Immortal Revenge (36 page)

“Katie, I can’t really discuss details.”

She stood and stiffened. “Officer Donahue, with all due respect, Julie and I tipped you off. We’re entitled to know the status of her boyfriend at the very least.”

Jules walked toward her. She pressed her quivering lips together. Clearly, she was fighting back the tears, but the dam would break soon.

Charles sighed heavily into the phone. “He’s at the main hospital.”

His deep tone suggested he knew more and the news was bad.

Katie stared into Jules’s teary eyes. “Can we visit him?”

“You can try, but the nurses might not let you.”

She grinned at Jules and a spark of life and hope blossomed on her best friend’s face.

“Thank you, Charles. I have one more question.” She turned to face Riker. “Are you holding the kidnappers?”

“Yes, we’re processing them as we speak. They won’t be harming anyone for a long time.”

Though he spoke with confidence in his tone, Katie knew the truth. The two vampires would walk freely from the station before sunrise. As far as hurting other humans, she hoped to destroy them before they could get the chance.

“Thank you,” she said.

“I should be thanking you, Katie.”

“Bye, Charles.”

She ended the call, then dropped the phone on the sofa cushion. “Looks like my plan is working.”

“So far,” Riker said dryly.

“Did he say we could visit Joe?” Jules said, her tone dripping with excitement.

“He said we could.”

“Can we?” Shot out of Jules’s mouth.

“Not a good idea,” Riker said.

“I would agree with him,” Andy said, coming to join the party as they stood in front of Riker. “The two vampires will expect you to go there.”

“They’re stuck in processing and they have to clean minds,” Katie said. “If there was a time for Jules to visit, now is it while the two vampires are busy.”

“Please?” Jules begged with a whimper.

Andy gave a single shake of his head. “It’s risky. One of them could stay behind and send the other to the hospital.”

Katie liked the way her boss thought, but disliked he argued against her choice instead of for her.

Riker lowered his arms. “If one shows up, one is easier to destroy than two.”

From the short time she’d known Riker, she suspected he wasn’t the type of person to concede easily. However, he seemed to be doing it. Perhaps he saw opportunity.

“I have rings in my purse, but I don’t have any daggers,” Katie said with her arms half outstretched.

“I have a few I could loan you,” Andy said.

“Here?”

He twisted and headed for his desk. Katie followed and watched as he removed keys from his pocket. They clinked together as he unlocked the drawer. Bent over, he lifted his gaze. “Do you need them with sheaths and straps?”

“Preferably. I don’t have a jacket, so anything I can strap to my calf will have do.”

He opened the drawer and removed the contents. After he set them on the desk, he lifted the flooring or what appeared as the floorboard of the drawer, then set it aside. A couple of sheathed knives, blades and wood box were waiting inside the secret hiding space. He took a blade and one of the sheathed knives.

“Do you know how to use these?” Katie asked as he handed them to her.

He chuckled. “I was a marine. I killed people with different weapons and my bare hands.”

Katie pressed a small button on the blade and the pointed end jutted out with a slight clicking noise. She surveyed the sharpness. “Nice.” Pleased with the quality, she pushed the blade back into the casing.

“We should talk later,” she said as she slid the blade into her back pocket. “I have a business venture you might be interested in.”

He grinned and ran his eyes down her body. “I always suspected something different about you.”

“One of a kind,” Riker said, coming to stand beside her. “Ready?”

She held the sheathed knife up. “Thanks, I’ll bring them back, or replace them.”

“Oh.” He lifted a finger, signaling them to wait.

From the middle drawer of his desk, he withdrew a cell phone. “Here.”

Katie hesitated to take it. “Jules has–”

Andy met Riker’s gaze for the first time. Two seconds later, the vamp disappeared behind Katie. She turned to find him snatching Jules’s phone from the sofa.

“What are you doing with my phone?” Jules asked, following the vampire like a lost puppy.

Riker stopped in front of the trashcan and held the phone above it. Glass snapped and pieces of the phone crunched together before falling into the garbage.

Jules grabbed his hands. “Why are you destroying my phone?”

“Because anyone can track it,” Andy said.

Hence, the reason he handed Katie a phone. She took it from him. “Thanks.”

“The number is in the notebook.” Andy added.

“But Joe–”

“Is in the hospital.” Katie twisted to face Jules. “And we’re going to see him. If he’s awake, we can give him the number.”

Riker brushed off his hands.

“Do you need a weapon?” Katie asked.

The corner of his lips twitched. “I’m always prepared, Ms. Dillinger.”

With a deep breath, Katie faced Jules and said, “Let’s go.”

Jules hurried to the door and reached it first. Riker followed Katie.

“Call if you need anything,” Andy said. “I’ll help as best as I can.”

Katie paused in the dark hall. “Thanks for your help, Andy.” She glanced at Riker as he passed and noticed his chilling expression. Without a doubt, he’d have a few words to say to her without Andy around.

They left the bar and headed around the building to reach Katie’s Camaro. Riker strode to the driver’s side, leaving Katie no choice but take the passenger seat. Jules stood by the door waiting.

