Seduced by the Night (41 page)

Then Patterson rushed him. His fists
pummeling
Dirk's face, Patterson drove him back, step by step, until Dirk was trapped against the wall with only Patterson's hand against his throat to hold him up.

The Prime gave Dirk a hideous smile. "It's over, Adams. I win. Does the dying man have any last words?" he goaded.

"Move!" Dirk choked out as loud as he could.

He saw the confusion on Patterson's face. Then Beth stepped aside and the newly risen sun she'd been blocking filled the opening, sending a beam down into the hole to land on the very spot where Patterson stood.

Dirk saw the vampire's eyes open wide as he realized the implication—and then he froze in place as his body rapidly turned to stone.

Dirk reached up and grabbed the hand still at his throat, crushing it in his fist. Dragging in an unrestricted breath, he pushed away from the wall and shoved the statue, watching it fall to the ground where it exploded on impact into a cloud of dust. Patterson was no more.

"Dirk?" Beth's worried voice floated down to him through the opening.

"It's over," he called up to her as he moved to the rungs. Knowing she waited for him gave Dirk the strength he needed to climb. Nearly blind from the sun's glare in his eyes, he reached the opening and she was there to help him out. It felt good to breathe the clean surface air, instead of the rancid sewage smell, and the brisk cool morning breeze was refreshing. Better than all that, though, was the feel of Beth in his arms as he held her close and kissed the top of her head before laying his cheek against it. He would have stood there for hours, but suddenly she shoved him away.

"Don't you ever do that again," she snapped at him.

"What—?" Her anger surprised him.

"Risk your life for me. Don't ever do it again, do you hear?" She struck him in the chest, though there was little force behind it. "Just what in the hell did you think you were doing?" Her voice cracked and though he could barely see her, he knew she was crying. She raised her fists to hit him again, but he caught them easily and held her.

"Beth?" He spoke her name softly, trying to understand.

"Why would you think I'd want to live if you died?" she choked out between tears.

"Hush," he whispered, pulling her against him. "It's over." He stroked her hair as he spoke. "Patterson is dead. We're safe."

"But there are others."

"We'll take care of them."

Neither of them mentioned Harris. Dirk had been hunting Harris for so long, part of him felt compelled to continue, but he knew he wouldn't. In his mind, Harris had achieved the same status as Dr. Weber. Knowing that there were now two vampires in the world who seemed capable of acting
honorably
reminded Dirk once again of just how little they knew about vampires.

It was more than he wanted to think about. Right now, he only wanted to rest.

Barely able to see but needing to take care of something before anything else happened, Dirk guided them to a park bench beneath a stand of trees where they could be in the shade. Beth sat down but instead of sitting next to her, he knelt on the ground at her feet. "There's something I need to tell you." Taking both of her hands in his, he gazed into her eyes. "I love you, Beth, with all my heart. I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you on the street, God, it seems like so long ago." He paused before going on. "I'm sorry, I should have told you before, but I didn't know how. I kept looking for the right words and the right time, and then last night, I was so afraid I'd never see you again and I hadn't said anything—"

He hadn't realized just how afraid he'd been until that moment and he swallowed hard, fighting to keep his emotions in check.

Beth pulled her hands from his and laid them against his cheeks, caressing his bruised and battered face with  her gaze as her eyes welled up with tears. "I love you, too." She leaned forward and kissed him carefully, not wanting to hurt him. "Come with me." At his confused expression, she merely smiled as she stood and waited for him to join her. Then she led him to the nearest tree where she sat on the ground with her back against a large trunk and gestured to the ground next to her. "Sit down before you fall down."

As soon as he did, she patted her lap. "The sun is up, the vampires are no threat right now, and you're tired. Rest a bit and then we'll figure out how to get home."

He seemed to hesitate and she knew it was hard for him to trust someone else to watch over him. She didn't push, but let him decide. Finally, he lay down, resting his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, letting the motion lull him to sleep. She saw him fight to stay awake, but eventually, the rhythmic motion, the events of the night, and the brightness of the day caught up with him.

The admiral and Mac found them an hour later, with Dirk still asleep, his head in Bethany's lap. With some effort, they got the two in the car and drove them home, with Beth explaining as much of the night as she could remember.

Once they reached the mansion, Bethany insisted that they help Dirk to her room and Julia brought her a first aid kit, a large bowl, and extra linens. Then she gave Bethany a quick hug and left the room.

Bethany wasted no time ridding Dirk of his clothes, bathing him, and treating his various wounds. Then, exhausted herself, she took a fast shower,
toweled
off, and crawled into bed beside him, where they both slept the rest of the day.

Bethany was sitting in the living room when she heard the massive front door of the mansion open early that evening. She looked up from the book she'd pretended to be reading and exchanged quick knowing glances with
Lanie
and Julia. The men had returned home safely. For the first time since the sun had set, she relaxed.

"Hello, ladies," Admiral Winslow said as they walked into the room. "What have you been doing while we've been out?"

"Charles," Julia scolded him, "you know perfectly well that we've been sitting here on pins and needles worrying about you men. Now, tell us all about it."

The admiral chuckled and, placing a hand at Julia's elbow, leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Julia, it was exhilarating. We arrived at the entrance well before sunset and went in. The stench was awful. Dirk, Bethany, I don't know how you endured it for so long."

Bethany looked at Dirk and Mac as they moved into the room. Mac walked over to
Lanie
, who stood up and kissed him. Then they sat on the couch to listen to the admiral recount their adventures.

