands and stared down at it as if she’d never seen it before. “You’d let me kill you?”

“Not only for your sake.” He glanced at Alfie, who was pretending to be absorbed in rearranging the supplies in his pack. “For ours, as well. Neither one of us is willing to be taken again.”

“You think I could do it?” she said, slowly looking up at him again. “You think I could kill you in cold blood?”

“If it becomes necessary, yes. I would demand it.”

Her eyes were suspiciously moist, but she holstered the gun and said nothing more.

Shrugging into his pack, Kane started down the hill again, listening for her footsteps behind him. Every part of him ached with need. He kept on walking so he wouldn’t turn around and pull her into his arms.

* * *

Kane moved quickly away from her without looking back, and she knew he trusted her to follow.

She had given her word. Admittedly, she had pretty much been coerced into giving it, but even so, she knew she couldn’t break her promise. Just as she knew Kane wouldn’t break
his
promise to get word of any Opiri presence back to her people.

But he was putting her entire mission in danger because of his desire to protect her. Alfie had told her why.
“’E cares too much about ya. ’E just won’t admit it out loud.”

Of course he wouldn’t. She wasn’t deceived into thinking he wasn’t every bit as much the soldier as she was—nor any more inclined to express his feelings openly, whatever they might be. Alfie had said that Kane had let himself be taken by her men because he had wanted to make sure she was safe, and she didn’t doubt him for a minute.

But had Kane somehow sensed that Goodman was a threat even before the commander had tried to interrogate him? If Goodman hadn’t compelled Kane’s
cooperation by threatening to kill her, would Kane have killed
him?

It was very possible. Even likely. Because Kane
cared
about her.

And Alfie, at least, knew the feeling was mutual.
“Too proud,”
he’d said of her. Too proud to admit she wanted Kane the way she’d never wanted another man. With her entire body. And her soul.

A soul that would begin to wither and die if she had to do what Kane had demanded of her. If she had to kill both him and Alfie to save them. And herself.

Fiona realized she’d been lagging behind and caught up with Kane, taking care not to stumble lest he feel compelled to reach out and steady her. Alfie brought up the rear. They moved carefully north and east across the wetlands, intending to avoid the suburban communities at the junction of the old Highway 680, which passed by the house, and the major artery connecting the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento.

The new storm Kane had expected hadn’t yet arrived, so they only had to contend with the marsh itself. Fiona’s boots soon became waterlogged from wading through the sloughs. Kane called a halt to give her his jacket, and she didn’t object. She had work to do, and she couldn’t get it done if she died of exposure.

They’d nearly reached dry ground when the sun began to rise. There was little enough shelter in the area, but Kane and Alfie had deliberately aimed for a small, isolated stand of trees anchored on a low hill. They removed and unrolled tarps they’d fastened to their packs and stretched them between the lowest branches.

Almost immediately Alfie fell onto his back, covered his eyes with his arm and sank into a heavy sleep, snoring like an old-time steam engine. Kane crouched beside him, staring toward the northeast.

Fiona followed his gaze across the open ground toward the old community of Fairfield and the abandoned Travis Air Force Base east of the city. A perfect place for light-averse Nightsiders to hide.

She knelt to face him, staying outside the small rectangle of shadow cast by the tarps. “I’m going to scout ahead,” she said.

“No,” he said, hardly glancing at her. “It’s too dangerous.”

“You trust me to keep a gun but not to do what we came out here to do?”

He looked into her face; his gray eyes were like finely polished daggers. “Will you come back?”

She jumped to her feet. “If I wanted to, I could walk away right now, and you couldn’t follow me.”

“You’re right.” He rose and glanced at Alfie, who was still blissfully asleep. “But if there are any Opiri scouts out there...”

“They’ll be under cover, too.”

“There’s one thing I failed to mention when I told you we have to stay together,” he said. “Some of the scouts have been outfitted with new protective suits, impervious to sunlight for a certain length of time. If you run into any of
them...
”

“You think we didn’t know? I was given that intelligence, and so was Sandoval. We also know they haven’t been widely distributed among the Opiri ranks.”

“Any scouts looking for the ambassador would be given such equipment.”

“I can handle them. It’s what I’m trained to do.”

“The way you were trained to deal with those rogues?”

She couldn’t help flushing at the reminder. “I know it’s a risk. But it’s part of my job. I’ve always accepted that.”

“I didn’t take you out of Goodman’s reach to let you throw your life away now.”

“You said I wasn’t your serf. Have you changed your mind?”

Kane’s jaw clenched. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“Toward the old air-force base. That’s a likely shelter for any Nightsider scouts in the area.”

“If you see anything,” Kane said roughly, “if you
feel
anything, come back immediately.”

“Is that an order,
sir?
”

He gave her a dry half smile. “I believe you outrank me, Captain.”

She snorted. “Then this is an order. Get some shut-eye. I have a feeling you haven’t had much in the past couple of days.”

“Opiri don’t need—”

“Then why is Alfie fast asleep? You did get
some
blood, but I doubt it was enough to sustain you for long if you wear yourself out. I’ll be sure to wake you when I get back.”

“Take the rifle,” he said, his face rigid. “And be careful.”

She took the weapon and turned to leave. But before she’d gone a single step, he had her by the wrist and jerked her back under the tarp. He pulled her against his chest, lowered his face to hers and kissed her.

The part of Fiona that had longed for this since he had healed her—the part she had tried so hard to fight—melted against him and leaned into the kiss, opening her mouth to feel the push of his tongue, the graze of his teeth on her lower lip. His tautly muscled arms held her still as his mouth pressed against the corner of her lips, her chin, her neck. She felt him growing hard against her thigh, and she thought again of lying naked in his arms, feeling that hardness thrusting deep inside her.

It was too much. For both of them. Kane released a shuddering breath and let her go just as she pushed him away. She scrambled into the sunlight where he couldn’t follow, panting and furious with shame.