The Vampire SEAL Collection, page 128
I folded my arms over my chest. “Wait. Are you telling me you were the one that alerted Edmund when Sam and Jo’s physical data and blood samples were sent to the lab in Boston?”
Bruno Almeida had confessed that he had stolen their data from that lab. But we’d suspected someone within our organization had alerted Edmund. It hadn’t been a coincidence that the Boston lab was raided the same day I left on our mission to Alaska and the same day Jo was on trial for killing Blake Turner.
“I told Patrick,” Dr. Case stated. “Are you forgetting that he and I are friends?”
Tripp rubbed his jaw, his blond eyebrows lifting a fraction. “And are you forgetting that we were the ones who saved your fucking life from your friend, Patrick?”
“Or are you forgetting that you’re dying to know who killed Ella?” I locked my jaw so fucking tight that I would have sworn it cracked in several places.
“I know who killed Ella,” Dr. Case said with conviction.
“Is that so?” Tripp asked. “Then please share.” Tripp’s fangs were front and center, and he had the feral look in his eyes that said he was about to become a lethal predator.
Case sat on the dusty tile floor with not an ounce of fear on his face anymore. It was as though the information he had shared was cleansing his soul. Little did he know his soul was about to get staked.
I ran the blade of the dagger along my fingers, waiting for Case to answer Tripp.
Case eyed me. “It was you.”
A rumble of laughter escaped me.
“You’re so wrong,” Tripp spoke up. “Do you want to know, blow by blow, how your sister really died?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Case said. “I won’t believe you. That’s why Webb wouldn’t tell me when I asked him the other day. You didn’t have the balls to even tell me that you were the murderer.”
I swallowed hard, breathing heavy, fiddling with the dagger I so desperately wanted to use. Instead, I opened the door. The cool air of the control room washed over my heated face. “Sawyer, get me a laptop and bring up the footage from our last mission in Afghanistan.” I turned back to Case. “I’ll let you decide who killed Ella.”
Within a minute, Sawyer handed me the laptop. “It’s ready to go. Just hit enter.” Then he left.
Dr. Case hopped to his feet. I held the computer, then hit enter. Case pinched his bottom lip in between two fingers, his gaze riveted to the screen.
That day in Afghanistan was one fucked-up mess. The wind had been brutal, whipping up everything in sight. We’d been crossing a mountain range and had just reached our stopping point for the night when—boom.
I flinched from the sound coming out of the speakers. It felt as though I was right back in the thick of things in the Afghan mountains.
On screen, a human soldier’s body flew up in the air before a barrage of bullets hit us. Ella dodged the firefight to help the human, and when she did, she stepped into Edmund’s line of sight. Steven, who’d been next to Edmund, tried to prevent a disaster, but it was too late. Edmund let loose, shooting Ella—once, twice, three times.
Case pushed the laptop out of my hands. The computer crashed to the floor.
Tripp dealt with the mess while I fixated on Case, who was wiping tears away with the back of his hand.
“You realize what happened in that video?” I asked.
The video was rather grainy, but there was no mistaking Edmund’s red eyes as he held the gun. He was the only vampire we knew whose eyes changed from their normal color to red. Steven’s eyes changed from green to silver when he morphed into vampire mode, and Jo’s turned from silver to violet, which indicated that Jo and Steven had strong supernatural powers. We couldn’t quite figure out the reason Edmund had the unique eye color. Dr. Vieira suspected that DNA played a factor, and that was for certain, but we were all waiting to find out if his eye color meant more in terms of supernatural abilities.
Case punched the back wall. “Yeah, you didn’t kill Ella.” He shoved his hands through his hair. “I’m such a fucking idiot.”
Edmund had said he didn’t shoot Ella intentionally, but the video was clear. He hadn’t warned her or screamed at her to get down or out of the way. He’d just let loose with his gun. Shortly after that incident, Edmund had started to act out more and more, disobeying orders from Steven, yelling at people because they looked at him the wrong way, and even draining two human soldiers of their blood. It was as though something in his brain had snapped that night.
