The Merzetti Effect (A Vampire Romance) (24 page)

Ainsley grinned. “No. Although now that you mention it, I still owe you one.”

“Ainsley, I think this has been the weirdest conversation we’ve ever had. And we’ve had some strange ones over the years.”

“Yes, we have. But I didn’t call just to share the weirdness. There’s more.”

“More?”

“Apparently Delano finding me was no coincidence. He’s been looking for me, or someone like me, for a good part of his life.”

“No way! You’re together? As in engaged? Or maybe eloped already. Oh, honey, that’s‌—”

Ack!
“No! Nothing like that.” Ainsley felt her face flushing. “He was looking for me, all right, but not for my gorgeous body, my keen mind or my razor-sharp wit.”

“Then what did he want?”

“My blood.”

“Well, you did say he was a vampire, right?”

She rolled her eyes at Lucy’s hopeful tone. “Gawd, you are such a romantic.”

“Which I consider a personal triumph, all things considered.”

“Don’t I know it.” Ainsley gripped the phone tighter. “But trust me, Luce, his interest is overwhelmingly clinical. Apparently, my blood contains some anti-vampire agent that he hopes to capitalize on in developing this vaccine.”

Another of those pauses. “I guess that explains a lot.”

“How so?”

“When you told me you were quitting the hospital to go work for him, I wondered how he could be competitive on the salary package. I can’t see your average research assistant-slash-phlebotomist earning anywhere near as much as an experienced trauma room nurse.”

Ainsley bit her lip. She hadn’t told Lucy about her constructive dismissal. No point subjecting her friend to that kind of worry. “That’s another thing. The man is rolling in money, Luce. He tells me they all are, the old ones who’ve been around a long time.”

“Of course. Investments.”

“Luce? There’s still more I have to tell you.”

“More? Do I need to pour myself a drink?”

“I’d recommend it, except I know you don’t touch the stuff.”

“Just hit me with it. It can’t possibly give me more of a jolt than what you’ve told me so far.”

“I gave Delano your phone number, so his people could trace you.”

“You
what
?”

“I had to, Luce. You’re in danger, and it’s all my fault.”

“You gave away my
location
? No, you gave away my location to a
vampire
.”

Ainsley shut her eyes against the horrified disbelief in her friend’s voice. “I had no choice. Luce, there’s this other vampire, Janecek. He’s a bad guy, one of those rogues I mentioned before, like the one who attacked me. The kind who believes we lesser mortals are merely prey. Somehow, he knows about me, knows about the properties in my blood. He wants to thwart Delano’s research, and the surest way to do that is to eliminate me.”

“Oh, Ainsley, honey, what have you gotten yourself into?”

Her throat ached. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got more security hovering around me than most heads of state. But I’m afraid you and Devon could be in danger, too. If this Janecek guy finds out about you, I’m afraid he might try to use you to get to me.”

“Us? But how? I mean, if Weldon can’t find me with all the law enforcement resources he can command, how can this other guy find me?”

“Believe me, if Weldy had pockets half as deep as these guys, he’d have found you long ago. In fact, Delano’s security team had already uncovered your name through the Cayman Islands account. I just sped the process up by giving him your phone number.”

“What? I thought that Cayman account was supposed to be top-secret!”

“It is.”

“Someone sold my information?”

“That’s about the size of it. And if Delano could find you, it stands to reason Janecek might be able to find you, too. So I thought it was best to put some security in place for you and Devon, as a preventative measure.”

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

Ainsley pressed a thumb and forefinger to her closed eyes. “I’m so sorry, Luce. You know I wouldn’t endanger you or Devon for the world.”

“Can’t you tell this guy to find somebody else with this funky blood thing? It doesn’t have to be you, does it?”

“That’s the other bad news. Apparently, this property is confined to one family, the family from which I’m descended. An old Sicilian family. Unfortunately, Delano thinks I’m the last one. They died out there over a century ago, but somewhere along the line, my great-great-great‌—‌God I don’t know how many greats to employ‌—‌grandmother found her way across the Atlantic and started a North American strain.”