Bethany listened with half an ear, conscious of Dirk hovering nearby. When she glanced at him, he winked at her and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back as he came over to stand in front of her. Pulling her to her feet, he kissed her soundly in front of everyone. "I missed you," he said softly.

She smiled up at him. "I missed you, too. I'm glad you're safe."

'Takes more than a couple of vampires to bring that boy down," the admiral boasted from across the room.

Dirk smiled down at her, then sat in the chair, pulling her onto his lap.

For the next hour, they listened to the admiral recount how they had gone into the sewers and hunted the vampires. They'd found most of the ones that Dirk had fought the night before.

"There were easily twenty or thirty vampires," the admiral told Julia.

Bethany looked in alarm at Dirk, who grinned and mouthed the word "ten." Leaning against him, she smiled and listened to the rest of the admiral's story. When he was done, her thoughts turned to other things.

"Did you find Harris?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. "Do you think Patterson killed him?"

"No," Mac answered. "To both questions."

"How do
you
know?" Dirk asked. "Just because he wasn't in the tunnels—"

"He's the one who called and told us where to look for you in the park," Mac said. "At first, we thought it was a trap, but we couldn't take the chance it wasn't."

Once again, Bethany found herself feeling grateful to the vampire. Then her thoughts returned to other questions she had. "If Miles was working for Patterson all along, then why was he talking to
Santi
? And who killed
Santi
?"

"I think I know the answer to that," Dirk answered. "Patterson had every intention of selling the venom on the black market.
Santi
was the dealer he chose to work through."

"Then why would he kill him?"

"He didn't," Mac answered. "Neither did Miles. I spoke with
John
Santi
really was killed in a drug deal."

Bethany took a minute to digest all of that. "I feel like such an idiot for letting Miles take advantage of me like that. I really thought I knew him."

Dirk pulled her close. "Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not your fault. Miles was a master in the art of manipulation. He used people to get what he wanted and when he saw a chance at immortality, he went for it, not caring who paid the price."

"In the end, though, Patterson cheated him out of that as well, didn't he?" Bethany asked. "He never was going to be like Harris or Patterson, retaining a part of his humanity." She turned to Dirk and spoke softly. "He would have killed a lot of innocent people if you hadn't stopped him. T
hank
you."

Dirk looked at her with surprise and then tender gratitude. She gave him a smile filled with the love she had for him.

"Speaking of Miles," Mac said. "
John
said that the media found out about Miles being killed by the
Exsanguinators
and assumed he was somehow working for them. His family's not too happy, from what
John
's heard."

"That's not good." Bethany knew how influential
Miles's
family was and worried about what trouble they might start.

"Don't worry," Dirk said, as if reading her mind. "We'll deal with it later, if we have to. For now though, I have other priorities."

He eased her off his lap so they both could stand and then draping his arm across her shoulders, he pulled her close. "I think we're going to call it a night," he said to the others.

"What about dinner?" Julia asked, concerned.

"We'll get something later," Dirk promised her with a smile. "Much later."

"Same here," Mac said as he and
Lanie
also got to their feet.

"I guess it's just you and me," the admiral said as he stood and offered Julia his hand. "I'm glad you decided to move in," he told her warmly.

She smiled back. "T
hank
you. Me, too. Oh, before I forget, you had a phone call earlier this evening. A Jessica Winslow?"

The admiral smiled. "She's my cousin's daughter. I haven't heard from her in years." His smile faded. "There's nothing wrong, is there?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. She wanted me to tell you that she's on her way. She's flying in and wanted to know if she could stay here for a few days. I believe she's bringing you something from Gerard as well."

The admiral's excitement grew. "She must be bringing the sword. This is wonderful news. I can hardly wait to see her. She must be in her twenties now." His eyes took on a faraway look. "My, time does fly, doesn't it?"

Then, as if he felt them watching him, he smiled. "Good night, everyone."

Beth and Dirk went upstairs to his room, where they spent a considerable amount of time exploring their love. Much later, they fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

It was well after midnight when Bethany woke up feeling hungry. Dirk was fast asleep and not wanting to wake him, she slipped out of bed, pulled on his T-shirt, and padded down to the kitchen for something to eat.

Gem was standing by the back sliding glass door and she turned those large, red eyes on Bethany when she walked in.

"What's the matter, girl?" Busy watching the small creature, she didn't hear Dirk until he spoke.

"What're you doing up?" He came toward her, wearing nothing more than his jeans.

"I was hungry. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"I missed you."

Gem pushed against the door again, distracting Bethany. When she turned back to Dirk, he was leaning against the counter, staring fixedly at the floor.

"Hey, what's the matter?" she asked softly, going to stand beside him, touching his arm. He raised his head and looked so troubled, she was immediately concerned. "Dirk?"

"Marry me."

Her heart stilled as various emotions hit her. Mistaking her silence for hesitation, he hurried on. "I don't want to rush you, and I realize that with everything that happened with Miles—"

She placed her finger against his lips to silence him, then leaned forward and placed a short, sweet kiss where her finger had just been. "Yes."

He looked at her, surprised. "Yes?"

She smiled. "Yes, I'll marry you."

"What I do is dangerous. You heard the admiral. No changeling has lived very long. You could end up a very young widow."

"I'll take my chances."

"I'd want you to be up at night, while I'm awake, and sleep during the day, with me," he warned her.