Quinn's Undying Rose (Scanguards Vampires #6) (13 page)

When he glanced at Rose for a brief second as they walked down the corridor, he noticed the tightness of her jaw and shoulders. Well, maybe he
could
turn off his charm after all. At least it appeared he did it automatically the moment he was alone with Rose.

The visitor lounge looked very much like the lobby of a five-star hotel with comfortable seating areas, a fireplace, and soft music. Two women dressed in business attire roamed the room to attend to the needs of the waiting visitors, serving drinks, answering questions, and assuring them that whoever they had come to see would be with them momentarily.

There were two of these lounges in the building. This was the lounge for humans. At the opposite end of the corridor, Visitor Lounge V catered to the needs of visiting vampires, mostly those Samson planned to recruit. There, instead of coffee and tea, blood was served. Access to the lounge was strictly monitored so that no human accidentally stumbled into it.

Scanning the room, Quinn instantly found his grandson. It was hard not to notice him: he was flirting with one of the hostesses. Shamelessly.

Quinn suddenly felt Rose’s gaze on him and turned his head to look at her. He knew exactly what she was thinking, almost as if the two hundred years of separation had never happened. His heart softened for a moment.

“Maybe he just needs some direction in his life so he can mature. This could be the best thing that ever happened to him.”

A glimmer of hope sparked in her eyes. “I hope you’re right.”

At this moment she reminded him so much of the girl he’d courted against her father’s will, and he had a hard time tearing his gaze from her.

When they finally approached Blake, he jumped up from his seat, clearly eager to find out why he was here.

Shaking hands, he blurted, “Cool digs, man.”

Quinn simply nodded, then motioned to Rose. “This is Rose, my associate.” No need to give the kid any more information about his relationship to Rose than was absolutely necessary.

Blake’s assessing eyes instantly traveled over her body, eliciting a proprietary response from Quinn: he stepped closer to her.

Rose offered her hand, and for Quinn’s liking, Blake held it for far too long.

“Nice to meet you,” he responded.

“Likewise.”

Quinn pointed to the armchairs. “Shall we?”

They sat down, Quinn making sure that he sat close to Rose to prevent any physical contact between her and Blake. Why he took such precaution, he blamed on the fact that his descendent was a shameless flirt. If the boy knew that he was flirting with his 4th great-grandmother he would probably feel disgusted.

The sooner he established the ground rules, the better.

“I’m sure you’re curious to hear more about my offer,” Quinn started.

Blake instantly moved forward on his chair, his eagerness and curiosity evident.

“Well, then don’t let me keep you on tenterhooks. What I’m telling you now doesn’t leave this room. Here’s the deal: we’re a security outfit of the highest caliber. We don’t always work within the confines of the law. Hence, we choose very carefully, who we take into our fold. Only the best will make the cut.”

He watched Blake’s face light up in fascination. “Wow. So, what do I need to do?”

“There are a number of tests. Only a few pass them.”

“Just like in Men in Black, right?” Blake asked, looking like a kid about to unwrap his Christmas presents.

Quinn almost regretted having used the MIB reference the night before. “This is reality, not a movie. People die if we don’t do our jobs right. That’s why we only take the best. Nothing less will do.”

He paused for a second, giving Blake a moment to digest his words, and glanced at Rose.

She mouthed a few words to him.
The best of the best of the best.

Quinn refrained from rolling his eyes. Great, now even Rose was quoting lines from the movie.

“I have to warn you, should you be selected, the training is grueling. Both mentally and physically. Your life will change irrevocably. It’s no place for weaklings.”

Blake instantly let out an outraged breath. “I’m not a weakling!” Immediately, the muscles in his arms bulged as if to profess his physical prowess.

“I don’t think Quinn is saying that,” Rose interjected.

“Rose is right,” Quinn said quickly before she could say anything else and interfere with his line of buttering the kid up. “To be selected is a privilege. To survive the training intact is an achievement you can be proud of.”

Blake nodded enthusiastically. “I can do it.”

