"You still want revenge."
"Aye."
She sighed. "Why don't you go hunt for Casimir? Wouldn't you rather do that than babysit me? I'm safe here."
His eyes glimmered with emotion. "I'm no' leaving you."
Was he putting aside his quest for revenge in order to protect her? He really does love you. She looked at him, and a bittersweet ache of longing filled her heart. Oh God, she still loved him. She'd always loved him.
A hint of red glittered in his eyes.
"Why does that happen?" she whispered. "Why do your eyes turn red?"
The elevator doors swooshed open, and he turned away, closing his eyes briefly.
She exited, and noticed his eyes were back to normal when he followed.
The office was bustling with activity. Every available special agent had been called in.
J.L. rushed toward her with a relieved grin on his face. "Thank God you're here." He shook hands with Robby. "Thank you for watching out for her. Come on, Barker will want to see you." He led them to the supervisor's office.
Olivia was irked that both J.L. and Barker were delighted that Robby had graced them with his presence. They were full of questions, and Robby explained how the Vamps and CIA Stake-Out Team were at Leavenworth. The Malcontents hadn't bothered to erase any videos from the surveillance cameras, so they knew, without a doubt, that Casimir and his minions were responsible for the jailbreak.
Angus and Connor were questioning the guards. Sometimes, with vampire mind control, a Vamp could help a mortal retrieve lost memories. They hoped to find something useful.
"If Casimir changes the prisoners into vampires, how long will that take?" Barker asked.
"They would be in a coma the first night," Robby answered. "Then the next night they awake as vampires."
"There's no telling when they'll do the change," Olivia said. "They might spend this first night finding a good place to hide."
"Any idea where they might be?" J.L. asked.
"If we did, we would have already attacked," Robby said wryly. "With teleportation, they could be anywhere. Our best bet is to check any mortals the prisoners know and trust. Vampires need a dark place to hide during the day, and they prefer to have some mortals nearby to protect them."
Barker motioned to the large room outside his office where special agents were busily at work. "I have two men assigned to each of the escaped convicts. They're going through all contacts and coordinating with the local police."
"Otis might ask Yasmine to help them," Olivia said. "Or the missing guard, Joe Kitchner."
"I'm watching the debit card she's using," J.L. said. "If she spends any money, I'll know about it."
"At some point Otis will come after Olivia." Barker looked at her. "Do you mind if J.L. and I spend the night in your apartment?"
She shook her head. "What do you want me to do?"
"Stay safe." Barker packed up his laptop. "Stay with Mr. MacKay."
"She will," Robby said.
She frowned as Barker and J.L. left the office. "I'm not going to sit here and do nothing."
Robby glanced at the couch at the back of Barker's office. "I could think of a way to pass the time."
She snorted. "I'm going to work." She went to her work station, and Robby followed her. The other special agents glanced warily at him as he passed by.
He grabbed J.L.'s chair, rolled it into her cubicle, and sat beside her. At first she found it distracting to have him so close, but as they went through her notes on Yasmine and Joe, she grew more accustomed to him. He was thoughtful and thorough.
At one point he brushed back one of her curls and hooked it behind her ear. She stiffened, but he just smiled and said it was blocking his view of her desk.
J.L. called to report that nothing was happening at her apartment. They'd found the pan of moussaka in the fridge and finished it off.
After an hour of dead ends regarding Yasmine, Olivia and Robby turned their attention to Joe. According to some neighbors who lived close to Joe's brother, he had been seen a few times there. The brother wasn't well liked in the neighborhood since he enjoyed hosting loud parties that dragged on all night.
"He might have thrown a 'congratulations on breaking out of jail' party," Robby said, and he called the number. It rang six times, then an answering machine picked up.
"We could drive there," Olivia suggested.
"Teleporting is faster."
She gave him a wry look. "I never quite mastered that skill."
"I have all the skill ye need." The corner of his mouth tilted up. "I can transport you to another world."
Her cheeks grew warm. "I'll take the car."
"Come with me. I dare you."
The last time he'd dared her, she'd ended up with a handful. And a night of glorious sex.
He leaned close. "We canna do it here where people might notice. We need to be alone."
Her face blazed hotter. Damn him. He was seducing her all over again. "Barker's office."
"Good." He grabbed the sheet of paper with the brother's phone number and led her back into Barker's office. He punched the number into his cell phone.
"Okay, it's ringing." He motioned for her to come closer.
She inched toward him.
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She gasped at the feel of his hard body against hers. Her heart raced.
He lowered his head and grazed the tip of his nose against her temple. "Put yer arms around me."
"Do I have to?"
"Do ye want to get lost on the way?"
She threw her arms around his neck. "Are you sure this is safe?"
His mouth twitched. "Safer than yer driving."
"What? I - " She stopped when she noticed the red glint in his eyes. "Why do your eyes keeping turning red?"
"It - " He glanced at his cell phone. "The answering machine picked up. Hang on tight."
She did, then everything went black.
CHAPTER 25
Robby knew something was wrong the minute he materialized in the dark room. He could smell blood. He held onto Olivia with one hand, and with the other he punched Angus's number on his cell phone.
"Angus," he whispered, knowing his great-grandfather would hear him. Unfortunately, if Casimir was here, he might hear it, too. "Need backup now. Hurry." He passed the phone to Olivia. "Keep talking."
"What?" she whispered. "What's going on? I can't see anything."
"Don't move." Robby drew his sword. His eyes had adjusted quickly to the darkness.
They were standing in a small foyer. A small amount of moonlight filtered through the half-closed blinds on the living room windows, just enough so he could see the bodies on the living room floor. He moved slowly toward a lamp sitting on an end table next to a sofa.
"Hello? Angus?" Olivia spoke into the phone. "Robby, there's no one there."
"I'm here," Angus replied next to her.
She gasped.
"I'm here as well," Connor added.
Robby heard the metallic slide of swords being drawn. He turned on the lamp.
Olivia gasped again.
Robby estimated at least twelve dead bodies.
"The devil take it," Angus muttered. "Let's check the house and grounds." He and Connor dashed off at vampire speed.
Olivia's eyes widened. "That was fast." She drew her sidearm. "You think the Malcontents are still here?"
"I doubt it. They would have attacked us by now." Robby motioned to the dead bodies. "We were right. There was a party to celebrate the jailbreak."
She grimaced. "Not my idea of a party."
He retrieved his phone from her and pushed the button for another contact. "Whelan, this is MacKay. We've found more dead bodies." He recited the address, then rang off.
He noticed Olivia looked a little green.
"I can teleport you back to the office, if ye like."
She squared her shoulders. "I'll be all right."
He ventured into the living room to get a better look at the victims. "This is clearly the work of both vampires and mortals. Some of the dead have been drained dry. Their throats are cut to disguise the bite marks, but there was no blood left to drip out."
He pointed at a man. "This one was killed by a vampire."
"That's Joe Kitchner," Olivia whispered.