“And they’re all gone but‌—”

“Yes, all gone. So you can see why doing a flit really isn’t a possibility. They’d come after me, the good guys and the bad guys. And I have to say, after having been turned into a walking Tetra Pak by one of these predators, I think I want to stick it out. If I’m Delano’s best shot at stopping these guys, I have to do it.”

“Oh, Ainsley.”

“Yeah, I know. Where do I
find
this trouble? Honestly, I don’t even try.”

“Okay, put this Delano guy on the line. I want to talk to him.”

Ainsley blinked. “You want to talk to him?”

“Definitely. I love you more than anyone on this planet, with the exception of Devon, and I’m inclined to believe you because, well, you’ve been the sanest person in my life for almost two decades. But how do I know you’re not suffering from some strange psychosis brought on by a stroke or some weird chemical imbalance?”

“Point taken. Hang on, I’ll call Delano. And that’s Dr. Bowen to you. He can be a little stuffy at first.”

She paged Delano, who was down in the lab. He came quickly enough, but when she told him the situation, he took the receiver from her as though it were the business end of a coiled cobra. Smiling, she stepped back to listen to his end of the conversation.

“Hello, Ms. Michaels. Yes, of course, Machias. Yes, this is Dr. Delano Bowen. Yes, it’s true. That’s also true. My birth date? That would be October 12, 1802. Where? The wolds of Linconshire. Ah, a history major?”

He glanced at Ainsley, who smiled and shrugged.

“Of course I know what someone born in Linconshire was called. A Yellow Belly.” A pause. “Yes, well I’ve lived on this continent almost as long as I lived in Europe. Eventually, you leave your accent behind.”

To Ainsley’s amazement, he’d switched to a British accent.

“Not that it ever truly leaves you. I am indeed a vampire. That’s correct. In my 34th year. Your arithmetic is impeccable. Yes, I am a real doctor of medicine.” He shot another look at Ainsley. “You may check with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons if you wish, although they’ll no doubt report I’m considerably older than my appearance might suggest. Hematology. That is the gist of my work, yes. Precisely. A unique property in her blood.” He turned away from her at this point. “She’s well protected, and wants to make sure you are, as well. Of course. With my life. You have my solemn vow.”

He turned back to Ainsley, handed her the phone and walked away.

With my life?

Blinking furiously, Ainsley pressed the receiver to her ear. “What’d I tell you?” she said. “Over 200. Can I call ’em, or what?”

“Ainsley, this is insane.”

“I know.”

A sigh came over the wires. “Okay, you can tell your Dr. Bowen that we’ll accept his protection. If they need to get closer to do it effectively, they can make contact. I’ll figure out something to tell Devon.”

Relief made her giddy. “Thank you, Luce. And I’m so sorry I dragged you into this.”

“Ainsley, honey, it’s not your fault. If your blood really is the key, then I guess it was inevitable.”

A moment later, emotional goodbyes said, Ainsley hung up the telephone. Thank God that was over. One more hurdle overcome.

So why did she feel like crying?

Delano watched her replace the receiver, then sink down on the couch, her arms wrapping around herself in self-comfort.

And heaven help him, there was that pain again, the one that pierced him to his very marrow and started all that emotion bleeding out of him.

Dammit, he loved her.

He’d been denying it for weeks now, but he could deny it no longer.

Not the giddy drug of infatuation. Not the mind-blinding drive of unadulterated lust. Not the bone-deep need to possess.

It was all of those things wrapped up together, but so much more. It was simple, really. She had somehow become all that mattered.

Before he knew what he intended to do, he found himself standing before her.

“Del! I thought you went back down to the lab.”

“Come here.” He sat down beside her and urged her into his arms.

“Del?”

She tried to pull back, but he urged her head down to his chest.