Quinn turned when he felt another vampire approach. Oliver appeared next to him, grinning and flashing his shiny new badge at him. He honed in on the ID:
Section V, Class A
it said. He hadn’t expected anything else. Oliver had been in the inner circle of vampires and been Samson’s personal assistant for four years. It was only natural that he would instantly be elevated to the highest echelon within Scanguards.

They exchanged a brief smile. He felt like a proud father in that moment.

“This is Oliver.”

“Hey,” Blake greeted him.

“Oliver and Rose will bring you to where the tests are conducted. You’ll meet other applicants that were selected by my colleagues.” He leaned forward in emphasis. “Between you and me, it’s always a competition between the seasoned staff here about who can spot the next recruit. So, don’t make me lose this bet.”

Blake jumped up. “You can count on me!”

Quinn grinned. The kid was gung-ho. Once they had tired him out with some pointless fake tests competing against some Scanguards staff who’d been selected to play the other applicants, he would be ecstatic to be chosen and agree to the conditions Quinn would present him with later.

Quinn looked at Rose. “We’ll meet here in a couple of hours.”

Rose shot him a surprised look. “You’re not coming with us?”

“I have an appointment in IT.”

Then he turned and left the room before Rose could protest. What he had to discuss with Thomas wasn’t meant for her ears.

14

Thomas looked up from his console and stared at the dark-haired vampire in front of him. Cain had joined Scanguards only a few weeks earlier after providing them with vital information about an insane Nazi-vampire who wanted to create a master race. During the final battle, Thomas had sustained major injuries, but thanks to the care of his mentee Eddie, he’d recovered quickly.

“But we have nothing to go by,” he replied to Cain’s earlier question.

“I know that. But everybody says you’re a genius and can dig up anything.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “If it comes to hacking into a computer system, sure, but to find out who you are? How do you want me to do that?
You
don’t even know who you are.”

Cain bent over the desk. “I need your help. I need to know who I am. It’s been driving me mad not having any memory from when I was human. What if I have family? What if there is somebody who needs me? Somebody who’s looking for me? Don’t you understand how that feels?”

His eyes begged for understanding.

Thomas dropped his lids halfway, not wanting to see the pain and desperation that was engrained in Cain’s every cell. He understood him all too well. He understood the pain of knowing there was somebody who had counted on him. He’d walked away once himself, knowing if he hadn’t he would have become a different person: a power hungry, dangerous vampire. Walked away from one who manipulated others because he could, because of the power that coursed through his veins.

Thomas knew he’d inherited that same blood. It carried power—and destruction. Walking away had been the only way to survive.

Maybe Cain had walked away from something similar, and his mind had graced him with memory loss. What a gift.

“What if you don’t like what I find?” Thomas challenged. “What if it’s something you’d rather not know?”

Cain shook his head. “Whatever it is, I want to know. I want to be whole again. I know there’s something . . . I feel it.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “Here. I feel it here.”

Then he pointed his finger toward the door. “Out there, somewhere, my past is waiting for me. I need to know what I’m up against before it comes biting me in the ass.”

Slowly, Thomas nodded. He wished he didn’t have to lie to Cain, but he was already in the middle of investigating the other vampire’s past. Gabriel had ordered it shortly after Cain had come on board. Yet so far, nothing had turned up.

“Fine. I’ll see what I can find out. Email me everything you remember, anything at all, no matter how insignificant. I know you’ve already given us some of this information when you joined, but I want you to think about it, try to remember what else there might be. Will you do that?”

A grateful smile spread over Cain’s handsome face. But oddly enough, despite the other vampire’s attractiveness, Thomas felt nothing other than the connection he felt with all Scanguards vampires. It was different with Eddie, the young vampire he mentored and who lived with him. The straight vampire, he tried to remind himself. And he would never make a pass at a straight man, no matter how much he longed for him, how much he craved his touch.

There were lines he never crossed, because he knew that adhering to his high moral ethics was the only way to keep the lust for dominance at bay and to hide from everybody how truly powerful he was.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Cain grabbed his hand and shook it enthusiastically.

“Yeah, yeah, now get out of here.”

Before Cain could open the door, there was a knock.

