The cruelest part? The fact that they had survived the global virus outbreak only to die one day before the official word went out that vampires were real and that people should stay indoors after sunset. Mindy’s mother and sister hadn’t even known they needed to protect themselves.
Throughout the rest of the morning rush, Mindy refused to meet Olivia’s gaze. Olivia hated that she’d brought back bad memories. And if Mindy was that worried over a phone conversation with a vampire who couldn’t even come inside, how was she going to take the news of the new human threat? Because Olivia had to tell her so she’d know to protect herself. As a type O, she might not be in as much danger, but any danger at all was too much.
But maybe that information would be what convinced Mindy that Campbell wasn’t like any vampire she’d imagined. He’d have no reason to warn her about daylight dangers if he weren’t truly trying to keep her safe, right?
Doubt warred with a need to believe in something good until a headache started forming between her eyes. She silently cursed whoever had stolen her car. If the thief had kept his grubby fingers to himself, she would have arrived home safely before dark as she always did. She wouldn’t have been attacked, kidnapped and terrified to within an inch of her life. She wouldn’t have met Campbell Raines and spent the dark predawn hours talking to him about the nature of vampires.
And she wouldn’t be having thoughts that could lead to her death.
* * *
Campbell threw the dart with enough force to impale it halfway through the dartboard.
“Dude, you know you don’t get extra points for doing that, right?” Billy said.
Campbell gave him a hard stare.
“Be careful, Puppy,” Colin said, using the nickname they’d given Billy because of his relative youth. “He’ll impale you with the power of his mind.”
“He’s just feeling cooped up,” Len said as he sat shaving new wooden stakes to a fine point. “I can relate. Sometimes I want to go out and dare the sun to burn me up.”
“Another of your spectacularly smart ideas,” Kaja said as she strolled by wearing a new black skirt and heels.
“Yeah, about as smart as buying clothes like that.”
“At least I care what I look like.”
“My clothes were fine when I was alive, so I don’t see any reason to change now.”
“Ditto.”
Campbell left the familiar bickering behind as he retreated to his room. Privacy didn’t alleviate his caged-up, edgy feeling, though. The smaller, windowless room just made it worse. He’d never liked windowless rooms when he’d been human, and having to exist with them all the time now was his own private torture.
He eyed the phone but resisted the urge to call Olivia. Sure, he was worried about her, but he didn’t want her to think he was a crazy stalker. He flopped onto the bed that was there mainly for rest, though he had no need for sleep anymore. That was another thing he missed, the oblivion of sleep. Those few hours when he didn’t have to think or plan or be in charge.
But he was in charge, and he was going to make the most of it. If it helped Olivia in the process, so much the better.
He picked up his cell phone and dialed the number he always dialed when he needed to know what was going on down in the dregs of vampire society.
“Yo,” came the Italian-accented male voice on the other end of the line.
“Rico.”
“Oh, man, you have the worst timing in the world. I’m in the middle of something.” Rico Bovari was always in the middle of something. That was what made him such a valuable confidential informant.
“Then wrap it up.”
Rico cursed and by the sound of things, what he’d been preoccupied with was decidedly female. After a few moments and one door slam, Rico came back on the line. “Man, you so owe me.”
“I repay you every day by not arresting you.”
“For what?”
“I’m sure I could find something.”
“Hey, hey. I’m one of the good guys, remember? I have a soul and everything.”
“Just because you have a soul doesn’t mean you’re perfect. Just means you’re not evil to the core.”
“Glad to hear you think so highly of me.”
“You’ll do in a pinch.” Truth was Campbell actually sort of liked the guy. Despite having been active with the Mob prior to growing a conscience, he didn’t really seem like a bad sort. At least not Mob-level bad. More of an opportunist who liked living on the edge a little. Of course, that living on the edge had been what had gotten him turned. The walk home after an illegal game of poker had been his last with a heartbeat. Why he hadn’t been drained instead, Campbell didn’t know and Rico wasn’t telling.
“Have you heard anything about the Nefari enlisting humans to work for them during daylight hours?”
“Humans? What kind of crazy person would do that?”
“Maybe ones who like the looks of the money involved, no matter where it’s coming from.”
“No, haven’t heard anything. Sounds like just a rumor to me.”
“Rico, you paint yourself as a man in the know. I can’t believe you’ve heard nothing.”
“I’ve been a little busy with other things.”
“The female I heard.”
“Used to be a yoga instructor. Very limber.”
“Classy.”
“Don’t get me wrong, man. I love her. I just appreciate her abilities, too.”
“Love? Did you cross someone one too many times and they dropped you on your head?”
“Now who’s being classy? Man, forever’s a long damn time to be alone, don’t ya think?”
What the hell was going on? First he couldn’t stop thinking about a human woman who was off-limits to him. Now his informant was going all lovey-dovey. The world was surely coming to a vile and bitter end.
“Listen, just keep your ear to the ground, okay? It’s very important we know immediately if you hear anything, anything at all, about the Nefari using humans to abduct other humans.”
“You think they’re doing that to get past the only two defenses humans have?”
“I hope not, but there’s chatter. And if it’s true, daylight and buildings will no longer help humans.”
“They’ll be sitting ducks.” Rico drew in a deep breath he didn’t need. He could no longer be part of the living crime families, and the Nefari wouldn’t accept him because he had a soul. The only reason he hadn’t been taken out was because he’d saved the life of one of the Nefari’s big bosses. They allowed him to coexist in the same section of Little Italy because they didn’t consider him a threat. Little did they know he’d been an informant even when he’d been alive.
He’d reached out to the NYPD, to Campbell, after seeing his higher-ups wipe out an innocent family because the father refused to pay protection money. Because of Rico, who was never going to be the guy you suspected of ratting you out, the NYPD had put away half a dozen mobsters for all manner of crimes. By tapping him in this instance, Campbell hoped that good fortune would continue and they could wipe up this using-humans-as-fetchers mess before it got out of hand.
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Rico finally said.
“Thanks.”
Just as Campbell disconnected the call, someone knocked loudly on his door.
“Hey, man,” Travis said through the door. “Got something you’re gonna want to look at.”
Campbell stood, determined to flood his mind with work so he’d stop imagining greasy humans snatching Olivia and dragging her off where he’d never see her again.
He shook his head and tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter if he never saw her again as long as she was safe, from vampires and her own kind alike.
“Be right there.” He made the mistake of closing his eyes for a moment, and a vision of Olivia immediately materialized against his eyelids, her hair dancing in the breeze and sunlight glinting off those golden waves. He had to forcibly yank himself from that daydream and head out into the work area.