Judas and the Vampires by Aiden James Read Free Book Online Page B

smiles when she looks at me. If not for the usual ‘Alistair, who is this young man?’, I’d find it easy to believe she still recognizes me on some level….
    “My love, Alistair and I will be gone for a couple of weeks,” I said softly, confident that she would hear me in her sleep, and watchful should she awake and think some pervert had snuck into her room. “Don’t go. Stay here and rest...we will be back before you know it.”
    A subtle groan escaped her throat, one that for a moment belied her age. Was it the sound of her heart’s longing?
    That’s how I chose to interpret it.
    After watching her sleep for a while longer, I read her favorite passage from Pride and Prejudice . Beatrice wore a slight smile on her lips while I read to her, and when I got up to leave I reached over and took her hand in mine. I squeezed it gently.
    “Hang on for me, please...wait to leave until I return.”
    She looked so frail, though she had aged gracefully until the last few years. I searched her pale and withered face for a response, but other than a light flutter under her eyelids there wasn’t one. But her peaceful countenance was enough for me. After all, her fingers gently squeezed mine.
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
     
    I should’ve known.
    When Michael Lavoie never contacted me before our scheduled departure from Dulles International Airport, I should’ve expected him to pull some shenanigans.
    Yes, I admit part of this was my fault. I could’ve done a much better job of zipping my mouth and avoiding the urge to strut my cavalier side during Wednesday evening’s sedan conversation. But, he could’ve shown us—both Alistair and myself—some common manners and not diverted our travel plans. Granted, getting an upgrade from standard first class on Delta to luxury pods on a chartered Emirates flight must be taken into consideration before I go off on Mike the next time we see each other. Not to mention we’d reach our destination several hours earlier by flying to Dubai instead of Frankfurt. Then on to Tehran after the jet refueled.
    “I was hoping to visit Romerberg Square again, but I guess we’ll now have to wait on that,” my son lamented once we got the news our flight reservations had been changed. We had just stepped into the line of travelers who bypassed standard check-in, when two of Mike’s operatives accosted us and led the way to where the private jet awaited us. “Can you picture me shopping inside some glassed cathedral mall?”
    “Why, yes, Ali I can,” I teased him, knowing his disdain for modern excess, which the famed modern malls, restaurants, and monuments in Dubai pay the highest homage to. “Maybe we can upgrade to some designer suitcases while we’re there.”
    “Humph!...Perhaps you’d enjoy that, since it’s looking less and less like an archeological venture and more like a cheesy espionage farce we’ve been recruited for!” His disgust drew brief over-the-shoulder glances from our two escorts dressed in dark business suits. The fact that Alistair and I were attired in khaki shorts and sandals made it obvious these two men hiding their identities behind tinted Raybans weren’t exactly buddies of ours. My son continued undeterred. “I have a mind to talk to Michael about this cluster-fuck myself when we return to Washington!”
    That brought a chuckle, though I kept it soft. No sense in pissing off anyone else associated with the CIA until we were far removed from any immediate consequences. The walk to where the private boarding gate sat wasn’t far. I was surprised I’d never noticed it before.
    “Have you—”
    “Yes, Pops, I’ve seen this gate before,” Alistair interrupted me. This time he chuckled, despite his irritation that hadn’t subsided. “In fact, I’ve noticed it several times the past few years. You might discover what wonders exist outside of your narrow focus, if you’ll only pay a little more attention to the world around you!”
    My son picked