Tripp stalked out with the remnants of the broken computer.
My ire had waned a smidgeon. “What is Edmund expecting from you next?”
Case banged the back of his head on the wall. “Edmund is the least of your worries. Agent Thomas with the CIA is who you should be worrying about.”
At that moment, Tripp came back in. “Webb, Dr. Vieira wants you upstairs.”
My heart flipped out. “Is Jo awake?”
“He didn’t say,” Tripp said.
I wanted to rush out, but I had to hear what Dr. Case meant by his last statement. “Explain Agent Thomas, and make it fast.”
“I was told by Patrick to give the blood I’d stolen to him,” Case said.
Tripp and I snarled in unison.
Tripp spoke in a low voice as he stepped closer to Case. “Are you telling us that the CIA—the humans—have our vampire blood?”
The blood Dr. Case had stolen wasn’t just Jo’s or Steven’s or Sam’s. The blood reserves included all the SEALs, complete with our names, dates of birth, and special powers. All that paled in comparison to what the human government would do with our blood.
I dove at him. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
Tripp caught me just in time. “Go, Webb. Now. Jo needs you. I’ll handle the rest of this interrogation.”
At the mention of Jo’s name, I let out a heavy breath. Nevertheless, I punched Dr. Case right in the jaw. He landed on his ass.
“Feel better?” Tripp asked.
I marched out. “Not in the least.”
Fuck. The humans had our blood. We were so screwed if the agent didn’t give that blood to Patrick. I wondered if Edmund knew what Patrick had done, although Case had just said Patrick was in charge. I found that hard to believe given Edmund’s staunch mission to lead an army.
Steven was going to make the earth move, literally. With his elemental magic, he could move earth, air, wind, and fire. Heads would roll, not only at the hands of Steven, but me as well.
As I rushed out, I sucked in lots of air, trying to keep my pulse from soaring off the charts. Focus on Jo. That was my problem. I was deathly afraid to walk into her room, afraid to hear Dr. Vieira say she didn’t make it. If she was doing fine, then he would’ve said so when he called down to the control room.
I jogged through the deserted halls and into the lab until I was standing in the doorway to Jo’s room. Dr. Vieira was staring at the computer screen that sat on a cart with wheels in front of Jo’s bed. My vampire beauty was extremely pale.
“Please tell me good news. Did the cut close?” I didn’t cross the threshold. My heart was beating so hard against my ribs, and my body was on the verge of collapsing.
“I’m sorry. I can’t give you good news.” He didn’t take his eyes off the computer screen. “Sam’s blood did help a little, but the laceration is still leaking blood. But I do want you to see this.” He lifted his head as he pointed to the screen.
I inched over to him like a snail, not sure what to expect.
“I inserted a scope into her.” Excitement laced his tone.
Beyond the screen, her white sheet had large spots of blood around her heart. I dragged my gaze to the screen, holding my breath. “What am I looking for?”
He took out his penlight. Then he drew an imaginary circle close to the screen and around Jo’s heart. “As vampires, when we get staked with a cobalt dagger, the cobalt starts to burn the muscle, and eventually, the heart shrivels up and stops beating. There are no signs of the muscle being charred or burned, which tells me the blade didn’t pierce her heart. And if you look at this area here”—he pointed to a spot below the heart—“there’s a small lesion. The blade went through the sac.”
I pinched my eyebrows. “Then why isn’t it beating?”
“It is.” His voice rose in pitch. “Her pulse is at a half a beat per minute. And it’s weak because that wound isn’t healing. Neil’s blood would help in this case, but even his reserves are gone.”
Neil Foster had been a comrade until he’d met his death on a mission months ago. He’d been a great soldier, but more importantly, he was the only vampire we knew whose blood had healing properties.
“At that heart rate, she’ll be brain dead,” I said. However, I wasn’t a doctor, so I really didn’t know what I was saying.