Irritation warming her blood, Katie asked, “Are you going to let me drive sometime?”

The alarm beeped, signaling they could open the doors.

“No.” He opened the door, then disappeared from her sight as he lowered into the driver’s seat.

Frustration morphed into anger and Katie clenched her fists. How dare he refuse to allow her to drive
her
car.

Jules tugged on the handle, then shrugged. “Let him drive, it gives him something to do.”

Katie shook her head in disgust. She could think of plenty of other things for Riker to do besides driving her car all the time. To make matters worse, Jules acted as if she supported him. What was with the two of them?

Riker gunned the engine while Jules settled into the back. Peeved, Katie fell into the passenger seat, then slammed the door. “It’s my car. I’d like it back.”

He said nothing until he finished backing out of the parking spot. “Care to fight me for it?” One of his brows curled slightly, tempting her to challenge him.

“It’s my car. I shouldn’t have to fight for
my car
.”

Riker’s lips hinted at a grin as he drove the car out of the parking lot and on to the main road.

“It may be your car, but I am the one behind the wheel and in possession of your keys. You can fight me for them or accept you do not have control. I do.”

Her face flushed and within seconds, her temples pounded. The temptation to shift the gears and reclaim her keys thrived in her head, but she didn’t want to damage her car nor did she want to end up without a working vehicle. Fight him? What chance did she have after tomorrow night? The vamp juice in her veins would be gone, leaving her with mortal strength. And she sure as hell would take the last vial of Kyle’s blood just to get her car back. If she fought him now it would dwindle the bit of energy she was saving for meeting the two who destroyed Kyle. The fucking vamp had won the battle before it began, and he knew it.

Silence filled the car. Katie thought about his words while she stared out the window. Continuously he’d preached about control. Control emotions. Control this. Control that. She wanted to scream shut the fuck up Mr. Control and punch the bloody hell out of him. His repeated words were as worse as the many blows she took to her face after Kyle told her time and time again to study and watch his movements. She persevered with pain and determination until she learned to avoid each swing at her. The lessons she learned never came with ease.

An odd feeling stirred in her gut. The vamp constantly annoyed her with his lectures, yet his intentions were to help and keep her safe. He was a teacher once, like Kyle. Maybe this was his way of testing her. He had something she wanted desperately. What would she do?

Grinning, she realized her answer. She’d do nothing. What a painless way to pass her test.

Riker parked in a spot near the second main entrance of the hospital. Katie’s temper cooled yet she remained silent as they headed for the sliding glass doors. Her attention shifted from the issue with her car to Jules upon seeing her best friend’s hurried steps create distance between them. Katie couldn’t feel happier for Jules now that she could return to Joe, yet neither of them was out of danger yet. They had to remain alert.

“Slow down,” Katie said.

“This could have waited until after sunrise,” Riker said, walking next to her.

Katie sealed her lips together, holding back her response. Daylight would’ve been a better time to visit since the immortals had to hide from the sun. However, Jules needed to see her boyfriend, needed to know he lived and breathed and they could continue their lives together. Katie would feel the same if it were Kyle and she walked in Jules’s shoes. Understanding that love and longing, Katie wouldn’t hold her friend back.

The doors swooshed open and Jules darted inside. Katie quickened her steps and reached the doors as they started to close. They paused, then jerked open.

Jules stood in front of a desk talking to an attendant. The older woman behind the counter stood with her head down. Katie hurried to meet up with Jules.

“Find him?” she asked.

Jules tapped her hand on the counter. “She’s checking.”

The older woman, Martha according to the tag above her left breast, lifted her gaze from the computer. “I don’t see anyone here by that name, dear.”

“Did a couple of ambulances show up here within the last half hour?” Katie asked.

Martha nodded. “Sure did. Two gurneys came through, but I didn’t see if they were male, female, young, or old.”

“And you checked his name?” Jules asked.

“Yes, dear. Nothing came up.”

Katie twisted to Riker and found his eyes slightly tinted. “Third floor. One was male, the other female.”

“How do you know?” Katie asked.

“Sorry to have bothered you. We weren’t here,” he told Martha.

She turned her attention back to her computer.

Riker tugged on Katie’s arm. She grabbed Jules’s hand and they followed Riker as he led them past the waiting area. “I saw her memory. A nurse yelled at the EMTs to bring them to the third floor. I assume the human with long dark hair laying on the gurney was female.”

“What about Joe?” Jules asked.

They stopped in a wide hall with six elevators. Riker pressed the button with the arrow pointing up. When he didn’t answer or look at Jules, Katie suspected the vampire held grim information.

“Did you see Joe?” Jules asked.

A ding from behind shifted their attention to one of the elevators. Riker again said nothing and walked straight toward the opening doors. The three of them quickly filled the mildew smelling box. Riker hit the button for three, forcing the doors to close.

“Did you see Joe?” Jules persisted.

The vamp stared straight ahead.

Katie placed her hand on Jules’s shoulder. “He won’t answer.”

“Why?” Jules asked softly, her eyes widening as if she suspected something bad.