Seduced by the Night (5 page)

It was almost one in the morning when
Bethany
recorded the last test results. The next set of experiments she wanted to run would keep her at the lab until dawn if she started them now and she didn't feel like being there that long. She cleaned up, and then, accompanied by the ever-present Mr.
Yarbro
, left the building. Though she looked around outside for the familiar figure, it appeared that she and the bodyguard were the only ones on the street.

When they reached the garage, they rode the elevator to the third floor. The garage seemed unusually quiet and the sound of their footsteps echoed loudly as they started toward her car. They had gone about halfway when a scrape and muffled cry stopped them in their tracks.

Mr.
Yarbro
stepped closer to her as he pulled a gun from inside his jacket. A flicker of movement to one side caught
Bethany
's attention and before she could figure out what was happening, the bodyguard was off and running.

Wondering exactly what she should do, she spun around several times, realizing just how alone she was in the darkened garage. A tremor of fear shot through her as  she imagined bogeymen lurking behind every car and in every shadow.

Her own vehicle was parked about twenty yards away and the overhead lights that should have kept the spot well lit were mysteriously dark. The safety of the elevator loomed a good thirty yards behind her, leaving her feeling trapped in the open. Only the stairwell, dark and ominous off to the side, lay close enough to provide an escape, yet it could just as easily be another source of danger.

As she focused her attention on it, she became aware of a shuffling noise coming from out of the shadowy depths. Frozen in place, she strained to see beyond the blackness as the sound of metal scraping metal caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.

Heart racing,
Bethany
stared helplessly as the shadows swirled and took form. Then, a dark figure appeared, looming larger than life, exuding danger. It was the devil incarnate and he was coming for her. Somewhere inside her head, a voice screamed for her to run.

“I won't hurt you."

"You!" Her voice came out sounding breathless as she found herself staring at a familiar face.

"You shouldn't be standing out here in the open," Dirk chastised her.

Less afraid now, she reacted to his tone. "Well, no, but on the other hand, you shouldn't be jumping out of dark places and scaring me half to death either, should you?"

He was closer now and held her gaze for a moment before looking around the empty garage. "You'd think as rich as your boyfriend is, he could afford to hire a real bodyguard for you." The disgust in his voice was hard to miss.

Bethany
opened her mouth to defend both Miles and the errant bodyguard, but Dirk cut her off.

"Save your breath. Any bodyguard worth his salt would have made sure you were safe before leaving you. I've got a good mind to…" He let the threat trail off as he scanned the area once more. "Where's your car?"

 "Over there." She pointed to it.

"Come on." He placed a hand at her back and though his touch was light, her skin tingled from the contact, even through the layer of clothing. She glanced up at him, wondering if he'd noticed the frisson of electricity that snapped between them, but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were in constant motion, looking everywhere except at her.

"Do you have the key?" he asked as they drew near her vehicle.

She nodded, glad she'd made a duplicate key for the bodyguard and kept her original. She pulled the key ring from her purse and handed it to Dirk. As they got close, he unlocked the driver's side door. "Get in. I'm going to see what happened to your
protector
. If I don't come back in five minutes, or you see anyone that you don't know, start the car and get the hell out of here." He reached into the pocket of his coat, pulled out a business card, and handed it to her, along with her keys. "If you do have to leave, don't go home. Call this number and talk to either Admiral Winslow or Mac Knight. They'll know what to do."

She climbed inside the car and then took the card from him, gazing at it
skeptically
. "I really don't think this will be necessary. I'm sure Mr.
Yarbro
is around here somewhere."

"I'm sure he is, but is he dead or alive?"

When she started to protest, he held up his hand. "Look, I'm not going to argue about this. Do I have your promise that you'll leave?" He gave her a stern look.

"Okay, okay. I promise."

He started to shut the door but she stopped him. "That was you I saw the other day, wasn't it? In the alley?"

It seemed to her that a gleam lit his eyes, but he neither admitted nor denied it. All he said was, "Lock the door." Then he slammed it shut, ending any further conversation.

For a long second, he stared at her and she held his gaze, expecting him to tell her something more. Then he tapped on the window and she belatedly realized what he was waiting for.

As soon as she locked the door, he raised his hand, fingers spread wide. "Five minutes," he mouthed, then turned and walked off between the parked cars until
Bethany
lost sight of him. She was alone—again.

