“Find something new?” he asked, in command.
Travis slid behind his desk. It was loaded with two computers and four monitors and all kinds of other high-tech gizmos Campbell couldn’t even begin to name. Travis had garnered the nickname Wizard not because he looked a thing like Gandalf or Harry Potter but rather because the dude could do magic with computers. It was hard to believe he’d been a stockbroker instead of some tech wonder boy out in Silicon Valley.
“I was checking security cameras around the city and spotted this from a couple of hours ago.” Travis pulled up a video recording and pointed at the screen. “Watch this building here.”
It looked like the back entrance to a high-rise apartment building. After a few seconds a van with Dan’s Carpets written on the side pulled into the parking lot close to the large garbage bin. Travis hit a button to skip ahead a couple of minutes to when a woman carrying a garbage bag stepped out the door.
Campbell realized whoever was in the carpet van hadn’t gotten out. Just as the woman tossed her garbage into the bin, the van’s sliding side door opened behind her. Before she could scream, a masked man clamped his hand over her mouth and dragged her backward into the van. The door slid closed before a total of five seconds had elapsed.
“Think that’s our guys?” Colin asked from where he stood with his arm propped on top of one of Travis’s four-drawer filing cabinets.
“I’d be willing to bet a week’s supply of blood on it. The abductee is Jennifer Watson.” Travis looked up at Campbell. “She’s on the list and type AB negative. They all are. We hadn’t been able to reach her to tell her about the danger.”
The muscles in Campbell’s crossed arms bunched. “They’ve taken her for a blood slave.”
Travis nodded. “She’ll bring top dollar. All of them will if the slavers get their hands on them.”
What happened to the days when picking up the odd human who wandered out at night had satisfied the blood slavers?
Campbell pointed at the computer monitor. “Find out everything you can about Dan’s Carpets and Jennifer Watson. I want these guys stopped, and stopped yesterday.”
He had to put an end to this newest threat before the trail to AB-negative humans led them to Olivia’s front door. And if they even attempted to touch her, he would rip them apart limb by limb and not be the least bit sorry about it.
Chapter 7
Olivia tied the garbage bag as she glanced toward where Mindy was adding up the receipts for the day and reconciling it with the cash and credit card slips. “Go on home,” she said. “I can finish that up.”
Mindy gave her a suspicious look. “I do this every day.”
“After everything that’s happened, I’m a little jumpy. I want to make sure you get home before sunset.”
Mindy returned her attention to her work. “I’m almost done.”
Truth was that Olivia wanted to be alone. Well, no, that wasn’t exactly true. The idea of being here alone when kidnappers might break in at any moment frightened her near senseless, but trying to ignore all the looks Mindy had been shooting her all day was exhausting. She’d felt as if she had to play at normal when her life felt as if it had left normal far in the rearview mirror.
She picked up the trash bag and headed for the back door. She stopped halfway there, overrun with a not totally irrational fear of stepping foot outside despite blue skies and plenty of sunshine left in the day.
“Olivia, what’s wrong?”
Olivia dropped the bag and leaned against the center worktable. “Don’t get mad. Just listen.”
Mindy’s expression hardened, but she stayed quiet.
“I’ve talked to Campbell more than once. He was who called this morning.”
Mindy cursed and took a couple of angry steps to her right.
Olivia pressed on. “He told me something you need to know.”
“I doubt he has anything to say I want to hear.”
“He said his team had heard that something called the Nefari—I can’t believe I’m saying this—the vampire Mafia, has employed humans to work for them during daylight hours.”
Mindy jerked, startled. “Humans? Working for vampires? That seems unlikely.”
“Is it? Think back to before we knew vampires existed. There were always people who would do anything for money. Maybe they’re even doing it for guaranteed protection.”
Mindy paced across the room and then back. Her face was scrunched up as if she was thinking hard.
“I wondered the same thing, you know,” Olivia said.
Mindy stopped pacing and met her gaze. “What?”
“If he had some ulterior motive for telling me that, but I can’t think of a single reason it would benefit him.”
“Maybe scare you so you trust him more?”
“Scare me into staying inside? That doesn’t exactly put me within his grasp.”
Mindy seemed genuinely stumped, and she wasn’t happy to be left without a quick vampires-are-evil answer.
“Trust me. This doesn’t make any sense to me either, especially after seeing what vampires can do up close and way too personal. Either he and his team are different or I’m the world’s biggest fool.”
“I’m leaning toward the latter,” Mindy said. She stood silently in the middle of the kitchen for several seconds, biting her lip as if debating with herself. “What did he say these humans were doing? Stealing from blood banks or something?”
Olivia eyed the back door again and imagined replacing it with a metal blast door that would keep out a nuclear bomb, not to mention people with a nefarious purpose.
“They think they’re kidnapping people for blood slaves.”
Mindy cursed again then eyed the door with as much suspicion as Olivia had. “Bastards.” She returned her attention to Olivia. “What else did he say?”
“That his team discovered a list of names of people the slavers are evidently after.” She swallowed, trying to keep a new wave of fear at bay. “I’m on it.”
“No.” Mindy sounded pained by that revelation. It was the first time since Olivia had revealed her attraction to Campbell that Mindy had shown her anything other than anger and disbelief.
“He asked if I had a gun.”
Mindy stared at Olivia for a few seconds before slowly shaking her head. “I feel as if the world just got turned upside down again.”
“Welcome to my past twenty-four hours.” Olivia glanced out the front window. “You really better get going.”
“The hell with that. I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here tonight. If bad dudes show up, two chicks with weapons are better than one.” She stared hard at Olivia. “And I’m not comfortable leaving you alone when you’re not thinking clearly.”
Olivia didn’t even bother to argue. Once Mindy made up her mind about something, there was no changing it. Plus, she was right.
They were both single and lived alone with no other family in the city. That made them easier targets. And if Olivia’s name was on a list for her neighborhood, Mindy’s might very well be on one for hers.
After they finished all the closing tasks and locked up for the night, checking both doors about three times each, they headed upstairs.
When they reached Olivia’s apartment, an odd awkwardness settled between them. Mindy looked around the main room, antsy and appearing as if she wished she were somewhere else. But it was too late now.
“What do you want to do?” Mindy asked.
“Honestly, I want to take a long hot soak in the tub. I’m feeling every one of my bruises tenfold.”