Eternal Service by Regina Morris Read Free Book Online Page A

actually. Going from old to young is no problem at all. In fact, many times a vampire will relocate, appear to be in their 20s, then over the next 60–70 years they gradually allow themselves to appear to age so they can go undetected among the humans. After they look the age of 80 or 90, they fake their death and start anew in a different location.”
    Her mental patterns flashed like a strobe light. He noticed she processed the information quickly, with curiosity winning out.
    “And you drink human blood.” It was a statement, not a question. Her beautiful eyes traveled up and down his body, at least to the areas not covered by the table.
    “Yes. Animal blood can’t give us the nutrients we need.” Raymond felt on display. It was an odd sensation to be scrutinized in such a way by a woman. Did she like what she saw? She certainly didn’t act repelled. Her emerald eyes pierced his as if she were looking deep into his soul.
    “You look young. Do you bite people every day?”
    And there it was. Dietary needs were always the first issue of business. “No. The Colony is classified as a private military hospital. We receive bagged blood courtesy of Uncle Sam every week. Enough for us to feed daily.”
    The refreshing breath and softer posture suggested a comfort level of probably knowing she was not Raymond’s next meal. “So you blend into the human population by pretending to be human.”
    If she wanted to hit one of Raymond’s buttons, she certainly did. His jaw tightened. “I don’t pretend to be anything I’m not. You assume everyone you meet happens to be human.” Scorn filled his thoughts, and in an accusatory tone he added, “I’m guessing you won’t be doing that again.”
    “Probably not.” Her tone seemed level and calm. He could tell he hurt her, not just by her mental patterns, but also by the fact she shifted those beautiful emerald eyes away from him and now looked down at the table.
    Sounding more distant she asked, “You turn into a bat, Mr. Vampire?”
    Damn. Her open–mindedness impressed him. She showed genuine interest in knowing who and what they were. Ben controlled her mood, but her questions were her own. She had done nothing wrong and he had snapped at her. Raymond kept his tone in check and calmly responded, “Chihuahua actually.” Her confused expression was priceless to him. “No. Just kidding. We can’t shape shift.”

CHAPTER NINE
     
    Dixon cleared his throat trying to resume the meeting. “Your duties, Captain, will be as a liaison between the Colony and the Secret Service, as well as other federal departments,” Dixon explained. “You will spend much time with the vampires. Helping them with blood issues, security access, new aliases and such. Your primary responsibility is to protect their secret of existence at all costs.”
    She held up her hand. “Wait, you’re telling me we use vampires to protect government officials from threats. Are you talking about vampire threats or human threats?”
    Dixon was the one who answered. “Both. In my tenure as Colony Director there have been 91 breeches to White House security. That is what has been publicly announced. In truth, there have been an additional 15 breaches – all vampires.”
    “Fifteen. Fifteen breaches.” Alex let the words sink in. “How many vampires exist in the world?”
    “Enough to warrant our special op team,” Raymond said. “We control our population so our existence can remain secret.” Raymond’s glanced over at Dixon as he was reminded of the Vampire Council’s denial of his turning. Raymond pushed the memory aside. “The threats committed by vampires have been a few dozen over the last century and a half. Not many. The human team does most of the security for the federal government and we’re backup in case of a vampire threat. At times, such as an anthrax scare, we’re used when chemical dangers exist for humans.”
    Dixon removed his glasses and looked directly into the