Only this time was different. This time she wasn't standing out in the open, midway between her car and the elevator. Before he left, Dirk had seen that she was safely tucked away, with a means of escape. It was more than her own bodyguard had done and that realization irritated her. Then Dirk's words echoed in her head,
Is he dead or alive
? And she immediately felt guilty.

Dirk crossed to the far side of the garage, moving silently and staying hidden from sight. There had been two vampires lurking in the stairwell when Bethany and her bodyguard had stepped out of the elevator. The one had made enough noise to catch the bodyguard's attention and then led him on a merry chase, no doubt with the intent of leaving
Bethany
alone—an easy target for the remaining vampire. Neither had counted on Dirk being there.

He'd entered the stairwell, drawn his sword, and dispatched the vampire lurking there before it could attack, but in doing so, he'd made noise and
Bethany
had heard him. It was good that she was wary, he told himself, but  seeing the frightened look in her eyes as she'd stared into the stairwell, he'd felt compelled to go to her. To reassure her, he'd argued to himself, not wanting to pursue the thought that there might have been another motive.

She had seemed so lost and vulnerable standing there, he'd had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but the harder feat had been to leave her. She was safer in the car than standing in the middle of the garage and Dirk was pretty sure that he'd removed the most immediate threat to her, but the bodyguard's continued absence bothered him.

As if his thoughts had summoned him, Dirk heard the sound of running footsteps long before he caught sight of the missing man. Ducking behind a parked car, Dirk watched him come into view, appearing unharmed, and Dirk briefly wondered what happened to the vampire he'd been chasing. Finding that creature, however, was a secondary concern. The first priority was to see that the bodyguard returned to Bethany and the two left, unharmed.

Between his SEAL training and enhanced changeling abilities, it took little effort for Dirk to trail the bodyguard back to
Bethany
without the other man knowing he was there. He watched the man climb into the car and remained hidden until the two drove out of the garage. As soon as he was sure they were safely gone, he returned to the unfinished business in the stairwell. It was a good thing no one else had come this way. Finding a decapitated body would have been quite a shock for most people.

The corpse was where he had left it on the top landing—a body with a head lying nearby. Dirk stared at it, wishing that the vampires would just vanish in a burst of exploding dust like in the movies. It would make cleanup so much easier. Now he had to haul the damn thing to his Expedition and hope he didn't run into anyone.

Stepping back into the garage, he looked around and spotted a large trash canister. Hauling it into the stairwell, he bent over to pick up the body, feeling the duster pull tight over the sword at his back. He was grateful once again for his increased strength because this vampire had been almost as tall as he was and would have been difficult to pick up otherwise.

He stuffed the body into the trash bin and then pulled the edges of the plastic liner together to hide the body. Then, leaving it there, he raced down the steps to the lower level where his SUV was parked and drove it up, coming to a stop beside the stairwell. From there, it was a simple matter of loading the body into the back of his vehicle. At least vampires didn't bleed a lot.

He left the garage and drove to
Bethany
's apartment. He parked along an empty stretch of street and then walked the short distance to the spot he'd been using lately to stand sentry. It gave him a clear view of the street in both directions, the front entrance to her apartment building, and the front and side windows of her corner apartment on the third floor.

She was home now and the lights were on. He saw the shadow of a figure pass in front of the curtained windows and knew from the stance and height that it was the bodyguard. A second later, another shadow appeared in the corner window. This one was smaller and he knew it had to be
Bethany
. He wondered if she was in her bedroom and as she disappeared from view, his mind conjured an image of her getting ready for bed. A small growl rumbled low in his throat when he thought of the bodyguard  there with her and he had to remind himself that it was none of his business.

A second later, the lights in both rooms went out, but Dirk continued to stand there. He wouldn't leave until the first rays of sunlight shone over the horizon. Only when he knew the vampires were fast asleep would he leave his post.

A flutter of movement at the corner window caught his attention and as he watched, the curtain pulled to one side and
Bethany
's face appeared. With his improved night vision, Dirk had no trouble making out her troubled expression or the way her light blue camisole hugged her upper body.

He saw her eyes peruse the street below as if she was searching for something and it finally occurred to him that she was looking for him. He knew she couldn't see him standing in the unlit entryway where he stood and it would be smarter to leave it that way, but he stepped forward anyway, into the glow of the streetlamp.