This is far from petty, believe me.
Not when compared to what has already happened to two women, and what might currently be happening to Dale.
She stared at him for a minute then looked away, but not before he'd glimpsed the brief sheen of tears in her eyes. He frowned, not sure whether the cause was his continuing refusal to discuss her working with him or the thought of Dale's life being sucked away. Either way, it didn't really matter—he still felt like a bastard.
Damn it, why couldn't she just see sense and give this insanity up?
"So you saw nothing that gives us a clue as to where she might be?" Jake said into the silence.
"No." She hesitated and glanced at the bra on the table. "But I can try to track her. If the bra is in the plastic, maybe I can hold the images at bay long enough to get a fix on her direction."
She didn't sound convinced, and he certainly didn't wish her to risk going into Dale's mind again so soon—especially if the vamp was still feeding on her. He studied the daylight behind Jake for a moment, then said, "Maybe you won't have to."
Nikki raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
He pointed toward the window. "How did that vampire get into the hotel? Wasn't dawn rising when you arrived?"
She nodded thoughtfully. "And he was carrying the mother of all knives, yet he wasn't a strong enough telepath to take over the mind of more than one guard at a time. Jake has two stationed at the exits."
He nodded. "So, if not secured exits, where from?"
"Basement?" She glanced at Jake. "Or parking garage?"
"They're one and the same," Jake said. "It won't hurt to check, though I know the cops have gone over them thoroughly."
"The cops do not know they're looking for vampires," Michael commented. "It gives us a certain advantage."
"I'm not sure it's an advantage I really want." Jake pushed away from the wall. "I'll go collect some flashlights, just in case we need them, and meet you down in the lobby."
Michael nodded and headed into the bedroom. Nikki followed him but stopped in the doorway, her expression an endearing mix of fear and determination. "Why does knowing we're after vampires give us an advantage? Surely if there was anything to find in the basement or parking garage, the cops or FBI would have found it."
"Not necessarily." He sat on the bed and pulled on his socks. "Vampires have become very adept at hiding. Many of us have literally had centuries in which to learn. Getting in and out of buildings is just another method of concealment."
"So you think they have a hidden entrance somewhere?"
"It would be the most logical explanation." Though it didn't exactly explain how they'd gotten into the second victim's home. They certainly wouldn't have been able to cross the threshold without her inviting them.
She frowned. "But how would that help them avoid the sunlight?"
"They're probably using the sewer system to get around. It wouldn't be the first time it has happened."
He slipped on his shoes and walked across to her.
Her gaze searched his. "The vampire who attacked Dale smelled like dead water."
He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. Her pulse was a rapid beat that pounded through her body and his. "Then that would certainly suggest my guess is right." He brushed a kiss across her lips and wished they had the time to do more. This morning had been wonderful, but he still wanted her. Would always want her, physically and emotionally—something she still didn't seem to understand.
"You will do as I ask down there, won't you?"
Her expression was the picture of stubbornness. "Just don't try ordering me out, because I won't go unless you leave with me."
He smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Right now, I have no plans to go anywhere without you."
Amusement and love washed through the link, and a smile touched her lips. "Good. Because I have no intention of letting you go."
"So I discovered," he said dryly. He caught her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. "Shall we go?"
She sighed and cast an almost wistful glance toward the bed. "Yes."
On the way out, he grabbed the plastic bag containing Dale's bra, tucking it into his pocket. If the vamps were in the sewers, they could literally be anywhere. And with Dale Wainwright slated as the next victim, speed was of the essence. As much as he hated using Nikki's unpredictable psychometric abilities, it might be their only real chance of finding this woman alive.
Jake was waiting in the lobby. He tossed Nikki a flashlight and led them toward an exit. "This will take us down to the basement." He swiped a keycard through the lock and opened the door. "From there we can get into the parking garage."
"Do the elevators go down to the garage?" Michael touched Nikki's elbow, stopping her from entering before he could. Her annoyance clouded the link, but he ignored her, his gaze searching the darkness for any sign of life—or un life—below in the basement. Nothing moved, and the only heartbeats he could hear were Nikki's and Jake's. Both were erratic.
"One does," Jake said, locking the door behind them. "But there are several security cameras in the structure, and they're monitored twenty-four hours a day."
"Did the cops check the tapes?" Nikki asked, her voice soft yet edged with tension. He wondered what it was she sensed.
"Yeah, but they didn't find anything," Jake said. "Whoever took Dale didn't take her out through the parking garage."
Nikki's flashlight beam swept across the darkness. He wondered why she was bothering. Her night sight was almost as good as his these days. If he could see in this darkness, she certainly should be able to.
Not that there was anything to actually see. He swept his gaze past the huge clumps of machinery and frowned. Nothing stirred, and yet something waited in the far corner. A hint of depravity and death.
Frown deepening, he led the way down the stairs. Both Nikki and Jake made a racket on the metal steps and the noise seemed to echo across the room.
"Are the garage cameras still being monitored?"
"Yep," Jake said. "And I checked them earlier. Nikki's attacker didn't appear on any of them."
No surprise there. Michael reached the basement floor then stopped. Nikki paused beside him, and apprehension stirred the link.
"There's something here," she said.
"Yes," he replied, wrapping his fingers around hers. "But I'm not sure what."
"It doesn't feel human, whatever it is." Though her voice was steady, her trepidation shimmered through him.
"Vampire?" Jake queried, stopping on the last step behind them.
"No." Michael glanced at him, noticing for the first time the slight bulge in his jacket pocket. "And you know from experience guns are not an effective weapon against them."
Jake merely grinned. "Maybe, but it sure as hell makes me feel a little safer. You have to let an old man have his illusions."
Nikki snorted softly. "Old man my ass. You could probably outrun me, bad heart and all."
"Damn right, especially if it's a pack of vampires on our tails." Though he grinned, his tension was evident in the set of his shoulders. "So if it's not a vampire, what the hell is it?"
"Something that isn't scared by a lot of noise," she muttered. "Something that has been dead for some time."
Jake groaned. "Not a zombie. That's all we need to complete the party right now."
"No, it's not a zombie," Michael said. "You'd be able to smell it by now if it was."
"What then?"
"I don't know." He met Nikki's narrowed gaze and almost smiled. She wasn't going to let him get two steps away from her side—not that he wanted to, especially until he knew why that vampire had been sent after her. "Keep close behind me. If you sense anything, tell me, no matter how insignificant you think it is."
She raised an eyebrow and nodded. He tugged her forward and switched to the infrared of his vampire vision. The cloak of darkness lifted completely, and a hazy, humanoid figure appeared in the far corner of the room. One that didn't have a heartbeat or take a breath.