“Not as a vampire, but she has slipped into a coma, and that’s a good thing. Time might heal the injury as her system tries to recover, and it will give me time to find a solution. I thought Sam’s blood would do the trick, but as you can see, it hasn’t done much. As a temporary fix, I’m going to stitch the wound. Since I don’t have Neil’s blood, Steven’s blood has some healing properties, but his is not as strong as Neil’s. When will Steven be here?”
As vampires, our genetic makeup would eventually dissolve the stitches before our skin knitted back together.
“I’ll check.” Before I did, I traipsed over to her bedside, leaned over, and kissed her on the lips, wishing I were that prince in Snow White who woke his love with one kiss. “Please don’t die on me, angel. I need you so badly. I haven’t even begun to show you how great our lives will be together.” I kissed along her jaw to her ear. “I love you.” As tears slid down my face, I pulled out my phone and dialed Hollings.
“What’s Steven’s ETA?” My voice was shaky.
“We have a problem,” Hollings said. “Steven and Jonah are gone. They’re not in their cells. We checked the building, and there are no signs of anyone breaking in or breaking out. It’s as though the two of them teleported.”
No vampire could teleport. Steven had to have used something seriously compelling for the guards to open the doors, but I didn’t care how he’d gotten out.
“I’m not sending out a search team,” I said. “My gut is telling me the minute I do is the minute Edmund attacks.” That was Edmund’s mode of operation. He’d done it once before. He’d made us believe he was at one location only to be on base, where he had blown up buildings and kidnapped Jo.
“I got this handled,” Hollings said. “How’s Jo?”
“Not good. Keep me posted.” I hung up.
“I heard,” Dr. Vieira said. “I can keep using Sam’s blood. His seems to kick up her heartbeat a little at least. He’s lying down, resting from the first round. He should be ready to do another round soon.”
Soon was too long. “If Sam’s blood is barely working on her, then Steven’s might not, either. Give her my blood.”
He regarded me. “Webb, I’ve been testing blood, DNA, and our genetic makeup for many, many years. I know what your blood is capable of as well as the entire military team of vampires on this base. Again, since Neil isn’t alive, I need her father’s blood. Sam just hasn’t matured enough yet as a vampire for us to know if his blood will have healing properties. So unless you know of someone who I don’t, I’m sorry.”
I clenched my jaw. I didn’t want to hear how sorry he was. I wanted him to fix Jo. “She’s my life, Damon. I can’t lose her.”
He came up to me and rested a hand on my shoulder. “Webb, I know.” His was voice thin.
“What about Tripp?” I asked. “He has a touch that calms people. Try his blood.”
Dr. Vieira fiddled with the heart monitor. “I’ve been down that road with him. His wolf lineage helps him heal faster, but I’ve tested his blood, knowing that wolf blood has healing properties. But in large part, he’s more vampire than wolf.”
As though a gust of wind had knocked me over, Tripp’s cousin, Crysta, popped into my head. “Crysta. Tripp’s cousin. She’s pure wolf. Try her blood.”
“I thought she left town,” Dr. Vieira said.
“Let me check.” I got on my phone and called Tripp.
9
Webb
I blinked several times to keep my eyes open as I sat at Jo’s bedside. Hours had passed. The day turned to night. Tripp had finally gotten in contact with Crysta, but she’d been on a plane and had to find her way back here. Even then, we weren’t sure if her blood could help Jo.
I felt as though I was being hit from all sides, and more than anything, I wanted to ditch the military and take a long-ass vacation. After things settled with Jo, I would make it my first priority to get the evidence we needed to clear the commander. Then he could take the helm again and deal with Nicki, who I hadn’t attempted to interrogate, Mr. Jackson, who was laid up in a civilian hospital, and the Secretary of the Navy’s dead son, who barely looked human, and more importantly, find a way to get the CIA out of our business.
I yawned.
The only comforting news was that Jo’s heart was still beating at a half a beat per minute. Sam had given her another round of his blood over an hour ago, but there had been no change in Jo’s condition, not even her heart rate. As vampires, our hearts beat between five and twenty beats per minute, depending on when we turned vampire. Considering Jo was less than a year in vampire age, her heart rate should have been somewhere in the range of ten to twenty beats per minute.
