Seduced by the Night by Robin T. Popp Read Free Book Online Page B

there was no point. The vampires wouldn't be returning tonight.
    Climbing back inside, he sheathed his sword and turned to Beth, who still stared at him through haunted eyes. She was in shock.
    "They're gone." Going to her because he couldn't seem to stay away, he slowly rubbed his hands up and down her arms in what he hoped was a reassuring caress. "Are you all right?"
     
    She nodded, and then shook her head. "No, I'm not all right. I don't understand what's going on. It's like something out of a bad Vincent Price movie." Her voice rose with her excitement and she paused to catch her breath. "I know this sounds crazy, but they looked like vampires…" Her words trailed off into a desperate kind of laugh as she raised a hand to rub her head. "You probably think I'm losing it. I don't know; maybe I am."
    He knew he should tell her that it was her imagination playing tricks; that the killers were human. Yet, when he opened his mouth to spin the lie, he found himself telling her the truth instead. "They
were
vampires."
    He waited for her reaction, but all she did was nod her head.
    "Okay. That's what I thought." Her voice sounded too matter of fact and Dirk again recognized the symptoms of shock. It was buffering her reactions—letting few emotions in and none out. Studying her face, he wondered when the dam would break, knowing it would be soon.
    "I need to make a couple of phone calls," he said, hoping he had time.
    She nodded. "I should call Miles. He'll want to know about Mr. Yarbro ."
    Dirk found her statement revealing, but didn't point out that Miles's first concern would most likely be for
her
safety. The mention of the man's name, however, raised an issue that needed to be addressed. "Let's not mention the vampires to Miles, all right? In fact, let's not mention them to anyone."
    A quizzical look penetrated through an otherwise glassy, distant gaze. Then she shrugged. "He probably wouldn't believe me anyway." Still sounding unnaturally calm, she walked over to the bedside table where a cordless phone sat next to a book.
    When she began to dial, Dirk pulled out his cell phone and punched in Mac's phone number. As he listened to the rings, his eyes scanned the room, taking in details that helped paint a picture of the woman who lived here. The furniture was elegant but simple in design, consistent with the soothing neutral tones of the bedspread and curtains. Bookshelves lined the walls and except for one shelf dedicated to photos of what Dirk assumed to be family, they were filled past capacity with various paperback and hardback volumes. Scanning the titles, he saw everything from scientific reference books to popular fiction. He took all this in at a glance and it didn't tell him much about Bethany Stavinoski except that she was neat and liked to read. Only the little cloth clown doll, perched on her dresser, seemed out of place.
    Its little purple velveteen outfit was stained, the ruffled collar had become detached at one side, and the once white color had faded to gray. The clown's hat sat precariously on its head, above the once-golden strands of hair, and one eye was missing from the face. To anyone else, the doll might appear to be junk, but Dirk suspected it had been the object of a young girl's love, so much so that the grown woman couldn't bring herself to throw it away. A man would be lucky to earn the love of a woman like that.
    A click on the other end of the line caught his attention.
    "Mac here."
    "I'm at Bethany 's apartment. There was another attempt. I've got three bodies in the back alley, one on the sidewalk out in front of the building, and a dead bodyguard inside." He kept his words clipped and to the point.
     
    "And the woman?"
    Dirk cast a glance at her and, seeing her hang up the phone, he turned his back so she wouldn't hear him. "She's in shock, but otherwise okay." Dirk paused. "I told her."
    There was a moment of silence, but when Mac spoke, he didn't pretend to misunderstand.