“Come in.”

To his surprise, Quinn stepped in.

“Hey, what’s bringing you to my humble office?”

“Just a quick thing.”

“See you,” Cain said and walked through the door.

“Oh, Cain,” Quinn called after him.

“Yeah?”

“You were just assigned to me. Can you wait for me in the V Staff Lounge?”

“Sure thing.” Then he pulled the door shut behind him.

“Do you have a minute?” Quinn asked and let himself fall in the chair opposite Thomas’s desk without waiting for an answer.

“Not really. Do you need me to check the system to see what other staff is available for your assignment? I’m assuming since it’s bringing in a million dollars, we can throw a few more bodies at it.”

Quinn quickly waved him off. “I’ve already checked with Gabriel on who’s available. I’ve got it in hand. Not to worry. But you could do something else for me.” He leaned forward, and his eyes darted to the door, then back to him.

Thomas raised a curious eyebrow.

“I need you to find out everything you can about Rose.”

Thomas felt his jaw drop. His friend couldn’t be serious. “Listen, I don’t know what’s between you and her, and I’m not asking about it.” He raised his hands when Quinn tried to interrupt. “But I’m not violating somebody else’s privacy for no reason other than your curiosity.”

Quinn jumped up. “It’s got nothing to do with my curiosity. Rose is lying to me. She’s hiding something from me, and I need to know what it is.”

“That’s not my problem. If she’s hiding something from you, maybe it’s none of your business.”

“It is my business,” Quinn bit out.

“I can’t help you. If it’s got nothing to do with the assignment, then I don’t want to be dragged into some domestic issues between a couple.”

“We’re NOT a couple!”

“Aren’t you? Funny, because somebody told me she’s your wife.”

Quinn fumed now. “Consider us divorced. She rejected me after I became a vamp—” He stopped himself, obviously realizing that he’d said too much.

“Well, it very much looks to me like you and Rose have issues. And I’m old enough to know not to get in the middle of it.”

“Come on, Thomas. What’s it to you? You don’t even know her. I thought we were friends,” Quinn tried to cajole him.

“We are. And that’s exactly why I’m not snooping around for you. Because, trust me, it will come to bite you in the ass.”

When he noticed Quinn’s face fall in disappointment, he sighed. But he didn’t cave. “Now get out of here.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “I want to get some work done before going over to the party.”

Quinn stopped in his tracks. “What party?”

“Haven’s birthday party, of course. Didn’t you get the invite?”

He shook his head.

Then Thomas realized why his friend hadn’t been invited. “Of course. Those went out last week, and you were supposed to be back in New York already. Guess that’s why Yvette didn’t send you one. But, hey, you should go anyway. You know they would have invited you.”

“I might just do that.”

And maybe it would lift his friend’s spirit. He didn’t look as carefree as he usually did. Apparently Rose’s reappearance had thrown a serious wrench into the playboy’s lifestyle. Maybe it was for the better, or maybe it would all blow up one day.

***

Rose could see Blake perspire as he turned in his test, just like the five fake applicants. She waved at him, motioning him to join her and Oliver. Dutifully, he came to her.

He ran a shaky hand through his dark hair, a gesture that reminded her of Quinn. Odd, how certain things got passed on from generation to generation, even though neither Blake nor any of his ancestors had ever met Quinn and been exposed to his idiosyncrasies.

“I think I did well. But I’m not sure how the others did. They looked pretty confident too.”

Rose smiled. “We’ll just have to wait and see. It shouldn’t take long.” She turned to Oliver. “Right?”

“They’ll just run it through the computer and give the result to Quinn. Let’s go to the lounge to wait for him,” Oliver instructed, winking clandestinely at Rose.

She managed not to chuckle. How a bunch of grown vampires could go through all these gyrations without flinching was just beyond her. Couldn’t they simply have pretended to offer him a job? No, they had to go all Mission Impossible on the kid to make him feel special. Like Blake needed another boost for his ego.

They didn’t have to wait long in the lounge. Quinn arrived fifteen minutes after they had sat down. The look on his face was serious.