Footsteps padded in. I lifted my tired eyes.
“Crysta should be here within the hour,” Tripp said. “Why don’t you go get a shower? Then catch a quick nap. You look like shit. I’ll stay with her.”
“Any word on where the commander is?” I asked. “Or did he check in?”
“No. Hollings has a team out searching. We’ll find him.” Tripp’s tone wasn’t convincing.
Maybe Steven and Jonah went on the hunt for Edmund. That was the only logical reason in my mind as to why Steven would break out unless someone broke them out and kidnapped them.
Tripp sat down in a chair on the other side of Jo’s bed. “Go. I’ll call you if anything changes around here.”
I pushed to my tired feet. “Thank you.” My throat burned. I not only needed a shower, but at least a liter of blood. I’d had hunger pangs for the last two hours but hadn’t wanted to move. I kissed Jo on the lips then left.
The lab was quiet save for a machine or two humming. Dr. Vieira was studying a computer screen, and Sam was on his phone, listening to the caller on the other end.
Dr. Vieira glanced up at my approach. “I’ve been wracking my brain as to why her wound won’t close. A doctor I studied under had one case where his vampire patient had the same problem. After he’d gotten injured, his wounds wouldn’t heal. In reading the case study, the doctor came to the conclusion that since the patient had been stabbed multiple times in the same area, the injury would take longer to heal.”
I tilted my head, holding my breath. She had been stabbed by my sister in the same area not that long ago. “So she’ll be fine?”
He kept reading the screen. “Maybe. This was just one case study. However, the doctor further concluded that some vampires don’t heal as quickly because of their DNA.” He lifted his tired gaze. “So I suspect that blood with healing properties would speed up Jo’s recovery.”
We had to find her father.
Sam ventured over with his phone in hand. “That was Ben. His father is awake. He had a mild heart attack. Plus, the smoke inhalation didn’t help. But we may have a problem.”
We always had problems.
“Mr. Jackson is mumbling about Nicki and fangs, and the ER doctor is questioning what drugs Mr. Jackson might have taken. According to the doctor, Mr. Jackson’s dilated pupils indicate drug use.”
“Someone compelled him,” Dr. Vieira said, returning to his computer screen.
“Nicki,” I said through a growl.
What a fucking day!
“Do you want me to head over to the hospital and see what’s up?” Sam asked.
I scratched my neck. “No. Call Ben and tell him to bring his father here.” The only person who could un-compel Mr. Jackson was the person who’d put him in that state of mind. “After I get Nicki to pull him out, then you can erase whatever she planted in his head.”
Sam had the ability to wipe out someone’s entire memory or one memory at a time if he knew what that memory was.
Sam walked away, tapping the screen of his phone.
“I’m going to shower. Crysta should be here soon.” I stalked out.
The brisk night air swept over me as I trudged through the woods, my booted feet sinking into the dirt and leaves. I tried to clear my mind, listening to the crickets singing and an owl hooting. The dense trees and thicket reminded me of when I’d chased Jo through the woods the night she’d been rescued from her boating accident. Man, that was a night I would never forget. I laughed at the memory of how she’d been hanging upside down from a tree. She’d been caught in one of the traps we’d set all over the wooded part of the base. She’d managed to get free and had been about to jump down when I’d caught her.
A little girl’s voice carried on the breeze, jarring me from my memory. I stopped and listened as I sharpened my vision, scanning my house that lay ahead.
“Mander, where’s my mommy?”
Abbey? The commander? In a flash, I was walking through my front door.
Abbey ran and jumped into my arms. “I want my mommy.” Tears filled her bright-blue eyes.
I held her as she rested her head on my shoulder. So many questions bombarded me, but those could wait.
The light from the side table glowed, highlighting two tired vampires. Steven sat on the couch, and Jonah was on the chair opposite him.
I pinned a glare on Steven.
His eyes shuddered between green and silver. “What’s wrong?”
“Jo is in a coma, and—”
He tore out of the house.