“Hush, Ainsley. I just want to hold you a minute. Can we do that?”

Her answer was to slide her arms around him, and oh, Lord, this ache was going to kill him. “About earlier … I’m so sorry.”

“It’s my fault.” The words were muffled against his chest. “If I hadn’t crawled into your bed…”

“Then we wouldn’t have made love. True. But that’s not what I’m sorry about.”

This time when she tried to pull back, he let her. “Then what are you sorry about?”

God, even this close to tears, her eyes were beautiful. Like amethysts. “I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate it was for real. If I’d known it was real and not part of the dream state…”

“Again, my fault.”

“No one’s fault. You couldn’t have known. But don’t distract me. What I’m trying to say is that if I’d known it would be our only time, I would have done things differently.”

She laughed, and he felt the vibration against his chest. “I don’t know about that. Certainly, you won’t get any complaints from me. It was … amazing.”

“It was sex.”

“I noticed.”

“It would have been different, if I’d known.”

She leaned back. “Different how?”

He shrugged. “Just different. I’d have taken my time, savored it. And I’d have been less ruthlessly…”

“Carnal?” Her lips curved in a smile. “Please don’t apologize for that. If I left you thinking that I found it anything less than thrilling, then obviously I have to work on my signals.”

He brushed a strand of silken hair back behind her ear, and watched as her eyes sobered. “I would have made love to you,” he said.

Her swift inhalation drew his attention back to her parted lips. The need in his veins swelled again, but he clamped down on it immediately, praying that it didn’t show on his face. “I’d have shown you tenderness, and I would have used all the skill and patience I possess to draw the same kind of tenderness from you. I’d have fed like a bee on the nectar of your sweet cries.”

She swayed toward him. “Delano, I‌—”

“Hush.” He pulled her against his chest again, pressing her head to his heart. “I just wanted you to know.”

The sound of a key turning in the lock had them springing apart like guilty children.

Delano stood. “That will be Eli.”

“Oh, good.” She came to her feet. “I don’t believe I’ve thanked him properly for that carriage ride.”

Poor Eli. “Take it easy on the guy, would you? Remember, we need him.”

“Yeah, yeah. And he was just following orders. I got that.”

“In here, Eli,” he called, knowing Eli would head straight for the lab.

Eli changed his course and came into the living room. “Delano? Is something wrong?” Eli’s gaze strayed to Ainsley’s face, then back to meet Delano’s eyes again. “I thought you’d be downstairs, hard at work.”

“We’ve just been talking to Ainsley’s friend Lucy Michaels. It took some convincing, but she’s agreed to accept our security. She’s even offered to meet with your people, if that will make it easier.”

“Excellent. I’ve got some local talent on her right now, but I’d like to send two of our own guys, a mixed team, to oversee things.”

“Do it.”

“A mixed team?” said Ainsley.

Eli answered. “A regular for daytime service and a vamp for nighttime.”

“What about the clinic?”

“I put the word out.”

Ainsley eyes flew to Delano’s. “What’s going on with the clinic?”

“We’re suspending it for now. No sense making ourselves an easy target.”

“Janecek knows where it is?”

“I expect that’s how he found us.”

She blinked. “You think he followed us here from the clinic?”

“No. Eli says you weren’t tailed, and I have absolute faith in his judgment. But the mere fact of the clinic’s activity would have confirmed our presence here in the city. After that, Janecek was bound to find this place sooner or later. Which is why you’re moving out tonight.”

“Moving out? But I thought it was safe here. I mean, you said the security‌—”

“With the addition of the vampire eyes for the nightshift, I would say our security is just about as good as we can make it,” he agreed. “Damn near unbreachable. But Janecek knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re here. Why stay when I can lay on just as much security someplace else, while regaining the advantage of a secret location?”

“We’re making the move tonight?”

“Yes, tonight. I charged Eli with the task of finding you a safe house, and since he’s back, I am assuming he was successful.”